Facing the Scarlet Minotaur (9/16/2025)

GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Adrienne Muller, Eric Fattig, Demian Kendall
System: Shadowdark

And running probably should have been added to the title. And running away from said minotaur (twice). But I’m getting ahead of myslef.

Oh, did I mention that Lenk and Sraxl got to level 2? Wait, that is also at the end. Let’s start in the middle.

Inside the Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur the adventurers, hiding from their hobgoblin captors, explored new forking corridors, found a wounded beastwoman, learned the fate of Minoros the Cruel from Gendry’s god Maddera, ran from the Scarlet Minotaur, and broke (almost inadvertently) into the throne room of Sarpen the Wise, where they took his magic spear.

Oh, why were they running from the Hobgoblins? Because the captors finally found the trail of the fugitives and tracked it back to their camp (thankfully they made enough noise the characters were able to sneak away first) and then were circling the Citadel find them.

During camp they also felt an earthquake as a crack in the mountain opened and four dwarven warriors emerged, but they were too busy eating rabbit (“a” rabbit) and evading the griffin to take notice of that!

Armed with Vigilant, the Spear of Sarpen, they emerged from the camp and killed two hobgoblin guards that were waiting for them. Giuseppe even helped! Oh, and we had lots of discussion about whether or not Blurp (Sraxl’s familiar) held her soul.

Notetakers Log

Here’s the log from Eric our note taker. Thank you Eric. [My notes in brackets]

Lenk, Sraxl, and Gendry, their stomachs rumbling, decided they ought to find some game in the bush.

Gendry and Giuseppe set off towards the forest looking for small games. The party is luck enough to be present when a landslide scatters some small game from up the hill, making for easier hunting.

Gendy tell yet another bawdy tale of his conquests. Lenk wolfs down her meal with abandon. The party rests for the night.

In the dead of night Gendry, standing watch, sees torches in the direction of the river. It appears the party’s pursuers have found their trail!

Gendry douses the the fire clumsily, making enough noise to draw the attention of the hobgoblins. The party sneaks into the hidden entrance, hoping to lose them.

The hobgoblins, led by Quartermaster Deliotte find the party’s camp shortly after. “Fan out, they can’t have gone far.”

The party rests for a bit, with Gendry keeping watch. Gendry hears the snorting of something big as it stomps through the halls. Just as it is about to come around the corner towards the party it hears the hobgoblins making a ruckus and hurries towards them instead.

TORCH LIT

The party sets out, somewhat rested. [Sraxl realize she left her flint and steel at camp now Lieutenant Talix has it!].

They explore some of the blank spots on their map, finding only dead ends with more of those terra cotta jars.

The party wanders the halls arguing lightly as they go. At last they heard a sound of whimpering around the corner [editors note, that was my bad, the person was unconscious…not sure they would have made any noises…maybe they heard the squirming rats]. They turn the corner to find a medium sized room. The room is decorated with a bas relief carving of human figure doing various activities related to conquering. In the middle of the room is a wounded beastwoman lying on the ground and bleeding, unconscious.

Sraxl inspects the far wall observing the carvings depict people leaping over bulls and engaged in ritual combat.

Suddenly, and enormous figure breaks in, a furious axe-wielding minotaur! The great fighter knocks Sraxl away like a rag doll, knocking her unconscious.

Lenks grabs one of the beastmans’s sacks and tries to flee with Sraxl’s unconscious form into an unexplored room, finding it continues into more mosaics.

Gendry, risking great physical harm approaches the minotaur, importuning his goddess to protect the creature from chaotic influence…but the minotaur isn’t influenced by chaos…it IS chaos. Realizing his error, Gendry flees with the rest of his companions.

Miraculously Sraxl regains consciousness despite the thrashing she just took. She conjures a illusion of Orwen the fallen warrior to distract the minotaur. It takes the bait but so mighty is the blow that it sends rubble flying that damages Gendry.

Lenk, with all her might kicks open the door on the far side of the room, though barred and locked, Lenk still breaks through, but not without triggering the trap on on it. Fiery embers leap out incapacitating Sraxl [again!].

