**Date:** 9/12/20

**PCs:**

Brother Berthold (Cleric L1)
Sporith the Gambler (MU L1)

**Hirelings:**

Pelgos (Sellsword - RIP killed by a cultist's dagger)

**NPCs:**

Rubric, Dwarven beer merchant
Blunt, rowboat ferryman

**LL Notes:**

The party explored most of the first 'Dolm River dungeon' level,
which is split into two parts, one abandoned and unlit, the other
inhabited and well-lit via magical light sources. One area of
several rooms in the abandoned section can be accessed only via
locked door, sealed off due to the undead creatures within it. A
demonic cult lives in the other half of this level, the cultists
wear dark red robes and wooden or silver amulets carved with a
picture of their demonic idol, and there are clues that some of them
have studied necromancy.

The stone door exposed by the rock fall is the entrance to the
uninhabited section. The cultists use another entrance, as yet
unknown to the PCs. The stone door is atop a 30-foot winding stair
carved into a cliff face, at the base of which is a sandy beach,
along the shore of the Dolm river. A forested island lies in the
middle of the river, across from the beach, and is home to a vicious
warthog.

Complicating things is the presence of Gareth Holtz, a thief (my own
modified Knave class [1] as LL OEC has no thieves) who lives in Larm
and is in league with the Thick Skull Orc tribe. He has three of the
Orcs with him. Holtz heard the rumor of the stone door, and is
intent on plundering the dungeon before anyone else.

**Session Notes:**

Sporith and Berthold decided not to waste any time after returning
from the hermit cave and enlisted the aid of Blunt to row them and
Pelgos upriver to the stone door. He agreed to partial payment in
wine, and after preparing their packs, the group set out. After an
uneventful couple of hours on the water, they spotted the rock fall
and nearby island, and went ashore on the latter.

After being chased off of the island by the warthog, the party
beached their rowboat by the cliff, leaving the drunken and sleeping
Blunt within, and climbed the stairs to the stone door. As they
approached, they could see the door was half open, a broken crowbar
evidence to the method of forced entry. They lit torches and
descended a 30 foot stair, into a room empty save for a dead Orc. As
they passed the Orc they were attacked from above by reptilian
creatures with clawed feet and large fangs. They managed to kill
them and moved on.

In a circular room with a pool they encountered their first cultist,
who Pelgos killed with his spear, but not before the cultist was
able to yell an alarm. As there were no other exits, they thought it
wise to stay put and douse the floor in front of the one door with
oil.

They were soon joined by three other cultists, one of whom rushed
into the room and was engulfed in flames when Sporith lit the puddle
of oil with his torch. Before the flames claimed his life, he
stabbed Pelgos through the chest with his dagger, killing him
instantly. The two other cultists backed away from the flames and
the party went after them, tracking them to a closed door. Beyond
they could hear even more voices, so Berthold made good use of his
iron spikes, pounding three into the door jamb. Convinced that the
door would hold for a while, they explored south and came across a
pair of ornate, gold-handled red doors that seemed impossible to
open, despite the lack of any lock or keyhole.

The two moved on and returned to the uninhabited section of the
level, exploring the cultist's living quarters (they noted six beds)
and a storage room. It was while investigating the latter that two
cultists found them. Berthold was wounded in the battle, but
eventually they were able to kill the cultists, with Sporith making
good use of his dagger from the rear.

Continuing on, they came across a locked door. Sporith could hear
Orc and Human voices beyond it, and rather than trying to break it
down, they knocked. The human (who was Holtz) answered, and some
bickering ensued about who would plunder the dungeon and who was
going to kill whom. Eventually they goaded Holtz into opening the
door, thinking he could surprise the two adventurers with a crossbow
bolt and two Orc spears.

All of them missed their targets, however, and the fight was on. One
Orc fell to Berthold's mace, while Holtz almost ended Berthold's
life (LL note: Save vs. death house rule left him with 1hp) before
being killed by Sporith's dagger. The remaining Orc fled, through a
door into a nearby room.

As Sporith was not injured, Berthold took a minute to use his cure
light wounds scroll on himself. At that moment the two heard screams
coming from the direction the Orc had fled, and upon investigating
found the Orc had entered an old kitchen and been killed by a
ghoul. The ghoul's back was turned to them as he feasted on the Orc,
so they closed the door to that room and moved on.

The last room they entered had clearly been the private quarters for
someone, with a single bed and chest of drawers. In fact the former
occupant was there as well, albeit now a zombie, still dressed in
cultist robes. The two fell back, luring the zombie out of the
room. Berthold tried but failed to turn the creature, so they were
forced to fight it, but landed a few lucky blows and were able to
kill it without injury to themselves. They went back and searched
the room, finding a silver amulet and a book titled "Master the
Undead", which had hidden in it a scroll (animate dead). Sporith and
Berthold decided now was a good time to return to town, so they
exited the dungeon via the stone door, roused Blunt, and headed back
down river to Larm.

[1]: https://smolderingwizard.com/2014/04/13/the-knave-a-thief-variant-for-labyrinth-lord/