# War of the Burning Sky (updated 24th May)



## amethal (Jul 20, 2007)

*The War of the Burning Sky*

*Introduction*
_Castle Korstull, Exarchate of Sindaire
November 17th_

Once again, the world has ended.

Coaltongue is dead. The wily and charismatic half orc, who carved an empire out of the heart of the continent of Sarlonna, has met his doom on a foreign field, and his body has not been recovered. And when the tiger dies, the jackals start to fight over his remains …

*The Scouring of Gate Pass*

*Prologue*
_Council Chamber, Free City of Gate Pass
December 31st, 5 pm_

It’s New Year’s Eve, but the councillors are in no mood for celebration. The Ragesian 2nd army, under General Danava, is camped outside the city’s western gate. Gate Pass is the only territory ever to regain its independence after being absorbed into the Ragesian Empire, and its current councillors are acutely aware this legacy hangs by a thread.

Governor Merrick Hurt has the floor.

“Councillors, I have made no secret of my admiration for the late Emperor Coaltongue, and my belief that good relations with the Empire are in the city’s best interests. Also, I’m sure you know how I feel about our other neighbours, those treacherous Elven scum to the east.”

A few chuckles from the audience help to relieve some of the tension.

“Having said that, I don’t want to give in to that scheming bitch Leska, and let her cursed inquisitors loose in our own city, dragging off any of our citizens that take their fancy, never to be seen again. 

“But what choice to we have? Danava’s army would be a tough enough challenge on its own, and with Leska’s inquisitors on hand to counter Gabal’s mages, we’ve no chance.

“So, I’m open to suggestions.”

Master wizard Gabal was the first to respond. “Let the inquisitors in.”

The evoker grinned at his colleagues’ reaction. “Surprised, are you? Don’t worry, I have no desire to end up as another victim of Leska’s Scourge of magic users. What I do have is a plan. Its risky. But we’re in a sticky situation here and I don’t see any other options. Let me explain …..”

After the meeting broke up, councillor Erdan Menesh headed back outside. Waiting for him was a tall, tanned woman with short white hair.

“How did the meeting go?” she asked.

“As well as could be expected. We are going with Gabal’s plan. I just wish I shared Gabal’s confidence in his own abilities.”

“So do we still relocate the Resistance to Seaquen? I’ve arranged the meeting with the potential recruits at the Apple at midnight, and we’ll rendezvous with Badgerface at the depository some time after that.”

“Yep, we proceed as planned – but with one minor alteration. Hurt wants to defy Ragesia for a bit, claims it’ll look more plausible. I reckon he’s worried Leska will think he’s a wimp if the city capitulates too soon. Anyway, things could get a bit hairy later if Danava decides to make a point. For the time being, the best position for you and your healing magic is by the West Gate, to deal with any casualties. 

“Let Caryk handle the meeting. He’s anxious to prove himself to the Resistance, and it’s a straightforward enough task.”

*Act 1 – The Secret Meeting*
_The Poison Apple Pub, Free City of Gate Pass
December 31st, 11.45 pm_

Normally, the city’s street are thronged with revellers on New Year’s Eve. This year, with the Ragesian 2nd army on the city’s doorstep “securing the Empire’s borders in these uncertain times”, and rumours that bounty hunters, inquisitors, elven spies and worse were roaming the city’s streets, most people have chosen to spend the night indoors.

Thus the three strangers walking purposefully through the city’s westernmost district were painfully aware of one another. As is usual in such circumstances, they were a disparate bunch.

The first was dressed as a scholar, and had a thoughtful, almost abstracted expression on his face. He was obviously taking the rumours seriously, because in addition to his staff he had a crossbow slung across his back. There was also something odd about his appearance, but none of the rare passers-by could quite identify what it was.  Some of them speculated that it was the newness of all his possessions. All he owned seemed to have been purchased recently, and by some strange trick of the flickering street lights even his body somehow seemed recently acquired.

Close on his heels clanked a woman dressed in an ancient chain shirt. She too had a crossbow, but it was clearly just for show- the amount of rust on its firing mechanism made it dangerous to its wielder as well as its target.  

Bringing up the rear was a non-descript man wearing studded leather armour. Of the three, he alone seemed at home roaming the city streets after dark, and he was the only one to spot two men and a mangy dog loitering down a nearby alley next to a small hand cart loaded with junk. However, concerned with reaching his destination, he paid them no mind.

Once the unlikely trio had passed down the street, one of the loiterers turned to his companion.

“Are you sure those were magic users? Don’t look like any magic users I’ve ever seen.”

His companion shrugged. “Who cares? Kathor reckons they’re worth a hundred each, plus another hundred for that priest woman Torrent, and that’s good enough for me. Let’s  go;  it’s your turn to pull the cart.”

Nobody noticed the disgruntled eagle, trailing down the street after the three mages and wishing it was safely tucked up in its nest for the night.

********

Three strangers arrived outside the Poison Apple Pub, and finally ruefully acknowledged that they were all headed for the same destination.

The front door was boarded up. The notice on the door read :-

“Trehan Finner, owner of the Poison Apple
Pub, has been taken into temporary custody
under the protection of the city guard, until such
time that he can be questioned by representatives
of the Ragesian Empire, and found innocent of
hostile collusion. The Poison Apple Pub is hereby
closed until further notice.”

The scholar shrugged, headed around the building to the side door, and knocked gently. There was the brief sound of someone moving around inside, the clink of a heavy key turning in the lock, and then the door opened. The three were greeted with the bizarre sight of a creature which seemed to combine the ugliest features of humans and turtles. It was naked apart from bandoliers bristling with axes, daggers and javelins.

“Um, eh, hi. Do come in,” mumbled the creature, eyes downcast.

The party trooped into the tavern’s tap room, which currently consisted of an empty bar and one table on which stood a barrel of beer and three tankards.

As the creature moved to relock the door, the scholar had the brief sensation of wings flapping past his ears. Seeing nothing, he moved to examine the beer barrel.

“I am, um, Caryk,” said the creature. “Please drink some beer as a celebration of the new year.”

“Drinking? Of course! Now I understand,” replied the scholar, making no attempt to pour himself some beer. “I am Jonathan Farrier. I am a scholar.” 

Caryk and Jonathan turned to look at the woman in the chain shirt, which seemed to disconcert her. She looked around the room, as if seeking inspiration, and then said unconvincingly, “My name is … Deirdre.”

The other visitor, the male in studded leather, said confidently, “My name is Gribron”.

“What?” replied the rest, pretty much in unison.

“Gr-ib-ron.”

Everybody studied the beer barrel, and ‘Deirdre’ went so far as to pour herself a drink.

Maybe I should change my alias, thought ‘Gribron’. Everybody always has trouble pronouncing it.

“And my name is Solsus”, said a disembodied voice from the corner. Slowly a figure appeared, resembling a very short Elf with gossamer wings. “Sorry for intruding, but I had a feeling this would be an interesting meeting. Could someone please open the door and let in my eagle.”

Caryk sighed, trudged back to the door and laboriously unlocked it. A vicious looking raptor, with a three foot wingspan, burst into the room and (with some difficulty) perched next to Solsus. It seemed to be in a very bad mood. Caryk shrugged, closed  the door and locked it.

Once Caryk had returned to the middle of the room he looked through his various scabbards and bandoliers for his prepared speech. This took several minutes, but eventually he was forced to accept he’d forgotten to bring it with him. He’d have to ad lib.

“Um, would anyone like a drink?”

“Yes please,” replied Gribron, who proceeded to help himself to a beer.

“No thank you!” said Solsus. “I don’t touch alcohol. It has all sorts of unforeseen consequences. Far too frivolous. I strongly urge you all to abstain.”

Caryk tried to remember everything Torrent had told him to say, and began to speak.

“Um, thank you three for coming; I mean thank you four, or five if you count the eagle. We need to head for the repository, and take a case from Rivereye Badgerwhotsit to Seaquen. All hail the Resistance!”

The response was mixed.

“Do you mean the depository?” asked Gribron..

“How are you planning to get out of the city, given that the Council has sealed the gates?” enquired Jonathan.  “And how are you going to avoid all the Ragesian patrols between here and there?”

Caryk seemed to warm to his task. “The Badger has obtained vital information from Ragos, the very capital of the Empire. The Resistance is an extremely powerful body, and normally such key documents would be teleported to their destination. Normally getting out of the city would be easy.”

“I couldn’t help noticing you mentioned the word “normally” a few times,” commented Jonathan.

“Ah,” replied Caryk. “Unfortunately we can’t teleport at the moment because ever since the Emperor died people who teleport long distances have arrived at their destination burnt to a crisp. Instead the plan is to head for Seaquen via the Fire Forest. The Ragesians won’t patrol the Fire Forest because ever since it started burning forty years ago everyone who has entered has been burnt to a crisp.”

The response from his audience was less than positive.

“Did I mention Torrent has given me a load of fire resistance potions? I’m sure I must have. Anyway …”

It is now midnight. All the bells in the city ring out in celebration of the new year. Whatever else Caryk says is drowned out by the noise.

Abruptly the bells cease, and Gribron hears the floorboards creak upstairs, as if someone was walking on them. He points this out to the rest. Caryk is puzzled. He confirmed earlier that the pub was empty, so how can someone be moving around upstairs?

And now everyone can hear dull muted thumps coming from outside, as if ripe fruit was falling onto the rooftops.

Caryk snatches up his backpack, and heads for the side door, key in hand. Solsus pulls out his sling, and slowly fades from sight.

From outside comes the cry, “Front door, go!” and something heavy smashes into the main door. It rattles on its hinges, but still holds. The need for stealth over, a group of men, armed with morning stars, stomp down the stairs.

No one is expecting what happens next.

There is a dull thud, as something strikes the roof, followed almost immediately by a deafening boom. The whole inn shakes. Screams of agony come from the men on the stairs – only the bottom two escape the carnage. Then the ceiling boards start to crack and buckle, whole sections then give way and a fiery rain leaks down into the room. Fortunately, none of the group are standing in the affected areas.

Caryk unlocks the side door, and heads out into the alley. He immediately realises that to his left the narrow passage has now been deliberately blocked by a new pile of rubble, and to his right stand a pair of humans, equipped with saps and shields. Alongside them is a mangy dog, which snaps and snarls.

“Drop your weapons and come quietly,” says the larger of the two men. “We don’t want to break your valuable little heads.”

Unable to think of a pithy response, Caryk steps forward and swings a punch at the speaker. The man easily blocks the blow on his shield, and sneers contemptuously. “You’ll have to do better than that, you ugly beggar.”

Jonathan is hard on Caryk’s heels. Spotting the men, he pulls back the hood of his scholar’s robe and fixes them with an icy stare. “Tremble before me, mortals!” he booms. The two thugs seem visibly shaken by his actions.

Inside the building, the invisible Solsus looses a sling bullet at one of the two survivors of the ill fated indoor ambush party. However, all the confusion affects his aim, and the shot is well wide. He too then heads out the door and, not liking conditions on the ground, flies straight up in the air.

His eagle however, has one thought on its mind. It flies out of the building and heads off down the alleyway. It lacks Solsus’s grace in the air, so wouldn’t be able to replicate his flight path even if it was able to see him.

Gribron and Deirdre, now alone in the pub with two thugs, react in different ways. Gribron starts chanting a spell. Deirdre simply points at the nearest opponent, and a blast of eldritch energy shoots from her hand. Its hard to target in all the smoke and rubble, and her victim is able to dodge her attack.

Out in the alleyway, the two thugs swing at Caryk with their saps. He’s a nimble opponent, and they are suffering the effects of what Jonathan did to them. When their blows land, he’s no longer in the way.

“Go on Sauce, get the bleeder!” orders one of the thugs. Reluctantly the dog complies, but its bite cannot penetrate Caryk’s tough skin.

“They are in the alley. Drop the ram and use your crossbows,” says a crisp voice. The street’s flickering torch light makes identifying enemies difficult, but Caryk’s eyesight is better than a human’s in such low light conditions. He spots a man on horseback, some distance from the pub, who seems to be co-ordinating the thugs’ efforts.

There’s the sound of a heavy object – presumably the battering ram – hitting the ground, and two more thugs come into view. They move opposite the alley entrance, and take careful aim with their crossbows.

After missing with his first punch, Caryk tries a different approach. He snatches out his hatchet from its holster, and brings it down in a vicious overhead blow. The thug’s sneer slowly fades as he realises the axe is buried in his head. He drops to the ground.

Jonathan fixes his gaze on the second thug, but nothing happens.

Solsus heads towards the crossbowmen, and looses off another sling bullet. He misses again. As he does so, he lets off a piercing whistle. His loyal eagle, having recovered from its initial panic, swoops around and heads for the source of the noise.

Inside the pub, the two intruders pick their way cautiously through the burning rubble, and manage to reach Gribron just as his spell takes effect. Despite the gravity of the situation, they both decide to take a nap.

Since the situation inside now seems to be under control, Deirdre heads out into the alleyway. It seems very crowded here, so she walks up the wall of the neighbouring building and surveys the scene from its roof. Calmly, she lets off a blast of energy at the remaining thug fighting Caryk. It strikes him a glancing blow, but he stays on his feet.

Gritting his teeth, the thug drops his sap and pulls out his shortsword. Bounty or no bounty, all thoughts of subduing their quarry seem to have fled. Unfortunately for him, he still can’t manage to hit the elusive Caryk, and neither can Sauce.

The other two thugs fire their crossbows at Caryk. It’s a very tricky shot, with their comrade in the way, but more by luck than judgement one bolt strikes home. Caryk chokes back a cry of pain, and does his best to ignore the wound, but he looks in very bad shape. He slashes his opponent with his axe, but doesn’t come close to hitting.

The eagle swoops down on one of the crossbowmen, but misses. Gribron, alone in the pub, takes the opportunity to snatch the belt pouches from the sleeping intruders. He has a deft touch, and neither one stirs.

The dog, seeing the eagle so close to the ground, runs over and tries to grasp it in his mouth. The alert eagle is too quick for him, and all Sauce gains is a couple of tail feathers.

Gribron steps into the alley and starts to cast a repeat of his sleep spell on the crossbowmen. They too are unable to resist his sorcery, and decide to have a snooze.

Solsus, anxious to protect the eagle, hits the dog with a sling stone. The eagle, however, needs no such assistance. In a whirlwind of beak and claws it kills the hapless mongrel.

The mounted man orders his last remaining thug to surrender. Then he canters off down the street.

The thug, finding himself alone, throws down his sword. Caryk leads him away from the pub, so he can question him. He learns that the thug belongs to an organisation known as the Black Horse, but the thug does not know how they found out about the meeting. Only the mounted man, Kathor, knows that. The thug is then sent on his way, and the party set off for the meeting in the depository.

Solsus, seeing Caryk’s injured condition, is able to provide him with a little magical healing, which eases some of the pain.

They have only gone a short distance when Caryk remembers that two intruders are still asleep in the burning building.

“We’ll have to go back!”
“You can if you want,” replies Solsus. “No doubt you can catch us up.”

Heading back on his own, Caryk tries to drag one of the intruders out of the building. The man wakes up in the process, and helps Caryk with the second man. Once safely outside, they start to rouse the crossbowmen. The four look appraisingly at Caryk for a second, but there’s no bounty for him so they decide to head off down the street.

Caryk soon catches up with the others, whose progress has been slowed by panicking crowds who are fleeing burning buildings. There are dark shapes flitting overhead, dropping bombs on the city.

The party encounters a family huddled outside what’s left of their house. They are badly burned. Jonathan turns out to have some skill at mundane healing, and is able to ease their condition somewhat. As they leave, Caryk gives them some of the money Gribron looted from the intruders in the inn.

There is another short delay when the party encounters a crowd gathered around a four storey building. The house is on fire, and there is a woman trapped at an upper window. Deirdre walks up the side of the house with a rope, followed by a flying Solsus. The two of them tie the rope to a piece of furniture, and do their best to take the strain themselves, and the woman climbs down without mishap.

They are heading for the gate into the next district when a massive shadow passes overhead. A wave of fear passes over everybody, and the party are lucky to avoid being crushed in the ensuing panic.


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## Morrus (Jul 21, 2007)

Oooh!  I'll be following this one!


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## RangerWickett (Jul 21, 2007)

Nifty. 

(Psst, you have a typo in the title.)


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## amethal (Jul 24, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Nifty.
> 
> (Psst, you have a typo in the title.)



Thanks for spotting the typo.

We have another session tonight, so will write it up Wednesday and hopefully update this thread on Thursday. Its only when you try doing it that you realise how much effort it takes to writing one of these story hours.

I can't even imagine how much work went into writing the adventure itself, so I'm even more impressed with what you guys have produced.


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## amethal (Jul 26, 2007)

*Act 2 – Retrieving the Case*
_Scene 1 - The Depository, Free City of Gate Pass_
_January 1st, 1 am_

When they finally reach the depository, it’s a small oasis of calm. The only entrance to the grounds is via a gate in the fence, and as usual it is manned by four guards. Unsurprisingly, the night shift consists of two dwarves and two orcs, both races being able to see in the dark.

“So, how do we get in? Did Torrent explain the correct procedure?” asks Solsus.
“Um, no,” replies Caryk.

The resistance member walks up to the guards.
“Hello. Torrent asked us to come here and inspect her locker.”
“Okay, no problem,” replies a cheerful dwarf. “I’ll just let you in. Just like to mention two things. Firstly, there are some more guards inside, and they might misunderstand if you ‘accidentally’ try and open someone else’s locker.

“Also, a while back we let in a gnome. He’s so darn ugly he could give you the fright of your life if you come across him unexpectedly.”

He leads the party through the gate, and towards the tower. The heroes can now see that it’s several stories high, with each floor apart from the ground floor ringed by a balcony. In the grounds are a pair of beautiful fountains. The one on the left depicts the four elemental spirits of local legend. The one on the right features a massive statue of Emperor Coaltongue, which has been decorated with flags and streamers in celebration of the new year.

The ground floor consists of a massive circular room, packed with lockers. There is a ramp leading upwards.

“Right, lets see if we can find Badger-whotsit,” says Gribron. The dwarf guard is heading back to his post on the gate. The promised interior guards are conspicuous by their absence.

“He must be upstairs,” says Caryk, and leads the others up the ramp. His companions have grown used to his shuffling gait, but they can’t help wishing he would move a bit faster.

A gnome is waiting for them on the next floor, near to a stack of lockers and a door which presumably leads out onto the balcony. As promised, he is very ugly.

“Greetings,” he splutters. “I am Rivereye Badgerface. Apologies for the croak. I have a cold.”

“Greetings, noble Gnome,” relies Caryk.

“Welcome,” says the Gnome to Caryk. “You must be Perrin. The case is in there.” He gestures casually to a nearby locker, and coughs. “You will need your password to open the case.”

“Who is Perrin?” asks Caryk, puzzled.

“You never mentioned a password,” says  Solsus to Caryk.

“That’s because I don’t have a password. And none of us are called Perrin. There must be some mistake.”

Jonathan is intrigued by the way the gnome has apparently chosen a locker at random at which to point. As usual, nothing is making sense, and this time he decides it must be the gnome’s fault.

“Why are you lying to us?” he demands.

A thoughtful expression flits across the gnome’s face, and then strangely he seems to straighten up somewhat and grow taller - to his evident relief. “Stupid conversation anyway,” he mutters, and heads for the balcony door.

Eerily, the door opens by itself and shuts again once he has gone through.

Caryk is the first to react, and sets off in pursuit. However, he can’t match Gribron’s long legged stride – or the human’s love of brawling when the odds are five to one in his favour. Gribron gets to the door first, shoves it open – with some difficulty, almost as if the wind was trying to hold it shut.

Once out on the balcony, he spots the impostor to his left, finishing off the contents of a flask of some kind. “I’ve got you now!” he thinks, just as a glowing ball of light emerges around the side of the balcony to his left.

“What the fu …” he says, then howls in anguish as a beam of searing light flies from the glowing ball and impales him. The light seems to penetrate to the very depths of his grubby soul, and his myriad sins cry out in agony.

“Such a beautiful creature,” marvels Caryk, arriving beside Gribron a second later. “I wonder what it is.”

Meanwhile, wisely deciding not to add to the congestion out front, Deirdre and Jonathan each take one of the other two balcony doors. Once outside, Deirdre heads towards where she imagines the gnome must be. As she reaches him, the gnome discards his empty flask and runs up the side of the building, heading for the roof.

“He’s heading for the roof!” yells Gribron.

“Two can play at that game,” she replies, and follows the gnome effortlessly up the wall.

Jonathan finds his path blocked by the glowing ball of light. The necessary information appears in his mind. A minor celestial, a lantern archon to be precise. Most unusual to find one here.

A shimmer of energy appears in front of Jonathan, then surges towards the archon. Its feeble defences are no match for Jonathan’s powers, and it drops off the balcony, its light extinguished. A second later there is a dull thud as it hits the ground.

Deirdre arrives at the snowy roof hard on the gnome’s heels. Spotting her, he sprints across the treacherous surface, only just managing to keep his balance, and hurls himself off the roof into the void.

“Now that’s a game I’m not playing!” says Deirdre, and carefully picks her way across the icy roof. It appears the gnome’s leap has carried him beyond the perimeter fence. It will be interesting to see what state he’s in after falling eighty feet or more.

As it happens, the gnome drifts to earth as gently as a feather. Once safely on the ground, he turns to grin mockingly at his audience …. At that point a sling bullet appears out of nowhere, and there’s a dull thunk as it strikes him in the chest. Immediately afterwards, a brown, feathered streak of fury flashes past and gashes open his face with its talons.

No longer smiling, the gnome heads off at full speed into the nearby streets. Solsus considers pursuing him, but on sober reflection decides the powers the gnome has thus far demonstrated mean it would be folly to risk the mission by allowing himself to be distracted into a dangerous solo operation.

The rest of the party have decided to take the boring option and head for the roof via the stairs. However, their progress halts when they spot the half dozen or so bodies on the next floor. A quick inspection reveals that there are four uniformed dwarves, a uniformed half-orc and a civilian gnome. All are tied up, and all are alive but bound and unconscious – except for the half-orc, who appears to have been killed by some kind of energy ray. It seems he was struck the fatal blow after he had been knocked out and tied up.

Caryk, needing to prioritise in the face of so many casualties, tries to bring round the gnome. This proves easier said than done, but eventually, with Jonathan’s assistance, the gnome recovers consciousness.

Blearily, the gnome focuses on the wrinkled green apparition in front of him. Caryk smiles reassuringly.

“I know you,” says the gnome. “You’re one of us… The resistance…. You’re the tortle…. Your name is … your name is … Hargreaves?”

[First session ends in gales of laughter, in response to that very bad joke from myself, the DM. If you are one of the overwhelming majority of people who don’t get the “joke”, it really isn’t worth the effort of getting it explained to you.]

The heroes busy themselves with freeing the gnome and the bound guardsmen. It emerges that they were jumped by a bunch of elves. The unfortunate half-orc was murdered by the lantern archon, who took exception to something in the guard’s aura. Some taint of “evil”, whatever that means.

“So what happened to the case, Mister Badgerface?” asks Solsus.

The gnome, the real Rivereye Badgerface, looks startled at being addressed out of thin air. Belatedly Solsus remembers he is not visible, and slowly his short, winged form fades into sight.

“The elves took it, after they jumped us. Gods, those guys were dumb. I told their leader I was waiting for a guy called Perrin, who was the only one who had the password to open it. Of course, there’s no Perrin and no password, but I reckoned when Torrent arrived they’d be behaving so strange she’d be bound to figure out there was some funny business going on.”

“Any idea where they went?”

“Who knows where elves go? Into the ghetto, maybe. Although, I did hear them talking to that glowing ball thing. They were speaking in Elvish; can’t speak it meself, so dunno what they were saying. Except, funny thing is, I could understand that light easy enough, so I followed its side of the conversation. Was saying summat about them elves having a contact at the College of War.”

“What’s in the case?”

“The case is quite big, and made of black metal. I reckon its adamantine. Can’t tell you what’s in it, but its information vital to the resistance. Got me hands on it when I was working as a servant in the capital, Ragos. All us servants are under a geas not to tell people stuff we learn doing our jobs.”

At this point, worn out by the effort of conversation, the gnome slipped back into unconsciousness. Thus he was mercifully spared from having to listen to the heroes discuss the correlation, or otherwise, between a potent magical spell and a species of bird.

The situation has an air of anti-climax. The guards come to take away their injured comrades. The gnome recovers consciousness, and heads off into the night. The heroes head out into the street, and discover even the bombing has stopped. The streets are deserted.

_Scene 2 – The Streets, Free City of Gate Pass
January 1st, 1.30 am_

“So, do we try the College of War, or head for the elf ghetto?” asks Gribron.

“Given that the College is on the way to the ghetto, I suggest we try the College first,” replies Jonathan, with unanswerable logic.

At this point the more keen eyed members realise that a ferocious aerial battle is taking place above their heads, between the bat-winged flyers of the Ragesian second army and the feathered griffons used by the elite units of the Gate Pass army.

One such battle is particularly close overhead. There is a loud crack as griffon and wyvern come together, and in this instance the wyvern has come off worst. It spirals down from the sky and smashes into a building at the end of the street. Almost at the same time a broken lance falls from the sky and thuds into the ground at Deirdre’s feet.

“Call me Agatha,” says the person formerly known as Deirdre, obviously disturbed by the incident.

Solsus, invisible once more,  flies off down the street to investigate the crash. He sees a house with a demolished roof, and an obviously dead wyvern. A rope hangs down to the ground from the wyvern’s empty saddle. There is no sign of any rider.

The rest of the group arrive soon after, and Caryk spots footprints in the snow leading from the bottom of the rope into a nearby alley. There is a large, unidentified bundle lying at a point in the alley about a hundred feet away.

Jonathan draws his crossbow, and unerringly sends a bolt into the bundle. Those members of the party with keen hearing hear a muffled squishy sound. Gribron takes out his shortbow and tries to hit the bundle with an arrow, but at that range he is unable to hit even a stationary target and the shot goes wide.

Caryk shuffles down the alley to investigate the bundle, and is horrified to discover it is actually the corpses of a man, a woman and a youth. Jonathan’s crossbow bolt protrudes from the youth’s chest. All three have died recently from axe wounds. Bloody footprints lead into a nearby house. The door shows signs of having been forced.

The party regroups. Solsus flies over the house, and confirms the snow outside the back door is undisturbed. He elects to guard the back door.

Everyone else enters the house by the front door, and are faced with a passageway leading the length of the house. The back door is ahead of them, there are stairs leading up, and there is a door to either side. Caryk opens the door to the left, and finds an empty kitchen.

Jonathan opens the door to the right, which opens into a living room of some sort. There are clothes strewn across the floor, and an armoured man is rummaging through a wardrobe. The man is battered and bruised, and covered in blood. However, not all of it appears to be his own. A young boy is cowering in fear in the corner.

The armoured man turns around as Jonathan enters the room, and reaches for his battleaxe. However, before he can draw it Gribron moves through the doorway and makes a complicated gesture with his hands. The armoured man makes no further effort to draw his axe, and seems at a loss for what to do next.

