Session 11
General Summary
The group moved down into the cellar of the Lonesome Drake Inn and Brewery, one at a time,
subtly trying to avoid making a fuss so as to keep their actions as discrete as possible. They
gathered together and Elijah expertly tweaked the padlock on the door and the group slipped into
the tunnels beyond. Moving down into the orc burial grounds they listened carefully, once again
assured that there were no sounds of creatures in the tunnels. They quickly found their way to the
doors off the main chamber which were ajar. Drax hefted Demonbane, his axe, and pushed the
first door further open and stepped across the threshold. The room inside was bigger than expected
with four stone sarcophagi arranged neatly around the inside. There was also a large statue of an
orc warrior in the room with rubies for eyes. The group carefully searched the area and Elijah
found small catches on each of the sarcophagi which he felt could be used to release the lids. Jaina
let her senses slip into the magical realm and was able to feel a protective shield over the whole
area � a sense of primal abjuration which looked over the graves of these old orc warriors.
Elijah�s more mundane examination of the sarcophagi catches and the statue�s ruby eyes
revealed that these appeared to be trapped in some way � perhaps linked to the protective magic
Jaina could sense.
Deciding to leave this room for the moment the group moved on and investigated the other two
burial chambers leading off the main chamber. These were identical to the first, right down to the
catches, statue, ruby eyes and protective spells. There was some discussion on whether these
tombs were safe and if they should be plundered or not. Deciding to leave that decision for now
the group returned to the wine cellar and the area nearby which had seen a big cave in. Drax
checked it over and determined that it would take the team about two hours of shifting to clear the
fallen rocks away and that it appeared there was some sort of man-made wall behind this rock fall.
The party decided this was probably worth spending some time working on so they put their backs
to it and shifted the huge number of boulders which had fallen. With Drax�s dwarven expertise
they were able to clear a path safely and ensure the rest of the roof was not going to collapse in on
them. Beyond was another ornate double door like the others they had found in this burial site.
This one had two orc names chiselled on the lintel. Elijah checked it over and declared it safe so
Drax pulled on the handles.
Beyond was a strange room. Apparently once an ancient library the walls of the room contained
wooden bookshelves which must have been hundreds of years old. Hundreds of dusty books lined
these shelves. In the middle of the room were two ornate stone sarcophagi. Both appeared orcish
and both appeared to be only twenty or so years old. Perhaps the orcs had found this room and
decided it was a suitable place to bury their chieftains? On the book shelves, one book stood out.
Jaina enchanted a long ritual to enable her to read it whilst Elijah checked that it was safe. The
book was titled, �The Journal of Larin Karr� and it was only five pages long. Written in Drow,
the journal talked vaguely of leaving eventually on "the mission" and of Karr's concern for his
treasure while he is gone. One entry in particular was of interest. It read: �I think I could trust
Tyma, Elfass, and Ogdin with the keys while I'm on my journey. They've done well to help me . I
have finally finished that accursed portal. How difficult! Must take the combination with me,
though, of course; it's quite simple once you understand to alternate.� The group took the journal
and stashed it. Jaina read the titles of the other books in this room and realised it would take years
to read through them but they there were mostly associated with Underdark lore. They could be
very valuable if sold to the right person.
Drax decided that it was time to open up the coffins and look inside. He bent down to lift the catch
on the side of this coffin and the others retreated to the safety of the doorway. The latch clicked
and the stone lid slid aside. The skeleton of an old orc warrior was revealed. Clad in rotten ring
mail and clutching a rusty longsword the orc chieftain was in a state of repose. Drax noticed a
rolled up bit of parchment in his coffin which looked like it might have a map drawn on it. He was
about to reach in and grab the map when a dull red light sparked deep in the eye sockets of the orc
chieftain. The dull light grew rapidly until Drax was staring into a pair of bright red lights where
eyes should have been. The skeletal fingers flexed and grasped the old rusty sword and the
skeleton sat up. Swords were hastily drawn, sling bullets loaded and arrows nocked as the group
prepared to deal with this undead threat. And then the lid of the second sarcophagus crashed to the
ground as the second skeletal chieftain rose from his tomb. In the distance, back in the main orc
burial site, the sounds of numerous stone lids crashing to the ground echoed down the tunnels. It
appeared Drax has roused a skeletal army. As the orc chieftain reached out bony fingers for
Drax�s throat, it was also clear they were not pleased to have been disturbed.
