Play Report (AD&D 2e): In Search of the Unknown (Session 20)

We played the twentieth session of our Dungeon Module B1: In Search of Unknown AD&D 2e game last night. You can read past play reports here.

The roster for this session was as follows:

• Llombaerth, CG elf thief 4 (Adam)
• Mirkle, N human fighter 2 (Maya)
• Zommernar, CN elf fighter 2 (Nael)
• Egbert, human necromancer 1 (NPC)
• Girthil, barbarian leader, and 8 barbarian warriors (NPCs)
• Indur, gnoll (NPC)
• Wilros Wackledeckle, gnome (NPC)
• Zhukk, orc (NPC)
• Two friendly zombie adventurers (NPCs)
• Bilodeau, man-at-arms (NPC)
• Graves, man-at-arms (NPC)
• Brazile, halfling porter, and his dog, Ripper (NPC)
• Ejiofer, human porter (NPC)
• Lendeborg, human porter (NPC)
• Steinbach, human porter (NPC)
• Walgretor, half-elf porter (NPC)
• Hadric, Wilda Brambletoe, Corvin, Aelwen Riversong, and 20 oarsmen - the crew of the Mossy Turtle (NPCs)

Last we played, a band of barbarian warriors (the Black Crag people) demanded that the party hand over any plundered relics of their people. Due to a bit of a miscommunication, the players thought that the barbarians wanted them to surrender all their treasure. They weren't too keen on that, so they had Egbert put two of the barbarians to sleep, Llombaerth and Indur killed another two, and the barbarians' leader, Girthil, surrendered.

The party negotiated a truce. They gave Girthil the chieftain's sword they had found and promised to lead her to the chieftain's remains which they had found elsewhere in the dungeon. In return, Girthil ordered the rest of her warriors stationed outside the dungeon's secret entrance to release the party's hirelings, who they had taken captive.

The party led Girthil to the chieftain's bones and convinced her to lead some of her warriors in an offensive against Mangug's orcs upstairs. They made their plans and launched the attack. The party and their allies slew Mangug and all six of his orc underlings, though Llombaerth and Zommernar both took wounds, and two of the party's pet zombies were killed.

We picked up there. The party had agreed to let Girthil and her warriors loot the bodies of Mangug's orcs, which they did. Meanwhile, the party went down the hall to Rogahn's secret bedchamber to survey the treasure they had left there.

There, they found the a shield, a mace, and some clothing looted from the captain of the guard's chamber, two pairs of mounted dragon paws (80 lbs each), the giant-sized shield (150 lbs, requiring at least two people to carry), the door etched with esoteric religious symbols (250 lbs, requiring at least three people to carry), and a massive dragon skin (1,000 lbs, requiring at least ten people to carry). Still in the nearby trophy room was what appeared to be a taxidermized cockatrice (60 lbs) and a statue of a basilisk (2,000 lbs, which would have to somehow be lifted onto a sled or rollers to be moved).

The party checked with Girthil to ensure none of these items would be claimed by the Black Crag people. She confirmed that none of the items belonged to them. The party asked if Girthil's warriors would be willing to help them move this stuff down to the lake, where it could be loaded onto the Mossy Turtle and hauled upriver, in exchange for some 150 gold pieces.

Girthil was reticent to consign her proud warriors to manual labor for the party's material gain, and asked why the party's numerous hirelings would not suffice. Llombaerth explained that the forest was very dangerous, gesturing towards the owlbear skull helm he wore. In that case, Girthil said, it seemed her people should be entitled to some share of the treasure. They eventually agreed to give the barbarians a 10% share in exchange for their assistance.

The party suddenly remembered their goblin allies and went looking for them. They found Narka manacled at the ankles in the kitchen. The party asked her what had happened, and she explained that after the party had left the dungeon the last time, Viss had declared that a Goblins' Moot could not be held until Tobb was reunited with the group. The party had left Tobb to guard the room containing the Stone that Speaks, back in Drak's old territory.