“Somebody do something!” says Gribron. “My spell won’t hold him for long.”

Agatha hits the man with a blast of power, rocking him back. Jonathan tries to follow up with a bolt of electricity, but his power fails him and all he can manage is a feeble spark which barely injures its target.

The man is recovering from Gribron’s enchantment, but Gribron follows up with a second spell and once again the enemy’s resolution drains away. Seizing her opportunity, Agatha hits him with a second blast, and the man falls to his knees.

Jonathan and Caryk move forward to see what they can do for their fallen foe. Caryk rummages in his pack for his healing herbs, and Jonathan sees his kind hearted ally’s distraction as an opportunity to apply a coup de grace to the man, whose uniform clearly identifies him as a Ragesian soldier.

The Ragesian is swiftly looted of his valuable equipment, and then the party turn their attention to the terrified hostage. Despite their best efforts, he refuses to be calmed, and eventually Caryk is forced to sling him over his shoulder. At Solsus’s suggestion they leave by the back door, sparing the lad the sight of his family lying dead out front (one of whom has Jonathan’s crossbow bolt sticking out of him).

Caryk knows that of a nearby temple to Olladra, which doubles as a resistance safe house, and the group decide to take the lad there. 

The temple is packed with over a hundred people, and the atmosphere is explosive. A female half elf, dressed in black, is sat just inside the front door. She is sardonically parodying “Auld Lang Syne”, an ever popular song used to celebrate the new year, in a minor key and turning it into a dirge. This does nothing to help feelings in the temple.

Our brave heroes, sensing the crowd is bound to erupt at some point during the night, unceremoniously dump the lad at the feet of the first priest of Olladra they see, then continue on their way to the College of War.

_Scene 3 – The College of War, Free City of Gate Pass
January 1st, 2 am_

Gabal’s school for evokers, the College of War, is a small campus guarded by four towers and a moat. The locals mockingly refer to it as “The Castle”.

The evokers are a key part of the City’s defences, so our heroes might have expected it to be a hive of activity, given the ongoing Ragesian attack.

Instead, it is deserted apart from a lone figure at the gate. The man wears blue robes, has a paunch and a receding hairline. He is carefully cupping a cigarette between his hands, and stamping his feet in an effort to keep warm.

Gribron wandered towards him.

“Evening mate, could I cadge a fag?”

The man smiles, and seems glad of the company. He hands over a cigarette and lights it for Gribron. “What brings you out on such a cold night?” he asks.

“Looking for a bunch of elves,” replies Gribron. “How about you. How come you’re standing at these gates in this weather?”

“Waiting for trouble,” replies the man. “In times of crisis people turn to Gabal and his evokers, but they’ve all done a bunk. They’ve put up with the mages swanning about during peace time, and now when they need them they are nowhere to be seen. I reckon our neighbours are going to turn nasty pretty soon.”

At this point Gribron belatedly realises who he is talking to. Diogenes, an enchanter who studies at the College of War for reasons no one can fathom, and whose relationship with the other students (almost all of whom are evokers) can best be described as mutual contempt.

“You’re Diogenes, right? Name’s Gribron.”

“Pleased to meet you Gribron. Hey, you must be Gribron the Sneaky, one of those ‘alley mages’ who gives the City Watch such a headache. How come you’re still here? Rumour is the City will be letting in the Inquisitors soon.”

“I’m working on a plan to escape. Anyway, I could ask you the same question.”

“Heck, there aren’t that many Inquisitors. I thought I’d stick around and give them a hard time.”

“Fair enough. You here on your own?”

Diogenes laughs. “No, I’ve got the charming Shealis to keep me company. I think she’s packing. At least, I hope she is. I can’t stand the snooty Elf bitch! If she hadn’t had all those visitors tonight, she’d probably have left already.”

“What sort of visitors?”

“Elves mainly, and that damn familiar of hers. I don’t see the point of a familiar at the best of times, let alone a glowing ball of light that just screams ‘shoot me’. “

“Did the Elves have a black metal case on them? And where did they go?”

“They might have done. I didn’t see. That big glowing target tends to distract me. Afterwards, the Elves headed off into the middle of the city, towards the ghetto, but the familiar went the other way, back the way they’d come from.”

The rest of the group, left out of the conversation, have nothing better to do than study their surroundings. One of the college’s towers has been cracked, presumably by a Ragesian bomb. The moat has a griffon and its rider floating in it, but its clear the missing students have looted the body on their way to wherever it is they’ve gone.

Caryk wandered up to Diogenes.

“Hi, do you mind if we come in and speak to Shealis?”

“Help yourself,” came the reply. “I’ll lead you to her room. I don’t think anything is going to happen here tonight, its late and its too darn cold.”

Shealis lives up to everybody’s expectations. She’s a beautiful, blond, blue-eyed elven woman dressed in red robes, and she is not in the least bit interested in Caryk’s inane politeness or Gribron’s blather. She is in the middle of packing, and eventually slams the door in their faces.

“Told you she was a bitch,” remarks Diogenes. “She hates my guts, as well. If you wanted to delay her, I could challenge her to a spell duel. It doesn’t matter how much of a rush she’s in, she can always find the time to kick my arse.”

“So can she defeat you?” asked Solsus.

Diogenes is surprised to be addressed by what he had assumed was Caryk’s ‘imaginary friend’. “She thinks she can, but she’s arrogant and predictable. I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeve and I think I can surprise her.”

“Can we help?” asks Caryk.

“Of course not,” replied Diogenes. “The spell duel has strict rules. Even though its late at night, the college is deserted, and you are probably going to be the only spectators, it would clearly be cheating if you were to wait until she has cast her best spells, then rush into the arena and grab her.”

“What a pity,” says Caryk, crestfallen.

It emerges that the arena is a circle sixty feet in diameter, surrounded by seating. Inside the arena, powerful wards ensure that all spell damage is non-lethal. The spectators are not so lucky.

Diogenes challenges Shealis to a duel, which she gladly accepts. She has finished packing, and has her valued possessions in her pack on her back. Solsus searches her room after she leaves, just to be on the safe side, but finds nothing of interest.

The combatants enter the arena, and the party spread themselves out on the seats behind Shealis’s end. She laughs scornfully at this. “You ought to be at Diogenes’s end. That’s where all the carnage is going to be.”

The spell duel is a cagey affair, with both combatants concentrating on negating their opponents’ spells rather than casting spells of their own. Diogenes vanishes behind a magical mist, and the bored spectators take this as their cue to attack Shealis.

Solsus hovers above her, and fires a sling bullet. He is surprised to discover that, despite being a wizard, she is wearing metal armour underneath her robes. Agatha, unfazed by armour, fires off an eldritch blast but the nimble wizard dodges.

Diogenes was last seen vanishing into his mist, so Shealis is surprised to hear his voice whisper from close behind her, “I’ve got the drop on you; surrender or die!” However, something about his choice of words doesn’t ring true, and Gribron’s illusion peters out when confronted by her disbelief. Similarly, whatever Jonathan attempted is shrugged off.

Caryk moves to help his friends, and his punch connects solidly with Shealis’s unarmoured face.

Spitting with rage, Shealis turns to her new attackers, and unleashes a fiery inferno. Cleverly, she has deduced the position of the invisible Solsus, but she is unprepared for his fey heritage and the spell fails in his vicinity.

Caryk and Agatha are not so lucky, consumed by the flames, they collapse to the ground. Fortunately for them, they are now inside the area of the arena’s warding effect, so are merely unconscious rather than dead.

Diogenes emerges from his protective mist, and strike his enemy with an arrow of acid. Jonathan follows up with a blast of power, and the elf is beaten.

Diogenes uses two of Shealis’s healing potions to revive Caryk and Agatha. He also claims her spellbook for himself, whilst the party take the rest of her items.

Flicking through her spellbook, Diogenes can be heard muttering “Evocation spell. Another evocation. What’s next. Oh, guess what, evocation. No use to me .. hullo, what’s that?”

A piece of paper has fallen from the spell book.

Jonathan investigates it. It appears to be a map of part of the Elven ghetto, with a carpenter’s shop highlighted. There is also a note, in Elvish “Arborea before Elysium before Celestia.”

The note means nothing to the rest of the party, but Jonathan’s eyes briefly glow blue as he calls upon his talented memory.

“Arborea, Elysium and Celestia are part of the Great Wheel,” he says, “an explanation early philosophers came up with to explain the nature of the universe before the real planes and their actual characteristics became known. They envisaged three competing realms of goodness, each with a set level of law or chaos, and arbitrarily allocated the various types of celestial between them.

“Of course, modern thinkers realise it’s a lot more complicated than that. Archons come from Irian, the Eternal Day, and Savareth the Battleground. Angels come from Syrani, the Azure Sky. Eladrin hail from Thelanis, the Faerie Court and guardinals come from Lamannia, the Twilight Forest. I can see where the attraction of the idea of Wheel came from, with its three planes of absolute good, as opposed to the ambiguity of the real world.”

“So it’s a fairy story,” said Gribron.

“No,” replied Jonathan. “It’s a code of some sort.”

“Code or not, its very late and I need to rest,” says Gribron.

“How about the temple, the resistance safe house?” says Caryk.

“No thanks, that place seemed far too volatile, and I need my beauty sleep” replies Gribron.

“Why don’t we spend the night in the house of that lad we rescued?” suggests Solsus.

Everyone agrees this is a great idea, apart from Caryk.

“Fine then,” says Caryk. “I’ll meet you in the morning outside the temple, and then we can head to the elf ghetto and see if the case is there.”

Caryk heads off back to the temple. On the way out, he mentions to Diogenes that, if he needs any help in causing problems to the inquisitors, the temple is a meeting place for those with similar views.

He fails to notice Shealis, still unconscious, has been tied up and left in the kitchen. A sign around her neck has the word “Wizard” written on it in Jonathan Farrier’s handwriting. 

_Interlude – the Temple of Olladra, Free City of Gate Pass
January 1st, 3 am_

Trudging into the temple, Caryk notices that the half elf is still playing dour songs.

“I don’t think your choice of music is helping the situation,” he says to her.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she replies sarcastically. “I left all my happy tunes in my house, and unfortunately it burned down.”

It is not long before a fight breaks out. A pair of youths suddenly and irrationally decide to blame a  half orc woman for the entire Ragesian invasion. Caryk tries to intimidate them into backing down without a fight, but fails miserably.

He interposes himself between the youths and their victim. The sight of the tortle, protected by his thick shell and bristling with weapons, makes them pause.

At this point the head priest, Buron, spots the altercation and harangues the youths. Shamefaced, they disappear back into the crowd.

“Caryk, isn’t it?” says the priest. “I’m Buron, head of the temple here.”

“Pleased to meet you,” replies Caryk. “I’ve been trying to stop that half elf from playing her music. Its making a bad situation much worse. Is there anything you can do?”

“Hm,” responds the priest. “I see what you mean.” He strides off towards the musician.

“Mulysa,” he says,” that’s enough of your depressing tunes.”

She turns to him belligerently, a cutting remark on the tip of her tongue. Before she can say anything, he snatches her guitar from her and dashes it to pieces on the temple floor. Then he heads back to Caryk and offers him a bed in the hidden cellar, sometimes used by the resistance as a safe house.

“No thanks,” replies Caryk. “I’ll sleep up here in case there’s any more trouble I need to get you to deal with.”

_[Second session ends with the other players moaning that Caryk got some extra XP for the above interlude. I deflect the blame onto Ryan Nock.]_


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## amethal (Jul 31, 2007)

*Flashback*
_Forest of Ycengled, nominally part of the Shining Land of Shahalesti
December 3rd_

“Go away, Solsus,” said Moth. “Can’t you see we’re busy?”

“But I wanted to ask you two something,” replied Solsus.

“For pity’s sake Solsus, you’ve made me lose count now!” said Mustardseed. “We’ll have to start all over again.”

“This is important,” replied Solsus.

“If its important,” said Moth, “then its not for the likes of us. Take it to the Queen!”

“Good idea,” echoed his brother Mustardseed. “It’s the Queen who deals with important things. Off you go and see her. Make sure you barge straight in and disturb her, just like you did to us.”

Solsus gravely thanked the brothers for their advice and set off to see the Queen.

“There’s another dandelion over there,” announced Moth. “This time, you blow and I’ll count.”

********

Titania, Queen of the Seelie Court, was admiring her reflection in a pool of water, as her attendants draped flowers in her hair. Her assembled court were trying to outdo one another in the effusiveness of their compliments. There was a collective groan as Solsus appeared in front of them.

“Your frowning countenance is not wanted here,” said Puck, the Queen’s current paramour.

Solsus ignored him, and bowed to the Queen. “I have an important request, Your Majesty.”

“A request? Important? The sun is shining, the breeze is soft and gentle, the birds are singing. What could be more important than that?” replied the Queen.

“Your Majesty, the world is in turmoil, and I have had strange dreams that lead me to believe things are going to get a lot worse. I feel the time is right for us to leave our frivolous lives in the forest, and go forth into the world and use our powers to battle the forces of darkness.”

Most of the members of the court recoiled in horror from his words. A few of the kinder hearted ones looked at Solsus with pity. “Poor thing,” whispered one. “He looks so serious. It can’t be healthy. If only he hadn’t wandered so far into the forbidden parts of the forest.”

“He used to be so happy go lucky,” replied another. “He had no sense of responsibility. Tragically, it was that very virtue which led him to ignore the warnings. Better he’d never come out of the forbidden forest, rather than emerge so warped and unnatural.”

Puck sensed the Queen’s distress and intervened again. “You miserable creature, how dare you speak to Her Majesty that way! If you must have these cares and responsibilities, at least have the courtesy to keep them to yourself!”

“Peace, Puck,” said the Queen. “Its not this poor creature’s fault. Try and resist his influence, and recover your good spirits.”

Turning to Solsus, she said, “It is not in our nature to take on responsibility or worry about mortal concerns. Our realm is here, and here we stay.”

“Then send me, Your Majesty! I cannot stand this constant frivolity. Give me a Quest and send me out into the world.”

The Queen thought for a moment. “Very well. Solsus, I give you this Quest. Travel to the Indomitable Fire Forest of Innenotdar, find out the cause of its unnatural burning, and extinguish the flames.”

“And don’t come back until you have succeeded,” added Puck, nastily.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” said Solsus. “I pledge, on my honour, I will succeed at this Quest or die in the attempt.”


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## amethal (Aug 1, 2007)

*Act 2 – Retrieving the Case (continued)*
_Scene 4 - The Streets, Free City of Gate Pass
January 1st, 8 am_

The others meet Caryk outside the Temple of Olladra, and are surprised to see he is accompanied by a creature looks something like a cross between a lioness and a human female. She is wearing a chain shirt, and a longsword hangs at her side. Another unlikely looking magic user.

“This is Ambar,” said Caryk, making introductions. She has some information regarding the elves. She’ll share it with us if we help her escape from the city.”

“What kind of information?” asks Jonathan.

“I don’t know. I thought it would be easier if she told us all at the same time,” replies Caryk.

Ambar seems a bit nervous at addressing such a disparate bunch of people. “Late yesterday evening, I saw a group of elves head towards the elf ghetto. They were carrying a heavy metal case.”

“That’s all you know?” snorts Caryk. “We know more than that ourselves. We know they were heading for a carpenter’s shop in the ghetto. Still, a deal is a deal, so you can tag along with us. Once we get that case back we’ll be heading out of the city.”

“Right, let’s head for the elves’ grotto,” says Gribron.

“It’s a ghetto, not a grotto, you idiot!” says Jonathan.

Our heroes head east along Emelk Way, through the gate and into the next district, bickering as they go. Even sharp eyed Caryk fails to spot that once again they are being followed by a suspicious looking bird.

The elf ghetto is easy to spot, as it is surrounded by a twenty foot high wooden wall, decorated with carvings of mythical creatures. There do not appear to be any gates in the wall.

Solsus flies up to see if there are any gates which are obvious from the inside. He notes that the ghetto has suffered some fire damage, but not much, and that there are elf children playing in the streets. Any gates are as well disguised on the inside as they are on the outside.

“Did you see anything?” asks Agatha when he returns.

“You can see him?” queries Gribron.

“Yeah, he’s over there.”

“I couldn’t find any gates,” says Solsus. “Of course, I can just fly in.”

“I could climb over the wall easily enough,” says Agatha. “But the elves might take exception to that.”

Gribron decides to ask passers by if they know of any entrances. The second person he asks is able to point out roughly where he’d sometimes seen elves come out, and Gribron is able to find the secret door, and the mechanism to open it. It appears this is not what the coded note they took from Shealis was referring to.

Solsus flies up again, and notes a clear area the other side of the door. Then he comes back down.

“There are children playing in the streets. They might see you as you go through the gate. Do you want me to distract them?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” says Caryk. “Why don’t you fly up and see if anyone spots our entrance.”

“Okay, I’ll wave if anything happens,” says Solsus, then stops himself. “No, that won’t work, as you can’t see me.”

“I can see you,” says Agatha.

Solsus blushes, and flies quickly away.

“Can you really see him?” asks Gribron. “What’s he doing now?”

“He’s putting his trousers on,” replies Agatha matter-of-factly. “Its just as well we didn’t get him to distract the children.”

_Scene 5 – The Elf Ghetto, Free City of Gate Pass
January 1st, 9 am_

Gribron eases open the secret door, then allows Caryk to go first into the ghetto. Per Shealis’s map, the carpenter’s shop is somewhere in the north east corner, so that’s where they head.

They receive a few unfriendly stares, but no one challenges them. “These elves must be akin to wasps, or is it bees?” says Caryk. “Once you are inside their nest they assume you are supposed to be there, and they don’t bother you.”

The carpenter’s shop, when they reach it, is bizarre. Its “front door” and “windows” have simply been painted on. However, it is more than just an empty box because smoke is rising from the chimney. Solsus spots the real entrance, a side door painted (of course!) to look like bricks. There is a rat rooting around in the alley way, but it scurries away when Ambar approaches it hungrily.

This door has a carving of a winged woman with a trumpet, a muscular man with a lion’s head, and an armoured woman with a gleaming greatsword. Jonathan’s eyes turn blue for a second. “Archon, Leonal and Eladrin,” he says. “Per Shealis’s note, we need to press the Eladrin (Arborea), then the Leonal (Elysium) and finally the Archon (Celestia).” He sounds supremely confident in his knowledge, but for some reason allows Gribron the honour of testing out the theory. He may be influenced by Gribron’s discovery that the door comes complete with a poison needle trap.

Gribron follows Jonathan’s advice, and opens the door without incident. The downstairs floor is just one room, with a staircase leading upwards. A trio of golden furred badgers look up as Gribron enters, and snarl at him. Unperturbed, Gribron pulls some coloured sand out of his pouch and gestures at the badges. A vivid cone of clashing colours springs forth from his hand, engulfing the creatures. Two of them collapse under the sensory assault, but the third shrugs it off and rushes forwards.

Jonathan enters the room behind Gribron, and stops the badger in its tracks with a fiery burst of energy. An acrid, burning smell fouls the air.

Agatha, Ambar and Solsus try to put the unconscious badgers out of their misery, but even in this helpless state the tough beasts are hard to kill. Meanwhile, Caryk clomps up the stairs to investigate the upper floor.

He find three elves are waiting for him. Two of them fire arrows at him; one shot bounces off his tough hide, but the other buries itself in his shoulder. Then the third elf steps forward, and slashes Caryk’s other shoulder with his longsword.

Seeing the tortle’s plight, Solsus flies up the stairs and tries to touch him with some healing magic. Unfortunately, just as he does so Caryk moves to attack the sword wielding elf, and Solsus fails to make enough contact to trigger the spell. Caryk’s attempt to punch the elf likewise ends in failure.

Gribron moves up behind Caryk, and reproduces the spell he used to such good effect on the badgers. Caryk is within the spell’s area, but manages to close his eyes in time and suffers no ill effects. However, he elects to feign injury, and deliberately slumps to the floor. He is accompanied to the floor by the elf he was fighting, who has been knocked unconscious by Gribron’s potent magic. The two archers instinctively close their eyes during the extra second it takes the cone of colours to reach them, and the spell has no effect on them. Gribron has a fair bit of knowledge about the city, and recognises that these are Shahalesti elves, rather than locals.

Jonathan is next up the stairs. Flinging back his hood, he glowers at the elves. “Cower, brief mortals,” he booms. One of the long-lived elves is amused by such a demand from what appears to be a human, but Jonathan’s words appear to strike a chord with his partner, who looks visibly shaken.

The crowded stairway does not faze Agatha. She simply walks along the wall instead, and looses a blast of eldritch energy at one of the elves. It staggers, but remains standing. She hears the sound of Ambar casting a spell, and Ambar then climbs up the stairs to stand behind Gribron.

One of the elves drops his bow, and draws his sword. His partner, still shaken, looses off an arrow at Gribron. It hits, more by luck than judgement. Gribron tries to cast an enchantment on the other elf, but elves are resistant to such magics and it has no effect. Deciding discretion is the better part of valour, Gribron squeezes back past Ambar. The elf with the sword sees his opportunity, but his swing goes wide.

Jonathan moves past Ambar and Gribron, and strikes the elf with his staff. The blow connects, and the already wounded elf collapses. Caryk, seeing the immediate danger has passed, climbs to his feet and closes with the remaining elf.

The sole surviving elf drops his bow, moves to draw his longsword, then thinks better of it. “I surrender,” he says.

“We accept,” says Caryk. “Be merciful,” he says to his comrades. Solsus moves in and takes the elf’s remaining weapons.

Surprisingly, the elf then collapses to the floor. Blood is flowing from his ears and nose, and he is clearly dead. Everyone turns to look at Jonathan. “He must have been more badly injured than it first appeared,” says Jonathan casually. “Anyway, the one Gribron floored with his spell is still alive. Let’s tie him up before he recovers consciousness.”

The party search the room while they wait for their prisoner to come round. They find an unlocked chest containing exactly a hundred platinum pieces, but no other treasure. They also find a metal case. It has no obvious lock, but will not open. There’s clearly a spell of some sort on it, but none of the group are able to determine its nature.

There is also a set of brand new carpenter’s tools. Jonathan claims them for himself, then looks them thoughtfully. Moving towards the nearest dead elf, he uses the tools to carry out a crude autopsy, while his companions look on with growing disquiet.

“If you want to live forever, its important to find out as much as you can about the body’s workings,” says Jonathan. At some point during the second autopsy the remaining elf wakes up. Jonathan refuses to be hurried, and only moves on to questioning the prisoner when the operation is complete.

“What’s in the case?” he asks casually.

The elf seems willing to co-operate. “I’m not really sure. Plans for some sort of weapon, apparently.”

“How do you open it?”

“No idea.”

“Why did you steal it from the resistance?”

The elf looks at him in a condescending manner. “You do know where you are, right? This is Gate Pass, where the Empire, the Shining Land and the Resistance all meet. Everyone spies on everybody else. The case looked valuable, we saw a chance to take it, so we did. Its all part of the Great Game.”

The party leave him tied up, and set off in search of the enchanter Diogenes. Perhaps he can help them open the case.

_Scene 6 – The College of War (again), Free City of Gate Pass
January 1st, 11 am_

Earlier, Caryk had suggested to Diogenes that he take shelter in the Temple of Olladra. However, he is not there so the party head for the College of War.

When they get there, they realise an angry crowd has gathered at the gates. The people are upset that the evokers of the “so-called College of War” have disappeared, abandoning the city in its hour of need. The party, none of whom look much like wizards, mingle with the crowd.

Diogenes emerges from the College, sits down by the gates, and calmly lights a cigarette. “I understand your concerns,” he says conversationally. The crowd have to quieten down in order to hear what he is saying. “Gabal and the evokers are a bunch of cowards.” Then he spots the distinctive figure of Caryk. “I’ll speak to a delegation from the crowd,” he says. “How about you,” he points at Caryk, “and you others.” He points at the rest of the group.

Once safely back indoors, Caryk shows Diogenes the case. “Its arcane locked,” says the enchanter.

“That’s obvious,” retorts Gribron. “What we want to know if the name of the spell that’s locking it.”

“Arcane lock *is* the name of the spell,” says Diogenes patiently. “And it was cast by a powerful mage.”

“So is there any way of opening it?” asks Caryk.

“Not unless you throw it off the top of a tall building a couple of times,” replies Diogenes.

The party don’t think much of that plan. “Then I guess we’ve done as much as we can,” says Caryk, “and all that remains for us to do is to transport the case to the Resistance in Seaquen. Do you know of any way out of the city, Diogenes?”

“Personally, I’m going to stay here and give the inquisitors something to worry about,” he replies. “I suggest you go and see Councillor Erdan Menash. He might be able to help.”

“Good idea,” says Caryk. “Torrent mentioned him. He’s the Resistance’s contact on the council.”

The Ragesians won’t have any trouble dealing with the Resistance members in Gate Pass, thinks Solsus, since everybody seems to know who they are.

*Act 3 – Escaping the City*
_Scene 1 – Erdan’s Mansion, Free City of Gate Pass
January 1st, 12 pm
_
Councillor Erdan’s mansion is east of the ghetto, not far from the 90 foot high statue of the Emperor. The outer walls are painted a delightful mix of green, yellow and purple, and the disgruntled gate guards are forced to wear tabards of the same colours.

Erdan is at a council meeting when the party arrives, so the guards ask them to wait in the grounds. Erdan returns home soon afterwards, and is surprised to have guests. He quickly recovers his composure, and is soon showing them his collection of exotic and unlikely weaponry, whilst bemoaning the fact that the new year celebrations have been cancelled.

“I have a massive bear mask I was going to put on the Emperor’s statue,” he complains, “but goodness knows what I am going to do with it now.”

_[Third session ends, and nobody asks about XP. I can’t decide if that’s a good sign or a bad sign. For what its worth, there were only supposed to be two elves in the carpenter’s shop, but since the party is now up to six(!) members, I added a third. This means that I’ll have to calculate the EL myself, and the whole point of using a published adventure was so I wouldn’t have to!]
_


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## walker_saint (Aug 2, 2007)

Wow,

This is really good, and a scarily accurate description of the stupid things we say and do as this (or any) party!

Although I have noticed a tendency of Caryk (me, to those who don't know) to be a lot smarter and wiser when I have to leave early!!!

I'm still stuck in that marvelous limbo like existence of being the main fighter (a monk!), with a reasonable AC (18) and a paladin like zeal to protecting my friends (Sacred Vow)... so, i can't hit for toffee (very rarely roll above 5!), can't do a lot of damage when I do (not including that one crit with a handaxe), and the DM's normal ability to roll a sum below 5 on 3 d20's seems to be cancelled out by mine and 18s are often seen!!!

Still... i've got 2 of my next 3 character concepts close to ready... just need to iron out some of the details... before I revise them to the point of incomprehensibility then give up as per usual!!!


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## amethal (Aug 8, 2007)

Fourth session last night. I'll write it us as soon as I get the chance.

I'm going to enjoy describing that debacle. Virtually a TPK .....


