Conquering the Barbarian Altanis: Session 182
Adventurers
| Character | Race | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anoran Hall | Human | Cleric level 2 | A thin, wiry, and bald follower of Promehene, the God of Time. He doesn't know what drives him to adventure. |
| Drokh | Human | Monk level 2 | A tall, lean human monk with piercing eyes, weathered skin, and a warrior’s poise—calm and charismatic, he speaks with purpose and strikes with precision, wielding spear, bow, and blade. |
| Ignaeus | Elf | Fighter level 4 / magic-user level 5 | An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone. |
| Julius | Human | Ranger level 1 | A short king covered in bushy hair and green moss. |
| Kenso San | Human | Fighter level 2 | An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone. |
| Leticia | Human | Cleric level 1 | Extremely righteous, borderline zealot, devout follower of Rasthri, Goddess of Strength in Revenge. |
| Minako Konishi | Human | Monk level 3 | Pretty Karakan with grace of a panther and shrewdness of a fox. Silk sash holds here loose trousers in place, while loose jacket rounds up her exotic look. |
| Syd Grundy | Human | Fighter level 3 | Tall, middle aged and scruffy looking man of the wilderness. |
| Tam o' Shanter | Human | Cleric level 4 | A boisterous wine-lover of Losborst on a Great Crusade of the Grape. |
| Thorinda Bung | Human | Monk level 3 | She has blonde hair done up in a tight pony tail and wears light, loose suit. |
| Thorm | Dwarf | Fighter level 2 / thief level 3 | Ashen hair, beard, and eyes. Left his own clan due to financial trouble. |
| Warmund Abendeurer | Human | Fighter level 1 | A burly blonde barbarian; Wilbalt's older brother and the stronger of the two. |
| Wilbalt Abendeurer | Human | Fighter level 2 | A burly blonde barbarian; Warmund's younger brother and a better swordsman of the two. |
Shadowrath 1st, Airday
“Watch out!”
A hateful wight charged Kenso, flailing at him. Thorm punished the dead dearly by delivering a series of blows with his magical weapon. Foul creature seethed and screeched impotently as it attacked the dwarf.
“Huh?!”
Thorinda stood confused as a woman clade in plate tumbled into the soil heap in front of her. Leticia was her name, revenge her guide, and pit trap her deliverer.
“Begone! -hic- Begone!” Tam yelled, his divine utterances disrupted by slightly less divine burps.
The dead fled, leaving the party at peace.
With little time for pleasantries, the adventurers welcomed Leticia, and moved on. They went further west, entering a spacious chamber. An archway with a corridor beyond sat in each corner of the room. An alcove to far west led to barricaded doors.
North-east archway connected to corridors the party had passed through before. South-west archway led to darkness. North-west archway led to a t-junction splitting west and north. Adventurers went north to inspect yet another t-shaped junction. There they were jumped by two bipedal ratmen.
Much to adventurers' chagrin, they quickly learned their mundane weapons cannot cut through the skin of these foul creatures. Thorm, Thorinda, Wilbalt, Kenso and Ignaeus stepped forth.
Ratmen were shocked to feel pain and fled like rats they are. One the the left fled west, and one to the east fled east. Kenso caught, and executed, the former. The latter escaped.
The combat was far from over. West ratman opened doors to the chamber filled with giant rats. They were soon crawling all over the party. At the same time few of the adventurers pursued east. The doors swung open, and five large, hairy, tiger-faced beastmen faced the party.
Total chaos ensued.
Rat stomping.
Beastmen duels.
Yells of combat and desperation.
Leticia was the first to fall.
Kenso drew first blood, beheading one of the beastmen.
Syd followed, and split the skull of the second one.
He was promptly rewarded with morningstar to the face; falling in battle. Kenso was murdered in melee as well.
Tam crushed beastman that circled around and attempted to surprise them from behind.
Ignaeus and Drokh claimed a kill each.
As they checked the dead, Wilbalt heard a curious sound coming from a hole in the corridor.
Something akin to chattering and clacking of teeth.
He listened carefully.
The sounds continued.
Then nothing.
And then all Hell broke loose.
Chattering and squirming filled the chamber; echoing through corridors. A dark, hairy, voracious river of rats soon washed over the party. Adventurers flailed around madly; stomping, slashing, rolling.
Five giant rats climbed Wilbalt's muscular, knotted body. They used his physique like a ladder, clawing, biting, chewing.
Each bite carried shame and disease.
“Trade! Trade! Trade!” Wilbalt heard coming from the hole.
He dropped to the ground, bleeding; some rats still hanging from his massive biceps.
“Yes?”
A curled-up ratman looked at him, holding up a pouch.
“Trade.” it repeated in broken Common. “Kill man. You.”
“We pay you not to kill us?” Wilbalt looked behind. One quarter of the party was dead or downed. The rest were drowning in rats. Ignaeus was contemplating fireballing them all. “Yes, trade.”
“No!” ratman replied angrily. “No! You kill. Kill big man. Iron man. Shiny sword. You kill. We pay!”
“Oooh! Yes, yes, we will kill him!” Wilbalt replied, thinking to himself they'd kill that man for free anyway. Without even knowing who or what that man is.
Ratman produced a series of clicks and chitters and shrills. Giant rats jumped off the adventurers and moved to the sides, gazing upon them with ravenous focus.
Ratman then took out a red ruby out of his little pouch and handed it over to Wilbalt. “You kill. Then more. For you.”
Warrior took it from the ratman. “Yes. We kill. Then we come back. Where can we find this steel man?” Then his head spun as he listened to the instructions. From what he could gather this rathater could be found in the south-east portion of the dungeon.
At this moment, adventurers collected their dead and wounded and retreated back to the large room with multifold archways. They were trailed by a pack of rats.
“Hail and well met.” Julius the ranger introduced himself. Part hair, part moss, he was welcomed either way.
Unsure what to do, the party spent time discussing their course of action. Would rats understand if they decided to go up and leave the dungeon? What if they pushed on and were wrecked by this man?
Their deliberations went on and on; them seemingly oblivious to their surroundings. One of the giant rats tugged on Thorinda's loose pants. They held and did not come down.
Rat tugged few more times. It squeaked and motioned towards the west corridor beyond the north-west archway. Thorinda went to check.
There she saw an ogre tiptoeing towards her.
No one was surprised.
Thorinda was clubbed to sleep.
Thorm and Ignaeus slashed at the beast. Then Wilbalt ran up, slid down under, cutting the belly of the beast. It burst open, spilling guts and intestines all over the floor. Giant rats charged with fury, gorging on the carcass.
“Listen, we have to get out!”
Party of thirteen now counted two dead, two half-dead, and three wounded. They wobbled back to the large chamber, then through north-east archway, north, past doors, past corridor, past antechamber, and into chamber with weird wall drawing.
There they encountered three battered men, whom claimed encounter with giant rats. They all joined forced and went up the stairs. From there they headed west, north, west, north, into the natural cave with underground river.
Their rope still hung.
Two hundred and fifty feet of ascent.
With two dead.
Two barely alive.
Three stragglers.
And one ambition.
Get out alive.
Poster by Lord Jubalon Flux.
Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
Comments
rootring
Prev · Random · Directory · Next