NIGHTWICK ABBEY: The Purple Eater of People, Session 3

Previously...

The party

Warf (Dwarf 1)
Dominic (Cleric 1)
Mayfly (MU 1)
Osbert (Fighter 1)
Bertol the Fighter
Austine the Man-at-arms
"Red" the peasant (tongue cut out)
"Curly" the woodsman (tongue cut out)

At the Medusa's Head

Knowing what dangerous beasts lurk the party pools coin to pay for extra help. And back again they return to Nightwick Abbey. No misfortune on the way there, so the walk was a chance to get reacquainted with how creepy the place is.

Honest, I find mapping fun.
It makes me think constantly about what is next

RIGHT TOWER: With the trap door still being spiked open, the party descended down into the bottom. Mayfly stayed up top to tie off a secure rope in case escape needed to no be one at a time.

MAGGOT-EYED STATUE: The bag still covering its head, but now wet dark spots appeared where the eyes were. The party moved toward the NE door in this room. And when no sound was heard, Warf carefully opened the door and spied a group of goblins milling about. A fight felt like a bad way to start off, so Warf gently closed the door.

The party turned their attention toward the SE door in the room. Warf again listened but heard nothing. Osbert stepped forward and opened the door... and was met with a nasty ax swing from some foe unseen. A stunned party falls back as deermen rush to attack!

Melee ensues. Blows are exchanged by both parties, but few strike home until "Curly" drops the first deerman. But the deermen quickly recover, more push in,  and with this fresh push "Curly" is sent back to the loving embrace of his god. As sweat mixes with horrid bleating, Osbert falls, head split open by a vicious strike (NB: The player just started to play the hireling Bertol). For their murder, the deermen suffer more casualties to the enraged party and break! Running back from where they came!

SOUTHEASTERN DOOR: Osbert's body is carefully tended to with Dominic saying last rites. Then while Mayfly spikes shut the door to the NE, Warf carefully looks past the door into the gloom. Nothing. The party proceeds forward. They spy an archway to the east and a door to the south.

GOBLIN NEGOTIATIONS: The party went east, but it was Warf's scouting that brought, what appears to be a goblin lair, to the party's attention. Mayfly negotiated a toll with them of 10 sp and a promise to not come within 10 ft. of their home. Easily done and the party turned to the south door. During all this, Warf hide under Mayfly's cloak so as not to be noticed by the goblins.

THE SHINING POOL: Nothing heard at the door again. The PCs push open the door to find the beady eyes of dregs staring back. Mayfly remembered some hazy lectures about how dregs, like maggots, can spontaneously generate in wretched environs. Figuring they are like animals, the party threw rations to distract them touching off vicious in-fighting among the creatures.

Once dispatched, with only Bertol suffering a particularly nasty poke, the party evaluated the hundreds of shiny silver (Warf verified) in the mucky pool. How to get to it was going to be an issue, until Bertol jumped right in! Tense minutes ticked by with no incident save for the gain of 375 SP!

While there was talk of pushing further, the party cut their losses and not their throats by ascending with the body of poor Osbert for proper burial.

Live to fight another day!