No matter where you go, there you are.
Dear Grun,
I’m writing this quickly while the party sorts itself out.. I’m a little impatient with them right now!
We did finally get some rest in the temple. Of course, as we were finishing our prayers and getting ready to go, some zombies came to the door again. They started bashing through the door and climbing over the altar in front of it.
Trap, who was on watch, promptly shot an arrow and hit the statue by mistake, again. Drusilia went charging into combat with her sword and started chopping limbs off - kudos to the elf! Trap shot another arrow into the melee and somehow hit the statue once more. He seems to have a thing for doing that.. we did kill all the zombies in that lot, however.
There was a short discussion about which way to go; I was for heading back before we were too weakened by the lack of food and water, but was overruled, and we headed off into the unknown yet again. This time, we checked the rooms off the hallway as we walked, finding more sleeping rooms and one locked door. Trap opened it and got hit by a dart. I tried to heal him - and it worked! I am very pleased to have gained this manifestation of our god’s favor - especially for Trap’s sake!
The new room had been a storeroom - we found empty barrels and moldy grain, which Drusilia was able to purify and make edible. She also made water to drink, so I felt better about continuing. Trap, who had wandered off, suddenly came in and said he’d found a kitchen, so we were able to make a sort of oatmeal to eat. The kitchen chimney was too narrow to climb and showed no light, and so wasn’t an option to get out by.
We headed through the next door and descended a flight of steps, which widened out to a big, natural cavern and lake. And zombies, as Fafnir pointed out seven for us. I hewed one down and was heading for the next when Drusilia suddenly reduced four of them to dust. I must learn how to do that! We were left with two zombies, and I hope it’s a measure of the party’s confidence in me that the other three took on one and left me the other. Trap is now using a sword instead of his pack, Fafnir peppered it with magic missiles, while both Drusilia and I struggled with our curses, missing and tripping up. Fafnir killed theirs with a thrown dagger, even so!
Once I’d killed the last zombie, we explored the beach. Drusilia noticed a rope, and Fafnir found and opened the bag attached to it. We found some treasure, and two vials of a bluish liquid that might be a healing potion of some sort. We also found a raft, which the others took for granted we we would use. I didn’t like that at all, especially when it turned out I had to stand on one side and help pole it across the lake and current. I may be able to swim, but what dwarf wants to be on water that’s deeper than she is tall? Some of the party wilfully refuse to understand..
After a quiet crossing, thank Moradin!, we decided to follow a path through a crevice in the rock wall. Trap immediately set one off and is lucky to be a halfling, the spear being aimed for the chest of a human-sized creature. At a split in the road, we went left, and were attacked by huge centipedes but otherwise not bothered, and after a long walk we found ourselves coming up into the light of day - right in the middle of the Dimwood, which made it a mixed blessing.
I think you might be proud of how we’re turning into a regular troop of adventurers, Grun - we decided to go back in and check out the other turning in the passageway, just in case we missed anything! This one sloped downward sharply enough that I tied a rope to Trap, who wasn’t happy but left it on. Wouldn’t do to lose the lead man to any sudden dropoffs. This path led to a large cavern, full of stalactites and stalagmites. As we crossed to check out some fissures in the wall, small rocklike things hit Trap and me - and started to chew on Trap! We abandoned the cave to the piercers (except Trap’s, which he decided to keep and try to tame for some reason), and returned to the surface.
Once there, we started to make the trek back to town along a deer path. We actually had walked under the whole town from the mansion to here! As we walked, we heard a moan from the underbrush - which revealed an injured human cleric crawling through the bushes! While Trap and I followed back along the trail he’d left, finding signs of a fight and several bodies being dragged away, the cleric told Drusilia that his party had been attacked by spidery “things.” He was most concerned about a sorceress named Hendra. After some talk, we left Gildean with a dagger and some food and a blue potion, and headed off after the kidnappers (he was just too weak to come with us).
As we headed along the trail, we came upon another stranger - an elf being attacked by a giant spider. These woods were full of unlucky travellers today! I killed the spider, and some of the party began to argue with the elf about whether the stick he was clutching was a sword. I don’t know why - time was short, so Trap and I continued following the trail. We followed it right into a trap, of course; this time both of us were attacked by a group of spiders and humanoid-spiders. Trap rolled free, but I got tangled up in webs and bitten. They started dragging me away while the rest of the party arrived and joined the battle. The new elf can wield that stick pretty well. And he can sing, quite inspiringly! He got me free from the webs in time to see Trap being dragged up a tree; while he managed to wriggle free, I shot the creature with my crossbow.
Trap gave in and drank the other blue vial, as he was pretty badly hurt and poisoned. It did heal him, thank the gods! His new pet, Spike, was dead, however, which upset him.. strange little guy. The party reassembled, including the new elf bard, Valon, and finally tracked the rest of the spiders to their lair, a hole in the ground. We climbed to the bottom and got into a massive fight with the spiders and things, finishing with a large, intelligent, magic-using spider. We did finish it off - in fact, Trap landed the final blow!
So, after all that, we found three cocooned, unconscious, poisoned people. They are woozy but alive. Unfortunately, we also found another treasure chest. Instead of getting these folks back to the surface, and getting back to their weakened comrade in the woods, Trap wanted to open and inventory everything in it! Now, while everyone discusses how to get these three very sick people out of here, I’m catching you up on events. Hoping all’s well in the homelands!
With love,
Ghelt
P.S. One good piece of news: the sorceress Kendra gave us two potions to remove our curses! Praise Moradin!