Earthdawn: Adventure Log 44 - Deadly Expedition to Care-a-Lot

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

Adventure Log – 044 Deadly Expedition to Care-a-Lot

Written By: Ting V'strimon the Merciless of Urupa

Date:  22 Doddul -  Doddul, 1508 TH
Group Name: Mismatched Steel

Group Members

Bongani the Scout
Honeysuckle Sunspray the Warrior
Ting the Swordmaster
Uriel the Illusionist

I got bored. Bongani is taking - FOREVER - guiding us through the entrance of this kaer. There are several huge statues along the maze room to the entrance. They're pretty badass lookin', like 40 foot tall musclemen. I wanted to get a better look at one while we're trudging thought this place. I rocked a pretty slick leap flip up on the shoulder of the nearest guy, planning to hang out for a while. Problem being, they were some kind of guardians and came to life.

Fight started rough. Guy flicked me off his shoulder and stepped on me. Honeysuckle and Uriel stepped up and carried the fight till I could get back in there. Bongani, meanwhile, spent his time setting up some stupid trap and kill-stealing. The stupid rope trap did not work. We whittled them down to rubble and then went back outside to rest. Not worth messing with those guys.

Bongani goes back in by himself, while the rest of us heal up above. He encountered some sort of tentacle monster with really long feelers. he got away, but I suspect this will be our next fight. We plan and bonfire, and get ready for this thing.

We pop in and start wandering around. No surprise, it picks me as its target, and its first attack is murderous, but it's its only attack. Claws drained blood and poison me(1), and after Bongani kill steals - AGAIN - I have to sit around for a while to recuperate. We then follow a distant light to find a huge, shimmering crystal. Saw one of these ages ago, a trap to entrance Horrors(2). And there was a cloak standing right up against it. It was creepy as all get out. Bongani was the only one wanting to mess with it, and went up to get a look at it. The noise was also awful. Its face was blank, and the cloak was moving around(3).

We all skedaddled through the archway where there was another battery of traps before we came to a door. Using a kernel of True Water, we were able to chat with the folks on the other side of the door(4).(5)

*     *     *

(1) Sounds like a qural'lotectica. 
(2) This is recorded in Adventure Log 07, from over two years ago. It feels like it has been so much longer.
(3) What is this? It doesn't sound like anything I have heard of before, maybe Zamrica knows more.
(4) Wait, what? This is a living kaer? I feel that maybe this moment could have been met with a little more detail. A little more gravity. Perhaps acknowledging how big of an event this is. Though, I do wonder how the people of this kaer (if they're not all horribly corrupted and Mismatched Steel doesn't put them to the sword for "reasons") are going to get out of the Badlands. 
(5) Received and edited by Ela Pono

The payoff continues and more subtle clues are dropped. It is worth noting the fight with the massive stonemen was pretty brutal - they have a particular combination of attributes that make them pretty nasty to deal with. Which is to say, they functioned exactly as I hoped (their stat blocks are presented below).

This session started to show just how long they have been away, as some of their key consumables are reaching critical levels; notably, healing aids and absorb blow charms. Though, now they are "safe", so nothing should go wrong, right?

Massive Stonemen

Challenge: Journeyman (Seventh Circle)
DEX:  3      Initiative:                 3      Unconsciousness:    NA
STR:  14    Physical Defense:   6      Death Rating:            110
TOU: 15    Mystic Defense:      12     Wound Threshold:  22
PER:  6      Social Defense:       12     Knockdown:               16
WIL: 10    Physical Armor:     15     Recovery Tests:         4
CHA: 6      Mystic Armor:         8
Movement: 12
Actions: 2; Unarmed: 17 (26), Trample: 17 (24)
Powers:
Awareness (13): Heat Sight
Hardened Armor
Immune to Fear
Resist Pain (6)
Special Maneuvers:
Earth-Shattering Headache (Massive Stoneman, Unarmed): The massive stoneman may spend two additional successes on an Attack test to strike their target on the top of their head, causing him to be Harried until the end of the next round.
Overrun (Massive Stoneman, Trample)
Slowpoke (Opponent, Blunt Weapon): If the opponent has sufficient movement, he may spend one additional success on an Attack test to quickly move behind the massive stoneman before he can react. The massive stoneman is blindsided against the opponent until the end of the round.