Session 3 - Group 3 Report
from the session held on 14-Aug-2024
General Summary
We join our intrepid adventurers in the Expedition Base Camp as they assess the loot collected from their second foray into the Forgotten Academy. With no magic user in the party to fully assess the potential of some of the relics they uncover, and with relatively little trust established thus far with the organizer of this whole expedition, the party has decided to be fairly careful about which trinkets they will turn in for profit and which they think would be helpful in uncovering the real treasures that are surely hidden deep within the Academy somewhere.
Thus, the party sold off the one set of items they could not foresee a use for: the large, heavy candleabras taken from the meeting/dining hall on the second floor of the Academy. They were mildly surprised at the 200gp they were given in return for the four tarnished brass items. The medallions, talisman headbands, and the keys would be kept secret for the time being. (The medallions had already proven necessary to permit the party access to some areas of the structure guarded by the animated suits of armor that appeared to be peppered throughout the Academy.
After a full rest and recovery period, the party returned to continued exploring the ruins. They headed directly for the floor above where the meeting hall was, dispatching a lone Wolf Spider on the turret stairway. They noticed that this circular stair continued upward, but decided to take a "floor by floor" approach, and so left the turret on the third level.
The first point of interest encountered was a double door with a plaque above that said "Dormitories". Wooden boards that might once have been part of a table or even door had been hastily slapped up and nailed into place to block these doors - with iron pitons used as nails to fix them to the stone walls on either side of the doors. The pitons showed only the first hints of aging - this barricade couldn't be more than a few weeks old. Dorc's tingling senses, coupled with the unmistakeable sounds of light shuffling or scratching coming from beyond the doors suggests that there was something awaiting them on the other side - something that Dorc sensed wasn't quite alive. The group decided to check the rest of the floor before returning to face this dilemma.
A side corridor led them to an alcove bearing a plaque that said "Headmaster". After a few attempts at looking for an actual entrance, and eventually remembering the Instruction Cards that they picked up along with the visitor medallions, they finally figured out how to use the alcove to gain access to the Headmaster's Suite.
This suite of rooms: office, liibray, sleeping quarters had obviously not been touched in thousands of years. But whoever moved through it thousands of years ago did a pretty good job of emptying the bookshelves of contents. Only a handful of volumes remained on shelves that occupied one office wall and all of the library, and of these, only two were of sufficiently stable condition to permit them to be wrapped and carried out. The bed was tidily made up, but no corpse could be found.Most clothing appeared to have gone, only one robe remained in the bedroom's armoire.
The office, however, did hold several items of interest. A curio cabinet held five items which the group stuffed into their packs, and rifling the desk uncovered another twelve silver medallions. These were similar to the others, but instead of the block building represented on the visitor medallions, or the lit lamp device on the teacher's medallion, these twelve had an open book etched into the center of the medallion. There were several other bulky items that the party resolved to recover eventually. Paintings on the wall, presumably of past Headmasters, two brass and glass magical lamps that still flickered with light after perhaps thousands of years, two skulls converted into bowls, and even the headmaster's chair, which was remarkably intact and appeared to have been crafted of dragonhide, would eventually be recovered.
Leaving the Headmaster's office, the party followed corridors around to to another classroom - this one had walls festooned with military shields of all sizes, shapes, materials -- and states of decay. Some had rotted to the point there they fallen off the wall. There was one, though, that appeared to have completely resisted the ravages of time. Looking like it was hung just yesterday, the shining metal shield with an enameled coat of arms emblazond beckoned them from its mounting as high up the wall as possible. Krisb, with the athletic assistance of Dorc, managed to reach the shield to retrieve it before crashing to the ground and sufferning a minor sprain injury. But the shield was theirs!
The doorway to the classroom, and also the doorway from classroom to teacher's suite, showed signs that small creatures - most likely gremlins - had hacked or chewed their way into these rooms at some point, so they proceeded with weapons drawn. Sure enough, they surprised four gremlins when Dorc kicked open the door. A brief battle pursued, with two gremlins falling to the adventurers and two escaping with their lives. Unfortunately there was little to show for their combat efforts - nothing beyond one more recoverable book could be found.
The group decided they were sufficiently weighed down enough to call it a successful trip; they decided to go home. They did make a brief stop back at the headmaster's office to collect one painting and one of the brass and glass lamps to return as sellable loot. With treasures in pack and under arms, the party returned to base camp.
Thus, the party sold off the one set of items they could not foresee a use for: the large, heavy candleabras taken from the meeting/dining hall on the second floor of the Academy. They were mildly surprised at the 200gp they were given in return for the four tarnished brass items. The medallions, talisman headbands, and the keys would be kept secret for the time being. (The medallions had already proven necessary to permit the party access to some areas of the structure guarded by the animated suits of armor that appeared to be peppered throughout the Academy.
After a full rest and recovery period, the party returned to continued exploring the ruins. They headed directly for the floor above where the meeting hall was, dispatching a lone Wolf Spider on the turret stairway. They noticed that this circular stair continued upward, but decided to take a "floor by floor" approach, and so left the turret on the third level.
