Dar nods in agreement. "I bow to the wisdom of the group," he says.
You return to the tavern and after an uneventful night you are ready to continue your exploration of Hallod's den.
Shaumatiel falls in line behind Dar.
Dar will take point again.
"Into the dark we go."
Fliss climbs down carefully, drawing her sword and readying her shield as soon as she reaches the ground.
The chute leads you into the deep basement of the house above, via a short hallway that in turn leads to a wooden door. The door is not locked.
The old wooden door swings open on rusted hinges, revealing a room lit by a single, flickering torch. Through the gloom you see piles of small crates and more than a few barrels stacked up haphazardly on the south side of the room. Opposite you is a stout wooden door with iron bands, while the north side of the room is bare save for an iron gate set into the middle of the wall. The stench of smoke and damp dog hangs heavy in the air.
As soon as you open the door, you hear from somewhere out of sight the squeaky turn of a wheel, and the iron gate starts to rise! From behind it, four angry and starving guard dogs bark and growl at you, struggling underneath the gate even as it lets them loose upon you.
Two of them barrel towards Dar, while the other two harass Shaumatiel.
Dar 15/20
Fliss 20/20
Giuseffe 17/17
Shaumatiel 10/13
Fliss offers Shaumatiel the blessings of protection, before striking at the hound that bit her.
She then attacks it again, for good measure, before raising her shield defensively.
"Oh, this really bites ...", Giu moans as the party is overwhelmed by a pack of rabid dogs. As if the encounter with the enraged boar wasn't bad enough, Mother Nature really seems to have it out for them! As always, the bard's moaning somehow manages to inspire his companions to get through this alive.
With a quick word a shield of force appears near the half-elf as he takes a two-handed grip on his sword.
He then lays into one of the beasts facing him.
Between Fliss and Dar's waving blades, the dogs are carved up into so much sausage meat.
With the hounds disposed of, you are free to move on. Through the door on the far side is a short passageway, smelling of earth and mould and mildew - a smell that grows progressively stronger as you reach what must be Hallod's living quarters: a large chamber carved out of the earth and crudely shored up with pieces of timber.
The chamber is roughly divided up into three areas: larder/kitchen, lavatory/garbage disposal (say no more), and bedroom. Under the bed you find a locked strongbox made from stout wood, banded in iron, closed with a good lock.
What you don't find is Hallod. Another winding passageway is the only way forward, assuming you don't want to go back just yet.
"Giuseffe, could you keep an eye out for more traps," Dar says with a grin as he gestures towards the winding passage. "That looks like an escape route that we should follow."
Fliss carefully wipes the gore off her blade before sheathing it. Her nose wrinkles in disgust as she looks around: "This is so gross I can't even begin to tell you."
"Do I look like a common thief? I know a few tricks and things thanks to having overly strict parents." As if that explains it all, the bard shrugs. He glances at the lockbox and then shudders. "I'll probably break a lockpick or five before I manage to open that bad boy."
Dar gestures again towards the narrow tunnel. "I meant the ... Nevermind."
The half-elf waits with weapon drawn by the tunnel while the bard finishes inspecting the box.
"Looks clear to me, Dar. Again, I'm no thief.
Fliss rolls her eyes. "Let's just get going, shall we?"
”Lead the way,” Shaumatiel says, gesturing to Dar.
Beyond Hallod’s living quarters is a system of natural caves. Although the path is far from level, it has been worked to allow for easy travel; stalagmites have been cleared away in some spots and small wooden footbridges have been stretched over pools of stagnant water no more than 5 feet deep. After about 10 minutes of travel, you arrive at a small cave with a larger, more ominous pool of water in the middle.
After about 10 minutes of careful travel, the passageway opens up into a large natural chamber, the center of which is occupied by a pool of brackish water. Stalactites and stalagmites occupy much of the room, but a path between them leads around the pool and to another corridor on the opposite side of the cave.
The moment you enter the room, a strange blue glow emanates up from the pool, sending a cascade of shimmering light to the ceiling above. Seconds later, the head of a giant blue snake rises from the pool with sparks of electricity dancing between its fangs, while a metal, rattle-tipped tail pokes out of the water behind it, audibly building up a charge with every flick of the rattle.
Dar moves forward, readying his sword as he approaches the blue serpent.
Dar's sword crackles with static as it pierces the serpent, drawing blood that looks more like lantern oil.
The snake hisses and strikes repeatedly at the half-elf, its fangs stabbing him with sharp metal and lightning.
That done, it coils itself up, ready to strike again.
Dar 15/20 with 24 damage to resolve
Fliss 20/20
Giuseffe 17/17
Shaumatiel 10/13
Shaumatiel winces as Dar goes down. She calls on Calistria to heal the fighter and grant him guidance.
