• Maervahr - Stoneskin, Phantom Armor, Invisibility
• Koriss - Stoneskin, Phantom Armor, Invisibility
• Litlee - Stoneskin
• Lucien - Stoneskin
• Thorgard - Stoneskin
• Tatrin - Stoneskin
• Lok-Vurn - Stoneskin

We are traveling back to Maelc from Senwick, far in the south west.

We are in Zorian's Tower and the weather is clear. Maervahr is flying on his Hippogriff and the rest of the part is on the ground.

First day of travel is uneventful. We arrive at Houp, northeat of the Burials.

We are going to Kelrain. The weather remains clear on the 27th.

Darian is covered by Glove the Enchanter. We will make it to Darian. Swamps and roughlands are reduced by 1 movement point on the road.

We make it without issue. Zelaq is in a wastelands and we continue past, heading to Sheppen.

Litlee is planning to go to Macetor. We can roll to see how many caravans come through on the way to Macetor. Another option is to go to Goldleaf then to Ornholm.

We will meet Mirella in Macetor.

Thorgard will receive a Stoneskin. We arrive in Sheppen and will head to Wigwam.

We can make it to Wigwam. Gablid is a Hamlet located north west of Wigwamp. Hybux is a village with facilities. Dagob is a full sized town near the Domain of Aoul. The Thorpe is called Agnik, northwest of the Shell Keep.

We make it to Dagob.

A lightning storm starts and there is heavy rain in Dagob. We rest in Dagob and will wait out the storm.

They have a Temple to Rook and Anaera. They also have a trading route with the fish people in the swamp to the north. The economy is all about trade. They do not like Aoul but they deal with it. He does not abuse them so they just produce value for him.

The hills around Mombafra and Macetor are Rolling Hills so they only cost 1 point of Movement.

Hard rain continues into the evening.

Waiting for the rain to stop.

Its lightly raining and we arrive in Macetor. Koriss is training to Illusionist level 2.

From Maervahr we will be heading to Goldleaf. Holts domain has established patrols in the area around Ornholm. It takes a huge amount of resources to patrol a road in this region.

We will be force marching the last day. We arrive without any encounter.

Tatrin has the non-magical Antlantean Field Plate Armor giving him a -1 AC.

We will be heading to Maelc today and arrive safely. It is clear in the morning of the 6th.

Maervahr and Thorgard to fly to Yaga-Kell during the rest of the day. The Dwarves send a bunch of Hippogriff to fly the party to Yaga-Kell.

Lucien picked up an Illusionist scroll in Goldleaf…NVM, it is not available for him until at least the 12th of Rose Moon.

They will send forth a fleet of Hippogriff Riders (two) to pick up some of the party members in Maelc.

We pick up the party members and make it back to Yaga-Kell.

Fothas has a new henchmen called Ixkaya, a Fighter / Cleric.

There are two captains present for the information for our mission. We are shown a map.

• Lower Defense Captain “Jaguar Dwarf” Ma-ako, 6th level
• Scout Captain “Lightning” Chi-kuu, 6th level.

We are given a layout to labrinthine tunnels, hundreds of feet below the Venumic ceiling that it will invite invasions into the tunnels. It has been a long time since they were mapped. When ones were taken by enemies or flooded, taken by Goblin explosives.

There is a fort inside the tunnels called Fort Xoch-Naal. It is about 4 hours of foot travel to this fort, a more distant fort and it is a gatehouse that blocks off undersirable travel. Titus is responsible for this mission and we must go to the fort and take it back from some Troglodytes. They had javelins that were very poisoned. They have obtained odd information and there has been a quadrupling of Purple Worm activity. They must have a Shaman that has an ability to summon Purple Worms.

They have heard that Alchemists in the human cities can make antidotes. They will sell us a Scroll of Neutralize Poison (id 348) for 1,600 gp. Tatrin purchases another 3,400 gp (id 349).

