Session One Hundred and Eighty Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 180, May 8 2024

Introduction

We continue at 1:00PM on the 27th of Anurilden (00.000.08.03 on the Apocalypse Clock) with the party evacuating the great hall underneath the ancient Necropolis after suspected attacks by members of the Silence on the refugees. Suspecting that the murderers are invisible and flying, the group hopes to prevent further loss of life by moving to an area with a lower ceiling and less open area. Meanwhile, Lolth indicates that she expects more arrivals soon from elsewhere via web portals. Will the mass migration of the refugees go smoothly and prevent further bloodshed? Who or what will be joining Lolth? Is it really Silence picking off the unlucky? Are there other dangers up the staircase by which the refugees are fleeing? Find out next time; or not.

Larry's Summary

We prepare to move up the stairs.

Glompus makes his way to the front of the gnomes having Snuffles heard them.

Druul tries to coordinate gnomes and get rangers to go help Glompus.

Bogdan Silveril overhears Druul and sends some dwarves to try to push ahead.

Druul suggests that Thorfus have Clan Thuridan hang back with the party before them.

Glompus collects 12 gnomish rangers interspersed in groups of 4 for front middle and back of gnomes.

Druul flags down Thorfus. Thorfus has Clan Thuridan advance past the stairs and keep an eye on the tunnel and work to turn around.

Thorfus hears a squeaking. Mortimer the mouse looks up at Thorfus like he recognizes him. Thorfus asks if he found anything. Yes, Tunnels, Rocks, anything dangerous? yes, Rocks. Anything alive that's dangerous? No, well, yes. Dwarves. Mortimer asks for Thorfus to pick him up. Thorfus pickes him up and he hops into Thorfus' beard.

Some of the Thuridan people look, but don't say anything. Thorfus tells Mortimer to wave and the other's look away.

The secretary is interested and asks if the mouse is trained. Thorfus says "No," but that he has a way with animals sometimes.

There are no more screams. Finally, Druul can see the end of the line composed mostly of the humans from Midmark.

Lolth appears to be wandering away with Em and Caspar with her followed by her priestesses.

Druul grabs Velkin and suggests that they ask Lolth to seal up the stairs with web behind us.

Jarlanna hears them coming and holds up a hand saying "What is it?"

My mistress says others will be arriving very soon. She is going to meet you.

We will be following. We are moving to where the portal will be opening.

Druul mentions asking Lolth to seal the stairs behind us.

The party makes its way up the stairs followed by Thorfus leading Clan Thuridan.

After a couple of hours Glompus sees a body wedged into the staircase. It appears to be a largish human. He looks like a giant with the top of his head missing and is shrunken and shriveled and something has been chewing on him. There is a cube where his brain would be. Wedged in the staircase. There is a landing behind the body with a passageway off, but the stairs go up.

The gnomes say, it's blocking the way. Glompus says, I'll grab the cube, someone get me a rag.

Glompus looks to see if he can determine anything about the body, like what is eating it. Something that can rend and tear at flesh. The body obviously fell down the stairs.

There are marks indicating something has come from or headed off the side passage.

Glompus and the lead rangers and other gnomes help push the giant into the side passage, up the stairs and onto the landing. To help block the passage. Then have the middle group of rangers keep an eye on the side passage.

Glompus notices clicking noises echoing down from higher up. They are coming from the side passage.

There are 4 foot long beetles with tiger stripes and their mandibles look a lot like what was ripping flesh off the giant and come around the corner making their way towards Glompus and the gnomes.

Glompus has the rangers and others get back to the line and he draws his sling.

Glompus and the rangers hit one with slings. 3 beetles go over the giant and head towards the gnomes and they all go for the gnome next to Glompus. The gnome is evicerated.

Some of the beetles chow down on the body of the giant.

Glompus is hit hard.

Glompus tells the gnomes to back up and get the middle group of rangers up here to try and hold the line and pass word back to the party.

The beetles pull the fallen gnome apart enough to leave with them.

Another gnome falls. Glompus is hit hard again.

The civilians still haven't broken.

The three beetles go for the line of civilians and tear a gnome apart.

Now there is screaming and the civilians are pushing backwards.

The beetles stop attacking and rip apart the dead and return to their lair.

Glompus says to the surviving ranger, I'll keep watch, go get my friends.

The ranger manages to calm the crowd and stop them from fleeing.

The gnome starts to make his way down and this music (from Druul) starts to waft up with a calming effect.

Glompus retrieves parts of the gnomes' bodies to bury back in Feldmark. One of them still has a badge of office of ranger.

Word comes back of giant rampaging monsters with giant mandibles attacked the gnomes at the front. All the gnomes died driving off the creatures.

Velkin offers to have Vikram carry Druul and Renthark to the front of the line.

The beetles show their mandibles over the top of the giant, but is just clicking.

Glompus doesn't move and he urges the other gnomes to remain calm. They manage to be calm.

The beetle backs up and the body of the giant is dragged back down the passage.

Invisible Vikram bearing Druul and Renthark arrives.

Druul gives Glompus some healing buds.

Vikram says I will head back to master Velkin and ask if he wants me to bring the rest forward.

Druul asks if Vikram can make a grate to block the passage. Vikram hems and haws but then says that he believes that master Vikram would approve. Vikram creates a golden gate blocking the side passage formed to fit perfectly to the space. It will last one day.

Vikram returns to the rest of the party.

It is determined that Buzz can eat spiders like he could eat DVLs.

Wires are pulled from the walls.

Kauri talks to buzz to asks about drawing power. Kauri tries with the battery from Kauri's stun stick. He follows Suttung's notes.

It actually works and a single light comes on the battery in the staff. No sign of his battery going down yet.

Buzz eats a spider after powering up the stun stick battery with one charge and Glompus' dwarven axe with with 3 charges.

We continue up for a couple of hours with enough time for the entire column to get past the passage before the golden gate dissipates.

There is another landing in sight.

This side passage is wider, ten feet wide and 12 feet high.

There is a room, probably semi-circular with furniture, maybe a barracks or dormitory with a door on the far side about 40 feet away. Can't see the high ceiling.

There are windows on the opposite wall.

Velkin slips into the room, some kind of dormitory. Very much like a dormitory in one of the drow war colleges back home. A couple dozen beds and a balcony on a second floor.

Velkin works his way to the stairs. Something was dragged down the stairs awhile ago. The hair is white and the body was not dragged gently.