Session Notes for 2004-09-23

Around the corner we find a door with the symbol we've seen previously. Taking the bok out, the symbol on the book glows. Putting the book to the door, it glows and opens.

Beyond is a vertical shaft, extending from far below to far above. The shaft is about five feet across. A draft from below yields fresh air. There is a faint smell of a forge. Further down the shaft narrows and angles.

Lin closes the door behind us using the book. We climb down. It's a long climb, then a long walk. Eventually it becomes a tunnel. The tunnel ends six foot above the floor of a large chamber.

Art by Joe

As we climb down. We hear a constant noise of chittering and buzzing. A swarm of black beetles skitters across the floor toward us. Lin steps forward and throws alchemist's fire at the beetles. The beetles swarm over Lin and bite at her. We all swat at the bugs, eventually driving them off, but not before Lin is battle bitten. I heal her.

150 1 swarm of beetles

We explore the area. It appears to be a small underground city section. Most buildings are collapsed. We find a small temple Oldarra, the god of crafting. It is partially collapsed.

As we example the outside of the temple, Lin hears something behind us, Some large, mutated rats are advancing on us. We turn to defend ourselves. I advance to defend the group The rats have bony scales and spikes protecting their bodies. The rats charge. One bounced off my shield, another seriously injures Eight. Lin shoots one of the two rats through the skull, slaying it. We lay into the second one, but have trouble penetrating it's bony hide. Red and I move to flank it. Once surrounded, Lin again puts a bolt through its head. @XP: 150 2 rats

Digging around in the rubble the rats came from, we find the rat's nest. We don't find anything of note.

We head into the church. There is a sense of calm, quiet, and shelter. We explore a bit. Lin finds a small font buried beneath some rubble. The font is full of crystal-clear, rose-smelling water. Lin collects about a third of it in a waterskin. Red samples some, and it cures her wounds. Red collects the remainder in a waterskin.

We rest for the night.

March 18th

We move onward. The far left corner has a large pillar, and nothing else.

The building in the back right looks to be a smithy or forge. Mithral doors bear House Cannith's symbol. The door is locked. The journal causes the doors to glow in a blue fire and the doors open.

Inside magical lights flicker on. There is a forge in the back, metal grating comprises the floor around it. Bookshelves stand by the walls, and two tables sit in the middle. A pair of metal dogs sit near the doors. Their eye glow and they move toward us. They attack, and we battle them. They are tough, our blows only dent their hides. Red destroys one herself, while the rest of us work together to break the other. When we destroy each, there is a "click."

150 2 construct dogs

A chunk of the ceiling has fallen in. A third metal dog lays crushed beneath fallen ceiling. We find an assortment of stuff on the shelves.

1 Suit of Scale Mail, 1 masterwork small chain shirt, 3 small steel shields, 1 heavy mace, 1 long sword, 1 masterwork rapier, 1 masterwork heavy mace, 2 sunrods.

Examining the dogs, from each's forhead a small rod has popped out. On the end is House Cannith's symbol. One rod is pentagonal, one is triangular.

The forge has a panel in the corner. There are three holes, one triangular one square, one pentagonal.

With a bit of work we lift the section of collapsed ceiling. Lin pulls out the crushed dog. A square rod pokes out of it's forehead.

Lin puts the rods into the panel. A panel opens. Inside is a small vault. There are three sacks, four potions, and the schema we've been looking for.

The sacks contain 100 silver pieces, 100 gold pieces, and 4 gold ingots. Lin thinks the ingots are worth about 50 gold pieces each.

Mission accomplished, we head out. As we're walking through the cavern, another warforged attacks. It fires a flaming bolt at us, but misses. The warforged identifies itself as Saber, greatest of the devoted followers of the Lord of Blades. It demands the schema. Eight attempts to bluff, claiming that we didn't find it. It doesn't believe Eight and demands that we turn it over. We draw. It fires a flaming bolt at Eight, but misses.

Lin and I advance. The warforged is covered in adamantine. Saber resists my magical command to halt. He badly injures Red, so I heal her. Eight moves forward and singes Saber with a gout of flame from its hands. Red moves around to flank Saber. I join the melee. Saber lashed out at Eight, who Saber labels, "a fleshlover." Eight collapses. We continue to pound on Saber. Eight smacks me around, seriously wounding me. Lin tosses me the wineskin full of church water. I crawl away and drink from it, healing myself. Red takes a mighty blow at the warforged and drives her blade into it. Saber falls to the ground.

From his chest another of the flying orbs flits off.

Examining the potions we found in the previous forge. Three are labelled with small pluses. The fourth has a man in armor. Pouring one of the plusses down Eight's throat, it heals him.

On Saber's body, we find a backpack, a cloak, a crossbow, and a longsword.

We head out. We track down the goblin and Lin pays him the rest of his fee. We return to the Broken Anvil. Lydia contacts her friend. Eldaran joins us that even. She is wearing a shimmering, formal blue dress. She thanks us. She asks us to check at the House Sivis message station occasionally, she may have future work for us. She pays us and leaves.

250 1 Warforged (Saber), and mission