Session Ninety-Four: The Plateau

As the group was marveling at the clear water, Fain reminded them that going further into the mountains would probably mean their death. He had seem many brave, but foolish, people climb the cliff. He told them that there was no path from the plateau. He said it matter-of-factly, but the group noticed a hint of concern in his voice.
The group thanked him for his concern, but said they were on an important errand. With this statement, Samsun retrieved the eggs from his pack and used the mountain water to clean them. Fain looked on in confused wonder. Samsun then wet the fabric he was carrying, wrapped the eggs back up, and placed them back in his backpack.
The group explored the ruins. There were the foundations of square buildings, with bits of wall still standing erect. The doorways were wide enough for a human, but there were remains that indicated the doorways were shorter. They concluded that this was likely a dwarven village.
They looked up the sheer cliff and suggested climbing it. Kraah asked Shada to prepare the climbing gear. Shada emptied his pack and began organizing and preparing the climbing gear for the arduous climb.

As Shada was getting everything ready, the group explored the ruins further, while Kraah flew upward and explored the cliff face. Up the cliff, there were a few outcroppings that Kraah believed could hold the group. When Kraah returned to the ground, he found that Shada and all of their gear was missing.

They began their search and after an hour, Samsun found drag mark near a cleft in the mountain side. He rolled the large boulder to the side and the group could see a natural cave entrance in front of them. The cave opening was narrow, but they guessed that Samsun could squeeze in uncomfortably.

While Samsun was discovering the cave, Raco lifted a flat stone on the ground, elsewhere in the ruins, and discovered a secret stairwell, leading below the plateau. The group did not know which way to go, so Raco went down the staircase, to see what he could find. The stone stairs were old and worn. At the bottom, he saw a wall with two dwarven skeletons. The dwarven skeletons were pinned to the wall with spears; the spears appeared ancient. There was an opening into another chamber, but Raco returned to the surface and informed the group what he had found.
The group did not want to deal with dwarven banshees, so they decided to go into the cave. The cave was a natural formation and the group had to twist around many stalagmites and stalactites. Being a half-giant, Samsun was having great difficulty moving through the cave and was slowing the group greatly. Yusef lead the group, looking for traps and finding none.

Eventually, the cave forked in front of them and the group decided to go right. They walked into another tunnel, which lead to another fork. A foul stench was coming from the right, so they followed their noses.

They entered a larger cavern, where they discovered piles of bones and excrement. The bones were mostly animals, but dwarf and human bones were present as well. There were four passageways leading out of the cavern. The group decided to send Yusef to scout them.

In one of the passageways, stones were stacked to block it from curious exploration. Another path lead to a smaller cavern with more bones and feces. Another was long and wound its way through the mountain. Yusef returned to the group, before getting to far from the group. The final passage lead to a cavern, which housed squat, dwarf-like, creatures.

The creatures were built like dwarves:  short, wide, and strong. However, these creatures were far uglier than the ugliest dwarf, with long noses, sparse hair, and clawed hands. Yusef sneaked back to the group and told them what he had found.

The group started talking about the strange creatures and they all tried sneaking down the passageway to get a better look. Unfortunately, they were spotted by the creatures. The creatures looked angry and threatening. The group fled back to the previous cavern, hoping to funnel the creatures to them.

The group's plan failed, as the dwarf-like creatures moved through the stone as easily as they moved through the air. The group was surprised when the creatures appeared out of the walls and rose up from the stone floor. A fight ensued.

One of the creatures used the way and forced Samsun to run away. However, even without their half-giant, the group was a formidable force. The fight was challenging, but the group was able to overcome the creatures.

The creatures fled back into the stone walls and the group found a place to hide, to rest and heal. Samsun recovered and returned to the group. He apologized for his weakness of will and used his water clerical magic to heal the injured.

Join us in two weeks for another exciting session of Adventures Under the Dark Sun. 
2nd edition AD&D Dark Sun Cast of Player Characters 
Dimitria: Human female druid. 20 years old. Played by Mary. Speaks Urikite, Raamin, and Tyrian.
Raco: Mul male psychometbolist. 20 years old. Played by Dave. Speaks Dwarf and Tyrian.
Samsun: Half-Giant water cleric/fighter. 37 years old. Played by Ben. Speaks Giant and Tyrian.
Kraah: Aarakocra air cleric.17 years old. Played by Chad. Speaks Aarakocra, Tyrian, Balician, and Gulgish.
Cheet: Human female preserver. 24 years old. Played by my wife. Speaks Drajish and Tyrian.
Yusef: Human male thief. 24 years old. NPC party member. Speaks Tyrian, Nibnese, and Urikite.