The party decided to head underground through the entrance to the undertemple to the south of the river. Grastic was still talking Kyril’s ears off. He asked if it was time to open the gate and looked scared as he mentioned that activity. When asked why he had to open the door, he said it’s because his dad said the scary lady would be angry if he did not. Menka asked if he would not open it if his dad said not to and he said the scary lady would still require him to open it. Menka then mentioned that the scary lady was gone, M-O-O-N gone, and Grastic didn’t believe him.

Lycovyne put on the Eyes of Charming and explained to Grastic that we didn’t like the fact that the scary lady was being mean to him and that we had asked her to leave, and that she’s gone. Kyril suggested he hang out in his hut while we convince the fish men (who are ugly and scary) to leave as well. Lycovyne’s charm seemed to work. Lycovyne spoke with Grastic for a bit and tried to get him to go hang out in his hut. He told Grastic we’d also try to find his dad and bring him back. As we walked him back to his hut, we noticed several figures approaching us from the undertemple entrance.

They noticed us, and one figure turned around and headed back toward the entrance. Huge wooden doors, 20’ tall, swollen with humidity. Large greyish, 6 foot plus fishmen. They yelled in a croaking howl that was loathsome to hear. Each one brandished a scimitar.

Ulland went for an extremely long shot at the fish guy running back toward the entrance. He hit him for 4 points. Tim nailed him from a long distance with a magic missile for 14 points of damage. That more-human fighter made it back to the partially broken doors, sounding the alarm. The magic missile knocked him down through all the hanging bells and glass things hanging in the doorway. He seemed to kick the bucket in the doorway.

Flint whipped out the Wand of Wonder and let one rip at the approaching fish men. A lightning bolt shot out in their direction, praise Thoth! Two of the fishmen dropped, dead. The other two, shocked, smoked and staggering, entered the water and left our view.

A large group of fishmen emerged from the door and headed our way.

• initiative tie
• Lycovyne cast an ice storm at them from the Wand of Frost for:
  • F6 - 24, F7 - 24, F8 - 13, F9 - 9, F10 - 10, F11 - 25, F12 - 6, F13 - 15, F6 - 18, F17 - 30 (dies), F18 - 18, F19 - 23, F14 - (down to 9 points)
• Tim ripped out a lightning bolt spell for 22 more points of damage
• Cathal was a smart ass and took 70 points of spontaneous damage
• their number dropped significantly after the ice storm and lightning bolt
• Ulland fired an arrow at F14 and hit it for 7 points of damage and hit it again, killing it
• Cathal hit F16 for 12 points, killing it.
• the fishmen gang-banged Cathal for 2 points of damage
• initiative win
• Cathal missed
• Flint attacked F8 with dagger and sword (off hand) and hit with the dagger for 6 points, killing it
• Ulland hit F9 for 6 points and then again for 7 points, still standing
• At this time a huge, lumbering creature, 10’ tall, club in one hand, rock in the other, stomped out of the doorway. A hill giant.
• F9 attacked Flint but missed
• the hill giant nailed Ulland with a rock for 7 points of damage (69), causing Ulland to lose his last shot
• initiative loss
• the hill giant hit Flint for 9 points (46)
• Cathal is still getting gang banged but is not taking damage, in fact he seemed to be enjoying it
• Menka cast stumble on the hill giant
• Ulland hit the hill giant with a natural 20, doing 48 points of damage and then missed him with a 1, rolling dice to see whether he hit Flint or F9 - he hit F9 for 28 points, killing it
• Cathal attacked the hill giant with his thpecial thord, hitting it for 17 points, killing it, slicing the arrow in half, separating head from body
• Flint attacked F18, hitting it for 8 points
• at this point, more commotion by the door, the ringing and banging of the door alarm, and 12 tall figures come out - 5 with huge wooden shields, 6 behind with longbows, 1 larger one behind, barking orders - 7’ tall, hyena look
• initiative win
• Lycovyne whipped out the Wand of Frost for another Ice Storm
  • G1 - 11, G2 - (dead), G3 - dead, G4 - dead, G5 - 9, G6 - dead, G7 - dead, G8 - dead, G9 - 9, G10 - dead, G11 destroyed utterly, G12 - 14 (survived)
• Flint missed F18
• Cathal missed
• Menka missed F18
• Gonchar missed with 1
• Ulland attacked G1 with a natural 20 hitting it for 8 points and killing the gnoll and pinning it to the door
• Having 3 attacks, he skipped an attack, switched targets and attacked G9, hitting it for 6 points and killing it
• F15 attacked Cathal but missed
• F13 attacked Menka, hitting him for 2 points of damage (45)
• F18 attacked Flint, missing
• G5 (an archer) shot at Menka but missed
• Gonchar, second attack, missed again
• initiative loss
• two more fishmen joined the fight
• G5 fired again, shooting at Menka, missing
• F13 attacked Menka as well, missing
• F18 attacked Gonchar, natural 20, for 8 points of damage (74)
• F15 attacked Cathal, missing
• F21 missed Cathal as well
• G5 shot an arrow at Ulland, missing barely
• Ulland hit F20 for 30 points, rendering him dead
• Cathal attacked F13, hitting it for 7 points
• Flint attacked F18 as well, missing
• Menka attacked G12, hitting it for 8 points, praise Thoth!
• Gonchar attacked F18, hitting for 12 points, splattering fish guts everywhere
• Ulland’s second shot at F21, hitting it for 22 points, killing it
• Tim attacked G12 with a sling (bullet) and a natural 20, for 4 points, killing it
• initiative loss
• F15 missed Cathal, F13 missed Menka
• G5 shot an arrow at Ulland and missed
• Ulland shot an arrow at G5, hitting it for 4 points, felling him
• Menka attacked F13, hitting it for 8 points of damage, felling it, praise Thoth!
• Cathal missed F15
• Flint attacked F15, but missed
• Gonchar hit F15 for 17 points of damage, nearly cutting it in half
• Brother Amos, 15 points (half human, half fishman)
• Deep ones - 32, 30, 28, 28, 29, 29, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 27, 28, 28 ( should be 22, have 21)
• Hill giant - 50 HP
• big gnoll - 23 points
• gnolls -12, 11, 10, 10, 10, 10, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8

