Matt
Huzn Erste, Dwarven Fury 4
Denis, Crusader of Phanriel 3
Meinard, Fighter 2
Gustav, Mage 1
Brooke
Swanhild of Eldeskhur, Barbarian 3
Hilda Zorig, Barbarian 1
Andrzej
Olivier Dufresne, Venturer 2
Panem 21, 1181 EC
Early in the morning, a messenger from Sir Niklaus reported to Huzn at his home. It seemed that the Count’s Delvers had already returned.
“They found a strong iron door at the bottom of the stairs, and were unable to pass it. The lock is now jammed.”
This led to an involved discussion among the Body Builders as to their next move. They strongly considered having a go at bypassing the iron door themselves, but ultimately decided on an expedition to the temple outside Wereqat Al Manzil, where they had recently fought the lizardmen.
The party immediately began stocking up for the expedition, purchasing several mules and related supplies.
Huzn went to the local Physicker Franz Ahler and was fitted for a prosthetic arm. He ended up buying a handsome silver-plated model and commissioning a gold-plated one.
Just before noon the unexpected struck - the ground shook, and the party heard screams and the crashing of tumbling bricks filling the town. It was an earthquake - something unheard of in the middle plains. The party scrambled back to the western square. Huzn’s house seemed to be intact, but Riele Horn’s house had suffered the complete collapse of its tower.
Immediately suspecting that the earthquake was caused by Riele, the party rushed to check on the Priory. With most of the brothers in town aiding the wounded, the Priory was quiet, apart from Isaac the porter. Down below the cellar, the party found that the wards against evil and the stone wall were intact.
Next they checked the secret stair beneath the Bent Wheel, but again turned back. The dwarven stone door to Adan’s Landing was impossible to open as the door frame had cracked and sagged onto the door.
Still, the party remained determined to get underground quickly and look for evidence of Riele’s activity. They gathered the supplies they had prepared for their expedition and set off for the nearby Shrieking Hollow instead.
The sinkhole entrance to the Hollow appeared undisturbed, but the party proceeded with great caution. The extra caution paid off almost immediately as they heard footsteps shortly after descending. They managed to get the drop on a wandering group of lizardmen and wiped them out efficiently.
On the second level of the cave they ran into four giant luminous beetles. Hilda briefly went down in the fight, but after Denis called down the healing light of Phanriel upon her, she laughed at the scar that a moment ago had been a near-severed hand.
Finally, about 3 hours after the earthquake, the party found themselves at the spot where they had last seen Riele’s assumed companion, Adan. The site of the battle was abandoned, the goblin bodies dragged away and the fires long burned out.
Beyond, they came again to the large room they’d found months ago - a vault with marble pillars, skeletal statues, two floating illumination spells, and a marble door marked with an angel battling a demon. As before they saw that the carved demon appeared to have the upper hand. Denis suspected that the place belonged to a demonic cult of some kind.
When they had last come here, being afraid to enter, Huzn had dragged the body of a man out of the room with a grappling hook.
Now entering, they noticed several details that hadn’t been there before. A roughly dug tunnel in the north wall, and signs of an abandoned campsite. There had been some sort of markings and writing on the floor, but it was smudged and wiped away. There were signs of campfires and a tent, but it was gone.
The party closely inspected the door, but it was baffling. No cracks around the edges, no handles or opening mechanism, no visible hinges, and it didn’t sound hollow.
They went down the crudely dug path. Huzn identified it as goblin work. After two hours of meticulous progress, they abandoned checking for traps and marched down the tunnel as fast as possible. It took them three miles back toward Priorsford, before emptying into an older stone corridor. They figured this had to be beneath the town somewhere.
Behind a wooden door they found an ancient, circular wood-paneled chamber which looked like an abandoned library. They spent some time searching this room, and uncovered a hidden compartment with an unidentified potion.
Upstairs from the library, beyond another room piled with dirt, they found a foyer with three armoires, a fourth having been destroyed. Despite expecting them to come to life immediately, Huzn entered the room, and they did exactly that.
Here we paused. 9:30 PM on Panem 21, 1181 EC.
Treasure: None
Enemies defeated: 6 lizardmen, 4 giant luminous beetles
XP:
54 per PC
27 per henchman
Current XP totals:
Huzn: 10,150 / 19,600 (level 4)
Swanhild: 6,430 / 9,000 (level 3)
Snak: 3,895 / 4,500 (level 2)
Olivier: 3,156 / 6,000 (level 3)
Denis: 4,975 / 6,000 (level 3)
Meinard: 3,047 / 4,000 (level 2)
Gerrit: 1,748 / 2,000 (level 1)
Gustav: 177 / 2,500 (level 1)
Hilda: 1,574 / 2,000 (level 1)