Metal Home Improvements

This session happened Friday, August 27, 2010, and was the only session I ran this past weekend. I left my notes in the car, so I’m typing this from memory – expect updates to the entry tomorrow, once I’ve consulted my notes.

Adventuring Group:
Mog the Doomed (half-orc barbarian)
Tycho von Helmont (elf alchemist)
Agnes Sunbeard (dwarf rogue)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorceror)
Rhapsody (half-elf rogue)

Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table.

The group of adventurers were indecisive as to which locale to explore. Short a wizard (Sal was not available) and even shorter on funds (after raising Mog a week ago [in game – out of game it has been two weeks], the one thing they can agree upon is a need to drop of the arcanely carved iron chairs they acquired at Drop-off Tower before anyone else sees them.

While following Gravemarker Road (which needed maintenance, maintenance that had to all come from Thorngrim), the group was attacked by leopards. While dangerous, the group found them much easier going than dire lions and killed them relatively quickly. Sadly, Thorngrim’s last dog was killed in the fight, leaving him feeling slightly more vulnerable.

When the group arrived at Drop-off Tower, they found the doors still shut, but something large and able to fly had taken up residence on the third floor of the tower. The group quietly unlocked the front doors as Tycho planned on throwing a bomb or two up into a window on the third floor and they wanted shelter in case he missed. Mog immediately charged up the stairs, intent upon doing battle with whatever was up there before it could fly out of his reach, but was stymied by the locked door on the second floor that sealed off the stairs to the third floor. He was contemplating just chopping down the door with his axe, but Agnes arrived and told him in no uncertain terms that if he did so, she’d chop HIM down. This actually gave Mog pause for thought, memories of death still too fresh in his mind. Agnes went back downstairs to await the results of Tycho’s bombs (expecting to need to close the doors rapidly and lock them).

Once the group was ready, Tycho lobbed a bomb up through a third floor window and waited to see what came out. First was what sounded like a lion’s roar, which gave the adventurers pause: they had been taunting Mog with thoughts of flying dire lions and now seemed to actually be facing one. Eek! The creature erupted out of one of the windows, staying aloft on a pair of wings. It looked very much like a dire lion with wings, but it also had a spiked tail and a man-like face: a manticore! Tycho quickly ducked back into the tower.

The manticore descended, charging Agnes in the doors, wounding her greatly but not fatally. The fight was tough, but the manticore could not get a coordinated set of attacks off. By the time it was thinking about fleeing, it was too late. Tycho and Thorngrim harvested several interesting parts of the manticore and manticore steaks were cooked for dinner.

That night, a shambling mound approached the tower, apparently drawn by the scent of dead meat. While Tycho decided on who to awaken (it was his watch), the shambling mound started slamming into the doors of the tower. Everyone sleeping was awoken by the sound of the wooden doors slowly splintering. By the time the adventurers were ready to face the creature, it successfully smashed in one of the doors. (Agnes was quite angered by this – those doors were expensive and difficult to transport.) The shambling mound went down quickly under the adventurer’s heavy assault, its fire resistance only helping slightly. After the fight, Agnes and Mog hammered up the old interior doors to seal the front entryway for the rest of the night.

In the morning, they group agreed that they needed to replace the front doors. [Also, Rhapsody leveled up to third level.] Luckily, the very complex lock had not been damaged and so could be reused. Before leaving the tower, the two iron chairs were unloaded from the bag of holding and placed on the second floor, Agnes removed the front lock from the remains of the doors, and the old interior doors were hammered into place to keep things out of the tower while they were away. Tycho also took measurements of the windows on the third floor with an eye to get shutters made to seal those as well.

The trip back was uneventful and the adventurers spent two days in Iron Keep, waiting for the lock to be mounted on a pair of iron doors. Thorngrim also bought two replacement dogs for his protection. Tycho then got their mule and cart from the stables at Spider’s Bar and the group travelled back to Drop-off Tower. The night was only slightly disturbed by some giant ants wandering by, but no combat happened.

The next morning the iron doors were mounted in place and it became possible to secure the tower once again. By this time the adventurers felt they had been out here long enough and returned back to Iron Keep, hoping to find either Sal or Su Bel available to adventure before going out again.