# Little Psionic Keep on the Borderlands



## James McMurray (May 4, 2004)

*Ironside Keep*

On the far border of the County of Durnst lies Ironside Keep. Known throughout the land as a place where miscreants and ruffians can come to hid, it is tolerated for its need in defending the borderlands from the dangers of the wilderness. Despite the presence of mercenaries, rogues, and scoundrels in hiding, the keep is a very lawful place. Its Castellan makes it perfectly clear that within the walls of his domain you may hide, but you may not conduct "business".

The world has recently undergone a vast change, as the gods themselves were thrown down by a mysterious being known only as Raffi. He stole the divine spark from what was to be the next pantheon, and gave it to the beings of the world. Now there are those whose powers of magic rest solely eithin their minds, even more flexible than sorcerers, these psychics control the world around them with a mere thought, devoid of the incantationsa nd hand waggling of spellcasters that have gone before.

The environment outside the keep is wild. Traffic comes up the road and along the river to Ironside, but very few men travel beyond its walls into the tribal lands. To the north is known to live a mad hermit, who would be avoided completely except that he is a crafter of items of power. To the North East lie the Caves of Chaos, a sprinkling of cave complexes both interwoven and distinct. Within these caves live several different tribes of humanoid raiders, ranging from the tiny lizardly Dinks, to almost dwarven statured dogmen (the Ur-Gurlock), to a race of massive beasts known only as dogmen. 

Although they are known to sometimes rob merchant caravans, they have yet to make a solid enough nuisance of themselves to demand extermination, especiallly considering the cost that would entail in time and manpower. 

Within the walls of the keep a group of 5 mercenary men meet:

Duerf Trump: Known as "The Duerf", he is an Egoist, acolyte to the keep's resident healer, Laris.

Vides: A Maenad Wilder, he speaks much more than his kind is known to do, but still he holds the ancient rage deep in check.

Lord Tahm Djonnimar: His first act in town was to set a bouncer on fire during a drunken rage. He made expensive amends though, and no charges were pressed. Now he lives in the rented out entire top floor of the inn with his servants, letting all know that Firecracker Tom is for hire.

Tor: Maenad Psychic Warrior. He was not a member of the original troop, but was sent to find them when they disappeared with Laris' 12,500 gold.

Nadeem: Xeph Soul Knife. His speed and agility have a reputation for keeping him out of the front lines of combat, throwing him mindblades with deadly accuracy. Despite his aversion to face-to-face confrontation, Lord Tahm hired him to act as a bodygaurd.

Duerf's boss, Laris the Healer, enlisted him to deliver a chest of gold to Mr. Springs, the mad hermit. He and his hired mercenaries will earn 100 gold each for returning with a Dorje which the healer has requisitioned. Duerf hires the men and they set out, having been told to head due north for one day and then wait for the Hermit to find them.

They travel North and make camp in the forest, and that night are beset by human bandits, intent on capturing the group's cargo. A fierce battle rages, and the party takes a severe beating. They do manage to kill Rock, the bandits' leader, breaking the morale of several of the spearmen. When Rock's second in command also falls, all but the most gold-hungry bandits retreat. Those that stay do not get to leave. Attempts to keep the fallen bandits alive for questioning fail, and the group is left with only questions.

The next morning, a mountain lion pads its wy calmly into camp and looks patiently at the party. When it is not molested, Mr. Springs makes his appearance. An Ur-gurlock, his body would be a mere 4 1/2' tall were it not for his huge spiery legs made from limbs and logs. As he skitters up, he doglike mouth asks Vides why he is there. 

When Vides replies, the rest of the party ask his what he is doing, as they cannot see or hear the hermit. Vides tells them, and he and the hermit converse. They learn that the dorje they were sent for is ready, but that the price has changed. Mr. Springs no longer cares for money, he instead demands the death of his entire clan for taking his legs from him. "They must be made to swim in their own blood." He tells them where they live, and says he hopes when next they meet he will be able to say that it is where they lived.

The group sets out, following the river notrhward towards the Caves of Chaos. That evening their camp is attacked by many of the same bandits from the previous night, as well as some new ones. This tme the attack focuses purely on stoping the psions from unleashing their magic with swords at throats and bows at the ready. Several bandits move forward and grab the donkey's reigns, leading it away. One also attempts to take Lord Tahm's warhorse, but only gets 100' before being trampled to death by the enraged beast before it calmly walks back to its master's side. Many bandits are killed, and the rest flee, but they manage to take the donkey and the 12,500gp.

The party discusses what to do, and decide not to follow. Most fear the bows in their weakend state, but Vides says he does not care about the money, that he is only interested in the 100gp payment they will receive from the helaer when they return with his Dorje.

The group moves off of the road and stops to camp and rest before heading into the caves to complete their bloody task.


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## James McMurray (May 6, 2004)

Meanwhile, back in town, Laris has begun to grow worried about his money. Casting about town through ther many mercenaries to be found, he settles upon Tor, a Maenad who specializes in Thri-Kreen weaponry. His history is unknown, but a few inquiries (both magical and mundane) point to his being a trustworthy man. Tor is called in to track the party down, and he heads off. He meets with Mr. Springs, and learns of the party's new assignment. Thus he begins the day and a half trek to the Caves of Chaos.

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The party has reached the caves and they find the entrance to the Ur-Gurlock caverns. IT is 15 feet up the side of a cliff wall, with a rough-hewn ladder leading up to it. The entrance is surrounded by humanoid skulls, bleached from the sun.

Nadeem sidles up to the entrance and climbs up. As he pokes his head over the ledge he sees a short corridor leading up to a grizzly trophy collection of heads and skulls. He fails to notice one Ur-Gurlock head in the bunch slip away, as the gaurd on duty moves to warn his tribesmen.

Nadeem waves the party forward and slips up to the corner. Looking right he sees 4 Ur-Gurlock gaurds playing cards at a table. They have not noticed him and he takes the first shot. It fails to drop his foe, and the beastmen charge his way as the remainder of the group scramble up the ladder. A battle breaks out, and although the party rapidly gains the upper hand, the gaurds who were warned show up shortly, the newest 4 replacing the 4 that are beaten down. The sound also reaches the common room, alerting almost the entirety of the tribe. Soon the group finds themselves surrounded, with hordes of Ur-Gurlock in front of them and a cliff ledge behind.

