# Carrion crown



## Dantardis (May 24, 2012)

Well it's been a while but here is my latest campaign.  

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:


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## Dantardis (May 24, 2012)

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

ROBYN LONGSTRYDE: A human ranger.

MILLICENT:  A surprisingly knowledgeable human barbarian.

DAVID: A human rogue/swashbuckler

RENTHIE:  A human cleric

GABRIEL:  A swashbuckler

LOAG:  An elven wizard

BILLY:  Formerly human, now a ghoul/mummy wizard.

And finally, not forgetting the supporting cast of THE MULE who is a mule.


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## Dantardis (May 24, 2012)

*Trial of the beast*

Heading away from the Port of Crabs the group headed towards Lepidstadt.  They had been tasked with their mentor to hand some books in to the library.

As they headed along the road they met a group of caravans populated by colourful individuals, or what Robyn called "Freaks".  The leader of this group, an albino man called Caleb Hesse asked them to look for their companion Aleece who had gone missing.

Robyn was able to find some tracks that led into a mrashy area.  There the group found Aleece's body.  Whilst they were examining it they were ambushed by a Phase Spider, but they quickly made short work of it and took the body back to the caravan.

Heading on their way they at last came to Lepidstadt where they were met by David who had gone on before them and an elven mage called Loag.  As they were exchanging greetings a ghastly hideous thing that looked a bit like Billy came into view.  It was clearly undead, Renthie immediately tried to turn it and Billy ran away, with Renthie, Robyn and Millicent giving chase,  meanwhile David and Loag headed into the library.  They soon discovered that the person they were due to hand the books in to was in the courtroom at the trial.

Eventually, after Robyn had used a tanglefoot arrow to trap Billy and Millicent had grappled Renthie things calmed down a bit.  Billy revealed he had been brought back to life by someone who he thought was called Kauderwelsch.  Renthie sulkily gave in and agreed to allow Billy to accompany them and so the group headed to the courthouse.


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## Dantardis (May 25, 2012)

Heading to the courthouse the group were quickly witness to a huge, baying crowd.  It seemed that a huge, patchwork flesh golem was being put on trial for murder.  They eventualy managed to hand the book in to Judge Embreth Daramid.

"Thank you, my fine fellows", he said, "but I wonder if there is something else you could do for me.  No one will defend the beast, apart from a stuttering fool and I want this to be a fair trial.  Can you assist in defending the creature."

"Where did the creature come from originally", asked Robyn.

"From Castle Caromarc", replied the judge.

"Right we'll head there first", said Renthie

And so to Castle Caromarc the party headed.


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## Dantardis (May 25, 2012)

*What has gone before - part 1*

It all began several weeks ago with the death of the party member's friend and mentor Professor Lorrimar.  Whilst, notified that the Professor was dead they also were informed that they were named as beneficiaries in the Professor's will.  Intrigued they set out for Harrowstone.

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They found Harrowstone to be a barren, windswept place.  They were doon introduced to Lorrimar's daughter Kendra who asked if four of them could serve as pallbearers, and so the small group carried the coffin to the final burial place, the Restlands.

As they reached their destination they were met by several burly villagers, including one Gibs Halpen.

"That's fair enough, we ain't havin no necromancer buried ere, t'aint natural".

"My friend", said Gabriel, "surely you see that Lorimar was no necromancer, he was just interested in what happens after death, a thing that many priests and clerics are too.  Surely this is no reason to condemn him, didn't he provide the town with years of devoted service".

The crowd were swayed and Gibs and the others went home, muttering darkly to themselves.


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## Dantardis (May 26, 2012)

*What has gone before part 2*

After returning from the grave site the group headed back to Lorrimor's house to read the will.  It made for strange vieweing, reading as follows:

"The Land itself is in danger, the balance has been altered.

Over the last few years I took it as my duty to examine the strange; the ghostly and the otherworldly.

Whenever I could I tried to resolve the issue, but all the time I sensed there was something deeper, something darker, behind it all.

My last wish in ths life is that you take up my mission -explore the lands around here and seek out this deeper darkness and destroy it, only then will the land be safe".

It was a lot to ask - to embark on a quest without any idea of its final resolution, but the party agreed to do so.


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## Dantardis (May 27, 2012)

*What has gone before part 3*

It was a few days later, the party had busied themselves with the finer details of Lorrimor's will, he had asked them to take some books to someone in Lepidstadt and they had found a note that made mention of a group called the Whispering Way whose aims seemed to be the complete opposite of the Professor.

As they went about their daily business in the town it appeared that someone had painted a large letter V on some kind of memorial.  Examining it closely Millicent was able to determine that it was blood, specifically cat blood.  Perturbed the party moved on.

Looking in the town library Gabriel found that there was mention of a place called Harrowstone- an old prison that had been used to house the kingdom's most dangerous criminals and mention to the 5 most dangerous- including a creature known as the Splatter Man who seemed to act in the way that the writing on the memorial indicated.  

The group decided to set up an ambush for whoever was doing the graffitti, Robyn and David took up position on the town wall, while the others hid in some nearby bushes.  At midnight the portly figure of Gibs came into view, he looked compelled he took some blood from a waterskin and began to paint a letter 'E'.  Before he could complete this work Millicent switched the waterskin to one containing holy water.  Once in his mind he had completed his task Gibs returned home, Millicent and Robyn following.

