# Annals of Rabirius, Magus of the Lyceum Arcani



## Noltelix (Jun 6, 2005)

Rabirius - Beginnings, a first entry

For reasons I shall address later, it has fallen to me to be record keeper for our band of adventurers. I should begin with an apology however, for I must relate a tale that has already begun, and I start in its midst...

Some background...It began on a normal summer night in the United States of America. Several of my friends, known formerly as Dave, Shane, Jim, Wes, and myself (Ryan) entered another friend(Matt)'s basement to play D&D. While we waited for our DM (Matt) to join us, we talked of beginning a new campaign, being fresh out of school, and enjoying our summer vacations. After some time, though, when Matt never appeared, we became concerned. Looking around we realized that we were in fact no longer in the same basement, though it looked vaguely similar. Intrigued and a little scaried, we made our way out of the corner in which we'd been waiting to discover a shocking sight. Several men dressed in black and freshly dead were impaled before us on spikes that had shot up through the floor. Infront of them was an open safe, behind them an open window. It seemed like an easy scene to piece together (these were thieves trying to rob this house and had been caught in the act, but we were still confused as to where exactly we were...afterall, who kept spike traps in their basement?) After some debate we decided to take what was in the chest (a long object wrapped in thick cloth) and make for the window. Hearing noises upstairs we did this quickly and ran from the house, into a thick wood. Looking back from the house we'd just exited it became quite clear (as if men in black cloaks and spike traps were not enough) that we were no longer in our small town in southern New Jersey, just across the delaware from Philadelphia. This was another world entirely

There is much to tell, and I apologize for not being more detailed, but this is a recount from several months ago straight from memory and, as I said I was not originally to be the records keeper, though I shall do my best.

To make a long sotry short, we discovered that we were in the small mining town of Duvik's Pass in the middle of intense political strife between the locals and the ruling Hellic Empire, which had recently taken an interest in the silver mines just out of town. It went deeper then politics, as the priests of the imperial god Helios were at odds with the locals who worshipped a nature deity (Oberon) and wanted the empire out. We at first sided with the locals, but then were arrested by the empire and taken by the imperial Lord Mayor of Duvik's Pass (Christofarius Sendar) to the closest empireoutpost, a citadel by the name of Kerrak. While traveling, Christofarius informed us that we were not the only people of things to suddenly appear in this world from other places entirely. He was under orders to find such people and take care of them from the Emperor himself (a man called Tarquinius, many thousands of miles away in the capital and center of the empire, Heliopolis) Christofarius informed us that we could enroll at one of several guilds in Kerrak to recieve training, that we may better serve the empire. We agreed, eager to gain skills and knowledge (though as to whether we would use those skills to aid the empire remained to be seen). Myself, Jim, and Shane joined the Lyceum Arcani, a guild dedicated to magic and spellcraft. In doing so, I decided to shed my mundane old name ("Ryan") and took up the name of Rabirius, Jim similarly became Firanus. Shane chose to remain Shane. My other two friends joined Custos Hellica, a guild dedicated to skill at arms and honor. Wes and Dave became Villaeus and Wildcat. Shane later joined the Templum Hellica, the state religion, making him a priest of Helios (he holds membership in both Lyceum Arcani and Templum Hellica). Wildcat similarly gained dual membership in Custos Hellica and Lyceum Arcani. Thus was the table set for our training to commence.

That was several months ago and we have seldom had more then a few days' rest between excitement of some sort. Our skills have developed since that time as well. Bringing the reader up to date...

Villaeus is a fearsome fighter by our standards. He has learned to tap into a burning hate that seemingly roils within him and fights with the rage of a mighty barbarian. This is a blessing and a curse, however, as he is quick to anger and often scares more people then he should. He is a powerful ally, if frightening at times.

Wildcat is skilled with both bow and spells. A master of Illusions specifically, he also makes use of many charming effects. With his mindbending powers of charm and illusion, he is certainly a dangerous foe. When the situation calls for brute force (something he seems able to avoid almost always) he can make use of his long bow and is deadly from afar.

Shane, being a priest of Helios is the only magical healer among us. His spells can produce terrible pain as well however, as he is also a mage (favoring Ice as his damaging element). An aspiring bowmen as well as mage and priest, he is easily as capable of bringing pain to his enemies as he is at relieving it in his allies.

Firanus is a magus of great intelligence. The smartest of our group, easily, he favors Fire as his element of destruction. His keen mind allows him to Divine and Scry as well, often solving problems we encounter in our travels. He has taken a Raven familiar, though the bird is not yet used to its new master (Firanus is generally seen covered in Raven fesces).

Finally Rabirius, myself. I am, as Firanus, a Magus purely. I dabble in many disciplines, not specializing in any, but of late I have become very interested in the transformative potency of magic. I intend to persue the transforming of myself, others, and objects further when I get a chance. When pressed, I rely on the forces of elemental air to damage my foes. I have recently aquired a squirrel familiar. The poor creature is quite afraid and unsure of his situation, preferring to stay in my pocket so far. I trust in time he will come to understand.

