Past Meet Present - A Fortunate Meeting

With the group unable to play for a couple weeks, and with a new player joining us, things got off to a slow start last night.  Once the rust was shaken off however things moved along fairly quick in a night that saw plenty of action with little time passing or events occurring.  As such the recap will be somewhat short, however welcome to the new guy ... and I invite all the players to comment in with their thoughts on the night and also to bring up some of their favorite moments of the game to this point in the comments...

After having picked himself up and gotten his bearings, Atvan had looked around to see that the hole he had fallen into had deposited him into a tunnel far below the world's surface.  The way back up not being an option he began walking to find another way out of the underdark, using the skills he had learned during his training as a druid to keep him alive even here down below.  After a couple days of wandering and many tunnels that led to dead end he saw a glow ahead of him.  Heading towards it he saw that the glow came from a strange sort of underground city atop a ball of massive webbing, suspended in the middle of the cavern by webbing heading every which direction.  All over the mass were four armed humanoid shapes, part spider, part insect, the likes of which he had never seen before.

Deciding that it was in his best interest to avoid them for now he skirted the cavern and soon found himself looking down a hallway without a ceiling and at the end of that hall stood open a black iron door.  Further on the walls and the ceilings of the worked stone room beyond glowed with a faint light, and that is when he first caught glimpse of a create that he had heard of miners finding bones for but something that no one alive to his knowledge had ever seen alive.  He kneeled partially hidden to watch these strange and fascinating creatures as he rested.

Meanwhile, the Karameikan Fist adventuring company had just discovered a second doorway seemingly locked by some sort of contraption where stones above said doors needed pressed.  They believed that a third door such as the two they had just found would cause the eye sockets of the third and final skull to glow as well unlocking all three doors, and they believed the most likely place for that last door would be to the Northwest, past where the raptors were they initial snuck past.

Making their way through the hallways they soon found themselves at the doorway to the room they knew held the raptors.  Temeris slowly opened the door and peered out, seeing a single raptor but beyond that crouched in the entrance they initially arrived through he also saw a humanoid figure crouched down watching the room as well.  He shut the door and relayed this to the party, and after a very short discussion in which Temeris conveyed his worry that this was perhaps another adventuring party here to take their riches the party decided they would try to sneak past the raptors and deal with the new figure when the time came.

Opening the door they began forward, however Karath and Crispin bumped each other creating quite a bit of noise and the raptor was alerted to their presence.  Temeris quickly ran forward to stab at it and Shadow unleashed a pair of arrows as the creature let out a screech that was answered by two others.  Karath ran forward to see what was down the hall only to be met by another raptor at the intersection.  A third came from the opposite hallway as Crispin unleashed a bolt of magical energy at the first raptor.  Soon flashing blades, flying arrows, gnawing teeth, and flailing claws filled the air as the party found themselves fighting off three of these beasts.

From his position at the entrance, Atvan saw this group of adventures for the first time and also realized that they were likely going to need help against these creatures if they were to survive.  From his spot he snuck up behind the nearest raptor, engaged with Temeris, and struck it with a mighty blow from his quarterstaff that staggered the creature.

Temeris exclaimed that this new man must have been "sent by the gods to assist them" but there was little time to speak as battle carried on.  Howler managed a couple of deep gashes in the raptor that he and Karath were fighting but that brought that raptor fully upon him.  One raptor had a number of wounds but now having two of them upon him, Temeris decided that it was best if he retreated.  In doing so the two raptors went to follow, however one that had seen much of the party's attention didn't get the chance as Atvan took the opportunity of the beast's back turned towards him to bring his staff down atop the creatures head splitting its skull and dropping it there.

Battle continued as wounds piled up.  Howler was now bleeding from a number of small wounds and the other raptor struck a vicious blow that staggered Shadow, throwing him off balance enough that he was unable to dodge the teeth of the raptor's bite.  The bite dug deep into his chest and Shadow dropped to the ground bleeding and unconscious.  Temeris lunged forward to join the fray and help Shadow, but things weren't looking good as the other raptor in the room struck Howler with a great blow across the back dropping the dog and leaving just Karath before him.  However another mighty blow from the strange man from his quarterstaff dropped another of the raptors, and after he bent down to heal Shadow the party could focus on the final one and defeat it.

