In Search of Adventure - Part Four The party reassembles, freshly prepared, embracing their roles (meaning they have risen to third level). The party breakdown is as follows:
Warwick Lancaster - Battlemaster Fighter
Topace of Specularum - Dungeoneer Fighter
Lucille Pangborn - Warlock (Undead Patron)
Branwell Steadywrench - Cleric (Knowledge Domain)
Messalina Pennyweight - Thief
Starting on the north wing of the castle, the party begins searching rooms in the following formation: Topace, Messalina, Branwell, Lucille, and Warwick in rearguard. The dynamic has shifted due to Topace’s abilities connected with kicking in doors and being the first to bash a target. The party starts with Room #17.
Messalina Investigates: Natural 1 - She accidentally opens the door as part of her check, no traps, no locks.
The room appears to be empty, and after a brief search, the party confirms it to be empty.
The party then reaches Room #19 with another search. Messalina Investigates: 8 - No traps or locks as far as Messalina can tell, and she is correct. She sticks her head in with a Stealth (9) check - The room appears to be a guard room with multiple beds, a few old weapons hanging off of pegs, a few broken chests and other objects. The party searches this room, testing out and noting that the weapons are falling apart. The party can search around the room and get a Perception check.
Warwick: Natural 1 - Sneezes at the dust.
Topace: 10 - Standard roll, nothing special
Lucille: Natural 1 - Suddenly has a headache that makes her pause and rub her temples. She could do with a droplet of blood and wondered if Warwick would offer a little sample to keep her going.
Branwell: 22 - A solid search pattern by the Gnome
Messalina: Natural 1 - She fumbles in her pack and does not pay attention.
Branwell does come through and finds one of the sacks including the former guard’s pay and has 100 sp and 20 gp within.
---
At Room #20, the northwest tower room, the party has found some treasure, but little action. The party had moved out after breakfast with gray clouds partly obscuring the sun. Lucille hung back, despite the dim conditions, she was already suffering from a headache. The rest of the party took a moment to count the money they had just found before continuing south towards Room #21.
At room #21, Messalina performs her Investigation: 6 - No traps, but when she tries the door she finds it locked. She attempts a lockpicking check: 15 - Failure. The lock holds fast despite several minutes of Messalina attempting to pick it.
Branwell casts Detect Magic (-1 1st Level Slot. ¾ Remaining). He can detect magical runes etched into Room #21’s door. He reports it to the party and attempts to try and identify the rune. Arcana: 21 - Success
“This has an arcane lock on it,” Branwell reports, his eyes shifting from shades of brown to shades of purple as he looked over the door.
“Is there anything magical we possess to try and break it?” Warwick asks.
Branwell shakes his head, “Without magical spells or magical weapons, all we would be doing is hurting ourselves- literally if you try to shove your way in.”
---
The party turns back and checks Room #18, which shares the same narrow block as Room’s 16 and 14. Messalina Investigate: Natural 1 - Accidental opening done by the party rogue when she checks the door. The party finds that room is lit by skylights in the corner that are able to bring in the light while rainwater drains through ducts into the ground. It is empty.
The party moves south to Room #22. Despite how monotonous dungeon crawling can be, the party does exercise good formation by not breaking ranks. There would be plenty of time to break and run wild when in the thick of it.
Messalina Investigate on door to Room #22. Check: 20 - Success. She is confident that there are no traps or locks on the door. She gives her nod to Topace who is standing behind her. She opens the door and finds the room seemingly empty. There does appear to be some trash on the floor. Messalina let’s Topace take the first step in since he’s acquired Danger Sense vs. traps.
Topace takes a step into the room, on the ledge above him is a giant shrew that might have the drop on him.
Topace Perception: 10 vs. Stealth: 13 - Shrew gets drop and attacks from above
Surprise Round Shrew attacks Topace w/ Bite. Attk: 9 - Miss
Round #1 - InitiativeParty: 3
GM: 13
Shrew attacks Topace w/ Bite. Attk: Natural 1 - Miss. Topace gets a free counter strike.
