Session Notes for 2005-02-24

Eight and I begin magically scanning the cargo. Lin climbs on top of the train and heads forward to see if anything is happening.

Upon reaching the third passanger car, Lin hears a scream. She peers in a window to see four warforged threatening passangers. One wears and engineer's cap. Lin sneaks down to the back of the car, quietly opens the door, and fires a bolt at a blood covered warforged threatening a passenger. The bolt sinks into the warforged's neck, black fluid oozes out. Lin runs toward the back of the train, shouting, "Incoming!"

Blast, we're barely a quarter of the way done scanning. Nevertheless, we stop and prepare. When Lin bursts through the door, we're ready. Eight fires magical missiles at the lead warforged; it drops to the ground, destroyed. We surround the door. The second warforged tries to dart past. Red strikes him down before he passes. The next takes a bolt from Eight and is bitten by Idno. I finish it off.

Red advances on the last warforged. It begins singing in a baritone voice, invoking the aide of the Lord of Blades. Red finishes him off.

375 4 warforged

We check the bodies over. Their equipment is of poor quality. We leave it.

We head forward to see the passengers. One of the passenger compartments is open. One of the conductors is sprawled out in the doorway; it's the member of the Church of the Silver Flame. A pool of blood surrounds him. He's dead.

A figure steps out of the compartment. It's Lucan. He sees us and flies up through the roof, breaking a hole. He transforms into a bat and flies off toward a copse of trees.

Most of the passengers are alright, but one woman is dead.

We track down the remaining conductor. He's trying to calm the passengers and fiddling with some sort of messenging device. He's not happy when we announce our intention to take the horses. When pushed, he says they're probably worth about 600 gold each. Blast.

Lin and Red steal one of the horses. Eight and I run afterward. We head after the vampire bat.

Once into the forest Red quickly picks up Lucan's trail. He's switched back to human form. Eight and I follow the horse tracks.

From a tall hill a large city can be seen far to the north. It's days away and may have been our destination in Karnath. Deeper into the forest is a temple of some sort, perhaps half a days ride.

Early in the afternoon Lin and Red reach the temple. Eight and I are several hours away. Lucan's tracks lead to the temple. The temple is a large, stepped, ziggarat.

Eight and I arrive near sunset. We have about an hour. We climb the stairs up.

The entry room's walls are covered with wavy patterns. Pillars to either side are covered with eight inch discs that give them the look of octopus tentacles. A high pitched wail fills the room. The wail is eerie and offputting; Red and Lin are shaken by it.

A long black cloak slips from one of the columns and floats into the room, revealing itself to be a cloaker. It swoops over to us. It envelopes me and begins biting me. It's strong, I struggle ineffectively. It continues to bite me while lashing at the rest of the party with its barbed tail. At the party strikes the cloaker they accidentally strike me as well. Eight blasts it with magic missiles. Red continues to slash it. Eventually the bites from the cloaker and the accidental damage from my fellow party members causes me to collapse, barely concious.

The cloaker lifts off me and attempts to envelope Red. Red pushes it off. Red stabs the cloaker in the head, slaying it.

375 cloaker

The room is quiet. With a spell and a potion I heal myself.

Looking around, I guess that this temple is a from an old goblin religion from the height of the Dhaakani Empire, an old goblin empire.

We move cautiously across the room. At the other end is a short set of stairs up. Above is a similarly sized room. An altar sits on a dais in the middle of the room. The far walls are decorated with frescos of learing demons. The ceiling is covered with small hooks. Four chains run from the ceiling corners to corners of the altar. The altar has had a human sized depression cut into it. The depression is stained red.

Lin finds a small concealed drawer on the altar. She finds what appears to be a trap and tries to disable it. She opens the drawer without triggering the trap. Inside are rotten priestly vestments, an emerald cut into some goblin holy symbol, and several potions of healing.

375 trap

We head further in. Up another short flight of steps is a similarly sized room. The walls are covered with carved animal heads. Many of their eyes flicker with emeralds. A huge, rotting minotaur with an axe stands behind a stone table. The undead minotaur raises its axe.

Red advances and strikes the abberition. I attempt to drive it back, but it ignores my attempt. Red, Idno, and I surround it while Eight and Lin fire upon it. We slowly wound it, avoiding taking any wounds. Then Red steps the wrong way and the minotaur sinks its axe into her. Red falls to the ground in a pool of her own blood. Eight races forward and pours a potion of healing down Red's throat, saving her. Lin tosses Red another potion of healing. The abomination strikes me, seriously wounding me. I fall back.

The abomination slams its axe into Idno, badly damaging the construct. Red advances back on the minotaur. She drives he tangat into its neck. The head of the undead pops off and it collapses.

425 undead minotaur

Eight picks up the minotaur's great axe, it's magical in some way.

Further on there is a landing. Stairs head up and down. Upwards is a sealed stone door. It's sealed with arcane and demonic runes. Beyond is the sound of angry fists slamming agains the stone. We can hear Lucan beyond shouting, "Free me, free me!"

Eight examines the runes. They were used for great ceremonies. They are heavily warded to keep evil influences in. Eight believes we can easily open the door.

Lucan is trapped for now. We head outside and rest for the night. Lin uses the evening to grab the emerald eyes.