Session 9

Members

 * Oleander Thorne the Fighter (Matt)
 * Paldrag Adinon the Paladin (Alexander)
 * Naryrr the Druid (Natalie)
 * Merry Whistlewood the monk (Brian)
 * Charlotte the Ranger

The Adventure
We begin our session in Beridel Castle. The party was having a drink in the tavern and listening to a monk who thought he was a musician. Henderbeard told him not to play there again that night. During the song, a pensive wood elf walked in and literally dove for the corner as the music accosted her ears. Oleander noticed that both the bad musician and the elf carried themselves like experienced warriors.

Soon the party struck up a conversation with the newcomers and the party decided to head out for adventure. During the course of the conversation, they learned that the elf had lived in the wilds since the age of five, after she was orphaned. They also taught her what money was and how to use it in civilization. Her reason for venturing into the unknown was because the trees and plants of the forest were dying. It was easy to figure out the connection with the Cult of Evil Chaos. After small talk, they introduced her to alcohol. The ranger didn't make it past her first drink, and passed out in the tavern. Naryrr took her to a room upstairs.

The following morning, the party purchased supplies and headed out. The ranger had a distinct and unwelcome case of cotton mouth. Approaching the final cave, they saw a worn path switches back and forth up the steep slope to this cave mouth, near which the trees are bloated and twisted. The cave opened into a deathly still corridor with high, vaulted ceilings. Red strata interlaced with black veins running through the hewn rock walls.

Paldrag led the party and noticed that just inside, 50 feet from the entrance was a lit room with voices coming from it. The party stealthed up and destroyed the cultists they found. One cultists fell and the rest surrendered. Two of them had only recently taken the 'dark pledge' and they persuaded the party to let them go. They had made poor decisions. Paldrag can rest assured that they will be nice farmers for the rest of their lives. The other two, however, he bashed their skulls in.

They gained some more information about the caves and Trex the Necromancer. Following up on their new found info, they headed east, to the jail. There they found a weeping woman. Paldrag broke the door and ripped the chains apart, only to have the veil fall and avert his eyes from a medusa. Naryrr was not so lucky. She turned to stone. In a bargain to help the party, medusa gave a dose of flesh to stone to the paladin and Naryrr was restored.

The medusa offered to help the party destroy the evil cult. Upon getting two daggers from Naryrr, the medusa headed to the torture chamber and killed the two acolytes there. The party did help, but they were surprised at the ferocity of the fight. Moving further to the east, the party found a strange door that was locked and barred from the outside. Paldrag sensed five powerful undead inside. They would live a day longer, as the lock was clearly sturdy.

Moving south, the party found a store room. Paldrag didn't notice the gelatinous cube and ran into it. He was quick enough to avoid getting engulfed and the fight was on. The group rained arrows and sword slashes on the cube and it collapsed into a puddle as it died. In the room, Naryrr found a secret door. Jurgen found it as well and alerted Paldrag. The dragonborn opened it and finally decided to head down. He found a dead elf and took the clearly magic boots off the elf. Naryrr demanded an even split and took the gem pouch off the corpse. They had found a secret passage to the Gnoll Lair.

Heading back towards the cult, they party looked into the 'Evil Chapel'.


 * The floor of this imposing chapel is a checkerboard of ebony and scarlet. A tapestry on the south wall depicts a desolate landscape of dead trees and barren rock. Demonic silhouettes hold aloft a struggling child in the foreground. The gray sky is torn by wisps of purple clouds, and a bloody moon with a skull face and a single burning eye leers over all. Four black pillars support the domed ceiling. Between them, just in front of the tapestry, is a stone altar of red- veined black rock, rough-hewn and crusted with dried blood. Upon it are four ancient bronze vessels—a shallow bowl, a pair of goblets, and a vaselike pitcher. All glow an ugly purple.

Naryrr, Paldrag, and the monk got cursed by the evil items they found on the alter. The ranger and fighter were able to sense the curse and drop the items before they got cursed as well. In the process of touching the cursed items, a gong sounded throughout the cavern. The need for stealth was no longer necessary.

The party headed south to the Throne Room and set up an ambush. Naryrr's first spell basically shut down the enemy skeletons and the fight looked to be over quickly. The gong had changed that though. Zombies started showing up to the rear. The monk almost died, and the fight was on. An early critical fail from the hobgbolin zombie basically neutralized him and Naryrr's snake form held him through most of the battle.

The necromancer tried again and again to paralyze his opponents, but to no avail. He quickly died, but was resurrected by his ring. The fight was long and hard and Jurgen stayed in the shadows for most of it, but in the end, the necromancer died and the fight was won. The final cave was looted and the party victorious.

Knowing that he could not let an evil monster live, Paldrag killed the Queen of the Caves. He back-stabbed the medusa and combat started. In the second round, the medusa managed to turn the paladin, the monk, and the fighter to stone. The druid and ranger finally killed her though. They found 3 more doses of stone to flesh and restored their fallen companions.

And so we end our times in the Caves of Chaos.

Rumors (plot hooks)
Click link for full list of both resolved and open hooks.
 * 1) Lizard-men live in the marshes.
 * 2) Beware the mad hermit of the north lands.

XP
1500 Each

Current XP: 13,000

Current level: 5; 1000 XP until next level

Loot

 * 16 pp
 * 26 gp
 * 7 ep
 * 1142 sp
 * 4006 cp
 * Finely wrought bracelet (20 gp)
 * Bejeweled silver dagger (50 gp)
 * Gold ring set with a jet balck gem (52 gp)
 * 21 garnets (10 gp each)
 * 2 Large red garnets (25 gp each)
 * 4 garnets (20 gp each)
 * 12 gems (5 gp each)
 * Scroll of protection from evil
 * Oil of etherealness
 * 2 Doses of stone to flesh
 * Boots of Elvenkind
 * The Shield. This belt buckle is a powerful defensive item. It blocks all magic missiles & ranged attacks that do less than 5 damage.
 * Robe Of A Necromancer. Any spell from the necromancer's spell list(1) has a 1 in 4 change to stay in a caster's memory when cast.

Purchases Made

 * 5 Potions of healing


 * 2 Potions of greater healing


 * 2 Daggers