They decided to stand guard outsude his house all night.  At dawn there was a loud scream, followed by a gurgle.  Rushing in Millicent and Robyn found that Gibs had been killed- it was almost as if someone had punched into his chest and pulled his insides out.  The  sight affected both of them, Robyn becoming more aggressive and Millicent developed a phobia of rats.

They then decided to head to Harrowstone.


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## Dantardis (May 27, 2012)

*What has gone before Part 4*

The Prison at Harrowstone was a ruin, moss covered everything and it appeared there had been a large fire several years ago.  From the stone work it appeared that the buildings were at least 50 years old.

Entering by the main gate, David was overwhelmed by a feeling of evil, and strips of his face started to peel away.  Renthie tried to cure this but to no avail.

In order to cover more ground on this level of the prison the party decided to split up, Robyn headed to where part of the wall had crumbled allowing water from the river to seep in.  He noted that there appeared to be several skeletons moving about in the water, "There's dead things down there", he quipped.

Gabriel and Renthie decided to check out the warden's cottage which Billy had alredy informed them was structurally unsound, lookiing around they found the warden's journal before having to run for it as the structure collapsed around them.

Meanwhile Millicent and David were patrolling the walls and came to one of the old watch towers, only to find the door wedged shut.  Electing to open it they were quickly engulfed in a swarm of nipping and biting rats that made them both feel nauseous.  David was quickly able to step away but Millicent was covered in them, it was only when Billy cast a spell that created a ball of flame straight at them that they dispersed.

Feeling slightly daunted the party headed into the main building.


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## Dantardis (May 27, 2012)

*OOC Discussion*

Readers may be wondering about the phobias, agression and skin peeling descriptions I have put in - these are part of the taint rules from Heroes of Horror.  I have modified them slightly but I felt that they were very appropriate for this campaign- particularly as Harrowstone is the site of a very evil act.

Also I should mention that although I am using the Carrion Crown adventure path from Pathfinder as a catalyst I am also utilising over adventures that I feel fit well in the setting as my intention was to do a HORROR campaign rather than just a Pathfinder one.  To that end I am using adventures from Dungeon magazine that I have, modified plots from Hammer Horror films/episodes of Supernatural etc and in one case a Cthulu adventure which I have taken the storyline and written into D and D format.

The main idea behind this is that the actions of the Whispering Way have started a chain reaction inn the land whereby more evil creatures are coming into being/acting, etc.


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## Dantardis (May 27, 2012)

*What has gone before part 5*

Moving deeper into the first floor of the prison the party were struck by how eerie and silent the place was.  Movin cautiously through they eventually came to a workroom.

Whilst looking around a blue mist started to form which quikly coalesced into the form of a young woman.  She introduced herself as Vesorianna, late wife of the Warden of the Prison.  She explained that agents of the Whispering Way had stolen her husband's badge of office which was the only thing that was keeping the evil ghosts in check.  With her powers she was able to stop them manifesting fully in the town but they were getting stronger- only by destroying artifacts significant to them could they be fully destoyed.

"My lady", said Gabriel, "I swear I shall endeavour to help your soul find peace".

With this he turned smartly on his heels, heading further into the dungeon, the rest of the party following.


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## Dantardis (May 27, 2012)

*What has gone before part 6*

Moving deeper into the dungeon the party started to hear a mournful dirge playing on a pipe.

"It's the Piper dude", saild Billy, quickly stuffing some rags into his ears.  The others did the same.

At the moment the ghastly figure of the Piper of Illmarsh appeared, and it looked annoyed.  Thinkly quickly David opened the haunt siphon, drawing the spirit of the creature inside, trapping it.

The party cheered, all except for Renthie who said "WHAT" as he had forgotten to remove the rags.

Moving onwards they entered a strange room, it appeared to have once been the torture chamber, Renthie appeared to full down for no apparent reason.  At the same moment Renthie saw a jolly bearded figure who told him the others were evil and had to be destroyed, particularly Millicent.  Renthie then started to attack Millicent with his mace.  Pleased with his work Father Charlatan then did the same trick on David who turned and attacked Billy.  While all this was going on, indeed in quickly turned into a grappling competition between those affected and those not, Charlatan targeted Robyn.

Robyn, however, was made of sterner stuff, "Prove it" he replied to Charlatan's declaration that the rest of the party were evil.

"My friend, the goddess Ehlonna told me so"

"Oh did she now so you worship Ehlonna do you?"

"I worship all faiths my son".

"Funny that, cos all your symbols are ones of death and destruction, to which Ehlonna has no truck with"

"Honestly, my...

"B****cks Charlatan, interrupted Robyn, "I know who you are."  Saying this Robyn fired several arrows at Father Charlatan, destroying him.

At this point the remainder of the party returned to normal (well as normal as they can b, anyway!!!!)


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## Dantardis (May 27, 2012)

*What has gone before part 7*

Moving into the final, deepest level of the dungeon everyone felt the presence of evil much more strongly than before.  Strangely the majority of the rooms were deserted, there did not seem to be any indication of the presence of the other 3 ghosts.

Slowly the party looked around an oubliette chamber it appeared to be full of boxes.  Investigating one Renthie was surprised by the ghost of the Lopper, brandishing a huge axe, who nearly cut him in two.  Backing away he stopped to cure himself, whilst the other members of the party finished him off.

They had no time to rest however, for no sooner had they finished the Lopper off they were all struck by an intense headache.  At the same moment the Mosswater Marauder appeared, and attacked.  The party managed to finish him off, but not before both Robyn and Billy had taken nasty wounds which Renthie cured.