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## amethal (Aug 8, 2007)

The party find it surprisingly easy to convince Erdan that they are members of the Resistance. They don’t realise he already knows a fair bit about them already. He chats to them about the most exciting incident of the siege so far – the arrival of the red dragon, and the heroism of a druid (in giant eagle form) and the flight of Gryphon riders who drove it away. The wave of fear the heroes felt yesterday evening is now explained.

Erdan happily buys the various items of equipment the party have acquired over the past day or so. He is equally happy to sell them several of his “special items” – extremely well made weapons and armour, far superior on quality to they currently have. Unfortunately, most of his stock is dyed in his signature green, yellow and purple ….

Once trading has finished, Erdan agrees to help them get out of the city. He suggests they visit a friend of his, Captain Herreman, who is scheduled to lead a patrol outside the city walls at sunset. Erdan writes Herreman a note asking him to include the heroes as part of his patrol, then return without them through a different gate.

At this point Gribron, Agatha and Ambar all realise that they need to spend some time sorting out a few personal matters before they can leave the city. Caryk, Jonathan and Solsus head for the barracks to meet the Captain.

*Scene 2 - The Streets, Free City of Gate Pass*
_January 1st, 1 pm_

Its not long before Solsus spots something odd is happening.

“That group of six town guards, behind us, seem to be following us,” says his disembodied voice.

Caryk glances over his shell. “You’re right. And they don’t look much like guards to me, either. Since when do town guard patrols wear such an ill matched assortment of scalemail? Also, I don’t recall seeing any guards carrying saps before.”

He turns towards the ‘guards’. “What do you want?”

“Halt,” says the lead guard. “You are under arrest on suspicion of being mages. You must come with us.”

“I’m not a mage, I’m a tortle. And Jonathan is a simple scholar.”

“Nevertheless,” replies the guard. “You must …”

“Oh, never mind,” says Caryk and aims a blow at the nearest guard. Solsus’s eagle screams in and attacks another, who also suffers the indignity of being struck on the head by what feels like a cobblestone – although whoever threw it is not in view.

At the same time, Jonathan throws back his hood and booms his catchphrase, “Cower brief mortals!”

Is mental assault leaves four of the guards with fear, but the other two are made of sterner stuff and are unmoved. The guards draw their swords and strike out at the eagle, hitting it several times. They succeed in driving it away, and then advance gingerly towards Jonathan and Caryk.

Caryk draws his quarterstaff, and swings it in both hands towards the nearest guard. Unfortunately for him, the guard blocks the blow with his shield.

It turns into a disorganised melee, with Caryk whirling his staff like a dervish, Solsus circling looking for an opening for a sling shot, and Jonathan seeking to fry the brains of the frightened guards. Two fall to the power of Jonathan’s mind, but the rest have the weight of numbers on their side and their sharp swords are far too close to Jonathan’s tender flesh for comfort.

“I think we might be in a spot of trouble here,” says Caryk.

At that moment a tall figure emerges from a nearby alleyway. “That sounds like my cue,” he says in a deep voice, and moves gracefully towards the nearest guard, smoothly drawing a massive greatsword as he does so. The blow he aims has more style than substance, but the guard is completely nonplussed by the new arrival, and clumsily dodges into the swords path. It is his last mistake.

The other guards are also distracted, and another of Jonathan’s mental blows strikes home. A guard drops, clutching his head.

“Now its three against two, and the odds are in our favour for once,” says Caryk.

“Four against two,” squeaks an indignant Solsus.

“Oh, sorry mate. Forgot about you,” replies Caryk. “It must be because you are aaaarggh!!!” A tiny humanoid, fluttering on leathery, bat-like wings, appears next to Caryk, its barbed tail stuck in the fleshy part of Caryk’s leg. A numb sensation starts to spread out from the wound, but adrenaline allows him to ignore the effects – at least for the time being …..

The little monster makes a grab for the adamantine case, but Caryk retains enough presence of mind to keep it out of his reach.

It has dawned on the two false guards that whatever plan they originally had has now been overtaken by events. They decide to retreat. A greatsword flashes down in the spot just vacated by one of the guards, who breathes a sigh of relief as he sprints down the street. His comrade is not so lucky, running straight into the path of a sling bullet and crumpling into a heap.

The sole surviving guard hurtles around the corner, and nearly flattens a startled Gribron and Agatha. “I wonder what spooked him?” says Agatha. “Everything seems so peaceful for once.” The pair continue ambling along in the direction the man came from.

Meanwhile, Caryk grunts as the monster stings him again. He is having trouble keeping the case out of the creature’s grasp, and is decides he needs to deal with the little pest as quickly as possible. “Maybe I can stun it,” he thinks, and swings his head towards it in a sophisticated martial arts technique known as the “East Wind’s Kiss”. Unfortunately, his twice-injured leg buckles slightly at this point, and his aim is just off.

However, he has three allies and the monster is now alone. Solsus decides the time has come to kick some monster backside. He pulls out his most aerodynamically efficient sling bullet, whirls his sling as hard as he can, and releases his missile of doom. The metal shot strikes the creature hard and true in the chest – and then drops tamely to the ground Its as if all the momentum has been sucked out of the blow by the contact with the monster’s otherworldly flesh.

“Fools! I am a veteran of the wars of Shavarath, Plane of Battle. I cannot be defeated by your puny mortal weapons.”

“I need no weapons in order to kill,” responds Jonathan, sending a burst of mental energy towards the creature. This too has no effect.

“You’ll have to do a lot better than that, foolish hu … sorry, foolish mort … um, foolish biped!” 

The monster is in fact an imp called Kurychek. It really wants the case. It has been stalking the party, in one guise or another, since they first headed for the Elven ghetto, and it is embarrassed that what originally appeared to be an opportune moment to intervene has now resulted in it single-handedly taking on four opponents.

“I really don’t fancy reporting this cock-up to Guthwulf,” it thinks. “He’d make me a laughing stock. Mortals would start summoning me just so they could make witty remarks at my expense.

“On the other hand, if this lot manage to kill me then it’s a one way ticket back to Shavarath. Normally that’s a good thing, but once word got around I croaked fighting four Sarlonnans, but only two of them had souls, then I’ll definitely be made to sit through all the ‘Balancing Risk Against Rewards’ lectures again. I might even have to re-sit the entire ‘Basic Contract Lore’ course, and usually that’s just for lemures.”

“Time for a decision. No pain, no fun. That wrinkly old reptile thing can barely stand. One more jab with the trusty old stinger, he falls down, I grab the case, turn invisible, fly off back to Guthwulf with the goods, mission accomplished. The rest of this shower have only got a couple of seconds to intervene, and so far they ain’t even so much as scratched me.”

The imp stabs at Caryk’s leg with his sting. There’s no way Caryk is going to fall for the same tactic three times in a row, and he manages to hop out of the way. The mysterious stranger adjusts his stance to take into account Kurychek’s new position, and his greatsword removes the imp’s head.

“No one would ever call my weapon puny,” he sni*g*gers.

At this point Gribron and Agatha stroll onto the scene. Agatha spots the five dead ‘city guards’ and the decapitated imp. “Oh,” she says.

Meanwhile, Gribron has spotted the stranger, who is carefully wiping the blood of his greatsword. The man is has a chain shirt, a goatee and a smirk.

“Rantle!” says Gribron. “How are you doing? Haven’t seen you in a while.” He does his best to look cool in the presence of a man who is simultaneously a local folk hero and a leading light of the thieves’ guild.

“Hi Gribron,” replies Rantle. “I’ve been busy doing this and that, you know how it is.” The two of them start looting the corpses.

“I feel funny,” says Caryk.

“That’ll be the poison from the imp’s stinger,” replies Jonathan. “It causes numbness, paralysis, and sometimes even death. I’ve never seen it outside of laboratory conditions. Do you mind if I inspect your wounds?” 

“Feel free,” says Caryk, teeth gritted against the pain.

Jonathan pulls out some of the tools he took from the carpenter’s shop. “Lucky I’ve got my autopsy kit with me.” After a bit of poking around, he holds up a vial in the sunlight. “I think I’ve got enough to study, but if any more pus oozes out from your leg, please do me a favour and keep it for me.”

Surprisingly, Caryk is feeling better. He wanders over to the naked body of the imp, which the canny treasure hunters have left for last, and spots it has a ring on a chain around its neck. The ring is made of iron, and has the letter ‘G’ inscribed on it.

“Who do we know whose name starts with a G?” wonders Caryk. “Hang on a  minute. Gribron, where were you earlier?”

Gribron denies summoning an imp to attack Caryk, and then the tortle belatedly remembers his manners. He turns to Rantle.

“Thank you sir, for intervening when you did. It was lucky you were there to rescue us.”

“Not really luck,” replies Rantle. “I’ve been following you for a while. The word on the street is that you guys are planning to head to Seaquen. That’s where my sister is going, and I wanted to ask you to deliver a message to her from me.”

“Certainly, that’s the least we can do,” replies Caryk.

“Thanks,” says Rantle, handing over a sealed scroll. “If you should see her, either in Seaquen or on the way there, please give her this. She’s a fire mage. Accidentally burnt down a few of our homes over the years. Decided leaving the city would be good for her health. You’ll know her if you see her. Long red hair, likes wearing red robes, everything about her says fire mage. Its embarrassing really.

“Anyway, nice meeting you all. Can’t stop to chat. Got a city to save!” With one last grin, Rantle heads off down a nearby alley.

Our heroes decide that the best course of action is to return to the councillor’s house and sell their latest loot. 

Then, battered and bruised, they head for the temple of Olladra in order to avail themselves of what limited healing the over-worked clerics can provide. Solsus is disappointed to learn that the clerics do not consider healing his eagle to be a priority. The party spends the rest of the day and all of the night hiding in the cellar.

*Scene 3 – Herreman’s Barracks, Free City of Gate Pass*
_January 2nd, 8 am_

Captain Herreman turns out to be a half orc, whose bushy beard cannot hide his tusks. He is happy to help friends of his old employer, Councillor Menash. He still has the dagger Menash gave him the last time he went on an expedition; it is bright yellow and shaped like a partly peeled banana.

He glosses over the fact that the councillor’s note is dated yesterday. Timetables are prone to slip during wartime.

The heroes are restless at having to wait until sunset before joining Herreman’s patrol, and spend the time wandering the district’s streets looking for trouble. However, things are eerily quiet, and the day passes without incident. Ambar never turns up, so the party decides to leave without her.

*Scene 4 – The Forest Road, Outside the Free City of Gate Pass*
_January 2nd, 9 pm
_
It is getting dark, and our heroes decide to camp for the night.

Getting out of the city proved fairly straightforward in the end. Captain Herreman disguised the adventurers as members of his patrol, and they marched brazenly out of the city gate. Herreman explained to the gate guards that his patrol was seeking a Ragesian necromancer, who had been plundering graveyards in order to bolster the Ragesian Second Army.

Caryk was slightly disappointed to learn Herreman had invented the necromancer, and they wouldn’t actually be tracking him down.

As the heroes exited the city, a lone bell started ringing off to the west.

“That signal means they are letting the inquisitors into the city,” said Herreman gloomily.

“At least we are safely outside,” replied Gribron.

*Act 4 - the Gauntlet
Scene 1 – The Forest Road, Outside the Free City of Gate Pass*
_January 3rd  , 11 am_

The forest road runs for thirty miles before it reaches the indomitable Fire Forest of Innendotdar. There are a few people living in the region, so the road sees some local traffic, but the forest is viewed as an impenetrable barrier so there is no passing trade.

Thanks to their disguise as members of Herreman’s patrol, the heroes (except Solsus) have light warhorses, and they make good time along the road. The road itself is the only convenient route for travel; the terrain on either side is rugged and the road is bordered by cliff walls which rise forty or more feet  in the air. It’s a good spot for an ambush.

Caryk and Solsus spot movement up ahead. A couple of shadowy humanoid figures, high up on the cliff to the right of the road, have darted back into the undergrowth.

Solsus flies off to investigate, while Caryk dramatically falls off his horse.

“Ow, ow, ow,” says Caryk. “I have just fallen off my horse. The fall has winded me, and I may have twisted my ankle. Let us rest here for a moment while I get my breath back.” The horse seems, if anything, relieved to be rid of his clumsy rider.

“You useless friggin’ tortle,” says Agatha, playing along (maybe).

Solsus spots the humanoid figures from the air. They are humans. They have crossbows slung across their backs, but have no weapons drawn. Secure in their hiding place, they can neither see nor be seen from the road.

Moving further down the road, Solsus spots a side passage, clumsily camouflaged by a pile of rubble. Three horsemen are waiting behind the rubble, and it seems to Solsus that a skilled rider could get his mount over the obstruction and on to the road.

He flies back to the others, and the party quickly concocts a plan. It never occurs to anyone to bemoan the absence of Torrent and her trusty wand of cure light wounds.

No-one feels comfortable fighting form horseback, so the horses are quickly hobbled. Solus moves into position above the enemy horsemen, and Gribron creates an illusion of the party, on horseback, moving along the road. The illusion lacks the appropriate sound effects, but if all goes according to plan that won’t be an issue.

Once the illusion arrives opposite the enemy horsemen, Jonathan hurls a thunderstone at it. His throw falls short, but that isn’t the point of the exercise.

Startled by the loud bang, the two human scouts poke their heads out from cover. One of them is amazed to see the party has somehow managed to sneak past their position, and reaches into his pouch to throw a thunderstone in order to signal the horsemen to attack. Gradually it occurs to him that the bang he has just heard will do the job equally well, and elects instead to blow a loud blast on the horn hanging around his neck.

His partner is more alert, and spots the real party lurking some thirty feet back down the road. He whips out his crossbow, and more by luck than judgement his bolt hits Agatha.

Hearing what they believe to be the signal, two of the horsemen spur their steeds across the rubble. This is what Solsus has been waiting for, and he drops a thunderstone on top of them. The horsemen do well to control their mounts under such conditions, and engage Gribron’s illusion in hand to hand.

The third rider, better equipped than the rest, hangs back, and fires an arrow at the illusionary Caryk. His aim is true, but the arrow passes straight through its target. Realising his men are fighting an illusion, the man shouts a warning – but they are suffering from the effects of Solsus’s thunderstone, and his words literally fall on deaf ears.

Caryk hurls a javelin at the man who shot Agatha. Agatha, looking for revenge, walks up the side of the cliff and launches an eldritch blast at the same target. Their victim is badly injured, but still on his feet. His comrade helps him back from his exposed position on the edge of the cliff – and both of them are suddenly attacked by an eagle which hurls itself at them out of the sky.

Solus hits the mounted archer with a well aimed sling stone. The man guides his horse carefully into the road and scans the sky for his hidden opponent, but to no avail.

One of the horsemen slashing at Gribron’s illusion suddenly realises he has been tricked.  Looking around for the guilty mage, he spots Gribron some distance down the road and charges towards him. Gribron is struck by the rider’s sword, but manages to maintain his concentration on the illusion, thereby keeping the other rider occupied.

Another rider appears around a bend in the road. This man is wearing plate armour, and seems oddly familiar. Some of the party recognise him as the leader of the bounty hunters who attacked them in the Poison Apple Pub on New Year’s Eve.

Gribron decides to drop his illusion spell, and launches a blast of coloured rays at the horseman facing him. The man is able to cover his eyes in time to avoid the effect, but his horse collapses to the ground, spilling the rider.

Always happy to kick a man when he’s down, Jonathan fires a blast of lightning at the unhorsed man, ending all of his problems.

Meanwhile, the eagle and the uninjured scout fight an inconclusive battle on the cliff top. The other scout, badly injured but grateful for his partner’s bravery, takes the opportunity to flee.

More stones rain down on the mounted archer’s head, but he ignores them and fires two well aimed shots at Gribron. Both arrows strike home almost simultaneously, and Gribron collapses, badly injured.

Already freed from the illusion, the other horseman gain confidence from the appearance of his heavily armoured comrade. The two of them charge towards Caryk, who goes down under their combined attack. Agatha, still half way up the cliff wall, tries to blast the horsemen but her aim is poor.

Jonathan senses something unusual about the armoured rider. The air is shimmering in front of him, almost as if he had called upon the power of his mind to create a screen of force to protect himself from physical attacks. Shrugging, Jonathan aims a bolt of lighting at the rider; he can’t miss a target encased in so much metal, but the man is tough in enough to remain in the saddle.

Caryk, down but not out, crawls over to the fallen Gribron and fumbles around in his pack for a healing potion. He is dismayed to see a couple more crossbowmen have appeared around the bend in the road. “How many of these guys are there?” he wonders. He carefully pours the potion into Gribron’s mouth. Some of his comrade’s wounds heal, but he does not recover consciousness.

Jonathan and Agatha concentrate their attacks on the armoured rider, but they can’t bring him down. The man swings his greatsword in a mighty blow at Jonathan’s head. There seems to be no way the scholar can avoid being decapitated, but instinctively he gathers the last reserves of his mental energy and manages to absorb some of the force of the blow. Despite this, he still crumples to the ground, covered in blood. He’s not a pretty sight, but he’s still breathing – at least for the time being.

On the plus side, up on the cliff, Solsus’s eagle finally finishes off its opponent.

Solsus, sensing Jonathan has used up the last reserves of his power – or possibly just not liking the guy – elects to help Caryk instead. Calling on the power of nature, he boosts the tortle’s metabolism, dramatically speeding up his natural healing process and enabling him to get to his feet.

Seeing Caryk clamber to his feet, the crossbowmen knock him back down again with some well aimed bolts.

This leaves Agatha, the invisible Solsus, and his eagle, against three mounted opponents and three crossbowmen.

“Surrender, and I give my word you will not be harmed,” says the armoured man to Agatha.

“Screw you,” she replies, and fires one more eldritch blast at him. The blow strikes him in the temple, and he falls from his horse. Then, still not fancying the odds, she walks over the top of the cliff and out of sight.

The mounted archer rides over to the scene of the carnage, the crossbowmen trotting along behind him as best they can. He glances over the bodies with a practised eye.

“That one will live,” he says, pointing at Gribron. “I think the ugly one already fed him a potion.” He turns his attention to Caryk. “Officially there isn’t a bounty on this lump, but he seems to have some sort of magical healing ability – even now his wounds are closing slowly – so we might be able to get something for him.”

“This is the problem one,” he says, turning to Jonathan. He pulls a potion from his pouch and administers it to Jonathan. The scholar’s colour improves, but not by much. “Damn,” says the man.

“Is he dead, Renard?” asks one of the crossbowmen.

“No,” replies Renard, “but I’m gonna have to use up the other potion. What in the gods’ names was Kathor thinking of, swinging his dirty great sword at the guy’s head like that? We all know the inquisitors only pay for live mages, although it beats me what they want them for.”

He tosses a second potion to one of his men. “Tie him up, and then get him to drink this.”

“What about Kathor,” asks one of the men. “He’s still alive, but only just.”

“Thanks to him, I’ve already had to use up two healing potions. I’m not wasting any more on his mangy carcase. That damn aristocrat was never really one of us anyway. 

“Besides, the bounty splits better five ways than it does six.”

Jonathan Farrier recovers consciousness at about the same time Kathor dies of his wounds. Possibly he is still delirious, but it seems to him that for a second the air grows heavy, and something barely visible drifts out of Kathor’s body and flies away into the sky.


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## amethal (Aug 15, 2007)

No WotBS game yesterday (two players missing), so no update today sorry.

I hate to disappoint my loyal fan


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## Murasame (Aug 15, 2007)

*Fan(s)*

Add one more!


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## amethal (Aug 20, 2007)

Murasame said:
			
		

> Add one more!



Hi, glad you are enjoying it. The ratio of views to posts is sky high; I've got visions of literally hundreds of people reading the first couple of lines, then giving up in disgust.

The next session is tomorrow, I hope to post it Wednesday. In the meantime ....


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## amethal (Aug 20, 2007)

*Flashback  (Jonathan Farrier)*
_Beneath the Free City of Gate Pass
Some time ago_

No one knows how or why the man first discovered the Pool of Dreams, deep in the caverns beneath the city. Not even the man himself, for while it was a man who entered the pool, it was something else which emerged – something with no memory of its past existence.

****

The black-clad man moved from shadow to shadow, his booted feet making no sound on the rough cavern floor. The figure ahead, illuminated in the flickering torchlight – a sentry? a passer-by? – remained oblivious to his presence. 

Instinctively the man’s hands dropped to the hilts of the two long, wickedly curved knives at his belt. His self-control almost allowed himself to smile at his lapse in concentration, then he selected instead the heavy cosh. Carefully, he identified the exact spot he needed, then struck out from the shadows. His victim collapsed to the floor. 

No need to check for a pulse – the blow had struck home exactly as intended – but the man did so anyway. Never take any unnecessary short-cuts. The target was still alive. It was a risk, but killing him was a greater one.

The man continued on his way, moving like a ghost through the caverns, until he reached his destination. Ahead was a large, well lit cave, dominated by the pool at its centre. Some trick of the torch light, or possibly some phosphorescent fungus in its depths, gave the pool an odd blue sheen. A robed figure was sat in contemplation beside the pool, with his back to the entrance.

In fact, with his back directly opposite the exact centre of the entry passageway. The man appreciated the gesture, and in a gesture of his own made every effort to make no sound as he approached.

The robed figure turned as he got within twenty feet. “So?” he asked.

“Greetings,” replied the man. “Are you the one known as the Dreamcatcher?”

“My name is Vanguard. However, people have started calling me Dreamcatcher. Personally, I think Dream Chaser would be more appropriate, but one cannot chose one’s own nickname. And you are?”

“I have a number of aliases, and more than a few nicknames, but my mother called me Marten. I doubt she would recognise me these days.” In the brighter light, it could be seen that the whole left hand side of his face was badly scarred, and his left eye was missing. “My full name is Marten Larkins, and I share it with you so you will know how serious this conversation is.”

“What brings you here, into these caverns, Marten Larkins?”

“I heard a strange story, from an assassin called Sligo. He in turn heard it from a smooth skinned, youthful looking man who claimed to be called Hope. Apparently your pool can remove scars, make flesh whole and, most importantly, grant immortality. I wish to bathe in your pool.”

“And why should I let you? I choose my candidates carefully and, whilst I know nothing about you, I have an inkling that violence, rather than study, is your area of expertise.

“I appreciate that I may not be able to stop you. However, did Hope also happen to mention that those who bathe in the pool are reborn in mind as well as in body? As skilled as you may be now, you will lose all of this when you enter the pool, and it will take time for your new talents to develop. I may or may not be able to stop you now, but I will certainly be able to deal with you after you enter the pool.

“So, I repeat, why should I let you?”

Marten reached into his bag. “I did not come here empty handed. I have brought you a couple of gifts.” Carefully he pulled out two round objects, both of which seemed too large to fit in the bag. They were two severed heads, one of a fresh faced young man and the other of a scarred half orc.

“Sligo killed Hope in the end, after he had learned all he could from him, so your organisation is a man short. Later, I killed Sligo.”

“Was it necessary to decapitate the bodies?”

“Surely you’ve heard the expression ‘dead men tell tales’. Well, not without their heads they don’t.”

“And why did Sligo tell you this information?”

“Sligo was my partner. We shared everything, up until I decided the time was right to terminate our arrangement. Which brings me to my second point. I am not a nice man, to put it mildly. Once I’ve been in that pool, all my memories will be lost.” He fingered his eye socket absently. “All the bad experiences which have made me what I am will be washed away with them, and you can turn me into one of your peaceful scholars.”

“And if your previous, ah associates, should come looking for you, bringing chaos into my carefully built organisation?”

“None of them will recognise me without my scars. I got them a very long time ago. So, do we have a deal?”

“We have a deal.”

****

Vanguard, known as the Dreamcatcher, helped the figure out of the pool. The creature once known as Marten Larkins was no more. It was time for a new name.

“I thought we might call you Hope,” said the Dreamcatcher.

“No thanks,” replied his latest recruit. He thought for a moment. “I will be called Jonathan Farrier.”

Dreamcatcher snorted. “Why not just call yourself John Smith and be done with it?”

“Oh no, that wouldn’t be at all subtle.”

****

Dreamcatcher addressed the assembled scholars.

“I am very pleased with the progress you have all made in mastering the Power of Dreams. I flattered myself that it was due to my own teachings and example that you have been able to pick up techniques in mere weeks that it took me years to grasp.

“Thanks to my pride, it has taken me far too long to recognise the truth. The Power of Dreams is getting stronger. It is possible this is the result of all of us bathing in the pool, as if unlocking the power within us has attracted yet more power to us. Possibly there is some outside source, which may or may not have been awakened by our actions.

“Whatever the reason, my dreams of late have been filled with foreboding. I cannot escape the feeling that we are on the cusp of something major, and that it is strongly connected to the Power of Dreams.

“That is why I am asking you all to go forth into the world, and look for clues as to what is happening. I will contact you at regular intervals to see what you have to report.”

Jonathan Farrier, his mind awash with knowledge for which he lacked any kind of context, was delighted at this news.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 23, 2007)

Ooh. If I may risk mis-quoting Monte Cook, few things are better than hearing about how other gamers take your ideas and make them their own. I'm enjoying what I'm reading.

(The above is not a granting of permission for people to tell me about their characters. *grin*)


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## amethal (Aug 23, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Ooh. If I may risk mis-quoting Monte Cook, few things are better than hearing about how other gamers take your ideas and make them their own. I'm enjoying what I'm reading.



Glad to hear it. 

I wouldn't blame you if you were thinking "That's not how its supposed to go. You idiots are ruining my life's work."


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## amethal (Aug 23, 2007)

*Scene 2 – Bounty Hunter Camp*
_January 4th, 6 am_

Solsus carefully cuts his three companions’ bonds. Then he cuts a hole in the bandits’ supply tent, and liberates some weapons and equipment. Fortunately, the noise the bandits make preparing their breakfast covers any sound of his activities.

He then attempts to muddle the mind of the one guard, but the bounty hunter shrugs off the effect. The man has a puzzled look on his face, but doesn’t seem to realise what has just happened. Solsus then decides to adopt a different approach. He slaps the rump of one of the bandits’ horses. The horse jumps, and vocalises its outrage. 

This distracts the bounty hunters, and Caryk takes the opportunity to discard his severed bonds, leap to his feet and attack. This is the signal for Agatha to appear at the top of the cliff and fire a blast of eldritch energy at one of the guards.

A night spent tied up is not the ideal preparation for a morning’s battle. However, Jonathan Farrier has recovered some of his mental energy, and uses it to cloak himself in what appears to be black, glowing armour.

Gribron too has a trick up his sleeve. He utters a droning incantation, and attracts the attention of 3 of the bounty hunters. They seem fascinated by his actions, and he takes the opportunity to suggest everything is getting scary, and they’d be better lie down until the danger has passed. Under the circumstances, that doesn’t seem like a reasonable course of action and they decline.

Ambar appears at the entrance to the camp, and looses off a well aimed crossbow bolt.

The bounty hunters are unable to come up with a coherent strategy. Their leader, the man called Renard, reaches for his longbow and looses a shot at Caryk. His nearest sidekick shoots at Agatha. One of the guards rushes Ambar, and the other two close with Caryk.

Solsus gets out his sling, and his eagle swoops into the fray.

