Boiling tar-exuding rubber monster

Needed a summoned monster for a magic-using sect doing their evil business underneath a tavern. I wanted to foreshadow its presence and nature, and as that is something in which I have little practice it needed to be about as subtle as a custard pie. As I sat with my notebook to hand, the well-travelled nearby roundabout entertained a young driver wishing to show off their manliness with a display of the squealies. I had my smell.

I had a Dyson map set up on Roll20 so I knew a token would be handy. In a attempt to shift away from the cartoony style used up to this point, and to fit in a bit better with the Dyson house style, I quickly scribbled down a few generic monster images. Turns out my default setting is to do a human or lizard with slightly exaggerated features. Will have to work on that.

I resolved to not get too drawn in to sketching out the whole thing. Sometimes less is more - too definitive a portrayal removes the mystique from an encounter, and it would allow for a bit more flexibility when describing the thing at the table.

---

Name: Monster 006 (boiling tar-exuding rubbed monster)

HD: 8

AC: As plate

Att: Bludgeon x2, +8, 2d8+4
or
Spew boiling tar, up to three targets in front must pass DEX save or suffer 4d8 damage (1/day), and d6 damage from anyone standing on it at the start of their turn.

Notes:
- Will inflate its body like bullfrog before exhaling a boiling tarry substance.
- Anyone striking it with a slashing or piercing melee weapon takes d6 damage as they get splashed.
- Stinks of burned rubber, can inflate itself to fill a confined space. Stretchable limbs give it extended reach.

---

I deliberately avoided naming it anything specific. I'd made the mistake of referring to a wine golem by its name earlier in the dungeon, and even in an online game I could sense the shift in player's approach to what had been a weird creature punching its way out of a storeroom barrel. Suddenly it was a quantifiable thing.

This thing, instead, remains labelled in a Roll20 folder as Monster 006.

A Tale Of... Session Report 14

More XP bait dangled before the players. They nibbled at it, saving me some effort in typing up events. And so follows a modified Discord chat describing the party's first foray into The Stygian Library:

CAST:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue)

A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

APOLOGIES FROM:

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Manius (level 2 barbarian)

Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

IN THEIR (SLIGHTLY EDITED) OWN WORDS:

Giro:Well [I] got gummed by a flying book and got dumber.

Alexander: We went and bought supplies for the trip into the library, Salazar finally got into the black market, then we entered the library. We found an index that gave us various clues about the location of the garden and we then set off deeper into the library. Along the way we met a ghost who had died with his companions in the library - he told us that the librarians took ghosts to use for some purpose and that he was hiding from them. After that we met a skeletal historian doing research; he gave a little more insight into various things. We then ended up splitting off with all of the present players going off and getting attacked by flying books that sapped intelligence scores

Giro:Also the index gave a few people some clues on their own endeavors, of which afaik the only ones that are known by the whole group being Giro looking into raising the dead
And we found out about the various types of Librarians Orders of Librarians:
Red - look after Library itself
Yellow - Look after the books
Black - Maintain the doorways/layout of the library
White - Shepharding of souls
Grey - Experimenting on souls
And we found a skeleton man who liked researching tactics - Anaxarqxus.

Vero: And we found out that the layout of the library changes, despite the efforts of the black order. [I] also got [my] intellect leeched by one of the books so now [I'm] as smart as Giro. But [I] also found a magical glass eye that detects... something? So that's nice.

Salazar: And that something is around [me]. On top of all this, Alexander won't show me what he is after, Giro wants to revive his dead mother, we are trying to find out about the garden, there are killer bees somewhere and Giro kicked down a door that is going to end up hurting us. Also Zoriane is being a bitch like normal and magical man is loving it.

Vero: The flying books were glowing as well.

Salazar: Books chained to the walls as well.

Giro: I figure the aura around Salazar is probably the magic from his big boy rich man jacket.
And [I] found a spellbook and stashed it in [my] bag.

A Tale Of... Session Report 13

CAST:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue)

A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Manius (level 2 barbarian)

Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

APOLOGIES FROM:

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

The report that follows comes from Giro's player:

"The group that put a bounty on Zorriani and us is the Urrizmendi family. They've got some strong enforcer guy called Laurentzi chasing after us which is why they had their other lackeys fuck up our boat, so he could catch up. Salazar disguised himself and knocked out all 5 lackeys with a little bit of deception and a handful of sleeping potion-infused beers. We took the bodies upriver and hung them on some trees to serve as a warning to Laurentzi and other enforcers that we mean business. 

