- GM’s note: This session focusses on Grant and Ingmar’s exploration of the Hexenhoof Mines and their fight with the Little Crawler, the monster that the goblins call ‘Waka Nuka’ (or Big Mouth). The Waka Nuka has eaten Jacob, Lord of Gossamer, so it has Warden powers but it is also trapped on the lower level of the mine and cannot get out. It has been stuck in the dwarven mines for over fifty years, growing bigger…
Day 37 - Wineday – 22nd Day of Rainmoot (Spring)
- Convincing the Goblin King to let them use the bucket to descend to the lower levels of the Hexenhoof Mine takes Grant and Ingmar some time. The Goblin King seems to be interested in a way to control the beast rather than killing it (GM’s note – he was after the Ring of Command to enable him to enslave it, and the goblins who were after it have not yet returned), but he finally agrees that if it were slain that it could potentially be good for the goblins so he allows them to use the bucket.
- The ‘bucket’ itself is a large mining elevator that could carry a small army of dwarves and a significant quantity of ore. The gears grind into life and they are slowly lowered into the depths. They have agreed that the goblins will bring them back up in four hours, and they hope the Waka Nuka (the creature in the depths) will not be able to follow them if they need to retreat.
- Deep underground, Grant can sense the presence of a fellow Warden. He assumes that it is not Jacob but rather the creature itself and he decides to explore what else they can learn before confronting it.
- In their explorations they find Jacob’s old workshop which is filled with half-finished clockwork devices. On the workshop table is a small cup of refined sugar, something that should not exist in this reality. The locals use honey, not sugar. Searching around, he discovered a small faerie girl who claims that she is stuck here – she can’t leave whilst Jacob is still ‘alive’. He was eaten by the Waka Nuka but because he was devoured and absorbed rather than killed, the link between them wasn’t broken and she’s been trapped here for decades. Jacob’s companion gives her name as (GM’s note – you guessed it, who else could it be for a mad-keen clockwork tinkerer) Tinkerbell.
* Image by Laia (@itslopezz), sourced from Google Images
- (GM’s note – this is not the Disney version of Tinkerbell, although I know enough about the Tinkerbell series of movies that I may leech some ideas from here and there. I wanted a ‘steampunk Tinkerbell’ who would make logical sense as Jacob’s companion.)
- Tinkerbell seems pleased to have someone to talk to, but also annoyed that she’s been stuck here for so long. She tells them about the Little Crawler’s emergence and how the dwarves were taken by surprise. It even managed to overpower and consume Jacob, a Warden of the Stair. She presumes that it has all of his knowledge but it still can’t physically find a way out.
- Grant and Ingmar decide to proceed on, and leave Tinkerbell be until they can find a way to release her. Grant avoids the main chamber where he suspects that the Waka Nuka is lurking, and he leads Ingmar into a series of chambers on the other side. There they find evidence of old dwarven mining sites, but also find three life-like statues. One is of a fighting man from the north. A second is of a beautiful elven swordswoman and the third appears to be that of a dwarven archer, but the head has been shattered by rockfalls from above. Grant suspects that there is something nearby which has the power of petrification, but he doesn’t know what kind of creature it is. Carefully exploring further, they find an old dwarven storeroom that contains a small keg of black powder. Grant and Ingmar recognise it as blasting powder and they hatch a plan to feed it to the Waka Nuka. After all, the name ‘Waka Nuka’ means ‘Big Mouth’ in the goblin tongue so they are hopeful that they can feed it a live explosive device.
- Retreating without discovering what petrified the three adventurers, they retreat and decide to find the Waka Nuka. They find the large rubbish pile that has accumulated over the many decades of goblin occupation – the pile that grows ever larger as refuse is thrown into the fissure above to end up here. The rubbish dump stinks. There is quite a variety of fungus growing here, presumably what the Waka Nuka has been eating.
- They make their way to the dwarven temple of the First Smith – the doors to the temple are warped and twisted as if something very hot and very large has pushed the door out of the way. Grant is almost certain that the Waka Nuka is inside. Its trail is sticky underfoot.
The Battle with the Little Crawler
- The Waka Nuka is inside the church of the First Smith. It can sense Grant just as he can sense it. (GM’s note – in this game, Wardens can sense each other just like Immortals can in the “Highlander” movie). The Waka Nuka is curious about Grant, and a little confused. Grant tells Ingmar to wait for a minute while he goes first.
- Inside, the church has been wrecked and remade into a very alien home for this creature. Grant goes to the nearest column for cover but he can’t see the creature. Sure enough, the Waka Nuka is behind the column. It glides out to peer at him. It’s big. Very big. Its body is more than twenty feet long and within its eel-like head crowned with tentacles are three eerie green eyes.
* Image sourced from Google Images, I wish I could find something like this with three evil eyes…. Oh well
- Grant takes a swing at the creature, effectively poking it in the eye, which confuses it further. It backs off and then rears up like a snake. Grant ignites the fuse on the keg of black powder and throws it at the Waka Nuka when it makes a move to strike.
- The Waka Nuka catches the powder keg in its powerful jaws and shatters it, cutting off the fuse. It then turns its baleful green gaze upon Grant and he can feel its mind touching his. He catches glimpses of when it first burst from its shell, tearing the face off the nearest dwarf and then springing upon the lord of the mines. Grant disrupts the mental contact with Umbra and ignites a torch, which he then hurls at the creature.
- The black powder is still in the Waka Nuka’s jaws and the flame of the torch ignites it with a sudden flash. The Waka Nuka gives an alien shriek and retreats with inhuman speed for something of its size and bulk.
- Grant calls for Ingmar and the doughty dwarf charges into the chamber with his axe. Ingmar spots the creature and charges, trying to pierce its armoured hide with his axe. This gives Grant the opportunity to draw the Black Whip which is supposed to reduce foes into ‘red goo’.
- The Waka Nuka quickly regains its wits and decides to attack Ingmar. This gives Grant the opportunity to test out the evil Whip. To his pleasant surprise, it is very effective. It cuts clean through the Little Crawler’s carapace as if the armour wasn’t there at all, badly wounding the creature.
- Hurt, the Waka Nuka tries to retreat but Ingmar gives a bloodthirsty cry and sinks his blade into its neck. The creature flails in its death throws and a number of further hasty blows and strikes are struck. Then suddenly, all is quiet and the Waka Nuka is no more. Grant can no longer feel the presence of a Warden. They’ve killed it. (Grant realises that the Black Whip is a very potent weapon, and given that it is faerie-crafted, it will probably work in other realities as well).
The Aftermath
- Ingmar gives a hearty laugh and claps Grant on the back. He is very pleased. Together, they explore the rest of the First Smith’s temple and find many chambers that the Waka Nuka was unable to reach. They recover the Armour of the Fellowthongs, the ancestral armour of the clan which Ingmar was so desperate to find, and the great forging warhammer that Hammer (the dwarf) spoke of. Furthermore, there are many riches here in the vaults that have laid undisturbed here for decades.
- Tinkerbell is very pleased. She is now free, and with her newfound freedom, she continues working on one of her projects that she was unable to complete before due to missing parts.
- Returning to the goblins, Grant and Ingmar are welcomed as heroes by the goblins (even though the Goblin King would prefer to downplay matters, he is caught by the excitement of the moment and has little choice but to be gracious and congratulate them).
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