Apparently, Numbnuts, Pigmug, Rekk, and Viss had gone to get Tobb. Tobb had not listened to reason, and had attacked. Numbnuts and Viss fled and escaped, but Pigmug and Rekk were either killed or subdued. That night, Mangug's orcs had arrived at Quasqueton. They had been interested in negotiating passage inside, but Viss understandably did not want more orcs lording over them. A fight broke out, and with the goblins outnumbered three to one, they were easily defeated.

Narka told the party that Numbnuts and Viss were in the rooms across the hall. The party found both of them and liberated them as well, but told them to stay where they were for the time being, to avoid any potential conflicts with Girthil's people. Viss asked about Grilk's ring, which Mangug had taken from Viss when the goblins were captured. The party figured that this must have been on Mangug's person, and that Girthil's people likely had it.

The party easily carried the mounted dragon paws and the giant-sized shield out of the dungeon by way of the main entrance, then circled around the crag to the secret entrance to gather their hirelings and mules. Night had fallen over the forest while the party had been inside the dungeon. They broke down their camp and returned to the main entrance.

The party decided that they might be able to use one of the mining carts downstairs to haul a lot of treasure out at once. They hitched the carts to their mules and, along with their hirelings, hauled the carts to the secret bedchamber. They were able to load the cart with the dragon skin and the miscellaneous items found in the captain's chamber (I treated this as a wagon or cart, which triples a mount's carrying capacity at the cost of halving their movement speed, allowing the two mules to haul these items out somewhat easily). They and their zombies, hirelings, and NPC followers carried out the door with religious markings as well as the stuffed cockatrice.

They hauled all of this back around the crag to the secret entrance. The party made a deal with Zhukk to release him if he promised not to return to Quasqueton. He agreed, the party agreed to give him arms and armor from Mangug's orcs so that he would not be defenseless in the wilderness, and he parted ways with them.

The party had not yet engaged in any overland movement that day, and they still had a couple of hours before they had to rest, so they began making their way down the hill, following the river. I reasoned that there was probably some overgrown, disused trail leading from Quasqueton to the lake, since Rogahn and Zelligar likely would have moved vast quantities of stone and other materials downriver to the building site, then used carts and wagons to haul it all up the hill. This was important, since carts and wagons (such as the mining cart being used to transport the heavy items) can only traverse difficult terrain if a road or trail is available.

Normally, it would take the party three hours to descend the hill. Loaded up with treasure and slowed down by their zombies, it would take twice as long. They were able to make it a third of the way down the hill before needing to make camp.

The night passed without incident, and the party woke the next morning to find a cold mist had crept into the forest. This obscured their vision and would impose additional movement cost on the day's travel. It would now take five hours and twenty minutes to finish their descent. They reached the bottom of the hill without incident.

It would normally take four hours to cross the forest and reach the lake. Their reduced movement speed and the mist meant it would take ten hours instead. They were able to make it about a quarter of the way before needing to rest for the night.

Another night passed uneventfully. When the party woke, they found the mists had cleared. The air was cold and dry. It would take another 6 hours to reach the lake.

After traveling along the river for an hour and twenty minutes, the party heard the sound of women's voices from the direction of the river, about 70 feet away, though they could not see the source. The women were speaking - or perhaps singing - in an unknown tongue. 

Llombaerth decided to sneak ahead to get a better look. He succeeded on his Move Silently check, creeping about 30 feet up to the edge of the tree line. There he saw four young graceful elfin women with sleek figures, long, thick hair, and radiant skin, dressed in lengthy, sheer robes which glowed with golden thread and rainbow hews. The breeze blowing in off the river carried a delightful, enticing scent.

Llombaerth found it hard to look away. I called for a saving throw vs spell. Adam asked if his elven resistance to charm and sleep magic would apply here, and I decided it made sense. Llombaerth managed to resist whatever magic was at work without needing to make a saving throw. His eyes burned as if he was staring at the sun itself. The women began to disrobe as they entered the river. Llombaerth quickly pulled himself away and returned to the rest of the party.

