SESSION 8: "CATACOMBS OF THE SCEPTRE TOWER"
By Belgarath the Mage


After our last encounter and capturing Calmo the Halfling we preceded to lead down and through what looked like a storage room/guard room with 5 yapping Hungry Grey wolves awaiting our movements, the halfling led us through the room to a door where we waited for permission to continue. Eventually we were beckoned forward and entered another room where we were greeted by a not very happy Black robed person of much magical prowess as Belgarath had detected, (Rob described as the "Man in Black", where Gregg said Will Smith!! LOL..)he was not happy at our party decimating half of his clan, nevertheless he gave us information about catacombs under the Sceptre tower and that one of his guides would lead us to the entrance, but not go in due to all the undead activity.

Delamor suggested and we all agreed to return to the monastery near spellguard and rest up and seek more information regarding the Lady Saharel and the Sceptre Tower, the party learnt that the tower was basically set-up as expected with a tower and pretty much what we knew of the Lady Saharel and that a ritual could hold her which would need the Pillars of Alabaster,after resting overnight we made our way back to the ramparts and the sight of a new door to replace the one that Gregg the Barbarian had kicked in the day before.
The guide led the party of "The Unorthodox Adventurers" to the edge of the catacombs, we were now alone!!

We entered a corridor in the catacombs leading to a chamber where we were attacked by 3 Shadow Hunter Bats and a Bone Charge Skeleton, immediately we went to battle, this first encounter however did not start well with most of the group missing their attacks except for Zyanne and Athon who both got stuck into battle and also received very heavy wounds, Belgaraths spells were going anywhere but at the targets, Gregg and Aradon were also not striking the enemy, at one point Aradon went to grab a bat missed and ended doing a spazzy grasp at nothing, finally the party starting get successful. Belgarath killed a bat with a magic Missile, after repeated hits on the Bone Charge skeleton, Delamor and Zyanne both hit criticals and destroyed the skeleton, Athon killed another of the bats, so that the chamber was now free of enemy.
The chamber had a bridge which we crossed except for Aradon who decided to run and jump the sewer and promptly ended in the sewer covered with well use your imagination.... (but not very pleasant for us!!)

At this point most of the party were able to level up and we continued through the dark, dank catacombs onward towards the tower, as we entered the next chamber worse was to come....
This chamber had several coffins of which skeletons with shortbows were hiding behind and we could see a corridor at the back of the chamber with a large pile of bones, Belgarath despatched 4 of the skeletons into flames with a scorching burst, Zyanne starting shooting with her sling from on top of the coffins and killed one of the skeletons, Athon went into battle killing two skeletons with his Flaming Blade and magic, mid battle Gregg and Aradon spent a round arguing tactics. Delamor and Gregg were confronted by two spectres who became a very big annoyance to the party, after much battle here Delamor killed one of the spectres, with Zyanne killing the other with her sling, Greg and Aradon also killed a skeleton each with Belgarath hitting the last with a magic missile, to clear out the skeletons.

The party proceeded into the next chamber where a large pile of bones were stacked up, Gregg hit a great critical while seraching the bones to find 1 Pillar of Alabaster (needed for the ritual to control Lady Saharel), two Amulets of Health and some gold pieces.
The party briefly rested to catch wind, and ready for what may lay ahead through the catacombs of undead, then onwards except that we discovered that the south corridror was impassable due to all the lying rubble and so we had to trace our way back to the first catacomb and head towards the west door in the chamber.
To Delamor's shock and surprise the door was a trap and had spikes on which pinned him against the wall, he needed Gregg's strength to help Delamor free from the trap, we were lucky that Zyanne was able to disarm the trap so we all passed through safely into more darkness, and dank, eerie conditions!!
We proceeded down a short corridor into a chamber which had sewers running through, and gratings, and a door on the western wall, Gregg and Aradon proceeded to open the gratings, after Aradon discovered they open and there was a rung ladder going down and they climbed down into the sewers while the rest of the party stayed above in the chamber then we were surprised by 6 rat swarms who went into attack, Belgarath killed 1 swarm with his scorching burst, Aradon using his Viper strike killed another swarm, followed by Zyanne also killing off a swarm. Gregg also hit a critical on a swarm and turned this swarm of rats into diced rat meat!!! Athon also killed a swarm with much Flame burst and green flame blade, Belgarath finished off the last swarm with a magic missile blast.
There our party awaits the next step towards reaching the Sceptre Tower......