# Eldeen reaches



## megamania (Nov 21, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES

LEAFFA	FEMALE HUMAN DRUID	CATHY
GILFER		MALE SHIFTER SOULKNIVE	TIM
PIIK		MALE BUGBEAR FIGHTER	ANDY

DM		STORYTELLER  		ANDY


This is a storyhour of the game I am running with my kids.  Cathy (14) and Tim (11) in the game world of Eberron.  As the title implies, it will take place mainly within the borders of the Eldeen reaches.  This is the world’s largest forest and hides many secrets (some best left hidden).  

In the past we have run games with basic “save the princess” or “return the stolen heirloom” type of stories.  This time we are advancing to a campaign which both are looking forward to.  As always, I am keeping the tone whimsical and light if only since they are my kids.

So without further ado, we begin where they are checking up on a friend of theirs that they have not heard from in several days……


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## megamania (Nov 21, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 001
11/06/09
“Where is Joe?”

Therendor 10, 997
“The spring birds are early.  I like their songs that they bring.” Says the druid as she walks down the forest trail.

“Eh.   Whatever.  Do you think Joe will have stew?  I’m hungry.”  Piik says more to himself than to the woman ahead of him.

“I like the warmth that spring brings.  And Joe’s spring root stews are good.  I like venison but there something to be said for his stews also.”  The shifter leads them down the muddy path.  His eyes dart side to side.

“Is Joe expecting us?”  Piik says with a grunting voice.  His Bugbear heritage clear in his voice.  While wandering in the Eldeen Reaches two years ago he met and befriended Joe whom introduced him then to Leaffa, the human druid and Gilfer a Shifter whom creates weapons with the power of his speedy mind only. 

Stopping at a stream, Leaffa’s horse, Ash, takes a drink.  It neighs in concern.  “What is it girl?  What is bothering you?”

“Look.” Says Gilfer pointing at the soft mud next to the stream.  “Tracks.  Many tracks.”

Piik ignores them as he pushes his clawed toes in and out of the mud allowing the ooze to bubble up through his toes.  “Looks like wolves.” He says with no interest.

Leaffa looks closer at the tracks and the stream.  “A pack…. Lead by … a big wolf.  Maybe even… a Dire Wolf…?”

“And these are not wolf tracks.  They seem to be following the wolves… or being chased by them.”  Gilfer looks closer at what he has seen.  “Children… or small humanoids.”  He looks around to try to guess whom was chasing whom.  “Piik…. Didn’t Sir John say something about goblin thieves were seen in the next valley over?”

“Eh.   If they try to steal from me….’” The bugbear touches the handle to his chipped battleaxe, “… things will go squish.”

“Does everything have to be settled by “squishing”?” asks Leaffa already knowing the fighter’s answer.

He surprises her.  “No.  Sometimes I just scare ‘em away.” He smiles allowing a lone tooth to peer out of his mouth as looks to Gilfer for approval.  Gilfer is too busy looking at the tracks to pay attention to him.  The bugbear grunts softly and tries to look like he cares about the tracks in the mud. Which he doesn’t.

“Tracks look to be two… maybe three days old.”   Leaffa says as she stands up and pats the head of her horse.  Ash shakes her head softly.  As the druid’s animal companion, she shares many traits with her.  Growing concern for Joe is one.  Or is it one of his stored apples Joe saves just for her?

They resume following the trail to Joe’s cabin.  No one has heard from the old ranger in several days time.  Though he is wise and knows the woods well, he is becoming old and sometimes over estimates his own fortitude.  

When they reach his small two-room log cabin they slow down and tense up.  His door is open.

Piik hefts out his Battleaxe and his eyes become dark as he looks for threats seen and in secret.  Leaffa lets go of Ash and draws out her bow and pulls back the flap to her quiver of arrows.  Gilfer crouches slightly causing him to stand lightly on the balls of his feet.  He reaches into his mind and energy begins to surface and glow around his hand.  The energy lengthens and forms the shape and size of a short sword then solidifies into said weapon.  He moves up first.

There are signs of goblins in the earth leading up to the porch.  Piik moves up to squish anything that comes out.  Goblin, wolf or even a dire wolf…. It’s all-good.

“Hello…?”   silence.

The Mind blade gently pushes the door open.  Inside, papers and books are on the floor.  The room looks completely trashed.  Gilfer steps in and checks the next room as Piik waves for Leaffa to come up.  She looks in.  “What happened in here?”

“Maid’s day off.” Piik says once more showing his one pointed tooth as he smiles at his own joke.

“No sign of Joe.  His pack and staff are gone.  I doubt he was here when this happened.”

Leaffa, looking at the shifter frowns in agreement.  “Did you see the tracks outside?  This was done by the goblins.”

“Joe call up wolves to chase away the pests?” asks Piik as he looks at the empty food shelves.  Not even the Boar peppered jerky is left.

“Maybe he is in town at Sir John’s place.”

“Maybe.”

The three of them look one last time then walk onto the porch.  “I doubt Joe used wolves to chase away the goblins.  I also doubt wolves just happened to arrive as the goblins were leaving.”  Gilfer continues to say whatever he is thinking to share his thoughts.  “Goblins are known to have alliances with wolves.  Even Worgs.  A big worg could have left that print… not a dire wolf.”  Gilfer was troubled imaging a goblin riding a Dire Wolf of which is as big or bigger than a horse.

“I’m hungry.  I’m so hungry I could eat….  DIRE BOAR!” exclaims Piik.

Looking up the trail from the porch they see a large boar.  A Dire Boar.  Its front tusks are as large as long swords.  Hairy bristles the color of night rise and fall as the beast breaths.  Bony Chitin plates and ridges peer out from the coarse hair.  The creature scratches at the earth and snorts at the three.

“Piik Squish” says Piik once more hefting up his Battle-Axe.

Piik and the boar charge at the same time.  Piik rises his battleaxe to strike while the boar lowers its thick plated head and attempts to gore the bugbear fighter.

Piik misses….. the boar doesn’t.  Piik spins off to the side with blood spraying from his gut.  He lands in a heap (…and mumbles several words not fit for my kid’s ears.).   Before the boar could stop and charge into the seriously injured fighter Gilfer charges up with his blade.  His attacks does little to the creature.  Calling on her magic over nature and nature’s allies, Leaffa summons on the strength of the land and the ground begins to swell between Piik and the Dire Boar.  She then readies her bow and arrow.

Piik sees his blood and becomes very angry.  He attacks the boar breaking several bony plates with his swing.  Gilfer lands a shot also causing the Boar to decide whom to attack.  An earth elemental rises up and strikes the boar next.  It has no where to go but fights until dead.

Piik goes and sits down on the porch.  He pulls out his pack and searches for a healing potion he had bought in Greenblade.  He drinks it down quickly.

“If I didn’t know better…. I would say that boar was watching us enter the cabin and attacked only when we were going to leave.” Says Leaffa looking at the dead creature.

Piik pulls out a second potion even as he feels the heat and sensation of the magical healing begin.

“What next?” Gilfer asks.

“Piik hungry.  Getting gutted does that to a bugbear.  Ham anyone?” as he aims his axe on the hindquarters of the boar.


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## megamania (Nov 21, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 002
11/06/09
“Wine Tree”

Having collected meat to treat and make into trail rations the group moves on.  Leaffa has also removed much of the tough hide to sell in the village.  It takes about two hours of walking to reach the Village.

Their first stop is a retired scout from Aundair.  He prefers the peace of the deep forests so when Aundair signed the Throne Peace Treaty to stop trying to gain control of Eldeen. He has since settled here.  They give him the Hide and meat to cure and work.

Their next stop is Wine Tree.

Wine Tree is the busiest (and only) tavern in the village.  Sir John runs it.  He is a retired adventurer from Breland whom is well traveled with many life experiences to draw from.  The only problem with him is his need to be a storyteller.  There is no simple yes or no answer from him.  Everything has a story behind it.  The worst part…. It is not always clear what truly happened and what he has “embellished” for the sake of a good tale.  But he is kind, warm and friendly and welcomes all business.

Many of his regular customers are just as strange and eccentric as he is.  Task and Arkoose are two druids whom have an endless debate about how the world will end… Fire or Ice.  There is also Kato, a House Jorasco healer whom has a small shop across the street.  She often jokes that while she heals the body, Sir John heals the mind.

So we begin again as the group enters Wine Tree for drink and information.

“A flame from a colossal Fire elemental would melt adamantine.” Declares a slightly drunken and disfigured orc.

“The cold from a big ice paraelemental would freeze then shatter adamantine.” A cloaked human (?) debates just as drunkenly and loudly.

Each stops and turns to say hi to the group then returns to their debate. 

Gilfer spots a few shifters getting up to leave.  They are all brothers and work at the nearby House Vadalis farm.  They are known as the village idiots four.  Their names are Ed, Edd, Eddie and Edison (Edison is the smarter one).  Piik goes directly up the bar and asks for a drink.  He asks for the strongest stuff and gets some cheap ale.  Gilfer asks for the best tasting stuff and gets some cheap ale.  Leaffa asks for water and gets discolored watered down cheap ale.

“What brings you three to my fine award winning establishment?” Sir John boasts.

“Award winning?” asks Piik as he slides the empty glass over for a refill of the strong stuff.

“Voted by Eldeen natives as the best in the village.”  The two druids raise their mugs in pride and honor of being two of the judges.

“We were looking for Joe.  He wasn’t at his cabin.”  Answers Leaffa sipping her water.

“I hear he is working for House Vadalis.  Have I ever told you about the year I spent working for that Dragonmarked house in the Shadow Marches?  I was hired to capture Crocodiles.  Those swamps grew some really big and nasty crocs.  They can and do swallow horses whole.  Ash can is faintly heard neighing outside at the word of being eaten alive.  Some thought there was dragon blood in them and others thought fiendish.   Either way- nasty things.”  Sir John pulls out his pipe which signals to the group that he is ready to begin his tales of high adventure involving either these crocs or the House of animal husbandry.

“His cabin was vandalized.” Bursts out Gilfer in an attempt to sideline the story that he has heard and ended with his time in Xen’drik fighting the reptilian god Snarl-a-lot or something like that.

“hurmm?” says Sir John as he lights up his pipe of seasoned leaves.

“We have not seen or heard from Joe in a week.  So went to find him.  He was not there but something else was.  We think it was goblins.  We remembered you said something about goblins last week.”  Says Leaffa is an equally desperate attempt to shorten Sir John’s tale of the Crocodile god from Q’Barra… or was it Xen’drik?

“Well yes.  Yes I did.  The Dredger family said their family in the next valley over had a traveler attacked by a bandit looking to replace his lost goods.  These lost goods were taken by a group of goblins.  The goblins were possibly from Droaam since their coloration was dark versus yellow or the green of Darguun and Breland.  Let’s see here…. Was it food or camping gear they took….. no no no… it was digging gear… No…. Yes.  Yes it was digging gear.  I remember it very clearly.” (this got the wife to be laughing very loudly from the next room.  )

Groaning to himself, Gilfer attempts another shot at getting somewhere with Sir John’s tale telling.  “Sir John- you mentioned the Dragon marked House of Vadalis.  Joe was hired by them?  Which one?”

“House Vadalis hired him just as they had myself.  Something about a wild creature killing their livestock.  House Vadalis takes their livestock very serious.  It’s their livelihood after all.  They raise and train animals to be the best there is.  Some even use magic to improve the abilities of these already beautiful animals.  There is somewhere between three and three dozen farms around here.  The Fur brothers were just recently hired to help with livestock protection.  It could be that farm.  The lead rancher there is a Vadalis family member but he has no Dragonmarks on him.  Too bad.  Did I ever tell you about the time I met a Siberys Dragonmarked barbarian in the Shadow Marches (DM NOTE-  Ashi from Don Bassingthwaite’s Eberron Novels) ?  She was a natural killer that one.  But I don’t think she was an original tribe member.”

Piik quietly gets up and moves over to the feuding druids.  He hopes their ramblings will be more entertaining today than Sir John’s will.  He has heard the Reptile God story three times.  He seriously doubts the part about it being a Black Dragon’s child from Xen’drik’s far away shores.

“Saudo d’Valalis is his name.  I’m certain of it.  He came from the Northeast near Cree by the lake.”  Sir John sprinkles a bit of fine but sparkling dust onto his pipe.  He smiles and takes a puff of the smoke.  As he lets it out a smell of water can be detected.  The smoke swirls and forms an image of a ship that then transforms into a man then into a horse.  “Horses are his main thing.”

“Thankyou Sir John.  As always, you were a great help.”  Leaffa places an extra Copper piece down as she motions to Gilfer to leave.

“The fire would burn everything to ash.”

“The Ice would bury everything under it.”

“My Wind god would ignore your ice and leave your fire to die.”  Smiles Piik thinking he has the upper hand on the two druids. His lone fang pops up from his lower jaw in satisfaction at the quelled voices of the druids whom stop, blind wildly at him then at themselves and begins to laugh.  

“Ice would encase your god and not allow it to escape for centuries.”   

“Not before the Great Fire burned so great that your air wannabe power would be forced to rise up and away from the real battle….. Fire vs. Cold.”  Both druids smile at stopping Piik’s attempt to ruin their yearlong debate.

“Comon Piik…  we’re going to see Kato then go to a Vadalis farm to find Joe.” Suggests Leaffa to a now frowning Piik.





“60 Gold!?!” blurts out Piik.

The small halfling smiles and gently nods.  Her dragonmark plainly visible on her left hand.  “My house will only pay so much of my living expenses.  The rest I need to supply.  And since I am not strong adventurers like yourselves I must ask 60 gold for a healing potion.”

“55 Gold?” asks Gilfer looking at his limited remaining money.

“Firm price.  60 gold pieces for a Cure Light Wound Potion.  I only have a few left.”  The halfling crosses her arms and smiles once more.  She wears fine blue silk robes of possibly Aundair origin.  The robe undoubtedly costs over 200 gold by itself.

“Maybe later then….” Says Leaffa as she directs the guys to the door.   

“Well….?” Asks Leaffa.  “Did she have anything to say about the goblins or this Saudo d’Vadalis rancher?”

“Before trying to rip us off she said goblins had tried to enter her building last week.  They didn’t get in nor steal anything.  She hasn’t seen Joe in several weeks.  As for Vadalis he is breeding horses for House Orien and their coaches.”  

“What do you want of House Vadalis?” asks a man walking up to the door to the healer’s building.  The three adventurers turn to the man.  He is dressed in well-made leather armor that seems to have been recently oiled and well kept.  He has expensive looking riding boots and a long fine silken green cape.  His beard is neatly trimmed and he walks with confidence and purpose.  “I am Saudo d’Vadalis, I have a horse ranch nearby.”

“We were looking for a friend whom we understand was working for you.” Replies Leaffa.  “He is an older man that lives west of here within the forest.  He is known as Joe.”

Stopping to look over Ash and admire her shiny coat Saudo answers her.  “I have recently hired many people to work on the ranch.  I believe we hired Joe for his tracking and wilderness skills.”

“We were concerned about him.  We have not heard from him in over a week.  Do you know where he is now?”

“No.  The last I heard from him was a few days ago.  He was tracking the creatures that have been attacking my animals and staff.  I have not heard from him since he left three nights ago.”

“Oh.” Says Leaffa with disappointment and concern.

“So Joe is missing then.” Says Gilfer looking towards the forest.

“We should find him …after getting something to eat.” Offers Piik.

“Perhaps I can help you on both accounts.  I need to buy a few potions for my horses from Kato but after, if you wish, we can go back to the ranch.  Perhaps you can help me and find Joe as well.”


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## megamania (Nov 22, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 003
11/06/09
“The Vadalis Horse Ranch”

The four of them walk to the ranch run by Saudo d’Vadalis.  It is located north of the village about four miles away.  It is getting late now as they arrive.  Much was discussed on the way there.  Beginning twelve days ago animals began to disappear around the ranch.  Sometimes a body was found.  Sometimes not.  The ranger / hunter for the house looked into the events.  He found wolf tracks everywhere and thought the cause was a pack of wolves.  He found recent tracks that suggested they were living in the Foothills of Byeshk Mountains.  These mountains were a natural barrier between the Eldeen Reaches forest and both Shadow marches and Droaam.  Each is known for its dangerous inhabitants.… especially Droaam.

The Hunter waited until darkness fell then began to hunt the wolves.  He was last seen charging after something within the forest.  Loud howls were heard.  Wolf-like but different.  It sounded bigger… more sinister.  The Hunter was never seen again.  

Joe was contacted and before agreeing to help the house, he wanted to look around himself.  He found wolf tracks that disappeared as the animal leapt over a log.  In its place were small humanoid tracks.  He immediately feared possible werewolves.  Several hundred years ago the priests and zealots of the Silver Flame hunted were creatures nearly into extinction.  Most of the surviving were creatures sought shelter within the dark and rugged woods of Eldeen.  In time the great hunt ended as more sinister events drew the clerics and hunters away.

It had made sense of course.  The wolves seemed unnaturally intelligent.  They avoided certain traps and set-ups.  Tracking was difficult and at times near impossible except for the thirty plus years of tracking experience Joe possessed.  He agreed to hunt the dangerous animal and either kill it or drive it away back into the mountains and the many caves and ruins they held.

Joe witnessed something on the night they attacked.  He would not speak of it but swore to hunt the creatures down and destroy them.  He also warned the animal handlers of the goblins that had moved into the area and seemed to be using the ruins as a base of operations.  Many of the tracks and trails showed some sort of connection of the wolves and the goblins.  Joe left three days ago and was never seen again.  Monstrous animalistic howls can be heard every night, as the moons become full.  Many of the hired help has fled.  He has tried to replace most of them but has found he has been forced to hire workers not fit for the work of a farmer or rancher.

Leaffa has Ash taken to a stall where she can be brushed and fed.  Gilfer and Piik look over the small outpost.  There are four buildings that are close to each other.  Two stables, a mess hall and sleeping area for the helpers and finally a small building where Saudo d’Vadalis kept records and slept.  The woods were cut back from the small ranch to allow crop fields and training areas to be developed.  This bothered Leaffa some, as this clearing of the forest was a constant concern of the local druids.  Most remained civil about it while others were more… aggressive.  She did not rule out the possibility that druids were attacking the ranch to drive him away.

Piik and Gilfer followed Leaffa to the well where many of the tracks were most easily seen and showed signs of a shapeshifter.  Thanking Saudo, Leaffa went back to taking care of her horse while Gilfer and Piik went to the tavern.  Inside were the four shifter brothers.  They had picked up where they left off at Wine Tree.  They were clearly unfit to defend themselves… much less the ranch from threats natural or supernatural.

“Comes on sover brudder.” Says one brother.

Gilfer is quick to join his racial brothers.  Shifters are unique humanoids with an ancient history of supernatural origins.  Their ancient ancestors were werewolves and humans whom coupled and gave birth to creatures that were not cursed by lycanthropy but still retained some of their abilities.  Over the course of many generations, the breeding ran true and a new race was created- The Shifters.  They are so named by their ability to call onto their lycanthropic blood for short periods of time.  They called it shifting.  They would become faster or stronger than before while undergoing a slight change of appearance.  Sometimes they became covered in hair.  Others bulked up with muscles or gained better night vision.  In the case of the four Eds, it appeared to be the inability to handle their alcohol.

Piik eyed the five shifters.  Even though Gilfer had just met them he was accepted as a sibling instantly.  They began to drink.  Heavily.  Piik wasn’t sure if he could even keep up with them.  But it was fun to watch anyway.

Night was fast coming and the four Ed’s still had not drunk enough bravery drink to face the possible oncoming attack from the forest. Saudo d’Vadalis was less than impressed and threatened to fire them on the spot.

Eventually as the moons rose over Eberron and the Eldeen Forest everyone took their positions.  Gilfer and the Ed brothers remained in the center of the ranch near a fire.  Listening for anything in the woods was impossible as the shifters began to sing disharmony 99 bottles on the wall.  At the third time they lost track of bottles (while still in the high eighties) they would restart at 99.

Leaffa was the first to see them.   Wolves.  They paced impatiently and with apprehension at the edge of the fields.  It was uncertain if the bonfire or the singing was spooking them, either way; they were reluctant to enter the main farm area.  Piik put away his sharpening stone and stood up and waited for the first wolf to charge in.  It would soon then go Squish.  Piik would be happy.

Then Gilfer spotted a strange soft burst of blue elderich energy on a rooftop.  Leaving his drunken shifter brothers behind he focused his mind’s will and energy to form a blade once more then imagined himself racing up the wall of the closest barn.  Then he charged the building and sprinted to the rooftop directly from the ground.  As he did this he saw a hairy humanoid shape leap from the rooftop.  When it landed it charged away in the form of a wolf!  A man inside the barn screamed and the horses began to make noise as they became panicked by something within their midst.  Something supernatural.

Lee, the only remaining woodsman and hunter began to fire away with his longbow.  Yelps could be heard as wolves dropped each time he released an arrow.  Concerned for Ash, whom was in the other stable, Leaffa moved to cover the only doorway into the building, an arrow notched and ready, a summoning spell readied and set to be caste verbally.

Then the wolves charged in full.


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## megamania (Nov 22, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 004
11/07/09
“What Are They Facing?”

