The Cave Entrance
The party arrived at a cave entrance and stopped to read the tracks. Multiple tiny goblin prints and large ogre prints led in and out - nothing surprising for a dark cave. But then Theren spotted something more interesting: human footprints on top of the ogre prints heading in, and goblin and ogre prints on top of those human prints heading back out.
Someone went in before the monsters. The monsters came back out. The human didn't.
Before the party could fully process that, Barzer heard something the others didn't - a low-toned whisper in Infernal: "come to us." Nobody else caught it.
Theren Goes In
Theren volunteered to scout ahead. He rolled a 20 on stealth and slipped 50 feet into the cave before reaching a natural bottleneck. Through the dark he could make out multiple ogres and goblins holding the position.
Then his scale mail shifted. The sound carried.
Combat began.
The Fight - Round One
What followed was brutal and fast.
A goblin landed a critical hit on Theren for 8 damage. Then an ogre connected with a critical hit for 20 damage.
In a single round, Theren went from 28 HP to 0.
He failed his first death saving throw (rolled 9).
Selena - in a moment of either tactical genius or genuine desperation - lobbed a piece of stinky cheese into the fray. It struck Theren on the way down.
Pulled Back
Elaris moved to within 30 feet and cast Healing Word, pouring 7 HP into Theren and pulling him back from the edge. He was back in the fight before the next swing landed.
Barzer responded with Magic Missile - three darts of pure force punching into one of the ogres for 10 damage.
Selena attempted Sacred Flame on the ogre, but it passed its DEX save and shrugged it off.
One ogre swung at the still-prone Theren, but he was already back on his feet.
Grinding Them Down
The party held together. One ogre fell. The second took enough punishment that it turned and retreated deeper into the cave - wounded but moving fast. Before that, another ogre had already slipped away into the darkness, possibly looking for reinforcements.
The ogres at the entrance never pursued outside. They held position, fought, and fell back. Whatever is deeper in that cave, they were guarding it.
The Chase
The party made the call: go after them.
Theren and Elaris pushed ahead, chasing the bloodied ogre into the dark.
Kaltor, Barzer, Nysera, and Selena are behind them, closing the gap.
The session ended mid-pursuit.
Current Status
Party HP at end of session:
| Character | HP | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Theren Vale | 16 | 28 |
| Barzer | 4 | 23 |
| Kaltor Reinhardt | 34 | 34 |
| Nysera | 16 | 24 |
| Elaris Moonveil | 24 | 27 |
| Selena | 20 | 20 |
Where everyone is:
- Theren and Elaris are ahead in the cave, pursuing the bloodied ogre
- Kaltor, Barzer, Nysera, and Selena are behind them, catching up
- One ogre is dead at the bottleneck
- One bloodied ogre is retreating deeper
- One ogre may have gone for reinforcements
Open questions going into next session:
- Who is the Infernal whisperer? Why is it calling to the party?
- Who were the humans that went into this cave before the party?
- What is deeper in the cave that warranted this many guards?
- Has the missing ogre found reinforcements yet?
- Are Theren and Elaris about to outrun their support?