Session 9 - Halls of the Kobold King
Beginning credits: In This Moment - "In The Air Tonight" [Official Lyric Video]
Title Card: Mistamere, Vatermont 27, 1000 AC
Stairs:
After beginning credits, background changes to: Dark Dungeon Music
The stairs are empty and silent this time. But when they come to the bottom, they can see a strange figure sitting next to the wizard's statue. He's dressed similarly to the statue, perhaps a wizard of the same order. He's a man of somewhat advanced age, although he still looks spry.
Wizard (To statue) - "Ah, my old friend. I miss you. The game just isn't the same without you." He looks up to see the party approaching. "About time you got here. A little different than I expected, though. Something's different about all of this. Still, it looks like you've equipped yourselves well down here."
Felonious: "Who are you?"
Wizard: "I guess you can call me Frank. Most of you don't look like what I pictured."
Fleetwood: "You know us?"
Frank: "I guess you could say that." He smiles warmly. "Been a while since I worked on all this. Seen some stuff today I never put in. I guess other people have been working on it since."
Clarion: "Are you involved with Bargle?"
Frank: "Everybody always wants to ask about Bargle. I guess I am supposed to give you all a hint."
Greegan: "A hint?"(
Frank: (clears throat) "OK, here we go. Success will depend on your passion for the game."
Greegan: "Huh?"
Frank: "Ta." He vanishes in a flash of light.
Felonious: "I am not sure we're not still being visited by that imp. Care to try the old wizard again?"
Fleetwood and Clarion pull at the statue's arms, and finally manage to trip the mechanism that opens it.
Greegan: "Oh, ho ho. Here's the honey pot." He checks the statue. "No traps." Reaching in, he pulls out a longsword and a scroll. Examining the scroll, he says "Can't read it," and hands it to Felonious. He hands the sword to Fleetwood, saying it’s a bit big for his taste.
Crypt
As the party prepares to move on, they become aware of chanting from the room where they fought the ghouls. Entering the room, we see several Kobolds in ornate headdresses and robes dancing around a smoking cauldron.
Kobolds: (Chanting in Draconic) "Kurtulmak! Kurtulmak!" (Chanting in Draconic)
Felonious: (Whispers to the others) "Kurtulmak is their god. I think they're trying to pacify the dead in here."
Greegan: "Didn't pacify them very much before."
Kobold: "We hear you, softskins." (Gremlin-like laughter)
Clarion: "Are you Wokani then?"
Kobold: "We got elected. We don't even know what we're doing, but our king said it would work."
Felonious: "Is it working?"
Kobold: "So far, no more stinkies."
Silverleaf: "Will you allow us to pass through your territory?"
Kobold: "What for?"
Greegan: "We want to have a little chat with Bargle."
Kobold: "Are you kidding? You think we don't know who you are? You have killed every Kobold you came across. We don't negotiate with terrorists."
Greegan: "Terrorists? We're not the ones digging up innocent rutabagas!"
Kobold: "There are no innocent rutabagas! You shall not pass."
The party's initial attack is rebuffed as the kobolds turn over the cauldron contents on them. Fleetwood bats away the embers, while Clarion is protected by her armor, Greegan dodges the flaming slop. Silverleaf puts arrows in a couple of Kobolds while Felonious misses with his staff, and the kobolds, no longer feeling emboldened skitter away through a door to the southeast.
Guard Room
Giving chase, the party barges into the next room, where a large table is turned over in the middle of the room with trash piled around it. The Kobolds scuttle behind the table, where more of their fellows await. The Kobolds hide behind the table, attacking with slings before jumping over it to engage in melee. Working together, the party picks off several of them despite the cover of the table. The remaining kobolds decide that discretion is the better part of valor and leap back over the table, heading out the exit to the west.
Well
Pursuing the kobolds, the party charges into the next room, which is unremarkable save for a well and bucket in one corner. The Kobolds turn and run toward the hallway to the north, screaming bloody murder. The party follows hot on their heels, emerging into the audience chamber of the Kobold king.
Audience Chamber
The Kobolds open up by throwing spears at the party as they charge into the room. Greegan dodges away but is nicked by a spear. Fleetwood tanks the spear barrage with his armor. Felonious leaps back but is too distracted to cast a spell. Silverleaf is also nicked by a spear and Clarion is hit in the head, saved from death by her armor but knocked out as the Kobolds swarm the party.
