EPISODE 3: A New Crew Hits the Hill!

 

Party: Toth’s Troopers

Adventure: #2 “The Horror on the Hill”

Session Number: 5

Session Date: 5/9/26 (Thaumont 27 Loshdain    AC 1000.)

Adventure Background:

Toth and his newly bolstered party return to the Hill to try again.

The Troopers:

Toth Casksword (L) Male Fighter 1. Leader of the group.

Alzador (N) Male Magic User 1

Sergei (C) Male Thief 1

Aladana (N) Elf 1

Varis (L) Fighter 1

Ullia (L) Cleric 1 (CoT)

Brother Kenton (L) Male Cleric 1 (CoK)

After finding new recruits to bolster their numbers, Toth and the pthers head back across the water to the Hill. Once in the woods, they avoided the southern path that lead to the Ants and turned north at the far end of the lake.

Following the path, they came to a rocky clearing. A cave mouth was visible from where the trail emerged. Toth was curious but cautious after the debacle of their last outing, so he sent Sergei the thief and Aladana the elf to investigate.

In their lighter armor, the two moved quietly to the cave entrance. The tunnel was straight and the ground sloped gently downward. Sergei moved quietly ahead, as far as the daylight let him see. He could see the passage opened up into a wider cavern and saw or heard anything moving inside. Gesturing to the Elf to move up, Aladana moved up, bow at the ready, and beyond Sergei into the darkness. After a moment or two, her eyes adjusted and her infravision let her see the rest of the chamber. After looking at the rest of the cave, Aladana quickly retreated back to Sergei.

“There’s nothing moving around. It looks like a few tunnels in different directions.” She whispered.

Sergei nodded, “Let’s go back and let Toth know. I’ll feel better if it’s not just the two of us if something does show up.”

Reporting back to the group, Toth decided it would be worth it to check things out. After arranging themselves in a marching order, Alzador lit a torch and the party moved into the cave. The first chamber was as the elf described, with little of interest beyond the other passages.

The group carefully looked down the northern passage but the cave quickly ended in an empty chamber. Turning south, they entered a larger cave.There was a rustling sound followed by high pitched screeches and several large shapes detached from the ceiling, swooping toward the group. Giant Bats!

Those with ranged weapons quickly fired at the creatures, striking two of them but not well enough to kill. The bats quickly swarmed the group. Kenton held back from, knowing that Alzador was unarmored, he covered the wizard with his shield. While he was able to hold off the creature that came for him, he had two bats on him. Toth and Ullia also were wounded in the initial attack, but they both kept their feet. Aladana tried backing up out of the fray in order to use her Sleep spell on the monsters, the bat attacking her tried to claw her face, but she dodged the blow. 

Alzador took the chance to cast his Light spell on the eyes on one bat. The creature’s eyes suddenly lit up like a lantern and the creature screamed in fear as it was blinded. The other bats were startled by the sudden brightness, but pressed the attack.

Toth, Sergei, Varis and Ullia switched to blades and slashed at the flying beasts but did little damage. But the bats responded viciously. Varis received a minor cut or two, but Ullia and Toth were hit badly enough to drop both of them! Kenton successfully kept the bats off Alzador so he could cast the spell, but Kenton was not so lucky. Both bats hit, biting deep with their claws. The cleric felt his head swim and he fell to the ground. Toth took a wound in the arm that went deep. Ullia was cut as well. 

Alzador hesitated, not sure whom to help first, but rushed to Toth and hastily bandaged the worst of his wounds. Toth’s eyes fluttered and opened. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, but was still barely holding on. 

There was a cry and Ullia fell, her neck pumping blood from a wound. Aladana began her chanting and a moment later, the bats fell to the ground, magically knocked out.

Varis began chopping the heads off the bats while Aladana and Alazador tended the two clerics, but both Kenton and Ullia’s eyes were clouded and their hearts still. It was too late. They were gone. 

Toth was somber. Two more dead in as many trips. With a heavy sigh, he managed to stand using his sword almost as a cane. “Sergei, check the room for anything else. The rest of us, wrap up the dead and we’ll carry them out.” The rest of the group nodded silently, words feeling out of place in the moment.

The group moved slowly out of the tunnels into the daylight. They followed the path back to the lake on the way to the river. Varis, unaware of the discussion the group had previously about the large berries, plucked one and ate it absently before anyone could protest. When he noticed the itching on his wound, he saw that the cut had closed. “I think it healed me.” he said wonderingly.

Toth and the other wounded ate some as well, feeling their injuries lessen, but they were still weak. Taking Kenton and Ullia back to where Kon and Bailey were buried, they set their comrades next to the other graves, leaving most of their armor and weapons on them, as well as their holy symbols.

“This time we have no priest to speak over the dead.” Toth said sadly. The group was stunned when Varis began to sing a Traladaran hymn for the dead. The big man seemed little more than a brute with an axe, but Sergei had noticed the man always wore a pendant with the sword and avail design of Halav the Immortal. Evidently he was a man of faith. When Varis finished, Alzador found his eyes were moist. Such a simple expression of sincere piety was unexpected and moving. 

“Thank you for that, Vairs. I feel better about their rest now.” Toth told the warrior. Varis smiled in an embarrassed way. “We sang that for Gran when fever took her years ago. Seemed right.”

Looking away, so as not to make the man more self-conscious, Aladana regarded the sky. “It can’t be even mid afternoon.” she said. If we signal the boat, we can be back in town before dark.”

Toth nodded, “Yes. Let’s be quit of this place.” Then he and Sergei began to gather some wood to light.

End Session