#47 - Haunted Battlefield

The party exited the mine through the lower exit.  A Duergar guard opened a locked gate around a spirl staircase.  Samm stayed behind at the gate, keeping guard while the party scouted ahead.

The stairs exited into a wide cavern, with darkness stretching out in all directions.  Unlike the mushroom forest or the canton valley to the south, the ceiling of the cave is lower and even here, just 14 to 15 feet above.

As the party passed through this huge cavern beneath the Green Mountain, they entered the sight of an ancient battle.  Bones cracked beneath their feet.

Soon they were confronted by a wraith.  The wraith called up at his command a group of 4 skeletons. 

As combat began, 2 Ghasts crawled into the fray, and a 4-armed skeleton joined by the Wraith's side.  Throughout the battle, the Wraith shouted commands to cause more skeletons to arise and join the fight.

In total, the party has to overcome 1 wraith, 1 spectre, 1 4-armed skeleton, 2 ghasts, and 16 skeletons.

Gevin fell near death in this battle. 

The party expended many resources to survive this foe.  A Shatter spell from Winsor finished off many of the skeletons to finish the battle.

Thought badly wounded, the party moved across the field further.  They witnessed 4 ghostly images marching across the field, singing an ancient battle song.  These soldiers appeared to be stuck in an endless loop, marching and singing, the disappearing.  Then reappearing to march the same stretch of ground, and sing the same song again.  The party watched this as many as ten times, with the sequence restarting every 4 to 5 minutes.

The song the heard was this.

King Roulant lived a sad sad life

Reached 80 years, yet had no wife

Offered his throne to a fair young bride

Then King Roulant fell ill and died

Queen Egilina ruled the land

Her General was next to take her hand

When the General was old and grey

Fair Egilina had not aged a day

Others came, and time passed by

10 princes ruled by Egilna’s side

Each had his day, then passed away

The Ageless Queen would ever stay

We ride today for the Ageless Queen

Though the sickness strikes our land

We ride today for Ageless Queen

Pray Victory be soon at hand

We ride today with the Ageless Queen

To face Dragon’s fire Infernal

We ride today with the Ageless Queen

If we stand or if we fall, her rule shall be eternal

The party continued on, leaving the ghostly troops behind, still singing and marching.  Eventually the reached the center of the area beneath the mountain.  A stairway there rose to a mezzanine, overlooking the battlefield.  There they found a resting party of Drow.  It consisted of 2 sailors captured by the Bahumati from the Black Fleet.  There names area Ban'enthy and Nyat.  Two Quaggoth servants were with them.

These Drow had escaped from Bahumati enslavement, and they were eager to make peace with the party. 

#46 - The Mad Giant

Perra rejoined the party.  He had been scouting the Kobold base camp.

He found there to be around 1000 beings of various races working in and around the base camp.  2 to 3 hundred kobold, 2 to 3 hundred winged kobolds, 20 or so wyrmpriests, 20 or so dragonborn knights.  hundreds of slaves of various reptiloid and humanoid races.  All of these workers were trying to restore an ancient stronghold within the Green Mountain, preparing for some kind of "consecration" ceremony that would set the stage for the arrival of many more kobolds, reestablishing a part of the ancient bahumati empire.

Perra also learned the the Bahumati are struggling with an infestation of undead within the mountain.  They have for some reason been unable to remove the ancient curse that keeps the dead from resting. 

Perra had a conversation with a drow slave among the kobolds.  He learned that this drow had been a sailor in "The Black Fleet", sailing the Great Dark Sea.  It confronted a fleet of Bahumati ships, and was taken prisoner.

After Perras return, the part scouted out the "Mad Giant".  The found the formorian, and his two ogre companions in the river. They learned that he was indeed "mad", going from fits of laughter, to crying about his ugly appearance, to angry trantrums where he beats boulders with his club.

The party engaged the Mad Giant in conversation.  Perra attempted to win him over with the promise of a potion that would make him beautiful.  There was no such potion of course, and when the Giant realized he was being lied to, a battle ensued.

The party (to the DMs surprise) took down the Giant and his companions with relative ease.  A very effective fireball from Jhunter took all of them down a notch.  And a flurry of blows from Samm finished them off.

With the Giant defeated, the party returned to the Duergar who made good on his promise.  He granted passage through the mines to the base of the Green Mountain.  He told them they could exit the mine through 2 different levels.  The upper level would lead the party into the heart of where the Bahumati were working on restoring the mountain stronghold.  The lower level would be into the  catacombs of the old stronghold, the heart of the undead hoard within the mountain.