The party wades into the mass of Kobolds, striking right and left. They break the Kobolds' wave attack, killing several. Silverleaf takes aim with her bow, wounding one of the king's elite bodyguards, but then is swarmed and grappled by the Kobold horde. Felonious casts a fireball at the Kobold king - his armor protects him but his bodyguards are killed in the blast. Fleetwood plows through the remaining Kobolds and steps up to the king. Greegan breaks through the king's armor but takes a hit in return. The king takes a hit at Fleetwood - he isn't hurt but he's knocked down. Silverleaf, freed from the Kobold pile, takes another shot at the king, but he dodges further away toward the north exit of the room. Felonious casts a magic missile spell at the king, it hits him but explodes with too much energy, also striking Fleetwood. Fleetwood shields himself from the magical explosion with his brawny arm. The king is bloodied by the magical strike, but staggers to his feet defiantly.
King: "Is that all you got?"
Fleetwood: "No!" He charges the kobold, but it dodges his blade and lands a strike of its own, turned aside by the warrior's shield. Felonious casts a magic missile spell at the creature again, but he turns it aside with his shield, causing Fleetwood to draw back to avoid being hit by the ricochet. Greegan slashes at the creature with the dagger he took from the other Kobolds; he misses, and is bloodied by the king's counterattack. Silverleaf strikes the Kobold with her blade, drawing blood and eliciting a shriek.
King: "You'll have to do better than that if you want a piece of me." He lands a blow on Fleetwood but the warrior is unrattled. Fleetwood pushes forward, and he, Silverleaf, and Greegan corner the kobold king. Fleetwood's sword at last puts him down. Meanwhile, Clarion struggles unsteadily to her feet, and surveys the carnage before her.
Greegan: "This guy better have some real good loot."
Greegan's gaze is drawn first by the king's throne. While it appears to be diamond-studded, Greegan is disappointed to find that most of the "jewels" are just broken glass. Felonious casts a Detect Magic cantrip, and goes directly to the king's corpse, coming up with a vial of potion.
Greegan: "Now, this is more like it." He starts shoving the Kobold king's jewelry into his bag.
Although the party has won the battle with the Kobold King, they have no idea where to go now. Finally they decide to open the door in the southeast corner of the room.
Kobold Barracks
The door opens on a dingy, garbage-choked room where several Kobolds crouch on the floor near four small bunk beds in the southern corners of the room.
Kobolds: "Aaaa-yeee!" They charge the party wielding short swords, clubs, and in one case a dead rat by the tail.
Greegan, already wounded in the confrontation with the Kobold King, is overwhelmed in the assault. The Kobold attack breaks on Fleetwood's brawny form. Silverleaf is struck and wounded by a kobold blade, and Clarion holds up against the assault but is pushed back.
The kobolds jump onto Fleetwood, pushing him back into Clarion and Silverleaf. Busting out, the party throws off their attackers and dispatches the remainder quickly. Clarion kneels by Greegan - he doesn't look well, but he's alive. She casts a spell, soothing him, and his wounds close. He gets up, looking surprised that he isn't more badly hurt. The door to the west leads back to the well room, And the other leads to a small hallway with exits to the south and east. The party heads to the east.
Trap Room
Greegan stops the others, seeming almost preternaturally aware of danger as he examines the door to the east.
Greegan: "I got a bad feeling about this."
As he opens the door and steps forward, he unknowingly triggers a pressure plate. Instantly, a massive stone piston descends from the ceiling, smashing the floor where Greegan stood just moments ago. Despite his injuries, he displays an almost supernatural grace, leaping aside just in time to avoid the deadly trap.
Greegan: (looking at the piston with some respect) "Proper plannin' produces perfection."
The room beyond the piston has doors to the north and east. Under the piston Greegan finds the smashed remains of some creature, and a small puddle of oil. He sniffs the oil and wrinkles his nose.
Silverleaf: "Looks like some sort of a big beetle. Probably makes that oily stuff as a defense."
After some deliberations, the party continues to the north.
Pillaged Statue
This room's most prominent feature is a statue very like the one at the bottom of the stairs. This one, however, has been broken open already and whatever was inside it is long gone.
Silverleaf: "There's something alive in here." Felonious' light falls on the shiny black carapaces of two beetles, each the size of a small child. The beetles stop what they are doing and scuttle toward the party with a loud whirring sound. There are several piles of disgusting slop in the room and the beetles are digging through them to attack the party.
The party swiftly eliminates the beetles, but the creatures release a foul-smelling, corrosive oil as they perish. Fleetwood remains unaffected by the substance, while Greegan gets a face full of the caustic liquid, clearly unprepared for the encounter despite his claims. Silverleaf manages to avoid the oil but accidentally bumps into Greegan, causing him to get even more of it on himself. Clarion also gets some of the oil on her and nearly gags from the stench. Felonious, who stayed out of the fight entirely, remains untouched by the beetles' sputum.