The wolves surround Lee and Piik.  Lee finds himself in trouble as he attempts to switch from his bow to a sword he is seriously bitten.  Leaffa summons up a Dire Rat to help defend the archer while Piik does it the old fashioned way…. Smiling the whole time.

Gilfer attempts to keep up with the humanoid wolf shapeshifter but loses him in the darkness.  One of the Ed brothers (Edd if I recall correctly) is bitten and pulled down by a wolf.  Leaffa summons a Dire Badger to help the hapless and drunken shifters.

Saudo d’Vadalis gives commands to protect his precious horses while watching for the circling wolves.  Gilfer spots his wolf again and goes after it.  He stops at the edge of the light.  He realizes the danger of entering the woods at night with wolves and werewolves within it…. Waiting for him.  As he turns to return to the main ranch he sees a shifter being attacked by a wolf.  The shifter goes down quickly.  Gilfer watches in horror as the creature begins to change shape into something more humanoid.  Then he sees the creature open his mouth and a mist like form that resembles the shifter is “pulled” out of the body and sucked in.  Then the body seems to shrivel and compact and also become inhaled by the creature.  The creature turns and looks directly at the Soul Blade and seems to smile then runs off on all fours but looking slightly humanoid.

Gilfer gives chase in anger.  Leaffa calls out to him.  Piik looks up but is still busy with wolves.  Willing his speed to increase as he shifts Gilfer tries to catch up with the creature… even as it enters the woods.  After a few rounds of running he slows down.  Tired from the chase.  He looks around wondering where the creature has gone.  Then he hears a faint crack of a branch overhead and he looks up just in time to see the red eyes peer down at him.  Fear begins to overwhelm him.  He knows he is about to die now.  The creature leaps down at hit and knocks him to the ground.  It speaks to him in a strange harsh language that makes the hair on his body rise.  They begin to grapple.  The ½ humanoid wolf lunges at him with its teeth.  It misses the first time but not the second time.  The fear increases a thousand fold as thoughts of becoming a werewolf rise to Gilfer’s mind.  They begin to struggle again before Piik spots the glow of the Mindblade and comes to rescue his teammate.  Piik tries to strike the creature repeatedly with his battleaxe but misses each time as if it where not where he thought it was.  Leaffa also has this impression as she tries to attack it.  Finally Piik gets solid hit on the creature which then howls and withdraws several feet before glaring at the shifter once more.  It then seems to sink into a glowing doorway suddenly and disappears.  Piik stares at the empty air with his mouth open.  Leaffa is more convinced than ever that this thing is dangerous and not a werewolf…. Nor is it a wolf.  It’s something else.  Gilfer checks his torn shoulder and winces at the pain.  He finds his last potion and takes it.  Still in a great deal of pain, he looks at Piik.  He knows Piik has another potion somewhere on him.

“No.” says Piik still looking at the area where the creature disappeared.

“What?”

“No you can’t have my healing potion.  They are too expensive to replace with the healer.” He looks doubtfully at his axe blade trying to figure out how he missed the creature so many times.

“I’ll buy you one with the money Vadalis has promised us.”

Looking the ravaged shoulder Piik has a rare moment of having pity and sets down his axe to rummage through his pack.

As they return to the ranch they see a fire.  One of the stables is burning down!  Leaffa rushes to it.  She can hear a horse within the barn.  Gilfer rushes in and tries to get the horse out but the fear of the fire is too strong.  He stumbles over a lone farmer’s boot on the floor with a small amount of blood pooled near it.  He has no time to think about it as the fire spreads to the roof.  It takes the combined effort of Leaffa and Gilfer to rescue the horse.  Gilfer does receive a small burn as a timber breaks free that strikes his just partially healed shoulder.

The wolves have disappeared.  Lee and the three remaining shifters do not get up.   Several wolf bodies remain down including one where a Dire Rat charged it and while biting it’s throat ripped it out through its own momentum (natural 20 that was confirmed on a charge!).  None of the wolves changed shape when they died.

“If I didn’t know better, I would swear the one wolf used magic.” Says Saudo d’Vadalis as he looks about.  “I want you to take down these damned creatures.  NOW!”

“No.” says Gilfer leaning over the body of a fallen shifter.  

“No?” says Saudo with his face becoming red with anger.

He marches over to the shifter.  Each step a stomping motion.  “You will hunt down those creatures and kill them!  You will do this so that I lose nothing else.  You will do this for the amount of money and payment agreed on.  NOW!” and Vadalis begins to confront the shifter directly.  He is pushing him and poking him hard.  (DM NOTE:  To get the severity of the anger and rage apparent to Tim and Cathy I had Tim stand up and we role played it complete with my pushing and poking of him.  The look on his face was priceless and the Wife nearly soiled herself laughing at it all)

“Well thankyou and I hope you are HAPPY since we saved your precious horses while the shifters you hired died.  One died in a way so horrible I still can’t…..”  He turns away with tears in his eyes.   Too much happening at once.

Gilfer collects drink from the living quarters.  He is taking the deaths of his fellow shifters very close to heart.  He somehow feels to blame. The morning comes quickly… too quickly for Gilfer.

They go to Kato’s healing hut to buy potions with the money Saudo d’Vadalis has prepaid them with a great deal of reluctance.  Even though it was considered party treasure, Gilfer gives Piik one potion and says they are even.  Piik looks at him carefully.  He suspects he is being tricked but can’t figure out how.

They then go to the Wine Tree.  Perhaps Sir John can help them.

“Fire will stretch from the North to the South and West to East.  The world will bow before its power and embrace.”

“Bah!  The cold will spread and bury the forest in snow!  Storm after storm.”  Hollers the druid.

The adventurers pause briefly at the cursing druids. “It’s too late for Fire or your Cold.  The world has already gone to Hell.” Curses the shifter suffering from a hangover and the memory of dissolving bodies and those fiendish red eyes.   

“I heard you folks had a rough night.  Barn burned down and the shifters didn’t return home.” Says Sir John as he swipes down the counter.

Gilfer sits down and sets down his head on his crossed arms.  His eyes closed tight.  Piik smiles as he quietly sits down next to him.  He raises his arm and prepares to slam it down on the counter.  “Don’t if you value your life.” Mumbles the shifter.  Piik puts an innocent look on his face and begins to scratch at imaginary fleas on the back of his head.

“Sir John…. We saw something last night that we don’t understand.   We thought you might know something about it with your many worldly adventures and experiences.”  Leaffa asks with obvious need in her eyes.

“Hurm…. Well yes. Yes.  Tell me what you know and I’ll do my best to help you.”  A huge smile of pride appears on the aged adventurer’s face.  It has been a long time since he felt needed.  It felt good and he resisted making comments until she was done.

“There were wolves.  There was also something… else.  It was a shapeshifter.  It had red eyes and was very intelligent and seemed to command the wolves.  It used magic several times to escape or cause fear.  What could it be?”

“Sounds like a werewolf magic user to me.” Says Arkoose.  The two druids also felt Leaffa’s need and have put their debate aside for the moment.

“What kind of magic was used?” asks Task the other druid.

“It made me miss.” Says Piik with a sour look on his face.  “I had it sighted and when I swung my blade it missed.  Several times.”

“Sounds like Displacement.” Says Task.  “Was it really a Displacer Beast?  They can be very dangerous and they do live in the mountains.

“Displacement yes but kind of creature?  There are other creatures with that power also.  Once fought a Displacer Serpent in the Marches.”

“Too small to be a Displacer Pack Lord.  Once fought one of those in Xen’drik.   Bad news those monsters.  Damned thing ate my pack animal and the guide.  I was lost for weeks.  Lived on bugs and berries alone.  Then I found the lair of the Drow.  They are scary people those Drow.”

“Please Sir John…. Let me finish.” Implores Leaffa.

“Don’t forget about the shifter.” Mumbles Gilfer.

“What happened?” asks Sir John lighting his magical pipe once more.

“From what Gilfer say he saw the beast consumed him.  Not only did he eat the body but a mist like substance that came from the body.  All very quickly also.”

The smoke rises and forms into a humanoid that becomes hunched over and then disappears.  Sir John thinks for a moment.

“Fiend?” suggests Arkoose.

“Outsider Anyway.” Sir John hesitates to answer as he goes over what he has been told.  “Magic, shape shifting, consumption of body and soul.”  He hesitates as he considers the many things he has seen and heard about.  “Barghest.” He leans back and smiles.  Several puffs of smoke later he resumes his conclusion.  “Were there goblins there?”

“Not that we saw.” Answers Leaffa.

“Been some in the area however”, says Piik.

Gilfer points his finger at the bugbear to literally point out that he has a point.

“What is a Barghest?  Asks the druid with a mixture of concern and excitement.

“Not so much a fiend as an Outsider.  A creature from another dimension.  I never saw it but my regiment faced one on the Aundair / Cyre border during the war when I was just a young lad.  It changes shape.  People said they saw it become a wolf and also a goblin.  It has powers to cause fear in its victims and also open dimensional doors.  It can caste Displacement on itself to better avoid heavy hitting bugbears.” He looks at Piik and winks at him. “They are said to come to the Prime Material Plane to feed.  They eat their victim’s body and soul.  The stronger the foe the more power they gain.  In time they grow and become stronger and develop additional powers.  If this is what you face you and this entire valley are all in great danger.”


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## megamania (Nov 22, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 005
11/07/09
“To Hunt The Hunter”

They walk back to the ranch to pick up the rest of their gear.  Gilfer feels better but is still tired.  The others are in deep thought as they think about the dangerous creature they may be facing.  Vadalis watches them from the window of his cabin.  He has not told them about his actions.  He doesn’t believe the adventurers and is convinced they are facing a werewolf.  He has sent out a messenger bird to get help from nearby Vadalis ranches and also for any Silver Flame paladins or Clerics to come.

They reach Joe’s cabin again within a few hours and looked around again.  They decide to get sleep here if they can.  Gilfer finishes his drink and is noticeable drunken.  Ash is uncomfortable as she has been brought into the small cabin in case the wolves attack.  Piik tries to rest.

About three in the morning, during Leaffa’s shift she hears a noise nearby.   Something outside.  With no fire in the fireplace or lanterns lit she tries to look out into the brush and trees that surround the cabin.  She sees nothing.  Then there is a sharp “crack” at the window.  She swirls about ready to defend herself.  She calls for everyone to get up.  Piik is up quickly but Gilfer is not so quick.  The room is spinning as if caught within a tornado.

“what is it?” whispers Piik with sharp eyes looking about.

“I heard something outside and something struck the window.” She says while pointing at it.

Then Ash startles.

Something is under the cabin!

Piik readies himself to strike at whatever is foolhardy enough to climb in from under the cabin.  Then there is another loud thud but at the door now.  Piik whirls about and goes into a three-point stance ready to charge at the new intruder.  Then something scratches at the floor boards once more.  At this point Gilfer is awake and while a bit green in color is looking about.  “They’re everywhere!” he shouts.

Piik can’t take it anymore.  He charges the door and smashes it out and he stumbles to a stop on the porch.  His dark vision spots several surprises goblins with pebbles in their hands.  They throw the pebbles at him and run for the brush.  The bugbear charges the brush and hacks it to pieces with his battleaxe.  No goblins.

Quiet.

However… none of them can sleep now.  Not even Gilfer.  When the morning sun rises there is dark circles under their eyes and each is yawning from the lack of sleep.

It is not hard to find the goblin trail.  Piik, in a foul mood from lack of sleep takes the lead.  For his efforts he trips a trap built by the goblins.  It causes little damage but it angers him still.  It was a mere branch bent back and trapped with a cord hidden in the leaves.

By the afternoon the three adventurers and the horse begin to leave the forest as the enter the foot hills.  While stopping for water the group is confronted by a large Stag Beetle.  The creature seems unusually aggressive to the party (charmed by the Barghest) and attacks them.  They make short work of it.

They continue to follow the tracks of the wolves as they walk along the road leading the mountains.  They stop to rest and eat.  Gilfer stops what he was doing, as he believes he can hear something.  The flapping of large birds?   He turns and sees five large misquotes like red creatures flying directly at them.  “Stringe!” he yells in near panic (  DM NOTE:  Tim happened to know what these critters are and what they do from reading the monster manual.  Remind him of player knowledge vs. character knowledge).  Leaffa is quick to summon a bear to help them while having Ash move behind the party.  The horse was nursing an injury from the Beetle attack earlier in the day.  

Two of the creatures pierce Gilfer’s armor and another two attach themselves to the summoned bear.  Piik is attacked and once stabbed he is quick to hack at it while awkwardly holding his axe. Gilfer struggles with removing the blood-sucking creatures.  The bear is not doing well either.  The druid calls up a dire rat to help. After feeding completely the two Stringe on Gilfer detaches themselves and slowly and clumsily flutters away now bloated with his blood.  Gilfer is very pale and doesn’t feel well at all.  The bear growls loudly as Piik kills one and the other begins to leave being full of bear blood now.  The Dire Rat chases down one low flying creature and leaps onto it.  The blood bursts like a popped water balloon.  Covered in blood, the Dire Rat begins to chase after the next magical misqueto.  Leaffa, with her bow, shoots down one and Gilfer, throwing his Mindblade kills the other.  They are a bloody mess.

They spot a grouping of trees near the road that could provide shelter for them.  Ash walks over to a mound to eat some green grass.  Just as everyone begins to settle down the horse screams out.  Attached to its front leg is a large nasty looking mammal.

“Dire Weasel!” calls out Gilfer.

“Squish!” calls out Piik as he grabs his battleaxe.

“Ash!” screams out Leaffa.

The chitin plated large weasel chews the horse badly and  will not leg go even as the horse rears up on its hind legs.  Piik pulls it free and the others kill it.

Leaffa uses her one Restoration spell to help Gilfer but saves her healing spells for the horse.  Both Piik and Gilfer consume healing potions to ease their aches and pains.

The next morning they awaken.  More healing is done to the entire party including the horse before they leave.  As they do so, Gilfer finds stacked rocks on the path that write “Miss Us” in goblin.  “Crap!” he moans out loud.  “It’s like a game…. A sick and twisted game to them.” Says Leaffa as she kicks at the stones.  “Piik can play games also.”  He snarls.

They follow the trail into the mountains.  Deciding to use the various ruins found within the foothills and the mountains they look for a defendable spot.  “We sleep here.” Announces Piik.

They walk into the cavern, which has carved out walls and pathways.  The passage is large enough for Ash to follow within.  Shortly ahead of them there is a branch to the left and right.  Looking to the left they find a largely empty room.  On the right is a room filled with guano.  Gilfer can hear something.  Something quiet and soft.  Leaffa casts light onto Gilfer's shield.  He slowly brings the shield about and sees the roof is swaying and moving.  Bats.  Hundreds… even thousands of bats.  

“Don’t move… don’t make a sound.  Back up slowly.” Whispers Leaffa.  

“Don’t move or back up… which is it?” asks the bugbear.

Gilfer gives him a dirty look before turning the shield so as not to disturb the bats.  Leaffa leads Ash further down the passage she freezes in mid stride.  Ash whinnies in alarm.  She whispers “Danger” but neither of her fellow adventurers hears her.  Piik speaks up.  “What did you say?!?”

Loud screeches come from the darkness before Leaffa.  Suddenly the darkness rushes out and over the horse and Leaffa whom ducks in fear.  Several very large chitin covered bats swoop out.  The Dire bats pull up short as Gilfer’s light emitting shield is pointed directly at them so as to not disturb the other bats.  Piik hurrumphs and charges forward to the first bat that lands.  Gilfer closes his eyes and whispers to himself- “I hate that bugbear.”

The darkness within the side chamber spreads out and spills out into the main passage.  Gilfer is forced to lower his shield and use it to protect himself.  The bats pound at him and make him lean into the assault.  One of the Dire Bats wobbles to him uncertain what he is.  Piik attacks the second bat with a solid strike to its wing that cripples its ability to fly.

Leaffa begins to attack the bat that first landed between herself and Piik.  Gilfer struggles with the clinging bats that are harmless but cause distraction and blind spots in his vision as the flap up between the Dire Bat and himself.  Once the last of the smaller bats leaves he attacks the Dire creature.  Leaffa and Piik have defeated their bat.  Piik turns and attacks the last bat from behind.  (crits!) His battleaxe cuts through both wings and gouges the back of the creature’s head.  Gilfer easily finishes it off.

“What part of quiet do you not understand Piik?” Gilfer and Leaffa both snarl quietly (never know if there might be more Dire bats in the passage) Piik shrugs his large hairy shoulders and only quietly says “Squish.”

They walk to the last room and find a large room to rest in.  “This is as good as it gets.” Says Gilfer with some measure of satisfaction.


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## megamania (Nov 22, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 006
11/07/09
“Time to Feed”

Everyone is sleeping soundly except for Piik.  It is his turn for guard duty.  He sits at the top of a short ramp that leads to the large room where Ash, Leaffa and Gilfer are resting.  The bodies of the dire bats have been removed and dragged away from the entrance.  It would not do have a scavenger creature seek out the source of the smell and instead go for the living food.   However, at least it would give Piik something to squish.

The ruin had given them a good place to rest.  Except for the bats it was quiet and without incident.  Course that also included the lack of treasure.  One can not have everything.  Piik found himself bored and drowsy.

Then he heard it.  Something nearby.  Something in the passage.  He gripped his battleaxe and peered out.  Unlike the others, he has darkvision.  He can see in the dark.  Color and certain details like texture disappear but he sees everything else in various shades of gray.  Something was just outside of his vision.  A smile began to form.  His one tooth edging slowly up from his lower lip.  

Goblins!   He could now make out the shapes of three lone goblins trying to sneak up.  The fools!  He waits a bit more.  He wants to make them go squish so… so… so badly.  Patience…. Let them get closer.  The are fast and will run otherwise.  50ft…. 40ft…. 30ft……  wait until they are closer….. nah…..

“YARRRGHHHH!” Piik yells with relish and leaps down the ramp at the goblins that are still far enough away to recover from their surprise and run.  The bugbear takes down the slower one but the other two sprint past the side passages and towards the exit.  Piik gives chase.  Leaffa and Gilfer wake with a start.

As Piik reaches the exit, several small spears strike him.  The goblins had set up a trap to lure him out into the open.  He ignores the pain and takes down another goblin.  The others run off into the brush.  

Gilfer runs up behind him.  “What happened?!?”

“Goblins.  Piik squish ‘em.”  Then it registers, “Piik not feel so good.”  And he looks at the three short spears sticking out of his legs and shoulder.

Piik settles down and drinks his last healing potion.  The open wounds close and leave behind rosy pink scars.  It still leaves his legs and shoulder a bit stiff and achy.  He wishes he had more potions.

Gilfer takes the next and final watch.  Too bad he lacks dark vision.

He sits at the top of the ramp as Piik had.  He looks into the total darkness hoping to see things if he just allows his eyes to adjust to it.  It doesn’t ever happen.  He has no dark vision.

One hour… Two…. Then he thinks he heard something.   Something like a deep breath or sigh.  He concentrates to listen.  Nothing.

He shifts his weight so that he is on the balls of his feet and concentrates again.  At this point he almost can feel something down in the passage.  His fear is mounting that something is here.  He shakes off the effect and gives a harsh whisper to Leaffa.  She is slow to awake.  The moan she gives awakens Piik.  Rubbing the sleep away from his eyes he rolls over to the top of the ramp.  He concentrates on the passage.

“Something is there… just outside of my vision.” He whispers.

“Don’t chase it like before.” Warns Leaffa.

“Wouldn’t think it” says Piik as he pulls his battleaxe closer to himself and smirks.

Piik stares and sure enough…. Goblins.  The stupid things are trying the same trick again.  Stupid goblins.  This time Piik will not chase you outside.  This time Piik will squish then wait.  He smiles deeply and gathers his feet under his weight.

“What is it Piik?  What do you see?” whispers Gilfer.

“STUPID GOBLINS!” the bugbear shouts as he charges down the ramp to get the small goblinoids.  Instead of running they hold their ground and pull out swords and ready themselves for his charge.

“LIGHT!” shouts Gilfer.  Leaffa remembers the words and gestures for the spell.

“Just a moment as she reaches over to touch his shield to finish the spell.

At that moment, one goblin charges Piik.  It ducks and rolls under him and charges forward.  Its eyes burn red and it smiles.  It drops to all fours and begins to grow.  The torn and dirty clothes it wore melt into the body even as hair begins to sprout in its place.  The face distorts into a short snout.  Gilfer sees none of this except the eyes.  “IT’S HERE!  LIGHT!” He demands of Leaffa.  She is about to touch the shield when the outsider plows into them.  The spell is ruined and now Gilfer is certain he will die.  Real fear begins to swell in his chest.  (DM NOTE: Earlier the Barghest tried to cause fear again on Gilfer but he made his save.  Good for you Tim!)

The creature is toying with them.  It attacks his shield striking it and pushing on it.  It speaks in a harsh voice.  Neither of the two understands it (Fiendish) but know it could not be something nice.  Piik squishes the last of the goblins then wonders where the fast bugger went.  He turns and his dark vision sees a hairy humanoid that seems unfocused attacking his friends.  The Barghest he assumes.  He charges up ready to defend his friends and make it squish.