That is the current makeup of our party, though we have recently added two female thieves (we caught them trying to steal from us while we slept and though Villaeus nearly crushed their skulls on the spot, we decided to enlist their aid in the dungeon we are currently exploring). A word about our current quest: we are seeking a ruby known as "My Lady's Heart", we expect that it is here but have not yet located the stone. We have been inside several days and have encounters many enemies, as well as a few friends. I will describe in detail below...

We entered through a swamp, coming into the mountains and finding this abandoned keep two or three (I believe three) days ago. We left our guide outside with Villaeus' horse and decided that he was to wait until one day had passed and if we did not return, he would go home. Inside we found our way barred by several portcullises (and eventually would find many more behind them). Working together, we were able to lift them alright and made our way into the keep. The first resistance we encountered came from an unexpected source. A small crystal clear pool lay in a natural rock chamber. Villaeus ended up falling in (trying to walk around the narrow ledge to get behind it) as did Firanus who was following him. Suddenly, bubbles attacked the two of them. Villaeus managed to pull himself out, but Firanus was stunned and began sinking toward the bottom of the pool. Thinking heroically, Wildcat tied a rope around his waist, handed it to Shane and myself and dove in after our comrade. He grabbed Firanus and was them stunned himself, but we pulled them both out by the rope, Wildcat hugly tightly to Firanus. After that it was a simple matter to pop the bubbles with my walking stick as they floated on the surface. Moving on, the next peril we ecnountered was a room filled with purple moss. It smelled very sweet, but as Shane moved carefully into the room to investigate, he suddenly collapsed, falling dead asleep. We pulled him out and Wildcat then remembered that he had heard in his researching of dungeoneering that Purple Moss is a dangerous plant that causes victims to sleep and then eats their flash. Intrigued, I scraped a sample off the wall, and put it into my plastic Dannon water bottle (it had been with me when we crossed over). We soon found another room filled with the moss. this one had a dead body in the corner and Villaeus and Firanus (seemingly against logic) felt compelled to enter the room to search the body. They found nothing, but did manage to cover themselves in the dangerous moss. We scraped it off them as best we could (the moss would rise again, however). 

Shortly thereafter, we found a torure chamber with fresh blood on the floor. It didn't take long to discover its spiller, as a crazed man with a bloody cleaver came charging from down the hall, screaming madly. We closed and barred the door to buy some time. He seemed intent on getting in and would not leave, so we prepared to fight him. I cast spells to boost the fighting skills of the party, as well we enhancing Villaeus' weapon, Firanus enchanted the weapon of Villaeus as well with a fire spell. Thus prepared, we took our positions and Villaeus opened the door. Even our preparation couldn't prevent Villaeus from taking a cleaver to the face as soon as the door was cracked, but he struck back at the man mightly, yelling his rage and inflicting what should have been a terrible blow. The frenzied man seemed not to notice. We mages pummeled him with our deadliest spells, but still the man looked unfazed...his body was in bad shape, but he refused to notice. Again he struck out at Villaeus, but Villaeus' response was furious. He drove his mace deeply into the mans skull, dropping the freak instantly, and stood breathing heavily over the now prone body as he came out of his bloodfrenzy (none of us dared touch him while he was in such a state). Taxed from the bubbles, the moss, and the crazy man, we found a clean room (presumably the man's sleeping chambers) and decided to rest for the day. In searching the room we discovered that the man was called Travis. We also found the treasure he had been raving about as he attacked us; a small ornate box with 2 rubies, 1 large emerald, and a jewled dagger. We escorted our guide into the dungeon and all slept in Travis' bedroom, with the doors barred.

In the morning we took the guide back outside and told him to wait another day. Villaeus' horse (Cherokee) was missing, and our guide said he would look for the horse while we were inside. We went back inside, exploring tunnels we had not yet traveled. Before we had gone too far, howver, Villaeus tripped a trap and both he and Wildcat were caught in the effect, shrinking down to about 6 inches. About the same time we noticed that the moss had covered Firanus and Villaeus over night and the could feel it beginning to itch, no doubt it would start eating them soon. We couldn't scrape it off, so protective spells were cast on Firanus and we put a torch to the moss. This worked well and Firanus emerged unscathed. We duplicated the procedure for 6 inch Villaeus. However, they were both now naked so we headed to Travis's room to get some new clothes for them. Firanus found a set but Villaeus was forced to settle for a sock until he returned to normal size. Heading back down the same tunnel, we eventually encountered goblins. Shane showed them the goblin dagger he had recieved from an eariler exploit, marking him as Goblin-friend and they proved to be quite helpful. They told us of the makeup of th dungeon, warning us of the dangers upstairs (monsters they called "Ubwehs"), as well as a ghost in another part. We took our leave of the goblins after investigating the ghost room (a bath house). We found a golden key and a keyhole in the floor, but we feared to open it after one of Firanus' divinations implied we would likely be attacked if we did. We decided to come back to it later. In another part of the keep, we discovered a heavily barred and locked door. Using a mirror slipped under the door, we determined it was a few inches thick, but had open space behind it. Villaeus agreed to let Firanus teleport him beyond the door. After a few tries he got through and discovered a series of jail cells. He was unable to open the door from with in, and called to Firanus to join him on the inside (Firanus complied). In the cells they found all full of dead bodies but one. That one had two monkeys in it as well as steel chests. Firanus used his fire roast the monkeys after they stole the Everburning Torch (my Everburning Torch) that Villaeus had carelessly held too close to the bars (there is now a bunrt monkey palm seared into the handle of my torch...Villaeus holds it now). Firanus spent a good deal of his magical energy teleporting himself, Villaeus, the chests, and the fried remains of two monkeys out of the jail and back into the chamber where the rest of us waited (Shane had been entertaining us with shadow puppets). We were unable to spend much time trying to open the chests before we heard voices coming. Wildcat used his magic to conceal out presence and the men left in confusion, sure they had heard something. Fearing they would bring others, we quickly left that area, finding another natural cave, this one with a barred window on the far wall, leading to an area of stinking black water. 