• Maervahr - Stoneskin, Phantom Armor, Invisibility
• Lucien - Stoneskin
• Thorgard - Stoneskin
• Tatrin - Stoneskin
• Lok-Vurn - Stoneskin
• Fothas - Stoneskin
• Litlee - Stoneskin
• Titus - Stoneskin

• Dwarf Heavy Footmen x19 plus two Sergeants (Fighter 1), 1 Captain (Fighter 5). Banded Armor AC 3/3, Medium Shield, Battle Axe, Shortsword or Dagger.
• Dwarf Light Crossbowmen x9 plus a Sergeant (Fighter 1). Hired by Thorgard for 2 gp per month plus 20 gp per month. 118 gp per day. Chainmail AC 5/5, Shortsword or Dagger, Light Crossbows.

Fothas makes an offer to the Captain that he will be paid as a PC. They do not accept just a regular share. We would have to give them all 3 shares. We hire them for that! Fothas will act as the Crossbowmen's Sergeant to lead them.

There is a wide open cavern with ceilings that are 45' tall. There are tunnels all around the south east and south west. We are coming from the south west. Holy Ik-Bahaal is a holy site and we should not flee in that direction. There is a place to find the Worshipper of the Frog God, dont go there. There is one that is quick and faster and a place with ponds that is safer, due to the Albino Fishmen who are pacifists. These eventually lead to Vernum.

There are 4 towers that are 35' tall. The keep is surrounded by an iron fence that is a last line of defense in case the fort is taken. The walls are 30' and the keep itself is 25'. The walls are 10' thick.

It will take us 4 hours to get there. We check to see if the Dwarves speak Troglodyte and some of the Fighters know the basic Troglodyte words. Lucien learns, “It Smells You little Carrion”.

Maervahr casts Deeppockets and then memorizes Knock. Titus takes a half share only this session.

We take our map and head through the tunnels by the Yaga-Kell tunnels. We wait there for about 10 minutes until a force of 30 Dwarves arrive. They will take us as far as the edge of the fort and if they hear screams, they will get out safely. The Dwarves bring with them Continual Light from the Clerics above.

We pass through many natural and ancient dwarven built corridors. The Dwarves know the way.

The Dwarves in our party have been through similar places in the past. The caverns look mundane and we are NOT in Vernum. We pass through arrive at the Fort.

The Scout Captain indicates the passage ahead. The ceiling is 14' tall with rough and slippery walls. We are left by the scout troop who retreat back about 1/10th of a mile.

They warn us of Beholders, Liches, Hellhounds, Gibberlings…These creatures find their way up from Vernum.

We are on our own from here on out!

We are in a 10' corridor and smell moisture in the air, like the shore of a lake. There is a curve up ahead and the ceiling is 15' high.

We will stop before we get into range with our light and are moving at 6“. There is a split around the bend that looks like a dead end. There is a second bend that leads to some stairs.

On the way here, the Dwarves did point out the general defenses and we do not see or know of any traps. At the top of the stairs it goes to the antechamber cavern. There is one more tunnel before the big tall cavern. We dont see any marks to see if the way was recently traveled but there are worn spots where boots have walked over the ages.

We are now on Turn 3.

We come into a cavern up ahead and see a rock column. The passages go south, north west and straight.

Fothas gets the Dwarven Crossbowmen to stop 13” away. Right before we start to go, Maervahr will cast Fly.

Maervahr is not magically invisible but his flying. We move forward.

We are surprised on a 1-in-4.

We are not surprised. There are wooden doors and a metal portcullis. Most of us are completely concealed. Titus is up there peeking around the corner.

On the wall are the Troglodytes, there are 14 of them. Half of them are holding those veined javelins. The doors are closed.

• Litlee casts Light.
• Fothas yells halt.
• Lucien maintains his position at the rear.
• Titus waits for the change of plan.
• Maervahr goes invisible to 45 HD of Troglodytes. He has effected all the minds of the Troglodytes he can see.

The Troglodytes will not fling their Javelins. Fothas points out that their Javelins only have 60' of range. The Light spell goes off on one of the Troglodytes with a poisoned javelin. He is Blinded! The Troglodytes have 50% cover.

