Dragora's Dungeon, Session 4

For this game session, Zach provides the pictures and Rebecca provides the writeup! Thanks, everyone!

Our heroes awake in the same cavernous swamp, surrounded by bits of yesterday’s dead foes. After some initial scouting and tree climbing, Mendas spies a land mass perhaps four furlongs distant and, on it, an ancient and crumbling aqueduct.

Just as the adventurers approach, a horrible scream rends the air. A huge fist erupts from the very muck beneath their feet! The fist is followed by a head (screaming) and then a torso. The warriors draw weapons and prepare to do battle yet again, but the figure that emerges from the swamp is not a monster – just a very filthy half-orc. When challenged, this muddy stranger identifies himself as Motull, a fellow devotee of Thor and the last survivor of an adventuring party much like this one. Being familiar with Viking adventuring parties, no one trusts him. Nonetheless, in an uncharacteristically tender gesture, Bartix uses Mage Hand to gently clean the mud from Motull’s face. Hermiad throws up a little.

Thunder thunder thunder thunder CATS

Motull climbs the aqueduct; for lack of better leadership – Rurik is strangely quiet – the party follows. The aqueduct quickly becomes a maze of dank tunnels, sometimes so filled with water that the warriors must swim. Oddny starts to rust. Eventually, Mendas observes that the floor is littered with live vipers. Why did it have to be snakes?

Gingerly stepping around the vipers, the party arrives at an altar covered with ancient gore; lying atop the alter are a white cloth and a crystal shard. As Bartix reaches for these treasures, three enormous shadow cobras appear behind the altar, hoods flared. Rather than attack these representatives of his favorite order, Bartix attempts to negotiate with the cobras for the obviously valuable items on the altar. Erik, however, feels that doing business with serpents is irreligious and will anger Thor. The theological argument becomes somewhat heated, prompting Thor to clarify that “Snakes don’t deserve nice things.” A brisk negotiation ensues, with Bartix offering various material components and his own blood, and the snakes hissing their counteroffers. Eventually, Bartix secures the Healing Sash and Dark Crystal Lighting Shard for the party.

The adventurers move on, arriving in a large cavern high above a ruined city. Reconnaissance efforts reveal that (1) the city is sparsely populated, and (2) the cavern is in fact the mouth of a carved dragon, part of an colossal Tiamat statute from which waterfalls must once have thundered down into the city below.

As the party peers down the 400-foot drop, a little dragonette steals Motull’s berserker pendant and teleports, with it, around the cavern. A scuffle ensures: Bartix eventually snatches the pendant back with his Mage Hand, but not before the noise forces the party to retreat deeper into the cavern. While there, the party tries to decide whether and how to descend from the dragon mouth into the city below.

Eventually, everyone slides down a series of ropes, with Hermiad assisting his less nimble companions. The strain of the day begins to manifest at this point, as various noble warriors land hard on their knees, coccyx, and/or head.

Thus bruised, the party proceeds to sneak around the outskirts of the city toward what appears to be a temple. They successfully avoid detection by one patrol of guards but, as they get deeper into the city, stealth fails them. Erik, Varin, and Oddny, particularly, seem to be knocking over trash cans with every step. It’s only a matter of time before guards appear on the scene.

Sure enough, seven or eight blue, four-armed, be-feathered guards rush the party. The adventurers step forward bravely to meet this new assault. Bartix drops Odin’s Ball on the bunched guards, to good effect. Mendes creeps up, knives out. Motull charges into the pack, axe flying. Hermiad gives the guards some less comfortable feathers to wear. Eric wields his mace with religious fervor. Varin shouts “I am ooze incarnate,” and he is correct. Oddny swings vigorously, if ineffectually.

Post Odin-ball, Motull's initial charge as seen from the plateau (blurry)
Guy on the plateau having seen this, freaking out and running toward edge to get a better look at attackers
Initial positions on map of people in first round of combat, after Motull's charge but prior to the feathered guys acting
Mendas being creepy, prepping to hit the psychic guy
A better angle on Motull post-charge
A crappy angle on Motull post-charge
View of Motull post-charge from the rest of the party
The feather guys attack
Motull surrounded, Oddny moving up to assist
Psychic guy pulling out his brains because Mendas just knocked him out
Guy attacking Bartix, who is unamused
Feathered guys surround Motull and the core of the party together but dazed.
The core of the party would love to whomp on the unconscious psychic guy by Mendas but his two buddies are blocking Hermiad's sight
Feathered guys getting gang-pounded by Motull.
Motull getting pounded back, to the point of near dying. Varin quickly rushed up to guard his body and turned into a massive ooze...
...successfully sliming the enemies and knocking them back.
Mendas moved up to do something cool and attack the bunched enemies. I forget if it worked, it was late.









It is a valorous effort, but these foes have twice as many hands as the adventurers, and a psychic warrior to boot. The Vikings are pushed back, dazed and damaged. Motul is surrounded by seven guards and cut down, seeming to leave the party as precipitously as he joined it …

Will our heroes survive this battle? Find out next time!