Although Ur-Gurlock are killed left and right, the press is too much for the party, and they fall one by one beneath the flails of the dogmen. The Duerf is the last one left standing, and he makes a frantic leap to the ground to escape. He twists his ankle as he lands, and Ur-Gurlock pour out after him.

All looks lost, as the Ur-Gurlock block The Duerf's route to the horses, but at that moment Tor comes over the rise and into the battle. He charges forward and drops the last of the Ur-Gurlock, but not before they manage to drop The Duerf to the ground, unconcious but stable. So strong is the boodlust in the Ur-Gurlock that many jump straight down after The Duerf, injuring and even knocking themselves out in the fall. Tor moves the Duerf onto a horse and heads into the caves to find the remainder of the group.

He works his way deeper into the caves, the magical light from his Githka leading the way. He sees many Ur-Gurlock bodies, but no sign of the party except for several bloody trails which lead deeper into the darkness. Following them, he rounds  acorner and finds two massive oaken doors. From behind the door comes the counds of grunting and growling: an order is being given. 

Tor steps back around the corner as the door opens, and two female Ur-Gurlock come out, dragging the fallen behind them. Tor strikes as they approach, and one of them is killed immediately. The other shouts for help and the largest Ur-Gurlock in the caves comes to answer the call. The chieftain and his last surviving tribe member batter the half-giant with blows. 

Tor drops the female and then concentrates on the leader, but cannot find any holes in the defenses. The tower shield blocks almost all of his blows, and those that get past almost invariably bounce off the beast's breastplate. Tor's defenses are not as strong, and he finds himself inexorably pressed back towards the entrance to the cave. 

With a throaty laugh, the Ur-Gurlock chieftain bull rushes Tor off the cliff edge and leaps down after him. The Duerf, who had been merely acting unconcious, joins the fray with several energy rays. Tor reaches deep down into his heritage and calls fortha  scream of rage which riups and tears at the Ur-Gurlock. The anger in his soul fuels his swings, and the two remaining men slowly but surely whittle the great beast down.

They finish the job on the unconcious dogman and move back into the cave to recover the fallen. All of the party are still alive, so Tor and The Duerf haul them back to the horses and into the wilderness. The Duerf's expert care gets his friends back on their feet the next morning, and they trek back into the forest, where the mad hermit greets them. He is displeased to hear that they do not know if the tribe is dead, and in his haste to see them all slaughtered he offers up to the party 4 magical tattoos. These tattoos heal people, and although they are still sore and weary, they slog back to the caves one final time. A search reveals no more Ur-Gurlock, but the party does find a coupld hidden caches, one of which is gaurded by two large centipedes (which they quickly kill). 

They take their spoils back into the forest and again meet with Mr. Springs, who gives them the Dorje, after rifling through Lord Tahm's mind to ensure the veracity of their claims.

Tired and weary, they return to the keep to claim their 100 gold piece reward and see about learning more of the bandits that ambushed them twice. Laris pays them, and asks the Duerf if he has seen Alphonse, the Duerf's friend and fellow acolyte. Alphonse is farther along the road of the paintakers, being able to actually heal others by taking their hurts upon himself, a feat that the Duerf has not yet managed to duplicate. He has not been seen in two days, and Laris is concerned.

Inquiries about town regarding Rock glean some useful information. He was outcast from the town for engaging in "business activities" within its walls. Since then he has become a sometime leader of other outcasts and mercenaries. They ply their trade on incoming caravans, but hit fast and run faster. It is unknown where they are hiding, but there is a bounty on their heads. 100gp for the head of the Rock, and 3gp per left ear of his fellows. It is believed that they hide out in the northern forest, but have never been followed to its edge soon enough to find their trail.


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## omrob (May 7, 2004)

James McMurray said:
			
		

> Laris pays them, and asks the Duerf if he has seen Alphonse, the Duerf's friend and fellow acolyte. Alphonse is farther along the road of the paintakers, being able to actually heal others by taking their hurts upon himself, a feat that the Duerf has not yet managed to duplicate. He has not been seen in two days, and Laris is concerned.





Interesting to see an all psionic party in action. Do Laris and the Duerf belong to like an all psionically powerd church? So its based on being an egoist and empathically transfering wounds and then healling themelves? 

Thas kool! My character Sybele is an egoist - and boy did I have a fun time converting her to the XPH. She is much more healing oriented now. I'll be watching.


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## James McMurray (May 10, 2004)

It isn't a church, but that is the gist of their business. Betwen Vigor and Self-healing abilities, an Egoist can fix a lot of probems without ever feeling the repercussions himself.


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## James McMurray (May 10, 2004)

The party attempts to parlay the Rock’s armor and bits of his hair into a reward, but are told they must have the heads. They trek back to the battlefield and return with heads and ears, collecting their reward. They use the reward to hire a tracker and head out to follow the donkey into the wilderness.

After a slow two days in the forest, the tracker loses the trail. They begin to discuss what to do, and voice raised in a heated argument are heard coming from above. The party looks up but doesn’t see anything, so Nadeem climbs a tree. At the top he finds a rope bridge leading across to another tree. He slides silently across it and signals down to his friends when he sees two bandits standing on a tree side platform arguing about money. The rest of the group slides up, but a cracked branch alerts their quarry. The surprised and hung over bandits are no match for the party’s prowess, and are soon stripped of their wealth as the party takes the wider bridge into the forest. It leads to a platform that splits into two bridges, and when scouting shows one branch to be another fork, the other route is chosen. From inside the hollowed out trunk of a massive tree voices are heard. 

Stairs lead up in the tree and down, and it is from above that the voices come. Nadeem scouts ahead and is met by a small throng of drunken bandits. He takes a shot from one of them and then tumbles back down the stairs, freeing the opening for Tor to move upward. Archers and swordsmen meet the large Maened, but he shrugs them off and pushes forward.

When the path is cleared, Lord Tahm moves in and draws forth a power stone liberated from the Ur-Gurlock lair. He reaches in and coaxes out its power, filling the room with a blast of abominable cold. All but one of the bandits dies. The one that stays standing is Alphonse, acolyte to Laris.

