Delzimmer - Chapter 3

Adventure Date: May 18, 2012

Last Updated: June 4, 2012

THE CHRONICLES OF THE DELZIMMER SIX

This is an account of the early adventures of the Delizimmer Six - the time that they were tasked by Nerius Bootlum to retrieve a magical sponge that was stolen from him - which he suspected was the cause of a devastating drought in the region - and to vanquish a band of marauders lead by a particularly ugly bugbear named Relgore Himtooth.

Before I continue, you may be curious as to why I refer to these heroes as the Delzimmer Six and not by the title that has been bequeathed to them by the bards of the realm, who to this day, still sing of their daring exploits. Well, quite simply, at this time, this group of six relative strangers were, by all accounts, still indentured servants of the four ruling families of Delzimmer. They had not yet earned the titles and accolades that they would receive during their later adventures.

PART 1 - ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The early morning sun greets the six adventurers as they make their way out of Shoun into the parched countryside. Though it appears that it will be a glorious day - sunny with clear skies - the dire straits in which this land and its people finds themselves is punctuated by the dust cloud left in the wake of the horses. Based on the results of divinations and inquiries with the less reputable elements of Shoun, the Six are on a two day journey to the most recently drained lake in the area, which lies on the edge of the Lluirwood. It is rumoured that the bandits have established their hideout in that region.

An hour into the ride, the idle chatter has petered out and the companions ride in silence when Irrstra wonders aloud, "What is the Lluirwood like?"

Lady Antebellum, with her elaborately carved long neck pipe firmly clasped between her lips, offers a reply to her swarthy companion between puffs, "I have heard that the woods are wild and that the Halflings of the region patrol to make sure that the animals of Lluirwood stay within the boundaries of that dark place." Roryn's deep gravelly voice interjects abruptly before Lady Antebellum's last words are scattered by the morning breeze, "There is a group of Halflings in those woods known as the Ghostwise. It is said that they are on some sort of holy mission and never wander out of the dark recesses of the forest." Lady Antebellum glances over at the gold dwarf with a new appreciation of her companion, noting that it is never wise to judge a tome by its cover.

The morning and afternoon travels pass uneventfully and as a waxing moon rises in the evening sky, camp is struck and the evening routine of collecting firewood, washing up and cooking the meal swings into action. As the stars begin to dot the ever darkening sky, Leeloo - the enigmatic cleric - and Roryn take the first watch. After a quiet watch, Leeloo and Roryn nudge awake the second watch - manned by Rath and Lady Antebellum.

Halfway through their watch, as Rath listens to the soothing sound of Lady Antebellum humming he notices movement in the darkness just beyond the firelight and very close to the camp - and as he curses his inattentiveness and makes to rise up to a combat stance - before he or his watch mate can rouse their companions - nine starving feral rats descend upon the unsuspecting heroes.

The two sleeping companions closest to the point of attack by the rats are Clint and Leeloo - both of whom suffer a bite each from the rats - the saliva of the rats are laced with disease, but Clint's warrior constitution shrugs off the effects, while Leeloo's delicate constitution proves to be not as robust.

Awakened by the bite, Clint sarcastically shouts out "Sure glad we had a watch!" before getting up to face his attackers. At least he tried to, but bedding on the hard ground combined with the ravages of time have stiffened his back to the point that he cannot immediately "bounce up". However, impressively, he lashes out with his great sword from his prone position and kills a rat with one blow - the follow through just misses a second nearby rat.

Leeloo - also awakened by the pain of a bite - erects a protective field over those companions near her to give them a fighting chance against this swarm of vermin. She also casts a spell, but nothing seems to happen. Nearby, despite the swirling chaos of combat around her, Lady Antebellum glances over as Leeloo casts her spell - partly to see if she could cast a complementary spell, but mostly because she could not fight her curiosity. Imagine her puzzlement when she realizes that Leeloo choose to cast "Detect Secret Doors" at that very moment.

Unfazed by her companion's bizarre spell choice, Lady Antebellum casts "Inspirational Boost" to bolster the effect of her bardic song on her companions, which she begins singing after casting her spell. Immediately her song inspires courage in her companions - her clear voice cutting through the din. The heroes hear the following, which makes their strikes more effective and accurate:

We get knocked down, but we get up again
You're never gonna keep us down
We get knocked down, but we get up again
You're never gonna keep us down
We get knocked down, but we get up again
You're never gonna keep us down
We get knocked down, but we get up again
You're never gonna keep us down

Singing the night away, singing the night away
He drinks a Firebelly(1), he drinks a Blackthroat (2)
He drinks a Blackwater (3), he drinks a Firewine (4)
He sings the songs that remind him of the good times
He sings the songs that remind him of the best times
Oh Bareris Anskuld, Bareris Anskuld, Bareris Anskuld (5)