• Thorgard positions the crossbowmen to fire.
• Litlee casts Light.
• Fothas waits.
• Lucien waits.
• Titus moves into position to wait.
• Maervahr flies up to see what he sees at the top of the keep.

There are battle cries from the wall and the Troglodytes begin retreating toward the north wall. 1.2“ per segment. On the second segment, there is a loud gong being banged loud. It vibrates the very walls of the cavern.

They move along the walls and Maervahr flies up as the Light spell goes off and illuminates the courtyard a bit on the fort.

Maervahr sees that the courtyard looks empty as far as you can tell. There's no light in there besides from the spells, there is 20' between the keep wall and the wall but he does not see door to the keep. Troglodytes are going for the stairs on north platform that go down to a courtyard. They are heading toward the keep.

• Thorgard moves toward the door with Lok-Vurn.
• Litlee stays behind the front line.
• Fothas orders his men to fire shots into the courtyard.
• Lucien goes to the rear.
• Titus moves to ward the door.
• Marvahr moves up with the party.

10 Crossbowmen are firing. All of the Dwarven Footmen are surrounding the party. The gong is still going. One of the Crossbow Bolts hits a Troglodyte for 1 damage. There is a shout of annoyance amongst the gong.

We do not see any lights being used by the enemies. The rock wall juts up revealing a tiny 4' wide tunnel. We hear a heavy door close, like a stone door.

• Thorgard waits for the spell.
• Litlee moves.
• Fothas keeps firing.
• Lucien stays back.
• Titus is ready to move through the door.
• Maervahr casts Knock.

We get tied initiative this time. The spell is cast and the Portcullis grinds up and the wooden doors swing open. We can see into the courtyard. We can see the wall to the keep. There are some stairs that go up to the wall platform and there is more wall on the north. We see another staircase going up to the north wall. There is a mirrored platform on the north east side. In the courtyard of the Keep is a stone door built in the center. We see no Troglodytes but there are a couple splatters of blood going to the stone door.

The blinded Troglodyte followed the others inside.

Maervahr flies straight up to get a birds eye view and goes psionically invisible. The Gong ceases at the end of the wall.

Maervahr sees that the south is an open cavern floor. The Keep itself is a ceilinged structure. There are no trapdoors on the roof and the keep is built into the back wall. The stone door to the keep is a dungeon stone door and relatively tight. Thorgard knows that the keep is symetrical.

We are not surprised.

Suddenly while we are talking, we spot a tall figure…a few of them, crouched along the north wall. We cannot tell what they are, though they are taller than a man.

• Thorgard and Lok-Vurn brace for a charge.
• Tatrin casts Light.
• Litlee tries to turn undead.
• Fothas moves to engage and order the men to fire.
• Lucien holds
• Titus uses Expansion Psionic Ability and moves to engage. He gets 5' taller, 11'11” tall!
• Maervahr flies closer and goes invisible.

They charge forward, ravenously. Into the light toward Fothas. When they come into light. They are 8' tall Hulking Beetles, with 4 terrible eyes, looking lidlessly at the party. There are 3 of them. All characters and hirelings must roll a 1d2. Only Titus rolled a 2 and must make a saving throw with Wisdom bonus, plus other bonuses.

Titus failed his save versus spells.

The Dwarves that failed must save. The Sergeant failed his save. 12 Dwarf Footmen failed. the Captain failed and 3 Dwarf Crossbowmen failed.

They are effected instantly and those of us that saved feel dread and eye warping. It is unpleasant to make eye contact. They are still in the darkness at 7.6“.

Maervahr is able to effect the minds of the creatures. The creatures are not effected by Turn Undead. Two Crossbowmen hit for 1 damage each.

Titus must throw a saving throw versus spells and fails again. Titus appears dumbfounded and stands there. The other Dwarves must save again. The Sergeant fails and the 3 Crossbowmen fail, they just stand there.

9 Heavy Dwarf Footmen all failed. 6 of them stand confused but 3 swing their weapons.

One of them swings at Litlee. One of the Dwarves is struck for 5 damage and he is dead!