Alphonse blasts the group with electricity, stunning everyone but Nadeem. Nadeem throws a mind blade at the egoist, but misses. Alphonse again lashes out with electricity, but this time Tor and Tahm shake off its effects while Vides moves up the emptied stairwell and into the room. Moments later the traitorous psion is knocked out and tied up.

The group gathers up their regained money and takes both it and Alphonse back to Laris, where the egoist is plainly hurt by the acolyte’s betrayal. He thank the group and sends them on their way.


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## James McMurray (May 10, 2004)

The party decides to head back out and revisit the bandit camp for further exploration, so they gather up their gear and leave through Ironside's massive gates. They get three hours down the road and see three humanoid figures atop the next hill. The party prepares for battle, but one of the Ur-Gurlock seperates himself from the group and walks down towards the party with his arms outstretched and empty.

They allow him to move forward, and he grunts at them "You come see boss."

When asked who the boss is, the Ur-Gurlock "diplomat" repeats his command. "You come see boss." When asked where the boss is, he again replies, "You come see Boss." At this point Nadeem points out that it is probably the only words he knows. He tests his theory with a few choice phrases, to which the Ur-Gurlock replies, "You come see Boss."

Lord Tahm and Nadeem volunteer to go see "Boss" and begin following the Ur-Gurlocks. They are led back to the Caves of Chaos and into a cave they had noticed before but not examined. The diplomat leads them past ranks of flail-wielding Ur-Gurlock warriors, and Nadeem and Tahm realize that if they are in a trap they will most likely die.

In a large room whose only major furniture piece is a stone chair carved into the wall, the two psychics meet a huge Ur-Gurlock. This one wears full plate and has a massive greatsword sitting at the side of his throne. He speaks to Tahm and Nadeem, exercising his poor Common to the fullest.

"You great warriors destroy the Alakabar. We pay you for more. Dinks make trouble, steal food. We cannot follow them into caves, they are too small." He puts his hand down to knee level to indicate the height of a Dink. "We give gold for their death. We would feast on their bones."

Nadeem asks if the Ur-Gurlock have any psionic devices, and the chief tells them they have a rope and an axe, and the group may have one of them in exchange for killing the Dinks. Nadeem and Tahm excuse themselves and tell the chief that they will discuss it with their fellow mercenaries. As they leave Tahm tells the Ur-Gurlock that they will return when the task is complete or proves insurmountable. On their way out, one of the lesser Ur-Gurlock is given orders to show them to the Dink cave. Outside he points to a small copse of trees and grunts something in Ur-Gurlock which presumably means, "right there."

When they get back to camp, the rest of the group agree to take the job, and the party heads to the cave entrance. The tunnel is short, a mere 4 feet from floor to cieling. It is also more narrow than most of the caves here, being only six feet wide. Nadeem hunkers down and slips into the corridor. He gets about 30' in and the floor beneath him collapses, dropping him into a pit.

As soon as he hits the floor he hears loud squeeking and scratching coming from up above. He looks up just in time to see hordes of rats, some as big as his leg, barreling down into the pit with him. The swarm of rats and their dire cousins bite into his flesh and chew mercilessly as he is forced to climb out of the pit and flee outside.

He gets there, and the large rats quickly fall. The smaller ones are harder to attack though, and it takes the entire party to chase away the ones they cannot kill. While they are dong that, 3 dinks (small lizardmen with thick tails) come out of the end of the tunnel and begin firing crossbows at the people they can see. The pit between them and the party protects them from the group's swords, but not the energy rays and crystal shards, and so the two surviving dinks fall back.

The group fears more traps like that in the corridors and decides that perhaps chasing the dinks into their homes is a poor idea. They instead elect to try to smoke them out. Gathering up kindling and chopping wood, the group builds a fairly large-sized fire directly in the mouth of the cave. For the most part though, the smoke escapes out through the sides of the hill via airholes the Dinks had cut for just such an occassion.

Nadeem moves up to close off one of the holes and falls into yet another pit trap. This one drops him into a pit in the center of a medium sized storeroom. In the room with him, expecting someone's arrival, are two armored dinks. One of them throws a wire mesh net into the pit with Nadeem, entangling him, while the other throws a flask of Alchemist's Fire, setting Nadeem alight and forcing him to roll to put the flames out.

The rest of the group head to the top of the hill to help, and a rope is thrown down. But as Nadeem climbs up, wicked spiked chains lash out at him from the two armored Dinks. His hold is broken on the rope and he falls.

Tor jumps in in an effort to help, but finds that he too has trouble climbing out with spiked chains lashing out at him. The Dinks move towards the edge of the pit to lash downward into it, but retreat when one of them is killed. With the room emptied, Nadeem and Tor are free to climb out. Attempts to cover the airholes with bedrolls and continue to feed the fire are stymied by the dinks. The tent used to cover one flue is shot full of holes with crossbows and falls into the pit below. Another of the flues is covered with a bedroll, but those are pulled down inside the tunnel. Tahm, left to fan the flames on the fire, is ambushed by two crossbowmen and a Dink Wilder. The wilder pummels Tahm with memories of past wounds that become real, and the nobleman moves away from the fire.

A few of the Dinks are killed during their entry-tunnel attacks, but the party is losing the war of attrition and has no idea of the numbers they face. They decide that perhaps these Dinks will be harder to deal with then they thought. Vides comments that it makes sense that the Ur-Gurlock have been unable to wipe this tribe out, and the party returns to town to rest and purchase large metal sheets to use to cover the air holes. 

The party returns three weeks later and begins to move towards the airhole pit traps and the entrance. As they get closer they trigger several traps, and spring-loaded spiked lattices slam into them. The thick grey paste smeared on the spikes burns and stings as it hit, causing small muscle spasms in those affected. Up above, two of the group falls into the enlarge antlion-like trap around the original airhole. It funnels them into the pit and they once again find themselves fighting for their lives against alchemist's fire, spiked chains, and the Wilder. The rescue effort is hard, but they are pulled out alive, and the groups gives up on their mission altogether, leaving without even telling the Ur-Gurlock of their failure. 

When they return to the Keep they discuss things and decide to explore the ancient tree city the bandits had used as a camp.


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## James McMurray (May 16, 2004)

The party attempts to parlay the Rock’s armor and bits of his hair into a reward, but are told they must have the heads. They trek back to the battlefield and return with heads and ears, collecting their reward. They use the reward to hire a tracker and head out to follow the donkey into the wilderness.



