Session 15 Recap

So... The front door is a bad idea. The heroes follow the cliff a short distance and climb it. From the top of the cliff they find a door into the guard tower and a sinkhole, which they avoid. They bash down the door & scout the tower & gatehouse. The gate guards attack. The Troglodytes are smelly & annoying, but no real threat from within the gatehouse. One of them is bound & questioned about the fortress & other inhabitants. He gives a general overview.

The group finds harpy nests in the central courtyard. Setting the nests on fire draws out the harpies, who fight briefly and die or flee. Which puts some of the PC's by the sand pile. The ceiling has collapsed & sand has trickled in. The two carrion crawlers therein attack.

The throne room is next. Oddly, it has trees in it, but no sunlight. Queen Shephatiah and her minions attack. The cacklefiend hyenas are respectable, but everything else dies quickly. Shephatiah is captured & questioned. The eladrin woman reverts to her dryad form. She fills in blanks concerning the layout and indicates that up to two dozen more guards reside in the barracks area. Off to the barracks...

Presenting the "Queen" bound and near death, the adventurers try to persuade the remaining guards to leave peacefully. Most comply. They head for the food stores & load up for their desert trek. The gnolls however want revenge for the Warden's death and attack. Stupid gnolls. The queen calls for help briefly, but that's discouraged quickly as the queen falls to the ground dead, an arrow protruding from her wooden chest, her hands still bound.

The group sees the remaining guards out the door & locks up. They explore all of the ground floor and the dungeon. There's one prisoner locked up below, an old man with sparrow companions. He seems to be mute & harmless. He's released and given food & water.

The second floor of the fortress remains unexplored. There's supposedly a demon up there. No sign of diamond mines yet.