"We went back to Artisar and he told us about a magical Library that holds all knowledge that ever has been or will be written down, he says it's dangerous but time travels differently in there so while we'd likely spend days or weeks in there by the time we come out no time will have passed at all. He wants us to head inside and look for info on 'The Garden of Yin', he thinks it might be linked to the overgrowth we saw at the tower that had the Belu in it. During all of this, Vero went out to the woods for some 'alone time'.  

"We left off last session preparing food and other supplies, we haven't head inside yet."

I'm happy to keep that report as the record. Leaves me more time to convert the bestiary from The Stygian Library into 5e statblocks!

A Tale Of... Session Report 12

Various parties and holidays had us a few players down this week. A refreshing change to not have to worry about spreading the limelight out fairly, and it meant one player ended up typing up their session summary to keep the absent players updated, which I've used below.

CAST:

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

APOLOGIES FROM:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue) - A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Manius (level 2 barbarian) - Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue) - The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch an

SESSION:

• We decided to scope out the Star & For [where they'd followed the snooper earlier].
• We met a guy with some personal connections to the town/behind the scenes called Artizar.
• Apparently it's representatives of a higher-up family [the Urrizmendi family] that have a bounty on Zoriane, and by extension us for helping her.
• Artizar promised more help if we can help him clear out an old human outpost which may be inhabited by monsters now.
• We interrogated those [dock] night guards. They didn't see anything, not by being bribed or in on it, but by gross incompetence and uh...lady friends.
• We went to the outpost tower, finding it inhabited by an ogre type creature called a Belu.
• Killed the Belu via beartraps and Vero just happened to use some magic.

ADDENDUM

...because some things may come in handy later on in the campaign...

Artizar seemed to have put two and two together from various incoming bits of intel, and seemed to know an awful lot about the party.

As they approached the tower Vero, by way of his Gloomy Foreboding, was suddenly reminded of the aftermath of the monster attack all those weeks ago, where Salazar spotted a brick wall with the faint marking - or rather, absence of dust - showing the word YNN.

The tower itself was very overgrown, far more so than just a few month's worth of growing.

Vero cast a Control Plants spell in full view of Arabella and Giro to get some vines to coil up the belu's legs.

The fight with the belu, which had approached the party at the top of the tower entirely unaggressively, was more than just 'via beartraps' - the characters tried resetting and sliding beartraps under the creatures feet, tipping the massive creature through a hole in the floor (though it was too big even for Giro to do so), buckling its legs from behind, roping it down with ivy, darting just out of reach firing arrows, and finally some good ol' spine bashing with a large mace.

Taking into account the journey to and from the tower, this session covered a week's worth of adventuring.

A Tale Of... Session Report 11

Mostly an RP session this time round, and a very quick summary of events.

CAST:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue)

A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Manius (level 2 barbarian)

Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

SESSION:

With little further trouble, our party of heroes made their way into Loidatz. 

• Arabella found a very favourable deal with Markel, a rich merchant passing through on his way back to Drosas.
• Manius got staggeringly drunk and would feel quite a bit weak for the next week.
• Salazar reported the shipwreck to the Council, or at least left a message with a clerk to pass on to the Council.
• The party found that their boat had been sabotaged the night before. The dockmaster apologised profusely and would pay for our heroes' board and lodging until the Rolling Stoned could be repaired.
• As the group discussed their options in the Crimson Whale, Vero and Alexander spotted someone watching them from outside the inn window. They fled as the team filed out. The tracks led through the back alleys of the residential district eventually to the Star & Fork - a tavern near the Council Forum.

A Tale Of... Session Report 10

CAST:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue)

A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Manius (level 2 barbarian)

Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

SESSION:

Combat was met, the party emerging battered but victorious. They ended up with several prisoners whom they questioned and then either released or took along with them.

Highlights of the session included:

• Giro brushing aside all manner of attacks and dispatching a number of assailants single-handedly.
  
• Arabella shooting another ally by mistake, this time an enraged Manius who just about held it together instead of rounding upon the apologetic archer.
  
• Salazar, Vero and Alexander taking absolutely ages to dispatch the incredibly hardy undead, eventually using gravity and stairs to finish what their weapons could not.
  
• One attacker retreating and bringing in a blindfolded figure and forcing him to raise one of the fallen enemies as another zombie.
  
• The blindfolded figure turned out to be Atseden, a clerk with an affinity for raising the dead. He told the party that he'd been taught how to use magic by Kontxesi, a traveller who had passed through Gobea. The party decided to take him with them as far as his hometown.
  
