Since the gates of Oldtown close at dusk, the totally inconspicuous party decides to hide out near the fortified manor house, Luckily, it is on a lot that has not been tended to in years, so the weeds are quite tall and provide ample cover from casual passers-by. They spend the evening hunkered down, hoping no one calls the guard to investigate why a bunch of murder hobos are lurking in the darkest of the hillside thickets.
Finally it is dark enough and the group approaches the structure and does a quick once ’round to see if there is an obvious back door to exploit. It seems the house was built for defensibility so no entrances are visible. Now the question becomes – through the front door or up the outside wall?
Fingers is given a spider-climb spell and scales the wall, trailing a length of rope behind him. He ties it off using one of the merlons as an anchor and waits for Digin to join him at the top. The plan is to get several stronger folks to the top then haul up the rest of the group and equipment. The plan goes awry when a panel slides back and a group of skeletons attacks! The fight is very short and quite desperate. Digin is nearly slain and is forced to use the rope and descend at high speed, while Fingers suffers a similar fate. Were it not for the friendly mage’s armor spell, the plucky gnome would be lost. While the wounded are assisted and the rest are somewhat stunned by the rapid turn of events, a mail-clad figure uses an axe to sever the rope. It and the skeletons then vanish from sight. Are they coming down the stairs? This could be bad! Definitely bad,
They scurry to a different set of bushes and spend the rest of the night wondering if a wandering band of skeletons will make them ex-muder hobos. In the morning, the bedraggled party members cross the Rivergate bridge and return to the room they rented. They catch a carriage across town before too many questions get asked, and soon they are back in the familiar flophouse near Delver’s Square. The wounded are nursed back to health and the plan is reexamined. Frontal assault!
The carriage ride across the city delivers them into Oldtown moments before the gates are shut, so they walk about a bit and when they are fairly certain no one is looking, they wander inconspicuously towards the weed-filled lot again. Once again, the bushes are a temporary home and this time when the midnight hour draws near, the group enters through the ruined portcullis that once barred the front entrance. They move through the courtyard and into the front doorway – the doors apparently having been long removed. As soon as they enter, they are ambushed by napalm bombs dropped from above by ratmen!
Digin rallies magnificently and slays one with a heavy crossbow while the rest of the group tries to jockey for position without being burned. When the hapless Fingers moves towards a heavy curtain that partitions the entrance hall, a hulking behemoth of a ratman attacks him savagely. Fingers is forced to flee, and it seems the rat-brute is not fond of flames, for it disappears behind the curtain. The running battle culminates in the death of the second bomber, but no trace is found of the brute. Exploration begins and it is about then that Zaal notices that a wall of shimmering blue light has sealed the courtyard entrance. Oh great. Locked in the haunted mansion!
More exploration leads to a lot of dusty, empty rooms – and one full of aggressively seductive women. The part flees the scene, suspecting that things are not as they appear and not being eager to get savaged again so soon after the last savaging, but there is a background noise of skittering and chittering and every now and then it seems like distant voices are saying something just on the edge of audibility. An obscene statue they discover is clearly designed to slide around, but so far it resists all their attempts to make it happen. A spiral staircase leads upwards into the darkness (magic missile!) and the rest of the house backons.
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