No matter where you go, there you are.
Well, we have done it now. Our lack of a true Rogue has left us buried alive deep beneath the dwarven fortress of Barraktor. It all started when we were searching the upper rooms of the fortress, when once more we encountered some Shadows. Most of them we were able to dispatch handily, but there was this one BIG shadow (which turned out to be a Wraith!), that we weren’t doing so well against. Luckily (we thought), he didn’t want to stay and fight, so he buggered off, and we were safe for the moment.
After that, the rest of the party decided “to hell with searching up here,” and decided to go as deep into the dungeons below the fortress as they could! At one point, I tried to explore the ground level, but I was soon abandoned by everyone. This didn’t bother me until I spied the wraith lurking nearby. Fearing that I would be attacked, I immediately caught up with the party, and warned them that the wraith was stalking us. No one believed me. Instead, they accused me of just being paranoid, and moved on. I made sure that I travelled in the middle of the party after that, rather than at the back...
Continuing on, through a mouldy old dwarven hall filled with statues, we came to some big doors. Jonathan couldn’t get them open, but once Ghelt was done blubbering over all the statues, she came over to the doors, and her helmet (that she received from the evil Kobolds) began to glow! Next thing we knew, the doors opened onto a corridor.
Continuing into the corridor without checking for traps or anything silly like that, one of us stepped in the wrong place, and set off a trap that collapsed the entire hallway, leaving us with no where to go but forward.
Going forward has brought us to the site of an ancient battle. It is a large room seperated in the center by a 40’ chasm. There was once a bridge over the chasm, but it has been destroyed. I know that this was the sight of an old battle, because not only are there ancient bodies lying around, on the other side of the chasm, there is a very nice illusion recreating the battle over and over for us to see. (At least, I assume its an illusion.... I didn’t examine it that closely yet.)
As we were talking about how to cross, Drusilia absent-mindedly kicked some stones over the edge of the cliff. We soon heard flapping, and were beset by a group of what could best be described as flying-heads! They began screaching, and Ghelt and Jonathan were paralyzed with fear.
As Drusilia, Korin, and I fought them off, two bad things happened.
1. The wraith that had been following us (I TOLD THEM!!!!) caught up and attacked poor Jonathan who had been standing in the doorway. Drusilia managed to call on Pelor to destroy it, but not before it had done its damage.
2. One of the flying heads KISSED Ghelt. I don’t mean just a peck on the cheek either. It was one of those DEEP kisses. A deep kiss from a flying head. Yuck.
After we finished killing the flying heads, Drusilia informed me that they were called vargouilles, and that when they “kissed” Ghelt, they may have infected her. Apparently “infection” means that you will turn into a vargouille yourself within a day!!!
Ghelt, upon hearing this wanted to immediately commit suicide. She didn’t want to wait to find out if she was not infected, or to see if she could be healed. She wanted to kill herself IMMEDIATELY. It was all the party could do to tie her up, to protect her from herself. Crazy Dwarf.
As it turned out, she was NOT infected, so it’s a good thing we were able to catch her before she went plummeting over the cliff. I would have thought she would have been a little less impulsive about this. After all, she is a Cleric, and she knows how important our mission is.
As we rested for a day while making sure Ghelt was OK, I was able to transcribe the scroll containing Feather Fall into my spellbook. That could come in handy. Also, I cast spider climb on Korin, and he retrieved the magic items from across the chasm.
We don’t know what they do exactly, but Ghelt got a new weapon and a ring of protection, and Korin got some armor and boots. Jonathan acquired two Javelins, which I believe are Javelins of Lightning. Myself, I got some magical bolts for my crossbow, which could come in handy if I run out of spells.
As we prepare to move on, it is apparent to me that we aren’t in the best of shape. Ghelt, Korin, and Jonathan were all weakened by the Wraith, and I don’t think Drusilia will be able to help them. Also, there is the problem that our only way out of Barraktor, is now to travel quite a long way underground, with no clue as to what lies ahead, and no rogue to help us find these damned dwarven traps that the place seems to be filled with.
Despite all this, I don’t think we’re quite ready to give up yet, so there is still some hope.
~=Fafnir Flamebrewer=~
Deep Beneath Barraktor