Session 3: Deeper and Darker

Quick summary

Following the last session’s hard-won fights, the adventurers dinged and hit level 4, restoring health and spell slots in the process, and allowing them to continue their search for Prince Albrecht beneath the catacombs of Tristram.

They boldly kicked open the door to the east, revealing an ornate library full of desks, books, and relics. They disturbed a flock of Winged Fiends: imp-like creatures with bat-shaped wings and washboard abs, hanging from the corners of the ceiling. The creatures appeared equally aggressive and afraid, and would only swoop down to attack with their claws if they could also retreat back to safety. Sera held the center of the room, singing and clanging her shield to draw the attention of the creatures. Each time one swooped in and out, she easily splatted it with her mighty warhammer. Ben lit up the skies with bolts from his Carin Shard, easily dispatching many of the fiends with his precisely tuned missiles. Meanwhile, Ciaran illuminated the room with a flaming sphere of pure starlight, forcing the creatures to reposition, and showcased his ability to punish the fiends with Starry Wisps.

The room turned out to be loaded; the bodies of a fallen priest and soldier yielded a magical staff of Holy Bolt, a sturdier shield, an ornate magical cloak, a socketed circlet, several spell scrolls, some other riches, and a very important-looking key.

The key opened the final room of the basement, and the group boldly flung the door open to reveal a crypt. In the crypt, several scavengers were actively munching on dead corpses, and didn’t seem remotely interested in the intruders. However, from the shadows, Shadowbite emerged: a bigger, meaner variant who appeared to be the pack’s leader. Wanting to ensure the safety of his hunting pack, Shadowbite used a primal screech to awaken his troops in pairs, imbuing them with bloodlust and focusing their attention on the intruders.

The adventurers wisely focused down Shadowbite before he could rally all of his troops, with blows from Ben’s Chromatic Orb and Sera’s warhammer doing the bulk of the work. A strategically placed Sleep from Ben knocked out two bloodlusted scavengers, and a well-placed Thunder Wave from Ciaran helped eliminate the remaining threats. Before long the team whittled the enemies down to only a few who were sleeping or otherwise distracted, and easily cleaned them up.

The crypt contained many riches from the presumably important people who were buried there. The spoils most notably included a socketed warhammer, a magical skull cap bearing Vizjerei markings, and a rune stone that Cain would later identify as a communication device belonging to either Leoric or Albrecht.

The party briefly returned to Tristram, where Cain identified all of their spoils and Pepin attended to their wounds. Fresh and stronger than ever, the party quickly returned to the action.

With the basement now cleared of monsters, the party dared to venture deeper, revealing ancient catacombs. It appears Leoric may have established his throne in Tristram specifically with the intent of building a cathedral upon these ruins. The entryway was a long, seemingly empty hallway.

However, suddenly a squat, creepy figure emerged from thin air and attempted to strike Sera. Then two more appeared. The Hidden Ones attacked with their long clawed hands, and would then walk away and vanish into thin air. Ben successfully put two of them to sleep. Sera punished their cowardice with attacks of opportunity, and Ciaran outlined the final survivor using Faerie Fire. The team successfully defeated the creatures, and discovered an unidentified magic amulet on one of them.

The hallway reeks of death and has a door on either side of the entrance…