Nightwick Abbey Session 16

The past two sessions saw the party rescuing the reeve's daughter from a group of goblins who kidnapped her for some nefarious purpose, most likely a sacrifice.  This session though was the first one in which the returned to the abbey.  The characters present were...


Jöp -- A Frogling who was promoted from hireling status after the death of Barley Brownbeard in the goblin caves
Ffraid -- the Cleric of the Old Gods
Roger le Douche -- Paladin extraordinaire
Pillsen -- Cowardly Magic User


As of this session, all of the characters were above second level, with Ffraid and the absent Slimey being over level three.  It was Feburary 1st, which also meant it was the feast day of St. Martin Happy Pants, who temporarily drove all the giant centipedes out of Averoigne.  They quickly returned when the snow thawed, but it's the thought that counts.  It was a cold and miserable day, so the reeve's men, which had come down with him to restore order to Nightwick village at the behest of the Bishop of Lichgate, were celebrating inside the Medusa's Head tavern along with the PCs.  Jöp was busy cooking the Frogling version of the St. Martin's Day feast, giant centipede stew.  The other patrons declined his hospitality.  While there, they overheard a rumor that a great subterranean sea lies beneath the abbey, and that it's filled with "demonfish." No one -- including myself -- knows what the hell demonfish are, but they're most likely nothing good.


The party then made sure they had enough provisions and hired a pagan linkboy before heading to the ruined shell of the abbey.  They decided to fill in some areas on their first level map (meaning that after 16 sessions they have still not made it to the second level, nor have they completed a map of the first level).   They first encountered a small group of orcs at a four way intersection.  They quickly slew them, and soon discovered that what they believed at first to be a dead end actually contained  a secret cache where the orcs stashed their silver.


They attempted to enter through a door in the northern part of the intersection, but found the door was stuck -- even more so than the other doors in the dungeon.  Listening at it they heard a large number of meeping sounds, and the party smelled a very strange smell they identified as likely being bat guano.  They decided they did not want to tangle with that room yet and moved southward.


Here they found another group of orcs.   The three sickly creatures immediately tried to bargain for passage past the party.  From them, the party learned that in a chamber beyond the orcs was a tomb that "talks too much."  The party agreed to let the orcs by, and Jöp even offered to give them some of his stew as a token of peace.  Unfortunately for the orcs, a die roll had determined earlier that the stew was poisonous .  

The continued on towards the tomb, and soon found a large slab of stone with an effigy of a knight on it.  It seemed to all be carved from the same stone, and to lack a lid.  The "tomb" spoke to them, telling the party that he was Sir Roderick, a former Sword Brother who served the order before it degenerated into devil worship.  He told them that once a week they may each ask him one question, and so they did so.


Pillsen asked if he should go first, to which Roderick said "apparently not." The frogling asked "what's a demon fish," to which Roderick said "a large, but otherwise harmless fish."  Roger asked what was the cause of the disturbances in the abbey, and where did it come from.  Roderick informed the party that Orcus was shackled in some Stygian pit deep beneath they abbey, and the Sword Brothers mistakenly built the abbey on top of it.  He gave no reason for this mistake, and the party was quite confused by it.


At this, the party decided to leave the abbey for now, and the session ended.


Despite the little that happened, I had a blast with this session.