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## Dantardis (May 29, 2012)

*What has gone before part 7*

Heading deeper into the dungeon level Gabriel realised that they were getting nearer to the source of the original fire.  Everyone became more apprehensive as they realised that they would soon meet the final ghost, the Splatter Man.

Suddenly they saw pieces of parchment appear that started to spell out their names,  ignoring them the party looked around, sure enough the Splatter Man stood in one corner.  Realising he had been spotted he hurled a sphere of glowing, yellow energy at Millicent, winding her.  Enraged, she orked herself up into a frenzy, charging and attacking, although due to the creature's incorporeal nature she missed him several times, she did manage to keep him busy, allowing the others to surround him and attack.  Although the Splatter Man was surrounded he was able to fire off two more spells at Billy, interrupting his concentration and stopping him from casting the spell he had prepared.  Soon, however, due to sheer force of numbers, the party won through.

As the Splatter Man fell the overwhelming sense of evil faded completely.  Vesorianna's ghost appeared once more, thanking them for her service.  All of the party's wounds were healed and those who had been tainted by contat with the evil were cured.  Heading back into Harrowstone the party were given a huge welcome by the townsfolk.

"What next", said Robyn, "Should we head to Lepidstadt?"

"Wait a minute", replied Billy.  "I've been looking at Lorrimar's journal again and I've been able to decipher some of it - it makes mention of a voodoo cult possibly operating in the Port of Crabs.  It's on the way, why don't we head there? 

"It's as good a place as any, said Renthie, let's go!!!"


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## Dantardis (May 31, 2012)

*What has gone before part 8*

Heading into the Port of Crabs the party found it to be a wild, seedy place.  The only reference they could find in the Professor's journal was to a pirate called Cinnabar.

Heading into the nearest tavern Gabriel decided to talk to the barmaid whilst the rest of the group spoke to a grizzled old sea dog.

It seemed that Cinnabar was a pirate who had been killed in a battle with a bounty hunter about a month ago.  But maybe he wasn't really dead, rumours abounded that his second in command, Mirel had taken the body and had had it risen by a voodoo priest.  Cinnabar was even now somewhere in the Port of Crabs, planning his revenge.

"Let's split up and look for clues", said Renthie


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## Dantardis (Jun 3, 2012)

*What has gone before part 10.*

Heading off their seperate ways the group realised that they needed to discover where Cinnabar's hideout was.

Gabriel and Renthie decided to head to the Governor's Mansion and tell him there were pirates operating in the town.  Theyir interview with him was cut short when he yelled at them, "For the GODS' sakes CINNABAR is DEAD!!!!!!!!!!  Will you leave me alone and stop wasting my time with a child's fantasies?"  In a subdued mood they left.

Millicent and Billy headed to the nearest pub, finding nothing they moved on to the Gambling Pit where Billy asked the roulete wheel owner where Cinnabar was,  the next 5 minutes were a little blurred he remembered hearing a voice in his head that said what a good idea it'd be to feel up Millicent.  The last thing he remembered before waking up upside down in a horse trough was an armoured barbarian fist heading towards him.

Robyn decided to check out an old lighthouse on the shoreline.  It was abandoned but looked like it had been used recently, there were cards and dice scattered about.  He also found a trapdoor which he opened.  He as immediately attacked by a wild, starved cat that clawed and bit before running off.  At the base of the trapdoor he found a note mentioning a password and hinting the pirates met beneath the graveyard,

Meeting up with the others they elected to head to the graveyard and see what came about.


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## Dantardis (Jun 4, 2012)

*What has gone before part 10.*

Heading into the graveyard at midnight the party were confronted by an apparation, a ghost of an old man.

"PAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOORD", it mumbled.

"Crossbones", yelled Robyn and the ghost faded to let them through.

As they walked down the corridor Renthie said, "Wow that was eas"

He abruptly stopped as the passageway suddenly ended, opening out into a large chamber.

There were a number of cultists in the room and at the back Cinnabar, looking rotten and putrefaying- no doubt a side effect of the voodoo magic used to resurrect him.

Cinnabar acted first, yelling at the cultists to attack, meandwhile he disappeared down a side tunnel.

The cultists surged forward, Millicent raged and charged into the fray, killing two before they'd had a chance to act.

Several  charged towards Renthie and Billy, but Gabriel, tumbled in front of them and brought them down.  Robyn began firing volley after volley of arrows and this combined with Millicent's swinging axe and the cultists were no more.

Looting (I mean searchin!!!) through the remains Gabriel found a map showing that Cinnabar had a second base on Bone Island and so the group decided to sail there.

Pushing their way through thick, dense vegetation they at last came to a stepped temple, climbing the stairs they found another large chamber, complete with cultists and Cinnabar.  The pirate captain was enraged they had managed to track him down again.

This time Billy acted first, firing a ball of flaming energy at the pirate, damagaing him.  However, this enraged Cinnabar further and he charged Billy, sliciing him in two with his cutlass.  The rest of theparty thensurged forward, several of the cultists tried to cast spells at the party, however these were minor inconveniences only and sonn Cinnabar was no more.

After burning the body to ensure Cinnabar could not be raised again, with a heavy heart they scooped up (and yes that's pretty much the right word!!!) Billy's remains and buried them on the beach.  They resolved to head on to Lepidstadt.


