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Bastard Son of the great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.75e
Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster
Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster
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Bastard Son of the great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.75e Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster |
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42. As the others shinned down the rope to join him, Borax glanced around. Luminescent fungus clung to the walls and ceiling, shedding violet light over a large cavern; the air was damp, chilly, and redolent with the odors of loam and decay. A layer of earth, mixed with rotting vegetation and the remains of cave animals, covered the floor of the wide cavern. Several varieties of mushroom and fungus grew on the detritus, as well as a few saplings. Ten gaunt, cloaked figures busily shovelled well-turned earth into rusted wheelbarrows.
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They seemed utterly unaware of the dwarf standing in the corner, lumbering slowly around at their task. As one passed into the putrid light, Borax realized it was not alive at all; it was the animated empty skeleton of a human being.
As Ruby dropped to the loam beside him, he quietly handed her his warhammer, unslinging his terrible flail from his shoulder as he did so. Then he started to edge along the south wall, trying to make his way to where he could see through the archway in the north wall. Ruby glanced at Calvis; "Be prepared to Turn," she murmured.
Borax couldn't quite see through the arch, so started sidling up the east wall, pressed against it to keep as far from the skeletal gardeners as possible. However, he must have either come too close to one, or stepped on the wrong piece of noisome fungus, or simply crossed a set line that defined him as an intruder. Beginning with the nearest, one after another of the skeletons turned their heads to look at him and let their spades fall.
Borax froze, and was just considering if that would cause them to lose interest when there was a sound like a pile of ivory game tiles thrown against a wall and a skeletal arm bounced across the compost towards him, propelled by Ruby's pre-emptive strike. Evidently stealth was now off the table. He moved to attack the nearest undead.
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Most of them continued moving towards Borax, but the nearest few to the rest of the party headed for them instead. Ruby winced as two clawed, bony hands ripped at her arm, drawing blood. Then Calvis lifted the golden symbol of Lynien - a bag of uncertain contents - and cried an invocation to her to turn back these unnatural creatures. A bright flash of light washed cross them, and seven of the ten turned and fled towards the north of the cavern. As they broke, Borax, Ruby and Erky knocked several down. Giggling wildly, Meepo launched a Magic Missile after one, and blew its' skull to flinders, and finally only one escaped to flee into the space beyond the arch.
As it crossed the threshold, Ruby hard on its heels, a roaring voice bellowed in the goblin language from beyond; "What's all this row? Prepare to meet the cookpot, intruders!" Heavy booted feet ran towards them, and a massive figure came into view heading for Ruby.
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Seven feet tall at least, it was goblinoid in general appearance although heavily furred. Hefting a morningstar and garbed in leathers, the bugbear had - bizarrely - a set of antlers mounted on its helmet. Looming behind it were two heavy-shouldered hunting dogs. This was Balsag the Hunter, ally of the goblin tribe.
Blinking, Ruby dropped the hammer, drew her sword and backed up into the cave, trying to draw him in to where everyone could get at him, and the snarling monster was only too willing to oblige. Borax hustled up the side of the cave towards this new foe, and the others advanced from the far end. Calvis swung his crossbow off his back and shot a bolt at the bugbear, and Meepo launched an arrow from his new bow; neither to any avail. Braced for his assault, Ruby attacked confidently, only to have her attacks turned away by the monster's weapon, wielded two-handed. Borax got a blow in but the hunter's leathers kept it from doing much damage. Calvis changed targets and shot at one of the dogs, with no better results.
Balsag wound up and brought his weapon down on Ruby, wounding her, and chortled with dark glee as the dogs surged forward to support him. Eyeing this, Erky realized that the party needed some help, and cast a Bless to support their cause.
Encouraged by this, Ruby and Borax both got an attack home, drawing dark blood from the bugbear. Calvis moved to flank a dog and jabbed it with his rapier. Ruby flinched as an arrow bounced off the back of her helmet; an apologetic kobold squeak revealed the culprit. Erky moved around the other side of the fight to flank the other dog, and the hunter began to look worried for the first time. The battle continued as they wore him down, and finally Borax dealt his death-blow and sent him over backwards in a shower of dark blood. The two dogs followed shortly afterwards, the last killed by Meepo with an arrow despite shooting into a combat.
Ruby stormed over to Meepo and kicked him, but the kobold was too pleased at his successes to mind much. "Saved yer life!" he squeaked as Ruby growled at him.
43. Collecting what loot they could find, Meepo redeemed himself somewhat by Identifying them, and the party forted up in Balsag's cave to rest. Ruby, Calvis and Borax were all quite hurt, and it took all Calvis' and Erky's healing magic to restore them to good order. With suitable threats to ensure good behaviour, Calcryx was ungagged enough to be fed on dead dog. He growled at Meepo as the kobold walked past, but a slap from Ruby and a threat to return him to Meepo's 'care' made him grumpily co-operative.
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47. Choosing the door in the NE wall, the party checked it and moved through. This took them to another columned hall. Two rows of dragon-carved marble columns marched the length of the hall, though most were completely smothered in luminescent fungus. The cobbled floor was cracked and stained with much use, with many small wooden tables dotted about. Table contents included mortars and pestles, bowls filled with crushed leaves, chopped fungus stalks, and other plant specimens. The many doors leading off this hall were all partly open, and sounds including goblin voices were audible from beyond them.
Borax and Ruby took the first two doors, north and south, and smashed into them at the same time. Naturally, this attracted the attention of the goblins in the other side rooms; but they were still just goblins taken by surprise and a general massacre ensued.
The side rooms were a barracks, a brewery for the foul goblin liqueur, a room with armour repairs being done, and a vivisection room where two goblins monitored the health of a dire rat, which was strapped spread-eagled onto a wooden bench. The dire rat suffered from horrible tumors that looked vaguely woody and fruitlike. Ruby skewered it, killing it immediately; but the tumours continued to pulse sickeningly.
A nasty-looking elixir was in the corner on a stand in a fancy crystal vial. Borax poured it out onto the dead rat, and a flask of oil was used to burn the whole lot. Calvis used a Create Water to power-wash the vial, which he reckoned was worth a gold.
The last room on the north was a store room, with spears and short swords kept there. [All these dumb-arse goblins are fighting with sticks with a nail in, and there are short swords in store not being used...]. The room to the south was empty, and the back wall was caved in and led into a cleft in the rock, a legacy of the Citadel's plunge into the earth. This led south-west, to where two passages of dressed stone led north and south. The north one, Borax observed, connected to the compost room they'd first descended to.
The rift remained free of any phosphorescent fungus, which grew so thickly in the corridor leading there. The smell of sulphur was very stong. The debris-strewn rift's floor was 2 feet below that of the corridor, and was also riddled with enigmatic 1-foot-diameter holes that looked very much as if they'd been melted....
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Session Date: 23rd Feb 2026 |
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