Earthdawn: Adventure Log 48 - Is This Going to Happen?

This is the forty-eighth Adventure Log in an ongoing series about Earthdawn. Introduction and Index.

Adventure Log – 048 Is This Going to Happen?

Written By: Bongani Kreskas

Date:  27 Strassa, 1509 TH
Group Name: Mismatched Steel

Group Members

Bongani the Scout
Elmod the Nethermancer
Honeysuckle Sunspray the Warrior
Ting the Swordmaster

As the party took a rest, I went to scout around. I heard the thumping of feet and found some strange ball-like creature with stumpy legs, clawed hands, and a gigantic mouth. I retreated with my friends up the tunnel to prepare for a pitched battle. The creatures seemed repelled by the light, so I crept forward to see what was the matter. I come face-to-face with a critter doing the same. In surprise, I cried out and Honeysuckle came to my rescue, cleaving it nearly in half! I skillfully retreat down the hallway and battle was joined!

Ting says the creatures are "gnashers" - weak Horrors. They are, however, freakishly strong. They swarmed over Ting and Honeysuckle, but our line held. The creatures gave us a surprising amount of trouble, but we eventually persevered. Peculiar how these minor threats cause so much grief - perhaps we should use more caution in the future(1).

After a little recovery time, we continued on our way. We found a lovely grotto where everything gleamed like crystal(2). We also found statues of Namegivers transformed into crystal(3). Ting identified it as living crystal, even. In the back, I saw some crystal creatures moving, so we crept back to the mouth of the cave. Elmod started us off with a fireball. How explosive!

The crystal cave reverberated intensely as the horrors awoke, becoming manta-like creatures sailing through the air(4). Ting engaged them with an amazing leap, swirling through the air. Like an airborne dervish, scything through their crystal wings, Ting tore them to pieces! The horned, winged creatures descended upon Elmod, injuring him viciously. The gargoyles took quite a bit more attention to deal with, as they were hardy creatures(5).

We gathered up some of the living crystal (for barter) and continued on our way. We also took the horns off the gargoyles (Elmod takes their faces, for unclear reasons)(6). Afterwards, we returned to the kaer.(7)

*     *     *

(1) This should be their mantra. 
(2) Trap.
(3) Now I want to know more. After consulting with Zamrica, he shivered, threw up, then hid (if that order, and yes, this needs to be maintained for posterity). After prying him out of the wardrobe, he thinks this is the work of a powerful crystal entity. While superficially similar to the Crystal Gardner, it's too blunt for that Named Horror. Interesting.
(4) These sound like shadowmants of living crystal. How curious. Were they formed completely from crystal, or turn from their living form into a crystalline form?
(5) Similarly with the gargoyles, though I suppose these could be a different form, rather than the work of a Horror, just with an affinity to a different kind of earth.
(6) Well. That... happened. I suppose. 
(7) Received and edited by Ela Pono

As the title of the session may suggestion, there were some scheduling problems leading up to this. Months of scheduling problems. Complete with loss of internet when assembling everything for the session. The result was events not going quite as planned. Still, some pieces of the plot were dispensed and it was, in part, about getting things back on schedule. Ready to be disrupted by GenCon.

Mechanically, the gargoyles and shadowmants had crystal masks applied (Infused and Imbued respectively, adding +1 and +2 Circles). And even when much lower Circle, gnashers are still dangerous and obnoxious.