After a slow two days in the forest, the tracker loses the trail. They begin to discuss what to do, and voice raised in a heated argument are heard coming from above. The party looks up but doesn’t see anything, so Nadeem climbs a tree. At the top he finds a rope bridge leading across to another tree. He slides silently across it and signals down to his friends when he sees two bandits standing on a tree side platform arguing about money. The rest of the group slides up, but a cracked branch alerts their quarry. The surprised and hung over bandits are no match for the party’s prowess, and are soon stripped of their wealth as the party takes the wider bridge into the forest. It leads to a platform that splits into two bridges, and when scouting shows one branch to be another fork, the other route is chosen. From inside the hollowed out trunk of a massive tree voices are heard. 



Stairs lead up in the tree and down, and it is from above that the voices come. Nadeem scouts ahead and is met by a small throng of drunken bandits. He takes a shot from one of them and then tumbles back down the stairs, freeing the opening for Tor to move upward. Archers and swordsmen meet the large Maened, but he shrugs them off and pushes forward.



When the path is cleared, Lord Tahm moves in and draws forth a power stone liberated from the Ur-Gurlock lair. He reaches in and coaxes out its power, filling the room with a blast of abominable cold. All but one of the bandits dies. The one that stays standing is Alphonse, acolyte to Laris.



Alphonse blasts the group with electricity, stunning everyone but Nadeem. Nadeem throws a mind blade at the egoist, but misses. Alphonse again lashes out with electricity, but this time Tor and Tahm shake off its effects while Vides moves up the emptied stairwell and into the room. Moments later the traitorous psion is knocked out and tied up.



The group gathers up their regained money and takes both it and Alphonse back to Laris, where the egoist is plainly hurt by the acolyte’s betrayal. He thank the group and sends them on their way.


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## James McMurray (May 16, 2004)

Most of the group deposits their gold in the keep’s bank, but Lord Tahm has bigger plans He petitions the city to allow him to purchase and refurbish the burnt out church. Its an expensive endeavor, but when it is done he and his fellow mercenaries wil have somewhere to stay and use as a base camp.

The group takes a few days to recuperate and celebrate, then decides to head back into the tree city to explore. When they arrive, they climb back up the ladder and check the bandit hideout. It has been uninhabited since they cleaned it out, so they continue their exploration of the city.

One thing they notice that they had been too busy fighting to see before is that the entire city appears to have been grown. There are no seams in the bridges, nor breaks in walls. It looks as if the forest was coaxed into becoming a city.

Nadeem heads to the ladder up he saw before, and climbs. At the top he peaks over the ledge and sees a large eagle-headed winged lion in a nest. It sniffs at the air and looks his way, pulling itself up on its haunches. Nadeem waves the group forward, and slips aside to let people pass. Vides climbs up the ladder and the griffon charges the moment he is up top, clawing and pecking the wilder mercilessly. Duerf also climbs up, only to be shocked and hurt by a screaming griffon dropping from the sky to claw and bite.

The rest of the group climbs up, except for Vides, who stays down below taking pot shots up top. The griffons rend and tear into the wilder and the egoist, dropping them both and setting their sights on the rest of the group. The party is forced to flee back down, and they rush into an empty tree to fight on more favorable ground. One griffon is killed and the other driven off, so the party stops yet again to lick their wounds. This time recovery is hastened by assisted healing, and when the Duerf wakes up he fixes them up by taking the wounds onto his own Vigored body. Ever vengeful, the group decides to assault the griffons again. 

This time when they climb up. They are attacked by only a single griffon, but it screeches and another appears. The battle rages, and it seems fairly even. The party is taking slightly more damage than the griffons, but then the tables turn. The sounds of fighting attract three more of the strange creatures, and the party wisely decides to retreat. This time the griffons do not follow. Yet again the group is forced to rest before continuing their exploration of the city’s lower level.


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## James McMurray (May 16, 2004)

The northern past leads only to a few empty tree dwellings, so the group heads back and follows a wide wooden bridge. Partway along the bridge Vides hears a skittering sound from above and looks up just in time to see what appears to be a squirrel wearing a colorful cloak disappear in to the foliage. He tells the group and they keep a closer look on the trees, but the squirrel is nowhere to be seen.

The bridge ends in a large tree, bigger than any tree should ever be. The inside of the tree has grown into a flat-floored room whose walls are lined with stalls. The group surmises (incorrectly) that the area must be a griffin nursery. When it turns out to be empty of anything valuable, they head out again. The North Western bridge leads to a fork, and the party follows the North branch. It leads to a looted and empty house. A side door has a second bridge leading away towards another tree house.

Inside the next house the party finds a fully furnished home. Fearing that something must live there in order to keep way the looters, the party cautiously searches. As Tor goes to grab a silver candelabra, a man’s translucent hand reaches through the wall in an attempt to grab Tor’s heart. “Who dares steal from me?”  

The party rapidly explains that they thought the area was uninhabited, and the tall, slender faced, and pointy eared ghost slides into the parlor with them. Nadeem is surprised to learn that elves actually do exist, and the ghost introduces himself as Elreth Dalornian, councilman of Yethgiliad.

Conversation with the ghost tells the party that there is an ancient evil locked away in the palace on the far Western edge of the city. The creature has apparently managed to gain a small amount of freedom, and now its creatures roam the treetops, watching all who pass and seemingly waiting for something. When asked what they can do the ghost asks them to find and seal the breach that is awing the demon to escape. When asked for payment the ghost seems unsurprised but disgusted. He tells them that if the seal is closed they may have anything in the house.

Driven on by the lure of gold, the party returns to the central platform and heads South.


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## James McMurray (May 16, 2004)

At a three way split the group heads left and into an empty house. The right fork also proves to be empty, but the middle path leads up to a locked door, above which is a sign with a potion bottle and a quarterstaff. Above the pictures are unrecognizable glyphs.

Nadeem is unable to open the door, and Tor moves forward to hack it down. When his Githka slams into th door, a cone o razor-sharp darts flies out, pelting both Nadeem and Tor. Hoping that the trap cannot reset itself, Tor continues to hack at the door, finally bringing it down. 

