Posts Tagged ‘Ganzir-Galad’

Return Journey to Crystal Shores

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022

(This is more of the adventures of Douag, Falafela, Lightstep, Opalent, Vandin, and Vox using the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition rules.)


Day #2-32 (Waterday, 12th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): The party of Douag, Falafela, Flenda and Gwenette Deathmar, Jorgio, Lightstep, Opalent, Vandin Lakesplitter, and Vox the Just awoke shortly after sunrise, which was around 5:20 am. They ate a solemn breakfast of cold cereal and milk, and then they all went to see Karnack after they had eaten their fill, as word was passed to them during breakfast that Karnack had translated the scroll from Koban Hairfoot’s tomb. While Tureg joined the others for breakfast, he told them at that time that he was going to leave the adventuring life, and would somehow return to his home village of Garzan, which was next to the Burntface Volcano. Tureg then repaired to his own quarters and did not join the others when they went to see Karnack.

“Good morning!” said Karnack when the party had arrived. Standing next to Karnack was the ranger, Clayton. “Excellent news! We have determined what the scroll has to say. You all remember this, no doubt?” As he said that, Karnack passed the original scroll to the party members, or at least Clayton took the scroll from Karnack and showed it to the party members. Here is what that scroll looked like:

The scroll that was recovered from the Tomb of Koban Hairfoot

After every party member had refreshed their memory of the scroll, Karnack read them the translation:

“Behold the wondrous power of the Pendant of Winstone. It holds the cure to many diseases if only it is used properly.

To fully effect a cure you must use the Pendant with a pure gold chalice of a high value. It must not be adulturated with any base metals although it may be adorned with jewels of high value.

To use the Pendant fill the chalice with pure water. Then dip the Pendant into the chalice and leave it there from sunrise to sundown all the while keeping pure beeswax candles burning on either side of the chalice.

After sundown, the elixer is ready for consumption. Allow each of the afflicted to take one mouthful only of the elixer from the chalice and to swallow the elixir. The imbiber will be cured within one hour. They should not be active during the curing period but should rest easy.

Beware that the Pendant of Winstone cannot perform unlimited cures. When it reaches its limit of cures its stone will turn from glossy jet black to a dull gray.”

Karnack then looked up. “That appears to be all there is to it. Lightstep, you retrieved two candles from the tomb. Do you know if they are beeswax candles?” Falafela answered, “Actually, I carried the candlesticks and candles. I do not know if they are beeswax or not.” Karnack then continued, “OK, we will have to ensure you take a goodly supply of beeswax candles with you.”

The party then thanked Karnack profusely. The sisters Flenda and Gwenette, in particular, went up to Karnack and hugged and kissed him, which embarrassed Karnack just a bit. Then, the party said their goodbyes to Karnack and Clayton. Clayton said, “Have a safe trip. Make sure to keep the Braztook Hills on your left. Head due south until you reach the east-west road between Fenshaft and Ganzir-Galad, then veer to the southwest and make for the Alder Thicket. Good luck!” The party then also thanked Clayton again for his assistance in retrieving the Pendant of Winstone from the Tomb of Koban Hairfoot.

Most of the party’s backpacks were already packed for traveling, although they of necessity went to the mess hall and topped off their supply of iron rations (hard biscuits and jerky) for traveling. The party did pay for this food, although they had been fed for free during their stay at the castle. The party also purchased some more torches, even though they might not need them in the near future. The party then went to say their good-byes to Tureg, and then they assisted Vox to mount his horse, which one of the stable boys had obediantly saddled and fetched from the stable. The stable boy also gave a quick lesson in how to saddle the horse, and how to arrange the bit and bridle, then by 9 o’clock, they were on their way out of the castle.

Fortunately, the light riding horse that was purchased for Vox was quite tame, and it easily followed along with the other travellers who were all afoot. The party met the north-south road than ran south from Bridgefields after a few miles, then followed that road for about another five miles before turning towards the southwest. After about 15 miles of total travel for the day, the party camped near the road that ran to the west towards Ganzir-Galad. It had been a pleasant day of travel, with temperatures in the low 70s and with low humidity.

The party figured they weren’t in much danger, so they only posted one guard at a time. The watch order was set as: Falafela, Vandin, Douag, Lightstep, Opalent, Flenda, Jorgio, Gwenette, and Vox. Vox tied his horse to a nearby tree. Other folks gathered up some tall grass and brought it over for the horse to eat. Gwenette asked, “Hey, Vox! What’s this horse’s name?” Vox answered, “I didn’t think to ask. I guess I’ll just call him “Horse.” Since the horse was a gelding, that seemed good enough. Finally, when it got dark after 6:30 pm, most of the party slept except for the guard on duty.

