After checking out the eastern entrance of the High Pass tunnel (rune-encircled as well), the party backtracked through the tunnel in search of the intimidated Drow sentry-post, hoping to leave no survivors. The post was abandoned, apparently with great haste -- and presumably through the west entrance from which the party had originally arrived.
Just before rushing out in pursuit, the front rank noticed that the light filtering in from the valley had turned a pale orange. A test skeleton sent into the entrance erupted in a plume of fire, the apparent victim of activated ware runes.
Falling back, the party cleared out of the eastern entrance nervously into an unfamiliar country, encountering an odd woodland observer watching them from the trees -- a spriggan. The spriggan provided a bit of advice about the comings and goings of caravans in the area, and offered to stay with the party.Meanwhile, the flying members of the party -- the two dragons and Zelmar -- took to the skies to fly over the mountain pass and attempt to eliminate the ward runes from the outside. A few attempts at reading or guessing the password proved fruitless.
Instead they continued pursuit of the missing Drow, scrying them through a crystal ball to discover them in a wooden building. The only wooden buildings within a days walk were at the pirate camp, so this seemed like a plausible destination. The pirates greeted them warmly if a bit suspiciously, and after a bit of internal deliberation they seemed receptive to the offer to betray the dark elves; admittedly, pirates don't need much coaxing to attempt acts of treachery.
Alas, the formidable reputation of dark elven magic and the fury of House Eilserv's promised retribution led to a stand-off situation. The pirates were unwilling to risk their lives entering the building, a death-trap of heavily armored elves. The elves, for their part, had little interest in exiting to fight under the sun. Eventually Zelmar had to land personally and request permission to smoke them out by setting fire to the building, with his usual charm. The elves waited until the last possible moment to storm out and mount a fierce defense, plugging a sleep bolt into Zelmar, downing Namazu with blades, and chasing the dwarven sapper underground. Finally, they were beaten into submission as the pirates cheered at the spectacle (without offering much assistance).
Pirates being pirates, there was another shorter stand-off after the battle, as the dastardly Captain Slaughterbucket (don't ask!) pondered the option of eliminating the weakened party with his crossbowmen. After a bluff by Zelmar ("dwarven skeletons, burrowing under the walls even now!"), they laughed off the brief tensions as a joke.
Meanwhile, the remaining party members on the far side of the mountain enjoyed a non-restful night, as a bask of basilisks stormed into the camp and produced dozens of skeleton statues before finally being put down.
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| Art: Goran Josic |
Roster
East-gate team:
- Zelmar Krackiss, 5th level fright knight
- Viserion, 3rd level (4 HD) white dragon
- The very young white dragon, Namazu
- <new Dwarven sapper>
West-gate team:
- Herrohnin, 5th level summoner, and his scads of spooky scary skeletons
- Sir Rock Boulder Fist, dwarven 5th level summoner
- Sir Robin Silverblade, 5th level spellsword
- Kilor Graniteback, 5th level machinist
- <new spriggan>
Kilor Graniteback and a gazillion skeletons, turned to stone by a basilisk
Treasure
None, aside from some drow bedclothes and linens
Experience
East-gate team (Zelmar, Viserion, Namazu, dwarven sapper):
Killed: 7th-level drow priestess [1490 xp], 5th-level drow fighter [500 xp], 8 3rd-level drow fighters [8x80 = 640 xp]
Total: 2630 xp
West-gate team (Herrohnin, Robin, Kilor):
Killed: 6 basilisks [6x980=5880 xp]
Total: 5880 xp
Total experience from treasure: 0 xp
Total experience from kills: 2630 xp or 5800 xp
Total experience from exploration: 0 xp
Total experience: 2630 xp
Total experience per member (East): 750 xp
Total experience per member (West): 1680 xp
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