A1.2 I’ll Take That

Theobard (Theo), 27yo Beorning Wanderer [Aaron], Thranduil (Thran), 250yo Elf Scholar [Joey], Kyan, 97yo Dwarf Warrior [Mike], Hugo, 28yo Hobbit Adventurer [NPC]

Kyan collected 2 remaining poisoned darts from the trap as Thran gathered the cross bow & bolts from the stone guardian. They used the jeweled dagger to wedge the guardian to the side to keep the secret passage open. Thran dropped a stone to test the depth of the room below while Kyan dropped a lit torch to reveal metal spikes 20ft below! At least they had a metal ladder to descend. Suspicious, Kyan looped a rope around the guardian to aid their descent. Theo’s weight (232 lbs) was too much for the ancient ladder: [STR check: fumble but with luck] with a thud, the beorning just missed the spikes but was still injured by the fall.

A glassy surface 3ft above the floor stretched into the distance. Theo placed a stone on the surface to confirm the slick floor had a slight downward angle, “Careful, there might be spikes at the other end.” They sent Hugo first with a rope to control his slide as Kyan implied he could smell bread ahead… but the hobbit quickly let go to enjoy the ride, “Weee! Plop. You were right, more spikes. But no bread.” The others used the rope with Theo as anchor until it was the beorning’s turn. He lassoed a spike as his anchor so they could retrieve the rope with a flick of the wrist.

And once again they had to search for another secret passage; this time 11 ft overhead in the shadows. With Theo as their base, they were able to stand on his shoulders to reach the rim of the opening. Thran was first up and thru the 3ft long passage that opened unto a natural cavern. The elf and dwarf held a rope for Theo to climb.

Bio-luminous moss lit the cavern split by a chasm from where they heard a river flowing somewhere below.  

Kyan and Theo quickly recognized the moss as “Goblin Gold.” Thran had read about it, “Boiled and mashed into a salve, it can be used to heal wounds. Perhaps we should collect some for later use.” With the dim light from the moss and most with dark-vision, they could see small openings on the other side. An ancient wooden bridge dangled into the chasm, broken from its posts on their side. Theo moved close to the chasm edge hoping to find stairs or footholds to get across. As he got near the old posts, the ground gave way: [DEXsave 17] The beorning managed to quickly fall prone to avoid sliding over the edge! But the 6^th sense of danger from afar drew him onward, “They is something evil beyond those holes. We need to get to the other side.”

Thran was in the process of trying to lasso a stalactite when Kyan advised, “It’ll slide right off when you swing to the middle.” With no stalagmites to lasso, they sent the elf across with a rope as security in case he fell. But with a running start, Thran luckily jumped the 12ft span.

[LONG JUMP: you cover a number of feet up to your STR score IF you move at least 10ft immediately before you jump… a running start. Thran only had a STR10 which meant the 12ft gap was challenging! For a standing-long-jump (or for a small creature like a hobbit), you can only leap half that distance.]

Thran buried his crowbar as an anchor on his side while the others buried a scavenged bridge plank as an anchor on their side. They looped the rope to create 2 lines across the gap. Hugo easily crossed, followed by Kyan still wearing his armor. [Athletic 6, Inspiration 2] Smart of him to use his spear as balance, considering his feet slipped as the dwarf now dangled under the ropes. Kyan tried to kick-jump further along, but he only slid back toward the bowed center of the rope. Luckily, he swung his feet back up on the ropes and inched himself to the other side. With a 2^nd rope tied to Theo, the elf and dwarf readied to pull him across as he hand-crawled under the rope-bridge. And that’s when Thran heard something skittering from behind. 

He turned to see 3 Grick emerging from those small tunnels burrowed in the back wall!

COMBAT: Thran dropped the rope to notch an arrow and fired, only to hit the side of the tunnel. While holding the rope, Kyan spun like a top trying to wheel Theo along the rope-bridge. The closest Grick attacked Kyan while another Grick cautiously advanced on Thran. The 3^rd Grick closed on Hugo who was caught in the middle of 3^rd lunch. Theo finally reached the far side of the rope-bridge and crawled onto the ground. Meanwhile, Thran sunk an arrow into his attacker which fell dead at his feet. The elf quickly switched to his staff as he rushed to lend aid to the hobbit. Maybe it was the sudden loss of tension on the rope that threw Kyan off balance to miss his attacker.

Thran was caught by surprise when the Grick attacking Hugo grabbed the hobbit in its tentacles and rushed toward and over the side of the chasm! And just like that, both were gone! Theo stood to slash at Kyan’s foe, but his axe seemed to glance off its rubbery slick body [Damage Reduction to melee]. Thran rushed to the chasm edge just in time to hear a faint “Splash” 75ft below. While they traded blows, Kyan finally killed his Grick. The dwarf wasted little time stuffing 2 of the holes with the bodies of the Grick.