The Barghest has every advantage.  It can see in the darkness where the Shifter and human can not.  He has his best defensive spell activated creating a shifting image of himself making it very difficult to strike him.  They lack magical weapons so their lucky strikes do little to no damage to him.  Except for this one.  The shifter.  His blade causes harm as if magical.  He dies first but slowly.  The Barghest is enjoying the game so much he doesn’t hear Piik running up behind him.  

“HAH!” he yells with a toothed grin and a satisfying squish is heard as he drives his large battleaxe into the creature.  Even with being able to ignore much damage from non-magical weapons this hurts!  The Barghest howls in pain.  At that moment Gilfer gets in a lucky strike.  Suddenly the idea of attacking these creatures in the ruins didn’t seem like such a good idea.

An Earth elemental slowly pours out of the cracks in the ruin walls and blocks the creatures exit.  Leaffa is not satisfied with that however.  She begins to summon more of nature’s allies.  This creature must not escape.

Piik misses his next attack but he is confident that he will kill it.

Gilfer swings with his psionic blade of mental energy but misses.

The Barghest causes a minor wound on him as a claw snakes around the shield and tears at his exposed sword arm.

The elemental strikes him which hurts a little but a Dire Badger begins to materialize behind him.  Piik misses again and curses.

The Barghest comes to realize it is time to leave.  It begins to summon up a Dimensional Door to leave the ruins but a summoned Hippogriff kicks out and shatters an arm.  The Barghest howls in agony.  Zeroing in on the sound Piik swings and the howl ends abruptly.  The creature stops shimmering and drops to the floor.  Piik hits it again.   And once more just to be safe.

“Harrgh!”  Piik is proud of himself.  “I am now Piik Barghest Killer!”  His next strike takes off the head.  The red eyes become pink and the creature is dead.

“Tomorrow we return to the ranch and with this head we can prove to Vadalis that we have killed the creature.” Says Gilfer.


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## megamania (Nov 22, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 007
11/08/09
“Carnage at the Vadalis Ranch”

They hurry back as best as they can.  Piik and Gilfer are still very sore from their various injuries.  Leaffa is becoming concerned about her horse.  Maybe a horse is not the best animal companion to chose when adventuring.

Their trek back is uneventful.  No goblins.  No Barghest.  No animals.  No monsters.  It’s almost peaceful.  They killed the extra-planar outsider fiend.  The bad goblins that befriended it seem to be all dead or have fled.  They feel like heroes.  Gilfer is looking forward to presenting the head of the Barghest to the Rancher.  He said it wasn’t a werewolf and now he had the proof.  A simple sorry was not going to be enough.

They decided to march straight to the ranch rather than rest.  It means they will reach the ranch at night but with no barghests to worry about this was acceptable.  Piik was looking forward to being paid and going to Kato’s for more potions.  Leaffa had bandaged his worst wounds he received fighting the Barghest but it just didn’t replace a good healing potion.

As they came they spotted a large fire.  There was a lot of activity.  They had a distinctive feeling of being watched as they left the forest and walked quickly to the ranch.  Bonfires were set in several strategic places within the grouping of building.  There were archers at each fire.  They watched with suspicion the group as they entered the main yard.

Saudo d’Valalis could be seen directing people.  It appeared something was happening or at least expected to happen.  That is when Leaffa realized he was not aware of their killing of the Barghest.  “Let’s go.” She said as she directed the group to the house leader.

“Saudo d’Valalis.” She piped up to draw his attention.

“Who?  You!”  He seems agitated that they have returned.  “What do you want?”

Gilfer goes to the bag slung on Ash’s back and produces the head of the slain Barghest.  “We have killed your monster.  The killer of your people.  The killer of your livestock.  And we suspect the killer of Joe.”

He stares at the creature’s head.  A mixture of horror and fascination on his face.  “When did you kill it?”

“Piik kill it!” Piik bursts in.

“Not who you idiot- when!   The creature was spotted in the woods nearby this evening.”

All three stop and look at each other.  “Oh no,” says Leaffa. “There’s more than one!?!”

“Piik kill more.” He says hefting his battleaxe.

Gilfer shudders thinking about those red eyes and the profound fear he felt about the creature.  “Then we must help you kill more then.”

Saudo d’Valalis shakes his head in anger.  “Do as you will.  Kill them and you will be rewarded.”  He turns his back and walks towards his office.

Piik positions himself in the center of the yard near the biggest fire.  From here he has easy running space to any direction the creature comes from.  It never occurs to him that the first creature was killed since it became bottlenecked in the ruins.  Here it has plenty of space to sneak, run and attack.

Leaffa climbs onto the roof of the main stable where Ash is now staying.  She draws her bow and thinks about what animals she can summon to best defend the ranch.  Gilfer uses his ability to sprint short distances against gravity and goes onto the same roof Leaffa has taken position on.  From here he hopes to use his psionic weapons as throwing daggers.  The less direct contact he has with the monster the better.  Piik can have his glory.  There is no glory if one is killed.

An hour goes by then two.

Gilfer begins to think nothing will happen when he hears a distant howl of a wolf.  The clouds part and a moon shines down.  Another wolf calls out.  Then another.  Each time the call is closer.  It seems to come from everywhere.

Piik is becoming nervous though he would never admit it.  A dire wolf was seen leading the wolves.  These wolfs are as big as a horse and have chitin plating on their back and snout.  Hard to kill and very dangerous.  Maybe being so open is not such a good idea.  Maybe he should be up on the roof with the others…. Except he has no ranged weapons.

Then a guard yells out.  An elf has seen movement on the edge of the forest.  Another sentry calls out a warning.  There is movement there also.  Before anyone can call for Saudo d’Valalis it happens.  One elf is struck down with several small bolts from a crossbow.  Goblins!

From the west howls can be heard.  The ground almost trembles as the wolves charge.  Wolves the size of horses!  “uuuuuuuh…..” stammers the bugbear suddenly very uncertain about his wish for melee.  Piik witnesses a sentry go down as an armored dire wolf suddenly bursts out of a door of blue energy.  Even as he fellow guard swings his bow to the creature wolves burst out of the woods there also.  To the East sentries begin to scream out in fear and alarm.  One begins to turn to run when a blue magical doorway opens above him and a barghest leaps out of it and pounces onto the fleeing man.

Chaos and Carnage.

Piik forgets all of his fears and doubts instantly.  His lone tooth protruding from his smiling mouth.

Leaffa begins to fire her arrows into the oncoming rush of large wolves.  Once in range of Gilfer’s blades he also begins to attack at range.

Piik slows his charge briefly as the Dire wolf distorts its shape.  It becomes a larger barghest.  Its red eyes visible even from the distance.  The man convulses one…twice as his soul is sucked out of the dying body.  Then the body shrivels and compacts.  It too, is sucked in.  The creature looks to the last sentry there whom is facing three wolves by himself.  Suddenly he looks up and two large monstrous spiders leap from Saudo’s office building and attack the Greater Barghest.  A hippogriff appears next to it thanks to Leaffa and her advantageous location.  She can see nearly the whole yard and all the buildings from her vantagepoint.

To the north, the goblins overrun and shot down the sentries and rush into the camp.  Some breaking into the barracks and begin to trash the mess hall on the first floor.

The large wolves begin to turn and head towards Piik and the Greater Barghest. Saudo d’Valalis steps out of his office with his sword in hand.  He says something hidden with the chaos and his sword begins to glow.  A Dire Rat appears from the darkness between him and the oncoming goblins and large wolves.

Gilfer takes down another large wolf then concentrates on some normal looking wolves.  Everywhere he turns there is carnage and chaos.  The entire range is under siege from goblins and wolves!  Then he sees the larger barghest as Piik tries to get to it.  “They get bigger…?” he says in disbelief.

A second hippogriff appears next to the Greater Barghest.  Then a cloud forms over it and lightning streaks out and a loud crackling boom is heard as it strikes the large Fiend.  Piik decides to beat on some wolves first.

This is when he spots a lone figure that was hiding behind the office building.  Another druid!  One with more power and experience than Leaffa.  He suddenly turns to face something that Piik can not see.  More threats.  Still he looks at the large barghest.  Wounds and a large smoking burn mark are clearly visible.  It looks hurt but not defeated.   He hefts up his battleaxe and begins to work his way to it.

Leaffa shots arrows at any goblin that attempts to enter the stable where Ash is.  She then stops and summons more creatures to aid her.  Another Dire Rat and a Dire Badger appear.  The large wolves are not ready for it and the goblins decide to go straight instead of after the human with the glowing sword. Saudo d’Valalis sees the summoned creatures but has not the time for it to register that Leaffa is doing it.  

Piik begins to slug it out with the large monster.  A summoned bear and the two hippogriffs finish off the wolves and flank the barghest.  Only one spider remains and it stumbles as it has lost two legs from its right side from a vicious swipe of the monster’s claw.

Unseen from the others, the druid that answered Saudo d’Valalis’ call defends himself from the barghest.  He calls on the roots and vines of the forest to entangle the creature.  A second burst of lightning is then released at the larger barghest.  It is the last mistake the druid makes.  The smaller barghest had ripped its way free from the entanglement and now rushes him.  The druid has not even the time to scream when his throat is torn out by the teeth of the evil monster.  His spirit becomes mist and drifts out of the body and into the inhaling creature.

The greater barghest finds defending itself from the hippogriffs, bear and now dying spider to be too difficult while dealing with this savage bugbear.  It tries to get away but can not.  It is flanked and held in its small space of battle.  It stares into the eyes of Piik and tries to use magic on him.  Piik strikes him in the head for the attempt.  “Piik ….  Hate…. Barghest….magic….using…..monsters…. THAT GO SQUISH!” and he puts everything he has into his next swing…. And misses.   Now Piik is PO’d.

The goblins see what is happening and attempt to flee.  Leaffa, Gilfer and one remaining archer rain arrows and energy daggers at them.  They flee squealing.  Dire rats chasing after them

Saudo d’Valalis kills off his second enlarged wolf but has a serious injury on his leg.  He can barely hold his weight… much less move as another large wolf advances onto him.  It bares its teeth and drool escapes unhindered.

The Greater barghest rises up onto its hind legs and raises its hands to the sky.  Its bloody claws reflect the moon’s light.  It says something in its fiendish tongue that Piik is certain is not surrender.  He closes his eyes and swings wildly.  He feels a sharp vibration in his arms.  He hopes he didn’t just the bear to his right.  He opens one eye and sees the eye eyes of the creature lean in closer to him.  It then falls to the ground.  Piik doesn’t wait a moment.  He yells in glee as he begins to chop at its body.

The large wolves suddenly stop and begin to shrink before Saudo’s eyes.  The barghest magic is gone and they become their normal size once more.  They turn to flee.

The one remaining Barghest considers fleeing but has no dimensional door spells remaining.  Piik sees it and charges.  It unwisely makes a stand against the angered bugbear.  It is the mistake it will ever make.

The battle is over.  The ranch and its livestock are saved.  The druid that came to the Dragonmarked house’s aid is gone.  Some think he has left with his work done.  Others fear he is gone.  Forever.  

Saudo d’Valalis apologizes to Gilfer and gives the group their reward and a little extra since the druid did not stick around.  All is good within the Eldeen Reaches once more.  But for how long?


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## the Jester (Nov 22, 2009)

This is a cool thread, are you continuing it or is it done?

What level were the pcs?


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## megamania (Nov 23, 2009)

Thankyou for your positive comments.  I'll be sure to pass it on to my kids.

We began as 3rd level and leveled up at the end of the "Night Hunter".

We are continueing on in "Missing Persons" which we just barely started before stopping.  

Between my Lyme Disease and my daughter's Swine flu we had to take some time off.  We will be starting up in the tunnels for Thanksgiving weekend.

If you don't mind saying- what are you enjoying the most?


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## megamania (Nov 23, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 008
11/08/09
“Trail of The Lost People”

THERENDOR 27 997

Having come into town to collect their money from the Dire Boar Hide Leaffa walks to the Healer’s Office.  She talks to Kato briefly about things in life before leaving.  She is slightly depressed, as she has decided to free Ash of her commitment to her.  The Animal Companion neighed its feelings to her then looked to the open fields of the foothills and ran to join other wild horses.

Piik has begun retelling his story of how he killed the three barghests.  Each retelling of it has fewer allies helping him do it.  Gilfer considers correcting him but every time to motions to add to the story the bugbear includes his gallant efforts while leaving out the fear effects.

Things seem peaceful once more.

A lone man with haunted looking eyes is drinking in the corner.  He is listening to the bugbear’s story with limited interest.  Piik finishes when he gutted the GREATER barghest in a single swing of his battleaxe.  The man snorts.

Gilfer turns and looks at the man.  “Do you have something to add?”

“Where were you when my village was taken?”

“Taken?”

“Taken during the night by kidnappers.”

“Sounds like the treacherous Drow of Xen’drik.  Now those people are something to fear.  Did I ever tell you about my time in the Guar’fectra Jungle of the lost continent?”  Sir John asks as he leans back and pulls out his pipe.

“This is no story of fancy old man.” Snarls the man.  “My friends and family were taken in the night.  Few of us remain.”

“Sounds like they need our help.” Says Leaffa as she walks in.  

“By the heat of the eternal flame!  Leaffa.  Welcome and well met.” Says Arkoose.

Task rolls his eyes.

“What happened your village exactly?  I didn’t hear the story.” Asks Leaffa as Sir John locates a bottle of her favorite wine and pours her one glass.

“It began a short time ago.  The outlining homes of the village were the first targets.  Oxen were taken then the pigs.   People looked for the cause but found nothing.  Then the people began to disappear.  Taken from their beds at night.”

“Someone should do something about it” offers Gilfer (not meaning themselves) 

“That someone can be us.” Offers Leaffa.

Both Piik and Gilfer stop in mid drink and stare.

“Oh well done!” exclaims Sir John.  “I wish I could go.  In my youth I would have taken on the Barghests AND this new threat at the same time. Heh… in my youth I did face multiple threats at once.  Especially in the Military.”

“Then it is set,  We leave tomorrow.” Declares Leaffa.

The next morning comes and Leaffa has prayed for a new Animal Companion.  Not her horse but something that can defend itself and fight as well.   Shortly after leaving the town they come across a berry bush field and spot a medium Black Bear.  It looks at her and gives a gentle “Moargh” sound and lumbers up to her.  She pats its snout and talks to it even as the Shifter and Bugbear begin to place their weapons back.  “Looks like we have a bear to travel with.” Says Gilfer.

“If it dies in battle- can we eat it?” asks Piik (only half- joking)

Based on the instructions given by the shaken man, it will be a two-day trip to reach the valley he once lived in.  It is located in the foothills by the mountains.  This section of mountains are very tall and almost cliff like.  Sir John mentions the Harpies of Droaam live near there.  He is fairly certain it is on the Droaam side of the mountains but after a few uncertain moments and memories he reassures them that they live only on the Western side of that section of mountains.  

They follow a road that the man used.  It is not an Orien road so it is rough and at points washed out.  They stop and camp in a cusp of trees near the road but far enough away to avoid drawing attention to themselves.  They eat their bread and dried ham (dire boar) washed down with water.  It’s not much but it will do.   Paw, the new animal companion of Leaffa, enjoys the last of the berries she had gathered and saved to share.  The bear doesn’t share and growls at Piik when he tries to take a few.  Piik decides that yes, if the bear somehow has an accident he will eat it.

On the second day they reach the valley where the people are being taken at night.


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## megamania (Nov 23, 2009)

Something my son has told me may interest some one.

He is obviously having a good time playing Gilfer and has been talking to his 5th grade science teacher about it.   Turns out the teacher used to play himself.  

So of course my son wants me to print out the adventure thus far to give to him.   I think I will.


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## megamania (Nov 23, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 009
11/08/09
“Valley of Green Thorn”

“The people are staring at us.” Whispers Piik.

“Not us…. You.” Answers Gilfer

Piik sneers at the next person to stare at him.  They quickly busy themselves and then outright move on.  The trading post they have walked to seems to be the closest thing to a village within Green Thorn Valley.  There is a tradehouse, a mill that grinds grain and a pavilion.  Leaffa notices a small simple shrine to Boldrei, the god of the hearth and community.

“The pavilion seems to have a message board within it.  Maybe we can learn something there.” Offers Leaffa.

“This is not a village.  It has to have a tavern or place to eat and drink to be a village.” Sputters Piik looking around.

“I know Eldeen is not your native home but this is typical.  Small hamlets where farmers, hunters and trappers come to trade goods- not live.” Says the shifter as he notes a wanted poster of a shifter from Aundair.  “Geth…..” he reads but moves on to other notices (DM NOTE: another key character from the Bassingthwaite series that originated at the other end of the mountains the kids are starting at  A good story by the way).

Piik nods his head.  Leaffa and Gilfer look in the direction he pointed at and see three men walking over.  Two have long sticks that could double as quarterstaffs and one has a pitchfork.  They look grim.

“What are you doing here?” asks the man with the pitchfork.  He is a tall and strong looking man.  One used to working hard all day at the mill.  The other two look like younger versions of him.   Perhaps his sons.

“We have learned that your area is having problems.  Animals and people being taken during the night.  If so we wish to help if we can.” Offers Leaffa as non-aggressively as possible.

“And why would you do this for a group of strangers?”

“Because we can.”

“There is no reward.”

“We didn’t ask for one.”

The man stares at them for a few moments before grunting.  He motions for them to follow him to his mill.  The two younger men allow the group to pass then follows.  They are obviously uncertain of the Bugbear and equally concerned about the bear.

The man directs them to a table and several stools.  He offers them chilled water from a stream that powers his mill.  He looks around in cupboards and shelves for something to offer to eat.  Finding nothing he pulls out a folded up cloth with a small handful of nuts.  He offers them even though it may be his only meal while working.  Gilfer and Leaffa hold off.  Piik takes a few nuts but finds his sharper teeth do not crush nuts well within his mouth so he only has the few he first picked up. 

“A few weeks ago the Sherman farm was first stolen from.  Some animals were taken.  They tried to track it but lost the trail as it entered the mountains.  Then the Parkipens lost their prized oxen and some blankets the misses made.”  While telling his tale he looks down to the floor.  He is weary and possibly even fearful of the events he is revealing.

“The first person taken that we can confirm is the Chanean boy.  From what his parents can tell he left on his own accord which makes little sense.  The boy wouldn’t walk off in the middle of the night like that.”

Leaffa listens carefully.  She takes great interest in the story.  Especially the taken animals whom she feels she is a sworn protector for.

“Seems everyone on the southern side of the valley has had something or something taken.  People are afraid and some are talking about leaving their homes and farms.”

“Do you know what or who is taking them?  You mentioned tracks that could not be followed once in the mountains.  What kind of tracks?” asks Gilfer.

“Wide booted tracks.  Sized like a dwarf’s.  All of the tracks lead out of town on a road that leads into the mountains where there are many old caves and ruins.  We avoid the area for fear of what lives within the caves.  Could you search the area for our missing people and their Oxen?  We have little to offer but rumors have it that the ruins have items of value within them.  Things adventurers like yourselves would find useful.”

“We’ll try.” Answers Leaffa.


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## megamania (Nov 24, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 010
11/08/09
“The Road to The Mountains”

“With tracks like these how could they NOT follow them?” gripes Piik.

“Cowards or did they not tell us the whole story?” adds Gilfer while following the oxen tracks on the dirt road.

“I sense ill feelings.  What is wrong guys?” asks Leaffa.

“Why are we doing this?  I feel so …. Used..   If I don’t get to squish something soon I will go crazy.” Grumbles the bugbear.

“You did kinda get us involved without asking us.  And Piik is right.  These tracks are too easy.  Why didn’t they do something about it on their own?”

“They are simple farmers…. Not warriors.” Retorts Leaffa in defense of the victims.

Piik snorts and shrugs his shoulders.

They walk on through the afternoon in silence.  They stop for a late lunch by a stream.  While eating their bread, cheese and dried dire boar jerky they hear birds cry out and fly into the air.  Suspicious of this, they put their food away and draw weapons.  They look across the field but see nothing.

Gilfer spots a large hole in the tall grass and points to it.

They go to it and see nothing.  Piik peers over the edge but sees nothing.  Gilfer “pretends” to motion to push him in.  Piik is not impressed and Leaffa has the look of growing impatient with their child-like antics.  The bear, Paw, sniffs and gives a low growl that Gilfer misses as he now leans over the edge and suggests they check it out.  He stands upright to say something smart to the bugbear when a chitinous long claw reaches out to attempt to grab his leg.  Gilfer leaps away in surprise and the creature feels around trying to locate the shifter..

Piik shouts out and attacks it. The bear attacks and Leaffa prepares to call up allies while Gilfer switches from sword to dagger form and attacks from ten feet away.  The large cockroach-like creature (Ankheg) is overwhelmed by them as they attack it half in and half out the borrow.

Defeated it slumps back into the hole- dead.

Gilfer seriously considers going into the hole to explore.  Thinking about his size vs. the size of the tunnel Piik passes.  Leaffa reminds him that they have a mission to complete.  Gilfer climbs down onto the creature and peers into the hole but the bulk of the beast blocks the passage.  Disappointed, he climbs out and the resume lunch.

Eventually they spot the branch in the road that the miller had told them of.  They go to it and find the small cabin that once belonged to the Trevor family.  This family and their animals were all taken in the night weeks ago.  They set up camp within the cabin and look for clues.

Little is found.

There was no struggle, no fight, and no signs of anything but abandonment.  It is very strange and a bit eerie as nightfalls.

