S&W White Box: Recap; Session Eight, 7/5/10

What's this, a session I was actually able to attend? Thankfully the holiday actually stuck and I got off from work. Of course, now that Monday was a holiday, I imagine we will all work on Saturday since they won't have to pay any overtime. Kind of makes you wonder what the purpose of a holiday off might be...

Recollections of Fen Sen the Archmagus 8

Moments before the group led by Galathos was to leave, Gloin arrived giving Talen the opportunity to stay with his Elven companion.

While we waited Gloin regaled me with his adventures upon the lake cruise, which I have distilled into a few simple words: he had a great time!

The others returned without Talen and Terabithia but with the Old Man, hence it was for us a net gain. Both our new friends indicated they might be rejoining us once they’d solved their issues in the City.

With our original adventuring group back together we pressed on within what we were calling “The Old Guard Area” on the map.

We discovered a large chamber with a well and proceeded to inspect it discovering what may have been a water elemental. Using Galathos’ grapple and a rather fragrant 8 day dead kobold corpse we went fishing. When that proved a failure, our large redheaded warrior offered to go down there with the ensorcelled dagger, and we promptly agreed.

After a few minutes we hauled him up beaten and battered at the edge of death. Gloin then offered to descend and finish the elemental as it had to be near death with the dozens of wounds inflicted by Galathos. We agreed and lowered him down and a few minutes later we raised him close to death’s door. Seeing the beating our warriors had taken in such a short time, I declined taking my turn in the well and made pains to disabuse the Old Man from doing so as well.

We then decided to slay the beast by polluting the well and reducing its life giving water. While we could do nothing for the moment about the amount of water we certainly could pollute it and all of us voided our bladders with the Old Man voiding something else. As he put it he was going to hang his ass over the side and give the beast a shit sandwich. What a colorful turn of phrase that still brings all these years later a grin to my face. Hence that room became known as “The Urinal.”

We moved on encountering some undead, a group of kobolds, and a group of giant rats. The former were burned with oil and filled with arrows returning them to death while the two latter groups I put to sleep and then we easily delivered them from the miserable existence that was their life. We kept one named Snotbill who under Gloin’s interrogation gave us some useful information. The few Old Guard survivors had abandoned the area and descended one level deeper into the dungeon fortifying their holdings there. He also told us of two different goblin tribes and an orc tribe holding sections of this level and gave fairly decent directions to their areas upon our still incomplete map. These directions helped greatly in our future planning, such that it was with Galathos effectively leading us not only in combat but increasingly outside of it as well.

Snotbill also confirmed there was an entrance controlled by the Elves however he had not personally seen it and another controlled by the Dwarves, the one we descended maintained by the Clerics of Galanthor.

We encountered yet another group of kobolds and put them to blade as well. Snotbill took the opportunity to attempt an escape earning Galathos’ gauntlet punching him in the face. The blow slew it, not a terrible loss.

We discovered a great deal of treasure, including a gold bracelet, several gems, piles of coins, a fairly nice painting, chunks of quartz, marble, and hematite, a vial of some ensorcelled liquid labeled “Reduction”, a semi-ornamental silver candlestick, a new set of plate mail, a crossbow, a short bow, a huge number of arrows, a large black pearl, and four books. Enough to fill our packs and thus we returned to the City for resupply, healing, and adventures betwixt sheets. That young librarian sure did well for me, but I digress.

We sold everything except the potion and the brass key resulting in a massive influx of coin. Gloin and the Old Man spent a great deal of it in their usual pastimes with the dwarf electing to spent some more time enjoying the fruits of his labors. Galathos commissioned himself a suit of field plate armor, and I purchased a cart to increase our hauling capacity before converting most of the rest of my coin to gems.

We returned to the Castle ruins and the brothers of Galanthor were happy to see us. They were even happier when I thanked them yet again for their storage of my cart and for the care and up keep of my mule, and happier still when I gave them 36 gold pieces for their continued efforts on our part.

The Old Man gave them something as well. Galathos, well he was Galathos.

We descended deciding to finally solve the Painted Statue and found the paints we’d stored there had been stolen. The Old Man painted it black and then it demanded red. Deciding we really were going to solve it, we returned to the City collecting every prime paint color plus pink and then returned and proceeded to paint her red, then white, then blue, then yellow, and finally pink before the fair voice fell silent. We tried all manner of ways to get the voice to reveal its secret to no response.

Galathos flew into a rage, snatching his pick axe off Karhle’s pack and proceeded to break the statue into tiny pieces.

We then decided to travel through the goblin area to reach the southeastern end of the level as it was much quicker than going through the areas formerly of the Old Guard.

After slaying two of the foul beasts we discovered a concealed treasure room we could not get into. An hour’s work with Galathos and his pick and we had an opening two feet wide by three tall, sufficient for me or the old man when unarmored. I decided it was my turn and ventured forth.

Within were four chests, only one locked. Using the lockpicks I managed to open it to everyone’s amazement, including my own. Within there was nothing, even after I explored it for concealed compartments within the lid, walls, and bottom. I decided to check underneath and shifted the chest tripping the trap.

The other three chests began slowly sinking into the floor, and I was having none of it. I hollered for Wilhelm’s help as he was armored now in leather courtesy of his master and because he was just a bit stronger than my porters. I then began hauling the chests out of the holes. By the time Galathos’ man got there I’d freed all three of the sinking chests and heaved the two lighter ones to the opening.

With Wil’s help I got the heaviest chest to the opening and then sent the lighter ones through before having him lead the chest while I pushed it out from behind. I was the last to leave the concealed chamber and while it hadn’t been very dangerous I did earn more than a little respect from my colleagues, admittedly much of it I’d lost for refusing to attack the elemental.

Our haul was the three chests of average construction, 84 gold, 155 silvers, 806 coppers, four clear gems, and a cloak pin in the shape of a silvered rose. We split the coin between the porters, and the gems went into my pack as usual. The cloak pin Galathos put on, before I’d had the opportunity to verify if it was ensorcelled or not.

We then prepared to move on leaving the chests in a pile against the south side of the main east-west corridor. We’d collect them later unless the goblins swiped them beforehand.