Shane volunteered to check it out, so I turned him into a snake, allowing him to get through the bars easily. Villaeus wanted to go as well, so I did the same for him. As Villaeus went through the bars, tho, Shane was attacked by a monsterous crocodileish monster, narrowly avoiding its jaws. The beast could only be called an abberation, possessing 8 eyes, and 4 jaws (two openening normally, and two more laterally). As Shane bolted for the grate, Villaeus, conviced his could destroy the beast stayed inside, breaking my spell and turning back into a human. I thought this a terrible idea, but tried to help him as best I could if he was determined to fight the thing. I cast my buffing spells and prepared to attack the beast with magic when it reappeared. It did reappear, and though Villaeus delt it a mighty blow, it dragged him down into the water. Firanus teleported just inside the grateing and began madly teleporting huge portions of the black water outside onto our heads (we then discovered the nature of the color and smell...this was sewage water...Wildcat was sick and threw up several times after swallowing a good deal of the sewage water). After several tries (those outside had retreated to the far end of the room) Firanus jumped into the water and cast his spell, this time finding the Crapodile (as we affectionately called it) and Villaeus in its jaws, almost out of breath and almost dead. With the beast in the open, we layed into it, managing to kill it before it could grab anyone else, but it was too late for Villaeus. (Here I might add, is the point at which I became the scribe. Villaeus had been doing it, but not only was he dead, his notebook now lay ruined, completely covered in sewer water. Shane told us he could raise Villaeus, but at great cost (both personally, for it was sap much of his life force, and monetarily for it required a great sacrifice of valuables). We pooled together all of our plunder to date...the rubies, the emerald, the jewled dagger, another dagger, the contents of the chests from the jail cell (we pried them open to find coins, weapons, and jewlery), as well as the gold from our pockets. With all the valuables arranged before him Shane used an excruciating technique, whereby the caster uses his own life force to enhance the spell being cast and allow him to cast spells far more powerful then he normally could, to raise Villaeus from the dead. Soon after this ordeal, we heard a group of men coming again, this time there were more of them. 

We confronted them this time, and they revealed themselves to be clerics of some elemental order. They cared for a temple on the second level and told us we were free to loot and steal anything from the first level, but that we may not go up to the second or they would be forced to kill us. They left us and we were convinced that they were hiding something. We resolved to finish searching down here, but if we failed to find the ruby we would have to go upstairs. Going back to the goblins' area to rest, we were awakened from our sleep by 2 young women, apparently in the process of stealing our posessions. We easily convinced them to drop their weapons once we were all awake (except Wildcat who slept through the whole ordeal) and though Villaeus was close to killing them on the spot, we decided that some of their ilk might be beneficial to our efforts in the dungeon. With caution, we agreed to travel together as we both sought My Lady's Heart and could use each others' help. I have been keeping my eye on them, and still do not fully trust them, but they have proven worthy companions thus far. 

With a larger party, we decided to test the ghost, taking the key and fitting it into the hole. This revealed another keyhole on the wall, which we (Villaeus) summarily fitted with the key. Upon doing this, the wall dissappeared and revealed a floating glowing sword. Firanus identified some illusionary contingencies on the weapon, so we proceeded with caution. The rest of us left the room, standing in the doorway, as Firanus telekinatically lifted the sword. As soon as he did this, the fall wall came to life and a mosaic of a man in armor stepped out of the wall and charged, driving straight for Villaeus who was in front. Luckily he missed his mark and was hit by a battery of spells, as well as Villaeus' sword. The mosaic knight fell, becomeing a lifeless mosaic again and Villaeus picked up the sword (he wields it now).

We made our way to where we knew the entrance to the 2nd level to be, fighting several Raiments (undead spirits inhabiting otherwise empty clothing, grappling with and choking their victims). Wildcat was able to daze them and I blasted most of them to pieces myself. Moving on, we found the entrance (presumably) to the 2nd level...a portcullis blocking stairs. We decided that before we went up stairs we should gather our strenght, for we knew we would encounter stiff resistence. We told our guide still in the swamp to go home (we'd be several more days and we believed we could find our way back...no sense in paying the man when we don't need to). We went back inside to rest before ascending to the upper level, we are doing so now, it is my watch as I write this journal, though thankfully I shall soon get some sleep, the next watch will come shortly, when I wake Wildcat.


 - Rabirius, entry the First


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## Noltelix (Jun 9, 2005)

*A treasure found*

Rabirius, a treasure found

I write this newest entry from the comforts (at last) of my room at the Stag and Raven Inn, within the walls of Citadel Kerrak. It is good to be back in the city, and I am eager to begin further training at the Lyceum, but first I must relate the duration of my stay at the keep of Lady Argenta...

