A:2 Tomb of the Thunder King

Starring: βέλος, Diantha val'Emman, Jayvin De-gaul, Kweto Lucullus, Mauritius, Starlet, Utu Pratalong
Guest Starring: Enzio val'Tensen, Beltran Reko,
Challenge: Riders/Bandits, Mind-controlled bandits and Beltran, Giant insects and bandits
Location: Tomb of the Thunder King; Unnamed crossroads village in Valentia, south of Enpebyn; On the road to Enpebyn
Date Played: 24 May 2009

Not, Not Bandits

Kweto Lucullus Took us a couple of day to get to the tomb which left me time to finish some javelins and clubs. Never did finish haggling with Beltran over his former associates gear. Spotted some riders that took every action to convince us they were bandits. Mentioned to Belos that he should just shoot them. Surprisingly, the bandit lived and Starlet rode off to stop further hostilities. Saw her point with some reflection but I’ve had trouble with bandits recently. Unfortunately Starlet is not the inquiring type and she only learned from them that there are bandits in the area.

Mauritius After spending a day in town to prepare for the trip, we headed out to the tomb with Beltran. A couple days into our travel we saw some people in horseback. Half of their group split and went into the concealment of the wood. This was a strong mark that they were bandits... unless you are Starlet. After an arrow was fired into one of the bandits, Starlet charged ahead on her steed yelling for a parley while waving a bag of coins. She ended up giving them a handful of gold as well as healing the injured bandit. I approached to "engage the bandits" in conversation, though Starlet's absent hostility was put toward me, so I stayed back. In the end we learned nothing except there were bandits in the area. Irony.

Beltran also had a cup that suspiciously looked like the one the noble tried to give me. Why am I being haunted by these cups?

A Bugs Best Friend

Kweto Lucullus Outside of the tomb we found our rider’s mounts and searched them for mark of identification. Turned up nothing and I found no loot to palm. Inside the tomb we found that Beltran’s key no longer worked and it required a Hurrianic ritual to open. Starlet made an attempt but was exhausted and before Utu ‘stick-shaker’ could make an attempt some spirit cat thing jumped us. Using cat guts as a key we gained our first look at the tomb and found it had many statues holding crystal globes that were missing.

In the deepest section of the tomb we found our riders waiting for us after Mauritius’ attempt at trap disarmament. A battle could not be avoided this time as Beltran and four of the bandits had friends that wanted us to fight. These buggy neck sippers took the opportunity to find new friends amongst the combatants whenever convenient. Not sure how the battle turned in our favor since I was certain Belos was going to feather me. Beltran ran away and none of the bugs survived to inquire of their motive.

Tied up and searched the bandits and found some coin that was likely Starlets. Didn’t find my Etruscan dagger collection nor did they have any weapons of value unless some noble is collecting crude. Probably should have taken them when we rode out on their horses as they will rob again.

Searched the last tomb and found a bejeweled goblet. Hope I don’t get cursed for this.

On horseback we rode back to Enzio and found that we had lost Beltran. Enzio asked us to help him journey to Enpebyn and turn over the goblet to the temple there.

Mauritius When we finally reached the tomb we encountered six horses. What a coincidence! I wonder how they knew about this place...

Once inside the tomb we discovered that the key was no longer in place. With a little searching we discovered that there was an ancient ritual that required great historical knowledge and the ability to orate it well. Being a follower of Hurrian, Starlet took the lead but was unable to complete the task, and yet again Uta had to show her use to the group. I'd have to say I'm quite surprised in the Elorri. Her accent is even becoming less annoying.

Once the ritual was finished, a strange, yowling feline was summoned and we had to fight it. Though normall found frightening, our group appears to be made of hardened hearts. We won the fight, though Starlet was greatly injured in the fight.

We took some time to rest while I went ahead to explore the caverns. Unfortunately, my vision in the dark is not as developed as I thought and I tripped over a hastily made noise trap, alerting the bandits to our presence. We waited a little more to catch our breathes and then descended into the ambush.

While the fight with the bandits started as a brutal affair, things took an odd change of pace as slug like beings erupted from the necks of the bandits. I felt one reach out to my mind, but I fought it off due to my strong mental training. Unfortunately, I was soon beset by two greatclubs and knocked unconscious. When I awoke, I was surrounded by my allies, so I took great relief that we prevailed.

We left the bandits to fend for themselves and we took their horses. We headed back to town to make sure the priest of Hurrian was not infected with one of the slugs. Thankfully he wasn't. After a little bit of talking he informed us that he we would travel with our group to Enpebyn. Though a non-combatant, he gladly welcomed his healing powers and blessings.

Monkey Business

Kweto Lucullus On the road I saw an ape grab two children off a wagon and disappear leaving two horsemen chasing the wagon. Feeling they were up to no good I rode over the rise and spotted another horseman fully concealed. He had a greenish light pouring off him and he sicked more bugs on us before concealing himself with a wall of flame.

I tried to be of aid but I was quickly stung, slashed and trampled attempting to leap up behind a horseman. The rest of the battle was a bloody mess but thankfully Enzio was able to save myself and the driver. Thank Althares we are near a city, I’ll be happier clubbing thugs, pickpockets, and hucksters.

Mauritius Our travels were eventless for many days; a great relief to many. This, like all things, had to come to an end. On our way to Enpebyn we saw a caravan attempting to make a getaway from two riders and some sort of gorilla. Before we could react, the gorilla grabbed two children and disappeared from sight.

We engaged the horsemen and soon found ourselves facing odd insectile creatures as well that injected egs into us with their stingers. Kweto saw that there was a green-faced rider that seemed to command these insects, and one could guess the gorilla as well. He cut us off from approaching him, though, as he summoned a wall of fire. By the time combat was over, he was gone. We will have to look more into this once the driver of the caravan fully recovers. Our travels keep becoming stranger and stranger.

Rewards

+1 action point to Kweto and Mauritius