Tairn

Play date: August 11th, 2009

1533.2.13 – near Dusk
As the jailer removes the first prisoner (looking quite well off after being healed by Banic subsequent to Serk beating him), the group talks for a moment before the next prisoner enters. He is also manacled to the table. He seems far more agreeable. Malperder starts questioning him and telling him he is in lots of trouble and will hang. The guy says he had worked there since last summer. He was approached by a man in The Rusty Dagger in Dendros near the docks. The money was too good to turn down. He mentions seeing the priestess and some of the fighting men, but the outer guard didn’t mingle with them. He asks to be set free repeatedly. He says he can lead them to a house in Dendros where he saw some of the priestess go. Jack says he is in favor of letting him go if the information pans out, but everyone else wants to break his appendages, leave him in jail, hang him as soon as possible, or doesn’t voice an opinion. There is a discussion with the prisoner out of the room and everyone goes to speak to the Captain that gave them access to the prisoner. Malperder asks if they can take him and permission is granted. He says he wants to let him go and the Captain says “No!” Malperder backs off and says “Have someone follow us in case he tries to escape.”
Jack goes in and speaks to the prisoner and he agrees to take them to the house. He leads them to a small house in Dendros shoulder to shoulder with other homes. When they arrive it is well dark. No light comes from the house. Keddick casts extended invisibility on Varende, and the elf picks the lock on the front door, drops his everburning torch on the ground and enters. A quick reconnoiter of the home reveals it is empty upstairs and down with the exception of two zombies in the second room on the lower floor. Varende realizes that they are Kel and Pelin, Ithran’s goons! Varende comes back outside and instead of asking Keddick to dismiss the invisibility, he whacks the poor prisoner on the head with his sap knocking him unconscious until next week. Banic and Malperder dispatch the zombies in seconds using spell and axe. Banic searches the home for auras but finds none. Malperder notices the trapdoor behinds the zombies.
The trapdoor leads to some earthen steps leading into a small basement. Pottery jars lay about the floor empty of their food and broken. A fifteen foot deep pit has been dug into the floor with a steep grade for entry. At the bottom of the pit is solid stone with a rope stoneshaped into it. The remainder of the rope is coiled neatly, knotted along its length for easy climbing.
Banic stoneshapes a small hole and then a larger one. Everyone climbs below into a large 40 foot square room with lots of exits. People start looking around trying to decide where to go. Some spot a couple of ghostly forms whoosh through a wall and attack. Before long, five of the things have attacked. They all appear to be dressed (but not look like) the priestess that were fought at the Malverin Wood site. The only serious injury that occurs is to Keddick. One of the creatures drains away some of his essence (6 pts Con damage). Serk and Jack discover repeatedly that their weapons don’t always harm the things. Eventually, the last dissipates into the darkness.
Varende has noted a long chain stoneshaped into the floor near a two foot wide exit from the room. He looks within to see crumbling walls of a long, narrow room and other rooms beyond those walls.
Malperder realizes that this is like the map Varende showed everyone that he got from the researchers at The Order of Darius. Banic notices five “ghostly” figures is the same number of dead priestesses from five hundred years ago. Malperder leads everyone to the prominent long room in the upper right hand corner of the map. At the far end is a body lying on a slab altar. As everyone approaches, some realize the body is that of the woman with Elvish features known as Dora/Ithran/Dorian. Banic prepares to call holy fire to destroy the body but Varende talks him out of it. Giant Bane whistles through the air and decapitates the corpse. Malperder says something about her death and his vengeance on the part of Barnim the Smith. Varende searches the altar inscribed with the symbol of Talinoman but finds nothing but blood stains.
Two rooms are found with semi-circular alcoves about three feet high (but they have not been investigated). Malperder wants to investigate the room in the lower left hand corner. It has a door with a lock and a peephole. Varende unlocks the door, opens the peephole, sees nothing, and opens the door. The rooms is long and narrow with rubble across the floor. At the far end, Varende sees a small chest against the wall. He enters with Malperder following. A bit more than half way down the room, ghouls (ghasts) burst from the floor with a terrible stench. They attack with tooth and claw and their foulness paralyze both elf and dwarf. Serk bravely steps in and drags Malperder out of the room while the things continue to rend Varende’s living flesh. Banic steps in trying to get to his companion. He eventually activates his boots to end on Varende’s far side committed to saving him while Keddick counts how many he can get out and hangs back. Jack moves into position to skewer anything coming out of the door. Three of the things exit the room looking for more victims and attack Keddick, Malperder, Serk and Jack. The tide begins to turn when Malperder regains use of his body and stands. He and Serk cut a path through the creatures with Jack’s help while Banic desperately tries to stay alive. Banic casts Panacea on Varende removing his paralysis and healing him a bit. He tumbles behind Malperder and draws his bow to join the fray. Banic is paralyzed and being ripped apart. As the last creature fights for its unlife, Varende tumbles past and force feeds good berries to Moradin’s favored. Keddick comes in with the fall of the last one and offers a draught from the Dareth Coul healing flask restoring Banic to consciousness.
 

<Around 10 bells on the 13th – You’ve been in here for 30 minutes or so – a small chest sits in the corner>

Status:

• Varende (mostly dead; < 10 hp)
• Banic (mostly dead; < 10 hp)
• Serk and Malperder: slightly hurt,
• Jack: perhaps slightly hurt, but never hit by ghouls
• Keddick: gravely wounded mostly due to constitution damage; Banic healed 2 of the 6 points