On the 9th, Jerker returned from Hammerstone after having escorted Jack and Ylindar there. The two fighters remained in the dwarven village. The elf was spending the week with a dwarven master, improving his fighting skills. Jack spent his time sampling the various alehouses. Along with Jerker came an elf called Aerandir who was keen to learn more about the magical crafting recently done by Tienarth. When they arrived, they found Azrak and Violet at the mine.
Azrak considered himself the king of a goblin tribe that lived in a cave. Jerker asked if he approved of the captured gnoll left in the cave, and while the dwarf approved of the gift, he had no knowledge of it until tell. He’d not been back to the cave for months. Where he met Violet remained a mystery.
Ollie quizzed Grubbycheek about forging. There was no forge at the mine. Gold ore was shipped back to Hammerstone for smelting. Ollie was surprised, but Grubbycheek explained the trouble of having a smoky furnace in the mine. Asked for a recommendation, the miner provided extensive directions for finding Groongromri Onyxback, a blacksmith in Hammerstone.
A party assembled straight away for another descent into the tunnels. They were Aerandir (elf mage), Azrak (dwarf fighter), Hocuspo (human mage), Jerker (human fighter), Merana (elf cleric of Nebro), Nate (human paladin of the Anointed One), Ollie (dwarf fighter), Tienarth (elf mag), and Violet (dwarf fighter). They met no resistance as they went down the tunnels into the first level, then down to Level 4.
On the way to Level 9, a giant spider jumped on Ollie’s back. Jerker grabbed it forcefully. Aerandir and Nate both bashed the life out of it. Ollie was relieved that none were poisoned. He sawed off the spider’s head and squeezed it into his magical backpack. Spider guts oozed over the other things kept in the bag.
They arrived on Level 9 to find the giant beetle corpses mostly unchanged, with some evidence of them being eaten. Meranda poked around and disturbed a fire beetle that scurried off towards the next chamber where the ants were fought. The party pursued it until they came to the edge of a third chamber filled with innumerable fire beetles that displayed anger.
Presently, forty giant beetles streamed out of their nest and around legs to fill the chamber. They began nipping at ankles, event leaping up to bite at exposed flesh. Hocuspo levitated high above the floor to keep out of reach. The rest of them began fighting the beetles with glowing eyes. Tienarth in his usual dragon form had no trouble grabbing beetles with both claws and biting down, spreading beetle guts in an arc.
Aerandir swung his maul at the beetles, but was soon overcome. He tumbled to the floor as a beetle severed his head. Someone hollered to Violet to retreat, and she obeyed. Over several minutes, they suffered a few bites but the swarm of beetles gradually dwindled until the last was smashed.
Just then, a goblin arrived, claiming to servant to Azrak. He noticed the dead elf and immediately began eating. Jerker seemed mildly disturbed.
Ollie crept south and peered into an adjoining chamber. He spied crystalline figures of roughly human shape moving eggs and larvae between containers. The party debated fleeing or attacking for a few minutes. Eventually, Jerker hurled a bolder at one of the crystal men, cracking it and producing a show of sparks. Every automaton swiveled to face the intruders and alarm sounded. The two forces rushed together, though Merana, Violet and the goblin called Bunt kept back.
After a short battle, the took notice of a large hoop of steel filled with green fire. Behind the hoop was a green manat symbol which Ollie quickly scooped up into his pack. Some experimentation with the portal ensued. A few items were sent through and eventually the goblin leaped through. A few minutes later, he returned. He said he heard a voice telling him not to look for treasure. Azrak also tried the portal. In the end, they decided to stay on Level 9 and finish exploring its chambers, of which there was only one remaining.
To the east they found the ant nest, a tangle of wires and debris that also was stuffed with many valuables. There were thousands of coins and many pieces of fine jewelry. Ollie spent considerable time transferring it all into his backpack. And when he was done, they traveled back to the surface to rest in the mine once again.
End Notes
- Days
- 12/9 Exploring Doukreg tunnels
- Treasure
- 20,000 sp
- 25,000 ep
- 28,000 gp
- Anklet 1200 gp
- Anklet 1500 gp
- Belt 1000 gp
- Belt 1200 gp
- Brooch 1500 gp
- Choker 700 gp
- Choker 1100 gp
- Clasp 1000 gp
- Comb 1100 gp
- Earring 800 gp
- Goblet 900 gp
- Letter Opener 700 gp
- Letter Opener 1100 gp
- Medal 1200 gp
- Necklace 600 gp
- Necklace 1300 gp
- Pin 500 gp
- Pin 1000 gp
- Statuette 900 gp
- Emerald Manat
- Combat 2,770 xp
- Giant Black Widow Spider 175 xp
- 40 Giant Fire Beetles 25 xp each
- 11 Crystal Living Statues 145 xp each
- Characters 308 xp each (9 shares)
- Aerandir (killed by fire beetle)
- Azrak (underground, fight) 314
- Bunt 308 xp
- Hocuspo 339 xp
- Jerker (fight) 342 xp
- Merana (500 xp bonus) 808 xp
- Nate (fight, 500 xp bonus) 842 xp
- Ollie (underground, fight, lead, 500 xp bonus) 817 xp
- Tienarth 308 xp
- Violet (underground) 311 xp