Day #2-33 (Earthday, 13th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): Sometime after midnight, Flenda awoke. She thought to herself, “It seems like someone should have woke me before now to stand my guard shift.” She quietly got up and tried to look around, but the moon had already set, and the scattered clouds were obscuring some of the starlight. After Flenda accustomed her eyes to the dark for a minute or two, she quietly walked around the campsite, looking for Opalent, who was to have stood the watch before Flenda and who should have waken Flenda to stand the next watch. Flenda then walked around the camp, loudly whispering, “Opalent! Where are you!?” After circling the camp three times without receiving a response, Flenda then woke everyone else in camp. A quick head count revealed that not only was Opalent missing, but so was Lightstep! Douag quickly and gruffly said, “I woke Lightstep to serve the next watch, then I fell asleep! I don’t know what happened!” Flenda suddenly realized that Lightstep was carrying the Pendant of Winstone and the golden chalice, both of which were needed to effect the cure for the zombie curse that was afflicting her home village of Crystal Shores! Flenda blurted out, “We have to find them! They’ve taken the pendant and the chalice! We need those to help my friends in my village!” Gwenette said, “Light some torches, let’s see what we can find.”

The party did light two torches, and the first thing they noticed was that both the Pendant of Winstone and the golden chalice had been left right in the middle of their camp, and had not been taken away. The Necklace of Harbinge was not there, though, so presumably it was still around Lightstep’s neck. Flenda and Gwenette and Falafela circled the camp, looking for footprints in the dewy grass. They found the party’s footsteps coming from the northeast, but the only other footprints they found that led away from camp went straight to the road between Ganzir-Galad and Fenshaft. Jorgio said, “I’ll bet they didn’t go toward Fenshaft. Don’t you remember Tureg saying it was populated by goblins!?” The party agreed that Lightstep and Opalent must have headed off towards Ganzir-Galad, at least for a while, but they didn’t feel they had any time to track them down. As there was no evidence of any other tracks, the party concluded that the missing duo were not missing due to any foul play, but had just left of their own free will.

Since it was still a couple of hours before dawn, the party settled back down and tried to get as much more rest as they could, but hardly anyone could really get to sleep, as they all were wondering just what the heck had happened to Lightstep and Opalent.

Finally, the sun arose around quarter after five (of course, these times are all estimates, as nobody back then was wearing a watch!), and the party awoke and hastily ate some hardtack and jerky. Jorgio said, “I’ll be glad to get back to civilization where I can eat some real food!” There were several grunts of approval from the others. After the quick meal, Flenda and Gwenette helped Vox get his horse saddled, then they helped him mount his horse, then the party resumed their travel towards Crystal Shores.

The party crossed the road that ran between Ganzir-Galad and Fenshaft, then continued on towards the southwest, keeping the Braztook Hills near to their left. As the party crossed the road, Flenda and Gwenette scouted the road for about a quarter-mile in each direction. Flenda went towards the west, towards Ganzir-Galad, and Gwenette scouted towards Fenshaft, towards the east. After they were done scouting, they hurried to rejoin the party. Gwenette said, “Opalent and Lightstep did not head towards Fenshaft, or at least if they did, they did not follow the road.” Flenda then spoke,saying, “I found both of their tracks heading down the road towards Ganzir-Galad. A couple of times their tracks veered off the road but then came back on to the road a few yards farther down. I guess they had their reasons for leaving us, but it would have been nice of them to have said good-bye!”

As the party trudged on towards the southwest, the temperature kept getting warmer, and the humidity increased sharply. All were dripping in sweat, and of neccessity took more breaks than usual. Fortunately for them, too, was the fact that it was still spring, and so all of the little streams and rivulets that they encountered were full of fresh water. Finally, they left the Braztook Hills behind and headed straight for the Alder Thicket. Although it was only about four o’clock in the afternoon when they reached the edge of the thicket, they decided to camp on the edge of that jungle, rather than try to cover any more distance that day. Flenda and Gwenette made a bit of protest, as they still wanted to press on while there was daylight remaining, as they wanted to get home as soon as possible. They even begged for the others to give them the Pendant of Winstone and the golden chalice to carry so they could hurry ahead, but the others talked them out of that idea, saying it was important to stay together right now because they couldn’t be sure what would be encountered not only in Crystal Shores, but also in Mont du Plat when they passed through that latter village.

The party settled into camp, Flenda and Gwenette helped Vox to dismount his horse, then the sisters unsaddled “Horse,” as that was the horse’s name. Then they pulled up some long grass and gave Horse a thorough rubdown. Horse enjoyed that immensely. Vox was a little alarmed when the girls took the tether off Horse and let him wander a bit, so he could graze. Horse also rolled around in the grass after eating, then he came back to the party and was re-tethered to a tree. The party set the night’s watch order as: Falafela, Vandin, Douag, Flenda, Jorgio, Gwenette, and Vox. The rest of the night passed uneventfully.

Day #2-34 (Fireday, 14th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): Soon after the party awoke the next morning, while everyone was eating their customary hardtack and jerky, Jorgio stood to make an announcement. He made a gesture for Flenda to join him, and so she rose and stood by his side. Jorgio looked very solemn, “Ladies and gentlemen, I just wanted you all to know that Flenda has consented to be my bride! We plan to marry as soon as we can get her parents’ permission.” Flenda, who didn’t embarrass easily, felt her cheeks flush at the announcment. Everyone else, except Vox, who still coudn’t stand on his own, got up and congratulated the couple. Flenda then added, “He asked me when we were watching over the cyclops, while we were waiting for you all to make a reappearance. At first I told him I’d have to think about it, just to leave him hanging for a while. But I couldn’t wait more than 10 minutes before I said yes!” Gwenette then went out of camp and picked some wildflowers for Flenda’s hair, fashioning the flower stems to make a sort of tiara. Gwenette then helped weave the stems into Flenda’s hair.

