This is the tale of another group going through the RTEE mega-adventure. The following might contain a few spoilers, so use your own judgment as to whether you read on...
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****Spoiler Space****
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Session 1
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When last we left our heroes, they were in the midst of their journey from Greyhawk to Hommlet. The time passed relatively uneventfully, and they soon found themselves in the village.
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Their first stop was the temple of Pelor, so that Serena could check in.
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The spoke briefly with an acolyte before he went and found the head cleric. Brother Yether spoke with them at length about the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye, and shared some concern that the cult appeared to be active in the area again. He requested that they inform him of anything they discover during their investigation, and strongly suggested that they include Elmo, the town constable, as well. A stop at the temple of St. Cuthbert yielded a bit more information, but not much else. That evening they spoke with a few of the locals and found out some more information about the town, namely who’s in charge and where to buy certain supplies.
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With the morning, they set about trying to speak with someone in charge of the village. A better part of that time was spent awaiting an audience with Rufus and Burne. That audience appeared to have been a waste of time, as they simply suggested that the matter be brought up with Elmo. Lunchtime approached, so the tracked Elmo down at the inn. They told him of the letter and amulet they had found. They wanted to go investigate the old Temple of Elemental Evil, and basically wanted his blessing to do so. He told them that Nulb is now a ghost town, and that the temple is home to a band of hobgoblins. Elmo also mentioned that some folks around town had noticed weird lights out by the old moathouse. He had hoped it was just “swamp gas”, but it appeared that wasn’t the case. Jenna suggested that they go check out the moathouse on the way to the temple, to which everyone agreed.
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The remainder of the day was spent purchasing supplies. A stop by the temple of Pelor yielded the boon of two free scrolls from Brother Yether. Within a few hours, they managed to deplete the minor healing magic from all of the shops.
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With a good night’s rest, they set off for the moathouse at first light. Shortly before noon, they set eyes on the ruins. Cautiously, the party crosses the drawbridge, leading their mounts. They quickly hobble the horses, leaving Charmaine’s dog to guard them and begin to poke around. Drawn to the stain in the middle of the courtyard, Serena crouches to pick up a curious curved dagger. As she stands, a massive form lurches from the darkness inside the ruins - a blue dragon!
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Serena and Charmaine both fire their crossbows - the bolts skittering across the dragons scales - as the beast lowers its head, charging at Serena. His teeth sink in, ripping her flesh. Unfortunately for the dragon, Charmaine does a quick roll, setting him up in a flanked position. She stabs with her sword, slipping between scales along his back. Outraged, the dragon bites again at Serena, but slashes two claws at Charmaine. The rest of the party reacts. Torgga, slashes the dragons chest with her mighty axe, Jenna pelts the beast with fiery bolts, and Gefton drives an arrow into its neck. The dragon, badly injured, leaps into the air but not before Charmaine manages to drive her sword into his underbelly. A volley of bolts and arrows fly at the dragon as he rises up, circling the courtyard. Coming around in a sweeping pass, he spews forth a bolt of lightning that passes through Torgga before striking Charmaine full in the chest. Torgga is a bit staggered by the bolt, but Charmaine collapses. Jenna releases another spell, and Gefton sends an arrow directly into the dragons heart. The dragon falls to the courtyard, and the group breathes a sigh of relief. Serena quickly tends to Charmaine, and a few spells and potions later, everyone is back up to a comfortable fighting strength.
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Session 2
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An hour was spent searching the upper works of the moathouse. The only thing they encountered in the process is a gray ooze, which they managed to spot, and chose not to engage (having previously fought one). Searching the corpses in the dragons den yielded two unbroken amulets of the Elder Elemental Eye. They determined that they were on the right trail, “but these are bad guys”, they wondered, “so why did the dragon kill them?” Deciding that there might be more answers below, they made their way down.
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Two gnolls lay in ambush at the base of the stairs but, they proved to be no match for the party. The combat did serve to alert the ghast and the ghouls in the nearby chambers, though. The foul undead sprung forth and attacked, the ghast paralyzing Torgga with its fetid bite. Serena, unshaken by their presence, called forth the power of Pelor, destroying all of the dreadful creatures [greater turning]. After a quick search, they came across the wizard Spugnoir, hiding in the old armory. They offered him food, and were relatively nice to him, so he told them what he had learned in the moathouse, and offered to lead them to where the clerics had been digging. They accepted. He warned that a room on the way was typically guarded, so they entered cautiously. The gnolls here proved to be a bit more of a challenge, and the cleric managed to draw out the skeletons in an adjoining room before being chopped down by Torgga’s axe. Another plea to Pelor cleaned up most of the skeletons and the stragglers were quickly dispatched. Here they found several artifacts that had been uncovered by the clerics.
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Stashing them quickly, the moved on.
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In the bed chamber, Jenna rummaged through several of the packs while Charmaine worked her “magic” on the locked box. She failed to notice the Glyph, but managed to evade the acid spray. They quickly emptied the box, flipping through Geynor’s journal.
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They continued down the hallway, and were set upon by a ghast guard. A pitched battle was waged, but they defeated it in relatively short order. But the ghast had done its duty, and the sounds of battle were heard by the clerics in the room beyond. Geynor Ton stepped out, furious that intruders dare approach the temple. He quickly cast a spell of random action at Torgga, but her resolve was too strong. She closed with him, swinging her axe mightily. Charmaine also moved in, making a swift stab. The rest of the party began to close on the cleric, with Spugnoir standing back to watch for reinforcements. Yssleth entered the fray, casting a random action spell on Charmaine. The spell held, and Charmaine was unable to do anything but defend herself. Geynor, now beside himself with fury called for the power of the Elder Elemental Eye and commanded Torgga to ‘flee’. Torgga’s will, weakened by the ghast, broke, and she ran down the hallway. Serena stepped forward and crushed Geynor’s chest with her mace. Yssleth, seeing this battle as a loss, cast a spell of obscuring mist, then moved back into the excavation room. Back down the hallway, Torgga saw a gnoll, Garrik, rushing towards her. Garrik stepped up and attacked with his long sword. Spugnoir saw the gnoll at this point, and uttered an expletive. Torgga swung her axe, driving in deeply into Garrik’s skull, killing him in a single blow.
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Leary of what might be waiting in the room beyond the mist, the group has fallen back waiting for the mists to dissipate.
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Chris Dial
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