Leaffa uses the few healing spells she knows on Gilfer and her bear whom the large insect creature had struck.  She meditates briefly and knows in the morning her used spells will be returned to her due to her faith and connection with nature.


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## megamania (Nov 24, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 012
11/08/09
“Entrance to the Ruins within the Mountain”

They follow the tracks of the oxen the next morning along the road, which is becoming muddier as they enter the foothills and finally the rockier and steeper mountainside.

There are fewer trees and many more loose and large boulders here.  Signs of washouts of springs in the past.

The road has followed a tumbling creek for most of the day.  Leaffa hints at the first reason to be here besides aiding the kidnapped people and animals.  She hopes to locate something magical to use.  A Longbow especially.  Gilfer hopes for something useful also.  Piik wants the dark skinned dwarves.

The stream crosses the road.  Blanks and cut trees have been placed over the muddy area that surrounds the stream.  Clear signs of oxen can be seen here.  It appears the dwarves allowed the oxen to rest here and get a drink.  Several piles of dropping line the area in lines suggesting the animals drank here.  The road turns to the right and follows the mountainside.  However, there are disturbed rocks in the stream suggesting something was in the water recently.  There are no oxen tracks in the road.  All three follow the stream with their eyes and sees it comes from a pool at the base of a large rock.  Thick vines drape down from the rock onto the water.

They walk into the knee-deep water to the vines.  Leaffa checks them to be sure they are normal vines and not something dangerous.  She lights her torch and they go in.

The ripple of the water echoes gently within the cavern.  The water curves to the left about fifty feet in.  They move in with purpose and caution.  The stream deepens and pools ahead of them.  A small sandy island is within the pool.  Signs of the oxen treading across it are obvious.  They move up and look around.  A gravel filled walkway lead up.  As they look Gilfer suddenly can not see clearly.  Leaffa calls out also.

“What is happening?!? Yells a stunned bugbear.

Even as their vision becomes less clear something begins to drop from the ceiling and lands on them.  It is like a thick rubbery towel only it then begins to constrict as Leaffa discovers.  She wrenches the offending thing away.  It is still somewhat dark like wearing a cloth over one’s eyes.  She can see everyone, including Paw, has something attached to his or her heads.  Piik easily rips it away and throws it to the ground.  Whatever it is, it begins to levitate then swirl through the area and make several attempts to land on the bugbear again.  Paw roars in frustration then tears his assailant apart with his sharp claws.

Gilfer rips one free and while still grappling with it another spins onto his head.  It muffles his shifter curses.  Piik has visions of the manacles and suggests he use the axe to remove the creature while it still rests on the soul knife’s head.  A muffled yell of “no! wait” can be faintly heard.  Faint enough it could be easily missed thinks Piik.

Leaffa runs away the area where these creatures (Darkmantles…the new piercers for 3e) are active.  Her torch has gone out so she can see much.  She sees only a sharp watery reflection of the light through the vines.  She trips along more than runs.  Paw follows her as any animal companion would.

Piik, with his darkvision, hacks at the creatures as they are pulled free.  Eventually, Piik gets them all and the light returns to normal.

They climb the gravel and small rocks onto a manmade tunnel.  Or at least treated to be easier to walk.

Water pours down the walkway.  Shortly they can see where the water bubbles out from an underground well.  A bridge made of wood allows two separate paths to branch off from the waterway.  Looking to the right, Gilfer sees stairs that lead up.  There is a ten-foot section missing from the stairs that leads into a deep hole or pit.

Calling on his psionic power to defy gravity for short bursts he sprints up the stairs and onto the wall and goes around the hole.  Leaffa had caste light onto his shield once more so he can see the top of the stairs.  Piik looks up and wonders how to best cross the pit since the show-off has.

The druid and the bear look to the passage that goes to the left.  It goes thirty feet then turns to the right.  She is about to go further to see what is around the corner when Gilfer calls out.

Piik looks up with a bit of anger.  How is he going to cross this?  If it were level he might be able to get a running start but UP the STAIRS…. no uh.  Not him.

Meanwhile, Gilfer has found a large room with a series of wood logs strapped together like a raft.  These are connects to thick ropes and a polley system.  Uncertain what to do or what this is, Gilfer begins to pick and prod the ropes and levers.

Piik is now trying to gage how deep the pit is.  He wonders if he could climb down then up on the other side.  He feels the stairway shake and looks up.  Suddenly out of the darkness (and thus the range of his darkvision) something large charges down the stairs.  The next thing he knows is the air is knocked out of him and he is airborne.  He falls hard onto the wooden bridge at the bottom of the stairs.

Leaffa runs over to him to check on the warrior.  “Did you see where that rhino went?”  He is completely stunned and nearly out.

Gilfer looks down and smiles faintly.  He knows it was his fault but hopes to avoid blame.  “Everyone all right?” he calls down.

Leaffa calls up to him.  “Piik set off a trap of some sort.  He’ll live.”

“Piik will live….” He says dreamily


“That’s good.  You have to be careful Piik.  There could be more traps here.”  And he walks down to the wood structure, which covers up the hole.  “It looks like everyone can cross now however.”


And this is where our first weekend of game play ended.  I hope to pick up where we left off for Thanksgiving.


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## megamania (Dec 18, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 013
11/26/09
“Windy Hallway of the Living Spell & A Water Elemental”

The three of them check out the wrench machine that lowers a log bridge down over the pit within the stairs.  Fortunately for Gilfer, Piik is still convinced it was a trap system he somehow set off- not Gilfer.  There are signs of the Oxen having been within the room on several occasions.  There is only one other exit out of this large round room so they follow it.

There are two rooms without doors that are located off of the main hallway.  Both are small rooms that are empty.

The third branch from the hallway has a locked door.  The door doesn’t last long as Piik strikes it over and over until something gives.  They begin down the short hallway and spot glowing ruins on the floor of the hallway.  Leaffa attempts to figure out what they are.  Her only answer “Wards”.   Gilfer and Piik look at each other with a look of uncertainty.  “What do they do?” asks Piik.   

“They ward… guard things.” She answers.

The bugbear looks to the floor then back up at her.  “What would they do if we cross them I mean.” He grumbles.  Leaffa shrugs her shoulders. 

 “I’m not a mage or an artificer.  I’m a druid.”

Gilfer steps up to them.  He slowly reaches his hand over the runes.  He feels a cooler sensation.  Not so much cold but like that of a cold draft.  He withdraws his hand smiles as he looks back at the group and steps onto the runes.

His short fur ruffles like in high winds and as he steps again the wind seems to intensify.  He is on the other side quickly.  He turns and begins to walk back when the wind truly intensifies and pushes him back.  “Uh-oh”

He literally slides back on two occasions as he struggles to walk against the wind back to his teammates.  With a satisfied smile he finally does.  “Easy” he says.

This time he tries to do his running on walls psionic trick and finds himself tumbling as he returns to the main floor on the other side.  Leaffa slides across the runes with her hair and cloak whipping around her.  Piik swallows hard and takes a tentative step.  If he had hair on his legs (remember- a lot of it has been removed from various accidents) it would have bristled.  As it is he loses his balance and tumbles the length of the runes.  He stands up and glares at Gilfer “Easy” he growls.

They continue a short way down and discover stone spiral stairs that lead down.  Carefully they go down after Leaffa has relit her torch.

Near the bottom they see a sharp pulsing light like a large fire but without the crackles of such a large fire.  Peering around the corner they see a human sized swirling mass of light orange and yellow energy On the floor behind it are glowing marks on the floor.  Curious, they step into the room and fan out.  Leaffa is concerns since this fire is sitting on the floor.  It is not burning on logs or oil.  It is self-feeding.  “Magic” she warns as much as states.

Piik hefts up his weapon and steps up the flame suddenly attempts to reach out and slap at him.  He steps back then thrusts back into the creature striking it in full.  The flames spit and sputter.  Gilfer strikes at it and it dies out.  

Leaffa inspects the marks on the other side and can’t figure out what they are.  There doesn’t seem to be magic to them but they do gently glow.  They seem to slowly move also.  “I think these are Dragonmarks.”  She looks further but can not even begin to decipher them.

They turn around and have an extremely hard time now leaving the room.  The storm like winds batter at them.  Eventually they do escape the winds.

Another 700 feet down there is a new branch from the main hallway.  It is another empty room with no door or security measures added.

300 feet further down again brings them to a room with a strong portcullis blocking their way in.  Piik struggles with it but does lift it for Leaffa and Gilfer to creep through.  It drops heavily and they walk down the hallway that goes about 100 feet before coming to a locked door.  They look at the door for a few minutes then have Piik break it down.

They peer into the room on the other side and spot many broken and fallen stone columns that liter the floor.  A shadowy doorway seems to be on the opposite end just out of their vision from the light spell and torch light.

They begin to cross when Leaffa hears movement within the room.  She has the two warriors stop as she tries to pinpoint the source of the noise.  She hears it to the left and before them.  Piik charges then she thinks she can hear it to her right.  Piik strikes at a rough-scaled red and black snake with venom dripping from its fanged mouth.  He kills the Fiendish Viper with one blow but discovers the room is crowded with the creatures.   “urrrr…. Guys…” He begins but they are already aware of the creatures and have begun to take defensive positions.

Leaffa summons up a Dire Rat to attack the slithering snakes as Gilfer runs up and over the creatures using the walls and his special powers.  The attempt to flank the creature works only so well as he finds himself now also flanked as he returns to the floor amongst a nest of the monstrous snakes.  Piik cuts his way to them leaving a bloody and squirming mess in his wake.  The snakes do not last long with them and their animal friends fighting.

Looking now to the door at the other end of the room they open it to find a huge 30ft by 55-foot pool of clean but dark water.

They consider camping here but are unsure of what else could be here.  Piik and Leaffa rest first as Gilfer takes first watch.  He thinks he hears something in the water and goes to check on it.  He sees a gentle ripple in the water.  Wondering if something is invisible within the water he leans over to poke it with his psi-blade.   The water elemental attacks him now.  Luckily for him, Piik and Leaffa awaken to his falling into the water.  Leaffa and the bear reach there first.  She summons an earth elemental to help seeing Gilfer being held within the water thrashing about but not moving anywhere.  Piik can not get into the room as the Bear-  Paw and the elemental are blocking his way in.

Gilfer is nearly drowned before he is pulled free from the attacking water elemental.  They move away from the water and attempt to stay out of its range.  Gilfer refuses to go into the room again.  Piik finds minor amusement in the appearance of the half-drowned shifter.  

They camp in the column room again but closer to the entrance than the exit by the water.  Leaffa is certain the elemental can not leave the water to attack them this far away from the main pool of water.


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## megamania (Dec 18, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 014
11/26/09
“Crypts”

After a breakfast of dried meat and water Leaffa, Gilfer and Piik once more begin their exploration of the ruins that resemble a long hallway and their goal of locating and rescuing the kidnapped farmers and their livestock.

They come to a chained and locked door about 200ft down.  Figuring this meant there was something of value on the other side they force the door and enter.  There is a short hallway that leads to a door and there is a door leading off of the hallway to the left.

Cautiously they pass the side passage and check out the door directly in front of them.  It opens easily but makes a loud creaking sound as it opens.  Thick cobwebs hang from the ceiling and the walls.  They carefully sweep the webs aside as they enter the room to better see what is inside.  Crypt!  They decide to check it out.  Leaffa is uncertain about disturbing the crypts and fears they may even upset any spirits within this crypt.  Gilfer ignores her completely as he moves ahead to the closest stone burial coffin.  It is plain with no inscriptions or special marking to hint at the origin or even the species within.

He works the heavy lid off and discovers the skeletal remains of an armored hobgoblin long since dead.  Looking around he finds a large knife.  The Dagger gently glows blue as he holds it in his hand.  The other crypts have a few gold pieces and a ring within it…. And a nest of angry and hungry tiny spiders!

Paw is attacked and they rush to his aid.  They find killing a swarm of tiny vermin is not so easy.  Gilfer and Leaffa climb onto the other stone crypts to get away from the vermin.  Paw and Piik try their best to fight them from the ground.  Leaffa summons up a small fire elemental, which seems to work well against the swarm.  Soon the spiders are gone and Paw relaxes (if only a bit).  Piik is disappointed that all he finds is an empty potion tube.

[DM NOTE: They miss a secret door here that housed a lot of gold and a bag of Holding to carry said money out.  Sucks not to have a rogue within the group]

They backtrack to the hallway and checkout the door leading away to some stairs that go down.  They go down and find more crypts.  There are two statues here also.  The statues are of hobgoblins armored in heavy breastplates and shields.  Nothing more there.  The three of them and Paw check out the crypts further but find nothing of value.  There are two exits from this large 40 x 40 foot room.  The first room they check out is small but contains a small chest hidden in the corner.

Gilfer is quick to check it out along with Piik.  So quick is he at rushing the chest he never considers traps and falls victim to a concealed pit trap that snares both him and Piik.  Luckily for them it is shallow and has no occupants within it.  

Climbing out, they go to the next room.  Within this huge room are two crusty undead warriors with rotted weapons and armor on.  Piik and Gilfer make short work of them.  They follow the exit out of the room into a small room with a dark well within it.  As they move up to the well several creatures crawl out of it.  Six bony legs hold up a body with a single red eye and a small mouth filled with needle like teeth.  Each of the legs ends with dagger like sharp talons.

The creatures rush them and Piik attacks quickly.  Gilfer attacks at range throwing his psionic blades at them.  Leaffa summons up another dire rat to attack the Khyber dwelling creatures.  These Mad Slashers do not last long before Piik’s mighty battle-axe.

They decide to camp here feeling it will be safe and they need to recover from their wounds from the swarm and the Mad Slashers.


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## megamania (Dec 18, 2009)

DM NOTE:

This was the first use of a mapping / storage system i plan to use for Con / Store games.

The tiles and miniatures for each room were placed into a gallon sized zip-lock storage bag.

Then printed out was a map of the room and markings of where the creatures were along with details of the room and creatures.

It worked very well.

Back to the regularly scheduled storyhour


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## megamania (Dec 18, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 015
11/27/09
“Finally-  The Duergar Dwarves! (oh and a ghost)”

Having rested from battling undead, swarms and aberrations, the adventurers return to their quest of saving the innocents and becoming as rich as possible in the process.

After several more empty rooms and about 1000ft of marching down this long central hallway they come across a door.  Piik opens it and finds three gray dwarves caught off guard.  Remembering the pain and embarrassment they had given him several nights before he leaps at the chance of killing them off.  Gilfer barely gets in before the dwarves are defeated.

They check out the beds, desk and closets the dwarves were using.  And of course the loot the bodies as well.

Little is found.

A few coins and back up equipment.  Gilfer is disappointed and Piik had hoped the magic user was here but he isn’t.

They leave the room and look for more adventure (They never think about the attacked barracks will expose their existence…. They will learn…. In time)

Another 300 feet down they find another bared off branch leading to another room or area.  Piik struggles with this portcullis also but everyone gets in while he holds the gate up.

They come into a large room with twin sparking columns at the far end.  Gilfer spots a door beyond the columns.  They march to the columns but Gilfer activates a hidden spiked pit trap.  Piik produces rope and with Leaffa and her animal companion bear securing it, he goes down to free the shifter.  Several spear tips have punctured the soul knife’s body.  It is a painful and unpleasant operation to remove him from the spears that are planted into the floor.   Gilfer spots a lever on the wall.  He carefully walks to it and cautiously pulls it.

The lightning stops sparking between the columns!

They hurry to the locked door and find once more Piik must break it down.  With the door destroyed Gilfer steps into the small room and faces… a transparent female hobgoblin!   A ghost!

She or it if one prefers is a statue of some hobgoblin.  Gilfer wants to investigate it but the ghost is not willing to step aside.

“You are not heroic nor worthy to venture further beyond me.  You are not heroic enough.” Is whispered in a voice that seems disjointed from the undead guardian.  Gilfer tries a frontal attack and a find he is weakened greatly by the undead’s touch as he tries to rush past her.  After several failed attempts, Gilfer decides he can not keep this up.  He feels weak and like he is slower than even the Bugbear.

In goblin, the Bugbear, Shifter and undead speak about what is beyond the doorway.

Each time Gilfer tries to get in he is repulsed and weakened spiritually for the effort.  To make matters worse, the electrical columns reset and Piik is blasted hard by the starting bolts and Gilfer avoids the worst of it but is greatly weakened from the undead’s touch.

They back off after verifying the ghost is limited to that one room.  They camp there to gather their strength again and figure out how to get past the undead guardian.  Gilfer is once more weakened and near death from the effort.  Once more they sit back and rest for the remainder of the day.

Eventually, they do “destroy” the ghost and check out the statue and the room.  Only the statue is here.  It is dedicated to the hobgoblin explorer- Letaan whom died here over 2000 years ago.  Gilfer has Piik destroy the statue in hopes of finding something hidden.  Nothing within the body but in the pedestal below they discover a map.  They believe it originats within the Eldeen Reaches but they are uncertain.

Disappointed, they leave the room again and camp in the main room again.


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## megamania (Dec 20, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 016
11/27/09
“Healing Circle and Hunter’s Nest”

200ft down on the right they spot yet another hallway leading away.  Once more it has no door or block.  They check it out and discover a large circle drawn with small runes of magical power.  There are three hallways leading away from the rune.

Gilfer steps into the circle to prove it is nothing and it immediately begins to glow a soft blue.  He feels better for the effort.  Piik is next and also feels good going in.  His burnt away fur doesn’t regrow but the sores and partially healed burns on his skin heal up completely.  They keep going in and out of it until it doesn’t work anymore (5 / day it heals 1d8+3).  Only slightly daunted by this they begin to explore the other branches hoping to find more healing circles.

One branch is empty, the other has a few loose silver pieces.  However, the branch has a small bag.  Gilfer hurries ahead of everyone to get to it first.   He picks up the bag with reckless abandon and opens it feeling some weight within it.   He pulls out a glowing dagger.  “It’s Mine!  I found it!” He declares as the others arrive.  {DM NOTE:  +1 Bane vs. Aberrations and CURSED.  5% chance per morning he will wake up as a human man instead of a Shifter. ]

They leave this only after discovering the healing circle has lost its ability to heal (has 5 charges a day only).  They walk for a very long time.  After traveling over 1000 feet they see a faint glow ahead of them.  They slow down and try to sneak up.  They see what Gilfer mistakenly thinks is an Azer and attacks. (This is what happens when you misuse player knowledge) The Magmacore Golem easily deals with their “surprise” attack and begins to ooze out molten magma burning Piik badly and Paw.  Gilfer attacks from an angle by throwing first his psionically charged blades then his two glowing daggers.  Leaffa calls up several allies whom all burn as the guardian oozes out more protective magma from it.  She then attempts to use her bow but finds little success doing this.

Piik continues to attack while being burned by the creature’s ooze and fiery hot slams.  Suddenly the creature stops in mid motion and explodes in a wave of intense heat and shrapnel.  Magma splatters and spreads everywhere including on Piik whom is now looking to escape as all of his fur on his legs has been burned off and his legs now have severe burns on them.

With its armor now missing, it is a much easier to hit the guardian although its ooze still threatens everyone near it.  Finally the creature succumbs to the combined attacks but most of the party is so badly injured / burnt that they retreat to the healing room.

They hope it works again but it doesn’t.  They camp here.  When they awake they discover the healing circle works again of which Piik and Gilfer quickly use up its abilities.  They check out the room the molten guardian was protecting.  A heavy and recently made door is behind when the guardian was.  It takes time but they break it down.  Gilfer pushes the door open and cool air comes out, cool and refreshing air.  They walk down the short hallway to a large open room.  Looking up they see dark skies with heavy clouds.  It looks like rain.   The opening to the surface is about 200 feet up.  Figuring they can not exit from here they search the doorways leaving this large room.  

One room has a box within it.  Lifting the wooden cover carefully they discover a Longbow (magical) and 40 arrows.  Leaffa takes these.  In another room they find a roughly made shelf built from stones and boards.  On the shelf is a potion that Piik quickly drinks once Leaffa says she thinks it is a curing potion.  He drinks it feels better as dried blackened skin flakes off his feet and reveals bare bright red skin.  It is still painful to walk on his blistered feet but at now he can.  The last room has a few cracked jars on the floor.  They have gold, silver and copper coins and a loose ring with gold worth possibly as much as 25 gold.  Gilfer and Leaffa take these.

They walk back to the “healing” room again and rest and use the healing circle in the morning once more.


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## megamania (Dec 20, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 017
11/27/09
“The Dragon Room”

Once awake, fed and healed up once more the group head out.  They pass the room where they found a few items (missed the Harpies) and go to the next room.  They still have not considered how lucky they have NOT been discovered by the gray dwarves.  They have however, considered the fact that hallways with guardians and/or locked doors often have dangerous creatures (and treasure) while the hallways with no doors or guards are usually empty and boring (they are learning).

While discussing this they almost literally walk into a warforged guard whom attacks them from his hallway entrance.

This warforged (Cleave) is the toughest and most skilled one they have faced (Fit 5) and gives them a very hard time.  Paw is killed by the living construct while Piik is chopped up quite a bit.  Gilfer is also severely injured (nat 20 confirmed) but once more it is Leaffa and her summoned Natures Allies that save the day.

