A Much Needed Rest Then The Ogre Mage (Session 64)

Summary

The detail is short so I made no summary.

Detail

The party had just survived a grueling battle in the Stockades of Sudderham. They had been investigating the slaver operation, uncovering the dark secrets of the catatonic slaves held within. The slaves, zoned out and unresponsive, seemed unaware of the chaos around them, even as the battle had erupted and then subsided. The group noted that the slaves didn’t react to the dead body of a Cloaker lying nearby, leading them to suspect the slaves had been drugged or otherwise subdued.

The party was in rough shape. Their spells were depleted, and their potions were insufficient to make a significant difference. They decided to retreat to a safer area to rest and recover. Recalling a section of the fort haunted by a ghost where no one seemed to venture, they decided to try there. The absence of tracks in that area confirmed it as a potential safe haven. They chose to leave the catatonic slaves in place for now, planning to return for them later, and made their way to the haunted area, carefully avoiding a known pit trap and cutting a wire used to throw people back into the trap.

They passed through areas they had already cleared and didn't run into any new surprises. They used the secret door to shorten their trip. They encountered the stuffed werebear trap and moved around it. They continued down the hallway, jumping the pit trap and passing the doors that led out of the interior. They entered a demolished room with overturned furniture, cobwebs, and a fireplace, the air thick with the ghostly presence they’d encountered before.

Deciding this was the safest place to rest, they set up camp. Brandy took the first watch, followed by Audra, who heard faint ghostly voices but noted no immediate threats. By morning, during Kipp’s watch, he overheard bugbears in the hallway, shouting about intruders and conducting a damage assessment. The bugbears avoided the haunted room, likely due to the ghostly moans.

The party completed it's rest, regaining some strength. Pyreece used all of her healing spells, focused on the fighters or frontmen first. After using up all of the healing spells, the group was still far from full strength. They decided to rest longer, as the bugbears seemed uninterested in entering the haunted area. During Brandy’s next watch, the sounds of bugbears and dogs grew louder in the hallway. She positioned herself against the door, ready to act if they approached. All of the others except Pyreece were awake and prepared themselves.

Suddenly, the door was smashed off its hinges, revealing a massive Frankenstein-like monster controlled by a goblin. Brandy and Kipp engaged immediately, with Brandy landing a 22 to hit, dealing damage, while Kipp’s attacks (12 and 15 to hit) resulted in 8 points of damage. Elenor unleashed four Magic Missiles, dealing 15 points. Audra’s and Oglesby's bow attacks struck true but had no impact. Audra shifted back to sword and joined the melee. They quickly brought the monster down, its body crashing forward.

Two worgs clambered over it from behind and the goblin that had been behind it all ran away. The worgs attacked, but Brandy and Kipp countered effectively, with Kipp dealing 16 damage and Audra landing a critical hit for 14, splattering one worg across the wall. The second worg landed a minor hit on Audra (6 damage) before Elenor’s Magic Missile and Audra’s hit finished it off. As the last worg fell, Brandy charged down the hallway, spotting more bugbears. She attacked one, dealing 13 damage, but the bugbears were ready for the onslaught.

In the ensuing fight, Elenor cast a Lightning Bolt, hitting five bugbears for 28 damage, killing two instantly. Kipp and Audra continued their assault, with Kipp dealing 12 damage and Audra landing a critical hit for 17, felling the bugbear leader. The final bugbear struck Brandy for 20 damage, but died quickly after that. The party searched the bodies, finding 25 gold pieces, a potion of extra healing. Brandy's short sword had been broken during the fight. She had resorted to using a dagger to finish the battle. Afterward, Kipp gave her his +1 short sword and switched his second weapon to a +2 dagger.

Brandy, followed by the party, chased after the goblin. She thought he'd gone through the southern door in the room with the stuffed werebear. She opened that door with the others following. They found lots of rooms. It seemed this was where the bugbears came from. They found one nicer appointed room. Another had many cots in it. Audra broke a mirror while tossing the cots. She also found a bag of twenty marbles. They finished searching this area finding nothing of importance.

They returned to the catatonic slaves, searching rooms along the way for the goblin but not finding it. They pushed through the room with the slaves, Brandy, pissed and moving with all deliberate speed, opened the door on the other side. They found a hallway with many doors. From behind a northern door, they heard the sound of hammering. Brandy cracked the door to see three orcs. One smithy and two assistants. She walked in and up to one of them. Before they knew what was going on, she attacked. Kipp, Audra and the others followed her in. They made short work of the orcs.

They took a key from around the smith’s neck. In an adjacent room, they encountered a stout orcish woman cleaning. When Brandy entered, her weapon had been drawn, the woman screamed, alerting others in this section of the fort. As the party tried to calm her, orcs burst in, and a fight ensued. Several orcs entered into the room from a side door but two went up through the smithy and came in from behind, engaging Pyreece. She and Elenor delivered much pain to the first one to enter the smithy area. A third one, unable to make it into the room with Brandy, Kipp, and Audra, moved up and into the smithy as well.

Brandy, Kipp, and Audra, finished off everyone in the bedroom, including the orc cleaning woman who wouldn't stop fighting. Audra moved in behind the orcs in the smithy area while Pyreece and Oglesby worked on the other one in that room, eventually finishing them off. The party searched the room finding a locked chest. Oglesby picked the lock, revealing a pouch with four agates (15 gold pieces each), a pair of calipers, and a sketchbook detailing armor and sword designs. Under the bed, they found two tortoiseshell cats. In a loft, they discovered wooden carvings of polearms.

As they moved further down the hallway, Oglesby picked another lock. Audra heard a faint sound of muttering coming from down the hallway. She turned just in time to see a large ogre-like figure—an invisible caster—unleashing a spell down the hallway toward them. They had no time to brace for whatever he was sending their way.

This is where the session ended.

Please start the recorder.

Exp: 1011 + 101 = 1112

Gold: 1083