• -1 Dwarf Footmen effected by the gaze.

There are two abreast on the wall. They attack Fothas with their claws and Fothas has AC -3/4. There are two hits from the claws. He takes 10 damage and then 9 damage…however STONESKIN! The next attacks are rear attacks, one hits for 7 damage. The third creature moves around the melee but cannot finish his charge.

The Light spell goes off. The spell misses and illuminates the wall brightly. Fothas misses his second attack.

• Thorgard charges.
• Tatrin and Lok-Vurn moves.
• Litlee moves to engage.
• Fothas falls back.
• Lucien holds.
• Titus charges.
• Maervahr casts Polymorph Other.

The Umber Hulk with the Dwarven Crossbowmen is attacking. The Dwarves must roll a Morale Check. They pass!

The Dwarves produce their shortswords and engage. Fothas fights off both the creatures!

Titus strikes one of his Dwarven allies! He hits for 9 damage to a Dwarf, killing it! The Dwarves pass and continue fighting!

The Sergeant failed. Two of the Crossbowmen failed. The Sergeant stands confused and the other two take swings at each other. One Dwarf hits the other one for 5 damage, which does not kill him!

Meanwhile, 8 of the Dwarven Footmen failed, 5 of them attack nearby to Titus and there are 12 Footmen that are confused. 4 of them attack Titus, AC -2/2. He is actually at -5 AC. One of the Dwarves hit his ally but did not kill him.

Thorgard attacks and does 7 damage. Tatrin and Lok-Vurn looked at it and the Crossbowmen failed his save.

Polymorph goes off and the Umber Hulk passes. Thorgard hits one for 14 damage. This one is wounded.

• Thorgard directs the Mercenaries to attack and he attacks.
• Tatrin and Lok-Vurn attack.
• Fothas attacks and orders his crossbowmen to disengage.
• Lucien keeps an eye on the courtyard.
• Titus charges.
• Maervahr casts Magic Missile.

The enspelled characters must save again at -2. Titus fails and Tatrin and Lok-Vurn both fail. Titus stands there, Tatrin wanders away for 10 rounds. Lok-Vurn attacks the nearest creature. The Confused Dwarf attacks the Umber Hulk, AC 2/2. It misses.

Everyone else gets their attacks. Thorgard hits for 8 damage and it is looking pretty bad. Fothas misses.

Maervahr's missiles strike one for 19 damage. It survives.

The Umber Hulks HATE Humans so one attacks Litlee. They hit on a 12, all of them hit…Stoneskin! One hits with one of the claws on Fothas for 9 damage. Fothas gets his second attack and does 9 damage. The Umber Hulk struck Tatrin with an opportunity attack which hits, Stoneskin!

• Thorgard and Lok-Vurn keeps attacking.
• Tatrin wanders the way he came.
• Litlee parries.
• Fothas attacks.
• Lucien just keeps an eye on the courtyard.
• Titus tries to charge.
• Maervahr stops Tatrin.

Thorgard kills one of the Umber Hulks and Fothas nearly kills one of the ones on him.

Fothas takes 5 damage and is down to 46 hitpoints. The rear attacks miss him. Thorgard cannot attack with his second door. Lucien sees the stone door open.

The Troglodytes have 75% cover.

Another Dwarven Mercenary fails his saving throw.

• Thorgard and Lok-Vurn attack while the Dwarves do a 1” disengage.
• Litlee parries.
• Fothas attacks.
• Lucien holds.
• Titus charges.
• Maervahr reaches Tatrin and ties up his legs. He will stop him and be ready on the next round. He will get to the wall then.

Titus finally saves and charges. He misses his attack. Fothas strikes one for 12 damage, killing it! There is one Umber Hulk left that will need to check Morale. The final creature is surrounded. Fothas does 9 damage to it and yet it still lives. Titus did 16 damage and it still survives!

Lucien watches the stone door intently and Maervahr flies back to the wall.

Next session we will be heading to the Plume Mounds!