SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: THE MINES OF MADNESS, 5.30.17

The Heroes:

• Ecna Lubma: dwarf priest grudgebearer
• Gruntbelly: dwarf magician sorcerer
• Kane: human warrior fighter
• Mathias: jotun jotun juggernaut

Upon leaving the Old Wood, the heroes begin their day-long journey into the Black Hills towards the mining camp.  Towards the end of the day they reach the camp and find it abandoned, with doors spiked shut and forced open, an overturned cart and something that appears to be a blood stain on the ground.  While searching one of the buildings, they find a dwarf child who is hiding in a store room.  She is initially terrified, but Gruntbelly is able to get through to her and they learn that there are “bug-man” creatures in the area, one of which took her father as they rode towards the camp.  She warns the heroes that the bug-men mostly come out at night…mostly.  The heroes search the area, find no more clues, then head to the mine entrance.  There the dwarves and Mathias lower themselves into the mine via the elevator, but before Kane could go down, two of the bug creatures enter the cave where the mine entrance is located and search it, but Kane used an enchanted item to make himself invisible.  That and the noise of the elevator crane engine and the smell of oily smoke coming from it masked him from the bug creatures, which left the cave shortly after entering.  Kane joins his companions in the mines below.

The heroes begin searching the mines and spend a few hours going through the branches from the main elevator chamber.  In one they find an overturned cart with a severed bottom-half torso inside.  In a nearby vent, two of the large bug-men crawl out.  One of them is winged and seems to have magical abilities that it casts at the heroes.  The other crawls down the wall and attacks Kane, who was ready for it and strikes first.  The creature manages an attack but is quickly killed by Kane who discovers that the creature’s blood is acidic and sprays out when it dies.  Luckily, Kane dodges the worst of it, but his scimitar is damaged. The others take on the winged bug-man and they kill it in a short fight, also dodging it’s acidic blood upon its death.

The heroes continue through the passages, noting a new section of mine that seems to have recently been discovered and broken through by the miners.  When the enter to investigate they find the passage is filled with a yellow-white substance and in an alcove they find a small nest, out of which crawls tiny versions of the bug-men.  They kill those rapidly and burn the nest, but see another one just ahead in the passageway.  They stop to consider their next moves.

End of session.