Caryk and the eagle manage to dispose of the two guards in melee with them. Jonathan Farrier drops the archer with a staggering blast of mental energy, and Ambar and her opponent trade blows.

Renard is dismayed by the way the battle is turning, but before he can act Gribron strikes him with a vivid cone of clashing colours. He is blinded by the glare, and Caryk steps up and fells him with a mighty blow.

The remaining bounty hunter moves past Ambar and makes a run for it. Unfortunately for him, he can’t outrun Solsus’s sling and suffers the same fate as all the rest.

To be on the safe side, Jonathan Farrier decapitates the corpses.

One of the tunnel gates has a new lock on it. A thorough search of the camp turns up the key. Inside is a sad sight – a man and a cat who have died of exposure. The man seems to be wearing a shroud of some sort. Caryk takes it. It is radiating magic, and if anything its aura grows stronger when they bury the unfortunate man.

Renard’s chain shirt is also enchanted. After a long discussion, Gribron gives way and allows Ambar to have it.

They also find a note. Apparently an inquisitor called Boreus will be passing through on his way to collect a wizard, and the bounty hunters can hand over any prisoners to him.

This stirs a chord in Jonathan’s memory. He recalls that a wizard called Haddin apparently lives in a farm on the outskirts of the Fire Forest. Haddin had a brother, who was a bad lot. One day the brother apparently turned over a new leaf, but it eventually emerged this was due to Haddin influencing him with magic. This sparked a rush of people who came forward and blamed Haddin’s influence for all manner of things they had done and later regretted.

Haddin moved out to the remote farm in disgust, and rumour has it he burned his spellbook.

The party decide this would be a good spot to ambush Inquisitor Boreus, but then it occurs to them that he will no doubt have a retinue – a large retinue, if he’s after a notorious wizard like Haddin. Maybe it would be better to get to Haddin first, and take out the inquisitor together.


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## amethal (Aug 30, 2007)

I've realised I've messed up the Act numbering, so I'll correct it.

In the mean time, here's the next installment. Only 3 characters reduced to negative hit points this week .....


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## amethal (Aug 30, 2007)

*Act 5 – The Inquisitor*
_Scene 1 – Haddin’s Farm, Edge of the Fire Forest
January 4th, 5 pm_

The Fire Forest is very close now. The air seems warmer, and the sky has a reddish glow.

A young woman is standing in the road.

[Seventh session ends.]

As the party approach, the young woman says vacantly, “The Scourge comes, and the skulls of the dragon pursue you. I saw it in a dream.” Then she shakes her head and seems to recover her senses.

Jonathan is intrigued by this strange young woman, who seems to be exhibiting some talent with the Power of Dreams. However, if anything she seems to have more in common with the dead bounty hunter, Kathor, than with the organised agents of Dreamcatcher.

“Who are you,” asks Caryk.

“My name is Crystin. My father and I live in a farm nearby. I have dreamt that the Inquisitors will be coming to kill him, but he won’t leave. Would you be willing to convince my father to leave, and take us with you?”

“We will do what we can,” says Caryk. “We have information that an inquisitor named Boreus is coming to collect a man called Haddin.”

“That’s my father.”

Crystin and Haddin live in a small stone farmhouse, on a slight rise to the left of the road. Off to one side is a dilapidated barn. There are also a pair of stone cairns, marking the graves of Haddin’s wife and brother.

Haddin turns out to be a sick old man, who coughs constantly. Living for many years on the edge of the fire forest has damaged his lungs. The man is adamant about staying to fight the inquisitor.

The party tries to come up with a plan. They are short on magical resources, but should have the element of surprise. 

Gribron proposes luring the inquisitor into the farmhouse.

“Either Haddin could stand outside the farmhouse, or I could create an illusion of Haddin. I suppose we should go for the real thing. If he dies I guess we’ll know I should have used the spell.”

Haddin takes umbrage at this. “Disrespect me in my own house will you, you little whippersnapper?” He makes a few arcane gestures with his hands, and Gribron falls silent. Solsus realises that he has somehow enchanted their comrade. Carefully he and Caryk convince the old man to release the spell. They will need Gribron in full control of his faculties when the fight comes.

Uncharacteristically chastened, Gribron proposes they keep the front door open, whilst he creates an illusion of a shut door with Haddin outside it. Jonathan spikes the back door shut. Solsus goes outside to keep watch. The rest of the party take up positions in the living room, by the door, whilst Haddin and his daughter hide in separate bedrooms.

After a short while, Solsus spots a large group heading for the farmhouse. Its hard to make out details at this range, but there appears to be four large figures, two smaller figures and half a dozen or so creatures which move swiftly but with the shambling gait of undead.

When they get closer, Solsus makes out four orcs, two goblins and six animated human skeletons. One of the orcs pulls out a scroll and casts a spell from it, but Solsus is too far away to recognise it. This orc, who appears to be in charge, gestures towards the goblins.

One of them heads over to the barn, and climbs onto the roof. The other sneaks towards the front door. Solsus reports back to the others, then flies to the barn.

Gribron creates his illusion of Haddin, which fools the goblins. The one on the barn roof fires off a deadly accurate crossbow bolt, which strikes “Haddin” in the head. Concentrating, Gribron has “Haddin” stagger inside and shut the “door”. The second goblin pulls out some lock picks and moves stealthily towards the illusionary door. The skeletons wait patiently behind him, with the four orcs standing some way behind them.

Solsus fires off a sling bullet at the goblin on the barn. It strikes home, and the goblin lets out a muffled curse. Glancing around, there is no sign of where the stone came from. The only target is Solsus’s eagle, which clearly doesn’t have a sling. However, lacking any other target, the goblin decides to take out his anger on the eagle. He is gratified when the bolt strikes home, but somewhat surprised that the bird doesn’t fall from the sky. Instead, the infuriated eagle swoops down and attacks.

Meanwhile, the other goblin has reached the “closed door”. He can’t see through the illusion, but he is a sitting target for the people inside the house. Agatha hits him with her eldritch blast, then Ambar steps forward and finishes him off with her longsword.

This is the signal for the skeletons to move forward to the door. Ambar and Caryk block their entry into the house. Caryk downs one of the skeletons before it can bring its scimitar to bear. Agatha blast another, but her piercing beams of eldritch energy are of little use against creatures made of bone.

Meanwhile Gribron, realising the illusion has served its purpose, casts a spell on the orcs. There is no immediate effect and the orcs, realising the front door is very congested, head around the back.

The orcs struggle with the back door. One of them decides to take a nap at this point, but is soon shaken awake by his comrade. The largest of the orcs makes short work of the door with his mighty two handed axe.

Gribron, having learnt from his near death experience the previous day, decides discretion is the better part of valour. Thin tendrils of mist start forming around him, obscuring him from view. However, the leader of the orcs has spotted this and channels dark power into himself. There is a loud slurping sound and Gribron is both amazed and horrified when the orc sucks the mist into himself as quickly as it appears.

Jonathan utters his usual “Cower, brief mortals!” Two of the orcs are shaken by his words including, surprisingly, the large orc with the greataxe. That particular orc was busy working himself into a frenzy, but Jonathan’s words still strike home. Agatha, switching targets from the resilient skeletons, adds injury to insult by blasting the large orc.

The orc shrugs off the attacks, and fells Gribron with a mighty blow from his axe. His way now clear, he moves into the cottage. He strikes a further blow at Agatha, but stumbles slightly on Gribron’s body and misses his target. Agatha retreats, and Ambar – likewise not wishing to test herself against the axe - hits the orc with a bolt from her crossbow.

At this point there is further mayhem at the front door. A muscular, grey skinned humanoid, has appeared from nowhere and hurled himself at the skeletons. Unfortunately, his ridiculously oversized greatsword smashes into the doorframe, rather than bone.

Jonathan decides the skeletons make a more appealing target than the orcs, and moves in to help Caryk. He brings his quarterstaff down on the skull of the nearest skeleton, but lacks the strength to knock it over.

Meanwhile, Solsus and his eagle are duelling with the goblin on top of the barn. The goblin is losing the fight, and looks like he’d prefer to retreat or surrender, but neither is an option this close to the ferocious glare of his orc master. 

The eagle pulls off the goblin’s ear in its beak. Howling in agony, the goblin staggers backwards and falls off the side of the barn. Solsus turns to the eagle, ear in its beak, and smiles. “I think I’ll call you Jaws,” he says.

Solsus heads over to the back door, but his injured eagle declines to accompany him. This reminds Solsus that he has the party’s only magical healing item, and he delays his return to his hard pressed comrades even further in order to heal his companion with Torrent’s wand. However, even fully healed the eagle has had enough fighting for one day, so Solsus sets off alone.

At the front door, the newcomer downs one of the remaining skeletons.

“Thanks mate, whoever you are,” says Caryk. “I can handle the rest of these skeletons. Would you mind heading round to the back and dealing with the orcs?”

The stranger grunts his assent, then heads round the side of the house to the back door to confront the orcs..

Once he reaches a safe distance from the back door, Solsus launches a sling bullet at the unarmoured orc leader. However, there is some kind of force protecting him, and the stone ricochets off and strikes one of his henchmen. The second orc is well protected by banded mail, and takes no damage.

Either this or the appearance of a lunatic with a big sword is enough to encourage the orcs to get out of the line of fire. They enter the farmhouse in single file, with the leader in the middle.

Caryk, Ambar and Agatha make short work of the remaining skeletons. Ambar  decides to take a breath of fresh air, leaves the building and climbs onto the roof.. Caryk steadies himself, and heads towards the four orcs. Ambar and Jonathan, against their better judgement, go with him. The orc leader touches the raging, axe wielding orc in front of him, and some of his wounds close.

Then orc leader howls some words of power, and a sheet of flame erupts from his fingers. Ambar dodges out of the way, but cannot avoid being scorched. Caryk is even less lucky, and takes the full brunt of the fire.

Badly injured, Caryk has no choice but to withdraw from the fight. Unfortunately, he drops his guard as he does so and one of the other orcs fells him with his axe.

The newcomer has arrived at the back door in time to see Caryk fall. Howling in rage, he seems to grow bigger and stronger, filling the narrow corridor leading from the back door. His mighty sword now seems the right size for him, and he fells the nearest orc.

This encourages Jonathan and Ambar, and between them they bring down the big barbarian. This leaves them face to face with the orc leader and his remaining henchman. In their injured state, they decide to retreat. One of the orcs follows them, and takes out Jonathan with his axe. He is the third of the party to fall, but there are only two remaining orcs. The orc leader opens the nearest door, and spots Haddin. Letting out a cry of triumph, he closes with the wizard and slashes him with his claws. The other orc protects the door.

Solsus flies into the cottage, and assesses the situation. Caryk seems to have the most life threatening injuries, so Solsus heals him with the wand. Caryk climbs to his feet, and re-enters the fray.

The large newcomer squeezes his way towards the action, and helps Caryk to take out the orc guard. The two of them then move to help Haddin, but the remaining orc is the toughest of the lot. It looks like nothing can stop the fanatical orc from finishing off the old man, but then Agatha appears in the doorway and blasts the orc in the back of the head with a bolt of eldritch energy. Slowly, it crumples to the ground.

“My, what a mess,” says Solsus. “I seem to be the only one who isn’t hurt. Isn’t it ironic that I’m the one with the healing wand.” Methodically he starts healing everyone.

“Thanks for your help, friend. What’s your name?” says Caryk to the newcomer.

“Glad I could help out. I hate those pesky undead. My name is B’Roos.”

Once they have all recovered, Crystin starts cleaning up the shambles that is her home. Haddin is more determined than ever to stay, since the threat has apparently passed. The party try and encourage Crystin to abandon her father and come with them, but she won’t leave without them.

Jonathan and Solsus look at her carefully. It is slowly dawning on them that she is suffering under some sort of enchantment effect, similar to that Haddin used on Gribron. For some reason her lack of free will seems to make Jonathan particularly upset.

Diplomacy having failed, the party decide its time to get tough with Haddin. While Crystin is out of earshot, they make it plain to him that she will be coming with them, one way or another.

Haddin denies enchanting his daughter, but recognises the implied threat in their words. Reluctantly, he agrees to accompany them through the fire forest.

The party spend the day at the farmhouse and set off the next morning.

_Scene 2 – Shrine of Aurean, Edge of the Fire Forest
January 5th, 9 am_

There is a small shrine, dedicated to Aurean, at the edge of the forest.

The elderly priest is pleased to see visitors.

“This used to be a busy shrine, when the road still had traffic,” he says. “Nowadays, I see hardly anybody. Still, there was a group came through yesterday. They were going to brave the Fire Forest. I think one of them was a wizard; probably worried about inquisitors.”

“I’m surprised to see a shrine in this out of the way place,” says Gribron.

“It wasn’t out of the way before the fire,” replies the priest. “Forty years ago, that was. I don’t suppose any of you were born then. Coaltongue was still the Emperor, of course, but he was still forming his reputation. Ragesia and Shahalesti were squaring up to one another – some things never change – but the elves in the forest wanted to remain neutral.

“It wasn’t a time for neutrality. The Ragesians set the forest alight – that Coaltongue, he did love a good fire. For some reason, it has continued to burn ever since.”

All except Caryk thank the priest for his time, and move back onto the road.

Caryk, however, seems particularly touched by the shrine. He fingers the holy symbol around his neck, and comes to a conclusion.

“I’d like to make a donation to Aurean,” he says.

“That’s very kind of you,” says the priest, tactfully not commenting on Caryk’s dishevelled appearance.

“Great,” says Caryk, dropping his axes, spears, javelins, quarterstaff and other assorted weaponry at the priest’s feet. He then removes all his pouches, sacks and backpacks. After a few second’s thought, he reclaims the quarterstaff, and a sack which contains one day’s rations, and heads out to rejoin the others.

““Fire Forest, here we come,” he says.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 30, 2007)

I think someone took the Vow of Poverty feat.

And my apologies for having the stable in the map not actually face the front of the house as mentioned in the text. Sounds like you're having fun, though. How recently did you finish this part of the adventure?


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## amethal (Aug 30, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> I think someone took the Vow of Poverty feat.
> 
> And my apologies for having the stable in the map not actually face the front of the house as mentioned in the text. Sounds like you're having fun, though. How recently did you finish this part of the adventure?



You might be right ...

Regarding the stable, I just told them the goblin on the roof could cover the front and back doors of the farmhouse, regardless of what it might look like from the map.

I'm having lots of fun. The players seem to be as well, although I think they'll be glad there aren't any more EL 7 encounters for a while.

We finished it Tuesday night, and got a little way into the forest - I've written up that bit but no point posting at the moment.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 30, 2007)

I encourage you to be a little less heavy-handed with the second adventure than its text may imply. A lot of folks were irritated with the railroadiness of having one path they can go down. If I could do it again, I'd have it so the road is clearly the _fastest_ route, but that the PCs' protection from fire is strong enough to let them pass through the forest by other routes if they want.


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## amethal (Aug 30, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> I encourage you to be a little less heavy-handed with the second adventure than its text may imply. A lot of folks were irritated with the railroadiness of having one path they can go down. If I could do it again, I'd have it so the road is clearly the _fastest_ route, but that the PCs' protection from fire is strong enough to let them pass through the forest by other routes if they want.



Funnily enough, my players like a bit of gentle rail roading, so I don't anticipate any problems.

However, I'll certainly mention to them that the burning undergrowth isn't actually as dangerous as it might first appear. Thanks for the hint!


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## Haunted (Aug 31, 2007)

Excellent story, Amethal. 

And good work on the adventure, Wickett.  It sounds fun.


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## amethal (Sep 5, 2007)

Haunted said:
			
		

> Excellent story, Amethal.
> 
> And good work on the adventure, Wickett.  It sounds fun.



Thanks for the feedback. Glad you are enjoying it.

Here's the next installment.


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## amethal (Sep 5, 2007)

*The War of the Burning Sky

The Indomitable Fire Forest of Innenotdar*
_Cast of Characters_

Agatha
Ambar
B’Roos
Caryk
Gribron
Jonathan Farrier
Solsus (and Jaws)

Crystin
Haddin (her father)

*Act 1 – The Elfroad*

*Flashback – Caryk*
_Temple of Dol Dorn, Free City of Gate Pass
November 22nd, 11 am_
Torrent stood on the temple steps and looked at the scaly figure before her. Never before had she seen such an impressive collection of axes and javelins.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” she asked.

“My name is Caryk, Madam,” came the reply. “I’m a tortle. I have a letter of introduction to priestess Torrent of the Temple of Dol Dorn. In the Free City of Gate Pass,” he added, unnecessarily.

“That’s me,” said Torrent. “A letter from who?”

“Ambassador Ornaldo, Madam. He’s also a tortle. Like me.”

“Okay, I get the whole tortle thing. Come inside and give me the letter.” She strode off into the temple, and slow moving Caryk struggled to keep up.

“The thing is,” said Caryk, “most people say things like ‘what the heck are you’ when they first meet me. I like to get it out of the way early on.”

Once inside her small office, Torrent opened the letter. She didn’t recognise the seal, but there were only a handful of tortles in Gate Pass.

The letter read :-

“Temporary Tortle Embassy
Free City of Gate Pass
November 22nd

Dear Priestess Torrent,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. You may remember that we met last summer at the Lyceum, in Seaquen, on which occasion we had a very interesting discussion on the subject of politics.

Since then, I have had the honour of being appointed as ambassador for my people in your fine city of Gate Pass. The purpose of my embassy was to try and broker a treaty between the Ragesian Empire, the Shining Land of Shahalesti and the Free City of Gate Pass.

We tortles, whilst being nominally subject to Shahalesti, are often asked to act as intermediaries in such matters. Alas, my embassy has been a failure, largely due to the turmoil caused by the unfortunate death of Emperor Coaltongue, and I will shortly be heading east to the tortle lands in Shahalesti.

However, my nephew Caryk, who previously served as one of my retinue, will be remaining in the city and, if it would not presume too much on our acquaintance, I would like to recommend him to your service.

He is hardy and resilient, and has a good heart. However, he can be somewhat naïve and impetuous, and I feel he has reached a crossroads in his life.

In his youth, he showed great promise in the field of religious knowledge, and he was accepted as a student at the Monastery of the Two Winds by the Master of the West Wind himself, Longinus.

It was hoped that his time at the monastery would enable him to overcome his one vice, that of greed. Unfortunately, this was not the case. He also suffered a crisis of religious faith. Our family has long revered Aureon, God of Sages, and Caryk followed us in that faith. However, for whatever reason, his time at the monastery has caused him to doubt the teachings of the Sovereign of Law and Lore.

Longinus himself sent Caryk home to his people. He sent a kind letter, explaining he saw great potential in Caryk, but that until he was in better spiritual health there was nothing further he could learn there.

When I was given the honour of the post of ambassador, I took Caryk with me in the hope that, if religion was no longer appropriate, perhaps he could find a vocation in politics. However, his naiveté has proved a serious handicap, and now I am forced to return home in failure.

I recommend Caryk to you in the hope that you can find a place for him in your organisation, and that under your guidance, whilst experiencing the unique mixture of religious and political activity you undertake, Caryk can finally achieve his potential.

Your sincerely,

Ornaldo
Sometime ambassador to the Free City of Gate Pass”

Torrent turned to Caryk.

“So, you want a job?”

“Yes, Madam,” replied Caryk.

“Why didn’t you just say so? We can always use an extra pair of hands, especially at the moment. Now, what do you know about the Resistance?”


*Scene 1
The Indomitable Fire Forest of Innenotdar
January 5th, 10 am*
The nine figures follow the road as it enters the Fire Forest. The potions they have taken protect them from the worst effects of the heat, but they can still feel its withering touch. They are covered by the acrid smoke, which reduces visibility to a few feet.

Occasional gusts of wind clear the smoke, allowing the party to see the charred and blackened road as it runs ahead of them, but also fanning the flames into greater fury.

Haddin is the worst affected, coughing and spluttering almost constantly, but it is not a pleasant experience for anyone.

There is something strange about the flames. The fires burning in the undergrowth alongside the road seem strangely subdued in comparison to those above and behind. As the party moves along the road, the area of relative calm seems to be moving with them.

Suddenly Crystin stops.

“Eyes! A pair of dragon eyes. Looking at us from the flames. Looking at me.” She starts to sway.

“More eyes. Eyes in the fire! Eyes everywhere. Thousands of eyes.” She faints.

Whilst Caryk helps her back to her feet, the others scan the surroundings. There is no sign of any eyes watching them, draconic or otherwise.

“Is she mad?” asks Agatha.

“Possibly,” replies Jonathan, “but I think she’s had a premonition.”

There’s no sign of what may have triggered her fit, so they continue onwards. Solsus tries to scout ahead, but the flames seem to intensify the further he gets from the others, so in the end he keeps close to the rest of the party.

He is the first to spot three charred, smouldering bundles in the road. Jonathan identifies them as humanoid remains, possibly human. They are basically a collection of bones, with scraps of blackened flesh hanging off them. Various metal items surround the bodies – the clasp from a large book, some daggers, some coins and a spiked chain.

Carefully, Jonathan pokes around with his quarterstaff. The party know better than to touch the metal items, which must be blisteringly hot, and as there does not seem to be anything else of interest they start to move on.

At that moment, one of the bodies moves. How this flaming, agonised creature can manage to move is a mystery, and one Jonathan does not intend to investigate, He whips out his crossbow and shoots the creature in the head. “Thaaank youuu,” it whispers, and slumps back into a heap. 

[Session ends]

A couple of miles into the forest, the party hears chittering and swooping in the branches overhead. A small, winged figure falls from the trees, and bumps into the surprised Gribron. The creature recovers quickly, and moves behind Gribron, making sure the man is between it and whatever has been chasing it through the forest.

Hard on its heels is a massive, fiery bat. The bat tries to gulp up its victim, but connects with Gribron instead. In keeping with his recent run of bad luck, Gribron takes the full force of the bat’s fiery bite, and collapses to the ground. The creature sheltering behind him curses in common.

“Why are you lying down? Get up! Get up!” it squeaks, before giving up on Gribron and taking cover behind Ambar. The bat hurtles past the party, and then swings back after its target. This time its bite hits its intended victim – but unlike the hapless Gribron its target is not bothered by the flames, and seems able to resist some of the force of the blow.

Ambar, Gribron and B’Roos move to engage the bat, which proves surprisingly agile for a creature of its size. Solsus tends to Gribron; a quick use of the healing wand has the man back on his feet.

Jonathan studies the bat’s target. “Hmm, a fire mephit. I wonder what its doing here? Anyway, better deal with that fiery dire bat first.” He unleashes a bolt of mental energy at the bat, which reels from the impact but does not go down.

Gribron, seeking to protect the mephit, creates an illusionary double of the creature in the hope of confusing the bat. City boy that he is, he doesn’t realise that bats don’t rely on sight when hunting their prey, so he is somewhat surprised when the bat ignores the silent illusion. Fortunately, the rest of the party were not depending on him to save the day, and the bat falls under a flurry of blows.

Solsus eyes the still-smouldering corpse, then turns his attention to the mephit. The creature has plucked a burning branch from a nearby tree, and is applying it to its injuries. The wounds start to slowly close up where the heat touches them.

“How long have you been in the forest?” asks Solsus.

“Are you trying to chat me up?” replies the mephit. 

“Of course not,” replies Solsus huffily. “That would be far too frivolous.”

“I’m here on holiday. Been here a week, the forest is a great place.”

“Why was the bat chasing you?”

“It was hungry. Thanks for rescuing me guys. Much appre… uh oh …”

The smouldering corpse of the dire bat suddenly re-kindles, and the bat bursts back into life. Single-mindedly, it heads once more for the mephit, who darts behind Solsus. However, the reborn bat’s maiden flight comes to an abrupt end on the blade of B’Roos’s sword.

This time its remains turn to ash, and stay that way.

“Right, I’ll be off,” says the mephit. “Be careful of the burning animals, and don’t annoy the forest. Its like its alive in some weird way.” The little creature flies off into the undergrowth.

Ahead, the road arrives at a gorge some fifty feet wide and sixty feet deep. A charred stone bridge crosses the gorge. Its sides are guarded by stone railings, but at one point in the centre of the bridge the railings on the right hand side are missing. The surface of the bridge is heavily cracked in this area, and looks none too safe.

Solsus takes a look at the bottom of the bridge. It appears there are dozens of tiny fires burning underneath it. He turns himself invisible and flies off to investigate.

The tiny fires turn out to be a colony of fiery bats which are nesting on the underside of the bridge. Individually they are all much smaller than the monster bat the party has just defeated, but they more than make up for it by weight of numbers. The bats swarm out and engulf Solsus before he can react. His burning body drifts down into the gorge, but fortunately his fall is broken by a gorse bush.

Agatha winces.

“What’s happening?” asks Gribron.

“The fiery bats just hurt Solsus. He’s landed in a gorse bush, which must be doubly painful. He’s lucky he was wearing his trousers.”

“How could the bats see him?” asks Gribron. “He was invisible.”

“There’s no time for a nature lesson at the moment,” says Agatha, and walks down the side of the gorge to retrieve Solsus’s body.

Meanwhile the host of bats has headed towards the rest of the party. B’Roos and Caryk stand their ground, whilst the rest beat a hasty retreat. The bats head for B’Roos. He slices through their ranks with his mighty sword, killing many bats, but the rest swarm over him, biting and burning as they go. 

Disorientated, B’Roos can only try and stagger out from underneath them. Caryk comes to his aid, assisted by missile fire from Jonathan, Ambar and Gribron. Their combined efforts turn the bats into smouldering corpses, drifting on the breeze.

Agatha carries Solsus’s limp body up the cliff, and gives the healing wand to Caryk. The tortle can’t see Solsus, but pokes the wand hopefully where he thinks the pixie’s torso is. Agatha winces again as the wand makes contact with a tender spot, but the healing magic does its trick and the pixie recovers consciousness.

“While I was down there, I saw a wagon at the bottom of the gorge,” says Agatha. It must have gone off the side of the bridge where the railing is broken.”

Agatha and the irrepressible Solsus head back down into the gorge, and return with a metal chest. Inside there are a number of potions, a wand which could be the twin of Torrent’s healing wand, and a small amount of gold and gems.

“I’ll have a go at identifying the potions,” says Solsus, “although its not really my area of expertise.”

“Oh give them here,” says Haddin irritably. He casually inspects the potions. “A dozen potions of Stand the Heat,” he announces.

Solsus flies across the gorge and then back again, inspecting the bridge as he goes.

“The area in the middle doesn’t look safe, but the rest seems fine,” he says. “I suggest we cut up planks from the wagon and use them to distribute your weight evenly across the shaky sections.”

The party quickly puts the plan into action, and soon has a supply of crude but serviceable planks.

B’Roos strolls across the bridge towards the weakened section, carrying an armful of planks. In order to cut down on his weight he has removed his armour. Caryk trails behind, carrying it.

It appears Solsus isn’t much of an engineer. One of the “safe” sections gives way beneath B’Roos’s feet, and he narrowly manages to save himself from a sixty foot plummet into the gorge below.

This leaves B’Roos in an awkward position, hanging onto the bridge by his fingers, with his legs dangling through a large hole in the floor.

