Entry XV

[This entry is a recap of the 15th gaming session, which took place on April 3rd, 2011. The characters were just about to enter The Twisting Halls, an adventure contained in the new Red Box starter kit.]

Me and my boys playing

The next morning, well rested, we made our way to the back of the cave, and entered the tunnel which was on the right side of the cave. After some time, we reached a set of double doors.



The whole party, except for Trax the Dragonborn

Trax the Dragonborn

We opened them and entered.



Two ornate braziers were casting a faint red glow around the large chamber. Thickly scented smoke clouded the air before disappearing through small ventilation holes in the stone ceiling. We could just make out a pool of water deep inside of the room. Tethered to an iron ring set into the far wall near the pool was a black horse. We could see a number of doors, covered in beaten brass, leading from this chamber.

Two goblins [Goblin Cutthroats], clutching short spears, were glaring at us with bloodshot eyes.

"You're not welcome here," the nearest one snarled.

"Intruders!" the other screeched.

Immediately, we sprang into action, wanting to dispatch the two goblins before they could rouse whoever else was behind the doors.

But it was too late; soon, reinforcements arrived. Firstly, in the form of a guard drake coming from the right-hand door.

Guard Drake

 It sprung at Trax and tried to bite him with a ferocious rage. Secondly, a goblin spellcaster of some kind [Goblin Hex Hurler] opened the door on the left side of the chamber, and started throwing various hexes at us.

Goblin Hexer

Trax got into the thick of it, as usual, and so did Immarel, while Gilthos ― who was quickly blinded by one of the hexer's curses ― sent his bear to fight for him. I, meanwhile, sent my Magic Missiles every which way. As for Aleena, she fought by Trax and Immarel's side, healing them when needed.

Having killed all three goblins and the drake, we rested a little bit, and then inspected the room.

Of interest was the elaborate glyph carved on the floor of the left room. I could easily tell it was magic, but right there and then, I couldn't tell what its precise function was. In the same room was also a different type of brazier, glowing with bright, hot flame, but not making any smoke, and having no visible source of combustion.

We also examined the pool. The water was cloudy with dirt, and once again I could feel some kind of magic, but no evident way to use or channel it.

We freed the horse, gathered the goblins' weapons and armors, and also found a pouch containing 300 silver pieces behind the magical brazier, and then moved on to the next room.

This wide room looked like some kind of antechamber. Two doors on the opposite wall led off to the left and the right, but between us and the doors was the largest rat we'd ever seen, easily the size of a small dog!



Dire Rat

At once, we teamed up on the beast, seeing as it evidently was intent on taking us head on. Soon enough, unsurprisingly, a door opened and then the other, with four goblins [Goblin Snipers] and another giant rat [Dire Rat] coming to the first one's aid.

The fight was easy, and we got rid of them relatively fast.

Upon inspection, the rooms revealed a trap covered by a soiled and ruined carpet, as well as a big stone statue depicting a minotaur in armor carrying a greatsword.

Besides that, we didn't find anything else. We then gathered to discuss our next move.

Entry XIV

[This entry is a recap of the 14th gaming session, which took place on February 20th, 2011. The characters had just defeated the goblins in their cave, an encounter which I had adapted from the solo adventure contained in the new Red Box starter kit.]

I was awoken in the night by the sound of battle. Close by, Trax was also waking up, but we could see no sign of either Gilthos or Immarel.

We got up and ran towards the cave's entrance. Once outside, we saw that our friends had been fighting some kobolds. I say "saw", because the fight was over, and standing there next to the two Eladrins was a tall human woman, obviously hurt but looking very relieved at the kobolds' demise.

Gilthos turned to me and Trax and explained what had happened…

He and his brother had been awoken from their light sleep (Eladrins needing only to enter a recuperative trance for their repose) by the sounds of a screaming woman: “Kobold scum! You’ll not take me alive!”

Those shouted words roused them at once. It was dark. The campfire had died down to glowing coals, so they knew they'd been resting for hours, but the night was still dark.

Running outside, they saw the woman surrounded by five kobolds, fighting for her life.

They rushed to her aid. Immarel fought them with his greenflame sword, and Gilthos fought with sword and bow, both of them getting a few scrapes, but mostly it was the woman who got the worst of it.

Thankfully, they were up to the task, and defeated the kobolds. It's about then that me and Trax woke up.

The woman introduced herself as Aleena. She explained that she had been trying to find us ever since she got to Fallcrest and heard of our recent exploits. Wanting to join up with people who were doing good, she left after us, trying to catch up with us and Traevus's wagon. She found him a few hours before, and he explained what had happened. He then indicated to her where we had headed off to, and told her that he was going to wait for us (and his box) in Fallcrest, afraid that he was of being attacked once again.

She had followed our trail and just as she was reaching the cave, she had been waylaid by the kobolds.

She then offered to become part of our group, saying that she could take care of herself and that her divine powers could be useful in our adventures. We all agreed, we shook hands, and then went back to sleep for a few more hours.

Entry XIII

[This entry is a recap of the 13th gaming session, which took place on February 13th, 2011. The characters had just defeated the last villain from Into the Shadowhaunt, a 4th Edition Game Day module from 2008 that I adapted so that I could make it part of the town of Fallcrest.]

We took a few minutes to recuperate, and then we searched the necromancer's body. Aside from his amber-tipped staff, we found a foul-looking ritual book

and an evil-looking sacrificial dagger.

When the two boys saw the dagger, they told us he had shown it to them a few times, saying it would be the last thing that they saw before they died.

They were pretty eager to get out of this place, so we all headed for the surface.

