Gather 'round, my dears, pull your chairs closer to the hearth here at The Foaming Mug. It's old Vilma, and tonight, I've got a tale brewing warmer than the ale in your tankards, a tale of our brave (and perhaps a bit bewildered) adventurers deep within the barrel maze.
It's been quite the week for them, you see. Day nine of their "ready rate" – whatever that means in the grand scheme of things. Around half past noon, they found themselves camped for lunch right in the middle of that winding barrel maze. But peace, alas, is a rare commodity in these parts. They heard it, even through their closed door: a faint, but persistent, scratching at a brick wall, echoing through the corridor. A truly unsettling sound, I'd wager, like something making its way through solid stone.
Now, the party themselves, well, they're a sight to behold. Aratzi, bless his heart, has simply vanished, a mystery unto himself. And our dear Nikki and Dwaram, they appear as hazy forms, not quite solid. Ever since she lost Jack, Nikki's been like that, half her soul gone, they say. Though, if Jack reappears, shouldn't she solidify? Perhaps it’s a missing ring, or perhaps it’s Fernidette, a reflection of Nikki's very psychosis.
Before plunging headfirst into danger, a wise adventurer takes stock, and that's precisely what they were doing. Let me tell you, it’s quite the collection of odds and ends they carry:
• One brave soul (who shall remain unnamed for now, but you can guess by their magic dagger) carries a magic dagger that does triple damage on a backstab, a staff for blunt force, and spells like magic missile, sleep, burning hands, continual light, and levitate. They even have a peculiar push spell for small things, a tablet with a strength spell they've never used, a potion of clairvoyance, a vial of acid, and a magical spear point. Though, I hear their aim with ranged attacks isn't the best, so the oil and acid are often a last resort.
• Then there's Ar, with naught but his trusty hammer, which he can even throw, along with manual labor tools like iron spikes, shovels, and pickaxes. No potions for him, just good old blunt force.
• Nora carries "Well Vengeance," a magical stout blade, another non-magical dagger, a gold ring of protection, a black cloak of protection, and the intriguing Crown of Comprehending Languages. She’s got darts, flasks of oil, a vial of acid, and plenty of cantrips for distraction. Her fancier spells include fantasmal force, color spray, darkness, gaze reflection (useful if you ever meet a Medusa, she quipped), dancing lights, hypnotic pattern, and mirror image. And don't forget her elven boots for silent movement.
• Our friend Cairo has his magic broadsword, Dynasty, a bow with both magic and regular arrows (though less effective in a maze), and a vial of holy water. He’s not a magic user himself.
• Nikki, the druid-ranger, sports a ring of protection +2, five bottles of oil, and, amusingly, ten things of cooking oil because "cooking is my passion"! Her arsenal includes a sickle, a scimitar +1 (Twister Paws), a short bow, and a warhammer. She’s a formidable level four druid and level three ranger.
• And finally, the quiet one, Dwaram, a fighter and magic user, often forgotten in the spell-casting department. He wields a broadsword, a short bow with eighteen arrows, a +1 hand axe, and a magic +1 heavy crossbow. His spells are mostly for utility: charm person, mount, identify, and detect magic, with magic missile being his only true offensive spell. He also, after some GM intervention, was granted one vial of holy water.
A little bird told me about a squabble over a particular spell, the identify spell. Apparently, it used to be a beast! Costing a 100 gold piece pearl, an owl feather, and a live carp, all destroyed in the casting, and you’d even lose constitution points and risk learning a false property!. Madness, I tell you! But our clever GM, he's seen the light! Now, you just need a 100 gold piece pearl, not consumed, and you learn one property per cast. Much more sensible for an adventurer on the go!
Now, about their current predicament. They’re in this maze because they made a pact with a gargoyle named A Margo, which required them to defeat another gargoyle leader, Ziggstrol, within seven days. Fail, and their souls are sent to the abyss. A cleric Aratzi spoke with confirmed these were dark entities.
They presume they're fighting stone gargoyles, which means daggers and arrows aren't much good. They're pondering using blunt weapons like hammers and maces. There was even talk of using acid vials to weaken the stone, or perhaps rapid temperature changes like wetting the stone then heating it, or cooling it then heating it, to cause it to crack. Norsha, with her fantasmal force, even considered creating illusions of earth elementals, lava monsters, or making the "floor is lava". Imagine that!
They attempted to ignore the scratching from the brick wall, but that proved futile. After a brief misdirection heading north, they wisely turned south, only for the scratching to intensify, sounding like brick peeling off the wall. Just as they reached their destination, something slammed into the door behind them, and then it shattered completely! Now, they face danger from both front and back.
Stepping into the gargoyle corridor, they felt a strange change in the air, as if walking through a waterfall. There, they once again encountered Zaxic, who reminded them of their bargain. He confirmed their task was simply to defeat Ziggstrol, and that would release them from the contract. Zaxic, ever the arrogant one, offered vague advice: "go in hard and fast," expect spell-casting gargoyles and bodyguards. He even confessed that he uses a "sigil of detect truth" and knew Nora was lying about her name! The most chilling detail? There's a timer! If they don't complete the task by the end of the day, they start losing health!.
They sent Loss, with her silent elven boots, to scout ahead. She reported back, having seen at least three gargoyle "sentinels" perched on a ledge in a large room, unmoving for now.
The adventurers then fell into a debate: fight or parlay?. Some, like Nora, thought it better to talk first, perhaps lure the gargoyles out of the open room into the hallway, using an illusion of a magma elemental as a scare tactic. Others argued they would inevitably have to fight, so why delay?. Nikki, with her charisma of 16, even suggested trying to convince the sentinels that Ziggstrol was coming to fight them, thus turning them against their own leader before double-crossing them. Zaxic, ever listening, chimed in, revealing that gargoyles "like human blood" and were not picky about the source.
When asked how to kill a gargoyle, Zaxic gave a most chilling reply, one that sent shivers through the inn tonight: "Do I need to tell them how to kill him? No, I don't. I don't need to kill you... it doesn't matter. Either way, Zaxic wins.". He claims their pact with him has even superseded their deities.
So, there they are, facing stone creatures, a shattered door behind them, a ticking clock, and a deceptive "ally" who cares not for their survival, only his own twisted victory. What a pickle! Will they outwit the gargoyles, or will their souls be claimed? Only time, and perhaps the next session, will tell.
Keep your mugs full, and your wits about you, my friends. Old Vilma will be here to share the next chapter. Good night, Orlane!
No comments:
Post a Comment