Gonchar had remained north of the bridge, below Grastic’s hut to watch our backs and for the 2 fishmen that had disappeared into the river. Early in the battle above Gonchar fought both fishmen when they climbed out of the river near him. He felled them and then hauled dwarfish ass across the bridge when he saw the hill giant emerge. That brief battle is described below:

• initiative loss
• both fishmen missed Gonchar
• Gonchar nailed F2 for 13 points of damage, spattering fishman guts everywhere
• initiative win
• He then hit F3 for the same 13 points, destroying it
• 2 fishmen (~30 hp each )

Cathal applied some triage after the battle. Menka got 2 points back, Flint got 3 back, Cathal got 2 back. Ulland got 2 back. The deep folk were all basically naked and carried no treasure.

Cathal wandered down to the door, examined the body of the half-human. Yuck. He was disgusted. Cathal’s sword’s light just cast a bunch of shadows with all the ropes and bottles and glass hanging all over the place in the tall entrance.

• initiative loss
• Gonchar’s infravision noticed some very large things about to burst through the entry
• Tall figures did in fact burst through: trolls, and one giant troll (a mix between a troll and a hill giant)
• 2 trolls missed Gonchar
• Cathal got bitten by one troll for 8 points
• Ulland got hit by a troll for 18 points (53)
• Tim cast haste on everyone but Menka
• Menka said a prayer
• Kyril cast barkskin on himself
• Ulland, hasted, fighting a troll right on him after being clawed, backed away but could not attack
• Flint, hasted, attacked T4 4 times, for 27 points
• Lycovyne, hasted, attacked T4 twice, hitting it once for 8 points
• Cathal attacked the hill giant troll, nailing it twice for a total of 35 points of damage
• Gonchar attacked T5, hasted and yelling insults in troll, attacked F5 4 times, including a natural 20, hitting it for 73 points of damage, killing it
• initiative win
• Menka cast aid on Ulland
• Kyril cast faerie fire on all of them, making them violet
• Ulland, hasted and aided, hit T4 3 times for 80 points of damage, killing it
• Tim hasted? shot the hill giant troll with a sling but missed
• Cathal, hasted, attacked the hill giant troll twice, hitting it twice for a total of 36 points, killing the giant beastie, praise Diancecht!
• Gonchar hasted, attacked T1, hitting it for 12 points
• T1 and T2 attacked Gonchar (who had a -8 AC at the time), they missed
• T3 attacked Cathal (AC -4) but missed
• Ulland got his last 2 shots in at T2, hitting it for a total of 54 points of damage, killing it
• Gonchar had 2 attacks left for T1, hitting it for 29 points and dropping it
• initiative tie
• T3 attacked Cathal but missed
• Cathal attacked T3 twice, hitting it twice for 32 points of damage
• Kyril attacked T3, hitting it for 10 points and dropping it
• the hill giant troll had armor built from spare parts and a large belt - the belt was covered with gold and gems (we took the belt) - the dwarves say the belt is incredibly valuable - 23 gems of various sizes sewn into the belt
• we have enough oil to oil them all down and burn them so we have at it- the place filled with acrid, horrifying smoke
• trolls - 38, 36, 33, 39 and 31
• hill giant troll - 54 hp

