WARNING! Contains spoilers for Dyson's Delve.
Wayne's player was away this week so his character was run as an NPC.
Characters:
Characters:
- Barack Kihnos - Cleric 4 - Male
- Blundercuss - Dwarf 2 - Male
- Howayanshite Goblin Slayer (aka "Wayne") - Dwarf 3 - Male
- Vampire Hunter De - Cleric 3 - Male
- Zarjaz the Zazzy - Magic-User 3 - Male
In the face of the cultist forces gathering in the Grand Temple on Level 7 the party withdraws to the secret rooms behind the Goblin treasury to heal, relearn spells and plan tactics. Despite spending about a day plotting they fail to come up with any better plan than trying draw out the cultists piecemeal and pick them off with the help of Sleep and Charm Person spells.
However on their way back through the dungeon the party passes the previously neglected heavily padlocked door on Level 6. There is a brief discussion on how they have resisted the temptation to open this door for so long and then Blundercuss sets about the padlock (noisily) with his "war spanner". Barely has the padlock been removed when the door is wrenched open and four Gargoyles burst out in a rage of claws, teeth and horns. In the ensuing melee only Wayne's enchanted sword is capable of harming the beasts and De, Blundercuss and Barack can do little more than endure the Gargoyle's blows* as they try to hold them in the doorway. Fortunately a well placed Web spell by Zarjaz is able to prevent the Gargoyle's from taking the party apart and give Wayne the time he needs to slay the beasts, the final coup-de-gras being delivered by setting the web aflame.
* And endure a farcical series of natural-1's on their own attacks that culminate with De and Blundercuss in a tangle on the floor.
The chamber that the Gargoyles were locked in is empty except for two stone coffers, one containing coins and the other a pair of matched gold crowns. Somehow in the confusion of the combat De manages to get behind the Gargoyles* and search the coffers in advance. Ostensibly he is looking for another enchanted weapon but he also uses the opportunity to pocket one of the crowns.
* In retrospect I'm not sure how he achieved this, but apparently it seemed reasonable at the time.
After the liberal application of Staff of Healing, Cure Light Wound spells and Healing Potions to the wounded, the party has a brief debate over whether to press on or withdraw one more to regain spells. Zarjaz and Barack favour the latter, but De "feels fine" and insists on pressing on dragging the others in his wake.
Proceeding around the next couple of corners the party reach a cultist guard post which they handily overcome; despite being flanked by additional cultists coming through a secret door. Zarjaz casts Charm Person on one of of the cultists and after the fight the party questions him as to the disposition of the cultist forces*. They learn that there are another dozen or so cultists in the Grand Temple below and that they have a direct surface access via a long tunnel that comes out some way from the entrances which the party are already aware of. Before the party arrived on the scene and disrupted their plans the cultists were exploring and expanding their control upwards through the dungeon. The cultist also tells them that the dungeon continues to descend below the Grand Temple and that the cult occasionally receives emissaries from below. Once the questioning is complete De "stakes" the cultist from behind; perhaps he isn't a fan of mime?
* Since like the others this cultist has had his tongue removed this is quite a lengthy process as the answers have to be conveyed via a combination of mime, sign language and written scrawl.
With Zarjaz still whining about how he needs his rest, De presses on to the top of the spiral staircase descending to the Grand Temple ...
The remainder of this post is unfortunately brief as real life intervened and it was written over a month after the session from incomplete notes.
The staircase is defended by a Living Rock Statue. De is burnt badly in overcoming it. One member of the party repeatedly tries to burst a waterskin over it but it keeps bouncing comically, they eventually succeed but only dowse the creatures remains after the killing blow has already been delivered.
Having defeated the Living Rock Statue the party descend into the Grand Temple. Here they become subject to the singing of a Harpy that charms Wayne. Fortunately Zarjaz uses his own Charm Person spell to counter the effects and the party regards back to the safety of the Goblin treasury on Level 4.
After resting up for two days the party return back to the Grand Temple to find that the cultists have taken the hint and abandoned the dungeon (via their exit tunnel). The only thing that they've left behind is the missing noble-son, Dyson Logos, bound but otherwise unharmed. The party are however suspicious and cast Charm Person and interrogate him thoroughly. Their suspicions are well founded as Dyson is revealed to have been indoctrinated into the cult and left behind as a "sleeper agent". Nevertheless they return him to his father in Muncaester and (presumably) advise him of the viper in his nest*.
* Actually I'm just guessing this is what they did. It's just as likely that the party stabbed him until he was dead, robbed the corpse and returned with "evidence of his death at the hands of cultists" to his father.
This completed Zarjaz's (and Shanks') obligations to the Lord of Muncaester but leaves the other party members feeling somewhat "put out" due to the lack of additional reward for their efforts. They console themselves with the loot that had been retrieved along the way and the possibility of taking their frustration out of Zarjaz's hide.
The only remaining piece of business is the map that De had recovered (see Session 8) so they head back to Level 7 of the dungeon. A thorough search of this level confirms that the cultists have removed all their valuables but the party find a hidden door that leads to a second stairway up to Level 6 and an area corresponding to De's map*.
* They also locate stairs down to deeper levels.
By following the map the party retrieve a treasure of coins, a gem and a jeweled scroll case containing a Magic-User scroll of Continual Light, Knock and Fireball. They also defeat some Living Crystal Statues and almost manage to kill themselves when opening a hidden compartment in a wardrobe results in the wardrobe, and Blundercuss who is inside it at the time, being blasted across the room.
They are frustrated in their efforts to enter one last area, marked with a skull and crossbones on De's map. Zarjaz uses a Knock spell to bypass one heavy stone door only to reveal another one guarded by a pair of Iron Living Statues. Blundercuss is all for taking on the statues but the remainder of the party demur and the matter is settled when Zarjaz refuses; he has no intention of facing something that has been so securely locked away.
The session ended here with the general consensus that this adventure was "exhausted" and that if and when this campaign continues we will start with the same characters but an otherwise clean-slate.
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