Tor moves in and finds a large room filled with empty shelves. A counter blocks the back end of the room from the front, and a closed door is on the other side. Tor tests the door by hurling a bookshelf at it, and when nothing happens he moves up t hack at it. The first time his blade slams into the do, the air around him shimmers and 3 giant yellow jackets step through.

They claw and sting at th surprised Tor, and the rest of the party rushes forward. The wasp’s wound are closing slowly, making killing them very tough. But after a while they disappear, the magic holding them in the world having faded. The group retreats to recuperate yet again.

The next time they return they are more prepared. The gash in the door has healed itself, and Tor moves forward. This time only two wasps appear, and the prepared party puts them down easily.

Behind the door is a storage room. A quick search and a Detect Psionics reveals a small locked strongbox. Th party opens the bow forcefully, and inside its padded interior are 4 small sculptures made of feathers. Three are shaped like tiny birds, and one is a whip. There are also some coins and a potion inside. The party gathers them up and heads out the back door to a wide bridge leading to another tree. This house’s door is surrounded by glowing Glyphs. Fearing a trap, Nadeem uses a tattoo to Vigor himself and then steps up to attempt to open the door. It is locked, so the party rests. Tahm meditates that evening and unlocks within himself the ability to telekinetically open doors from afar.

The group returns, and two knocks later the door opens. Nadeem steps through the door and as his foot passes the threshold the runes flare and he clutches at his chest and drops to one knee inside a richly appointed living room. From behind a door on the far side of the room a nasally voice calls out, “Who th hell is in my house?”  

Nadeem replies that he is an explorer and the voice tell him he’s a burglar. A short talk follows, with the voice continually berating Nadeem and calling him “dumbass”. Whoever is there is obviously quite amused that their trap almost killed Nadeem.

When the discussion proves tiresome, the voice tells Nadeem to leave, but the Xeph is afraid of the door. When asked, th voice tells him to figure out if the trap is still active or not. The party outside tells him that the runes are still glowing. Fearing the worst, Nadeem steps though, but nothing happens as the one-way trigger fails to operate. The group heals Nadeem and heads back to the North Western bridge to take the left fork.


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## James McMurray (May 18, 2004)

They push their way through the thick branches that have overgrown the bridge, and come out into a well cleared and cleaned area. Up ahead on the bridge are two men wearing brightly colored clothes over leather armor. Nadeem drops into a fighting stance but the man on the right calls out, “Hello there! Welcome to Rusva Nias!”

Taken aback at the friendly greeting, the party parlays with caution. They find out that these men work for Conrad, who was trapped here by the elves before their city fell. Conrad supplies them with food, drink, and even women (but only when asked for). In return they greet travelers and take them to meet Conrad.

The party decides to use these two as their path to the chained being and see what happens.

The two ex-bandits lead the group past a well-kept noble’s tree house and into the palace. At the bottom of a flight of stairs the party finds a shut door whose archway is covered in runes. They are leery of walking through, but the two men spur them on and lead the way. Seeing it is safe the group continues into the palace’s basement / dungeon.

The large chamber at the base of the stairs is large but sparsely furnished. The outer area is empty wood, but the center contains a fine rug, bookcase, desk and bed. Seated at the desk is a slender man with pointed ears. He is tied to a ring in the floor by two tiny ribbons of silk, and his head is slumped forward over the desk in weariness.

Between the group and Conrad stands a large ogre dressed in silver and iron piecemeal armor. The ogre turns towards the elf. “Pardon me sir, but it appears that you have visitors.” Conrad looks up and his eyes brighten.

“Hello there good sirs. What brings you here?”

The party explains that they are exploring, and they learn of the treachery of the nobles and the pact that brought the city prosperity and then ruin. Conrad offers to fulfill their wishes however he can if they would free him. But it will not be easy, as the ribbon is immune to nonmagical attack and encased in an antimagic shield.

Nadeem has heard legends of soul knives who could create their mind blades even with no energy in the air, and he tries. The first time he swings his blade it fizzles into nothingness and Conrad’s spirits drop. But the second time it slices cleanly through the ribbon.

Out of the corner of their eyes the party sees the ogre grow slightly larger and his head grow slightly bigger. Its wish to be smarter and stronger is being fulfilled. Nadeem swings again and the second ribbon breaks.

Conrad shouts in joy and triumph, and then hi face becomes business. “I have promised you a boon, what would you have of me?”

Nadeem wishes to be more agile, and it is so. Lord Djonnimar revels his inner desires by wishing for riches. The large sack of platinum coins that appears at his feet is almost too heavy for him to carry. Vides wishes to be more charismatic and stronger, and it is so.

Tor and The Duerf are torn as to what to ask for, and so Conrad gives them each a small silver rod. He tells them to break it when they have decided and he will come to them. He thanks the party again, and learning that they are mercenaries tells them he will come to them if he finds himself in need of aid. He then tell them that he is ready to exact his revenge, but will wait until the party has left the city before completing the bargain. 

Ever vengeful, the party heads to the roof of the palace with the intent to hunt down and kill all of the griffins. But when they get there and find at least 4 griffins sitting in nests and 5 more circling lazily in the sky, they decide to just leave. 

As their feet hit the ground by the ladder into Rusva Nias, the ground behind them erupts in a curtain of fire. The flames shoot to the sky, and when they subside there is only ash. Rusva Nias is no more.


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## James McMurray (May 18, 2004)

The day after the party's return from Rusva Nias, Tahm receives a sealed and stamped letter from the Castellan.

Dearest Lord Djonnimar,

The Castellan graciously requests your presence tomorrow at the noon hour. You may bring your mercenary group if you wish, as it is a matter of business.

Jarvis Ketch,
Advisor to Castellan Woodridge

Tahm tells everyone else about it, and the group goes into the Inner Bailey the next day. The grounds of the bailey are trampled flat, and a quick glance around shows this to have been caused by troops. Across the inner bailey are several large groups of men practicing horseback fighting, halberd formations, archery, and the heavy crossbow. A single strip of lush green grass leads from the wrought iron gate to the front of the Castellan's Castle.

