Chapter Four – Gorgalon’s Gaunlet and the Recovery of HordeMaster

Hammer 15-19, 1371 D.R.

Returning from other adventures found us with a few days to spare before our appointment to join Gunnery Sergeant Potulous to assist in protecting his ship.  Paris Wands had some books he wished recovered from a cave in some cliffs about a day or so out of Dagger Falls.  Doing the math, we figured there would be just enough time to complete the task if we stayed focused on the task at hand.  Then we wouldn’t miss our ship.

We equipped and got a good night sleep and were off to the cliffs in the morning.  We traveled for just over a day when we were approached by a figure in a black cloak with a  white fur hood.  It was wearing dark armor with a white skull pendant on it.  Underneath all of this was a white haired human.  When he spoke he had all of our attention – that’s for sure.

He told us he was a spokesman for the Bone Tower.  His name was Urich and his standing was Fourth Feign of the Bone Tower.  He said he was a necromancer and a protector of this area.  The Bone Tower did not want outsiders coming in and awaken the dead here so they protect the area.  He warned us to be wary of undead of the Dagger Hills area.  He questioned us on where we were going and what we were doing.  He decided we could continue on our quest and said we could approach the Bone Tower if we wished and were brave enough.  With that, he made his exit with a magical disappearance but left a hovering skull to keep tabs on us and to make sure we did not stray.  I couldn’t help but think that it must have bugged Cedar to hear that some necromancers were out here with a relatively upstanding purpose, as they are usually known as the evil mages in society.  I’m sure he won’t mention it.

The hovering skull followed us to the cliff’s edge and then took its leave.  The cave was most of the way down the cliff face sitting only 20’ above the surface of the frozen lake below.  We belayed down on ropes making sure we had a safety line as well in case any of our less dexterous companions lost their grip.  We came to a stop on a narrow ledge that had a narrow opening into the cave.  As we got our last members down the ropes, our first members encountered what seemed to be a giant spider lurking in the next area.  Killing it with one mighty blow, the spider was actually a dried husk of a spider filled with a magical gas/powder. 

Many of us were hit by the poison gas/powder but Aramil got the worst of it.  He was close to down and out but we had nowhere to retreat to or regroup.  Summoning what strength he did have left we pressed on looking for a secure place to stop, heal, and rest.  With Aramil moving towards the back of the party for protection, we decided examined the trap.  Any movement in the area stirred up the gas/power again.  We came up with the idea of sprinkling water on it to try and keep it on the ground until we had passed.  It worked and we were on to the next area.

The next obstacle found was a pit trap and, yes, we did find it the hard way.  It contained bladed and mold which not only damaged those who fell in but made exiting very difficult.  As those who had fallen victim were crawling out, they were attacked by little darts shot from further ahead.  These were followed by some giggling voices that some identified as jermlain, a very devious group of beings that typically live in groups and tunnel.  We pressed on past the pit to find out what they had in store for us next.

The next area was an open cavern with a large chasm in the floor leading down at least 20 feet (which Cedar pointed out would probably match with the level of the lake outside).  It was full of water that was rippling but we did not know why.  From the ceiling, these jermlain had hung fish hooks on fishing line at chin height and lower.  The entire time one moved through the area you either had to cut the hooks or they cut you.  Meanwhile, the jermlain shot darts at us from under a helmet on the other side of the cavern.  A brilliant set-up for an ambush.  They really were using our size against us.  Not looking to be defeated by these little annoyances, we attacked.

We first began by clearing some of the hook out of the way.  Next, Cedar used a magic missile to take one out before it got to attack us.  Xan kept firing and then one of us threw a rope over the helmet they were using for cover and pulled it off of their embankment and into the water.  The odds evened up quickly.  They retreated quickly into their tunnels popping out to shoot and run.  We then heard a whizzing sound as a couple slid across lines they had tied across the chasm leading from one set of tunnels to another set.  We found a rock that was secured down that was their entrance on this side.

Using Primula’s cast iron pot and a rope, we dipped for water below and began pouring water down the hole.  It took a few buckets but we flushed three out into the water below.  Then, to our surprise, as the jermlain were scrambling to stay a float, a large green, scaly thing ate all three.  We wont be exploring the water today.  Making sure our side was secure and the tunnel exit was blocked, we rested for the evening barricading ourselves with some large doors and using the pit trap at our back.

After resting we moved across the chasm and attempted to “flush” the other set of tunnels.  Only a trace of water exited.  The group drew the assumption that it was connected to a much larger network below.  Aramil set a trap at the top to send a message.  We moved on to the next area.

This room was mostly cavern with a worked room inside of it.  The wall that faced us had no openings and was 8’ tall.  Our battle crew of Shane and Oskar were too short to even combine together to see over the top so I stepped up to the plate and lifted Shane up to the top of the wall.  We had tied a rope on Shane just in case he got into trouble.  Seemed kind of like fishing to me.

Shane crawled out onto the overlooking ledge and saw below a pair of Rust Monsters.  We stripped of all our metal gear and got ready for the fight.  Cedar asked us to wait for his spell to go off and he managed to put one of them to sleep.  We ganged up on the other and killed it and then finished off the sleeping one.  This room had only one other way out – a door.  This door had no handles and a complex lock with a riddle attached.  The riddle said, “Spelled front to back it’s a person’s name or a preventative guard, it’s certain.  Spelled back to front, it’s what you do with a bow, a blank page, or a curtain.”  There were four dials there with letters on them.  We came to the consensus that the word was “WARD” and, after moving the dials, the door opened.

