# A Journey to the Sea (Greyhawk) UPDATED 7 February 2008



## sniffles (Jan 8, 2007)

Back in 2002, our gaming group began a Greyhawk campaign that was intended to be a 'filler' for when our other games were not available due to scheduling conflicts. 

Five years later, we're still playing.   

Since I've been chronicling our other D&D games here in Story Hour, I decided to add our Greyhawk campaign as well. I intend to post daily until I get the story current.

*Cast of Characters:*

*Our magnanimous GM*: _patv_
*PCs:*
*Erasyne*: female half-elf rogue/Dervish _(Player: Jubilee)_
*Lothiriel Aldarin*: female elf druid/ranger _(Player: sniffles)_
*Ninad*: male human monk/sorcerer/Sensate _(Player: Hedrin)_
*Rose Weisselpuff*: female halfling cleric/Luckstealer _(Player: Zora - temporary character)_
*Shishir*: male human monk/sorcerer/Tattooed Monk _(Player: Zora)_
*Thyrothorus "Thor" Ludovicianus*: male gnome druid/Bird Lord _(Player: Devo)_
*Varian*: male human knight/ranger _(Player: DH)_
*Xolo*: male human rogue _(Player: DH)_

and *Beaker*, Thor's axebeak animal companion (because Devo will complain if I don't include him   )

*Regular NPCs:*
*Illtud*: male human fighter/rogue (Formerly a PC, now a retired NPC)
*Liselle*: female human NPC, wife of Shishir
*Pari*: female human NPC, child of Shishir


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## sniffles (Jan 8, 2007)

*Letter number 1*

_All of my write-ups of this campaign have been done in the form of letters from my character to her never-seen brother._

Dearest brother;

I have a great deal to tell you. I have apparently become part of an adventuring party. I did wish to explore beyond the Vesve, but this wasn’t my plan for doing so. Still, it’s good to have companions for travel, and they are such interesting companions. Let me tell you about them.

It was during Growfest that I first met the twins Ninad and Shishir.  They came from an isolated monastery among the Copper Mountains.  They are also spellcasters of a sort, but they are not wizards.  They are simply out to see the world.  I was impressed by their friendly and inquisitive manner and agreed to escort them around Highfolk when I met them outside the Lake Tree.  Our first activity together was to seek a moderately-priced establishment in which to have a midday meal.

As we made our way across the city to the Green Inn, we observed a group of snow barbarians from distant lands making an unexpected visit to Highfolk.  We also heard of several opportunities for adventurous travelers.  A sage sought for adventurers to hunt for a lost continent.  A reward was offered for the long-missing magic sword of a former king.  And a trophy hunt was being prepared to pursue a rare albino oktobear.  

This last I found most interesting, for the hunt was to take place within the Vesve Forest.  I was concerned that the large prize offered for the capture of the oktobear would draw unsavory or foolhardy folk into the forest.

When we arrived at the Green Inn, we encountered a man who was transporting a large group of small animals, which were evidently intended to become wizards’ familiars.  The man somehow managed to drop all the cages and most of his animals escaped.  The twin monks and I helped him to recover them all.  

After this brief adventure, while we walked through the inn, Shishir observed a man dressed all in bright green garments who appeared to walk into a tree and vanish!  Shishir reported that the green-clad man had held a cranberry out to the tree before he disappeared.  The young monk became so curious about this incident that he purchased a cranberry muffin and approached the tree with it.  His twin followed suit, and feeling somewhat responsible for the two young humans, I did the same.  

The tree turned out to be a magical portal that transported us deep into the Vesve Forest.  Upon our arrival in the forest we were greeted by a being known as the Lord of the Green, who is reputed to be an important figure among the forest’s fey folk.

Though the fey are capricious, the Lord of the Green met us with goodwill.  The twin monks naively offered him their service, and I felt compelled to do so as well.  He seemed pleased by this offer.  

He told us that he was concerned by the numbers of orcs appearing in the southern part of the forest.  My hatred of orcs made me eager to find out why the orcs are coming so far south.  

Not far from where we met the Lord of the Green, we stumbled upon a band of orcs and fell upon them.  Both Shishir and I were badly wounded, but the three of us succeeded in slaying all the foul orcs.  We found that they had attacked a lone human and had left him near death.  The Lord of the Green helped us to carry the man back to the Green Inn through the tree portal.  Once we arrived, the innkeeper’s wife sent for a healer.  She also asked us to keep the fey portal our secret.

I'll write more later.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 9, 2007)

*Letter #2*

Dearest brother;

Our adventures continued after we returned to Highfolk.  I made my way back to the Lake Tree while the twins remained at the Green Inn to look after the injured man.  The following morning I returned to the inn to see how the man fared.  

On the way I encountered Thyrothorus Ludovicianus. You'll remember him, I think - the gnome with the interest in birds. He's been looking after birds for a local merchant. In his typical chatterbox way, he drew out of me the story of my recent adventures. He was so interested in the twins and the orc trouble in the Vesve that he accompanied me to the Green Inn.   

When we arrived at the inn we found that the injured man had regained consciousness.  He introduced himself as Corian.  He'd been traveling to the village of Fairhill when he was attacked by the orcs.  I grew worried that the orcs would next attack Fairhill.  

Thor agreed with this concern and wanted to go at once to see to the safety of the villagers.  The twins offered to go along.  Corian had intended to investigate an old fortress outside the village, so we planned to make our way to Fairhill as soon as Corian was recovered enough to travel.

While we waited for Corian to heal, Thor and I took the twins on a tour of Highfolk.  During our travels about the city we encountered a fairy, who told us that the Lord of the Green wished to speak with us, but she couldn't tell us when or where he wanted to meet with us.  We went to the Green Inn to dine and saw once more the man in green Shishir had observed on the previous day.  We now suspected this to be a disguise used by the Lord of the Green.  

Thor chatted with some of the hunters who were preparing to seek the oktobear, attempting to persuade them to give up the hunt.  I think he just confused them. Later the man in green approached our table.  We discussed our plan to visit Fairhill with him, all the while pretending to be strangers.  He made remarks that indicated to us that we were welcome to use the fey portal to shorten our journey.  He also presented us with some fey tokens.

By the next day Corian had recovered enough to travel, so we made our exit from the city through the tree portal and emerged in the forest.  We re-examined the area where we had slain the orcs, finding that their corpses had vanished.  We assumed that the fey had disposed of them.  

While we were in that area we were set upon by stirges.  Corian and I were slightly wounded, but the creatures didn't pose a serious threat to us and we continued our journey to Fairhill.

Along the way we came upon an abandoned house.  As we approached we heard sounds resembling those of a small child in distress.  We decided to investigate cautiously.  Peering inside, I saw a catlike creature.  Though at first I couldn't recall what the creature was, I remembered that it was dangerous, though this one appeared to be only a cub.  

Despite my warning the twins rashly went straight into the house, and the cat-thing clawed Shishir.  A larger cat-creature appeared, undoubtedly the mother of the cub, and we directed our concern at it.  I at last recalled that the creature was a leucrotta.  We could do little to harm the leucrotta, but once wounded she fled with her cub.  We found no sign that orcs had been near, and so continued toward Fairhill.

When we arrived, we found the village in a state of disarray.  As I'd feared orcs had attacked and had stolen a sacred crucible from the temple of Freya.  I found this unlikely behavior for orcs.  I suspected that the orcs might be in the service of some other being.  

We were introduced to the local magistrate, Arlen, and to Shandril, priestess of Freya, and offered them our aid in combating the orcs. Now we need to determine a course of action.

I'll write again and let you know how we fare.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 9, 2007)

*Letter #3*

Dearest brother;

After our arrival in Fairhill, we joined Shandril in traveling to an outlying farm to check on the residents.  As we returned to the village we heard an alarm bell and saw smoke coming from the temple.  The temple was somehow burning from beneath.  I saw ashrats crawling out from beneath the temple structure.  

While Shandril cast a spell to douse the fire, the rest of us battled the ashrats.  They were wreathed in smoke, which made them difficult to strike, but we were able to destroy them all and they disintegrated into piles of ash.

Once the temple had been saved, my companions and I decided to pursue the orcs that had stolen the crucible.  We sought the aid of a local guide, an elf woman called Lauriel.  

Corian then told us why he had intended to visit the ruined fort beyond the village.  It seemed that the wizard who built the fortress, a man by the name of Eralion, had reputedly been trying to become a lich.  A friend of Eralion’s, Feriblan the librarian, had told Corian that Eralion was not powerful enough to achieve lich-dom.  Corian had come to investigate the truth behind the story.  

I grew concerned that perhaps Eralion had succeeded in his desire and that he might be responsible for the actions of the orcs.  My friends agreed with me.

The orcs’ tracks certainly led to Eralion’s keep.  The orcs appeared to be celebrating their success in stealing the crucible, so we rested in the forest and awaited an opportunity to make our way into the ruined keep by stealth.  Though most of the keep’s walls had fallen, the orcs had constructed wooden palisades and a watchtower.  

During the night we were visited by a fairy, who whispered the secrets of our fey tokens in our ears.  She was much disturbed when Thor’s new owl friend gave her presence away.  Thor learned that the green scarf he had received held a _true strike_ spell.  My twig contained a _color spray_ spell.  The two brothers had received a cord ring and a walnut shell that contained other spells.

At about the midpoint of the night we arose and made our way stealthily into the ruins.  We were able to climb a bit of broken wall using a rope.  Only a few orcs were present and they failed to observe us.  We slew four of them before approaching one of the keep’s stone towers.  

To our chagrin one orc was able to cry out before we disposed of him.  We hurried to the tower, which we found locked.  The twins attempted to break the door down by brute force but were unsuccessful.  We had to seek another entrance.  Corian told us that there might be underground rooms hidden below the keep, and he had a talisman that should provide us entry if we could find them.

We were able to find another entrance to the tower, but the floor collapsed beneath Ninad and Shishir and they fell below, where they were set upon by two giant spiders.  I sprang down upon one spider with my spear and impaled it.  Corian cast spells at the spiders.  

Ninad was poisoned by the other spider, but Shishir and Corian were then able to slay it.  By this time the noise we made had brought the notice of the orcs and they raised an alarm.  We had to determine whether to remain within the tower, which had only one exit, or leave and seek another place to hide.

I'll continue my story in another letter.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## Quartz (Jan 9, 2007)

Ooh! Ooh! More!


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## sniffles (Jan 10, 2007)

*Letter #4*

Dearest brother;

The orcs seemed to be avoiding the tower where we'd taken refuge, so Thor crept out to spy on them. Later he told us he'd distracted them with a spell. When Thor didn't return immediately Ninad went out to look for him. By coincidence, he used a spell of his own to distract the orcs further. 

Thor had managed to attract the attention of an orc who charged at him. In the meantime Shishir, Corian, Lauriel and I climbed out of the tower onto the battlement overlooking the courtyard. I caught sight of the orc rushing Thor and swiftly fired an arrow into it. 

Shishir leaped down to the courtyard to meet a second orc, which I also pierced with an arrow. The rest of my companions descended to the courtyard as well while I remained on the battlement wielding my bow.

We discovered that the orcs had installed a ballista atop the keep's former chapel. Fortunately Solonor Thelandira smiled on us and the orcs had poor aim. The ballista took a long while to reload. 

Ninad ran to the chapel entrance but suddenly retreated in fear. I left my perch on the battlement and exchanged my bow for my spear to aid my companions. As I descended I observed a huge orc and an ogre emerging from one of the other remaining towers. 

Fortunately Shishir employed his fey token to tangle the huge orc and the ogre in vines. But the vines weren't strong enough to hold the ogre for long. Thor, Lauriel and I found ourselves facing the creature. The ogre struck me a heavy blow, but I returned it in kind and wounded him sorely.

The huge orc kept struggling with the vines, but he couldn't get free and began to pant with weariness. I slew him where he stood. In the meanwhile Thor had clambered up to the chapel roof and slain the orc manning the ballista. Lauriel ran up to aid him but was badly wounded. 

The twins and I turned our attention to the chapel, which was occupied by a half-orc wearing holy symbols of some evil deity. It was he who had driven Ninad away in fear moments before. Ninad now flung open the door and his twin hurled an orb of cold energy at the half-orc. I followed with the _color spray_ from my token.

The half-orc was made of sturdy stuff. Our combined attack stunned him for only a moment. He summoned some divine energy that held Ninad immobilized, but not before the young monk dealt him a harsh blow. Ninad's strike caused the half-orc to drop his weapon. 

I realized that the half-orc had apparently intended to perform some profane ritual in the chapel, using the stolen crucible and a candle that radiated an evil aura. Suddenly Corian rushed into the chapel and toppled the candle. 

The sinister priest tried to hold me with the same spell he'd used against Ninad, but I felt the magic wash over me without effect. The half-orc then took a chance to retrieve his mace, and both Shishir and I were able to attack him while his guard was down. That didn't stop him picking up his weapon and hitting me hard enough to knock me off my feet. But Shishir's attack brought the half-orc low.

Despite his small size, Thor had managed to turn the ballista and fired it at the orcs he'd drawn outside the keep with his spell distraction. When they saw the ballista aiming at them they turned tail and ran. 

Shishir saw to my wounds, but while he was occupied with treating me the evil priest simply vanished. 

I was in no state to know what was taking place at this point. My companions told me later that Thor had uncovered a chest containing some coins and a potion. It was nearly dawn by then, and my friends decided to depart the keep in case the orcs returned. 

They carried Lauriel and I out into the forest and set up camp. Then Zafie, the fairy we'd met on the previous night reappeared. It was her idea for them to search my gear and Lauriel's for healing potions - who would have thought a fairy would be so practical? 

Once I'd recovered my senses under the effect of a healing salve and some goodberries, I realized that the potion in the chest was a powerful curative labelled in the Orcish tongue. Unfortunately none of my new friends know Orcish.

Corian then suggested we might return to the keep later to explore it further. We still hadn't found the underground chambers he'd spoken of. But first we wanted to return the stolen crucible to the temple in Fairhill. 

On our return we were treated with great respect and gratitude by the villagers. Shandril used Freya's mercies to heal all our wounds. We remained in Fairhill overnight to recover our strength, then made our way back to Eralion's keep.

The keep stood just as we'd left it, unoccupied. In our search of the ruins we uncovered quite a lot of coin and several gems and pieces of jewelry that the orcs had probably stolen. We also found an enchanted dagger, and two keys that looked to fit various doors within the remaining structure of the keep. 

I'll tell you what else we found in the keep in my next letter.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 10, 2007)

*Letter #5*

Dearest brother;

The only part of the keep we hadn't yet explored was the tower the ogre I killed had emerged from. It turned out to be full of old carpets and a foul odor. On the second floor Shishir found a string of humanoid skulls hanging on a thong. Thor took them outside to bury them and discovered that they contained some gold and silver coins! 

While Thor was disposing of the skulls, we uncovered a trapdoor under the rugs. We were unable to open it. Frustrated, we decided to investigate the gatehouse above the rusted and useless portcullis, but it proved to contain nothing of interest. 

After we returned to the tower, Corian tried Eralion's amulet on the trapdoor and succeeded in opening it. Thor stuck his head in to see what lay below.

At the bottom of a 40-foot drop, Thor observed a room containing six statues of men in armor, and four tables that appeared to hold some type of alchemical equipment. With this information in mind we descended on ropes into the chamber.

At one side of the chamber I saw an ordinary door, but there was also another trapdoor in the center of the floor. Then Thor yelped when a worm crawled out of one of the statues and he realized that it wasn't a statue at all!

All six 'statues' were zombies. They began to advance on us. We had great trouble combating them. I couldn't seem to strike a solid blow, and Thor didn't have a weapon that would harm them at all, only being armed with a club. He grew so desperate that he picked up a sword when one of the zombies finally fell.

One of the twins was knocked unconscious, but Corian proved to be reasonably useful in combat, which was fortunate as Lauriel hadn't returned to the keep with us. 

It was a struggle, but at last we destroyed all of the zombies. It began to seem likely that the story Corian had heard about Eralion was true.

We checked the rest of the chamber carefully, but the alchemical tools held no interest for any of us. Through the door we found what appeared to be a bedchamber, containing some books of magic that Corian expressed interest in. After these had been gathered up, we opened the second trapdoor.

Below us lay another circular room, containing six sarcophagi standing upright. In the center stood a bier holding a desiccated corpse. Shishir detected some magic around the corpse, including something that couldn't be seen by the unaided eye. Nevertheless, he and his brother went down with Thor to examine it further. I remained above holding onto the rope on which they descended.

The corpse proved to have a magic staff and ring, but Shishir couldn't determine the source of the other magical emanation. All three of them reported feeling a strange chill. Shishir also complained of a voice whispering in his ear. Then I heard it too and beckoned them to come back up, fearing some danger.

Thor began slowly ascending the rope, followed by Ninad, but when Shishir tried to climb he felt strangely weak and couldn't hold on to the rope. Thor climbed back down and wound the rope around both himself and Shishir. I had to draw them up on my own, for Ninad also suddenly felt very weak and Corian was none too strong to begin with.

While I was pulling them up they sensed a shadowy shape following them and growing more substantial. As soon as they were back in the room with me, Corian slammed the trapdoor shut. But the shadowy thing passed through the floor like air and assaulted us.

We found that our ordinary weapons were useless against the shadow-thing. I tried casting a curative spell at it, thinking it might be harmed by magic, and found that I was right. Thor tried the magic dagger he'd found earlier and it was also effective. Ninad then used his fey token to enchant his staff. When he struck the shadow it vanished, leaving behind a pair of metal bracers.

We were all very weak after this except for Corian, who was the only one of us to escape the shadow's draining touch. We rested for a short while and then decided to camp in the forest where we felt safer. If the orcs had returned we would have been too weak to fight them. 

We camped overnight away from the keep and then made our way back to Fairhill. Once more we were welcomed by the townsfolk, and Shandril extended Freya's care to us. When we told her of Eralion's shade, or whatever the shadow-creature was, she made plans to have the town guard seal the tower entrance.

The folk of Fairhill wanted to give us a substantial reward for returning the crucible, but we offered it to the temple instead. We did accept a reward of two suits of clothing each, and a prize hog named Wilbur. 

After recuperating for a few days in Fairhill we decided to return to Highfolk. Growfest was over, and Thor and I were afraid the hunt for the oktobear would begin soon. Corian announced that he would remain in Fairhill, so we said our thanks and farewells to him and headed for the fey portal.

As we neared the magic tree we heard voices. We were greeted by the Lord of the Green and a group of pixies and forest animals. The fey lord summoned up a sumptuous feast and invited us to stay and enjoy. Accepting his invitation gladly, we partook of the bounty of the forest and were entertained by a satyr who played expertly upon a lyre. A female satyr also made an appearance and seemed to hold quite a fascination for the twins, though she never spoke.

That night I had an unusual but very pleasant vision during my meditation, which I will keep to myself. When dawn arrived the Lord of the Green had gone, but it seemed that during the night he had restored our fey tokens to full use. 

We also discovered that some of the animals that had been present the day before had remained and attached themselves to our little group. Thor already had an owl and a raven following him, but now a bluejay joined his odd flock.* I had attracted a dog, which I've named Rahon. The twins had both acquired familiars: Ninad now has a squirrel called Nimkin, while his brother is served by a hawk named Balamani. I understand that ordinarily arcane mages must perform a long ritual to acquire a familiar, but it seems that they fey lord's influence bypassed this requirement.

Thor and I still intend to do what we can to stop the hunt, or at least try to mitigate its effect on the Vesve, and it seems likely that the twins will come along with us. I'll write to you again when I have more to tell.

Your sister, Lothiriel

_*We were still using 3.0 rules at this point so Thor had multiple animal companions._


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## sniffles (Jan 11, 2007)

*Letter #6*

Dearest brother;

On returning to Highfolk, we arrived back in the courtyard of the Green Inn. We've become familiar faces to the family who run the inn. The innkeeper, Yargren, has an attractive daughter named Liselle who seems to have taken a liking to Shishir. I suspect that there is some fey blood in her family.

While we were introducing ourselves formally to Yargren, a man came into the inn complaining that he couldn't find a guide to accompany him on a journey. I stepped up and identified myself as someone who could help. 

This man introduced himself as Judar Fornoff, a merchant who intended to travel to Flameflower to deliver some goods. My companions seemed interested in working for the merchant, and we agreed to meet him on the following day at the River Gate. This would give us an opportunity to look out for hunters while we traveled. 

Judar offered me 25 gold pieces per day for my services, and my companions would receive 10 gold pieces each. He was paying so handsomely because most of the foresters, trackers and hunters were occupied with the oktobear hunt.

The following morning we met Judar and his nephew Streb at the gate, where they waited along with their two pack mules. Our journey began uneventfully with a short visit to Fairhill before turning onto the road to Flameflower. Judar was bitten by poisonous snake at one point, but I was able to treat him for the poison.

Later the twins noticed something odd ahead of us, and when they went forward to investigate they encountered an unusual deer-like creature, which led them into the forest. When they followed it they encountered a fey woman called Ashleigh. 

Ashleigh had been sent by the Lord of the Green to stop the hunters from finding the albino oktobear.  The twins summoned Thor and I to join them, and Ashleigh even allowed Judar and his nephew to catch a brief glimpse of her. Though the merchant had no interest in the hunt one way or another, the rest of us agreed to do what we could to help her with her goal. When she departed she left the deer-like beast, an orafaun she called Althil, to accompany us. Althil followed us surreptitiously as we continued toward Flameflower.

Our journey wasn't without further trouble. As we proceeded along the road we heard sounds of battle up ahead. Ninad and I went ahead of our party to investigate. We crept up on a large group of orcs and gnolls engaged in a fight. In their midst a human man and girl had been surrounded.

The orcs and gnolls seemed to be fighting over which of them would have the enjoyment of killing the humans. I took cover and fired my bow at the creatures, while Ninad used his magic against them and then attacked with his staff in hand. His twin had sent Balamani along to watch over us, and when she communicated to Shishir what was occurring he raced up to join the fight, with Thor hurrying after him.

The gnolls turned out to have a spellcaster of their own, who sent a sphere of flames rolling across the ground at Thor. Ninad was badly wounded in the struggle and had to consume a potion. I eliminated several of the orcs and focused my attention on the one who seemed to be their leader, but he was better armored and I had trouble finding a weak point. Some of the orcs and gnolls had already reduced their own numbers but we were still outmatched. 

Thanks to the Keen Eye, we managed to overcome them in the end. The two humans were rescued and introduced themselves as a ranger, Gerris, and the young woman was called Feebie. Feebie had been training as a priestess and Gerris was escorting her back to her family home in Flameflower. As we were already headed that way, they joined us for the remainder of the trip. Perhaps you've met Gerris.

I'll close now and tell you of the rest of the trip in another letter.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 12, 2007)

*Letter #7*

Dearest brother;

I'm sorry I haven't kept up with my letters. I suppose that won't matter to you as you'll receive them all at once. 

As I was telling you in my last letter, we'd met Gerris and Feabie after rescuing them from some orcs and gnolls, and they'd joined us for the remainder of the trip to Flameflower. Our little adventuring party seems to draw trouble the way flowers draw bees. I suppose that's just part of being an adventurer.

I don't recall now what attracted our attention, but we were drawn off the road again by some distraction and discovered that a unicorn had fallen into a pit trip, presumably one built to catch the oktobear. 

The unicorn was being looked after by a fey of the sort some people call elflings, though I don't think they are much like our kindred. This elfling took us for hunters and tried to drive us off. It took quite a lot of convincing to persuade him that we wanted to help. Eventually we managed to lift the unicorn out of the pit with ropes, and the elfling and its companion went on their way none the worse for their experience.

But it wasn't long before we met them again. The elfling stumbled on another group of travelers and began threatening them, again assuming they were hunting the oktobear. This time the elfling had summoned a band of hybsils to his side and they were menacing the travelers with their bows.

It was a good deal more difficult to convince the elfling that these people weren't hunters than it had been to assure him of our good intentions. We had at last managed to allay his suspicions when Gerris exclaimed that there were orcs in the area. 

A large band of well-armed orcs emerged from among the trees, and I noticed an orog among them. Orcs are bad enough, but those hybrids are an abomination of nature. We had quite a drawn-out fight with them. Ninad was badly wounded, and I suffered more than a few injuries myself. But with some assistance from the hybsils we were victorious.

After that experience, getting into Flameflower was relaxing. After saying our farewells to Gerris and Feabie, we rested for a few days, and received a message from Ashleigh that the fey folk had hidden the oktobear away where it would never be found by the hunters. 

But of course there was no way to let the hunters know this, so Thor and I decided we should continue traveling through the forest and notify every hunting party we met that the hunt was over. We began by heading toward Quaalsten. We'd learned that Gerris and Feabie's final destination wasn't actually Flameflower. Feabie's family lived in Quaalsten. We thought that once we arrived we would look in on her again. And of course I hoped to be reunited with you.

On our arrival in Quaalsten we found our way to the home of Feabie's father, Meridus, with the help of a caravan guard named Illtud who'd been working for Meridus. Meridus was delighted to meet us and very appreciative of what we'd done for his daughter. Feabie was also happy to see us again. Her family treated us to a fine meal and Meridus awarded us each a _Quaal's feather token_.

During our meal we learned that Meridus was sending a caravan toward the town of Crossford near the mountain pass to Perenland. He needed guards to accompany the caravan. There were rumors of disease in that area and he was having some difficulty finding anyone to take the trip. Thor, who'd been feeling restless lately, piped up that he'd be willing to go. The twins and I decided we might as well go with him, having nothing pressing to draw us back to Highfolk. Illtud came along too.

Meridus agreed to pay us each 2,000 silver pieces for our efforts. I've never had so much money in my life as I have now. I decided investing some of it in a better suit of armor would be wise if I intended to keep traveling. 

I stopped by the ranger's lodge to look for you, but was told that you'd left a week earlier. I also asked after Gerris, but he wasn't available either. 

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to see you. I hope you'll find these letter entertaining. I'll write you again soon.

Your sister, Lothiriel
__________________

_This is about the point at which I started recording some of the more amusing remarks made by my fellow players._

patv: "What are you going to do to prepare for the next leg of the trip?"
Zora: "I'm leveling up to 12th level!" _(The PCs were about 3rd level at this time)_


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## sniffles (Jan 12, 2007)

*Letter #8*

Dearest brother;

By the time we reached Crossford I hardly felt I'd earned Meridus's money. We met only a few other travelers and saw nothing of note on the road. But as we neared the town we were met by a group of gnomes who told us of some trouble there. Children had gone missing and naturally the townsfolk were disturbed.

We parted company with the caravan master and headed for the local inn, where we questioned the innkeeper about the missing children. Much to my surprise, the townsfolk knew precisely where their missing children had gone: a tall stone tower had appeared quite suddenly on the outskirts of the town a few days earlier, and some of the children had been seen entering it! 

The innkeeper explained that every night strange music issued from the tower that caused the townsfolk to fall asleep. The children would then sleepwalk to the tower. A few folk had been able to remain awake long enough to observe this, but none could resist the music long enough to prevent the children from entering the tower. 

The townspeople had tried to enter the tower to recover their children, but according to the innkeeper they had been fired upon by one-eyed creatures shooting crossbows from the windows. 

He also explained that one little girl had been seen entering the tower during the day. She was the daughter of the local witch, and her behavior had caused some hard feelings toward her mother. Some of the local people suspected the witch of being in league with whoever was in the tower, though the innkeeper did not support this view.

Encouraged by the ever-impulsive Thor, we decided to go to the tower at once. Illtud and I provided cover with our bows while Thor and the twins approached. Ninad had a ring in his possession that would allow him to levitate, and he employed this to rise up to the roof of the tower. I saw a few indistinct figures at the tower windows, but they didn't react to our presence.

Ninad found two trapdoors on the roof along with some crates. He used the crates to block the trapdoors, then let down a rope. As his brother began to climb up, Illtud and I hurried from cover to the entrance. An alarm began to sound within the tower. Someone fired a crossbow bolt at me. 

Illtud grabbed the rope and began to follow Shishir up, but as he did the door opened and several man-like creatures with only one eye each rushed out to attack Thor and I, armed with heavy clubs. Illtud dropped down to help fight them, but was sorely hurt. Shishir and Ninad descended and joined the fray. But the one-eyes were so strong and hardy that soon we were all wounded. We were forced to retreat.

The caravan we'd accompanied hadn't yet left Crossford, and their remaining men knew some healing magic, to our good fortune. After we'd recovered a but we decided to talk to the witch about her daughter. She was staying with the local constable for her own safety.

The witch, Arizhel by name, gave us some additional healing and told us that she didn't know why her daughter had gone to the tower. As I'd expected, she knew nothing about who was within the tower or how it had come to appear so suddenly. 

As the caravan master wouldn't commit any of his men to help us storm the tower, we decided to watch the tower at night and see what happened when the mysterious music played. Thor and I prepared spells to awaken anyone of our party lulled to sleep by the music. Our plan was to follow if a child was lured to the tower and use the child's entrance as our access to the structure. 

I must pause now. I'll finish this story in my next letter.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 15, 2007)

*Letter #9*

Dearest brother;

We considered attempting to run through the door should the tower inhabitants open it to admit one of the children, but we decided instead to try the roof again so we could perhaps come at them from behind. We were joined for this assault by Tarhan, the village constable, and by Arizhel the witch, who was eager to find her missing daughter.

When the music began to play most of us withstood its mesmerizing effect, but Tarhan and Illtud fell asleep and Thor was obliged to wake them with a spell. 

We employed the magic ring and our ropes again to ascend the tower. This time the tower residents seemed to be otherwise occupied and we made the journey safely. The crates had been moved away from the trapdoors. We found the larger trapdoor barred, but we managed to burst it open by our combined strength.

One of the one-eyed creatures stood guard just below. Arizhel snared him with a spell and then Shishir, Illtud and I made short work of him. But we hadn't been able to prevent him ringing an alarm bell. 

We rushed down a ramp to find that curiously, though we were so high, the next level was a stable! We noticed that the music was getting louder as we descended.

As we continued to move lower in the tower we came upon a large room containing a glass tank. Inside the tank lay what appeared to be a brain! Horn-like attachments on the side of the tank seemed to be the source of the eerie music. Shishir destroyed one of these horns and was on the verge of smashing the other when he realized that someone was speaking to him - and the speaker appeared to be the brain in the tank!

This brain, which called itself Irvin, explained that it was the owner of the tower, but it was under orders from a person called Krank to play the music that lured the children. Irvin warned that Krank could be found in the next room.

After Irvin promised not to play the music any further, we left the brain alone and turned to the next room. As we entered this room we saw an ugly man wearing a strange headdress of potion vials. In the corner of the room lay a group of sleeping children. We also observed a pair of women wielding a staff, standing oddly close together. 

Shishir moved to oppose the two women, and it became apparent that their bodies were somehow joined. They moved in unison, using actions that resembled the way Shishir and his twin attack. I confronted the hideous Krank.

Krank ran to another door and opened it, admitting one of his one-eyed servitors. He then cast a spell at me that caused tiny missiles of energy to strike me. His movements seemed unnaturally quick. 

Thor caught sight of a halfling woman coming in from another room and slammed the door in her face. The door became a barrier for the gnome as he kept it between himself and the cleaver-wielding halfling. She fled after being wounded.

Shishir had difficulty combating the conjoined women and eventually fell to their blows. I was also struggling with Krank, who had become hard to see and was able to heal any wounds he took very swiftly. Thor abandoned the doorway and came to threaten Krank with a flaming blade he conjured. More of Krank's one-eyed servants entered the room and very nearly killed Illtud.

Krank grasped at me with his hands wreathed in flames and I was barely able to keep my feet. I had to avail myself of a curative potion. Shishir and Illtud managed to get back on their feet with Arizhel's help, and we all surrounded the ugly man. He took flight and fled into the other room with our whole group in pursuit.

Thor made a brave effort to stop Krank by blocking the stairs when the villain tried to fly away. He was too short to strike the wizard, but I could reach him with my spear. He couldn't escape us and we brought him down. 

After he fell Arizhel advised us to cut off his head. She explained that he was some kind of vampire, but one who stole sleep rather than blood from his victims. His peculiar headdress had been full of foul potions that would heal him but would harm any other being. Thor recovered the last remaining potion from the contraption.

We found that all the missing children were present, not permanently harmed but weakened by their ordeal. Somehow Krank had caused Arizhel's daughter to age many years until she more resembled an old woman than a child. Arizhel determined that she would be able to reverse the effect, thankfully.

