AtD 028: The Wraith and the Broken Gem

The wraith darted through the wall dividing the chapel from the hidden chamber beyond. It again caressed brave Gromm, and the half-orc grew noticeably weaker—only his savage heritage and lust for life kept him from death’s door. Gromm’s companions rushed to help. Bodrum and Harald healed the redoubtable warrior and the fight raged on.

However, the party now had the measure of the wraith and modified their tactics to suit its hit-and-run style of fighting. Shortly thereafter it was destroyed.

Now, Harald pried the second gem from the statue’s face, but disaster struck. The clumsy paladin used his sword to free the gem. Unfortunately, he slipped and not only broke the gem but freed another wraith!

Battle was again joined! Luckily for the party, this wraith seemed far less deadly than the first, and it too was quickly destroyed.

With the last of the temple’s undead guardian destroyed, the party beat a hasty retreat; the first wraith had badly injured several party members and many of the heroes craved rest.

Returning to their camp atop the mausoleum roof, the heroes debated their next move. They briefly considered returning to Dunstone for a proper rest, but this plan was rejected. Harald seemed concerned that the goblins would use the lull in the heroes’ assault on their home to refortify their position, so the party decided to push on.

The heroes returned to the dungeons below the ruined monastery early the next morning. After briefly exploring portions of the upper ruins, they plunged back into the eternal dark of the goblin’s lair. Creeping westwards, they briefly explored the large arena and then swung south to investigate a guard room. Gromm and Harald discovered several new corridors and doors, but the party—led by Bodrum—decided to clear the as-yet unexplored doors to their rear before exploring further south...