They RUN back to the healing room once more to find it doesn’t work until the morning.  Leaffa has prayed for a new Animal Companion and a Dire Badger has burrowed into the room by morning.

They go back to the room where the warforged was and begin to wonder what he was guarding.  Once more they must break into the room through a large locked door.  This one was reinforced with iron.  Leaffa is certain this means there is good stuff inside.

Just inside the door is a heavy-duty iron fence that Piik and Gilfer team up on to open.  The noise is great but they figure no one heard it outside since they were careful to reclose the door to the main hallway.

There is an unlocked door after this.  They carefully open it (fearing why it is NOT locked) and find the room is lit with dozens of torches.  The long hallway is lined with draconic statues and ends with another doorway.  To the left side are the five main chromatic dragons and on the right the five main Chromatic dragons.  Before stepping in however they are attacked by two ½ Black Dragon Hobgoblins!

The battle goes well for a moment as Piik and the Summoned badger take down one black scaled hobgoblin very quickly however, the other one is avoiding Gilfer’s attacks well and Leaffa can’t seem to do much for damage against the scaled creature.  Then it spits out acid that strikes Piik and the badger whom happened to be standing in a line as they rushed it from behind.  

Poor Piik…. He has more hair burned off from fire, magma and acid than remaining on his blistered body.

With the four of them attacking the lone cross breed, it goes down quickly.

Now with time to search, they begin to look around.  Several potions and Longsword+1 are found they share and trade.  These include Detect Undead, Expeditious retreat, Nature’s Ally and even Energy Protection of Electric.

They go into the next door and find a very angry medium Black Dragon whom attacks anyone that dares to enter the room.  It takes a lot of shared damage to defeat the dragon and a lot of summoned creatures to appear behind the dragon to defeat him.  They look around this room and find a clay mug that seems to never empty of its drink and a potion that is marked at Dragon’s Draught. ( Dad weakness…. I told the kids what it was… normally I would allow players to drink to discover what it does.)

They camp here within this room that seems to pay homage to dragons.


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## megamania (Dec 20, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 018
11/27/09
“The Prisoner”

After looking around a bit more and peering out into the hallway to see if the dwarves are looking for them they begin to go out again.  They pass two rooms with no doors (figuring they are empty) and come to a hallway with a sign set up.  No one can read it and decide to check it out.

The short hallway leads into a 20x20-foot room with an exit on the other side.  Gilfer continues straight-ahead saying how he has become the team’s rogue.  He is right.  He finds a 30ft deep camouflaged pit trap in the center of this room all by himself.  Embarrassed, he uses his ability to run up walls to leave the pit.  Piik is smiling the whole time (while scratching at his exposed burn blisters)

They enter the exiting hallway with Gilfer leading though much more slowly and cautiously.  They notice a glow coming from the next room and creep up.  Inside is a huge room with nothing but a 20 x20 foot swirling mass of elderich energy holding 5 feet off the ground a big orc holding an Orcish blade.  He doesn’t react to their presence at all.  They circle the swirling mass of energy looking for a trap.  Leaffa is very cautious.  She fears this is a Living Spell of great power.  Gilfer (using player knowledge that a Living spell of this size would be MUCH too high of level for them)  walks up the energy.  With some hesitation he reaches out to the mass.

Piik’s jaw hangs open in amazed stupidity as the shifter touches the energy.  Nothing.  He leans forward more and puts his arm in.  “See…. It’s an illusion.” They he disappears!

“Crap!” yells Piik.

“Gilfer!” Yells Leaffa

“Snort.” Snorts Night, the animal companion of Leaffa’s.

Piik watches the Orc carefully.  He expects the creature to attack at any moment but it doesn’t.

They circle the mass expecting something to happen.  Nothing.  Not even a sound.

Piik steps up the mass and reaches out as the SoulKnife had.  Nothing.  “Mumph!”  He pushes his foot towards it to reach in further and find the floor gives way!  “He was right… in a way.  It is an illusion.  But it’s not about the Orc… That is part of the illusion also.  The floor doesn’t exit.  That is the illusion.”

He sets down his bag and pulls out a piton and his hammer.  He bangs in a cheap iron stake as Leaffa comes over.  “What are you doing?”

“He fell in and may need our help.  I’m not going to just jump in.”  He then pulls out his rope and hopes the floor isn’t far down.


A few moments before….

“See… no problem.  Ahhhhhh!” and Gilfer falls as if there was never a floor.  He falls a short way then hits the floor…. Hard.  It takes a few moments before he opens his eyes.  The small he is in glows softly and has four exits leading away from it.

He looks around some more then gets up.  He looks up and sees the swirling mass above and a hand scrapping through the illusion.   Piik Gilfer figures.

He decides to adventure first and goes down the hallway he was facing.  The walls are glowing a pale yellow and seem to be made of stone unlike any native to the Eldeen Reaches area.  He comes to a room that has a large chest within it.  He hears a soft thus from the entrance and figures the others are coming.  He looks at the chest and sees nothing and goes to open it (not a rogue yet…never saw it coming) setting off the fire trap spell.  Hurting a bit he opens it and finds several scrolls within it.  There are also potions and Bracers of defensive nature. 

“What did you find as party treasure?” asks Leaffa.

“Errr….. nothing its mine.” Answers Gilfer.

“Seems to be a lot of nothing.” Adds Piik trying to see what he has.

“Then I will not store anything other than party stuff in my bag of holding.” Answers Leaffa whom has grown tired of the shifter’s hidden greed.

Now with the druid walking very close to the shifter they go to the next room over.  There is a statue of a large winged man here.  He has wings and a slightly reptilian appearance to him.  A plaque below says something that none of the three can read.  Piik suggests returning later and breaking the statue to look for hidden areas and treasure.  However, there are at least two more rooms to look at.

The next room has a large table within it.  There is a map here of the Black Cap Mountains which Piik recognizes.  It suggests there are portals within the mountains to Xen’drik.  There is also a beautiful necklace with a winged eye.  Gilfer and Leaffa both want it and agree that neither gets it until something of equal worth is found to share.

The next room stops everyone in their tracks.

Within this larger room is a very large glowing coffin.  It is easily 15ft long.  They look it over more carefully than usual.  A swarm from something this size would be extremely dangerous.  Finally they decide to open it and find a large skeleton within it that has dry leathery wings.  There are a lot of coins including PLATINUM!  There are rings and jewelry also.  As Leaffa and Gilfer are grabbing at the treasure Piik can not stop looking at the weapon it holds.  An eight-foot long over sized hammer.  A Maul if you wish.  Piik pulls the cobwebs off of it and finds it feels good in his hands.  Really good.  “If you get that then we get this.” Gilfer says while pointing at the treasure within the tomb.  Piik absently agrees, as he looks it over.

(Yup- Maul of The Titans)

As Piik figures out a way to carry the over sized weapon they head back to the statue.  After a lot of arguing, Leaffa finally uses a spell to read languages and discovers that this tomb belongs to Lord Butaral Gutterson Planeswalker.  He is a ½ Blue Dragon / ½ Storm Giant sorcerer whom came to Khorvaire to hunt down undead in the Gloaming.

They move on to the next room.


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## megamania (Dec 20, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 019
11/27/09
“Storage room and Gray Dwarves”

Feeling confidant and ready for anything, they move on to the next room.  The next room is a mere 250ft down.  There is a door that has no lock on it.  Shrugging, Gilfer pushes it open.   7 Duergar dwarves turn and look at them.

Even as they charge into the room the dwarves seem to disappear.  They stop as they enter the room and look around in puzzlement.  Suddenly LARGE gray dwarves begin to attack them from nowhere.  

[DM NOTES]
“They’re cheating!  That’s no Fair” Yells Tim out of character.  As a dad and the DM I remind them that it was just a matter of time before they were discovered then the dwarves would be ready for them.

They begin to attack and Leaffa summons up a Dire Wolf to both attack and use its sense of smell to locate any more invisible dwarves.  The dwarves go down quickly despite their being ready for them.

Little is found on them but the storage rooms beyond their meeting table has food supplies that they were running out of including fresh water.

Now Leaffa realizes that they can not take it so easy anymore.  They are expecting them and may be harming the animals (oh- and the farmers!  ) out of their anger and frustration.  They take whatever they can and leave for the next room.


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## megamania (Dec 20, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 020
11/27/09
“Volcano!!!!!!!!”

About 200 feet from the storage room Leaffa notices a lot of yellowish ash in the cracks of the floor and walls.  She points it out and the others look at it.  Piik sniffs it and nearly becomes ill.   “Rotten eggs!” he says while sticking out his tongue.  Gilfer is tempted to place some of the powder on his tongue but decides against it looking at his sharpened teeth and one tusk.

They go a bit further and notice a difference in the air temperature.  It is slightly warmer.  As they go further it is much warmer.

They come up to several large heavy doors made of stone and steel.  They look burned.  The three of them look at each other as if to ask what this is about but move on anyway.

The worked stone becomes more broken up and less worked.  Then they see light!   They move up and find there is a great deal of sun light ahead.  They move up and stop at the archway.

Looking out they see a 300 x 250 feet wide naturally made room.  The walls open up about 100 ft up to the open air.  Looking across the room, they see an island with a man made bridge leading to it.  The bridge crosses over broken steaming land to a large manmade balcony that enters into the opposite wall.  Where the land is not broken up and steaming there chunks of broken rock and…. Magma!   The island is actually within a pond of magma!

Everyone is stunned by this.  They were not expecting this.  They look for where to walk next.  There are several smaller cavern exits to the left side of the pond or they can take a stone ramp that leads to the balcony from the right.  They choice the left side.

As they leave the hallway that must be over two miles in length, they disturb a small anthill of red 2-inch long spiders.   The spiders seem to sizzle and emit heat as they spread out across the base of their home.  Luckily, the group climbed a few natural steps that have stymied the spiders from advancing.  “We have to remember those spiders if we are forced to exit back through the tunnels.” Suggests Leaffa.

They are careful crossing the warm slabs of stone that emit hot and smelly gases from the cracks between and under them.  Gilfer spots a natural cavern only big enough for him and the others except for Piik.  Unnerved by the volcano, Piik agrees to wait outside to guard the cave (and watch the magma pool).  They go inside the tight edges and walls and find next to nothing within.  There are footprints of something in the ash that can not be identified by either Leaffa or Gilfer.

When they return to the entrance to the cave, Piik is holding the huge hammer instead of his battle-axe.  He is staring at the head of the hammer as if it has grown a face or something else horribly unnatural.  “What is it Piik?” Leaffa asks out of concern.

A brief pause and Piik blinks over and over then calmly answers.  “Nothing…. I’m just…. I don’t like the molten rock.”  Leaffa doesn’t think much more about remembering the various burns he has received in the past week including from magma.

They come to 3 deep holes in the ground.  Footprints are here in the ash.  They seem canine by they are not sure.  Either way, nothing is here now.  They move away from these three holes to a much bigger crack near the balcony.  A strong smell of cooking meat can be smelled as they near the hole.

Gilfer carefully walks up the crack and looks over the edge.  His face turns white as he looks away quickly.  “What did you see?” asks Leaffa.  Piik looks next and he closes his eyes and pinches his nose before turning away.  Night, her summoned animal communicates the smell of cooking food.  Curious now, Leaffa steps up.  She nearly becomes ill.

The crack has several human bodies thrown into it.  The heat of the magma is slowly burning / cooking them.  She then spots movement.  “They’re alive!”

They try to reach the closest body using the eight-foot long hammer that Piik now holds.  As he disturbs the body something does move.  Fiendish Centipedes!   The nasty creatures rush up looking for raw meat to eat versus the cooked flesh.

The nasty smell and knowledge of the cause of smell makes it hard for them to attack without becoming ill.  They contain the centipedes more than damage them.  Leaffa summons up a Hippogriff to appear on the opposite side of the crack.  Between the five of them, they beat back and destroy the vermin.  Piik is disgusted since he has the creature’s icor on his bare skin on his legs.  Ugh!

On the other side of the crack is a cave.  Gilfer runs along the crater wall to move past the funeral pyre and looks inside.  The tunnel twists in and out.  He finds many tracks of the centipedes along with other creatures.  He feels like he is missing something so begins to disturb the ash carefully.  He doesn’t want to unearth a swarm or something worse.

He finds evidence of mining.  Leaffa comes in and notes his discovery.  “I think they are mining Dragon Shards.”

Gilfer bites his lip and shakes his head.  Not good.  

“Gilfer….. I have been thinking about two things.  The most recent is how much Piik is acting different.  He looked like the hammer was… well…. Telling him something.  I have heard of intelligent magical stuff before.  They sometimes try to possess you.  I’m worried about him.”

Gilfer can’t help but think about his two magical daggers…. One glows white and the other blue.

“Also…. We have fought several constructs.  I don’t think the dwarves built them.  I fear they are hired by someone else.  The possibility of mining strengthens this theory.  [DM:  It does] ? ”

Gilfer doesn’t answer beyond going further on.

They climb out and look at the Magma pool.  Piik is staring at it along with his new hammer.  Leaffa steps up to him and he grunts then slips the hammer into a strap that was meant to hold his battleaxe.  He holds and the axe and sighs.  “We’re going in still….” He says rather than questions.

Gilfer runs to and up one of the columns that hold up the bridge that connects the balcony to the island.  They others walk across the volcano floor, under the bridge and near the ramp leading up.  Gilfer is checking it out still when they come down to check on him.

“What did you find?” she asks him.

“Foot prints in the ash.  A heavy-duty iron ring planted into the island.   It reminds me of a mooring ring on the shipyards which makes no sense.”

“We saw oxen tracks going to the ramp.  They came through here.”

“We should go.” Warns Piik as he looks back to the balcony and the dark doorway leading into the walls of the volcano.


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## megamania (Dec 20, 2009)

and if anyone is curious-  I did map out this volcano room using underground and regular dungeon tiles with red construction paper for the Magma.

The looks on the kids faces said everything and made it worth the two hours it took just to put it together then another hour to "populate" it.


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## megamania (Dec 20, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 021
11/27/09
“Warforged Guards”  

A mere 100 feet into the new passage they encounter two-armed Warforged that appear to be guarding another room.  They say nothing as they attack the would be heroes.  The battle is rough and the group takes several serious hits before they defeat the constructs.

There is a short hallway that leads to a 20 x 20 room with an exit.  Gilfer is careful with this small room, as there have been many traps in similar rooms.   He finds nothing and carefully crosses the room.  Nothing happens so the others follow.

The exit leads to a ramp that goes down.  They go down the ramp and discover another storage area.  Within this room are pikes, shovels, crates and other things used for mining.

Deciding to be more careful, they rig some ropes to hold the defeated warforged up into a somewhat standing position and camp within the storage room.  Tomorrow will be a hard day they suspect.






And this ends the gaming with them for a while.  Between Cathy's basketball and the Holiday season I don't see playing until possibly X-mas but more like the following weekend of New Years.  There are plenty more surprises for the kids to find and I am already working on the next two adventures for them.


and if anyone has a comments or thoughts feel free to post.  The kids and I would love to read them.


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## megamania (Dec 27, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 021
12/26/09
“Warded Desk” 

 The three adventurers and the animal companion slowly walk down the dark hallway.  As they reach the next branch from the main hallway they hear a loud banging of metal on metal.  As Gilfer rushes up to find out what the noise is the others get ready for the oncoming attack.  The cause of the noise is a warforged guard banging his hammer on his shield.  The sound is loud and carries through the hallway.  The alarm has been given!

Gilfer and Piik quickly stop the banging as they engage the warforged guard.  Leaffa summons up a Hippogriff to distract the living construct.  Gilfer (now a level 1 rogue) takes advantage of this and tries to strike a weak area on the guardian.  Its armor plating however blocks the extra damage.  Still, with everyone attacking it, it goes down.

Gilfer then picks the lock and goes inside.  They enter a 40x40 room with only two things inside.  There is a shelf on the backside of the room and a table with a chair.  There are three tied up rolls of paper sitting on the desk.  The trick is… there is a clearly visible ward surrounding the table.  Gilfer gives it a try anyway and suddenly finds he can not move as he triggers the Hold Person spell.  The Hippogriff walks into the warded area and as commanded by the druid moves the “frozen” shifter back.  Piik smiles as he sees an opportunity.  He goes over to the magically held soul knife / rogue looking to have some innocent fun.

Since the summoned creature is not a humanoid, it can freely walk within the ward.  Leaffa asks for the ½ eagle ½ horse to bring the scrolls to her.  In its attempt to do so, it knocks over the table (no hands).  One scroll bounces to the druid.  She picks it up and asks for the magical creature to nudge the other two scrolls to her or at least outside of the glowing square. 

Meanwhile, Piik is gently pushing the shifter with one finger.  He is teasing the shifter with the fact that he could knock him over at any moment and with no effort.  He sticks his slightly greenish-gray tongue out at him next.  Then he looks at the bag with the potions.   To take them or not….?  The shifter’s face becomes red in anger and frustration.

Leaffa finds nothing on the shelf worth taking.  She then takes a look at the three scrolls even as her Hippogriff fades away.  Opening them she finds a partial map of the rooms they have been to.  She notes there are not many more rooms listed.  There is a materials list of mining tools and finally a written letter.  The letter is written to Sams ir’Verdantrae of Aundair.  The writer is proud to announce they have found a new vein of dragon shards to mine.

Gilfer’s condition wears off and he yells to back off to the giggling Bugbear whom pantomimes “what…me?!?” 

They leave the room and head to the next one.

Gilfer inventories his potions.


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## megamania (Dec 27, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 022
12/26/09
“Piik’s Revenge or Hammer Time” 

The next room down has a door built of sturdy wood reinforced with strips of metal.  Obviously it is an important room on the other side.  Gilfer tries to pick the lock but can not.

Piik, very quiet, trades his Battle-Axe for the eight-foot long hammer.  He looks at the over sized hammer and his lone canine tooth pops out as he smiles.  “Move.”

“I can get it.  Just give me a moment.” Replies the shifter without looking back.

“uh…. Piik…. What are you…. Oh.  You better move Gilfer.  NOW!!!!” Says Leaffa as she looks into the Bugbear’s eyes.  There is a different look in his eyes.  One of renewed determination and intensity.

Gilfer rolls out of the way as the bugbear’s shadow gives his intention away.

BA-WHOOM! Thunders the door as it explodes into the room and echoes throughout the hallway.  Silence shattered as thoroughly and completely as the door.

Nothing remains of the door and Piik smiles as he looks with pride at the power of the maul (The maul having now gained possession of his goblinoid mind).  Piik looks into the room and sees a familiar gray dwarf once more casting a familiar spell.   He screams out and charges even as he briefly feels stiffening of his limbs from the oncoming Hold spell.  He plants the hammer in the chest of the dwarven cleric whom is slammed into the wall.  Large pieces of mortar breaking from the impact. 

Gilfer rushes in to aid the fighter.  His energy blade pierces the armored shoulder making the spell caster wail once more.  Leaffa and Night, the animal companion Badger of hers, come in next.  A Dire rat charges from the darkness of a joining room and attacks Gilfer.  As Piik finishes off the cleric slaver whom weeks before tried to enslave him, Gilfer kills off the rat.

Gilfer looks at the rat and finds a collar with the name “Mike” on it.  The cleric had a Dire Rat for a pet.  Both dead bodies are left in the room.  An impact crater remains in the wall where Piik slammed him earlier with the magical hammer.

Looting the body, Leaffa finds beautiful glasses within a velvet pouch.  When she puts then on she spots things with greater ease.  The glasses also turn invisible on her face.  She takes them off and looks into something the others missed.  A secret pouch in the cleric’s vest.  Inside are keys.  She takes these.  They leave the jet-black warhammer behind.

They go into the next room and find little of value.  A few pieces of gold and a chain leader for the pet Dire Rat.

They consider resting here but continue on.  After all… the map suggested they are nearly done with the dungeon.

A few hundred feet down they reach another room.  There are stairs leading up and a curtain for a door.  

“Looks boring.” says Piik whom has yet to return to his preferred weapon of the battle-axe.

“Could be a good place to rest if we need too.” Answers Leaffa.

Gilfer sneaks up and sees very little within the room.  There is a water fountain and several rugs on the floor.  There is no light besides the light spell on his shield.  “It’s okay.” He says as he enters the room.  Leaffa and the others then hear Gilfer grunt several times with the sounds of fighting.

Three invisible and enlarged gray dwarves attack Gilfer and two others fire crossbows into his stunned body.   More appear as they attack the others as they rush up the stairs and attack.  Piik continues to enjoy using his Maul to attack.  Leaffa calls up a Thoqqua.  The Magma worm appears in the midst of the Duergar whom do not do well against it.  Gilfer recovers and holds his own as they fight through them.  Piik cleaves his way through the warriors.  He doesn’t like the magma worm.  Too many memories of being burned.

Soon the ten dwarves are defeated.  They move to the next room and discover it is a barracks for them.  They find nothing of use here and decide to camp out here.

DM COMMENTS:  HUH?!? 


They settle down and Piik goes on guard duty.  About two hours into the rest period Piik hears something nearby.  He debates alerting the others but does so as he moves down towards the main room.  As he does many gray dwarves lose their invisibility as they attack him.

With a yell that leaves one uncertain if it was from pain or excitement, Piik unleashes himself on them.

