The Troupe fight their way through invisible spectres in order to get deeper into the Section Base. Now they find themselves in something beyond the hidden mines, an underground structure of clean cut rooms and corridors. What else lays hidden deep in these tunnels?
21 Eleasias 1368
Breagar, though short, still manages to block our exit as he is held in place by the dead priest’s spell. I know that Helm would never curse his opponents with permanent paralysis, even if he is the Lord of War. All we need to do is wait.
Eventually the priest’s magic wears off, and we are able to move on. We leave the shrine, but before we walk too far down the corridor, Helga heals me once more. She’s always worried about me leading the group.
We find two more operatives guarding a room at the end of the corridor. These are the lower ranked guards, with unenchanted arms. They don’t put up much of a fight.
The room is empty except for the corpses of the Section operatives. There are two exits here. When I look to the left I am met with more visions. Death awaits if we go that way. I lead the other to the right instead, and we find more operatives waiting for us.
Four of them draw their swords and approach. I managed to hold them off at the doorway, but they have potions to help them in this fight.
We hit them hard, but they have a good supply of Potions of Healing to keep themselves alive. I’m forced to reach for a much stronger potion after all four of them cut through my armour. As I drink it, Breagar hits the operative behind me, delivering a fatal wound.
I knock one of the guards down with a Sleep spell. Two of them are easier to fight, and they are out of potions. Helga delivers another killing blow. Only one left to fight.
I lure him into the corridor so the others can get a shot. Imoen puts one through his eye.
We wake the last one and Imoen takes care of him as well. With the room clear we can take a look around. It appears to be a forge of some kind. Huge furnaces on one side of the room, and a few hammers and anvils lay on tables. Barrels with tongs and other tools are scattered around, and some half-finished armour hangs in one corner of the room.
These operatives were well armed, with enchanted arrows and bows. Imoen takes the arrows, but we keep the rest in our Bag of Holding for later. While loading her quiver, Imoen asks Breagar more questions about dwarves.
Imoen: Breagar?
Breagar: What now?
Imoen: You talked about dwarven women the other day. I’ve never seen one. How are they?
Helga gives her a side glance. Does she not know?
Breagar: Hrmph. Beautiful beings. Strong and tough. A good dwarven woman can manage a home, her family, a profession, and fight off kobolds, all at the same time.
And their beard…
Imoen snorts.
Imoen: What?
Breagar: What you mean, what? Buzzurk, what are you laughing at?
Imoen: It’s just… I thought because… I have never seen a woman with a beard before.
Breagar: There is plenty you’ve never seen before, foolish lass.
Imoen: Human women don’t grow beards, neither do female elves.
Breagar: Pah, and even your foolish men shave their chins. Makes them look freshly weaned.
Imoen: I like clean-shaved men.
Breagar: Well, you are not quite right in the head like all humans.
Helga lifts her hammer and says we are wasting time and should move on. She doesn’t seem very happy. An angry dwarf makes a good fighter, at least.
Another corridor leading out of this room takes us to our next encounter with an operative.
He doesn’t put up much of a fight. I crush him with Bashrik’s Hammer.
The room he was guarding leads to a large pit. Before I can see how deep it is, there’s a flash of light and another spectre appears before me.
I raise my holy symbol in an attempt to Turn it. It’s either too strong for Corellon, or its not an undead creature, as it continues pushing me back while I deflect its blows with the Heart of the Dragon.
I try to hit it with some Magic Missiles, but they fizzle out before they even make contact.
These things are hard to kill. This is going to be a tough fight. I drink the Potion of Invulnerability from Helm’s shrine. It should help protect me from this creature.
It’s magical protections prevent people attacking it at range. They may also explain why my Magic Missiles fizzled out. I use the Weave to Dispel Magic, and its defenses fade back to the Weave.
With its defenses down we are able to hurt it with our missile weapons, but it isn’t dying fast enough. Skeezer attempts a Magic Missile, while I target it with a Chromatic Orb. Both are ineffective. These creatures must have some innate resistance to magic.
It’s Kieria who saves the day with a carefully aimed crossbow bolt. The creature almost falls into the pit as it stumbles back and dies.
I’ve learned more about magic during this fight. Mainly when not to rely on it to win battles for me.
Gameplay Note
His Spells Saving Throw is reduced by 1. He gets 1 more level 3 Mage Spell per day. He gains 1 Hit Point and 4 points of Lore.
I go into the chamber to investigate the pit. It’s deep. I can’t see the bottom. I hear something and immediately step back to the wall. As I do so, another spectre makes its presence known. This one is protected as well, and I have no way to Dispel its defenses.
I shout to the others that they need to charge into our melee. They draw their swords, hammers, axes and staves and make their way around the pit. As Skeezer thrusts at the beast with his Staff, it quickly disappears and reappears with its sword thrust deep into the gnome.
Skeezer retreats and heals himself with a potion. Breagar is able to cut into the creature with his Minotaur Axe. It disappears again and moments later I feel a sharp pain in my back.