Gendry uses his healing powers to rouse Sraxl once more. Sraxl in turns protect them with a cloud of fog, but the fog cannot fully protect them and the minotaur lands a blow despite their impediment, though Gendry is made of tougher stuff and doesn’t fall. [The axe blade cleaved through his chainmail revealing a very “lothario” like hairy chest!]

Lenk continues inward, finding herself in the throne room. Much like the other room, a skeleton sits on the throne, holding a spear. [Editors note, I think I described it as being impaled but he was holding it]

The other scramble in and they shot and bar the door [no credit to Giuseppe here I see, it was his single iron spike that did it!], The minotaur tries but fails to break through the door, stalking off into the labyrinthine halls just as…

THE TORCH GOES OUT

Sraxl tries and fails to light their last improvised torch. Lenk and Gendry try as as well, with similar luck, Sraxl stars groping in the dark, but find nothing of value.

The room is stuffy and dusty, apparently no one has been here in a long time. Lenk tries to navigate in the dark but her memory of the room’s layout is less accurate than she realizes, and she finds her self in the corner of the room.

At last working together Giuseppe and Gendry

RELIGHT THE TORCH

Sraxl inspects one of hte pillars seeing how it documents the tributes paid to Oros, the bull god.

Damanthus gave gold.
Sarpen gave wheat.
Minoros gave blood.

Gendry inspects the skeleton noting a bejeweled diadem on it’s brow and a spear inscribed with the word VIGILANT in it’s hands [not ribcage]. He gingerly slips the spear from the skeleton’s grasp and it clatters to the ground.

Sraxl grabs the the diadem as Lenk takes the spear, noting a feeling of greater awareness as she holds it.

Giuseppe, feeling left out, takes the ornate throne, bulky as it is.

Gendry gives a bit of dignity to the deceased, saying last rights to the skeleton [and feels blessed for it, getting 1 luck]

The party search for a secret door but ultimately accepts that they only way they out is the way they came in!

The party returns to the room with the mosaic with a glimmering floor. Sraxl tosses a chain on the mosaic on the floor only for tendrils of slime to reach up and wrap around it. Realize the ooze was camouflaging itself against the mosaic, the party goes around!

The fallen beastwoman is nowhere to be seen. The party continues on finding a barred door, which Lenk batters her way through easily.

Within Lenk finds the many pillared room the party had spied from above before. Within the terrible minotaur waits among a sea of bleached bones. There is an enormous onyx bull statue at one end of the room.

Lenk sounds the retreat and the party heeds her call. The minotaur weaves between the pillars and sinks his axe into Lenk’s flesh, calling out to Lenk as though she was Sarpen, whose spear was slung across her back.

Sraxl, crafty as she is, summons an illusion of Damanthus to distract the minotaur and they flee back to the surface.

Lenk returns to the camp finding two unaware hobgoblins waiting for them [still not seeing the secret entrance so not spotting them immediately].

The party prepares to pounce upon them, marshaling their courage. Lenk strikes first, catching one of them in the back with her recently acquired spear. [The one who had been searing he’d make her suffer].

Gendry finishes the hobgoblin off, Sraxl, in a fit of uncharacteristic bravery attacks the other one, but is captured and held hostage [Natural 1, her own dagger at her throat].

Sraxl subtly signals to the party to continue their assault. They slay the hobgoblin, but not before Sraxls is downed [her throat slit]. Continuing her uncanny streak of luck Lenk is able to rouse her back to consciousness.

The party loots the [hob]goblins, finding a jade scarab pin, 60′ of rope, and a torch! Sensing that their old camp is no longer safe, they move towards the hillside, seeing new cover.

SESSION END

Thoughts on the game

Wow, that was a blast. The minotaur is terrifying!

I love he idea that Blurp holds Sraxl’s soul.

Sraxl has 1 hp (or had 1HP, she’s leveled now) so every hit knocked her out. She took 28 damage from the Minotaur (who got a crit) and 10 from the fire, and 3 from the hobgoblin who slit her throat. All of those things should have killed her…but that’s not how Shadowdark (as lethal as it is) works.

Gendry and Lenk had some chemistry this game! Smooches and maybe more!

Sraxl and Lenk are level 2. Huzza. Gendry is close behind. A lot of treasure (and lore) found this session.