After resting in a side room with several couches, we made ready to ascend the stairs. The adventures of the day began with a bad omen, as we were unable to close the portcullis gently enough to prevent a resounding crash (a problem we have been having frequently of late). Reaching the top of the stairs we found yet another portcullis and heard the door just beyond being barricaded to a chorus of "ubweh ubweh ubweh"...we had discovered the Ubwehs. We knew from the goblins that these things were susceptable to bribes, so, taking a chance, Firanus teleported inside the room to negotiate with the beasts (bringing with him a beautiful crystal goblet). After giving the gift and with some crude hand gestures, he convinced the Ubwehs to open the door and allow us to pass, although they demanded separate payments from each of us (I parted with my jar of blackberry jam, which they seemed to enjoy greatly). Getting a look at the beasts, finally, they were indeed a sight to behold. Each had three heads and three arms, standing roughly 8 feet tall on average. Though I was initially upset to be losing some of our plundered loot, I must say I thought bribery seemed prefferable to fighting once I saw a roomfull of the mutated giants, all wielding 3 clubs.

Having made it beyond the Ubwehs, we were at last on the second floor, still 7 strong (myself, Villaeus, Wildcat, Firanus, Shane, and our two female companions Duchess and Candella). We found several empty rooms with nothing extraordinary until, at the end of a long hall we found a sizable terrace, overgrown from many years of being ignored. More then a few plants were identified as "Archer Bushes" by wildcat (one of them nearly sinking its thorns into Shane and myself). I soon learned of another threat in the garden, as a Bloodsucking Jupiter Vine (I believe that is what he called it) entangled me and shortly after Shane while we searched the garden. Luckily our friends came to the rescue, for it proved more then a match for us (we were unable to cast spells within its grasp). Soon after we found a closet full of more Raiments (I fear I shall never look at clothes the same way again). We dispatched them again with a small effort (Wildcat was able to daze most of them and my spells seemed quite effective against the monsters as before). What we faced next was the most devious monster of all.

Shortly beyond the Raiment closet, we discovered a large room wherein 10 stocky men surrounded and prodded a crying maiden with spears as she dangled from the ceiling. Well, naturally we all thought immediately to save the poor girl, but as Villaeus charged in and we all engaged the vile men, we realized something was wrong. The men seemed not to notice pain, fighting on though Villaeus had smashed deep into the skull of one, myself and Firanus nailed the same with our most potent spells and watched as it vaporized. We thought this odd indeed, but new not what to make of it when suddenly the 9 remaining men lurched, almost as a unit and grappled Villaeus...some at his legs, some his arms, of his head. To our horror and amazement, we watched the 9 men literally pull him to pieces. They were still hovering over the parts of our fallen comrade, when Shane saw an opening. Bravely, he ran into their midst and released his most potent spell (the deadly "Pain of Shane"). Severely drained, for it took a great deal of his lifeforce, in a flash of freezing ice he brought down all 9 remaining men. It was then that we discovered the deceit. The whole scene had been an illusion, masterminded by a Decapuss (Wildcat explained briefly about the monster, having heard of it). The crying maiden was actually the head of the beast and each of the 10 men was an arm. The vision of Villaeus being rent in two now made alot more sense. Breathing heavily, Shane prepared himself for what he next had to do (Villaeus was still dead), for it would require him to sacrifice even  more of his energy. We gathered the necessary sacrifices and Shane Reincarnated Wes (we agreed before hand that if another death occured, reincarnate was an acceptable recourse, due to the extreme cost of a raise dead spell). Luck, fate, providence, whatever was at work that day, Villaeus returned as a human and we all breathed a sigh of relief (walking back to town next to a Troglodyte would have been interesting indeed).

That done, we were still without the ruby an d our patience was wearing thin. Some were beginning to grumble about returning to town and forgetting about the ruby. Before too much argueing could break out, however, we discovered a very promising secret door. Following it, we found ourselves in a great obsidian tomb, the dead princess Argenta in the middle. Encouraged that we were on the right track, we found in an adjoining room the tomb of the blue and silver knight, so frequently depicted with the princess. One more door in the princess' chamber led to a room with a small box. There was little doubt what was inside after reading the inscription (something about the "second most beautiful thing in the world..."). We boke the glass and took the box (the ruby was indeed within) and were about to make for the door when we heard a ghostly scream. Overcome, Shane and Candella panicked and fled from the chamber, the rest of us deciding to follow suit. Our way became barred, however and we were forced back and through another door, into a room with 3 Ubwehs. Not wanting to fight the Ubwehs and the ghosts, I threw a handful of green glass shards I had collected, and ran past the giant beasts. Another wail from the ghosts (the princess and the knight were both after us) sent me running. When I regained my senses, I heard no further sounds of battle. Cautiously returning I found my friends and a strange cleric (soon identified to me as Cathandramus) who had apparently banished the ghosts back to their tomb. He served the temple of the Elder Elemental Eye and suprisingly (to me) did not seem upset that we had taken the ruby, nor did he seem at all interested in possessing it. We thanked him for his help and took our leave of the keep, choosing to exit through the open garden rather then go through the Ubwehs again and loose more treasure (I allowed everyone to fall gracefully and gently down so no one was injured).