Despite our wounds we searched the tower until we were sure all the children had been found. Irvin explained to us that he could cause the tower to move from place to place at his will. Thor tried to convince him to take us along when he left Crossford. He told us he'd consider this request, but I doubted he'd agree. I'm not sure I'd want to travel with a disembodied brain in any case.

I'll write more later.

Your sister, Lothiriel

_If the story of Irvin and Krank and the children seems familiar, that's because our GM based it on the movie *City of Lost Children*. _


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## sniffles (Jan 15, 2007)

*Letter #10*

Dearest brother;

I wasn't surprised when Irvin declined to have company, but Thor was very disappointed that we couldn't leave with the magic tower. After it departed, we decided not to return to Highfolk and instead headed for the pass. 

We stayed with the caravan until it turned toward the supposedly disease-afflicted town we'd heard of. We continued on to Verbeeg Hill. Unfortunately we found the pass closed, held by Perenlander guards. The Perenlanders had heard of the illness and were afraid of plague.

We spent a few days at an inn in Verbeeg Hill as we tried to decide what to do next. It seemed unlikely the Perenlanders would open the pass again soon. We considered trying to go by boat but we would have been going upriver, and passage over the mountains on foot seemed equally unwise due to the presence of giants. Finally we decided to return to Highfolk and wait for the pass to reopen. 

On the way we stopped at the halfling town of Dreenam. You may have heard of their famed crystalberries. We took rooms overnight at the Crock Pot Inn and enjoyed some of the local delicacies, most of them featuring crystalberries. I bought some crystalberry jewelry to take home as gifts.

We seemed to be well clear of any trouble in Dreenam, but I should have known better than to think so. As we were awaiting dinner on our second evening, huge cockroaches abruptly began rushing into the common room, setting all the guests screaming and scrambling up on the tables. We could hear more screams from the kitchen. The horrid vermin were as large as dogs. 

The giant insects were hard to kill, but we managed, and then ran to the kitchen to check on the staff. We found a large hole in the floor that had apparently admitted the roaches. Then the innkeeper came rushing in crying that one of his daughters was missing. It appeared the bugs had carried her off! 

I'll have to finish this story later.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 15, 2007)

*Letter #11*

Dearest brother;

I'm sorry I had to cut my last letter short. I've been occupied with training Rahon.

Some of the roaches in the kitchen were even larger than the ones in the common room. I found them so disgusting I could hardly stand to get near them. Most of my companions felt the same but for Shishir, who was somehow able to resist their foul stench. 

We examined the tunnel leading away from the inn, and with encouragement from Thor we descended to search for the missing girl. The tunnel led into the town's sewer system, not surprisingly.

We spent several hours wandering the sewers, following the signs I could find. Strangely, the roaches seemed to be forcing the girl to go along with them rather than dragging or carrying her. 

At one point we came upon a rusty iron door and I heard a scratching noise coming from behind it. Something made me suspicious of it, though, and I decided that finding the girl was of greater importance. 

As we made our way through the tunnels we were swarmed by dire rats, but Thor cleverly befriended some of them and sent the rest away. We had a large group of rats at our heels during the rest of our time underground. Unfortunately we also found more giant roaches, though we made quick work of them despite them being still larger than any we'd seen before  - and even more repellent. 

After we eliminated the roaches Shishir claimed he heard a voice calling out behind us and insisted on investigating. It turned out to come from behind the rusty iron door I'd avoided. Ninad went to aid his brother and with much effort they managed to break open the door, even though no one ever responded to their questions. 

Once the door was open they saw why there had been no reply. A ghoulish halfling-size creature attacked them immediately. It stabbed Shishir with its oddly glowing dagger. Thor and I stepped in to help and slew the awful creature. For some reason Shishir picked up the strange dagger afterward.

The girl's tracks finally led us to a break in the wall, which opened into a dirt cellar. We had to fight off more roaches to get into the cellar. Then we climbed up into an apparently abandoned house, where we fought yet more roaches, though these didn't seem as concerned by our appearance as the ones we'd encountered earlier. 

We heard a female voice screaming, which led us to a bedroom. There we found the missing girl, Dalia, who was in the process of being wrapped in a cocoon by some larva-like creatures. On the bed nearby lay a hideous monstrosity, partly insect and partly humanoid, with a hugely distended abdomen. It was obvious the thing was filled with larvae. I could hardly choke back the bile that rose in my throat when I saw it.

A number of large roaches moved to defend this disgusting thing when we entered the room. I tried to retrieve the halfling girl, but the cocoon that held her was stuck fast to the floor. My companions set to with the roaches. 

The monster on the bed let out a horrid screech that summoned more of the bigger horned bugs from below. We were hard-pressed to stand against them. Thank the Keen Eye that Thor's rat friends were still with us. 

Thor girded himself with a spell and moved to face the monster on the bed. A scorpion-like stinging tail emerged from her larva sac when she fought back. Thor and Ninad were both stung several times. She also breathed out a nauseating miasma that left Shishir so ill he couldn't fight.

I moved to the bed area and tried to assist my companions against the roaches, hoping to defend Dalia until we could free her. I'd left my spear at the inn and was feeling the lack of it. Our battle was a long hard struggle and we would likely have had to retreat had it not been for the rats Thor had befriended. 

Once we'd eliminated the hideous swarm queen, we set Dalia free and saw to Ninad, who'd been seriously wounded. Shishir discovered that the swarm queen had possession of some fine garnet jewelry, though I don't know what such a creature would want with gems. We determined that the original owners of the house had been devoured by the insects. We never learned why Dalia had been taken. 

When we reunited Dalia with her grateful family, they assured us that we could always have a free meal at their inn for as long as we live. I'm sure they forgot how much longer I'll live than any of my friends. But they needn't worry. I'm not likely to return to Dreenam often.

As an additional reward, the innkeeper gave us an enchanted ring that had belonged to an adventurous relative of his. He claimed it was blessed. My companions gave it to me to keep. 

Shishir showed the dagger he'd found to the local priestess of Yondalla, who proclaimed it tainted by evil. It seemed the dagger had belonged to a murderer who had fled into the sewers. We suspected he was the ghoulish thing we'd found. The young monk then gave the dagger into the keeping of a local wizard. 

We tried to turn over the jewelry to the relatives of the slain family, but as they had no other relations in Dreenam the townsfolk insisted that we keep it. We'll probably sell it in Highfolk. 

I'll write again when I have more to tell.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 16, 2007)

*Letter #12*

Dearest brother;

I'm sorry I haven't written lately. There have been some interesting developments among my adventuring companions. 

We made our way safely back to Highfolk and took care of our business there. But Shishir chose to keep his share of the jewelry we'd acquired in Dreenam. During our previous time at the Green Inn he'd developed a friendship with Liselle, one of Yagren's daughters. He gave her a ring from among the items we recovered.

Being a naive young monk from an isolated monastery, he didn't know anything about typical courtship customs. Liselle took the gift of the ring for an offer of marriage. When this was explained to Shishir, rather than trying to clear up the confusion he simply accepted it. Thus Shishir and Liselle are betrothed. 

But Shishir had no desire to remain in Highfolk and become an innkeeper. He didn't think it at all odd that he wanted to leave town again immediately. Instead of waiting for him to return, Liselle decided to come along with him! He has an alarming tendency to get badly hurt when we face any enemies. I hope she can cope with this. 

We left Highfolk accompanied by Liselle and a pack mule bearing some items her family sent along. We set off to the west with some vague plans of traveling to see the ocean, suggested by Thor. At first I was uncertain of this goal, but I'd like to see the ocean, and I had nothing pressing to occupy my time.

After a few days' travel we came on a caravan that had been set upon by ogres. Naturally we gave them our aid and were able to vanquish the ogres fairly easily. After we left them we met a wandering minstreal by the name of Xymos, who shared our camp one night. I'm not certain why, but he gave us each a token that he told us could be reclaimed at an inn run by a man named Kurosh in the capitol city of Zeif. I suppose if we continue toward the ocean we will come to Zeif eventually.

A few days after parting from the bard, we arrived in the town of Nolp. There were quite a few travelers in town. We approached an inn named the Last Call and found the common room rather crowded. Just as we were trying to squeeze in the door we observed a Halfling man in magical flight tossing a Man into the street. 

Thor was terribly impressed with the Halfling's flight and eagerly followed him into the inn. Then Liselle remarked that she recognized the Halfling. She'd met him at her parents' inn, and knew him by the name of Darp Magoon.

Though he was disappointed when he found that Darp's flight was simply due to a spell, Thor sat down to learn a dice game with the Halfling after Liselle introduced us. I found the inn too crowded for my taste, particularly when I noticed some well-armored orcs. 

Ninad had purchased a book to learn about the lands we'd be passing through and informed me that they came from the elite guard of the sultan of Zeif. I didn't realize the people there were so friendly to the orcs.

While we were dining we were approached by a young woman of slightly Elven appearance, who introduced herself as Erasyne. She down to chat with us, but the conversation was interrupted when a man entered the common room and announced that a menagerie could be seen in a field outside the town. My companions all jumped up and hurried off to see. 

I didn't have any desire to see imprisoned animals, so while my companions were gone I took a stroll through town to get some distance from the orcs. While I was walking I caught a glimpse of a tree abruptly rearing its branches over the rooftops where moments before there had been no tree! 

I hurried to investigate this occurrence. On the way I was intercepted by Shishir's familiar, Balamani, who indicated urgently that I should follow her. She flew off in the direction of the mysterious tree. 

I arrived at the field occupied by the menagerie to find my companions engaged in a struggle with an unknown man. Our new acquaintance Erasyne had gone with them and was holding another man at swordpoint. As Shishir was facing the first man in a threatening manner, I ran up behind the man and caught hold of his coat. Shishir knocked him out with a blow and quickly explained that they'd discovered all the creatures in the menagerie were really people, transformed by magic. 

In the meanwhile Thor was standing under the tree he'd summoned with his fey gift, laughing uncontrollably. It turned out that the menagerie owner had cast a spell on him. Once he recovered from the effect of the spell, we searched the villain and found the wand he'd used to effect the transformations. To my horror I discovered that he'd turned one poor man into a naga, and then cut out his tongue when he realized nagas can speak!

Darp the Halfling was present as well, and was able to use the villain's wand to return the three prisoners to their proper forms. It even restored the missing tongue of the man who'd been turned into a naga, praise the Keen Eye. We took all the money from our prisoner and returned it to the people who'd paid to see the menagerie. What was left we gave to his three victims. 

It seems we've acquired another member of our party. When we made ready to leave town, Erasyne approached and asked if she could accompany us. She seems to be very interested in searching for treasure, which isn't something that holds much interest for me. But she's good with a sword and seems to be of a charitable nature. We'll see how she fares.

I'll write again when I have more to tell.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 16, 2007)

*Letter #13*

Dearest brother;

Once again I must apologize for being remiss with my letters. So much has happened that it's difficult to recall it all clearly now.

Rescuing kidnapped children seems to have become our task. We discovered that a green hag was taking children from the area we traveled through and set off to recover them. Unfortunately for us the hag had quite a number of helpers, including some evil creatures resembling treants and a child that seems to have been partly turned into a hag itself.

We followed the hag back to her lair in a ramshackle cottage, and to our horror found a corpse staked out in front of the shack! 

Thor found an area of disturbed earth that proved to cover some buried coins and gems. I'm surprised Erasyne wasn't the first to notice it. But she'd gone into the cottage. When she emerged a moment later she had hold of the hag-child. She asked if anyone knew a way to return the child to its human state, but neither Thor nor I were aware of any method to do this, nor did Ninad's lorebooks hold the answer.

While we were discussing this Shishir suddenly stepped over to the 'hagling' and snapped its neck. Erasyne was shocked by this, but it seemed the only option. Otherwise the hagling would have grown up to be another green hag and started preying on the local children just as its predecessor had.

Erasyne then began digging a grave to buy both the hagling and the corpse we'd found. While she was at this the remainder of our group decided to investigate the hag's shack. Only Thor wasn't with us, as he'd flown off in bird shape to look out for the evil treants.

Illtud watched the door while the twins and I entered the shack. The first room seemed innocuous enough, but Shishir detected several magical auras. These turned out to be 'magic mouths' that the hag had apparently cast on various objects to keep the child from touching them. 

The next room was more grueseome, filled with entrails and skins of animals. The twins discovered a trapdoor in the floor and determined that we should check it for prisoners.

Though the brothers opened the trapdoor with caution, they were immediately set upon by a huge snake. Illtud came inside to help when he heard me struggling with it, but I couldn't stab it in quite the right spot to kill it before it could wrap itself around Shishir and squeezed him until he blacked out. 

Ninad grabbed his brother and carried him outside to revive him. I'd acquired a wand of curative spells, and I used it to treat Shishir. Fortunately he'd insisted that Liselle not approach the shack with us, and she didn't see his danger.

Meanwhile Thor had come upon an ettin that was heading toward the shack. He came winging back to warn us, but chose to remain in bird form and we were too busy with Shishir to notice a bird fluttering about. Only Erasyne spotted him. But she didn't understand what he was trying to communicate with his frantic flapping and swooping and thought he wanted her to follow him. 

Fortune smiled on her, though, and she managed to observe the ettin before it saw her. She ran back to the shack to warn us while Thor tried to distract the monster. It had a huge bear with it, and Thor managed to persuade the bear to turn in another direction. This didn't deter the ettin, though.

On learning of the ettin's approach, we decided to withdraw rather than face it as none of us were without wounds. Even though he'd only just recovered from the snake's embrace, Shishir wanted to hang back and spy on the ettin. Erasyne stayed by his side for a moment until even she decided this was unwise. 

Ninad couldn't bear to leave his brother and went back. When it seemed the ettin might have detected them, Ninad used a spell to draw its attention away. Then his twin stood up and shouted out to the monster that the hag was dead. It began poking about the shack and its surroundings and came upon the shallow grave Erasyne had dug for the hagling child. After that the twins decided it was time to leave. 

When they rejoined us Shishir revealed that he'd found a sack in the shack containing far more than seemed possible for a sack that size. He found an assortment of items that might have been spell components, some travel rations, gold and silver coins, a large knife, and an unusual crystal key. 

The sack also proved to hold a curative potion that my companions handed to me. Erasyne was fascinated with the crystal key. She was certain it must be the key to a secret location where the hag kept her treasure.

We found a spot near the road to rest and recover out of deference to Illtud, who hates to leave the road. When we felt sufficiently recuperated we made our way to the next guard post. It was a pleasure to camp safely without fear of attack during the night.

Our next several days were equally quiet. But one evening Erasyne had a strange experience. She observed a human-like form shuffling through the forest, seemingly with a stick tied to its ankle and dragging along behind the figure. 

The guards at the post had told us that there had been undead seen in the forest of late, and Erasyne suspected the figure she'd seen was a zombie. When she told us of it Thor and Shishir wanted to follow it. I wasn't too concerned by a single zombie, but they convinced me. 

We decided to try to find out where it had come from so I followed its tracks back in the direction it had been traveling. It wasn't long before we realized we were heading back toward the hag's shack. We began to suspect our zombie had been the corpse Erasyne had buried.

Our suspicions were confirmed when we reached the cabin. The grave looked as though it had been burst open from beneath. The corpse of the child-hag was also missing, but we suspected it had been carried off by the ettin. The shack made us all uncomfortable and we swiftly returned to the road to retrace our journey.

A few days later we came to another guard post. There we heard news of more undead in the forest. Other travelers who'd come to rest at the guard post were quite impressed by the tale of our struggle with the hag and her minions, as told mostly by Thor and Erasyne. 

Liselle thought it was time for a bit of a celebration, though I'm not certain what she intended to celebrate other than our survival. She brought out what she thought was a bottle of wine sent by her parents. But when she uncorked it a puff of smoke issued from the mouth, forming itself into a winged woman with a long tail!

When the woman had become substantial she put her hands together and bowed deeply to us, exclaiming loudly, "Good morning! Salaam!"

I'll tell you the rest of this story in my next letter.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 17, 2007)

*Letter #14*

_I missed a couple of sessions. The "spirit stones" showed up in one of those._

Dearest brother,

I know it’s been long since I wrote you last.  I won’t attempt to tell you of all that has happened since my previous letter.  

We've now been saddled with a djinni who calls herself Pheretima. I’ve never heard of djinni with wings and tails.  She resembles a demon to my mind, but I admit I’ve never seen either djinn or demon.  

When she asked what our wishes were everyone assumed that she could grant wishes and at once began shouting out various outlandish suggestions.  Thor was the most vocal, asking for the ability to fly or to have wings, and requesting that Pheretima take him to her unknown homeland.  

It soon became clear that Pheretima cannot grant wishes.  She claims she was forcibly imprisoned in the bottle and must obey the commands of whoever possesses the bottle, but she was unable to do anything that anyone asked of her.  

It’s difficult to determine who is actually her master, since no one knows how the bottle came to be amongst our gear.  It doesn’t really seem to matter though, as she seems incapable of doing anything useful.  She conjured up a huge meal of eastern delicacies, insulting Liselle in the process, even though no one had asked for any food.  

Pheretima’s charms wore off quickly when she couldn’t grant wishes.  Thor was especially disappointed that she couldn’t give him the ability to fly.  I don’t know why he wants to fly, since he can now transform himself into a bird.  I suppose he wants to be able to fly in his natural form.  He is a most peculiar individual, even for a gnome.  

Erasyne was also disappointed in Pheretima’s lack of ability.  She seems to think that magic can do anything.  She wandered off into the town after dinner.  Some of our group had some of Pheretima’s food, I suppose to be polite.  I chose to dine on what Liselle had prepared.  The dishes Pheretima conjured were too rich and spicy for my tastes.  

Ninad and Illtud also went into town, so only myself, Shishir and Liselle remained at our campsite.  I’m not quite sure what Thor was doing; probably busy being a bird again.

After a little while Erasyne returned with a Halfling named Kirp.  He seemed a shifty sort.  She introduced him as the brother of Darp, the Halfling wizard who had helped us in Nolp when we freed the transformed humans from the menagerie.  

Erasyne seems to think that because Darp is her friend his brother is automatically her friend as well, and she also assumes that her friend will be our friend.  I distrusted Kirp at once.  He was too nervous.  But I was somewhat distracted by watching Pheretima to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble.  If she could grant wishes I’d wish that her bottle would disappear and her with it.

Later Ninad came back with a story of a local herbalist who’d been missing for some time returning to town in a terrible state.  The herbalist had dropped a map on the ground and Ninad had picked it up.  He seemed very excited about it.  He told us that Thor had gone to help the local healer in caring for the herbalist.  

He then began consulting with his twin over the map, which they believed to show the locations of all the spirit stones in the forest.  They wanted to follow the map and see all the stones.  I fear that by the time I see the ocean I’ll be alone, as all my companions will have died of old age.  They are all so easily distracted.

In the morning Thor returned.  The herbalist had very nearly died, but the intervention of Thor’s healing magic had saved him.  Kirp had evidently been looking for traveling companions, but when he found that we were headed east he left.  

Later we were visited by some very rude bounty hunters who were seeking a Halfling thief.  I couldn’t lie to them and told them that we had seen a Halfling but he’d gone and I didn’t know where.  That was quite true; Kirp had vanished quickly after departing from our camp.  Oddly Erasyne and the others seemed determined to pretend that they hadn’t seen Kirp!

Ninad decided to go off to town and seek someone to make a copy of the map.  I admire him for wanting to return it to the herbalist, but I don’t think he should have taken it to begin with.  I also didn’t feel that seeking out spirit stones was a very useful thing to do, and I told him so, which seemed to make him angry.  Humans are odd, and he and his brother have led such sheltered lives in their monastery.  There was no way to know if the map truly showed spirit stones.  But Ninad was determined that he was right.

Ninad returned to tell us that the herbalist had apparently gone mad and thrown himself from a tower to his death.  Poor man.  Since he was dead it didn’t seem to matter that Ninad had his map, and in any case he could find no one to copy it for him.  He asked Pheretima if she could magically copy it, but all he got for his trouble was a stack of blank papyrus.

We argued for a bit over what to do at this point.  Thor agreed with the twins about seeking the spirit stones.  Erasyne is convinced that the world is full of buried treasure and thinks the stones might mark the locations of such treasure.  She also wanted to help Kirp, and briefly went back to town to look for him without success.  Illtud didn’t want to leave the road, as usual.  

I wanted to continue toward the ocean, or at least continue investigating the undead problem in the forest; we can look at spirit stones some other time, perhaps when we return from the ocean.  But it seemed that if I wanted to follow that course I'd have to do it alone.  When we finally started moving I walked out ahead so I wouldn’t have to listen to the continued bickering.

We hadn’t gone far when Kirp reappeared.  He had decided that he’d rather have company than try to make his way to Nolp alone.  Erasyne was delighted to have him with us.  I was not so pleased.

I must concede that Ninad was right:  the markings on the map do appear to indicate spirit stones in the forest.  We were examining the first stone we came to beyond Midfort when the three bounty hunters reappeared.  Kirp had vanished again, so when they demanded that we hand him over we could truthfully say that we had no Halfling with us.  

These bounty hunters were not only rude and threatening – one of them appeared to be of orcish blood.  I could hardly stand to be in the same forest with them.  

The bounty hunters insisted that Kirp was with us.  They told us that they wanted either the Halfling or a gem he’d stolen.  I didn’t know anything about a gem, but Erasyne appeared to have some knowledge of it.  The bounty hunters refused to believe that Kirp wasn’t with us, and they also refused to believe Erasyne when she told them that Kirp had sold the gem to a wizard.  It seemed that we might have to fight them.  

But at last they appeared to have found something among some shrubs and agreed to let us go on our way.  I think Erasyne would have stayed to help Kirp, but the rest of us had lost sympathy for him when it became apparent that he was a thief.  When we’d made our way back to the road we heard the sounds of what seemed to be a chase, and a squeal that might have been a Halfling being caught.

At first it seemed our journey would be uneventful, but that was not to be.  As we camped that night four zombies approached and attacked us.  Fortunately I was alert and they didn't take us by surprise.  One of the zombies was a giant lizard rather than a humanoid, but the twins and Thor were able to destroy it.  We made short work of the undead horrors and burned their remains.  

Now we began to think more of seeking the source of the undead than of finding the spirit stones.  In the morning we headed southwest, the direction the zombies had been heading.

As we made our way through the forest we were abruptly attacked by two huge spiders that were somehow able to vanish and reappear at random.  They were terrible to fight.  We formed a circle back-to-back so they couldn’t appear between us, but that didn’t spare us.  

Shishir and I were both bitten and their bites contained poison that left us weak.  I could hardly lift my spear.  We had great difficulty destroying them.  It helped us greatly when the twins were able to stun the spiders with their blows so that the spiders couldn’t perform their vanishing act.  

After we had slain them both Thor was able to prevent the poison from spreading.  But we were forced to rest for several days while Thor and I both called upon the power of Nature to heal myself and Shishir of our weakness.  Thankfully the gods were merciful, else we might have had to spend a month waiting for me to recover my strength!

There were some other markings on the map that didn’t seem to be spirit stones, so Thor transformed and flew overhead to see what the first object was.  He found a large isolated building, apparently deserted.  A short time after he returned to tell us of this, we met a ranger named Zengar who warned us to leave the forest.  We explained to him that we were trying to find out where the undead were coming from, and he told us that he knew the answer to that question.  

For unknown reasons the undead were congregating around the isolated structure Thor had seen.  It had once been a place where troubled folk were sent to keep others safe from them, but Zengar didn’t know why the undead were going there or what had happened to the former residents.  He suspected they had also become undead.  

Zengar intended to contact the local druidic circle for help.  This pleased Thor and I, and we asked him if he could take us to the druids.  He has agreed, so our next step will be to seek the advice of the local druids.  We're determined to do what we can to rid the forest of roving undead – at least until everyone else decides to go back to looking for spirit stones, or Thor finds some way for the djinn to transport us to Perrenland.

As always, I'll tell you more when I write again.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 18, 2007)

*Letter #15*

Dearest brother;

We continue our quest to fight the undead of the Bramblewood Forest.  Zengar the ranger has shown us to the druids’ circle, where we met a senior druid called Aroses.  He told us that the other druids have gone to the building Thor found, which is known as the Sanatorum, to prevent any further undead from entering the structure.  It seems that now even animals are being turned into zombies, which explains the zombie lizard that attacked us a few days ago.  

While we were speaking with Aroses we also met a young druidess named Samira.  Samira appears to have the gift of foresight, though it seems that Aroses doesn’t take her very seriously even though the high druidess is convinced that Samira is a seer.  

Samira proclaimed that she’d had a vision of strangers coming to help the druids against the undead menace, and she believes we are the people from her vision.  She wanted to know if we’d visited the Shrine of Light.  We had never heard of such a place, nor had Aroses or Zengar, and Samira’s vision didn’t tell her where it lay.  But she did say that in her vision we had visited the shrine before going to fight the undead.  

She also told us that in 3 days the zombie king would arise, adding urgency to our mission.

Thor was at once interested in seeking out this shrine – sometimes I find it very hard to follow his thoughts.  Before Samira mentioned the shrine he was keen to go to the Sanatorum straight away.  Some of our companions didn’t feel that seeking the shrine would be of use since we didn’t know where it lay.  But after some discussion it was determined that we would go to visit an abandoned fort about a day and a half distant from the druidic circle.  We hoped that perhaps the shrine would be there.  

We departed on the morning following our arrival at the druids’ circle.  Aroses didn’t have much to give us to aid us in our search for the shrine, although he was able to provide a wand of healing which Thor now carries.  Samira introduced us to a pixie named Dew who could show us the way to the old fort.  Dew is a strangely silent creature, quite unlike the rather talkative pixies I’ve met in the past.  

Our journey to the fort was uneventful.  At first it seemed that the fort was merely an overgrown ruin.  But Erasyne stumbled upon some dire rats hiding in the shadows, and after Thor befriended them they told him that some dangerous creatures inhabited the ruins.  They spoke of creatures with wings.  

We began to explore the chambers of the fort, those that were still intact enough to enter.  As Erasyne and Thor entered one room a long arm extended out of the shadows of the ceiling and snared them.  Erasyne was able to get free on her own but Thor couldn’t escape the unknown creature’s grasp.  I struck the monster a sharp stab with my spear, but it was Shishir who slew it, after he observed that there were actually two of the foul monsters.  His twin killed the second creature.  

While most of us had struggled with the long-armed creatures, Illtud had waited out in the courtyard area near an opening into a sort of tunnel of rubble.  The room beyond where the creatures attacked us was full of fallen stones, so we returned to the courtyard to rejoin Illtud and decided to explore the passage he'd been watching.  We observed some tracks in the passage – there were many of them and they were large, but not the tracks of any of our kind.  

Suddenly a huge insect-like creature appeared and struck Illtud with one of its tentacles.  The blow left him immobilized.  Erasyne struck a well-aimed blow and slew the creature.  Fortunately the paralysis caused by its tentacles didn’t last long.  

Nearby we discovered a corpse that had evidently been devoured by the creature.  We gathered up most of the unfortunate victim’s belongings. Erasyne was very interested in how much coin the corpse’s purse held, but she agreed to allow Illtud to carry the ring and shield that they found.  

We saw light coming down another part of the passageway.  This led us into a great hall overgrown with many vines.  A second corpse lay barely visible among the foliage.    As we approached the body the vines began to move.  A huge tendril rose out of the mass.  Illtud tried to set it afire with his torch but it wouldn't light.  

The vines grabbed everyone who had entered their reach, but Thor managed to leap back out of their grasp and the twins hadn't yet set foot among them.  The twins attempted to rescue us by pulling us out with a rope, and Ninad cast a spell to try to make the main vine release its hold.  I drew my scimitar to chop at the vine.

While we struggled with the entangling vine – an assassin vine, I think – a huge minotaur bearing a mace entered the great hall.  Thor called out to the beast to help us, but the minotaur hadn’t come to our aid.  Don’t be worried, dear Tiryon – the minotaur struck me a great blow with its horns but I am well.  

To save myself further injury I used my _ring of Levitation_ to rise up and plied my bow against the beast.  Illtud and Shishir attacked the beast from the ground, while Ninad tried to rid us of the assassin vine before it could trap us and make us easy targets for the minotaur. 

Shishir was struck by the minotaur’s mace but remained on his feet. He and Ninad used their rope to trip the beast, causing it to fall.  Sadly it didn’t stay down for long.  Our combined efforts overcame the it, and it was Shishir who struck the final blow.  After the minotaur had fallen I descended and used my scimitar on the vine again.  Once the large vine was severed the lesser vines ceased moving.  

The body among the vines was that of a half-human, lightly armored and bearing a rapier and a number of throwing daggers.  I think that Erasyne may have claimed these.  We found that the mace the minotaur carried had not been made for such a large beast – it had obviously been made for a creature the size of an elf, though it was a large mace.  The mace bore a symbol resembling the symbol of the sun god.  We also saw some gold scattered among the vines.  

While we looked about, Illtud saw a door marked with a sun symbol similar to that on the mace.  The door turned out to lead to a shrine.  Brackets on the wall might once have held the heavy mace.  Ninad recognized the sun symbol as that of Savitri, a Baklunish sun deity.  

A strange beam of sunlight fell behind the altar.  Through accident – or perhaps divine intervention – Erasyne discovered that if she stood in the beam of light in a posture of supplication, imitating the figures carved on the shrine walls, the light seemed to become something more than a mere sunbeam. 

It took several tries by various members of our group – not myself – to find that the sunbeam showed the location of a hidden chest.  Within the small chest we found some coins, two potions, a scroll, and a wand marked with Savitri’s symbol.  It was determined that the scroll contained a divine spell that would cause silence in a certain area, but as no one in our group is a priest we can’t use the scroll.  Ninad took charge of it.  

It was also discovered that the wand had some carvings on it that spoke of “hot light”.  Again it seems none of us will be able to employ the magic of the wand.  The mace, too, was imbued with divine magic.  It was given into the care of Illtud as he is the only one of our group likely to be able to wield a mace.  

The items we’ve found in the shrine appear to be useful against undead creatures, but I’m not certain how well they will aid us if none of us can use them.  We must hurry now to the Sanatorum to arrive before the zombie king appears.  

I’ll write to you again when I can.

Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 19, 2007)

*Letter #16*

Dearest brother;

I haven’t had time to write and there is too much to tell.  We at last found a use for the confounded djinn, Pheretima, as she was able to fly us all back to the druids’ circle from the ruined fort.  This saved us a great deal of time in our efforts to avert the arising of the zombie king.  

The druids had set up a protective circle around the Sanatorum, as many undead animals were rising in the vicinity of the building.  The chief druidess intended to destroy the building and would only allow us a short time to attempt our attack on the undead within.  The interior of the structure is too gruesome to describe, a grim parody of life by numbers of hideous ghouls and zombies.  I shudder to recall it.  

As always our group proceeded with little planning.  Thor’s behavior can best be described as “flighty”, if you’ll forgive the pun.  I am beginning to wonder if poor Shishir is cursed in some manner.  He has come near death far too many times for comfort.  It is fortunate that his betrothed Liselle wasn't with us.  

I wonder a little about Erasyne, too.  She is very interested in finding treasure and seems to think that almost everywhere we go must have some opportunity to find gold and other valuables.  What a strange way of looking at the world.  We did find some items of worth, little though I care for most of them.  I wouldn't have expected to find anything of value in a place formerly dedicated to healing sick minds.

The Sanatorum had a maze-like construction.  We wandered down many narrow corridors.  Thor and Erasyne both engaged in their penchant for heedlessly opening doors.  Erasyne reported seeing a gruesome kitchen filled with zombies, but fortunately the zombies appeared to have no interest in coming out to attack us and we were able to disregard them and continue our exploration.  

Erasyne, the twins and Illtud easily dispatched a lone ghoul in one room while I stood watch over the door to the kitchen.  Unfortunately the ease of destroying this lone creature made Erasyne a bit overconfident of how easily we could defeat the rest of the undead.

We eventually made our way into a chamber that contained an eerie patch of darkness hovering in midair.  It swallowed up any light that touched the darkness, even magical light.  We still don't know what it was.  

Poor Illtud was paralyzed after being struck by an undead ogre we had encountered just before we entered that chamber, so Erasyne borrowed the holy mace he carried and tried striking at the darkness with it.  The two items obviously were anathema to one another, but the blow didn't destroy the darkness.  

