Kith’takharos Campaign 14

Read all the Kith’takharos Campaign session recaps here.

Luc, Sasha, and Whiskin continue fighting a pack of giant spiders. Although the spider webs restrict movement, Luc still wields his rapier and dagger with deadly accuracy. The battle is soon over, with no one receiving more than superficial injuries.

After a brief search, Sasha discovers more colored stone cubes that she believes will enable a return to the original tower. She activates the fog, and the three of them walk into the white mist.

Meanwhile, Illya and Larry search the third floor of their tower for the creature that launched the electrical attacks. They occasionally hear it move but cannot find it. The creature does not attack again.

Sasha, Luc, and Whiskin now reappear. The group trades stories about their respective battles and plan the next move. They believe that Hoyt must have “teleported” to a different destination than the spider-infested tower. Since the tower holds stone cubes of two different colors, they speculate that Hoyt used the second color to go somewhere other than the spider tower.

Indeed, the second color of cube teleports the group to a new tower surrounded by water. A multitude of footprints cover the floors, but neither Hoyt nor his men can be found. The first floor is filled with water and mud, so there will be no exit from the front door. Furthermore, the group cannot active the teleporter. They will have to leave on foot.

That presents a problem, because the third floor windows are over 60 feet above the water and the roof even higher. Unfortunately, the group has no rope or climbing gear. Because the water rises to the second floor, Illya assumes that it must be deep. She jumps out a window and lands in shallow water; apparently, quite a bit of mud built up over the centuries, and the water was never very deep. The fall almost kills Illya, leaving her unconscious and floating face up in the water.

The rest of the group heads to the roof. They stand near the edge and examine the tower and water more closely. They now notice a line of spikes protruding from the wall, perfectly positioned to serve as a ladder. These must have been placed by Hoyt. The group climbs down and attends to Illya. Within a few hours she can resume travel.

Whiskin easily finds Hoyt’s trail on the shore. In fact, everyone can see the trampled foliage. Hoyt and his men must not have been concerned with hiding their tracks. At dusk, the group stumbles over the corpses of three Swamp Men. One of the bodies has been badly burned. Illya recognizes the signs of Arcane Power here, and everyone grows a little worried about Hoyt’s capabilities.

Night falls, and Luc turns on a Harlass Orn light gem. They follow the trail for many hours. Around midnight, the top of another tower rises above the trees, and Luc turns off the light.

As the group enters the clearing that surrounds the tower, crossbows are fired from the roof. They hurry to the doors and enter the tower. The interior is pitch black, so they turn on some light gems.

Whiskin notices a tripwire strung across the hallway. When they step over the obstruction enter the first corridor, two men turn and run toward the ramp leading to the second level. The group cautiously moves to the ramp, but the men are gone.

The lights are extinguished. Luc and Larry creep up the ramp while everyone else stands still. Neither man makes a sound, and no foe gives an alarm. Eventually they reach a wooden barrier stretching across the corridor. Then a light flares and they find themselves standing before two tables tipped to block the path. Lenar Hoyt holds the light. Between Hoyt and the tables, at least a half-dozed men stand, wielding crossbows and swords.