The battle had certainly taken its toll however as each of the party members was seriously wounded, though with further healing from the newcomer all were conscious and none had died.  Taxed and certainly in bad shape, they decided that once again they needed to retire to the hidden room that they had used previously to recover to rest, heal, and to learn a bit about who this new man was and what brought him here.

Exhaustion seemed to take most of them upon return to the room however as little talk was to be had before everyone laid themselves down to rest.  After a number of hours had passed however something grabbed Howlers attention and he began growling towards an alcove in the room.  Karath looked it over but saw nothing of interest and soon Howler laid himself back down.  However upon further examination the next day they found a better hidden secret door in this alcove, but one they didn't believe could be opened from their side.

The group decided it would be best to examine this before looking for the third doorway, and from the raptor room they would go the direction they thought would lead them towards this mysterious door rather than the direction they thought would lead them to the third doorway with the odd skull locking system.  Feeling tired and injured still, Karath decided that he and Howler would remain behind and rest and Daisy decided that she would look after them.

The remainder of the group, along with the Druid Atvan, all headed back to where the bodies of the raptors laid dead and headed down the hall to the East to a wooden door.  Throwing it back the party was surprised to find a room beyond with four figures that turned and immediately started approaching them.  The party retreated back into the previous room to have more area and let the undead advance.  As they did Shadow and the others let arrows and crossbow bolts fly and were able to defeat one before they could close on the party.  The others continued on though, and Crispin stepped forward to cast a burning hands and found himself nearly overcome by the stench of death and decay emanating from these rotting corpses.  The things moved quickly and the party was soon in combat with them and the overwhelming stench.  Things were going well as many of the wounds were little more than scratches while the party was delivering crushing blows to the things, however soon one struck Temeris and he suddenly found himself paralyzed and unable to move.

The party soon realized these weren't zombies as they had encountered before but something worse.  These creatures attacks had the ability to paralyze as well.  Realizing the danger they found themselves in the party attacked more vigorously while Atvan retreated after dropping a second of the things (which happened to fall upon Temeris) to regroup himself.  The third continued to battle Crispin who had unleashed another bout of flame, and the fourth rushed forth towards Shadow.  Crispin found himself unable to dodge a blow from the creature after successfully dodging them previously and fell over as well.  The creature began to drag his body, unable to move, back towards the room it had come from and Shadow fired two arrows into it ignoring the attack of the one in front of it despite putting herself in danger by doing so.  The arrows struck true however and the thing fell over backwards.

The ghoul however would take advantage of this sacrifice and struck Shadow and the same inability to move fell over her.  Atvan seeing this rushed forward with staff in hand but sweat, blood, and grime made the staff slick and as he brought down the quarterstaff towards the creature it slipped out of his hands and flew down the hallway.  Temeris, regaining some movement now after the battle had gone on for a bit, crawled out from under the fallen ghoul and grabbing his dagger joined in the attack with Atvan and the last remaining creature.  As the ghoul moved aside to avoid a blow from Temeris Atvan was able to bury his dagger deep into the chest of the ghoul and it stopped moving as it slid off the blade buried into its chest.

After the battle the party gathered themselves and with little more they could do as Shadow and Crispin came about and regained mobility, Atvan tended to their wounds while Temeris stepped into the next room.

To the south, from beneath a pair of stone doors, a bright, pulsing light could be seen...

>>>>>>>>>>

So that is where we stand.  The party is certain a third skull and lever door exists that when pressed will open the doors to something, however they also know of another secret door.  But right now with injuries piling up and rations and goods running low they now find another pair of doors with a strange bright "strobing" light behind them.  What do the skull locked doors hold behind them, and is there a third that will open them as the party believes?  What is this strobe light effect from behind these stone doors?  What further dangers await the party and can they take much more abuse in this place well below the earth's surface?

...and what about the Zhentarim and the treasure map?  Time continues to tick and down here there is no way to know what is going on with either of those, or anything else happening in the world for that matter...