Session 8 into session 9
Welcome back everyone! – it’s been some time since we last met, but here’s what happened in our previous session.
Last session started off with the party all gathered in Lut Gholein, having just finished their chosen training tasks.
Whilst inside the safety of the city walls, potions were shared out by Rhyker, as well as other pieces of equipment.
Once ready to go, the party headed towards the way point near the marketplace, and teleported their way back to the area known as the Dry Hills, wherein they found the entrance to the Halls of the Dead once more, and slowly descended down the sand-swept staircase, into the gloomy tomb below.
Rhyker took point – being as he was the most prepared and best armored, it made sense for him to go first and the rest of the party to follow.
Krell made his way down the steps shortly after, with Gulzar the mercenary in tow.
As soon as he reached the bottom of the steps, Rhyker took one look around and saw the group of bats on the ceiling, beginning to twitch and react, their wings opening up as they sensed his presence there, along with that, to his other side, further across the room, the creepy shambling mummies known as Decayed Ones, were also beginning to converge on his location near the bottom of the steps.
Rhyker and Gulzar quickened the pace as they heard the movement coming from inside the room, along with nervous errr-ing sounds coming from their comrade.
Gliding down with a loud screeching attack, the bats managed to injure and confuse Rhyker, who from that point on had no idea how to tell friend from foe, and would frantically strike out at anything that moved around him… Along with this, a good amount of his magic power was also stripped from him, as a side effect of the attack on his mind.
Krell tried his very best to shake some sense into Rhyker, but only gained his wrath instead, as Rhyker sank his axe head into the shoulder of the concerned Barbarian, after mistaking him for the enemy.
However, seeing what was happening, Gulzar used his spear to his advantage, and promptly stabbed some of the low hovering bats, as they prepared to attack with their talons.
Although two of the bats were killed by Gulzar in this way, Rhyker did manage to take at least one lucky strike from one of the bats, and became charged as a result of the lightning which pulses through their talons, and into their victims.
However, as a result of Gulzar clearing out a few of the opposition, the party were able to all push further into the first room, just as the bats moved away to avoid Rhykers holy fire aura, which he activated just moments before then.
Ophi, Nix, Morie, and Scarlett, all pressed into the room too, and regrouped with the other three.
They killed off all the foes within sight, together, as Rhyker regained his senses and shook off the confusion inflicted upon him, but it wasn’t an easy fight, as Rhyker and Scarlett had taken some big damage in the process.
After the battle was over, Ophi used her warmth spell to help close up some wounds a few of the party had suffered from the encounter, but, as the party started to heal up, they also were alerted to the sound of shuffling feet, coming from just the other side of a gap in the wall, which led into the second room adjacent to them.
It was at this moment that fear gripped at Morie’s heart and mind a little more than she had anticipated, she was clearly not in the right state of mind for this pressure filled task, and fled out of the Halls, claiming how scared she was and how she “couldn’t take it” anymore, as she headed up the stairway.
The party were astonished, but they let her go, and then decided to push forwards. They were soon met with more decayed ones, as they entered the next room.
This room housed many painted murals on the walls, a few wooden coffins, some stood up, some laid flat towards one end of the room, and a stone sarcophagus which stood upright, situated next to the gap in the wall – eventually, they party noticed that the sarcophagus was making more of the decayed ones every few seconds.
Scarlett scouted forward a little, and noticed through a second gap on the opposite wall, the entrance to a third room, there was a group of bats hanging from the ceiling, and she fired off her shots, quickly destroying two of them, and another of the decayed which stood idly nearby.
Meanwhile, Krell tried to push over the sarcophagus next to him that was creating the decayed ones, but as strong as he was, the thing didn’t budge or move an inch.
Any remaining bats from the second group, closed in on the party quickly, aiming their attention fully onto Scarlett, and they managed to severely wound her this time, whilst also increasing the effects of the charged condition they inflict onto anything or anyone they hit.
Seeing the endless flow of undead beings coming from the sarcophagus, Rhyker decided to hit the side of the device, using his axe to inflict damage.
After Scarlett managed to disengage with the bats, their new focus was a nearby Ophi, and dealing a huge amount of damage to her in one or two hits… Ophi was knocked to the ground, falling unconscious as her body went into shock.
The focus of the bats then turned to Nix, who was turned to ashes as she tried to defend a vulnerable Ophi.
At this point, Ophi was now fighting for her life…
Krell saw what Rhyker had started, and followed suit after him, he began striking the sarcophagus from the other side.
Meanwhile, a wounded Scarlett risked everything trying to help Ophi, but isn’t successful as the bats deliver more devastating attacks onto her as she tries to get by them, causing her to fall to the ground, also becoming unconscious as she lay there fading fast.
The situation had turned to a very dire one at this point, with two party members down, a third one who had fled the tomb out of fear of her life, and Zrin still in the city, studying the elemental arts in the quiet calm of Drognan’s library… Things were going wrong… very quickly!
Seeing no time to waste, and that Ophi was slipping away fast, Rhyker cut his attention from the sarcophagus, and moved to Ophi’s side, where he administered a lesser rejuvenation potion, which healed Ophi’s wounds, and stabilised her instantly… she was no longer dying.
So now onto the main threat, the two bats turned their focus onto the mercenary, Gulzar, who stands nearby to protect the party, the bats attacked him and dealt some serious damage to him, but his high endurance levels allowed him to weather the blows, even through the intense pain.
However, even in a now confused state, Gulzar managed to skewer one of the bats, leaving only one of them remaining.
At this point of the game, the decayed ones were more of an annoyance than a threat, and taking down the bats was now paramount to the party’s survival.
Ophi tried her best to crawl away, but gained the attention of the lone bat nearby, and so was struck yet again on the floor, which caused her to once more be knocked out.
To cut a long story much shorter here, the remaining enemies were dealt with by Gulzar, Krell, Rhyker, and a fully recovered (although still injured) Scarlett… who managed by the grace of the angels, and her ancestors above, to naturally recover and stand back up somehow.
They all managed to break the sarcophagus to a point of it becoming non-functional, and no more decayed ones would come from it, however, they were not out of danger just yet, as more of the decayed were creeping in through the gap in the wall… alerted to the party’s presence within the halls.
Quickly, the party recover a downed Ophi once more, with the use of Rhyker’s second rejuvenation potion, and flee to the exit.
They scramble back up the sand-swept stairway, up into the Dry Hills, leaving behind the Halls of the Dead for a second time, then rapidly head for the way point, and one by one teleport back to Lut Gholein.
Whilst back inside the city, the party breathed a sigh of relief, and felt the overwhelming frustration welling up from within.
Without much said between them, they all agree to split up and go off to train some more.
Morie, began working alongside Atma at her tavern, safely tucked away inside the kitchen, preferring the life of a chef over the dangerous life of an adventurer – it’s here she has chosen to remain for now.
The other members of the party rested up as best they can, they weren’t tired, so sleep didn’t come to them very easy, and so they opted to just take some time to recuperate a little, fix their equipment, restock their potions, and prepare to head back down to the Halls of the Dead when ready, for a third time.
It’s here where we will pick up today’s session… We rejoin the adventure, with Ophi’s Bodyguards as they are preparing themselves to brave the Halls of the Dead once more.