Atlantis Gaming Group

In this chapter we have the following participants in our party:

Gerbo Flashbottom, A Halfling with swifter fingers than sense, is played by AgnosticGod via FaceTime.
Bragor Macesplitter, the Dwarven Cleric, is played by Jeff.
Dumb Dumb, the Half-orc Fighter, is played by Michael.
Gnoc, the Half-elf Monk, is played by Brian.
Sasha, a Human Paladin , played by Victor
Trogdor, A half orc Barbarian played by Daniel
A Half Elf Bard-played by OmniDevil

It was a dreary rainy day. The sort that has a chill to it and makes one just want to stay inside near a warm hearth. Each party member started where they normally would. Daniel, with an Elf named Ael’Halor, a woodkin druid of high respect amongst his order.

Daniel told the party of his adventures, where he went in search of the caravan as well, going a different direction. On his travels he battled a bugbear, then slew a few kobolds around the corpse of a merchant.

There was an ornate empty box found in the grove, of which Daniel took with him. On route back to town he was ambushed by an Owlbear. He took a mighty swipe at it, and it responded in like, whacking him to the point of blackness.

He was saved by Ael’Halor and questioned about the box he found.

The next day, Ael’Halor questioned the party about everything they had done in the prior quest. He took particular note on the medallion, which he called Al’Soh. When they told him that a white kobold destroyed it and turned into a white dragon he told them that they would no longer be safe there. The cities’ defenses could hold off a Kobold invasion for a bit, but it wouldn’t survive the horde. He suggested they go to Key and meet a mage there who would have further instruction.

He also stated that the medallions were called Al’Soh. The beings trapped within were the souls of a group of mages from eons ago. Their history was lost to all but a secretive druidic order within the woodkin. From the description of what had happened to Dumb Dumb, he stated that the mages may be insane within the amulet.

The party, not wanting to emperil the city ended up leaving for Key. The travel would be several days and so they supplied up. Also as to avoid harrassment by Kobolds who would be hunting for them, they were advised to travel off the main roads if at all possible. On asking if there would be a way to contact him, the Druid provided the party with a black raven with a sour attitude.

The group found that they were indeed being hunted when a group of kobolds came out and assaulted them. They made clean work of them, but decided the better course of action would be to avoid the main trails from that point on.

As dusk approached, a low fog started to creep along and the party found shelter in a grove of trees. Gerbo and Sasha took first watch, and noticed as the fog grew thicker about them. By the time they switched shifts visibility was extremely poor.

The two half-orcs took second watch. One of them took notice to a sound of growling and noticed angry red eyes glowing in front of them. From the fog came three Wargs, spread out so they could flank their targets easier.

Dumb Dumb tried to kick the preist awake while Daniel rushed ahead in a bloody charge, screaming. The Worgs didn’t know what hit them. The party roused quite easily and just couldn’t miss head blows and chest shots. One Worg’s head even flew by the Cleric, who narrowly dodged the recently decapitated skull.

The third watch went without incident. The group roused themselves and ate breakfast then headed through the thick fog. The game trail they were following came around the bend and the walls of a city appeared blackly through the thick fog.

Gerbo went to the walls of the gate as he was the most stealthy, and saw that the door, a massive 20 foot monstrosity, was bound from the outside by a thick metal chain and an old rusty lock. He went back to the group, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to spot him or know where he was at, and told them what he was doing.

Taking backup, the theif clicked open the lock with ease, a bit of rust came out with the tools. The half-orcs braced themselves, pushing with the utmost force to unseize doors long unoiled. The massive structures opened with a screech, and the group readied themselves for combat. On entering, they went to a structure that at one time was an inn, The roof had long collapsed, and paint had peeled long ago.

More interesting to the group was the ten skeletons inside. While the group did as they normally would, the priest called upon the powers of his diety and turned the spirits of the undead within. To his surprise, behind him another five skeletons dropped.

Conclusion

The group was just recovering from the combat, when the environment darkened. When it came up again only whisps of smoke remained where Macesplitter and Sasha were at. Confused at this, the party was about to search for the Cleric and Paladin when a pile of bloated bodies began to shift about.

From the pile emerged a Bard, covered in the remains of rotting flesh. Initially the two Half-Orcs thought it was a zombie. Trogdor noticed that the flesh was healthy on the Bard and stopped Dumb Dumb before he could strike. The Bard dusted himself off and looked bewildered as he had just come from a dark place.

The party didn’t have much time to debate a course of action as another swarm of walking dead came around and they managed to fight them off. Gnoc decided that the best course of action was to leave the haunted town, but he was convinced to continue on by the rest of the group who wanted to explore the ruins and see if they could find their buddies.

Gerbo did a reconniasance run and discovered an old barracks that was filled with the restless dead. He noticed that the heavy doors were open just enough to let out a few Zombies at a time if they wished, but there was a heavy bar nearby. He devised a way that they could close the door and bar the entrance so no further Zombies could vacate the barracks.