Gallery
Seeing how dangerous the oil is, Greegan collects some into a number of small vials. After some deliberation the party decides to try the west door of the room, which opens into a ruined chamber where a large tapestry depicting Castle Mistamere in better days hangs on the south wall.
Greegan: "Maybe we could sell it if we cleaned it up."
Felonious: "Maybe so, but if you want to haul it out of here, you're carrying it."
Greegan: "Too kitschy for my taste, mate." Seeing they can go no further west the party decides to go north again.
Beetle Chamber
This room contains a set of stairs going up to the upper level. There were two of the huge beetles in the room, but they are no longer a problem thanks to what else is in the chamber - an ancient, disgusting ghoul. Smelling the blood of the wounded among the party, the ghoul steps forward.
Ghoul: (Echoing sepulchural voice) "Fleeeesshhhhh"
Clarion doesn't hesitate. She steps forward, ringing her chime.
Clarion: "In the name of Chardastes, in the name of all powers of good and law, return to the shadow. Return to the embrace of Thanatos! Be gone!"
A bright light shoots from her outstretched hand, burning the ghoul to ash. The entire castle reverberates with the loud peal of a tremendous bell. BOONNNNNNNNG!
Felonious: "I guess you got your faith back."
Greegan: "And how."
Emboldened by the cleric's powerful banishing of the undead, the party decides to continue north. They come out into a hallway with passages going north and east. The area to the north appears inviting, with vaulted ceiling and decorated columns. The party decides to continue north.
Pit Trap
Greegan cautions the party.
Greegan: "That corridor's a little too extravagant. A little too clean with all these vermin runnin' around." He goes to work, poking and prodding at the walls and floors. Suddenly there is a "shink" sound. "There you are. Whole floor's rigged to collapse, and take us under. Those scaly little rats are good, but I'm better, aye? There! Disabled it." The party is able to continue north without triggering the trap. North of the trapped room, the corridor swings to the west.
Stairs
This area contains another large pile of garbage, strewn about in front of a set of stairs descending into to the darkness. A ragged figure is picking through the garbage - it turns its head and growls when the party approaches - another ghoul. Clarion banishes the ghoul as before, but this time she has attracted the attention of another of the castle's denizens - a gelatinous cube. It slides down the hallway, nearly invisible, but Silverleaf catches sight of the movement and shoots it dead center with an arrow. The creature decides this meal may be too tough for it, and starts to ooze back the other way. Silverleaf puts another arrow into it - causing it to drop the gold coins that were inside it. They clatter down the stairs.
Fleetwood takes a shot at the retreating cube with his bow, but he isn't as good a shot as Silverleaf and misses the creature. Felonious casts a magic missile at the creature, obliterating it but making a lot of noise in the process. The party faces the stairs going down. Greegan, ever alert for danger, discovers some writing on the wall, about Kobold height, but it isn't in a language he recognizes. Felonious, recognizing it as Draconic, reads it for the party.
Felonious: "It says 'Use the other stairs, Bargle's orders.' "
Fleetwood: "Looks like he's here, all right."
Clarion: "Let's put an end to this."
Greegan: "And glom us some real loot."
Silverleaf: "I say we make him pay for those stinky Iron Ring thugs."
Fleetwood: "We'll make him pay for all of it."
(Fade to black)
(Cut Scene)
Title Card: Specularum, Temple of Chardastes, Five Weeks Ago
The Grand Temple of Chardastes in Specularum is a stunning sanctuary of light and healing, befitting the divine patron of healing and renewal. Located in a serene district of the bustling city, the temple serves as a haven of peace and restoration amidst the urban chaos. The temple is built in an elegant yet practical style, emphasizing harmony and balance. Its facade features pale marble walls that shimmer faintly in the sunlight, symbolizing purity and renewal. A grand, circular dome crowns the building, adorned with intricate carvings of plants, flowers, and flowing water—symbols of life and healing. Light streams through a central skylight, bathing the main hall in a soft, golden glow.
A cleric of Chardastes enters the sanctuary, ringing a silver bell and carrying a censer of incense. Behind him, a cadre of priests follows, carrying a still body on a bier, covered by a long and intricately decorated pall. All are chanting. Bringing up the rear is High Cleric Anastas Valerius, who carries a large brass-bound tome in a prayerful attitude. The priests place the shrouded body on the altar.
All: (Praying in Celestial and ringing bells in a hymn to Chardastes) The vibration of divine power fills the air. The chanting reaches a crescendo and Valerious pulls off the pall with a whoosh. Underneath is the still form of Aleena, arrayed in her clerical robes and looking perfect in peaceful repose. Zoom in on her face, at first in absolute stillness, and then her eyes open and she gasps in terror.