The Tale of The Adventurers
Riddles In The Dark – Sea Hag:
30th Day Of The Fading (September)
The Adventurers have entered the Old King’s Hill, have found Orcs and Goblins but a Sea Hag also awaits.
Silence falls across the chamber except for the sobs of the female prisoner. In the dormitory, natural fissures channel smoke from the cooking fires of the Goblins. Frimly found a “Potion of Water Breathing”: Should it be used? A ‘Scroll’ is still floating in the water below. Thora says:
Thora: “Why don’t we get the glowing stone? Lower it with the body of a Goblin and see what happens? We can also get the winch and use it to get the Scroll.”
Frimly goes to the entrance to guard. The rock is lowered into a chamber, 10′ feet below, which appears to be empty except for several humanoid Skeletons. The Adventurers assume that something unholy dwells below and they prepare to drop the body and shoot with arrows whatever appears. Mirafir pushes the body of the Goblin over the edge and suddenly a reptilian, Snake-Like Creature slithers into view.
This is what the Orcs and Goblins have been feeding! It is about 20′ feet long! It turns its nose up at the unappetizing Goblin meat it has been offered.
Frimly, Thora and Sigune fire Arrows into it! 3 Arrows whistle past the snake, missing their target and it slithers away.
Suddenly Orcs and Goblins stream into the chamber from out of nowhere! They are just as surprised to see the Adventurers and panic to draw their Spears. Two of the Goblins run away, probably to get reinforcements! Mirafir seeks cover behind the winch and pulls out his Sling. Frimly fires a Short Bow Arrow and misses as Spears are thrown which also miss: but Sigune hits her target and the Orc drops dead.
The Orcs draw their weapons, Scimitar and Shileds, for hand-to-hand melee but not before more Arrows are fired in their direction, and Sigune and Thora both drop their targets.
Three Orcs are still standing and charge, wielding their jagged, blackened Scimitars. Thora rushes to meet them and slices one in half with her Battle Axe.
Frimly fires an Arrow and hits an Orc with a painful blow. More 2 Orcs appear, driving the fleeing Goblins before them. Sigune charges towards them:
Sigune: “FOR ST. CUTHBERT!”
Thora: “Aye, there they are, nice of thaem tae send enough for all of us! That is orcish music to my ears!”
The Orcs are taken somewhat aback, Sigune races forward but her path to the Orcs is blocked by the two unprepared Goblins. She hacks one of them down.
Thora arrives:
Thora: “Got your back Sigune!”
Sigune: “Never mind my back – I need you fighting at my side!”
The unarmed Goblin lashes at Sigune with a clawed hand, leaving a vicious rending wound on her arm, which bleeds heavily.
Thora finishes off the Goblin with an equally vicious strike that removes its head, catapulting it at Sigune and spraying her with blood and causing a small cut on her heck as the blade came that close.
Sigune’s Longsword arcs through the air, blade singing as she delivers a deadly slicing strike.
Thora: “Where did they come from?”
Frimly: “It is too dangerous here!”
Mirafir heads to the terrified prisoner and attempts to comfort her:
Mirafir: “My lady?”
Young Girl: “I’m not a lady! my name is Jennifer!”
Mirafir: “You humans all look alike to me.”
The Adventurers head down the passageway to try and discover where the Orcs and Goblins came from.
Mirafir: “Let’s clear out this rat’s nest!”
Mirafir follows the tracks, revealing that they went all the way round the chamber! They must have used the cover of the combat noise to sneak round.
Orc Shamen:
Frimly gives Mirafir a ‘Magic Ring’:
Frimly: “You may be able to use this. You owe me.”
Mirafir: “I underestimated you!”
The room beyond appears to be another dormitory with a fire and beds. A passageway extends into the darkness beyond. It opens into a larger cavern.
The remaining three prisoners are within and they are overjoyed to see the Adventurers.
Sigune: “St. Cuthbert be praised! We thought we were dead!”
Thora: “Can you bear arms and fight?”
Prisoner: “Yes, we are also memebers of the Daggerford Militia!”
Frimly: “Did the Orcs rob you? Don’t move until we tell you to move!”
The decision is taken to check the next door in the main cavern.
Mirafir attunes with the ‘Magic Ring’ – this will take me some 50 minutes.