We also heard a strange, disturbing murmuring coming from somewhere nearby.  This didn't much trouble me, but Illtud and Shishir seemed mesmerized by it.  

After various forays into discovering the nature of the darkness, Thor decided to attempt casting a spell of searing light from the wand he carried.  A terrible wail rang out when the light met the darkness and the darkness vanished.  

Then a shadowy figure came through the wall, followed by a great mass of ghouls.  We were outnumbered.  Erasyne and the twins managed to leap back toward the nearest stairway, but the rest of us were cut off.  I concentrated on fighting the ghouls, but poor Thor found himself drawing the attention of another terrible being who appeared through a wall.  

I am not certain if this one was undead or merely a powerful and insane necromancer, but he seemed drawn to Thor because the gnome bore the wand and amulet we’d found in the fort.  Thor ran through a doorway into a corridor and I couldn't see all that occurred as this new foe pursued him.  

Things began to look bleak for us when both Ninad and Illtud were paralyzed by ghoul bites.  For some reason Thor kept trying to give me the wand of healing that he carried, but I trusted to my spear and later my scimitar when the fighting pressed too close.  I think perhaps Thor thought that healing would harm undead creatures, but I don't know why he didn't simply use the wand for that purpose himself.  

He plied the wand of searing light against his opponent, and at last was able to destroy the being, which I suppose proves that it was some sort of undead creature.  After it was gone the ghouls all seemed to lose their will to fight.  Some of them fled and we later learned that they were destroyed when they reached the magical wards the druids had set outside.

We searched a bit more through the building and Ninad read to us from a book he found that the undead lord Thor had destroyed was once a powerful necromancer.  He had been a minion of Iuz who had been captured by the Knights of Furyondy.  Sadly in their misguided attempt at mercy they had brought him to the Sanatorum to be held rather than slay him.  

The Knights had left a cache of items in storage at the Sanatorum to be used if this necromancer caused difficulties, but of course no one had been able to use the items before the undead lord’s plan went too far.  We were able to locate the cache, which contained a variety of weapons, some perhaps magical.  Most of them hold little interest for me, though I will admit I value the composite longbow we discovered.  There are some arrows that may be of use as well.  

Ninad is trying to gather up as many books as he can find, as the druids still intend to destroy the building and have no use for books of healing of that sort.  Ninad hates to see any writings destroyed.  I agree that it would be a waste to lose the knowledge accumulated there, but I'm not sure what use it is to carry a quantity of heavy books around unless he intends to become a healer.  

The Sanatorum also doesn't seem so much a place of healing as one of imprisonment.  I for one will be glad to see it gone.

I had hoped to spend some time with the druids of the circle here, but my friends already want to return to investigating the spirit stones.  One would think these short-lived folk would wish to hurry to the ocean before they grow old, but the rest of our little group is becoming as flighty as Thor!  Still, it is entertaining to wait to see what they'll do next.

I will write again soon.

Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 19, 2007)

*Letter #17*

Dearest Brother;

After a few days with the druids, we set off to investigate the spirit stones once again.  Zengar the ranger agreed to come along with us.  

It seems that trouble will always find our little party.  Before we could seek out the first spirit stone we stumbled upon an injured man.  Introducing himself as Arad once he was healed enough to speak, he explained that he and his six companions had been traveling through the forest when they heard a strange music at night and went to investigate the sound.  They were attacked by unknown creatures in the dark, and only Arad remained.  He had been scored by bird-like claws, though a very large bird it must have been.  

We made our way to the site where Arad and his friends had camped, and left him there in the care of Zengar and Liselle while we searched the area.  It appeared that the creatures had attacked the camp and scattered the travelers’ belongings, but did not seem interested in taking anything.  

We followed the travelers’ trail to the clearing where they were attacked.  There was no sign of Arad’s friends.  It appeared that the creatures had carried them off.  

Thor has recently become able to transform into a bird at will – to his great joy – and he took the form of an eagle to scout the area.  When he returned he told us he had found a kind of treehouse inhabited by at least one harpy.  We decided to approach the treehouse and attempt to find out if the harpies were holding Arad’s companions.  

The tree turned out to be quite tall and it was difficult to determine how we could reach the treehouse.  Much to my disgust it was decided to summon Pheretima and ask her to fly us all up to the structure.  She of course did not want to cooperate, but was finally persuaded.  

When we entered the structure we found no immediate sign of Arad’s friends, nor of the harpies.  Then two of the creatures appeared and attacked us.  As we were fighting them more harpies swarmed outside the structure and began singing their song.  I am sad to say that I succumbed to its mesmerizing effect and found myself trying to get outside.  Several of the others were also so affected, leaving only Erasyne able to control herself.  

I don’t recall much of what happened then, as I was too preoccupied with attempting to get outside.  Fortunately when I was faced with the long drop from the trapdoor exit I came to my senses – but I can't say the same for poor Illtud, who fell through the trapdoor!!

I will write more later.

Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 22, 2007)

*Letter #20*

*This entry is labeled #20 because I've lost my notes for #18 and I missed session #19. I'm going to handle this one as if Lothiriel had been writing her brother all along and the letters got lost in the post.

During the session I missed, the party used one of the 'spirit stones' to enter a fey demiplane. There they had a variety of strange encounters centered around the shards of an evil artifact, a black diamond. Swallowing a shard or inserting it into the body can cause the subject to turn evil. If you're familiar with the anime Inu-Yasha, this artifact was inspired by the Shikon Jewel in that series. *


Dearest brother;

We've been in Lopolla for a few days.  I had to purchase a new suit of armor, since we gave my original armor over to a troll as I told you in my last letter.  Thank Solonor we had no threatening encounters in the Bramblewood during my time without armor.  

Here in Lopolla I’ve discovered the fascinating creatures called llamas.  I’m considering purchasing one as a pack animal.  They have lovely eyes, and I hope I can find someone who can make a cloak of llama wool. Their wool is quite appealing.

Our chief order of business here in the capitol of Ket was to return the diamond we found to the Malik Galivar.  You may recall that some time ago we met a halfling named Kirp, whose brother was an old friend of Erasyne’s.  We eventually learned that Kirp had stolen a large diamond from the Malik, who is a noble of some repute here.  Kirp was captured by bounty hunters in the Malik’s employ, but he claimed he had sold the diamond prior to meeting us.  While searching some ruins in the Bramblewood, we stumbled upon the remains of some travelers who fit the description of the people to whom Kirp had sold the stone.  We found a large diamond among their effects.  Assuming that this gem was the one Kirp had stolen, we decided to return it to its rightful owner.

I had misgivings about approaching the Malik.  I feared he might think we were Kirp’s accomplices in the theft.  I grew more apprehensive when Erasyne and Ninad took the lead in addressing the Malik during our audience.  They told the story of our relationship with Kirp quite honestly, but I worried that they wouldn't be believed.  My concerns only increased when the Malik brought out the three bounty hunters we had encountered previously.  To my surprise and relief, the bounty hunters confirmed our story. 

The Malik accepted their opinion and agreed to pay us the reward he'd offered for the return of the diamond.  But Ninad was concerned for Kirp’s fate.  The halfling was brought out and we could see that though he had obviously not been treated gently, he was in relatively good condition.  

Ninad stated that he believed Kirp had been punished enough, and asked the Malik what he would consider sufficient recompense for the halfling’s misdeed.  When the Malik suggested an amount equal to the reward, Ninad calmly handed back the chest of gold coins.  The gold doesn't matter much to me, but I half expected Erasyne to argue with Ninad.  Evidently her sympathy for Kirp outweighs her desire for treasure.

I must cut this letter short as I have other matters to attend to. I'll write again soon.

Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 22, 2007)

*Letter #21*

Dearest brother;

To continue my story: once we had concluded our visit with the Malik, we were ushered out somewhat unceremoniously - perhaps due to Kirp's presence among our group.  

As soon as we had stepped beyond the gates of the Malik's palace, Ninad set the halfling on the ground, handed him a sack of coin, and commanded him to leave the city at once or risk bodily injury.  I must admit I was a bit surprised.  I have no affection for Kirp, but I wouldn't have treated him with such contempt as Ninad showed.  The halfling wisely accepted Ninad's offer and turned away.  But Thor and Erasyne wouldn't let the matter rest there.  They followed Kirp while Ninad and I headed back to the Satin Pillow Inn.

Once we arrived at the inn, Ninad took a private room and began the ritual to reestablish his bond with Nimkin, for that bond had been severed while we were in the fey realm.  Shishir also began this ritual since he too had lost his connection with Balamani.  

After a time the rest of our group returned, fortunately without Kirp.  I decided to go out and see what unusual animals were available in the city's markets other than llamas.  I am still considering the purchase of a llama, but I was attracted to a group of older puppies offered by one merchant.  I have purchased a companion for Rahon.  I haven't yet chosen a name for my new friend.  She will tell me what her name should be.

During the evening, as most of our party reassembled to dine, we were approached by a young man carrying a harp.  Erasyne appeared to know who he was.  It seems that in their discussion with Kirp, she and Thor learned that Kirp had taken the diamond to aid the Malik's youngest daughter, Ceceliah, in escaping an arranged marriage.  The diamond was to be her dowry, so she evidently hoped that if it were missing she would not be forced to wed her intended mate.  She had fallen in love with her music teacher, a young man named Dancenash.  It was this music teacher who now approached us.  

He wanted to hire us to help him find Ceceliah, who had run away from the palace.  Reportedly she planned to enter the temple of the goddess Kumari.  If she remained within the temple for two years her marriage would be annulled.  But there were rumors of something wrong at the temple.  No one had emerged from within its walls for some months, and Dancenash feared something dire would befall Ceceliah there.  

I noticed that there was a halfling lurking about in the shadows near the door, and quickly surmised that it must be Kirp.  He was still trying to help Dancenash and Ceceliah.  Erasyne encouraged Kirp to come forward, reassuring him that Ninad wasn't present. 

Erasyne had apparently heard the rumors about the temple and had gone there earlier in the day.  She'd been stopped outside by a woman who warned her off.  Showing unusual restraint, Erasyne had then returned to the city, but not before learning that the only way to enter the temple was by bathing in a special pool by moonlight. 

Kirp claimed to know of a possible second entry into the temple.  Erasyne and Thor were quite enthusiastic about going to the temple to aid the young lovers, and Dancenash's offer of money persuaded Illtud to go along with them.  I was not so eager.  I saw no reason to help these strangers, however much in love they might be.  I also felt that there was no real evidence of trouble at the temple.  In my opinion the local people were simply letting their imaginations run wild.  

When Ninad and Shishir appeared things grew more complicated.  Ninad was furious at the presence of Kirp and attempted to attack him, while his brother tried to protect the halfling.    Ninad wanted nothing to do with helping Kirp or anyone associated with him.  Shishir took the opposite position, which seemed a bit unusual to me, but perhaps this was because he was upset that his effort to re-bond himself with Balamani had failed to produce the desired result. 

In any event, an argument ensued as Thor propounded the joys of young love while I tried to present my own arguments against helping Dancenash.  Ninad was with me at first, but quickly gave in to the other side.  When I saw that I couldn't win and that my friends might leave without me, I too gave in.  I knew these impetuous folk would need my help.

The temple stood well outside the city in an isolated location.  Liselle had insisted on accompanying us, so I left my new dog with her when we prepared to enter the temple.  Erasyne volunteered to bathe in the pool to get inside the walls and then open the gates for the rest of us.  She took the term "bathe" quite literally, removing all her clothing before entering the pool.  When she had immersed herself she vanished.  We later learned that she had reappeared within a pool in the temple courtyard.  

As we approached the temple gates we heard Erasyne's scream from within.  She was under attack by some gargoyle-like creatures.  Erasyne had managed to remove a lower bar from the gate but couldn't reach the upper bar.  

With the help of Illtud and Ninad, I used my spear to lift the upper bar and ran into the courtyard.  Looking back I realize I could have used my enchanted ring to levitate to the top of the wall, but in the heat of the moment it slipped my mind. Shishir had employed some spell to leap over the wall, and by the time I entered he had already shattered one of the stony gargoyles.  

A second gargoyle grabbed Erasyne and flew with her toward the entrance to the temple proper.  Illtud and I rushed after the creature, followed by Ninad.  Erasyne managed to escape the gargoyle's grasp and I was able to thrust my spear straight through the creature despite its stony appearance.

Erasyne quickly donned her clothing once more and ran up a flight of steps to the main door of the temple.  Thor and Ninad ran into one of the corner towers to see what they could find, while Illtud, Dancenash and Kirp examined the tower in the opposite corner.  I decided to keep watch in the courtyard.  

When Erasyne found that the door was unlocked she opened it and immediately entered the temple.  Once the rest of us had joined her, we suddenly found that the woman she had met earlier in the day was also within the temple.  This woman, Alki, had apparently discovered that it was possible to enter via the magical pool without undressing, judging by the wetness of her garments.  She was very disturbed by our presence, especially the men, as men are customarily forbidden to enter the temple.  Erasyne's reassurances that we were there to help did little to comfort her.

I began to think that the concerns about the temple were not unfounded after all.  No one had come forward to greet us or object to our intrusion other than Alki, who was apparently not a priestess or supplicant.  

Before I could object our party had split into two groups and began exploring the corridors of the temple.  My group found a chamber full of statues apparently intended to show the stages of a woman's life.  When we turned down another hallway we found ourselves reunited with our companions, who had also encountered none of the temple staff.  At the midpoint of the hallway lay a curtained door.  As usual, Erasyne approached the door without caution.  Before she could draw the curtain aside a group of scimitar-wielding skeletons burst through the doorway.

Illtud rushed forward and began swinging the mace he had received in the sun god's ruined shrine in the forest.  It seems to have some special properties when used against the unliving.  He destroyed several of the skeletons with a single blow to each.  The rest of us quickly dispatched the remaining skeletons.  

When they were destroyed we observed that they had all been of relatively small stature and many of them wore the remains of veils, as the women do here in Lopolla.  Alki was convinced that these skeletons had once been the temple staff, though there was no way of identifying the individuals.  Dancenash grew very concerned for Ceceliah's safety.  Some of the others tried to reassure him that since she had only arrived on the previous night she was probably not among the skeletons.  We'll know more when we've searched the rest of the temple.

I'll tell you what we found in my next letter.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 23, 2007)

*Letter #22*

Lopolla

Dearest brother;

As I told you in my last letter, we'd entered the temple of Kumari in search of the girl Ceceliah and had found it empty but for walking skeletons.  

Alki told us that there were two entrances to the main sanctuary.  We decided to go there to see if there was any evidence of what was going on in the temple.  Shishir moved quietly up to one entrance and listened at the door.  I decided to proceed to the second entrance. Ninad and Illtud accompanied me.  

Ninad was able to hear voices within the chamber but couldn't make out what they were saying.  He carefully opened the door a crack and peeked inside.  Once he saw a light entering the previously darkened sanctuary we knew that our other companions had entered and we threw open the door.  

We found ourselves facing several snake-women with scaly features and tails.  There was another creature behind the altar, and something large that I first mistook for a statue.  I immediately attacked the first snake-woman in my path.  She cast some spell that caused Illtud to flee the sanctuary in terror, but it had no effect on me.  

As we battled the snake-women the large shape behind the altar began to move.  Clay bits broke away from it, revealing a huge skeletal form with four arms, each bearing a blade.  Fortunately the blades weren't of proportionate size to their wielder, for the skeletal creature struck Shishir and myself several times and did us considerable injury.  I had to step back from the fight to avail myself of my wand of healing.  

Erasyne had managed to borrow Illtud's mace before he fled the room, though she discovered that it wasn't as effective on the giant skeleton as it had been on the skeletal women.  Ninad and Shishir had better luck with their blows.  Before I could get back into the fray Ninad struck the thing a tremendous blow with his staff and it collapsed in a heap of mismatched bones.

The huge skeleton was apparently some sort of construct, since the bones didn't all appear to come from the same type of creature.  The snake-woman who had been at the altar near the bone construct had vanished.  Shishir had seen her descend into an opening in the floor near where the bone golem stood.  The opening hadn't closed completely, having been damaged by a lightning spell Thor cast upon the golem.  We pried it open and descended beneath the temple.  

Alki told us she'd been there before and believed that the eunuchs' quarters lay in the underground area.  Curiously, Erasyne had observed earlier that the temple appeared to be much more spacious within than it looked from outside, but we didn't have time to investigate this oddity.

We descended into a small chamber with several corridors leading into it.  The snake-woman who'd fled was still within the room.  Shishir was the first to enter the room, and for his trouble she turned him into a small viper!  

We attempted to surround her but she quickly retreated down one of the corridors.  She tried to cast a spell of darkness upon the area to conceal her escape, but Thor was able to dispel the darkness.  

She then cast another spell of fear that once again sent Illtud running - and this time me as well.  I didn't have an opportunity to see what occurred after that, as I was cowering on the stairs with Rahon.  Only the fact that it was a spell keeps me from feeling shame for my cowardice.

When the fear passed I found that my friends had slain the snake-woman.  Alki had run down one of the other corridors to seek the aid of a spirit that dwelled there.  The spirit couldn't leave its' chamber, but it was able to heal everyone of their wounds.  It explained that most of the evil was gone from the temple, and that it sensed only one new presence in one of the cells.  We were promised the contents of the temple treasury in return for destroying what evil remained.

Following the spirit's directions, we found a few more skeletons that were easily eliminated, and some demonic creature that fled when we destroyed all its' minions.  We also found Ceceliah imprisoned in one of the eunuchs' cells.  Dancenash was naturally very pleased to find her unharmed.

After we returned to the spirit it informed us that since there were no priestesses to maintain the temple it had no need to remain there any longer, and it departed.  We located the treasury behind a secret door.  At first we attempted to persuade Dancenash and Ceceliah to take the gold coins as a dowry so that the Malik would allow them to marry, but Dancenash was determined to face the Malik and win Ceceliah on his own.  

We then asked Alki to keep some of the money to donate to the temple if new priestesses came to reopen it. But she was uncomfortable with keeping such a large quantity of gold.  Finally we determined that we might as well accept the reward the spirit had offered to us.  We divided the coins, gems and other items between us.  Thor was naturally attracted to two platinum statues of birds, though they had no significance other than as decorations.  

I have decided to spend some of my share on a llama, or perhaps some type of riding animal.

When we returned to the city Dancenash and Ceceliah went off to speak with the Malik.  I'm not certain how successful they'll be but I suppose that's not something in which my aid would be useful.  Kirp accompanied them, at least to the gates of the Malik's palace.  Alki had already parted ways with us before we headed back to the city.  

After a bit of rest - our adventure at the temple had kept us busy all night - we parted company for the day to pursue our own interests.  Shishir had an opportunity to tell Liselle what it was like to be a snake for a short while.    

Thor has achieved his heart's desire:  he persuaded a local merchant to sell him an axebeak.  I am happy for him.  And I must confess that I've been looking unkindly on Erasyne of late for no good reason.  I thought her interest in treasure merely greed, but it's more like curiosity and enthusiasm.  She is young, after all, and unskilled in the ways of the wider world.  

Now I must try to understand why Thor and Erasyne seem so concerned about the twins.  They've had some quarrel recently but I'm sure their disagreement will soon be resolved.  I suppose it must be difficult for them to adjust to Liselle's presence, as they've spent all their lives as inseparable companions.

I'm not sure yet what our next move will be.  I expect in a day or two we'll depart from Lopolla, but I have no doubt that we'll find many more adventures on our slow journey toward the sea.  I'll write you again when I have more to tell.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 24, 2007)

*Letter #23*

12 Reaping  _(Sunday June 13, 2004)_

Dearest brother;

It's no surprise that adventure has swiftly reentered our lives. 

Thor was restless, and wanted an opportunity to allow his new friend Beaker the axebeak to run free.  The twins had got over their disagreement as I expected they would.  

Just when we had almost made up our minds to leave Lopolla at once – Thor wasn't willing to wait even until the following day – we received an invitation to dine with the Malik.  Most of us assumed he meant to thank us for rescuing his daughter, though Erasyne was a bit anxious that he had a less friendly motive.

Our dinner was pleasant and friendly, though Erasyne had to dissuade Thor from bringing Beaker along as an additional guest.  The Malik did indeed reward us for rescuing Ceciliah.  We were also given some gold coins in exchange for some valuable items of jewelry we recovered from the undead skeletons we destroyed.   Assuming that the skeletons were the remains of the temple priestesses, the Malik intends to try to return the jewelry to the families of the victims.

After expressing his gratitude, the Malik asked us to perform a task for him.  Now that he has agreed that Ceciliah need not marry the sheik's son she was betrothed to, the Malik wished us to carry a message to the sheik to notify him of the change in plan.  We were also given a coffer of valuables to deliver to the sheik, presumably to make up for the loss of Ceciliah's dowry.  

The Malik asked us to tell the sheik that Ceciliah had entered the temple of Kumari, and to omit the information that the temple is currently unoccupied.  Thor was a bit uncomfortable with that at first, as we'd planned to contact other temples during our travels and notify them of what has happened to the temple in Lopolla.  He was persuaded to agree to the Malik's request when the Malik assured us he would send messengers to contact the temple there after we made our visit to the sheik.

Our journey began uneventfully.  We decided to follow a main road and avail ourselves of the inns along the way.  But after we had been traveling for a few days affairs changed for the worse.  

It was about midday when we were suddenly accosted by a group of bandits.  I don't know how they managed to surprise us.  I can only assume that they had considerable practice in approaching by stealth.  One man grabbed Liselle and held a dagger to her throat.  We didn't appear to be outnumbered, so his action was the only thing that put our party at a disadvantage.  

With great presence of mind, Ninad swiftly struck out with his staff and sent Liselle tumbling to the ground.  Once she was free of the bandit I attacked him with my spear.  But just as we turned on the bandits a large shadow appeared overhead.  We all looked up to see a black creature resembling an enormous centipede flying toward us.  This appeared to be as much of a surprise to the bandits as it was to us.  

I heard a feminine voice demanding that we turn over the black diamond shards to this creature, but the voice appeared to come from within my own mind rather than through the air to my ears. 

The bandits quickly fled as we turned our attention to combating this creature.  It was immediately apparent that the creature was evil.  It was difficult to harm her with ordinary weapons.  Erasyne sent Liselle to retrieve a sword from the pack horse, as we'd found a sword at the Sanatorum that she hoped might be more useful against the demon.  

In the meanwhile the creature grabbed Shishir and slashed him almost to ribbons with her claws.  Ninad attempted to help his twin but was badly wounded himself and was forced to retreat and swallow a potion.  I also suffered some serious injuries from the creature's dagger-like legs.

As I stepped back to catch my breath I saw that Shishir was very near death.  Liselle came rushing up and somehow managed to administer a potion to him, although the demon still held him in the grasp of her pincer-like tail.  The demon then backed away from us and began cutting into Shishir again.  She seemed to be searching for something.  

Appalled at this foul behavior, Erasyne and I both rushed the demon and clove into her with our weapons.  She dropped Shishir and began writhing about like a dying snake.  Ninad was so furious that she had nearly slain his twin that he smashed her head to dust with his staff.  

Illtud produced a potion that brought Shishir back from the brink of death, but he was still very badly injured.  

When we examined the remains of the demon we found that she clutched two black diamond shards* in one of her claws.

I'll continue this later in another letter.

Lothiriel

_*See Letter #20 for more information about the black diamond shards._
_________________________________________


*Quote of the day:*

*Devo*: "We're definitely going to have to pick up some healing.  Or quit fighting."


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## sniffles (Jan 25, 2007)

*Letter #24*

15 - 16 Reaping         

Dearest brother;

After our terrible battle with the centipede demon we were all in poor condition, especially Shishir, who has now seen the edge of the afterlife more times than I care to imagine.  

He was able to revive long enough to tell his brother a little more about what the demon was doing.  Apparently he had been overcome by the evil of the shard and had taken it within his own body somehow.  While it can't be detected in the magic bag, once he carried it within himself the demon was able to find him. Any creature containing one of the shards can detect another such creature, although I'm not certain why Shishir didn't sense the centipede demon approaching.*  

Ninad and some of the others immediately began searching the demon's remains for another shard.  Erasyne even employed her gem of seeing to look for it, but although the gem didn't help her she was the one who found it at last.  Thor asked Vogelyn* to handle the shard so that none of us would be exposed to its evil.

I had gone to help set up a camp just off the road and didn't see any of what I now describe.  While the others were searching the demon corpse, they spotted a group of people approaching on the road.  This group turned out to be a knight, a young boy and a couple of servants on horseback, accompanied by 6 guards on foot.  The knight introduced herself as Tasra and the boy turned out to be Prince Hamad, youngest son of Sheik Azman.  It is Sheik Azman to whom we carried the message from the Malik.  

Tasra and the prince had apparently been sent as emissaries to find out why Ceceliah hadn't come to meet her future husband.  Ninad and Thor explained to them that Ceceliah had entered the temple of Kumari, but even Thor was circumspect enough not to add that no one now occupies the temple.

Prince Hamad seemed much more interested in our tale of being waylaid by bandits than our fight with the demon.  I suppose the mutilated remnants of the demon didn't look very impressive.  The prince seemed to think the bandits might be some famous group with "scarlet" in their name, although that sounded doubtful to us.  In any case they didn't introduce themselves before they ran off.  The prince was determined that in the morning his party should pursue the bandits.  

We called upon Pheretima to prepare a fine meal for us and our guests, since that's one of the few things she's useful for.  Prince Hamad was very impressed with her.  The prince's party decided to camp beside us for the night and even agreed to stand watch so that we could get some much needed rest.  

In the morning as we had our repast, Shishir suddenly announced that he would be returning to his order.  He felt that his failure to resist the evil of the black shards showed that he needed to "center" himself again.  

Ninad took this better than I would have expected.  He offered to accompany his twin, but Shishir didn't want him to give up his own plans.  Liselle was left to decide whether or not to go with her betrothed and stay with her family in Highfolk while he was at the monastery.  To make matters worse, Liselle now announced that she was pregnant!

I was so startled by this revelation that I didn't notice at first that the ground was trembling.  Then the earth cracked open near our camp and a huge creature emerged, covered with armor plating and shaped rather like an overturned boat.  I think such monsters are called bulettes.  The monster at once began devouring the remains of the demon.  Illtud ran out to interpose himself between our party and the monster, while Tasra and her men took the prince further into the forest for safety.  

Shishir was convinced that the monster was after the shards and ran out to take up a defensive position, despite his injuries.  Thor leapt on Beaker and sped off, possibly trying to distract the bulette.  He must have called upon divine aid, because Beaker ran even faster than usual.  

Shishir remembered the tokens the Lord of the Green had given us and cast a fey walnut shell down at the monster's feet.  It held a spell very similar to one Solonor Thelandira sometimes grants me, causing the grass and plants around the monster to wrap themselves about its' legs.  I doubted that it would have much effect on such a huge beast, as strong creatures can sometimes break free, but it held the bulette and allowed us to attack it.  

I would have waited until it threatened us more openly, but Erasyne and Illtud began showering it with arrows so I turned my weapon on it as well.  My first spear thrust bounced off its armor even with my full weight behind it, which worried me.  

Then Thor returned and called on the power of his god to strike the bulette with lightning, which worked very nicely.  It moved toward Shishir after he flung one of his orbs of cold magic at it, but it was still held by the entangling plants.  Ninad aimed an orb of sound at it successfully as well.  

After Ninad hit the monster, it managed to rip free of the plants and turned toward him.  It pushed him back more than three of his body lengths. While it was moving I landed a blow on it with my spear.  Then Ninad, who'd managed to keep his feet, shoved his staff right up through the roof of its' mouth.  Evidently that was too much punishment for it, for the monster fell to the ground dead.  

Shishir insisted it must have had a shard, which I doubted at first until I remembered that such monsters track their prey by vibrations in the earth, and the demon wasn't moving any longer when the bulette appeared.  

We spent a while butchering it in search of the shard but we found nothing.  I feared that perhaps some more intelligent creature like the demon might have sent the bulette at us.  But before we could reflect on that possibility, Thor, who'd ridden off to check on the prince's party, returned to tell us they'd found a structure nearby.  

According to Thor there were people in the structure, so we went to investigate thinking they might have something to do with the bulette.  We found a stone building atop a stepped plinth, all of it overgrown by the forest.  This appeared to be the bandits' base of operations.  

Since Erasyne and Ninad were the stealthiest of our group, they snuck up the steps to eliminate the sentries we saw idly standing outside the building.  Once they had reached the top of the steps Shishir ran up to join his twin and they pummeled one of the sentries into submission.  I moved up to the bottom of the stairs and put an arrow in the sentry's ribs.  

I couldn't see where Erasyne had gone as she was on the opposite side of the structure, but the building was mostly open on the sides and I caught a glimpse of her as another bandit appeared.  I shot through the building and was able to hit under his shield.  Once the sentries had been eliminated, Ninad found a descending stairway inside the structure.  It appears that the ruin was once a temple to the sun god, the same god whose shrine yielded Illtud's mace.  

We crept down the stairs with Erasyne and I at the front because we can see better in dim light.  Tesra and her party took up the rear.  I kept my bow in hand because I feared the space below would be too cramped for my longspear.  

I wasn't as stealthy as I would have liked, but not so loud that I alerted the bandits, thank the gods.  Erasyne and Ninad listened at a door, then Erasyne opened it and Ninad cast a spell at the man within.  He was holding a crossbow at the ready but I shot him before he could fire a bolt, and Ninad and Erasyne struck him down.  

We repeated this procedure at the next door we came to, another small room that held a bugbear.  Unfortunately we were unable to bring him down as quickly and he shouted an alarm.  We heard noises from nearby.  Two men came around the corner of the hallway.  

From behind us Thor once more called the lightning.  If I had begun my druidic training earlier I might be able to call upon Solonor Thelandira to grant me such a useful spell.  After he was struck by lightning it took only two of my arrows to eliminate the first man.  

A third man appeared down the hall and flung a javelin at us that sizzled with lightning of its own.  Both Erasyne and Ninad ducked and the javelin missed them, sticking in a nearby door.  Thor then struck that man with a lightning bolt.  

The third man tried to flee and then surrendered when Erasyne caught up with him.  He told us that there were 10 bandits in the abandoned temple, but I didn't believe him.  After I said so, he confessed that there was someone else in the room where the javelin had stuck, but he had never seen or spoken to that person.  

Erasyne, Ninad and I went to open the door, with the rest of our group close behind.  As Erasyne flung it open we caught a glimpse of some snake-like creatures with human-like heads.  Then a ball of flame erupted from the room!

I must pause now, but I'll continue my story in my next letter.

Lothiriel

_*Shishir's player was absent the previous session. Although another player was running the character, the GM neglected to allow Shishir a Spot check to detect the approaching demon.
*Vogelyn is a clockwork construct fairy the party found in the fey demiplane where they also found the black shards._

________________________________
*Quips & Quotes:*

*Zora*: "Thor can put some goodberries in a bottle. Then he'd have Thyrothoruth' thoothing thyrup."

*Devo*: "Shishir should give Liselle a shard. Better yet two, because she needs evil for two now."


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## sniffles (Jan 26, 2007)

*Letter #25*

17 - 18 Reaping

Dearest brother;

Erasyne and Ninad were able to dodge some of the ball of flame that erupted from the snake-creature's room, but I was not so fortunate, though I wasn't severely burned.  Fortune smiled on Shishir for a change and he wasn't even within range of the flames.  As usual I couldn't see what Thor was up to at that point.

As soon as the flames cleared everyone surged forward to attack the creatures.  It now appeared that there were 7 such creatures in the room, though Thor warned us that some of them were merely magical duplicates.  

I moved forward only a few steps to get a better aim with my bow.  The magical images were only a diversion and once hit they promptly vanished.  But the genuine creature was potentially quite deadly.  It managed to bite Ninad on the leg and he nearly fell there, but Erasyne administered a potion to the wound and he was able to stagger into a corner of the room out of the way of the fight.

We struck at all of the creatures until the images had been destroyed and only the true creature remained.  Ninad pummeled it with his staff until it was dazed.  It attempted to flee when it saw that the struggle wasn't going in its favor.  Illtud struck it a mighty blow and slew it.  

Erasyne found that the chamber contained some treasure, presumably taken by the creature's bandit compatriots.  There was a substantial amount of gold coin, several gems, and a necklace of what appeared to be prayer beads.  Shishir determined that the necklace was of a magical nature.

