Having just spent three weeks on the road, the group decided to do a little local exploring rather than embarking on a more substantial adventure. Perusing Ravar's sketch map of the area, and the locations of ruins on that map, the characters decided to investigate the ruins near the headwaters of the Perla stream, not far upstream from the location of their very first dungeon.
With plans to set out the next morning (Thursday May 23), the party was going about their business in town and got involved in a minor brawl in Linden's town square. A traveling troupe of entertainers were putting on an elaborate puppet show in the square, and a small crowd had gathered. Amongst these were 6 caravan guards from Mirraddi, who were typical of their people (long hair, braided beards and lots of tattoos). Causing a bit of an interruption in the proceedings were 5 members of a religious group known as the Prophets of Doom. The Prophets are clerics, lay priests and other followers of the god Urdevaal, the god of pain and suffering. The Prophets dress in simple black and brown robes, wear rope sandals, and travel the roads and towns of the north, preaching gloom, doom and repentance for your sins. The Prophets also often shave their heads and tattoo their skulls with religious symbols.
In Linden's square, the Mirraddi swordsmen were watching the puppet show and the other entertainers, who were in turn being interrupted by the Prophets. The Mirraddians were getting increasingly annoyed, and were yelling at the Prophets, making fun of their shaved heads and tattoos. The Prophets were getting more aggressive, the Mirraddians were getting more annoyed, and Duncan decided for a little mischief and cast a Fog Cloud spell on the bunch of them. A simple fistfight ensued, the townspeople quickly emptied the square, and the party snuck away before the town guard arrived to settle matters.
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| Ravar's Map - South end |
The party left Linden on Thursday morning, passed through Olmsby and headed north up the trail past the Kel-Vandiir dungeon, camping for the night at a spot nearby that they had used on prior travels. The night was uneventful, and by 8am Friday morning, the party was heading north. They followed the old trail on the west bank of the Perla stream for about 3 miles, crossing to the east bank at a ford. The old trail continued northeast, but the party stayed by the stream, trudging through the grasslands. At about 10am, the flatlands came to an end, and the stream began climbing into some rolling hills. After a brief halt, they continued along the stream.
About a mile into the hills, as the party was following a game trail along the stream bank through a wooded section, they came around a bend and came face to face with a group of 5 fierce-looking creatures the size of a large man. These turned out to be bugbears, and a fight quickly ensued. The party, consisting at this point of Duncan (wizard), Malachy (barbarian warrior), Badric (dwarves cleric) and Niam (wood elf rogue), were hard-pressed, but eventually overcame the creatures after a very tough fight. With a few coins and a lot of wounds for their efforts, they rested for a couple hours, healed up, and continued northwards.
After another 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile through rugged wooded hills, the game trail came to a tiny valley nestled between a number of hills. In the valley were the remains of a half dozen or so buildings, including a ruined tower on a hill. They investigated the tower first, and found a stone staircase leading down, which had been very well hidden and overgrown with brush and vines. Clearing a way in, they headed down into the darkness.
The dungeon was in decent repair, and was not overly large. The first section contained a second stairway down to a number of old storerooms. There was a trapped door that Niam was unable to detect, and which did some damage.
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| Dungeon at Ranatayza |
The second section of the dungeon had more traps as they descended another staircase, and was of indeterminate purpose. After successfully navigating another trapped chamber, they went down another short flight of steps and came to a 25 foot wide section of passage that was filled with standing water to a depth of 3 feet or more. Beyond the water could be seen another short flight of stairs (this time leading up), and a faint pulsing green glow of light. After some discussion, Niam climbed down into the water and waded through to the other side. When nothing happened, the others safely did the same.
Climbing the stairs, the party entered a 30 foot side octagonal shaped room. In the center of the room was a waist-high black stone pillar, on which seemed to sit a pulsing and dimly glowing orb of green light. When people entered the room, the light glowed more brightly. Nothing else could be seen in the room, and when Niam attempted to touch the glowing orb, he found that it was insubstantial, and that his hand passed through it with no effect.
Not knowing what else to do, they left the chamber by the only other exit, and descended a staircase to a final chamber. The stone walls of the chamber were heavily carved with scenes of a settlement along the banks of a body of water, including large pillared buildings that might be temples or government buildings. In the far wall, opposite the stairs, was an outline of a doorway, carved in runes in the stone. When Niam approached, the area inside this "doorframe" began to glow and pulse with a swirling purplish-pink light. When he reached out his hand to touch it, he was instantaneously sucked through the doorway and disappeared.
The other characters, not wanting to be separated, immediately did the same. One by one, each reached out to touch the light, and was gone...
Next - Beyond the gate.
GM Commentary - Over the last few sessions, we have had a mix of our 7 players coming and going. As noted before, in the interests of keeping the party to a manageable size (I think 5 is ideal), we have taken the path of approaching the game from the standpoint of "if you are here, then your character is here; if you are not, your character isn't either." From a narrative standpoint, this leaves something to be desired, as a specific adventure spanning two sessions can have the cast of characters mysteriously change in midstream, but it is an accommodation that seems to be working fairly well.
From a level standpoint, all of our characters are level 3, with some fairly close to level 4. Depending on how the next session goes, we may have a couple of advancements next time. If not next time, then the session after that will be guaranteed. The increased flexibility in what I can throw at the party without them needing to run for their lives is nice.
A note on the dungeon map picture - I do my dungeons on graph paper, hand-drawn (the old school way). During sessions, I use a large flip-chart easel pad faintly printed with a 1" grid. We can quickly draw out what they find as they explore, and can put little colored beads and other markers on the map sheet to represent the characters as they move around and monsters that they encounter. This becomes the tactical map for running combats. The easel pads aren't cheap (about $30 US for a 30 sheet pad), but we rarely use more than 2 sheets in a session, and the ability to have a map on "large graph paper" that everyone around the table can see from several feet away makes it well worthwhile. Much better than everyone hovering around a tiny piece of paper...