Topace counter strike w/ warhammer: 21 - Hit. D: 6. Shrew HP: 23/29
Topace shifts a step to let another character into the room and attacks the shrew w/ Warhammer. Attk: 8 - Miss
Warwick moves in and attacks the shrew from a different direction. Attk: 15 - Hit. D: 6. Shrew HP: 17/29
Lucille casts Chill Touch at Shrew. Attk: 17 - Hit. D: 4. Shrew HP: 13/29
Branwell moves in and attacks in a third direction with his hammer. Attk: Natural 20 - Crit. D: 4+5 = 9. Shrew HP: 4/29
Messalina moves and fires her hand crossbow into the distracted shrew. Attk: 7 - Miss
Round #2 Shrew turns in a bleeding fury and bites at Branwell. Attk: 15 - Miss
Warwick attacks Shrew w/ Razor Sword. Attk: 19 - Hit. D: 11. Shrew HP: 0/29 - Slain
Looking through the room, the party finds a hole in the western wall that is just large enough for the large shrew to crawl through. It is big enough that a small creature like Branwell or Messalina might squeeze through.
Branwell holds up a hand and says, “I’d rather not.”
Messalina frowns and asks for a lantern, “When I say pull me back, I mean it.” She does a search of the immediate hole to see if the shrew buried anything. Investigate: Natural 1 - As Topace tries to lower her down, she slips and falls into the hole, landing hard on her chest and taking 1d6 (2) damage. Messalina HP: 22/24
“You ass!” Messalina hissed up while fumbling for her lantern. There was no treasure to be found.
---
The party moves down the hall and checks the next room (Room #23).
Messalina investigates: 14 - No traps, no locks. She gives the nod, believing she has done solid work for Topace to open the door and for the rest of the party to step in. The Dragonborn enters into an old library that maybe has one or two books laying on the dusty shelf. The immediate point of interest were the group of red and yellow beetles that were eating carpet in the middle of the room. One of the beetles turns on Topace and hisses.
There are four fire beetles that have infested the room, they are eating the carpets for what few mites they can consume, but now they smell a fresh meal.
Round #1 - Initiative
Party: 18
GM: 5
Lucille casts False Life on herself. She gains 1d4+4 (6) temporary hit points. Spell Slots: ½ Remaining
Topace moves to Beetle #1 and attacks w/ Warhammer. Attk: 21 - Hit. D: 9. Beetle #1 HP: 0/9 - Slain
Branwell moves up to one of the beetles and attacks w/ his hammer. Attk: 18 - Hit. D: 7. Beetle #2 HP: 2/9
Messalina moves in and attacks Beetle #2 while it is distracted. Attk: Natural 20 - Crit. D: 18 - Beetle #2 HP: 0/9 - Slain
Warwick moves in and charges one of the beetles. He attacks w/ his greatsword. Attk: 12 - Hit. D: 11. Beetle #3 HP: 0/9 - Slain
Beetle #4 moves and attacks Warwick. Attk: 11 - Miss
Round #2
Lucille moves and attacks Beetle #4 w/ Chill Touch. Attk: 8 - Miss
Topace moves and attacks Beetle #4 w/ Warhammer. Attk: 14 - Hit. D: 8. Beetle #4 HP: 1/9
Branwell casts Sacred Flame on Beetle #4. Beetle Save: 11 - Failure. D: 6. Beetle #4 HP: 0/9 - Slain
---
The only real treasure is the glands. Despite being dead, the fire beetles glands glow with the same luminosity as a torch. The rest of the room is empty and none of the books are exceedingly rare.
---
“A shrew, some beetles, not quite as heroic as I would have liked it,” Warwick noted as the party moved through the halls, “The only boons I can see is meeting the charming Lady Demelza.”
