Fireballs and Rust Monsters

The party continues down the main tower seeking the lair of the mage Zagig. Some green slime is dispatched with oil and the party comes to a small passage way with suspicious holes in the ceiling. Although the Bard and the Monk, Ronj, assure the party that the way is not trapped, no one volunteers to go through. The Bard uses a magic item to summon a couple of large frogs with strong light beams coming from their eyes. They are about four feet long with nasty overgrown teeth. The frogs pass through the area unharmed and the party follows closely behind.

Shortly thereafter the intrepid party comes to a room with giant size furniture with giant size rats upon the table. The Frogs attack the rats and at just about that time a fireball explodes in the middle of the party. It is not the worst that some have felt but damaging nonetheless. The Bard and Thud take the brunt of it. Max, a Druid/Mage throws a light coin in the direction he thinks the fireball came from. His Pseudo-Dragon, who is able to see invisible, shares his vision with Max and points out a small mage with white hair, dressed in white with a long handle bar mustache and a braided beard casting a spell. Magic Missiles slam into Max who shrugs of the blows and reaches for a Gem from his Helm of Brilliance. He throws a 10th level fireball and uses his magic rod to double the damage. Unfortunately Max’s math is off and because of the restricted space in which his fireball goes off not only is the mage hit but most of the party is engulfed in flames as well. Ronj and Max keel over and fall unconscious, the two fireballs being too much for them. Max’s Pseudo-Dragon is burnt to a crisp. Max suffers the penalty of a mage whose Familiar dies. He suffers life drain twice what his pet possessed.

Thud and Da’Nog, the fighters, give chase down the hallway. Da’Nog outpaces Thud using his barbarian speed. He turns a corner and sees a doorway at the end of a hallway and barrels into it. The door breaks in all to easy and it is only his cat like reflexes that saves Da’Nog from falling into a deep pit whose floor is studded with sharp spikes. The pit runs thirty feet in front of him and ten to each side. He hears Zagig taunting him, “Nyah-ha-haa” as the white mage unleashes a stream of Magic Missiles at Da’Nog. As he bravely runs away Da,Nog notices that lining the pit on each side are six trolls of the likes he has never seen. Everywhere on their bodies muscles climbed all over each other attempting to find room to burst out and flex. Da,Nog rounds the corner and almost runs into Thud. Thud asks, “Did you find him?” but Da’nog’s only answer is, “RUN.” Thud heeds his advice and runs back the way he came. The mocking laughter of the mage echoes behind them,”Nay-ha-haa”.

The party collects the fallen and proceeds to camp for four days on a stairway as far from Zagig as possible without encountering the Ogres on the surface. Max sulks mightily and bemoans the loss of his familiar. After all have regained consciousness the party decides to investigate one of the other towers and hope the mage does not follow them, being seemingly too much for the party. Although the party once again did more damage to itself than the enemy. It is decided that one of the underground passageways discovered earlier is the smarter way to go rather than face the Ogres above.

In the passage way a wriggly creature is seen crawling along the ceiling. Da’Nog fires an arrow and hits it. The creature stops to eat the arrowhead. Da’Nog not knowing what the creature is, even though he should after twenty years of playing, hits it with his +3 Elemental Blade that instantly crumbles to dust. Yikes! Thud attempts to hit the Rust Monster with a staff and his non-magical chain mail is melted off of him instead. Thud and Da’Nog manage to kill the critter using staff and fist. Now both Max and Da’Nog sulk as they bemoan their losses. Down the tunnel more trolls are encountered and they have another Rust Monster on a leash. Live by the Helm Die by the Helm. Max pulls off another Gem from his Helm of Brilliance and fireballs the troll party. Rust Monster is cooked and the trolls are easily mopped up.

A cave-in blocks the tunnel. There is only a little room at the top of the pile. Max changes into Lizard form and explores. It is decided to Rock-to-Mud the fallen rubble. It is a long way and takes eleven Rock-to-Mud’s and several day to get passed the cave-in.

Further along there is a rock ledge twelve feet up overlooking the path. The Monk, Bard, and Barbarian all scale the wall and assault the lookout. Two trolls are quickly dispatched.