Once we got back to Kerrak, there was some debate over what to do with the gem. Duchess and Candella insisted that their contact to the south would pay more then the empire, but Villaeus (seemingly eager to prove his worth to the empire) convinced us to sell it to governor Octavius, who gave us 100 lbs each, as well as fitting us with the finest equipment from the citadel's stores. I found a nice staff for myself, but donated the rest of my share to my companions (a beautifully crafted longsword I gave to Wildcat, and I forfeited my share of armor so that Villaeus's horse might be fitted with barding). Tomorrow we must sell our loot, and report back to wherever it is we study (the Lyceum for me), but for now some well earned bedrest...

 - Rabirius, entry the Second


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## Noltelix (Jun 14, 2005)

*Seeking the temple*

Rabirius, seeking the temple

After some time spent resting in Kerrak, we have been assigned (at least those of us among the guard) to a new task and sent north once more to investigate the dissapearance of our former patron, Christofarius Sendar, in addition to seeking more information regarding the appearance of a mysterious cult (the Elder Elemental Eye) that we encountered in the princess Argenta's castle, and I do not doubt that Governor Octavius wants us to report on the progress and state of affairs in Duvik's Pass as well. 

We made our way back north to Duvik's Pass (and not without some trepidation, for draped in imperial finery as we were, I was wary of the reception we might receive upon reaching the rebel town). Once we arrived we found the small town greatly changed, having grown to 5x the size it was when we first arrived, and now sporting an imposing outer wall. We managed to get inside and speak to Lady Trelawney without major incident, luckily, and she was dismayed to find out that we were still dealing with the empire as well. She seemed to understand our position, but warned that the time would soon come when maintaining cordial relations with both sides would be impossible. We learned of rumors of an abandoned temple, as well as a ghost town (Nulb), and an old abandoned moathouse that all were potentially suspicious in implicating the growing population of cultists in the region. After a brief information gathering session, we enlisted the aid of another treasure seeker and set off for the temple, deciding to avoid Nulb all together, and thinking that there was not much to the rumors about the old moathouse (most people claimed there was nothing out there).

We steered clear of the town that was rumored to be haunted (there were plenty of screams in the night that helped convince us of those claims). It was not too long before we arrived at the gate of the long abandoned temple, expecting to find goblin men inhabiting the crumbling structure. Before the gates, it was the goblin men that found us, however, as we were ambushed by four of the wretched creatures, Firanus nearly losing his life. We over came the first obstacle and were then faced with the next (a locked front door, leading to a courtyard we knew to be full of more goblin men). With Shane poised on the wall, Firanus teleported the rest of us inside the courtyard and we found oursleves immediately the targets of crossbow fire. Luckily for those of us just inside the door, Shane's bow sang true and he made quick work of the goblin men, not one arrow missing its mark. With each step we took taking us further inside the massive structure, we felt the encroaching press of evil as clearly as a weight on our shoulders. Once inside we discovered a prison holding several goblins and one man. The goblins attacked, but I cast a spell to scare them into submission and the threat (small though it was) was ended with minimal casualties. On a side note, I was pleased with the success of the spell, as it was the first time I got a the cnahce to use it (the basic effect being a loud and terrible dragon's roar, heard by the targets and usually causing them to flee, though if they fight they are noticeably shaken and fight less effectively). 

Almost as soon as we discovered the prisoners, we were faced with a daunting foe. The goblinoid leader (presumably Waddoc, a name we heard while interrogating a godlin man ouside the complex) came from a lower level and brought with him a fearsome pet. A mighty dire ape raged toward us, as well as 4 goblin slaves and the goblin man leader, himself wearing plate mail and carrying a mean looking longsword. As the ape bore down upon us, the goblins and their leader not far behind, we steeled our nerves and made ready. I began casting a spell that would take a bit longer (it is not one of those with which I am well practised), but given the distance I knew I had at least a few seconds before they would be upon us. The charging ape met a raging Villaeus and the too beasts clashed mightily, spilling much blood in the early seconds of the combat. Firanus stepped up beside Villaeus and jabbed the ape with his ranseur (charged with a powerfully explosive fire incantation). To the misfortune of Firanus, he poked the hairy monster in the face, drawing the ire of the beast and with a sudden lunge it had grabbed the poor magus and ripped him asunder. Choking back the sudden urge to vomit, the rest of us fought on, Villaeus battling the monster in melee while Wildcat and Shane poured in arrows from their magically charged bows. At that point the goblins and the leader entered the fray, my spell went off loosing a mighty dragon's roar inside the goblin man's head but although he was shaken he maintained his composure enough to stand and fight. As the fight progressed, Villaeus became pressed on all sides as the goblins and goblin man surrounded him (he still battled the ape). I stepped up to help my friend as he was hit from many directions at once, and became dazed for a few seconds, blasting the goblinoid leader with my most powerful spell (Thundering Palm). As I drove a handful of tightly compressed, fast swirling air into the monster's face, low rumbling thunder sounded and I was sure I had hit the beast hard. Not hard enough I soon found out, as he turned to face me and I felt the bite of that terrible, barbed longsword. To my great forture (for surely I could not stand before this pwoerful monster and hope to survive) our newly aquired companion Shitrillen appeared (seemingly from out of the shadows) and drew some of the goblin man's attention. I was wondering where my magic would best be spent (the ape by this time was down, the goblins were dead or injured badly from an oozeball loosed by the Wildcat, and the leader seemed to be posing the main threat, though I knew there was an invisible spellcaster somewhere in the area as well) when my concentration was broken by an arrow in the back. Stumbling back a few steps I turned to face this new enemy only to see Shane shrugging stupidly. With a scowl I got well clear of the melee so that he could freely shoot without my body getting in his way. Down to my last spell, and with the battle seemingly in hand (Villaeus had recovered and was now whaling on the goblinoid leader as Wildcat and Shane pelted him with missle fire and Shitrillen dancing about looking for an opening in the armor), I cast an invisibility detecting spell on myself and set out in seach of the unseen spellcaster. What I found instead (Shane had come with me) was a nest (not sure what else to call it) of young goblinoid children. I initially thought to leave them be (I was out of magic and they were likely not a real threat I thought) but to our suprise they charged us, following us back to our friends where they soon felt the edge of Villaeus' glowing sword and learned the wrath of Shane's guard dog Buster. 