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## Dantardis (Jul 2, 2012)

After a few hours travel the party saw the looming edifice of Schloss Caromarc. a dark and gloomy structure.  Scouting ahead the party saw two strange dog like creatures by the gatehouse, that looked like a cross between a crocodile and a rottweiler.  Loag quickly identified them as trollhounds and started to cast a spell.  Strands of sticky fibres criss crossed the entrance of the gatehouse, causing the two trollhounds to be stuck fast.  The rest of the party then fired arrows at them.  Despite the Trollhounds best efforts they were unable to escape and the party quickly made short work of them.
  Moving onwards the party decided to move on into the gatehous, David decided to open the door.  Unfortunately the Trolls inside had had enough time to prepare and as David opened the door they advanced to attack.  One of them hit David with its jagged claws and tore at the flesh.  David fell and the second troll advanced on Renthie, rending him too.  With both David and Renthie fallen the rest of the fighting was mainly down to Robyn and Loag, however these two were able to finish off the creatures.
  After healing up their comrades Robyn tracked around the body of the gatehouse and discovered some troll tracks lrading up the stairs of the tower and there were sounds as if there was another troll upstairs.  Using some broken furniture and straw the party started a small fire, causing smoke to drift upstairs.  After a few rounds of this there was a roar from upstairs and a larger troll came running down the stairs.  This time, however, the party  were ready.  Working as a team, and using fire and acid they quickly finished him off.


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## Dantardis (Jul 19, 2012)

Moving further into Castle Caromarc the group came onto a slender stone bridge linking the gatehouse to the main manor house of the structure.  At the other end was a strange patchwork hound, which appeared to be made of flesh.  Renthie tried to show it that the group meant no harm and waved a troll bone at it, but the only response he got was that the Flesh Hound howled and charged forward, slamming into Millie and biting her.  The rest of the party moved forward and quickly finished the creature off.

Moving further in, David came to a large iron door and tried to open it, unbeknowst to him he set off a trap.  He soon discovered his error shortly after when a large air elemental appeared and atttacked.  Robyn was immediately caught up in a whirlwind, spinning round, meaning he was totally unable to fire any arrows, eventually Loag cast Animate Rope and Robyn was able to pull himself along it and drag himself out of the whirlwind and eventually the air elmental's summoning soon elapsed.  

The party moved through the manse, looting as they went and eventually came to a strange tower that was partially flooded.


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## Dantardis (Aug 1, 2012)

Moving forward into the tower the group came to a closed door.  David searched for traps but found nothing.  Opening the door, and making quite a lot of noise about it David opened the door.  Suddenly a strange, slimy creature looked at them, its  very will seeming paralysing, everyone in the party was turned to stone, with the exception of David and Robyn who were able to finish the creature off.  Once it was dead the others slowly revivified.
"Did you enjoy getting hard?" quipped Robyn.

Moving into the final tower the group found that the final tower hadd been set up as a kind of lightning rod.  Moving into the second floor, they discovered that it had been set up as a laboratory, with a strange cabinet in which was an old man who was Baron Caromarc.  Before the Baron could advise them of what had been going on a larger creature jumped down into the room and attacked.  

The creature quickly dropped Renthie.  Millicent attacked from the ground but the creature criticalled her, her throat and ribs constricting in a gout of blood and tissue and Millicent knew no more.  At this point the creature caught sight of its reflection in Millicent's blade.  Giving an animalistic growl, almost a scream it move towards the edge of the tower roof and leapt off into the icy waters below.

Once recovered the Baron revealed that the Whispering Way cultist had stolen a device the Bondslave Thrall that controlled the creature and they were on their way somwhere to the north.


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## Dantardis (Aug 19, 2012)

