Session 5: A Side Trip to Graves

The Saga Continues:

Back in the light of day.

Rhin, a dwarf, unclanned. Seeking a weapons master, he hires a half-orc thug and his lout of a friend to guide him down a river in the Northwestern foothills of Crieste. Deceit. Poisoned rations. Before the ill effects set in he pummels the fools, sends them overboard, then poison, then darkness.

The dwarf comes to, still in the boat, still on the river now underground. An uneventful hours journey. Further into the depths fortune turns. Rapids, stalagmites and stalactites batter his boat, it begins to sink. Ahead, shoreline. A mighty heave of equipment, then a not so mighty jump, he lands in water, struggles against the current, but pulls himself to shore none the worse for wear.

Two humans, battle weary, armor covered in gore accompanied by two black clad halflings emerge from a cave at the top of the cavern. The group sees a dwarf make an ungraceful exit of his sinking boat.

A gruff exchange between human paladin and dwarf warblade. Armor is re-donned. The two sides size each other up. Eventually the warblade agrees to add his axe to the motley crew only so long as there are worthy foes to be slain, battles to be won.

In shadows Mannon feels the taint a palpable evil. His skin turning a sickly yellow and seeping of an oily residue. A whisper in his ear perhaps too? Washing in the river, the taint does not wash away.

Time to move forward. Into the mushroom boats. Rhin and Prophit in one, Krius, Alton, and Mannon the other. Currents pull, the boats bob and move with the rapids. Out of the darkness, silent on an invisible web, an eight legged giant drops. A sticky mass of webbing is launched. Rhin and Krius hold the boats against the current, weapons are drawn. A mighty axe swing is followed up by a fall from the boat. Back into the water. Rhin catches himself with one hand on the side of the crude boat, axe held in his other.

Mannon reacts, he stands, summons a blast of his newly found eldritch power. The unstable boat tips beneath his feet. He slips and is overboard too. He catches himself next to the warblade. Their boat drifts into the spiders web. The spider descends, poison fangs cut into the dwarf, hardy blood saves him from poison, this time.

Krius holds his boat steady, Alton slings magical shadow and Prophit fires bolts into the vermin, it writhes in pain, but lives to fight on launching a net of webbing enveloping the paladin in sticky stands. Mannon and Rhin pull themselves from the water, the spider steps over them and fangs wound deep. Prophit reels, but the power of his deity is with him and the poison is resisted.

Alton summons mysterous stinging shadow, launches it at the spider as the warblade rights himself, re-grips his axe and delivers the death blow to the arachnid felling it with a great swing of his blade. Mannon summons fire from his sword, webs are cut, the boats drift forward.

In an enormous cavern, the water calm, silent, to the east is a grotto. The boats are beached the area examined and a collapsed tunnel found. Krius senses evil. Rhin, ready for a fight on solid ground crawls into the confined quarters of the cave. In it, the rotten and vile putrescence of the undead. Claws swipe, teeth snap, unable to fight the dwarf retreats. The corpse emerges, longsword and battle-axe combine, the foe crumbles.

Back into the crawl space, this time the paladin leads, the cleric backing him up. Two more ghouls, teeth, claws, ravenous hunger of the damned. Prophit brandishes a holy symbol, the abominations flee.

Into a chamber. Coldness and unearthed graves everywhere. An old battered door and tunnel lead out. Shuffling, clacking. The ghouls return, along with them four animated skeletons wielding half-rotten wooden shields and rusted scimitars. Fighting ensues. Alton surrounds himself in armor of shadow and draws crossbow. Krius attempt to sunder a shield but the skeleton is fast, counter attacks, lands a deep cut to the Paladin. A ghoul takes a bite out of Rhin. Alton's crossbow bolts miss their mark. The group overwhelmed, Prophit again summons holy light. The skeletal warriors crumble into dust but the ghouls fight on.

From the door bursts another undead abomination, stinking of decay and rot, more vicious than the rest. Mannon is attacked, recoils from the stench, retreats. Unholy terror lunges towards the cleric and paladin. Rhin drops a ghoul but is sickened by the odor of decay, he staggers, claws sink into the cleric, he goes to the ground unable to move. More fighting, more wounds. Krius unleashes holy smite, Mannon throws a vial of oil, the ghastly living dead bats it away it lands on the cleric covering him. Rhin recovers from sickness, his axe hits true, the foul being finds true death.

Wounded, sickened, paralyzed, tainted, in an oppressive chilled graveyard cavern the group takes time to recover from battle...

The characters present:
* Alton (Aaron), halfling shadowcaster
* Mannon (Dave), halfling swordsage/warlock
* Prophit (Jeff, absent ran by DM), human cleric
* Squire Krius (Matt), human paladin
* Rhin No-Clan (Jim), dwarf warblade

Rumors gathered (this session):
* The spider had a three fingered claw symbol on his abdomen.
* Rhin hired a half-orc and his lout friend as "guides" when described to the group they sound suspiciously like Grug and Trogdar.

Treasure found (this session):
* nothing found this session

Foes/traps/tricks overcome (this session):
* navigating the river and fight against the spider
* 1 ghoul
* 2 ghouls
* 4 skeletons
* 1 stench ghoul

Experience gained (this session):
610 each player