The Cavern Of The Troglodytes (Session 52)

Summary

The session begins with the group making their way south through a tunnel and discovering a chamber. Darik assisted Honey Badger in climbing down into the chamber, where she found a passageway with a stream running through it in an adjacent passageway. Bambi followed and was struck by falling stalactites but managed to escape the chamber.

Without their armor, Bambi and Thumper became easy targets and were more easily struck by creatures falling from the ceiling. These creatures only hit once before crawling back to the wall, and then back to the ceiling, making them easy to kill. During the fight, a Lurker, resembling a Manta Ray, attacked Thumper but was eventually defeated.

After dealing with the Lurker and the stalactite creatures, Thumper and Bambi put their armor back on. Bambi, remembered their mission was to clear a path for escapees. She decided to draw out more creatures by walking around with a shield over her head. Several more dropped and were killed but Bambi also stepped into a quicksand-like spot. Darik threw her a rope and rescued her.

While Bambi cleaned her armor, Honey Badger and Darik explored the northern and southern passages. Honey Badger found a room with dangerous fungus-like plants, while Darik discovered another stream and a mound of crap full of insects. They decide to avoid the insect mound and returned to the fungus area.

In the fungus room, Honey Badger and Darik encounter lizard-like creatures holding javelins. Darik and Honey Badger communicated with them asked for help finding a way up. They learned that the creatures needed their help dealing with a creature made of water in a nearby pool. Honey Badger agreed to help, and the group prepared to confront the creature.

Honey Badger got the creature's attention, and it attacked but failed to capture her. The group attacked back with various spells and weapons. Some of the ore powerful spells seemed to have not effect but later in the battle, a Flaming Sphere spell seemed to impact it though they weren't sure. The creature retreated into the water, and the group continued to lure it out and attack it.

After several rounds of fighting, the creature shattered and sprayed water everywhere, wailing, making the group believe they had defeated it. However, the lizard-like creatures informed them that it will return. Honey Badger drank a potion of Water Breathing and jumped into the water to look for a source for these creatures and ended up confronting it again.

Thumper and Bambi threw continual light stones into the water, illuminating the fight. Honey Badger searched for the source of the creature's regeneration but found nothing. Bambi attempted to climb a waterfall loooking for a way to stop the water but failed. The creature attacked Bambi, and Honey Badger rejoined the group picking up the light stones that had the Troglodytes very upset.

Darik discovered a gate to a chamber holding a giant lizard and a tunnel leading to the top of the falls. He befriended the lizard. Darik also found a high up passage behind the southeast corner of the chamber. The group climbed up and into a hallway. At the other end of the passageway, they encountered more stalactite creatures, resulting in the destruction of Sairalindé.

Darik remembered a priest spell that can purify food and water and would kill the Water Weird. Thumper didn't have the spell readied so the group decided to rest with the Trioglodytes. They trusted the creatures not to attack them during their rest so they didn't set up a watch.

They ended this session here.

Please start the recorder.

Exp: 847 + 85 = 932

Detail

They started this session In the tunnel making there way south, continuing on. They found a chamber not far ahead of them. It appeared empty. Darik helped Honey Badger climbed down into the chamber where she crossed to the only exit. It was a passageway that went north and south with a stream running through the middle of it. Bambi came up and climbed down next. She started across the chamber and was immediately struck by one of two falling stalactites. At least that's what she thought they were. She escaped the chamber after the one hit.

Without their armor, Bambi and Thumper were easy targets. They had to put their armor into the bag of holding while they moved around in all that water. The others made their way to the room and as the entered, more of the creatures fell on them. The thing that really helped them was that they only hit once. Then these creatures had to slowly crawl back to the wall and slowly climb back up. It made it easy to kill them. During the fight, they were also attacked by a Lurker. A beast that looks like a Manta Ray. It dropped down on Thumper and tried to wrap around her and smoother her. She managed to fight it off and they killed it.

Once they finished up the Lurker and the first batch of these Stalactite creatures, Thumper and Bambi put their armor back on. Bambi remembered that part of what they were to accomplish here was to clear a path for the escapees. She felt it was necessary to draw out the remaining creatures so with a shield held over her head, she walked around in the room inviting them to fall on her. She did cause more to fall and they were dealt with. Bambi also stepped into a quicksand like spot in the center of the chamber. She used her shield to spread out and cover more floor area, slowing the sinking action that was trying to kill her.

Darik had a rope out already and got it to her. He pulled her slowly out of the sandy pit. She was covered in wet slimy sand. She went back to the hallway and began cleaning the wet, sticky, sand from her armor. She had to remove it to clean it. This took a while. Honey Badger and Darik searched the northern and southern passages. Honey badger went north and found a room with lots of fungus like plants and stuff growing in it. That seemed like a dangerous place to be.