In other rooms we found more goods the bandits had taken, including a particularly wicked-looking spear of a design I wouldn't be able to wield as effectively as my longspear.  Ninad informed us that such things are not lawful in some neighboring lands.  

After we had searched the area thoroughly and taken what goods we found useful,  we returned to our campsite.  We were all still injured, as magical healing is running in short supply.  I was only able to alleviate my own wounds slightly with a spell.  

We intended to rest and recover ourselves a bit while deciding whether to go on with Prince Hamad's party.  The prince was very excited about witnessing the battle with the bandits.  I still wonder at Lady Tarsa's wisdom in letting him go below with the rest of us.  We didn't consider it at the time, but the bandits might have had other companions who weren't in the underground structure, and we could have become trapped between two groups of enemies.  At least that didn't turn out to be the case, thank the gods.

Shishir was still determined to leave at once for his monastery.  Thor tried to persuade him to wait until the following day, but he wouldn't change his plan.  Before we could say our farewells, however, a fey creature appeared at the edge of the clearing and informed us that his mistress awaited us.  We didn't know who this mistress might be but decided it would be unwise to refuse an invitation from the fey.  

Liselle attempted to convince Shishir that they should come with the rest of our group, but she didn't have any more success at changing his mind than Thor had.  The fey made to head off into the woods, so we were forced to make our goodbyes to both Shishir and Prince Hamad's party very quickly.  

We followed the fey, Sprig, to a grove that very much resembled a druid's grove.  There we met Sharareh, a druid who was evidently once human but had been granted the ability to become a creature called a 'woodling' by her patron, the Lord of the Green.  

Sharareh told us that the Lord had asked her to help us in our quest to get rid of the black shards.  She introduced us to her pixie companion, Lenna, who she explained had been observing us since we entered her territory.   Sharareh provided us with some magical healing and summoned a petalswarm, tiny colorful creatures that brought us food and drink - and also examined every item we owned, if they were allowed.

After we had refreshed ourselves we discussed our situation.  Sharareh was very concerned about Shishir's safety without our numbers to help him, but I explained to her that short of binding him we couldn't force him to stay with us.  Since she had offered us her aid, Thor asked her for any forms of magical healing she could provide to us.  

We determined that our plan of action would be to seek a way to dispose of the shards.  Then if we could find a method we might begin pursuing other shards that had entered the mortal realm. We still didn't know how the rest of the shards had got out of the fey realm.  

We remained in the grove that night, enjoying a good rest.  When we awoke the following morning we were met by Lenna, who informed us urgently that Sharareh needed help.  We followed the pixie to a clearing occupied by what at first appeared to be a huge tree stump.  

A weird animal noise issued from the hollow stump.  Thor warned us to avoid its' roots.  Sharareh explained that the thing had trapped an elk calf and that once the calf was safe, if that was possible, she wanted to destroy the stump-monster as it had become a serious danger to the area.  

Thor immediately charged Beaker at the thing.  He cast a spell as he rode.  When Beaker lit on the thing's rim, it shot a gout of sap upward that splattered the gnome and glued him to his saddle.  Fortunately Beaker wasn't much affected by the sticky substance.  

Though I'm always loathe to use fire spells in the forest, I set a sphere of flames on one of the monster's roots.  Erasyne and Illtud began attacking a couple of other roots with their weapons, though the thing's bark was quite tough to hew through.  Ninad ran right up the trunk and struck the lip of its' maw a fierce blow with his staff.  

The thing began to thrash its' roots about dangerously, hitting Erasyne and Illtud and myself as well when I moved in with my spear.  Sharareh called out that perhaps we should let it be for now and return later, as Thor had managed to coax the elk calf to come to him and Beaker sprang up out of the creature's maw.  I replied to Sharareh that we might as well be rid of the thing now.  We continued to chop and stab at it with our weapons, and my fiery sphere burned it until the spell dissipated.  Illtud tried to burn it further by tossing a torch on it.

Once Thor had returned the elk calf to its' mother, he called upon the power of lightning to strike the thing.  The lightning, combined with another mighty blow from Ninad, seemed to be too much for the creature and it ceased moving. 

When we had made fairly certain it was dead, we returned to Sharareh's grove.  She told us that she had been granted the ability to give us some gifts.  First was a wand containing healing spells, which was very much appreciated after the damage done by the tree-thing.  

Second, she presented us with a device that could detect the black shards from a considerable distance.  At first we were uncertain if we ought to have such a device, since it required the use of the three shards we possessed.  But we decided that it would be potentially useful, and we need not use it if we don't choose to.  We must employ it judiciously so as not to attract too much attention from evil creatures seeking the shards.  

Sharareh is still very worried about Shishir, but I don't see that there is much we can do about him now.  He has made up his mind, and if his betrothed can't change it, I doubt that anyone else can.  

I'll write again when I have a moment of quiet.  I suspect they'll be few and far between from here on.

Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Jan 26, 2007)

*Letter #26*

27 Reaping, Sefmir (Sunday December 19, 2004)

Dearest brother;

As you may recall from my last letter, we'd met with the druidess Sharareh and had aided her in destroying the horrible tree-monster she called a keening maw.  She presented us with a divining rod made from the black diamond shards, so we could try to detect the presence of other shards without having to touch the shards ourselves. 

We decided to continue traveling toward the city of Sefmir, as we didn't see any reason to change our travel plans unless we found some way of disposing of the shards.

Once we were back on the road - much to Illtud's relief, as usual - we quickly caught up with Prince Hamad's party again.  He invited us to enjoy his hospitality in Sefmir.  His father the sheik isn't ruler of that city, but he is an important personage there.  

As we arrived in Sefmir we were greeted with considerable enthusiasm by the city folk.  It seems that the young prince is very popular here.  He took us to an inn called the Golden Minaret, which is the most luxurious lodging house I've ever visited.  Each of us had a private room and the staff provided us with appropriate garments to wear when dining that evening with the prince.  

We were uncertain if we should continue on to meet the prince's father, Sheik Azman.  There was some concern as to how he would react to the cancellation of his son's betrothal to Princess Ceceliah. 

During the afternoon, as we thought over this situation, we each took time to pursue our own concerns.  Erasyne went out to purchase a very fine shirt of mithral chain.  Later she and Thor reported that they'd met another Halfling of the same family as Kirp, in fact another brother.  That must be quite a large family, and all of them have such peculiar names.  

This brother is a bard named Werp.  He was happy to meet someone who knew his brothers.  He reported to Thor that evidently this is not the first time a betrothal has failed for Prince Hamad's brother Javid.  Even the ever-optimistic gnome began to get a little concerned that our welcome at the sheik's palace wouldn't be a friendly one.

Nevertheless, we gave in to the Prince's pleadings that we go with him to his father's palace.  The next morning we all decided to purchase horses so that we could travel in greater comfort - and perhaps not always be left so far behind when Thor goes racing off on Beaker.  I confess I'm not much interested in horses and would have preferred some other type of mount, but my other options were camels and elephants, neither of which seems very practical for our journey.  

We arrived a short while later at the palace, where we were greeted by the sheik and his elder son.  Prince Javid was rather confused that Ceceliah hadn't accompanied his younger brother, and at first mistook Erasyne for the princess.  He was quite obviously disappointed when he learned that Ceceliah wasn't coming and took the news with poor grace.  Perhaps this explains why his previous betrothals have all failed to result in marriage.

We had a sumptuous meal with the sheik, who was polite and much more pragmatic about the situation than his elder son.  Before we dined, however, Prince Hamad insisted on giving us a tour of the palace and showing us a statue much prized by his father.  It was apparently called Sythrael.  The statue was found in the shrine of a dark cult, where it had been broken into many pieces.  The sheik was in the process of reassembling it.  

The statue was quite lifelike and appeared to portray a very tall and handsome being caught in the midst of casting a spell.  Oddly, the creature appeared to have had wings but they had been removed - not merely broken off, but removed before the point at which the sculpture was created.  

Ninad grew very concerned at this.  During dinner he took the sheik's advisor, Jamshir, aside and told him that he feared it wasn't a statue at all.  Ninad was convinced that the statue was actually a petrified being, and that being was a fallen angel.  He felt that restoring the statue to wholeness was a dangerous plan.  

The sheik and Jamshir were rather taken aback by this, both of them being convinced that the statue's wings had merely been broken off in whatever violence damaged the rest of the sculpture.  The sheik had become quite devoted to restoring the statue.  He informed us that he had discovered the whereabouts of other pieces of the statue in the remains of the shrine where it had originally been found.  

He then asked us if we would be willing to go to the shrine and recover the remaining pieces.  He offered a reward of 500 of the local gold pieces if we would visit the shrine, and an additional 500 for recovery of the missing pieces of the statue.  It seemed that there had been some activity at the shrine of late and he also wished us to investigate this, as his men were very reluctant to go there.

Illtud in particular was not at all excited about this plan.  Even Thor remarked that we shouldn't have come to the palace, though we all acknowledged that it was too late now to leave.  And we felt that if some new evil was brewing in the shrine, we ought to do what we could to snuff it out.  

Illtud didn't want to have anything to do with seeking the bits of the statue, fearing that anyone who touched them would turn toward evil as Shishir had done with the black shards.  Illtud's become quite talkative since Shishir departed.  

The rest of us decided that if we determined the statue was evil, we simply wouldn't give the pieces to the sheik, but would find some way to dispose of them ourselves.  I'm not sure how we came to be such avid foes of evil, but I can't see walking away from a chance to do good.

The sheik is rather superstitious and was disappointed that our group didn't number seven, as he considers that an auspicious number.  We assured him that we could number seven if we included the djinni and the clockwork fairy in our number, though personally I'm not certain how useful either of them would be.  Pheretima is only good for making overly elaborate meals and Vogelyn has to be wound every day or she becomes inert.  

In any case the sheik decided to send seven of his own men with us to keep the party at an auspicious quantity.  His men guided us to the cave entrance that leads down to the shrine.  

It was once a shrine of the evil goddess Kali, and her worshippers practiced human sacrifice there.  We saw evidence of this as soon as the sheik's men removed the rocks that blocked up the entrance.  The shrine was surrounded by a pit into which the sacrifices were thrown, and we could see the remains of human skeletons at the bottom of the pit.

I saw no sign of activity at the shrine, much to my relief.  Unfortunately I wasn't entirely correct.  As Illtud, Ninad and Erasyne made their way toward a central room, an earth elemental suddenly appeared and made to attack them.  I ran up behind them to employ my spear.  

Although the elemental struck a few good blows it was mostly unable to aim its strikes at us very effectively, and despite its rocky toughness we reduced it to a pile of dust after a few concentrated blows of our own.  It helped that Thor called down the lightning several times.  Several of the sheik's men were badly hurt, however.  

We hoped now that we had only to find the statue shards and decide what to do with them.  

I'll tell you how that went in my next letter.

Lothiriel

__________________
*Quotes of the day:*

*patv*: "Shishir leveled up last time."
*Zora*:  "Shishir wasn't here.  He left."
*patv*:  "Well, okay, but he still leveled."
*Zora*:  "Cool!  He leaves again.  Does he level?"

*Zora*:  "Sythrael, the god of no success with women."
*Jubilee*:  "No, that's syphilis."


----------



## sniffles (Jan 29, 2007)

*Letter #27*

27 Reaping, Sefmir

Dearest brother;

As I told you in my last letter, we'd gone to the ruined temple of Kali at the behest of Sheik Azman.  We'd encountered an earth elemental near the entrance and several of the shiek's men were badly hurt.  

Thor suggested that they remain at the entrance while we continued to investigate the temple, and they didn't object to this.  Thor confessed that he feared we didn't have enough healing for both ourselves and the shiek's men.

We proceeded across the bridge over the horrible sacrificial trench and almost at once entered a small chamber.  Thor went ahead. I suppose he's weary of always being last when he goes on foot.  He spotted a skeleton in the chamber and exclaimed, “Are you here to guide us?”  I'll never quite understand his gnomish sense of humor.  

I could hear other things moving about in the chamber so I stepped up behind Thor.  There were four skeletons in the room.  I found that my spear wasn't much use against them and exchanged it for the large scimitar I acquired at the temple of Kumari.  My scimitar still wasn't nearly as effective as Illtud's mace, but we made short work of the skeletons.

Then I heard something metallic up ahead.  We entered a room that had evidently been used for dining.  I thought perhaps the metal sound had been someone setting down one of the pewter plates, but there was no sign of such recent occupancy.  

The next passage doubled back on itself.  We came to another chamber, larger than the first, with a many-armed statue of Kali on a plinth opposite the door.  The room was dark but Ninad heard a sound like someone moving about in heavy armor.  Thor cast a spell that allowed him to climb the walls like a spider before entering the room.  Unfortunately that didn't keep the well-armored half-orc from hitting him with a thrown spear.

There were a number of skeletons in this room as well and the half-orc commanded them to attack us.  Not being endowed with much wits, they began pursuing Thor, who stood upside-down on the ceiling above them, out of their reach.  

The rest of us hurried into the room to attack them.  The half-orc cast some spell upon himself, and in return Thor hurled a ball of fire at him.  Ninad ran across the room to face him.  Illtud was busy smashing skeletons with his mace, though I was having difficulty damaging them and I think Erasyne's sword was nearly useless against them.

When Ninad threatened him the half-orc called the skeletons to his defense and began to back toward the plinth.  I tried to block him by climbing up the plinth myself.  I felt a malign influence from the statue for a moment but it didn't stop me from casting a flaming sphere at the half-orc.  

Ninad blasted him with bursts of sound and Thor flung another ball of fire from his perch on the ceiling.  My flame sphere did him little harm, and I came to regret getting so near the half-orc when he struck me two substantial blows with the longsword he carried.  I had to back away.  The half-orc then moved around behind the statue and opened a hidden door.

As the half-orc ran through the door, Ninad sent another sound burst after him and ran in behind him before the door closed.  Fortunately Thor's position had given him a good vantage to see how the mechanism worked on the door.  The rest of us filed through the door to find the half-orc had turned to face Ninad.  After Thor struck with another ball of fire, the half-orc fell dead.  Illtud had stopped a moment in the chamber to smash an arm off the statue, and he now joined us to take up the fallen villain's sword.

Thor sent a glowing figure down the corridor ahead of us.  We came to a point where another passage crossed this one, and Erasyne told us she could see a door at the end of that passage.  The way grew warmer.  We soon found that the source of the warmth was a tar pit, connected to another passage by a bridge.  

On the other side of the bridge we found a woman held prisoner.  She hung from shackles and had obviously been sorely mistreated.  Erasyne freed her and Thor applied his healing magic, but she was still too hurt even to be conscious.  Thor summoned Pheretima from her bottle and asked her to take the woman back to the shiek's men.

Erasyne then decided to investigate the door she'd seen.  She found that it opened into the dining room we'd passed through earlier.  When she opened the hidden door she surprised Pheretima, who was on her way through carrying the woman.  After Erasyne satisfied her curiosity, we made our way across the bridge again and down the passage that lay beyond the tar pit.

We entered a triangular room with a stone chair at the end opposite the doorway.  There were some bookshelves as well, but they held few books, much to Ninad's disappointment.  Illtud went to examine a silver chest he saw to the right of the door.  

Suddenly a blurred figure appeared and stabbed Illtud in the back with a scimitar that flickered with black flames.  The assassin also struck Ninad with a poisoned dagger.  As Illtud collapsed to the floor, the rest of us attacked our foe with all our might.

Ninad stunned our enemy with a blow, causing him to drop his weapons.  Erasyne kicked the poisoned dagger away.  Thor grabbed the assassin's scimitar and ran out of the room.  The man shook off his daze and ran toward the stone chair.  Erasyne and I tried and failed to stop him.  He opened a small jar, and several swirling forms began to emerge, accompanied by a fearful moaning.  The assassin then turned and walked through the wall before we could stop him.

I tried to smash the jar, hoping to destroy what it held as well, but succeeded only in breaking the jar itself.  The swirling shapes began to take on humanoid forms.  Everyone decided to flee the room, dragging fallen Illtud with them.  Thor ran back in and announced that he could deal with the wraith-like things.  While the others fled, I remained behind to aid him.

The three wraiths came through the wall and my spear couldn't touch them.  Only magic weapons had any effect on them and I had none.  Ninad ran up with Illtud's mace, but none of us could wield it.  Thor was able to destroy one wraith with his magic spear.  Ninad handed me his magical staff and struck another wraith with his bare fists, connecting quite solidly.  I struck at the third with the staff, and in a moment all three of the spirits were gone.

Poor long-suffering Illtud was dead.  His murderer had fled, evidently by magic, and there was nothing we could do for him.  Despondent, we looked about the room briefly.  

Ninad found a few books about Kali, and opened the silver chest, which turned out to actually be of platinum.  It contained some 3,000 gold pieces and two packages wrapped in velvet.  The first held a bit of stone that we determined to be a missing piece of the Sythrael figure.  The second packet contained a pair of platinum and ruby earrings.  Ninad and Erasyne proclaimed that these earrings matched a necklace that Prince Javid had been prepared to present to his bride.

Ninad became convinced that this was evidence of some plot against the sheik.  Thor suggested that perhaps Prince Javid was in league with the cultists of Kali.  I saw no reason to support either assumption, and Erasyne only wanted to get our reward from the sheik and be on our way.  In fact she sounded more like Illtud than her usual self.  Perhaps his death affected her more than one might have expected.

We decided that we couldn't simply return to the sheik and tell him we hadn't found the missing piece of his statue.  A diviner had told him it could be found in the temple.  So Ninad broke the piece in two, Thor encased part of it in stone, and I floated out over the tar pit to push it under the tar with a long pole provided by Pheretima.  It should be quite difficult to find there.

Ninad is particularly indignant that someone may be plotting against the sheik and his family.  I think he's quite willing to remain here until he finds out how the earrings came to be in the temple.  But the rest of us aren't so eager to become involved in local political intrigues.  We also must decide what to do with Illtud.  Thor has a scroll that will raise the dead, but none of us have the proper knowledge to use it.  

I'll tell you more in my next letter.

Lothiriel
________________________

*Quips & Quotes*:

*Zora*:  "Patrick won't let me bring Biff (a halfling PC in another game) over to this game."
*Devo*:  "'Annoying short person's' already taken in this group."

*patv * (to Illtud): "The blade seems to burn after it hits you."
*Devo*:  "Just like your last date!"

*Zora*:  "Possession is 9/10 of gnome law."

*Devo * (as Thor):  "What are you looking at me for?"
*Zora*:  "We were so amazed that you stopped talking!"

_Jubilee was absent, so Zora took over running Erasyne after Illtud died.  Erasyne ended up being in charge of Illtud's body, and Zora kept trying to have her shove poor Illtud into the tar._


----------



## sniffles (Jan 30, 2007)

*Letter #28*

9 Goodmonth 601 CY, Sefmir

To Tiryon Aldarin, Flameflower, Vesve

Dearest brother;

A great deal has happened since I wrote you last. I'll have to condense my story a bit else this letter will be too unwieldy to read. 

As I told you in my last letter, our friend Illtud had been slain in the temple of the banned cult of Kali, in a cavern near the estate of Sheikh Azman. Once we had disposed of part of the statue fragment we found, we carried Illtud's body back to the surface and returned to the sheikh's palace. We took with us the woman we had rescued, Dinaz. 

We noticed that two of the sheikh's men had already left, ostensibly to report back to their master. But they left before we returned to the surface and didn't take Dinaz along with them, which we thought odd.

The sheikh was of course delighted that we had brought him another bit  of the statue. In fact, his interest seemed to border on obsession. He had little time for Illtud's demise or Dinaz's imprisonment. He did arrange for Illtud to be laid in a shrine and for Dinaz to be cared for. It turned out that Dinaz was a former suitor of Prince Javid. But neither her plight nor the earrings we'd found much interested the sheikh. 

He had arranged a large meal for us despite the late hour, and while we dined we told him what had occurred in the caves. After a time he grew annoyed that Prince Javid hadn't joined us, and was informed by the servants that the prince couldn't be found. He then excused himself and Prince Hamad tried to take over as host. I'll be glad to leave that
boy behind. He is as selfish as his father, though more charming.

After a time I had enough of this and went to the garden to commune with nature. Ninad left with me and went to his room. Later I learned that Thor had insisted on the rest of the group going to check on Dinaz. I'm sure they frightened the poor lady. 

I forgot to mention that the sheikh had two other visitors: a Halfling musician named Werp (I think I mentioned him before) and a Halfling priestess called Rose Weisselpuff.

The next day was rather dull. The sheikh had sent for a priest to attend to Illtud - Rose not being experienced enough - and the priest wouldn't arrive for several days. The house was in turmoil about the prince's absence and we didn't see the sheikh until evening. 

Prince Hamad tried to play host again, insisting on horseback riding before lunch and then a coach trip to the city. We discussed seeking other lodgings to avoid trespassing on family troubles, but the young prince would hear nothing of it.

At dinner we learned that Prince Javid had apparently been involved with the cultists of Kali. He'd fled with the two missing guards. Then dinner was interrupted by the arrival of three more visitors, two priests and a fat merchant. 

The priests were Ali-Dad, priest of the sun goddess Surya, and Bijan, priest of Kartikeya, god of war. The merchant's name was Gwarunga. I think we all disliked him immediately.

Ali-Dad and Gwarunga told us a story of something amazing that had happened when the merchant visited the Ivory Temple, a famed but abandoned temple of the dawn goddess Ushas. 

Long ago there had been a famous priestess there, Yaleah, who had a gift of prophecy. She had turned to stone or somehow become a statue, but would supposedly speak in times of need.

Gwarunga claimed he'd gone to leave an offering and the statue had spoken to him. She told him to take the temple's greatest relic, the Teeth of Yabgu. Yabgu was a giant who apparently had gems for teeth. We'd seen a painting of him in the sheikh's art gallery.

Ali-Dad offered to look after Illtud if we would accompany Bijan and Gwarunga back to the temple to investigate further. Being curious and bored, we agreed. After two days' preparation we went off with a caravan of Gwarunga's coach and Bijan's underlings toward the Ivory Temple.

Gwarunga didn't seem pleased about our presence and mostly stayed away from us. We were all suspicious of him. He didn't seem like a very devout person, and I think we all doubted that he'd go out of his way to visit an abandoned temple without good reason. His coach was also very slow and it took us longer to reach the temple than we would have liked.

One evening while Erasyne was on watch, my dogs began barking, as well as Rose's riding dog (she'd offered to come with us). We heard battle cries and everyone woke as a number of orcs and an ogre appeared. 

Before I could get Rahon and Morwen to safety an orc attacked Rahon. Then Thor ummoned up a storm of sleet to attack the ogre, and poor Morwen was caught in it. I had to drag her out of the ice and set her near the fire. I sent a sphere of flames at one foe, then took up my spear to meet the orcs.

Strangely, Gwarunga's guards didn't move to help us, and Rose told us afterward that the orcs seemed to be deliberately avoiding the merchant's camp, which lay a short distance away from ours. Praise the Keen Eye, Thor's sleet storm kept the ogre blind and off his feet much of the fight.  

The orcs had an archer who kept targeting me, and once the ogre recovered his footing and moved out of the sleet he was a difficult opponent for me to face. Thor called lightning down on the archer and removed him from the fray. Rose was calling on her deity's power as well, Ninad cast some of his fine sound spells, and Erasyne was whirling everywhere with her blade. Soon the orcs and ogre were all down but for the orcs' leader.

We questioned the captive orc and he offered us his party's equipment as ransom for his life, to which we agreed. He took us to their camp after dawn the next day, when we had all recovered a bit and Bijan had given us some divine healing. Rose very helpfully used her ability to increase the power of his spells. 

At the orc's camp we found several horses, which we donated to Bijan's temple. There was also an elephant. Thor and Erasyne were particularly excited by the elephant, although I can't see how such a large creature could be useful to us in our travels. Rose wanted to ride it but was too small to persuade it to cooperate with her and I had to lead it along.

At noon we came to the Ivory Temple. It was indeed abandoned, the entry chamber full of rubble. Down a wide hallway we found a sanctuary containing the statue or petrified figure of Yelaya. 

Gwarunga had gone in to make another offering and seemed annoyed when we came along. He kept talking in an unusually loud voice. When we examined the 'statue', Thor insisted that he saw her breathing. He cast a spell to light the chamber. Ninad also indicated that he thought there was something suspicious about the woman. 

We determined to search the temple. While Ninad searched one side passage, I took another. The rest of our companions remained in the statue room. I found nothing in the rooms I peered into. Ninad found a staircase ascending to another level. 

Meanwhile, Thor challenged the woman in the chamber to give up her pretense. Erasyne even used her Gem of Seeing to seek the truth of the matter, though it showed nothing unusual. 

The woman made some announcement regarding the Teeth of Yabgu that resembled what Gwarunga had recounted. Gwarunga made a great fuss over her. Thor challenged her with the holy symbol of Surya he carried and she appeared to panic. She tossed something, and then Gwarunga's bodyguards began threatening Erasyne. Gwarunga shouted out that there
should be no witnesses.

Then a gong sounded. I rushed back to the main entry chamber but saw no one. My friends were fighting with the merchant's guards in the altar chamber, so I ran to their aid, as did Ninad. Gwarunga had surprisingly drawn a weapon, though oddly his blade looked very old and in poor condition. I couldn't see Rose anywhere - I learned later that she knows how to become invisible. She had apparently seen someone else do the same and followed them. 

Gwarunga attempted to flee from us. We pursued him into a side chamber, and abruptly found ourselves confronted by a strange bird-like being that caught hold of me with a grasp that sparked with lightning. Then it cast some other spell that made me feel oddly disinterested in fighting it. I stood there gaping at it as it tried to run away. 

Thor transformed himself into an axebeak - a new talent - and attacked the bird-thing, but it surrounded itself with images of itself so that it was difficult to fight.

The merchant had taken a potion of invisibility, we later learned, and fled up the stairs. Rose followed him, though I didn't know that at the time. Unfortunately for Rose I tried to catch Gwarunga by sending a sphere of flame up the stairs after him but only succeeded in scorching Rose instead, and the Halfling woman was too small to stop the hefty merchant
from passing through the doorway. 

As it happens, Erasyne was able to see both of them through her gem, and when I came out into the main chamber again she began shouting directions to me. But despite his girth Gwarunga was somehow able to avoid my flaming sphere.

The merchant was quite determined to flee and we had to chase him outside. But first we had to gain the surrender of the two bird-men. A second bird-man had appeared and begun battling with Ninad in the hallway. These two creatures claimed to be working with Gwarunga only for money and were willing to surrender and go their own way if we would
allow it. Ninad made them show him what they had done with the offering items we'd left at the altar.

Erasyne and I had to chase Gwarunga all the way to his coach before he could be caught. Thor had outlined him in faerie fire so that all could see him. 

There are certainly many greedy folk in this world, for when the merchant offered one of his guards an expensive ring, the guard was willing to try to hold us off, though it did him little good. Gwarunga then tried to bribe Erasyne and I with another ring. But we took him prisoner and made him confess to Bijan that the whole speaking statue story had been his plot to steal the Teeth of Yabgu. Praise the gods he didn't succeed.

Bijan ordered Gwarunga to give up all his worldly possessions and leave the area. He then took us to an inner sanctum beneath the temple where the relics were stored in safety and could only be reached by a priest with the proper tokens. After assuring himself that the Teeth of Yabgu were safe, he let us look at the true statue of Yaleah, which did indeed
appear to be a genuine statue.

On the following day, Bijan wanted to go to the Caves of Dagon, where Gwarunga had been set to meet his orcish confederates. We agreed to go along with him, leaving Gwarunga's remaining men and Bijan's acolytes behind. 

Thor transformed himself into a bat and flew into the cave to explore after we arrived. He saw a number or orcs in the cave, along with a human priest and some sort of undead thing. The orcs were in the process of hoisting a statue of Yaleah up on ropes, and appeared to have some special fires set up to illuminate it, presumably to continue Gwarunga's ruse.

We slipped into the cave and took a side passage to explore. There we found the woman who had been masquerading as Yaleah, chained to some hideous idol. Erasyne released her. She claimed to simply have been paid to impersonate the priestess and that she knew little else of the merchant's plans, but she did tell us that he had another wagon hidden
somewhere nearby containing his true wealth. 

After sending the woman outside, we prepared to attack the orcs. They seemed to be in a well-defended area, behind a ridge with a pit before it to block easy approach. Thor blinded them with a burst of sleet so we could get near. I used my ring of levitation to rise up over the ridge. Unfortunately this made me an obvious target, and my intended foes simply moved out of my reach. The evil human priest began targeting me with some entropic spell that did me a great deal of harm.

Thor was astride Beaker and had cast a spell that allowed the axebeak to climb up the wall, where the gnome could hurl lightning at the human priest. Erasyne was whirling about like a dervish with a scimitar she had taken from one of Gwarunga's guards, I believe. I couldn't see Ninad or Rose, for they had gone to the opposite end of the ridge. 

A skeletal form emerged at the priest's command, but before it could do anything Bijan destroyed it with divine magic. I landed, as the levitation was giving me no advantage, and Bijan healed some of my wounds. The area behind the ridge was so cramped that I was obliged to set aside my spear and use my large scimitar. Eventually I made my way past all of the orcs and could see that the rest of my friends were facing the human priest in a narrow passage. 

Rose had somehow managed to snatch away the priest's holy symbol, and he was left fighting with only his ugly, spiked sword. He was a difficult opponent. I took out my bow and began firing at him from a distance. All of my companions were furiously attacking him. Then I placed another arrow in him and he collapsed. 

We determined that the statue of Yaleah had been enchanted to speak with the voice of the woman who impersonated her; another step in Gwarunga's plan. After we had checked all the bodies for anything of value, Thor flew off in eagle form to seek the cave where Gwarunga's other wagon would be hidden. He reported that he had seen the merchant hurry
into a cave not far away.

We made our way to the second cave, leaving Bijan behind. There we found the merchant and the orc we had released a few days earlier, involved in a heated argument. There was an ornate wagon in the cave, along with a pair of horses, but one of the horses appeared to be dead. We blocked the cave entrance and demanded that Gwarunga and his companion
surrender.

It is strange to me that few people are willing to surrender even when the odds are obviously against them. The orc charged me and I set my spear against him. Gwarunga drew his rusty blade and tried to hide in his wagon, but Erasyne crept round behind it and forestalled him. She very nearly killed him, but we had decided that he must be punished, and
Rose healed him just enough to prevent his death. 

Just when we had eliminated the orc and thought all was well, the remaining horse panicked and fled down a side tunnel. We heard its scream of terror abruptly cut off, and then a horrible monster emerged from the tunnel. It looked like a huge brain with the beak of a bird and a great quantity of very long tentacles. I believe this creature is called a grell, though this one was much larger than what I had heard of previously. It caught hold of Erasyne and paralyzed her, then grabbed Ninad and began to drag him away.

Thor had Beaker grab hold of Erasyne and eventually the axebeak was able to pull her free of the grell's grasp, but Ninad couldn't get free no matter how hard he tried. I shot at the thing while Rose and Thor used the last of their spells against it. Ninad kept determinedly pummeling the tentacle that gripped him. At last we were able to slay the monstrosity, and Erasyne recovered her mobility a short while later.

I don't recall much of what we found in Gwarunga's wagon, other than a chest full of coins that weren't coins. They were some sort of creature that bit and used poison, but could be soothed with music. Rose was able to calm them with a golden harp she suddenly produced from her unusually capacious belt pouch.. There was actual coin in the chest as well, but I paid no attention to the amount. 

Now I presume we'll determine what to do about Illtud. Rose was very offended when she thought we might bring him back to life without his leave. She insisted on casting a spell to speak with his spirit and ask if he would like to come back. I believe he's chosen to remain in the
afterlife. 

I'm not certain where we will go from this point, but I expect that Rose will be coming with us.

Your sister, Lothiriel

_______________________________________
*Quips & quotes*:

*Devo*: "Thor turns into a hummingbird. He'll be a hummingbird with
80-odd hit points."

*Zora*: "Rose is tired - it takes a lot to carry these limbs." _(Rose has a
4 Str)_

*Devo*: "Forty more rounds and you're toast."

*Zora*: "If you want a game with no surprises, don't have any players."

*Jubilee * (to Thor, who can't speak in bird form): "Bob once for yes, twice
for no. Where do you keep all those Bobs?"
*Devo*: "Pinned on with a Bobby pin."