When the fighting had ceased entirely Shane resurrected Firanus, taking part of his lifeforce to allow the casting, and burning the leader's magical (as we discovered) sword and armor, as well as some coins from Firanus' pocket. Taxed and weary, we rested for the night in what was likely the bedroom of the goblin men we had slain that day. Upon waking we searched the few rooms that we had not the day before and found several collapsed tunnels, and hidden doors that were stuck. It seemed we had exhausted all possible paths within the great temple, so we went outside to investigate the tower we saw. Inside we found 6 goblin men and, though Wildcat gave them the chance to surrendur they attacked and were put down almost immediately (before I could even react to the situation). inside the tower we found a secret door (again leading to collapsed tunnels) and some tresures. Deciding we'd found enough loot to make the trip worthwhile, we journeyed back to Duvik's Pass. We will likely be setting out for the moathouse in the next few days, but for now we are recovering our strength and looking for more information regarding the cultists in town. 

 - Rabirius, entry the Third


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## Noltelix (Jun 16, 2005)

*A plot uncovered*

Rabirius, A plot uncovered

We have spent several days seeking clues pertaining to the existence of cultists in Duvik's Pass, at the behest of Lady Trelawney. Unable to find much information, we caught a break when a man turned himself in, claiming to have been brainwashed by the cultists, and warning of an attack to come. The man's claims were soon corroborated when we uncovered the existence of a doppelganger, posing as the town's druid. He was delt with quickly, but that left the town without a druid and, we feared the conspirators would soon get wise to the situation. Seeing no other options, we resolved to take the place of the druid and see what we might discover...

The first to try taking the place of the mising druid was Firanus, he used a transforming spell in conjunction with an attempt at mundane disguises as applied by Shane. The disguise was innefective, though, and the gardener recognized the facade, but the presence of the same gardener luckily put off the cult contact as well. The next day, the Wildcat took a shot at playing the role, making use of his masterful illusions to perfectly replicate the appearance of the druid. Unfortunately, he was almost caught unaware (I failed to detect the approach of the contact in time to warn Wildcat, clearly a cunning and stealthy foe). The crafty wildcat was able to disguise his voice by pretending to have a cold, and the cult contact seemed convinced. After a short discussion, the women left, we now knew her to be "Maradosan", and had learned several other names from her, as well as some startling news that the leader wanted to move back into the temple (that same temple we had just cleared out) soon. Time was running short. We resolved to incite a somewhat desperate plan, revealing to Maradosan that a pesky group of imperial investigators (us) was getting close and the position of Wildcat posing as a doppelganger posing as the druid may have been compromised, urging Maradosan to contact the leader and ask how to proceed further, thinking to force the hand of the cultists and push them into action prematurely. 

Our investigations in the hours following that last contact have pointed to the mill as a likely hideout for the cult (Maradosan mentioned the problem of hiding the miller's body, and after speaking with lady Trelawney we decided that action had to be taken against the mill). Tomorrow we will attack the mill, and surely we will find stiff resistence, so for now we rest and regain our magical energies (Wildcat and myself have both texed our powers somewhat). With thoughts of assaulting the mill, comes a different question then the whereabouts and plans of the cultists. Our companion Villaeus has been missing for several days. The last we saw of him he very nearly got into an altercation with several bear warriors, before trotting off proudly on his horse, leaving the soldiers of Oberon snarling in his wake. I fear what may have happened to him, too proud to bow his head to any, it seems likely that those same bear warriors may have encountered him again. Should that have happened it is not a far stretch to imagine the scene growning bloody quickly, and though Villaeus was a most capable warrior, and I do not doubt he took several of the guardsmen down with him, he would quickly have been overwhelmed (and any onlookers would be quick to aid the guards against the shining representative of their imperial enemy). I fear we shall not be entering this or any future battles with Villaeus at our side, though I hope am wrong.

