Literally Crawling through the Dungeon

General Summary

Our protagonists made it through what can only be called a night for lack of a better word without being attacked, but neither had an undisturbed sleep, with both having nightmares. (It’s possible that Nan also had a nightmare, but spiders don’t usually talk.) They awoke, had some breakfast, and continued their walk down the tracks. As they passed the last car in the defunct rolling stock, they realized they were being observed; their old friend the rat (aka the “anti-rat” or “Not Rat”) had returned for another look at them. The party tried to engage the Not Rat, but it maintained a distance and finally disappeared into the darkness. This did get them to finally investigate the smooth platform at the edge of the tunnel, which ended up being a nice smooth walkway, but did not yield further insight into Not Rat.
After a bit of debate about trying to return through the tunnel the way the came, they decided to continue on in the direction they’d be going. Eventually this choice is rewarded when they find a way out, but in the interim they found a huge patch of mold, some unsettling signs of battle, and a huge cave-in that seemingly blocked the entire tunnel. (Seriously, someone should call maintenance about all that!) They poked around and under the boulders for a while, and eventually, with the aid of a dancing spider, found a small passage under the debris. This was a snug fit for Gnoll and Nan, but a seriously tight squeeze for Coin. There was the occasional sound of shifting debris from above them, but still, they crawled along. As they started seeing an exit from the twisting tube there was the even more alarming noise of many small pattering feet from somewhere above them. Nan was probably the most capable of dealing with a potential attack, but of course she was in the middle of the party in the tight space. Luckily, once the party exited from the hole, the Not Rats were gone, or possibly they were simply hiding and watching.
Continuing on, they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel and it wasn’t an oncoming train. They also met the first beings they’ve seen in this new world, a curmudgeonly goblin (Nezi) and a bemused tiefling (Rithan), who seem harmless and claim to be researchers. Rithan spoke with the party while Nezi continued on with his research. She welcomed them to “Patchwork” and gave a few details of the world, stating that it can be a confusing place and it may take some time to adjust to it all. She offered to take them with her she she and Nezi return to some place called Button later in the day. The party accepted this as a good idea and stepped out of the tunnel into the bright, hot outdoors to enjoy the sun while waiting.

Other highlights:

• “I’m going to open my hand and show off my nut.”
• “Can I touch your horns? What’s your tail for?”
• A very Disco pair of light up boots.
• A dream about nothing and everything.
• “Has the purge started?” [OOC!]
• Coin was the first one to see the light and the way through the rocks.

This session was the conclusion of this first arc. Next session will find our protagonists in the great scrublands of Scrimpt where can be found more excitement.

Missions/Quests Completed

Finished: Arrival. The characters have now made it to the larger world of Patchwork!

Character(s) interacted with

• The black rat with the red eyes, now known to be not living and dubbed the "Not Rat."
• Rithan , a personable tiefling with an interesting tail.
• Nezi, a gnome with smoked goggles on his head, who just wants to finish his research tasks.

World Date
10 Mat 282 SR

Report Date

09 Jan 2021

Primary Location

Rail Tunnel under Torn Lofte

“I don’t want to live here the rest of my life. It’s so dark and there’s no string!” - Gnoll the Gnome.