“Stop clowning around,” says Haddin. “I don’t want to spend all week over a simple bridge crossing.”

B’Roos struggles to pull himself back onto the bridge, but with the help of Caryk pulling from above and Solsus pushing from below he eventually manages it.

“I probably should have thought of this earlier,” says Solsus, “but how about if I go ahead of you to test the bridge?” No sooner said than done, he sets off across the bridge.

“Solsus,” says Agatha, “it would probably be more use if you walked on the bridge, instead of flying just above it ….”

B’Roos makes it to the cracked section and lays down the planks. The group makes it across the bridge without further incident.

Some time later, Caryk and Solsus spot a small explosion ahead of the party. Solsus flies off to investigate, and returns with the news that a bearded figure is hiding in the undergrowth ahead of them. It has horns, a glaive and a certain devilish aspect to its countenance.

“Sounds like a bearded devil,” says Jonathan. “They are immune to fire, so would be right at home here in the forest.”

“He’s probably waiting to ambush us,” says Caryk. “Let’s move casually on the road until we are alongside him, then rush him.”

The party follow his plan, but as soon as they head towards the devil it vanishes in a pillar of fire.

“Probably teleported away,” suggests Jonathan. “We know that there’s some sort of fire effect burning up people who use teleportation magic, but that wouldn’t bother a devil. He could be anywhere.”

The party look around, but can’t see the elusive devil. Shrugging, they continue along the road.

Half an hour later, a large red dog steps out of the undergrowth ahead of them. It is carrying something in its mouth, which it then drops. The dog backs up and regards them expectantly.

“Looks like a hellhound,” says Jonathan. “Another creature that is not bothered by fire. I wonder what it dropped.”

“Only one way to find out,” replies Caryk, and heads towards the hellhound. Somewhat to his surprise, he realises it has dropped a bone. He picks it up, and reads aloud what has been inscribed on the bone in the Common tongue.

“Leave the case. Cooperate, and we might find an arrangement to spare your lives. Carry this with you if you wish to bargain.”

“What case?” asks Gribron.

“The case we got from Gate Pass, which we are carrying to Seaquen,” says Caryk impatiently. Arriving at decision, he hurls the bone over the hellhound’s head. “Fetch!”

The hellhound continues to stand and regard Caryk, but some party members think they detect a certain quizzical aspect to its gaze.

“Oh well, he might have fallen for it,” thinks Caryk, and charges the hellhound. The beast opens its jaws wide, and breathes out a cone of fire. Moving at full speed, Caryk nimbly manages to avoid the flames completely, and strikes the hellhound with his staff.

Its not clear whether the rest of the group are miffed by Caryk’s unilateral decision to attack the creature, but they wade into the fray with gusto. The beast quickly falls to a combination of sword blows, arrows and blasts of energy.

The party carry along the road, and some time later the clouds of smoke part in the wind and they spot the figure of the bearded devil standing in the road ahead of them.

“Greetings,” it says. “I see you are not carrying the femur. It appears you are not yet ready to listen to my terms. In that case, allow me to test your mettle.”

Five weird, pinkish blobs of matter rise from the ash on the side of the road, forming into vaguely humanoid shapes.

“That creature is the weakest,” declares the devil, pointing at Gribron with his glaive. “Kill him.” The creatures move forward in a line. Three of them swing blows at Gribron. The other two cannot reach him, so attack Ambar instead.

Gribron had readied a potion as soon as the devil appeared, and now he drinks it down. Uttering words of power, he summons a thick mist which shrouds and conceals the party but does not protect the devil’s minions. Then, calling upon the magical energies granted to him by the potion, he leaves the mist behind and takes to the air.

Ambar calls upon her own magical powers, and a shimmering shield of force appears in front of her, protecting her from attacks.

Cary steps into the spot vacated by Gribron, and strikes one of the creatures with his staff. It is not particularly nimble, and the modicum of protection provided by its tough skin is not enough to deflect the blow. However, mere wood proves not to be very effective against the creature’s fiendish flesh.

B’Roos, disdaining the lesser foes, charges towards the devil. Prudently, he has opted to use his shield in this encounter rather than swinging his sword two handed. However, in his enthusiasm he misjudges his blow and his sword thrust goes wide.

Jonathan Farrier, now shrouded in mist, cannot see any targets. The brief glimpse he was afforded of the devil’s minions was enough for him to identify them as lemures – pitiful creatures whose mindless nature means they will be immune to his mental attacks. 

Instead, Jonathan heads down the road until he is out of the mist, then sends a bolt of mental energy towards the devil. It strikes home, and the devil acknowledges the hit by saluting him briefly with his glaive. 

Smoothly, the devil then reverses the blade and with blinding speed slashes twice at B’Roos. The barbarian is knocked back by the force of the first blow, causing the second to miss. However, that one hit is enough to fell B’Roos.

Solsus, spotting B’Roos’s plight (and hoping the devil can’t detect invisible opponents) flies over to heal the barbarian. For once, however, his trusty wand of healing lets him down. There is a foul quality to the wounds which resists the magic; worse, the wounds are continuing to bleed. B’Roos will quickly bleed to death unless Solsus can do something.

“I guess I’ll have to do this the old fashioned way,” thinks Solsus. He pulls out his healing kit, and extracts some bandages and herbs. He carefully applies the herbs to the wound, and then bandages it up to stop the bleeding. 

The immediate danger has now passed, but it will take more than bandages to get B’Roos back on his feet. Solsus uses the wand once more. Charge after charge fizzles with no effect, but a few manage to overcome whatever foul force is in the wound, and slowly B’Roos is returned to health.

Gribron, flying safely above the fray, is momentarily at a loss as to how to combat the devil. Then he recalls the lantern archon they encountered in the depository in Gate Pass. He seems to remember that devils and archons don’t get along.

“So I’m the weakest, am I? Let’s see how you handle my archons, Beardy!” he yells at the devil. He then creates an illusion of three lantern archons behind the devil. They impudently pulsate with light in a way the devil finds particularly offensive. Snarling in rage it moves over to the nearest “archon” and slices it in two with his glaive. It is somewhat surprised by the ease with which its blow passes through the archon’s body, but its light dims in a particularly pleasing manner and the devil decides it was simply due to its own martial prowess.

Jonathan Farrier continues to aim mental blasts at the devil. The creature is better prepared now, but most of them still penetrate its defences. Despite this, the damage seems little more than an irritation.

Meanwhile, Ambar and Caryk are skirmishing with the lemures. Most of them have advanced into the mist, so are now benefiting from its concealment. The lemures are fairly easy to hit, but resistant to both longsword and quarterstaff. On the other hand, the lemures are finding it well nigh impossible to hit Caryk and  Ambar.

This stalemate is broken by Agatha, whose eldritch blasts seem to have little difficulty harming fiendish flesh, but even so it takes two or three strikes to finish one off.

The devil finishes off the second “archon”, and now seems to realise it has been tricked. It fixes its gaze on Jonathan Farrier, exposed at the edge of the mist, and gives an evil smile.

Desperately, Jonathan concentrates his remaining mental energy into one last blow. It penetrates the devil’s defences, but instead of dissipating to little effect like the previous attacks instead it penetrates deep into the devil’s psyche. The creature is visibly shocked by the mental onslaught, and its devilish life force has been substantially diminished.

“My compliments,” it says, and salutes Jonathan once more. “Until we meet again …” It vanishes in a plume of flame.

The departure of their master has not weakened the lemures. Ambar and Caryk continue to flail away ineffectually, until finally the spell which summoned them runs out and the lemures collapse into piles of ash once more.

Gribron dismisses his mist, and lands next to his comrades. “I don’t know about you guys, but I could really do with a rest now.”

Jonathan, exhausted by his heroic efforts, can only nod in agreement.


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## RangerWickett (Sep 12, 2007)

Will there be an update this week?


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## amethal (Sep 13, 2007)

*Scene 2*
_The Indomitable Fire Forest of Innenotdar
January 6th, 10 am_

The heroes spend an uncomfortable night camped in the Fire Forest, and the next morning they each take another potion of Stand the Heat. With their present numbers they need ten potions a day; thanks to the discovery of the wagon at the bottom of the gorge they have twelve potions remaining when they set out. If they are not out of the forest by the end of tomorrow people are going to start dying, but for the present spirits are reasonably high.

When they are roughly six miles into the forest, (with eleven miles to go), the curtains of flame which have been burning steadily at the side of the road suddenly kindle into life. The sides of the road have become dangerously warm, despite the magical protection afforded to the heroes.

Up ahead there is the glint of a river, and sharp-eyes Solsus can make out the shape of a bridge. Without warning, there is a loud cracking sound and several large trees collapse into the roadway, cutting off the view.

Cristin’s eyes glaze over, a sure sign she is having another vision. She turns towards Gribron. “Its not safe! Move. Move away!”

Gribron has had a hectic and painful couple of days, and has spent rather more time than he would have liked lying in a puddle of his own blood. He is grateful for at least receiving a warning on this occasion, and moves smartly away from his current position, to take up station near Agatha.

“Don’t stand next to me, you idiot,” she says. “I don’t want your accident prone carcase anywhere where I might get caught in the cross fire.”

“That’s not what you said last ….” he retorts, but the end of his sentence is drowned out by a sudden increase in noise from the nearby fires.

The flames reaching out from the trees at the side of the road coalesce into a searing spear of fire. With a noise like thunder it drives into the ground where Gribron had earlier been standing, and then splits into three living flames. These flames form themselves into shapes reminiscent of stags, and move to engage the party members.

Almost at the same time, a massive wall of flames appears on the road behind the party, completely blocking their escape route.

The road is now blocked by burning trees ahead, and a wall of fire behind. To make matters worse, the wall of fire starts moving along the road towards the party.

Solsus takes to the air, and engages the stags with his sling. The valiant Jaws also moves towards the fray, but Solsus waves him away. The eagle’s claws are unlikely to do much damage to creatures made of flame, but the consequences to the eagle of touching them would probably be severe.

The three stags move towards the two closest targets, B’Roos and Agatha. Their attacks seem highly co-ordinated, and both of our heroes are hit. Agatha’s clothing catches fire and she steps back to try and put out the flames.

Jonathan has been prepared for more attacks by fire creatures, and lets fly with a bolt of ice that strikes its target with a satisfying sizzle that leaves its flames much diminished.

Agatha puts out the flames surprisingly easily, unaware that the potion she has drunk is giving some protection to her equipment, and unleashes her eldritch blast on her attacker.

Gribron strikes another with a bolt of magical force – one of the signature spells of Gabal’s evokers. Ambar also calls upon a force effect, but hers is defensive in nature.

Caryk too is concentrating on defence. He whispers a swift prayer to Aurean, and shimmers slightly as he calls into being invisible armour to protect him.

All the party attempt to retreat from the moving wall of flames, but the stags move to block their path. One of the stags hits B’Roos, and he collapses into unconsciousness. The wall of flames will soon be upon him ….

Fortunately, Solsus has spotted his plight. Relying on the protection of his invisibility, he lands next to the stricken Goliath and is able to relieve his burns.

The party are not able to co-ordinate their attacks effectively; all three of the stags are damaged but none of them are down. Jonathan rectifies this with another bolt of ice, which is proving particularly potent against the fire creatures.

Caryk and B’Roos are both within range of the wall of fire. The extreme heat on its fringes would be damaging them even at this distance, were it not for their protections against heat. Fortunately, the pace of the wall’s advance has slowed somewhat. It is as if killing one of the stag creatures has somehow weakened the wall of fire. Whether this is just a temporary effect remains to be seen.

Most of those who are able move around the remaining two stags and withdraw towards the barricade of burning trees. Caryk and the newly healed B’Roos are in no mood for retreat, however, and Caryk strikes one of the stags a mighty blow with his staff.

Meanwhile, Gribron has been cut off, and despite Caryk’s best efforts it is Gribron the stags target.

“Typical”, thinks Gribron. “Every creature in this damn forest wants to get a piece of me.” One of the stags aims a ferocious blow with its antlers at Gribron’s head … only for Gribron to disappear and reappear ten feet further back. He is slightly singed from his short trip, but otherwise unharmed.

Solsus brings down the injured stag with his sling, and the wall’s rate of advance slows even further. Despite this, it seems the wall must engulf leaden footed Caryk. He and B’Roos swing at the sole surviving stag but to no avail.

Jonathan, sensing that the only hope of saving Caryk from a fiery death is to defeat the last opponent, pulls out all the stops and launches his most powerful ice bolt at the beast. Agatha, following his example, lets loose with an eldritch blast. The creature staggers, but does not go down, and Caryk watches helplessly as the flames reach for him ….

There is a slight “phut” sound as a pencil thin beam of ice strikes the stag. It looks down in dismay, then follows the line back to an anxious looking Gribron. The frosty touch of Gribron’s ray proves too much to bear, and the stag collapses into a pile of ash – as does the wall of fire.

“Interesting,” says Jonathan. “I’ve never seen a wall of fire move like that, and it seemed somehow to be connected to those stags. Which are unusual in themselves. They seemed to be pretty standard fire elementals to me, but I wonder why they chose to assume the form of stags. What do you think, Caryk?”

“Huh?” replies Caryk. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening. I was too busy checking nothing important had been burned off. What did you say?”

Jonathan’s reply is drowned out by a whispering in the trees. Snatches of words seem to come from all directions, growing louder, and louder until finally a booming voice yells out, “KNOW THIS! I AM THE FLAME AND I AM A PRISONER HERE. SAVE ME FROM THE PRISON OF ENFORCED FLESH, AND YOU MAY CONTINUE TO YOUR DESTINATION. REFUSE, AND NEVER SHALL YOU LEAVE THIS WOOD. YOU SHALL BE A PRISONER FOR AS LONG AS I.”

The voice drops to a whisper, but remains perfectly clear – almost as if it was inside their heads.

“You shall burn forever, and never die …..”

The flames on the fallen trees blocking the road suddenly burn even higher, and a massive draconic face appears in the fire, its head adorned with a crown of thorns. The face then slowly fades, until nothing is left but a pair of immense, fiery eyes, staring at the party.

“I’ve heard of a cat that can do that,” says Solsus brightly. “Except that I think it leaves its smile behind instead of its eyes.”

Caryk seems somewhat nonplussed by the situation. “Um, we are always willing to help a creature in need. How can we help you?”

“End the song of the deep, the song of agony and eternal vigil. Silence the forty tongues who hold me here, who doom themselves with my relentless flame.”

“How do we do that?” asks Gribron.

“Rest your flesh in the ruins beyond the bridge. Then you must follow the river DOWN to the singing lake. I lie trapped beneath its surface. Set me free!”

“Who are these singers?” asks Gribron. “What type of creatures are they?”

“They are those who imprison me. Set me free!”

"A tribe of bards!" says Caryk. "What a horrible concept. They must all die!"

Caryk takes a quick show of hands. It seems everybody is in favour of helping the strange fiery creature escape its imprisonment. Each of the party affirms his or her agreement.

“So be it!” says the creature, and vanishes. The burning trees go out, and the fiery undergrowth at the side of the road returns to its normal, smouldering level. Each of the party calls out in agony as a wave of fire flows through their veins.

“I feel different,” says Agatha. “I can no longer feel the heat of the forest.”

“Oh,” says Caryk. “I haven’t felt the heat anyway. I thought that’s what the potions did. Aurean must have been protecting me and I hadn’t even realised.”

“Or maybe all the time you’ve spent taking blows to the head has just made you numb?” suggests B’Roos.

The party do their best to scramble over the fallen trees. Solsus, embarrassed by the way ground walkers are stymied by the most basic of obstacles, flies off to investigate the bridge and the village beyond it.

He returns with the news that the village seems deserted. There are no signs of any creatures, apart from the occasional small, burning mammal scuttling along the streets.

The only places of note are the bridge itself, which has a tower on it, and a stone fountain which appears to be a shrine of some sort.

“We haven’t got very far today,” says Solsus, “but the creature did suggest we rest in the village before heading downstream to the lake.”

“Does the road follow the river down to the lake?” asks Caryk.

“No the road crosses the river and continues on its way. Its easy enough to follow the river though; it used to much wider but lots of it has burned away to create a natural road along each bank.”

“So lets check out this village,” says Ambar.

*Act 2 – Rivers Flow to the Deep*

*Scene 1 * 
_Village in the Fire Forest
January 6th, 11 am_

As the party approach the bridge, it appears at first to be made out of vines. Everyone’s heart sinks. Given the fact that almost everything in the forest is on fire, this bridge must be even more precarious than the last one.

However, when they get closer they realise that the bridge is actually made out of solid stone which has been carved to look like vines. Jonathan thinks for a moment.

“This is the architectural style of the Elves of Innenotdar,” he says. “Its supposed to represent a fusion of the natural and the artificial, or something like that.”

“Yes, I think I’ve heard of it,” says Solsus. “Natural is better, of course.”

“I seem to recall that the Shahalesti Elves agreed with you,” says Jonathan. “They criticised this style as being too akin to something dwarves might do.”

“When you’ve finished discussing architecture,” says Gribron, “shall we check out the tower on the bridge?”

“I have not been remiss in my duty,” replies Solsus indignantly. “I have thoroughly scouted the outside. There are three levels. From what I could tell by looking in through the arrow slits, there are no inhabitants. However, there are two dead bodies on the lowest level. I tried to squeeze through one of the arrow slits but I couldn’t fit.”

“Lard belly,” says the impressively muscled B’Roos, who looks like he might have difficulty fitting through the doorway.

“I was only discussing architecture whilst waiting for you to do your job and investigate the entrance,” says Jonathan to Gribron. “I’m sure you have noticed that this tower in the middle of the river is protected from the fire, and hence the door is very much intact. Breaking and entering is so much more in your line than in mine.”

Gribron, not sure whether or not he has been insulted, examines the door carefully but can find nothing untoward. He struggles with the lock, but Solsus is able to use his knowledge of the Innenotdar Elves and his earlier scouting to aid him, and eventually Gribron manages to open the door.

The door opens outwards, like all good tower doors, and Gribron is somewhat surprised to see a one foot stone cube on the floor just inside the entrance. It is glowing with magic light, and has  a message painted on it in Elvish. 
Fortunately Gribron is fluent in the Elf tongue, and can translate.

“The password is ‘friend’.”

“Shouldn’t it say ‘Speak friend and enter’?” says the traditionally minded Solsus.

Gribron says ‘friend’ in Elvish, then scans the room for magic.

“There’s some sort of magical glyph here,” he says. “However, it seems to be dormant. There’s also a ward on the door, but I must have bypassed that when I opened it because nothing bad happened.”

Behind the cube are the two dead bodies Solsus had mentioned earlier. The party moves into the room and examines them. It seems that they were protected from the fire inside the tower, and simply burned to death. They have some nice equipment which the party salvages. Jonathan takes a finely crafted shortsword for his own use. 

Stairs lead up to the middle level, which is dominated by a long table. On the table there is a holy symbol of Dol Arrah, a journal and a miniature wooden representation of the village. Again, the only thing that stands out is the shrine.

Gribron examines the journal. Unsurprisingly, it is written in Elvish. He quickly turns to the last entry and translates it for the benefit of his comrades.

_“I tire of spending my days rescuing the burning bodies of survivors and tending to them to no effect. The last survivor I found was a woman who still believed that the Living Wood of Innenotdar could not be abandoned. She asked my help looking for her boyfriend. We found him in a hidden basement under the Shrine of Anyariel, where he had gone to curse the Anyariel name, along with a dozen other of the townsfolk. 

“The fire had somehow burned in from the roots of the shrine, and they had long since been claimed. Though not dead, they are despairing, and their curses haunt me. The woman saw her beloved and fled me into the woods, seeking an impossible death. I found myself hoping something ate her. I never learned her name.

“ I can do this no longer. To whatever god hears the prayers of the doubting, please give me the strength for the task ahead of me. I am going to deliver the despairing to the mouth of the White River UPSTREAM, where at least they can have some reprieve from the fire. 

“May someone find what I have hidden. It would help bring to justice those responsible for the destruction of my beautiful homeland, for which otherwise none shall shed tears.”_
Solsus and Jonathan both seem to recognise the name Anyariel.

“I think she was a hero of Innenotdar,” says Solsus. “She died a short while before the forest caught fire. She was a friend of the forest’s fey, blessed by the forest itself, and drove darkness from the forest with her magical sword.”

“I believe so,” says Jonathan. “The sword in question was a greatsword, carved in wood.”

B’Roos’s ears prick up at this mention of the sword. “What sort of magical greatsword?” he asks.

“I’m not sure,” says Jonathan. “She used it to defeat many monsters, including a blackguard from Ragesia and  a golem of white clay. Not sure how relevant that is though.”

Skimming through the journal, Gribron picks up some more information about its author.

“The elf who wrote this was a cleric of Dol Arrah. His name was Bhurisrava. I think that’s a celestial word, but dunno what it means. Anyway, with the devastation in the forest he wanted to convert to Olladra and so he could be better at healing the victims,  but he didn’t know how.

“Its pretty grim reading. The elves tried to put out the fires, but they couldn’t. The fires just wouldn’t go out.”

Somewhat sobered by the lack of loot on this level, the party head up the stairs to the top floor.

This area is bare of interesting items, but there is a locked cupboard. Unfortunately the lock proves to be beyond Gribron’s skills.

“Don’t worry, this key will fit any lock,” says B’Roos, who proceeds to batter away at the door with his sword. The sword soon wins the unequal battle.

The closet contains housekeeping materials. “What kind of lunatic puts a lock that good on a cupboard containing all this junk,” fumes Gribron.

However, there is one item of note. There is a paper pouch, marked “for later study” in Elvish. The handwriting is the same as in the journal. The pouch is also labelled in Goblin, which Gribron can’t read but Solsus can.

“Take one for visions of the Fire Maker. Do not take more. These are poison. May cause drowsiness. Do not operate heavy siege weaponry.”

Inside the pouch there are seven innocuous looking seeds. Solsus is somewhat familiar with herb lore, and suspects they may be hallucinogenic. He used to partake of similar substances in his misspent youth, before he came to realise the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

Gribron consults the journal, and finds a reference to the seeds.

“Apparently Bhurisrava got them from the corpses of some goblins. He used his magic to speak to the spirits of the dead goblins, and found out some information from them. The goblins lived in caves beneath the forest. They were responsible for setting the forest on fire, after being hired by a Ragesian orc.”

“We already knew the Ragesians started the fire,” said Solsus. “Coaltongue loved fires. But surely it was a magical fire, not something as mundane as a blaze started by goblins? This fire clearly isn’t natural.”

“The dead goblins didn’t go into any details,” says Gribron. “Anyway, they called the seeds ‘dream seeds’, which give visions of a ‘dream realm’. Bhurisrava tried one, but it didn’t work.”

This reference to dreams gets Jonathan’s attention (unlike the Fire Maker part, which is ignored by everyone).

“Elves don’t sleep,” he says, “so they are hardly going to dream. I’d like to try one of those seeds. Anyone else like to give it a try?”

Jonathan is the only one willing to experiment, so he settles himself into a corner of the room and takes one of the seeds. He starts to feel sleepy. For a moment he fights off drowsiness, but then he decides to surrender to the sensation.

He starts to experience wild dreams. At first he sees the forest, with the flames rising higher, He can hear a distant, distorted song which in his dream state he recognises as the sylvan language – even though he has never heard it spoken before. He can’t shake the feeling that someone is hiding in the shadows at the edge of his vision, but whenever he turns around there is nothing there.

The dreams move back in time. He starts to experience what he is convinced are visions of his past life, even though his re-birth was supposed to have ended his past life forever. The dreams start to spin forward to the present. 

There is a ship, always on the move, somehow larger on the inside than the outside, and a woman, always laughing. Then there is a fire, the flames rising higher and higher. Pain, unconsciousness. 

Then a magnificent city, towers reaching for the sky. Starving, killing, stealing, killing and stealing.

The scene moves to Gate Pass. Two heads in a bag. Then into the future; the city overcome by blood and swords. A path to power, shining bright. A torch? Then it turns into a silvery blue serpent.

The serpent lashes at Jonathan with its tail, and he cries out in pain. Then the serpent starts to fade away.

Outside of the dream, Jonathan’s scream alerts the others. They are not sure what to do to ease his pain.

They are somewhat bemused when a silvery blue flying serpent starts to materialise in front of them. Gribron is the first to react. A cone of scintillating colours bursts from his hand, and blinds the strange newcomer.

Ambar and Caryk swing their weapons at the serpent, which is floating effortlessly in front of them. Caryk misses, but for a second it seems like Ambar has hit the creature. Then there is a strange, dizzy sensation and Ambar’s sword has somehow struck herself instead. 

B’Roos is somewhat perturbed by this turn of events, but lacking any other options he too strikes at the creature. His blow strikes home, and the beast is forced back. Solsus takes advantage of this and  moves in to heal Ambar.

The beats, despite being blinded, has identified Gribron as the source of its misfortune. It lashes out with its tail and he screams in a manner reminiscent of Jonathan a few moments earlier.

Caryk strikes at the creature, and again there is a sense of reality being warped, and Caryk hits himself smartly behind the ear.

“Lucky it was only his head,” thinks B’Roos. He’s figured out that whatever strange power this creature possesses, it requires a short interval to “re-set” itself, and quickly follows up Caryk’s attack with one of its own.

It’s a mighty blow, and it seems the creature cannot possibly survive it, but at the last instant the monster somehow manages to teleport from the chamber and can be viewed through the nearest arrow slit.

B’Roos’s disappointment is short lived, however, as the strange side effect of teleporting comes into being and the creature is transformed into a pile of ash, which floats gently down to the ground.

The party decide that Jonathan is not in any immediate peril, so let him sleep. He wakes up ten minutes later.

“What did you see?” asks Agatha.

“Weird, dream stuff. It didn’t make any sense. I got a feeling Gate Pass is in danger, but I’m not there so who cares.”

The party realise that this “deserted village” has hidden dangers, and decide to follow the advice of the strange fiery being and rest in the safety of the tower.

*Scene 2*
_Shrine of Anyariel, Fire Forest
January 7th, 9 am_

The next day, Solsus is the first to awake. He is pretty sure the tower, despite being away from the flames, should be uncomfortably hot, but he feels fine.

He decides to forego the usual potion of Stand the Heat, and takes a cautious trip outside. He is pleased to discover that the potions are no longer needed; whatever the mysterious fire being did to them is protecting them from the effects of the fire forest.

The party discusses the plan for the day. They need to head along the river, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a quick search of the village first.

Solsus, Gribron, Agatha and Jonathan decide to visit the fountain, which is probably the shrine of Anyariel referred to in Bhurisrava’s journal. The other three will explore the rest of the village.

The shrine is a beautiful stone fountain in the shape of a willow tree. Its pool has boiled away, and the trees which once surrounded it have been cut down – presumably to stop their continual burning. 

Solsus gets the impression that this was once a druid shrine, and carries out a careful inspection. He notices a pair of bodies in the “branches” of the stone tree. Unusually, they have not been affected by the flames, and show no sign of fire damage.

This is somewhat suspicious, and Jonathan and Gribron decide to take pot shots at the bodies with their crossbows. Agatha is not willing to play this game, and withdraws to a safe distance.

