User blog:Dinkypin/14/5/2017 - Session One

After a quick but devastating battle againt the reanimated corpse of their colleague Cecil, the Sorensgard and Tommy made their way out of the chamber and found themselves on the stony shore of a vast underground sea. Aera took to the air to provide reconaissance, soaring thousands of feet until he encountered an island of crumbling ruins, glowing with strange green light. He flew further until he reached the far shore and found a steep slope that might lead to the surface. Upon his return he stopped to investigate the glowing island and discovered a magical hatch surrounded by magical mushrooms. Before he could investigate further, he was chased away by a pack of Fomorians.

Along the shore, the party found an old campsite complete with a boat and Oda quickly set to work to repair it. As Aera flew along the shoreline he was pounced on by a pair of Cloakers. Although their eerie moan was powerful, he kept his composure and made quick work of them with his customary skill. However, the noise alerted a nearby Svirfneblin settlement who sent a delegation to investigate. They first encountered Caelynn and Aera, but the latter did not speak their tongue and poor Caelynn was still struck dumb from the grief of losing her beloved companion Fenrir. Through some creative miming and repetition of the only word in Undercommon that Hadeyr knew ("Friends!"), they persuaded the small warriors to come to the camp, where Oda recognised them as distant cousins and provided translation.

Upon discovering that the party were warriors, the deep gnomes became overjoyed and brought them to their village, where they begged the party to destroy the 'bad man' who had been terrorising them. Fearing the presence of their nemesis Rike, they asked for a description. The bad man was tall, like Hadeyr and his ears were pointy like Hadeyr and the Sorensgard's hearts were heavy as they prepared to set out. Weary from their battles, they chose to rest and recover their strength but before they could, the village was beset by grotesque, oversized insects and a swarm of biting bats.

Weary indeed, and the fight was a hard one. The giant scorpions had strong pincers and stronger venom and both Oda and Tommy fell unconscious, but with a few well placed spells and well aimed weapons, soon the mindless beasts were destroyed and the party finally able to rest.

In the morning they chose two guides from the villlage to lead them to the bad man and found a squat building, styled as a mage's tower. Stealthily they appproached and discovered the bad man within, not Rike but a Drow mage dabbling in alchemy, surrounded by elixirs and the gruesome results of his failed experiments. The party conferred and decided on diplomacy, but the Sorensgard were no fools and took up positions ready to strike, and their wisdom held true. As Aera greeted the man, he whirled and cast a vicious spell, and the companions sprang into action. Well rested and well positioned, it was the work of moments to destroy both the mage and his foul creations, and on finding the mage's journal, they discovered he inteded to open the hatch on the island, and needed the oversized beasts he had created to protect him from the monstrous giants that dwelt there. The party confiscated the remains of the experiments, including a potion that gave Perrin back some of the years that had been stolen from him.

Oda, Aera, Hadeyr and Perrin all reached Level 7 this session,