����������� Book Eight, Chapter Two �The last sidetrack on the way to the Harp?�

����������������������������������� 22/11/2008

There was a brief location problem as Mike�s latest deadline was Friday but it turned out alright and we didn�t have to change location.

Hunting the Fenland Stalker starts with a Tracking roll looking for damp footprints, but Aruth doesn�t find any. Sir Martyn is having a cunning plan but we go down the corridor, make the bridge again to the T junction. To south there is almost immediately a cave in and at the top it looks like it might have been disturbed recently. It could be dug out so someone in plate could go through but it would take 2 hours. Zytsi works rocks so he knows if anything has come down here. It�s quicker to walk round it to other side so we do. To the other side there are 2 sets of rubble, the one to the south is the one we caused. We go south and the rubble at it has been disturbed and the foot prints are on the wall. Go along the strange earth tunnel, there is a branching corridor here, but it�s a dead end. To the other side of this rubble and it is undisturbed, so back again. Dig, dig, dig and there is another earth corridor there. This is underneath the observatory. The rough tunnel goes 300ft and quite damp and then turns into a paved blocked corridor for 50ft and turns into a chamber. Carcases hanging on wall, mostly sheep but there is a couple of humans. There is a rubble filled exit on the other side with a small gap.

10ft radius Silence round Daniel so Zytsi can dig quietly through the rubble. It would take a couple of hours to dig through, or 8 hours for a human. Then we have a crawl through from the ladder to a paved corridor. We walk for 250ft and then rubble with a small gap at the top. As we �discuss� digging the Fenland Stalker turns up and casts spell at Bowlhead. So we Inspire ourselves and Aruth contemplates his navel and does nothing. Zytsi throws his hammer and it does a lightning bolt for a total of 42 points of damage. Sir Martyn throws his spear at it for some trivial damage and it picks the spear up. Oh dear, we wish Sir Martyn hadn�t done that.

It will take 6 rounds for Zytsi to dig through the gap so Bowlhead is behind him ready to take the damage off him. It is using Sir Martyn�s spear � ouch! It does 40 points of damage the first round. It does 40 points and 2 trivial critical that did a couple of Must Parries. Then it does 40 points and 2 criticals with 2 Must Parries, and then it does it again, so Zytsi yells medic and comes back.

Sir Martyn prepares himself to go up and grab his spear. So he looks at it and casts it�s a charm spell rather than poke with the spear. So Sir Martyn casts Master of Kind, and it is intelligent (well it�s more intelligent than Bowlhead any way) and a humanoid so it works and fails the save, giving the spear back was against its nature so it doesn�t. Sir Martyn fails his save, oh dear. Pull Sir Martyn back and retreat. Its Charm lasts an hour so we go back, ready and prepared this time.

Its shored things up a bit in the last hour and about ten minutes, so its 6 rounds digging again. The Master of Kind is still running and Sir Martyn tells it to only use the Charm spell, and Zytsi saves 6 times and he�s through. New round Zytsi steps to one side and Bowlhead comes through. It attacks Bowlhead with its claws and does 100 points of damage and an F critical, ah the power of Gloriana.

The treasure looks like 80,000 coins and 1 very noticeable milky white bastard sword. Zytsi takes a voluntary Stun No Parry at the sight of the treasure, but he stun manoeuvres and hits it quite hard, but forgot to use an Adrenal Move. Then it claws Bowlhead again, who had done instantaneous stun relief and then was clawed and so fell over. Sir Martyn tells it to attack Zytsi and then pushes Bowlhead out the way, who takes 16 points of damage from it, and then he stands up. Zytsi is fully defensive and it doesn�t hit him. So next round it�s attacking Zytsi and Sir Martyn has a flank attack on it. Aruth is in the tunnel with a wand and Daniel is the other side singing, well it�s what he does best by a large margin.

The Fenland Stalker is evil, well it eats people and has a ladder for them so the Holy Sword is on the 2 handed sword table and with a 95 critical � it looks a bit damaged. Zytsi hits it mildly hard then it has its second attack for another 5 points of damage. Sir Martyn punches with his mailed fist and does Absolution (it�s an instantaneous attacking spell and he�s having an attack, he can do it this once and never again). Then he burns it, well it was regenerating rather well - any damage only lasted 3 rounds and it had nearly a thousand points of damage.

82,719 silver pennies plus 31,000 worth of assorted jewellery (nothing worth more than that)

The healer is bleeding faster then he is regenerating and we are counting the treasure. With 3 rounds to go we notice and deal with the problem.

Magic items are:

Bastard Sword, Elven milky white

Short Bow

Buckler

2 items of random jewellery

Bowlhead stands up and cures himself through spells.

Bastard Sword � Elven milky white, no max (still goes to 150) while wielding and singing (need to break 100) may add singing skill (ranks and level bonus not gear and stat) to OB, extra level of damage for every 10 levels over 10 (so it times 2 at 11 and times 3 at 21), its has no intrinsic plus but it magical (counts a +25 plus for allowing to hit things). Daniel takes this.

Short Bow - +25 each arrow fires split into three. One roll resolves all attacks and only one target, but it is 3 attacks for defensive spells and 3 independent critical. Aruth says oh goody and grabs it.

Buckler � +25 (+45 shield) but can be used with 2h-weapon (like a staff not a sword). Bowlhead says I may as well have this.

Random piece of jewellery 1 � +10 to all dice rolls not inc criticals (like inspirations). Sir Martyn has this.

Random piece of jewellery 2 � +1 to level bonus of your choice. Zytsi makes do with this.

It�s about 3 in the afternoon. We stop and rest and sleep. Next day we go back, avoiding water, making a bridge and get there.

We prepare and Sir Martyn and Zytsi are the beta combat team, with a team spell from Bowlhead with Sir Martyn as the leader (sic). They step through and the damage is healed by Bowlhead through the combat link, and then they advance into the 50 foot across circular room with 2 sarcophagus and 4 golems. The golems are not identical � 2 are crystalline, 1 metallic and one is made of earth. They are in the doorway and looking. Spell phase nothing, missiles nothing, movement and the metallic one moves up on Sir Martyn and the earthy one closes on Zytsi. Zytsi thinks it might be like but tougher than a clay golem. It doesn�t take crush criticals, bit of a problem with a war hammer. Weapons having to make saves when they hit. They have 2 attacks each and one knocks Sir Martyn�s sword out of his hand and then hangs on to his leg.

Next round Aruth shoots an arrow out of his new bow, so he does 3 arrows worth of damage. Sir Martyn�s is moving faster this round but he got a way with it. Next round they move back 10 feet so Sir Martyn can get his sword, Aruth shot Zytsi�s again, chip, chip. Sir Martyn is knocked down, disarmed and stunned. That was a very ineffective round for us. Next round, well Aruth hits Zytsi�s with an arrow - it looks about half damaged otherwise another ineffective round. New round Aruth shoots his arrow. Zytsi finally hits with a number that will do a pierce critical rather than a stun (a neat trick) but he fails the weapon save so it doesn�t. There was a long discussion (whinge) and he wouldn�t use his totem so his artefact hammer needs fixing before it can be used again, tries to draw another war hammer but throws it away into the room! Dagger magical but tops on 3C and they are super large so that is pretty pointless. As is Sir Martyn�s Morningstar! So that�s a broken artefact war hammer, broken magic morning star and thrown away spare war hammer.

Sir Martyn�s falls over and they pull back and out. So with one down and one damaged we leg it.

End of session