Stonehell: Conflicts in the Contested Corridors

Session 33 was played on 4/14

Eiric, wizard 3 (Kat)
Orpheus, Human Fighter 1 (Henchman)
- torch bearers (Z, JJ)
- men at arms (EE, GG, HH)
Bisimwa, Human Fighter 1 (Jordan)
Sarin the Ugly, Human Fighter 1 (Josh)
Menchi, Human Cleric 1 (Laural)
Kili, Dwarf Cleric (Matt)
Matthias, Dwarf 4 (Julia)
Daryll (NPC Cleric 1, Prisoner)

Stayed in town
Leroy, human fighter 3 (Mike)
Unnamed, Elf 1 (Nicole)
Karlaih, Human Thief 5 (Mollie)
Tink, a pretentious Elf (but I repeat myself) and former barkeep (Hanna)
Shelly, a vegetarian recovering alcoholic halfling Thief 3 (Nadia)
Frank, halfling 1 (Emily)
Yaqen, elf 1 (Shaun)

Eiric gathers the party together, and heads to the dungeon. Just outside of town a cloaked dwarf joins the troop, claiming to be Wilhelm’s cousin. As the grief over his passing was still so raw, Eiric allowed him to join the party, in spite of his snarky comments.

Once in the dungeon, they headed for the contested corridors, checking out the old orc encampment. The rooms had been looted since the party had last been here, and there was little to be found, until they found the orc chief’s chamber. A large rough bed filled most of the chamber, and as the door opened, letting torchlight sign in, half a dozen naked goblins dove off and crawled under the bed.

“Disturb not the she-wizard’s lair!” one squeaky voice called out.

“I’m the she-wizard!” Eiric called out.

“Uh… Disturb not the… the… sheet-wizard!” From the far side of the room, the blanket was pulled off the bed.

“If you’re a wizard, tell us where the magic school is!”

“Did we say wizard? Disturb not the sheet-priest!”

Eiric sighed and questioned the goblins briefly about the area. The goblins told her that with the orcs defeat, they’d taken over the area, but they didn’t seem to know much else. Leaving the goblins to their own devices, the party moved on.

Deciding to fill in some of the map, they took a corridor they hadn’t explored, and came across some caves, and a group of kobold mushroom farmers heading back to the Korners. The parties greeted each other, and passed without incident, though they did warn the party about the magic wall, so of course they headed for it immediately.

Halfway across the cave they felt the tingling, and their suspicions were confirmed when Matthais approached it and felt the magnetic pull. He slid toward it, the pull on his armor making it hard for him to get away. Sarin tossed him a rope, and helped him get away. They then stripped out of their armor and collected several chips and chunks of the wall.

Exploring further into the caves they came to the kobolds’ mushroom garden, and spotted several Ghost Beggars poaching! The 4 of them were killed very quickly, with only one giant mushroom destroyed in the process. After the battle, the large bucket hanging down through a natural chimney showed how they got into the cave. Matthias got into the bucket, and it started to rise. About 20 feet up in the air, the light from above was blocked, and a voice called out. The Ghost Beggars realized that that wasn’t one of their own, and they didn’t take the news well. Whether it was the bodies of their fellows gutted below, or the talk of Matthias’ other cousin ____, they kept the bucket suspended above the farm, and dropped oil down toward it. Matthias spotted it, and jumped free, crushing more mushrooms, but avoiding being soaked in oil. The torch that followed the oil was more concerning, and the party ran.

Back in the regular halls the party came to the octagonal desert room with the broken sphinx statue. They continued deeper into the hall and came next to an octagonal seashore room. They noticed a couple of small holes on one wall and checked it out. Beady eyes glared out of the holes, and Matthias decided to poke them with the 10’ pole. In response, 10 pissed off giant rats swarmed out and attacked. They managed to do some damage, but were all killed rather swiftly.

Past the ocean room, the party encounters a group of Berzerkers! They misidentify Matthias as Wilhelm, and invite the party into their chamber for a drink. The party accepts, and Matthias sings the song of his people… but it’s a different song than Wilhelm used to sing. The mood of the room turned quickly, and the berzerkers not so subtly reached for their weapons…

The fight was vicious and bloody, but the magical ability of the party helped tipped the balance. Eiric’s snake staff kept one berserker immobilized, but not before Orpheus took a broadsword to the side of the head. A touch of magical healing kept him from death. Unfortunately, they had little treasure to be looted.

Returning to their exploration, the party came to a room with a rough statue carved of salt, seemingly guarding the interior door. As expected, the statue animated when they reached for the door. Sarin wildly swung his sword, missing the statue, and impaled EE, who bleed out as soon as the sword was pulled from his gut. The room beyond was an old and dusty study, but at least had a stash of hidden gold.

Further back along the hall the party opened the door onto a massive machine. Pipes, gears, chains, and levers were arranged in a baroque web of steel, brass, and other unidentifiable metals.

“That looks like a deathtrap” Eiric says.

“I’m gonna touch it.” Matthias replies, and enters the room. The first lever pulled causes the machine to shake violently and make a variety of noises as the belts spin and steam leaks out of various cracked pipes. Next he twists some random knobs, which change the noises, adding a clunking sound, followed by a rattle of stones on metal, as several organic crystals fall out of a shoot and into a small bin. Pushing a big button causes the noises to get even louder and more constant, before a chunk of the machine breaks, spraying the room with a mist of oil, and filling the air with greasy steam.

“Are you happy now?” Eiric asks.

Matthias grins and says “Yes!”

Feeling they’d accomplished enough, and not wanting to stick around after all that noise, the party returns to the Kobold Korners for some rest.

Gains: Organic Crystals, 1000gp, 20pp
Kills: 6 Berzerkers, 10 Giant Rats, 4 Ghost Beggars, Rocksalt Golem
Losses: EE