Session Report #8
Many players where unable to make this session so we decided to go outside the normal frame of what the group is doing and I would throw the group into a dungeon in Hwicce. Caer Dymunol the last resting place of Queen Dyfid the last Brythonic queen of Eoforwic where she holed herself up with all her treasures and troops to withstand the siege of norsemen.
The group goes to this place a burnt ruin sticking out from the green fields of Hwicce and search about in it. Soon they find a trap door covered by a stone pillar and work as a team to haul it out of place. One of their number leading the way then leaping into the dark soot filled air below carrying a torch into the dark.
They search the area finding doorways empty their hinges melted into puddles of slag. Silence fills the halls.
Progressing south they find a chamber the once occupants huddled into the center burnt to crisps within armor deformed by heat.
They then turn east finding a chamber the east wall spiderwebbed with cracks with bones splayed across the ground in the northeast corner. When the group enters with the torch the bones stir moving and coalescing together held together by sinews of fire and smoke into a worm-like creature that seeks the heat of fire.
At this point Emersende has an idea. She boasts that she will matador this bone beast into the wall and shatter it. To do this they make a plan to toss the torch back and forth inciting the boneworm to charge them and they will dodge out of the way when it approaches. If they fail to dodge out of the way the full might of the creature sure to smash them to pieces.
The first charge happens hell bent on smashing Emersende standing there with a torch in front of the wall. She manages to dodge and the creature hits the wall spreading the cracks even further and shattering a few bones that make up the creature.
Unhappy with this not breaking the wall they dedicate themselves to throwing the torch to another adventurer who catches it and places themself in the doorway to the next chamber before attempting to dodge out of the way.
They fail taking 3 high powered attacks but due to their excellent armor and having boasted before they manage to survive the attack and throw the torch back to Emersende who places herself once more in front of the wall set on having the creature break it down.
It takes the bait once more desiring the heat of the torch to warm dead bones. It charges. Emersende tries to dodge but just barely doesn't get out of reach. The creature gets her but smashes into the wall in the process smashing it to pieces. Stones falling on it and Emersende. Emersende dies. The creature survives. Smashed barely holding together bathing in the blood of the now slain Emersende seeking whatever warmth it can find in the last beats of her heart.
The group decides they will not let this creature survive and they close in on it. The fight is hard and the adventurers are heavily wounded by the end but they destroy this worm without further losses.
They go into the now opened chamber beyond the fallen stones and discover greater treasure then any of them had ever before seen. Chests of silver, iconography of christian and pagan gods alike, a great statue of a tongued creature cradling children in its arms, and lying on the floor in front of it a woman's corpse. Unburnt but lying there in silvered mail, a fine sword on her hip, a horn of ivory cracked at hand, and on her finger a ring of the finest quality.
At this moment in their moment of bittersweet victory an apparition appears screeching in rage at the presence of a torch and moves straight towards its bearer. The torchbearer Asvid drops the torch snuffing it as she approaches him hoping to befriend the womans apparition and it works. Instead of claws of icy cold he feels a desperate grasping hand and hears pleas for help.
He takes her hand and offers to help her leading her away from the group allowing them to start hauling out the silver and the corpse within. They get all but one chest of silver out and one of them removes the head from what the group assumes is the dead queen Dyfed hoping this removes the apparition from down below. It does not however the queen wanders from the presence of Asvid.
The group when pulling out the last of the chests is suprised by a spirit appearing screaming in pain as it seems to fight invisible flames that embrace it. It stumbles and falls within the chamber of the boneworm and where it falls a dozen skeletons made of the bones of the defeated worm piece together. Begging for help they stumble forward on the party grasping and pulling at them. Their bones sharp as knives their touch prone to wound and kill.
The group decides to stand and fight wanting to not abandon the last of these heavy chests. This appears to have been a mistake because even with Ruda running from the entrance to help the party rapidly starts falling one by one. Asvid and Percy both dying at the grasp of pleading dead. Ruda giving up on the fight flees and escapes back up a rope to escape taking the dead Emersende's horse and escaping with all the treasures (minus a fine blade held by the dead Asvid) and returning to safety with the silver and items off of the queen. The religious icons left behind.
#session-report