The orc chieftain�s skeletal hand grabbed Drax�s throat and Drax felt the very life essence
draining out of him. Smashing the hand aside Drax brought Demonbane to bear and swung at the
orc. It was enough to knock it back and away from Drax. He took the opportunity to snatch the
map from the sarcophagus and fling it to Jaina who quickly stuffed it into her pocket. Then Lynott
was into the room, sword glowing a magical icy blue from his frost magic and illuminating the
chamber. The second skeleton chieftain climbed out of his coffin and attacked. Lynott held him
off, with sword, shield and magic but the orc chieftain was skilled and powerful. It managed to
wrap both hands around Lynott�s throat and he two felt the cold of the grave as the orc drained
his very life essence. Fortunately Elijah, Fett and Jaina were not being idle and their combined
missile and magical fire managed to break the orc�s grip and Lynott staggered back, still alive if
shaken. The orc chieftains were also looking battered by now, one missing an arm which Drax had
chopped off and the other with smashed ribs from Elijah�s sling bullets. But about this stage they
could hear the marching feet of many boots coming towards them from the main burial site. It
appeared the orc warriors were coming.
Everyone pushed into the room and Jaina slammed the doors shut, wrapping a rope around the
handles with a view to keeping the orcs the other side. Drax swung his axe with all his might and
finally caught the chieftain he was fighting flat footed. The chieftain�s skull left his body and
flew into a corner. The red glow of his eyes faded and went out. Emboldened by this success the
others all teamed up on the remaining chieftain. He seemed the more crafty combatant though and
dodged most of their blows. Then the doors to the chamber were ripped open and in the tunnel
beyond were a dozen orc warrior skeletons, all in a line. Swords and bows in hand they prepared
to charge the group. Jaina raised her holy symbol of Pelor and a large number of them faltered, but
some pushed on and Drax and Lynott turned to meet this new threat. Elijah and Fett peppered the
last chieftain with arrows and bullets and as he waivered from this onslaught Lynott blasted him
with ice magic and he froze and then toppled over, shattering in pieces. The orc warrior skeletons
were mindless and continued on to attack the intruders even though the orcs who had lead them in
life were now dead. The party cut them down mercilessly and soon the burial chambers were quiet
once more.
The team searched the site and went and collected the six rubies which made up the eyes of the
statues. Jaina examined the map and found that it was a detailed map of the Underdark, expanding
the map fragment they had already recovered. This one had four labels on it as well. Two they
recognised: Orcs and the Dark Lake. Two were new. One was labelled �Pillars� which meant
nothing to the party. The other was labelled �LK: 3 keys�. They suspected this might in fact be
something to do with Larin Karr and wondered if the three keys related to the three lieutenants
mentioned in Larin Karr�s journal and the keys he mentioned there. They wondered if it might be
worth making the trip through the Underdark to go and see what they could find there. Maybe that
was for another day. Maybe it was for sooner rather than later. The group considered their task
here complete as the orc burial site was now safe and they returned to the inn to tell Boris. He was
extremely grateful � his jovial nature and happy smiling face returning for the first time since the
party had known him � but he asked them to remain discrete about their findings. They agreed.
It was still only mid-morning and the group had a long day ahead. Jaina took a look at Drax and
Lynott � who had icy burn marks on their throats where the orc chieftains had grabbed them �
and declared that they would feel weak and tired until they had a good long sleep. With the rain
drizzling down outside it was tempting to stay in the inn by the fire all day and recover, but Drax
and Lynott were hardy souls and would not let a whole day go to waste so the group packed up
their gear, wrapped their cloaks around them and once again stepped out into the rain. If this
weather didn�t improve they would need to buy fresh waterproof cloaks.
