Session #9
Another small party session. This time a long time player Patrick returned and wanted to take his character Peppin out who had spent the last months living with the Berserker's on one of the midisles learning to master rage. In the months he spent there he spent time and money gathering some of the berserker berries and made them into a wine to imbue at a later time. He joined up with a pair of characters unfamiliar to him Rene (who stands a mere 4'7) and Valin (whose player had to be absent half the session). They decide they wish to pursue finding relics of ancient empire for sale to bickering kings.
They caught a ship off of the Isle of the Berserkers and got deposited at the fort of Racketbask which guards the passage north of the mountains that form the boundary between East and West Frankia. The fort and the road that passes through it is currently heavily used due to the ongoing war East of the mountains. Even stationary armies require large amounts of supplies.
From the fort they march east to the fallen city known as Namousus. Kneehigh stone walls torn down to repair roads needed for armies. Picked over on the surface by caravan guards and soldiers looking for easy relics to make small fortunes. None stay at night none stray beneath the streets. Those that do never return.
Peppin hearing this promptly boasts of his intent to survive the night in the city. Rene eggs him on to increase the boast (for a 2nd reward) to
I will survive the night in a dungeon beneath the ruined streets of Nemousus
With this boast they set out to find a way beneath the streets which they soon find. Inside a ruined home hidden behind a wall is a stairwell. They as a group head down and find a room filled with red sand. Strange footprints crossing back and forth across the chamber to the stairs and the lone exit.
They cross the room placing a snare on the doorway to see if they can catch these creatures crossing the chamber and head south. Soon they find a room with one wall with stone pulled out of the walls and the beginnings of a tunnel appearing there.
They go in the eastern tunnel and soon find the end caved in and decide to go back lacking the items to excavate this passageway.
When backtracking they find they have been trailing the red sand so they decide to take 10 minutes and clean all that sand off themselves.
Thus cleaned they go south and find a fork in the passage. The southern passage seemingly carved out of the earth while the eastern is more manufactured. They decide to stay in the more manufactured tunnels and go east through a chamber filled with rotten and broken barrels. They decide to try to kill a rat here looking for a meal for the night. They fail. They discuss the merits of cooking rats (their tails have good mouthfeel).
The group keeps going further east finding another chamber. Dozens of small niches set into the walls. Looking in them they are filled with old decayed rat chewed shoes and sandals. Hundreds of them. The group looks around and sees two exits one a door on the north in set to the wall and one to the south an open passage the faint glimmering of light apparent in the distance.
The group tries the door to the north but fail to open it as it appears to be barred on the other side and not enough of them can reach the door at a time to get good force on it.
They instead head south and find a set of stairs up. Words in Latin carved into the walls. Peppin decides that their last 1 slot of language is going to be used to know written latin. These are the words they find.
JULIUS HAS A BIG PENIS
JULIUS HAS A DISEASE OF THE CROTCH
GAULS LIKE IT ROMAN STYLE
I, ANTIOCHUS, SHAT ON THE MOTHER OF THEOPHILUS. SHE SAID THANK YOU.
The stairs up lead to the surface and the group goes up into what was once a large estate. Here they see some broken down pillars and decide to use one of them as a battering ram to break down the door to the north of the shoe room.
They take it down and it works the door shattering and clambering to the ground with a thunderous crash. This draws attention.
From the west comes the creatures. 6 in number being pulled forward by star-nosed moles of massive proportions. This is the description of the creature.
Clicking moving hearts beating too fast under translucent skin, bead shaped eyes that squint unfamiliar with light, chitin covering back and sides, appendages poorly adapted for weapons cling to tools for carving the earth, finger like protrusions stick out from the face twitching relentlessly toward mandibles that form its mouth.
Some of these wore armor made of the flagstones of the dungeon itself. One wore armor made of leather obviously sourced from a man. His face permanently stretched in a grim face on the flank of the beast. In their hands they carry swords made of ancient roman design. On their hunched backs are carried javelins with flint tips.
The group absolutely nopes out and immediately flees up the stairwell to the south. Escaping into the light of day. Now approaching evening. They know they must return to the dungeon so they look at their options.
What they discover is that a set of items that Peppin has carried for some time, 3 jars with a burning heart stored in cooking oil, is actually the component for fireball. Thus a plan is rapidly made. Tariq will go down the passage and make a lot of noise while Peppin waits at the stairs. They will fireball these creatures and burn them to pieces.
Tariq stands in the chamber of shoes and screams and hollers and calls for these creatures. Soon enough a response happens. The group from before reinforced to 8 strong comes sprinting out at Rene. Throwing javelins with odd disjointed movements as they come.
Rene flees up the hall and dodges the attacks as they come in time for Peppin's thrown jar of salamander heart and cooking oil over his head and deep into the room of shoes. The blast knocks Rene off his feet and shakes the earth the heat wave instantly killing the 8 underdwellers and leaving their 2 giant moles scrambling in dying moments aflame and sure to die within seconds.
Seeing the damage done and feeling the earth shake (and hearing some other few remaining scavengers cry out in fear of the sound and movement) Tariq boasts
I will be the first down this tunnel to make sure it is cleared out
Thus they enter the passage finding the room blown to bits. The creatures all dead, the door blown into the northern chamber and smoke crowding the ceiling.
They head west to see if they can find where these creatures came from and find the passage way has caved in. A tunnel down under the passage has opened. They poke their heads in and don't see anything and thus continue on before turning southwest into a room filled with hundreds of bones all sharpened and jammed into the walls and floor and ceilings of this short chamber.
They stop and listen here and hear noises from further south and thus decide that going up and searching the newly opened passage may be a good idea. However when they arrive they see a group of these Underdwellers standing there inspecting the damage. They notice the group by their torchlight as the party notices them and they immediately charge these invaders to their domain.
A fight breaks out with several of the creatures going down rapidly to a great many spear and axe strikes in this more open chamber. 5 in total die here landing a single blow on Valin and leaving him wounded but standing before the survivors scramble down into the open chamber another dropping as they flee before they scramble off to the north.
The party stands there and realize they could pursue but that would put them at great risk.
Instead they go and look through the door to the north of the shoe room and find a chamber with many tall pillars. Stairs leading up into darkness barely visible in the darkness. However the darkness doesn't last long as several beings of fire soon descend onto the group and when Rene tries to speak to them he is met by an attack of fire caught on the shield of the guarding Peppin. The group decides not to fight here and flees south and into the open where they see these creatures do not pursue them. They do however recover 6 swords of ancient make from this group splitting them among themselves as treasure to be sold later.
They then decide to go outside in the fading light and go back in the passage to the red sand chamber and Peppin uses the 2nd of his burning hearts in the chamber just south of them. Pouring it out on the ground and using it to have a large fire there that lasts a long time. They then camp in this chamber.
Though they rolled 2 encounters with the underdwellers I had them roll morale after having lost so many of their numbers to this group who is not actively attacking them and they in both times failed pretty drastically so I had them flee away from the resting party.
This left the group leaving the dungeon in the morning as the first of the scavengers begin arriving where they see this group. Covered in soot and smelling strongly of grease bearing strange swords of ancient design it soon becomes evident they did in fact stay the night beneath the streets of Nemausus.
Returning to Racketbask word soon spreads of this suicidal accomplishment and Peppin covered in soot and smelling of smoke and grease soon becomes known to the troops of West Frankia and the merchants that pass through as Peppin Smokeclad. Though none here would pay more then the price of a blade to them for the swords they consider this adventure a success.