[FONT=&quot]The following morning Renthie was first up and walked a short distance to pray.  She did this for a few minutes.  In the meantime Loag had woken up and was just in time to see what appeared to be a pillar of flame run down from the sun to strike Renthie.  Worried, Loag moved forward, calling out Renthie's name to no effect.  There was also a sound, similar to an earthquake.  Getting increasedly worried Loag moved forward again but Renthie was completely obscured by the pillar of flame, although he could hear Renthie screaming in pain.  Loag cast a spell on himself to protect him from the raging inferno and moved into the flames.  Suddenly he was thrown back 40 feet and was knocked unconscious.  When he came to, Renthie walked out of the pillar of flame, completely unscathed.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]When the rest of the party awoke they decided to investigate the crimes that the Beast was accused of.  They headed to the village of Hergstag where the Beast was accused of killing six children.  Arriving in the village they found in deserted, the only sign of life being 3 sisters living in a windmill, Garrow, Starle and Flicht.  These three told the party the story of how the Beast befriended the children of Hergstag and then killed them, one by one.  He was finally found out when he was seen carrying the body of the last child, Elsa and laughing.  Realising that the villagers were prepared to stick to their story at all costs, the party felt they had no option but to investigate the village.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]They first headed to the old chapel, a small whitewashed building.  It showed considerable signs of dilapidation and disrepair, all of the religious icons and imagery had long since been removed, the only feature that remained was the font, that was half full of scummy, green water.  Renthie advised that this would still count as holy water so the group filled vials with the stuff.  Looking round outside they found 6 small graves, 4 of which appeared to be empty.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]"Hey guys, said Loag, "Renthie can do stuff with dead people".[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]"I don't wanna know", replied David.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]At this point, Renthie pointed out that Speak with Dead did not appear to work.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]The party then headed to one of the children's houses which they found strangely boarded up from the outside, looking around the sadly empty building the only thing they could see was that the window was unlatched in any way and the timbers in the wall would be too difficult to climb.  Finally, the party decided to head to a strange, low hill on the outskirts of the village, where a rotting scarecrow appeared to be leaning on a scythe, with a pumpkin face.  As they were looking round a strange blue skinned young girl floated out of the top of the hill and attacked.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]Robyn, hesitated, saying "I feel weird shooting ghost children".  Nevertheless, he struck the child with several arrows and destroyed it.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]At this point several more strange children floated out of the ground, together with a strange wraith like creature that seemed to consist of a number of eyes.  Moving back Renthie managed to turn one or two of the children and Robyn was quickly able to finish off the wraith.  As he did so the rest of the children fell down dead.  Sadly, the party took the children's bodies and reburied them.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]The party then moved on to the village of Morast, where the Beast was accused of killing 10 villagers.  Arriving there they spoke to one of the villagers who advised the party that they had seen the Beast at the murder site of one of the villagers and had chased it away with pitchforks and torches.  They then found a blood trail, presumably left by the Beast, leading to a small island in the swamp.  Following the trail to a band of trees the party were ambushed by a Manticore.  Although the creature managed to fire off a couple of tail spikes to little or no effect, Robyn was able to shoot it cleanly, killing it.  Loag found a page torn from a diary that seemed to indicate that a man called Reiner Heydrich was implicated in events.  [/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]With proof that the Beast was innocent of the crimes of which it was accused the court acquitted it and the group was amply rewarded for their services.  Robyn elected to leave at this point and was replaced by a Knight called Andurin.  Asking around, David discovered that Reiner Heydrich was a name no one had heard of, although it did sound a bit like a Mortvanian name of someone who'd died about 200 years ago.  With no other leads the party decided to head across the border to Mortvania.[/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
  [FONT=&quot]After crossing the border they quickly came to the town of Barovia, which appeared strangely deserted and deathly quiet.  Going into 1 street, they saw what appeared to be a dead body lying on the ground at the other end.  David was 'volunteered' to go an investigate it and he did so with some trepidation.  Before he could get very far two strange bat like creatures burst out of a building and attacked him,  At the same time, several zombies appeared from the other side of the street and moved relentlessly forward.  To cap it all two large maggots moved away from the body, scenting fresh meat.  The bat like creatures acted first and tried to bit a large chunk out of David's torso but he nimbly managed to step out of the way.  Loag managed to cast a fireball, catching one of the Maggots and several of the Zombies killing them ad only mildly scorching David.  Andurin then step forward and cleanly decapitated the bat like creature.  Finally, Renthie cast turn undead and the remaining creatures were no more.  The battle was over but the sense of impending doom and decay remained.[/FONT]


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## Dantardis (Sep 1, 2012)

Moving onwards through the seemingly deserted town Load decided to fly ahead and scout.  He found there was another group of undead present in the area around the town square.

Forewarned the party slowly moved forward.  Several more zombie creatures were present together with a slightly broader creature than looked very muscular.  Loag cast a spell on Andurin and he grew in size, doubling the reach of his weapon and he charged into the battle, quickly impaling several zombies on his lance.  Loag muttered a word of power and with a burst of fire, several of the zombies were killed instantly and the rest were burned to a significant degree.  David had moved forward into the fray by this point, only to come face to face with the strange muscular creature, who with a mighty blow knocked him into a shallow grave in the earth which he then had to spend the next several rounds trying to get out of. With a final flourish of his weapon Andurin killed the remaining zombies and the entomber.
  Moving onwards the group next decided to enter the local tavern from which there was a glimmer of light.  After ordering 3 meads at the bar they struck up a conversation with the barman, asking him what was going on.

"Well, it's the Count you see, Count Reiner Heydrich, he's an undead who lives in the Castle and he sends his zombies out to try and find Ireena.  He believes she's the reincarnation of his late wife.  He makes sure its dark all the time so he can move about.  Rumour is he's a vampire."

Not liking the sound of this ther party retired for the night and decided that the following day they would investigate the local church.

The next day was just as dark and gloomy as before.  Moving towards the church they came to another intersection where a dead horse lay in the street, being chewed on by several zombies, but there were also stange dog like creatures and also what looked like a ghoul.  Wasting no time David acted first and teleported into a nearby empty building.  Cursing David's lack of courage, Loag whispered the words of a spell and a several walls of flame spread across the street.  Being single minded and not intelligent the undead moved through the walls, taking damage from the heat and meaning only a few managed to get through to Andurin, where they were quickly slaughtered.

Moving on the party reached the church and noted that the church and graveyard appeared to be deserted.

Or were they...


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## Dantardis (Sep 9, 2012)

The church was a gray, sagging edifice of stone and wood, set atop a rise.  The shadows of the castle seemed to stretch to cover the church too.  Light seemed to flicker through holes in the roof and there was the sound of hoarse chanting within.

The group decided to investigate further, opening the door they found that the interior was a shambles, with overturned and broken benches littering the dusty floor.  An altar seemed to have strange claw marks on it.  Suddenly a wild-haired old man popped up from behind the altar and screamed at them.

"You can't take my son away from me!"

Before the party could respond he launched a spell at Andurin, trying to fix him in place  but Andurin shook off the effects.  Meanwhile David was attacked by a zombie who burst through a wall.  The old man then tried to cast another spell at Andurin, trying to cause fear in his mind, but Andurin was made of sterner stuff  and shook it off.  

