B/X Stonehell Dungeon, Session 10, April 10, 2021

Dramatis Personae:

Capt. Jane Bridgers, Cleric, bearer of the Holy Q-tip of healing. 

Isabella Disarono, Thief extraordinaire. 

NPCs: 

Mik the torchbearer

Lindt, fighter

Banfiz the Elf 

The party descended into Stonehell again, this time bypassing the first level as much as possible, as they had sufficient firepower to delve deeper: both Jane and Isabella are very well armed and armoured. 

Izzie insisted on returning to the room of darkness and have Lightbringer dispel it. This was successful, but nothing else of interest was found in there. The silence was not dispelled, however. 

Heading south, the came across and old dormitory with nothing but a severed, skeletal hand with a mundane but nice ring on it. 

They also encountered a group of kobolds at the cistern room, gathering fresh water for the inmates. They ply one of them for information, greasing the wheels of diplomacy with coin, gaining some intel. 

Further south they encountered a group of said inmates attempting to rather unsuccessfully repair a spear trap. They seemed friendly enough, so the group helped them a bit, as the crew didn’t seem able to interpret the schematics correctly. In return, one of the inmates told of a secret door near another dormitory in the north end of the dungeon, which would lead down to Level 3. 

Eager to explore new areas, the party headed north, effectively avoiding the secret door as if on purpose. However, once they had run out of all other options, they located the appropriate landmarks and Banfiz used his Elven senses to detect the door. It led to a set of stairs going down to Level 3! 

Going down the stairs, they uncovered a looted supply room, and an abandoned dwarven barracks complete with a wrestling area. This was especially appreciated by the players, all of whom are HEMA fighters IRL, including your humble narrator, but for the sake of clarity, I will state that none of us are dwarves. 

Rather than push their luck, the party headed back upstairs, perhaps resolving to return in force when the opportunity presents itself. 

The clock however, was ticking away in the real world and the players needed a score, and fast. XP comes from loot, after all. Instead, they found what appeared to be a living area, populated by a large number of inmates. They were friendly enough, and sent the party on to have an audience with Rythik, their leader. 

Rather than being a hospitable and magnanimous leader, Rythik turned out to have murderous and cannibalistic intent. He called on his subjects to add the party to their larder. Understandably, the party took exception to that, and defended themselves in response to the admittedly gauche breach of the laws of hospitality. 

Rythik’s treachery turned out to be his undoing. While the battle was bitter and hard fought, in the end the PCs prevailed, slaying Rythik and scattering his followers to the winds. Fortunately for the party, Rythik was reasonably wealthy, and also was accoutred with a magical hauberk and shield. Neither of these items were immediately useful to either PC, but would go into the party armoury to outfit those who needed them. 

Satisfied with their progress, they returned to town, and Jane levelled up to level three.