A Dip In The Sewer (Session 58)

Summary

After rescuing the weakened slaves, the party provided them with food. They used healing potions to heal Elenor, who'd taken a beating. Their supplies of those were running low. Faced with the choice of exploring the fortress further or escaping, they discover a storeroom of food and a room of low-quality alcohol, which the slaves consume eagerly. Deciding to flee, they escort the slaves through a tunnel. There were signs that they were being pursued so Elenor’s used a web spell to block the tunnels and delay the pursuers.

As they navigate back through the fortress, they encounter and defeat three orcs, but hints of a greater threat (an Ettin) emerge. Brandy and Kipp search to find a clear path awa from the fortress. While gone, an old man named Mask, a member of a group opposing the slavelords, approached to help. He was shocked by the number of slaves exiting the fortress. Brandy found the Ettin and headed back to alert the others. Kipp also found the Ettin from the opposite side of the fortress. He returned to find the group leaving.

Mask leads them away where they run into Feador. They regretted informing him that they'd not found his brother. Mask then led them to a safe house. He provided healing potions and took scraps of cloth from each person to use to mislead their pursuers and left after telling them of the sewer they should use to escape. He'd hoped to meet them at the other end, in the caves by the sea, south. The group was able to rest, though they'd heard sounds of their pursuers but the sounds moved away. Mask's plan the distract them must have worked. At 1 a.m., they move to the sewers and in.

Once inside, they killed a gas spore causing a explosion injuring Kipp and Brandy. They found a dead Otyugh. They found a barred exit point. They opened it and saw something darting away, out of sight. Brandy pusued with the other=s following as best they could. Kipp was hot on her heals. Brandy suffered multiple injuries from traps, barely surviving with the help of potions.

In the sewers, they battled a Scrag (Sea Troll) with unexpected aid from Kobolds, who are also fighting Trolls. The party left the slaves in a safe spot in the sewers and joined the Kobolds to defeat two more Scrags, earning the Kobolds’ gratitude. This fight led them to a seawater breach, signaling their potential escape route. Brandy and Audra must clean off before in the seawater, before returning to retrieve the slaves.

They ended this session here.

Please start the recorder.

Exp: 983 + 98 = 1,081

Detail

The freed slaves, weak from their ordeal, pleaded for food and escape. Elenor rummaged through her bag, producing jerky, apples, and carrots for them to eat. Pyreece, her priestly instincts kicking in, handed two potions of regular healing to Elenor who had taken quite the beating. She and Audra noted their dwindling supplies. Elenor, was better now but everyone was in bad shape.

The group debated their next move. The tunnel they’d entered through was an option, but the fortress still held secrets—and dangers. Kipp suggested exploring further, while Brandy, ever pragmatic, urged them to focus on escape. They found a locked door, and Oglesby, with his rogue’s finesse, tested it for traps and tried the keys they’d collected. One clicked the lock open, revealing a storeroom filled with sacks of grain, rice, and vegetables. The slaves, ravenous, were directed to the food, though much of it needed water to prepare.

Another door led to a room of barrels containing poor-quality ale, wine, and beer. Oglesby grimaced, calling it “swill,” but the slaves didn’t care—they drank and ate what they could. The party, battered and low on resources, agreed they needed rest. They considered retreating to a previously cleared room with the moat, where Elenor could cast Leomund’s Tiny Hut for protection. Sachs, one of the slaves, warned that more slavelords or their minions might be lurking, but the group had already killed 17 orcs, leaving the place eerily quiet.

Deciding to escort the slaves out, they lined up, with Brandy taking the lead, followed by Kipp and the Audra. The slaves lined up next and followed. They were told that they must be silent. Oglesby, Elenor and Pyreece took up the rear. The narrow tunnel forced them to, at times, squeeze through, and as they made their way through. Pyreece heard guttural voices echoing from the direction of the pits behind them. Elenor, thinking fast, at an intersection, cast a web spell to block the passage, buying them time.

They made their way back to the ant caves. From there, the moved up the steps to the main floor, following the hallway back to the central hallway. The quickest way out was to the north. They had killed four Orc's there when they got here. There was no sign of anyone giving chase and nothing ahead so they moved quickly north. They reached the room where they'd killed Orc before only to find three more Orcs there. Brandy asked back if Kipp was ready and Kipp asked Audra. They would be the only attackers as the rest were behind a long line of very scared slaves. They were ready.

Brandy moved in first, catching the Orc's off guard. They saw an easy kill, obviously underestimating her. They attacked. Kipp and then Audra charged in behind and attacked. One Orc attempted to flee out of the rear door but was hit by something outside that bloodied his face and sent him hurling back in the room, hinting at a greater threat lurking outside.The three of them made quick work of the Orcs.

