session recap, 10/25/2012

This session was pretty short - Razoe's player couldn't make it, Gutboy's player was 2 hours late, and George's player was a no-show.  It happens sometimes!

CAST
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Mongo the Fighter (4), his henchpersons "Bunny" the Thief (1) and William the Sentinel (1), and his soil-bearers Malazar and Benarto
Gutboy the Cleric (4), his henchman Trezgar the Elf (1) and his dog Rufus II

Mongo and Gutboy were sitting around the apartment, wondering how to kill some time - a return to the lair of the Moktars seemed a delightful excursion, and away they went.

This time, they headed to Chelmsfordshire, to see what tax schemes were the Exalted and Chosen Brethren were cooking up. Talking with one of the hard-bitten adventurers loitering in the village green, it turned out to be something a little more peculiar - one of the Exalted Brothers had sponsored "Slezgar's Law," a regulation designed to prevent tragedies such as the untimely death of Denethix's beloved Slezgar - now all adventuring parties had to register before heading off to the dungeon.  They commiserated with the nameless adventurer, who explained how most of them just skirted around Chelmsfordshire now - not that Mongo and Gutboy would ever try to circumvent a city regulation.

Mongo and Gutboy decided to head west to the dungeon without registering, and were quickly intercepted by a guardsman from the Unyielding Fist

Fist: "Hold up, there. Where are your papers?"
Gutboy: "Oh, we don't have those.  We're not adventuring, we're just going to Denethix."
Fist:  "Denethix is east."
Gutboy (trying to push past): "Yes, of course it is!"
Fist (pointing back the way they came): "The other east."

Gutboy gave up his feeble ruse, and the duo (with their train) headed back east towards Denethix, immediately doubling back and around Chelmsfordshire once they were out of sight.  Camping in the woods overnight, they were beset by a half-dozen stirges - the combat was short, but sadly one of Mongo's dirt-bearers (which exactly I don't remember) was drained dry, the bloated and satiated stirge flapping listlessly away after its feast.  The only notable grieving was of the henchman William, who now had to carry a backpack full of dirt.

In the Moktar lair, there was a brief exploration of some of the flooded western tunnels:

a. A room with a flickering God's Eye, displaying a blonde man in a black suit with angular features.  The words "establishing contact... insufficient signal strength... retrying..." were whispered repeatedly.

b. A black room with a pedestal that had a broken iron rod sticking out of it

c. A white room with a pedestal that had a vibrating tall iron rod sticking out of it.  Mongo poked at it with his 20' extending pole, and nothing happened.

b. A short dead-end hall - walking through the water here, Mongo and William suddenly tumbled down a submerged staircase.  They quickly clambered back up the stairs, and were followed by a giant crab.  The beast was dispatched, but Mongo took quite a beating - and it turned out his soil had been drained of nutrients.

At this point, the party headed back towards the entrance to fetch fresh soil for Mongo.  On the way, they ran into a group of over a dozen goblins wearing clothes of shiny silver fabric, led by a 6' tall goblin with a huge head, carrying a laser pistol and wearing flowing silvery robes.  The tall goblin began speaking.

Goblin: "Ahh, I know you, surface worlders."
Mongo: "What? Where?"
Goblin: "I am Grolikus.  Do you remember me now?"
Mongo (a glimmer of recall on his face):  "Oh, in the dungeon, right."
Goblin: "I commanded you to stay and you defied me!  Now, you will show me the way to the surface world!"
Gutboy:  "Well, what's in it for us?"
Trezgar (Gutboy's elven henchman):  "Aieee! It's in my head!"
Goblin:  "I see you have brought one of our creations with you.  They are flawed, but still useful."
Gutboy: "You made elves?"
Goblin:  "Yes, they are a failed experiment.  Now step aside."

The party stood aside to let the goblin troop pass - Gutboy briefly considered dropping the portcullis near the entrance to the Moktar lair on them, but after all, discretion is the better part of valor.

And there our session ended...

Gains: none
Kills: 5 stirges, 1 giant crab
Losses: Soil-bearer