TTRPGerks:Session 7
Session 7 of TTRPGerks took place on , with the full party in attendance.
- Liam playing Pinley Cherrylack
- Erik playing Flappurr
- Joe playing Frebbin Fogwater
- Wil playing Barklar ‘Barkles’ Ulfido
- Guy playing Brakk-toh Whisper-in-mud
- Tenerim, the GM, playing all other characters
While Flappurr takes Frebbin and Barklar to recover everything stolen from Outskirt by goblins, Brakk-toh visits Dranath and Pinley exlores the temple ruins in town.
When Dranath sees the injured state of Brakk-toh, he insists his visitor stays at his home to heal, so Brakk-toh manages to recover from all his injuries. When Flappurr takes the spellbook from the goblin mage, Brakk-toh uses it to try to learn the spell Ensnaring Roots. Curious, Dranath peeks at what Brakk-toh is doing and offers to teach him any of a number of spells for the right price. He offers the following spells.
- Dispel
- Magic Shield
- Banish
- Ensnaring Roots
- Lightning Flash
- Lightning Bolt
- Purge
- Protector
- Heal Wound
- Treat Wound
Meanwhile, Pinley quickly discerns that the ruins were formerly the cathedral of the old Draconic Empire, the seat of the emperor, Eledain. He collects ancient tablets that will bestow upon him a boon on any Myths & Legends roll about the religion of the Draconic Empire, and he spots runes that he translates to ‘Here Lies Eledain—Emperor of the World—Master of Dragons—Keeper of Um-Durman.’
Flappurr sells the shortbow he recovered from the goblin camp for 7 gold, and buys a bandage. Barklar visits the home of the boy whose body they found—Veking—and informs his parents of their son's fate, returning the wristband he removed from the boy's corpse. Although devestated, they express their hope that Frey will still be found alive and well.
And so the party heads back towards the Riddermound in the hopes of finding Frey, as well as recovering a fragment of the statuette they believe is still sitting unrecovered in the tomb they visited earlier. They choose not to camp overnight and press on to the tomb in a single leg, reaching the Riddermound in the afternoon. Although it is still daylight, the perpetual thick fog of the area casts everything in a gloomy dimness. Flappurr flies down into the entrance of the tomb, and Frebbin leaps. Brakk-toh considers leaping too, but decides against it when he considers how much he'll need his Willpower Points in the adventure ahead. Fortunately, he climbs down safely this time, unlike Pinley who again slips and falls, but the others catch him before he hits the ground, although it knocks Brakk-toh prone. Once Barklar climbs down, they recall that a ghost can only be banished by it fulfilling its purpose or its body being buried, while a wight can only be prevented from regenerating by burning its remains and salting the ashes. The round chamber is filled with bat droppings, although there are currently none present.
Pinley and Barklar begin to explore the right path of the tomb, wanting to make sure they haven't missed anything important like the body of Frey. Like the path to the left, it is made of packed earth with roots that stick out from the walls, crawling with insects and worms. However, Frebbin convinces Pinley that they should first retrace their steps to the left so they can face against the wight while they still have all their strength and faculties. As they enter the chamber with the wooden table and the body of the ghostly lady, no longer wearing the gilded armour that has been passed to Barklar or carrying the Fiendcrusher that Frebbin now weilds, the ghostly form of the lady manifests and shouts out, ‘Thieves! Master, the thieves have returned!’
The wight emerges from his chamber and shouts at Frebbin, ‘False knight! Return what is not yours!’ Frebbin screams back, ‘False? Knight?’ and jumps at the wight with the Fiendcrusher, adding ‘Want it? Here it comes!’ However, his attack meekly bounces off the wight's armour, and the fight begins.
Brakk-toh casts a final Banish, and the wight's soul seems to be ripped into pieces, and his armour lands on the ground. Flappurr picks it up and places it on the burning table so that whatever remains is burnt along with the body of the lady. He asks Brakk-toh if he has any salt, but Brakk-toh doesn't seem to understand why he would have any. Once the importance of the mineral is explained again to him, he and Flappurr take a field ration each and manage to extract enough salt to treat the burnt ashes of both the lady and the wight.
The party takes time to rest, but as their stretch comes to an end, Flappurr hears a scittering coming from the left passageway, and soon a giant spider the size of a dog appears and looks at them hungrily. Barklar walks up and pulls shut the portcullis before the spider can pass it. The spider chews at the wooden bars in frustration, spits a little corrosive acid, then gives up and wanders off. Pinley looks at the door that the wight emerged from, making sure to check for traps and finding none. However, he can't open it because it is locked. He begins trying to find the locking mechanism, but Flappurr steps forward and casts Open/Close.
Unlike the rest of the tomb, which is carved out of packed earth, the final chamber is made of stone, with a portrait of a ridden dragon hung on the far wall. In the centre is an ornate stone sarcophagus, looking like something has burst out through its lid, which is now shattered into pieces lying all over the floor. Inscriptions on the walls are largely incomplete, with Pinley only able to translate something about ‘the Emperor's Gift’ and ‘holy wrath’. Inside the sarcophagus is a gilded crown, which Pinley picks up and walks out of the room. After an almost imperceptible click, spears burst out of the sarcophagus. Frebbin's armour withstands them and he also strolls out, but Brakk-toh is pierced and is forced to cast Heal Wounds on himself to recover.
The gilded crown has runes on it, but Pinley exhausts himself trying in vain to translate them. The crown itself is a magical equivalent of an open helm, providing 1 armour and halving any damage incurred from any attack made by a demon. Barklar takes it and puts it on his head, excited by its expensive appearance. Pinley uses his key to open the door to the unexplored passageway on the right of the tomb. Seeing nothing dangerous in the passageway, he confidently steps forward and only just manages to catch the ledge and pull himself back up to safety as the floor drops out beneath him, revealing a pit filled with wooden punji.