Once more, the warriors prove to be of little challenge to the adventurers.  Now they rest.  

At the end of this battle, Leaffa makes the connection that the keys she has taken from the dead cleric may open the locks on the bugbear’s ankles and wrists.


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## megamania (Dec 27, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 023
12/26/09
“Moment of Heroism” 

Piik is the first to know what is in the next room. 

“Crap.”

They peer in and see a few Oxen feeding.  They are tethered to the wall and eating hay and oats.  They look for anything else that could be dangerous and see nothing.  They move in and enter the next room.  The only light is Leaffa’s torch and Gilfer’s shield with the light spell on it.

Within the next room there are several cages with near dead farmers within them.  Only one of the men can manage a groan as he rolls his head around to look at the light.

Leaffa is horrified at the condition of these men.  There is blood on the floor suggesting various beatings and cruel activities of the past.  “This has to end.” She swears.  The others only give a grim nod of agreement.  As they move to the next room they hear a faint sound of a song.  They can not place it.  Piik feels it is Aundaran in origin.  A slave song of some sort.

[DM NOTE:  Song is a cautionary song about evil in the darkness of the night that waits to prey on unsuspecting prey.  Aka the PCs]

They enter the next room and find large prison cells with a dozen farmers held within.  One man is held in a cell by himself.  He is glaring at a space nearby while “singing” the song.  He is clearly no bard.

Once everyone is in the room a dozen Duergar suddenly materialize as they fire cross bows into the would be heroes. Staggering from the ambush more dwarves appear as they move in to attack.  They are enlarged and pummel Gilfer hard.

The battle is fast and fierce.  Piik is destroying them with his over sized hammer as he kills two per swing.  Leaffa is saved as the battle moves too closely to the cell with the solitary prisoner.  He grabs at a cleric disrupting a spell saving her from its effects.  Later, this prisoner tries to help Gilfer also by throwing his waste bucket at him (well- at least what was inside the bucket).

Gilfer is nearly down when the battle finally ends with the cleric going down.  The farmers are still fearful of their saviors.  The lone prisoner introduces himself.  He is Phillip of Greenwood.  He and his adventuring friends had heard of the kidnappings and tried to help.  He is the only survivor of the effort.  While Gilfer and Phillip try to open the rest of the cells Leaffa and Piik go into the next room.  There is a huge jail here with a wide-open space leading to it.  Leaffa crosses the room and activates a pit trap.  She falls 40 feet down and is seriously injured from the fall.  A howling sound that is nerve racking can be heard immediately as the trap is activated.

Piik runs over and looks down into the cell.  He sees her being attacked by a large dog-like creature with quills on it.  A “Dog-apine”.  Seeing she can not survive another attack from it he jumps up and down into the pit.  He drives the hammer into the creature’s head, which then slams the creature’s head into the stone floor.  Piik howls in pain as several of the over-sized quills stab into him also.  While dazed, he is quick to finish off the Howler.

Leaffa, not much of a medic in truth, looks over the quills and warns him this will hurt and yanks them out!  Piik screams in pain then whimpers as he staggers to the corner leaving a trail of blood.  Using rope, Gilfer and Phillip get them out of the pit.  Phillip tells them of the remaining slaves within the mines.

“Time to go.” Says Gilfer.


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## megamania (Dec 27, 2009)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 024
12/26/09
“The Final Rescue” 

They enter the mines with about 15 ex-slaves in tow and two oxen.

Not the stealthiest crew ever assembled.  Fortunately, they is no one there except for a few dead farmers.  Gilfer tries to cover the bodies so as not to freak out the survivors.  They are subdued but also scared since they seem to be going back to mining duty but with different slavers.  The three of them can’t seem to figure out why the farmers are still so fearful.

There is a large bonfire here used to give light for the human slaves that lack darkvision.  There are two carved out exits from this room.  One is a short dead end of little use or consequence.  They begin to go down the main mine.  Only Leaffa, Night and Piik go.  The rest are too injured or too scared to go.  Based off of Phillip’s description there should not be too many slaves or dwarves remaining.

Night tries to carve out new trails to enable them to sneak up on others.  For his effort, Piik nearly clubs him as he comes out of the wall.  So that won’t work.  Lets just sneak up then they agree.

In a bit they spot them.  Three slavers watching over four slaves.  Leaffa tries to come up a plan of sneaking up on them.  At the end of each idea Piik replies how he can sneak up on them if he wanted to.  She fails noting his body language and suddenly- he charges down the hallway yelling.  His charge kills one dwarf and startles the other two.  Night charges at one and Leaffa with her bow luckily gets one.  Piik finishes off Night’s bitten slaver.

The slaves are uncertain at what to do.  They just follow orders as normal in the end.

The small army of wounded and subdued people work their way out of the complex.  As they reach the volcano room however Gilfer spots something out of place.  There is a rope tied to the iron imbedded ring that leads up!  He runs to the edge of the balcony and spots a small elemental ship.  They are pulling up the rope ladder to prepare to leave.  A man in Cannith colors waves at them.  A dozen warforged armed with cross bows and short bows  train their weapons on them halting any further pursuit.

“It appears you have come just in time to bring the wretched farmers home.  Well done.  Better-  I do not need to pay the gloomy dwarves because of you.   For that I thankyou.  Well Done!  I hope in the future we met under better conditions.  Good Bye and Travel well.”  And he cuts the line and the ship slowly rises up and exits through the mouth of the volcano.

Gilfer swears an oath of vengeance.

Leaffa thinks about how she knows who he may be from the scrolls she has.

Piik wonders if maybe he should buy a longbow and do ranged attacks…….

Still subdued, they move on.  It takes a week to get to the village.  The farmers are lost however.  Many of their family members have died.  The farms in ruin.  The livestock dead or in bad health.  The guy in the airship has much to answer for.




And thus ends the second Story of the kid’s adventures.  Next weekend I hope to pick up about a month into their lives as they face new threats.

Thankyou for reading and please feel free to comment.


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## megamania (Jan 24, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 025
01/17/10
“The Circus Comes to Town” 

DRAVAGO 14,  997

The three adventurers have enjoyed some time off retelling their adventures to any that will hear them.  Each time Piik retells it, there are more creatures involved and many have magical abilities (more than they had originally).  

Piik and Gilfer have each gone to the healer to buy more potions.  Even Leaffa looked into buying some.  

Today begins as most have recently for them.  Leaffa is talking to Kato the halfling healer while Piik and Gilfer go to the Wine Tree for drinks.  The two druids are still discussing how the world will end- by Fire or Ice.  Arkoose is adamant that it will be destroyed by fire.  Piik agrees in many ways.  The sores have healed on his legs and the hair has just begun to grow back.  Task won’t budge.  Ice will destroy everything.  Sir John, the retired adventurer whom has a story for everything merely smiles while smoking his pipe and cleaning glasses.

Gilfer goes outside to check on Leaffa and her animal companion Nite.  The Badger is hanging out in the bushes by the healer’s hut digging and looking for something to eat.  It stops and cocks its head as if to hear something.  Gilfer does so also and thinks he hears something.  He stops and listens for several seconds then is certain he hears something.   In the distance there is a rumble.  Not thunder but a deep rumble all the same.  It is coming from the east through the woods along the trail that leads through the small town.

Horses.  Horses and a wagon or two.  Leaffa pokes her head out the door with Kato peeking out from between her legs.  Eight mage-bred horses lead two carriages quickly to their area.  They slow down as they near the three buildings that mark the town (Healer’s Hut, Wine Tree Tavern and the Blacksmith).  Gilfer notes the two bolts stuck in the side of one carriage.  It appears there are either bandits or more doom druids active on the road again.  Before Gilfer has a chance to wonder how they escaped either threat the doors open and the occupants step out.

From the first wagon steps out a female gnome dressed in green.  She seems out of place as she wears gems and jewels of a noble.  Four humans climb out after her carrying their gear.  Next steps out a human wearing the emblem of the Silver Flame on his tunic.  He has a presence that suggests he is a paladin or cleric of the spiritual belief.  He takes in the whole town in one slow turn.  His eyes return to the healer’s hut and nods to that direction.

From the second wagon steps out a male human warrior.  He looks like an adventurer.  His armor is dented and gouged.  After him steps out a female elf.  She smiles and whispers something to the warrior and shakes her head gently in disbelief.  Then four halflings spill out.  They seem very excited to be here and begin to check things out quickly.  The warrior scowls at them and then heads for the tavern.  Once everyone has unloaded the two wagons start out again.

Through the windows of his tavern, Sir John watches the show.  “The circus has come to town.” He announces.

The Paladin goes to Kato’s healer shop.  She has one extra room in the back and offers it to him.  Leaffa doesn’t hear anything else they had started to say to each other as she crosses the street to the tavern where everyone seems to be going.  Nite shakes off the worse of the dirt and follows her in.  He tries to find a quiet area within the tavern to lay down and watch the show.

“I am Karl Slieghfest and this is my …. Traveling companion Keria Stillmorning.  We are in search of a room then some food and drink.”  The human warrior declares to Sir John as he steps up and sits heavily at the bar.  Piik checks out the elf.  Cute.

“I have several rooms upstairs and I have limited food and drink but its all for sale.” He smiles as he thinks about Kato and her “Ca-Ching Ca-Ching” saying she makes when making money from adventurers.  The druids continue to discuss the ongoing debate of ice vs. fire.  However, Task seems distracted by the new arrivals.  The halflings run in like little children into a toyshop.  They are all smiles and laughing.  Piik frowns as they run under his legs.  He has them plopped up on a seat that he doesn’t want to give up but suspects he will need to.  Still frowning, he looks across the room to where the Gnome has just entered with Gilfer talking to her.  Leaffa is also there.  Piik smirks.  Looks like they may have a job soon.  Good.  He has not squished anything in a while.

“Hey there!,” yells Sir John as the halflings leap and run around a table.  “Don’t touch that!  And be careful!  That animal might bite!  Leaffa!  Nite is in here again……”   One halfling skids to a stop as he almost runs into a squatted badger whom bears it’s teeth and a quiet snarl.

One halfling hops onto the bar and says he wants a room also.  “I have one room left that you can share with your friends IF you get off the counter.”  Sir John’s want of gold is being tested by these halflings.

Piik lifts one leg to give a show to the elf but only the gnome notices.  She has a startled look on her face for a moment then redirects her attention to Gilfer and Leaffa.  Piik leans over to say something to the druids but finds only Arkoose there.  Looking for Task he finds the human has moved to stand beside the human warrior.  Piik pouts at being put out by one of the druids.  “Damned circus.” He growls to himself before giving up the chair to a halfling.  The halfling smells the chair and sticks out his tongue and winces at the smell of the bugbear’s feet.  He happily then drags the chair to the table where he then climbs up and stands on it along with his fellow halflings.

Nite decides he can’t stand the noise and the halflings and goes outside.  It grunts to Leaffa to let her know it is going outside.  The halflings pull out a deck of cards and some painted pebbles while debating if Nite is a wolverine, badger or a small bear.  In unison, they say with salt and pepper it would be dinner and laugh loudly.

Sir John tries to listen in on Leaffa’s discussion with the gnome as she describes what she is doing here but is also listening to the elf that is asking about the surrounding area.

“The ruins should be near here based on the map I have.  The necklace I am looking for is within a temple underground near the mountains.  It is triangular in shape with three overlapping circles.  It is blue and green in color.” The Gnome Gussa tells Leaffa.

“You said it was very important to you.  Is it magical?” asks Gilfer.

“It is and it belongs to my people.  It was stolen during the early days of the war.  It was only recently we located the thief.  Before he died he told us where he hid it and provided a map.  This is the closest settlement there.  Do you think you could help us?  I merely need a guide.  If there is trouble I will pay extra for that.  The necklace is important to my family.”

“Your people or your family…?” asks Gilfer.

“Both.” She frowns at the shifter and does back to talking to Leaffa.

Gilfer is slightly put out but gold is gold.

An agreement is made to meet here at daybreak.


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## megamania (Jan 24, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 026
01/17/10
“The Failed Adventure” 

DRAVAGO 15,  997

“SHORT journey through the forest then back.” Says Gilfer staring at the Gnome.

She sneers at him and his height joke.

Piik wonders what he missed before stretching and scratching his neck.

Gussa discusses the direction they need to travel based on her map.

The eight of them begin walking down the road the wagons traveled on.  They turn to the south after walking a few hours.

Gilfer needles the gnome a few more times with height jokes.  He has truly taken a great deal of exception to her dismissing him the prior evening at the Wine Tree.  Finally Leaffa falls back to walk beside him.  “What is your problem?”

“I don’t like her.  I don’t trust her.  I think she is up to no good.”

Leaffa walks a few dozen steps before answering.  “Sir John pulled me aside last night.  He warned me about the entire group that came in.  He feels they are all up to doing something bad.”

“He tends to be right on this stuff.” Gilfer adds.

“Yes but this is a paying job and we have seen nothing to suggest she is evil.”

“So back to work.”

“and be nice.”

“Whatever.” And he picks up the speed and returns to his normal scouting position next to Piik whom smiles at some joke only he knows.

Walking across a large grass field they come onto a section of forest.  The forest is thick and dark.  Gilfer warns everyone that this looks like a spot for a good ambush.  Piik answers by pulling out his battle-axe.  Walking up slowly and listening to every sound real and false, Gilfer scouts ahead.  He spots a large dead tree that has fallen across the trail.  Looking and listening he senses nothing wrong.  “Piik- can you remove that tree?”

Piik smiles and replaces his axe with the huge eight-foot tall hammer.  He walks up to the tree and as he is about to swing another tree with no branches strikes him- hard.  Then it rises as if to strike him again.  Gilfer then spots the Hill Giant hiding within the dense foliage.  The three adventurers try to stop him but his size is too overwhelming.  Suddenly Leaffa sees a small burst of energy and Gilfer spots a green bead of energy arc up to the giant and fly behind him then suddenly burst into fire.  It bellows then strikes Gilfer very hard.

The giant’s reach is holding the group in check but a second burst of energy is seen as Gussa casts a second fireball spell.  The giant is fading fast after the second blast.  The first blast was largely absorbed by the trees around it.  Not so with the second blast.  Piik kneecaps it and Nite chews on it ankles keeping it where it is.  Unable to flee Gilfer finishes it off.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were a mage?!?” asks Leaffa to the Gnome.

“Everything is short about her.  Short in height and in notice.” Sneers the shifter soul blade.

Piik says nothing.  In fact he seems distracted.

“I am indeed a sorcerer but I do not know the area.  Thankyou Piik and Leaffa for the help.”  Says Gussa from within her ring of protective guards.

Gilfer spits out some blood before taking a healing potion he traded for.

That night they camp at the ruins of a small stone building.  Only the stone floor and pieces of the walls remain of the 25-foot square structure.  Gussa and her guards sit on one side of the fire and the three adventurers and Nite on the other.

Gussa pulls out the map and compares it the stars and considers her location.  When Leaffa walks over, the gnome partially hides the map.  “We should reach the site tomorrow around mid day.” The Gnome sorcerer says while rolling up the map.

“Are you sure?” asks the shifter.

Piik, bored with the on going height jokes curls up in the corner of the ruin.  Nite settles down near him.

“So what is the necklace again?  An heirloom?” asks Leaffa.

“It doesn’t matter to you.  I have…..” the gnome begins to say while feeling defensive.

“Yelp!”  Cries out Piik as vines have quietly stretched out and wrapped around his legs.  Nite has rolled away the vines as they try to ensnare him also.

Piik is quick to reach for his axe and cuts away the binding vines.  Gilfer also steps up and burns the vines with a piece of burning wood from the fire even as they reach out to grab anyone remaining in the back of the ruins.  Piik finishes off the assassin vine very quickly once on his feet.

Piik choices a different corner to lay down and everyone else settles down now that the threat is over.

The next morning comes without further incident and they continue on their way.  Gussa and Gilfer continue to glare at each other.  Leaffa tries to get the shifter to stop and Piik continues to be in his own world.  No one notices his distraction.

“Shortly” (as Gilfer would say) they arrive at the ruins they were searching for.  Looking to show off, the shifter races up the wall to check out the roof.  The stone building is roughly 50ft wide and 75 feet deep with a stone flat roof.   One section of roof has collapsed. There are no windows, only a wide front entrances with no door.  Thick vines cover the entrance instead.

Peering into the holes on the roof the shifter can hear something within the building.  As he calls out two large monstrous mantis creatures jump from over hanging trees and land near him.  A third one charges through to the doorway and between the vines and a surprised bugbear stops there.

Gilfer flees the rooftop luring the creatures to the edge where Gussa pulls out a wand and strikes them with a magic missile spell.  The fighters surround her as guards.  Nite snarls the creature within the doorway but can not get at it.  Piik smacks it hard but not hard enough as he is struck in return.

Leaffa climbs onto the roof but is snared by a mantis that easily grapples her.  Finishing off his mantis Piik tries to climb the wall to help Leaffa but is himself grappled.  With a person in each hand, the insect is uncertain which to chew on first.

Between the spells and psionic knives, the second mantis is killed.  Leaffa pulls free and slides off the roof to heal herself.  Piik pulls free and destroys the mantis…. Over and over again.   NEVER piss off the bugbear.

Going inside, they discover the building is sub-divided into three rooms.  All are empty except for a set of stairs leading down.  Gussa is quick to enter the descending stairs.

After several light spells are cast and even more torches are lit, they begin to explore the stairs going down several dozen feet.  Just as Piik was about to complain about the length of the stairs they reach a small room.  From this room are three doorways.

Gilfer checks out one door and tries to pick it only to have Piik push it open.  Unlocked.  Gussa smiles and giggles at the embarrassed shifter then pushes past him to be the first to possibly glimpse the necklace.

Nothing.

It leads to an empty room.

Turning, they try the door opposite of this one.  Also unlocked and empty.  Turning slowly to the last door with an unnerving grin, Gussa asks Piik to level the door.  He does with his hammer.  Gilfer is beside himself.  He is tired of her slights.  “Short on manners?” he commits but she has already entered the hallway beyond the now smashed in door.

A 50ft long hallway leads to a large round room with a round raised stage.  On the stage is a pedestal.  Gussa hurries to it and finds what looks like a bust lacking the arms and head…. And necklace.  Nothing.
Piik and Nite’s sensitive noses find something very sinister behind the platform.   A dead beholder.  Burn marks from magical attacks and arrows are embedded into its monstrous body.  “Looks like someone was here already and looted the place.” Says Gilfer.  He then begins to laugh.

Now extremely angered, Gussa slowly turns to him and waves her hand and says something too quietly to be heard by the others.  Gilfer finds his body is not his to control.  He drops his shield and dissolves his weapon.  Then he begins to pummel his own face.  Piik rushes over to grapple him worries there are evil spirits at work.  Gilfer stops hitting himself but does nothing.  He stands there rigid and at attention.  Gussa walks up to him and stares at his face.

“Servant… follow me.  We are leaving.” And she leaves with him following her.  Piik is slack jawed and Leaffa wonders if a spell was caste onto him by the gnome.

Eventually the shifter returns to being himself.  He snarls and throws a tirade but once he makes eye contact with the gnome he quiets down and redirects his aggression elsewhere.  It is a long and quiet walk back to the Wine Tree two days later.

Each are paid their 100 gold then dismissed.  Two days later a carriage arrives and they leave with Gilfer giving her a wave and an universal sign of displeasure.  Piik sighs quietly.  Things are returning to normal.


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## megamania (Jan 24, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 027
01/17/10
“Epilogue: Secrets” 


GUSSA MURNIG
Gussa and her four human guards get on board the carriage and begin their return trip to Karrnath.  She is still angry that the necklace was “stolen” from her and also irritated by that shifter.  She may have to return to deal with him at some other time.  She pulls another necklace out from her traveling outfit.  It is green.  Emerald green.  She concentrates and a hazy image of a near skeletal image appears within the claw pictured on the necklace.

“My queen…..  I have failed to retrieve the necklace of immortality.  Someone else has collected it ahead of us.” 

PIIK
Piik sits down in his timber home and settles in for the night.  He picks up a whetstone and his axe.  He is about to start his daily ritual of sharpening his axe but stops.  His gaze wanders to the hammer.  The wonderful oversized hammer.  He puts the tools away and looks briefly at his axe.  A weapon he has possessed since leaving his tribe in Darguun many years ago.  He frowns with tightly pressed lips then places the axe aside.  He picks up his hammer and looks at the solid metal head of it.  “Hello Lord Gutterson.  What stories of glory can you tell me tonight?”  The hammer’s head gently glows and the bugbear quietly sits back in his hammock and closes his eyes.  He dreams.  He dreams of the glory that was Lord Butaral Gutterson Planeswalker.  He dreams of what glory may be his.

SIR JOHN
The tavern keeper has had few stories to tell in the past few days.  The arrival of the explorers worries him.  Task, a druid that worships the cold and has questionable ethics has gone missing.  He believes he has gone with the human and elf.  Perhaps nothing will come of it but he still wonders and fears several of the “what ifs” that can happen.  Then there is Gussa.  There is an aura of evil about her though nothing can be detected magically on her.  The necklace she described to Leaffa is familiar to him.  It is largely what brought him to the Eldeen Reaches.  Quietly he unbuttons the top two buttons of his shirt.  He pulls out a necklace.  A triangle with three overlapping circles.  The necklace of Immortality.  He first found the necklace in the year 766.  Over 2 hundred years ago.  That is a long time for a human to live.  A very long time.


and thus the third story is completed.  This was a short one due to time restraints I had and the kids were only 500 pts from leveling up so I looked for something just to get them over the hump.  They now have two possible returning foes.  One of House Cannith and the other the Emerald Claw.  We also got to know a bit more about the team's lore expert.  More on Piik and his Maul of the Titans at a later time.