Giu draws occult symbols with his fingertips and calls upon the profane to aid and protect Dar from further harm.
Having seen what happesn when you rush in, Fliss moves more carefully, raising her shield and moving to cover Dar.
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As Fliss approaches warily, the snake uncoils and strikes at her, darting past her defences to leave a deadly wound! It then bites her once more for good measure, before coiling up again.
Dar 14/20, Wounded 1
Fliss 20/20, 25 damage to resolve
Giuseffe 17/17
Shaumatiel 10/13
Snake -7
Fliss barely has time to blink at the snake's speed before she too is dropped.
Shaumatiel uses more healing magic to get Fliss on her feet.
Left without anything clever to say, Giu glares at the snake.
Fliss regains awareness as Shaumatiel heals her. She stands, glares at the snake-thing and strikes at it with her sword,before defending herself.
Shaumatiel heals Fliss, who gets to her feet and ineffectually attacks the snake. Dar lands one solid hit, wounding it badly. Giuseffe glares at it, temporarily making it less confident. It bites Fliss, but misses Dar.
Dar 14/20, Wounded 1
Fliss 9/20, Wounded 1
Giuseffe 17/17
Shaumatiel 10/13
Snake -21
"Stop trying to hit it and hit it!!!"
Giuseffe's strike obviously hits some delicate part of the snake's anatomy: it keels over, dead.
A quick exploration of the room reveals a body at the bottom of the shallow pool. Nothing more than bones now, the body has slowly been consumed by limestone that has calcified around its skeleton. A silver rapier lies beside the corpse.
Shamautiel exhales heavily. "Whew! You warriors need to stop falling down like that. Let me see your wounds." She takes several minutes to try to heal Dar and Fliss.
"Hrm, poor lad. Or, girl, for I do suppose that death does not discriminate. Mind if I take the rapier?", the bard asks the skeleton. But as no answer comes, Giu picks up the rapier, figuring that if the skeleton objects, it will let him know in one way or another.
"I confess to being overwhelmed by your beauty, Miss Shaumatiel," Dar says with a grin and a formal bow. "And I'm very appreciative of your ability to assist me in recovering from said force." He straightens back up and indicates the tunnel leading out. "Shall we continue?" he questions as he heads that way.
Fliss winces as Shaumatiel patches her up, but that might also be because she can't think of a good reason for Giuseffe not to take the silver rapier. Apart from the fact that it's, you know, silver.
Shiny and valuable is the winning combination.
The tunnel beyond the snake’s lair twists and turns for a great distance; it takes you 10 minutes to traverse it before you can detect a faint natural light up ahead, and the air becomes notably cleaner, smelling vaguely of grass. After another 5 minutes of travel, the tunnel opens up into a cave mouth leading to a forest beyond. The roots of a large tree block the middle of this entrance, as if the tree had grown into a hillside that has since eroded away. Beyond the tree is a large pond; a path around the water begins to one side beneath a curtain of moss hanging from the tree. The cave itself is piled high with two rows of neatly stacked crates and boxes.
At the other end of the cave from you is Hallod; a rough-looking man, he is bald and has a prominent scar running down his face from an axe wound he took years ago. He is wearing filthy leather armor and wields a nasty kukri and deadly-looking crossbow.
When you enter the room, he hops up on a berm formed by the tree roots, aims his crossbow at you, and taunts you by saying, “I wondered when Bort’s lackeys would arrive. Let’s do this!”
Shaumatiel casts a pair of spells, caressing Dar’s weapon and his cheek. ”Go get ‘em, tiger!”
"Oh, anything for you, My Dear," Dar says to Shaumatiel with a grin before moving forward to strike at Hallod.
Lackey?! The word enrages Giuseffe for he is no one's servant. That and the fact Bort did not desire what was done to him. "Nightfall has come, Hallod, and soon, darkness will swallow you whole."
Fliss moves forward and strikes at the thug.
Hallod sneers as Dar and Fliss' attacks do little more than graze him; but he flinches as the full force of Giu's telekinetic wrath punches into him, leaving him bloodied and bruised.
Letting his crossbow fall, he draws his kukri and lashes out with fist and blade at Dar. The blade cuts deep, and catches the fighter off-balance as Hallod's fist slams into the half-elf's neck - there's a sickening *crack* of bone.
Dar 0/20, Dying 2, Wounded 1
Fliss 17/20, Wounded 1
Giuseffe 17/17
Shaumatiel 10/13
Hallod -36
"Duck!", the bard yells as he raises his hands and calls upon strange powers to manipulate reality. One of the stacked crates flies at Hallod as if launched by a catapult. Hopefully, Fliss ducks.