Maybe he was too shocked by the loss of the hobbit: Thran crawled headfirst into one of the tunnels suspecting the missing Grick actually had crawled into another opening on the inside of the chasm and now had Hugo in its lair. Kyan stood bleeding from his wounds, “Where’s our damn healer?!” Theo did his best to bandage the dwarf’s wounds before he inspected the other tunnels with his torch. Airflow from the 2^nd and 4^th holes implied an outside opening. But more importantly: his 6^th sense tingled near the 4^th hole.

By now Thran realized his mistake as the slick sides of the tunnel caused him to slide further inside the downward angled passage. His extended hands did nothing to slow his slide. Only his dagger thrust into the sidewall finally stopped his descent. But Thran didn’t have the strength to work his way backwards. And his body blocked his desperate calls for help. It was Kyan who needed healing who entered the tunnel with a rope around his waist to crawl far enough in to grab the elf’s feet and haul him back out. Both dripped with goo that was the Gricks’ slimy mucus protection. Kyan suggested, “I think now would be a good time for you to brew that moss into a healing salve.”

When they were finally ready, with a rope around his waist, Kyan entered the 4^th tunnel feet-first. “Two tugs means stop. Two more tugs means go. Rapid tugs mean get my ass out of there.” With Kyan’s spear braced across the opening and the rope looped around it to control his measured progress, Theo and Thran spooled out the rope to lower the dwarf. 15ft in, Kyan’s feet dangled in mid-air as he entered the top of a tall chamber. 

It was too dark for his dark-vision, but random flares of light far below revealed murals along the sidewalls and the faint outline of stone soldiers below. 2 tugs stopped his descent. Only then did Kyan realize the cavern walls were covered in white powder. And how that powder mixed with the dripping goo became combustible flares below! He also realized he had another 40 feet to got, “Tie another rope as we need more than 50 feet.”

Thran was next, aided by Theo controlling his descent. When the elf entered the tall cavern, white powder flaked from the ceiling mixed with goo on his shoulders to cause a small fire. Holding on with one hand, Thran reached for his flask of water to douse the flames. Below, Kyan was busy collecting real gold coins from the belts of 4 of the stone soldiers. For his turn, Theo had to tie off the end of the rope to the spear and crossbow as added measure and strongarm his own descent.

By the time Thran and Theo stood on the cavern floor amongst the stone soldiers, Kyan was already standing before the murals. The elf and beorning had not seen the dwarf pluck a gem from the center of the mural panels that detailed the ancient 2^nd Age scene of King Ilsidur cutting the ring off of Sauron’s finger. Nor did they understand the significance of the scenes that showed Sauron falling and his crown shattering amongst the rocks. Nor did they fathom the meaning of the 6 rays that shot forth from the shattered crown, or the procession of races that exited the scene. But they were drawn to the stone soldiers who seemed to be guarding a central figure who carried an iron coffer. Theo felt the evil within. Thran knew not what was before him but couldn’t resist the temptation to open the box.

As soon as Kyan grasped the [memory] gem, his mind flooded with living scenes of three-thousands years ago. As if he was there… to witness King Ilsidur cleaving Sauron’s ring finger. And saw and heard the crown shatter into 6 shards. He watched as 6 groups [2 human groups, elf, dwarf, hobbit, and a tree Int] came forth to collect the shards and transport them to distant lands for hiding. 

And that’s when a smiling Sauron filled his vision and tormented his soul, “So dwarf, you’ve found part of my treasure. Come, bask in a treasure trove greater than Smaug ever hoarded. Collect the pieces and bring them to me so that I may once again rule the world with you at my side.”

Kyan released the gem and shook his head to clear his thoughts. And that’s when he saw the elf holding the box. His voice joined Theo who also screamed, “NO!” Too late to stop the elf as black rays of non-light shot forth from the coffer when he opened it. Thran immediately felt the presence of Sauron and experienced nearly the same visions that tormented Kyan when he held the gem. But the shard actually held a miniscule essence of Sauron [Thran was flooded with 2 points of permanent Shadow while Kyan and Theo had a chance to resist the corruption]. Theo rushed forward to slam the lid shut as he tried to wrestle the box away from the elf. [Opposed STR checks where individual accumulated Shadow/Corruption aided Thran and hindered Theo] A standoff until Kyan joined the beorning to wrestle the box away from the elf. It was long minutes before Thran gained his senses and composure.

They thought long and hard about burying or destroying the shard. But memory of the crebains in the trees above ground hinted that some evil must have a feeling of what was discovered. “We need to take this to the king in Minas Tirith to deal with it. At least he has an army.”