• The two other prisoners, who referred to themselves as Lore and Paulio, bargained to answer the party's questions in written form so that they might be released. Lore acknowledged the party would probably be able to track them, and as a show of good faith said they could be found in Drosas.

A Tale Of... Session Report 9

A full complement of players this time - and boy, am I glad that some of them seem happy to take a back seat. Six is definitely my limit 

CAST:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue)

A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Manius (level 2 barbarian)

Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

SESSION:

Having waited for the sun to set, Alexander skillfully (critical successfully) piloted the boat onward by moonlight. Everyone kept their eyes peeled for both the suspicious boat that had passed them during the day and for the rumoured shipwreck. Spotting a dead human body beneath the surface of the river they knew they were getting close to one of them.

Highlights of the session included:

• Discovering and exploring the wreck of a small transport vessel. Several more bodies were found and searched for the discovery of coin and, on a one-eyed corpse, a dark ring. Alexander pocketed it without examining it too closely. Vero and Arabella looked for cause of death - nothing immediately obvious other than what looked like the faded signs of frostbite. Odd for such a humid climate...
  
• Salazar tried diving down into the captain's cabin to find anything of value or bearing information, but his non-athletic disposition hindered him. In the end Giro dove down and ripped the swollen door off its hinges, and he and Alexander proceeded to bring up the contents of the cabin's desk, finding some money, a naval traveller's well-used sabre and a fancy albeit soaked waistcoat. Salazar held onto it, and even being in close proximity to it gave him the air of having a somewhat more noble posture.
  
• There were tracks leading off from the wreck into the jungle. The party, much to Zoriane's annoyance, decided to investigate further, since tracks from any survivors would surely have followed the river to the nearest settlement.
  
• After trekking through the jungle for a few hours, ably led by Vero, they came across what appeared to be an ancient crypt with signs of movement to and from its doorway. Creeping down the stairs into the entrance, they spied some figures on the other side of a crudely-made door. They tried smoking the inhabitants out but, with a combination of lack of air flow and the fact that they were higher than the room they were trying to fill, they met with little success.
  
• It did attract the curiosity of one figure though, who came to the door. Giro very deftly subdued the surprised fellow and tied him up, and everyone charged into the crypt. Salazar enthusiastically burst into a room to the side and reeled back at the sight of several undead forms reaching for him. Another door opened off the main room and more (living) figures charged our heroes. Battle was met...

And we called it a night.

TREASURES FOUND:

Ring of Eye-Spy 

Ebony black ring with dark red ivy snaking around it. Causes one of the wearer's eyes to drop out. The wearer may still see out of that eye.

Waistcoat of Airs and Graces

A finely-sewn waistcoat of dark green with cream stitching and lacing. Causes the wearer to exude an overwhelming air of being from a noble family.

A Tale Of... Session Report 8

Cast:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue)

A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Manius (level 2 barbarian, having changed between sessions)

Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Player Absence:

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger) - an old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

This was a session of combat avoidance, resource replenishment and at least one silly voice too many.

The party wanted to split to do their own shopping and RP bits, so I was frantically trying to make sure nobody sat to the side getting too bored.

Instead of telling the other characters what he had overheard, Salazar decided to do his own investigating. The highlights of the characters' following day ran thus:

• Salazar met with the town governor, ostensibly to discuss politics. Once he brought up the rumours of the governor's love life, or lack of, the conversation turned sour and the rogue found himself thrown out.
• Alexander and Manius went to stock up on supplies sufficient to reach Drosas two and half weeks' voyage away and, with some decent bargaining on their part and poor mental arithmetic on the shopkeeper's, came away with essentially a 33% discount.
• Arabella sought medical supplies. She found a disturbingly enthusiastic herbalist who sold her a poultice and a lucky necklace garland.
• Giro learned how to look after his donkey better.
• While everyone else made their way to the boat, Salazar tried to investigate the tea seller who had been accused of magical use, but all he could get was a sample of relaxing tea. He returned to the Rolling Stoned and told the others about the shipwreck he'd heard about.
• Sailing on, our heroes warily passed a boat travelling the other way.
• They also noticed another boat behind them. Rather than risk an engagement, the party allowed the boat to go past. With a storm brewing overhead, they made camp on the river bank with the intent to set off early enough to catch up with the second boat.

A Tale Of... Session Report 7

Trying out more concise session reports with bullet points - more convenient for personal reference.

Cast:

Alexander Bucciarati (lvl 2 rogue)

A man with a boat and a mission. He tells everyone about one but not the other.

