Session 5 Recap & Experience Points Awards

 

Bidding farewell to Sione Bari, the company emerged back into the daylight and continued its search for the remaining martenweres. Trekking east, the party came first to a line of stones making a practical causeway across a wide channel in the Rock Marsh. Who might have placed the stones there, or why, or when—these were all questions so shrouded in mystery that none of the weary adventurers bothered asking. They simply formed up, and proceeding cautiously across—vigilantly scanning through the entire crossing for alligators and other waterborne threats.  

But they reached the other side safely and without incident. There, the party immediately came upon a fantastic stone lady, carved into an outcropping on the western face of another towering rock formation. Seemingly elven or half-elven, the long-haired, slender figure wore flowing robes and held an ornate mage’s staff in her right hand. The elves in the company immediately recognized her as the revered Aisul Awar, a Sentinel of the Last Age.  

Why such an immaculate carving of the venerated alpine elf would be found here was not entirely clear. But the domains of the Five Sentinels were never clearly marked. And the Rock Marsh does not lie so far from the Fertile Pocket—the highly-arable region of the valley and crossed by the great “Three Sisters” rivers. It was in the slopes above these rivers above that Awar settled and built her famous Chateau of the Three Sisters—and perhaps in the Last Age her gaze did extend so far as these swamps.

Whatever its origin or purpose, the company quickly found that the statue marked a narrow path through weeds and muck, leading around the sheer cliff face and to an easy track up the rock mount. Climbing quickly up, the group reached its broad, mostly flat summit and gazed down upon a full 360º view of the Rock Marsh. Above, however, clouds and gloom still concealed the far horizons.

But with more caves to uncover and more martenweres to confront, the company did not linger long. Scampering back down to ground level, the party proceeded eastward around the broad rock tower and before long passed a conspicuous barrow mound off the edge of the furrowed footpath. There was no marker other than a pattern of white-bleached stones, arranged in a symmetrical “S” shape, that topped the piled earth.

The company probed around the grave for clues. The grave looked fairly recent—less than a year old. But there was no indication of its occupant’s identity, or who dug the grave or placed the stones upon it. At last the elven spellsword Vagar began dislodging the stone to check beneath them. But there was nothing to be found—not on the surface, anyway. None in the party could tell whether merely moving the stones had crossed any line drawn in the canons of whichever unknown deity oversaw this tomb. But excavation surely would, so the party moved on.

Following the trail as it dipped southward to a broad black crag, the company soon came upon the yawning entrance to yet another cave. A brief search revealed a second, less conspicuous entrance—but one that also dove sharply into the ground and was so tight that the characters would need to have crawled through. So the party opted for the broad opening, which sloped gently downward into a sweeping tunnel branches that branched off in several directions.

The company opted for the first left turn, with the dwarves Jadearch and Brodrath leading the way into what proved an ample, slightly domed chamber. The walls and floors, they suddenly noticed, were preternaturally clean. But just as they began to grasp their very surroundings, a fearsome sludge suddenly dropped from above the remaining party members who toed the chamber’s threshold or lingered in the passageway behind.

Tristan the enchanter had the misfortune of being the seeming actual target of this clearly animated mass, but he dodged out of the way with astonishing ease and left the mass to reconstitute itself on the floor amidst the startled adventurers.

The company wasted not a single moment. They promptly beat the  strange, living goop with their clubs and staves—and most especially the battle axe of the burly hospitaller Brin Corso, which definitively ended the threat.

“Well,” muttered Jadearch. “Guess that explains that.” The dwarf’s simple comment connected the toxic, deteriorating remains of the grey ooze to the remarkable cleanliness of the room. This was a being not unknown to the realm; elders who sought to keep children out of cellars and crawlspaces often warned children of such sludge creatures, though they not actually seen frequently enough for their existence to be universally agreed upon. But now six men knew for sure.

The gray ooze had clearly consumed anything and everything there was to be consumed in here, right down to the very dirt and dust of the floor. But now its remnants lingered only as a hazard to be stepped-around; no longer did it move, think, or attack.

With this chamber about as literally empty as conceivable, the party returned to the main tunnel and this time too the first rightward turn. This time, the side tunnel continued some distance to a second fork—one tine jogging left and carrying on, the other tine jogging right into another domed cavern. But this time, there was hardly a decision to be made.

As the party approached the division point, a small rock flew startlingly—if harmlessly—from the domed chamber and clanged off the rock wall before the company. Then came another, and an ominous deep groan, and then another rock. Yet there seemed to be no one there.

Several members of the party moved forward to the chamber in hopes of learning who or what had hurled these stones. But on entering, instantly both Brin Corso and the dwarven cleric Brodrath would turn pale as snow and race hysterically away. To their companions, the resolute terror in both men’s eyes was troubling—and yet familiar.  This had not been the company’s first run-in with paranormal fear. Indeed mere hours had passed since Corso himself had last been in the throes of a similarly unnatural trance, one the company suspected may have been magically induced. Now, he was at it again.

And the affliction was worse this second time. For not only had Corso gone running aimlessly down the southward passage, but in turning to flee he had thrown down his battle axe—which the company saw land in a vile puddle of green and red slime that criss-crossed the floor in streaks. Immediately the acidic slime began to dissolve the weapon—helplessly corroding it beyond utility within seconds and making clear that just minutes later the axe would be fully disappeared. Meanwhile the cleric Brodrath threw his own weapon down to meet the same fate—before charging helplessly into darkness along the opposite, northerly path. And still the agonizing groans taunted the party, and still small rocks flew through the air to harass them.