Reaching the outside world, we were greeted by the two guards who seemed amazed by the fact that we were coming back out, alive, with the two lost boys! They asked us a few questions, mentioned that part of Tombwood (the small wooded area situated in the middle of town) had collapsed a few hours ago, which corresponded to the time when we had (unintentionally) activated the magical trap which had triggered an underground collapse.

We talk with the guards all the way to Lord Farkelhay's manor.

Upon reaching it, we were greeted by Lord Farkelhay himself, along with Farmer Quinn, who was overjoyed to see his two sons alive. He thanked us profusely, giving us the 300 gold pieces he had promised us, telling us that although poor we would be forever welcome in his home. This being said, he and his two boys hurried off to get back home.

As for us, we were once more greeted by Lord Farkelhay and his staff. For the next few days, we rested and we trained.

(We also destroyed both the ritual book and the dagger.  How?  We went outside, put the two objects on some rocks, and then Trax blew his acid breath on them, reducing both things to a shapeless blob of melted matter.)

[The characters had by now gained enough XP to go up to level 3. We chose our new level 3 encounter power, then resumed the session.]

Eventually, Lord Farkhelhay mentioned that if we wanted to, a dwarf by the name of Traevus would have a job for us. We agreed, and met him the next morning in Farkhelhay's study.

The dwarf explained to us that he needed to bring a box to Sunderpeak Temple, located in the Thunder Peaks (or the Cairngorn Peaks, as he called it). He said that he would make it our while. We accepted his task, and agreed that we would be leaving the next morning.

Traevus left, but not us, as Farkelhay told us to stay some more. "I have a surprise for you, Gilthos," he said with a smile.

"Come in, Immarel," he then said.

A tall, regal looking Eladrin came in, and he and Gilthos immediately embraced. It turns out it was Gilthos' brother.

I then learned how their father had deemed it a good time to send Immarel out in the world, giving him the task of finding Gilthos to make sure he was okay. After having used magic to figure out Gilthos' general location, he had then arranged a teleportation ritual which took him directly to the wizard's tower here in Fallcrest.

It was heart-warming to see them together, and I retired early so that they would have some time alone to catch up.

The next morning, we met with Traevus and left Fallcrest on the old King's Road. We were sitting in the back of the wagon, and the going was slow.

The wagon rattled and creaked as it rolls along the old trade road. Traevus was guiding his team of mules with a steady hand, more interested in the road ahead than in our attempts at conversation, but I guess that's part of dwarven nature.

The sun was low in the sky, and we were expecting nightfall soon.

To our left, the Moon Hills stretched off southward and reached up toward the darkening sky. The fall air was growing cooler with night's approach.

Suddenly, a noise shook us out of our reverie—the twang of a bowstring, coming from the shadows beside the road. Traevus cried out as an arrow sank into his shoulder. With a shrill cry, a pack of goblins ― short, ugly creatures with green skin and fang-filled mouths -- ran toward the wagon, brandishing weapons.

I could see another goblin pulling an arrow from a quiver on its back. It was clear these creatures meant to steal the wagon—and that probably meant eliminating both us and the merchant first!

We got out of the goblin and sprang to action. Gilthos was shooting arrows, Trax and Immarel fighting with their swords, and I was shooting bolts of magic at them.

Soon, they scattered, and we were left with the bodies of dead or dying goblins.

The whinny of a horse caught our ear, and as we looked around for the source of the sound, we saw a rider at the crest of a low hill, a few hundred yards away. The rider seemed to be human, but as the goblins fled he shook his fist in frustration. His jet-black horse reared and whinnied again, and the rider's red cloak billowed behind him in the wind. Then the horse galloped off toward the southwest, into the Moon Hills.

Traevus was not seriously injured, but as the goblins ran away he glances into the back of the wagon and swore vigorously. "They stole it!" he shouted. Then he turned to us. "You… you were incredible in that fight. You probably saved my life. But I need your help again. The goblins stole the box from the back of my wagon ― something precious. I need to get it back."

Traevus promised us a reward of 30 gold pieces, on top of what he was already going to give us, if we returned the stolen item. He asked you not to look in the box if we foundd it, though, blushing slightly as he explained that the contents were personal.

Making a wide circle around the site of the goblin attack, we looked for tracks that might indicate where they came from, and where they ran off to. Though they scattered after our display of strength, they had likely regrouped somewhere nearby and made their way back to their lair together.

Trax decided to question one of the goblins, being gentle but firm with the dying creature. He managed to convince the goblin, with its last breath, to tell us where the goblins' lair was.

It was getting darker and darker, but we decided to pursue them right away.

Trampled grass here, footprints in the dust there ― Gilthos was pretty sure he had identified the goblins' path away from the scene of the attack. Following the tracks led us through some rough terrain. Either the goblins were trying to throw off any pursuit, or they clambered up cliffs and through ravines without much thought. We thought we could follow, but it was going to take some work.

It turned out the goblins' treacherous path barely slowed us down as we scrambled along after them. We soon find ourselves looking at three cave entrances that were almost certainly the goblins' lair, and so far we didn't think we'd alerted the goblins to our presence.

As quiet as possible, we neared the cave. Trax examined the body of a dead kobold nearby, and then we headed for the middle entrance.

Inside, we could see two goblins sitting by their fires. Slowly, one of them noticed our presence. Trax tried to bluff his way in but they saw past the ruse, got up, and a fight ensued.

Two more goblins joined the fray, but we had little trouble in disposing of them.

The area secured, we inspected the cave, found a tunnel going deeper in, but decided to camp for the night before going further.