Player Journals from Session 20

My players have been sort of slacking on campaign journals lately! I think it is partly because we've been doing these role-playing heavy sessions lately that have not given them any opportunities to earn experience points. But now that we have returned to our regularly scheduled program of dungeoneering, it starts to make more sense to earn that 10% bonus to experience points.

Gulleck's tenth journal

Turns out humans aren't totally crazy after all. At least some of em make sensible catacombs.

The other fellas did some investigating while I was dealing with cousin Darneck's latest... issues. Sounds like they maybe forgot what subtlety is, but that's about normal.

Seems like the skull was stolen by a nasty stinker looking to raise a dead army. Not real good, so we headed down to the catacombs where he may be holed up. Had to get a cleric from the temple cause most of our group got busy with other stuff. Weird old guy. Real excitable. I wasn't too sure we'd be able to get him back in one piece, but we did.

The humans showed at least a little bit of crazy even there... Statues that move on their own are weird enough, but a door that only opens if you bump a dead thing into em? That's pretty dang nuts. 

And since they're humans, the clues to open the door hadda be hidden away in a skeleton statue that talks into your brain. Why not, right? Never the easy way with those guys.

Down below we mostly didn't find much yet. Bunch of rats we kept away with torches, and a dang big spider. Got its attention by burning the webs. I find that's a good way to deal with that crud without getting all hung up. Found a little treasure, finally! Been too long.

Ran into another bunch of adventurers. Nasty pair of elves and their bullyboys. They offered Muscle Boy a job, and he declined. Figured he would, we get along pretty good. Offered their bullyboys the same. Could make good trap-catchers at least, if they take us up on it.

We left em and went on. Didn't explore too much more as we were getting tired, but we found an old dead fella holding a rolled up scroll. Seemed like a caretaker type fella. The text was in that old language, but it wasn't regular words. With Old Cleric's help and cousin Birrel's big brain, we managed to get the thing translated. I'll attach that at the end, in just a second. 

 

On our way out we got jumped by an ugly dead thing. Old Cleric didn't help a whole lot, but we managed to get it dead anyway. Magic and axes work pretty good for most things. 

And here's that translated text:

"Idalium has fallen. The barbarians have sacked what is left of the city. The battle will not reach me here, but there will be no replenishing my food and water once I have exhausted what remains here. The treasure beyond the sea will be of no use to me now. I have spent my last days completing the index to the roll of the deceased. I have placed the map of the catacombs in the records room. Perhaps some day our departed citizens will be remembered and honored once again. I choose to believe I have done my duty in protecting their legacy. Antovinius Nerpatian, Caretaker."