Session 9 7/6/4726 AR

 

Session Account by Kyra

1. Return to Gauntlight Keep, because why not The sun rose cheerfully over Otari, blissfully unaware of the chaos GrognarGus was about to unleash upon an ancient dungeon. GrognarGus the dwarf adjusted his axe, Crocus the wizard smoothed his robes with the dignity of someone who had definitely memorised the right spells today, and Kyra the Cleric quietly prayed, not for glory, but for patience. The journey to Gauntlight Keep was, by all accounts, completely uneventful. Upon arrival, GrognarGus, demonstrating the legendary dwarven instinct for sniffing out trouble, immediately led the party directly into a giant scorpion's nest. The boards nailed across the entrance by the mitflits, one might argue, constituted a fairly unambiguous "do not enter" sign. GrognarGus, however, is not a dwarf burdened by subtext. The scorpion died. GrognarGus looked smug. The party pressed on after tending GrognarGus's wounds, resting, and attracting a random encounter, fighting a devil, and healing GrognarGus (again). Descending into the dungeon's first level, they encountered a rabble of Morlocks armed with what can only be described as aggressively recycled weaponry. The ensuing skirmish concluded with GrognarGus triumphantly claiming a junk thrower for himself — essentially a catapult loaded with rubbish, and looking considerably more pleased about this than anyone felt was warranted. "You realise that's just a bin on a stick," said Crocus. GrognarGus cradled it protectively.
2. After the scrap, the party discovered a Morlock jail holding three members of the Osprey Club: Grull, Shad, and Zisky — who emerged blinking into Sarenrae’s Light with the haunted expressions of too long contemplating their life choices in a damp cell. "We'll escort you out," said Kyra warmly. "After we finish exploring," added GrogGus. The Osprey Club fellows exchanged a look. --- The haunted WC was, without question, the highlight of the afternoon. “Do dwarves have ladies and gents?” Pondered Kyra. Realising she had never knowingly seen a female dwarf, she then mused whether she could tell the difference.
   The party pushed open the door to what had clearly once been quite a grand bathroom. They were immediately treated to the spectacle of a ghostly serpent materialising from the powder room — as apparitions do — before slithering dramatically along the floor and vanishing into the depths below. In its wake, writing appeared upon the wall: "I was Otari... save me from the below." The party stood in silence for a moment. "Right," said Crocus, not reaching for his notebook. "Atmospheric," said Kyra. "Clean bog.” Said an impressed GrognarGus.
3. Adjacent to the haunted facilities was a grand entrance hall lined with alcoves, each containing a beautifully crafted diorama depicting some catastrophic fate befalling the city of Korvosa. Tidal waves. Krakens. Undead invasions. A veritable greatest hits of civic devastation, rendered in miniature with considerable artistic flair. GrognarGus and Kyra entered the corridor and set off traps. "These are traps," Crocus announced, after a careful study. The boardroom beyond remained, for now, frustratingly unexplored. Somewhere inside, presumably, a very important evil meeting was still technically in progress. --- In the eastern annex, Crocus discovered a silver sword cane — elegant, understated, and entirely wasted on a party that had just spent ten minutes arguing over a bin catapult. GrogGus, meanwhile, rounded a corner and found the Clockwork Golems. Then, and this is the part that defies rational explanation, Kyra shut a fat little devil in a cell only for the dwarf to kick the door open and pick a fight with Zolt. Zolt was a devil. A fat, dirty, furious devil who had decorated his personal chamber with an extensive collection of hellscape paintings and appeared to have been quite comfortable before a dwarf kicked his door in. The fight was, by all accounts, vigorous. --- It was Kyra who eventually suggested, with the measured tone of someone who has healed the same dwarf upteen times, that perhaps they had achieved enough for one day. The vote was carried. Barely. The party collected their three bewildered Osprey Club guests and marched them back to Otari, depositing them gratefully at the Crook's Nook, where the estimable Yin Yaz pressed a bag of gold into their hands and offered the future services of the Ospreys whenever the need arose. The party nodded sagely. They already had a boardroom full of doom dioramas in mind.
4. Official Party Ledger:

   • 1 giant scorpion: deceased
   • 1 junk thrower: acquired (GrognarGus is keeping it)
   • 3 Osprey Club members: rescued, mildly traumatised
   • 1 ghostly serpent: unresolved
   • 1 devil called Zolt: briefly inconvenienced
   • 1 silver sword cane: Crocus's now, thank you
   • Boardroom of Dooms: pending
   • Total XP: 457

   "Save me from the below," the spirit had said. The party fully intended to. Just as soon as GrognarGus stopped naming his bin catapult.