The group is ushered inside and into a large meeting hall. At the head of a table sits a smallish man, who looks up as the mercenaries enter. "Welcome friends, As you probably already surmised, I have a business proposition for you. Recently a band of slavers have been raiding near Corbet, the last stop on the supply lines into our keep. Although they have not impacted trade to here, it is not something I'd like to see continued. I have learned that they base themselves in my lands, and they have not contribute the proper percentages of taxes. As such, I would like to make an example of them. That is where you come in.

"We have an inside man in their organization, and he has supplied us with maps both to their encampment in a temple, and a map of the temple itself. He has also assured me that one week from today he will be able to divert the main bulk of the guards to outside duties. He is not sure how long he will be able t keep them out, but it should make it slightly easier for you to move about the place. Not everyone will be gone, but at least the armed patrols around the halls will be.

Unfortunately our man has not been there long enough to gather full details of the dungeon beneath the church where the group's leaders are holed up, but I am quite confident in your ability to handle whatever they have down there.

Although it appalls me to have to resort to such measures, the only thing that these men will understand is brutality. I ask that you plant the heads of the group's leaders on pikes outside the front of the temple. Then open this bottle and return here when it is done.

I can pay you in coin or goods, whichever you prefer. My associate Mr. Ketch s skilled in the ways of artifice, and can provide you with psionic goods if that is what you wish. If not, 5,000 gold shall be your bounty. And of course you may keep anything that you find there, but for one item. One of the leaders is wearing a ring that I would have. Bring it to me and I shall give you another 1,000 gold as payment. The ring is solid platinum and bears the symbol of a falling comet.

Are these terms acceptable to you Lord Djonnimar?"


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## omrob (May 18, 2004)

*Oh yeah...*



			
				James McMurray said:
			
		

> Are these terms acceptable to you Lord Djonnimar?"




_[Low-Level Character replies]_ "Oh yeah, that'll be fine." 

I like this party's use of "tactical redeployment" as needed. Federico is always ready to get the upper hand miles away from harm.


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## James McMurray (May 21, 2004)

Federico?

EDIT: Sorry, I just saw your sig. 

I've been impressed witht he party's tactics this campaign as well. In general our group is a "kill 'em all in as up-front a manner as possible" type of game.


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## James McMurray (Jun 6, 2004)

Tahm agrees, and the group is given a rough map of the slavers’ base. It is a burnt out stronghold to the South east of Ironside Keep. They are told that the map was delivered to them by carrier pigeon from an insider in the slaver base. The informant was to follow the map in with more detailed information, but only managed to send a note giving a time and day when guard patrols would be weakened. The party sets out, and finds themselves at a secret back entrance the day of the diversion.

Tor takes the lead, and opens the door. Behind is another secret door, but this one is not hidden from this side. When Tor moves to open it, a loud SPRANG is heard, and a spiked board slams itself through the door into Tor’s arm. However, he is unharmed due to his psychic vigor. The group moves inward.

To the right is a room with a boarded up door, which the party decides to leave alone. Their map shows the door opening into a large courtyard with no other exists. To the left they find a room with a door whose hinges and metal fittings have melted, firmly securing the door. Tor slams his shoulder into the door and is surprised when it falls inward with little resistance. He stumbles, but maintains his footing, just in time to see 3 rotting mobile corpses leap from ledges above. The stench threatens to overwhelm the mercenary band, but they persevere.

Tor is clawed by one of the creatures and an unnatural chill fills his bones, dropping him to the floor. The rest of the group moves up, and although Duerf succumbs to the stench and Tahm is paralyzed by the cold, the party still manages to destroy the foul ghouls and their ghast master.

After a few moment the two fallen member stand back up, and the group presses onwards. In th next room they find that the floor has collapsed and a makeshift bridge of beams goes across a cellar thirty feet down below. Tor tries to take the right-hand wall, but falls into the cellar. Nadeem eases across the left hand wall and then tosses Tor a rope. The remainder of the group easily navigates the left-hand wall. Up ahead  they find a large patch of sunflowers growing in a lightless room. Tor’s eyes waver and shift, and he sees a party filled with good food and even better women. He walks in and begins to mingle, confusing his friends.

The plant in the room lashes out with several mind blasts, and a pale gray work whose head is a mass of teeth slithers out from behind it. The battle rages and the large plant is beaten into quiescence. The party continues forward and into the stables, where they kill several ½ orcs. One of them tries to flee, but Lord Tahm lays him low with an energy missile.

They continue their exploration, killing a few more ½ orcs and exploring a large garden. Lord Tahm moves ahead and the plants of the garden move to block his retreat. Trusting in his friends to catch up to him, Tahm continues and checks out the crypt. Inside he finds stairs leading downward, and a flesh harrower intent on devouring him. He begins to fight defensively and awaits his friends’ arrival.


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## James McMurray (Jun 6, 2004)

His friends arrive and kill the harrower with very little damage to Tahm himself. As the battle ends, a dark-skinned dwarf stomps his foot and appears in the middle of the room next to Vides. The dwarf wears brightly colored full plate and carries a large shield. In a cheery but somewhat manic voice he says, “Hello there friend. Welcome to the slaver’s outpost! I’m Argol, and you must be the raiders sent by Castellan Woodridge. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to explain the map, but I was engaged in the pressing business of distracting the guards. I’m not sure how long they’ll remain gone, but for now we should have fairly free run of the joint.”

The group introduces themselves warily, and heads down the stairs into unlit caverns with their new companion in tow. They learn that Argol was not trusted enough to travel unattended in the lower levels, instead being always blindfolded except when talking to the leader or his second in command. Without a guide, they follow their maxim “right is right.” Turning right, they find a room filled with spare food, and a trapdoor in the ceiling. They elect to continue exploring the lower level before checking out the hatch.

Back down the tunnel they find a room with a large udoroot and several harrowers. Deciding they do not need to waste resources on an unmoving foe, they flee for now. The flesh harrowers guarding their mother plant do not pursue.

In another small series of caverns, they find and fight several more harrowers. As the battle is joined, it becomes apparent that they have invaded some sort of breeding area, as the large toothed-mawed worms pour out of every tunnel into their room. It is a long and hard fight, and the party is sore pressed. They manage to survive with no casualties, but it has taken so much of their resources that they are forced to leave the area. They know that when they return they’ll be unable to count on not having any patrols roaming the halls and tunnels.

They return to camp and decide that The Duerf should remain behind and safe. He will act as a bas camp and medic of sorts, where the party can return for healing should they need it.