Feel free to comment (the kids will love it as well as myself).  later when we begin Mama Jura.


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## megamania (Feb 21, 2010)

We're back.

A death in the family delayed the game including Tim's destiny so here we go again......


ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 028
01/30/10
“Mama Juro” 


Nymm 3, 997

The small little settlement hidden in the southern most part of the Eldeen reaches along the Byeshk Mountains is growing.  Once it held a small tavern, a healer’s hut and a blacksmith’s forge.  Now a paladin from outside of the forest is building a small temple.  Other small settlements are being built nearby.  Most by farmers but others by retired adventurers and soldiers from the war looking for a place to call home.

As such, the influence of the Dragonmarked Houses is increasing.  Today it is by a gnome on a magebred horse.  He rides in and stops at the Winetree.  He hops off and stretches his legs from the hard ride.  Getting an envelope out of a bag he marches into the tavern.

“Welcome to the Winetree.  I have little for Zilargo fruit wines but perhaps an Elven wine?” offers a friendly old man smoking a fine looking pipe.  The other people here also take note of the traveler.  Gilfer, a shifter adventurer, a bugbear wielding a hammer eight-foot long and a druid named Arkoose whom is an Orc.

“Later perhaps.  First I must locate a noble from Aundair.”

“You have found him I believe.”

“You are….?”

“Sir John ir’Gunther of Aundair now of Eldeen Reaches.”

The gnome hands over the envelope.  The tavern keeper looks it over then opens it while looking at the gnome.  “It’s from my granddaughter.”  A look of concern mixed with happiness falls onto his face.

As the others are waiting for more, another druid enters the room accompanied by a badger.  The final member of the Eldeen Heroes has arrived along with her animal companion Nite.

“Kerri is coming here in a few months.  To visit.”  Sir John says absently.

“Who is Kerri? Asks Leaffa.

“She is my granddaughter.  She is also an adventurer of sorts.  She will be here in a few months to visit.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

A short pause then Sir John begins again. “She and I don’t talk much.  If she is here, it is not for me…. She is looking for something.”

Before anyone else can ask more questions another stranger enters the tavern.  A farmer whom looks haggard and tired.  He sits at the bar and asks for a drink.  After a few sips he gulps his drink and says thankyou.  “I am looking for three people said to live in this area.  The Heroes of Eldeen.”

Piik dips his head low and shoulders himself to hide from view.  Gilfer says nothing and waits for Leaffa to say it all.  “We are here.  What can we do for you?”

“I am Gus Furok from Green Valley.  I have come here looking for you.”

“Here we are.” The druid says while motioning to the table where Piik and Gilfer are.

“A beloved member of our village is in trouble.  We fear for her and want someone to help her.  It may involve the talents of experienced adventurers.  Adventurers like yourselves.”

“What is wrong?”

“We are uncertain but we believe it involves one of her children.”

“We can help you and her.” Leaffa says in new concern for a mother in need.  “What is her name?”

“Mama Jura.”


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## megamania (Feb 22, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 029
01/30/10
“Mama Jura’s Problem” 

 Nymm 4, 997

After traveling the next day to the Green Valley, the Heroes of Eldeen begin to travel up the trail that leads to the woman’s home.  The village is poor and simple.  Crops do not grow well in the rocky soil and the farm animals seem underfed.  Mama Jura is described as being something of a hermit that is highly respected and honored by the people of Green Valley.

Going up into the higher hills the group reaches the entrance to a cave where Mama Jura is said to live.  Gilfer stops the group at the entrance.  Looking into the dirt and sand he spots several footprints of small figures that appeared to be running out of the cave.  Looking further into the cave he sees huge reptilian footprints.

With more caution, they enter the cave.  About fifty feet in the cave branches to the right.  At the entrance of this area Gilfer spots four small sets of foot prints mixed in with the fleeing ones and reptilian ones.  Still being cautious, the four of them enter the area of the cave the footprints lead to.  Inside is a set of four beds and a chest to place extra blankets.  The beds are sized for humans.

“Nothing to squish.” Says Piik looking around.  His battle-axe readied.

“Where is the woman?” asks Gilfer looking around.

“What made these tracks?” asks Leaffa looking around at the small humanoid tracks.

“Maybe whatever chased them off is to be squished.” Says Piik.

Nite sniffs at the reptilian tracks and shakes his head in disgust.  Leaffa is about to ask what it is that bothers him so much when Gilfer leaves the room and goes further down the hall.

They reach another branch but skip it.  Warm air can be felt from ahead of them.  Maybe it is Mama Jura’s health.    The four sets of small tracks lead in and can be seen fleeing also.  They follow the tracks to the next area around the corner.

“WHO IS THERE?”  A loud voice calls out.  It vibrates within their heads and body.

Piik swings his axe around to strike.  Gilfer powers up his mindblade.  Leaffa debates whom to summon up and Nite just continues to pod up behind everyone ready to attack…. with some hesitation.

“I WILL DESTROY YOU IF YOU DO NOT SHOW YOURSELVES!”

Piik looks at Gilfer and together they rush around the corner.  As normal, Leaffa has cast a light spell on Gilfer shield.  The lit shield reveals….. a large scaled and horned head.   The head of a green dragon!  A HUGE green dragon!

“ARE YOU HERE TO STEAL FROM ME ALSO?!?”

“oh carp.” Whispers the bugbear.

[ Tim says something that makes me remind him about the use of adult language ]

Leaffa stops and stares.  

Nite stops outside of the room deciding it would be better NOT to enter unless the druid insists.

“We…. We were sent here by the villagers.” Says Leaffa with a great deal of caution.

“THE LITTLE PEOPLE… ARE YOU WITH THE LITTLE PEOPLE?!?”

Gilfer spots something under the dragon.  Something green and blue with a rough surface.  An egg!

“We came from below.  The villagers were … afraid….  The villagers were concerned for you.” Continues Leaffa.  

“YOU ARE NOT WITH THE LITTLE PEOPLE?”

“No.  We were under the understanding that you needed help.  Our help.”  Leaffa says with the most calming voice she can muster.

“THE LITTLE PEOPLE STOLE FROM ME.  THEY TOOK SOMETHING OF GREAT VALUE AND IMPORTANCE TO ME.”

Gilfer motions to Piik.  Piik sees the eggs now himself.  He lowers his axe and does not put it away.  He is not advancing either.

“Who are… the little people?” Gilfer asks.

“THE LITTLE PEOPLE.  THE HALFLINGS.  THEY STOLE FROM ME.”

Piik scratches his arm in uncertainty.  “So many halflings….. which ones?”

“THE LOUD RUNNING AROUND HYPER ONES.”

The three of them turn to look at each other with rolling eyes.  In unison… The Ghallanda Halflings.

“What did they take?” asks Leaffa with a lot of caution and fear of the answer as she now also sees the eggs.

“ONE OF MY CHILDREN!  THEY STOLE ONE OF MY CHILDREN!”  The huge dragon snarls.

“uhhhhh….. I don’t understand.” Stumbles the bugbear.   Gilfer would kick him in the shin if he were closer.

“An egg?   They took an egg?” asks Leaffa.

“YES!  THEY TOOK ONE OF MY CHILDREN!  I BEGAN TO CHASE AFTER THEM BUT I NEEDED TO PROTECT MY OTHER CHILDREN.”

Piik feels stupid and uncomfortable around the dragon.  Maybe even a bit fearful (though he would never admit it.)

“Do you….. do you know where they went?” asks Leaffa.

“OUT.   AND DOWN.”

The three of them look over their shoulders towards the exit.

“PLEASE.   WILL…..  WILL YOU HELP ME?”  A look of great and deep sorrow crosses the Dragon’s eyes and body.  Her pain is nearly as felt as the fear aura she had sent out.

“It’s what we came to do.  Yes we will help you.” Answers Leaffa.

“IF YOU RETURN MY UNBORN CHILD I WILL GIVE EACH ONE OF YOU ONE GIFT FROM MY TREASURE ROOM.  ANYTHING.  JUST BRING BACK MY CHILD.”  Mama Jura lowers her head in sorrow.

“Yes.” Says Leaffa.  Both Piik and Gilfer whirl around and glare at her in disbelief.


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## megamania (Feb 26, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 030
01/30/10
“Follow Those Halflings. ” 

 Nymm 4, 997

Uncertain at what else to do the Eldeen Heroes begin with what few clues they have.  

Four Halflings

One has a Dragonmark

They are Hyperactive and will stand out

They have a large bulky egg they are carrying

They left foot prints at the mouth of Jura’s cavern home

They begin by following the tracks as best as they can.  

The halflings are not true adventurers. They have not tried to hide their tracks and they have taken the main road to the village and presumably out of it also.  While in the village of Green Valley they are able to get some weak horses to travel with and a small hay cart.  One villager had spoken to the halflings.  He learned they were headed to the Lake Galifar. 

So the Eldeen Heroes begin to follow them again.

The first day of travel is very slow.  The donkeys are slow and slowed even more by pulling the cart.  Tracking the halflings is not easy.  But then again none of the group are excellent trackers.  Nite seems to be the only one that can follow them.

The next day picks up with them stopping at another small village.  The halflings stand out and everyone remembers them.  One villager remembers something about the Queen of Aundair was mentioned by the halflings.  

They follow on through the ever-thickening forest on their way to the Lake and hopefully catch up with the halflings…. And the egg.  On their way they come across a broken down wagon.  The wheels are broken and the animals are gone.  There are no people there.

“What happened?” asks Gilfer as he looks at the broken wagon.

“Halflings.” Says Piik with no uncertainty.

“No.   Not them.  Something else.”  

“Are you sure?” asks Piik as he kneels down.  “Four sets of footprints… all small.  Looks like they were playing in the mud.  Stupid halflings.”

They gather around the puddle and indeed, there are four sets of tracks.   The tracks go forward then split up and exit into the woods.  Walking slowly the four of them spot new tracks.  They look like… warforged tracks!  The tracks are two toed and block shaped.  However they seem small for warforged.  Piik, once had seen small warforged in Breland.  They are called scouts.  Looking at the tracks, they seem to be following the halflings.  Piik, Leaffa and Nite go to one side following the tracks.  Gilfer goes to the other side in case those halflings have the egg.

Instead they of the halflings or warforged scouts they find…. Strange warforged-like creatures with claws and crystals on them.  They charge as best as they can within the forest.  Piik switches to the hammer to destroy the constructs.  He finds the hammer works better on non-moving doors and walls.  The battle goes poorly especially as more of them show up challenging Gilfer.

In the end they win and defeat the rampaging constructs.

But still no halflings.

Further up the road Gilfer hears a strange loud sound.  It sounds like a familiar sound but not quite the same.  They reach a bridge and see several very large frogs in bog.  A small foot is sticking out of the mouth of one of the frogs.  

“uh-oh….” Says Piik thinking what the others are all thinking….. is that a halfling foot in its mouth and if so… is there an egg there also?

Gilfer moves to the edge of the bridge and calls up a mindblade.  Piik figures this means its time to squish.  Leaffa summons up a wolverine to rip and tear any frogs as they reach land (assuming they will).  And yes, they are still hungry and hop forward to attack.  Piik and Gilfer find them to be tougher than expected.  But in time they are all killed.  Leaffa also had summoned up a crocodile to attack them.  Her control over it is not very good as one takes a frog to the bottom and plants it there for “later”.   As the bugbear and shifter are cutting open frogs looking for halflings and eggs Leaffa mentally battles her summoned ally for the last body.  Eventually it does bring up that one also (the one with a leg sticking out) and find nothing but a halfling.   One of THE halflings.

And no egg (or the remains of).

“Let’s get going.” Leaffa says.


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## megamania (Feb 27, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 031
01/30/10
“Random Encounters to the Lake” 

 Night of Nymm 5, 997

Too tired to continue the Eldeen Heroes stop and camp deep within the woods but not far from the road leading to the Lake Galifar.  Piik sharpens his axe while staring at his hammer.  Gilfer cleans his clothes from the mud and slime of the dead frogs.  Leaffa uses up her healing spells on the others then prepares to meditate for her next days spells.  

During her turn to watch the campsite she hears something in the forest.  A distant screech like an owl but more from a giant owl.  She watches the night sky in case of a Giant Owl that is hunting.  She spots no giant owls but hears a few tree branches crack nearby.  She immediately tries to wake everyone.  Gilfer is slow to awaken but Piik merely rolls over and gently burps the prior meal.  Another branch breaks but closer now.  Another growling hoot can be heard… very close now.

Gilfer, nervous from the sounds grabs a small branch that is burning and “tickles” Piik’s foot.  Piik awakens from the pain.  Snarling and sweeping his clawed hands at everything around him he tries to attack the source of the fiery attack.  Just as he is realizing he is attacking Gilfer the cause of the noise charges towards them.  As large as a Dire Bear but with the head of an owl and taloned claws with a thick coat of armor-like feathers the Owl Bear strikes.  Nite is knocked clear across the camp.  It then turns onto the two arguing fighters.  

Instead it moves around the stunned heroes and the horse is nearly taken down in one blow.  Snapping out of it, Piik attacks and nearly takes an arm off.  Gilfer strikes with his powered up mindblade.  Followed by arrows from Leaffa the owl bear’s savage attack comes to a sudden end.

Leaffa finishes her rite to renew her spells and uses them to heal the villager’s horse and the team.  

They reach another village late in the morning.  Stopping for supplies, they learn of the halflings crossing through the day before.  One tavern owner asks if they are traveling to Passage for the festival.  A festival where the queen herself will be attending.  It is where the halflings are going.  One halfling had a large bag.

Leaffa pushes for them to hurry and get after the halflings.  She hopes to reach them before they begin to cross the lake.  The supply shop owner she spoke to had mentioned the halflings were asking about boating costs at the lake.  

Late in the day they are riding through an area of high grass and tall shaded trees.  Watching the area and recognizing it as a good ambush point, Gilfer spots something in the large tree ahead of them.  The tree over hangs over the road.  He spots a straight “branch” that he recognizes as an arrow as it is being drawn back.

Leaffa stops the cart which disrupts the ambush as several skin pebbly skinned humanoids run out of the grass with javelins drawn.  Piik screams out loud and leaps into the air in a crazed charge.  He annihilates the creature in one blow (charge +critical with battle axe- personal record for 6th level character- 93 pts in one single blow! And no magic enhancement to boot!!!!)  

Several more Forest Trolls come out.  Gilfer attacks the “tree” which at first confused Leaffa until a stunned and injured troll falls out of the tree.  Nite takes a bite out of one ambusher and finds they taste extremely poorly.  

Leaffa uses her bow and fires onto the last troll as Gilfer finishes off his despite its regeneration.  Piik and the druid finish off the last one.  Nite is sick from the flesh of the troll, which is vile to begin with but decays quickly once away from the main body.

They reach the shore a few hours later.  The village of Verdant Shore has a large dock area that acts as a trade center for Eldeen Reaches to Thrane and Aundair.  Gilfer is caught more than once staring at the seamlessly endless water as he looks at the huge lake.  Piik looks about and mutters something about being in Aundair again.  “Again?” asks Gilfer.  Piik ignores him and motions to a ship that appears to be for rent.

They learn the halflings have already been here and taken a ship to Passage.  Leaffa makes it clear that they need to catch them.  They are directed to a smaller ship with a strange configuration.  It is a special magical ship used by the Dragonmarked house of the Storm- Lyrandar.  

Leaffa tries to convince the ½ elf captain that they are on an important mission and need to reach Passage as soon as possible.  He agrees… at the standard rate.   Only by pooling their money and resources can the young heroes afford to hire the captain to head to Passage immediately and in a hurry.  Even then, it will take nearly two days to reach Passage.
Leaffa insists on taking the horse and wagon.  The captain is okay with that so long as they do the loading.  Easier said than done as the dock is narrow and there is nothing but planks to load and unload supplies.  

The crew is entertained for many minutes as they try to figure out how to do it.  Piik doesn’t have the rare strength to pull or push the scared horse and wagon.  Gilfer has no skills for animals.  Leaffa tries to calm the horse and lead it.  For the effort, the horse almost falls into the lake!  Frustrated with it, Gilfer suggests calling up some help.  To the amazement of the crew a Dire Ape arrives and aids Piik to wield the wagon as Leaffa once more calms the horse and gets it to cross the plank.  This done, the crew clap and cheer and they begin their first water adventure.


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## megamania (Feb 27, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 032
01/30/10
“Random Encounter on the Lake” 

 Nymm 8, 997

Piik is not doing well on the open water.  Gilfer is not enjoying it either.  Leaffa regularly calms the horse that is scared from the roaring wind that drives the elemental ship.  It is fast and travels over halfway across the lake by dawn.  At this point the crew has settled down but do not mingle with the heroes.  

Captain Tudaraen d’Lyrandar warns them about their papers (or lack of).  Passage will require such papers to travel especially with the international festival that is occurring there now.    Having never left the border of Eldeen both Leaffa and Gilfer ask Piik about this.  Piik admits he had illegally sneaked across borders to reach Eldeen from Darguun.  

Late morning, Gilfer looks up and spots something in the sky.  Something large and flying on feathered wings.  When he tries to point it out, the creature flies in line with the sun making it impossible to see.   The captain is certain he is imagining something.

Gilfer is very certain he saw something.  The captain suggests it could have been a dragonhawk which are sometimes seen in Aundair though rarely over the lake.   Then the captain sees it.  He is certain it is a dragonhawk though a bit big.  It dives down at them but the air elemental ring pushes it away from the crew whom gathers under its protective cover.

Arrow and mindblades are used to try to hit it but all miss.  It flies high above the ship again then dives once more.  The horse is startled this time but Gilfer gets one hit in.  It circles again just out of reach of the arrows.  The creature circles again for a few minutes.  Everyone below readies their attacks and fire as it attacks once more.  Several hits make it land on the deck wounded.  The creature resembles a giant eagle but with molted feathers.  The skin below is black and almost rocky in appearance.  The eyes are blood red. (Giant Eagle with Chaos Creature Template).

The ship begins to slow down as the land can be seen in the distance.  Many masts are visible in the bay that leads into Passage.  Navel flags represent many different nations and noble houses.  The captain looks at his ship and the crew and sighs deeply.

Grateful for the help the Heroes of Eldeen did that saved his ship and crew he decides to help them.  He arranges for a means to get papers and a cover story to avoid the authorities… at least for a bit.  Once more they entertain the crew to move the horse and cart off the ship.  At least this time proper ramps are offered.


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## megamania (Feb 27, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 033
01/30/10
“Festival of Nations” 

 Nymm 8, 997

It nearly costs the heroes the remaining money they had but House Sivis sets them up with Ids and Traveling Papers.  The Gnome grumbles a great deal with making papers for Piik.  

Now for the hard part….  To find three Dragonmarked halflings within a city that is celebrating a world wide festival filled with food, art and festivities. 

As they walk around the city looking for clues to where the halflings are.  Security more than once watch and follow Piik but he somehow avoids them.  

“How will we ever find them?!?” Leaffa says in frustration.

Gilfer spots a bulletin board that lists events for the festival.  They go to it and find out about several food related parties.  However there is nothing about the queen.

“Now what?!?” Piik growls.

“Anything about the queen?” asks Leaffa.

“Nothing.”

“Passage is a big place.” Says Piik.

“we know that.”

“What I mean is it’s big…. Important.   Does she have a home here?”

“Hummm…. Good point.”  Gilfer looks at the map.  “Nothing….”

“She would be well guarded….  Maybe we need to think that way.  Where is the most guards?”

“Where to look?” asks Piik again.

“Look for the fanciest place?” offers Gilfer.  The three of them turn and stop as they spot the flagged towers of a very tall building.  “There.” They say in unison.

They fight the crowds, which become denser as they near the building.  Security is more so.  “How will we get in there?”

“We can’t give up…. Not yet… not now.”  Leaffa looks about.  She then spots motion.   Staring into the dense crowd she sees…. Three halflings!  “There!”  As she points the laughing halflings suddenly stop and frown.  They note she is pointing to them and they spot her… and Nite.  A vivid memory of Nite is all it takes for them to turn and try to run.  Generally the ground disperses as Piik charges through them.  Though no weapon is drawn they are clear to see.

The halflings run around a corner and Piik and Gilfer give chase.  They go down an alley and they go to follow but find themselves suddenly sliding and slipping.  Piik crashes into a wall and Gilfer then into him.  Leaffa goes over and discovers magical grease on the ground.  The halflings literally gave them the slip.  So close yet so far away.

She looks back to the entrance and sees the three of them enter the main gate.  The halfling with the bag stops and speaks to the guards.  He points in their general direction.  That guard then calls out to others and they look to the Eldeen Heroes.

“Time to go.” Says Gilfer.

“But we can’t stop…. Not yet.” Retorts Leaffa.

“Too late.” Grumbles Piik.

They turn and find themselves with several guards drawing weapons including one with a wand that is glowing.