Gonchar stood in the doorway for a bit but saw no other creatures approaching. Grastic did not leave his hut at all during the battle.

We formed a marching order and prepared to enter the undertemple. We’d have to crawl under all the hanging baubles to avoid making noise but we’ve been making noise like crazy so we siply barged through. Into a huge room with 4 columns in the center. No ornamentation, long-faded, chipped paint.

The arches entering into the Temple were ancient and included a smashed, defaced carving of a goddess with shield and an owl, her head chipped away and unrecognizable. The goddess carving seems ancient, crumbling where not smashed, and there are other, more recent carvings: horrifying carvings of snakes, vines, tentacles, teeth, eyes and worse. At various points in the room there were boxes, crates, barrels, and sacks.

The southern wall contained a stairway between 2 screened-off areas. The northern wall, on either side of the door, had screens pulled back and sleeping mats all around, redolent with the stench of sweat, wet fur, animal and fish.

As we entered the room we encountered ogres and fishmen. The ogres wore leather armor and carried spears.

• initiative tie
• Ulland, hasted, nailed F25 for 22 points, then again for 24 points, killing it
• Tim, sling and hasted on F23, missed
• all the fish people miss Menka, Tim and Ulland
• a fishman hit Flint for 2 points (47) (attacking with the same grim-looking scimitars as before)
• Lycovyne got hit for 2 points (43)
• Kyril got attacked as well and got hit for 6 points (54)
• Menka hit F23 for 5 points
• Flint attacked F27, hitting it twice for 11 points
• Lycovyne attacked F29, hitting it twice for 19 points
• Kyril attacked F28, hitting it twice for 15 points
• Gonchar attacked an ogre, O1, hitting it 4 times for a total of 49 points, killing it
• Cathal attacked O2 twice and missed twice
• Ulland, last shots at the bottom of the round, attacked F24, hit it for 42 points of damage, killing it
• Tim once more attacked F23, rolled a natural 1, missing Menka, praise Thoth!
• initiative loss
• ogres and fishmen began pouring up the stairs in the south wall
• 2 more rounds of haste
• Gonchar and Cathal are surrounded by ogres, the fishmen are heading back
• Menka got hit for 5 points
• Flint got hit for 16 points of damage (31)
• Kyril got hit for 1 point of damage
• Menka attacked F23 again, hitting for 6 points
• Tim, hasted, attacked F23 twice, missing both times
• Ulland hit F22 for 22 points of damage then narrowly missed Tim with a miss - one more shot on F22, hitting it for 24 points, killing it
• Ulland switched to F23, hit him for 30 points, killing it
• Flint attacked F27, hitting it twice for 6 points
• Lycovyne attacked F29, hitting twice for 19 points, killing it
• Kyril attacked F28 and missed, badly
• Cathal hit 02 twice for 26 points, killing it
• Gonchar attacked O6 twice, killing it
• Gonchar then attacked O4, burning an extra attack to switch opponents, hitting it for 14 points
• initiative win
• Ulland nailed F3 for 26 points, killing it
• He then hit F32 for 22 points, then missed it
• Tim attacked F32 and hit it for 4 points of damage, killing it
• Menka attacked F27, hitting it for 7 points
• Flint attacked F27 as well, hitting it once for 9 points, killing it
• Lycovyne attacked F26, hitting it twice for 14 points
• Kyril attacked F28, hitting it for 10 points
• Gonchar attacked 04, hitting it twice for 29 points of damage, killing it
• Cathal attacked O5, hitting it once for 8 points
• Ulland got hit for 2 points
• they missed Tim
• Lycovyne got hit for 1 point of damage
• they missed Kyril, Cathal and Gonchar
• Gonchar got his last hit in, nailed O3 for 15 points