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## James McMurray (Jun 6, 2004)

The next day the group slips back into the slaver’s stockade. The upper area is still empty, and they head down the stairs again. Exploring a few dead ends, they finally come across a strange room. 

A sewer moat surrounds a central platform, with four bridges at each cardinal point. In the center is a man standing beside a desk. All around is a small flock of what looks to be lamprey eels. The eels burrow up and down through the ground, swimming through earth like fish. Also in the room are eight orcs: four in the front of the room and four I the back. All eight hold crossbows at the ready.

The scouting Nadeem waves the group forward, and Vides asks if he should send constructs forward first. His call definitely alerts the guards if they were not already aware of the party’s approach. The front four orcs head towards the tunnel and Nadeem puts a soul blade into one’s throat. The others crowd the tunnel, drawing swords and pushing each other in their eagerness to draw blood.

The orcs prove to be no math for Nadeem and an astral construct created by Vides. Before Vides can create another one, the land lampreys burrow up through the ground. One latches onto Argol, but is quickly blasted by Tahm. Another latches onto Tor and begins to suck the lifeblood from the psychic warrior. It is soon killed be Nadeem, but not before it does its dirty work, leaving Tor feeling weakened and fatigued.

Vides sends forth another construct, but two bright flashes explode forth from the room. Nobody sees what happened, but when they enter the room the party finds that there are no more constructs. Vides creates another, and the party moves in to fight orcs and several flesh harrowers who appear to have come through double doors at the far end of the room. 

As they fight, the man that had been standing at the desk appears out of thin air, his fist outstretched towards Nadeem. A shimmering star of fire and light shoots out of a comet signet ring and slams into the soul knife. It explodes in a burst that sends Tor and Nadeem reeling, and also explodes one of the harrowers.

Tor charges the slaver and take a mighty swing. The slaver again raises the ring and a shower of electrical sparks lashes out at Nadeem and Tor, sending their muscles into spasms as the electricity overrides their normal impulses and clenches every muscle tight. They shake it off but are still pained. Tor attacks again but the agile man evades the blows.

Meanwhile Vides’ construct is attacking orcs and flesh harrowers. Orcs die almost instantly but the more resilient harrowers prove tougher to kill. Tahm, unable to get a lear shot, holds back and waits defensively for an opening.

The slaver rumbles away and quaffs a potion, disappearing into thin air. Nadeem hurls his blade to the spot where the man disappeared, and it connects. The results of the blow are unseen, but a grunt of pain lets them know the man is not amused. Throughout the room orcs are dying and flesh harrowers are stubbornly refusing to do the same. 

Vides presses forward through the doorway and enters a hall. At the end of the hall he finds a strange room. The floor is made up of 1’ wide beams. Below floor level are cages holding human prisoners. Balanced on the beams are several orcs and two humans. On wears full plate, the other an aristocrat’s outfit. As Vides calls out his find, the walls of the cages fold upwards, creating a full floor. The full plated warrior charges forward and slams his bastard sword into the wilder, as the floors drop back down. Behind Vides a shimmering curtain of electricity appears, and sparks from it lash out at him.

The man he chased appears again, with his comet ring pointed at Vides. A shimmering orb of light hurtles forth, but misses Vides. The resulting fireball still hurts, but nowhere near as bad as it would have had it been a direct hit. Vides lashes out and kills the enemy. Vides moves up and grabs the ring off of the man’s hand, stowing it in his backpack to deliver to Castellan Woodridge as ordered.

The fight with the warrior continues and the rest of the group moves forward, except for Tor, who fights a seemingly unending battle with the remaining harrower, both combatants unable to land a telling blow. 

Tahm tries twice to remove the curtain of energy but fails, and he decides to step though. He comes out he other side with muscles clenched tight, and the enemy psion creates another wall of electricity, trapping Tahm, Vides, and the warrior. Their battle is waged across the double-doored passageway, and doors are both opened and closed to block escape routs and wall emanations.

The enemy psion’s head pokes itself out of the floor between the two walls of electricity, and he tries unsuccessfully to brain lock Vides. The enemy fighter is killed, and one of Tahm’s energy rays passes harmlessly through the incorporeal foe.

The rest of the group finally arrives at the battle, and Nadeem’s mind blade strikes home, slamming into the bodiless foe. Finding himself outnumbered, the slaver flees through the floor.

The group pushes forward into the room, with Nadeem easily balancing his way across he beams to a door. Inside the door is a flesh harrower and several metal levers. The harrower lashes out at Nadeem, who is hurt but avoids falling. Tor run around the walls and into the chamber. The two psychics easily finish off the harrower, and operate the levers to raise the floors so the remainder of the party can catch up.

In the next room the party finds more cages filled with slaves, as well as two storage rooms. The slaves have not seen the enemy’s flight, sot he party decides to flee the slaves and retreat to rest. They use rope found in the storage rooms to free the slaves from the pit room, and lead them all to the surface.

On the way out they are attacked by more of the land lampreys. Several of the slaves are killed, and Tor is yet again sucked on. This time he is left almost dead, and the group flees the surviving lampreys in the corridor. They reach the top without further incident, and return to The Duerf’s base camp. The slaves are given directions back to town and sent on their way. Lord Djonnimar tells them the if any of them are looking for work, they can contact him. A few express interest.


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## James McMurray (Jun 6, 2004)

The next day the group returns and luckily avoids guard patrols. Having fully explored the underground area they head to the trap door they found. Direction sense tells them that it will most likely open into the section of the stockade that was separated from where they snuck in.

Above the trap door is a hallway, which Nadeem scouts out. He finds one burnt out room with fallen and rickety beams, which he elects not to explore. The earlier experiences with rubble filled rooms has made hi wisely cautious. Heading back the other way down the hall he finds a door, behind which can be heard guttural voices. He waves the party forward and Vides summons a construct with the orders to go in and attack.

Nadeem opens the door. Inside are two half-orcs and several humans. One half-orc is wearing studded leather armor and cracking a whip at the human slaves that are shackled to the walls. The other is wearing full plate and giving him orders.

Vides’s construct follows its orders, moving into the room and attacking the first thing it can reach: a chained human. Unfortunately, Vides’s surge dazed him and he cannot call the creature off.