Brandy cautiously looked through the door to see if she could eye what had hit the Orc. She didn't see anything and moved outside. Still not seeing anything, she signaled Kipp it was clear at the moment. Kipp joined her. He broke off east and she moved west to see if the way was clear for the group to leave the area with the freed slaves. They eventually made their way to the opposite sides of he fortress and to the southern end. That's where the spied Ooga Booga and 5 more Orc's by the door which they'd entered from.

Meanwhile, an old man approached Audra at the exit. He suggested that they follow him. He called himself Mask. He's also known as Old Bastard. He urged them to flee, warning of danger, and began leading her and some slaves away. His jaw dropping at the sight of so many freed captives. Audra moved down to get Brandy, but found Brandy racing back to get them She was really itching to kill an Ettin. Mask convinced them that they needed to get the slaves somewhere safe. Kipp had returned by then, also having seen the Ettin.

Mask led them to a safe an area safely away from the fortress but they were still in sight of it. Feador joined them here asking if they'd found his brother. They discussed letting Mask take the slaves to safety and returning to face the Ettin and searching the rest of the fortress but they were not strong enough. Mask pointed out that reinforcements would likely be arriving soon and they should flee while they can. They knew that Mask was part of the groups helping to get slaves out of Highport. They didn't reveal their knowledge of the group.

Mask led them to a safe house, revealing his allegiance to Trithereon and his mission to thwart the slavelords. He provided potions of extra healing and collected scraps of clothing from the slaves and party to mislead tracking dogs. He told them about a sewer grate 50 yards south, he promised to try and meet them at the river after diverting pursuit.

Exhausted, the party rested in the safehouse, with Audra and Kipp taking watch. The slaves, malnourished but alert, helped keep vigil. Audra and Kipp were able to rest. Distant shouts and barking dogs hinted at pursuit, but Mask’s ruse seemed to work, as the sounds faded. After a tense night, the party healed what wounds they could with Pyreece’s spells and the remaining potions, bringing everyone closer to fighting shape.

At 1 a.m., Kipp scouted the sewer entrance, mapping a quick, dark path through the ruined town. The group moved silently, the slaves barefoot but quiet. At the grate, Oglesby oiled the hinges to muffle its squeak, and they descended into the stinking sewers. Pyreece lit a continual light gem, while Brandy and Kipp took the lead, their infravision piercing the gloom.

Navigating the sewer’s walkways, they crossed a pipe carefully, helping the slaves over. A floating gas spore caught Brandy’s eye. she and Kipp struck it with multiple arrows and killed it but that resulted in an explosion, unleashing a caustic cloud, burning both of them. Shaking it off, they pressed on, finding a dead Otyugh slumped on the ledge. Brandy prodded it, confirming it was no threat.

Further south, they encountered a padlocked grate. Oglesby picked the lock, and Brandy moved through, spotting a something rushing away, out of sight. It fled, and she pursued, only to fall into a pit of sewage. Kipp hauled her out as she cursed, using words that even Kipp blushed at. She cleaned the filth from her face with water from her and Audra's water skins. Another trap sent her sliding into more sewage, and a third dropped her onto spikes, leaving her at six hit points. Kipp’s potions kept her standing, but she was battered. Audra gave her a dose as well.

As they reached a wider chamber, a small boat floated into view. Pyreece, guarding the rear, was ambushed by a Scrag—a Sea Troll. She fought back, landing blows. Oglesby fired in while Elenor Magic Missiled it. From behind the Scrag, Kobolds unexpectedly joined the fray, hurling flaming arrows and Molotov cocktails. The Scrag, distracted, turned on the kobolds, giving Pyreece an opening. Her strikes, Elenor’s magic missiles, and Oglesby's arrows along with the kobolds’ fire finished it off.

The kobolds, speaking of “Tedar” (their term for trolls), thanked the party. Elenor could talk to them and they asked for help with more Tedars. They agreed to help, hoping the Kobolds could show them a quick, and safe way out after that. The Kobolds led them to another chamber. There, they faced two more Scrags—Big Daddy and Hit Girl. The party, with kobold support, unleashed a barrage of arrows, spells, and fire. With the help of the Kobolds, they brought the trolls down, their bodies burning to ash.

With the threats neutralized, the kobolds celebrated briefly. The sewer opened to a breach where seawater flowed, and the sound of waves promised escape. They need to return and get the slaves and bring them here, but not before Brandy and Audra take a bath in the seawater.

That is where this session ended.

Please start the recorder.

Exp: 983 + 98 = 1,081