*Sniffles*: "I have Handle Animal."
*Hedrin*: "Good thing the animal has a handle."

*Jubilee*: "We've got this nice shiny elephant!"
*patv*: "When did the elephant become shiny?"
*Hedrin*: "We buffed it."
*Zora*: "Erasyne's been 'buffing' her elephant."

*patv*: "You can go to the Caves of Dagon."
*Jubilee*: "I want to go the to the Caves of Degas and see pretty
ballerinas."

*Devo*: "I'm Bat-gnome!"

*Devo*: "Thor poops on them."

*patv*: "Don't you want to touch the idol?"
*Jubilee*: "No! It's icky!"
*patv*: "Don't you want to take the golden nipple rings?"
*Jubilee*: _(more enthusastically)_ "It has golden nipple rings?!"

*patv*: _(Making hooting noises while looking something up.)_
*Hedrin*: "This has been a test of the emergency DM system. If this had
been a real DM..."

*Zora*: "What's this thing right here?"
*Devo*: "That's his 'package'. Kick it."

*Jubilee*: "I want a bag of many axebeaks!"
*sniffles*: "Is that a bag of many axebeaks or mini axebeaks?"


----------



## sniffles (Jan 31, 2007)

*Letter #29*

The Palace of Sheikh Azman, Sefmir, Tusmit

10 Goodmonth, 601 CY

Dearest brother;

As I told you in my last letter, we'd managed to capture the greedy merchant Gwarunga and had escaped the horrid creature in the cave. We handed the merchant over to the priest Bijan for punishment, claimed of all of Gwarunga's material possessions as our reward, and returned to the sheikh's palace in Sefmir to recover.

Prince Javid is still missing, and it seems that the appropriate response is to avoid any mention of his name. The sheikh has arranged yet another banquet in our honor - I feel guilty at the sight of so much extravagant food, but I suppose it's better to dine and enjoy than to let it go to waste. 

We've come into possession of a not-inconsiderable quantity of wealth as a result of our recent adventures. I'll give a substantial tithe to the temple in Highfolk when I return, and to the next temple of a nature deity I find, and perhaps I'll have some trees planted here as thanks to the Keen Eye. 

We decided to go into Sefmir and rid ourselves of some of the less portable items we'd acquired, especially the weapons we took from Gwarunga's accomplices and some jewelry and other items we have no use for. We went first to a jeweler the sheikh recommended, where we tried to sell the jewelry that had been worn by the false Yaleah. 

Unfortunately the jeweler didn't heed Thor and Erasyne's argument that the items would be more valuable due to this association. He seemed to think they would be unlucky. Evidently news of our escapade has preceded us, and we got more than a few wide-eyed looks when we rolled into the city in Gwarunga's wagon - which we've now thankfully sold.

Rose had given a silver piece to a street urchin in return for guiding us around this city, and the boy next led us to a merchant named Mansoor who trafficked in exotic items. Mansoor doesn't maintain a shop, however; he acquires items at need. He had little to offer other than a magical feedbag, which Ninad ultimately decided to purchase as we'll soon be passing through less hospitable territory.

After seeing Mansoor we visited the wizards' guild and sought magical objects. Erasyne and I asked for packs that can hold exceptional quantities of items, but they had no such packs available. We finally decided to order such packs made for us - or at least Erasyne did; I ordered a magical purse and saddlebag. This means we'll have to remain in Sefmir a bit longer than we planned, though, as the items must be assembled. 

We moved on to one of the temples to seek magical healing items. Ordinarily they wouldn't have sold anything to us as we're not followers of their deities, but because we fought the cult of Kali and foiled Gwarunga's plot, we were greeted courteously and allowed to purchase 5 wands containing curative spells. Rose also bought a wand that can cure more extensive wounds, so that she doesn't need to expend as many of her spells for that purpose. 

As we were roaming through a small artisans' district admiring various objects, Thor and I noticed that there were several suspicious-looking fellows lurking in the area. (I neglected to mention before that Thor was riding about on Beaker, frightening the citizens.)  I didn't see this, but suddenly a stranger stepped up to Erasyne, grabbed her, and kissed her on the mouth! 

This was apparently a diversion. It failed, as some of the ruffians approached and one of them stabbed the man - fatally, it turned out. Thor jumped down from his saddle and ran over to heal the man, but it wasn't enough to save him. In the meantime Erasyne had drawn her blade and demanded to know what the ruffians were doing. On seeing a bared blade, they attacked.

One of the thugs ran at me so I called a flame to my hand and slapped him with it twice when he came in reach. I also ordered Rahon to guard Rose, who was behind me; she's frail even for a Halfling. Another bandit came at her and Rahon bit him sharply, but not before he wounded Rose. My foe also hit me, but it was a light blow. 

Rose prayed for a spell that made me feel superior in my fighting skills. I kept slapping my flames onto my opponent until he finally fell, then turned toward the alley down which Erasyne and Thor had disappeared. Ninad had meanwhile come up to aid Rose, and I'd had Rahon attack my opponent once before he went down.

From the alley someone shouted "Someone get the book!". I told Rahon to help Ninad and Rose first, and threw the last of my flames at a fellow in the alley. Erasyne was whirling around so fast I could hardly see her. Thor had Beaker stabbing his sharp beak at the thugs. In little time we had dispensed with all of the ruffians. 

At that point we found that the man who had kissed Erasyne was dead. Erasyne searched his body and discovered a book titled _The Tiger Prince_, which appeared to be a childrens' tale. Why his foes would want such a book was a mystery until a medallion fell out of the book. 

We don't yet know what import this medallion has. Erasyne seemed to think that one of the bandits might have escaped. I wonder if someone else will be seeking this medallion. 

I will write more soon.

Your sister, Lothiriel
__________________________________________________

*Quotes & quips :*

*patv*: "You're back in the city proper."
*sniffles*: "It's too proper here. Let's take off."

*Jubilee*: "I roll a 1 on my Bluff check to pretend I'm interested in the Prince's story."

*patv*: "The conversation becomes more serious."
*Jubilee*: "Not while Thor's still here!"

*Devo*: "You guys will miss Thor when he's dead."
*Jubilee*: "Is he dying soon?"

*Hedrin*: "It had a magical discharge."
*sniffles*: "I think there's a cream for that."

*patv*: "Make Spot checks while Thor's talking."
*sniffles*: "What, to see everyone's eyes glazing over?"


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## sniffles (Feb 1, 2007)

*Letter #30*

11 Goodmonth, 601 CY
Palace of Sheikh Azman, Sefmir, Tusmit

Dearest brother;

As I told you in my last letter, we'd spent a day in the city disposing of certain items and purchasing others, and had ended up in possession of a book and an amulet that had belonged to a man now dead.

We returned to the sheikh's palace in the evening for yet another feast - though I suppose that these dinners are only feasts to us. They're probably ordinary dinners to the shiekh's household. But this one was more of a celebration, for when we arrived we found that Illtud had been restored to life! 

He's decided he's had enough of adventuring and plans to return to the east. We've given him traveling money and messages to carry back with him. Rose has also decided that she won't continue on with us after all, as she has other business here in Sefmir.

We informed the sheikh of our encounter with ruffians and the man they had slain, but we chose not to tell him about the amulet and book. He would likely either have discounted the story or taken an unhealthy interest in the items. 

Werp, the Halfling troubadour, told us of a plague in a village near our route toward Zeif, but it doesn't seem likely we'll have any difficulties on the way. After a time I grew weary of the crowd and noise at the feast and retired to the garden. 

Later Ninad came looking for me. He told me he had attempted to identify the magic of the amulet, and had had an unpleasant experience. First he had been injured by a burst of electricity, and then he sensed a presence in the room with him. Some unseen being had escaped through the window. He was so concerned that we decided to notify the shiekh's vizier, Jamshir, of the matter.

Jamshir wasn't pleased with Ninad for having cast his spell within the palace without having any idea of what it might do. After we'd spoken with him we went to inform Erasyne, but we decided not to tell Thor until morning, in order to avoid any further unpleasantness. Knowing Thor, he'd want to go search the gardens in the dark or wake everyone in the place to question them or some such thing. I'm sure Jamshir would have been delighted by that.

When the sun rose I looked about under Ninad's window, but neither Rahon nor I could find anything of note. At breakfast Prince Hamad wanted to go riding again but we deterred him by going instead to search the library for information about the Tiger Prince or the amulet. The Tiger Prince turned out to be the prince's favorite story, unfortunately, so he insisted on joining us. He's taken quite a fancy to Erasyne and I think she was hard pressed to continue feigning interest in his childish chatter. 

We found a much more elaborate version of the book in the library, with one odd illustration in which a witch appeared to be wearing an amulet very similar to the one we'd found. My friends were also quite interested in the way the Tiger Prince was shown in the book's final illustration, as his paws appeared to be malformed. I don't know if this has any significance to our circumstances, but Ninad and Erasyne wanted to investigate every possible clue to the use of the amulet and the identity of the mysterious being that escaped from it. 

The prince was convinced to show us to his father's private library as well, though this turned out to contain little of interest for us. We then determined to go into the city again and seek a library there, or perhaps ask the aid of the mages' guild. The prince didn't insist on joining us, fortunately. 

After we arrived in the city, Thor and Erasyne went looking for Werp. They hoped the Halfling might know some stories of the Tiger Prince that would contain useful information. 

I accompanied Ninad to the temple of Surya. There we were directed to seek a sage called Khudaram. He was younger than I expected, but very courteous, though there was little he could tell us. The Tiger Prince is a childrens' story and no one gave it much credence. The sage had never heard of an amulet like the one we found, which resembles a huge cat's eye. He was intrigued by our story, however, and told us he would do further research and notify us of any discoveries. 

As Ninad and I were on our way to the mages' guild, Ninad noticed that we were being followed by several men clad in furs and hides. They stopped outside when we entered the guild hall. 

The wizard who assisted us determined that no other amulet of this type could be found within Sefmir, and that whatever had been held within it was of an evil nature, much to our disappointment. 

When we left the guild we saw that our followers were still waiting for us. But Ninad and I suddenly noticed an unnatural storm hovering over a nearby part of the city. Thinking that not only was it strange but also very like one of Thor's favorite spells, we decided to investigate and rushed toward it, disregarding our pursuers. 

When we neared the building over which the storm hung we saw an eagle circling. As an eagle in the city was unusual and a bird flying in a storm was also unlikely we determined this must be Thor. 

We had also noticed that a large number of other people seemed to be converging on the storm-wracked structure. Aside from our pursuers, who had been joined by companions, we saw a troop of city guards approaching. We also spotted a group of men who resembled the ruffians we'd fought the previous day, and a small party of dark-clad folk dressed somewhat like priests. 

As Ninad and I hurried into the building, which turned out to be a low tavern, we were confronted by a startling scene: at the opposite side of the common room a second door had been burst asunder and in the doorway loomed a large creature I could only see in silhouette in the lightning from Thor's storm. A huge tiger with eerie blue eyes was perched on the bar, accompanied by a dark woman. The thing in the doorway was standing very close to Erasyne. 

Then Ninad exclaimed that the dowsing rod the druidess had made for us to detect black shards was vibrating - and it pointed at the large creature by Erasyne.

I'm sorry to cut my letter short here, but I'll tell you the rest of the story in my next message.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Feb 2, 2007)

*Letter #31*

Sefmir, 998 CY

Dear brother;

It seems that the childrens' tale of the Tiger Prince that we were researching is true for the most part, if not in all its particulars. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that some details were forgotten or confused over time; after all the events the story was based on occurred some 800 years ago, and that's many lifetimes of those not of our people.

As I was telling you, Ninad and I had followed the effects of Thor's spell to a low tavern and burst in to find Thor in rather poor condition, being attacked by a strange being of a sort I've never heard of before. Ninad thinks it must have come from one of the outer planes. The tall blue creature wielded an odd staff in two of its hands and hurled lightning at us with the other two. I warded myself as best I could against the lightning and called a flame to my hand, but it turned out that the creature was just as resistant to fire as it was to its own lightning. 

While I took cover behind the bar, I saw that there was a trapdoor in the floor and the strange woman with the tiger companion had taken refuge there. Her tiger was injured - it had been attacking the blue being - so I drew out my wand and applied it to one of the big cat's wounds. The woman seemed to want us to flee down the stairs, but I had no intention of following her. We would come to regret that later. 

Ninad shouted out that he thought the blue creature had one of the black shards. That must have been why it came for us. I don't think it had anything to do with the other events we've become entangled in. Ninad, Erasyne and Thor were all fighting toe to toe with the creature and were looking the worse for it. Erasyne had been dancing around in a frenzy of whirling blades, while Ninad pummeled it with his fists and Thor reduced Beaker in size to maneuver better in the cramped space. The creature had knocked out part of a wall to give itself more room. 

I was about to cast a healing spell for Ninad and Erasyne when I realized that the creature was looking as ragged as my friends. I'd tried cutting it with my scimitar, but though I struck a solid blow I couldn't penetrate its tough blue hide. Ninad directed me to take his staff, which is enchanted, as only magical weapons seemed able to hurt the thing. I quickly snatched the staff and struck the creature as hard a blow as I could. It crumpled to the floor. We had observed that it could regenerate its wounds like a troll, so Erasyne struck off its head. 

Ninad took out the dowsing rod and found a black shard embedded in the creature's head, which he carefully removed and stored in his magic bag. By then the city guardsmen had finally turned up, but we'd become known as guests of the sheikh so they didn't give us much difficulty. The woman with the tiger had disappeared, but it seemed she hadn't had anything to do with the creature or the men who'd been attacking Thor and Erasyne. She'd been just as surprised by the creature as they were.

Ninad nearly got into a fight with the barkeeper when he returned and made insulting remarks, but my friend was too tired to do any harm. After that we decided to return to the palace and rest. We're never destined to go anywhere in this city unmolested, it seems. We did manage to stop off at a leatherworker's shop so Erasyne could order a bandolier to store her potions. Then we were approached by a stranger who claimed to know something about the cat's-eye amulet.

He didn't want to tell us much at first, but when we indicated we wouldn't accept anything he said without more explanation, he finally took us to a nearby coffee house and revealed more. 

He introduced himself as Namdar. It was he who confirmed that the legend of the Tiger Prince was mostly true. But in reality the prince had been replaced by a rakshasa. A sorceress named Gullala had trapped the rakshasa within the cat's-eye amulet, but her daughter Naveen and son Ravana had been trapped along with the demon. We all realized then that the strange woman at the tavern had called her tiger by the name Ravana. Apparently the rakshasa had cursed him. 

Ninad reluctantly admitted that something odd had happened when he tried to examine the amulet to determine if it was magical. Evidently the binding magic of the amulet had faded over the centuries, and Ninad's simple spell had broken the binding and released the prisoners - both Naveen and her brother and the rakshasa as well. 

Namdar claimed to be part of an organization called the Order of the Black Sands, who were responsible for guarding the amulet. The man who had been carrying it was one of their members. He'd been transporting it to another location. The people who attacked him were thieves who wanted to sell the amulet. There were also some Tiger Nomads who wanted it, though Namdar thought neither the barbarians nor the thieves knew about the rakshasa.

Although none of us felt that Ninad ought to be blamed for what had happened, he naturally felt responsible for releasing the evil rakshasa back into the world, and we agreed to help try to track the demon and destroy or imprison him if we can. I'm a bit dubious about our ability to achieve this, though. I don't recall anything specific about rakshasas, but I have the impression that they're very powerful and I doubt that we have the ability to defeat one on our own.

After we left Namdar we were accosted by another stranger who offered to show us to where Naveen was hiding, for a price. We were all naturally suspicious of him, what with a shapechanging rakshasa on the loose, and our little group being followed constantly by thieves and barbarians. But the fellow turned out to be telling the truth. 

He led us to Naveen and Ravana and they've joined us to seek the rakshasa. We also notified one of the temples here of the rakshasa's presence. Now we're back in the sheikh's palace, since that was where we were when the rakshasa was freed. 

I'll have to continue this story later. We're off to search for the rakshasa now.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Feb 2, 2007)

*Letter #32*

Sefmir
12 Goodmonth

Dear brother;

After our adventures in the city we returned to the sheikh's palace with Naveen and Ravana. Erasyne invented a tale of Naveen being a princess from the nomad tribes of the Plains of the Paynims to explain her presence. 

We were surprised to learn that Prince Hamad had invited the Tiger Nomads we'd seen in the city to visit him at the palace. I’m sure you can see why that worried us, since some Tiger Nomads had shown an interest in the cat’s-eye amulet.

While Erasyne took Naveen on a tour of the palace, I walked around the grounds looking for any sign of the rakshasa. I didn't find anything. Once I rejoined my companions, I learned that the prince was in the sheikh's art gallery with the barbarians, which seemed a bit odd. 

Erasyne was convinced that the rakshasa was masquerading as the prince. We spent some time in Erasyne's quarters arguing over what to do. Erasyne suddenly recalled that she'd been given a potion of invisibility, and planned to use that to spy on the prince so she could use her gem of true seeing to determine if he really was the rakshasa. Unfortunately by the time this was decided the prince and his odd entourage had left the gallery.

It was time for luncheon, so we decided that the rest of us would go on to dine and Erasyne would creep in later and try to spy on the prince. The nomads had been invited to dine as well. We sat around making small talk with Naveen and with the barbarians for a bit, everyone feeling tense and noticing that Prince Hamad seemed more mature and confident than usual. 

Then Erasyne came in and announced to Sheikh Azman that some of his guests were not who they appeared to be. But it turned out that she wasn't referring just to the prince; two of the Tiger Nomads were actually weretigers! While Erasyne was trying to convince the sheikh's vizier to look through her gem, the nomad leader stabbed him. Then the two weretigers revealed their true nature and attacked us!

The dining hall erupted in chaos as we fought the weretigers. The false prince jumped up and hid behind his chaperone. Erasyne handed the vizier a healing potion, and the barbarian leader ran off to get his weapons from the storage chests at the other end of the hall. I sprang back from the table and called a shooting star down on the weretiger opposite me, but he resisted its effect.

Realizing that these lycanthropes can resist wounds from ordinary weapons - and not having anything on my person but a dagger at that point - I summoned a flame to my hand and began hurling fire at the weretigers. Erasyne pulled out two silver stilettos and jumped on the table to fight one of the shapechangers. 

At first Thor transformed into an axebeak and attacked some of the barbarians, but when he saw that he couldn't hurt the weretigers without magic, he returned to his natural form and began tossing fire at them as well. Ninad was occupied with battling some of the barbarians who weren't weretigers. Fortunately the shiekh's guards didn't have to leave their weapons at the door, and they took on the rest of the nomads.

I managed to glance over my shoulder just in time to see that the shiekh had looked through Erasyne's gem and seen what was masquerading as his son. Then Naveen called on the power of her mother's amulet and the rakshasa was pulled back into his prison like water flowing down a pipe. The barbarian leader returned armed and much to our surprise stabbed one of the weretigers! Apparently he hadn't known some of his companions were lycanthropes. Sadly the weretiger struck him down moments later.

I dropped both of the weretigers with my spell, although I can't take credit for it all myself. Ninad brought down the last of the barbarians with a burst of sorcerous flames that emanated outward from him in a ring very dramatically. There was one last fellow who tried to escape, but between Ninad's orb of sound and the sheikh's guards, he didn't get far.

We managed to save one of the barbarians from death, and after showing him that his leader was dead, he told us where to find the real prince. Prince Hamad was unharmed in his older brother's quarters. He was naturally quite excited to find that his favorite children’s story was based in fact, and didn't seem to care that most of the Tiger Prince's deeds were actually lies told by the rakshasa.

After Ninad admitted that his effort to discern the power of the amulet was what had released the rakshasa from its prison, the shiekh's vizier seemed to be rather unhappy with us. I can't understand why. There was no way for Ninad to know that such a minor spell could cause so much trouble. But to make the vizier feel more comfortable we agreed to go and stay in the city for the remainder of our visit. 

Thor thought we ought to be given some kind of reward for recapturing the rakshasa. I think he was disappointed that the sheikh didn't offer us gold. I don't mind; we've gathered quite a good deal of treasure in recent weeks, and it's getting to be a lot to carry. I'll be glad to pick up the enchanted saddlebags I ordered and move on to some other part of the world. 

I'll write again when I have more to tell you.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Feb 5, 2007)

*Letter #33*

14 Goodmonth, 601 CY
Sefmir

Dear brother;

We thought we'd spend a few quiet days in Sefmir waiting for our enchanted equipment to be completed, then continue our journey to the ocean. But the 'quiet' part of that assumption wasn't to be. I suppose we should have known better. Trouble comes to us like moths to a candle flame.

We took rooms at a comfortable inn called the Golden Minaret to avoid inconveniencing the shiekh any further. We were relaxing in the common room when one of the serving girls approached and handed us a note, given to her by someone at the bar. The note read: "Bring the princely jewelry and box to the Cup and Coin and your friend will be safe." It was signed with some sort of insignia we didn't recognize. There was a piece of fabric with it that apparently came from Rose's dress.

The serving maid tried to point out the man who'd given her the note, but couldn't see him. Ninad had noticed a man who seemed to be watching us, and had observed the man leaving the inn a few moments before the girl brought the note. It seemed safe to conclude he'd been the one who gave her the note. We assumed by 'princely jewels' that the note meant the platinum and ruby necklace and earrings that had been Prince Javid's dowry. The sheikh hadn't wanted them back after the prince ran away. 

Erasyne tried to argue that those couldn't be princely jewels because they were meant for a woman. I think she just didn't want to give them up to kidnappers. Not that the rest of us wanted to hand the jewels over to thieves either. We were determined to rescue Rose and keep the jewels.

We set off at once for the Cup and Coin. You'll remember that was the low tavern where we first met Naveen and fought that strange many-armed creature from the outer planes. The tavern was still closed following that event; the building was rather badly damaged. Thor transformed into a bird and flew off to spy on it while the rest of us followed on foot. We took Beaker along because we knew Thor would want him. Sometimes I wonder if it came down to saving one of us or the axebeak which Thor would choose.

It was a little difficult to hide with Beaker in tow, but Ninad and I did our best to secret ourselves in an alley while Erasyne snuck into the tavern through the tunnel we'd found on our last visit. She returned to report that there was only one man in the tavern, presumably the man who'd sent the note. Thor arrived and indicated he hadn't seen any signs of anyone else lurking about. We decided to burst in on the man and try to force him to take us to Rose.

Thor and Beaker broke open the front door, while Ninad and I pulled down the boards covering the hole in the back wall and Erasyne crept through the tunnel again. The man didn't seem surprised to see us and wasn't concerned about being threatened. He insisted on seeing the jewels, which Ninad had brought in his magic bag. We couldn't find any way to convince the man to take us to Rose on our terms. We were obliged to follow him. Thor kept a watch on him and kept annoying the man by having Beaker get very close, which I must admit I found amusing.

He led us to an unsavory part of the city and into an atrium that appeared to be abandoned. There was no one else about, and nothing in the court but a disused well and some rubbish. Thor rode Beaker all around the court but didn't find anything and came back to us. 

I had just cast a spell on Rahon in preparation for trouble when I caught a glimpse of something odd out of the corner of my eye. Ninad remarked that he thought he saw something at the other end of the court. Then we heard a whistle, Ninad shouted out a warning that he heard someone casting a spell, and ball of flame came roaring toward us from the opposite end of the courtyard!

We were all burned, Rahon worst of all. I told him to stay with Morwen and stepped forward to fight. Two people, a man and a woman, appeared next to Ninad and attacked him viciously. Our guide had retreated into a side passage to avoid the fireball. Erasyne tossed a tanglefoot bag onto the man who was attacking Ninad, and I moved up to fight the woman. Thor had earlier cast a spell on Beaker, and as two more men appeared at the other end of the courtyard, Beaker ran up the wall and onto the roof.

Ninad was so badly hurt by the two attackers that he had to withdraw into the entryway and drink a healing potion. I couldn't seem to hit the woman; she was very quick. Then the fellow Erasyne had covered in sticky goo ran up to fight her, as did our guide, so Ninad magically shattered the tangled man's dagger. The guide tossed his companion a shortsword and hit Erasyne with his hand. Ninad then shattered the shortsword as well, leaving the sticky man weaponless!

I had my back to the other end of the court, but Thor was struggling with a wand-wielding wizard and another man who had apparently summoned a phase spider. Nasty things, those phase spiders. I don't know if you'll recall, but we fought some in the forest months ago, before we encountered that awful Sanatorum. Thank the Keen Eye this one didn't do anyone much harm. 

The man who'd summoned the spider was evidently the leader of the kidnappers. After Thor had Beaker catch hold of the wizard, the leader began threatening to kill Rose, who was lying on the ground behind him bound and gagged. When he shouted out for everyone to hold I stopped attacking the woman, but Erasyne threw another tanglefoot bag on the man who'd guided us there and went into her dervish dance. The leader cut Rose, but not badly enough to kill her.

Thor must have been hurt, or Beaker, because he rode up the wall and out of sight onto a roof. The woman I was fighting moved over to check on the man Erasyne had just downed, and Erasyne attacked her as soon as she was within reach. I ran down to the other end of the court to help Rose, as did Ninad, leaving the jewelry boxes on the lip of the old well.

Thor reappeared in the form of an axebeak and attacked the wizard again. The wizard tried to flee but didn't get far with a bird taller than a man blocking his way. Ninad used his handy spell to destroy the ropes binding Rose, and she was able to get to her feet and move away from the leader as she tore off the gag. 

Erasyne had come running up with the jewelry cases tucked under her arm - she was determined not to let them go. When the leader saw that he was nearly surrounded he fled down a side passage. I ran after him, drawing my bow. Once he realized I wasn't going to let him get away, he turned on me. He was very fast. I was in bad condition when my friends came after me. Then the leader stabbed me and I fell. Rose healed my wounds and I got back to my feet. 

The kidnapper called his phase spider to aid him, but that didn't stop us from slaying him, though it was a struggle. We were all hurt and weary by that time. I don't know why those fools wouldn't give up. One man, the one Erasyne first entangled, did manage to run away, but the rest of his companions all died. 

We summoned the city guard and told them the whole story. The leader of the kidnappers turned out to have a signet ring indicating he was part of a group called the Ring of Wrath, a band of cutthroats. Erasyne was disappointed that there was no reward for destroying them. Rose told us they had been hired by the renegade Prince Javid! 

We should be able to pick up our magic items tomorrow. I hope we can get out of Sefmir before we get into any further trouble. I pray to Solonor that Prince Javid won't try any other schemes to get the jewels or gain revenge on us. Hopefully when he sees that we destroyed the Ring of Wrath he'll realize we're not people to be trifled with.

Your sister, Lothiriel
________________________________________

*Quips & Quotes*:

*patv*: "She is nimbly avoiding your attacks."
*sniffles*: "No, my scimitar is nimbly avoiding her!"

*Devo*: "I didn't roll very good (_on a grapple check_)."
*patv*: "I rolled really good. But the wizard is still grappled."

*patv*: "He waits until his action to fall over."

*Hedrin*: "I should have done a stunning fist on the phase spider. Then I could have done a stun on a phaser!"


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## sniffles (Feb 6, 2007)

*Letter #34*

1 Harvester
Zier-i-Zief

Dearest brother;

Well, we've finally done it. I never thought we'd make it before some of my companions ended their too-brief lives, but we've finally reached the ocean!

We didn't get here without trouble, of course.

We left Lopolla with plenty of rewards for our efforts to stop the rakshasa. Rose came along with us after all, as she'd heard news of the missing brother she's seeking. We hadn't been out of the city long when trouble reared its head.

We came upon a group of rcs and some bodies in the road. The orcs were some of the Sultan's mercenaries such as we'd met before. In fact, it turned out they were the same ones we'd met previously. They were investigating the remains of a merchant caravan that had been attacked by brigands.

Ninad rode ahead to talk with them, and Thor very nearly managed to get us all into a fight with them when he flew off in bird form and then returned to his natural shape right beside a scout. If their captain hadn't recognized us it might have gone badly.

While Ninad was talking with the captain some other travelers came up the road from the opposite direction and wanted to know what had happened. Then a merchant and guard from the caravan appeared, claiming to have escaped. They reported that the bandits had taken some captives.

We offered to help the mercenaries recover the captives, and the other two travelers also offered their assistance. They were well armed so it seemed wise to accept their offer. I wasn't happy about working with orcs, of course, but this meant I could fight orcs too, since the bandits were also orcs.

After we'd agreed on a plan of attack, Rose and Erasyne made themselves invisible and went to free the prisoners. Just as the rest of our company were about to proceed, a magical gate suddenly opened up behind us. Who should emerge from it but Ninad's twin Shishir and his bride Liselle, accompanied by a small child! The twins had a quick reunion and Shishir joined us for the assault on the brigands.

I didn't see much of my companions or the two travelers after that. No one was near enough to me but Ninad. I caught glimpses of bursts of flames from beyond some trees that turned out to be Shishir's doing, and I could hear the bandits' companion bear roaring until Thor drove it away - which he was very proud of later, of course. 

Rahon fought bravely beside me. He's become a very faithful and useful companion. He told me the bandits were orcs before the mercenary captain mentioned it. He even managed to bring one of them down himself.

Once we'd eliminated all but a few of the brigands, the mercenaries had no further interest in pursuing them, which I found a little odd. But we didn't have any interest in hunting down the last few either. Rose decided to ride with the caravan the rest of the way to Zief. But our new acquaintces, the two well-armed men, seemed very interested in staying near my group. Their names are Varian and Xolo.

Varian seems to be a knight of some sort, though he wears no insignia. Xolo resembles the local people, but he says very little and usually keeps his face covered.

When we came to the River Road Inn, Varian wanted to speak with us in private. He took a private dining room and paid for dinner for our entire party. He then told us a long, complicated tale about a prophecy he'd received. As you know, I'm not much a believer in prophecy and this one was particularly obscure. I can only recall portions of it now.

Varian is on a quest to find the lost city of Darjiin, which can apparently be found using a map drawn on the shell of the egg of a kokobu bird. He claims to have two of these shells, though he didn't show them to us. He's on his way to Zier-i-Zief to see a third egg in a museum there. 

He'd been given his prophecy by a seer who told him to beware "followers of the ebon fire" and "the sliver of darkness that divides the one". My friends thought that the "ebon fire" sounded a bit like the black flames that had slain Illtud, and the "sliver of darkness" naturally reminded us all of the black diamond shards. But we didn't mention this to Varian at that time.

Varian believed that the prophecy mentioned us, as it said something about "four and one" and "one with two heads", or something of that nature. He thought the twins represented the two heads. The prophecy also spoke of something called archomentals and a lost temple of elemental good, which mean nothing to any of us. But Ninad was interested in the story, as were Erasyne and Thor. We decided that as we were on our way to Zief anyway, we may as well see this egg Varian is so eager to view.

Ten days after leaving Lopolla, we came to the ocean. I would have spent longer strolling the beach watching the waves roll in, but my companions of course are always in a hurry. 
Zier-i-Zief is a very large and cosmopolitan city, much more so than Lopolla. It has two vast palaces and a huge temple to the god Vishnu. Varian kindly paid for our lodgings in a very nice inn near the museum.

As we made our way to the museum we met another of the prolific Magoon clan of Halflings. This one is called Norp. He seems a bit more trusty than his brother Kirp. He was engaged in escorting a young princess from some distant land. Erasyne thought there was something odd about the princess, but I noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

Speaking of little girls, I neglected to mention the little girl who came with Shishir. She is his daughter, Pari. If you recall, just before they parted from us Liselle had announced she was with child. Of course humans don't ordinarily grow so quickly, but it seems that Shishir and Liselle have been living in the fey realm, where time passes differently than in the ordinary world. Though it has only been a few weeks for us, five years have passed for them. 
I expect Ninad is going to have a little difficulty adjusting to his twin now being several years older than he is, not to mention getting acquainted with a niece who shouldn't even have been born yet by his perception.

Norp and the princess went with us to the Sultan's museum. They wanted to see an exhibit of animal curiosities. We went with them to view the exhibit. Among the creatures on display we saw an owlbear and a manticore. But the most unusual creature in the display was a two-headed serpent with wings covered in multicolored feathers. It was contained in a crystalline case, still living, and behaving rather oddly. One head hissed and snapped at viewers while the other head appeared quite calm.

Varian now concluded that this creature might be the two-headed thing mentioned in the prophecy. While he was exclaiming over the creature, Erasyne took her gem out and began peering all around through it. Then Ninad whispered to me in the sylvan tongue that he'd used the dowsing rod to detect black shards, and it sensed something in the direction of the winged serpent!