For a moment, the sisters Flenda and Gwenette forgot about their hurry to return home, as they shared some sisterly hugs. Then Douag spoke, “Ladies! Don’t forget we still have a ways to travel. We should be on our way. I think it is going to storm today.” Indeed, the morning was humid and still, and what sky could be seen to the west was filled with dark, towering clouds. So Flenda and Gwenette saddled Vox’s horse, and while Flenda and Vandin were helping Vox mount Horse, Gwenette fed Horse the roots of some lacy plants she had pulled up at the same time she was gathering flowers.

The party pushed on into the jungle of Alder Thicket. They had made about 10 miles by around 3 p.m, when the clouds loosed a terrific thunderstorm upon them. About 10 minutes before the rain fell, the wind had picked up considerably, waving even large trees in its breeze. The party had just passed through Mont du Plat about the time the wind starting blowing, and they had crossed over to the south side of the south branch of the River Bushkill. They had not seen anything moving in the humid heat of Mont du Plat as they passed through, and they hadn’t been in any mood to investigate matters in that ville. When the rain came, a couple of party members wanted to return to Mont du Plat to seek shelter, but the others, particularly Flenda and Gwenette, ruled that out. Flenda said, “We have to get home first! Besides, who knows how many zombies may be hiding inside some of the buildings in Mont du Plat!?”

So the party continued marching alongside the river, but after another 10 minutes the rain came down so hard that nobody could see for more than a few feet in front of them. Vandin held his shield over his head for shelter until his arms were going numb from holding the shield in that unnatural position. Vandin yelled over the fury of the storm, “We need to stop for a while and wait this out!” So the party sheltered under some large trees that held off some of the hardest rain. Flenda and Gwenette helped Vox to dismount, then the girls were both trying to calm Horse, as he was getting spooked by the lightning flashes and the boom of the following thunder.

Finally, after an hour or so, the storm subsided as quickly as it had come on. As the storm left, so did the high humidity, for which everyone was thankful. The river was rushing much faster than before, heading towards Crystal Shores. Falafela said, “You know, if we had a boat, we would probably be in Crystal Shores in 15 minutes, the way the water is rushing so fast!” Douag countered, “Or else we’d all be drowned when the boat flipped when it hit a submerged rock!” The party then tried to shake off as much water as they could before continuing on, but after they had marched only another couple of miles, they were all feeling chilled.

Vandin and Falafela both chimed in about the same time. “The next clearing we come across, we should make camp and try to get a fire going.” “Yeah, we also should camp because it will be dark by the time we get to Crystal Shores, and since we’re not sure what to expect, I wouldn’t want to walk into a situation where the entire village was full of wandering zombies in the dark, and we’d all be exhausted and maybe too tired to fight them off!” So, despite the pleas and tears of Flenda and Gwenette, the party made camp another mile along the trail. Although the ground was thoroughly soaked, some party members, directed by Falafela, gathered up some moss and small logs to make places to sit that were off the ground. Then everyone except Vox gathered some logs for a fire. Then the battle axe of Douag was employed as a woodsman’s axe, splittling logs for a fire. Although it took some doing, with Falafela directing others as to how to find dry logs that had been under various forms of cover, eventually a fair amount of firewood was cut and stacked. Then Falafela, using her former forester skills (before she turned to thieving), kindled a fire. She did admit to cheating by first lighting one of their pitch-impregnated wooden torches, but that torch did a wonderful job of getting some kindling going, then larger and larger sticks, and then logs, until at last a quite warm and satisfying fire was built.

The sisters Flenda and Gwenette then turned their attention to Horse, rubbing him down as best they could. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much available to feed Horse as there was no grass or grain in the area of the camp, seeing as how it was in the middle of a jungle, and he eschewed the leaves that were offered him. Gwenette said, “Well, it probably won’t hurt Horse too much to go hungry for a night.” Vox then asked, “How do you two know so much about horses?” Flenda answered, “Do you remember when we met up with Jenn Jise and some other fellows on our way to Karnack’s? Do you remember us saying that our father used to ride with those rascals? Well, as young girls we got to attend to various horses. Although we don’t own any horses now ourselves, we are quite at home among them!” Gwenette added, “Yeah. Flenda, I think we need to acquire a couple of horses for ourselves, as all of this walking about is for the birds! Why should we walk when we could ride!” She said that last sentence with a wink of her eye, while gesturing towards Horse. “Wait a minute!” said Vox. “I paid for that horse, fair and square. He’s mine! You’ll have to teach me how to care for him, assuming I get cured, of course.” Gwenette quickly put Vox’s mind at ease. “Oh, don’t worry, we’re not going to take your horse. We should get our own horses, though. We also need to get some draft horses for Mylene, so she can start a caravan service to our village.”

Then sunset came, and the party settled in for their last night before they would finally arrive back in Crystal Shores. They decided that since they were about midway between both Crystal Shores and Mont du Plat, they had better have two guards awake at all times. So they set the watch order as: Falafela and Vandin, then Douag and Vox, then Flenda and Jorgio, and finally Gwenette and Falafala (again). They also improvised a barrier of branches and brambles around their camp, just to make it harder for anyone or anything to be able to sneak in unnoticed. Then they all got as much rest as they could.

