Tales of the 11 Foot Pole

The lead-in to last night's Trossley run:

• The collapsible *11* foot pole ( sections of 3, 4 and 4 feet) the party had commissioned from the ten-foot-pole magnate was finally ready.
• Every megadungeon has to have rival adventurers, and the first ones arrived in town. A down-on-their luck couple with a dog, a baby, and some scavenged weapons of poor quality, I fully expected pathos and tragedy to ensue. What happened? Read on...

The new wizard, Jessera, showed a tactical bent as she urged the party to "secure the back area" and investigate the other doors leading from the entry room before pressing deeper into the dungeon. Going north found a room with murals of the Archmage's troops marching forward, and exiting the far door caused an odd, nervous feeling in the dwarf that went away as the party decided to turn around and try the south door. This led to an ineffective crossbow trap, a brick-constructed area with rooms formerly dedicated to storing foodstuffs, and a left turn into... an encounter with some kobolds, dressed as the well-guarding kobolds had been in the scraps of the Archmage's livery and armor!

Jessera's sleep spell once more left none to tell the tale, but the party was interrupted in the midst of throat-slitting by a Common-speaking representative of another kobold tribe who had taken over the well after the party had slaughtered its defenders. This "Yurog" tribe claimed to be peaceful and urged the party to strike south against the warlike "Amrash." Both dwarf and militant had their own reasons to just want to kill kobolds, but discretion won the day and the Yurog representative was sent back with news of the party's willingness to truce.

Further exploration, using the pole to open, prod, and keep at bay, netted only a fight with some centipedes and a hoard of coins sewn into a mattress. Some of my rolling behind the scenes revealed to me events that led to a loud marching and intimidating battle cries of "Am-rash!" being heard approaching from the south. Feeling naked without their sleep spell, and also succumbing to player fatigue (it had been a long week), the adventurers retreated to count their money and experience.

And the luckless couple? I'd determined they would try to clean up an area of towers in the upper works the party had not fully explored. They squashed a black widow spider with extremely lucky dice rolls, and it was guarding a decent treasure too ... Thus when the party got back to the Duck and Whistle they saw the lucky couple eating a fine meal, swilling ale, bouncing the baby, and declaring their early retirement from the adventuring game.

Meanwhile, the dungeon shifts ... the kobold wars continue ... intrigue and infamy await!