We get knocked down, but we get up again
You nay ever gonna keep us down
We get knocked down, but we get up again
You nay ever gonna keep us down
We get knocked down, but we get up again
You nay ever gonna keep us down
We get knocked down, but we get up again
You nay ever gonna keep us down

(1) Firebelly Whiskey
(2) Lantan Blackthroat
(3) Blackwater Stout
(4) Firewine
(5) Bareris Anskuld is a famous bard of Mulan descent, who meets a tragic end - he is eventually turned into an undead being - following a confrontation with Szass Tam, a powerful lich and member of a group of eight Zulkirs who rule the country of Thay.

Roryn awakens and is on his feet in an instant and strides purposefully towards the rats - his intentions obvious.

Rath also moves towards the rats, but in his haste, stumbles, but regains his composure and grip on his weapon ready to strike a mighty blow.

Irrstra uncurls to her feet, but as sleep still clouds her eyes, the alchemist fire she launches at the rats falls short of her intended target.

The rats, undeterred, surge forward and Rath is gashed by the teeth of one of the rats, but does not succumb to the disease riddled saliva.

Clint - sufficiently limbered up - rises to his feet and disembowels two rats with a mighty swing of his great sword. Leeloo - witnessing Clint's prowess - moves behind Clint and casts "Shield of Faith" to help bolster the valiant warrior.

Lady Antebellum continues to sing and raises her crossbow to strike at one of the rats. However, she only manages to graze the rat.

Roryn - now close enough to strike - kills one rat and in the follow through of his swing, cleaves another one in half - the dwarven war axe easily shearing through flesh and bone.

Rath - spurred on by the combat prowess of his companions - kills a rat with his great sword - though Clint and Roryn both snicker to themselves at their companion's inability to use his momentum to cleave through other opponents.

Roryn's mirth is shortlived as a dagger slams into his neck. Irrstra had moved into better position to throw a dagger at a rat, but in doing so, stumbled on a stone on the ground and launches her dagger into her dwarven companion's neck instead of a rat. Her eyes go wide with apprehension as Roryn's enraged gaze finds her and she wonders to herself if her paladin companion will be able to regain his composure before the combat is over or whether she should seriously think about leaving camp for a little while to give him some space.

The rats continue their assault, one hitting Rath and another hitting Roryn, but both warriors' constitutions stave off the effects of the disease laddened saliva.

Clint skewers another two rats with his great sword, his mighty blade slick with gore.

Leeloo, witnessing the mishap with the dagger, steps up to Roryn and tapping into her supernatural powers, heals Roryn completely of his wounds, the dagger dropping to the ground as the wound closes up. Once again, Lady Antebellum, unable to fight her curiosity, glances over as Leeloo ministers to Roryn's wounds and notices with curiosity "firefly lights" around Leeloo's head when she heals Roryn.

Once she is able to focus on the situation at hand, Lady Antebellum positions herself on the field of battle to make sure no other rats are approaching the camp of the embattled heroes.

Roryn misses the lone remaining rat with a vicious swing - perhaps still distracted by being hit by Irrstra's dagger. However, Rath makes no mistake and hits the rat so true that only a red stain remains of the rat to mark its passing.

With the threat ended, Roryn turns his attention to the offending dagger and with an emphatic grunt, strikes the dagger with his axe, cracking the dagger with the force of the strike. He bends over to pick up the dagger and then stalks over to a chagrined Irrstra, handing her the blade and announcing gruffly, "Your watch."

Clint and Irrstra pass an uneventful watch, though part way through the shift, she notices a large shambling shape, but it just walks past the camp, apparently paying it no heed.

The next day, as the companions travel through the land, they notice that the grass has become discoloured it is so dry and the corpses of animals which have perished of thirst are evident everywhere. Eerily, there are no signs of life.

At around 2:00 pm in the afternoon, the Six come across a muddy depression, which they assume is the remnants of the lake. The dark silhouette of Lluirwood looms in the near distance.

Irrstra notices tracks - footprints - in the vicinity of what would be considered the shore of what used to be the lake. After some study, Lady Antebellum is able to identify the tracks as those of goblins, orcs, gnolls and ogres and the tracks appear to have been made at the same time as the lake was destroyed. Disturbingly, she notes that the tracks are organized - that the monsters appear to be moving as a unit - not in the unorganized way one would expect. The tracks move north into the forest.

The Six share a look - and as a group shrug and move around the perimeter of the puddle and into the Lluirwood - ready to continue the hunt for Relgore Himtooth.

PART 2 -


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