Terrinoth #32 - The Book and the Spring Part IV

Edu-Ellikinu's guardian

Campaign Diary

Behind the bronze doors lay a long corridor with alcoves to the sides. Each of these held the crypts of the ancient sorcerer-kings of Essilim and their Queens. Our heroes counted thirteen crypts on each side, and at the end of the corridor were another set of bronze doors.

(Click here for PC profiles)

The relief on one bronze door showed Edu-Ellikinu standing with his hands in supplication. On the other door was the depiction of a taller figure, a man with the head of an ibex, and two pairs of wings upon his back. He is shown presenting a sceptre crowned with heads of several ibexes to Edu-Ellikinu. This, our heroes knew, must be the demon Tamtu, Edu-Ellikinu's patron.

The bronze doors were not locked. Our heroes pushed the doors open, and beheld a cavernous hall whose floor was lined with black marble. A ditch bisected the hall halfway across, and a narrow bridge spanned it. Standing on the bridge, staring at our heroes with the empty socket of its eye, was a skeletal cyclops, almost 20 feet in height.

The skeletal cyclops opened its mouth in a silent roar, and strode towards the party. Once more Strigoi stepped to the fore, as Gio flanked the giant.

Strigoi's constant blows on the giant enraged it, and the cyclops struck Strigoi with such a heavy blow, that he nearly fell down. Taking advantage of the distraction, Gio stuck the tip of his shortsword into the ankle joint of the giant, and deftly dislocated a leg bone.

"It's all in the wrist!" he cried.

Taking cue from Gio, Strigoi ducked under the giant's swinging fists and with one blow sliced through the joint in its pubic bones, and with another blow sliced through its hip joint - bone came tumbling down like a house of cards. They have defeated the guardian that Tamtu has set.

Crossing the bridge, they saw that it was filled with hundreds of human skeletons - victims from human sacrifices made to Tamtu millennia ago. In the far end of the hall, flanking another set of doors, were holding cells.

Beyond the doors, our heroes knew, must be Edu-Ellikinu, and perhaps the three generals who remained loyal to him to the last, and fled into these tombs with him...

Prepping and Running the Game

This encounter was done for a few purposes, one of which was to utilise this awesome double-page map from the Big Book of Battle Mats.

One other purpose was to deplete the PCs' hit points and resources before the final encounter, so as to make it more challenging. In this I nearly succeeded, reducing Strigoi at one point to just 2 hit points. Unfortunately for me, Gio usually has very good die-rolls against skeletons, and in his final attacks Strigoi's player rolled two 19s in a row.

What is worse, Entana has only used two of his spell slots. It will be an interesing battle.