Journey to Karnack’s Castle: The Second Day

Saturday, January 16th, 2016

We now leave the action at the spider farm south of Rushtu’un, and return our attention to the other group of adventurers who are traveling to Karnack’s castle.


Day #2-26 (Airday, 6th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC) The party were all awake by 6 am, ate some food, then began their march towards Karnack’s castle once again, with Vandin and Vox in the lead, as usual. The day promised fair weather, as at dawn there was not a cloud in sight. They continued to march mostly towards the northeast, always keeping the Braztook Hills at least a couple of miles away to their right. Fortunately, Herschel Gobinmyer had given them a fair map and had mentioned prominent landmarks to navigate by. The group reached the road between Ganzir-Galad to the west and Fenshaft to the east about an hour before noon, so they lay down behind a low hill where they could not be spotted from the road, and ate lunch and rested for about 30 minutes. They then crossed the road, turned mostly north for another five miles, then were able to resume their northeastern course. Finally, in the late afternoon, after journeying about 20 miles, they made camp again. After dinner, the party realized they had collectively eaten about half of the rations they had started this journey with. They reckoned it should be OK, though, as they reckoned they should only have another 10 or 15 miles of marching to reach Karnack’s castle on the morrow.

Before retiring for the night, again without a campfire, the party decided on their night watch order: 1st watch: Vandin & Vox; 2nd watch: Falafela & Opalent; 3rd watch: Lightstep & Tureg; 4th watch: Gwenette & Jorgio. Vandin and Vox stood their early watch uneventfully, and then around 9 pm Falafela and Opalent took over. As it grew darker, there were only the stars for light, as the moon was a late-rising moon. Toward the end of their three-hour watch, both Falafela and Opalent heard a horse snort just on the other side of the low hill to the east of the party’s camp. Lightstep had been awake since making camp, as he was worried about his dangerous cargo of the evil ring that had been found at Mont du Plat, and he too heard the horse. So, he decided to sneak to the top of the low hill and see what was on the other side. Maybe 75 yards away was a small campfire, and Lightstep could make out the shapes of several horses and possibly several human-sized shapes near the fire.

— The Dungeon Master

Zombie Encounter at Mont du Plat

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2015

After our party of intrepid adventurers escorted Flenda and Gwenette back to their home in the village of Crystal Shores, they discovered unexpected adventure awaited them early the next day!


Day #2-24 (Fireday, 4th Dewsnap, 4333 BCCC): Fortunately for our intrepid party of adventurers staying the night at the Inn of the Blushing Trout in Crystal Shores, the night passed uneventfully. However, upon arising the next morning and heading downstairs from their bedrooms to the main room of the inn, the party found that the innkeeper Sathe Lidorn, his wife Beefa and daughter Lido had all turned into living dead “zombies.” A pair of the zombies attempted to attack the party, but since the zombies were rather slow, the party was able to herd them, holding chairs like lion tamers, to get all three zombies behind the bar in the main dining room area. Then the party corralled the zombies by stacking a couple of tables across the bar opening into the main room. They then quickly repaired to tell Herschel and Wider about what had transpired. Herschel convinced the party they should make haste to go to Mont du Plat. Herschel also said he would get some other villagers to try to more properly restrain the innkeeper’s family.

The party did stop at Vilan’s to see if Flenda and Gwenette wanted to go along to Mont du Plat, and they did, after speaking to the druid Herschel, who mentioned to them they could do a good deed by helping to find the pestilence that was affecting their fellow townsfolk. The party did stop by Mylene’s to obtain a 5-gallon wooden keg, and then Herschel cast a spell to Create (pure) Water in the keg, so at least the party knew they would be starting off with some clean water to drink, as Herschel once again reiterated he thought there was something wrong with the water in the village. The party then lashed a couple of long poles to the keg to make it easier to carry, and especially enlisted the help of Jorgio and Fredo to help carry the water jug as they were unencumbered with any heavy armor.

Then, after a hasty breakfast of jerky and hardtack, although most of the morning was gone, the party departed for Mont du Plat to the east. They followed a trail along the south bank of the south branch of the River Bushkill. There was a jungle to the south that approached very near to the river, so the party kept an eye out for any marauding orcs or other troublesome creatures that might be hidden in the foliage.

Finally, the party arrived at Mont du Plat after a journey of about 10 miles that took about four hours, also drinking a bit more than half of their water supply. They noticed a bridge over the river to their left with a line of what looked to be several houses on the other side of the river. They also saw that the river seemed to come out of a cave higher up on the hill in front of them, and then there was a waterfall with another wooden bridge crossing the river about 50 feet higher than the party’s current elevation. Instead of crossing the river, the party took the road to the right, which started uphill at a healthy angle. They first passed a ramshackle farmhouse on their left. That structure had a severe lean or tilt to it, and looked like it would fall over at any minute. Next was a house of stone walls with a wooden shingled-roof. It had a corral but no animals in it. Next was a sod house with a thatched roof, and then finally a fairly well maintained wood frame house with its front door barely hanging on by its top hinge. Most of the old village looked like it was very run-down, with buildings that hadn’t been cared for in some time.