“Boon for you maybe,” Lucille said under her breath.
“And the silver that we’ve made,” Warwick said, ignoring the Dhampir’s comment.
“That one door remains a mystery,” Branwell pointed out, “It could be an access to something deep within this complex. We may want to consult with an expert on this castle.”
“What expert is that?”
“The statue,” Branwell said, “The talking statue must know something.”
---
Messalina checks the door leading into Room #24. Investigate: 21 - No traps, no locks, Messalina is confident and gives Topace her full blessing, not that she did not doubt that the fighter was tough enough to withstand anything that might be lurking within. Topace moved through the door, immediately spotting a dead goblin with a swollen arm. The rest of the room was a pantry with sacks and barrels strewn about.
The party searches the room and Topace disturbs one of the sacks that contains a pair of spitting cobras. It is a Perception vs. Stealth roll to see if the cobra gets a surprise. Perception: 20 vs. Stealth: 10 - Cobra can still spit, but Topace is not surprised.
Cobra Spit at Topace. Attk: 15 - Miss. Spittle hits the shield. A second cobra rears its head, but it’s first initiative.
Round #1 - Initiative
Party: 17
GM: 6
Topace attacks Cobra #1 w/ Warhammer. Attk: 13 - Miss. He takes a five foot step to one to clear a path for the others.
Warwick charges Cobra #2 w/ Greatsword. Attk: 20 - Hit. D: 11. Cobra #2 HP: 0/11. He spends a Maneuver Dice (¾ Remaining) to sweep to Cobra #1. D: 12. Cobra #1 HP: 0/11 - Slain
---
The party clears the room, finding nothing of value beyond maybe a few spices. Not enough to really sell, but the party could use it to flavor the rations before they move to Room #25 and it falls to Messalina to Investigate. Investigate: 13 - A fair number, no traps, no locks. Topace opens the door and the party finds themselves in a kitchen with a number of tables, water pump, stove, and a chest that looks ornate. Nothing threatens or attacks the party, so Messalina walks over and investigates the chest.
Investigate: 14 - Success. She detects that the chest has been trapped and she uses her Thieves’ Tools to try and disarm the trap in the same turn as part of her Cunning Action. Disarm: 18 - Success. She is able to disable the gas trap that was connected to the lock. Once she has the trap’s connectors removed she is able to safely open the chest to find nothing - the chest itself is worth 50 gp due to the filigree, but what it really serves is a good place to store the coins the party recovered.
---
“I can remove the gas tank here, or we can keep it and maybe use it to protect our stash,” Messalina said.
“How would we be able to open the chest without setting off the trap? Is there any way to temporarily disable it?” Warwick asked.
Messalina shrugged, “I can certainly open it for you whenever you’d like, sir.”
“Then go ahead and remove the canister. We all have a right to have access to these coins until we make an official split and determine who gets what.”
Messalina sighed, but did not argue. She acknowledged that Warwick was more-or-less the leader of the company, and while Messalina may have had one or two opinions about how the shares were divided, she knew better than to get into argument when it came to trying to access the money. She used her tools to disable and remove the bright green canister, placing it in her own kit. It might be used for another day.
---
At last, the party reaches Room #26, the southwest corner tower and turret for the castle. The party had yet to search the inner courtyard, but so far the cobras was the last threat the group faced. Warwick decides to check on one of the traders who occupied the rooms north of the main entrance.
Q: Are the traders still there?
A: Yes, and allied themselves with Sid the Bandit Chief to try and take the money the party is carrying.
Is the party surprised by this? Stealth vs. Perception. Stealth: 16 vs. Perception: 18 - Topace notices something is off and is the first to turn and see the Bandit Chief and the other three men waiting at the end of the hallway.
---
"Well look what we have here, our little band of misfits, flush with silver,” Sid was the name of the bandit chief, or bandit leader- he called himself Sid, and flanking Sid was Whitman, Price, and Haddad.