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Manius (level 2 barbarian, having changed between sessions)

Alexander's crewman, a large former pit fighter with all the wits of one.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

Player Absence:

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter) - an archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Recap:

We find our heroes sailing downriver from Langarica with a battered, unconscious body at the bottom of their boat, with some battered, mostly conscious bodies of their own. With a busy working week and an unwell wife, this was a largely prep-less session, and as such my first proper reliance upon random tables.

Key moments of the session:

• Our heroes made camp on the river bank to rest and decide what to do with the prisoner.
   
• The prisoner, struggling through a dislocated jaw, eventually communicated that he'd been hired to collect Zoriane by a dark-haired man with a beard, and was either unwilling or unable to give any more info.
   
• The party voted to execute him rather than risk him returning to finish his work (Manius and Giro in favour, Alexander against, everyone else abstaining). Alexander turned away in disgust as the two large men approached the large man. Having been left unbound this whole time, the prisoner knocked Manius aside with two quick punches and tried to make a break for it. Giro embedded his axe in the chap's skull.
   
• Vero returned with a solitary hare and some herbs from his hunting, not wishing to venture too far from camp.
   
• Salazar looted the corpse's body of its coin purse and, peeking inside, found just ten dried peas. Po-faced, he offered Alexander the entirety of the prisoner's belongings for his own passage on the boat. One critical success later and the boat captain found himself in possession of some peas.
   
• Giro led Shillelagh onto the boat "because she likes the boat", whereupon he got jumped by a Giant Arowana. He hefted the donkey back onto land and defended himself, before realising there was a shoal of the beasts...
   

• 

  I have since researched
  what an arowana looks like,
  and it's not like a pejelagarto...

  With several of the more nature-savvy members knowing these massive fish could hurl themselves onto land and power their way back to water, the party tied a rope around the prisoner's corpse and used it as bait to drag one of them over the fire and batter it to death. It proved a more ample supper than the hare, and had another corpse in its belly bearing a signet ring from a noble family south of Langarica and a mace with a head designed that wails as it swings through the air. Alexander pocketed the ring, and Manius the mace.
   
• The party sailed on for another day to reach Omaika, a small town. In the tavern, just before retiring for the night, Salazar picked up several rumours:
• the town governor wasn't sleeping with his wife anymore
• one shopkeeper had been accused of using magic on their customers
• another shopkeeper had very suddenly hired someone to watch their shop for a week
• someone's shipment had recently gone missing downriver. Upon further investigation, the person to speak to was a local kidnapper who'd lost a 'shipment'.

A Tale Of... Session Report 6

This was a session of rest, merry making and a bit of blood spilling, and filled with players very agreeably fixing themselves to the rather obvious plot hooks dangling before them.

Cast:

Giro Beanna (lvl 2 barbarian)

A huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

Player Absence:

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter) - an archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Carousing

After a couple of days' uneventful travel back to Langarica, our battered crew elected to rest, lick their wounds and enjoy their earnings. Vero returned the fallen Ceasar's darts to his family - the only remains recoverable after the black pudding. Ceasar's father, Unai Giovanna, gravely accepted them and welcome the band in for a meal to celebrate the life of his life, as is traditional in this part of the world. Life is cheap, and mischia players tend to spend their share quicker than most.

Vero regained consciousness in his hut the next day with a pounding headache, a new pair of boots, a silver dagger with a finely engraved handle (a serpent attacking a bear attacking a hedgehog attacking a sloth attacking a beetle attacking the serpent) and a large painting of a strange, severe-looking noblewoman. Giro woke up to find that he had won a donkey named Shillelagh. 

Avoiding the fun and cheer, Salazar began studying the 'Patrons and Complications' book he had found weeks before.

Swallowing a Plot Hook

He made his way to the Cathouse Tragedy to commune with his informant, Zoriane, passing two men - one large, one not so large - lounging by the main entrance. The woman of ill-repute disclosed that she had located the boy who had fled through the crowd with the magical beast on his trail all those weeks ago, and she presented him with a deal - the boy and his older brother were north along the river, and if Salazar and the party would take Zoriane with them she would disclose the exact location. Pressed for detail, she revealed she was fleeing an individual whose secret she had learned. Something about an inheritance.

Salazar agreed, and they continued their discussion as they left. The two men outside approached an introduced themselves as Alexander Bucciarati and his crewman, Manius - two men in a boat. Salazar left Zoriane with them and rounded up the rest of our sore-headed heroes. 