After another 20 yards or so, the party reached another fork in the road. They stayed to the left, heading back towards the river, still gaining elevation, but not so steep as before. After a left-right chicane-type bend in the road, eventually the road took a sharp right turn, with an old blacksmith shop on the inside of the bend. Behind the smithy were some medium-density woods. If the party had gone straight ahead on the road, it would have crossed the river on that higher wooden bridge that they had seen when they were 50 feet lower. The group could also see an old miller’s residence across the river, and its water-wheel was still being turned by the river, and the water wheel was still turning its grinding wheel, although nothing was being ground between the millstones. The waterfall in the river began just past the miller’s water wheel, to the right of that high bridge. From this position the party could see the road continued higher on the near bank of the river, and there was another wooden footbridge just above where the river debouched from the rocky hill.

The party took the right fork in the road from the smithy’s place, gaining another 10 feet of elevation. The road paralleled the river, and the adventurers saw a stone arch with a large opening in it off to their right. They left the road to investigate that arch, and saw it had stairs leading down into the dark underground. Behind that stone portal the party could see trees, and scattered amongst the trees were broken rocks that looked to have once been the foundation or walls of a building, although there were no standing walls any more. Without any further ado, the party got out some torches, lit them, and proceeded to head down those stairs, although they left their water keg outside the entrance to the stairs.

At the bottom of the winding stairs in the dungeon, the hallway turned abruptly to the left. About 60 feet further on, the hall turned to the right, and immediately after that turn another hallway went to the left (as well as straight ahead). The party took that left corridor at that first intersection. They soon came to a rectangular chamber whose ceiling had partially collapsed in its center, making an hourglass-shaped room. The room had a very foul odor, and many rats were scurrying about. There was also a whistling noise coming from the other side of the room. The party could also occasionally hear some shuffling sorts of noises, but could not determine their direction of origin. The floor was covered with slippery green moss, and party members Falafela, Opalent, and Tureg lost their footing and fell on their backsides, getting covered with the slimy moss, while trying to cross the room. Eventually the entire party made it through the partial collapse in the middle of the room to the far side of the room and discovered another passageway at the diagonally opposite corner, which they continued down. This hallway also quickly turned right, with another branch hallway to the left just after the turn. The passage straight ahead was blocked by a cave-in after 20 feet or so, so the group decided to investigate the passage to the left.

The passage opened into a room that was about 30 feet by 60 feet in size, and one corner opened into a larger, semi-circular area, although that additional area had seen a cave-in and so its size could not readily be determined. This chamber was also dry, including the floor, so the party didn’t have to worry about slipping and falling like in the previous room they had traversed, although this room did also have an unpleasant odor. The whistling noise that had heard in the previous room was louder now and was determined to be coming from somewhere in the caved-in area in this chamber. There were some scraps of timber on the floor, but nothing else to discover, so the party retraced their steps. On their way back through the hourglass-shaped room, Lightstep, Persis and Gwenette managed to fall on the slippery moss on the floor, and Falafela fell a second time, thus getting more thoroughly covered with the stinky slime.

After exiting the mossy-floored room, the party went to their left, down what had previously been the “straight ahead” hallway. They eschewed taking either of two hallways on their right that they passed, instead bearing straight ahead where they finally entered a large chamber after traveling about 100 feet. Their two torches could not light the entire chamber, but they could see that the room must have been elegant, once. The walls still had some remnants of carvings, although they had been eroded by years of water dripping down them. The floor was rather muddy with some standing water, except for some large piles of rubble that had collapsed from parts of the ceiling. As the party noted there were some wide steps on the opposite side of the room from whence the party had entered that led up a raised dais. While the party was engaged in looking at the walls and the dais, they suddenly became aware that they were about to be attacked by four zombies!

The 11 members of the party quickly fanned out to meet the zombie attack, with Lightstep, Persis, Tureg, Vox, and Vandin meeting the attack head-on, and with Falafela, Flenda, Fredo, Gwenette, and Jorgio maneuvering to get behind the zombies for attacks from the rear. Magic-user Opalent wisely stayed out of the fray, and was ready to render first aid to anyone who may have needed it. As it was, the party quickly dispatched the zombies. Vandin first felled one with a mighty blow from his hammer. Falafela backstabbed one zombie out of existence while Jorgio proved his worth by dispatching two zombies with well placed backstabs with his short sword. Vox was the only member of the party who received any battle damage from the zombies, but it was merely a flesh wound.

The party then left that chamber through the opposite passageway, which was at the far end of the room, about 90 feet away, along the same wall they entered by. That corridor ended quickly in the straight-ahead direction, due to a cave-in, thus the party took its right turn and went down that hallway instead. After close to 100 feet, the corridor turned to the right, then after another 40 feet or so it made another right turn. After another few feet, the corridor opened into another chamber. Falafela ventured into the room by herself, without a torch, and managed to not fall down even though the floor in this room was also covered by slimy moss. She heard some footsteps in the dark, then quickly retreated to join the rest of the party in the hallway.

The party waited for the zombies in the room to come to them at the corridor’s mouth. While one zombie slipped and fell down in the middle of the room, two zombies made their way to where Vox and Vandin were waiting to receive them. Vox took some damage from a zombie, then fell back, his place in the front rank quickly taken by Tureg. Then Vandin took some serious damage from the other zombie and fell back; Flenda took his place in front.

