Session 40, Cave of the Frost Ogre
Paldegora
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Session 40 – 2024-03-30
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Summary
Detail
The group had rested since the battle with the first set of Frostulf's they'd run into. They had managed to do some healing. Angelique determined that “Flash” would be the word she would shout before casting a Pyrotechnics spell which would blind everyone looking. When “Flash” is shouted, everyone should close or shield their eyes to avoid being blinded. They continued north up the mountain. Eryn and Cal took the lead as their elven eyes stood the best chance of seeing these creatures. They approached the ravine and prepared to jump across it. They tied off each person before they attempted the jump in case they failed to make the jump. That was lucky as Angelique did fail to make it on the first attempt and fell into the ravine. She managed to hold on to the rope so Eryn and X'or pulled her back up. She was able to make it on her second attempt. Loraine recklessly jumped with no safety harness.
They continued up the hill, looking for any heat signatures. They didn't see anything. A couple of hours later they came to an area that seemed to level off again. They slowed and looked over the top of the rise and saw a frozen body of water with a cascading flow coming from above, also frozen. There was a path going around it, and a huge cave entrance beyond. It was well hidden in this slight depression. They knew they had to be wary of being attacked outside the cave as the Frostulf's were supposed to be guarding it. There were lots of rocks and places for them to hide behind. Cal snuck forward, using the wolf pelt for cover. He made it to the cave and looked into it. He couldn't see far into it. He saw no signs of any creatures.
He finally motioned for the rest of them to come down. As they started down the path, they were fired upon from the top of the frozen cascading waterfall by four Frostulf's. As they engaged these four, another four ran up behind them and attacked X'or and Cal. The first volley of arrows missed. Cal had recognized the potential for a possible ambush from behind and drew his weapons and waited, ready for the two that eventually charged him. X'or picked a spot also preparing for a rear assault and also received the other two Frostulf's. Loraine jumped up on a rock and began firing at the archers from the north. Eryn and Cassandra also fired on the same Yetling that Loraine had hit. They dropped it. Cal got hit, but both he and X'or struck back.
Cal got hit again on the next round and fell. Symon cast a Fog spell and placed it over the archer Yetlings firing down from above. It created a billowing wall of mists obscuring all sight. That effectively stopped the archers from firing on them, freeing several of the Company up for melee combat. Loraine dropped her bow and moved to attack the one on Cal. Eryn also moved down there and dropped the one that Cal had been hitting! The archer Yetlings started appearing from the fog, sliding out of it and slamming into the rocks. Angelique continued firing on them. Cassandra moved to attack one of the Yetlings on X'or and took it down. Cal gave a nice description of his demise. The company continued taking a beating from the Yetlings but they delivered a beating back and ultimately defeated them.
Angelique was able to get Cal back up near the end of the battle. They moved into the cave quickly and regrouped. They'd hoped to prevent any further attacks from the Yetlings since they understood that they would not enter the cave. They rested the evening and woke the next day with all their spells back. Angelique did some more healing and they began to investigate the cave before them. Angelique picked up a small stone and cast Continual Light on it to use in her bullseye lantern. Cal started moving east and south a little, looking for tracks. He found one track that he couldn't identify. It was from something that was pretty large and definitely in the shape of a paw, possibly with claws. It had been frozen, melted, and refrozen over time which had distorted it's appearance. He couldn't nail down just how big the creature that made it was. It didn't resemble the Frostulf's tracks. It was closer to a bear or something like that. Cal thought it might have come from a Nanodrake.
He rejoined the group and signaled that the tunnel split ahead. He showed the track to X'or but he couldn't tell much about it either. It seemed to be going outward, toward the entrance they had just come in. Eryn tried to slow them down a little but Cal was impatient and tried to look a little deeper. Eryn just kept reminding them that they were just barely alive as it was. Angelique pointed out that they had limited time to get to King Lundor. Eryn pointed out that they would likely not survive any confrontation at this point. Cal moved out a little further. The tunnels split more and continued on. He didn't hear anything. Cal suggested that Symon make Eryn or he invisible.