I’m able to heal as it retreats, but it performs its trick once more, this time bringing Kieria to the brink of death. She uses one of our many Elixirs of Health.
Then the creature disappears again. Breagar screams so loud it echoes through the tunnels.
But Breagar already has a target. The Minotaur Axe swings down and cleaves through the invisible beast spraying dark blood everywhere. He lets out a “Ha!” as he pulls the axe back out.
Gameplay Note
Maybe I should be pushing Breagar into melee a lot more.
I signal to everyone to be silent and to back up to the walls. There may yet be another lying in wait. We slowly edge around the cavern and make our way back to the entrance.
Thankfully there are no more of these spectres, but a feeling of dread washes over me as we continue down the corridor. We come to a room with a forge that is being fuelled by the lava from the caves above. A heavily armoured dwarf looks at us menacingly and raises his axe.
I carefully move into the room seeing there are two dwarves, and spot another dwarf to my right ready to strike. I deflect his blow with my shield, while the other dwarves start hurling axes at us.
The axes land before disappearing and returning to the dwarves’ hands. They didn’t hit, but they could still be dangerous. I try to hinder their movements with a Web.
One of them is held in place, so I turn Bashrik’s Hammer on the dwarf that tried to assault me. Helga calls upon Heala’s Blessing to help us fight these dwarves.
The other dwarf gets stuck in the Web as he tries to fight his way out. The remaining dwarf and I cut into each other, but we both have healing potions to keep ourselves alive. I hear Breagar yell, “Buzzurk!” as he summons a Spiritual Hammer.
One of the operatives escapes from my Web and flees the battle. I am losing my fight with the dwarf, and find myself resorting to stronger healing potions.
The potion saves me as my Web disappears back to the Weave. The dwarf I am fighting is out of potions, bloody, and bruised. He won’t last long.
One more blow from Bashrik’s Hammer and he is no more. I turn to the other dwarf, who is rejoined by the other that fled. I have to fight one of them while dodging the thrown axes of the other. But I have more allies in this fight.
Helga hits the operative in the skull and the dwarf collapses, but I am stuck with several open axe wounds. I use my blessings to close my wounds while the others focus on the last dwarf.
The dwarf sees that he is outnumbered and outclassed, so he downs more potions before fleeing through a tunnel.
We let him go, but Helga keeps a lookout while I check to see what these operatives were using against us.
They had enchanted splint mail, as well as enchanted axes. Their throwing axes are more interesting, however. They can be thrown, but will return to the bearer’s hand after they strike. Breagar takes one of these weapons and gives me back my sling. Now we can all fight at range again.
Having stripped the bodies we follow the dwarf that fled and find ourselves back at the entrance to this part of the base again. The corpses of those we slayed on the way in still litter the ground.
The dwarf that fled charges down the corridor toward us, but Imoen is quick with her bow and he runs right into an Arrow of Ice.
We move up the other corridor and spot a human operative applying an Oil of Speed. He is quick to raise his bow.
We move closer and see that he is not alone. Both of them take aim at me.
I create a Glyph of Warding in between the pair and it is triggered instantly. Lightning flies out in all directions, killing one of the operatives and injuring the other.
The other operative quickly sends two arrows that embed in my chest. They are cold, but I only feel the sting of their steel tips.
Breagar’s enchanted axe flies past and embeds itself in the operative’s chest, sending him flying back along the corridor. It teleports back to Breagar’s hand and the operative moves no more.
I move up to check the bodies, but another operative spots us.
I don’t want to be surrounded with a door and corridor either side of me, so we pull back hoping to lure him toward us. It seems to have worked.
However, he is able to lure us back, and I find myself with three bows aimed at me from three different directions.
I pull back again, and they follow us down the corridor. I’m unable to keep up with the arrows and swords thrusting into me, relying on Potions of Healing to keep me alive again.
We start to push them back down the corridor, and Breagar decides its time to fight fire with fire. They’re always drinking Potions of Speed, so he drinks his own.
His axe starts flying much quicker, teleporting back to his hand as soon as it lands. One of the operatives flees to try and get out of range of Breagar’s axes, while the other takes a bullet to the head from Helga’s sling.
The third operative who was hiding down the corridor jumps me before we can pursue his friend.
Breagar’s sinks his axe into the operative’s neck, his newfound speed proving most effective. I have a few arrows sticking out of me, but we have to push forward. There’s only one left.
I take arrows from the operative while I rely on Corellon’s blessing to Cure My Wounds.
After healing myself, I’m able to get close enough to smash the operative with Bashrik’s Hammer.
Breagar’s axe sticks into him several times, and he collapses from the wounds. The fight is over, for now.
Helga immediately rushes to me and heals what wounds are still open. I feel the pain of the many cuts and bruises fade away.
These operatives are tough. We’ve been winning these fights so far, but I feel like we’re just getting lucky. But we are trapped. We slipped past many operatives on our way down here, so going back means fighting our way out. We may as well keep moving forward.