While Lightstep cast two Cure Light Wounds spells on Vandin and Vox (the spells were not very effective), Flenda cut down one of the zombies. The other zombie got knocked off its feet and Flenda, Tureg, Fredo, and then eventually Lightstep entered the room. Tureg slipped and fell on the slimy floor, but the others stayed upright. Flenda quickly dispatched the fallen zombie, but the other zombie that had earlier fallen had got up and made its way to the party, killing Fredo with its first attack. Flenda then worked her way around behind that zombie and backstabbed it down, never to rise again. Naturally, Fredo’s brother, Jorgio, was heartbroken at the loss of his brother. He did not want to go on. Some of the party also thought it would be wise to make their way out of the dungeon at this time to lick their wounds, but the sisters from Crystal Shores, Flenda and Gwenette, reminded everyone that their fellow villagers were falling sick and becoming zombies, and they wanted to try to find the source of that mysterious malady as quickly as they could. So, the party, minus Jorgio who stayed behind with a torch to watch his brother’s body and keep the rats away from it, pressed on.

The chamber they were in was L-shaped, and after they turned into the left leg of the “ell,” there was another passage leading out of it. However, there was an irregularly shaped pit about 10 feet deep across the mouth of that passage. Flenda and Opalent jumped across the pit first, then tied a rope to Opalent’s 10-foot long pole and braced it against the floor of the passage as an aid to others who would cross. One-by-one, the party crossed at the narrowest part of the pit where it was only three feet wide. The only casualty was Vandin who fell into the pit and took some minor damage. He would have been injured more severely except he had a grip on the rope and so didn’t fall too hard. The party then fished him out of the pit with the rope. After they all got across the pit, they then traveled about 70 more feet and then turned left into another chamber that was about 30 feet by 40 feet in size. Part of the left-hand sidewall was collapsed, making a pile of rocks about 3 feet high and about 5 feet in hemispherical diameter.

This chamber contained four more zombies, and while all of the previous zombies the party had encountered in this dungeon were dressed as simple villagers, three of these newly encountered zombies were clad in chainmail and were carrying swords, and a fourth zombie was wearing a robe fit for a wizard. During the initial melee, the dwarf Persis was killed by one of the fighter zombies. While other fighters were battling the zombies, Opalent took off her backpack and got out her only flask of oil. She then grabbed Falafela’s cloak, doused it with the oil, and put it on the end of her 10-foot pole. She then lit it with a torch, and dropped the flaming cloak on the head of the nearest zombie. While that zombie was burning to its extinction, another zombie took some minor damage from the blaze. The party also recognized that the flames were holding the other zombies at bay, seemingly fearing the fire. Opalent and Falafela then boldly led the way into the room with their torches and forced the three remaining zombies back. The other party members all scrambled into the room, staying close behind the two torch-bearers except for Vandin who scrambled up and over the rock pile along the wall. Eventually, the party members changed places with the zombies and then Falafela and Opalent used the burning torches to push the zombies back down the hallway the adventurers had used to enter the room.

After a couple of minutes, the zombies were maneuvered to the edge of the pit the adventurers had crossed. The torch bearers, Falafela and Opalent, then maneuvered the zombies so they fell into the pit. The party then formed a sort of “bucket brigade,” passing larger rocks from the rock pile in the room down the hall to Vandin and Vox, who threw the rocks at the zombies in the pit until those zombies were no longer moving. The party then took a short break in the hallway to eat some jerky and hardtack, and to drink from their waterskins, as the recent battles had temporarily exhausted them all. They also lit new torches, as their old torches were just about burned out.

Falafela examined the burnt zombie back in the room, and found 25 GP in its belt pouch, and passed two turquoises and a clear rock crystal she also found to Opalent. Someone also observed that the dead wizard-zombie in the pit had a bone scroll case looped over its neck and shoulder with a leather strap. Opalent tried to fish the strap with her 10-foot pole, but was unsuccessful as the strap was too firmly wedged under the dead zombie’s body, so someone lowered Falafela into the pit with the rope to retrieve that scroll case. Falafela declined to check any other belt pouches on the other zombies for fear of catching a zombie disease. Falafela said she figured the belt pouch on the burnt zombie had been purified by fire, hence was not dangerous, so she didn’t mind pinching its contents.

The party then left the room with the rock pile through a different passageway than which they had entered. After about 40 feet there was a hallway on their right, but they eschewed traveling in that direction at this time. After another 60 feet or so, there was a side passage to their right. They checked that right-hand passage, thinking it would lead them back to the formerly elegant chamber in which they had battled four zombies earlier, but after about 80 feet or so that corridor was blocked by a cave-in. So, they retreated down the hallway and went the direction they were headed before investigating that side passage. After a quick left-and-right turn it went straight for about 60 feet, then turned right. After another 30 feet, it turned right again and opened into a round chamber, about 30 feet in diameter, with a well with a raised stone wall in the middle of the chamber. Leaning against the well was the dead body of a cleric, missing its right arm. There was also much dried blood splashed around the chamber as if a great battle had taken place there.

