The system may have changed but the choice remains the same. To rest or not to rest. Most of the heroes had less than 5 hit points so it was clear we needed to get back to the surface to rest up. But do we spend time doing Treat Wounds first? We were uncertain if any Kobolds were left on the other side of the fountain trap room but were fairly confident they weren’t coming through there any time soon. Nor were we. We decided to spare 10 minutes. We have 3 characters with the Medicine skill so the 3 worst off were treated. Unfortunately, only the wise Druid made his roll, healing the recently unconscious Clarissa. And we pressed on. Xeeli wanted to sneak ahead in darkness which complicated the marching order. We also spent time with the spear trap that turned out to still be disabled. Nothing happened until we got back to the spider room. It had returned. Xeeli and Ter Stegan snuck in and attacked. Xeeli missed and was then missed. And the Ter Stegan crit (again?) and cut it in two. And retrieved that missing hatchet. The last challenge was climbing up that cliff which we managed. Now what?
Do we tell the adults what we’d seen? Evidently, it was known that there was a dungeon under the town and that it was once and currently was inhabited by Kobolds. Rather than lie, we decided to be honest but evasive. However, Clarissa had broken curfew to come so we needed to get her home unseen. We spent 30 minutes barricading the breech which reset the Treat Wounds clock. This time, all 3 treaters succeeded. The three boys then distracted the orc cook while the two girls snuck out the back door. And then the boys informed the proprietor of the problem. She snuck a door under the door knob and got back to work. And we all went home. Brian allowed us all a long rest heal (CON bonus (min 1)*level*2) and then realized it should have been half that for a night’s rest rather than a full 24 hours. But whatever. Most were up to full. We met at the arena the next morning and did some bookkeeping. The magic short sword was a +1 and given to Xeeli since she was the only one that used one on a routine basis. The scroll was of magic missile that went to the arcane caster, Clarissa. (The rules for detecting and identifying are still complicated but it was argued that with sufficient time, it could be worked out.) The rest was “sold” and distributed although I’m not sure if the silver bowl was included. We did another healing and Oakwood took damage from a critical failure. But another hour later, we were all full.
About the time we decided to head back to the dungeon, Oakwood’s father showed up. He ordered him and Ter Stegan to get to the lumber mill and help out. Brisco volunteered to come along and spouted his pro-tree propaganda. He was mostly ignored and dismissed. Oakwood asked him about the Koblads and expressed concerns that they might be up to something with the upcoming festival. He probably said too much but Deception is not within his skill set. Osef said he’d have the guards look into it. Oakwood offered to help, given how busy everyone was, but was shut down. Xeeli managed to all but disappear (Escape Notice) when there was work to be assigned and Clarissa was missed entirely. The girls went to check out the collapsed tavern we thought may have been due to underground activities. Maybe another way in? They searched but didn’t find a way without requiring some major engineering. About then, Clarissa’s mother showed up and order her to get to work as well. Xeeli disappeared again but when she heard it was to clean the library/bookstore, she volunteered to help. At the mill, Ter Stegan adopted father gave him a +1 hatchet to aid in his Kobald slaying. And then he let them go around lunchtime. So, we all met up at the fishery since we knew of no other way in. Several information-gathering skills were used to find one but it seemed like any time an entrance was found, it was sealed up.
There was a sign stating that the door down was off limits by order of the town guards. Luckily, the orc cook couldn’t read it so he let us pass. We fast-forwarded to the barricade we had avoided last time. Once it was de-constructed, the dark vision sneakers took the lead again. They could see a blue light from around the bend. They came into a tomb room with a fancy sarcophagus in the center and 4-5 coffins around it. And a Walking Dead. Initiative. The first two moved up and prepared to attack. Oakwood beat Ter Stegan on initiative and got to be the Christian. He charged in, attacked the undead, and missed. 4 skeletons emerged from the coffins, two with bows and two with scimitars. Oakwood got racked up. However, they were dropped in a round or two. Ter Stegan does a lot of damage. Clarissa could feel the evil in the room which did not diminish after the fight. We found a fancy shield that no one could use. The sarcophagus was the founding adventurer of the Mendes family. It had a recess in its lid that Oakwood thought looked like the holy symbol Osef uses at town ceremonies. Clarissa felt that the evil was beyond our abilities and needed a full priest. We decided to leave it all as it was and bring the town priest next time we came down. Oakwood got Treated somewhere in there. We stopped there. We leveled up to 2nd but I don’t think anyone did anything about that yet.
GM Summary:
Current Date:The date is Sunday, 22nd Gozran, 4719 AR Somal's phase is Waning Gibbous Last Session...