- Rabirius, entry the Fourth


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## Noltelix (Jun 29, 2005)

*A Dragon's Humiliation*

Rabirius, A Dragon's Humiliation

We have gone to the moathouse just north of town to investigate the suspected cult presence in the area. Our questions regarding Villaeus were answered when we found him in the jail of Duvik's Pass (again). I helped him escape, but I don't think we'll be seeing much more of him until we return to Kerrak, if then.

Our investigation of the mill proved fruitfull. We managed to take one prisoner as well as confiscate  a note implicating the moathouse as a hideout for cultists. Unfortunately the mill caught fire during our operation and though it was contained, much of the town's supplies went up in the blaze. While interrogations were underway, we discovered the perpetrator to be something more then human (a tiefling), using masking magics to maintain a facade of normalcy. It was then, in the jail, that we found and freed Villaeus (I turned him into a mouse and carried him out). The Tiefling gave up little information, except for informing us of our pending consumption by the Elemental Elder Eye, so we set out to check out the moathouse.

Firanus recruited a Hellic knight to aid our cause (he could do much to aid his own cause by putting down the bottle). Without Villaeus, an extra sword arm was a welcome sight to my eyes, so I was glad to have him along. We set out for the moathouse but stopped about a mile short as night fell, thinking to rest and regain our strength before tackling the crumbling keep. Our night was anything but peaceful, though, as before too many hours had passed we were beset by a most fearsome creature. Baying a frightful howl as it flew nearer, the majority of my companions forgot themselves and fled the beast, leaving myself and Firanus alone with the monster. The Yeth Hound (Firanus later identified it for us) landed in our camp and went straight for Firanus, scoring a direct hit and knocking my friend to the ground. next he came to me and though I managed to get a spell off (my most potent damaging spell, Thundering Palm), the crazed hound was undaunted, biting fiercely at my ankles and tripping me up as well. Firanus was slow to get up and I tried desperately to squirm away from the thing, fearing this may be my end, trying and failing several time to get another spell completed to fight back (it had little trouble hitting me and was making spellcasting rather difficult for me). I finally hit it, clearly wounding it badly and Firanus was at last up, waving his Ranseur about wildly trying to hit the thing to finish it. He missed several times, finally managing to sink the heavy blade deep into flesh...MY FESH! It seems I am perpetually the target of my own companions as well as my enemies. The last thing I saw was a flash of fire as Firanu's charged weapon exploded into my stomache. I drifted into unconsciousness fully expecting not to come back and wondering why the stupid mage hadn't dropped his damn ranseur and simply blasted the beast with one of his Firebolts, which surely would have finished it many seconds earlier (and kept me alive as well).

When i awoke to the tending of Shane I was amazed to hear that tho I had lost consciousness, I had managed to hold onto some measure of life. Luckily he easily healed me (I did not need to be raised). When I looked across the camp at the body of the Yeth Hound (with evidence of severe frost burn on its back), I saw under it the body of Firanus and easily guessed how he had met his end, figuring as well that Shane had returned to finish the monster just as it was finishing off Firanus. As has become the standard, we gathered what belongings we could, and used a portion of Firanus' pocket money and used the combined worth to reincarnate him. Just like Villaeus, he came back as a human (we have been getting quite lucky with that spell). We moved off the road and spent to rest of the night in relative peace, though we were all a bit shaken. In the morning, we found on our way to the keep an old man, who warned us of a dragon (the size of a warhorse) who had taken up residence in the place. Thusly warned, as we neared we prepared to face such a creature as best we could. I cast a spell of courage over the party (in case the dragon prove too fearsome for anyones nerves as had the Yeth Hound), as well as enchanting Shane's bow with the power of wind (so that he might save his spells for healing).

It did not take us long to locate the monster. We found it inside the central building, up in the rafters of the roof. I quickly cast a spell of elemental protection on myself, and spread out from the group, thinking to draw the dragon's breath weapon my way. The dragon, Ushetramon by name we found out, moved quickly to attack the knight of Helios that had accompanied us, dispatching him in only a few quick seconds. I pounded him with a particularly powerful Vortex, turning the beast’s eyes my way. He loosed a crackling bolt of electricity, which was absorbed by my energy buffer, confounding the dragon. His frustration was furthered when his attacks against Shane were foiled by the patented “Shane Shield 2.0”. We brought the dragon too its knees, prompting it to beg for mercy which we granted, and allowed it to slither off in disgrace. The knight of Helios was raised (predominantly with his own equipment), but without his arms and armor, he was not the most useful party member.

The way clear, we descended into the lower corridors of the complex, encountering 2 gnoll guards from which we learned some things about the dungeon. We found a hiding mage in a side room who explained a bit more about the makeup of the dungeon (the clerics of the Elemental All Seeing Eye being holed up due to the dragon). Judging the room to be safe (the mage had been hiding for several days), we decided to rest there. In the morning the knight of Helios left for Duvik’s Pass with the mage and the rest of us continued onward into the depths of the moathouse.

