A6: Scene 3 – Gloom on Weathertop

[ From the scenario “Gloom on Weathertop”, by Neal Hyde] 

July 13, Confessions: Despite Maura’s attempts to say nothing, her men cowered and confessed about the slave labor activities atop Weathertop. “Falcor fired us as guards on his wagon trains but offered payment to help dig for treasure. Cormag divided us into groups: Maura’s to gather more slave labor, and those atop the hill to keep the men digging night and day. Cormag himself leads the seasoned warriors patrolling the area.” 

To the Top: In Kyan’s past travels along the East-West Road, he barely paid attention to Weathertop. He thought about access from the east but remembered rolling hills and rough terrain. They settled for the western path nearby that led into the woods near the base of the hill. They dismounted and left their horses with Calanhir to guard along with their prisoners as they followed the path north. 

With sunset bathing the western side of the hill, under the darkness of the New Moon, you can see dim firelights on the crown of Weathertop. It rises and fades, but never completely dies away. While looking at the hill, you hear the sound of metal on metal approaching from the west. How many there are, you cannot tell, but they move as if unconcerned about who should hear them.  A sudden chill gathers about you. The nearby leaves rustle in a cold breeze as a faint luminous mist rises up from out of the ground. You feel the hair on the back of your neck rise as the temperature drops. A luminous figure appears out of the trees to the east.

Theo sensed no threat of the ghostly mist that condensed into the form of a Dunedain in the armor of the ancient kingdom of Arthedain. With a face drawn and pale and eyes rimmed with dark depressions, the ghost stretched forth a transparent hand and motioned they should follow him to safety within the ruins of a manor. 

Promise Me: “My name is Damrod; I fell at Amon Sul along with King Arveleg when the Witch-king laid waste to the fortress.  The bandits you pursue are part of a greater assembly that seeks to find artifacts. Captives dig for it at the summit even now as they grow weary of hunger, thirst, and endless labor. I offer a secret passage into Amon Sul for you to free them. In return, I expect my price. My body was never laid to rest. If you will vow to retrieve my remains from the treasure chamber and place them in the cairn of Amon Sul with my brothers in arms, I will help you find the way.” 

With their promise assured, Damrod pointed out a false wall where they found a rusty box containing a map of the area. “Just above the base of the west side of the hill is a doorway, hidden by a tree with yellow leaves. Beyond the doorway you will find a passage within the bowels of the hill to Amon Sul. The men are digging throughout the ruins to find the treasure, but they do not know how close they have come. They uncovered the primary treasure room but found nothing there beside my own moldering body. Take my mortal remains to the cairn in the center of the ruins and give me rest among my brothers.” Before fading away, Damrod added, “Take care, for the passage inside the hill is dangerous and there are many obstacles. Fare well.” 

The Breeched Passage: Kyan scouted the area and even caused a small rockfall before he found the open doorway behind the yellow leaves. Before entering, Thran applied Fuiyaru oil to Theo’s eyes to give him 30-minutes’ worth of darkvision. Kyan also applied the oil to improve his darkvision. Inside the rough-hewn passage, they found the remains of 2 Dunedain guardians who had been cut down with Orc arrows and nasty slashes to their chest. 60ft further along the tunnel, they came to a 20x20ft guardroom with an 8ft wide circular pit. Kyan peered into the 20ft deep pit and saw crushed bones (Orc and man) of ages ago. A strange foot-wide groove led from the pit to the far wall where a 6x6ft square opening offered stairs angling upward. 

The Stairs: They easily stepped around the pit and pondered its purpose. But with the countdown of the applied oil, they hastened toward the stairs. Per his stone-cunning, Kyan easily recognized the uneven stairs that angled 20 degrees upward, “Take care: the steps differ in height and depth making it difficult to walk without watching your steps. I’ll keep my eyes on the path while Thran keeps a lookout overhead.” As they cautiously climbed, they noticed 5x5ft alcoves lined the way on either side, half of them occupied by Dunedain warrior statues. Theo glanced at a few alcoves as he passed [failed DC20 to see the trapped floor of those empty]. 

Traps: Over halfway up the 70ft staircase, [Investigate DC20] Kyan found the first trapped step and marked it with chalk. He finally remembered the rockslide he’d caused outside that they failed to wipe away to cover their tracks. “I won’t disarm the trap in case the patrol happens to follow. Theo, carry my dog over the step.” Theo just cleared the step when Kyan failed to find the next trapped step [failed Advantage DC18]: “Click.” 

A 6ft wide stone ball fell from the ceiling at the top of the stairs and slowly began to roll towards them, gaining momentum per the angled staircase. While the others retreated to an open alcove, Kyan rushed forward to wedge his mattoch between the ball and wall. He added an iron spike as extra measure. It held… for a little bit. Enough time for him to seek his own alcove shelter. 

Thran was caught off-guard when he stepped into the alcove and the floor unexpectedly gave way. He braced himself waist-high in the opening that gave way to a smooth circular tube that angled downward paralleling the stairs. With his hands occupied holding the dog, Theo wasn’t as fortunate: he fell down the chute! No warning other than an “Eek!”, Kyan fell into the same trap of a different alcove. With heavier armor, he held on for a while, until [2 fumbles in a row] his purchase gave way, and he too began a chute-ride to the bottom. Only now did he realize the meaning of the crushed bones at the bottom of the pit in that first guardroom! All heard the stone ball crashing down the steps as it gained momentum. 

