Slain by Elf

In exploring our way around the Pathfinder lodge of Delvehaven we come across a wooden bridge. Naturally, it's rickety.

'I'll try crossing the bridge', I say, knowing that my acrobatic qualities, agility, and ability to fall moderate distances safely may well come in useful. 'I can probably cope with it even if it's actually as rickety as it looks.'

'And if you fall we'll say a small word for you.'

'Like 'nya-ha-ha!'?'

'That's a bit long. I was thinking more 'meh'.'

We couldn't harm the swarm directly, nor the sphere of force, but dispelling the sphere released the cleric and bats, and a deft use of the calm emotions spell removed the aggressive tendencies of the swarm so that it dispersed harmlessly. We need to be more aware of traps.

More traps are avoided on our way to the main entrance of Delvehaven, and despite wanting to be sure that we weren't about to do something rash by opening the door without checking it thoroughly, we apparently miss the obvious clue that the door is already ajar. It looks safe.

We stay on our toes, though. Another trap is spotted in a long corridor, about half-way down, which we cannot directly avoid. 'If only we had the cat with us. We could have sent its ranger in to set off the trap without harming a sentient creature.'

We deftly enter the grounds of Delvehaven by vaulting the meagre wall surrounding it, avoiding any wards or traps placed on the long-barred gate. We're not so lucky in avoiding a trap on the path leading to the main door, though. A spark of light alerts our paladin as he steps on a flagstone, letting him jump bravely to one side so our cleric can take the fall for him. It must have been for the greater good, or something.

A sphere of force encapsulates Arleks, isolating him from us. On seeing the dwarf in a translucent ball, Brennan springs in to action. 'You know what your next action is? Hamster ball!'

But, sadly, the GM lets us know that whilst 'he can move it in, he can't move the sphere itself'.

'Then your next action is... Wall of Death! Run around in gradually increasing circles until you're the half-way up the sphere and racing around the circumference.

'Do you have the haste spell learnt? I can try to cast expeditious retreat through the sphere too.'

'I don't think you're taking this trap seriously enough', says the GM. He's right, at least until a swarm of bats materialises inside the sphere with the cleric. That gets our attention.

Delvehaven. Our current destination is the Pathfinder lodge that has been sealed by the local government and protected by wards. But our party has found information about those wards and the dangers within, and we are ready to enter the lodge and discover the secrets of the shadowbeasts.

But something feels different. Of course, 'we've always had the dwarf cleric Arleks with us. I don't remember adventuring with a necromancer'.

'And I'm certain we never had a ranger.'

'Wasn't there a cat at some point, though?'

'Yeah. What happened to him?'

'I've had one consecutive success so far, haven't I?'

Our travel through the wilderness has taken us past the snowy mountains and down in to a rather more humid region. So humid, in fact, that we are pretty much wading through the bog of eternal stench, air thick with putrid mist. What meagre path we can find through the bog is slippery and rife with rocks and roots for the unwary or clumsy to trip over.

'Should we rope ourselves together, so that if one of us falls in to the bog...'

'...the rest of us get dragged to our boggy doom? No, let's not.'

'What? What kind of adventuring party is this?'

'An experienced one.'

Sure enough, some of us trip and fall, and although a rope wouldn't have pulled us all down with those unlucky enough to stumble, it also wouldn't have stopped them from getting dunked or face-planting in to a tree. The falls cause accidental deep breaths of the putrid mist, or tastes of the filthy water. Or, indeed, unwanted creatures to attach themselves.

'Help! Get it off me!' Kyras picks himself up from a slip to find a leech has made friends with him. We can deal with that, as our rogue remembers some wisdom he once heard.

'These are the ones that come off when you pee on them, aren't they?'

'I'm willing to give it a go.'

Chow's not too sure about this, saying that they can only be removed by 'burning them off'.

'That's okay. My pee burns.' Maybe so, but not in the right way, sadly. We end up ripping the leech off Kyras, who feels a sting of pain as we remove the creature with a measure of ineptitude. I make a heal check to see if he's okay. He's not, he's contracted a disease.

'Mummy rot!'

As much as our history demands someone to suffer from mummy rot, the disease is actually swamp related and will result in a gradual dulling of the mind. But this is Kyras, 'how will we tell?' And can I treat it?

I take a second look at Kyras, and think I may be able to help him. After the pain of the leech, he's a little concerned about what treatment will entail. 'It will be fine, but you may feel a bit of a prick.'

The day draws on as we escort our diplomat to the edge of the forest and the mountains. We ought to find somewhere suitable to camp for the night, which means testing our survival skills. If we had more than one member of the party actually with the survival skill the task would probably go smoother.

'This pile of horse dung looks like it will keep us warm', I suggest.

Taliss looks a bit farther afield, thinking that 'half-way up that mountain looks good to me'.

Kyras prefers somewhere a bit closer. 'This sharp rock should make a comfortable bed.'

But Jak not only has the survival skill, he even manages not to roll a low single-digit result. A natural 20 pretty much ensures we'll live to see another day. 'It's alright, lads. I've found a Travelodge.'

'Are we lost yet?' It's a fair question to ask, but Kyras may be acting a little pessimistically.

'You can look back and still see Absalon', the city where we set off from.

'We could still be lost', I point out. And not unfairly, given our reliance on map-reader Jak. When we come across the river we ask him if it is on the map.

'No.'

'So we are lost?'

'No! The river's just not on the map.'

'We've gone completely off the map?!' This sounds like a disaster. We may as well make it worse and continue forwards, given that a felled tree bridges the river that we can use to cross it. 'Is that on your map?'

Jak doesn't answer immediately, but appears to be take some charcoal to the parchment first. 'Yes.'

'Ah. Good.' And we continue.

A new task from the Pathfinders has us on escort duty. It's something to do with a diplomatic duty and avoiding a blockade, but when do we pay attention to details? What we need to know is who we are escorting and where.

'Follow this map as strictly as you can', our master tells us. 'Deviate from this path and you may face challenges outside of your ability.'

It sounds daunting but, frankly, a steep hill sounds like a challenge outside our ability. Undeterred, we study the map, meet our charge, and stride out of the city to begin our quest.

We pass along the main road, through a forest towards some snow-capped mountains, where civilisation ends. 'Uh, we're still first level, right?'

'And we ended civilisation! That's got be worth some XP.'

The small damp spot we saw on the wall in one of the rooms is not a small damp spot, which we realise when it pounces! At least it jumps on to Kyras's eidolon and not one of us, particularly as what turns out to be giant amoeba hits for a chunk of damage and some additional acid damage that knocks the eidolon unconscious.

Kyras is distraught. 'No, not my beloved eidolon! Come here, my pet, let me heal your wounds.' He casts rejuvenation on the eidolon, which recovers enough to regain consciousness. 'Now up you get and seek revenge on the monster.'

The eidolon stands, only to provoke an attack of opportunity from the giant amoeba, which hits again and again knocks the eidolon unconscious. That's unfortunate, but not terrible. 'I have another rejuvenation spell. Heal, my cherished beast.

'Oh, it's not enough', he says, having cast the spell but without the eidolon regaining consciousness this time. 'Ah well. Hush now, it will all be over soon', says Kyras, as he calmly slits the eidolon's throat, to aghast looks from everyone else.

'What?! Don't form attachments.'