 - Rabirius, entry the Fifth


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## Firanus (Oct 12, 2005)

*Fall of the Fire Temple*

Much has befallen us since our ordeal at the moathouse, 
including the deaths of Shane and Villeaus, and our banishment from Citadel Karek.  
We have also acquired our own keep, located deep in the mountains east of Duvik's Pass.  But those tales are for another time. For now, you shall hear of the

FALL OF THE FIRE TEMPLE

After several weeks spent exploring the dungeons of the Temple of All Consumption, after vanquishing the Air Temple, weakest of the four elemental temples, and after the departure of Dutchess (led by a noble Mountain Man who had been trapped in the endless subterranean labyrinth, our team of five intrepid adventurers found itself at the gates of the Fire Temple, largest and most powerful of the Four.  Wildcat, the warrior mage whose precision sword strikes have ended many a foe; Steve, the heavily armored Knight of Helios, both healing hand and lethal axe; Candala, expert scout and explorer; Rabirius, powerful air mage whose words began this journal; and I, Firanus, equal parts battle mage and arcane scholar, were set to face the most difficult challenge of our lives so far.  

We had warning of what we might face inside the temple, after finding a strange and disturbing Bear Warrior who claimed to be an exile from the temple.  So, augmented by our many powerful defensive, offensive, illusional and temporal magicks and aided by a summoned Guardinal, we charged headfirst into the mouth of the proverbial lion.  We first were met with a sight more disturbing to me than the most horrifying aberration: a praetorian knight guarding the entrance.  But this was not the time for unravelling political intrigues, and so aided by our silence and invisibility we dispatched him out of hand after gaining some valuable information.  Unfortunately, while we stood there debating the best course of action, a fey warrior came upon our position, saw the bloody corpse, and raced into the temple to sound the alarm before any of us could react.  

...So much for secrecy.

Our surprise blown, we raced headlong into the temple in an attempt to catch the alarmed cultist before he could bring down the entire temple on us at once.  The first obstacle we encountered was a large cavern, adorned with a large black marble diamond set in the floor.  At each corner of the diamond was an obelisk at which stood a man-sized fire elemental.  These four creatures were dispatched fairly quickly, again due to our invisibility, and we moved on.  After encountering and eliminating six fire mephits, a hellhound, and several teams of warriors and priests consisting of both feymen and humans, we came upon the center of the temple.  At the first door we came to, we paused to consider our plans, at which point Candala was snatched up by a salamander that had managed to hide in a nook in the ceiling and surprise us from behind.  Despite its ominous threats, we managed to dispatch it fairly quickly, and cure the poison that had afflicted Candala.  Of course, the noise from the fight brought another opponent out to face us.  This one was quite intimidating, covered in horrifying scars, wielding fierce looking twin shortwords, with the same manic look in his eye that we had seen from every high-ranking cultist so far.  Luckily I managed to affect him with a Hold spell, ending the fight before it ever really started.  I shudder to think what that maniac may have done to us had he been given the chance.  

With the way now clear to the central altar of the temple, we now paused briefly to consider our options.  We knew the rough layout of the area ahead, but had no idea what sort of opposition it held.  We decided simply to charge straight into the temple area instead of exploring the caverns to the side...unfortunately, going left turned out to be by far the worse of the two options.  While we explored the empty altar room, and Steve resolutely hacked away at some inanimate statues, Wildcat decided to investigate the first of the attached caverns.  And so it was that we were caught with out pants down--in that room were the chief priestess, Tessuman; a small enthralled Feyman; and most disturbingly, the grotesquely transformed figure of Lord Governor Octavius, now resembling a 12-foot-tall ape and still wearing the Antlers of Oberon.  

Wildcat wisely retreated into the altar cavern as the infernal trio advanced upon us.  They appeared to have spent the last half hour or more preparing for us by casting a great many spells upon themselves, for Tessuman and her feyman thrall immediately jumped up through the roiling flames in the center of the chamber and onto the altar platform, remaining completely unaffected by the fire.  The battle began with the horribly tattooed priestess banging on a large drum on the altar.  That she would chose to do this instead of attacking us filled me with dread--if this is the most effective defense she has, it can't be good.  Upon banging the drum, the statues steve had been attacking immediately came to life, causing Steve to turn his back on the action in the chamber and focus on the newly attacking skeletons.  The rest of us immediately took to the air, thanks to the fly spell that Rabirius had cast, to avoid the imposing figure of Octavius.   Wildcat and Candala advanced upon Tessuman with swords drawn, while Rabirius and I focused on the feyman, whose first act was to summon a dancing sword to attack Rabirius.  

My first move was to attempt to eliminate the feyman (obviously a mage) immediatly to tip the odds in our favor.  I cast a banishment spell on him, one of only two that remained to me, but he resisted its effects.  Rabirius then attempted to dominate him.  His spell took hold, and he focused on ordering the small creature to attack Tessuman, but he later discovered that some greater power had already enthralled it, and his orders were useless.

Meanwhile, Wildcat took a moment to cast a spell on himself while Candala charged at Tessuman, who had somehow commanded the floating altar platform to rise straight up in the air.  The obsidian altar itself had begun a strange transformation, warping its shape and turning increasingly translucent.  Candala's sword thrust hit home, and Tessuman was injured, but she immediately reacted by using the strage dancing tentacles on her staff to entangle and immobilize Candala, and slam her body down on the now-transforming altar.  

Intending to save my remaining spell, I loaded my crossbow and fired at the feyman, but missed.   As Steve continued fighting with the skeletons, kept up his attack on the feyman and Wildcat beared down on Tessuman.


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