The Wilds - Knock Knock Necro

Finally, the party gets moving. There's absolutely no chance the enemy has set an ambush after they wasted time wandering around, spiking doors and searching bodies...


Start Date: April 1, late afternoon
Start Status: Down it is
Start Location: Blackpool Maze

The Turn

With Grendor, Strom, Raúguey and a somewhat reluctant Ingvild in the lead, the party heads downstairs, toward the ill-fated Fire Room. "Who names these places anyhow?" mutters Strom as Grendor slides his shield in front of the arrow slit at the bottom of the stair.

"Give me a little room here," says Ingvild, squatting beside the door. "No traps," he says.

As he works, Grendor hears a shifting, shuffling noise from beyond the arrow slit. "Uh oh! Company!" He braces himself for whatever might come next, but nothing happens.

"Got it!" says Ingvild, ducking away from the door. "It's unlocked! Go!"

Raúguey needs no further encouragement. He shoves the door open and steps through.

"Wait you fool, we need to look..."

"No one here!" calls the big fighter. "Come on!"

Banner by Axel Loefving

The others advance in more orderly fashion, those with shields covering arrow slits so others can pass with some hope of cover. There is still a faint scrawl of Goblin writing on the west wall, and next to it hangs something new, a black banner edged in red and marked with a skeletal serpentine figure. "What do you think that is?" asks Maro.

Grendor shrugs and continues forward. The leaders round the corner, ready to charge into the fire room and take on whoever is there, but they're brought up short by an iron door!

"This wasn't here last time!" says Raúguey, testing the door with his shoulder. "Feels like it's barred."

"Let me try this out," says Strom, hefting Sunderer. He raises the heavy axe, mutters something beneath his breath, and then swings. *CRANG!* There's a deafening crash as the door splits in half! Grendor gives a silent nod of approval.

The fire room itself is filled with crazy shadows caused by the various party lights shining through the arrow slits and a single dim flame burning within. As the fighters advance, expecting trouble, they see that the two thick-barred iron cages in the northwest corner are empty, but streaked with blood and gore. The altar to Fraykulga in the northeast corner has been restored, and it is also smeared with blood and gore. The room is unoccupied, but the stench of trog hangs in the air. The door to the west, an iron-bound slab of oak, is closed, but creaks open when Raúguey gives it a poke with his sword.

"Keep going," says Maro. "Remember, first up to the tree room. If it's empty, back down the hall." Raúguey takes point and crosses the blackened alcove to the main north-south hall. A look south reveals nothing, so he heads north with the rest of the group following in order. As the lead members advance into the tree room, they note the stone trees are still there, but the statue that was blocking the secret panel is gone, and the panel is open. Strom sniffs the air. "Still smell that trog?" he asks.

"I can, or is that you?" mutters Grendor.

Most of the group is in the hall, and the front ranks are about to turn around, when everyone hears a now-familiar sound: the snapping report of crossbows from the darkness to the south! One bolt hits Dagmarten, another strikes Saurabh [1 and 5 damage, respectively].

"They're in the hall south!" cries Maro.

End Date: April 1, late afternoon
End Status: Of COURSE it's an ambush
End Location: Blackpool Maze

The excellent banner was done by Axel Loefving, who's been doing request work in a thread on RPG.net. Thank you, Axel!

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