The Collective - Session 20

This is the twentieth session in The Collective campaign and the fifth in the Stolen Swords, Orcish Villages, and Dwarven Vaults sub-arc of the Dwarven Sword Arc.

Summary
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1000: Battling the skeletons would prove a more difficult task than expected for the party, as Badger was beaten senselessly by five skeletons whilst the rest of the party dealt with one or two. Luckily, Trin would snap out of her donkey fugue state and Gnorbitt would pay attention as well, lending their full aid in combat. The party defeated the skeletons, ending the combat with Gorrn, Badger, and Gnorbitt each taking a turn destroying the remaining skeleton. Finally finding time to fully rest, the party continued on into the vault, deciding to not interfere with the skeletons extracting ore in the mine and locating the old railway station inside of the vault. Deciding to commit to their third option, the hallway from which they felt heat, the party pressed on and learned that whoever was running this Vault had put skeletons to work forging weapons, large amounts of which had already been produced and stored in a nearby room that Gnorbitt had investigated. During his investigation, he also found a small golden ring embedded with a bright-red ruby. Before the party could decide upon their course of action, Gorrn took matters into his own hands and walked right into the smithy; to his surprise, none of the skeletons decided to attack, and the party hesitantly followed him through the smithy, unharmed.

Inside of this final room, they would find Cool John, unarmed and injured inside of a cage. Approaching him, the party bombarded him with a series of questions under a Zone of Truth, learning that the money he had stolen was for his daughter and that he had been working for the Dwarves to return their sword. During this series of questions, Rosanhi determined that there was someone else inside of the room, watching them. She failed to cast a Guiding Bolt at the invisible figure, instead firing it straight into the open furnace and blasting herself with embers. The invisible figure taunted the party, thanking them for bringing themselves to her willingly, before revealing that skeletons covered in molten metal had been lying in wait inside of the pools of molten iron. They would engage in combat, with Gorrn managing to steal the necromancer’s dagger (who was revealed to be a Dwarven woman) and Badger stabbing her with another one. In a last ditch effort, she Fireballed herself and the surrounding area, burning herself to a crisp and releasing her magic hold on the skeletons.