Session 8

Members

 * Oleander Thorne the Fighter (Matt)
 * Paldrag Adinon the Paladin (Alexander)
 * Harakka the Bard (Adam)

The Adventure
We begin our session in Beridel Castle. Paldrag met up with Tenderhoof and sold his armor. A very good deal was done. Oleander got his new axe identified as Temper, the legendary axe of Damian the Barbarian. Hearing that the adventurers wished to return to the minotaur's cave, a merchant offered to sell paldrag a useful item that would guarantee he wouldn't get lost in the mines. Paldrag was suspicious, but after talking the merchant down from 50 GP to 10 GP, he reluctantly bought it, only to find out it was regular chalk.

The 3 adventurers met up with a former ally, the rogue bugbear and went into the cave together. They explored and came to a room with a distinct buzzing sound. Paldrag led the way with his trusty lamp, but when they came upon a nest of stirges, one latched on to Paldrag. The group took care of the nest easily enought and the bugbear and Paldrag feasted on their corpses. Then the Bugbear waved them off as they head to the gnoll cave.

Knowing the three adventurers were unstealthy, they caled out to the gnoll guards. After a short conversation, the group determined it was a boring conversation (the gnolls were not to be trusted) and killed the gnoll who stepped out of the cavern. Another guard summoned more gnolls, and the fight was on.

The gnoll guards died. Moving further into the lair, and checking for traps, the party found none. They heard growling from the north and many voices from the east. They surprised the gnoll to the north and dropped it before it could summon its litter-mates.

Moving futher into the lair, they engaged the gnolls in earnest. A stinking cloud made many gnolls pukey, until the gnoll packlord (bitchlord?) opened a passage from her room. The wind blew the cloud toward the party and the bard dispersed it. The packlord and her husbands quickly attacked. The fight was over soon though. They all died, leaving eight whelps behind. Oleander had a rough fight. He lost an ear, his left arm, and three fingers from his right hand. It was a bad day for the fighter. He was restored at the Church of Bob after they returned to town.

The paladin bound the whelps and brought them back to the keep, in hopes that they could be raised in the orphanage. There were some reservations about this, as gnolls are demon spawned. Turning the gnolls over to the acolytes in the temple to Bob, Paldrag was very unhappy to see one of the acolytes beat the gnoll whelps. He made this very clear. What was also clear was that the acolyte seemed to have no problem sparing 'the rod'. Paldrag told him that any unfair harm brought upon the children would be returned to the acolyte. As Paldrag stepped up to the acolyte, a distinct sweat smell accosted his nostrils. He also told the acolyte to bathe before the next time he saw him.

This led Paldrag to question Jurgen ... The questions started out fine, but Paldrag caught Jurgen in a direct lie. He asked if the other acolyte was on the line, and Jurgen said yes. Threats were made. Oleander explained in no uncertain terms that since Naryrr was not there at the moment, Jurgen was okay, but if he ever lied to her, he was in deep shit and that he should not let her down. Paldrag attempted to convince Jurgen that he should not lie to protect someone just because they are members of the same church. Jurgen's lie shook both Paldrag and Oleander.

Rumors (plot hooks)

 * 1) There are hordes of tiny dog-men in the lower caves.
 * 2) A powerful magic-user will destroy all cave invaders.
 * 3) Beware of treachery from within the party.
 * 4) Lizard-men live in the marshes.
 * 5) Altars are very dangerous.
 * 6) A fair maiden is imprisoned within the caves.
 * 7) An elf once disappeared across the marshes.
 * 8) Beware the mad hermit of the north lands.

Resolved Rumors

 * 1) An ogre sometimes helps the cave dwellers.
 * 2) There is more than one tribe of orcs within the caves.
 * 3) A magic wand was lost in the caves’ area.
 * 4) Tribes of different creatures live in different caves
 * 5) A merchant, imprisoned in the caves, will reward his rescuers.
 * 6) If you get lost, beware the eater of men!
 * 7) The big dog-men live very high in the caves.

False Rumors

 * 1) “Bree-yark” is goblin-language for “we surrender”!
 * 2) Piles of magic armor are hoarded in the southern caves.
 * 3) All of the cave entrances are trapped.
 * 4) The bugbears in the caves are afraid of dwarves!
 * 5) Nobody has ever returned from an expedition to the caves.

XP
1000 Each

Current XP: 7,500

Current level: 5; 6,500 XP until next level

Loot
Loot is updated on the loot list
 * 242 gp
 * 70 ep
 * 234 sp
 * 325 cp
 * 2 Silver arm bands (30 sp each)
 * 5 Silver necklaces (20 sp each)
 * 1 Keg of potent Dwarven Ale - Any character who drinks more than one cupful might be intoxicated (DC 13 Constitution save negates; increase the DC by 1 for each extra cup) for 1d4 hours
 * +1 Rapier
 * 1 potion of healing
 * 1 L2 Scroll of Cure wounds