Using his staff, Thran managed to find a lip/cut in the chute to stop his slide. Theo continued his slide and soon was ejected into the 8x8ft pit, 20ft below the 1^st guardroom. He quickly crouched into a corner trying to make himself small, while still holding the large wolfhound. Kyan was next to be deposited: he tried to stand in a corner. Seconds from the ball’s arrival, [INTsave] Kyan realized a better solution, “Get prone in a corner!” The ball fell into the pit shaft and rattled around the bottom. The short-statured dwarf was barely brushed. The tall and heavy Beorning could only get so small in a corner: he suffered more (12 points) but at least was alive when Thran gracefully arrived at the pit. 

And that’s when the Fuiyaru oil wore off: Kyan had resistance to poison. [failed CONsave] Theo’s eyes burned and bleed as poison (3) consumed him. At least Thran was able to slither around the stone ball to give him brewed Thurl to induce vomiting to expel the poison. And that’s when the sidewall opened to allow the ball to roll onto a platform that began to slowly grind upwards to reset the ball. Kyan quickly instructed, “Get on. We’ll ride it to the top and avoid the stairs. Thran, you can use the time to heal the injured.” 

2nd Room Riddles: They stood before a magically locked door. Thran translated the Sindarin etched above the door:

"Even Barbarians are scholars recording their journey path." 

They spent another 30 minutes pondering answers before Thran finally lit his Prancing Pony Pipe (advantage Riddles) to help reason the answer, “FOOTSTEPS! Of course, while I’m the brains of this group and Theo is the muscle, we all leave prints. Just like that rockfall Kyan left outside the hill.” 

The doors opened to reveal another empty room, covered in dust. [Investigate/Perception] Thran noticed the faint outline of bare footsteps (the prior riddle answer) on the floor. But it was Theo who saw the slight difference in size and shapes and combinations: left-right-right-left… and some with a 6^th toe. Once again Kyan had Theo carry the dog as they crossed the room only stepping on marked prints without a 6^th toe. 

Another magically sealed door caused them to pause as they pondered the Sindarin riddle:

"I never was, am always to be, No one ever saw me, nor ever will And yet I am the confidence of all Who live and breathe on this terrestrial ball."

Despite Kyan’s concerns the smell would give them away, once more pipe-weed smoke filled the room as they contemplated the answer, “Light? Strength? Time?” Frustrated by the delays, Thran blurted, “At this rate, tomorrow will never come.” The doors opened.

10pm, The Summit: They climbed a short flight of stairs and came upon a mud wall. They poked an opening to allow their view of the dark summit. Per its Sindarin meaning (Amon Sul means Hill of Wind), wind howled across the top and whipped the flames of a campfire off to their left. They saw 3 armed men huddled around the fire as more scrawny men with shovels and spades dug another hole. Further beyond, another guard watched 4 more men dig another hole. Kyan broke down more of the mud wall and noticed tents to their far right. “Thran, sneak up and get an idea of how many we face.” 

With the wind muffling his movement, Thran easily made it to the tents. Noise from the 1^st tent had him move on to the next where he found silence and empty cots. The 3^rd tent was also empty. And that’s when light shone from the first tent. He crept closer to peer into the back of the tent and came face-to-face with a bandit getting dressed in his armor for a shift change! Thran quickly used his Elf-Light spell to mesmerize the men by the lantern light.

But Theo also saw the flare of lamp and snuck closer to investigate. Light that spilled out from under the tent outlined him such that the campfire guards saw him! 

But as it turned out, these simple bandits were no match for the fellowship. With 2 quickly killed, the other 5 quickly surrendered. “Cormag? He and his select warriors left 10 days ago to meet with Falcor at a cross-road bridge to the southwest. We expected their return days ago.” The starving slave laborers used their freedom to rush to the tents for rations. 

And that’s when they heard noise coming from the path up the backside of the hill. All tensed at the idea Cormag and his seasoned warriors returned. [WISsave else frightened] And yet it was the Ettin Thak & Wack who appeared, “You said we owed you. Let’s just say your path is cleared.” 

You Promised: And that’s when Damrod appeared and reminded them of their mission. They found his bones in the treasure chamber. And per his instructions took the key from the corpse’s neck and unlocked the rear panel only to find an empty vault. Damrod admitted, “I never said treasure was inside. The Palantir had already been moved to Fornost before the Witch-King’s army laid siege to this summit.” 

A little irritated, Kyan removed the bones and carried them to the cairn where Theo had already begun moving stones to create an opening. And that’s when he sensed more ghosts! 

When you move onto the cairn and begin removing the mossy stones and earth for Damrod’s burial, a deep rumble within the hill causes you to stop. A glowing mist seeps from a cairn and takes the form of an armor-wearing Man with a simple golden band across his brow. He draws his sword and points it at you, saying “Stop! You shall not pollute this grave of heroes with the filthy traitor responsible for our deaths!”

Only now did the fellowship realize they had been tricked. Damrod owned the map that led the Witch-King’s forces under the hill for a surprise assault from within. Yet Damrod refused to admit his traitorous act, “You promised! Break your promise and I’ll haunt you till your dying days!” 

Kyan pointed out their own promise, “We never said WHEN we’d bury you.” It became a contest of wills that Kyan failed, gaining the Haunted flaw: 

New Flaw: Haunted With a 'Contest of Wills' (WISsave DC12), Damrod appears before the PC once every 2nd day to frighten the PC. If the PC is the victor, the ghost is banished for another 2 days. If the ghost wins, the PC receives no sleep that night and is fatigued (Exhaustion Level 2) throughout the next day.

NEXT SESSION: A6S4 – Road Maintenance