They retraced their steps, climbing the rope out of this cavern and then the rope bridge across the river chasm, then back across the glassy floor to finally climb the ladder back to the original room with the stone guardian and pressure-plate traps. Only then did they pause to catch their breath and offer memories of the deceased hobbit. And that’s when they realized the rope they’d left to climb down into this chamber was no longer in sight.

A familiar voice rang out from the opening above: Torg stood over the capstone with Alona held tight at his side while 3 other thugs stood beside him. They recognized 3 of the faces; the 4^th (Telon) must have been their ally who threw the firebomb and probably broke them out of jail. Torg mocked, “What took you so long collecting our spoils? It was smart of you to collapse the bridge over the last river to the farm. We had to detour south to the bridge at Berthand. Be smart and hand over the treasure; you wouldn’t want Alona here to get hurt.”

The adventurers backed out of sight to consider their plan. Torg prodded, “Come now, we can always close the capstone and seal you in your tomb. Alona won’t mind feeding us for weeks till you die of either starvation or lack of air.” Alona squirmed as the brute twisted her arm. Finally, they stepped back into view and offered a bluff about an alternate exit or them even hiding the treasure or throwing it into the river below. But Torg would have none of their bluster, “So, you are willing to let Alona and her husband die?”

And that’s when Thran went for their backup plan: signaling to the others to cover their noses, he stepped on the pressure-plate to activate another gasbag. Soon those above the opening began to cough. Two of the thugs began screaming about an ambush. Torg also screamed… in pain, as Alona sunk her dagger into his thigh as she also kicked the rope down into the opening.

COMBAT [Initiate order- Thran, Thugs, Theo, Kyan]: Torg backhanded Alona before Thran shot an arrow at Telon before climbing the rope. Theo also took arrow shots to keep any threat away from the elf. Telon leaned in to shoot his own arrow while Torg knelt to start cutting the rope. And in the background: the other 2 thugs seemed preoccupied. Kyan threw his spear, just clipping Torg.

Thran climbed faster and rolled onto the ground in front of Torg who attacked with his dagger. Theo quickly climbed and grabbed the rim of the opening, which provided Telon a target to stomp. Kyan quickly began to climb, hindered by Theo still on the rope at the top.

Thran now stood in hand-to-hand combat with Torg who got the better of the elf who fell unconscious. Theo grimaced at another stomp before he swung his legs up and over the rim to quickly stand and with an upward thrust, plunged his dagger into Telon’s chest. And that’s when Theo noticed another thug far to the side collapsed with an arrow in his chest as the other thug seemed to be trading arrows with another foe. With the rope clear, Kyan also climbed up and plunged a poisoned dart in Torg.

Thran was now in death-saves as the battle waged around him. Torg raised his short-sword at Kyan, but [fumbled CONsave] dropped the sword as he clutched his chest before falling dead from the poison. Theo changed to his axe to kill Telon before turning his attention to the last thug who threw up his hands, “I surrender!” Kyan rushed to Thran’s side to administer first aid, reviving the elf. Thran applied Goblin Gold salve to heal most of his remaining wounds.

And that’s when Hugo appeared from behind a tree, “Thought you could use some help. Me, dead? The Grick broke my long fall into the river. I was washed downstream where I recognized the river Celos we crossed yesterday. Got here just in time to hear Torg’s threats.”

Never in the history of Middle-Earth has a dwarf shared ale… he smiled as he offered the hobbit a swig from his flask, “Not the whole damn thing!” And even more surprising: the dwarf offered Hugo his share of the treasure, “Here are 2 Dunedain coins.” Thran stood silent as he tried to discretely hide the shovel he’d pulled out to begin digging the hobbit’s grave. He stood over Alona to heal her wounds before all walked into the farmhouse where Tinneas was tied up.

It was a long night of revelry and drinking as Tinneas offered the last of his wine. Alona slapped at Hugo’s hand in the stew pot, “You’ll get your fair share.” Long hours retelling their adventure before Tinneas spoke up, “I have one more request. I did not know my son Thorn intended to join King Elessar’s (Aragorn) army.” Tinneas opened a chest and dug out a wrapped item to reveal a broadsword, “This was my father’s father’s and now mine, that I would like you to deliver to my son. Use it as needed until you find him.”

Kyan immediately recognized the dwarven workmanship of the masterwork sword, “It seems we were already on our way to Minas Tirith. One more reason to seek the king’s audience. But before we go, I have my own request. What can you tell us about your father’s father? What do you know about the Dunedains whose coins we found in the caverns below?”

It was near sunrise by the time Tinneas finished with his family history, aided by Thranduil and Kyan inserting what they knew of the birth of the world. They could only silently wonder why their own kind hadn’t revealed their own races’ involvement in the movement of the shards. And in the back of their minds… Sauron scratched at their weaknesses: Lure of Secrets and Lure of Power.

NEXT SESSION: https://lotrwjr.blogspot.com/2024/11/a13-shroud-of-mystery.html