Mumbling the words to a spell Loag  blinked out of his placeand reappeared nearer to the altar.  At this point another door opened and a strange bony like creature moved out, and cast a spell causing a burst of sound to hit both David and Andurin to very little effect.  Having enough off the combat, Loag created a burning wall of fire around the old man, the strange bony creatures and the zombies, burning them horribly.  David tried to attack one burnt zombie but unfortunately the strap of his armour came loose, meaning he had to spend a round repairing it.  Andurin meanwhile, managed to grapple one of the zombies and throw it into one of the walls of fire, destroying it utterly.  The old man, frustrated that his spells seemed to have no effect, tried to command Loag, to make him walk into a wall of fire, unfortunately he had forgotten there was a hold in the floor, which Loag fell into.  Andurin then destroyed the last zombie.  By this time the wall of fire had disappointed and then charged the old man, skewering him on his lance.


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## Dantardis (Sep 15, 2012)

OOC: Apologies readers for not updating sooner, unfortunately I lost some of my notes for the last session.  Essentially after the fights at the church Load polymorphed into a nightmare and flew the rest of the group to the castle roof. In one of the chambers near the top they met one of Reiner's victims who revealed that the Count was in the crypt.  They then flew down to the crypt and defeated the count, although it was a close run thing.

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Spoiler Alert:

- Tune in next time when things get hairy - quite literally.

- Will Renthie's gender issues ever be resolved.

- Will David ever do anything useful in a fight?

- Will Bob the mule ever be able to get away from the idiots he has to work for?


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## Dantardis (Sep 22, 2012)

The party had received help from the Judge in Lepidstadt, advising that there was a potential clue to the Whispering Way's whereabouts at Ascanor Lodge in the Shudderwood.

Setting out the following day they found that the Shudderwood was filled with large, towering pine trees that blotted out the sunlight.  Broken branches and occasional shrubs abounded.  There was an eerie stillness about the forest.  Moving into a clearing Loag flew ahead and spotted two strange bone like snaky creatures hiding in the undergrowth.  The party prepared themselves and started to advance.

Suddenly an incorporeal, misty crimson figure rose out of the ground and slashed at Renthie, it's insubstantial claws seeming to bypass his armour and seeming to suck at his very Life force.  Loag murmured the words of a spell and bolts of pure energy struck the creature.  A second misty creature appeared next to Andurin, striking him unawares.  This was followed up by one of the bony snake like creatures charging at Andurin, although he was able to fend off its attack.  Starting to become surrounded Renthie stepped backwards and cast a spell, causing a burst of flame to strike at both the bony creature and the crimson creature.  At the same time he yelled out, "The insubstantial creatures are Crimson Deaths, the others are Bone Nagas."

"Thanks for the info", yelled David, tumbling into place and striking one of the Crimson Deaths.  At the same time Andurin hit the second Crimson Death, while Renthie resorted to bashing the bone naga with his shield, battering it severely.  In retaliation the Bone Naga tried to hit Renthie but he dodged out of the way easily.  Within a few more moments David had destoryed the Crimson Deaths and Andurin had finished off the Bone Nagas.


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## Dantardis (Sep 22, 2012)

Moving further into the Shudderwood the party heard a strange haunting melody, almost harp like in nature.  The music seemed to be emanating from an old, ruined watch tower.  Everyone except Renthie felt compelled to enter and investigate.

Inside they found that long, taut strands of shimmering silk filled the tower's interior, forming a pattern running from floor to ceiling.  Half a dozen cocoonlike shapes hung from the ceiling.  The party started to look around, when all of a sudden a large spider like creature appeared.  It moved towards the strands of silk and started to play them like a harp.

David was entranced by the music and started to move towards the Spider.  Loag tried to cast a spell, trying to raise the creature into the air but the creature resisted.  Annoyed by the effect that the Spider was having on everyone Renthie cast Silence and moved forward, quickly preventing the Spider from making any noise and casuing David to come out of his trance.  Andurin, annoyed by the Spider charged it, bearing his lance and gutted it, seperating its body into several pieces.


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## Dantardis (Sep 22, 2012)

Moving closer to Ascanor Lodge the party were now only about an hour away.  At this point they encountered a young woman who was wondering around the forest and they quickly persuaded her to join them.  Reaching another clearing the group found the pale corpse of a naked man hanging from a large yellow pine, bound to the trunk with rough cords.  His mouth was stuffed with large, pale purple flowers, and his wrists annd ankles were swollen and dark with bruises marking where his bindings cut into his skin.  A large silver hunting knife embedded deep in his chest seemed the most likely cause of death.

Loag cast a spell, trying to see if there was any ongoing magical effects but found nothing.  David decided he wanted the hunting knife and tried to move forward but Loag held him back.  Renthie, however, moved forward, deciding to investigate the body to ascertain the cause of death.  At this points he struck a trapwire and the floweres in the corpse's mouth opened, firing large steel bolts at Renthie.

The party then decided to move on to the Lodge.


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## Dantardis (Sep 23, 2012)

Arriving at Ascanor Lodge the group were met by a surly, uncooperative ha;fling who intordued himself as Brelik.  He refused to let them in initially, saying, "I apologize for any misuderstanding, but as the porter of Ascanor Lodge, I cannot permit your entrance at this time.  You do not have reservations in our books, and depite your claims, I have no evidence to justify allowing strangers into the lodge.  From the looks of you, unlike the rest of my guests, you haven't come here to take a peaceful retreat.  I want no trouble, so off with you all, and take whatever troubles you bring somewhere else!"