A great mystery was answered last session. Where was TerStegen's spare hatchet? Did it fall into an alternate dimension? Was it placidly living the life of a hand-axe elsewhere in Golarion thinking hand-axe thoughts? It was, in fact, stuck in the side of a Giant Spider. This was exactly where TerStegen had left it and might make one curious as to why this was even a mystery.
Slightly worse for wear, our heroes elected to make a tactical retreat from their under-city tunnel exploration. Xeelie, on the other hand, looking like death warmed over and for the same reason we have warning labels, insisted on scouting ahead of the party. TerStegen followed close behind, presumably so he could witness Xeelie's demise but perhaps also so that TerStegen could quietly ponder why his name contained not even a single H. Up ahead, Xeelie staggered quietly into the spider den and quickly realized both by the amount of additional webs festooning the room as well as the Giant Spider lurking in the corner that the lair was no longer empty.
Mentally confusing advance and retreat, Xeelie's feet carried her forward into the center of the spider den. In quick succession, a pair of arrows cracked against the wall behind the Giant Spider. It was at this point that Xeelie wished she could recall what her mother Wrin had told her that very morning. Startled awake, the Giant Spider leapt forward preparing to consume Xeelie. Ever the hardy fool, TerStegen charged into the fray to rescue his friend facing certain death. One mighty swing of his battle axe split the Giant Spider in twain and drenched all nearby in spider guts.
After a slight delay, the group continued up and out. Sneaking through the kitchen of the Otari Fishery, the group first took a peak at the main room. Sitting at the group's own designated table, despite the bargain and the lost bet, was the group's rivals:
■ World Builder: Rival Gang
Derek seemed to be regaling Amicia, Doriana, and Chartreuse with another of his tales from his time on watch as a junior guard. Why these tales always revolved around a circling wolf pack is anybody's guess. Charteuse seemed to be embarrassed while Amicia laughed boisterously and Dorian listened attentively. Only Mar was absent from the group.
Our heroes relayed to the owner, Tamily Tanderveil, a bit of what they had discovered. This included the fact that Kobolds appeared to be responsible for her losses and that she should look into getting her basement repaired as well as having the Otari Watch investigate. As an expression of her appreciation for their work, Tamily gave the group 50 SP. Additionally, seeing a couple of serious injuries in the group, she distributed the two healing potions she had on hand.
Meanwhile, rather than confront the scoundrels sitting at their table while the group was in such a disheveled state, a retreat through the back door was made. Each of our heroes through various means snuck back into their respective homes to get a nights rest. Reconvening early the next morning in the kitchen and thence the basement, preparing to investigate further the group soon realized two things:
■ Tamily and Xug moved most of the items stored in the basement into the Kitchen.
■ The town guard had "investigated" the basement and put a paper seal on the basement door
NOTE: Investigated in this context means "did nothing".
Our heroes retraced their steps to the previously discovered impromptu barricade just beyond the now-empty spider den. Surely this barricade was a construct of the Kobolds, but what was behind it? Quietly making an opening, our heroes move forward. A flickering blue glow ahead from a wall-mounted everburning torch lit the way for those in front. In the back of the party Clarisa, ever the sensitive, could feel the presence of death ahead. This was confirmed as a fight between our heroes, several undead skeletons, and one undead person with a bit of flesh still clinging to their bones ensued.
Perhaps it was the previous encounters that had toughened them up, or perhaps it was the full nights rest in their own beds, but the group fared well against this undead menace. All the undead were put down and their bones scattered to ensure they didn't arise again. Despite the destruction of these undead, Clarisa could still feel a presence of death.
Investigating the crypt carefully, the group found two things:
■ An inscription on a still sealed sarcophagus in the center of the crypt.
■ A depression on the lid of the sarcophagus that reminded Oakwood of a family heirloom.
The inscription reads:
"Here lies Aesephana Menhemes, the Huntress. May she rest in peace"
The depression on the lid is the same shape as Aesephana's holy symbol which Mayor Menhemes wears proudly during important town events such as the upcoming Founder's Day Festival.
Clarisa was able to deduce the sense of menace, doom, and death was from underneath the sealed sarcophagus. It was the only coffin-like object in the room which did not look like something had burst forth from it. What would happen if the holy symbol were placed on top of the sarcophagus? Surely that would release death on the little town, or at least so surmised the spooked Clarisa.
It should be noted:
■ Still in the wall sconce is an Everburning Torch
■ One skeleton had an untarnished shield and a highly polished shield formed to look like a roaring lion.
Both are in the Party Sheet if anybody decides to take them. No other items of value are otherwise visible in this forgotten crypt (unless the group has a bone collector).
