Session 6: Watery Grave

Jon's Teifling Rogue used his spare hand to light the path ahead as the party entered the depths of a cave complex below the ruins. He would lose the ability to sneak, but he had the only available arm. It wasn't long before the party was surrounded by rats. The creatures jumped from stalagmites and stalactites, but the minions were just cannon fodder for the true master of this cavern, the Ochre Jelly.

I've always loved Jelly's and Oozes in D&D. I have no idea why.

Jon's Human Warrior laid down some pretty unbreakable defense, but combat got a little interesting when the Ochre Jelly split in two as it became bloodied. On thing I don't understand is that the monsters description says to give each half the creatures current hit points. Thats pretty powerful seeing as they now had to fight two creatures with another 50hp each. Robs Paladin picked up the other Jelly, though not as gracefully as Jon's Warrior, and soon the Jelly got jammed (hahaha... oh I know.)

A brief inspection of the room revealed a passage that led further into the dark and a double door, coated in fungus with the statement "KEEP OUT. Really." carved into it. Deciding to err on the side of caution, the player's decided to have a gander a bit further down the cave. After about forty feet of walking the characters came across a pit where some unfortunate 6-legged reptile had gotten tripped and died. As Jon held the torch for them to glimpse the creature, the very walls ahead began to teem with juvenile offspring of the same variety.

The first few waves coming through small cracks in the wall proved little challenge for the players, but it warned the larger Kruthiks of intruders. To make matter worse Matt Connors Cleric had just fallen into another of the pit traps dug by these cave hunters. As he struggled to climb out, Jon and Rob met the 3 young Kruthik and the 1 adult in combat.

The fight went on for an extraordinarily long time. Both the players and myself kept rolling low, but it played to my advantage, for simply standing within 1 square of a Kruthik causes 2 damage at the end of a players turn. Convinced they shouldn't lose the choke hold they had, Rob and Charlie took point after point of this secondary, unavoidable damage as the fight went on.

After weathering the storm of "Gnashing Aura" and stumbling through a few more floor traps, the player's found a small stash of treasure in the Kruthik's refuse den. Among various coinage the players found two potions of healing. Charlie took one and gave one of the potions to Rob, as the two of them were often in the worst of things.



There was only one stop left in the darkness of the caverns: the door marked "KEEP OUT. Really." Cautiously opening the bronze double doors, Jon's torchlight spilled into a small antechamber which most likely served as a water source for the keep. The natural cavern had a pool of water with an island in the middle. Bones, coins and other trinkets were scattered about the island, yet there was no enemy to be seen in the small chamber. Suddenly gooey tentacles shot from the water and a disgusting Blue Ooze crept from the water, releasing foul stenches that weakened the party.

It's attacks in melee were slightly more powerful than it's aoe, but the melee attacks did add ongoing 5 poison. I decided to just stick with the aoe "Ooze Explosion as much as I could (it recharged on 5 or 6). Navigated the small amount of hard terrain was difficult for the party, but after Charlie positioned the slimebucket, the players had the upper hand.

I actually got really lucky this fight. Not only did my Ooze Explosion recharge almost every round, but I crit Charlie's Human fighter FIVE times. Yes that's five times in a fight that was probably 9 or 10 rounds. Though this boss was much harder than any the players had faced so far, they handled it well. They had saved up another action point as well as their daily's, and I think without them they would have been in a lot of trouble. I made the fight a little more interesting by slowly shifting the Ooze into the water as it became bloodied. In the end the players laid waste to the Blue Slime and claimed victory: a few coins, another healing potion, and a Shield of Protection. Jon took the shield, further enhancing his already impenetrable armor.On the skeletal remains of a Gnoll, the player's found a wooden message case with two notes inside.

The first read: “Remember, don’t wet the nodule—unless Kalarel is not receptive to the offer. Then, wet it only from a distance, and then, turn and run. Water will bring the creature out of its dormancy, and it will consume anything it can reach.” This, of courese, was the Blue Ooze, which was loosed only after their bodies had been dumped in this water cavern.

The second read: “Greetings, Kalarel. I have recently learned of your activityin the area and have an offer for you. During your time in this region, if you should capture any humanoids, we are eager to buy them. We have duergar allies in Thunderspire in need of slave stock. If you are interested, send an envoy back to me. My messengers will show the way.” signed: “Chief Krand of the Bloodreavers.”

Stranberg and Matt's characters have a history with this Krand... what are the odds he would meddle in affairs this far north? Sounds like a future adventure to me!