Gerbo went back to the party and told them that there was a clear path deeper into the city, but they would need to pass by the barracks. However he and a couple of other stealthy individuals could probably manage to sneak over and put the bar up to prevent the horde within from overwhelming the troupe.

Gerbo, Gnoc and the Bard each tried to sneak their way up to the barracks, and just as they had arrived Gerbo slipped in the mud and fell, creating a noise that rousted the undead within. He hurriedly picked himself up and shut the door while the other two put the bar in place.

The undead, knowing that there was fresh meat outside, started pounding at the door trying to get through. Gerbo yelled for the help of the rest of the party and the Half-Orcs came rushing in.

By this time zombies had started coming out to investigate the ruckus, and the heroes were quickly going to become out numbered. They saw a door to an ancient temple and didn’t hesitate to take advantage of it.

Ducking inside the heroes found themselves face to face with a Ghast. The undead monster had a retinue of skeletons of which they dispatched rather quickly, as well as the Ghast itself.

As their eyes adjusted to the interior, they realized this temple served as catacombs of a death cult long ago. Braziers burned blue flames and the walls were hollowed out to provide spaces for the dead to rest.

The group came to a wall that split the hallway into a T junction. The group went to the left to explore that passage way when a group of six zombies came around the corner of the hallway they didn’t explore. Gerbo was investigating a treasure chest so Gnoc and the Bard stayed back while the Half-Orcs went to deal with the Zombie threat.

What was thought to be a safe spot ended up becoming a death trap as three Ghouls jumped on top of the Monk, Theif and Bard. Luckily for the party, the Ghouls missed most of their attacks and Gnoc the Monk was on top of his game. The Half-Orcs finished their Zombies and helped the others finish the Ghouls. Dumb Dumb had suffered a few scratches and complained rather loudly about it, but most of the rest of the troupe ignored him.

The party decided they would move through the nearby door to further delve into the dungeon. The ghostly blue flames from the braziers on the wall showed a hallway to the side. The troupe explored only to find another door. Gerbo disarmed the trap and they opened the doorway to allow the Barbarian and Fighter to enter.

Within the room they found two embalming tables, one of which had two Ghasts next to it, while the other had a group of Skeletons. The warriors rushed in to take out the Ghasts, while the Monk rushed forth and assaulted the Skeletons. They managed to destroy the monsters in short order and proceeded to inspect the room. Other than another doorway they found very little.

The party proceeded back to the corridor they came from and went further down to another doorway. The rogue discovered that there was a trap on it, but sensing that it was magical the guys decided they were going to try a different solution.

The Half-Orcs decided to try throwing bodies against the door and trigger the trap that way. To their dismay the bodies of the undead did nothing to the trap. Reaching deep within himself Gerbo went to unlock the door, potentially releasing the trap within. Prepared however, when the trap did release, he narrowly avoided getting nailed by a bolt of negative energy.

The Half-Orcs opened the doors ready to battle whatever denziens might be at the other end of the door. What they saw made them think twice.

The room had several treasure chests within it, three large orbs in the center of the room shooting dark energy at a portal on the far wall. Through the portal they could make out their allies on the far end in a dark world. Also within the room was a group of Skeletons, two Ghasts and a Mummy.

The group retreated through the doorway, drawing up defensive positions. The Bard and the Theif decided that they were going to find a different way into the chamber to try and rescue their friends.

The tactic worked, the Skeletons funnelled through the doorway and were cut down in short order by the Monk and two warriors. Eventually the press of bodies caused some damage to the three. All the while the Fighter was paralyzed in fear at the sight of the Mummy.

Meanwhile, the other two rushed to the aid of their friends, only to find that the door was locked with a similar trap set. As they burst in to the room, they saw that the Mummy had infected the Monk and that the fighter was the only one who could even cut through the Mummy’s thick wrappings. Luckily he had overcame his fear.

The Barbarian lit some torches on fire and passed them off to the monk. Together they fought and drove the Mummy to a well deserved late demise. Then they noticed through the portal a great beast keying in on their allies.

Trogdor, drinking his last potion, ran through the portal to rescue the Paladin and Cleric trapped in the negative plane. The rest of the group readied themselves to smash the orbs.

Narrowly getting both his friends through the portal, the rest of the group smashed the orbs and the portal snapped shut. The party ransacked the room, after the thief picked the chest locks, while the Monk drank a potion to heal himself of the virus the mummy gave him.

As the rest of the party finished packing away the things they had found, the mysterious bard went to the dais in front of the portal. There he began to look at the arcane spellbook sitting on it. He reached out to turn the pages, but with a loud pop, and an ominous laugh, he and the book disappeared. Now with the gate closed and the spell book gone, the spells that had held the undead to the world of the living failed. Their bonds destroyed, they collapsed, leaving the city empty.

The group, soundly taxed, and their primary healer in catatonia, headed directly to Key to seek a solution to the curse that was placed on them.