The party approached the gates of Dragonwrath and were greeted by a guard. He called out to them, asking what business they have in Dragonwrath. Our adventurers answered by saying they had just returned from a trek into the wilderness and have returned to Dragonwrath so that they might rest and resupply. The guard, making first to collect the entry taxes from the demi humans, ordered his men to raise the gate and allowed the party to enter into the stronghold. Now inside the stronghold, they bought some rations, had a jeweler appraise their recently acquired gem, and then went inside the Wayfarer's Inn to get some rest.
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| A random wilderness encounter |
After resting for a few days, the party decided to journey into the wilderness yet again and left Dragonwrath on the 11th of First Seed. They followed the river that led to the Outlaw forest. As they walked through the forest, they entered a clearing and were able to see the sky up above and to the party's surprise, they witnessed a dragon flying overhead. Shortly after, the party was able to reach the Tower of Mezhag the Imposing, which was now under the control of Gujek the Cruel. The party knocked on the double door and were greeted by an orc guard that recognized them and took them to speak to Gujek. Gujek asked them if they were here to clear the catacombs and the party explained their plan. They wanted to map out the catacombs and loot it if possible. Gujek warned them of the danger and despite the party's request, he wouldn't offer any of his orcs to aid them in their quest. He did say that he wouldn't demand any treasure they found since the party was essentially doing him a favor which he deemed as more than enough payment. At the end of their conversation, Gujek explained that this would be the last time he would open his doors for the party and would prefer to be left alone once they finish their quest. The party accepted his terms.
The orcs guided the party into the room that led down into the catacombs. The party descended down the spiral stair case and were immediately greeted by a woman's blood curdling scream that echoed throughout the cave. The air was heavy and cold and the clerics could sense a feeling of misery about the place.
Not shying away from danger, the party explored the damp tomb. As they waved their torch around to get a better look of the area they noticed that the walls were full of skulls and bones piled on top of each other. The adventurers headed west down a short passageway and entered another chamber. This one had 4 sarcophagi placed into recesses in the walls. Not wanting to overstay their welcome, the party went southward down another corridor. It turned eastward and they came into a room with a stone shrine, dedicated to some forgotten deity or hero. The shrine had about 1,000 gold pieces littered on top of it. The party could tell something was off and decided to poke around the room checking for traps. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. After some discussion, greed got the better of our heroes and they decided to stuff their bags with the coins. Immediately upon disturbing the treasure, the party could hear horrible groans and the sound of stone cracking and breaking. They knew that whatever was in those sarcophagi was headed their way.
Preparing themselves for combat, they got into a defensive position. Their back was to the wall and they were determined to stand their ground. Soon after, a group of 4 rotting corpses marched down the hallway and headed towards the party. They gnashed their teeth and displayed their claws. The fight began with Peter striking first. He dealt 2 points of damage but the ghoul was unshaken. Amar and Verbaith (Vergaith's brother) missed their attacks. The ghouls began to bite and claw at the party members and Verbaith was slain, Amar fell paralyzed shortly after. Our heroes were shocked, asking "What on Y'nthros' green Urth could these foul creatures be?!"
Clementine grabbed her cross, the holy symbol of the Y'nthronites, and displayed it to the rotting monsters. She called out to her god but he did not answer. Fear was setting in and the party asked themselves if Y'nthros had forsaken them. One of the ghouls clawed at Sir Peter but proved ineffective. Sir Peter steadied himself, shrugging off the paralysis inducing dread that was characteristic of ghouls. He then raised his sword and with a valiant swing was able to kill one of the undead monsters.
Gotas, knowing he would be immune to the paralysis, pushed himself through the ranks and went on the offensive. Cherri the halfling was targeted next and despite her small stature proved resilient against the paralyzing effect. Peter attacked again dealing 4 points of damage to another ghoul, killing it. The party started to see glimpse of hope.
Suddenly their hope was gone, Cherri had been slain. This clearly shook Peter as the next time he was attacked, he failed to save against the paralysis and became catatonic. Bonnie was next to fall, his dying moments were that of his new orc friend, Grujek, whom he hoped to meet again in another life. Still determined to make it out of this god forsaken tomb, the dwarf swung his war hammer wildly and killed a 3rd ghoul causing the last one to flee farther into the catacombs.
The party caught their breath and collected their friends. They made their way out of the catacombs and not a moment too soon for they had heard the moans and groans of more undead as they ascended the stair case. Gujek saw the state the party was in and wanted to know what had happened. They explained that they lost some of their members, including Bonnie. Gujek, in an act of compassion, gave his +1 sword to the party as a farewell gift and to honor the party for what they had done for him. After thanking the orcs and waiting for the paralyzed party members to recover, they made their way home. It took 2 days but they made it back to the safety of Dragonwrath and even though they were glad to be back, their spirits were dampened due to the loss of their companions.
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