 Realizing the unknown perils their fleeing comrades might stumble into, Ailier Solenight followed Brodrath to the north while Tristan chased Brin Corso to the south. Meanwhile, Vagar the spellsword joined Jadearch in the slime-ridden chamber where the two tracked the hurled stones to three strange, invisible sources. Using silvered weapons and a burning hands spell, the duo managed to swiftly destroy their tormentors—with the magical fire also clearing a good amount of the slime from the chamber floor as well. But the pursuit of the fear-ridden allies would not go nearly as smoothly.

Brodrath reached the end of the north-bearing passage before Ailier caught up to him. There, the passage switched sharply south and Ailier tackled the dazed dwarf just as he awkwardly shifted his course. Luckily, nothing came to meet the pair as Ailier held the dwarf down and waited for the terror episode to pass.

Meanwhile, however, Tristan struggled to catch up with the fleeting form of Brin Corso as he scurried through the twisty southern passages. His best opportunity came when Corso doddered into the grey ooze chamber and almost served himself up as a final meal for the already-deceased sludge being—then reversed course and came face-to-face with Tristan rushing back up the entry hall. Yet Tristan, perhaps confused by the hospitaller’s erratic movements, failed to lay a hand on him. Corso rushed off to the west, and disappeared into a series of forked passageways and branching caverns.

Tristan gave chase for a moment. But when he failed to discern Corso’s path, returned to regroup with the others. Where Brin Corso was now, and what dangers his uncontrolled panic might have carried into, the company dared not imagine.  

Adventure Notes

• Aisul Awar. Little is known in Sekara Valley of the Alpine elven society west of the mountains. Yet most hold the Alpine Elves in high regard for their most famous daughter, Aisul Awar, Sentinel of the Last Age. Known to have been an arcane mage, Awar’s magics are believed to have ensured the bounty of the Fertile Pocket for decades and enabled the rapid growth of the great city Amberdale from what had been in her childhood nothing but an obscure trading post. On the high slopes to the west, Awar’s Chateau of the Three Sisters still stands overlooking those three rivers—even if the people of Sekara Valley have long since lost track, and interest, in the names of those who fill the rooms of that citadel this day.
  

• Grey Ooze. Every dwarf has heard from a young age about the endless variety of strange gases and hazes that rise into caverns and tunnels from the deep earth. Though most are to be avoided, the pink mist that jetted up from crevices in the cave floor proved to have strong healing capacities—even though it degraded quickly in the cavern air. Brodrath has suggested dwarven elders in the Albernear clans or the Temple of Paomoer might know more about this particular variety.

• Poltergeist. Of the many varieties of spirits and haunts known to inhabit the realms, perhaps the most common are the “noisy ghosts,” often called by the Khelgir word “poltergeist,” so often found in old ruins, underground caverns, and other forgotten places. Invisible and sometimes dismissed as mere hallucinations, these spiteful spirits aim try to terrify all who cross their paths—usually through dreadful howls and by hurling small objects with their telekinetic powers. Some poltergeists have also been known to generate highly corrosive, substances known as “slimes,” which can prove destructive or even lethal to any who come into contact with them. Others are rumored to possess even greater powers.

Poltergeist (slime haunt variant)

HP: 2d8    AC: 4    THAC0: n/a

Abilities: invisibility, telekinesis, cause fear (40 radius), only silver or magic weapons can damage

Special: always surrounded by slimes. Characters affected by the poltergeist’s fear have a risk of stepping in the slime, or may discard handheld objects which may land in the slime.

• Slime. The umbrella term “slime” refers generally to any number of sticky, corrosive substances that tend to appear in dark places, often in connection with undead or otherworldly beings. Exactly what chemicals and ichors these slimes are formed from is not well understood, particularly as slimes tend to be unstable and extremely hazardous. Some have even suggested slimes may be sentient beings; this seems dubious, though there can be little doubt that significant biological processes are at work within many (and perhaps all) varieties of slime.

Slimes are generally grouped by colors, of which the most dangerous is are believed to be those of bright green hue. A sufficient quantity of green slime will dissolve animal flesh almost instantly, and metal or wood in over a slightly longer period. Whether or to what extent the dangers of red or blue slime differs from green is not well known—and it is, of course, widely believed that slimes can appear in a practically endless variety of colors.

Experience & Inspiration

• The party defeated a grey ooze and 3 slime haunts in battle. 650 XP.

• The party continued its exploration of the Rock Marsh. Important discoveries included the carved lady, a strange grave with bleached stones arranged in an “S” pattern, and another cave complex. 110 XP.

• The party was also able to ascend the central rock formation, enabling them to see substantially the entire Rock Marsh from above. 125 XP.

Session 5 totals: 885 XP

As noted previously, XP awards from now on will be divided as follows:

• One share to each participating character;
• One share to each participating player.

Applying these rules to this session results in the following distribution:

• Jadearch (2 shares)
• Brodrath (1 share)
• Tristan Pureheart (2 shares)
• Vagar (2 shares)
• Ailier Solenight (2 shares)
• Brin Corso (1 share)

This makes for a total of 10 shares, hence easy math for the DM. Of the total 885 XP, each share is worth 88.5 XP, which we shall round up to 89 XP. Hence Brodrath and Brin Corso each gain 89 XP this session, while Jadearch, Tristan Pureheart, Vagar, and Ailier Solenight each gain 178 XP.

The Rock Marsh (trailhead marked)