• Cathal, similarly, hit O5 for 11 more points of damage
• Kyril got one more shot in against F28, hitting it for 11 points, killing it, praise Skerrit!
• Ulland poked a fishman with an arrow and it giggled
• initiative loss
• the haste had worn off
• Ulland got hit for 6 points of damage (51 minus the aid points)
• they missed Tim
• the fishmen were fighting fanatically, while the ogres looked worried
• Cathal, Gonchar and Kyril were missed
• the ogres are speaking, saying something
• Ulland backed up with a fishman stuck to him, holding an action
• Tim, natural 20 with a dagger, attacked F30, hitting it for 10 points
• Menka hit F31 for 8 points
• Flint attacked F26, hitting it twice for 14 points of damage
• Lycovyne, similarly, attacked F26, with a natural 20 and the Sword of Sharpness, lopping its head off
• Kyril attacked F31 but missed
• Gonchar attacked O3, hitting it twice for 31 points of damage, killing it
• Cathal attacked O5, missing
• initiative win
• Ulland shot Menka in the back for 24 points with a natural 1 (ouch)
• Tim attacked F30, hitting it for 4 points of damage
• Menka, with an arrow sticking out of his neck, hit F31 for 8 points praise Thoth!
• Lycovyne hit F31, barely, for 8 points of damage
• Flint attacked F31 as well, hitting it twice for a total of 11 points of damage, killing it
• Cathal missed O5
• Gonchar attacked O5, hitting it for 14 points, killing it
• F30 missed Tim
• initiative tie
• Tim attacked F30 (dagger is faster than scimitar), natural 20, hitting it for 8 points
• F30 missed Tim
• Kyril attacked F30, hitting it for 6 points, killing it
• ( need beastie and PC hit point count )

The room was awash in blood and the stink and blood of burning troll. Cathal looked behind the screen and it smelled awful. Menka case cure serious wounds on himself, getting back up to 34 points.

Cathal bound wounds and laid on hands for Menka, getting him up to full. 2 points to Kyril. Flint got 1 point. Gonchar got 3 points back. Lycovyne got 3. Ulland got 1 point. Cathal cured Flint’s lighter wounds, getting the dwarf back up to 37 points. One more got Flint back up to 42 points.

It looked like creatures were actually living in the chamber. Cathal checked behind the screen on the left. Smelled horrible, seaweed stacked up. Perhaps gnoll quarters. Smelled like hell. Flint looked behind the other screen and found a similarly smelly situation. Nasty bedding for large, nasty creatures. It’s been less than one hour since we walked Grastic to his hut. We have something like 12 hours left.

The boxes and barrels contained little of any value. Some of it seemed to have been stolen from caravans and had guild markings. We did find a crate that had 10 long bow arrows in it. Tim poked around in the bedding with his staff but found nothing of value. Cloth, rags and filth. He did find a small bag of coins (30 pieces of silver). We did find some wine and Kyril filled his wine skin. Tim found a large sack of coins behind one of the screens (247 pieces of gold), as well as a dagger with a silver topaz set in the pommel.

Tim scanned the room with his Wand of Magic Detection. He found a pillow that radiated magic. Something inside the pillow radiated magic. He found a strange arrow-like feather with 4 shafts that radiated magic. He found no other magic in the room.

Flint mentioned that he heard during the battle - the ogres know Groog. Plan is to head down the steps and search for that very creature.

• Loot list
  • the hill giant troll’s belt, covered with gold and gems, very valuable 247 gp, 30 sp
  • dagger with a silver topaz set in the pommel
  • strange arrow-like feather with 4 shafts (magic)
  • “beautiful obsidian mace” pg. 73
  • “plain ring with a spider emblem” pg. 174