After sharing what he had seen and the danger he had felt, the party's followers had input. Egbert was curious about what sort of magic was at work. Indur was incensed that these river women had frightened Llombaerth so, and threatened to kill them and devour their smooth flesh. Girthil mentioned that certain fey beings were known to inhabit the forest and to bathe in the sacred waters which flowed through it. They were known to befriend good-looking, kindhearted men. Their kiss could make a man forget his troubles, and women who bathed in the same waters as them were said to be blessed with renewed youth and beauty. However, the mere sight of them could cause a mortal to lose their sight or be stricken dead.

The party decided not to trifle with the river women, and continued on their way. They reached the lake at about 1 pm and found the barge and its crew waiting for them. They loaded their treasure onto the barge. They decided to head back to town now, returning later for the basilisk statue. They sent Indur back to Quasqueton with their remaining zombies (Hadric did not want them on the boat), instructing Indur to protect the goblins. 

They thought to send Indur back with Grilk's ring as a sign of legitimacy, and asked Girthil if she had found it among Mangug's things. Girthil was wearing the ring around her neck. She said that it was one of her people's relics, and that it had belonged to one of their druids. She had hoped to find the druid's remains in Quasqueton, but hadn't seen them. She showed the party the ring, and they saw that it was etched with runes similar to those found on the chieftain's sword. They asked to take a rubbing of the runes so that they might identify other items belonging to the Black Crag people, to which Girthil agreed.

Girthil sent one of her warriors with the party to ensure that they received their 10% share of the treasures recovered. Girthil and the rest of her warriors parted ways with the party, wandering off into the surrounding forest.

The party, Egbert, Wilros Wackledeckle, and all their hirelings set off on the barge. Though they had traveled overland for six hours already, the barge's crew still had a full 8 hours of travel in them. It took about an hour and forty minutes to cross the lake to the river's mouth. From here, it would be all upriver. By 9 pm, they had made it about nine and a half miles upriver. The crew moored the barge along the shore for the night.

The cold and dry weather persisted the next day, and they continued sailing upriver. They reached the edge of the forest at about 1:15 pm, with Timbershore's familiar farmland stretching out to the north and west, and the forest still to the east and south. They ended the day on the river bordering town, with just three more hours of travel before they could put into port in the River Ward.

Shortly after stopping for the day, around 5:30 pm, they heard a rustling from the trees to the southeast. A lone elf emerged from the forest, and Llombaerth and Zommernar recognized him as a a wood elf. The elf was cautious, calling out to them to ask if they were brigands, agents of the wizard, or traders. 

The party identified themselves as traders of a sort, denying any affiliation with brigands or wizards. The elf asked if, in that case, he might come aboard to investigate, to see if they were who they said, and not catspaws of the wizard. The party asked how this might be proven, and the elf said that he would look for items bearing the wizard's mark, or anything plundered from the old stronghold which the wizard claimed as his own, which they might be delivering to him.

We ended the session there. This one was a doozy! In contrast to our last session, there was no combat whatsoever, but lots of logistics puzzling, social interaction, overland movement, and a couple of outdoor encounters. 

This was the party's biggest logistical endeavor yet, and the challenge of getting all that treasure out of the dungeon really manifested itself here. The overland travel math is a bit challenging for me on the fly, and I had to go back as I wrote this post and correct some of my timekeeping math, but I think it all checks out. It is a bit of a relief to finally shed some of the party's accumulated NPC hangers-on! The "river women" encounter was a bit awkward to play out. I definitely felt like a bit of a lecher as I described it, but decided to lean into it and play up the male-gaziness of it all.

Next time, we'll see how the wood elf encounter plays out. Then, hopefully, the party will make it back to town and engage in some fun shenanigans there.