We weren't certain what to do about the black shard. For the time we stayed with Varian and went in search of the egg he'd come to see. To his great disappointment we learned it was missing. We found one of the museum docents, who explained that several years earlier the Sultan's only son had removed the egg from its case and it had simply floated away! The docent showed us a painting that had been made of the egg, but it showed too little detail to see clearly the map Varian seeks.

I'm not certain what we'll do now. I have no doubt we'll try to find a way to recover the black shard from the winged serpent, if it truly has one. But I don't know how we'll achieve that without causing ourselves a great deal of trouble. 

I hope I'll be able to write you again soon to tell you how we fare.

Your sister, Lothiriel
________________________________________________
*Quips & Quotes*:

*patv*: "If you're within earshot you can make a Listen check."
*sniffles*: "How far can an ear shoot?"

*Zora*: "Did you say it sucks to be an edible companion?"
*Devo*: "Because it bites to be an edible companion."

*patv*: "Describe your characters to DH _(Varian's player)_."
Devo: "Well, Thor is a common meadowlark, with brownish feathers..."

*patv*: "Does he take fire damage this round?"
*Devo*: "The dire bear could put him out."

*Hedrin*: "You can never find a decent docent."


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## sniffles (Feb 7, 2007)

*Letter #35*

3 Harvest
Zeir-i-Zeif

Dearest brother;

We've found a new quest. It seems we've decided to help Varian in his search for the lost city.

We draw trouble the way flowers draw bees. While Ninad and I were shopping for supplies, our companions were attacked by some ruffians. And Shishir ran into another black flame wielder. It must have something to do with Varian's prophecy, although we don't yet know why these Ebon Flame people have a grudge against us.

Now we have a lot of difficult decisions to make. How do we find the missing egg? How do we remove the black shard from the couatl and free it from the Sultan's menagerie?

We returned to the menagerie the next day to try to get more information about the couatl. The little princess from the north was there again, too. Erasyne claims the child knows a great deal about the couatl, including its names - she claims each head has its own name. I'm not certain why Erasyne is paying so much attention to the imaginative ramblings of a child.

Shishir found a more promising source of information when he met an elder priest who seems to know something about the creature. This old man, Kianeous, proclaims himself a servant of elemental good. He's seeking the same temple in the lost city that Varian's prophecy leads him toward.

Kianeous says the appearance of the couatl fulfills a prophecy he was given, but now the feathered serpent must be taken to the temple to restore it. The temple, that is, not the couatl.

According to ancient lore known only to Kianeous, the temple was built to contain an evil got created long ago by some ancient people. How people could make a god I don't know.

In any case, we hope Kianeous can help us free the couatl and recover the black shard. Varian seems to think the couatl will be fine with only one head and keeps suggesting we simply cut off the head with the shard, an idea that horrifies the old man. I'm not too fond of that suggestion myself.

But our meeting with Kianeous wasn't the only event of note. I was examining the couatl's enclosure when I noticed that the guard dogs chained beside it weren't the same animals I'd seen the day before. They were behaving very aggressively and one of them was poorly secured.

I observed that they seemed to respond to a nearby man the way they would to their pack leader, so I tried to speak to him. But he left before I could approach him. Ninad told me he'd seen the man watching us and had tried to talk to him, but the man had denied any interest in us and left.

Ninad and I decided to tell the guards about the dogs. They wouldn't pay much attention to us until they realized the dogs wouldn't obey their commands. Then Erasyne took out her gem and saw that they weren't natural dogs at all, but some kind of dog-like creatures disguised by illusions.

After she showed one of the senior guards what could be seen with the gem, the guards cleared the menagerie chamber and closed the exhibit for the day. We never found out what became of the dog-creatures.

We spent the rest of the day in the museum, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on in the menagerie room. When evening fell Thor disguised himself as a sparrow and hid inside the museum after it closed. 

Later Thor returned to the inn to tell us he'd seen how the transparent enclosures could be opened, though he still didn't know how to open the couatl's prison. He's naturally very concerned about the beasts being held in such cramped quarters. He'd like to set them all free, even the manticore, which made Kianeous think him mad.

After Kianeous left us, Thor and Erasyne wanted to go find the orc captain whom we'd helped against the bandits. They wanted to claim the reward he'd offered. Having nothing better to do, we all trooped off to see the orcs. At least the smelly orcs didn't deny us our reward.

Yesterday Varian dickered with a merchant for a flying carpet, and now Erasyne wanted to purchase one right away. I wasn't much excited about flying carpets, but it will come in handy searching for the floating egg. 

Off we went to the carpet merchant's shop, though it was evening and most shops were closing. Varian managed to convince the merchant to see us, though we ended up paying more than what they had previously agreed to.

I neglected to mention earlier that when we saw the orc captain, he told us the bandit leader is a minotaur called Mormog. It seems that part of Varian's prophecy says something about a maze with a stone in it that he must seek, and this minotaur is reputed to live in a labyrinth. The orcs claim no one has ever returned alive from the maze. But Varian is now very excited about finding it.

If you never hear from me again it's because I'm lost in a minotaur's maze. Or perhaps I've fallen from a flying carpet while seeking a floating egg. 

Isn't life strange? 

Your sister, Lothiriel
__________________________________________________
*Quips & Quotes:*

*Zora*: "Could you turn down the gnomish charm if you want to go 
adventuring with us today?"

*DH*: "Does that mean the gem of true seeing can see through my 
illusion of fertility?"
*Devo*: "And your illusion of masculinity."

*patv*: "Well you've heard of the Temple of Elemental Evil back in 
Homlet..."
*Zora*: "But everyone's been in there 3 or 4 times."

*Jubilee * (_to DH, who keeps involving himself in conversations his 
character isn't present for_): "Are you going over there?"
*sniffles*: "Can't you tell Varian's running around inserting dialog into 
every conversation?"
*DH*: "I have dialog with reach."
*Zora*: "He has Hold the Conversation."
*Jubilee*: "Wouldn't that be Thor?"
*Devo*: "No, Thor has Conversational Cleave."
*DH*: "I have _dimension leap_ at will, only to join conversations."

*Zora*: "Varian exercises his Jumping to Conclusions skill."
*DH*: "Keeps me thin and agile."
*sniffles*: "For running from conversation to conversation."


----------



## sniffles (Feb 8, 2007)

*Letter #36*

6 Harvest
Zeir-i-Zeif

Dearest brother;

I won't be able to write to you again for perhaps a month. Tomorrow we set out for the maze of the minotaur.

We had some excitement a few nights ago. It seems that someone wants to be rid of us. We suspect it's a person called Kaligos who's involved in the cult of the Black Flame Zealots. We're not certain why he's attacking us, but it may have something to do with Varian's prophecy. 

During the night of the 3rd of Harvest, I was resting in my room when I heard some odd noises from the other end of the hall. I got up to investigate and took Rahon with me. Something was happening in Shishir's room, although I could only see a little past the heavy curtain in the doorway. 

I paused to call on nature's favor for Rahon, which prevented me from getting to Shishir's room before the threat was dealt with. Ninad came stumbling backward out of his twin's chamber and pushed the curtain aside enough that I could see an amorphous shape outlined in purple faerie fire and flames. After a moment this form dwindled away into nothing under the onslaught of Thor's spell. 

The innkeeper and his guards showed up a short time later and there was nothing to prove our story but a few scorch marks on the floor. Varian hadn't even awakened, as his room was across the atrium. What little evidence I saw leads me to think the attacker was an invisible stalker, a creature that can usually only be summoned by a wizard.

The next day we decided to prepare for our trip to meet the minotaur. I purchased a new suit of enchanted armor and a magical dog collar that will afford Rahon some extra protection. My companions sought all sorts of outlandish magical objects, but even in a city as cosmopolitan as Zeif such things aren't always readily available.

Thor meanwhile decided to follow up on the three fellows who'd attacked my companions while Ninad and I were elsewhere. The taverner at the establishment where the attack occurred hadn't been forthcoming with information at the time, but Thor persuaded him to say more. He told the gnome that Kaligos was behind the assault, and that Kaligos might be found at an inn called Kourosh's.

As it happens we'd heard of Kourosh before. When we were passing through the mountains we met a man called Xymos. We helped him out of some trouble and in gratitude Xymos gave us tokens to show to Kourosh. Naturally we had to go off to Kourosh's at once and present our tokens. Apparently they're color-coded, but not knowing what the colors mean, some of my companions thought it would be worthwhile to magically alter the color. I declined to let them change my token.

Kourosh the innkeeper was very solicitous when he saw the tokens - the tokens that hadn't been changed, that is. He kept insisting that we take rooms at his inn. We declined, though we did tell him we'd consider staying there when we return from our mission. 

When we mentioned the minotaur he was horrified. Thor, never being one to dissemble, blurted out that we were on our way to the maze. It turned out that a regular customer had actually been to the maze and seen the minotaur, and Kourosh summoned him to our table to persuade us of the folly of our plan.

This man was a former soldier, badly scarred and missing an arm. He recounted how a group of the Sultan's soldiers had been sent to the maze, and only he and another man had survived. He'd lost his arm during that mission. But as he went into further detail I began to see why their effort had failed.

A wizard had gone along with the soldiers but hadn't entered the maze. Nor had their commander. They'd also been ordered to split into two groups. It's no wonder that they were all slain.

The former soldier described how the terrain near the cave entrance was very rough, covered with piles of earth and rubble from excavation of the cave. There were also various deadfalls and pitfalls inside. He claimed that the minotaur is enormous and has far longer horns than any minotaur I've heard of. And the man-bull may have ogres and even a giant in his gang of bandits.

Armed with this information, we're going to set out for the maze tomorrow. We're not certain yet how we'll enter the maze, but we'll determine that once we see it with our own eyes. Once we've completed our investigation I'll write you again and tell you how we fared.

Your sister, Lothiriel
______________________________________________
*Quips & Quotes*:

*sniffles*: "Who's that with Thor?"
*Zora*: "Just some little bird he picked up downstairs."
*Devo*: "She's a hot chick!"

*patv*: "A gust of wind blows into your room and does 22 points of damage to you."
*Devo*: "A fowl wind."
*sniffles*: "Did it come from Thor's room?"
*Devo*: "Not from Thor's *room*, exactly..."

*sniffles*: "Why doesn't Thor learn to speak some other language when he's a bird?"
*Devo*: "OK, I turn into an owl."
*patv*: "Now you can speak owlbear. Sort of."
*Devo*: "It's a pigeon language."

*patv*: "We don't take Discover cards."
*Devo*: "Do you take _expeditious retreat_? Do you mind if we do?"

*DH*: "Are there towns in the area of the maze? Mazeville?"
*Hedrin*: "Victimsburg?"

*DH*: "We're all going to die by bear."
*Zora*: "Well, it is a die-er bear."

*Devo*: "The bear says, 'I'm looking for the man who killed my paw.'"

*patv*: "Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Varian's rear."


----------



## sniffles (Feb 9, 2007)

*Letter #38*

15 Harvest
Zeif

Dearest brother;

I'm writing you from our camp outside the minotaur's maze. We've made our first foray into the maze and escaped relatively unscathed.

We arrived to find the entry to the maze just as described. To get around the rugged terrain most of us flew up to the entrance aboard the flying carpet we purchased. It wasn't sturdy enough to carry all of us, so Thor cast a spell to shrink Beaker, and he himself flew alongside as an eagle. Shishir and Varian got to the cave mouth via a spell Shishir knows that allows the caster to cause two creatures to switch places with one another. 

We had to fight off some orcs and ogres and even a rather stupid hill giant, but we quickly eliminated them with little hurt to ourselves for the most part. After we entered the cave we were met by a dire bear, one we'd seen before when we fought the orc bandits. Thor couldn't persuade it to leave this time so we were forced to slay it. 

We started off down the passage into the depths of the labyrinth when suddenly the minotaur himself emerged through a wall. The ex-soldier had neglected to mention that this minotaur has _six_ arms. I've never heard of such a creature before.

The minotaur didn't attack, though. Instead it just threatened us, something about decorating its lair with our bones. There are in fact quite a lot of bones in the cave, but I doubt we'll be adding ours to the collection. Not when the minotaur turned and fled. 

Erasyne took a look through her gem to see if the wall was an illusion, but it proved to be real. We don't know how the minotaur was able to walk through it. As we were heading off down the passage in pursuit, the floor suddenly vanished beneath Thor's feet and he fell into a pit shaft. Strangely, he stopped falling about twenty feet down. In fact, he stopped moving altogether.

Erasyne got a rope and dropped it down to him, but it quickly revealed that Thor was actually caught in some translucent substance that was burning him with acid as it held him immobilized. Unable to think of anything in our possession that would survive contact with the acid, Erasyne jumped down herself in hope of freeing Thor. Instead she too was caught in the gelatinous creature's embrace. I couldn't prevent Beaker from jumping after his master. He got stuck above Thor and Erasyne.

Shishir decided that as we had plenty of healing available to us, he would try burning the creature. He blasted it with magical flame. Then his twin joined in with orbs of cold. The creature pretty quickly began to dissolve into a puddle at the bottom of the shaft, and we were able to lift our three comrades out with ropes. 

Once everyone was healed back to health and able to move again, we decided to make our way across the pit and continue on down the passage. I used my ring to lift me over the gap in the floor. Erasyne took point to look for other such traps, aided by the taciturn Xolo.

It wasn't long before they located a trap that was apparently intended to drop stones on the passage below. Erasyne jammed it with pitons from her pack and moved on into the next connecting passage. As she did I heard a faint crackling sound. 

Once most of our party had passed under the overhanging stone, I glimpsed an arc of blue lightning shooting down the passageway. I heard yelps of pain from some of my companions. There were two lizard-like creatures that resembled rhinoceroses at opposite ends of the passage, and with them two minotaurs, smaller and with fewer arms than Mormog. 

I hurried under the stone and wielded my spear against one of the blue lizard creatures. They could blast lightning and apparently had some method of sending the lightning from one to the other, hence their positions. I received several painful shocks, being unable to get out of range of the lightning. 

After a short but nasty struggle we eliminated all four creatures. Thor and Shishir both wanted to leave the cave and rest at this point, as they'd expended most of their spells and it was already evening when we arrived at the maze. Varian was opposed to this, almost to the point of continuing on his own. But finally he was persuaded of the folly of that course and we agreed to retreat and spend the night at our campsite outside.

Before we departed, Thor summoned a thoqqua and sent it burrowing through the stone that had fallen behind us while we fought the blue lightning lizards. Erasyne's pitons hadn't been able to prevent the stone from descending, though they had slowed it. It proved to be intended to block the passage behind us rather than to crush anyone beneath it. After the thoqqua burrowed back and forth several times and we allowed its tunnel to cool, we made our way back outside to the hidden location where we'd left our horses.

_*To be continued...*_
_________________________________________
*Quips & Quotes:*

*patv*: "I'm amending your buckler to metal with a hole in the middle, Thor."
*Devo*: "So I can wear it on my arm or on my waist!"

*Zora*: "Change into a chicken. Then you can run around for 10 minutes after you die."

*Jubilee*: "Do I get +1 for Trapsense?"
*patv*: "It's not a trap."
*Jubilee*: "Well I think it's a trap."

*Jubilee*: "Does Thor look like he has _word of recall_?"
*Zora*: "He has word of recaw."

*patv*: "You're not feeling quite yourself."
*Hedrin*: "Who are you feeling?"

*patv*: "Are you sure you're not going to touch it?"
*Jubilee*: "Will it level me?"
*patv*: "You mean will you level up or will it level you?"
*Jubilee*: "I want to be flat on top."


----------



## sniffles (Feb 12, 2007)

*Letter #38 continues*

We returned to the maze this morning after a quiet night in camp. We found that Thor's summoned thoqqua had been sliced in half, though we couldn't tell by what. The two minotaurs we'd slain were gone but the lightning lizards had been left where they fell.

On our way back through the maze, Erasyne found a doorway equipped with a nasty trap: a false floor would spring up to impale the victim on spikes. We triggered it, but the door didn't appear to lead anywhere we hadn't already been so we didn't bother going through it.

After a bit more winding about we came upon a small room with what at first appeared to be a body in it. Several of my companions went in to investigate. Then a set of bars slammed down behind them. Ninad smashed them with a spell, but not before the 'body' rose up and attacked. The undead thing was chained to the wall and couldn't pursue us far beyond its chamber, but before we could retreat it managed to injure Varian. I lent him the enchanted mace I've been carrying as it's especially useful against undead creatures.

After that we followed more winding passages until Erasyne saw something shiny on the floor and stopped to investigate. She suspected it was meant to trigger another trap, so we proceeded past cautiously.

Shortly we came to a chamber that was more like a natural cave. Shishir and I had been bringing up the rear to look out for attacks from behind, and we hadn't yet entered the cave when an umber hulk erupted through the floor. Erasyne had just identified a pit trap behind the area where it emerged, and we couldn't get behind it to flank it.

Its gaze had an odd effect. I was obliged to avert my eyes. Rahon couldn't do the same and became confused. He started snarling and snapping at Varian. Thank the Keen Eye he couldn't get through the knight's armor. Then Varian started shouting out nonsense commands.

The rest of us fought the hulk with a will, except Thor, who had been riding Beaker up the walls all morning and had gone behind a rock outcrop where he couldn't see what was happening. By the time he reappeared one of Ninad's attacks had slain the umber hulk.

After we left the cave the passageways became worked stone again. Thor made himself useful by sending lights ahead of us down the tunnels. Eventually I noticed that the echoes of our footsteps were being deadened and Ninad feared we'd been going around in circles. Then I heard a noise I recognized from Mormog's first appearance. I shouted a warning to my companions as the minotaur stepped through the wall.

Mormog turned to me and before I could raise my spear to attack he swung one of his many axes and sheared my spear in half. I stepped back into a corner and summoned up a pair of 'spiritjaws' to combat him, but the magical jaws could never get a grip on his flesh.

The minotaur worked himself into a berserk rage, so I took cover around the bend of the passage to cast the strongest spell I had at my command. I knew it would take longer than usual to summon the energies. While I was preparing the minotaur managed to knock Rahon over with his flailing arms. Then I saw Shishir drop to the floor unconscious, and I gave up on my spell to go to his aid.

By the time I had Shishir back on his feet Mormog had disappeared again. I expended some charges from my curing wand on Shishir and Rahon. Then we headed back to the cave to find another passageway, as the one in which we met the minotaur was a dead end.

Along the way we searched the corpses we found for anything of use. I found a dagger that looks to be enchanted, though I don't know what it can do.

The next direction we took eventually led to another dead end, this time in a chamber that appeared to be a shrine to the minotaur's god. There were two large columns flanking the entrance, and a statue of a minotaur-like figure stood at the opposite end.

Erasyne suspected a trap in the doorway, but before she could disable it the columns suddenly collapsed, injuring her and Xolo and leaving a pile of rubble before us. Ninad had just advised us he thought the statue might be some sort of construct, and he was proved right when it began to lumber toward the entrance.

Erasyne, Xolo and Varian scrambled over the rubble to get behind the golem while Thor and Beaker hung from the ceiling. I swapped my bow for my scimitar and stepped up to meet it. Its stony surface was nearly impenetrable to both magic and weapons. But Ninad realized that some of the spells he and his brother knew might affect it. They blasted it with cold and sound while the rest of us struck as hard as we could with our blades until it finally crumbled under a blow from Varian.

By this point we were all tired and Thor and the twins were low on spells. We determined that it would be wise to retreat to our camp to recover. Nothing accosted us on the way out, but we discovered that someone, presumably Mormog, had come behind us and used magic to block the tunnel Thor's thoqqua had created. He had to summon another thoqqua to open a new tunnel.

Mormog was trying to trap us in his maze. He'd also blocked up the exit with stone. Thor couldn't summon another thoqqua, so I followed his example and called one myself. We were fortunate Mormog didn't try to take us while we waited for the creature to finish burrowing.

*To be continued...*
_______________________________________
*Quips & Quotes:*

*Hedrin*: "He hit me with a wand. It was a wound of wanding."

*patv*: "There's an incredibly thick chain."
*DH*: "I'll take it."
*patv*: "It's attached to the wall."
*DH*: "I'll take that too!"
*Jubilee*: "If you wanted to be that encumbered why didn't you just get married?"

*Devo * (running Varian in DH's absence): "I'm babbling incoherently. So is Varian."

*Jubilee*: "I can't hear myself sneak! Be quiet!"

*Hedrin*: "The sound is deadened here. We might be going around in circles."
*Jubilee*: "Or we're getting close to a rubber room."
*Hedrin*: "Thor's always this close to a rubber room."

*Devo*: "The minotaur must like electricity. He keeps..."
*patv*: "...attracting it?"

*Jubilee*: "That's why we carry that monk around, for his 10 foot pole."
*patv*: "It's not 10 feet long, no matter what you say!"

*patv*: "The minotaur looks strong, and he is strong."
*Devo*: "And he smells strong."
*patv*: "He has Irish Spring in his step."
*Hedrin*: "Made for a man but strong enough for a minotaur."

*patv*: "The statue is moving."
*Hedrin*: "It's mooing?"
*Zora*: "It's mooooving."

*Devo*: "There aren't any egresses within 9 miles."
*sniffles*: "That's egrets, not egresses."
*Zora*: "I'm having a few egrets about this adventure."


----------



## sniffles (Feb 13, 2007)

*Letter #38*

We spent another night safely resting in our camp outside the maze. Ninad had found an amulet among the detritus inside. He discovered it would be useful to someone like Thor or myself who can transform into animal shapes. It was given to me, since I've only lately learned to take animal form and haven't had much opportunity to practice.

We returned to the maze the next morning to find that the entrance hadn't been re-blocked. We searched an area we hadn't looked at before. I found a longspear to replace the one the minotaur broke, and a shield that we put in Erasyne's magic bag, since I can't use a shield with a longspear.

After a time we came upon a very large pit. It was too broad for most of us to get across on our own so we floated across it on the flying carpet, which Ninad had been keeping rolled up inside one of his magic sacks. 

On the other side we found what seemed to be a shrine to the minotaur's god. There lay a minotaur skeleton on a stone slab, and the two minotaurs we'd slain two days earlier had been neatly arranged on the floor. At the far end of the room stood an archway containing a darkness that couldn't be pierced by any light source.

Then we heard the familiar sound of Mormog's entrance again. As the six-armed monster emerged into the room he bellowed, "Your bones will not defile this room!"

As Mormog loomed over Varian, Thor produced a tanglefoot bag and hurled it from Beaker's perch on the ceiling. Covered in the sticky substance the minotaur couldn't move as quickly. But that didn't prevent him from swinging an axe at Erasyne and then knocking both Varian and Xolo off their feet.

I called a spell to mind and repositioned myself for better aim. Then I blew a cloud of frosty breath at the beast, covering him in hoary rime. I hoped the spell would stun him for a moment but he was too hardy. Erasyne began to dance around him in a cloud of whirling blades. The minotaur hurled one of his axes at me, then bent to gore Xolo with his horns.

Xolo suddenly vanished from sight. Varian shouted a challenge to the beast, turning its attention to him despite the wounds he'd just suffered. He slashed at the monster and then moved away, trying to draw the minotaur after him. 

I tried another spell, surrounding the minotaur in a wind that was meant to bind him in place, but it failed to affect him. Shishir slipped up behind our foe and set him on fire with an evocation of his own. His twin attempted to shatter the minotaur's largest axe without success. Thor commanded Beaker to snatch the throwing axe out of the air, but that also failed.

A moment later Xolo reappeared and stabbed at the minotaur from behind. Varian continued to attack the beast as well, despite having been knocked down yet again. Finding my spells ineffective, I nocked my bow and fired arrows at Mormog. I had decided to keep my distance so that I could give healing to my companions.

Ninad hurled a burst of fire at the minotaur, while Thor added more fuel to the flames with his own magic. The flames burning in Mormog's fur provided a dramatic backdrop to Erasyne's flashing blades. Evidently Mormog began to feel threatened, as he abruptly withdrew through the portal at the end of the room, ignoring Shishir and Varian as they attacked him.

Shishir immediately leaped through the dark opening after the minotaur, followed in swift succession by his twin, Thor, and Erasyne. Xolo and Varian paused for a moment so that Xolo could offer Varian a healing potion before they also stepped through the portal. I ran across the chamber with Rahon at my heels, drawing a potion of my own from my purse. I hesitated for a moment to swallow my potion, then felt myself grow lighter and flew through the opening.

As I hovered near the ceiling I found myself in a circular chamber with many evenly-spaced openings admitting to it, all of them as dark as the portal I had just passed through. Below me I saw a small pool in the center of the chamber. Xolo lay in the water, obviously badly injured. Mormog loomed over Shishir and Erasyne, his coat still flickering with flames. Ignoring the burning he struck my companions each a mighty blow that toppled them.

The minotaur's returning axe came hurtling at me again, giving Thor and my two friends on the floor an opening to strike. Xolo crawled out of the pool looking somewhat improved and stabbed into the minotaur's leg with his dagger. I fired two arrows into the hairy hide. My first arrow missed its mark, but as the second arrow struck, Mormog slowly crumpled to the ground.

Ninad quickly made certain the minotaur was dead. Recognizing that the pool had healing properties, Erasyne began to bathe in the water. There was little water left by the time she had finished. I settled to the floor and expended a spell to help Shishir with his wounds. 

While Erasyne bathed in the pool she noticed that the bottom was studded with numerous gems, and in the center sat a large cylindrical green stone. One of the twins confirmed that something in the pool was magical. Erasyne tried to remove the green stone but she was too weak after her exertions during the fighting. She contented herself with prying out the gems. These proved to be only weakly imbued with magic, and worse they had all lost their luster somehow. But Erasyne gathered them all up in any case.

Varian managed to pry the green stone out of the pool. Thor determined that it radiated healing and water magic. He became quite fascinated with it. After looking at it more closely I realized I'd heard a tale of such a stone, but I couldn't recall any more details.

Once we'd thoroughly searched Mormog's corpse and removed all the stones from the pool, Thor walked through one of the dark doorways - and reappeared at a different one! We all attempted this at once with the same result. I examined the entrances to see if Mormog had been using one more than any other, but there was little sign he'd come to this chamber often. 

Thor began concentrating intently on the green stone, feeling it might hold the answer to our dilemma. I've seldom seen him so focused. Eventually he managed to activate a magical property of the stone and a passageway formed in the wall of the chamber. When we exited we found ourselves back in the maze near the chapel we'd visited previously. 

We searched the maze thoroughly for any rooms or tunnels we'd missed, gathering up various weapons and items of value as we went. After we'd collected a number of items and looked them over, Ninad noticed that several of the things we'd found bore the same maker's mark as some other objects we'd come across in our previous travels. There was a mage by the name of Castanamir who appeared to be a prolific maker of magical tools and weapons. 

It occurred to me to look at a dagger I'd picked up the day before. When I drew it from my purse and looked at it closely I noticed an indentation in the hilt that looked like it would accept a ring. I tried my ring of levitation in the spot and found that it fit perfectly, though my ring didn't bear Castanamir's sigil. This provoked a period of experimentation as we tried various rings in the space on the dagger and then brought out other weapons made by Castanamir to see if they, too, had spaces for insertion of rings. 

We came to the conclusion that most of Castanamir's product was made to accept rings or other items. The rings didn't have to be made by Castanamir; they only had to be enchanted. Once an enchanted ring was set into the weapon it was possible to use the magic of the ring as if one were wearing it. I've always heard that one can only wear one magic ring on each hand else the magic of each ring will start to interfere with the others. Being able to attach the rings to the weapons bypasses this problem. 

We even discovered that my broken spear will form a lance when fit together with an odd buckler Thor had acquired, and that once combined their individual magics become something entirely different, though we don't yet know what the lance can do. Varian is quite covetous of the lance. I suppose I'll give it to him once the spear is repaired.

Thor had also discovered that the green stone contains earth magic that will allow him to manipulate earth and stone. He's quite enamored of the stone, proclaiming that gnomes are very attuned to the earth. Which seems odd considering his fascination with creatures of the skies.

Having had enough of the minotaur's maze, we set off for Zeir-i-Zeif with the minotaur's severed head as proof of our success. On the way we paused at the nearest town to ask if a priest could cast a spell on Mormog's head to preserve it during the journey. This drew a great deal of attention from the townsfolk, who were all aware of their proximity to the minotaur's lair. 

By the time we reached the city we were drawing substantial crowds of gawkers. This may have been because Shishir and Thor insisted on attaching the head to one end of our flying carpet to parade it through the streets in the most dramatic manner possible.

On our arrival in Zeif we were met with great fanfare and escorted to a central plaza to meet the Sultan himself. He made a great ceremony of giving us our reward for slaying the minotaur, presenting us with ceremonial scimitars and red sashes and declaring us heroes of the nation. At the same time it seemed to me that he was taking most of the credit for himself. 

Ninad consulted one of his lorebooks and discovered that the green stone is an artifact known as the Rock of Mages. His information showed no connection to the temple of the elements that Varian seeks, but we still suspect that the stone is the one from Varian's prophecy. 

We've been invited to dine with the Sultan this evening, so I must close now and go to prepare for our formal dinner. Erasyne made the clever suggestion that perhaps we can return the gold we were given and ask the Sultan to set the two-headed couatl free as our reward. We're going to present this request during dinner. 

I'll write you again soon to tell you how we fare.

Your sister, Lothiriel
________________________________________________
*This documents the most recent session of this campaign. At the present time no further sessions are scheduled, but we expect to return to the campaign at some point to continue the quest for the temple of elemental good.
sniffles*
________________________________________________

*Quips & Quotes:*

_There were so many cow-related jokes I couldn't write them all down and still be able to play._  

*DH*: "I prefer [the spell] _avasculate_."
*Zora*: "You've already been _avasculated_."
*Devo*: "That's "emasculated"."

*Zora*: "I still think we should strap the minotaur's head to the front end of the flying carpet. Everybody mooooove! Set carpet for bull rush."

*Hedrin*: "He finally got that boomerang thing to work."
*Devo*: "That won't come back to haunt us."


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## sniffles (May 29, 2007)

*Letter #39*

Patchwall 1
Zier-i-Zief

Dearest brother;

Well, as usual adventure finds us whether we're actively seeking it or not. 

We had only a few hours to dress appropriately for a feast at the palace. I think Thor would rather have stayed at the inn with Beaker. The rest of us would probably have agreed to that. It would likely have been less disruptive than his presence at the feast.

We met the halfling, Norp, again at the palace, as well as his young charge, Princess Luminia. We weren't seated with the princess, however, so we didn't speak with her until later. Norp was supposed to act as our interpreter. He didn't know the twins speak Baklunish.

The dinner was long and tedious and served far too much food for comfort, all of it overcooked and over-seasoned. After the desert was served a curious dancer entertained us: she appeared to have snakes for hands. According to one of the other guests she came from a strange race of very rare beings. 

Then a heavily armored centaur came in to speak with the Sultan, which was odd not so much because he was a centaur as because he was allowed to bear arms in the Sultan's presence. Evidently he's of the same rank as Norp. One he'd left we had a few words with the princess, who offered to arrange a meeting with the Sultan. I'm not quite sure why a child has such importance, but if it works in our favor then so be it.

Our discussion eventually led to our quest for the items in Varian's prophecy, since my companions are incapable of keeping anything to themselves. Norp remarked that yet another of his brothers had told him of a tale about a crystal oasis that we thought might be the place of ice mentioned in the prophecy. But neither Norp nor his brother have ever seen this place. 

When the interminable affair finally ended the Sultan sent guards back to the inn with us to escort the 10 chests of gold coins we were given as reward for slaying the minotaur. Unfortunately they didn't stay to look after the gold. We have to do that ourselves. We could put it in our magic sacks, but since we want to offer it to the Sultan in return for releasing the couatl, we don't want to put the coins away.

It was after we returned to the inn that Thor realized Pheretima's bottle was missing. He still had a bottle that looked very like hers in his possession, but closer examination proved it was a copy. Somehow someone must have stolen the djinni's bottle and replaced it with this replica. When we told the innkeeper, Kouroush, about the theft, he realized what had probably happened.

