Okay, so we had our second session today. I printed out copies of the 'spellbooks' for the magic-users and illusionist, so they know exactly what spells they have available to them. I also printed out a list of suggested names for the region, and asked everyone to pick a name (or make one up) and put it on their sheet. As a result, we have the following PCs (still all 1st level, of course):
Alexandria Taskerhill, human fighter
Jax Deveron, human paladin
Arthur Morgan, elf fighter/magic-user (spells are charm person, find familiar, read magic, and spider climb)
Yaervan Amazanth, half-elf fighter (bard-to-be)
Erf Lund, gnome illusionist/thief (spells are audible glamer, color spray, and detect invisibility)
Gandolf, human magic-user (spells are detect magic, jump, magic missile, and read magic)
They are also accompanied by Ruphus Laro, 2nd-level cleric of the Church of Diulanna. Gandolf's player wasn't present, so he became a DM-run NPC for the adventure.
And now, the story continues...
Yaervan cried out in surprise and pain as a heavy weight struck him from above, and he felt the sharp pain of a sword in his side. Struggling with the nearly-invisible assailant, he shoved hard and threw his attacker into a wall. Arthur, the only other party member in the room, stabbed out with the butt of his spear and felt the satisfying weight of battered flesh and bones as he pinned the attacker against the wall.
Outside in the shop entrance, Keygan began sobbing and gibbering in terror as the sounds of combat came through the heavy black curtain. Jax and Erf immediately ran to help their companions, while Alexandria, Ruphus and Gandolf stayed to watch over the hysterical gnome. They saw Yaervan swordfighting with a nearly-unseen opponent, while Arthur tried to position himself to stab the enemy properly with his spear. Before Erf could bring a spell to mind, Yaeravn and Jax had dispatched the creature as the paladin's bardiche swiped its head off.
Stunned, the party examined the creature's body. Hairless, genderless, and with skin that seemed to change to blend in with its surroundings, it remained a mystery to their untrained eyes. Keygan identified it only as a 'tall one', and after some prodding, finally spilled the beans to his new friend, Arthur (who had cast a charm person on him in the previous session) and Jax, who is just that friendly and easy to talk to (paladin with an 18 Charisma, everybody). The party soon learned the following information:
The 'tall ones' had surprised him and his nephew Kerren late at night about three months ago, taking Kerren prisoner and somehow turning him into a rat. They forced the locksmith to make skeleton keys for them, and have used his shop as an entry point into the city from the abandoned gnomish enclave of Jzadirune. The only remaining entrance to the surface is here in Keygan's shop, although he has not been down there since the place was abandoned 175 years ago. Now, he has been down only to the very first room below, where the 'short ones' bring his nephew in rat-form in a small cage to ensure Keygan's continued co-operation.
There are also 'short ones' that look like deformed gnomes with soft black hooves and who go about in the city on their own. Both the 'tall ones' and 'short ones' carry out the kidnappings, bringing them through the shop late at night. Keygan has never seen them bringing the victims, but he has heard them, and he has felt helpless to do anything for fear they would kill Kerren.
Jzadirune was abandoned long ago when a strange disease called the Vanishing swept through the enclave, causing its victims to slowly turn translucent and eventually disappear. Jzadirune is protected by a number of trapped doors that only the gnomes could safely open, though Keygan doesn't know how to do so himself. He did provide them with an old, worn map of the enclave, which they looked over before descending through the secret door. Before leaving, Ruphus told Keygan to go to the Church of Diulanna and speak with Jenya before turning himself in to the town guard.
The seven adventurers slowly descended into the abandoned enclave. There they found an empty entrance hall, and saw the first of the strange doors that looked like gears. If you've ever seen Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, that's pretty much what these doors look like. One of the doors was jammed open, and had large teeth surrounding the central wheel. Both doors had a rune inscribed on them: The closed door had the gnomish rune for 'J', the jammed door an 'A'. Being the only gnome in the party, Erf took the lead and went through the jammed door into a old barracks room. There was a glowing rod on the floor, and two tunnels that didn't appear on the map. Rubble was piled up before both tunnel entrances, suggesting that they were a recent addition to the complex.
The others followed, although Jax and Yaervan stayed behind. Erf, Arthur, Gandolf, and Alexandria squeezed through, and after Alexandria had followed the others, she was suddenly attacked by two more of the near-invisible 'tall ones'. Fortunately, some sixth sense warned her (I literally rolled a 6 on the surprise die) in time, and she was able to interpose her shield to stop the first blow. The second did get through, though without the devastating effect of the intended backstab. Alexandria, being an expert in the art of the battleaxe, immediately struck back, although the enemy's camouflage made it very difficult to see well enough to fight them effectively.
Erf, unable to cast his color spray without risking catching his ally in the spell, tried to come to her aid with a dagger. Unfortunately, he tripped on the glowing rod and dropped his dagger, which skittered along the floor under a bed. Meanwhile, Arthur struck out at one of the attackers, nicking it with his spear-tip. Gandolf simply spoke a few words of power, and a glowing bolt of energy struck the second creature, knocking it back.
The two creatures attempted to run, but by this time Jax had entered and recognized the situation well enough to strike back, killing the already-damaged 'tall one' with a swipe of his bardiche. Alexandria, meanwhile, adjusted her attack and killed the second creature with a single blow, thus preventing them from escaping and warning the complex of their presence.
There were two exit tunnels, about five feet in diameter. They chose the eastern one to explore. It led them quite a distance before branching off to the north and south. After a quick consultation, they went south. Erf was the only one able to walk upright as the rest were forced to slightly duck to get through the short tunnels. They followed the southern tunnel until it opened up into an abandoned kitchen.
To be continued...
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