Topace bared his teeth and said, “You three are making a big mistake backing him.”
“We have a chance for a four way split,” Whitman noted.
“Where is Demelza?” Warwick asked.
“We’ll deal with the acolyte later once she stands alone,” Sid said, “Right now it’s just us.”
Round #1 - InitiativeParty: 5
GM: 10
Sid rushes Warwick and attacks w/ sword. Attk: 11 - Miss
Price moves on Topace and attacks w/ Axe. Attk: Natural 20 - Crit. D: 18. Topace HP: 9/27
Haddad advances on Topace and attacks from the side with his shortsword. Attk: 11 - Miss
Whitman is armed with a light crossbow and he aims at Lucille. He had to move and did not get a Sneak Attack. Attk: 19 - Hit. D: 5. Lucille HP: 18/18 / Temp HP: 1
Warwick attacks Sid w/ Greatsword. Attk: 20 - Hit. D: 11. Sid HP: 46/57. Warwick spends a Maneuver Dice (2/4 Remaining) and makes his attack Menacing, adding 1d8 (8) damage. Sid HP: 38/57. Sid Save vs. Fear: 10 - Failure. Sid is frightened.
Topace spends a Bonus Action for Second Wind. Heals 1d10+3 (10). Topace HP: 19/27. He then breathes acid on Price and Haddad. Damage: 8. Dex Save vs. 12 for ½ damage.
Price Save: 9 - Failure. Price HP: 23/31
Haddad Save: 6 - Failure. Haddad HP: 19/27
Lucille casts Misty Step to teleport next to Whitman. She then casts Dread Form, her eyes glow red and pallor becomes pronounced as she embraces her vampiric nature. She gains 1d10+3 (13) Temporary Hit Points.
Branwell casts Shield of Faith on Warwick. 2/4 Spell Slots remaining. Warwick +2 AC. He moves up to Haddad to try and take pressure off of Topace.
Messalina aims and fires her Hand Crossbow at Haddad. Attk: 21 - Hit. D: 14. Haddad HP: 5/27
Round #2
Sid is frightened of Warwick and uses Cunning Action to Disengage and moves across the tower to keep distance from the warrior.
Price attacks Topace w/ Axe. Attk: 19 - Hit. D: 3. Topace HP: 16/27.
Haddad uses Cunning Action to Disengage and run down the hallway up until he reaches Lucille and Whitman blocking the path. He tries to make an Acrobatics check to try and slip past. Acrobatics: 16 - He dodges past and keeps going.
Whitman drops his crossbow and draws his shortsword and makes a single attack against Lucille. Attk: 19 - Hit. D: 4. Lucille HP: 18/18. Temporary HP: 9. He uses Cunning Action to Disengage and try to get out of the way as well.
Warwick is done with Sid and charges to attack the Bandit Chief. Attk: 22 - Hit. D: 9. Sid HP: 29/57. Warwick uses Action Surge (0/1 Remaining) and attacks again. Attk: 10 - Miss
Topace turns on Price and attacks him. Attk: 23 - Hit. D: 5. Price HP: 18/31
Branwell turns and casts Sacred Flame on Price. Price Save: 6 - Failure. D: 1. Price HP: 17/31. He moves and menaces Price.
Lucille turns on her heel and charges up at Whitman who barely made it to the end of the hall. She attacks with her Shortsword. Attk: 11 - Miss. When she sees Haddad turn back she uses her Dread Stare on him as a bonus action. Haddad Save: Natural 20 - Crit. He saves and is immune for 24 hours.
Messalina moves over and attempts to use Cunning Action (Stealth) to ambush Sid. Stealth: 16 - Success. Sneak Attack: 17 - Hit. D: 12. Sid HP: 17/57
Round #3
Sid’s fear is broken and attacks Warwick w/ Sword. Attk: 7 - Miss
Haddad continues to run, he makes a right turn towards the main entrance and decides to flee. He uses both his normal move and a Cunning Action to Dash.
