The lost province was once an imperial crossroads. It is said that an ancient northlander king once came south in search of glory and treasure and cut a bloody swath through these lands before the Old Empire finally stopped him. Struck a mortal wound by an imperial champion, he was carried from the field of battle by his followers, who entombed him near the site of his greatest triumph on the banks of Lake Aster. For centuries, his burial site was hidden from mortal view, but the ancient spells woven by his priests and seers have begun to fray…
Armed only with the information above and a good supply of blades and torches, a group of crawlers set out from Plainwood to seek the long-lost burial site. Tonight’s party consisted of:
- Nubbin Stump: drawn halfling, fighter 1
- Vraazox da Pryist, wolfchild goblin, priest of Memnon 1
- Tulk, marked half-orc, ranger 2
- Ylva Fekyue, outcast halfling, bard 1 (player joined late, PC introduced in play)
The following post may contain spoilers for Hoard of the Sea Wolf King from Cursed Scroll Vol. 3: Midnight Sun.
Following up on a drunkenly-slurred rumor and a drunkenly-scrawled map, Nubbin, Vraazox, and Tulk set out into the lost province’s wilderness. Three days of trekking northwest led them to the south bank of the Gray River, near its outlet into Lake Aster. Locating several distinctive landmarks, they followed their directions of questionable veracity to a cave above the riverbank. A small stream flowed from the cave’s mouth, plunging into the river below.
Locating several obvious bandits huddled around a campfire, the crawlers decided ambush was the better part of valor. A quick skirmish saw four bandits dispatched and two fled, with the cost of a bad bludgeoning to Nubbin. Continuing into the cave complex, the crawlers located the bandits’ paltry supply stash, then discovered the first of several built areas within the rock.
With Vraazox and his lantern in the lead, the crawlers were not precisely surprised by the attack of a flock of stingbats. They were, however, briefly surprised to meet Ylva, who’d been in the cave without food for several days after being chased and entrapped by bandits. Navigating by sound and touch, she’d found an underground stream to slake her thirst, but the sound of a large creature moving and snoring had kept her from exploring further.
Of course the party decided to investigate. Ylva questioned their judgement but went along with it under the promise of eventually being escorted out to what passes for civilization around here.
Tulk successfully snuck in to positively identify the creature as a troll. The party prepared to hit it in its sleep, but Nubbin’s utter lack of stealth awoke it before the assault was ready. Tulk hit it in the face with a burning flask of oil, which interrupted its regenerative properties. Unfortunately, the troll fixated on Tulk, biting her for a critical hit that dropped her on the spot. Vraazox darted in and force-fed Tulk a precious healing potion (recovered in the earlier expedition to the Dusk Queen’s tomb). The troll eventually succumbed to flame and blades, but not before laying low Nubbin. Ylva staunched the fighter’s bleeding at the last minute, whereupon the crawlers decided to pull back to the bandits’ campfire and rest.
After recovering from near-death experiences, the party crossed the underground stream and explored the caverns and tomb north of the campsite. They discovered several indications of ancient family drama between the tomb’s prime occupant, yclept Skorgald, and his ungrateful and treacherous sons. They also discovered a giant spider, which Tulk and Ylva dispatched with great haste (Ylva striking the killing blow, much to her own astonishment).
The group also discovered an ancient altar and determined that it was consecrated to the Old Gods of the Nords. The bloodstains suggested sacrifice. Between Vraazox and Ylva, the altar’s purpose became clear: sacrifice of a living being, and subsequent prayer, would bestow a boon from one of the Old Gods. The crawlers contemplated hunting down the remaining bandits but decided purchasing livestock or trapping wildlife would be less hassle.
Exploring further, Vraazox received a heads-up from his enchanted longsword that a hidden passageway was nearby. (The sword is another item from the Dusk Queen’s tomb, and perhaps a bit of an overpowered rules-bypass, but it ensures that my players don’t miss out on interesting things, so I’m okay with it.) A thorough search of the area revealed the tomb of the legendary seeress Agatha, still preserved by a blessing upon her coffin. The crawlers left her remains undisturbed, but acquired her wand of wisdom.
Venturing deeper, the party discovered a funereal longboat, apparently constructed inside the cave. Its hold held the mummified remains of a woman, her hands beringed and clutching a gold-shod stave. Vraazox removed the rings without difficulty, but when he attempted to acquire the stave, the woman’s ghost arose in anger and possessed Tulk, the group’s hardiest combatant. Vraazox exorcised the possession with haste (it seemed like a perfectly appropriate application of turn undead), but the ghost responded in fury, striking him down. Tulk and Nubbin turned on her with fury, driving her off, and the party managed to stabilize Vraazox.
Returning to the campfire again, they contemplated their rapidly-diminishing food reserves. Tulk went hunting while Nubbin and Ylva guarded the unconscious Vraazox. An infusion of fresh venison restored everyone’s spirits, and Tulk replenished her herb reserves.
Heading back to the chamber with the longboat, the party continued exploring, discovering a small rocky beach with the recently-dispatched corpse of a blue-skinned, finned elven woman. Nubbin approached to examine the body, which promptly sat up and wailed a mournful tune that rendered Vraazox, Ylva, and Tulk briefly insensate. Left on his own, Nubbin quickly fell to the claws of the undead sea nymph, which began dragging him into the water. Nubbin’s torch toppled from his limp hand, falling into the water. Vraazox revived just in time to drive off the creature with a well-placed turn undead. Tulk lit one of her own torches, tossed it to Ylva, and dove in to drag the halfling back to shore. Despite subsequent torch fumbles and multiple relightings, Ylva again came through as the party’s impromptu healer, stabilizing the downed Nubbin at the last moment.
Tulk prepared a couple of herbal concoctions to get Nubbin back on his feet. Wary of more undead ambushes, the crawlers resumed exploring. An apparent dead-end passageway was revealed by Vraazox’s sword to be no such thing, and the wand of wisdom proved the key to unlock the passage. The thus-unveiled treasure hoard was more than enough to sate the crawlers’ avarice, and they decided it was time to cut their losses and return to Plainwood to resupply (especially as they needed to cache some of their gear in the cave to carry their haul home).
A solid round of carousing added enough bonus XP to level up Ylva, Vraazox, and Nubbin to level 2. Nubbin kept the silvered shortsword the party found in the cave, and scrolls of light and protection from evil were donated to the crew’s absent wizard.
As the cave complex seems to have more secrets to reveal, the crew plans to return with all due haste.
I have no idea how I didn’t kill at least one PC. We had four death timers during this delve, two of which were down to a single action before the PC in question expired. The troll and the ghost each could have generated a TPK if rolls had gone just slightly differently
With the delve incomplete, I need to figure out what will change in the days before the crew revisits the cave…