The first point of interest encountered was a double door with a plaque above that said "Dormitories". Wooden boards that might once have been part of a table or even door had been hastily slapped up and nailed into place to block these doors - with iron pitons used as nails to fix them to the stone walls on either side of the doors. The pitons showed only the first hints of aging - this barricade couldn't be more than a few weeks old. Dorc's tingling senses, coupled with the unmistakeable sounds of light shuffling or scratching coming from beyond the doors suggests that there was something awaiting them on the other side - something that Dorc sensed wasn't quite alive. The group decided to check the rest of the floor before returning to face this dilemma.
A side corridor led them to an alcove bearing a plaque that said "Headmaster". After a few attempts at looking for an actual entrance, and eventually remembering the Instruction Cards that they picked up along with the visitor medallions, they finally figured out how to use the alcove to gain access to the Headmaster's Suite.
This suite of rooms: office, liibray, sleeping quarters had obviously not been touched in thousands of years. But whoever moved through it thousands of years ago did a pretty good job of emptying the bookshelves of contents. Only a handful of volumes remained on shelves that occupied one office wall and all of the library, and of these, only two were of sufficiently stable condition to permit them to be wrapped and carried out. The bed was tidily made up, but no corpse could be found.Most clothing appeared to have gone, only one robe remained in the bedroom's armoire.
The office, however, did hold several items of interest. A curio cabinet held five items which the group stuffed into their packs, and rifling the desk uncovered another twelve silver medallions. These were similar to the others, but instead of the block building represented on the visitor medallions, or the lit lamp device on the teacher's medallion, these twelve had an open book etched into the center of the medallion. There were several other bulky items that the party resolved to recover eventually. Paintings on the wall, presumably of past Headmasters, two brass and glass magical lamps that still flickered with light after perhaps thousands of years, two skulls converted into bowls, and even the headmaster's chair, which was remarkably intact and appeared to have been crafted of dragonhide, would eventually be recovered.
Leaving the Headmaster's office, the party followed corridors around to to another classroom - this one had walls festooned with military shields of all sizes, shapes, materials -- and states of decay. Some had rotted to the point there they fallen off the wall. There was one, though, that appeared to have completely resisted the ravages of time. Looking like it was hung just yesterday, the shining metal shield with an enameled coat of arms emblazond beckoned them from its mounting as high up the wall as possible. Krisb, with the athletic assistance of Dorc, managed to reach the shield to retrieve it before crashing to the ground and sufferning a minor sprain injury. But the shield was theirs!
The doorway to the classroom, and also the doorway from classroom to teacher's suite, showed signs that small creatures - most likely gremlins - had hacked or chewed their way into these rooms at some point, so they proceeded with weapons drawn. Sure enough, they surprised four gremlins when Dorc kicked open the door. A brief battle pursued, with two gremlins falling to the adventurers and two escaping with their lives. Unfortunately there was little to show for their combat efforts - nothing beyond one more recoverable book could be found.
The group decided they were sufficiently weighed down enough to call it a successful trip; they decided to go home. They did make a brief stop back at the headmaster's office to collect one painting and one of the brass and glass lamps to return as sellable loot. With treasures in pack and under arms, the party returned to base camp.
The session ended here.
Rewards Granted
The party has not yet turned in their loot for cash, but they acquired the following items:
one "torch" that burned with a faint purplish magical light and did not seem to be consumed. Four more were spotted in the hallways.
one framed portrait of a former Headmaster
one lamp consisting of a glass globe on brass stand. A faint magical glow emanates from the center of the glass globe.
one magical treatise, ravaged by time, but salvageable
a curious piece of headgear with parts that covered the ears. Donning it seemed to induce a sense of peace and restfulness -- and sleep.
a lens in a frame with a handle that appeared to translate writing into the native script of the reader. (Being a goblin, with no native written language, Krisb saw no writing at all when viewing books, etc. through the lens.
a large, heavy coin with mysterious markings
a large perfect dodecahedral Amethyst gem with a silver filigree covering the edges where the twelve faces met. 9 of the facets were perfect, transparent purple amethyst; the other three were burnt grayish black and cracked.
a 6" diameter geode with one quarter broken away to reveal the hollow inside covered with amethyst crystals.
a shield, unmarred by time, with a coat of arms that, according to Dorc, is identical to that of one of the ancestral families of the Tyrnabay king depicted on the royal coat of arms.
twelve silver medallions, similar to the visitors and teachers medallions, except these have an open book motif instead of the building or oil lamp.
Missions/Quests Completed
The party has achieved enough experience to advance to Level 2.
Dork the Orc
Dorc the Orc, Orc, Lvl 1
Shopkeeper
Shopkeeper
Krisb Vexgrinder
Krisb Vexgrinder, Goblin, Lvl 1
Assassin
Assassin
Tom Vlybag
Tom Vylbag, Halfling, Lvl 1
Investigator
Investigator
Report Date
15 Aug 2024
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