Darik searched the southern passage and found the water joined in with another stream. There was a mound of something disgusting across the water in an alcove. He rejoined the others. Honey Badger and he went back down there to examine the passages east and west. While looking, the mound started moving. Insects began crawling out of it. That's when they decided not to go that way. They went back up to the fungus area.

Honey Badger and Darik slowly moved through the room. Nothing happened. Nothing attacked. Honey Badger noticed a wheelbarrow and let Kipp know. They moved closer to that area and checked out the cart and stuff. While they were looking around. These lizard like creatures sort of materialized out of the rocks and fungus. They weren't Lizard Men but something similar. They didn't attack but stayed at a distance and held javelins pointed at them.

Darik tried to communicate with them. They could speak a little broken common and he managed to get across to them that they were not a threat. Honey Badger asked if they knew a of a way to get up to a higher level. They indicated that they new a way to get there. They would show them how to get there if they would help them with a problem that they had. There was a creature in the pool in the southwest corner of the chamber and it attacked them and hurt them. It has killed some of them. When asked what it was, they described it as a creature made of water.

Honey Badger agreed to hunt it and set out to get the creatures attention. The Lizard folk had told them that the creature grabs you and takes you into the water. Bambi tied off to a rope that Thumper held and moved up to the other shore. She'd hoped that if it tried to drag her off, she could hold Bambi there on the shore line. Honey Badger eventually got the creatures attention and it attacked. It was unable to get Honey Badger but did manage to soak her in water. She was not happy. Everyone attacked except Thumper who held Bambi's rope. Elenor threw a lightening bolt, magic missiles at it, and other magical attacks that all seemed to do nothing except for the Flaming Sphere which seemed to hurt it but they couldn't really tell. It went iut when it fell into the pool of water. They fought it till it fled back into the water.

They continued to get it to come back up and attack them. They fought it until it receded again. After several rounds, the Lizard folk were talking about something in a language that only Rigby seemed to understand. It was Troglodyte. They were commenting about how poorly the Human's were doing. After a couple of more rounds, they finally hit it with a lot of damage and it seemed to shatter, spraying itself in all directions. It even made a wailing sound. These things made the Orc Slayers think that they had succeeded in killing it.

Honey Badger asked the leader to show them the way up since they had defeated the creature but the leader told them that it was not gone. They had made the creature wail like that and splash like that as well but it still came back. The Slayers were confused. Honey Badger drank a Potion of Water Breathing and jumped into the water looking for a source for these creatures. The creature began attacking her. She fought it down there but no one could see.

Finally Thumper and Bambi both tossed in there continual light stones. It lit up the water so they could see Honey Badger down there fighting it, but it really disturbed the Troglodytes. Honey Badger kept fighting it, looking for something that kept creating these things even after they were killed. She found nothing. Bambi climbed along the rocks to the water fall. She saw nothing there. She tried climbing the falls but they were far too slippery and she fell. She stayed next to the wall and didn't sink though.

The creature moved to attack Bambi and Honey Badger took this time to get out of the water and rejoin the party. When she got back to them, she could hear the Troglodytes angry about the light. It was killing their fungus. They needed them to get rid of the light. Honey Badger went back into the pool and collected those. The Troglodytes calmed down after that. They finished fighting the creature again and it disappeared.

Darik had moved around to the southeastern corner to a gate that seemed to be keeping a giant lizard captive there. He'd hoped the water coming from there was linked to the top of the falls. He'd hoped there was a way to stop the water from flowing into the lower pool. He managed to befriend the Giant Lizard. He began looking around and found a tunnel in that room that lead back to the top of the falls. If they shut off the water from the pool below, once the water is dried up and gone, the Water Weird would die. While trying to find a way to do that, Darik found another opening above the area where the Giant Lizard slept.

Darik kept the Lizard busy while the rest of their party climbed up and into the hallway above. They moved through the hallway until they entered a small chamber with the body of one of the Lizard Folk. The stalactite creatures began falling on them again. One almost killed Oglesby. He escaped the room and the rest of the party came in and started wiping them out. Bambi hit the wall when swinging at one of them and the unthinkable happened Sairalindé broke into four pieces. The magic that was in the sword flashed and dispersed leaving nothing but plain empty metal behind.

Throughout all of this, Darik had this nagging feeling he knew how to defeat the Water Weird but he couldn't recall it. After a lot if thought, he finally remembered another way to kill it other than removing the water source. There is a priest spell that can Purify Food and Water. If that were cast on the Water Weird, it would die. They knew how to deal with the creature now. They needed rest before Thumper would have the ability to cast it. They asked if they could stay with the Troglodytes for the night explaining that in the morning, they would be able to end the creature. They agreed and the party picked an area to lay down and rest.

They were resting when the session came to an end. No one was on watch as they trusted the Troglodytes not to attack them.

Please start the recorder.

Exp: 847 + 85 = 932