Brazen Wolfe Tabletop

2024 Campaign Adventure 13

Plot:

Morning

Taking precautions after the run in with John – the halfling who ran the Fat Sow Inn and after checking for secret doors or ways into their room that they had been provided at the Inn they settled in for the night. Groku and Kai took the bed after Kai tried to sell the fact that they were all a married couple. It was not that convincing.

In the morning Kai was provided a different breakfast to straight pork and both Tater and Kai made their way to the mines to fill in the day before the feast that night. Meeting with Tom at the entrance of the mines, he was examining the ore production very closely, they proceeded to travel down the mines – but they were warned that some of the mine tunnels had pockets of dangerous holes so they had to be careful. Still suspicious of the Mayor they insisted on going alone and they were encouraged to do so. A dwarfs desire to explore his ancestors mining halls after all is something that they wanted.

The main entrance to the mine had three main tunnels. A old dwarven one that was not used at all on the far left of the entrance, the furthest right one was very active with miners and the one in the middle was not active, but it had some footprints that led into the depths which was a bit suspicious. But to explore Taters heritage they went down the old dwarven tunnels. For a few hundred feet they gradually descended until they came to flatter and less twisty tunnel. The air was danker and more stale down here but they continued along until they came to another three tunnels.

The Tunnels

The first tunnel was caved in but the other two seemed to go on some distance, branching out further into the darkness. The torchlight dimmed somewhat from the stale air but it wasn’t concerning. Examining the cave in Tater determined that it wasn’t naturally done, it was deliberate or, at least, blocked off on purpose. Feeling around two of the larger stones shifted with very little effort, a weighted mechanism that allowed two rocks to shift and then re join with the rest of the barricade to appear as if it was always closed.

On the other side of the secret door/ false cave in was a consecrated room dedicated to King Boralis the 3rd. A large stone slab that was positioned in front of the statue of the king. The room had four large shelf-like recesses in the walls with a few dwarven items laying in dust. A dwarven hand-axe, a few vases and pots that appeared as though they were placed, rather than left here. Another oddity was that the tunnel in which they came from appeared to have been dug into this room rather than from this room. This meant that who ever dug into here wasn’t the people who dug out.

After a while searching around they found that the table could be pushed towards the statue which unlocked a seamless door behind the statue. What was revealed on the other side left them confused and daunted.

A epically large cavern greeted them with large carved pillars that looked like they supported the roof (which was far enough that their torch light and darkvision could not detect) greeted them, as did the fact that nearly the entire cavern floor was gone. A grand chasm spread in all directions which, after investigating appeared to be related to ancient acid-pox markings on the rock as well as a 10ft hole that was bored in the roof.

The Bat

Using the magical but not yet defined bracers Kai climbed to the ceiling, in a way that spider man would, and made it to the hole clutching a torch in between his legs just in time for a huge bat with 30ft wings to fly out of the darkness to attack him. Kai instinctively used his bracer to launch himself into the hole and Tater launched an arrow that grazed the mammoth mammal but it was too late, the bat had found his prey. Latching to the cavern roof the creature used its clawed hand to grapple onto the goblin and only the bracer, and a series of three ropes tied to the goblin (as the ceiling was 150ft in the air) prevented it from taking off with him. However the true nature of the gauntlet was about to be revealed as it was being used past its limit.

After heated back-and-forth between bat, dwarf, human and goblin Kai was released and plummeted. Tater readied his psionic powers to catch and pull the goblin toe safety but not before the bat attacked again, attempting to grapple and bite the goblin mid flight. Several panicked moments later, and after Kai plummeted onto the bat to stab at it with his sword and his bracer’s metal vines, he fell within reach of Taters magic.

Groku making good use of her Ring of Magnetism when she threw her battle axe to lash at the bat, only for the weapon to fly back into her hands. Armaeth was clinging onto Kai after bathing her, the bat and the goblin in faerie fire and Tater caught the falling goblin and he managed to barely land him on solid ground. Kai was not in a well shape but there was another problem. The bat was tangled in the 150ft of rope that connected all three of them.

After another frantic moment of cutting ropes and Kai expending all his lay on hands charges, they watched the bat fall into the darkness. Except they didn’t just watch.

Kai used his bracers again and, without knowing how they truly work, expected the bat to be pulled to him. Instead he was flung onto the back of the bat. Who in its panic to untangle itself from the rope was not aware of the hitch hiker. Tater and Groku watched on with exasperation as the Bat flew off with the goblin on its back after they had expended nearly everything to get him safely back onto ground. But there was more.

Kai experienced the magical backlash of the gauntlets as they were pushed beyond their limit – causing him to sacrifice his life essence, a single hit dice, to sustain the bracers grip on the bat. However he didn’t release the bat or hide amongst its thick fur. Oh no he decided to try and tame the bat much like the wolf from just a night ago. Aware of the goblin the bat flew high into caver to allow it to use its clawed wings to untangle itself from the snack. Tater, Groku and Armaeth watched in horror as their ally was too far for them to do anything other than shoot with heavy crossbow.

As the fight continued the goblin landed a few small attacks on the bat, enough to make it weary of the fight. However it was all over when the magical backlash of the bracers occurred again and Kai had a terrifying realisation when his life force was ripped out of him, another 2 hit dice…, he was going to die. The bat pulled the goblin off its back before Kai released the bracer, not wanting to find out what happens when the bracer pulls the last of his energy out. The bat swooped and narrowly missed the goblin before in a moment of luck the goblin grappled with the furred creature again. But there was only soo much that could be done as the bat grabbed Kai, Kai impaled the bat with Frost Thorn before, having enough and valuing its own life, the bat flung the goblin at the far cavern wall.

In a moment of instinct Kai used the bracer to attempt to slow his fall to the bottom of the cavern wall on a ledge before the chasm, but the magical backlash was too much and a price was paid as he was pulled unconscious. The other party members watched horrified a the glowing bat (from faerie fire) flew off to his home to lick its wounds while the goblin was thrown against the wall and disappeared into the darkness. As Tater rushed to try and find a way to his ally he attempted to climb for the first time, and the properties of the magical belt he wore was realised. He could climb as easily as walking. After a frantic dash across the cavern wall he found Kai, the goblin… breathing but broken. One arm hung limp and mangled but he was stable. Forcing a healing potion into the goblin Tater managed to rouse him enough to tie him to his back before carrying him back to Groku and Armaeth who had been instructed to wait behind.

After they had made it across the chasm the realisation of Kai’s arm, limp and unresponsive, as well as that in the unconscious state, the impact from the wall and the fall to the ledge Kai had lost Frost Thorn somewhere in the darkness of the yawning cavern.

Fustmach again

Making their way back they met with a miner who was sent to find them as well as the mayor, Tom, who was worried. They told them about the giant bat which both miner and mayor seemed excited for as they had lost some miners down a few of these tunnels – them and all rescue parties were never seen again.

Tom took the party to see Hilder, the towns healer who quickly patched and cleaned up Kai, the only one to suffer damage, who also was shocked when Kai didn’t realise his left arm was shattered and broken in many places. The limpness seemed toe be a new feature for the Goblin. After provided with clothes that hadn’t been ripped apart from a huge bat the party considered their options. They had to go to the feast tonight to try and work out what happened to the other agent of their order, Fredrickson. However, they were in no state to be doing such a thing.

What ever would they do?

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Main NPCs:

Sidekicks

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