Symon cast Invisibility on Eryn and she began scoping out the tunnels. She moved forward and turned left whenever a turn came up, using a technique she'd learned for searching large structures quickly without missing any rooms. As she moved along, she was clumsy and kicked a rock. The first time that she did that, the noise it made didn't seem to attract any unwanted attention. She picked up the rock to carry with her. She thought it might be useful later. But the second time she kicked a rock, it seemed to illicit some sort of response. She froze and listened but heard nothing else. She couldn't be sure what she'd heard as it went along with the echo of her noise. Hearing nothing else, she continued east and north all the way to a point where there was a drop off. The tunnel before her ended at the edge of a drop off. The drop off appeared to be a rip or void in the cavern that ran north to south. Across from the drop off, the tunnel continued on. This opening was about 20 feet across with a sort of mist floating around in it.
She continued exploring, being forced south, and found other tunnels that ended back at the gap. Each gap, as she moved further south, was wider and wider. She began moving west again along the southern most wall. She knocked a rock making some noise and this time she did hear a sort of snorting sound. She froze again as she heard a low growl ahead. Then she started hearing sniffing. She began moving around the north side of the room making her way back to the others. She again made a little noise and this time, something very large and powerful charged up, out of the darkness. It ran into the room and stopped in the center and began sniffing, trying to find the creature that had invaded it's home. It was huge. It was a sabretooth sized beast with blue glowing eyes and frost for breath with ice dripping from it's mouth. It stood there sniffing, trying to find it's prey.
While it's head was down and sniffing the ground, Eryn threw the rock to the opposite side of the chamber, and outside to the tunnel beyond. As it clattered, the giant creature turned quickly and ran toward it. As it ran off, Eryn ran back to the rest of the group very quietly. She warned everyone that a big badass cat was coming and to be prepared. She moved back behind the main line. Cassandra and Loraine took the point and stood ready for the attack. Eryn told them it was a huge Sabretooth cat and she had sent it off in another direction but that it was coming. It knew she was there and was hunting her. She suggested that they stay silent and wait which they did. Only a moment later, the cat rounded the corner and saw Loraine and charged her. Something about it's eyes caused Loraine to make a saving throw which she did successfully. Later they figured out that it's glance would paralyze a person before it attacked. The fight was on.
The cat ran up to Loraine, stopped just short of her, and unleashed a cone of cold at her. It caught Symon as well. They both took direct damage from it. Symon moved to see what it was. Eryn snuck up on it and got a critical hit with her sneak attack which inflicted a great deal of damage. She was visible after that. X'or ran in to attack and missed. Angelique moved to where she could see it and fired at it and missed. Cassandra moved up and hit it. Loraine attacked it but missed. Cal fired and arrow at it and missed. Angelique missed again. Cal fired and hit it. The cat threw everything it had at Loraine and hit her, but Loraine was still standing. Symon hit the cat with his sling and felled the beast. Cal moved to a place where he could watch for a second one to show up, perhaps a mama. Nothing else came.
They spotted a collar on the big cat. Eryn asked, “Is this someone's pet?”. They checked the collar for any writing. They didn't find any. It was well crafted with some nice jewels on it. X'or cut the collar off. There were six diamonds and six sapphires in it. Symon suggested that they'd just killed the guardian's cat. While catching their breath, they asked Eryn what she had seen while exploring, she knelt down and drew out a rough map of what she'd seen and where she'd gone. She especially pointed out the chasm to the east. They speculated on the creature that might call this cat it's pet. If it was really large, it would have trouble getting around down here. There are areas that would be too skinny for it to move through.
They had searched most of the eastern side of the cavern and they knew the cats care taker would eventually come looking for it. They set up in an area that they could defend but at the same time, could get everyone in on the attack. Then they waited. Cal snuck forward, hugging the wall while looking around corners. He came to a long tunnel as he moved up the hallway, he found multiple shapes and in the distance that didn't have a heat signature. He moved up further and found a chest and a sort of makeshift bed. He moved up closer and looked at it more closely. It seemed to be an area lived in by something. There was a large sized bed made of straw about the size of the cat. Beyond that was a rudimentary bed with a mattress with blankets and stuff. There was a little table with some storage for food and supplies. At the table was a large chair, bigger than a human would need.
The chest he found was very refined with polished wood with intricate scroll work on it, with metal bands. He guessed it would be a very expensive chest. It didn't remind him of Tinkles chest that he left in the wilderness that one time. Under the bed was a flat box. He started smelling an odor. He guessed that the creature that fit the bed would be about twice the size of a human. He pulled the box out from under the bed and found clothing. They were humanoid type clothes and seemed to be tailored somewhat. There were jackets and shirts with buttons and such, but they were really big. He slid the box back under the bed. He moved over to look at the chest. He was very suspicious of the chest, that maybe it was a mimic. He also saw a basket he had missed earlier. He lifted off the cover over it and found food stuffs, some kind of meat and fruits. He finally tapped the chest with his sword and nothing happened.
