Vecna: Eve of Ruin (#2) - The Mines

Last night saw the regular D&D crowd get back together on Fantasy Grounds to play the next installment of the new campaign, Vecna : Eve of Ruin. It has been a few weeks since the last game as real life has taken priority, but hopefully we are back now for another run of games.

The Mines - Day 2 (Dusk)

We approached the dwarven mines by heading downhill alongside a torrent of water. The entrance to the mines had flooded from what we could see, and the water was very fast flowing. On many of the raised areas of drier land just outside the mine entrance we could see a number of dwarf bodies lying strewn around where they had apparently been slain.

Whilst we checked the bodies to see if any were still alive, and for clues as to what might have happened, we began to hear chanting coming from beyond a clusters of rocks. Some of the bodies began to slightly twitch so we moved forward to investigate further. A dwarf magician emerged from behind the rocks and Held Navda in place with an enchantment. Gladreth let fly a Fireball that reduced half of the rising bodies to ash. A short-lived fight ensued wherein Druss killed the dwarf mage, but he managed to throw an enchanted red gem at the floor that exploded into a Wall of Force causing a great deal of harm both to the party and to the remaining dwarf zombies before he died. The remining four dwarf zombies were quickly dispatched by Dharion, Navda and Gladreth's Firebolt.

Just as we finished off the last of the zombies, we heard the final clattering of a combat emanating from a small island a short distance away. The two dwarf warriors had just defeated a small number of adversaries. They beckoned us over, but I was the only one who could get there, using my Boots of Striding, without being swept away by the swift current. They explained that the dead dwarfs should be placed into the River of the Gods (the waters around our feet apparently), and that the river held powers over the dwarf dead. They also explained that the flooding and rain would stop if we could defeat the evil wizard. The strong current in the surrounding waters led directly to the mines.

As we didn't currently have the means to rescue the dwarfs we said that we would return and save them later. We placed the dead dwarfs reverently into the waters as requested and left the two living warriors on their island. We headed towards the north-west where we found a small entrance that led into a very dark cavern. Inside, Dharion's superior dark vision could make out movement but not a lot else. Fearing that it would be more zombies, I cast Light on a large stone and hurled it into the cavern.

Entrance to the Dwarf Mins

The light from the stone allowed us all to see the numerous zombies within the cave. I rapidly moved in and called upon the grace of Pelor to return these souls to their proper place, and four of the undead collapsed to dust whilst another four retreated from my god's awesome power.

A tall, very thin humanoid, whose head was covered in spiders emerged from behind a rock and also moved away from me, but not without first firing a poisoned arrow. The rest of my comrades moved in and combat ensued. Gladreth's Lightning Bolt made short work of the zombies but the drow was made of sterner stuff and did not appear to be affected by the lightning. A few moments later another drow dropped from the ceiling and blew a strange powder into Dharion's face, blinding and poisoning him. Dharion and I were able to remove those curses from him using our spell-craft, but moments later the drow did the same again to him.

Druss, in a Rage, charged the drow located deepest within the cavern and was treated to a cloud of the same dust, but it had no effect on him. In a few moments he had cut the drow down, whilst Dharion (even though still blinded), Navda, Gladreth and I dealt with the other drow in short shrift.

As we searched the body of the first drow, the spiders from around his head tried to run away, but we crushed them all under our boots. On the two drow bodies we found two capsules of powdered malice, four poisoned crossbow bolts and some very nice studded leather armour. We stashed everything away for future use and returned south to see about setting the two dwarfs free from being stranded.

A quick return to the camp outside where Drakkon kept watch allowed us to grab his water breathing helm and a length of rope. We pulled the dwarfs across and through the waterway one-at-a-time and bid them farewell.

As night was now rapidly approaching we made camp and set watches for a long night's rest to heal up and recover our spells.