It was only the application of some hard earned cash by David that changed Brelik's mind and allowed them to enter.

At this point, a woodsman accompanied by a noble came into view, walking out of the Lodge.  They appeared to be having some kind of argument, the woodsman shouting, "For the last time Duristan!  I'll take you there, but I ain't bringing my dogs!".

The noble, Duristan saw the group, and said, "What ho chaps, we are hunting werewolves, will you come with us".  Relunctantly the party agreed.

The trail led to a small clearing where the trampled ground and snapped brush showed signs of a struggle, the soil was soaked with blood as were the tree trunks.  The corpse of a stag which Duristan had placed there for the werewolves had been moved, finding it after a short while Marion was able to tell that the corpse had tooth and claw marks in it, similar to those made by a wolf.

Suddenly the group were attacked by a group of wild dire boars but quickly made short work of them.  Loag was concerned that the party were being scryed upon so he cast Detect scrying.  As he did so he made a loud cry and quickly passed out.

As it was getting darker Duristan suggested setting up camp and instructed his bearers to lay a trail of blood and met to attract the werewolves.  Just as it was reaching midnight there was a loud cry and a snarl.  Rushing towards the sound the party saw a werewolf with the dead body of one of the bearers in its mouth.

"Stop", shouted the werewolf, dropping the body, "Why have you entered Vollensag territory."

"We mean no harm", replied David, "We are merely here to hunt".

"Your false explanations are meaningless.  Go tell whoever sent you to stay out of wolf affairs!  Let him know that his dealings with Mathus Mordrinacht and the Silverhide pack do not sit well with the other tribes of this wood.  There shall be much blood spilled between our kin before a Silverhide packlord sits upon Highthrone.  Mathus the betrayer shall never claim the title, and should you and yours continue to support him, the wrath of the wolf parks shall fall upon him!  Now leave our territory and return to your cozy wooden den, or share the fate of these poor little sheep!"

At this point there was a loud howling in the forest and between 20 and 30 werewolves stepped out of the undergrowth, their teeth bared.


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## Dantardis (Sep 23, 2012)

Realising that the odds were against them Loag instructed everyone to grab hold of him and he teleported them all back to the Lodge.

On arrival they were met by the warden of the Lodge a man called Estovain who apologised for the confusion earlier and advised that the Lodge was open to them at any time.  Most of the party went to bed but Marion and David decided to do some sneaking about.  Inside, Marion found Estovian's private office and discovered a journal which suggested that Estovian had been working with both the werewolves at the Hall of the Stars and the Whipsering Way.

After about an hour David, hiding in the shadows saw Estovian come back into the lodge from a northerly direction.  

Resolving to investigate further the next day the party headed steadily northwards until they came at last to the Hall of Stairs, they found it being guarded by more werewolves ho warned them off.  Reluctantly they headed back to the Lodge to come up with a plan.


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## Dantardis (Sep 29, 2012)

The following day the partty were in a qunadary, they had no real leads to follow up.  David elected to investigate the other visitors to the lodge.  One of them advised that they had seen Estovian roughly north east, towards the town of Feldgrau.  Loag decided to try and scry on Estovian and discovered that he was in a shop, similar to a chandlery, and he appeared dead.

With no other leads to follow the party headed to Feldgrau.   Arriving there they found a strangely deserted town.

In the shadow of a crumbling towere lay a barren swath of muddy red earth that likely once served as the town square.  A large trench had been excavated in the centre of the square, and a confusing jumble of half-unearthed bones jutted from its churned earth.   In the centre of the square were a horde of skeleton and several curates of the Whispering Way.

The skeletons were the first to act and moved forward to attack.  At the same time one of the curates cast a spell, causing Andurin's eyes to cloud over, turning him blind.  The second curate murmured to herself and a wave of dark and unholy energy rained down from the heavens on everyone.  David tumbled his way around the battlefield and managed to destroy one of the skeletons.  Loag murmured the words to a spell and a glittering golden area surrounded the two curates and some of the skeletons, blinding them.  Although Andurin was blinded, his horse wasn't and under his direction it charged in a striaght line, destroying skeletons right and left, finally ending with his lance being buried up to the hilt in one of the curates, slaughtering her.  Loag managed to cast a spell on Andurin, removing the effect of the blindness.   With a mighty blow Andurin killed the other curate and the skeletons they had animated crumbled to dust and were no more.


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## Dantardis (Sep 29, 2012)

Overlooking the town square stood the battered remanants of what was once an impressive tower. Entering the party saw two stronger looking skeletons and a strange looking man whose skin had been flayed away who introduced himself as Auren Vrood.

One of the skeletons attacked Andurin whilst Vrood moved towards David and attacked.  Andurin quickly destroyed one of the skeletal figures and moved towards Vrood.  Whilst attacking David's blow was deflected by Vrood and David yelped in pain as he struck himself in the groin.  Finally Vrood was no more.  At this point the party found soem notes advising that the Whispering Way were looking for other artefacts and were heading to either Blackhaven or Illmarsh.

The party elected to head to Blackhaven so they saddled up and rode on.


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## Dantardis (Sep 29, 2012)

Blackhaven was a dark dingy town, perched on the edge of nowhere, on the way to nowhere.

Arriving at the gate David asked two of the guards on duty if they had heard of the cult of the Whispering Way.