Cal left the room and starred making his way back. A little ways back down that tunnel, and he heard some very heavy foot falls. He picked a spot and hid. After a moment, from around the corner, came a large ogreish thing. It stopped and shouted, “Precious, where are you?”. Everyone could here it now. Cal was just out of sight and used the sound of his echoed yell to make his way back to the others. When he got back, he mouthed to X'or, “Ogre! Frosty! Looking for cat!”. X'or told Symon and that was relayed quickly to the others. They prepared as best they could, to receive this monster. A moment later the Ogre appeared in front of X'or and took a swipe. It was as if he'd teleported into the room. He missed X'or, thankfully.
X'or drank a potion of speed. The Ogre swung at X'or again and missed. Eryn snuck up on the Ogre and attempted to back stab it but missed. Cassandra moved in on one side and hit the Ogre. Symon cast a Light spell on the Ogre's eyes and it successfully blinded him. Loraine pulled out a bow and fired, but missed it. Cal took a bow shot and hit it. Angelique moved into line of sight and fired at it but missed. She and Cal fired again and both hit. The Ogre vanished again and then moved, bumping into Eryn and Cassandra, which made him appear again. They continued to wale on it while Symon shouted in Ogre, “We are here on the King's business. King Lundor! Lay down your weapons, we are friends.”. It didn't seem to react to it so they continued fighting it. Angelique fired and hit it. Then X'or delivered the death blow, striking him across the back.
Symon said, “I guess that means he's not a friend of King Lundor then!”. Cal pulled Eryn off to the tunnel where he found the chest. He backed away while she checked it for traps. She found none so she unlocked it. Then she opened the chest. In the chest was a book, written in Ogre. At first, she couldn't read it but then put on the Spectacles of Understanding and saw that it was a book titled, “Ethics and Rules for Ogres that want to Improve Their Lives!”. She kept the book to read later. She also found silk cloth handkerchiefs, vials of potions, a good sized bag that was tied up, and a round tube that was very ornate with intricate scroll work on it. Cal went back to get the others. Cassandra found a pouch on the ogre with 10 silver pieces and 15 gold pieces. He had a club and a dagger. Neither looked exceptional.
Everyone made it back to the chamber and Eryn checked the vials to find 4 vials of extra healing, a potion of strength, and another potion they'd never seen before. Eryn opened the bag and found it full of very nice gems. There were sapphires, rubies, diamonds, pearls, and emeralds. Each stone had a value of about 100 gold pieces. There were 5 of each. The tube had a lid screwed on. Eryn showed it to Symon and they decided it was too long to be a scroll tube. Eryn unscrewed it and she laid it on the ground and tilted the case to let whatever was inside slide out. An arrow head appeared at first. She slid it all the way out and it was one arrow. It had a black shaft with ostrich feathers on it. The head of the arrow appeared to be made of silver or mithral. It was exquisitely carved. There were also little red bands around it at both ends. Cal looked at it and thought it appeared to be of Elvish make. It was a standard arrow size.
Symon wondered aloud, “How would this Ogre have come across something like this!”. Cassandra suggested that he'd been killing people trying to get through the tunnels and keeping stuff like the potions and gems. Symon asked if it seemed like an arrow designed for a specific purpose. Cassandra seemed to think so. They won't know until they identify it. They put it back in the case and gave it to Angelique. She was their best archer so she put the tube in the bag of holding. They continued searching the chest and found no concealed compartments. They looked at the food in the basket and found butchered meat and fruit. X'or thought the meat looked like Elk meat. The box under the bed was nothing more than the Ogre's clothes. The fruit was fresh. They speculated on where he would have gotten the fruit and meat. He apparently wasn't teleporting but turning invisible. Apparently he wasn't teleporting over the chasm. They decided the chest was worth about 200 gold pieces so they put it in the bag of holding. They searched the cats bed and found nothing.
X'or was very close to going up and their magnificent DM donated the additional experience he needed to get him to the next level.
Exp - 1767 + 177 = 1944