As you pick up the statuette, with its primitive brutish features, you notice that a single word has been carved into its base: Arkolith. It is then that you feel the first of the tremors. You turn from the plinth and run for the exit. But before you even reach the tunnel mouth, with a sharp cracking of stone two of the large boulders dotting the cavern break apart, the shattered rocks becoming parts of a crudely humanoid body. Cracks in the boulders yawn open and you see hard mineral teeth within the rocky maws, while nuggets of quartz become sparkling eyes. If you are to escape this sacred place of earth power, you are going to have to fight the Boulder Beasts together.
First BOULDER BEAST SKILL 8 STAMINA 11
Second BOULDER BEAST SKILL 8 STAMINA 10
(If today is Earthday, add 1 point to both the monsters' STAMINA scores.) Although their rocky hides will blunt an ordinary sword, Wyrmbiter's enchantment means that you can injure the Boulder Beasts as normal. However, if you fight them using a crushing weapon such as a Warhammer or Mace, every blow that connects will smash their bodies for 3 STAMINA points of damage. To swap Wyrmbiter for a crushing weapon, if you have one, you must forfeit one Attack Round, during which time both the Boulder Beasts will get in an unopposed strike.
If you destroy these elemental monsters, the spirits inhabiting the boulders are banished back to the Elemental Plane of Earth, their rock bodies shattering into myriad shards. (Add the Clay Statuette to your Adventure Sheet, along with its name, and regain 1 LUCK point.) WIth the way ahead clear, you carefully make your way back out of the caves. It is then the seismic tremors return with a vengeance!
At least this time it's clear that we need to fight both at the same time.
The players already voted earlier that the Warhammer will be out default weapon, so I won't impose the free hit penalty for switching weapon in this battle. But note that I may impose the reverse if we get attacked by something that's more vulnerable to Wyrmbiter in the future. You may, of course, vote to switch our default weapon at any time as long as we're not already in battle.
Both things take the same number of rounds to kill if we're doing 3-point damage, so I'll just be targeting them in order.
COMBAT LOG:
Boulder Beast#1 13, Lisbeth Munroe 14. BB1 is at 8.
Boulder Beast#2 16, LM 16. TIe.
BB1 14, LM 17. BB1 is at 5.
BB2 19, LM 14. LM is at 13.
BB1 18, LM 18. Tie.
BB2 17, LM 11. LM is at 11.
BB1 17, LM 19. BB1 is at 2.
BB2 14, LM 21. No damage done.
BB1 11, LM 16. BB1 is defeated.
BB2 13, LM 15. BB2 is at 7.
BB2 14, LM 16. BB2 is at 4.
BB2 16, LM 19. BB2 is at 1.
BB2 13, LM 17. BB2 is at defeated.
With the mined-out tunnels continuing to fall in on themselves behind you, you race back through the mine as quickly as you can. You finally find yourself stumbling along the tunnel by which you entered the mine, exhausted and gasping for breath, but alive nonetheless. You lurch from the mine into daylight, blinking against the sudden harsh glare. You collapse, gasping for breath, as a cloud of dust escapes from the mine entrance behind you; Fathomdeep Mine has been sealed for good.
It is time to continue your quest. If you possess a pair of Seven League Boots and would like to use them now, turn to 2. If not, where do you want to travel next in your search for aid against Sturm's bound Elementals? Remembering that you can only visit each location once, will you make for:
The Eelsea?
Mount Pyre?
The Howling Plains?
Or, if you feel that you are ready, do you want to attempt to reach Balthazar Sturm's Weather Machine - the Eye of the Storm?
Hey, wasn't Brokk supposed to be waiting for us? I hope he's had the good sense to flee when the tremors started!
He actually shows up and helps us with the Mole if we release the thing in the statuette - which turns out to be a hostile Earth Elemental, but for some reason there's no mention of him otherwise.
Where do we go next?
Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Lisbeth Munroe
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 11/19
LUCK 8/8
Equipment: Backpack, Leather Armour, Lantern and Tinderbox, Wyrmbiter (+2 Attack Strength & +1 damage against dragonkind), Dragon Tattoo, Hunting Horn, Potion of Giant Strength (+2 SKILL and 1 damage when drink before battle), Rope and Grapple, Potion of Levitation, Warhammer (does +1 damage after hitting an opponent if 5-6 is rolled on 1d6), Clay Statuette ('Arkolith')
Provisions: 10/10
Gold: 9
Day of the Week:
Stormsday
Moonsday
Fireday
Earthday
Windsday
Seaday
Highday
Codewords: Mortsleam, Enihcam
Time Track:
Damage:
Notes:
1) For as long as Brokk is with you in the Fathomdeep Mine, if you find yourself reading a paragraph that has an asterisk (*) next to the number, subtract 50 from that reference and turn to the new paragraph to see what Brokk has to tell you. Brokk will also join in any battles you face underground. When faced with two opponents, you need only fight the first one to win the battle, as the Dwarf will do away with the other with his battle-axe. His attributes are SKILL 10, STAMINA 8. If you face only one opponent you will gain two Attacks, both of which can injure that opponent. In this case, if injuries are sustained they will only affect you on a dice roll of 1-3.
Brokk's current stats: SK 10, ST 6/8
Extra Lives remaining: 5/5
[/spoiler]