When the party looked down the well, using a torch for illumination, they could see the surface of the water about 20 feet below. There was also a large sausage-shaped object bobbing on the water. That object was the size of a human arm, most likely the missing arm of the dead cleric who was leaning against the wall of the well. There was also a rusty chain with a bucket suspended from the ceiling on a pulley, so the party tried lowering the bucket to capture that floating arm. But try as they might, nobody could get the arm into the bucket. Lightstep then used his last spell, Detect Evil, and there was much evil radiated from the direction of the arm in the well. Therefore, it was decided to lower Falafela into the well to retrieve the arm. Falafela was tied to a belaying rope, and due to her not wanting to touch the ghastly arm lest she be turned into a zombie, she held another rope with a lasso loop in it. When she was lowered to near the water level, she was able to slip the lasso loop around the arm and tighten it, all without actually having to touch the arm. Then, after Falafela was raised out of the well, the party raised the arm, exceedingly carefully, it may be said! The party noticed there was a large, unusual ring on the ring finger of the hand on the arm. The ring had numerous skulls carved into it, and gave everyone the creeps. Nobody wanted to come close to touching the ring, so it was decided to wrap it in Opalent’s black cloak, then tie it to the center of Opalent’s 10-foot pole. Flenda and Gwenette volunteered to carry the ghastly thing on the pole.

The party then decided it was well nigh time to depart the dungeon. On their way back, Falafela ventured into the side passage they skipped on their way to the well (this time carrying a torch). It was a sort of library, although dilapidated, mostly by water that had dripped down from the ceiling. Some mice were eating some old food in one corner. Shelves of books and scrolls lined two walls, and in one corner was a small desk with a small stool, with a small backpack under the desk. On top of the desk was some writing parchment, and while most of the inked words were illegible due to water damage, Falafela could clearly read two words, “I’m sorry,” written in the common language of the realm. The inkwell had been toppled over, and all of the ink had dripped onto the floor and had dried there. Falafela quickly perused the spines of the books on the shelves, but most were either incomprehensible, or else were too damaged to be of use. So Falafela grabbed the backpack from under the desk, and after sliding the backpack out from under the desk, noticed there was a bone scroll case that had been under the backpack, so she also retrieved that scroll case.

When Falafela rejoined the party in the hall, she mentioned what she had seen in the room. Vox volunteered to carry the newly found backpack. Some now-anonymous person in the party suggested using the desk as a bridge over the pit they would have to pass on their way out, so they carried the desk with them (it was neither large nor heavy). Just as the party was finally on their way out, they heard a large booming sound with an echo, as if another part of the ceiling somewhere in the dungeon had collapsed. They quickly got to the room where Persis’s body lay, and took a few minutes to cover it with a cairn made of the rocks from the rock pile. Vandin also took Persis’ sword with him. Next, the party placed the desk across the pit leading into the next chamber, so they were able to cross the pit and the dead zombies in the pit without further incident. They found Jorgio in the chamber where they had left him, sitting alone in the dark with his brother’s body. Jorgio expressed how he was very happy to have the party rejoin him, as his torch had burned out probably 30 minutes ago, and he realized he should have asked for one or two spare torches to be left with him!

Jorgio gathered up his brother’s body, and carried it over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. The party then retraced their way through the formerly elegant chamber, then down the long hallway to the left turn, then another right turn, then up the steps to fresh air. The adventurers were all happy to be out of the dark, damp, dank Mont du Plat dungeon. Jorgio realized they would have trouble carrying Fredo’s body all the way back to Crystal Shores, so they quickly improvised a grave, burying Fredo under another cairn of rocks made from the waste rocks laying around the woods that had formerly been part of the Mont du Plat castle. While Fredo was being buried, Vandin impaled Persis’ sword in the ground, and said a short prayer to his fallen comrade. The party also freely drank pure, fresh water from the water cask they had left outside the entrance to the dungeon.

The party then spent the next several hours trudging back to the west to Crystal Shores, lugging their now almost empty water keg with them. About halfway back, they saw a lone wolf, which appeared to be a normal, and not a zombie, wolf. When the party reached Crystal Shores, although it was already dark, they went to visit Herschel the druid straightaway, although Flenda and Gwenette went off to their parents’ home, taking Jorgio with them. Herschel, being informed that the arm and/or ring radiated evil, first cast a Dispel Magic spell upon them, followed by a Detect Magic spell. The Dispel Magic spell evidently failed, as the arm/ring still radiated magic. Herschel then went through the backpack that Falafela had fetched, and found several items: a silver holy symbol, a small flask with a clear fluid in it, presumably water, a book about the dead cleric’s faith of Gairel, two days worth of iron rations (that nobody present wanted to eat!), and, hidden in a fold inside the backpack was a small coin purse that contained 18 GP and 40 SP. The best of the items, though, was a small diary. Herschel started to read the diary, noting that the cleric’s name had been Austius. The diary noted Austius’s career in the clergy. Most of it was rather boring, but near the end, Austius noted how he had found the ring in the dungeon at Mont du Plat. He also noted how he had detected an evil aura about the ring, but was unable to let it go, instead being seduced by its power. But there were no entries that tied the ring to any sort of zombie curse. Falafela mentioned the pages on the desk with the words “I’m sorry,” and Herschel surmised those pages may have been Austius’ next diary entry, or part of a new diary.

