PLAY REPORT - Conclusion of first Stonehell delve

Thowin Four Fingers, a fighter

Imorfin the elf

Reldari the cleric, and his torchbearer, Nux

Fretta the Dark, a thief

Balork the Medium, a magic-user and Bursus, his man-at-arms

We rejoin the party on the first level of Stonehell, in the midst of a fight to the death with a party of orks. Loro the dwarf, short time mercenary, has been cut down.  Thowin and Imorfin, the party's leaders are asleep, having been caught in the area of effect of Balork's spell. Reldari and Bursus face off against the much larger ork captain….

Nux, the young torchbearer shook in fear as he stood next to Balork. His eyes focused on the lifeless dwarf, Loro. The magic-user pulled out his dagger and hoped that Reldari and Bursus could deal with the ork, but he considered his escape route just in case. Fretta the Dark, the albino thief,  drew an arrow and let loose. She dismissed the danger of hitting one of her comrades, trusting in her aim. But the shaft flew wide and she watched again in frustration as the arrow slammed harmlessly into the far wall.

The ork captain growled and swung his battle-axe, barely missing a ducking Bursus. The man-at-arms regained his footing in the muck and countered with his scimitar, but the blow was deflected. While Bursus occupied the ork, Reldari the cleric used the moment of distraction to land a solid blow. The ork grunted but recovered immediately. The huge battle-axe gleamed in the torchlight before it sunk into Reldari's gut with a sickening sound. Blood splattered and the cleric fell.

Fretta cursed again and released another arrow, this time on target. The ork captain snapped off the end of the shaft protruding from his thigh and swung at a ducking Bursus. The man-at-arms, perhaps driven by fear as he stood toe-to-toe with the huge ork, leapt forth and struck down his foe with a quick slash of his blade (Natural 20!). The fight was over, but Loro and Reldari were dead.

After the battle the sleeping Imorfin and Thowin Four Fingers were awakened. After a brief discussion the sleeping orks are tied up and then awakened with hard slaps.

Q: Does the party interrogate the orks? Very likely,  Mythic: Yes

Q: Does the party ask about treasure? Very likely, Mythic: Exceptional Yes and doubles so a random event occurs. Another PC Negative event - Lie Fears; I interpret this as the orks trying to scare the party off from taking the loot.

The orks reveal the camp location just in the nearby chamber, but warn that their shaman has placed a curse on anyone who would steal from the orcs. If stolen, only ill will come of it. The loot consists of 150 gold, 75 silver, 5 flasks of Dwarven brandy (expensive stuff!), numerous swords and short bows as well as the ork captain's battle-axe - maybe magical they way it bit into poor Reldari?

Q: Does the party believe there is a curse on the treasure? 50-50, Mythic: Yes - a dilemma now. Will they actually leave it behind?

Q: Do they leave the loot? 75% chance of a yes, Mythic: No! Damn the torpedoes - I like it!

There is some further interrogation and the party learns of the Open Sore ork tribe and their location a bit further to the south. This camp was apparently a forward base as the orks are attempting to expand their territory.

After a short discussion, the party agreed it was time to return to the surface and to Enharza. Mythic revealed that the party opted against killing the captives but did leave them bound and gagged.