While Mirafir attunes Sigune and Frimly search the last remaining Cavern. It looks like the Spell Users resided here. The body of a Goblin Shaman lies on the floor, stabbed in the back laying on an empty sack.
THIS IS WHERE THING, EVENTS OR THE FATES TAKE OVER. ALL BECAUSE OF A LONE ROGUE.
The area is secure but there is still the scroll bobbing on the surface of the water in the Cenoté. Thora is lowered into the water, using the 50′ feet of Silk Rope, and swims over to it. Grabbing the scroll, she suddenly feels it has stuck to her hand! It pulls her down! Frimly and Mirafir try to pull her up but the force of whatever is taking Thora is to great for their combined strengths. Sigune dives in and sees Thora being dragged down by the Scroll?!?
The traction is inexorable. Back in the Cavern above, Frimly drinks the ‘Potion of Water Breathing’.
Frimly: “Cut the rope if it goes taught: Thora will be ripped in half!”
Frimly dives in. In the meantime, Sigune has pulled herself down Thora’s body and is trying to cut the rope. Sigune manages to cut the rope: Just in time!
Frimly and Sigune have now both consumed the “Potion of Water Breathing” and investigate the water – Frimly having seen the mysterious form of a woman below the water…
Mirafir: “The Potion should last for many minutes. Minimum 40 minutes, plus a possible 10 to 40 minutes more.!“
The Sea Hag Below:
The Underwater Tunnel widens and steps eventually rise up out of the water. There are wet footprints leading out of the water across the flagstones to a door. Sigune opens the door.
Female Captive: “Wait, it is not me you want to kill! Save me! The Hag is nearby! A sea hag! There were Orc bodies dropped for her: She was furious! I’m next! Look in the other room if you dare!”
Sigune: “Fear not child: The truth shall be known.”
Using her innate Paladin powers, Detect Evil, Sigune concentrates and examines the woman in an effort to ascertain if she is of noble and true nature or corrupted by the powers of Evil.
Suddenly the woman grabs her and Sigune feels her Strength sapped. Thora strikes the innocent looking woman! The woman transforms into a Hag! A Hideous Sea Hag!
Sea Hag: “Curse you!”
The Sea Hag he screams. Frimly strikes her and the Sea Hag dies!
Sigune is weakened by the Sea Hag; she has lost a huge amount of weight and can hardly bear the waterlogged Studded Leather Armour she is wearing, or raise the Longsword in her feeble grasp.
Sigune: “I am weakened! A curse!”
There are two more dDors to investigate, on one door, written in lettered tiles, the following text can be read:
‘A great treasure lies here under a curse and only those may enter who provide a cure.’
The second room is filled with dead bodies, their bones gnawed at. Sigune finds a ‘Scroll’ with two spells “Detect Traps” and “Detect Magic” and a “Potion of Speak with Animals” plus “3 Deep Green Spinels” (Shards of Green Crystals). Thora then presses a button on the wall, the “Blank” tile under the letter “A”, and takes a sudden shock of Electricity!
Sigune notices that water had started seeping into the chamber, Thora must have triggered something by pressing the wrong tile!
The Sea Hag Puzzle:
Thora thinks for a moment before pressing another of the “Blank” tiles:
She is suddenly shocked by an Electrical charge which courses through her body!
Thora: “Arrrgh!”
She screams through her soaked and bedraggled beard.
Frimly presses the “S” in curse and the Door opens!!!
The Sea Hag’s curse fades and Sigune’s Strength gradually returns to her…
A stone carved corridor is on the other side of the Door as it slowly rises up into stygian darkness.
What will the Adventurers do now?
Mirafir is unable to follow through the deep water and is stranded back in the Main Cavern, yet this may be the only opportunity to explore this area before the effects of the ‘Potions of Water Breathing’ expire and they are unable to return.
Thora: Maybe some sort of air supply and a rope around Mirafir’s waste, then Frimly and Sigune can take him down as they still have the water breathing running?”
“Thora and Sigune can then swim 2/3 of their movement, so if Sigune swims with Mirafir and Thora and Frimly pull the rope, Mirafir can travel say upto 40′ a round. 30′ down to the bottom of the Cenoté and then another 40′ feet along the carven tunnel and up into the Sea Hags lair. It may be possible if Sigune swims well.”
And what of the slithering reptile? And what other malignant Unholy Evils may dwell in these fetid Orc holes beneath the fair earth and the quiet sleepy hamlet of Enfield?