Alas the party’s greatest enemy stood once again before them, a pit trap in the hallway. It had already cost the party so much health with failed climbing or jumping checks the party could not afford more injury due to it. Sick to death of the pit, it occurred to the party to use a bedframe from the armoury to act as a bridge. The two halflings flexed their little muscles but were halfway back to the hallway with the bed when Wendel lost his grip on his end and with a loud crash he succeeded in cracking the bedframe making it useless. Their greatest enemy, a 10ft hole in the ground, was indeed a force to be reckoned with.

*This group is hilarious. I can throw mobs at them in large numbers without them breaking a sweat, but get them to roll a skill check, even with a halfling’s ability to reroll 1s. Chuckle*

Remembering that there were two beds, the halflings yet again retrieved another bed deciding to be extra cautious this time. They were successful in getting it to the pitfall. *Finally* With the pit now conquered the party could continue, the fear of falling no longer a problem. 😛

*I was tempted at this stage to have the bedframe collapse underneath a player for sheer sadistic humour, but this felt a little mean considering they had worked out a solution to their terrible dice rolls. *

Examining the wall opposite the armoury Merric discovered a hidden door and by pulling down the unlit sconce part of the wall swung in with a slight click. Within stood a storeroom and work area. The south wall of this area opened into a large natural cave with several rock pillars and two rope bridging spanning a large crevasse that ran the length of the cavern. Ever vigilant Aurelia cast detect magic which revealed magic essence coming from the adjoining cavern within the crevasse. Asterin seemly disinterested in what the rest of her party were doing rummaged around the storeroom finding 30 beaver pelts which appeared to have some worth.

Cautious of another hole in the ground, the halflings kept close vigil at the entrance of the cavern. Their vigilance was well rewarded it when they detected a one eye creature trying to hide behind the nearby pillar. Highlighting the presence of the creature to the girls, Asterin was able to pierce the low light of the cavern with her darkvision and recalled the creature from her studies. She identified the creature as a Nothic and that they needed to be careful as these creatures had the ability to extract knowledge from others with their cosmic insight.

Aware that its presence had been detected the Nothic spoke to the group telepathically, demanding a tribute of food for safe passage. Merric didn’t trust the creature and quickly voiced his concerns to the group. In response the Nothic cryptically spoke directly to Merric,

“Natalie isn’t that safe you know!”

Merric reacted badly to the Nothic’s cryptic remark and launched into battle, a battle which quickly proved to be extremely one sided in favour of the players. The Nothic’s attempts to keep distance while utilising its ranged Rotting Gaze was frequently nullified by the party’s cover and resistance.

Clearly angry with the Nothic’s comments, Merric stood his ground consistently dealing max damage on his short bow and was backed up by Wendel’s darts, Aurelia’s Eldritch Blast and Asterin’s Firebolts. It was a ranged battle and the Nothic was downed by the sheer weight of the attacks without scoring a single bit of damage.

*I made a mistake here by not engaging in melee. My attempts to lure the group over a trapped bridge failed. Even with cover the amount of range the group put out was ridiculous. Merric hit every single time!! *

After the fight Aurelia was keen to investigate the magic aura she had detected at the base of the crevasse and Asterin joined her in climbing down to investigate further. Upon closer investigation it turned out to be a harmless necrotic aura covering the base of the crevasse which kept natural matter from decomposing. But there was a competing magic aura below one of the bridges which led them to a chest, within they discovered the following;

Asterin’s study proved to be extensive indeed as she was able to identify the sword as Talon, +1 longsword. It previously had belonged to a great knight named Aldith Tresender, known as Black Hawk, who had died fighting off orcs that had attacked through the hidden caverns below his manor his fate was unknown but the ruins of the manor above attested to his manor’s demise.

Merric was provided with Talon and Asterin showed interest in the scroll, the rest of the loot was divided amongst the group. Session was ended here, and the experience was awarded raising everyone to level 3 which means subclasses for our party.

Asterin had previously chosen to multiclass with Tempest Cleric so wasn’t able to choose a subclass yet, instead she opted to level up Sorcerer this time (Sorc 2/Cler 1).
Aurelia choose the Pact of the Blade as her Pact Boon.
Merric choose the Battle Master as his Martial Archetype.
Wendel choose the Way of Mercy (UA) as his Monastic Tradition.

With them levelled up the group is ready to clear out the last few rooms of the hideout and hopefully confront the Redbrand’s leader.