Ghevont stomped back into the shrine room, goggler blood spattered on his minotaur armor. The battle had ended poorly for the gogglers and for York, one of the young warriors sent by Bremlai to spy on Tienarth’s Raiders. Yet sentimentality was never their custom, and they spent no more than a few moments in thought while Jerker, Harlan and Leveret scoured York’s body for valuables.
Presently, Aderian urged them to try a nearby door. It yielded a small crypt containing six sarcophagi. A thick dust spread over the floor, revealing no footprints. They all pushed into the room to examine the graves, pushing the tops off. Up sprung mummies which they fought with gusto and fire. Aderian, Ferris and Leveret suffered minor wounds, contracting mummy rot which slows healing. It wasn’t long before the monsters were dead.
They next moved south and west to find a room with a wide, spiral stair descending into darkness. From above, the circular hole seemed to have a pentagram design which unnerved them. They retreated and shut the door. Moving east, a door opened to small, foul-smelling room across which was a 4-foot tall pipe opening shut with bars. On the other side, to their great surprise, was Longstream. Aderian rushed into the room, narrowly avoiding a pit trap. He offered Longstream swig of whiskey as they worked the bars free. The halfling had traveled to Tosasth on his own and spotted a sewer entrance which was too tempting to pass up. He wandered beneath the dead city until he’d come up to this room.
Upstairs
It was declared that nothing interesting could be left in the tower basement and perhaps even the tower itself. Other voice advocated for going up the tower, arguing that they’d only briefly seen the second floor. Ghevont then recalled the lady ghast who mocked them earlier in the day and he lead the charge up the stairs, kicking the door to her suite open. With one swift blow of his magic mace, he crushed her skull. Next, they piled into the nearby room of Marchart, another ghast. Aderian and Longstream each found boxes of coins in these rooms.
On the third floor, they found a bedroom where a motionless body knelt, frozen in prayer and clutching a silver elven holy symbol. Aderian kicked the corpse, which spill across the floor. He pocketed the holy symbol. Tienarth noted ancient scrolls that seemed to be about history that crumbled to dust when picked up.
Ghevont quickly addressed the door across the hallway and was surprised to be faced by a black pudding. It slapped him with its acidic pseudopod. It sizzled against his bare forearm. On the floor was a green-glowing crystal. Harlan dashed into smash it. They remembered the elven crypts near St. Orlan where green crystals seemed to summon black puddings regularly. They also recalled that little but fire could harm them. Tienarth had few spells to cast, and Ferris was at a disadvantage, injured and unable to heal.
Many flasks of oil were prepared while Ghevont and Harlan attacked the shapeless black blob, splitting it into three parts. Soon, an inferno raged in the small bedroom. The pudding landed another good blow to Ghevont which he shrugged off. Harlan stood up the pudding, swinging the borrowed bone ax. A flask of oil crashed against his back. He dropped the ax and clutched uselessly as flesh exploded charred blisters. He fell to his knees, and the next moment a wave of black goo engulfed him. A few moments later, the relentless fire burned away the last of the pudding. Nothing was left of the warrior or the magic ax he once held.
Flee from the Golem
His thirst for vengeance still unslaked, Ghevont rushed up another flight of stairs and threw open another door. Facing the door before a shrine stood a motionless, clay statue holding a bag in cradled hands. Jerker produced a long pole which he used in an attempt to retrieve the bag at a distance. Instead, he merely knocked it to the floor. Instantly, the figure animated, stepping forward. Jerker jumped back. Longstream slammed the door shut. All but Ghevont dashed for the stairs.
Longstream remained at the door as the clay golem smashed through the door, splintering it. The next moment it slammed the diminutive halfling who then scrambled back to his one good foot and his peg leg. Although slow, his fastest speed was still enough to keep ahead of the golem. Meanwhile, Ghevont raged at his comrades retreating backs, then consigned himself to joining them. Soon they were out of the tower and heading into the city.
Still nagged by his displeasure, Ghevont quarreled with the plan for returning to Imra Herrel. He refused to have any more dealings with the black knight who may have been honorable but remained a undead and therefore evil. The sour-faced cleric produced and read a scroll. A shimmering orb of protection radiated from him. Leveret and Jerker followed along as the the rest made for Imra’s mansion.
They met Pansa at the door but did not wait for an audience. They instructed the grotesque servant to pass along their intent to leave the city for a period. Pansa confirmed that he would tell his master. And then they made to leave the city by the most direct route. Unfortunately, they encountered two blood shrouds. Fearing the worst, Tienarth read from an invisibility scroll that instantly hid them from the advancing undead. Under this cover, they avoided any more trouble and before long found themselves back at the bridge camp where they found Ghevont and the two young warriors waiting.
They made camp that night and then walked back to their home base over the next two days. On the journey, Ghevont healed Ferris and Aderian of their mummy rot disease.
End Notes
- Treasure
- Two boxes of coins 2000 gp, 1000 sp
- Silver elven holy symbol worth 500 sp
- Kills 7,490 xp or 1,070/each
- 6 Mummies killed earlier (session #101) 2,700 xp
- 6 Mummies in the crypt 2,700 xp
- 2 Ghasts 250 xp
- Black pudding: 1,390 xp
- 6 zombies 450 xp
- Characters
- Aderian (fight) 1,188 xp
- Ferris 1,177 xp
- Ghevont (smite undead, heal) 1,198
- Jerker (fight)1,188 xp
- Harlan: died
- Leveret (fight)1,188 xp
- Longstream (fight) 1,081
- Tienarth (avoid combat) 1,081