The party continued their mad dash towards the center. As the battle intensified in the distance, the lords of the armies lazily circled each other in the air and flinged spells of unimaginable power at each other. Several missed their targets, closing off areas of the cave or resulting in large fiery explosions and clouds of dust.
Note to self: if the characters are unbeatable in combat, send a few environment effects at them.
After the summer holidays, the entire crew reunited for the season finale. The adventurers reached the heart of the underground kingdom: an enormous cave with entire settlements all over, and strange suspended ball-like structures in the middle.
The adventurers camped out for the night behind some camouflage, with some refugees sitting nearby. They kept a lookout, and so they saw the monster patrol creeping up. Obviously, they did nothing to save the refugees, who got slaughtered. One survivor was promptly abandoned, and the adventurers continued on their way downward.
Once again we started in the middle of a battle! The chieftain and its lackeys charged at the adventurers. However, without the element of surprise, they were quickly beaten down.
Roll for initiative! Monsters climb out from under the rocks and assault the party. They are brutish, well armored, and wield monstrous weapons that break bones and cause bleeding.
The adventurers delved ever deeper into the tunnels, always following the largest opening, always going downwards. Their paltry torches seemed to be overwhelmed by the encroaching darkness, causing Cahir to nervously look back at every step. Ylimor enhanced his senses, noticing a pair of yellow eyes watching from a side tunnel. The adventurers gathered ranks and proceeded downwards, with only Cahir milling around, looking for dead spirits.
All was well, right up until the pair of yellow eyes appeared right in front. Ylimor illuminated a humanoid cat in full plate. Dalibor shot at it with his crossbow. Roll for initiative!
The adventurers started exploring their small tunnel, leading into a much larger one. As soon as they stepped out from the enclosed space, the giant spider attacked! It was holed up right above the exit, giving it reach to pummel Ylimor into the ground.
The adventurers returned in force to cross the giant chasm. They quickly figured out that the white string was spider's web. First to risk the crossing was Shamil. He doffed his armor and used psionics to lighten his body weight. Let's say he discovered the spider really quickly. Or, rather, the spider discovered him. All the stealth in the world is useless if you are walking around with a shining lamp above your head.
The adventurers spent some time to rest and recuperate after their ordeal with the manta rays. This was some quality time with content created by the players, with only occasional comments from me to entice them. Like Daramin burning the sand coming out of his boot[1], at which point I reminded everyone that they're dead tired, injured, all they want is sleep, and not listen to the scratching sounds of burning sand. The party also made sure to set up guards, a system of ropes and bells, and traded sleeping bags[2]. However, the best part was when they tried to cook the cut off wing of a manta using most of their drinking water. I made sure to describe in detail the lack of moisture in the meat, the texture of old leather[3], as well as the urge to vomit coming an hour later.[4]
With Ylimor still at the camp site, 3 brave adventurers continued their slog through the sand pits.
This session saw the return of Cahir after a couple of missed games, so we started off slow, with a long recap and some RP. This involved him looking around the latest dungeon rooms, catching Dalibor looting stuff, and the thief trying to hide the loot by making a pass at the paladin. Yes, this set the mood of the session. No, I will never let this go.
The adventurers rested after fighting the demon dogs, then prepared for their next challenge: a huge copper door. The knight in full plate tried to open it - it was a shocking experience! However, he gritted his teeth, locked his spasming muscles, and slammed the door open. They were face to face with a huge giant made of assorted bodies![1]
The last room explored during the previous session contained this evil looking runic circle. Back then, the mage decided not to fix it. However this session we had a different mage to replace him, and this one, for some reason, turned out to be more... adventurous.
The adventurers started by retiring for the day[1]. They went back to the sea-side entrance and slept, keeping watch in rotation. The rest cycle went by uneventfully, with Shamil sharpening his dagger and Dalibor drawing plans of the dungeon.
The adventuring party reassembles once more, in almost full numbers! Cahir was replaced just for this session by a surprise guest, the assassin Nor. A good thing too, given the prevalence of combat encounters during the evening.
The adventurers gathered themselves in the round chamber. Biznard and Shamil threw up on each other[1] as Cahir broke in with fresh chowder made of undead whale. It was also at this point that the new party member, the rogue Dalibor made his appearance.
A new adventure begins! I decided against retconning anything, and instead described how the adventurers traveled inside the undead whale - quite a miserable experience. After some time, the party stepped unto the shores of an underground cave - Biznard, the barbarian; Felgrin, the wizard; Shamil, the assassin; and Ylimor, the paladin.[1]
Against all odds, the team reassembled (minus Athosian, but with a potential new member) to play a game of MAGUS and wrap up their latest adventure.
We gathered online for the season finale, before another foreseeable long pause. Let's go slay that dragon!
An unexpected online reunion just before Christmas! Yay for us, as we entered the dragon's lair...