The party also surmised (as did Herschel) that the cleric had found the ring, but had then been surprised by the four adventurers who had pursued him to Mont du Plat. In the ensuing battle, it seems that the cleric had managed to turn his slayers into zombies, but not before losing his arm and bleeding to death near the well. Herschel was now convinced that it was the ring in the well that was poisoning the water downstream towards Crystal Shores, but as a precaution he was still going to cast a spell to create pure water for a week or so, and tell the remaining villagers to not drink the lake or river water for at least that period of time. Herschel also mentioned that one more villager had turned into a zombie during the long day in which the party had been away, that being Simius Soderman, the wife of Baduk Soderman, the carpenter. She had been confined to her home. There were also zombies confined in the Inn of the Blushing Trout and the Tavern of the Cracked Mug. Herschel had also found that the tinker, Melchar Furrowbrow and his wife Vinar and his young son Loftus (all gnomes) had been found to be zombies, but must have been so for a few days already.

Herschel expressed that he still hopes to find a cure that will turn the zombified villagers back into their former selves. He spent the rest of the evening consulting his personal library, but could not find any mention of a ring such as was found at Mont du Plat. He mentioned a wise sage friend of his, Karnack, who has a castle to the northeast of Ganzir-Galad. He suggested that the party venture there after they rest for a day or so. Herschel also cast two Cure Light Wounds and one Cure Serious Wounds spells on Vandin and Vox so they were fully cured of their wounds from their battles at Mont du Plat.

Experience points: Monsters killed at Mont du Plat: 11 zombies (20 XP each, plus 2 XP per HP) = 11 * 20 + 141 HP * 2 = 220 + 282 = 502 XP. The party captured three villager zombies at Crystal Lake; they will receive their XP for that (because it was good to capture the villagers instead of killing them as the villagers may be able to be cured): 3 zombies (20 XP each, plus 2 XP per hit point) = 3 * 20 + 2 * 33 HP = 60 + 66 = 126 XP. (Total of 628 XP for capturing/killing monsters.) Treasure: 43 GP, 40 SP, 1 bone and 1 ivory scroll case (worth 5 GP each, or 10 GP total), = 55 GP equivalent. The party also found two magic-user scrolls, Continual Light and Nystul’s Magic Aura, and a cleric scroll, Create Water, in the found scroll tubes, but will not receive XP for them unless they are sold. Also, 1 backpack, a silver holy symbol, a vial of clear fluid, 2 days worth of iron rations (which were discarded due to health concerns), two turquoises, and a clear rock crystal, which were all together worth the equivalent of 149 GP. So, the total money (and equivalent) XP value is 55 +149 = 204 GP equivalent.

Total experience points: 502 + 126 + 204 = 832 XP total. This needs to be divided by five regular characters (each gets a full share) and four non-player characters (each gets a half-share). Fredo and Persis, NPCs who were killed, do not get any shares. This makes 14 half-shares to be divided, so 832 / 14 = 59 XP per half-share (Flenda, Gwenette, Jorgio, Tureg), or 119 XP per full share (Falafela, Lightstep, Opalent, Vandin, Vox). The fighter Vox gets a 10% XP bonus due to his Strength of 16, so he actually earned 131 XP.

Before the party retired for the night, they divided the treasure thusly: Falafela: 9 GP, small coin purse; Flenda: 1 small turquoise; Gwenette: 1 small turquoise; Jorgio: 7 GP, 40 SP, leather backpack (from Austius); Lightstep: 9 GP, ivory scroll tube, clerical scroll with Create Water, glass vial with a clear liquid, silver holy symbol of the god Gairel (from Austius’ backpack); Opalent: 1 clear rock crystal, 2 magic scrolls with Continual Light and Nystul’s Magic Aura; Vandin: 9 GP; Vox: 9 GP. Tureg said he did not need any of the treasure as he had just inherited 21 PP and 135 EP from his fallen comrade Persis. Herschel kept the book about Gairel as well as Austius’ diary.

It was decided that the bone scroll tube they found would be used to carry the evil skull-head ring to Karnack’s castle. Lightstep agreed to carry it himself, just before the party were about to cast lots to see who would carry the evil thing.

Also, before the party retired for the night, Flenda and Gwenette’s parents, Vilan and Vilanious Deathmar saw that their daughters were each equipped with leather backpacks, wineskins, and wool blankets. The parents also ensured their offspring each had 7 days worth of jerky, dried fruit, and hardtack to take with them, as well as four torches each. The girls also scrounged up a wineskin for their friend Jorgio, and made sure he also had 7 days worth of food and 4 torches. Tureg searched through the village and found another 4 torches for him to take along, also.

Then Flenda, Gwenette, and Jorgio retired for the night at the Deathmar’s house, with the other party members sleeping in the loft of Mylene Ackmard’s barn. It was decided that two party members should stand watch at all times throughout the night, just in case one of them turned into a zombie in the middle of the night. Lightstep and Vandin took the first watch, with Vandin relating the story of how he received his “Lakesplitter” surname from a distant relative who was said to have cleaved a lake in two. The rest of the night passed without incident.

Total accumulated experience points: Lightstep 605; Vandin Lakesplitter 576; Falafela 566; Opalent 566; Vox the Just 309; Tureg 271; Flenda 74; Gwenette 61; Jorgio 61.

— The Dungeon Master

Will the party ever find a cure for the zombie villagers? Keep reading future posts and find out!