Idraluna Archives

Castle Mordengard Session 8: Breaking Things in the Bone Ghetto

Start Date: 8/8/1025

End Date: 8/13/1025

Members of The Expedition: Lyra Falsehood (conjurer), Leslie Meow (conjurer), Thorndike Stromulus (vicar), Trombly Escargot (swordsman), Altruism Johnston (seer)

Summary

Exactly two months after their last misadventure, the party met in Dustweir for another foray. (Altruism had not been present for the last few -- she rejoined the party after being dispatched from Centrist HQ to track down delinquent members).

The first order of business was to settle lodging costs, totaling 720ƀ. By drawing on the high-yield savings account (which earned 11ƀ of interest since last session) and exchanging some of Altruism's gold for rhodium, they were able to remunerate their hosts.

It was agreed that the main expedition target would be one or both of the dungeon leads acquired in the previous expedition. Before setting out, however, Leslie expressed a desire to explore the Dustweir Necropolis District (known colloquially as the "Bone Ghetto"). In these sad & silent streets, the proboscidean mages of the Necro Union house their skeletal labor force, recharging necromantic energies after long shifts in the whelk canneries.

Indeed, shortly after entering the district, they met The Ravishment of Cats, a Necro Union representative. He was quite perturbed by the presence of the Vicar Thorndike, but responded to Leslie's employment-related inquiries with an invitation to mail in a resume (Necro Union Offices, 417 Clavicle St., Dustweir, Concavity).

Disregarding the Ravishment of Cat's polite but firm request to leave, the party snuck into a skeleton warehouse and attempted to communicate with some skeleton laborers. Some faint recognition was evoked when the skeletons were offered cigarettes & presented with a copy of Buster Oakshotte's Big Book of Boorish Buffonery, but the real breakthrough came when Leslie cast ESP.

Contacting the 'mind' of a necromantically-reanimated skeleton could be described as the psychic equivalent of crawling out of a warm bed into the bitterest cold without the comfort of a sweatshirt or hot coffee -- only a lucky save afforded Leslie the fortitude to persist. The skeleton's 'mind' revealed only glimpses & memories of memories of memories; steaming vats, smoking furnaces, & screaming wheels, a flicker of mirth in response to BOBBoBB, the distantly-remembered rush of nicotine.

It was enough for the party to conclude that the skeletons' (un)life is one of faint but palpable misery. A debate followed, with Lyra noting that the party was literally invested in the city -- destroying Necro Union property, however altruistic, would pose a considerable risk to their bank account & social standing. Thorndike Stromulus retorted with action. Raising his holy symbol high, he disintegrated 7 skeletons. Other skeletons began approaching, and the vicar obligingly released them from their condition. At least two dozen were thereby obliterated.

Meanwhile, Leslie peeked outside and saw a Necro Union rep approaching with four guards. After a hurried debate, the adventurers decided to dash. A use of Sleep neutralized the guards, but the proboscidean was unaffected & cast Blazing Bastion to cut off their main line of escape. Only by juking through narrow alleys did the adventurers successfully exit the necropolis district.

Thinking it best to get out of dodge, the adventurers immediately proceeded south to investigate the other dungeon marked on the map they had purchased in Lower Slark. After two days, they reached another metal door set into the side of a mountain. This one had a 5' wide hole blasted in it.

Exploring the neighboring rooms, they found a pair of flailing robot arms and 11 holographic Pixies calling themselves the Ģ̷̯̍l̵̢͙̺̍͂i̷̧͓̚ț̵̓c̸͎̱̑̊h̵̫͒͛͝ ̷͍͙̈̀̍B̶͉̂ǫ̴̑͘͝ỷ̶̞̫̻z̴͉̟̍̂. The Ģ̷̯̍l̵̢͙̺̍͂i̷̧͓̚ț̵̓c̸͎̱̑̊h̵̫͒͛͝ ̷͍͙̈̀̍B̶͉̂ǫ̴̑͘͝ỷ̶̞̫̻z̴͉̟̍̂ immediately became invisible and tried to convince the party that they were 50 in number, but were tricked into showing their hand when introducing themselves & only coming up with 11 names (Joey Jaypeg, Paulie Peangee, Tina Tiff, Billy Bemp, etc.). The adventurers agreed to leave the Ģ̷̯̍l̵̢͙̺̍͂i̷̧͓̚ț̵̓c̸͎̱̑̊h̵̫͒͛͝ ̷͍͙̈̀̍B̶͉̂ǫ̴̑͘͝ỷ̶̞̫̻z̴͉̟̍̂'s treasure alone in exchange for directions to some fancy chairs to the north.

Immediately disregarding this, the party proceeded south & investigated some force fields. In one room, they examined some cupboards & found a sample of Neptunium-235.

Further south, they encountered a room containing a flamethrower turret. Trombly & Thorndike bravely ran past, taking 1 & 2 HD of damage, respectively. In the far room, they found a door leading to a complex of rough-hewn caverns. Those who stayed behind encountered a group of Morlocks attempting to activate a button on the ceiling. A slick throw from Leslie activated it to the adulation of the diminutive dungeon-dwellers. All force fields in the complex were thus de-activated for 12 Turns.

This was fortunate for Trombly & Thorndike insofar as it allowed them to reunite with the party without passing the flamethrower. But it was ultimately to prove their undoing, for they visited the laboratory next. Under normal circumstances, the giant crab & mutant troll in the lab would be restrained behind force fields, but when the adventurers entered, they were free & spoiling for a fight. Another use of Sleep neutralized the crab, but the troll claimed the life of Trombly Escargot before falling itself (& being subsequently burned). The surviving adventurers claimed a medical laser from the wall of the lab and then returned to Dustweir, uncertain of how their legal status might have changed during the previous week.

Treasure Recovered: Neptunium-235, Medical Laser

Foes Encountered: 1 Proboscidean Necromancer, 3 Guards, 11 Ģ̷̯̍l̵̢͙̺̍͂i̷̧͓̚ț̵̓c̸͎̱̑̊h̵̫͒͛͝ ̷͍͙̈̀̍B̶͉̂ǫ̴̑͘͝ỷ̶̞̫̻z̴͉̟̍̂, 1 Giant Crab (killed), 1 Mutant Troll (killed), 13 Morlocks

Notes

#castle-mordengard #odnd #session-report