OSE Solo #7: Trapped on the Second Level!
Yaïma the Elf and her comrades continue through the dungeon revealed by the chasm.
This is part of a series of blog posts in which I play Old School Essentials as a solo RPG. You can read the first session here or the previous session here.
Scenario
After the caravan comes to a rest in a village, Yaïma the Elf has convinced three of her fellow caravan guards to investigate a chasm on the plain to the northwest. They accidentally board an elevator room, descending one level deeper. They must find their way back out—if only for the sake of their borrowed horses!
The map produced last session
Adventure
The Chasm, Level 2
Hour 2
The 20 foot by 20 foot room comes to a stop after a short descent. The party investigates the elevator room, searching for the controls or any other indication of its use, but find none. They open the door, revealing a passage turning to the right.
The turn leads them to a T-intersection; this new passage travels northwest-southeast and is 20 feet wide. Just at the edge of their torchlight, they spot a door to the left. To the right, the passage continues on into the darkness. Luckily the party remembers that the direction to the cave entrance and the direction out of the elevator are the same, so they follow the left path to the door in the northwest. [RN: they of course don't have a compass, but I'm using cardinal directions to translate between text and map.]
Yaïma listens at the door, hearing nothing. She forces it open, revealing a forty foot square room, empty, with a door at the center of each wall. The torch burns low, so they close the door behind them to rest and light another. The party realizes it would be about time to turn back to the village... if they could escape!
Hour 3
Yaïma listens at the door directly ahead, she hears nothing and opens it to find a small 10' by 10' room, a large closet really. It is empty. Next she moves to the door along the left wall. Again, she hears nothing and forces the door to find... Zombies!
Five silent undead guardians animate and shamble toward the intruding elf. Yaïma screams in terror as one swings an ancient battle axe at her through the doorway. She quickly jumps back into the well-lit room with her companions.
They scramble into fighting positions and attack as the first zombie enters. Linsey is able to slash the zombie across the torso, but it continues to press into the room. It swings its battle axe at Linsey, hacking into their shoulder, leaving a bloody wound.
Linsey falls back to get the entry door open, for a quick escape. Yaïma and the other two guards continue to fight in the meantime. Yaïma and Olam manage to bring the first zombie down.
A new zombie steps into the room, swinging at Yaïma, but missing. The three party members at the door strike, with Perston managing the final blow. Linsey calls out to them to retreat. The other three reply that this is the best place to make a stand. A third zombie emerges... and nearly cuts Olam down with its axe!
The party members turn and run for the door. They slam it shut behind them and Yaïma pounds an iron spike underneath to jam it. The zombies begin to chop at the wood, while the party runs back up the hallway. They have two options, back to the elevator (which they can't operate) or further into the dark dungeon.
They extinguish the torch and Yaïma leads the humans through the dark, toward the elevator. They climb in and wait, hoping they stay hidden. After nearly ten minutes, they open the door again. Yaïma peaks out and sees no sign of pursuit. She sneaks back to the wide passage and looks around: the door is smashed to pieces but there is no sign of the zombies.
Back at the elevator, they plot their next move. The zombies are blocking the direction of any possible cave exit (they assume). The other passage heads away from the chasm, and presumably an exit. Two of their sturdiest members are seriously wounded. This damn elevator isn't moving. Seemingly out of options, they're inclined to spend the night (or more?) resting in the elevator room...
To conserve torches, the party tells stories in the dark. Happier, above-ground stories.
About half an hour later, Yaïma's ears prick up. She quiets the other three, now clearly hearing the sounds of sniffing and pawing on the other side of the door. The party scrambles to their feet as they hear two paws make contact high on the door. Yaïma runs to brace the door, while Olam relights the torch. Perston lends support at the door. They hold strong and the curious creature lopes away.
Hour ...7
The party passes the next three hours uneventfully, in the dark. After waiting for so long, the strangest event occurs—the room begins to rise. It comes to a stop and Yaïma opens the door to find them back on Level 1!
They rush to the cave entrance, find the sun setting and their rope intact, and climb out of the chasm. They're startled to find a small, but lavish, encampment set up around their horses!
Referee's Notes
Maybe empty rooms and no wandering monsters are not so bad...
The encampment is the result of a wandering monster check from the very end of the party's time in the elevator; 6 nobles, which I decided were investigating Level 1, after spotting the horses. By the time the party got back to the first level, the nobles were out of the dungeon.
Dungeon Map - Level 2
Tools Used
Appendix A from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeon Master's Guide
Old-School Essentials Dungeon Time Tracker