- Mandras eyed the towering Malachie, 15 feet of tentacles, maw and ugliness. ‘I thought it would be a human wizard… wrong again’. Thumbing his axe, he waited for the rest of the party. Unwilling to wade into any traps, they fired the odd slingshot at it, the stones bouncing harmlessly off the thing. Eventually it moved down the corridor towards them. Mandras stood in the front rank, he wondered to himself what Simon, the raw adventurer was doing there too – did he have a death wish?When the clash came, Malachie focussed initially on Alf and Konrad. Come to think of it, what was Konrad doing in the front rank too? Tentacles whipped out at them. Konrad was killed instantly and swallowed in Malachie’s maw (44 HP damage). Rarder laughed with glee – it worked he yelled. WTF worked wondered Mandras? We just lost our strong cleric… Malachie, in swallowing down Konrad, had also swallowed his cursed shield (whatsoever killed its bearer was cursed). There was a pregnant pause as everyone looked at each other. There was a burpy boom in Malachie’s stomach. Sand stated to pour out of Malachie… but it did little to stop it.There was a protracted melee. Mandras traded blows in the shield wall, hitting Malachie repeatedly but taking increasing damage from the 6 tentacles. At least he was evading Malachie’s sharp toothed maw. But all too soon death came for him as he took just enough damage to collapse to the ground. Koko was next to fall, well beyond death’s door. Alf finished the monster off; it had taken 80 points of damage…
- Rarder casually gutted Malachie’s corpse, seeking to recover the cursed shield, he also cut off it head, which was to be brought to Sylaire. Simon rushed madly into Malachie’s den, without considering what might await him. Luckily, it was just a mountain of eternium, covered in slime. No one else worried about the lair as the party took stock. Mandras was just alive (saved vs death). The party stripped Koko and Konrad of any gear. Magic equipment was redistributed. The party was determined to withdraw with its dead.Very slowly, the party worked its way back through the dungeon, thanks to Simon and Mandras’ recollections of the paths followed. There were sounds but no encounters. Eventually the party emerged, 22 hours after having entered. The bodies were loaded onto horses and the party headed N for Sylaire’s tower – exhausted, but determined to hand over Malachie’s head before anything untoward happed.They camped one night. While Rarder was on watch, a form of werewolf attacked him. He made quick work of it and wondered about the teal colour sap the creature bled.
- Next morning they were welcomed at Sylaire’s tower. She took Malachie’s head and cut out the horn. The party’s reward was an amazing enchanted sword (+3 hit, +5 vs Undead, fly 3xp per day) necessary to regain the party’s own time and place. But the cost had been heavy. Healing was administered by the elves, but questions about raising the dead Koko and Konrad were met with scorn, as this was black magic. Reincarnation though was another matter… Koko’s eyes opened and behold, he was no longer a Cleric but a fighter and maybe not even chaotic any more. Konrad’s body knit but also shrank. The Cleric was turning into a dwarf… Great news, but that left the party without a Cleric… Mandras thanked his lucky stars that he had just survived by the skin of his teeth…
Expedition 52g - Mandras' Account
February 29, 2024