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Picking up directly after the last session…

The party decides that they made enough of a ruckus fighting the Vulture Drakes that any other groups in the fortress will be on the alert. So, they hurriedly explore the areas that the Troglodytes were guarding. On the second level, they find a portcullis locked close – but Ibiza manages to pry it open. Beyond it, they discover a group of Human guards – but quickly overpower them.

Interrogating a surviving guard, Oin learns that Queen Shephatiah is an Eladrin. The guard tells the party how to reach the Queen's chamber and gives them a brief overview of who is likely to be there with her.

Armed with this new intelligence, the party finishes a cursory exploration of the remainder of the fortress and then goes upstairs to enter the Queen's chamber from behind. In there, they find another group of Human Guards, a Longtooth Hunter, and a pair of Cacklefiend Hyenas guarding the Queen.

During the battle, it becomes clear that the Queen is not an Eladrin, but is actually an evil Dryad. And her area of the fortress contains a number of odd trees that only grow in the Underdark. The trees, it is later learned, grow here because there is some kind of magical (likely elemental) energy seeping up from below.

During the fight, the Queen spends most of her time teleporting between these trees, taunting the party, and cheering on her defenders. But in the end, the defenders all fall – and the Queen is killed.

With the Queen defeated and with the discovery of a potential energy source in the lower levels, the party returns to a set of blocked stairs they had discovered earlier. They move the blocking crates, open the portcullis, and descend – fighting past an Iron Cobra and a pair of Longtooth Hunters.

Throughout the fortress (but mostly with the Queen and her entourage), the party finds the following loot:

• 1,800 gp
• One 500 gp gem
• One 1,000 gp gem
• 4 art objects¹⁾ @ 250 gp each
• 1 Level 9 Uncommon Magic Item: Strongheart Tattoo (Ibiza)
• 1 Level 11 Uncommon Magic Item: Circlet of continuity (Zim)
• 1 Level 12 Uncommon Magic Item: Jagged Shortsword +3 (Imbo)

To Be Continued…

This adventure comes from Dungeon Magazine issue #159 (pages 56-93).

Since two players were missing from this session, I restored this encounter to its originally-written specs. In hindsight, this was a mistake – as the encounter is split into two halves and did not present a serious threat.

For the same reason as above, I restored this encounter to its originally-written specs. This one fit the party better – but it still presented little real challenge.

Despite the cake-walk aspect, I awarded the party a milestone for these two encounters…

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