After slaying the goggler butcher, the party cautiously retreated back towards the entrance where they met the pirate Aderian. In the distance, thick rope held the Crimson Disgrace to the pier. Eagerly, Aderian joined the party in further exploration.
Monstrous Mural
They crept through the right arch to find a room with three doors. A freshly-painted mural depicted Ghot with his arm around a monstrous amalgamation of woman and lobster. His other arm held a strangled angel. The profane scene evoked revulsion in man and lizardman alike.
The western door opened to reveal short hallway. The first door they came to was locked. They crept farther, around a bend and to a place with two opposing doors, behind one of which could be heard repetitive, tuneless chanting in goggler tongue. Azrak kicked open the door and stepped inside, followed by Ferris and Ghevont. A goggler priest lay prone atop a pile of rotting riverweed, flopping stubby fish arms as he babbled and gurgled in goggler-song.
Goggler Battle
The goggler stood up and made an incomprehensible threat. Battle began, with the party filed back through a five-foot hallway. The goggler held Ghevont with a spell. Ferris dragged him out of the room as Azrak looked for a opening for a clean shot.
Presently, a group of gogglers approached from the east, down the hallway. Ferris, Aderian and Tienarth backtracked to the mural room to flank the new attackers. Kuhvirhuk stayed in the corner, lantern held high. Inside the room, Azrak slew the goggler priest as the other gogglers pressed forward. The caster dead, Ghevont was released and rushed back into the room.
Ferris and Aderian fought a losing battle with gogglers in the mural room. Both their lives hung in the balance. Ferris ran back to protect Kuhvirhuk, and he slew two goggler guards.
With little light inside the room, Ghevont began bashing at a wooden partition wall. When he finally broke through, he found another goggler priest, half dazed and holding a smoking pipe. Aderian kicked at the locked door into this room, eventually breaking it open to join the fight. Ferris ran back to the first room and squeezed through the gash in the wall.
Meanwhile, two gogglers emerged from the door opposite the one they’d opening first. At the site of such slaughter, the remaining gogglers fled.
Return to Civilization
Exhausted, the party retreated. They decided the the total haul recovered on this expedition was well worth returning to civilization, so they sailed back to Slateholm. A week later, they anchored nearby, understanding that the Crimson Disgrace was not welcome in port. They split the treasure with the pirates in equal shares despite the previous arrangement that favored the party. They were relieved not to be betrayed by the pirates.
Back in Slateholm, the party begin a well-deserved rest of several months, during which they trained. At some time during their down time, Ghevont enlisted the help of Benibil to discover the pearl he’d recovered from the goggler in the temple was a Pearl of St. Bredayn, which allows the storing of divine spell energy. He also paid for the identification of vials of black liquid as poison. Those he distributed to other party members. Ferris paid to identify two potions of polymorph self.
Ghevont and Azrak made some trades of items, first the Ring of Sheebalb for Azrak’s hammer. Subsequently, Ghevont desired Azrak’s ring of animal conversation and offered to trade back the hammer for the ring. This operation required the removal of a curse, a curse everyone knew the ring inflicted on Azrak. After the blessing an identification of the ring, they found the ring to be one of delusion, that Azrak was never actually conversing with animals.
Azrak wondered about acquiring a canine companion. Tienarth asked Benibil about how he might recharge his wands. Everyone wondered what happened to Globo and Nebula.
Endnotes
- Characters in this session: Tienarth/Tre, Ferris/Henry, Ghevont/Jeff, Azrak/Nick, Aderian/Jason, Abor/NPC, Kuhvirhuk/NPC
- New rules about animal companions
- New rules about wand recharging