The Silver Blades
Adventure: Ruanon
DM: Ian
Party Members:
Maxine Firebright: human, female, Evoker 6, N
Eron Greenshade: half elf, male Ranger 6/Druid 7, NG
Ogre: human, male, Fighter 6, N
Druthnar Bloodaxe: Dwarf, male, Cleric 6, LG
Sunday May 15th 1994
Druthnar and Maxine decide to head back to Ruanon while Eron trains and Ogre makes himself a strength bow.
On the second day out they are attacked by several giant stag beetles that swarm out to attack. Maxine webs several of them but the rest continue onwards so the two companions beat a hasty retreat while pursued by the insects. Eventually they manage to separate one of the insects and attack it. The beetle is killed but Druthnar is seriously wounded in the encounter so they return to Scornubel and Maxine trains to go up a level.
A week later Ogre, Eron, Druthnar and Maxine head back to Ruanon. On the fourth day Eron spots 12 ogres approaching and an ambush is hastily arranged. Maxine a lightning bolt followed by a slow spell catching several of the humanoids. The creatures, led by an ogre mage, counter attack. Several party members are hit by the ogre magi’s cone of cold but the press forward the attack killing the leader and forcing the remaining ogre’s to flee. Maxine finishes them off with a fireball then loot them. The ogre’s valuables are buried beneath a nearby tree.
Reaching the village a few days late the party immediately launches an attack against the undead infested ruined temple of Tymora. Six juju zombies are killed in the main hall and the upper level is looted. They find a room with four burning braziers and enter. Eron, Ogre and Maxine are overcome by a poison gas in the room but Druthnar drags them out of the room before he too is affected. He brings them round and the party tries to formulate a plan to negate the braziers- which are suspected of causing the poison. Ogre tries to lasso one of the brazier’s without success but while he is doing so 3 wraiths materialise and attack the party. Druthnar, Ogre and Eron are all blinded when Maxine drops a sunburst from her wand, while Druthnar, Maxine and Ogre are all drained of levels by the wraiths before the evil spirits are destroyed.
Druthnar ties a rope around his waist and braves the poison room. He breaks down a door and enters the wraiths lair but is killed when he detonates an electrical glyph of warding while trying to open a door to the wraith’s treasure room.
Eron tries to rescue Druthnar. On his way across the room he knocks over the braziers and ends the poisonous affect. He finds Druthnar slumped in front of the doorway before looting the treasure horde. Amongst the treasure are four scrolls (1x raise dead, 3 x restoration) which are sued to bring the dwarf back to life and restore the energy levels drained by the wraiths.
They take the treasure and leave, burying some of it at the tree before returning to Scornubel.
Back in town Ogre trains.
Sunday May 22nd 1994
The seventh night that they are camped outside Scornubel the party is attacked by several warriors of bane but the banesmen are all killed. Druthnar gains enough experience to begin training himself as a result of this fight. While he does so the rest of the party returns to the druid’s grove to recover several silver ingot’s they’d buried nearby.
On the second day out they are attacked by five ankhegs but slay the creatures. Recovering the ingots they return to Scornubel, collect Druthnar then head back to the ruined village of Ruanon.
Once again the party launches an attack against the cursed temple of Tymora. This time they enter via one of the guard towers and are soon embroiled in a battle against ghasts and ghouls. Maxine is once more forced to cast a sunburst from her wand to turn the tide of battle in the Silver Blades favour. Ogre and Druthnar then finish off the last of the dead.
The Silver Blades head deeper into the temple, soon reaching the bronzed doors that lead to the great hall. The door is trapped and Druthnar is struck by a glyph of warding and the party is routed as two ice storms rain down hail, sleet and ice on their position. Badly wounded by the magical storm the Silver Blades call a retreat and flee the temple. They were unable to ascertain who cast the spells at them or where they came from.
They return to the druid’s grove or a few days rest before launching another raid against the temple. This they are protected by several spells such as protection from lightning and protection from cold. Entering the main hall Maxine sunbursts a variety of lesser undead- ghouls, shadows and zombies before a lich attacks with spells from a balcony running round the outer wall of the hall. Druthnar is held by a hold person spell but the others force the Lich to flee after peppering him with magic missiles and arrows. But no sooner has the first lich retreated than a second one appears across the room from where the first one was. The lich blocks the exit with a blade barrier.
Druthnar is freed frrom his paralysis (thanks to a dispel magic) and together with Ogre charges the evil undead necromancer but both a held by an unholy word of power before they get anywhere near the lich. Maxine aand Eron force the lich to flee and also manage to kill two behirs that were summoned by the creature. Rescuing Ogre and Druthnar the party flees the accursed temple and head back to Scornubel.
Sunday 29th May
After spending several weeks resting in town recovering from their recent ordeal the Silver Blades are once again ready to face the perils of Ruanon- "those lich’s are going to die" is their vow. Talesian has now finished his business in Scrornubel and agrees to accompany his companions once more.
Reaching the ruins without incident the party decides on a change of plan. They decide to search the rest of the town for loot rather than face the dreaded lich’s court. They are soon attacked by undead but kill the creatures and ransack an old crumbling temple building at the other end of town. Beneath the temple’s altar they find a secret cache containing a silver helm, a silver sword, assorted money and a scroll directing the party towards the temple of Lanthander.
The following day the Silver Blades find the temple and searching it thoroughly Druthnar finds a mace of destruction beneath the altar. He grabs it and an iron golem bursts forth from the rubble and attacks- the party soon dispatch the golem.
The following day the Silver Blades attack the lich infested temple of Tymora. They penetrate as far as the great hall (again) before running into the two lichs. Maaxine quickly falls to paralysis while Eron and Druthnar are held by an unholy symbol as the try to charge one of the lichs. Druthnar prays to Clangeddin and receives a response (a roll of 01 on D100)! The lichs flee and the battered and bruised Silver Blades take the opportunity to withdraw to the druids grove and lick their wounds once more. Reaching the grove they soon realise that it has been desecrated and no longer seems safe so after a hurried conference decide to follow Eron deeper into the forest.
That night the camp is attacked by two demons (types IV & V?) both of whom are sent back to hell. But no sooner have they been dispatched than a death knight and his ghoulish hounds attack! A bloody fight erupts which the Silver Blades eventually win after forcing the death knight to flee but it is touch and go. At the end of the battle Ogre is paralysed, Druthnar is hovering on death’s door at -9 hit points, while both Eron (-4), Maxine (-2) are unconscious. Talesian is the hero of the hour as he killed the last of the hounds and forces the knight to retreat.