Date: 1/5/2012
DM: Quendalon
PCs: Selphy [aka Murdriirin] (Scott), Charlie Darrowkin (David C.), Roland Zanzibar (Eric), Pigshit Pat (Mischa), Scrymgeour (Thaddeus), Barnaby Flanders (Carl), Thurogood (E.T.), Martín le Black (Pete), Richard Loubeau (Ben), (Chris), Hamish the Dim (Sternum)
Henchmen: 2 Zealots of the Boss
(DM's note to Oban: According to our notes, ET's character Thurogood was present on Scrymgeour's previous expedition!)
Summary
Scrymgeour emerged into the sunlight, moving quickly to avoid the prodding butt of the guardsman’s spear. Safely away from the gate he squinted at the manacle scars on his wrists, rolled his shoulders, and set off in search of his stashed gear and news of his former companions. A year and a half had passed since he got caught picking the pocket of the captain of the guard in October of 208, and he was ready to explore a different sort of dungeon.
Hours later he was comfortably dressed in leather armor and had learned that Karven, the leader of his last expedition, was long-dead. Of the others on that expedition there was little news, but Scrymgeour’s name was still known to the company and he was welcomed into a large party set on further exploring the Chateau…
The company, 11 strong, proceeded to the Chateau and down some stairs, but before even reaching the dungeon proper faced several venomous spiders the size of small dogs! At the bottom of the stairs was revealed an octagonal room possessed of two doors. Moving rapidly, Pigshit Pat listened to the doors then Murdriirin smashed the southern door open and the group passed through into a corridor beyond. Following the path less muddied by footsteps, they turned west down a 100’ long corridor that led to stairs descending 20’ to a landing and a door.
After examination by Pigshit Pat, the door was bashed open by Murdriirin and the group was able to enter a wide corridor extending to the north and south. After brief discussion and listening at a door to the south, the group proceeded north to a set of double-doors – again bashed open by Murdriirin (this proved to be standard practice for the whole expedition). The cross-shaped parlor or gallery within was looted, with only three intact paintings left on the walls. Paintings were gathered and the group proceeded east down the hall, leading to several more doors. The first door opened to a room which contained a globulous greenish-gray spider on the ceiling, quickly skewered with arrows. The remains of former spider-victims proved to be animated when the room was searched, and the party did brief combat before the manifest power of The Boss eliminated the threat.
Passing to a corridor beyond the parlor containing the spider, the party found three rooms. The first was an artist’s studio containing multiple oil paintings. While the artist was long departed, torches burned forever in this room in hot copper sconces, an eerily lifelike stone statue forever held a half-completed painting still in place of an easel, and very dry flowers remained posed in a vase on an elegant wooden side table. In quick fashion the members of the company divided into teams, rolling up the (hopefully valuable) completed paintings, trying in vain to pry the eternal torches from their copper holders, and skeptically watching the easel for signs of movement. It was not until the painting in the grasp of the easel was grabbed that the, yes, gargoyle attacked.
In a tight melee several members of the party were wounded by the gargoyle before it was defeated. It became clear during the fight that only weapons of a magical nature were capable of harming the creature.
Despite the vicious beating delivered by the gargoyle the group emerged from the studio with a healthy amount of loot: an elegant table, a vase, and 25-26 oil paintings.
The next room contained a moldy, wet former bedroom that proved to contain eight fire beetles. With only minor wounds the critters were slain and in the aftermath three of the valuable glowing glands were extracted for later sale or use. Careful search of the room produced a brooch made of precious metals – silver, gold, or possibly electrum. The brooch was covered in filth, and needed to be cleaned before further detail would be gleaned.
The last room off the corridor proved to be a water closet, yielding a fine folding privacy screen made of hardwood frames and silk panels.
After further exploration of the main corridor a second stairway was discovered. The group descended to the third level hoping to discover another route to the grand staircase.
Instead we came to an intersection of two large corridors, a wide staircase leading back upwards, and a set of bedrooms.
The first room proved to contain five skeletons which were easily dispatched in melee and with the aid and intervention of the power of The Boss. Once cleared of the vile undead, the room was searched and the party found 30 pieces of silver and a fancy silver flask, chased with an inlaid design featuring snakes. The flask still contained a fine brandy.
At least three other bedrooms were explored. The first was empty of interesting detail and had obviously been looted in the past. The second proved to contain a colony of yellow mold. We backed out and marked the door for future explorers. The third room proved to contain a wight attended by five zombies. The five zombies were overpowered into flight by the revealed majesty of The Boss (both reformed and orthodox Bossism was represented), but the wight fought. The room contained a cache of valuables including a spellbook, a dagger, and a shard of mirror.
Losses and Loot
The party defeated a number of the chateau's vile denizens:
- 3 football-sized poisonous spiders
- 1 large green spider, slain in its web
- 5 skeletons, destroyed by the power of the boss
- 1 gargoyle
- 8 firebeetles
- 5 skeletons
- 5 zombies
- 1 wight
A variety of loot was recovered including: 3 small oil paintings (framed), a fine table, a crystal vase 25 paintings, (rolled up), 1 half-finished painting, 3 fire-beetle glands, a broach of silver and precious metals (covered in filth, needs further inspection), Fancy folding latrine screen made of silk, 30 s.p., Silver flask of preservation with inlaid design of gold snakes (contains fine brandy), An enchanted dagger with a blade of bone (bonus in combat and hurls magic missiles), A shard of Amelie's Mirror, A spellbook.
The spellbook contained inscriptions of Armor, Detect Magic, Floating Disc, Magic Missile, Read Languages, and Shield.
The party was gifted with 5 potions of healing by the priestesses of Trianomma.
Each of the 11 characters gained 144gp and 166xp for the session.