It seems that Xymos, the man who directed us to visit this inn if we came to Zief, belongs to an organization that claims to free imprisoned djinn. He must have hidden Pheretima in our gear after he met us. We'd always assumed she was a gift from Liselle's parents, even though Liselle wasn't aware of her family owning any such thing. But Kouroush had heard that a djinn had been stolen from the Archmage Shopar sometime not long before we met Xymos. He suspected Pheretima was that djinn, and that Xymos had hidden her in our gear so he could avoid being found with her while still getting her back to Zief. Now that we'd arrived, he'd somehow snuck into our rooms and stolen the bottle back. 

Kouroush told us he knew where Xymos' organization takes the djinn they release. He took us to a room in his inn and opened the door - onto a room full of clouds. A gust of wind blew out of the doorway. We suspect it's a portal to the Plane of Air. Kouroush says it's been that way since an 'accident' in the room several years ago. 

As we were staring at this amazing sight, we sensed something small and invisible was blown back by the wind and hit the railing opposite the doorway. Shishir reached out and caught hold of whatever it was. A fairy appeared in his hand, wearing about her neck a pendant on a chain big enough to be worn by one of us. She struggled mightily but of course she couldn't escape. She was horrified when Shishir unwound the pendant from around her neck, explaining that it was something rare called "show glass" that allowed another person to see whatever was visible around the bearer of the pendant, like a scrying device. 

The fairy, Delna, was evidently sent by the fey queen Morgaine to spy on us - but not on Shishir. She was supposed to follow Erasyne, though the queen didn't tell her why. She's terrified the Queen will kill her now that she's been exposed and the pendant taken. Ninad immediately offered her the safety of our company. She seemed to have trouble deciding what to do, but ultimately concluded she'd be safer with us than on her own.

In the meantime Thor transformed into a bird and flew through the portal for a few moments. He was eager to search there for Pheretima, assuming that Xymos must have released her. Erasyne was equally eager to enter, thinking that perhaps the lost egg might have floated away to the Plane of Air, though I'm not quite sure how she came to that conclusion.

As we couldn't find any way for all of us to fly like Thor, we decided to see if we could get more information from Xymos about Pheretima. Kouroush knew of a sea cave where the organization might hide. But before we went there we decided to go to the carpet shop we'd visited previously and talk to the djinn who worked there to see if he knew about this organization or Pheretima. I'm not sure how we came to that decision, either. Sometimes my friends' thought processes leave me bewildered.

The djinn at the carpet merchant's knew about the organization Xymos operates, but little else. He did tell us that Pheretima's father is someone important in the heirarchy of the djinni, though he wouldn't tell us more. He also told us to seek the king of the air whales if we wanted to travel through that plane, and to be prepared to repay the whale king with some service in exchange for his aid.

Kouroush told us he'd tried to contact Xymos on our behalf but had been rebuffed. We decided then to visit the sea cave. It was an unpleasant place, surrounded by the remains of dead plants and animals. The water in the area seems to have some deleterious effect, though it isn't poisonous. 

Thor went ahead as a bird to scout the cave and reported that he heard odd voices, though he couldn't understand what they said. We crept cautiously into the cave and headed down the passage, moving slowly in the darkness. Eventually we could all hear what sounded like two voices singing in some strange tongue. Erasyne and Ninad crept forward to peer toward the sound and spotted two odd-looking giants tending a fire. 

Unfortunately the giants also spotted them. We backed out into the cave and prepared to defend ouselves. When the two giants entered the cave Ninad called out to them that we just wanted to talk, but they didn't heed him. They came rushing out wielding the biggest hammers I have ever seen. 

I set my spear against the first giant to exit the tunnel and fairly ran him through, but that didn't stop him smashing his hammer into Ninad. Thor scooped up a handful of pebbles and murmured over them before hurling them at the giant. They transformed mid-flight into boulders and slammed into the creature. The second giant came barreling out of the tunnel after Thor. 

Shishir swallowed a potion and grew to greater stature, then rushed the second giant. He began pummeling it with his enlarged fists, which were also coated with corrosive slime courtesy of a spell. Ninad tried to set fire to the first giant, managing to burn him badly. I jabbed him several more times with my spear. Behind us Thor and Shishir made quick work of the other giant, while Erasyne danced around the first slashing him with her blades until he collapsed.

Then three men emerged into the cave.
______________________

Quips & Quotes:

patv: "You see a djinn and an efreet behind the sultan. There are two distinctive gold lamps on the table."
Jubilee: "Dibs!"

Hedrin: "Bring out the hookahs!"
Zora: "Hookahs for everyone!"

patv: "The sultan claps his hands."
sniffles: "And all the lights go out."
Jubilee: "Sometimes I'm not sure the lights were ever on."

patv (to Zora): "You sense something small and invisible hits the opposite wall."
Devo: "You know, so small you can barely see it, your wife comments on it a lot..."


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## sniffles (Jun 18, 2007)

*Letter #40*

3rd Patchwall
The Plane of Air

One of the three men who emerged from the back of the cave turned out to be Xymos, the man who'd taken Pheretimma's bottle. He seemed unconcerned by our presence or the fact that we had slain his two giant guardians. Thor immediately stepped forward and demanded that Xymos return the djinn. 

Xymos wasn't at all contrite about having taken her, nor about having hidden her in our belongings in the first place. Thor was uncharacteristically belligerent and determined to have Pheretimma returned to us. Xymos was uncooperative until I think he saw that we wouldn't give up. But he insisted he couldn't take us to her immediately, nor would he tell us at first where she could be found. At last after a good deal of argument it was agreed that Ninad would go with Xymos to assure that he wouldn't disappear, and we would all meet after dark at Kouroush's inn.

During our discussion with Xymos he told us that some of his confederates fear a prophecy that the djinni will rebel and overthrow the country. They are setting the djinni free simply to avert this. Others among them are concerned that the Archmage Shopar intended to use Pheretimma in a device called an 'orbulon'. No one seems to know what an orbulon does, but they are very fearful of it. They believe the object will cause a terrible cataclysm.

Another item of concern that Xymos mentioned is that freeing the djinn from their bottle prisons is potentially fatal to them if not successful. This greatly concerned Thor. And as much as I've found the djinn irritating, I have no desire to see her dead. This confirmed our determination to meet with Pheretimma and assure her safety.

While Ninad spent the day with Xymos, the rest of us planned for our trip to visit Pheretimma. Xymos had finally admitted that she was already on the Plane of Air as we'd suspected. We spent the day preparing for this journey, discussing what spells we should prepare and how we would transport ourselves.

When Ninad and Xymos arrived, Xymos gave us a ring of flight to use during the journey and told us to seek his agent, Nadereh, with Ianus, the king of the air whales. In addition to the ring, we intended to use our flying carpet to travel, but as we'd already determined it isn't sufficient to bear all of us. Thor and I planned to transform into birds, and Varian had managed to acquire a hippogriff mount to ride.

The next morning Kouroush let us into the room that leads to the Plane of Air. I cast a spell to make my bird form a bit more hardy and shaped myself into an eagle. It's the first time I've really taken advantage of this ability the Keen Eye grants me. 

With Varian astride his new steed, Xolo flying along under the enchantment of the ring, Thor ahead as a larger eagle, and the rest of my companions sitting on the carpet, we set off into the vast expanse of air. Unfortunately Thor and I weren't able to bring Rahon and Beaker as there was no practical way to transport them.

We'd provisioned ourselves with as many goodberries as I had time to make the day before, and I was prepared to make water for us though my friends had all filled all the waterskins they could easily carry. Our initial flight was uneventful, though fascinating. We eventually encountered a few hunks of earth floating randomly in the air, and observed a rainstorm passing by. At one point we even came upon a shallow pool of water!

As the day progressed we came upon an even more curious sight: fragments of some broken structure, floating ahead of us. Portions of it were still intact. It was covered with birds, being a nice place for them to roost. We decided to rest there for the night. We were obliged to settle on two different parts of the building because no fragment that still had a floor was large enough to contain all of us.

Shishir and I were on watch when our first unpleasant experience occurred. I caught sight of a large dark shape swooping toward us out of the formless night. It dove at the portion of the structure where the twins and Erasyne had taken refuge. I shouted a warning to Shishir as I prepared my bow.

It was a manticore, I realized when I saw the tail spikes it fired at him. All the birds had fled at its approach. I took several spikes myself after I shot at it. Shishir attacked it with one of his frosty orbs, and I summoned a lance of ice to pierce it when I feared I might spend too many arrows trying to wound it.

It kept circling us, undeterred by our assault. Either it was very hungry or we were invading its territory. It managed to wound the hippogriff badly. Despite this Varian mounted the animal and flew up to combat the manticore. He's fortunate he didn't lose his mount.

Thor limned the manticore with faerie fire so we could see it in the dark. Then Shishir sent Balamani to set it afire and Varian charged it with his lance. It was already full of arrows that Erasyne and I had fired. When the lance struck it fell tumbling away into the distance.

We rested a little later the next morning than we ordinarily would have to recover from our wounds. The manticore had managed to strike several of us with its tail spikes. Once we'd recovered we set off again, bidding farewell to the strange ruin.

After some hours we came upon another unusual sight: A large greyish shape ahead, with many smaller shapes swarming around it. As we drew nearer I could see that the large shape appeared to be a whale, thrashing about as perhaps a dozen winged apes stabbed it with long spears. The apes had no armor and no other weapons, but they had entangled the air whale in nets.

I swooped in and lit on the whale, then resumed my natural shape and drew my scimitar. One of the apes approached and stabbed me with its spear. It was too far away for me to strike it with my sword, as its arms were very long. I instead began trying to cut off the net that bound the whale.

The whale rolled, trying to shake off the nets, and I fell but landed on the beast's side. I kept sawing at the nettting as Shishir landed on the whale and attacked the flying ape. Xolo flew over and began to stab the ape also. The rest of our party were flying about beyond the whale, trying to battle the remaining apes. Erasyne was steering the carpet while Ninad fought, and Varian was struggling to control his hippogriff, which wasn't trained for battle.

Thanks to the Keen Eye I withstood the attacks of the ape and cut away the nets, while my companions dealt with the rest of the winged apes. When we had eliminated them and freed the whale, it began to sing to us. But the song seemed to contain no words. Ninad cast a spell to allow him to understand any speech but could make nothing of the whale's song. He then began to speak to it, telling it that we sought the air whale king. This seemed to make an impression on it, and the whale began to swim through the air, heading in the direction we had been following.
______________________

*Quips & Quotes:*

DH: "What's the damage and crit range for the giants' hammers?"
patv: "Well it's not written on the side of the hammer..."
sniffles: "Oh no! Somebody took the sticker off!"

DH: "Xymos isn't mad we killed his big brutes?"
Zora: "Well they're only $1.50 a dozen." (He was referring to the price of the minis patv was using.)

Hedrin: "It was a hippogriff that was only ridden on Sundays by a little old lady."
sniffles: "Did you test drive it before you bought it?"
Hedrin: "I think it's having some rear-end trouble."

patv: "The chunks of rock have a top and a bottom. You can't walk around all sides."
DH: "So we can't run around it and make it spin."
Devo: "Eventually it would revolve around me!"
DH: "Because you're the densest."

Hedrin: "Looks like the manticore has a ma(w)."
sniffles & DH: "Does it have a pa(w)?"
Hedrin: "Yes. Four of them."

Zora (singing): "Fly like an eagle..."
sniffles: "Fly like an ego? If it's got a white head then it's a bald ego."

DH: "The apes have got more reach than I've got."
Devo: "Better looking, too."

patv: "What's the ape's number?"
Zora: "Up."


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## sniffles (Jun 25, 2007)

*Letter #41*

It's difficult to tell time here without shadows to judge the hours by, but I believe we'd only been traveling with the air whale for a few hours when we were attacked. When we spotted the dark shape ahead I was apprehensive, but it wasn't until I realized it was a huge flock of ravens that I grew concerned. I grew more worried when Thor exclaimed that our whale friend was very weak and his health was failing. 

Then Thor warned that he sensed some larger creature at the center of the raven flock, goading them on with fear. The ravens were heading straight for the injured whale, which was moving too slowly to flee. I landed on his back, resuming my natural shape, and summoned a spell to heal some of his hurts. Ninad drew a wand out of his bag and added its curative power to my efforts. 

When I had done casting my healing spell, I called on more of nature's power to give myself wings so I could fight and fly. I also cast a spell on Varian's hippogriff to permit it to fly even faster than it normally could. By the time I had done casting all these spells, the ravens had reached us.

Ninad produced another wand as the ravens neared, and sent a blast of fire into their midst, much to Thor's dismay. He would have liked to let them be, as the thing among them was forcing them to attack us. Ninad tried to direct his fireball at that creature, but it was so large that it burned some of the birds as well. 

The larger creature dived on the flying carpet that was presently occupied by the twins - Erasyne had elected to ride on the whale's back. Once out of the flock of ordinary birds, the creature was revealed to be crow-like in form, but it possessed three horrible eyes. When it gazed at us we all felt ourselves quail slightly, though no one succumbed to its evil stare.

The ravens engulfed the carpet in their flock, pecking and clawing at the twins.  Despite the wounds they dealt, Shishir sent Balamani to carry a fire spell to burn the evil bird-thing, then fired one of his icy orbs at the creature. 

Thor meanwhile used his affinity for winged creatures to good effect, causing almost half of the ravens to stop attacking. I summoned up a spear of ice and shot it at the evil creature. Ninad hit it with more balls of flame, unfortunately burning more of the ravens in the process. 

Varian managed to get control of the hippogriff and charged the creature with his lance, dealing it a fierce blow. I called a flame to my hand and hurled it at the thing, but sadly my aim was poor. I was prepared to throw another flame at it, but it then decided to flee. 

Ninad wasn't willing to chance it coming back after us again, so he set off in pursuit on the carpet, sending more fireballs its way. The creature, now blackened as much by charcoal as by its own coloring, began to plummet into the bottomless air. 

As it fell, it occurred to Ninad to draw out the shard dowsing rod he carries. He was horrified to realize that the bird-creature carried one of the black crystal shards, for there was no way that anyone could now catch its falling form. 

Greatly disappointed at having lost one of the shards, we regrouped aboard the whale to treat our wounds. I gave thanks to the Keen Eye that I hadn't suffered any harm during the struggle. 

Once my companions and the whale were feeling a bit healthier, we set off again, this time accompanied for a while by some of the ravens the evil bird had been commanding. Eventually they went their own way, and we realized that the light was growing dimmer. There was no sign of any solid surface on which to rest this night. Thor and I made efforts to communicate with the whale as best we could, and felt that it had no desire to stop moving and no objection to our using its back as a resting place.

On the following morning, my companions had only just awakened and I was busy absorbing the magic of nature when I noticed that the twins seemed to be doing something odd on the carpet. They'd already boarded the carpet and flown away from the whale a short distance. I saw a puff of what looked like dust. Curious, I managed to communicate to the whale my desire to approach and look closer.

The twins were arguing with a small creature that appeared to be a denizen of the plane, who seemed to be poking his head out of an opening into… nothing. Shishir was trying to ask him if he knew the way to the king of the air whales, and the creature - a mephit, I think - was not reacting favorably to the conversation. 

Then a hummingbird came fluttering out through the opening around the mephit's head. The mephit angrily withdrew through the opening, and the hummingbird alit on the whale's back and turned into Thor. He explained that he believed the other side of the opening had led into the Astral Plane, which he declared was very dull - mainly because there weren't any birds, I suspect.

After this diversion we proceeded on our way, letting the whale choose our direction, though his choice agreed with where Xymos's ring indicated we should go. The air around us grew colder, which I noticed more now as I'd chosen not to transform into a bird and was instead riding on the whale. 

After a time another dark mass appeared ahead, though not as dark as the flock of ravens had been. Soon we could see flashes of lightning. It was a great storm, accompanied by considerable rain. The whale seemed to be making an effort to fly above it, but as he approached it the storm appeared to be deliberately heading toward us!

In the center of the storm was a darker shape, which Thor identified as some type of elemental. He had the presence of mind to cast a spell on us to resist some of the effect of lightning. The elemental was apparently angered by our presence, or perhaps disliked the whale, for it began shooting lightning bolts at us. I had cause then to regret having chosen studded armor, but at least I wasn't as vulnerable as Varian was in his suit of plate. 

I shaped myself into an eagle and began flying alongside the whale, hoping to stay unharmed so that I could later heal my friends. Some of the lightning bolts from the storm seemed to occur at random, but some were decidedly intended to hurt us.  

A bolt struck Shishir, attracted to his metal bracers. His brother sent a ball of fire at the cloud that held the elemental, but it had no visible effect. Thor, in the form of a dire eagle, flew into the cloud to attack the elemental with his talons. Xolo and Erasyne took out their bows and fired arrows into the cloud.

The carpet bearing the twins sped well ahead of the whale, who was still slowly flying along. Varian, standing on the whale's back, shouted a challenge at the elemental. It responded by blasting the whale and everyone riding him with lightning. I was spared as I was flying alongside. 

I saw that the hippogriff had been very frightened by this and was about to take flight. Fearing it would be further injured and that Varian would lose his steed, I landed and returned to myself, alighting on the hippogriff's back. I put my hand on its feathered neck and healed some of the damage the lightning had done. Xolo had also run to the creature and caught hold of its bridle to prevent it fleeing.

Varian was trying to get to the hippogriff himself, but the whale had rolled slightly when the lightning hit and he lost his footing and fell over. At the same time, I saw Erasyne disappear from the whale's back, replaced by Ninad. I could see that Ninad was ready to cast a spell as soon as the elemental came within range.

Thor came winging out of the cloud to the whale's back and resumed his gnome shape, then summoned a spell that rather amusingly granted the whale a pair of insubstantial wings. It began to move faster. 

The elemental sent another bolt of lightning at the whale as it began to move away. The rain was decreasing, indicating we had reached the edge of the storm. Shishir hit it with two orbs of ice, which seemed to do it some harm. Its cloud swallowed up the flying carpet for a few moments. Then the carpet came out of the cloud and we were on our way out of the storm.

The elemental evidently had no desire to pursue us once we left its territory. The twins used their spells to dry us all, as we were thoroughly soaked by then. 

Some time later we saw the other air whales. There were many of them ahead, all gathering in the same area. As we drew nearer our whale sang a joyful song to its brethren, and in their midst we could see one vast, snowy white whale. 

We knew immediately the white whale must be their king - but Xymos hadn't told us that he was also a god. His presence was, of course, awe-inspiring. He sang a song in a voice so deep and powerful that it was almost painful to my ears. When we approached, a great slow voice asked us who we were.

Thor, who was still in eagle form, began to squawk and chirp at Ianus. I don't know what he said, but we could hear the god's reply. Between whatever Thor said and other comments from Ninad, our quest was explained to the god. 

In the meantime the woman we'd come seeking, Nadereh, arrived aboard another air whale and demanded to know what we were doing there. She was surprised to learn that Xymos had sent us. She insisted that what we'd been told about the fates of the djinni wasn't entirely correct; most of them survived being set free. But my companions weren't satisfied with this. Thor was presumably demanding to see Pheretimma. 

Nadereh told us she'd already given Pheretimma's bottle to Ianus. It was the whale god who set the djinni free, by absorbing the magic that bound them to their bottles. While Thor was squawking at the god about this, Varian suddenly asked if Ianus had seen the floating egg he seeks.

For a few more moments the discussion of Pheretimma continued. Then in his great voice, Ianus announced that he also had the egg and asked us which thing we would most want to have: Pheretimma or the egg? 

I know what Thor said even though I couldn't understand his words. Shishir blurted out the same thing. We were only lately helping Varian find the egg; we had been in Pheretimma's company for months. 

But before anyone could say anything further, a djinn abruptly appeared amongst the whales and exclaimed, "I am Shazar and I wish to speak also."
_________________________

*Quips & Quotes:*

_Varian's mounted mini, attached with blue-tac, fell off his mount._
patv: "Your butt's not sticky enough. Do something about that."

patv: "The ravens seem like they might be awed."
Devo, Hedrin and Zora (like crows cawing): "Awe! Awe! Awe! 

patv: "The whale's song seems more serene."
Zora: "Serene Dion?"

patv: "You realize you're probably going to want to stop and rest soon."
Zora (singing): "Stop, in the name of lunch…"
DH (singing): "…before you break your fast…"

patv: "You're all affected by a minor form of awe."
Everyone: "Awwww!"


----------



## sniffles (Jul 2, 2007)

*Letter #42*

The djinn announced himself as the Khan Shazar and began recounting his lineage in a pompous tone. I'm afraid I don't recall any of it. Thor kept chirping at him as he spoke, until he glared at the giant eagle and Thor suddenly fell silent. Shazar then announced that Pheretima is his daughter and he wanted her to be set free! This took us all a bit by surprise, as Xymos had told us that Shazar was partly responsible for his daughter's imprisonment.

When questioned about this, Shazar claimed he had been trying to find out what Shopar's "orbulon" would do. He wouldn't tell us much, other than that it would not bring about another Rain of Colourless Fire, which was what Xymos's people had feared. He seemed disappointed by this. I suppose this means that Xymos's friends with the prophecy of a djinni rebellion aren't entirely wrong.

Nadereh was as confused as we were by Shazar's story, since he'd told her how to find Pheretima and get her to Ianus. The Whale King then interrupted the discussion to ask again which we most desired: Pheretima's freedom or the magical egg Varian seeks? 

The twins and Varian promptly started arguing over which was most important. Much as I have disliked Pheretima, I would choose her freedom over an egg that may fulfill part of some obscure prophecy for someone who's only been with us for a few weeks. Varian is sometimes a bit hard to comprehend. I thought knights were supposed to be honorable and chaste.

Finally Ninad asked Ianus what we could do to obtain the egg. The Whale King replied, "Rid me of Bloodfist." I then had a picture in my mind of one of the flying apes we'd fought earlier, but his one was much larger and had a hugely oversized right arm that appeared to be stained with blood. He bore an enormous sword in his other hand. In addition to this image, I also saw something that resembled the moon Celene, but marred by a large crater and a crevice across its middle. The crater always faced inward toward the Plane of Air, like an eye in the sky. A smaller rock orbited this odd moon eratically at great speed. I knew somehow that this Bloodfist could be found on the cratered moon, where he kept his army of flying apes to prey on the air whales.

After receiving this vision, we all agreed one by one to do what the Whale King asked. In return he agreed to let us speak with Pheretima. He put forth his immense tongue and her bottle prison rested on it. Shishir took the bottle and unstoppered it. 

Pheretima was rather confused to find herself on the Plane of Air, as Xymos's people hadn't spoken to her or explained what was going on. Ianus indicated we could talk with her overnight, so we retreated astride Gimli, the whale we'd rescued from the apes, to consult with her over her fate. 

I didn't particpate much in the discussion, but the twins and Thor explained to her what had taken place and asked her to decide if she wanted to take the risk to be set free or remain a prisoner of the bottle but avoid the chance of death. She hadn't made up her mind yet by the time I began my meditations.

The next day we began to talk about how to attack Bloodfist. Varian kept suggesting very complicated plans that sounded like they would require many more people than our party contains. The King agreed to send one whale to transport us to the apes' abode, and he also told us what other residents of the Plane of Air might be enemies of the flying apes. Among those he mentioned were arrowhawks, a people he called Hawkmen, cloud giants, and a dwarf named Cail who lives in the Great Trench on the cratered moon. 

Finally Pheretima decided to speak with her father before making up her mind. Shazar insisted he thought she would survive the effort to be free. Finally she decided to take the chance, so  she reentered her bottle and was swallowed by the Whale King. 

I'd thought that our new friend Gimli would take us on our voyage to the ape moon, but Ianus summoned another, much larger air whale to be our companion. He looked very similar to the King but for being red in color. His name is Avollo. Fortunately he can communicate with us by thought. 

When we'd said farewell to Nadereh and the King, Avollo bore us off to seek allies. We went first to the arrowhawks. I've heard of such creatures before, but never seen one. They look quite odd with their four wings and lack of other limbs. They can fly with amazing speed and skill. I find myself much more appreciative of that since I've spent the past days traveling as a bird.

Five larger arrowhawks approached us when we neared. We were introduced to their leader, Okan, though our communication passed through another arrowhawk called Ronsa who can speak the common tongue. 

The arrowhawks agreed after some discussion to join us and act as decoys while we attack Bloodfist. Our plan is to lure his soldiers away so we won't have to fight our way through them to get to him. Shishir has a strong suspicion that Bloodfist's distorted arm is due to one or more black shards, although he wouldn't let his brother use the dowsing rod to prove this. But this makes us more determined to follow through on attacking the flying ape, even if we don't care as much about the egg and the prophecy as Varian does.

Ronsa agreed to go with us when we went to seek other allies, although he'd told us that the arrowhawks and Hawkmen don't get along. Our next potential allies would be the cloud giants, although Varian wasn't happy about this as he doesn't trust giants. But they were closest to where we met the arrowhawks. 

That evening we found some floating rocks and decided to camp there so we could rest on something more solid than Avollo's immense back. I settled alone on a small chunk of earth, seeking privacy. It was only first watch when we got into trouble. I heard wolves howling, rather bizarrely in this place of nothing but air, and then I saw something vaguely wolf-shaped attacking Ninad!

I conjured up a pair of insubstantial wings for myself and also brought a flame to my hand, which I hurled at the wolf-thing before I approached. When I got nearer I could see that it did look very wolf-like, though it was as lacking in substance as my magical wings. It behaved very much like an ordinary wolf, which led me to think it was only protecting its lair. I flew around the rock Ninad had camped on until I found a second 'air wolf' snarling from a small opening in the rock. I shouted up to my companions to let the creature alone; it was only behaving as it naturally would, and if we let it alone it would do us no harm.

Unfortunately, although the rest of my friends listened to my advice, Varian didn't and kept swooping his hippogriff at it. Finally it collapsed and the second air-wolf came flying out of its lair to attack him. Thor flew over to the first wolf and cast a spell of vigor on it, then withdrew to Avollo's back where the rest of us awaited. 

Thor spotted the second wolf, evidently the female, gathering three cubs from the lair and flying away with them. A few moments later the male wolf revived and flew after them. But they'd left one cub behind. 

The twins started to get their flying carpet out to head over to the abandoned cub, but I asked them to let Thor and I deal with it. Between us we managed to coax the frightened cub out of the cave and convey it back to Avollo. I'm not sure what we'll do with such a curious creature, but we feel responsible for its parents abandoning it so we'll take care of it until we can find some way to return it to its proper habitat. 
__________________________
*Quips & Quotes:*

DH: "Oh, you mean that's a _finger_ ring?"
Zora: "Yeah, it doesn't shrink to fit."

patv: "There was a huge burst of power as a cloud appears..."
DH: "Sorry, that was me."
Hedrin: "It was the iron rations."

patv: "Thor goes silent."
Everyone: "Hurrah! Yay!"
DH: "Does Shazar want to join the party?"

Hedrin: "What's Bloodfist been doing that his arm's that big?"
patv: "Flinging poo."

patv: "Pheretima makes a Will save to avoid being confused by Thor's story."
sniffles: "Maybe that should be a Fortitude save."

Devo: "Uncle Owen's still good at djinn rummy."
Zora: "We've been hitting the djinn ourselves."

patv: "Yes, the moon does look like the Death Star." _Rolls randomly for which potential ally is closest. It's the arrowhawks._
DH: "They're the X-wings!"
patv: "Oh, no - they have a lightning attack. They shoot lasers!"
DH: "Can the arrowhawks hit the exhaust port? Do they have natural enemy: womp rats?"
sniffles: "Natural enemy: exhaust port."

patv: "I thought the cow jokes were bad during the Mormog the Minotaur adventure."
DH: "That was a beefy adventure."

patv: "It takes a little while to get used to riding a whale."
Hedrin: "I got my whale legs, finally."

Devo: "I'm multi-talon-ted."

sniffles: "Avollo is a boy whale."
patv: "How do you know?"
Hedrin: "Well, it's a sperm whale."
patv: "Then the race is doomed."


----------



## sniffles (Jul 30, 2007)

*Letter #43*

7 Patchwall
The Plane of Air

Dearest brother;

I never thought when I set out to seek adventure that I'd be flying through the Plane of Air as an eagle, intending to do battle with a horde of flying apes. Life is certainly full of surprises.

After gaining the cooperation of the arrowhawks, we set off to try to persuade the cloud giants to join us. The arrowhawk called Ronsa came with us. But we weren't fated to have as much success with the giants. As soon as Avollo the whale came within rock-throwing distance of their stronghold, they began hurling boulders at us.

Thor, as usual in bird form, went winging off toward the giants. I flew after him. The twins steered the flying carpet nearer, and Xolo also flew toward the giants, though he made himself invisible first to avoid becoming a target. On reflection this might not have been the best approach. The giants were hostile and probably saw our approach as an attack, and surely it couldn't have helped us that the only member of our party who speaks Giantish was shouting at them unseen. 

Thor alit on the floating stone stronghold and assumed his natural shape, trying to talk to the giant sentries. It was only his small size that spared him serious injury. I followed his example and tried to show the giant I faced that I didn't mean to threaten him, but Xolo was invisibly shouting from somewhere nearby and I think the giant thought the voice was coming from me. In any case he didn't react favorably to my attempt at diplomacy. Dealing with man-like creatures is much more difficult than dealing with animals. I resumed my eagle form and flew back to Avollo to avoid the giant's enormous morningstar. 

The giants had hit the flying carpet with several rocks, injuring Ninad and damaging the carpet, though not enough to ruin it. After I returned to the whale, Thor did likewise, assuming the shape of a hummingbird so the giants couldn't see him. The twins turned the carpet away from the giants, and finally Xolo reapppeared. We decided to take Erasyne's advice and make our exit. The giants simply weren't willing to listen.

Disappointed, we turned toward the domain of the Hawkmen. Ronsa's people don't get along with the Hawkmen, but he stayed with us and showed us the way. Eventually we came to a great wooden longhouse floating in the air. A group of winged people wearing helmets shaped like hawk visages flew out to meet us. 

The Hawkmen first thought we'd captured Avollo, but they didn't seem greatly impressed when we told them he was an emissary of the air whale king. We were escorted to the longhouse when we asked to see their leader, Vultan. 

Prince Vultan is a loud, boisterous individual, but friendly enough. He wasn't eager to take the battle to the flying apes - he prefers to wait until their "moon" comes within easy reach of his territory. But when he heard that the arrowhawks were willing to join us he agreed to give us his aid. First, however, he desired proof that we are worthy allies. He wanted us to defeat Bloodfist's harpy scouts. They stay on a flying rock that circles the ape's moon very swiftly and eratically.

Thor wanted to set off right away to get rid of the harpies, but we waited until the next morning to depart for the harpy's base. By then we'd been joined by two more air whales and the arrowhawks were on the way for the major assault on Bloodfist. While we waited for morning we got acquainted with Vultan's daughter, Shiera, and learned a little more about the wolves of the air since we've become foster parents to one. My companions have named the cub Ernie. What an odd name.

After two days of flying we came near the harpy rock at dawn. Vultan told us there were half a dozen of the harpies. We found two of them in sight when we approached. Avollo, who'd agreed to join us in battle rather than just acting as transport, flew us right up to their wildly orbiting rock. He'd reduced himself in size to be less visible, though he was still quite large.

When we arrived a third harpy appeared suddenly out of the rock as if from nowhere. I summoned up a lance of ice to pierce one of them. The harpies were hurling slingstones at us. Shishir sent Balamani to set one of them on fire and then hit her with an orb of cold, while his brother followed up with his sound orb. 

Now there were five harpies on the rock, and then a sixth came climbing through some hidden egress. To my misfortune, the sixth one started to sing. Just as happened when we met harpies back in Ket, I fell under the spell of her song. I found myself walking off Avollo's back onto the rock, trying to get as close to her as possible.

Shishir grabbed hold of her and tried to pin her so Erasyne could attack her. Erasyne was dancing all around, slashing the harpies with her swords. I just stood there listening to the song. Though it seems like a dream now, I can recall seeing Ninad punching one of the harpies several times, and Varian and Xolo flew up and began stabbing at two others. Avollo even lent a swipe of his tail to the fray. I never saw what Thor was up to. 

Finally Shishir put his hand over the harpy's mouth and muffled her voice, which allowed me to recover my wits. I called to mind the spell I'd been about to cast when the song began and my arms turned to fiery wings.

But by that time my friends had slain or badly wounded several of the harpies. I managed to burn one with my flaming wing, but the rest had all fallen except for the singer. Before we could stop her she retreated back inside the rock. 
______________________________
*Quips & Quotes:*

DH: "Can I rip off my underwear and attach it to my lance as a white flag?"
Zora: "You said a white flag."

