Woo hoo! Part Two! In the series of recaps about the Tomb of Gauhal (GAH-u-hal). The characters are:
Toc, Human Fighter/Berserker (A beast of a man, of some fame about the land)
Brug, Half-Orc, Fighter (Think Darth Maul...)
Drake, Winged Vampineze, Avenger/Wizard (His charming smile fools most but make no mistake - he is deadly)
Two of our members couldn't make it this week (Alden and Damakos). This is always a hard subject, because you want a story to flow. When people show up at random it's hard to plan ahead. Anyway, Alden spent the game unconscious from his shark bite wounds and Damakos spent the game delirious with fever (from an improperly cauterized wound).
So here it is, Part 2!Part Two - Well, they're already dead so really they are re-dead...
Toc, having reclaimed his axe, heads down the west tunnel, leaving Alden bleeding on the floor. He enters a large rectangular room by way of an old stone bridge. Acid waterfalls tumbling down the walls have eroded the floor as to create an island of stone amidst a lake of acid. More disturbing are the giant spider webs stretching around the room. A large Tomb Spider descends from the ceiling accompanied by the moans of two humanoid shapes rising from the webs. The undead draw their long-swords and advance slowly, shambling all the way. [Toc is the really, really strong one - remember? I thought that this encounter would challenge the whole party but he cleared it single-handedly in a few short rounds.] Toc whips out his returned axe and charges in without fear. The undead fall before him and the spider a few moments later. Toc takes a second to breathe, and collect a single flask of spider poison from the dead spider's fangs, before searching the area. He finds two exits - one leads to the spider's treasure cave -the other, north, deeper into the dungeon. Toc searches the cave and finds a dwarven shield and some gold. Toc turns his quest to the north exit and leaves the room.
Meanwhile, Brug who was left behind in the entry chamber, breaks open the third door and searches the room carefully. Inside of a sarcophagus he finds a pair of shin length leather boots radiating magical energy. He spends a large amount of time trying to figure out what they do before he kicks the wall and the boot sticks. He finds he can now walk up and down the wall as easily as if he was walking on the floor. As he is exiting the room a sound from the staircase startles him. A lone man descends, eying Brug wearily.
Drake sizes up the Half-Orc before flitting off to the north corridor without so much as a how-do- you-do. Brug is about to give chase when the steel door, earlier opened and closed by Toc, is thrown open and the undead beyond come swarming out. Brug is forced to stop and fight for his life.
Toc enters a large square room. In the center of the room is a large badly concealed pit. From within comes a loud moan. Toc jumps readily into the pit. Hands reach out and strike at his armor fruitlessly. He laughs but is blown off his feet by a large force slamming into his left side. He lights a torch and throws it onto the floor. The light reveals several zombies and a large golem made of bones.
Drake first comes to a large room with sweet-smelling pools on either side of the entry way. He is drawn in by their sweetly sick smell. Two blood demons rise out of the pools, at fist surprising Drake but he rallies his senses and summons a temple of darkness around the room.
With one mighty cleave Toc clears the pit of zombies, however the bone golem proves harder. [I am quite proud that I forced Toc down to 28 hit-points. Even if I didn't kill him... yet] The two fighters, one living and one dead, trade blows for many minutes. Then Toc, in a moment befitting a motivational sports movie slow-motion shot, throws his two-handed axe. It flies haft over head slinking deep into the bone golem's chest - quenching its life fire. Toc searches the pit briefly. He uncovers a fine elven bow, covered in mud and zombie dust, and places it in his bag.
Drake, thinking quickly, summons an undead zombie hulk to help him in his battle against the blood demons. The demons are quickly defeated by the combined strength of Drake and his new ally.
Brug, still in the thick of battle, fights desperately to ward off the undead creatures destroying both of the tomb guardians and turning his attention to the mummy.
Toc clambers out of the pit wearily and stumbles to the northern exit. He finds a sign on the door in old common. All he can make out is "Warning... grubs... point". He opens the door and finds a group of undead with grubs covering their bodies. They begin to stand and shamble towards him but he closes the door and heads south. He exits the south corridor to find a rickety wooden bridge and a room covered in spikes [Literally, this room is covered in spikes. They descend from the ceiling, cover the floor, and line the walls, everywhere]. As Toc begins to venture out across the treturous bridge the two gargolyes swoop down from the spiked ceilling and latch on to Toc!
Will Toc be pulled over onto the spikes? Will Brug survive the undead foes? Will Alden ever get the medical attention he so badly needs? All this and more in Part 3!