After a few attempts, Jonathan is the first to hit one of the bodies. The “corpse” hurls itself from the branches and rushes towards him in a fury of teeth and claws. Its partner is not far behind. The stench from these creatures is appalling; Jonathan Farrier has a strong stomach, but Gribron starts to look green around the edges. Gribron backs off and lets fly with a bolt of positive energy, but he is too queasy to shoot straight.

“I do believe these are ghasts,” says Jonathan. “Sages believe people who consume corpses can sometimes turn into this kind of undead. I’d have thought all the bodies around here were too well done for their tastes.”

The ghasts are unimpressed by the lecture, and tear into Jonathan with their teeth and claws. Most of the attacks miss, provoking a barrage of hissing criticism between the two vile creatures.

“Possibly a husband and wife team,” thinks Gribron and Agatha.

However, one bite does strike home in Jonathan’s thigh, and he feels an icy numbness spreading through his body.

Gribron backs away from the ghasts, trying to seek safety in numbers by standing behind Agatha. The two of them, with help from Solsus’s sling, manage to take down the first ghast, but the second is unfazed and fastens its teeth into Gribron’s neck. He too is paralysed, and the stench is such that Agatha has to pause to be sick before leaving him to his fate.

The remaining ghast pursues Agatha, but she is able to stay one step ahead of it for long enough for Jonathan to shake off his paralysis. He has an inkling the creature is protected against fire, so strikes it with bolt of electricity. This slows it down long enough for Agatha to lay it to rest with a blast of eldritch energy. The two of them have enough time to write “I am an idiot” on the back of Gribron’s tunic before he too throws off the effect of the paralysis.

Solsus lands beside them.

“Good work defeating those vile undead. Now lets see if we can find that hidden basement to the shrine referred to in the journal.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” said Gribron. “How about we just sit here for a bit until I stop being sick?”


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## RangerWickett (Sep 17, 2007)

So each of these posts is one session? When are your games? (I.e., how regularly can I hope for updates?)


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## amethal (Sep 17, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> So each of these posts is one session? When are your games? (I.e., how regularly can I hope for updates?)



Each post is pretty much one session. 

We play every Tuesday, and I try and write them up on Wednesdays (sometimes it slips to Thursdays).

It looks like we might not have a session tomorrow as three players are missing. Admittedly that still leaves me with four players (!)


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## RangerWickett (Sep 26, 2007)

I know it's easy to lose interest in writing a storyhour, but I do hope you keep it up.


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## JonathanFarrier (Oct 4, 2007)

Careful hands unroll a small meditation mat, adjusting the angle just so. The mat is soon joined by a second item, a chalice-like incense burner crafted of bone and rosewood. 

The careful hands pause, reverse,  and raise the incense burner toward a cowled face and steady gaze. The chalice is revealed as a small skull, gnomish perhaps. The skull is intact save for a missing jawbone. 

After a brief polish with the edge of a cloak, the object is returned to the ground and a flash of white teeth can be seen within the shadow of the cowl.

“ Bards should be seen and not heard…”


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## amethal (Oct 4, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> I know it's easy to lose interest in writing a storyhour, but I do hope you keep it up.



I've still got the interest, just not the players!

Missed two sessions due to lack of players, but seemed to get an extra amount done this week to make up for it (5 encounters in one session - unheard of for us!)

I haven't had time to write up the whole session, but I'll post what I've got.


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## amethal (Oct 4, 2007)

JonathanFarrier said:
			
		

> Careful hands unroll a small meditation mat, adjusting the angle just so. The mat is soon joined by a second item, a chalice-like incense burner crafted of bone and rosewood.
> 
> The careful hands pause, reverse,  and raise the incense burner toward a cowled face and steady gaze. The chalice is revealed as a small skull, gnomish perhaps. The skull is intact save for a missing jawbone.
> 
> ...



Hi Matt; sometimes you make me very, very scared ....


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## amethal (Oct 4, 2007)

As Solsus sets about healing his injured comrades, Caryk and Ambar arrive to see what all the fuss is about. Gribron still bears some of the claw marks from the ghouls, despite Solsus’s efforts.

Gribron carefully searches around the base of the shrine, and finds a cunningly hidden secret door. With some more work, he finds the catch which opens it. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to protect the shrine entrance, and Gribron is proud of the way he has bypassed the defences.

Inside, a set of steps lead downwards. A blue glow is emanating from the hidden chamber below, and our heroes can make out what appears to be the sound of distant singing.

At the bottom of the steps, the shrine is a twenty foot diameter chamber. It’s a bit crowded with all six of them in there. A life size statue of a woman stabbing a stag dominates the room. The statue is stone, but her sword has been painted to look like wood.

At the feet of the statue are two bodies. One of them is an elf in robes which Caryk identifies as being used by clerics of Dol Arrah. He is missing his holy symbol, and a mace lies in the floor by his hand. It is probably the elf Bhurisrava, the one who wrote the journal and was seeking to move from worship of Dol Arrah to a healing faith.

The second elf is covered in flames, which strangely do not flicker. He is dressed in the uniform of a Shahalesti soldier, but  it differs somewhat from the modern style seen in and around Gate Pass whenever the Shahalesti elves visit.

The other elf is clearly dead; he has been killed by what look like claws.

“Ghouls, maybe?” suggests Caryk.

“Possibly,” replies Jonathan. “Its hard to tell,”

“His mace has some sort of magical ability,” says Ambar, “but I am unable to determine what it does.”

Jonathan examines the mace, and notes it has a symbol of Olladra inscribed upon it. It also seems to have some kind of other-worldly aura. He remembers the difficulty they had damaging the bearded devil with their mortal weapons. He has a feeling this mace might prove more effective, but holding it is making him feel uncomfortable. Still, the path to power is never easy. He hangs the mace from his belt.

Jonathan tries to touch the body of the elf soldier, but there is a strange barrier blocking him. It looks like the elf is not dead, and is being preserved by some powerful magic.

He calls upon his healing skills and tries to identify the elf’s condition. He feels a brief sensation of warmth from the mace as it does so, almost as if it was aiding his efforts, but even so he cannot find out any more information about the soldier’s condition.

The room also contains a glass display case and an altar. The case has been smashed open – presumably with claws, since the mace would have done considerably more damage. There’s no evidence as to what it once contained, although it clearly isn’t big enough to hold Anyariel’s wooden greatsword.

Caryk examines the altar. It has been defaced with mud and twigs – presumably by the disgruntled elves referred to in the journal they found. Being the religious sort, he sets about cleaning it up.

When he has finished, a strange thing happens. A glowing, elf like figure appears above the altar. Jonathan identifies it as a ghaele eladrin, a creature from another plane.

“Greeting,” it says. “What business have you in the shrine?”

“Hello,” says Caryk. “We are on a quest.”

“We seek to put out the flames in the forest,” says Solsus. “What are you doing here?”

The eladrin notes the altar has been tidied up, and his manner seems more welcoming.

“I serve Olladra. Some forty years ago I was tasked with protecting the shrine. Thank you for cleaning the altar. I am only here to protect against future damage; I cannot repair what was done before.”

He turns to Gribron. “I see that you are injured. Let me restore you to health.” A warm glow spreads from the eladrin’s fingers, and Gribron’s remaining wounds close.

“Thank you. Do you know what happened here?” asks Gribron.

“It was like this when I arrived,” says the eladrin. I imagine there was some relic of the hero Anyariel in that case, but I have no idea what it was. The elf soldier still lives. He is under a temporal stasis, a powerful magic and one I am unable to remove. He is on fire, but whilst eh is in stasis the flames do not burn. I am speculating, but I think it is tied in with the same magic which summoned me.”

“We have heard that the burning is connected to a group of singers,” says Caryk. “Do you know anything about that?”

“That sounds like the seela,” replies the eladrin. “They are a group of fey who used to sing news from one of the forest to the other. I cannot say how living in the burning forest for all these years has affected them.”

“Do you know where they live?”

“They used to live by the lake, downstream from here.”

“Do you know what is upstream?”

“The river flows down from the mountains. There’s a waterfall there, and a small lake.”

The party discuss moving the elf, but come to the conclusion that he is better off where he is, at least until they can put the fire out. Thanking the eladrin, they leave.


*Scene 3*
_Upstream, Fire Forest
January 7th, 11 am_

There is a short discussion about the merits of going upstream or downstream. Jonathan and Caryk are keen to head downstream and deal with the seela, but the others would prefer to head upstream first and see what has been hidden there by Bhurisrava the elf cleric. It might be something which would help them defeat the seela, stop the song and free Indomitability.

In the end, they decide to head upstream. Haddin and Crystin are not keen on the extra travel, and decide to stay in the elf village with B’Roos for company.

The rest head up river. The going is quite easy, as the river is smaller than it used to be and the dry riverbank makes for a natural path. Solsus notices that the road out of the village appears to be blocked by a flaming curtain similar to the one they met on their way in. It looks like Indomitability wants them to take the river route.

Upstream is also upwind. The wind is picking up, blowing about the ash from the forest. A sudden gust catches everyone except Solsus unawares. It turns the ash into a cloud of burning cinders, and only Solsus can get out of the way of the fiery cloud.

A couple of the party start coughing and spluttering as the cinders go into their lungs. Some of the cinders nestle in Ambar’s fur, and it catches alight. Fortunately, the river is handy, and a quick swim douses the flames with no further ill effects.

Up ahead, the river flows past some large rocks. When the level was higher, they were probably rapids, but now they are simply obstacles. A group of small fire elementals are frolicking amongst the rocks, possibly enjoying the thrill of being so close to the dangerous water.

Caryk, as the party’s best swimmer, volunteers to approach the elementals via the river. The rest of the group continue along the bank, and let fly with spells and missile fire once they are at close range – even though Caryk is not yet in position.

One elemental falls, and the rest rush towards the party, their fiery forms moving swiftly along the river bank. Three of them strike at Jonathan and the last two attack Gribron. Both are injured, and Jonathan is also set alight.

Caryk surfaces, and takes in the scene. He decides the fiery Jonathan needs his help most and, with a quick prayer, creates several; gallons of water to douse the flames. Two of the elementals are splashed in the process. Sizzling and streaming, they abandon Jonathan and rush for the safety of the burning trees. The party soon finish off the remaining three.

“Let’s get out of here before the mother elemental turns up,” suggests Ambar.

Later, there is another encounter with a burning cloud of cinders, but the party are on the alert and manage to get into the river before it strikes.

When the third cloud arrives, it is viewed as a tedious part of the journey, rather than as a real threat. However, Solsus also notices a strange creature floating amongst the burning trees. It has a goblin like face, and lots of legs, and seems to be able to fly without wings.

He becomes visible and points out the creature to the others. However, even with his help most of them are too busy getting out of the way of the cinder cloud to spot what he’s talking about.

The creature see the flying Solsus is isolated from the rest of the group, and decides he’ll make a nice snack. It rushes towards him, but Solsus is too nimble for it to catch. He quickly withdraws, and vanishes from sight. Solsus breathes a sigh of relief when he realises the creature is no longer able to track his movements.

It seems that no monster is too obscure for Jonathan. “That’s a rast,” he declares. “Be careful of its teeth and claws; this creature likes to drain blood.”

Suddenly another rast appears, rises silently up towards the first and tries to bite it. Annoyed by its arrival, the first rast lashes out with its claws at the intruder – which turns out to be one of Gribron’s cunning illusions.

The rest of the group take advantage of its distraction and are able to kill the creature with a combination of spells and missile fire.

“Bravo!” says a voice from beside the river.

The party turn and see the bearded devil has returned. Its glaive is leaning against a nearby tree trunk - within easy reach but not currently threatening.

“Begone, you foul fiend,” says Caryk. “We want nothing to do with you.”

“Surely it can’t hurt to hear my proposal,” says the devil calmly. “I have no wish for this encounter to descend into violence.”

“That sounds very reasonable,” says Jonathan. “What is it you want?”

The devil fingers his collar, embossed with a ‘G’. “It would be unethical for me to state that I am working for Inquisitor Guthwulf,” says the devil, “so I won’t.”

“My employer has set me two tasks,” he continues. “My first task is to stop you leaving the Fire Forest.”

“How about if the forest was no longer on fire?” asks Solsus.

“My thoughts exactly!” says the devil with a grin. “If the forest was no longer on fire, then that would fulfil the first part of the bargain. The easiest way to do that is, I believe, to kill the singing fey. You’d probably be doing them a favour; the burning is torture for them, and has turned them into warped and evil creatures. It would probably take a day or so before the fire burns itself out. You could shelter in the lake while that happened.

“The second part is that you surrender the case to me.”

“Not going to happen!” says Caryk.

“What about if the case was empty?” suggests Gribron.

“I like the way you think,” replies the devil. “Unfortunately, my employer has already thought of that one, so it won’t work. However, there is no time limit. We could discuss it again once the fey are dead. Do we have a deal?”

The party decide to accept this deal with the devil. After all, they have already agreed with Indomitability that they will stop the singing.

“Excellent,” says the devil. “No offence, but you do know the fey are downstream, not upstream, right?”

“We are following up some other information,” says Jonathan, “and then we’ll head back downstream and deal with the fey. Do you happen to know what’s upstream?”

“Not really. There’s a waterfall. Brave adventurers could probably manage to climb up out of the forest there. I hope you aren’t tempted to do that, as it would be a breach of our agreement. Anyway, let’s be off.”

The devil picks up his glaive and starts to head off up the river.

“You’re not thinking of coming with us are you?” says Caryk.

“Of course,” replies the devil. “I’m sure we will have lots of fun together. We are not so very different, you and I.”

The rest of the party head on up the river, with Caryk and the devil, now locked in philosophical debate, bringing up the rear.


*Scene 4*
_The Waterfall, Fire Forest
January 7th, 2 pm_

The waterfall can be heard before it is seen. As expected, it flows off the side of the mountains and drains into a small lake. There is an island on the lake, with a white shrine built on it.

“I suggest we investigate the island,” says Agatha.

“I could teleport across and have a look for you,” offers the devil.

“No thank you,” replies Caryk. “In fact, please could you leave us. If there’s anyone in that shrine you might give them the wrong impression.”

“Suit yourself,” says the devil, and disappears in a burst of flame. A second later he reappears on a ledge at the top of the waterfall, and settles down to wait.

The party manage to make their way across the water to the shrine, and find it occupied to a horse-like creature with a single horn growing out of its forehead. It’s a unicorn, but its appearance is a far cry from the gleaming white creatures of legend. It is emaciated, and its coat is covered in ash and soot.

“Greetings travellers,” says the Unicorn. “My name is Nelle.” It studies each of the party in turn. It hesitates when its gaze rests on Jonathan, but eventually it decides that he too passes muster.

“What brings you to my home?

“Hello,” says Solsus. “We have read the journal of an elf cleric called Bhurisrava. Apparently he hid something here.”

“Yes,” replies the unicorn sadly. “He cared for his sick brethren for as long as he could, but when he felt himself giving in to despair he brought them to me. He was worried he might lose the strength to go on, and decide to put them out of their misery.”

“Couldn’t he just take them out of the forest?” asks Ambar.

“He tried that. When someone afflicted with the flame leaves the forest, the flame gutters and dies – but the person’s life goes with it.”

“Surely killing them would be a mercy,” says Jonathan.

“Those of us who live in the forest do not believe in killing,” says Nelle.

There is an uncomfortable silence.

“We are on a quest to put out the fire,” says Solsus brightly.

“Yes, we intend to kill the seela,” says Jonathan.

“Kill the seela !?! The seela must not be killed!” says Nelle.

“No, no, I didn’t mean kill,” says Jonathan. “Of course not. Save the seela, that’s what I meant to say.”


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## RangerWickett (Oct 4, 2007)

Please keep it up. 



> A life size statue of a woman stabbing a *stage* dominates the room.




Noteworthy little typo there.


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## JonathanFarrier (Oct 4, 2007)

amethal said:
			
		

> Hi Matt; sometimes you make me very, very scared ....




Just the character, honest (  Mwa ha ha ha ha...ahem).

But you are right, I never should have used the B..A..R..D.. word - far too upsetting for the impressionable.


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## amethal (Oct 8, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Please keep it up.
> 
> 
> 
> Noteworthy little typo there.



Thanks, well spotted.


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## walker_saint (Oct 10, 2007)

Cool!

What did we do next huh? huh? what? what did we do? tell us... tell us...   

I'm getting the strange feeling that i should be more wary of Jonathan than i am... but then again he IS very ggod at healing others, he's always the first to anyone down... and if he can't always save them i'm sure he tries his best...

Right?


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## amethal (Oct 11, 2007)

“No, no, I didn’t mean kill,” says Jonathan. “Of course not. Save the seela, that’s what I meant to say. How do we do that?”

“I fear I lack the knowledge to answer that question. Once the seela sang news from one end of the forest to the other. Now they sing to keep the fire spirit imprisoned, for it is all that keeps the forest from burning to a cinder. If the forest dies, so do the seela. In time the forest may re-grow, but the seela will not.

“No one knows where the fire spirit came from. Sometimes I hear words amongst the crackling of the flames. The word ‘trillith’, and the phrase ‘daughter of Trilla’.”

Jonathan vaguely recalls there being a dragon called Trilla, but he does not know any further details.

“Can you help us on our quest?” asks the greedy Gribron.

“I need to stay here and tend to the suffering elves,” says Nelle. “However, I will give you what aid I can.”

The unicorn moves to a small sculpture of a dragon and an eagle chasing each other in a circle. Several of the party recognise this as a depiction of the flamebringer dragon and the stormseeker eagle, two of Gate Pass’s elemental spirits. The other two spirits -  the worldshaper worm and the tidereaver kraken – are absent.

At Nelle’s prompting, Caryk pulls three feathers from the eagle and three scales from the dragon. These turn out to be magical tokens – three birds, two whips and a boat.

The party take their leave and head back down the river. There are several more cinder swarms, but they are adept at dealing with them so the clouds are nothing more than a nuisance.


*Scene 5*
_A Glade, Fire Forest
January 7th, 5 pm_

Its twilight, but the party are pushing on downstream as the burning forest provides plenty of light. They have passed the remains of the elf village, and hope to reach the lake and scout out the seela village before it gets too dark.

Agatha and Caryk hear the sound of singing coming from up ahead, and inform the others. Its coming closer. The party wait to see what kind of creature they have encountered. This could be the chance to bag their first bard. Caryk grips his quarterstaff tightly, anticipating combat.

The creature that emerges from the forest appears to be an emaciated young woman, albeit one with wizened, dragonfly-like wings which emerge from her back. She hasn’t seen the party, so Solsus hurls a sling bullet at her head. It strikes true, and the unarmed and unsuspecting fey singer staggers back in distress.

Its at that point that things stop going according to plan. Almost as if Solsus’s attack was a signal, a further six fey appear beside the original singer. They are armed with spears, and launch a concerted attack on the singer.

However, the woman’s few bits and pieces of leather armour provide surprisingly good protection, and she suffers no more than a few flesh wounds before she is able to dance her way past her foes.

Somewhat surprised by this turn of events, the party decide fighting six fey is more fun than attacking one, and join in on the side of the solitary singer they have just attacked.

More by luck than judgement, they manage to bring down the attacking fey without killing any of them. A combination of stunning beams of scintillating colours from Gribron, and Solsus’s use of the local vegetation to entangle the fey means that they are immobilised in short order.

The seela singer is surprised to see outsiders in the Fire Forest, but tries her best to remember her manners.

“Greetings, strangers. My name is Tiljann. Thank you for rescuing me from my attackers.”

“Not a problem,” says Jonathan. “I’ll just make sure they aren’t able to trouble you further. Won’t take a minute.” He draws his heavy mace, dedicated to Olladra and a boon to healers, and lines up a hefty blow at the skull of the nearest helplessly entangled fey.

“No!” shouts Tiljann. “They are my brethren. I don’t know what possessed them to attack me, but we should take them back to our village so the Songleader can deal with them.”

“Are all the rest of you fey congregated in the village?” asks Jonathan.

“We are known as the seela,” says Tiljann, “and apart from us seven I imagine we are all in the village.”

“That should save a bit of time,” says Jonathan. “Lead on!”


*Act 3 – Out of the Fire*

*Scene 1 * 
_Seela Village, Fire Forest
January 7th, 6 pm_

The seela live in caves beside a glowing lake. The only structure is a stone tower. Three seela are perched on top, singing in a language which Solsus identifies as sylvan.

“We sing the Song of Forms,” says Tiljann. “It keeps the fire spirit trapped, and prevents the forest from burning down. Many of us, including those six,” she indicates the captive fey, “think it’s a waste of effort and we should cease the song and accept the inevitable. There are now only fourteen of us left who sing, and twice that number who do not. We sing in shifts.”

Tiljann leads the party and their captives to the cave of Papuvin, the Songleader. He is ever bit as wiry and emaciated as Tiljann, but has a strangely commanding presence. A crowd of seela gathers at the cave entrance, curious as to what is going on.

After Tiljann has explained the situation, Papuvin addresses the party.

“Welcome to our village,” he says. “Thank you for saving Tiljann from these misguided youths. Allow me to offer you the shelter of our caves for as long as you wish to stay. They are not luxurious, but they are cooler than the rest of the Fire Forest.”

“Do you know why these seela would attack Tiljann?” asks Solsus. 

“I’m sure when they have had a chance to think about their actions, their shame will cause them to explain what they have done. However, I can guess that they have been paying too much heed to the words of Vuhl, spokesperson of the defeatist faction, and decided to take drastic measures to silence our song.”

“Have you considered stopping singing?” asks Caryk.

“Never!” replies Papuvin. “We seela have always been the singers of the forest, and we will carry on that tradition as long as I am Songleader. We sing or we die, and I will not allow us to die so long as I can still sing the Song of Forms.”

The party leave the cave, pushing their way through the crowd as they do so. One of the seela, clothed in black and with black wings, has been paying particular attention to the conversation. He catches their eye as they leave.

“I think we should speak to this Vuhl person,” says Solsus. “Can you show us where he lives, Tiljann?”

“That won’t be necessary,” says a calm voice from behind them. It is the black clad seela. “I am Vuhl. I would be honoured if you would accompany to my cave.”

Tiljann seems unsure whether the invitation includes herself. She clearly has no love for Vuhl, but is reluctant to leave the outsiders alone with him.

“Not you, Tiljann,” says Vuhl smoothly. “I’m sure you don’t want to associate with the likes of me. Anyway, these outsiders have had to put up with your chatter for long enough. It is only fair that they receive a more balanced viewpoint.”

Vuhl leads the party up to his cave, and offers them what hospitality he can. “Have a seat; these cushions are very soft. Try some of my succulent acorns; you will find them very tasty.”

The party sit themselves down on Vuhl’s badly made cushions, and politely take a handful of burnt acorns.

“I’m sure you can see that the village is in desperate starits,” says Vuhl. “The seela are doomed. If Papuvin has his way we will wear out what is left of our existence delaying the inevitable, and eventually we shall succumb to the fire anyway.

“I am horrified that those foolish lads took it upon themselves to try and attack Tiljann, but it’s symptomatic of the desperation the majority of us seela feel. You’ve spoken to Papuvin. He was a fine, strong leader in our days of plenty, but in our current state his pride and obstinacy are dooming us to a nightmare existence.”

“So what do you suggest?” asks Agatha.

“Not more violence, seela fighting against seela – although if something is not done soon I may be unable to stop it.

“What we need is to stop the song.”

“I can do that quite easily,” says Jonathan. “There are only a dozen or so singers. It should be straightforward enough to shut them up.”

“I am a fey of peace,” replies Vuhl. “In any event, not all who follow me are fully committed to my cause. Any attack on the singers would likely cause some of them to switch sides and take up the Song.

“What we need is something which would shock the entire village, causing the song to falter for long enough to free the flames and bring us peace. 

“There is a dryad, called Timbre, who is held in high regard by us seela for her noble deeds in ancient times. Nowadays, she and her tree have been condemned by Papuvin to burn forever. If you could enter her grove, remove her head and display it in the village, the shock would be such that the song would surely stop.

“She is a twisted remnant of her former self, maddened by pain. You’d be doing her a favour, although I would ask that you try and be as gentle as possible.”

The party are touched by his obvious sincerity, and ask for more details.

“She is guarded by two monstrous boars, eternally burning just like their mistress. In her insane state, she sends them to attack all who visit her domain. I can see that you are mighty warriors, but I am concerned that in defeating the boars you may weaken yourselves such that one or more of you falls before Timbre’s sorcery.

“You need a token to attract her interest and cause her to dismiss the boars. Are you familiar with the legend of Anyariel?”

“Who’s Anyariel?” asks Gribron before the others can stop him.

“Anyariel is a local elven heroine,” says Vuhl. “You may have seen her shrine in the elf village. The shrine once possessed a lock of her hair, but it was stolen by the nymph Gwenvere, who lives in the lake. The effect of the Fire Forest has turned Gwenvere into something horrible and twisted, but at one time she and Timbre were rivals for Anyariel’s affection.”

“But aren’t all three of them female?” says Caryk, struck by visions of a mountain of unfertilised eggs lying on a beach. “I’ll never understand mammals.” 

Vuhl ignores him. “Anyariel chose Timbre over Gwenvere. The only thing that will get Timbre’s attention is the lock of her lover’s hair. I suggest you seek out Gwenvere in the morning, and use all means necessary to recover the stolen lock of hair from her.”

Our heroes leave Vuhl’s cave with plenty of food for thought.

They spend a relaxing evening chatting with the seela, and formulating plans.

Jonathan is intrigued by the stone tower, but on investigation it proves to be completely unremarkable. Tiljann, mistaking believing that he is interested in the song being sung by the seela on the tower, translates for him.

“So as we were born from the First Tree, so as from our homeland’s breast was cut a living blade, as this our lives are bound to thee, the forest’s heart in Timbre’s glade.”

Jonathan, conscious that the group has not yet decided on a course of action, resolves to control the flow of information and keeps this verse to himself. However, it turns out to be a popular part of the song and the seela sing it later in front of Solsus, who translates it for the benefit of the others.

Presumably, it refers to Anyariel’s sword, which appears to have some connection to Timbre the dryad, although the significance of the verse is not immediately apparent.

Ambar happens to pick up an interesting tidbit about Vuhl. Apparently he only became fully convinced of the need to stop the song about three weeks ago, and since then he’s been somewhat preoccupied – there’s often a noticeable pause between someone asking him a question and him starting to answer.

The party begin to wonder whether Vuhl is under the influence of some outside force.


*Scene 2 * 
_The Lake, Fire Forest
January 8th, 9 am_

Fully rested and refreshed, the party set out in search of the nymph Gwenvere – or whatever she has become. They have been warned by the seela that there used to be ogres living in the lake, but they see no sign of them.

Gwenvere is a strange creature, having apparently developed a taste for burning meat.

Solsus, being in tune with nature, is not keen on the idea of supplying an innocent forest creature to the nymph to try and win her favour. However, the party have left a trail of bodies behind them en route through the forest, and one of those might do equally as well.

