My daughter and her friend had a get together after weeks of trying (and this one almost didn't happen). It was a shorter meeting (3 to 5:30) but they picked up right where they left off and played. It was obvious that both of them had read some of the B/X book as they had a keener grip on the rules, as well as possible enemies they were going to meet.
When it was over they wanted to know when they can have another meeting and if possible, would I let them have a marathon sleep over session. Some other time kids.
Write up follows:
The party made the decision to keep exploring onward, but did not want to risk losing the 20 spears they had found. Carrying them further in was not an option, so the group decided to take them out of the cave, and hide them in the brush and leaves there; this way if they were attacked or forced to run, they can still somehow get the weapons before returning to the Keep.
Upon completion, they talked about going to check out one of the corridors near the entrance first but instead opted to go back to the room they had just cleared and continue to the stairs there. It was here that Charlotte went first, inching her way up with care and checked for any traps that might be found – seeing none. At the top of the stairs, there was a landing of stone and then another flight of stairs went up and to the right. She motioned back and William, Loq, and Corg joined her up the steps before the entire party continued along their way.
The top of the 2nd flight showed a corridor that went on for 20’ before stopping at an iron banded door. There was some writing over the door that upon closing the group was able to read as: “Come in – We’d Like to Have You For Dinner”. It did not inspire the group with confidence. Neither did the pair of skulls hanging from spikes over the door’s lintel.
After some discussion, the party wanted to open the portal and see what was beyond. William volunteered to open the door, Corg standing in front of the fighter, his own shield and sword at the ready. Charlotte held the torch high and everyone agreed that if it seemed too much, they were going to bolt and run.
They counted to three and William turned the knob and hit the door with his shoulder. And it didn’t move. Barred from the other side. It did make a lot of noise and the group heard goblin voices within call out in their own language. Charlotte tried to answer they were friends but the foes on the other side didn’t seem to understand. Instead they slid the bar aside on their end and opened the door.
It was a large chamber, poorly lit, and housed maybe almost 20 goblinoid creatures. Signs of their habitation were everywhere (piles of clothes, food, other stinky mounds of god knows what). But these goblins were larger than the ones they had met earlier. Taller, beefier, they had shocks of orangey hair on the top of their head and under their armpits and from their shoulders. The smell was stronger, and they just looked dangerous.
The group wanted to leave. And now. William whipped out a flask of oil and smashed it to the ground just inside the door, sending the hobgoblins back a step…allowing Charlotte the chance to light it. The whoosh of flame sent everyone back, and gave the important time needed for the party to run back down the steps and away. William and Corg with their platemail fell behind, emerging from the cave last. The party grabbed the hidden spears and began the long walk back to the Keep.
At the gates they made their way and then to the bazaar where a weapon merchant was willing to buy the spears. There was some back and forth haggling but they settled on 1 gold piece each. We then went through all the funds we had earned and gave everyone one fourth – each member getting 5 gold, 5 silver, and 30 copper pieces. Loq and Corg wanted to know when the group was going back, everyone deciding on 2 days. We bid them a farewell and went off to tavern to relax, get a space in the common room, and discuss what would be next.
Charlotte worked on making fire arrows over the remainder of this day and the next, while William frequented the bar, bazaar, and shops – spending copper and silver in hopes of learning anything new. His persistence paid off when he learned that some mage had lost a magic wand somewhere in the environs of the Caves and was willing to pay 200 gold crowns for its return.
So it was the next morning after breakfast we met up with Loq and Corg, paying them for their service to come, and then we set off.
It was over halfway back to the caves of Chaos that we came upon a group of four men by the side of the road, scratched up and tired. They said they had been pursued during the night by a crazed mountain lion that followed them from a woodcutter’s cottage throughout everywhere they tried to sleep that night. They had even lost one of their members, a thief named Larson. We wished them well and said that if they wanted to meet up in the future and join forces, the party would be interested.
The rest of the walk involved the group talking about the strangeness of the mountain lion associated with the same strangeness of the vulture they had seen earlier. William guessed that the evil rituals in the area might be affecting the animals – slowly making them crazier and less able to be approached.
We came back to the ravine and the caves, seeing little changed if anything. We snuck back to the original cave we had already explored a few times, lit a torch, and entered with care. The only thing that was obviously different was the abundance of spider webs along the forward and left choice passages. Not trusting them, Charlotte opted to burn the left corridor free of webs first – the line of fire dancing away, dropping smaller crispy spider bodies everywhere.
She then turned to the forward passage to do the same, but her torch and fire startled a large spider the size of a small dog out of the webs above her, that fell to the ground and startled her, allowing it get close enough where it tried to bite her. She scrambled back, just avoiding its fangs as it made the attempt to bite. She swung her torch and hit the spider. Full on solid hit, knocked it to the ground, and set its hairy back on fire.
The spider made to run away back down the corridor when William’s sword arced out, splitting its abdomen wide open and severed two of its legs. Green ichor splattered all over the fighter as the spider rolled over dead. Loq supplied him with a towel where he wiped most of the thick portions off his face. The group then wanted to head off to the right and go back to the goblins that had originally chased the first two friends out of the cave 3 or 4 days ago.
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