Skip to content

Labyrinths of the Lost - Session 2

in Taelgar: October 17th-18th, 1748
on Earth: November 25th, 2023
Western Cymea

Summary

  • The party manages to rest safely in the workshop, unbothered by goblins
  • The next morning, they make their way across the grounds to the chapel, avoiding hobgoblin scouts with the aid of Dilion’s mechanical dog
  • Hiding in the chapel crypt, the party lures in few hobgoblins and quickly dispatches them
  • Searching the crypt, they find a secret passage that leads to an abandoned private study of the Pardoli family
  • Exploring the manor, the party defeats a group of hobgoblin guards without alerting the building
  • The manor courtyard contains a chained basilisk, who attempts to petrify Gaudin, and is probably the source of a large number of statues in the former great hall of the manor
  • The master bedroom suite was apparently once occupied by pirates; the ghost of a pirate captain now haunts the bedroom
  • The party spoke with the ghost, and Gaudin convinced him to reveal the secret entrance to Grimstone’s lair in the basement as the session ended

The Protagonists

  • Asescale, a Lizardfolk alchemist and gambler
  • Dilion, a human tinkerer and battlesmith
  • Gadin, a human warlock with a hint of the Fey about him
  • Loria Underbough, a halfling wanderer and ranger

Plot Developments

  • Grimstone has a chained basilisk in the courtyard of the manor, which is probably related to all the stone statues around the manor
  • The manor was once the lair of a medusa, but she has apparently long since turned to stone herself, and her statue can be found in the overground gardens
  • Sometime after the medusa was turned to stone, but before Grimstone moved in, the manor was occupied by pirates
  • Grimstone’s lair is in the basement, accessed by a trap door in the former master bedroom, guarded by the ghost of a pirate.

Narrative

After a rest, the party leaves the relative safety of the workshop and ventures out to find some tunnels to gain entry into the manor.

Part 1: The Grounds

As morning dawns, the party decides to head across the grounds, cutting through the overgrown vineyard to reach the chapel, on the far side of the manor. Here, they hope to find a tunnel to allow access to the manor while avoiding hobgoblins guarding the main entrance. It is not the stealthiest start to the day, but fortunately Loria notices the hobgoblin patrol in the distance, and Dilion’s steampup is sent to distract whoever might be following.

Meanwhile, the party finds their way into what was once a formal garden, but now totally wild and overgrown. South, there is an open lawn in the back of the manor, strewn with statues with their heads smashed off. A possible source of the statues is in the middle of the garden: a medusa, looking at her reflection in the water of a fountain, turned to stone.

Sneaking past, they cut their way through the overgrown hedges, and find their way to the ruined chapel, while steampup runs their way, chased presumably by a hobgoblin.

Part 2: The Chapel

The chapel is thoroughly ruined, with no obvious tunnels or other underground passages. Under increasing time pressure from the impending hobgoblin patrol, the party searches for some clue. Acescale notices some flowers growing in a perfect square, and discovers a buried trapdoor underneath. Quickly the party clears the dirt as steampup returns, and slips into the crypt below just before a hobgoblin arrives, chasing after steampup.

The party has a chance to briefly explore the crypt, finding a few ancient religious artifacts (silver candlesticks and the like) before Gaudin’s ring glows, alerting them to the presence of hobgoblins. With Dilion’s grease spell and Loria’s snare spell, the party sets a trap. The hobgoblin shadowsneak is caught in the snare, and after a short but intense combat, dispatched. The party, hearing evidence of another hobgoblin, quickly resets the trap, to great success.

The hogoblins dealt with for now, the party searches the crypt some more, eventually finding a secret passage that leads to the manor.

Part 3: The Manor

The secret passage emerges in a dusty room, untouched for many years, that seems to be the private study of the Perdoli family, presumably the original owners of the manor. After a short rest, the party finds the mechanism to open the secret door to the main manor, entering a small, destroyed library.

Sneaking around, Loria accidentally kicks a loose bit of stone, and the clattering noise alerts the hobgoblin guards in the next room, who charge in to attack. The party manages to defeat the hobgoblins very quickly, managing to avoid alerting the manor to their presence. Then, they explore.

Sneaking carefully and quietly, the group avoids alerting anyone to their presence as they investigate the courtyard, noticing it contains a chained reptile of some kind, not clearly visible behind a low wall. Gaudin decides to try to see what it is, and is caught by the gaze of the basilisk, beginning to turn to stone, but saved by hacking the stone encrusting him off before he is covered. Not wanting to face a basilisk, the party explores very carefully, finding several rooms full of statues before turning to explore what was once the master bedchambers of the Perdoli family.

Part 4: The Ghost

In the private chambers, the party finds a ghost, dressed like a sailor, pacing back and forth in the bedroom. Deciding to explore a little, they search the other rooms, finding a sheaf of papers (apparently pirate maps from a generation ago), and a silver locket with a faded painting, inscribed to “J.M., with love, P. Keep safe and come back.” There is also a packet of love letters, apparently from whoever “P.” is, suggesting that J. M. and P. were perhaps both pirates.

Feeling this must be a clue, the party goes to talk to the ghost again. Initially, this does not go well, and he is angry with Gaudin. However, in a moment of panic or inspiration, Gaudin uses disguise self to make himself look like P, the woman in the locket, and claims that the white-faced man, presumably Grimstone, is trying to hurt her. This finally breaks through to the ghost, who is clearly J. M., who died without knowing the fate of Petrona (P.), and was promised news and rest by Grimstone. Now, convinced Grimstone has been lying, the pirate ghost says he will guard no more, and reveals that Grimstone’s lair is below this bedroom, in the old pirate hideout under the manor.

We end as the ghost of the pirate J.M. warns the party that Grimstone is crazy, constantly ranting about the immortality of stone.