"I don't know about that", answered one of the guards, you best see Marshal Bennet."

Taken to Bennet;s office they asked him for more details, he advised he wasn't able to help them with their cult problem but perhaps they could help him with his.

He continued: "The War of the Four Kingdoms - Gallantaria, Femphrey, Brice and the Northlands - almost tore the Old World apart, but the four sides turned away from the abyss and made a fragile peace which has lasted up to the present day.  Yet this peace is constantly being eroded by the many agents of Chaos who seek to aggravate old rivalries.  The Old World  can never know true peace until its barbaric past is finally laid to rest."

"High in the Brician ranks was Karam Gruul-the Inquisitor General.  Gruul was swift in urging Brice to war, and his was the guiding intellect and the dark magics which lay behind many of Brice's military successes.  It was he who prepared the murderous fire-traps along Brice's borders; he who had thousands of war prisoners dragged, screaming, into his Tower of Inquisition, where horrific deeds were perpetrated; he who tortured and killed peaceful Bricians with his 'traitor-hunts'; he who assasinated his fellow generals when they spoke out against him; and, finally, it was he who remained unseen and unknown while his men died on foreign soil.  Not for nothing was Gruul nicknamed the 'Hand of Death".

"When peace finally came, a condition of the armistice was that Gruul should be made to stand trial for his crimes against humanity.  But the warmongering Brician king claimed that Gruul had died in the Last Battle and that his body was but one of thousands ploughed under the earth.  Moreover, the king denied any knowledge of Gruul's atrocities and he ordered that all mention of Gruul be erased from his country's histories and monuments.  Most believed that Gruul-whose face was known to so very few-had not died; and so began the Great Manhunt.  But no sign of Gruul was found; it was as if he had never existed.  His damned Tower of Inquisition was razed to the ground, but the villian himself escaped us.  Since then, a constant vigil has been maintained for signs of Gruul's inevitable return.  And now, at the cost of many gallant lives, we have at last obtained news as to his whereabouts!"


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## Dantardis (Sep 29, 2012)

"Gruul is in Blackhaven, and his presence here can only mean that he is planning something terrible, some plot important enough to make him risk exposure after years of hiding.  However, we don't know exactly where he is, or in what guise, only that he is here.  Find Gruul for us and take him to face justice at the High Court in Lepidstadt."

"There are rumours that Blackhaven is in the grip of a secret society called the Cabal of the Werewolf.  All we know about this organisation is that its members are said to bear the Werewolf's Mark, and that it is supposed to have connections with a powerful clique of Brician nobles who are hell-bent on starting a second War of the Four Kingdoms.  If this is true, then Karam Gruul must have dealings with the Cabal.  Word has reached me that an inmate of Craven Asylum, Matra Ouspenkaya, is claiming that she was a member-but is now a victim-of the Cabal.  This could be the break we seek, you must go and question her to find out if there is any truth in her wild ravings.  Next, it is said that Cabal members meet in a docklands tavern, the Last Octopus, which you should also investigate.  Finally, it might be worth your while to visit Silas Entador, a useful wretch who is one of our paid informers and who lives in Malt Lane."


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## Dantardis (Sep 29, 2012)

"Here is a Letter of Introduction to Doktor Welsh, the Director of Carven Asylum, advising that you are relatives of Ouspenkaya.  I have also uncovered that one of my own men, Conrad Zaar who lives in Weathern Mill may be working for the Cabal."

After Bennet had finished speaking the group decided to split up so they could investigate these leads.  David decided to go to the Last Octopus whilst Andurin and Dezrak headed to Craven Asylum, meanwhile Loag decided to head to Weathern Mill.

Loag discovered that Weathern Mill was an impressive tower standing alone on a low hill, above a shanty town on the southern edge of the city.  Apart from the vanes creaking the mill seemed dead.  

Investigating the mill Loag found that both the cellar and the ground floor of the mill seemed deserted, apart from a leaflet which read:

"Written to All the People of Blackhaven:

When all is becoming clearbeneath the lamps of the lighted, who gain their brilliance from the traveller from afar, there remain those of coin and commerce and busy head, who alone remain steadfast in decrying the four square.  Others who, like the pheonix, despise the serpent that eats its own tail, must search and find we who know, so that the world may be governed by heart and mind and fellowship.  The wise and kingly kill not the Last Octopus but read therein the beauty of transformation, thence apply themselves to seeking the mercy and happiness of the Eternal Fraternity of the Rosy Chalice."

Putting the information contained within the leaflet as the work of the mad Loag headed up into the loft of the mill where he came face to face with Conrad Zaar, who attacked.  Quickly backing away Loag slid doen the loft ladder and fireballed the loft and Zaar.  Zaar retaliated by firing arrows at Loag before moving to close in.  Loag steadily backed away until he was outside and then cast a spell causing a wall of fire to appear.  Enraged Zarr tried ti run through itdying in the process.

Thunder seemed to rumble overhead from a clear sky and three bolts of lightning struck Zaar's body, causing it to glow and then to rise.  Picking up his armoured face plate and greatsword Zaar moved slowly forward, silently, to attack.  Loag murmured a spell and flew up into the air, from which position he rained arrows down on Zaar.  At this point the mill, which had caught on fire exploded and Zaar was caught up in the explosion, seemingly destroyed by the flames.


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## dungeonydan (Sep 29, 2012)

Loving the updates and the tie ins with the Fighting Fantasy books.

Is David such a useless character?


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