As we entered the next room, a booming voice called out stopping us all in our tracks.  It said, “Many of the squares ahead are trapped.  I will not tell you which are trapped but I will tell you how many traps are adjacent to the tile you are on.”  After that, a room full of tiles from wall to wall appeared and the guessing began.  Aramil found what he thought was a safe square in the first row and Xan began acting like he was actually going to enjoy this.  Primula followed behind him to mark the safe squares for the rest of us to follow.  Some jermlain popped up on the other side to take pot shots and try to throw the two of them off but did not stay around long enough for us to deal with them.  For whatever reason, we allowed them to continue on and they successfully navigated the trap.  I was very impressed and we continued to our next challenge.

Through the next door was a staircase with writing on all the stairs.  There was one word written on each step.  The sentence together said, “It seems every second or third time I step away fate is there without a doubt to trap my course.”  Primula solved this one by recognizing that if you took every third step, a new sentence said, “Every third step is a trap.”  Cedar helped Xan navigate the course and we were now at our next challenge.

Here there were three weapons displayed on the wall.  First there were a Pair of Siagham with the inscription below saying:  “Pa’s Hand Weapons, Gutstickers”.  Next there was a Spiked Gaunlet with the inscription below saying:  “Pa’s Gaunlet, Fist of Pain”.  The last was a Falchion with the inscription below saying:  “Pa’s Sword, Islet’s Laughter”.  We took the weapons as treasure and attempted to open the door.  A mouth opened on the door and said, “Not without the password you don’t.  What’s the password?” startling us all.  We looked all over for a password and found nothing.  We returned to the weapons locations for clues and found none.  We tried touching the door with the weapons to no avail.  We finally took a break to think and rest a bit.  While we were trying to figure it out, Cedar figured it out.  The last entry by the weapons could be re-divided to read, “Password Is Let Slaughter”.  Upon uttering that, the door opened and we entered the next room.

The next room was a larger room with four pillars and a large, floor to ceiling mirror at the far end.  It was accented on either side by a skeleton made of an odd material but it wasn’t bone.  There were also some skeletons of painted wood around the room.  In the mirror we could see another room with a pile of coins in it.  Treasure to entice anyone.  There were no other exits in this room and above the mirror was the inscription, “Transport Us” which would activate the gate.  We hoped it was a two-way deal.  Just before we were going to go through, Primula touched one of the skeletons causing two to animate.  We battled as a group to defeat them but magic use was very limited due to the confines of the room and quantity of us versus them.

We returned our focus to the room.  We decided to go in using the gate in the mirror.  As soon as we passed through, the treasure animated!  It became a Coin Dragon and took its chance to use it Breath weapon on us of a cone of coins.  We attempted to hit it every way we could and were having a hard time doing anything to it.  My weapon wouldn’t even touch it.  I saw a sword in the middle of the Coin Dragon and attempted to grab it to try and use it instead to a painful, unsuccessful result.  We retreated back through the gate after Oskar fell to the construct to regroup and heal up.  Cedar pulled Oskar to safety and gave him a potion to heal him before we all exited.  Shane was the last out and was also beaten up.

We rested for the night and I assisted Primula in healing people up.  After resting, we rethought our strategy.  Cedar and Primula were now fully charged and ready to go.  We passed out what magical weapons we had and Primula enchanted a couple by blessing them and we attacked.  The battle was heroic as we all acted in unison and brought the Coin Dragon down.  The treasure was significant for our conquest and, upon searching the room, we did find the books we were sent to locate.  The amazing find we had encountered was a Masterwork Longsword with a Dragon Pommel with a Ruby for the eye.

However, we still had not made it out yet.  We retraced our steps carefully through the traps but came to a screeching halt at the chasm.  Someone or something had placed a board across the chasm since we left.  We approached it on our guard and checked it out but it was safe to cross.  We crossed over it, skirted the pit trap, and came to another halt in our tracks.  There was a huge white flame where the poison dust had been that wasn’t giving off heat.  Primula approached it and, after checking it out, placed her hand into it.  She then stepped into and through it and encouraged us to follow her example.

We had found a Flame of Purity – it healed us up fully, and increased an ability of ours.  It felt like pure goodness and was an incredible feeling.  I’m glad Primula was with to help let us know what it was.  We could have made a serious mistake with it if we hadn’t listened to her.

We exited the cave and began our accent up the rope to find an ambush waiting for us up top.  A barbarian, a monk, a dwarf, and a rogue were camped out waiting for us to come out – I bet they couldn’t get past the combination door.  Shane was first up and made it up quietly.  Xan was next but fell part way up alerting the ambushers and leaving Shane alone on top.  Oskar and I pulled Xan back in, Primula healed him, and up he went again.  He and Aramil made it up there just in time to help finish the last ones off.  Shane had very effectively dealt with the threat and kept the rope open for us but was severely injured.  Primula and I helped him out when we got up to the top.  He is one tough little man!

We recovered their belongings, instead of the way they had intended it, and continued our route back to Dagger Falls.  We arrived back in town on Hammer 20^th and immediately went to see Paris Wands.  He told us to keep the majority of the stuff.  He had just wanted us to have the experience.  He identified our magical items and let us split things up there, and figure out our taxes.  I paid the taxes the same day to make sure we didn’t forget tomorrow. 

The longsword, he told us, was called HordeMaster and that there were very few of them in existence.  It functioned as a +1 Longsword, it could detect treasure with a 60’ radius for a minute once per day, and could create a Coin Dragon if placed with a mixture of coins and gems.  The party saw no problem with me wielding the sword and I gave the sword from Sigil to Primula, as I only needed one.  It is quite a beautiful sword and I will wield it proudly.

The Songs and Stories of my Life,

Kerith of the Dalelands