The party mount a brief expedition upstream and recover the body of the rast they killed the previous day. There is no shortage of fires to cook it on, but for some reason the rast body refuses to burn. Eventually Jonathan remembers that rasts are immune to fire damage.

Solsus suggests they use one of the ghouls they defeated at the shrine of Anyariel. It wouldn’t make for an appetising meal, but Gwenvere probably isn’t too choosy. Caryk and Jonathan both confirm that ghouls have no particular resistance to fire – but it turns out that this ghoul does. Presumably this is another irritating side effect of the constantly burning forest – any undead spawned here are gifted with protection from fire.

The party decide to give up on the burnt offering at this point.


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## amethal (Oct 11, 2007)

Still not up to date, but I'm getting there.

Things were getting quite suspenseful.

Will the party slaughter the seela?
How far can they trust the devil?
Will Gribron remember enough of the plot to contribute to the party's decision making?

Next session should see us finish the Fire Forest and start Shelter from the Storm.


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## Toby Underfoot (Oct 13, 2007)

*Gribron the bruised*

I heard that! I know plenty what's going on. And is suspenseful a word? Oh ok so it is. Anyway..."visions of unfertilised eggs on a beach?"  Oh please! You want to get out more.


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## JonathanFarrier (Oct 14, 2007)

walker_saint said:
			
		

> Cool!
> 
> What did we do next huh? huh? what? what did we do? tell us... tell us...
> 
> ...





*The Art of Simplicity*

There are some who confuse the Art of Simplicity with the absurd quasi-philosophical notion of “*EVIL*”. These folk speak of twisted motivations and sinister emotions - malice, hatred, rage - even the loss or lack of true “normal” emotional responses in those whose methods they disagree with (this last point is clearly a fallacy - I am an empath of some ability but still I occasionally fall into one of their foolish categories such as “*chaos*“ or “*evil*“).

I believe in the philosophy of Simplicity, Occam’s Razor with its truest edge. Where things go wrong why prop up a failing system - or being? Often the most efficient means of solving a problem are those favoured by a surgeon - to excise the damaged flesh, to cauterise the bleeding wound.

The only problem with the path of Simplicity is that it is a winding path. The simplest solution can change with circumstance, as with the Seelah debacle.

Simple solution: help the Seelah to fade from their tortured existence, thus quietening their song, freeing the trapped essence of the creature known as Indomitable and allowing the shattered forest to renew itself. Changing circumstance: the sheer number of these…unfortunate, benighted…folk.

The easiest way to present a solution to ones colleagues is to manage the flow of information but even this can become difficult with such a diverse and, occasionally, competent group. 

The ongoing path to a Simple Solution in these circumstances? Observe, Anticipate,  Innovate and then quietly take the initiative from one’s colleagues when the time is right. As the gnomes say: “A wagon with rails is easier to direct”.


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## amethal (Oct 16, 2007)

Toby Underfoot said:
			
		

> I heard that! I know plenty what's going on. And is suspenseful a word? Oh ok so it is. Anyway..."visions of unfertilised eggs on a beach?"  Oh please! You want to get out more.



Hi Andy.

I'm building a grand work of art here and you are picking on solitary phrases. Consider yourself blown a raspberry   

And actually I need to get out *less*; might be up to date with my story hour then.

EDIT On the basis that half a loaf is better than no bread, I'll post what I've got.


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## amethal (Oct 18, 2007)

Gwenvere’s lair is on the other side of the lake. There is a pool, an island, and a cave in the bank. Someone has made an effort to make this area as attractive as possible under the circumstances.

The party call out to attract the nymph’s attention. At first nothing appears, but then the mention of the dryad Timbre causes a stirring in the murky water. A hideous face appears, and the party take an involuntary step backwards. Nymphs are famous for their beauty, but Gwenvere is very much the exception to this rule.

“Greetings, Gwenvere,” says Solsus. “We seek a favour from you.”

“Not interested in doing favours,” snarls Gwenvere.

“This would give you a chance to get back at your old rival, Timbre,” says Solsus. “We need to gain access to her grove, and we understand you can supply us with the lock of Anyariel’s hair which will enable us to do so.”

“Not got hair. It is in the shrine,” says Gwenvere, but she is clearly lying to cover up her theft.

“If you did happen to have a lock,” says Jonathan, “we’d only need to borrow it for a little while, until we’d concluded our <ahem> business with the dryad. We’d return it to you straight away, and no one would ever know you have it.”

“What sort of business?”

“We have come up with a way to put the dryad out of her misery,” says Jonathan.

“I like the sound of that,” says Gwenvere. “Do you like what I’ve done with the pool? I try to keep it looking as nice as possible, but its very difficult, with the fire and all. Without me this place would go to ruin.”

“I’m sure it would,” says Caryk. “You’ve done a very good job. May we have the lock of hair please?”

The nymph stares at him for a moment, then dives back down under the water. A few minutes later she returns with a strand of golden hair several feet long, and lays it at Caryk’s feet.


*Scene 3*
_Timbre’s Grove, Fire Forest
January 8th, 9 am_

Timbre’s grove is on a hill. There’s a burning oak at the summit of the hill, which bears a distinct similarity to the tree sculpture on top of Anyariel’s shrine. There’s no sign of the dryad, but two large, fiery boars are lurking near the tree. There is something primeval about their appearance; they have odd spikes and spurs of bone jutting out of their backs, and being constantly on fire has not improved their already bad tempers.

The boars paw the ground, and get ready to charge the intruders.

“Timbre,” calls out Caryk, “we have something for you.”

“A lock of Anyariel’s hair,” he calls out hurriedly, as the boars start to hurtle down the hillside towards him.

What had previously appeared to be burning tree roots untangles itself from the base of the tree, and peers at Caryk. It is the dryad, Timbre. She calls out a sharp word in sylvan, and the boars slither to a halt inches from the party.

“Approach my tree,” says Timbre, “and show me the lock.” She dismisses the boars, and they wander away. “Are you thieves, to steal it from her shrine?”

“It wasn’t us, it was Gwenvere,” says Jonathan, trying to gauge when the boars will be far enough away to leave the dryad unprotected. “We borrowed it from her, as a means of getting your attention.”

The dryad looks at the lock of hair, and then sighs. “It reminds me of happier days. Take it away.”

“Do you know of any way to save the seela and the forest?” asks Solsus. Jonathan gives him a puzzled look. No one had said anything about saving the seela.


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## amethal (Oct 19, 2007)

“Save the forest? Nothing can do that, but if it dies then in time it will re-grow. As for saving the seela, I will tell you the history of the forest. In the beginning it which just one tree, the First Tree, my tree. Some say the tree was blessed by Arawai. In any event, its first seeds grew into the seela. This is ages ago, before even the elves came to the forest.

“It was the singing of the seela that awakened my spirit from that of the forest. They, like me, are bound to the First Tree.

“Later there came times of crisis. The Shahalesti elves fought with the elves of the forest. Anyariel was the noblest and bravest of the forest elves, and the forest gave her a gift, a sword formed from a branch of the First Tree itself. With it, she was able to drive out the Shahalesti.

“Then came the indomitable fire spirit. It took the form of a stag, and even Anyariel was unable to slay it. Instead, she pinned it with the sword to the bottom of the lake. All revered Anyariel for her great deeds on behalf of the forest, and when she died the shrine was erected.

“We have not seen her like again, and when the Shahalesti returned there were none who could stop them. They set fire to the forest, and it has burned without respite ever since.”

“I thought the Ragesians set fire to the forest,” says Solsus. “Anyway, if the sword came from the tree, won’t the seela be able to survive even if the forest burns down, so long as the sword is intact?”

“It is not as straightforward as that. For this to occur, the sword must be bound to a livings owner. At the moment it is still bound to Anyariel. For the seela to survive, the bond must be broken, and re-formed with one of you.”

“How do we break the bond?” asks Solsus.

Timbre lowers her head, pauses for a moment, then looks up. “It is done. The bond is broken. The sword will now bond with whoever can free it from the stag’s body, and the seela will not perish when the forest burns down.”

“And will you survive as well?” asks Solsus.

“No,” replies Timbre.


*Scene 4*
_The Lake
January 9th, 9 am_

Fully rested and prepared, the party sets off to retrieve the sword. They have decided that Solsus will bond with the blade, and his comrades have done their utmost to prepare him for the ordeal ahead. Freeing the sword will not be easy.

Solsus, a frown of concentration on his face, steps into the lake. As he does so, his body swells and grows taller. His wings disappear, and he now resembles an elf with gills. His experiences in the Fire Forest have enabled him to more deeply into the magical heritage of his people.

Time is of the essence, since many of the magics which aid him are of limited duration. He swims swiftly through the murky water, looking for the stag. The seela have been able to show him roughly where it fell, but it has been many decades since the event and their memories are hazy.

Suddenly, Solsus spots movement out of the corner of his eye. Two large shapes are moving through the water towards him. It is the ogres who live in the lake; in the excitement of recent events the party had forgotten about them. Not wasting any time on anything as frivolous as cursing, Solsus heads for the shore as quickly as he can.

The ogres close in behind Solsus as he surfaces and heads up the beach. After years of living on whatever they could catch in the polluted lake, they are not about to let a tasty elf get away.

Unfortunately for them, Solsus’s comrades are sitting on the shore anxiously awaiting his return. They were expecting a stag, not a pair of ogres, but the quickly spring into action. The stupid creatures are cut down before they even manage to recognise their danger.

“That wasn’t in the plan,” says Agatha.

“Most of the magical protections will have worn off now,” says Caryk.

“Not a problem,” says Jonathan. “This fire has been burning for forty years. Another day won’t make any difference. Let’s try again tomorrow. Hopefully there are no more ogres in the lake.”

*Scene 5*
_The Lake
January 10th, 9 am_

Once again, Solsus transforms himself into the shape of an aquatic elf, and slips into the lake. It is not long before he spots a large, glowing shape on the lakebed. As he gets closer, he can tell it’s the body of a stag, pinned to the floor but struggling to flee itself. Its body is giving off small clouds of steam.

Solsus swims down to the trapped creature, and spots the wooden greatsword holding it in place. He swims into position, and tries to pull it free – but without success. It is stuck fast.

“Think about this logically,” he says to himself, and studies the scene for a few minutes. Satisfied, he moves in, braces himself against the body of the stag and pulls hard. The sword does not come away at one, but he keeps trying, and eventually he is rewarded and the sword pulls free of the lakebed.

Unfortunately, it does not pull free of the stag. All Solsus has managed to do is free the stag from its captivity, and he hangs onto the sword for dear life as the stag leaps to an upright position and swims furiously towards the shore. It occasionally pauses to attempt to dislodge the irritation from its back, but it is far more concerned with reaching dry land as quickly as possible.

The party see the stag bearing down on them, with murder in its eyes. B’Roos directs the seela, Haddin and Cristin back to the caves, then follows them in as a last line of defence. The rest of the group ready themselves for combat as best they can. They aim to engage the creature on the shoreline, in order to keep it as far away as possible from the seela.

Gribron creates an illusion of some seela panicking by the edge of the lake. Agatha blasts the creature with her bolts of eldritch energy. Jonathan attempts to fry the creature’s brains but it shrugs off his attack. Caryk and Ambar close with the creature. Caryk tries to distract it while Ambar makes a grab for the sword.

Solsus, guessing he lacks the strength to free the sword from the irate stag, returns to his normal form and vanishes from view.

It is six against one, and the party have been preparing for this encounter for a long time. However, the stag is a formidable opponent, and there is one aspect the party hadn’t counted on – the stag’s boon was protecting them from the heat of the forest, but since they began trying to kill it the boon has been withdrawn. It is starting to get uncomfortably hot, even here on the side of the lake.

Caryk, fighting defensively, is able to evade the stag’s furious thrusts with its mighty rack of antlers, but Ambar is unable to get a purchase on the sword. Worse, she is taking damage from the heat of the creature’s body, now that it is no longer in the water.

The stag finally catches Caryk with its horns, and contemptuously tosses him aside. Solsus, who had previously trying to distract the creature with shots from his sling, swoops down and sees to Caryk’s wounds.

Gribron, worried that the party are losing the fight, spots the devil watching the fight from a safe distance, a big grin on its face.

“Help us out here!” yells Gribron to the devil. “Grab that sword.”

The devil’s grin gets even wider. “As you wish,” he says, and disappears in a puff of flame. A split second later he reappears next to Ambar, and the two of them start competing to draw Anyariel’s sword from the stag’s back.

This spurs on the party to greater efforts. Caryk, the worst of his wounds healed but by no means in peak condition, clambers back to his feet and strikes the creature a mighty blow with his quarterstaff. This seems to stagger the beast where half a dozen solid hits with his fists had not. “It must be vulnerable to wood,” he thinks. “Bizarre, but I suppose the clue is right in front of us.”

The fight has turned against the stag, but retreat is the last thing on its mind. It redoubles its efforts to gore Caryk, but his martial arts skills, his magical protections and his tough shell all combine to keep him out of trouble.

Suddenly everything happens at once. 

The stag finally falls to its knees, and keels over under a flurry of blows, magic and arrows. 

Solsus, realising that if the stag dies before someone has bonded with the sword then the seela will die with it, uses a small portion of his powers to keep it from expiring.

Ambar, with a mighty effort, fends off the devil and pulls the greatsword free of the stag’s body. The large sword shrinks in her hand, until it is the same length as the longsword she normally uses.

Jonathan, realising that with the sword now bonded to Ambar the stag is surplus to requirements, undoes Solsus’s work with a well aimed blow to the creature’s head.

The devil, looking piqued that the catfolk has out muscled him, draws his glaive. “Now the stag is dead, its time to renegotiate our agreement.”

As the stag dies, the forest explodes into an inferno of fire, as the flames rise higher than ever before. However, it lasts only for an instant, and then the flames start to gutter and die.

To the party’s amazement, they can once more feel the benefits of Indomitability’s boon. Killing the stag has restored it to them.

No one is in any doubt as to what sort of “negotiation” the devil has in mind. They turn their attentions to the new enemy. 

The devil is a master of the glaive, and sets about striking as many of the party as it can. Caryk, Ambar and Jonathan all feel the bite of his blade. However, much to the devil’s surprise, the wounds do not continue to gush with blood after the devil moves on to a new target. Something is protecting them from the curse of the devil’s glaive. It seems there is more to Indomitability’s boon than they first suspected.

Shrugging, the devil changes his tactics. “Who wants to die first?” it hisses, and sizes up its potential targets.

Ambar is impressed with the grace and balance of her new weapon, and strikes the devil several times. However, its aura of evil somehow seems to be protecting it from mortal weapons.

Caryk is similarly struggling to injure the creature with either staff or fists, and it even seems to be resistant to Agatha’s eldritch blasts. Gribron targets it with bolts of force from his wand. There is a slight blurring as the bolts hit, but they strike home normally. The devil is failing to counter their magic, at least so far.

Jonathan, his mental powers exhausted from the struggle with the stag, has been using the mace he found in the shrine. It bears the mark of Olladra, and is able to batter through the devil’s infernal resistance. The creature howls in pain whenever it is struck by it.

The devil faces Jonathan. “You, I think,” it says, and launches a flurry of attacks. Jonathan crumples under the onslaught, covered in gaping wounds.

Gribron, seeing Jonathan’s plight, moves towards him. He is somehow able to ignore the space between him and his comrade, appearing by Jonathan’s side and pouring a healing draught down his throat.

Solsus, realising his sling is useless against fiends, pulls out a non-descript bag from his backpack and hurls it at the creature. It strikes true, and explodes into a pile of goo which solidifies into a clay like substance. Thus hampered, the devil becomes a much easier target and the party land some solid blows.

Ambar suddenly remembers the shroud they found in the bandit camp, back on the road to Haddin’s farmhouse. It too has the power to bless weapons, and she calls upon its power to imbue her sword with the means to bypass the devil’s protections.

Solsus hurls a second bag of goo, and his aim is even better than the first time. Not only is the devil covered in the stuff, it is also stuck to the ground. For the first time, the devil seems undecided on how to proceed. It considers teleporting back to its master to report another failure. However, the prospect of explaining its shortcomings whilst covered in the contents of two tangle-foot bags is too awful to contemplate.

Instead, it looks for someone to take out its frustrations on. The devil may not be able to move from the spot, but Gribron’s mission of mercy has put him within reach. The devil slashes out, but Gribron’s chain shirt deadens most of the force.

The devil is concentrating too much on hurting Gribron, and it has forgotten about Ambar. She takes full advantage, and drives Anyariel’s sword deep within its flesh. The creature gasps in shock, and dies.


*Epilogue*
_The Fire Forest
January 12th, 11 am_

The party spend two days licking their wounds. The seela are only too happy to extend to them the hospitality of the village. 

Vuhl, however, is nowhere to be found. On of the seela reported seeing him transform into an oily black mass of writhing tentacles before disappearing from sight.

The party decide to see about putting Timbre out of her misery, but find that she and her tree are already dead. Now that the seela are saved she had no need to carry on living.

They also check on Nelle the unicorn. His patients are recovering well, and Nelle himself is looking much healthier. 

Next they visit Gwenvere, to return the lock of Anyariel’s hair. She is pleased to see them, but suffers some sort of mysterious fit and expires. “I guess she had a heart attack,” says Jonathan. “Oh well, we might as well explore her lair, since she’s past caring.”

The exploration is made easier by the fact that on the nymph’s death the lake seems to be draining away, almost as if it was only her presence which had kept it in its current state. In a couple of days, the lake will be gone completely, but 

Inside they find a mirror, and a copper clasp which seems perfect for attaching the lock of hair to it. Caryk decides to do so, whilst Jonathan and the rest keep a safe distance. As soon as the hair touched the clasp, Caryk’s reflection in the mirror undergoes a horrifying transformation. His face, never particularly handsome in the first place, squeezes out of proportion, and his skin breaks out in warts and pustules.

“That’s weird,” he says. “The mirror is distorting my reflection somehow.” He glances at his reflection in the lake. “Its hard to tell in the murky water, but I think my reflection might be changed there as well.”

He turns back to the rest of the party, who are looking pretty sick. “Its not just my reflection, is it? I wonder if the eladrin in Anyariel’s shrine is able to break curses?”


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## RangerWickett (Oct 22, 2007)

Victory. Sort of an odd place to end a session, though. So what's everyone's classes and levels now?

I'm intrigued by the possibility of Kazyk getting the sword.


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## amethal (Oct 22, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Victory. Sort of an odd place to end a session, though. So what's everyone's classes and levels now?
> 
> I'm intrigued by the possibility of Kazyk getting the sword.



They insisted on going back and tidying up the loose ends. Took quite a while. However, the session itself didn't actually end there. They also did the "no ticket" suggestion from Shelter from the Storm but I haven't written that up yet.

I wouldn't have normally have had Kazyk try for the sword, but given that one of the PCs was crazy enough to invite him to try for it then I thought he'd give it a go.

I'm a bit vague as to their classes. I probably should keep a closer eye on them!

My best guess is that the party are currently :-

Gribron, human beguiler 3 / wizard 1 (I think - might be 2/2)
Agatha, human warlock 4
Ambar, catfolk battle sorcerer 3 (having now removed the +1 LA using the option in UA)
Caryk, tortle monk 2 / cleric 2 (I think - might be 3/1)
Jonathan, elan psion 4 (I think)
Solsus, pixie 3 / druid 1 (pixie being a "monster" class with 4 "levels", none of which have hit dice)


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## JonathanFarrier (Oct 22, 2007)

Jonathan is Psion (Egoist) 2 / Human Paragon 2

He is an Elan as stated, the idea behind the HUMAN Paragon bit is:

1) That he is trying to rediscover his lost past/self.
2) That having become an immortal (Elan) he is trying to capture the drive of humanity/mortality before he loses it - he has this minor thing about personal power and fears losing his will to strive in the slow passing of the centuries.


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## amethal (Oct 22, 2007)

JonathanFarrier said:
			
		

> he has this minor thing about personal power and fears losing his will to strive in the slow passing of the centuries.



I don't think anyone in this campaign needs to be worrying too much about the slow passing of the centuries ....


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## amethal (Oct 25, 2007)

*Shelter from the Storm*

*Interlude – No Ticket*

Cast of Characters

Gribron – human spellcaster
Ambar – catfolk battle sorcerer
Agatha – human witch
Caryk – tortle monk
Solsus – pixie
Jonathan – “human scholar”

Haddin – elderly wizard
Cristin – his daughter


_Town of Bluehaven, Kingdom of Dassen_
_January 19th_

Our heroes have arrived in Bluehaven, a picturesque seaside town in the Kingdom of Dassen. They are hoping to find a ship to take them to Seaquen.

It has taken them a week to make it this far, and most of the party are fed up with land travel. The people of Dassen are not especially hospitable at the best of times, and are becoming increasingly annoyed about the hordes of foreign refugees now flooding into the country.

The party have received a particularly sour reception, once word got out that they are responsible for dousing the Fire Forest. The fire provided a partial barrier between Dassen and their powerful Ragesian neighbours. The locals are worried that Ragesian troops might pass through Dassen and through the forest en route to attack Gate Pass.

****

Jonathan looks around the tavern, and spots Gribron approaching.

“Any luck finding a boat?” he asks.

“None at all. The locals are mostly too scared to put to sea at the moment. Ships have been disappearing, and there are rumours of mysterious warships patrolling just out of sight of land.”

“Surely there must be some daring captains willing to take a risk if the price is right? Eight passengers, after all. ”

“There were,” says Gribron. “They have already been hired by refugees who got here earlier. Those are the ships that have disappeared.”

At that moment, a man approaches them.

“Hello,” sys the man. I understand you are in need of a ship. I would like to offer my services.”

“We are indeed,” says Jonathan. “Who are you?”

“I’m Captain Jed of the Seahawk. My vessel is at your disposal.”

“How much do you charge for passage?”

The man seems slightly non-plussed for a second. His face goes blank for a moment, and then he says “Fifty gold pieces each. Meet me at my ship tomorrow morning.” Without further ado, he leaves. Gribron surreptitiously casts a spell at the man’s departing back.

Agatha, Ambar and the rest wander over to see what is going on.

“There was something not quite right about him,” says Jonathan.

“He was radiating magic,” says Gribron, “as if he was under an enchantment of some kind.”

Solsus decides to follow the man back to his ship, but everything seems as it should be. The rest of the party ask around about Captain Jed, but they find out nothing untoward. Its seems that Jed is quite well regarded locally, and has a reputation as an honest, efficient and steady sailor. It is considered somewhat out of character for him to offer his vessel in a risky venture, but possibly he has financial difficulties and is taking a calculated risk.

****

The next morning, the party boards the Sea Hawk, an elderly but well maintained coastal trading vessel. The crew seem a bit reluctant to set sail, but it is clear they trust and respect their captain. Half of the fee is paid in advance, with the rest to follow when they dock in Seaquen.

****

For the first couple of days the weather is fair, but on the third day a squall blows up, and Haddin and Ambar both feel suffer from sea sickness and do not emerge from their cabins.

The rest of the group are out on deck, where the fresh air helps to counteract the motion of the ship somewhat. Agatha is the first to notice that the ship seems to be heading towards the shore.

They question the captain about this.

“I never wanted to set sail in the first place,” snarls Jed. “Someone must have put a spell on me. I’m not risking my ship on this foolish journey. I’ll put you off here, then head back to Bluehaven.”

“We had an agreement,” says Caryk. “I’m sure none of us would put a spell on you. We’ve met our part of the bargain and we would expect you to do the same.”

Jonathan decides the best course of action is for him to take the captain aside and reason with him. His methods of persuasion are very effective; the captain looks pale and shaken when Jonathan has finished talking, but agrees to continue on to Seaquen as fast as possible in order to get rid of his passengers in the shortest possible time.

The crew mutter and look askance at yet another change of heart on the part of the captain, but again Jonathan is equal to the task. He hands out gold pieces and words of encouragement, and the crew reluctantly agree to continue, at least until there is any actual danger.

****

The following day dawns bright and breezy. The squall has passed them by, and Ambar and Haddin have recovered from their sea sickness. The captain seems to have lost his previous ill humour, and has returned to the calm, almost laid back demeanour he possessed when they first met him.

Caryk is suspicious. “I bet that scoundrel Haddin has been using his mind controlling magic on the captain. The captain wasn’t happy yesterday, when Haddin was too sick to control him, but now Haddin’s well again the captain is back to his old behaviour. I’m going to have words with that wizard.” With that, he marches off to Haddin’s cabin.

A few minutes later, Caryk returns. He has a big grin on his face. “We sorted out our little misunderstanding. It was all in my imagination. Haddin is a great fellow, and I apologise for ever doubting him.”

The captain wanders over. “Yes. I am fine. We are making good time. We should be in Seaquen soon.”

****

Solsus has been scouting, whenever he can do so without being left behind. He is able to fly up and see things before they are visible to the sailor in the crow’s nest, so he is the first to see the ship ahead of them. It is a large warship, and appears to be of elven design. He returns to warn the others.

The party have some difficulty persuading the captain to slow down and approach the strange vessel more cautiously. Caryk sides with the captain, but when Haddin arrives to see what the argument is about he is quickly able to persuade both Caryk and the captain of the need to reduce speed.

Solsus sets off again, and flies up to the warship. It is flying the flag of Shahalesti. He hopes none of the crew are able to see invisible creatures. There are a few elves on deck who look like they might be wizards, but none of them seem to have detected him. Of course, at the moment they have no reason to suspect his presence. Things might be different if they were alerted to the fact that there was an intruder. Solsus resolves to do nothing rash.

The party discuss their options. The Shahalesti warship is clearly stationed to prevent access to Seaquen by sea, and the Sea Hawk, sturdy though she is, would be no match for her in a contest of weaponry or seaworthiness.

Captain Jed agrees to put the party ashore at Vidor, a nearby settlement which is not even impressive enough to be called a village.

“We’ve saved ourselves a couple of weeks of travel along Dassel’s roads,” says Caryk cheerfully. “We only have the swamp left to get through and then we’ll be in Seaquen.

*Act One – The Swamp*

*Scene 1*
_Thorp of Vidor_
_January 25th, 11 am_

Vidor is a pitiful settlement, whose normal ill-kempt appearance is made worse by constant drizzling rain and the presence of several score of refugees. The inhabitants are a shifty looking lot, and are very free with information.

It appears the swamp proper is about fifteen miles south of the thorp. There is a road of sorts, but it vanishes as soon as it hits the swamp. Generally the swamp is about three feet deep, and it is full of all sorts of dangerous creatures. Most of the refugees passing through here have bought rowing boats from Leto Moore, the boat builder.

One red haired female mage didn’t buy a boat. Instead she hired a pair of brawny local lads as bodyguards and set off on foot.

“Red haired mage,” says Caryk. “Weren’t we asked to look out for that guy’s sister? What was his name? Randall?”

“Rantle,” says Solsus. “His sister’s name is Katrina. She had red hair and was heading this way. It might be her.” 

Attitudes towards refugees are mixed. The locals consider black cats to be unlucky, and are worried that the recent spate of wizards and their feline companions may have put a curse on the town. The poor refugees who can’t afford enough supplies to brave the swamp are a nuisance, but more affluent refugees have been a welcome source of gold.