A Bruising Departure

The trio made their way to the docks, Zoriane feeding the two the line that Salazar was her lover appeasing her with a spontaneous trip on the river. There was a pair of dubious glances in response, but the gents held their thoughts to themselves. As they waited aboard the Rolling Stoned, however, they were approached by four ruffians, the leader being a particular large fellow. Through aggressive politeness he demanded that Zoriane return with them. Alexander and Manius dashingly placed themselves between her and these visitors, words were exchanged and - as one large bruiser tried to push past another large bruiser - blades and clubs were drawn and swung.

At this point the rest of the gang arrived and dashed in to help. Forgoing such crude activities as stabbing at people, Salazar pulled his Jack Sparrow hat down over his forehead and hurled himself upon a nearby crane. It swung round and sent friend and foe alike tumbling to the ground or into the river. The PCs were fastest to react and set about cutting down their assailants. Seeing another suspicious-looking group on the shore approaching quickly, they flung the unconscious brute of a leader into the boat, hefted the donkey in and made a quick departure northwards.

A Tale Of... Session Report 5

The third session in the Tomb of the Serpent Kings.

Cast

Arabella Volhollen (lvl 2 fighter)

An archer with societal ambitions. Highly suspicious of and condescending towards pretty much everybody.

Salazar Caltata (lvl 2 rogue)

The scrawny fourth son of a nobleman. Good at hiding in a crowd. A snitch and a sneak.

Vero Anzano (lvl 2 ranger)

An old hunter with a mysterious past. Swamped under an enormous bear cloak.

Apologies from players

Ceasar Giovana (deceased)

Giro Beanna (lvl 1 barbarian) - a huge mischia player made even angrier by the loss of his mother to a magical beast attack. Carries a wooden chest on his back.

Session Report

Our party of heroes tentatively stepped into the more naturally-formed cave tunnels, carefully stepping around the copious quantities of mushrooms and plantlife coating the floors and wall. They came across a number of goblins huddled around a messy construction of sticks and mud. The creatures didn't attack but kept a constant glare upon our adventurers. With more goblins visible at the edge of the torchlight, the group decided to withdraw peacefully.

There was a distinct sound of a large chain dragging along the ground echoing around the tunnels up ahead, and our band edged cautiously onwards. They came to a large carvern pitted with fallen and broken statues of human and beast alike. Rotten tables and benches lay crumbled between majestic pillars. While Giro hung back with Cosma, the others crept in. A large, lizard-like creature emerged from the gloom, a chain running back into the darkness, gaze averted from the unfamiliar torchlight. Warily, the vanguard tried making their way across to one of the doorways, but it followed. Arabella and Salazar felt their guts clench as it stared at them, but before they could act upon these signs the creature attacked. Arabella's readied arrow flew wide and the monster's jaws clamped around her arm, shaking her around like a rag doll. Vero inched backwards, peppering their assailant with arrows, but Salazar, wary to avoid the creature's gaze circle around the back and clambered upon its back, striking in futility at the scaly back.

Arabella's eyes met the creature's and suddenly she felt her limbs locking in place. Suddenly, one of Salazar's stabs pierced the monster's scales. The beast flung Arabella's crumpled body aside, knocking her out cold, and rolled around in an attempt to rid itself of the troublesome human. Salazar was thrown free; he scrambled for the exit. Vero tried to cover his retreat, but the monster fell upon him, crushing him into the ground. Salazar brandished his rapier grimly, ready to go down fighting but, through sheer strength of will, the old hunter dragged himself up and drove his shortsword into the creature's underbelly and vitals, rolling away as the large form collapsed lifeless to the ground.

As Vero checked for signs of life in Arabella, Salazar examined the fallen basilisk, grabbing a key dangling from its collar. Remembering a large locked door earlier, the group carried their unconscious companion back through the corridors. They unlocked the door and came upon a collection of valuables and trinkets. Upon trying on a ring, Salazar turned instantly to stone. Having wrapped himself in an enormous bear pelt, a suddenly braver Vero pulled the ring from the young noble's finger, and life returned to his skin. Among the haul they also found a set of spectacles which gave the wearer the impression that everyone was dressed as a clown, much to Arabella's bemusement, and a pair of identical amulets bearing a design of one figure being stabbed but another dying.

With everyone suffering injuries of varying degrees of severity, the party decided discretion was the better part of valour and carefully retraced their steps out of the tomb. As they emerged into the daylight, Cosma flung her arms around Salazar and planted a kiss upon his lips. He returned, dipping her back with a flourish, but he felt himself weakening slightly. As he leant back, suddenly feeling two years older, Cosma's eyes turned a bright red and she cackled. Wings sprouted from her back and she disappeared into the sky. Arabella berated Salazar for his folly, but he simpy smiled back: "Worth it."