“Hold and be accounted for.” The female dwarf commands.

“oh carp.”


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## megamania (Mar 18, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 034
01/30/10
“Unexpected Aid” 

 Nymm 8, 997

DM NOTES:
This next segment will be more of a footnote.  The day after we ran this game my mother (their grandmother) passed away unexpectedly.  For the next month I did nothing but deal with the issues related to a loved one passing away.   In that time I have forgotten much of the details of the segment so here are the DM notes I had written down slightly fleshed out.

1) The group learns officially the halflings are to cook the dragon egg for the Queen of Aundair as a high light of a food festival hosted by House  Ghallanda. 
2) When guards are not looking they escape
3) Return to the Resturant
4) Look for ways in
5) Be watched by a woman in the crowd
6) Attempt to sneak in
7) Chased away by guards that are aware of their wishes to enter the building
8) Watch from the rooftop of the building next door
9) Woman that was watching them comes to the rooftop
10) She has been monitoring them for some time and wants to know what is up
11) They tell her the entire story
12) Intrigued, she decides to help them
13) Leaves then returns with a very fashionable dress and asks Leaffa to wear it.
14) Using a pass, she gets Leaffa into the resturant while the guys watch
15) Takes time but they locate the egg…. Still intact
16) The mystery woman distracts the guards within the resturant as Leaffa steals the egg
17) They meet up with the guys
18) Guards and halflings are going nuts below
19) Piik notes the mystery woman seems pleased
20) Gilfer asks for her name.  “You may call me Thorn.”
21) They flee the city with the egg
22) The woman known as Thorn is happy to complete her mission.  (Nyrielle Tam is a Dark Lantern for Breland.  Her mission was to embarrass Aundair (Queen is even better) and embarrass the Dragonmarked houses some also.
23) Get back to Mama Jura’s home with the egg intact
24) Mama Jura thanks them and reminds them they may collect one item from her 
25) As she sayes this the egg cracks and tears.
26) Baby Green Dragon is hatched.  All get to watch.
27) In sincere gratitude Jura names the child after them- PiikLeafer
28) PCs swear to visit whenever possible.


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## megamania (Mar 18, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 035
02/27/10
“The Curse Discovered” 

 Nymm 26, 997 (Late Summer)

The silence of nature is disrupted gently by the snoring of Gilfer from within his lean-to in the forest.  He slowly rolls over and sniffs the air.  He slowly opens his eyes expecting to see nothing out of the normal.  The silence is broken suddenly as a scream of panic blasts from the lean-to.  He grabs a few things and flees the lean-to and runs for the village of Winetree.

Piik awakens as there is banging on the door of his small shack.  Grabbing some clothes and his hammer he goes to the door.  If it is another Silver Flame advocate it will be hammer time.  He opens the door and draws back his hammer.  Before him is a crazed man.  The crazed man is wearing Gilfer’s padded shirt and pants.    

“WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!?!?” the crazed man begins to scream at the bugbear.  

“GET OUT!” yells the bugbear as he threatens the man with his hammer.

“Piik!  It’s me!  It’s Gilfer!”  Panic in his eyes as he reaches out to the warrior’s shoulders.

Piik steps back and waves his hammer again.  “Not Shifter.  Human.   Go away!”

“It’s how I woke up!”

“Not Gilfer.  Little hair.  Round small ears.  Go!”

“It’s me!   Remember the log bridge I…. You set off the trap.  How could anyone know that but me?!?”

“Piik talk it up in tavern.”

“DAMN IT PIIK!  IT’S ME!”  and his Mindblade forms.  “See?   Can anyone else do that?!?”

“Sarlona mindbenders.  LEAVE.”

“Look at my eyes Piik.  It’s me.”

Piik squints as he concentrates on his eyes.  Hesitation stops him from tent-posting the crazy man.  “Tell me something only Gilfer the shifter would know.”

In a panic the man begins to describe the many adventures they have had including the magic weapons and items they have collected.

Meanwhile…..   in the once sleepy villa of a place now called Winetree by House Orien has grown and changed.   Once there was three building here.  Winetree tavern, The Healer’s Hut and the Blacksmith’s firepit.   Then visitors came and now a temple to the Silver Flame is being built.  A trading Post is also being constructed near by.  

Wine Tree Tavern is still the center of town.  Sir John still spins tales of his adventuring days of his youth.  He awaits the arrival of his granddaughter.  She is an adventurer for hire…. Like her grandfather was.  For some reason this worries him deeply.  Whenever asked about it from Leaffa she gets no straight answers, only a lonely haunted look followed by a quick smile and a tale about his days in Xen’drik or Droaam.

Speaking of Leaffa…..

The shifty human known as Gilfer and Gilfer’s friend, Piik, are looking in a stream bed hollow where Leaffa can most often be found.  The druid and her animal companion are found shortly.  Though less extreme, her reaction is similar to Piik’s.  They decide to see their friend and mentor, Sir John.

Sir John is startled by Gilfer’s appearance.  But unlike the other’s, he has seen things like this happen before.

“Have you fought or angered a witch recently?”

“uh…… I don’t think so.”  Gilfer says as he reaches up to scratch his head and becomes startled again as he finds thinner hair on his scalp.

“Have you violated any shrines or temples?”

“Heh…… Piik has far more than I do.  Piik looks nervously at his arm trying NOT to imagine a hairless arm of a human.

“Cursed items?”

“Cursed Items?” asks Leaffa.

“Yes.  Often contained within weapons or armor.  Very hard to get rid of.” Sir John says as he pulls out his magical pipe.

“Hard….?” Says Gilfer in a quiet fearful tone.

“Yes.  Often atonement is required.  Throwing away an item is not enough.  In truth, most of the cursed items out there reappear on your person the next day..”

Nervously, Gilfer reaches behind his back and pulls out the dagger that glows white.  “I….I throw this at a creature and thought it lost.  Then I found it in my pack the next morning.”

“Set it down on the counter….. not to me young man….shifter.  On the counter.  It would be safer if I don’t touch it.”  He crouches down and looks at it.  He blows some smoke from his pipe onto it.  The smoke unnaturally hangs on the dagger then breaks up.  “This is a cursed weapon.  This is what has made you become a human.”

“How…. How do I get rid of it then?!?”

“There are either set ways of removing a curse or one must redeem him or herself.”

“Which is it?!?”

The bar tender and owner of the Wine Tree Tavern hesitates then breathes out smoke onto the dagger once more.  “It still holds magic…..  I believe it is goblinoid made…..  I know someone whom can tell you.  She can either tell you how to remove it or may even be able to remove it herself.   She is a powerful magic user.  She lives deep in the forest.”

The three Heroes of Eldeen remain quiet and look at each other as they silently agree on the next course of action.

“Give us a map.”


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## megamania (Mar 27, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 036
02/27/10
“Ever Changing Conditions” 

 Nymm 26, 997 (Late Summer)

The three Heroes head out immediately once Sir John gives them a map to the Lady of the Forest.  It begins with walking to a stream that originates deep in the forest.   They follow this until late in the day before they take their first break.

Piik and Leaffa are still uncomfortable around Gilfer the human.

Gilfer spots hundreds of small brightly colored birds in the bushes and trees across the fast moving stream.  They tweet and chirp away as he watches.  Piik and Leaffa sit down and look at what food Sir John found for them.  Cheese, bread, a chunk of ham.  It’s not much but it will do.  Nite looks into digging up some roots and grub.

Suddenly all of the blue, green and gold colored thumb sized birds take to the air.  Everyone immediately grabs weapons figuring something has startled them.  They regroup in the air then in mass, turn and sweep into Gilfer whom is still standing next to the stream.  The small birds begin to peak and jab at him.  Each shot taking a very small bit of flesh with it.  The human screams from within the swarm.

Piik rushes over with his axe drawn but uncertain what to do with such small tweety-birds.  Leaffa has heard of legends of these creatures.  She never thought she would ever see them in person.  Perahnikyits!

As Gilfer tries to move away from the swarm they move with him.  His entire world is a swirl of blue, green, gold and dots of red…. HIS red.  Piik, using the flat of his axe tries to swat the birds but all it does is the swarm begins to move to him.  He turns and runs for the stream.  He dives in and the birds remain in the air swarming with hunger.  They turn back to the human whom was just inspecting his hundreds of tiny wounds that he is bleeding from now.  With a yelp of fear, he too dives into the water.

Seeing what will happen next, Leaffa and Nite rush for the water.  Nite stops and seriously wonders if it is worth it.  Leaffa pushes the badger into the water then hauls his thrashing body further in.  The swarm of Perahnikyits flies over them and circles before flying away further up stream.

Much of Leaffa’s healing skills, magic and bandages are used to patch up Gilfer and Piik.  They return to following the stream but go wide for the first mile so as not to possibly attract the attention of the carnivorous birds again.

Eventually it becomes dark and they settle down for camp. Leaffa takes first watch as she begins to meditate so as to regain her spells in the morning.  Gilfer grunts and groans, as he can not become comfortable as he has injuries everywhere on his body.  Piik sleeps soundly with his axe and hammer at either side of him.

Near the end of her watch she hears something in the woods.  She is fearful since they are near the Gloaming.  This area of the forest is near the manifest zone of Mabar- the Plane of Darkness.  Things evil live around this zone.  Many suspect the Barghest they fought originated from here.  With the second sound of something breaking in the woods Leaffa begins to awaken everyone.

“Piik!  Get up!”  “Gilfer!”

Piik sits upright then kicks away from the camp quickly.  Gilfer rises to his hands and knees and his body begins to glow softly.  His eyes become white like a Changeling but the glow increases.  “Oh comon!  Not what!?!”  He exclaims as he looks at his hands.

The hill giant zombie that was attracted by the campfire zeroes in on the glowing Gilfer.  Piik reaches out of habit for his axe then grabs his hammer instead. With a new surge of confidence he charges at the undead and with one blow kills it!  It falls down and Piik continues to bash it over and over.  He finally stops and looks at everyone again.

“You are not acting yourself” says Gilfer

“You don’t look like yourself.” Snarls Piik.

“What kind of curse is this?!?” asks Leaffa as she is completely baffled by the new form Gilfer is in.

Soon they return to sleep but only for a short time.  Once more they stalked by nighttime predators.  Several large monstrous hunting spiders.  They last but a few mere moments as the heroes of Eldeen are already warmed up and ready to go.   Nothing else bothers them this night.

Another day passes as they walk further NW towards the heart of the Eldeen Reaches Forest.  There are no encounters today.  It is actually very peaceful walk today.   Gilfer is fearful of the curse at this point.  

Once more they set up camp.  They are down to some bread and berries that Leaffa has found.  It’s not much.

Once more during Leaffa’s watch, something happens.  Several large hunting spiders are attracted to Gilfer’s glowing form (they didn’t bother with a campfire).  They are easily defeated/

In the morning Piik awakens to a loud snoring sound.  He rolls over to look at the source expecting it to be Nite and discovers a sleeping ORC!  Growling as he scrambles to his feet he picks up his axe but Leaffa yells for him to stop.  The Orc suddenly opens his eyes and rolls away with a loud yelp.  “What is WRONG with you Piik!?!”  Piik hesitates as it begins to sink in.

“gilfer….?”  Piik mumbles in confusion.

“The curse strikes again,” Says Leaffa, “When will it ever end?”

 The leery four continues up the river then go right at the point where the waterfall comes off the cliffs of Red Moss.  They walk onto an open field that leads to a valley that they are trying to reach.

The grassy field has several holes within it.  Small trees are over turned by some of these holes.  Looking at them Piik and Gilfer wonder if they are holes made by Ankhegs which they have seen before.  Leaffa doubts it based on the sheer size of the holes.  Looking around several of the holes they locate large claw like footprints.  Clearly, these do not belong to the insect-like Ankhegs.   These belong to something much bigger and possibly more dangerous.

They continue on seeing more holes.  Gilfer, the Orc, walks up to a hole that very fresh.  “Looks new.  Anyone in there?” he shouts into the hole.  He looks back at them then turns and his eyes go wide.  A large dull gray rounded mass rises quickly from the dark.  As it reaches him the dome opens and rows of sharp teeth appear.  Then comes the pain.

The huge heavily armored creature claws at the earth and shakes the bleeding body of the orc.  Blood splashes onto the ground as the others attack.  The thick armored hide absorbs most of the blows.  Nite moves under the creature unseen.  It locates an opening in the softer armor of the neck.  As Piik pounds at it, Leaffa and a summoned Dire Wolf attack it, Nite goes on a rampage and tears into its neck.  Gilfer is released and thrown aside as the creature tries to free itself of the badger.  Due to Gilfer’s serious injuries, they camp outside of the valley.  Leaffa uses all of her healing on him.  There are no attacks that night.


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## megamania (Mar 28, 2010)

ELDEEN REACHES
SEGMENT 037
02/27/10
“Mischievous Guardians” 

LHARVION 3, 997(Late Summer)

In the mourning they find a fine light mist has settled at the entrance of the valley.  Undeterred, the Heroes of Eldeen continue on.  Once more Gilfer has changed.  However, he has reverted to his original form- that of a shifter.  He is determined to remain as such.

As much as the mist hinders their sight, the thick growth of the forest would have reduced their sight just as much.  Thick vines hang low from incredibly tall trees.  All of the brush is thick and healthy.  The animals are busy and full of life.  When one hears of tales involving the growth of the inner forests of Eldeen, this is what they hear of.  

The mist evaporates to knee high as they work their way down the hills into the valley Sir John gave instructions for.  There is a gentle stream here and sounds of water rising from underground from natural springs.  

“What are we looking for?” asks Piik with some surprising humility.

“The Lady of the Valley.” Says Gilfer looking about with wide eyes.

“In our haste we forgot to ask how to find her….” Relieves Leaffa.

They walk around for a while before resting near a small clear pool.  They sit down and yawn, even Nite becomes tired.  Soon they fall asleep under a large tree that has grown by the lake.  A lone figure steps out from behind the tree.  A woman with a wood grain skin and fine leafed vines for hair.  She looks down at Gilfer and smiles.  His eyes quiver and he awakes but remains sleepy.  “You seek her help and she will give it…. You must only find her first.”

She recedes into or behind the tree and slowly everyone awakes.  The mist softly seems to spread quietly from the forest and swirls around them once more.

Then there is movement within the mist.  Several hundred feet away.  They see a horse…. A white horse.  No.  Not a horse.  An Unicorn.

“This means something.” Says Leaffa.  “Unicorns are nature’s greatest symbol of power.”

“Then let’s get it.” Suggests Piik hefting his axe.

The unicorn moves away then stops.  It looks at the bugbear and snorts.

“You’re threatening it.”  Warns Leaffa.  “Let me.”

The druid slowly walks towards the magical creature.  It snorts and scratches at the ground before moving a short distance away.  It stops and snorts with a shake of its head.

“I think it wants it to follow it.” Says Gilfer.

“I think you are right.  Slowly and no weapons.  That includes you Piik.”  Piik gives an innocent ‘who me’ look and puts the axe into his weapon holster on his back.

They follow the unicorn to a short cliffside with thick hanging vines with flowers on them.  The unicorn walks through the vines and disappears.

Leaffa waits for the others before walking up to the vines.  “Could…..” she leaves the question hanging.  Shrugging, Gilfer goes on and through the vines.  Leaffa and Nite go next.  Frowning, Piik gives out his own snort before using the handle of his axe to push the vines aside and walks through.

On the other side it is….. night time.

In solemn silence they walk forward into the deep forest.  The scents of the forest are stronger than ever.  “Maybe it’s one of those ‘she’ll find us’ kind of events”,  offers Gilfer, “Or maybe we are just not looking in the right places.”  With that he looks up into the branches and canopy of a tree.  Smiling, he steps back and charges the tree.  Using his mind powers over gravity he runs up the tree trunk and stops at a huge branch.  From here he climbs and at times reuses his running power.  Gilfer comes to realize just how tall the trees are as he estimates the height to be ½ mile and still going.  He tries to look out and sees very little.  The forest is thick throughout the valley.  Everything is green except for the lake in the center.  It is a clear blue and highly reflective of the trees that surround it.

Returning to the ground, they decide to go to the lake.  Generally people settle near water.

Unhappy with the look on Piik’s face, Leaffa asks him what is wrong.

“Day is now night…..  but its not OUR night.”  He motions to the sky.

“He’s right.  The stars… the moons…. They are not normal.”

“Are we still on Eberron….?” Wonders Leaffa out loud even as the others think of it themselves.

=hello=

Piik lifts his axe to a defensive stance.  “Who said that?!?”

A fast high-pitched buzz can be heard within the forest.

The adventurers group up in a circle with their backs together.

=do you want to play a game?=

“Errrrrr….” Growls Piik.

“Who are you?” asks Leaffa

=I like games.  Pleeeeease can we play?=  now the sound seems to be coming from above them.

“NO!” yells Piik.

“We are looking for someone.” Says Gilfer

Buuuuuuuuzt as something seems to fly by his ear quickly.

=plaaaaaay!=

Piik begins to move his axe side to side readied for an attack.  Gilfer calls up his mindblade. Nite claws at the earth.  Leaffa eases up on her notched arrow.  “We can not play right now.  We have something important to do.  Maybe you can help us.”

Silence.

=game=

“We don’t have time for this.” Declares Gilfer with no patience.

Piik makes a short grunt sound.  “Nice flower.”

Gilfer feels something in his hair.  He reaches up and finds a flower there.

Nite whimpers and cowers within the roots of a large tree.  Flowers are in his fur and his nails are pink in color.

“Stop!”  Demands Gilfer.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzt  and suddenly Gilfer blushes as his pants fall down.

=play!=

Piik growls.  “Show yourself!”

=hi= 

A small 5-inch tall humanoid with clear wings pops into view on Piik’s shoulder.  The creature holds a wand and smiles a big wide unnatural smile.  

=play a game?=

“Maybe after we find someone.  Maybe you can help us.” Offers Leaffa.  now trying to remove flowers from her own hair.

=game!=

Gilfer holding up his pants with one hand and waving his psionic blade with the other scans the air and brush for the annoying fey creature.  “No time for games.  I need help.”

The fey creature reappears suddenly as it makes Piik’s axe glow  “Hi.”

“RARRRGH!” and Piik swings his axe into the ground.

It disappears and all goes quiet for a moment.

“Wait….” Calls out Leaffa reaching into the air as if to hold onto the creature.

“Leave him.” says Gilfer.

Piik hurrumphs in agreement.

=who are you looking for?=

“The Lady of the Valley.  We believe she can help us.” Offers Leaffa calmly.

Silence

The heroes look at each other in uncertainty.  Nite peeks out from the roots…. Bows and flowers still in his hair.

=twenty questions=

“We don’t have time for this.” Says Gilfer

“Look at the time we have already wasted.”

“Maybe if we…..”  Piik motions to a tree.  Gilfer considers what Piik is suggesting.  The Lady is connected to the valley.  If one harms the trees here it would get her attention.   But good or bad attention?  Would she help me?

“Is she near the lake?” asks Leaffa

=yes=

“Is she ….”

“Tell us where she is!” interrupts the Shifter.

=that’s not a yes or no question silly=  and the fey reappears above him pointing his wand down at him.

“Let’s go.  She is down by the lake.” Says Piik as he turns and begins to march to the lake.

=you lied.  You know where she is.  Cheaters!=

“carp.” Says Piik as he stops and closes his eyes as he waits for the stupidiness to resume.

Light begins to glow everywhere around them.  =Bring them to me please=

The heroes look at each other and wonder if things just got better or worse.


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## megamania (Oct 15, 2010)

bump to update


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## megamania (Jun 26, 2011)

Pulling this up for reference since the kids want to continue the game.


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## megamania (Jul 2, 2015)

So much has happened since the kids and I played this campaign.   "Leaffa's" player is now 20 and engaged.   Golfer's player is actively writing about his own campaign world (just not here).    So much has happened 5 1/2 years......

We were talking about this unfinished campaign and how it was designed to introduce "the Hidden" (yeah- I plan waaaaaay to far ahead with my campaigns) and thinking where  our characters would be and what they would be doing in Eberron for year 999.

Want to revisit sometime soon.


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## megamania (Oct 23, 2015)

Kinda revisiting in MORGRAVE ADVENTURES.   What has happened in Winetree from 997 to 1000?


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## megamania (Oct 23, 2015)

I have several campaigns of Eberron going.  I keep a careful timeline of the campaigns.   One of the ideas of Eberron is that your characters are the movers and shakers of the game world.   So what one campaign does should somehow influence other campaigns.

What I do is reference various campaigns to each other and in some cases even do a "cross-over"  (compare John Play and Creation Schema).

Eldeen Heroes was a campaign I ran with my kids.  We have talked long into the night about "revisiting" the campaign or going back to see what is happening with Piik, Gilfer and the others of Wine Tree.   

In my newest Storyhour- The Morgrave Adventures,  The PCs of that campaign will be visiting Wine Tree and seeing at least one character from the Eldeen Heroes campaign.  References will be made to the others in some way.

Why so complex?   It makes the game world of Eberron more real to me.  Cross-overs and references make it feel like what the players do in their game affects other games.

I hope that clarifies some.

Oh and thank you for reading and commenting.


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## megamania (Nov 6, 2017)

This is my kids playing their first DnD.   The next game we started was Eldeen Heroes.......





They are now 22 and 19......


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