Scales of War part 4: The Von Urstadt Crypt

Lucian rejoined the heroes in the Rivenroar Family Crypt after waking and being given a healing potion concocted by Zerriska. After such a brutal fight, they decided to exercise some caution. They explored the corridor at the top of the staircase, and considered the door to the South of the crypt, but as they had already taken a heavy battering, they decided to return to the entrance all to consider their next move. The only door they hadn’t taken yet was the Eastern passage to the Von Jallach crypt, so they decided to go up there to see what they could find…

They found an odd-looking crypt with some runes lit up on the floor. Oro recognised the enchantment and warned the rest that while all the runes said was ‘Von Jallach,’ if one were to step on them it would cause some serious harm. This fact was something the heroes kept in mind as Needlefang Drakes started to swarm towards them. For a time it looked like they might overcome some of the Elven heroes, but the Drakes underestimated the resilience of Dwarves and Grambur stood firm against their onslaught. He drove several of them back onto the runes, which true to Oro’s word cause some harm to them. A Gnome then appeared out of apparently nowhere and tried to ambush the party. Lucian fared reasonably well against him until he took a war pick to the knee. Lucian lashed out in anger, causing the Gnome some hurt and also causing him to disappear. However, the heroes weren’t fooled, and aimed their projectiles at the place where the Gnome had been. The savage beating took its toll and the gnome went down. Lucian looted the body for the war pick and anything of financial value, while muttering his doggerel:

"I kill two gnomes in the morning, I kill two gnomes at night.
I kill two gnomes in the afternoon, and then I feel all right.
I kill two gnomes in time of peace and two in time of war.
I kill two gnomes before I kill two gnomes, and then I kill two more."

Once the laughter and strange looks ceased, the heroes found a key on the Gnome’s body and used it to open the door into the next room. Inside, they found a fountain of pure water, and more intriguingly a beaten and battered Dwarf named Adronsius. After freeing him, they found that Adronsius was unable to give them any direct help because of the brutal beating and also because his alchemical equipment was not present, however he was able to provide directions – at least, such directions as he could remember from being dragged around blindfolded – to where the Hobgoblins might have taken Jelissa, the Acolyte of Ioun. The Elven heroes found it hard to follow, but Grambur had an innate sense of direction while underground and was confident he could remember what he was saying.

After taking a rest, the heroes decided to press on. Following Adronsius’ directions, they turned left in the Goblin warren and ended in a triangular shaped room with a crackling image of a castle on the other side of the wall. Oro didn’t know what castle it was but suspected that it must have an alliance with Rivenroar, however there was no time to investigate further as some ooze glooped through the portal. Undaunted and content to stand their ground, the heroes unleashed their ranged attacks forcing it to split into two separate pieces. Not a moment too soon, Sayer made the decision to move up towards the portal in time to see two Spectres appear behind the rest of the party. Their psychic attacks took their toll on the heroes, but the Spectres were unable to sustain their form for long and went down quite quickly.

Taking some time for a quick rest, and establishing there was nothing more of interest in the room, the heroes guessed that the portal remained open and other things could make their way through. This being the case, they elected to move on, and after a few turns found themselves in the Von Urstadt Crypt. Here, they found themselves ambushed by a couple of Gnomes. Posing ‘little’ threat on their own, they opened one of the doors to the crypt and unleashed their defenders: The Magma Claws. The fiery beasts fought ferociously, using their magma-based attacks to hold their prey in place, however they had not bargained on the particular magic of Eladrin and Sayer, having been set ablaze and immobilised, managed to disappear into the near corner of the room. Sayer’s talents apparently did not extend to being able to put the fire out very quickly, but at least he was out of trouble. Grambur was also stuck where he was, but as he also managed to use his fighting skills to keep one of the Magma Claws where it was, this was less of a hindrance than one might expect. Oro used his magic to try to slow the beasts down, with some success, but as it was not a large room there were not many places where safety could be guaranteed. Lucian used his knowledge that creatures of Magma can sometimes be baited with food, and he tried to make the Magma Claw go after one of the Gnomes. It worked, but after taking severe injuries from this and with no one to stop him, the Gnome escaped into the next room. The Magma Claw, meanwhile, unleashed its fury on Lucian, and the elf fell to the floor. Conscious of their friend’s peril, but recognising that there was not much they could do with so much danger in the room, the heroes tried to finish off the monsters. Oro and Sayer took out the remaining Gnome and Magma Claws, much to the dismay of Grambur who felt the Elven heroes were ‘spoiling his fun.’ In the nick of time, Sayer remembered the healing potion that Lucian had. He ran over to his fallen companion and dug it out of his pockets. Oro ran over to them, took the bottle from Sayer and poured the contents down Lucian’s throat just in time. He awoke, bruised, battered, but alive.

Grambur finished off the remaining Magma Claw, and the heroes relaxed, exhausted. After taking some time to patch up their wounds they decided to search the room and the tombs. They found a Cloak of Resistance buried in one of the coffins, and having been mere seconds away from death, Lucian felt the need to take the artefact for himself. The group gazed at the East wall, where an inscription dominated the area above the door: 

“Hail Von Urstadt! Ascend with Glory!” 

Experience: 412 each

 

Treasure:

• Cloak of Resistance (lv.2)