Nadeem moves in and throws his blade at the one brandishing the whip. Tor also moves in and meets the full-plated warrior in battle. In unison, the humans chained to the walls reach behind themselves and draw short swords from hidden recesses. Their fake chains are pulled from the walls and they move in to attack.

The half-orc with the whip drops his prop and draws a sword, moving into position to flank Nadeem. When he gets there, he plants his blade firmly into the soul knife’s side. The warrior priest also attacks, missing the agile xeph.

Tahm moves forward and begins systematically killing humans with energy missiles, while Vides regains his senses and attacks as well. It isn’t long before the false slaves and their “masters” are all lying dead on the floor.

Continuing his scouting Nadeem finds a section of hallway with a collapsed floor. Raw sewage floats through the tunnel below, and at the far end is a door. Electing not to swim to the door, he returns to the room and opens the only remaining exit.

Behind the door is an ancient garden. The trees are all dead and bare, and the ground is choked with weeds. Sitting in the trees are four filthy winged women. Despite their hideous appearances, their voices raise in captivating song, and everyone but Lord Djonnimar finds themselves drawn inexorably towards the women. 

Tor is the first to reach his goal, and he is welcomed there with two sound blows from a club. The song continues, and he waits patiently for his mistress to rain more wonderful blows upon his head.

Lord Tahm moves forward and energy missiles two of the harpies. The are wounded but not killed, and the harpies leave off from killing their captivated prey. Swooping and dodging, they assault the kineticist. Each one in turn flies past him, swinging with her club, landing blows more often than not. In return, Tahm lashes out with blasts of fire. The harpies seem to have learned quickly that if they are too close he can hit both of them. One of the harpies dies, and her captive is freed. With more than one person attacking, the group soon overwhelms the remaining harpies. As the group searhes the area, Argol moves back into the room with the dead slaves and searches one of the ha;f-orc bodies briefly, before returning to the group empty-handed.

They proceed cautiously through the remainder of the garden, but not before Tor takes the opportunity to do a little scouting. He runs up the wall and onto the roof, where he spies a courtyard. Inside are several orcs and half-orcs. They are near overturned tables and the half-orcs are manning a large contraption. A covered wagon with a large bellows points towards the doorway.

The group gathers together and heads in for their assault. Nadeem moves forward, drops prone, and opens the door. Several crossbow bolts fly over his head, and alchemist’s fire splashes near his head. The group moves in and makes short work of their foes, leaving the courtyard smoking from where the liquid fire dropped.

A closed portcullis blocks the exit to the courtyard, but large double doors draw the explorers forward. Nadeem opens the door, finding a long hallway lined with alcoves. In each alcove is a statue. The statues alternate between orcs and gargoyles. Each orc holds a different weapon, poised to attack the hall, while each gargoyle is perched on its toes, ready to pounce.

Fearing a magical trap, Tor buffs himself up and moves in. He destroys the first two statues with no resistance, and then decides just to hit each one once, reckoning that if it is actually alive, it will react when hit. He moves forward and hits 12 of them, with Tahm at his side. When he moves to hit the 13th several gouts of fire lash out at the surrounding statues. Each statue rocks on its base and falls forward. One brushes strongly against Tor, and another drops squarely onto Tahm, crushing him beneath its weight. The rest of the group (except Vides) moves forward.

At the far end of the corridor are two more double doors. When they are opened, the party finds themselves in a large altar room. Raised high on a dais is a statue of a bloated bat-winged, goat-headed man brandishing a sword over his head.

Arranged in fighting positions are 3 full plated half-orcs. Behind them and to the right of the dais stands a woman in full plate. Behind them and to the left of the altar is a human wearing a scholar’s outfit.

Nadeem and Tor move in, Tor’s charge killing a fighter before he can even react. Nadeem’s soul blade slams into the priestess, but she recovers quickly. A shimmering wall of electricity appears across the doorway, blocking the remainder of the group’s access. Meanwhile in the hallway, Argol unleashes a fearsome mind thrust at Vides. The strong-willed wilder shakes it off and calls out the treachery before returning fire with a crystalline shard. 
Just when the group begins to realize that they are out-numbered and out-gunned, a huge troll jumps out from a tiny poor box beside the entryway, blocking off Nadeem’s retreat. The party decides to exercise the better part of virtue and everyone makes for the exits. Tor rushes through the shimmering wall of sparks and comes out the other side shaken but not badly hurt. Nadeem tumbles around the troll, which takes a swipe at him but misses. The priestess attempts to stop his escape with a blast of sound that leaves him shaken. It fails to stun him as intended though.

Out in the hallway, the scholarly human has walked casually through the wall of sparks unharmed. He tries in vain to lock Vides’ brain in place, which would leave him as easy prey for the remainder of the group.

Out in the courtyard Tor speeds his escape by heading over the walls and out into the surrounding wilderness. He makes for camp to meet the party later. As he flees, he looks over his shoulder and sees the scholarly psion flying through the roof and over the courtyard. As the party flees under him, the psion again tries to grab a mind, but Nadeem shrugs the assault off and continues his flight. The psion dips through the floor, and when Nadeem rounds a corner he sees a familiar head poking out of a wall. This time he is unable to shake off the assault, and he stops in his tracks, mindless and dazed.

Lord Tahm rounds the corner and sends a small gout of flames towards the head, the last of his power for the day. It splashes against the wall harmlessly, and when the psion sends Nadeem into the future with Time Hop, Lord Djonnimar knows he will be unable to save the Xeph and flees.

A little over a minute later Nadeem returns to the time stream and finds himself yet again held frozen by the mind of his powerful adversary. The full plated fighters grab his unresponsive form and carry it back to the altar room. The priestess reaches into a hidden cubbyhole behind the statue and draws forth a pulsating and slimy egg sac. She breaks it next to Nadeem’s arm and he can only watch helplessly as a fist-sized slug ozzes out and onto his hand. It slowly makes its way under his shirt, where it nestles itself comfortably up against his spine. 

He feels the slightest of pricks, less than that of a hungry mosquito, and suddenly he is in heaven. This creature is not disgusting at all. It is in fact his only true friend, the love of his life, and the only family he has ever had all rolled into one. For the love of this heavenly being Nadeem will do anything. He looks around the room as his newfound friends welcome him to the fold.


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