Hedrin: "I'm in UR cloud speakin' UR language."

Devo: "What should we call the air wolf cub?"
DH: "If it was a worg we could call him Ernest Worgnine."

patv: "Avollo's a sperm whale so he doesn't really sing."
Hedrin: "No - he raps."

Hedrin: "So the longhouse has lots of holes with pegs under them, like a birdhouse?"
patv: "Yes. And a mailbox. Because they get really good airmail."

patv: "I assume you're all in normal form now?"
Zora: "No, Thor's a gnome."
sniffles: "He's in gnomal form."

Devo: "Where did the Hawkmen get all the wood for the longhouse? Is there a forest in the air? Is there an air forest?"
Hedrin: "How big is your air forest?"

patv: "Something doesn't feel right about this character card."
Devo: "It's made of sandpaper?"

Hedrin: "I embark on a Xolo career!"


----------



## sniffles (Aug 6, 2007)

*Letter #44*

As the harpy disappeared through a hidden opening to the interior of the rock, three winged monkeys emerged to attack. They were smaller than the flying apes we'd previously encountered. Thor set one of them on fire while Shishir grabbed hold of another and his twin struck the third. 

I prodded the area they'd emerged from with my toe and found that although it looked like solid rock, there was an opening. Shouting to my friends, I dove through. Thor flew after me in the shape of an owl. 

At the end of a short tunnel I found myself in a large cavern. Logs had been driven into the walls to form perches for the flying creatures, though I'm not sure where they found the wood in this treeless place. Three harpies were roosting on the perches. Fortunately there was a light source in the cave other than the fire of my wings. I flew across the cavern to attack the nearest harpy with my flames. She retaliated by stabbing me several times with the spear point of her staff, then raked me with her claws.

I kept exchanging blows with her, burning her while she stabbed and clawed me. Thor meanwhile also employed fire against one of the other harpies. The twins arrived on the flying carpet and within a few moments one harpy had tumbled off her perch and plummeted to the floor of the cavern. The harpy I didn't face let out a loud squawk and flew across the cavern, seemingly crying an alarm, though there was no one else present that we could see. Thor pursued her.

Shishir jumped onto the perch with the harpy I fought and wrapped his arms around her. But he didn't cover her mouth and she began to sing. Thank the Keen-Eye this time I didn't succumb, nor did the twins. I think it might have affected Thor, though, as he came sweeping back around nearby rather than continuing after the fleeing harpy. 

I kept on burning the harpy Shishir held until she finally ceases struggling with him. He gave her a final squeeze and she went limp. His brother had been watching the wall the third harpy had flown to and announced that it was shrouded in magic. We suspected another hidden opening like the one we'd entered through. But by that point I was badly wounded and wasn't willing to fly recklessly into an unseen space, and I couldn't use the wand I carry. I hovered in front of the opening while the twins poured potions into my mouth.

Thor had recovered his senses and came to add his healing to the potions the twins gave me. Thus fortified, I was ready to fly into the next chamber. This one was much smaller than the previous cave. The last harpy had taken refuge in the narrow rear of the chamber and began hurling slingstones at us. But these were obviously enchanted stones, as they burst with icy cold when they struck. 

Shishir maneuvered the flying carpet beside her perch and Ninad jumped off onto the perch and struck her hard with his fist. I saw the harpy's eyes roll back and she dropped her sling, but she didn't fall. Shishir then moved the carpet beneath the perch and grabbed hold of her legs. Ninad pummeled her again, and I let her feel the flames of my wings. But despite all our efforts she managed to struggle free of Shishir's grasp. 

I flew back to the entrance to prevent her escape, but it turned out that she had another bolt-hole. Instead of coming toward me she began to crawl into the crevice behind her. Thor quickly shaped himself into a hummingbird and followed her. Realizing she was going to get outside, Ninad lobbed one of his sound orbs at her, both to injure her and to alert the rest of our companions, who'd been guarding the main entrance. 

I knew I couldn't crawl through such a small space without the use of my hands, so I flew back through the large cavern to the outside. Sadly in my hurry I turned the wrong direction, and by the time I'd righted myself there was no chance that I could catch up to the fleeing harpy, who was winging toward the moon at top speed. Then Varian's hippogriff came swooping at her and he pierced her with his lance. Her wings fell slack and she went tumbling away into the distance. There must be some scavengers here or the place would be littered with floating carcasses.

We were all outside the floating rock by then - Ninad had very nearly fallen out in his pursuit of the last harpy, but he'd caught himself at the edge of the secret opening. The twins and Thor went back inside the rock to search for anything of value, especially wanting to get their hands on the enchanted sling the last harpy had used. Once they'd gathered up whatever they could find - including a surprisingly large quantity of gold coins scattered on the floor - we decided to make our way to the moon to seek the dwarf called Cail.

At is reduced size Avollo was just able to navigate the winding trench on the moon's pocked surface. After a time we came upon an opening, spotted by Thor, which got him quite excited. As we were examining it, the twins noticed a flying creature gliding across the trench, though it didn't look like an ape. They investigated and discovered that Prince Vultan's daughter, Shiera, had followed us. As there was no way to safely send her back to her father, it was agreed she could stay with us, though Shishir insisted she do as he said. 

The tunnel we entered led to several other connecting passages, all of them used, but one more often than the rest. We decided to follow that one. After a time Ninad warned that he could hear a deep voice, apparently singing drunkenly. I didn't hear it at first; eagles don't have hearing to match their keen sight, and I'd elected to remain in eagle form. 

We found a large cave with a firepit in the center. Sitting by the fire drinking beer was a large dwarf. He had obviously been drinking for some time. Thor conjured a quantity of water and splashed it on the dwarf to sober him. After we'd introduced ourselves and explained our mission, Cail was persuaded to show us the way to Bloodfist's stronghold. 

On the way he told us a story of how another band of adventurers had defeated Bloodfist's father, Red Chest, long ago. It grew darker and darker in the tunnels, though of course that didn't trouble the dwarf. Eventually he told us to wait while he went ahead to scout. While waiting, we discussed how to go about attacking the ape. Thor had already sent a message through his birds to Vultan and the arrowhawks, but it would be some time before they would arrive.

During our discussion, Delna the fairy emerged from hiding and remarked that she could "do things" with the magic glass the Fey Queen had been using to spy on us. When Shishir asked her a few questions about this, she explained that the glass could somehow manipulate time - though of course she didn't use those words. As you know, brother, the small fey are rather simple. I imagine her conversation resembles how Rahon would speak if he could.

By this point Cail had returned and told us he could take us nearer to Bloodfist's location. He was surprised that we already knew where Bloodfist was; while the dwarf was gone Ninad had used the dowsing rod to confirm that Bloodfist has black shards. As we followed Cail toward the ape we continued discussing Delna's claims and what we should do. 

After a good deal of questioning Delna managed to explain that the show glass could cause a day to pass for those using it while anyone else would experience no time passing. It could also cause time to stop altogether. Thor was very excited by this and became unusually thoughtful and serious. He's usually so reckless, I forget how clever he can be. He suggested that we could use the glass to give us extra time to rest and prepare spells before facing Bloodfist.

But Delna wouldn't agree to this unless the glass was returned to her care. Ninad tried to persuade her to take it back only temporarily, but she would have none of that. Shishir didn't like the thought that the Queen could spy on us again, but Delna was convinced that the Queen wouldn't be angry with her any longer if she had the glass. At last I suggested that perhaps letting the Queen spy on us was less dangerous than failing to pursue Varian's prophecy, and we could simply try to assure that the Queen wouldn't see anything we didn't want her to see now that we knew she was watching us. 

Shishir reluctantly agreed to this, and the glass was handed over to Delna, who clutched it protectively to her breast and settled in mid-air. It was almost comical to watch the tiny fairy screw up her face in concentration. She and the glass began to glow and I felt a strange sensation wash over me. 

_______________________

*Quips & Quotes:*

Hedrin: "What's the d6 for?"
Devo: "It's for generating random numbers between one and six. But that's not important right now."

patv: "The harpy doesn't like your presence."
sniffles: "Aw, but I gave her the gift of fire!"
Devo: "The gift that keeps on giving."
Hedrin: "She wants to return it."

patv: "You feel the weight of your brother on the carpet."
Zora: "No, I'm not heavy, I'm his brother."

patv: "The harpy's sling is still lying on the perch, like a discarded bra."

patv: "You can see the moon is pocked, cratered, has acne..."
Zora: "It's the Edward James Olmos moon!"

Hedrin: "It's an underground flying ape movement."
Devo: "I had one of those once."

Devo: "Stop the whale!"
Hedrin: "I want to get off!"

Devo: "Respect my au-Thor-ity!"

Devo: "So the dwarf's a beeritone. Who knew?"

Devo: "I cast _create water_."
patv: "Is it cold?"
Devo: "It's twelve gallons."

patv: "Bloodfist's father was Red Chest, from the blood of his enemies."
Devo: "Guess what his mother's name was?"
Zora: "Red Butt, because Red Butt gives you wings."


----------



## sniffles (Aug 27, 2007)

*Letter #45*

13 Patchwall
The Plane of Air

When I went to train with the druids of the Tree I never thought I'd spend so much time serving as a warrior.

Delna fell asleep as soon as she activated the power of the show glass. I suppose using such power took a great deal out of her. We were left with no source of information on how the time manipulation worked - though I doubt the fairy could have told us much even if she'd been awake.

Thor transformed himself into a bat and flew away from us to discover that we couldn't move more than 50 feet from Delna. We also found that we couldn't move Delna. We would have to spend our extra time in the same place where she activated the spell. Having discovered that, we settled down to rest and restore our spells in our rather cramped pocket outside of normal time. 

We didn't know precisely when the effect would fade, but it did so at about the time we expected it to, some 24 hours after Delna activated it. Prepared as best we could for our encounter with Bloodfist, we followed Cail to the chamber where we'd find the ape. We could hear apes hooting and moving about as we approached. Their noise grew louder and louder just as Thor received a message from his birds that our allies were beginning their attack.

Erasyne crept ahead to peer into the cavern and then we heard a loud voice bellow something in a commanding tone. The ape noises fell silent. Ninad drew out the dowsing rod and confirmed that Bloodfist was in the cavern. 

Then Thor had a clever idea: rather than fight our way through the crowd of apes between the cavern entrance and Bloodfist, he used the Rock of Ages to make a hole in the tunnel wall nearer to where Bloodfist stood. Just before he did this Shishir drank a potion that greatly increased his size. After Thor opened the wall, Shishir picked Thor up and moved the gnome closer to our target.

I hung back for a moment to cloak myself in a skin of bark while my friends slipped through the opening Thor had made. Varian and Shishir headed straight for Bloodfist. The ape leader was enormously tall, and his right arm seemed even larger and more grotesque than it had appeared in the whale king's vision. He wielded a huge sword with his distorted limb. 

Ninad followed his enlarged twin across the cavern, casting a spell on his staff to increase its power. Then the ground to my left began to tremble and a large earth creature emerged into the chamber, pinning one of the flying apes against the wall near the opening Thor had made. It wasn't an ordinary elemental and looked rather sinister, but at the time I thought Thor must have summoned it with the Rock, as it was attacking the apes.

Bloodfist hit Varian several times with his huge blade, wounding the knight badly. The blade cause wounds that bled profusely. I summoned up a lance of ice and stabbed Bloodfist, but not surprisingly he was too tough to be stunned by the blow. Then I saw Varian collapse. 

None of my companions were facing Bloodfist at that moment, being occupied with dealing with the apes around him. I was sure he would slice Varian in two. Though there were several apes between me and the knight, I decided to chance running to his side. Thank the Keen Eye the apes all had long spears and didn't have room to strike at me effectively. But when I got to Varian, Bloodfist menaced me with his sword and I miscast the healing spell I'd prepared.

Bloodfist took a few steps back and I decided I'd have to defend myself and Varian. Then Thor came winging over and healed Varian enough that he at least wouldn't die immediately. I summoned a blade of flames to my hand. Ninad moved around behind the ape and struck him several heavy blows with his ensorceled staff. Bloodfist turned his attention to dealing with the young monk, and soon Ninad had also fallen to the ground.

Erasyne had been at the other end of the cavern fighting the ordinary apes - if winged apes can be called ordinary. She'd been helping Shiera, who had impulsively rushed into the cave as soon as we began our assault. But now Erasyne came running past me and began whirling in her dervish dance, her blades repeatedly slashing Bloodfist's flesh. I cut into him with my flaming blade twice as well. Thor flew to heal Ninad enough that he could get back on his feet. 

Bloodfist was beginning to look rather battered by this point and took flight to get away from us. Erasyne and I both stabbed him as he lifted off. He didn't go far and we followed him. Shishir joined us, having crushed several of Bloodfist's soldiers by then. It was Shishir's massive blow that finally brought the ape leader down.

I made certain Bloodfist wasn't going to rise again, thanking Solonor that he didn't gain any kind of regenerative power from the black shards in his arm. I sliced the arm off for good measure, and Shishir, whose hands were coated with acid, began probing the dead flesh for the shards. It was rather unpleasant and I didn't object to a chance to move away when Erasyne called out that Shiera had fallen.

After I'd given some small amount of healing to the hawkgirl, I turned my attention to Ninad. On reflection I should have prepared more healing spells and not worried so much about being ready to fight, though the flaming blade was very useful. 

Cail reappeared at about this time; he'd disappeared during our battle. He explained that he'd gone to look for the vault of the dwarves, for the moon had at one time been occupied by his people. He hadn't been able to locate the vault by himself. Erasyne, ever eager for treasure, offered our aid in locating it. Evidently Cail felt ashamed enough by his failure to fight that he agreed to allow us to assist him.

Thor had flown outside the moon and made contact with our allies. The arrowhawks left as soon as the fight with the other apes was done, but Prince Vultan entered the cave to see Bloodfist's lair. He wasn't happy with Shiera for disobeying his orders, but he was proud that she'd proved herself in battle. 

Ianus and a numbef of other air whales arrived then, and we were presented with the kokobu egg as we'd been promised once we showed the king Bloodfist's severed head and arm. Ianus had brought Pheretima with him, safely freed from her bottle prison. As a reward to us for freeing her, she offered us a single wish. We'll have to think carefully on what we would like. Erasyne wants to ask for Vogelein the clockwork fairy to be made so that she'll never need to be wound again. An admirable wish, but I think we should ask for the location of the lost temple Varian seeks. 

And Thor has revealed that using the Rock of Ages comes with a price: the earth creature that appeared wasn't there to help us but to recover the Rock. It apparently belongs to Ogremoch, the lord of evil earth creatures, and he wants it returned. 
__________________________

*Quips & Quotes:*

patv: "It's the 13th of Patchwall."
DH: "The 13th of Pat's Fall?"

Hedrin: "It's the new Apple i-Anus."
DH: "Does it come in black and white?"
Hedrin: "It comes in brown."

patv: "I'm seeing that Huey Lewis song coming into play any time now..."
Devo: ""_It's Hip to be Square_'?"

Dh: "So I'm officially an old fart now."
Zora: "So you added 'old' to your title?"
Dh: "I replaced 'lame' with 'old'."
Hedrin: "Why?"

(_patv started recording the session_)
Dh: "The moral of the story is, don't say you're doing anything on tape." (_leans in to the recorder_) "We're not doing anything."
Hedrin: "And this is different for you how?"

Jubilee: "That's a lot of hot monkey lust."

Jubilee: "I finally get to the front of the party and they make the back of the party the front of the party!"

patv: "He (Bloodfist) doesn't look like he's wearing a lot of armor."
sniffles: "He's just wearing a lot of arm."

p[atv: "You cut into his... southeast - because I rolled my compass dice by mistake."

patv: "You get his full and unabashed attention."
Hedrin: "I hit him with my staff, so I think I get his bashed attention."


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## sniffles (Jan 20, 2008)

*Letter #46*

*We're returning to this campaign while another campaign goes on hiatus, and I realized I hadn't brought it up to date.  

I've also inserted the "Quips & Quotes" inside the text where they originally occurred, but s-blocked for those who don't want to read them.
---sniffles*
--------------------------------------------

15 Patchwall
The Plane of Air

Dearest brother;

As I told you in my last letter, we struggled over how to use the wish Pheretimma granted us. Finally we made up our minds, though:  we would wish for a way to extract the black shards from those who had absorbed them without harming such creatures. 

In return for this wish we received a new ‘dowsing rod’ to locate the shards. We also consulted with Ianus the air whale god to see if he knew of any way to get rid of the shards. His suggestion was to return them whence they came, which I suppose means taking them back to that strange fey realm where we found the Queen of Air and Darkness imprisoned.

The next day, after saying farewell to the hawkmen and Pheretimma, we agreed to help Cail the dwarf look for the vault of his people. He’d been absent from the moon when Bloodfist’s army came and drove his people out, and didn’t know where they’d gone. But he wanted to retrieve the treasures they’d probably abandoned in their flight.

Cail led us to a pair of great stone doors covered in runes, which opened at his touch. Then we proceeded into the caverns his people had inhabited. We were immediately attacked from above by nearly a dozen darkmantles, but we fought them off. Cail then took us through a second set of doors and down a spiral stair into the dwarven steelstone mines. Steelstone, if you’ve never heard of it, is a stone that can be shaped like metal. I’m not certain if it can be found anywhere but this “moon” on the Plane of Air.
[sblock]
Jubilee: “By ‘see’, Pat means ‘imagine’.”
Devo: “I don’t have an imagination – I’m a roleplayer!”
[/sblock]
It was cold in the mines. Thor and I clothed ourselves in skin of bark to protect us from any threats. As we descended we saw signs of damage, which indicated that thoqqua had been tunneling in the area. Eventually we came upon a blocked passage and were attacked by thoqqua, I suppose because we were invading their territory.
[sblock]
Devo: “What does the water taste like?”
Jubilee: “Stale water.”
Devo: “Whale water? Ew!”
[/sblock]
Then another thoqqua arrived that was much larger than the rest. Erasyne attempted to speak with it to negotiate our passage through the mine, and it agreed to take us past a collapsed area that had apparently been set as a trap, though I’m not sure if that was by the dwarven miners or the thoqqua themselves.
[sblock]
Zora: “I wish for experience.”
Hedrin: “You had an experience. You got married and had a kid.”
--------------------------------------------------------------
Patv: “Does anyone speak thoqqua?”
Jubilee: “Maybe Cail can communicate with the thoqqua by interpretive dance.”
[/sblock]
After a time we came to another pair of great doors, flanked by heroic sculptures of the five dwarven clans who live in this place. Cail couldn’t open these doors, but Shishir produced a magic key he carries and opened them easily. 

When we stepped through the doors, Ninad noticed something up above us and climbed up to see what it was. Thor borrowed a light from Erasyne and flew up after Ninad. They found a huge cobweb above us. While they looked at the web, Erasyne determined that the next door we faced was trapped to deter thieves. She began to examine it to determine how to open it.  
[sblock]
Patv: “The ceiling is ridiculously high.”
Jubilee: “Yeah, it’s like, seven feet!”
[/sblock]
Then a huge spider, obviously no longer living in the true sense, dropped down and caught hold of Shishir. It held him so tight he couldn’t get free or cast spells. Thor and Ninad both began to attack the spider with fire, while Erasyne began her dervish dance, slashing it with her scimitars. I summoned a lance of ice and skewered it. But our attacks couldn’t prevent the spider from biting Shishir, and he went limp.

When Shishir stopped moving, the spider dropped him and went for his twin. We all kept attacking it with whatever weapons we had to hand. Then Erasyne realized that it was within reach of the trap on the door, and she managed to explain this to Thor. He flew down toward the door, resuming his normal form, and triggered the trap, causing a mass of spikes to shoot out of the floor and impale the horrid creature.

The spider collapsed – and then burst into thousands of tiny, dead spiders! I’ve never seen such a bizarre thing. But I could hardly care that the spider was dead – so was Shishir.
[sblock]
Hedrin: “So I’m thinking that if Ninad switches clothes with Shishir, he’s got a pretty new wife!”
[/sblock]
There was nothing we could do to save him – the spider’s bite must have slain him. Thor determined that the spiders were vampiric in nature, so in an attempt to prevent Shishir rising as a vampire spawn he put the sun medallion he carries around Shishir’s neck. I was afraid the small spiders would rise again as well, so I set to work burning them all.

After all that trouble, the chamber Cail thought was the vault turned out to be empty. I would have given up and returned to the surface then, but someone suggested perhaps the ornate trapped vault had been made to mislead thieves, so we took some time to search the area for hidden doors or compartments. We found a room that was full of webs left by the vampire spiders. Thor burned them. 

After a time our search led us to a doorway in a passage, which Cail openend. Beyond we found a second door guarded by an ornate statue of a minotaur and a dwarven lord. Cail spoke to the minotaur, and the door opened. Ninad told us that within the small chamber beyond lay four magical objects.

Within the vault we found a chest containing an elaborate golden compass and a rune-covered tablet. Cail explained that the runes on the tablet told him where the other dwarves had gone. Ninad sadly gathered up the items from the chest. Naturally it was hard for him to rejoice for Cail’s good fortune. 

Cail gave us all steelstone daggers as reward for our aid, but it hardly seems a suitable recompense for losing Shishir. As with Illtud’s death, we're at a loss what to do. Would Shishir want us to return him to life? He has a wife and child to care for now, though of course his brother would look after them in his stead. In any case, we cannot raise him ourselves. We must go to find someone who can. 

I hope that when I write you again I'll have happier news to relate.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Feb 5, 2008)

*Letter #47*

[sblock]
Patv: “So, nothing happened last time, nothing at all.”
Sniffles: “Just like always!”
------------------------
Patv: “Let’s summarize. No, no, that takes too long.”
[/sblock]
24th Patchwall
Zeir-i-Zeif

Dearest brother;

I'm sorry my last letter ended on such a dismal note. As it turned out, returning Shishir to life was far simpler than we expected. Prince Vultan's people had a priest among them who was capable of using the scroll to return Shishir to us.
[sblock]
Patv: “That’s how you get elves. You plant a fairy and water it and put some fertilizer on it, and it grows up into a full-sized elf.”
Devo: “That’s what I’m going to do the next time I get my hands on a fairy – bury it.”
[/sblock]
It took us four days to get back to the portal to Zeif. Our journey there was uneventful. I've learned to shape myself into larger animals, and spent my time enjoying being a large owl. 

But as we found the portal, we were attacked by three very large creatures of air. We had reason to believe the elemental prince of evil air creatures had sent these three to claim the kokobu egg. If you'll recall, when Thor employed the Rock of Mages in the Moon, an earth creature appeared and demanded we hand it over to him. 

These creatures didn't speak to us, but we felt certain they wanted the egg. We hadn’t put the egg’s powers to use, but as we were still on the Plane of Air the air creatures could probably sense it more easily.

 As they were made of air they were difficult to hurt. I was pleased with myself that I was able to direct a bolt of lightning to arc between two of them, but it did them little harm and I couldn't use the lightning again. Erasyne and Xolo managed to open the portal and we all darted through into Kouroush's inn as quickly as we could. Thankfully the air creatures didn't follow us.

We were greeted by a startled servant, who rushed off to notify Kouroush that we’d arrived. After we'd caught our breath, we descended to the common room and were met by Kouroush. After he greeted us and we told him a little of our adventures, he told us he'd recently become acquainted with someone who used to belong to the Black Flame cult. I think I've mentioned them before. They've been troubling us ever since we disturbed the Kali cultists in Ket, and they were responsible for Illtud's death. 

We believe these cultists have something known as the Flame, one of the four objects we need to complete the quest from Varian's prophecy. The Rock and the kokobu egg are two of the other items. Each of the items is related to one of the four archomentals. The Rock obviously represents earth and the egg is the token of air. 

It amazes me when I recall that we went to the Plane of Air only as a result of meeting Varian on the road a few weeks ago. 

Kouroush has arranged for us to meet with this ex-cultist in a few days. In the meanwhile, we've been reunited with our missing companions. I left my dogs behind with Shishir's wife and daughter and Thor's beloved Beaker while we visited the Plane of Air.

 It was a joy to feel Rahon's fur under my hand again and cuddle Morwen in my arms. As much as I enjoyed taking bird form, I'm glad to be back in a place where there is more solid ground.

We met with Nadereh, Xymos's confederate who took Pheretimma's bottle to the Plane of Air. We had to return the ring of flight that Xymos lent us. Nadereh wants to purchase our flying carpet. Since Xymos's organization is not exactly seen favorably by most of the citizens here, Nadereh can't be seen openly shopping for a flying carpet. I don't care what is done with it now that I can assume bird form easily.

After we finished our other business, we decided to visit the Caliph's menagerie and check on the couatl. At the menagerie we met a young man called Aziz, who serves the old priest Kianeous whom we'd met there previously. Aziz arranged for us to see Kianeous and show him the kokobu egg we'd recovered.

The old priest is absolutely convinced that the couatl and the kokobu egg are part of the fulfillment of the prophecy. Naturally Kianeous was very excited to see the egg. Erasyne discovered that the egg could be opened. Inside is a small golden statue of a couatl with two heads, which lends credence to Kianeous's beliefs. He's also certain that the couatl in the menagerie is the "Perfect One", which can use the four objects to fend off some great evil and restore the balance between the good and evil elemental princes. 

Kianeous explained to us what the imagery on the outside of the egg means. It all has to do with the elemental princes and the Perfect One. This encouraged us to pursue the Black Flame cultists, although Kianeous seemed a little confused as to why we think they've got anything to do with our quest. We haven't told him everything, though, so I suppose I can't blame him for being confused. You're probably confused, too. When I see you next I'll have to explain it all to you in detail.

Kianeous still wants to free the couatl, as do we. We're considering returning the reward the Sultan presented to us for the minotaur's head, in exchange for his releasing the couatl. Since his neighboring countries are currently at war with one another over the bit of land once occupied by the minotaur, we hope the Sultan will find the offer of funds enticing. But we want to try to retrieve the Flame first so that we can leave the city in company with the couatl when it is freed.

I wish we knew the creature's name. I recall that such creatures are said to be quite intelligent, though this one hasn't shown much sign of that. I also recall that the little girl, the northern princess, claimed she knew its name. But in childish fashion she wouldn't tell anyone. 

Now that we think we can remove the black shard from the couatl without harming it, we hope that it will be able to show us to the temple in Darjiin that is spoken of in the prophecy.

We're on our own until the meeting with the former Flame cultist. Since we're expecting to be traveling into the desert soon in search of the water-associated object from the prophecy, we decided to have some special items made for ourselves. I've heard that some armorers can make enchanted armor that will remain useful while I'm in animal form. I think I'll see if I can obtain a suit of such armor here. It could come in handy.

We’ve also sent my broken spear to be repaired. I don’t recall if I mentioned before, but we’ve discovered that many of our enchanted weapons were made by a wizard called Castanamir, who found a way to combine multiple enchanted items to make an item that has different properties than each of the items demonstrate separately. The spear, when combined with a buckler we’ve also acquired, will form a lance that Varian finds very enticing. 

I’ve decided that I may as well let him have the spear, as he’s been pestering me for it since we first discovered what it can do. Humans get so attached to things.

I'll write again after we meet with the Black Flame cultist.

Your sister, Lothiriel


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## sniffles (Feb 7, 2008)

*Letter 48, pt. 1*

4th Ready'reat
Zeir-i-Zeif

Dearest brother;

As I told you in my last letter, the innkeeper Kouroush had arranged for us to meet someone who formerly belonged to the Black Flame cult. At the appointed time, Kouroush introduced us to a man named Babak. He seemed to know a little about us after we explained who we are. Someone called Sethis had warned the cult leader about us - we think this Sethis was the assassin who attacked and killed Illtud back in Ket.

Babak told us everything he could about the layout of the cult's lair, which is located in an abandoned manor house. He drew us a simple map of all the areas he's familiar with. He also told us what he knew about the way the Flame is presented to the cult members and how it's kept, though he didn't know much about that. It stays with the cult leader, presumably Kaligos, when it's not being displayed for cult activities.

After saying our thanks to Babak, we decided to go and have a look at the cult's lair, at least to see where it lies. Thor is now able to transform a whole group of people into birds, much to his delight, so he turned everyone else into ravens and we all flew there as a flock.

The cultists hadn't sealed up the house thoroughly and the twins were able to get inside and look around a little. But the cultists are so fearful that they keep a guard on the place at all times. We couldn't look in every room.

There's a statue of St. Cuthbert in the yard near the front entrance. Erasyne claimed she sensed something odd about it when she alit on its' head, but we couldn't investigate it further without drawing the attention of the sentries.

Babak had told us that the cult's next meeting would occur on the next dark of the moons, and we decided to wait until then to make an assault on their lair, in hope that we could wrest the Flame from them at that time. Since it would be another week before the meeting date, we had more time to fill with idle activities.

I had an odd experience with Delna - if you remember, she's the fairy who came to spy on us for the fey queen. I haven't paid her much attention since we fought Bloodfist, nor worried about the Queen's scrying, even though Shishir gave Delna back her scrying device.

Delna came into my room one afternoon while I was looking over the odds and ends I've gathered in hope of one day creating a bogun. Before I could stop her she crawled into my pack and pulled out the twig token the Lord of the Green gave me. Then she ran off to the twins' rooms and took their tokens as well, the cord ring and the acorn. 

When she put all the tokens before me, she told me she thought if I incorporated them in the making of the bogun it might do something unusual. Being a fairy, of course she couldn't say just what she thought would happen.

I haven't been able to complete the ceremony, partly for lack of time and partly because I haven't quite all the knowledge I need to perform the ritual. Delna seems to think that using the fey tokens would make that special knowledge unnecessary. Ordinarily I wouldn't give much weight to the claims of a fairy, but I've given it some consideration and I think she may actually be right. 

I spoke with the twins at dinner that evening, apologizing for Delna taking their items without their leave. They've both given me their blessing to go ahead and try using the tokens. If the ritual doesn't succeed I'll return their tokens to them; I don't think the objects will be harmed if the ritual fails. But I'm still not sure when I'll have the time to perform on the ritual. 

The gods have been with us - all of our special items were finished before the date of our visit to the cult lair. I look forward to trying out my new armor. Thor has purchased a charm that can prevent the use of certain teleportation magics. I've never seen Kaligos myself, but Thor thinks he has, and the man escaped by use of such magics.

At the appointed date we made our way to the cult lair a short while before dusk. Varian kept complaining that we hadn't planned our assault well enough. I think he forgets we're not soldiers. 

Thor shaped everyone into owls and I took my large owl shape as well. Then we perched on the crumbling stables to watch as the cultists arrived for the meeting.

Thor kept up a running chatter for us, as he was the only one who could communicate with everyone while in bird form. The cultists had two dogs in a small gatehouse, which he realized weren't ordinary dogs at all but hellhounds! After a bit we began to have the sense that our attack was anticipated.

Then someone alit on the statue of St. Cuthbert and it behaved oddly again. Its eyes reportedly glowed and it emanated a sensation of warmth, though I never experienced any of that myself. Ninad also claimed he saw an image of the saint in a window of the house. Thinking it might be some kind of blessing, he passed along that information to the rest of us through Thor. 

I didn't think a whole group of owls swooping down to sit on a statue's head would look quite right, so I declined to try it myself - and in any case, I was larger than everyone else and would have been more obvious.

As more cultists entered the house, we all flew through an open window into the upper story and Thor returned us to our natural forms. Thinking protection from fire would be a good idea among the cult of the Black Flame, I cloaked us all in a protection from fire. 

I wish I'd had the forethought to realize the cultists would have protection from fire, too.

Erasyne opened the first door and we found several armed men waiting at the foot of the stairs. We took them by surprise, though - they hadn't expected us to come from above. Thor transformed himself, Varian and I into birds again so we could get behind the men. Once that transformation was over, I shaped myself into a tiger. I've wanted to do that ever since I saw one up close weeks ago.

I had hoped that the sight of an armored tiger would be enough to scare off a few of our foes, but I guess they felt safe with their greater numbers. I'd underestimated how big a tiger is and found that I filled up the narrow corridor. I couldn't do much in the tight space. But after snarling and snapping at one of the men, I worked my way out into a wider passage.

Shishir came bounding down the stairs, avoiding the guards as if they didn't exist, and went haring off down the passageway after one man who fled. I decided to follow him. 
-----------------------------
*To be continued...*


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