Whitman slashes at Lucille w/ Short Sword. Attk: 16 - Hit. D: 8. Lucille HP: 18/18. Temporary HP: 1
Price tosses the axe and surrenders to the party. “I’m willing to parley! Please!”
Warwick attacks Sid w/ Greatsword. Attk: 20 - Hit. D: 8. Sid HP: 9/57. He spends a Maneuver Dice (¼ Remaining) and makes a Menacing Attack. Bonus Damage (1d8): 3. Sid HP: 6/57. Sid Save: 7 - Failure. Sid is frightened again.
Topace menaces Price and orders him to step away from his axe and lay on his belly. “One false move and I will crack your crown, human.”
Lucille casts Chill Touch on Whitman. Attk: 9 - Miss. She then uses Dread Stare on Whitman. Whitman Save: 10 - Failure. He is frightened for 1 round. Dread Form Rounds: 3/10 remaining
Branwell casts Sacred Flame on Sid. Sid Save: 10 - Failure. D: 4. Branwell HP: 2/57. Branwell then changes course and charges after Lucille to aid his party member.
Messalina stands still and ambushes Sid. Attk: 14 - Miss
Round #4
Sid performs a Disengage and rounds Warwick, making a beeline for the exit and following in Branwell’s wake.
Haddad uses a Dash Action which gets him through the front doors of the castle. He is trying to clear the area and is willing to leave the others behind to do it.
Whitman slashes at Lucille w/ Short Sword. Attk: 7 - Miss. He uses his Cunning Action to Disengage and move down the corridor towards the exit.
Price is on the ground and has yielded to Topace.
Warwick goes after Sid and attacks w/ his Razor Sword. Attk: 19 - Hit. D: 11. Sid HP: 0/57 - Slain. Warwick feels no regret as he let the Bandit Chief escape with his life. To Lancaster, there would be no second chances.
Topace holds action to guard Price.
Lucille casts Chill Touch on a retreating Whitman. Attk: 17 - Hit. D: 9. Whitman HP: 18/27
Branwell moves down the hallway, he is barely at the corner by using Dash to find Lucille targeting a fleeing Whitman.
Messalina breaks out her rope and moves to tie up Price while Topace watches over the two of them.
Round #5
Whitman is hurt, but is able to get around the corner and adds a Dash for good measure.
Price has surrendered and Haddad has escaped and would require a greater effort to track him down. The party let’s Whitman slip out since they have Price and have slain Sid.
---
They had Price facing the entire party once Lucille and Branwell returned to the scene. The lone human was breathing rapidly when he gazed at the angry faces looking him over.
Warwick spoke first, “You want to tell us what you were doing with that bandit?”
Price swallowed and said, “We were hoping for easy money. I didn’t know he was going to swear vengeance against you guys. I thought it was just about taking your money.”
Warwick looked over at the others and asked, “What do we do with him?”
Lucille bared her fangs and said, “I could think of something.”
“There won’t be any of that,” Warwick countered. He knew he had the backing of Branwell and Topace in his pronouncement. “Messalina?”
The goblinette shrugged, “I guess give him the usual deal if you aren’t going to split him down the middle, Lancaster.”
Warwick looked to make sure he had gotten support before he walked around and slowly untied Price’s hands. “You get one chance, Price. You go against us again, there will be no mercy, just like we showed your friend over there. When you meet with Haddad and Whitman, you tell them that. They get the same deal.”
Price nodded, “I’ll tell, I promise.”
“For their sake you better,” Warwick stood up and backed away.
Price rose, rubbing his bound wrists while looking at the party. He was a scared and beaten man who had come close to death, and looking at Lucille, the dhampir was eager to put her fangs into his neck if the others had let her. He counted his luck and picked up the dagger that Messalina dropped on the ground. The only weapon he was allowed to take with him on his way out.