A few hours later Quail Keep was seen in the distance through the light mists. It looked as they
had left it the day before. A quick reconnaissance was performed and then they entered the
dungeon below. It didn�t take them too long to scout out the rest of the tunnels under the keep
and confirm that they were cleared and safe. So that was two successful missions completed for
Lord Kyle now: clearing Quail Keep and clearing the Orc Burial Site. They really should get back
to town and collect on their rewards. But one thing was piquing their curiosity. Out of the east end
of the tunnels below the keep a large round and fairly straight passageway led, with a deep steam
flowing alongside it. This tunnel was what a denizen of the Underdark would call a �primary
passage� in that it was straight, wide and fairly clear of obstacles. They had a hunch it led to the
Dark Lake which featured on a couple of their maps and they wanted to confirm this. Realising
they had plenty of time to check out this tunnel before they needed to head home to the inn, the
group set off into the Underdark proper once more.
Elijah and Fett took point, flitting from pillar to stalagmite to corner stealthily, letting their eyes
adjust to the dark and straining their ears to hear. The other three held back some way, following
along with the light from Lynott�s sword � which was mostly sheathed so as to reduce the light
they were shedding. The going was slower than it would have been above ground, but they made
fairly reasonable progress. For an hour or more they continued this way until the back three caught
up with the two scouts as they hunkered down behind a small rock fall. They signalled Lynott to
douse his light and pointed over the fall into the chamber beyond. Peering over the group could
see the shadows cast by four huge trolls who appeared to be in the process of ripping some poor
unfortunate creature into little pieces. The trolls argued and bickered over the morsels and
hunkered down to eat. Deciding this was nothing something they could or wanted to deal with the
group backtracked to a small side tunnel they had spotted a few hundred yards back down the
tunnel. They dived in there and hid. Elijah and Fett stood in the entrance so they could look out
onto the main passage in case the trolls passed by. Sure enough, a while later the scouts spotted
the four trolls coming their way. They turned to signal to the group to stay quiet and spotted the
glow of Jaina�s holy symbol in the darkness �she had not quite hidden it away properly. They
just had time to get it hidden before the trolls passed by, sniffing the air curiously. Perhaps they
caught the scent of the heroes, but having just feasted they seemed in no mood to check out the
new smell and continued on their way.
Relieved the party decided to press on to the Dark Lake next. After all there were now four trolls
between them and home and they decided to let them get a head start. Fifteen minutes later the
stream and tunnel they were following spilled out into a huge cavern, some quarter of a mile
across from side to side. The whole place was lit dimly by lichens and luminous fungi growing on
the walls and floors. In the centre of this cavern was a massive dark lake. There was a wide
shoreline running all the way around the lakeside and three major passageways led off from it. Out
of the far side a huge underground river flowed and not far from there, a long way from the
heroes, they could just make out the shape of a huge giant sat down on the shore, a fire crackling
next to him. At this distance it was hard to judge how big it was but this was no mere ogre � it
was definitely a true giant.
Happy to have found the Dark Lake and confirmed their map the party decided it was time to
return back home. They retraced their steps along the primary passage back towards the tunnels
beneath Quail Keep. They passed though the chamber where they had encountered the trolls and
continued onwards, now ever more wary. Soon, ahead the scouts could see the flickering light of
some sort of fire. They approached carefully and peered around a corner to see the remains of four
trolls burning on a small pyre. They moved up quietly and searched the area. Fett spotted a few
broken hand crossbow bolts which he knew signified only one thing: drow. It seemed that the
trolls had blundered into a drow patrol or similar and that the dark elves had dispatched them and
intelligently burnt their bodies. One thing was becoming clear about the Underdark: there�s
always a bigger fish.
Minutes later the group were back to Quail Keep and back on the surface once more. The rain had
cleared but it was still dreary and overcast. They knew they had a couple of hours� walk to return
back to the village and the comforts of the inn, so they set off at once and headed home. Along the
way they discussed the map they had found and what it meant. They joked at how close they had
come to being troll�dinner and chatted about the dangers of the Underdark and whether they
were up for braving that realm yet. They discussed the Birds of Prey and how little they knew of
them. They wondered at what might be located at the point of the map labelled �LK: 3 keys�
and whether this might be some place they could find further clues about the Vault of Larin Karr.
Or could it in fact be the location of the fabled Vault itself�? Today had brought more questions
than answers but at least they were back in the warm, safe common room of the inn for another
evening of Pembrose Red and good food.
What might tomorrow bring?
Report Date
10 Apr 2024
Related Plots