G12: The Medusa And The Archmage

Real World Info

This session was played on September 9, 2009, featuring Boarface Bristlebrush, Clovis Asseghai, Era, Francois and Hamish. They were accompanied by the hirelings Javier, Henri, Isaac and Karl.

Summary

[Note: This summary was provided by Hamish's player, Sternum. Some statements may not be entirely accurate.]

Dramatis Personae

Francois, Fearless Leader of the Company of Crossed Swords
Boarface Bristlebrush, a Merry Dwarven Cartographer
Era, Captain of the Elven Dragoon Lancers
Hamish the Dim, High Priest of the Boss
Clovis, an Elven Follower of the Boss
Bill, a Mule

Last night's adventure began with the triumphant return of the Boss!

Hamish the Dim returned to civilization to find his missing god and discovered that his lone acolyte, Lem, had moved the cult leader in fear of retribution from Baron D'Inverness. Lem also reclaimed the bodies of Immortus, Blackwater, and half-a-dozen other adventurers buried at the Boss's feet. The bodies were now encased in strange, alien chrysalises. After celebrating another divine miracle, Hamish purchased a gayly painted wagon and embarked on a medicine show that ultimately returned him to East Keep.

There he met the Company of Crossed Swords and, in need of money to build a more permanent shrine, joins the group as the platoon's chaplain. With song in their hearts, the brave mercenaries ventured forth into the Caves of Chaos.

With keen military precision, the squad entered the mad wizard's cave. No wizards or undead were encountered in the rooms previously sacked, so they crept down into the maze-like catacombs below. Boarface Bristlebrush's attempts to map the twisting tunnels were met with cries of frustration and a fierce chewing of his beard.

The Company's first encounter was with a beautiful maiden trapped behind a cell door. Era, Captain of the company's Dragoon Lancers, vowed to free her, but upon open the door was horrified by the hideous nest of serpents flowing from her hair. Clovis charged in and blindly hacked at the monster, wounding it severely. The medusa begged for quarter and was granted mercy by Era, who took her prisoner by placing a burlap sack on her head.

Clovis offered the medusa freedom if she were to unpetrify the Boss. This made Hamish visibly uneasy, and he said that it would be foolish to trust such a creature. Nonetheless, plans were made to escort the beast back to East Keep.

The Company continued to explore the catacombs, eventually finding a room full of sarcophagi. No one dared open them until Clovis struck a deal that gave him first picking rights to any treasure contained within the burial containers in return for cracking the largest one open. This would be the last deal the elf would make in the earthly realm, for as soon as the lid popped off, a hideous undead arch-mage sprung out and devoured his soul. Clovis's withered husk fell to the floor.

Spears were thrust into the arch-mage to little effect. Considering himself in a desperate situation, Era bargained with the captured medusa for aid. She agreed, but immediately turned on the mercenaries. Thankfully, Era managed to tackle the monster and "re-bag" it.

Meanwhile, things were looking grim for the rest of the troupe. Francois directed his front line of pikemen against the undead arch-mage, who treated them like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Thankfully, Hamish brought enough holy water to douse the monster, which soon dissolved into a harmless puddle of goo.

A secret treasure trove was found beneath the largest sarcophogus. It contained a very well-stocked spellbook, a jeweled-dagger, a Sword +2 of Light, a scroll of Protection from Undead, a cursed helmet, and a broken Staff of Striking.

The party decided that it was time to leave, but soon found themselves trapped by a small army of zombies. The cave's resident wizard had cornered them in the catacombs.

Just as things looked their most dire, Era negotiated with the magic-user. The party was free to go upon swearing to 1) not disclose the cave's location, 2) return his stolen spellbooks, 3) discontinue attacking his minions, and 4) smite his rivals in the cave complex. Boarface was reluctant to swear, but did so at the behest of his companions. The wizard, true to his word, let the Company of Crossed Swords leave the Caves of Chaos unscathed… for now.

Losses & Loot
The party defeated the medusa Eleutheria and the undead relict of Archembault the Archmage, and negotiated their escape from Sebastien Quincarnon and his legion of animated corpses. They acquired a jeweled dagger valued at 800gp and several magical items.

For creatures defeated and treasures earned over the course of the session, each surviving PC received 294xp.


Previous: "Worst Picnic Ever"

Next: Against the Orcs of Quasqueton

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License