Session 23 Return to Thunderspire Labyrinth 15-17/10/17 Thunderspire #7

Messoria Account: A Failed Ambush – Paldomar’s Mistake

We leave Steven, Frank and Wanda in Fallcrest to bolster the town’s defences and head back to Thunderspire and the seven Pillared Hall. Lord Markelhay had expressed his concern over the reports we brought of the Black Fang Gnolls and asks us to investigate further, and if the remaining prisoners are alive, to rescue them.

Once back in the Hall we decide to visit Rothar’s Taproom, a less than reputable hostelry patronised by orcs, hobgoblins and the like. On the way we pass the giant minotaur statue and observe that it is the locus for a teleport circle as we see one of the Mages arrive there.

At Rother’s Taproom we see the hobgoblin warcaster who survived the fight in the Chamber of Eyes and invite him to sit with us. We establish an armed truce and learn from him that the Black Fang Gnolls are led by Maldrek Scar-Maker and they lair in a place called the Well of Demons, far below the Seven Pillared Hall. The Well of Demons dates back to the time when the minotaurs built Thunderspire Labyrinth and was apparently an important location in a religious schism related to the minotaur worship of the demon lord Baphomet.

While we are talking, a kobold beggar enters the tavern searching for us. He gives Aelar a note inviting us to a meeting purporting to be an opportunity to gain a hidden ally in the Labyrinth – clearly an invitation to a trap!

Thinking we may be able to turn the tables and gather useful information from our would-be ambushers, we head to the location described which is in a dead end tunnel off the seven Pillared Hall. Messoria and Hengist take the lead while Aelar and Andraste follow in the shadows some thirty feet behind.

In the cave we see the bulk of a Bronze Warder standing next to a large boulder and a tiefling woman on top of a ledge ten feet off the ground that runs around the edge of the cave. Aelar shoots her and tries to trip her so she falls from the ledge but she is able to save herself and instead falls to the ground out of our sight, hidden by the angle of the ledge. He then shoots at the Warder and succeeds in briefly pinning him to that cave wall as he is attempting to roll the boulder on to Messoria and Hengist.

Messoria moves around the boulder and attacks the Warder, striking mighty blows against it with her Flaming Warhammer. Andraste darts forward and tries to climb up the ledge but slips in the loose rubble at its base. Hengist meanwhile holds back calling out his encouragement for Messoria to continue attacking the Warder.

The tiefling woman regains her feet and strikes at Aelar with her magic, attacking him with spectral snakes whose venom is only too real. Then a second tiefling appears from the shadows and blasts Aelar with balefire. Aelar stumbles backwards, seriously wounded, and tries to shoot the tiefling woman again but his injuries make it hard to aim and he misses her but with an effort of will he is able to throw off the worst of the tieflings’ attacks.

The Bronze Warder finally manages to roll the boulder into the doorway, cutting Andraste and Aelar off from the fight. It then turns and knock Messoria to the ground before attacking both she and Hengist with its powerful axe. Messoria is able to deflect its blow with her shield but the axe strikes Hengist, injuring him severely. Messoria gets to her feet, manoeuvres to get the Warder between herself and Hengist, and once more attacks until the cave resonates with the sound of hammer on bronze.

Andraste notices a gap between the top of the boulder and the cave roof and uses it to spot a safe place to fey step back into the cave to attack the now heavily damaged Warder. The tiefling realises that Messoria is likely to be immune to many of her attacks so instead turns her attention to Andraste, despite the burn of Sehanine’s light as she ignores the paladin’s challenge. Andraste is badly scorched and takes refuge behind another large boulder.

Working together Messoria and Hengist finally destroy the Warder and turn their attention to the tieflings who, recognising that the fight had turned against them, had once again ducked back out of sight at the back of the ledge.

Hengist and Andraste both manage to climb up onto the ledge to attack the female tiefling while Aelar, precariously balanced on top of the boulder blocking the entrance, shoots at the other. His arrow finds its mark and the tiefling stumbles forwards only to be assailed by holy light as Sehanine’s challenge makes it tumble over the edge and draws it to Messoria. Within seconds it is all over.

Seeing this the female tiefling offers to surrender, encouraged by the fact that when Framath the Duergar had surrendered we did not kill him. She says her name is Tears of the Rain and that she and her brother were hired by Paldomar to kill us, and even given control of a Bronze Warder to accomplish the task. She shows us a note that tells them to take our bodies and a sealed scroll to the Black Fang Gnolls and gives us a detailed map of (hopefully) the safest route there. She notes that when they spoke with Paldomar, he was always hooded but they saw small tentacles beneath his hood.

Hengist manages to roll the boulder aside, opening our exit, and Messoria orders Tears of the Rain to leave the Nentir Vale.

Session 22 Conquest of the Horned Hold 7/10/17 Thunderspire #6

Messoria Account:

The Defeat of the Duergar 

We rest briefly before continuing onwards. Concerned about the risk of getting surprised by an unexpected group of Duergar so deep in their stronghold, Andraste scouts the area before finding a spot where she can keep watch and warn us of any approaching threat.

The rest of us move forward cautiously, entering an antechamber with two doors. Through one of them we see the Duergar leader Murkelmor and some of his aides, so Aelar takes position by the door while the rest of us charge in. The theurge who had been talking with Murkelmor falls before us while Murkelmor himself is seriously injured.

Clearly deciding discretion to be the better part of valour, Murkelmor retreats to a fireplace blazing unusually hot – even Messoria can feel the heat of the flames - and ducks through a secret door behind it into the large room beyond.

Deducing that the other door from the antechamber leads to the same large room we divide our forces rather than try to force the bottleneck through the fireplace where there would be a risk of us getting trapped in the flames.

We successfully force the door and Steven is able to push his way into the room. We see Murkelmor supported by a group of Duergar guards, another theurge, who we find out is named Framath, and a pair of Spined Devils. The room comprises several pits in which are the prisoners we have been searching for.

Framath the theurge calls on his magic and manages to severely injure, blind and/or poison many of the party. Murkelmor himself is caught in the theurge’s attack, and in his seriously wounded state, it is enough to kill him. Framath calls out to rally the surviving Duergar that with Murkelmor’s death, he is now their leader.

Murkelmor’s death is a turning point for the Duergar and their defences start to crumble. One of the Spined Devils, seeing the way the fight is going, decides to take out its frustrations on the helpless prisoners and manage to kill three before Messoria can reach it to challenge it. Framath too is on the run but before he can escape Aelar’s arrow trips him into a flooded pit where he has no choice but to surrender.

In all we rescue seven prisoners including Herlof the Prospector and Grue the Goblin, sold to the Duergar by the Bloodreaver Goblins. Two further prisoners are missing, apparently taken by Black Fang Gnolls two or three days ago. Not wanting to be encumbered by prisoners, we leave Framath and the surviving Duergar tied up in one of the slave pits. A dagger placed nearly will allow them to free themselves but will give us time to get away.

We return to the Seven Pillared Hall with the rescued prisoners. Grue seeks refuge there while we escort the others back to Fallcrest. We remain in the town several days while Nimozaran uses much of the treasure we have found to fund upgrades to our equipment: Aelar and Andraste’s weapons are improved as is Messoria’s armour. He is also able to resize Murkelmor’s giant flaming maul to a more manageable size so that Messoria can wield it as a Warhammer.