Tellurian Tales (vol 0c): Cursed Depths of the Mine

Sept 24 (cont.)

Our heroes confer, crouching behind a number of stalagmites, pinned down by heavy crossbow fire from kobolds on a high ledge.

Finally, Luceo decides to cast Shield and then have Rorik follow him out in a charge over to the wall, where Rorik could climb up one of the four ropes hanging from the ledge and then start hewing kobolds on his own terms. However, as soon as Luceo steps out, he gets a lucky readied shot in the chest and crumples. Rorik figures, "Chuck it, I'm going anyway!", but gets Dazed by a kobold sorcerer. He stands in the open, slack-jawed and axeless, pelted with arrows for a full round. He eventually shakes his head and recovers, charging to one of the ropes. But as he climbs it, Rorik is Dazed again, and falls 10 feet to the ground in a loud, armor-jarring crash.

Meanwhile, Sarah heals Luceo. Invellios shines, picking off kobold after crouching kobold with amazing bow shots. Suddenly there is only one kobold left. Though planning to retreat through a secret door after cutting the rope Rorik is climbing, the last kobold gets an arrow in the eye while slashing at the rope.

The heroes climb up to the ledge and discover a secret door to a small cache of supplies. Pressing on, they pass into the hot, steamy bowels of the mine, past zombies risen from the bodies of dead miners.

Finally, they reach a great cavern, where they are ambushed by a zealous, diseased orc cleric. As combat rages, Rorik again succumbs to magic, spending a minute paralyzed and another minute fleeing the cavern in abject horror, before gathering his wits again and returning. Without Rorik's muscle, and with Invellios starting to make some lousy shots, the tide of the battle turns. Eventually, Invellios, Sarah, and Luceo all lay bleeding and unconscious, and Rorik trades fumbling last blows with the cleric over their bodies. Rorik finally makes a lucky hit, and the cleric falls! Rorik immediately drops to his knees to bandage and stabilize his companions.

From glyphs painted upon the walls of the cavern, they learn that they have slain Jakk, last of the Torn Claw clan. Deep in this cavern, calling upon the power of his god Gruumsh, he poisoned the town's waters and brought about the plague. With his death, the magic begins to abate.

Sept 25 - 02 Oct

After stumbling up from out of the mines, the party spends two days in complete bedrest. Once recovered, they spend a day shopping and examining some of the items they retrieved from the mines, as well as receiving accolades from the villagers. Rorik futilely asks for news of other Mor Dunehaim survivors. For another 3 days, Luceo studies, Invellios fletches arrows, Rorik drinks and remembers Mor Dunehaim, and Sarah helps local healers with the plague's aftermath.