The party decide to split up.

Caryk will visit the refugees, and give them what aid and alms he can. Solsus, Jonathan and Agatha will see about getting a boat. Ambar and Gribron will scout out the thorp and see if they can pick up any useful information. Haddin and Cristin are letting everyone else sort out the arrangements, as usual.

It’s a small settlement, and Leto Moore’s boat works is a very noisy place. Finding it is easy enough.

Agatha wanders over and asks him about his prices.

He gives her a beaming smile. “Good day to you madam. Is it a boat you are after? We’ve been working flat out to make as many boats as we can. Each one seats three and they are a steal at only one hundred gold pieces each. I’m letting the oars and poles go at cost – just five gold pieces each for them. And with every three boats sold I’m giving away a keg of beer.”

“One hundred gold pieces!” says Agatha in disbelief. “For a three seater row boat? And since there’s nine of us, that’ll be three hundred in total.”

“Don’t forget fifteen for the poles,” says Leto. “And the free beer. Its an awful struggle to make boats under such primitive conditions, especially since its been raining for a week with no sign of a break in the weather. I’d love to let you have them cheaper, but I can barely afford to sell them for a hundred each.”

At that moment there is a strange noise, and Leto slumps to the ground clutching his temples. Blood starts to pour from his nose and ears. He calls out in pain.

“Let me through,” calls out Jonathan in an important voice. “I am a healer, and this man has clearly been taken ill.” Luckily for the injured Leto, Jonathan had only just taken his healing kit out of his pack, confirming his status as a healer to the various onlookers.

Leto moans softly, then staggers to his feet. “My head hurts,” he says.

“I don’t like the look of that blood,” says Jonathan. “I’m worried it might be plague. Could be very dangerous.”

“Plague?” says Leto.

“Yes indeed,” replies Jonathan. “I have some rare and expensive herbs which might help, but they are in short supply and expensive. I only have a few of these expensive herbs left. I could let you have them in exchange for a boat.”

“I don’t think it is any kind of plague,” says Leto. “Anyway, the pain has passed and I feel fine now.”

Just as he finishes saying this, the strange noise is heard once more, and Leto collapses to the ground. Jonathan looks alarmed at such a violent reaction, and is visibly relieved when Leto comes round after a second or two. “Definitely the brain plague,” says Jonathan.

“You do look very peaky,” says Agatha sweetly. “One more bout might finish you off.”

Leto looks very upset. “The herbs. Give me the herbs, and you can have a boat. And a pole, as well. I feel terrible. I need the herbs.”

“Certainly,” says Jonathan. He pulls out the most unusual looking of the herbs he has in his healer’s kit, and gets Leto to help them. His mace, inscribed with the symbol of Olladra, glows slightly for a moment, and suddenly Leto feels much better.

When Gribron and Ambar catch up with the others, they see Jonathan has acquired a boat.

“We’ll need more than one boat,” says Gribron.

“I only need one,” replies Jonathan pleasantly. “The boat shop is in that direction. They are a hundred gold each, with oars extra.

“And people call me a thief!” exclaims Gribron indignantly. “I’m not paying those kind of prices.”

The recent rumours of plague have ensured that nobody is loitering around Leto’s boat shop, so Gribron finds it easy to attract the man’s attention. Once he has the man looking at him, Gribron starts to drone and make strange gestures. Soon Leto is staring at him in fascination.

“We are on an urgent mission,” says Gribron in a sing-song voice. “We need two boats, and since we are short of funds you will sell them to us for five gold pieces each.”

Gribron stops droning. “Your mission is urgent,” says Leto, “and you are short of funds. Take two boats and pay me five gold pieces each for them.”

“You are a very kind man,” says Gribron. With considerable difficulty he drags two boats over to the others. “How far is it to this swamp,” he asks, once he has his breath back.

“Fifteen miles,” replies Jonathan.

“I’m not carrying a boat for fifteen miles,” says Gribron, and sets off in search of some local youths. He persuades two of them to carry his boat for him in return for five gold pieces.

When Caryk returns, he is pleasantly surprised to see how well his comrades have organised things in his absence. “Good work guys,” he says. “However, someone in the village said that if we bought three boats we’d get a keg of beer.”

“We didn’t like to impose on the boat builder,” replies Gribron.

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” says Caryk.


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## RangerWickett (Oct 26, 2007)

LOL That's great!

You've got some vicious PCs there. My playtest group would be proud.


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## the Jester (Oct 26, 2007)

I'm really enjoying this so far. 

Keep it up!


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## amethal (Oct 27, 2007)

the Jester said:
			
		

> I'm really enjoying this so far.
> 
> Keep it up!



Glad you are enjoying it. Running it has been a lot of fun so far, and I've finally got the story hour up to date with what follows ....


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## amethal (Oct 27, 2007)

*Scene 2 – Attercops and Cypress Trees*
_The Sour Lake Swamp
January 25th, 1 pm
_
The party sets off into the swamp. The water is waist high on most of them, but that’s why they have the boats. Poling is not as easy as it looks. Unsurprisingly, it is still raining, deadening sounds and making archery more difficult.

Lacking either a map or a guide, the party follow Solsus’s suggestion and head along the coast. It is difficult to tell exactly where the swamp ends and the sea begins – and someone else seems to have made the same mistake. Keen eyed Solsus, scouting above the party, spots a ship which has run aground in a stand of cypress trees.

Solsus flies over the stranded ship. It is a coastal trader of some sort, fairly similar to the Sea Hawk. The hatch to the hold is open, and there is a small patch of blood beside it. Otherwise, there are no signs of life. As he flies back to the others he gets a sensation that there might be something in the trees.

Two of the party’s three boats move cautiously towards the ship. The third, carrying Haddin and Cristin, hangs back. As usual, they are content to let the rest of the group take all the risks.

Four thick bodied, spider-like creatures drop from the trees, and sprint across the shallow water towards the boats. The leader, the size of a wolf, heads straight for Jonathan and, with a mighty leap, knocks him backwards out of the boat and beneath the shallow waters of the swamp. Its comrades follow hard on its heels. One of them tries the same thing with Caryk, but the tortle is able to brace himself against the impact and it is the spider which is knocked back. The agile creature twists in the air and lands smoothly on its feet.

Jonathan, his mouth full of foul swamp water, feels the spiders’ fangs biting into him. He calls upon his mental powers to help him resist their venom, and leaps to his feet. This triggers a fresh round of attacks from his opponents, but his chain shirt is up to the challenge. A ball of frozen energy appears beside Jonathan, then shatters into a thousand pieces. The shards miss Jonathan, but shower the spiders.

Solsus notices a stirring in the branches of some of the other trees. There are more of these creatures lurking in ambush. Ignoring the fight which is currently raging, he calls upon the power of nature to aid him against these new foes. The branches of the trees shift and twist, and try and wrap themselves around the creatures lurking there. 

However, the spiders were already in motion, and three of them are only slowed down by the entangling branches. The fourth, however, is stuck fast. The delay allows Agatha and Ambar to fire at the three new spiders, but then the beasts gather themselves and charge the nearest boat.

Ambar’s highly tuned reflexes allow her to evade the assault of the first spider, but she dodges straight into the path of the second. It knocks her from the boat, and she too takes an unwanted bath in the swamp. Gribron unleashes a spray of brightly coloured lights at the creatures, but the mindless vermin ignore him. He changes tactics, and starts hurling bolts of flame at them instead, to much greater effect.

Caryk drops carefully into the swamp, and moves to help Jonathan. Ambar climbs to her feet, hissing and spluttering, and uses the sword of Anyariel to good effect against the spiders who are surrounding her. Agatha’s eldritch blasts unerringly strike their targets, and Solsus chips in with his sling.

Now that the initial shock of the combat is over, seven wolf sized spiders prove no match for our heroes. They fall to blade, fist, spell and sling bullet. Soon the only one left is the eighth spider, struggling to escape the embrace of the trees. Gribron and Jonathan pull out their respective bows – a shortbow being Gribron’s choice, whilst Jonathan favours a light crossbow – and use it for target practice. It is Jonathan who finally finishes it off.

It is then time to turn to the party’s wounds. Only Jonathan and Ambar have been bitten, but the poison from the spiders’ fangs is making them feel faint. Solsus uses his healing skills to draw out the poison from Jonathan. Together, they help Ambar. Jonathan seems very taken with Ambar’s anatomy. She is probably wrong to feel flattered.

Solsus investigates the spiders’ nests in the trees, but finds nothing of interest. It appears this is merely a hunting ground, rather than the creatures’ lair. From a study of the bodies he deduces they are an obscure and exotic type of hunting spider called an attercop, but he can’t recall any further details.

The party then checks out the ship. The name on the side is “Milsoven” but that doesn’t mean anything to them. They clamber aboard, and most of them decide to investigate the hold. Solsus and Agatha prefer to keep watch outside.

Its dark inside the hold, but it’s a simple matter for somebody to cause Caryk’s staff to glow with light. The interior is large, but cramped. There are dozens of crates, some of which stretch almost up to the ceiling. It’s virtually a maze down here, and anything could be lurking in the shadows.

The crates are labelled as “manifest #1”, “manifest #2” etc., which is not very helpful. Many of them also have tiny holes drilled in them – possibly air holes. The party carefully lever up the lid of manifest #1, and discover the bodies of twelve bat-like creatures with long, sharp beaks. Eleven of them are shrivelled and desiccated, as if the blood had been drained out of them. The twelfth is much larger and bloated, and seems to have died of thirst. 

“Stirges,” says Jonathan. “Nasty things. Dead, fortunately.”

Manifest #2 contains the corpse of a strange, four armed gorilla. Its hands end in razor sharp claws.

At that moment, Gribron hears the sound of scuttling feet. Four of the attercops emerge from the darkness, and hurl themselves at him. He disappears from the spot in the nick of time, and appears behind Ambar. The spiders continue forwards and attack Ambar instead. They are not fussy. However, before entering the hold she had protected herself with a shield of magical energy, and the spiders are unable to penetrate her defences.

Jonathan lets loose a maelstrom of crystal shards, and Caryk strikes out with his staff. Ambar draws her sword and skewers the nearest spider. The beast was already injured by Jonathan, and cannot withstand her attack. Another spider falls to Caryk’s staff, and Gribron blasts the third with a firebolt. At this point Agatha and Solsus arrive, having heard the sounds of battle, and the last spider falls to Agatha’s eldritch blast.

The immediate danger over, the party return to searching the hold. They find the bodies of a number of other strange creatures, including a winged horse, and also a crate whose top is not properly secured. This crate is empty, but it might once have contained a dozen or so spiders.

However, the most interesting find is at the back of the hold. Four humans, dressed in the garb of sailors, are tightly bound up in spider silk. Jonathan pulls out his autopsy kit and cuts loose one of the sailors. He is slightly disappointed when Caryk points out that the man is still alive, and heads off back to the winged horse to examine it instead.

All four sailors are alive, although in a weakened state. They explain that their ship was carrying a cargo of exotic creatures to Seaquen, but the spiders escaped. The sailors’ last memory is being bitten by the spiders, trying to launch the lifeboat, and then collapsing. When they woke up, they were bound. They don’t know what happened to the rest of the crew, but suspect they must have jumped overboard to escape the spiders. 

It is fairly clear why the ship ran aground.

They want only to leave the ill fated vessel. They thank the party profusely for their help, point out the captain’s cabin, and then launch the ship’s boat. They have resolved to head northwards through the swamp to Vidor.

The party search the rest of the boat, but find nothing of interest apart from the cargo manifest in the captain’s cabin. It identifies the winged horse as a Pegasus and the four armed gorilla as a girillon, and states that everything, attercops and all, were to be delivered to one Banahman Vett, at the Lyceum in Seaquen. Since the Lyceum is the name of Seaquen’s college of magic, Vett is probably a mage of some kind.

“A dryad called Timbre, and now an animal collector called Vett. You just couldn’t make this stuff up,” says Agatha.
*
Scene 3 – Blood in the Water*
_The Sour Lake Swamp
January 25th, 5 pm_

Its getting dark when the party spot a convenient patch of dry ground on which to camp. Two tufty grass mounds poke up from the swamp, connected by a fallen tree. The party decides to rest for the night on the larger of the two little islands.

Agatha has the first watch. She sits in the rain listening to the insects, and thinks she’s come a very long way in order to be this uncomfortable. At first nothing much seems to be happening, but then she fancies she sees a light approaching from the northwest. The folk of Vidor had warned the party of the dangers of strange lights in the swamp. On the other hand, they had also tried to sell the party necklaces of alligator teeth, guaranteed to protect them from the dangers of their journey.

She watches the light for a few moments. Its definitely coming closer, and its strangely diffused, as if its shining through fog. However, in every other direction the night is perfectly clear. She can also vaguely make out the sound of singing.

“This is getting far too weird,” she thinks. Moving quickly, she kicks awake the rest of the group. Gribron gets the benefit of two kicks. After all, he might be a heavy sleeper.

The light and the song are almost upon them. The words are in the common tongue, but there is a second singer harmonising in a strange, gurgly language none of the party recognise. The song seems to be about the joy of taking a refreshing swim in the cool waters of the swamp.

“Seems to be some sort of primitive, mind affecting music,” says Gribron.

“I wonder if they realise they are wasting their breath?” says Caryk scornfully. “I’m a tortle, and we love swimming, but even I’m not being influenced into thinking a night-time dip in a strange, dank swamp is a sensible idea.”

They both realise at the same time that Ambar is heading down to the water’s edge, crooning the song’s melody. Caryk races after her, but there is no way the plodding tortle can reach the swift catfolk in time.

Gribron has a better idea. He starts crooning a song of his own, about the dangers of swimming and the nastiness of swamps. He is able to catch Ambar’s attention, and she halts on the edge of the water, torn between two conflicting emotions. When Caryk arrives, he is able to lead her back towards Gribron.

Meanwhile, the light has arrived at the island, and the fog surrounding it vanishes. There is now a boat beached at the side of the island, but no oars or sail are visible. It is occupied by two creatures, vaguely human but with a twisted, demonic aspect to their features. 

The taller of the two is tall and thin, and clad in rusted metal armour. Green water is oozing from her mouth. She ceases her singing and stares into space, as if waiting for something which fails to appear.

Her companion is shorter and unarmoured, but no less feeble looking. She carries the source of the light, a lantern on a pole. Scowling at the party, she chants words of lethargy and despair. Our heroes feel ice seeping into their bones, slowing their movements and making everything seem a massive effort.

However, the party have faced their share of hostile magic in their time, and all bar one are able to fight off the creature’s foul sorcery. Only Agatha, already tired from her time on watch, is unable to resist.

A split second later a third creature emerges from the swamp, and climbs up the side of the island towards Agatha. As emaciated as her sisters, she is clad from head to toe in the scales of some black, reptilian creature. She is in a fearful rage, frothing at the mouth and tearing at her long, black hair, and in her fist she holds a wickedly curved dagger. Screaming obscenities in some strange, infernal tongue, she hurls herself upon Agatha. Her inhuman strength drives the blade deep into Agatha’s stomach. 

Agatha staggers back from the blow, and retaliates by launching a powerful blast of eldritch energy into her opponent’s face. In her rage the creature barely flinches, but Agatha feels too numb and weary to retreat to safety.

Gribron launches glowing missiles of force at the lantern bearing hag, and curses as they are snuffed out by her magical protection.

Caryk and Ambar move to engage Agatha’s opponent. Their blows strike true, but the creature just shrugs them off. Jonathan, moving in the opposite direction, skips past Caryk and finds a safe place to stand on the edge of the swamp. He unleashes a bolt of mental energy against the enraged hag, but to no avail.

Haddin and Cristin scramble through the foliage of the fallen tree on their way to the comparative safety of the other island.

Solsus takes to the air, and pulls a small pouch out of his backpack. He hurls it at the enraged hag fighting Agatha, Ambar and Caryk, and strikes a direct hit. The bag explodes on impact, and covers the hag in green goo. This soon hardens on contact with air, and sticks the hag to the ground.

The creature shows no signs of being worried by this turn of events and, despite being hindered by the hardened goo, slashes once more at Agatha. Once again, the powerful blow strikes home. Agatha collapses to the ground under the impact.

This causes the other two hags to burst out laughing. The one with the lantern recovers sufficiently to thrust out her hand, whisper words of power and bathe Caryk and Ambar in a cone of flame. Their cries of pain only make the hags laugh even louder.

Gribron, identifying the lantern-bearing hag as the main arcane threat, moves as close as he can and lets off a firebolt. The hag crumples under the onslaught, but recovers when her sister touches her and whispers words of healing.

Our heroes are not used to fighting such magically powerful, albeit insane, opponents. Caryk and Ambar bring down the raging hag at last, but Caryk is stabbed several times in the process. Solsus is able to use his healing wand to restore Agatha to some semblance of health, but then has to turn his attentions to the badly wounded tortle.

“At least I’m out of the danger zone,” thinks Jonathan from his safe vantage point at the side of the swamp. He launches a mental blast at the lantern bearing hag, and hopes that her sister is out of healing magic. He groans when the armoured hag pulls a mouldy scroll from her belt and haltingly reads it. Her sister’s wounds start to heal once more.

At that moment a ferocious reptilian shape erupts from the swamp and swats Jonathan with its tail. The scholar staggers under the powerful blow, and realises to his dismay that he is standing toe to toe with a crocodile. He retreats around the side of the island, with the animal in hot pursuit.

Ambar, still stuck in her swim / don’t swim confusion, decides that a boat works either way and steps nimbly onto the hag’s raft. She thrusts at the lantern bearing hag, and Anyariel’s sword proves equal to the creature’s magical defences. Blood pours out from the gaping wound.

“Heal me, sister,” croaks the hag. Her armoured companion shrugs. Cursing, the hag hurls herself off the boat and into the swamp, and swims off to the southwest. A couple of the party take pot shots at her, but miss.

Gribron, spotting Jonathan fleeing from a ferocious crocodile, decides the situation is well in hand and fires bolts of force at the remaining hag. The creature is stung by the blows, and jumps over the side. She tries to swim off after her sister, but unfortunately the weight of her armour is far too much for her emaciated frame. She flounders through the swamp and Gribron, Ambar and an unsteady Agatha are able to send her to a watery grave. 

Caryk steps between Jonathan and the crocodile, and brings down the monster (the one with the tail) with some powerful blows from his staff.


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## JonathanFarrier (Oct 28, 2007)

"The one with the tail" - hmmm. Jonathan draws out a weighty scroll and opens it revealing a long list of names. At the head of the list is a title: Candidates for Anatomical Research List no. 5. He quickly jots down another name, along with a number of suggested procedures...


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## RangerWickett (Oct 31, 2007)

I'm amused by the presence of a dateline at the top of each section. We really tried to make the adventures take place over the span of more than just a few months, to make the war seem more real, but you're already in the third adventure and it's barely been 3 weeks. On the other hand, the nature of the story we had in mind wouldn't really work if we gave the PCs a few weeks to train and level up twice per adventure.

One of my friends is strongly interested in finding out how the PCs react to a certain NPC they should be meeting soon.


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## amethal (Nov 1, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> I'm amused by the presence of a dateline at the top of each section. We really tried to make the adventures take place over the span of more than just a few months, to make the war seem more real, but you're already in the third adventure and it's barely been 3 weeks. On the other hand, the nature of the story we had in mind wouldn't really work if we gave the PCs a few weeks to train and level up twice per adventure.
> 
> One of my friends is strongly interested in finding out how the PCs react to a certain NPC they should be meeting soon.



One of my (many) failings as a DM is I always lose track of time when running a campaign. I'm doing my best to make sure it doesn't happen this time.

It should have taken them longer to get to Seaquen. I thought the "No ticket" adventure might be fun, but an unexpected result of the way it went was that the journey took less time than it was supposed to.

Hoepfully the bazillion plot hooks in Seaquen will keep them occupied for a couple of weeks.


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## amethal (Nov 4, 2007)

The party search the one hag on the island. They find a few odds and ends, and also a brass key. Solsus takes the key, thinking it might come in useful, and flies off in pursuit of the surviving hag.

*Scene 4 – Witch Isle*
_The Sour Lake Swamp
January 25th, 8 pm_

Solsus follows the route of her escape, and eventually comes to a large patch of solid ground, on which are built five huts. Two of them have decayed into nothing, and two of the others are securely padlocked, so he heads over to the third. On the way he discovers that the floor of the island is littered with humanoid bones.

The huts are not very well made, and it is a simple matter for Solsus to peer in though a crack in the wall. Inside he spots what looks to be a crude alchemists laboratory. There is a large cauldron, and shelves full of strange vials, bottles and devices. The hag is here, searching through the vials. At last she finds the bottle she is looking for, and drinks down its contents in one gulp. The worst of her wounds close up and heal.

Solsus sneaks off to investigate the other two huts. He tries his brass key in the padlock, and it fits. However, he decides not to risk entering, and peers in through a chink in the door. Inside are three sleeping pallets, and a corpse of a man is chained to the far wall. The body is covered in bite marks.

At first Solsus thinks the third hut is empty, but on closer inspection he realises that what he had taken to be a bundle of clothing is actually a figure curled up in the corner. From what he can see, it is a human female, who is chained to the wall but appears to be unharmed.

Solsus returns to the party, and finds that in his absence they have fished out the second body from the swamp. This one also has a brass key. He describes to the party what he has seen.

Gribron, Ambar and Jonathan decide to take one of the boats and accompany Solsus to the hags’ island. Haddin and Cristin, unsurprisingly, elect to stay behind. Agatha is also feeling too frail for such an expedition, and Caryk volunteers to stay behind and protect her and the others.

Once more Solsus checks out the island, while his three comrades keep a safe distance in the boat. It appears the third sister has abandoned the island whilst Solsus was away, and there is no indication as to which direction she fled in. The hut with the cauldron is now padlocked, but the sleeping hut is open.

Solsus lets himself into the third hut. The woman in the corner wakes up at his approach, and climbs to his feet. She has been gagged. Solsus turns himself visible.

“Hi, I’m here to rescue you,” he says.

“Mmmpff mmm mmpff,” comes the reply, which reminds Solsus to remove the gag before trying to strike up a conversation.

“Thank you,” says the woman. “My name is Katrina. I’m a prisoner of these three horrible women.”

“Katrina? We have a message from your brother, Rantle.”

“Rantle! Is he here?”

“No, he’s still in Gate Pass, trying to organise resistance against the Ragesians.”

Katrina looks disappointed. “That’s typical of Rantle. Always wants to be a hero.” 

“We killed two of the hags, but the third escaped.”

“If I ever catch up with her, she’s dead meat,” vows Katrina.

“How is it that you came to be captured?”

They attacked us while I was sleeping. They killed my two guards, and dragged me back here. I pretended to be unconscious, and overheard their conversation. It seems they are working for the Ragesians. They are brewing potions which they deliver to Ragesian agents in Seaquen every couple of weeks. I pretended that I was also a Ragesian agent, and convinced them to keep me alive until they could check out my story. I hoped something would turn up in the meantime, and it has.

“Do you think you could unchain me?”

Solsus, cautious by nature, inspects her carefully, but decides everything about her rings true. He finds his key fits her chains, and releases her. The two of them head out of the hut. Solsus notices that his cautious comrades have brought the boat up to the edge of the island, but have not disembarked.

As Solsus and Katrina step outside the hut there is a massive flare of magic. Some of the bones on the island floor start writhing together, and start forming more or less intact skeletons. These skeletal creatures then clamber to their feet. Six of them rush towards Solsus and Katrina, whilst the rest head for the boat.

For once, Solsus has been caught flat footed, visible, and on the ground. Three skeletons reach out and slash at him with their bony claws. Katrina looks on in horror as their blows strike home, but Solsus is now firmly in touch with his fey heritage, and bony claws pose him little threat.

Three of them claw at Katrina, but she is tougher than she looks and stands bloodied but unbowed. “My spell component pouch is in the hut with the cauldron,” she says urgently.

Meanwhile, the remaining skeletons have rushed towards the boat. Only three of them are able to attack the boats occupants, but one of them slashes open Ambar’s side and blood starts to pour from the wound. Belatedly, Solsus realises that no one has through to heal the injuries Ambar suffered in the original fight with the sisters, and flies over to aid her. His healing wand removes the immediate danger.

Jonathan, his powers almost spent in the previous fight, decides to adopt the straightforward approach. He drops the crossbow he is holding, and draws the magical mace he acquired in Anyariel’s shrine. Smoothly he brings it down on the head of the nearest skeleton. Its skull shatters, and the magic animating it also crumbles under the blow.

Ambar releases two missiles of force from her fingers. These strike home unerringly, and destroy another skeleton. However, there are plenty left, and the single-minded monsters wade into the swamp in an attempt to surround their prey.

Solsus, still visible, once uses the healing power of the wand on Ambar. He attracts attacks from a number of the skeletons as he does so. The creatures seem unable to realise that their attacks are futile. Only cold iron weapons are useful against the fey.

Katrina, abandoned by Solsus, dodges past her skeletal attackers, and heads for the hut with the cauldron. To her dismay, it is padlocked, and she is now surrounded by the undead creatures. 

Solsus, spotting he plight, flies back to her and opens the lock for her. He has to turn his back on the skeletons to do so, which is a nerve wracking business even though they have so far been unable to harm him. As soon as the lock is open Katrina steps inside the hut and closes the door.

It appears to be ought sight, out of mind as far as the undead are concerned, and they ignore her in order to continue raining down blows on Solsus.

On the boat, things are not going well. Bony fingers are a far cry from the steel weapons our heroes are used to being threatened with, but their strength is failing as each suffers numerous wounds. Jonathan has crushed another skeleton, but is now fighting defensively, trying to avoid any further injury whilst looking for a safe opening to attack.

Ambar leaps nimbly from the boat, and tries to lead the skeletons off into the swamp. It is partially successful – some wade after her, but the result continue to attack Gribron and Jonathan. Solsus heads back to help them – just as Gribron decides the boat is too dangerous and uses his powers to disappear, and reappear some ten feet into the swamp. He then continues to use magical missiles and rays against the skeletons, with mixed results.

Meanwhile, Ambar, her magic exhausted,  is using the sword of Anyariel against the skeletons who have been pursuing her. It is not very effective against such bony opponents, and for a second she wishes she had Jonathan’s mace. However, when sufficient force is put behind the blow even a longsword can shatter bone, and she puts her mind to the task.

The heroes superior tactics slowly turn the tide of the battle, and more and more of the mindless undead are reduced to piles of bone. Solsus has taken to wielding his sling in hand to hand combat, an unorthodox approach but one which pays dividends as the lead bullets shatter enemy bones much more easily than his little scimitar would do. 

Then a loud cry of “Found it” is heard from the hut. Katrina emerges with a large smile on her face, and heads for the greatest concentration of skeletons. The monsters ignore her, and continue clawing at their current targets. Katrina mutters some words of arcane power, and a sheet of flames bursts from her fingertips. Four of the skeletons are engulfed before they can react, and sizzle into nothing.

Ambar and Gribron take down the last two opponents, and the battle is won. Katrina turns out to be a shapely, red headed woman dressed completely in red. She vanishes back into the hut, and emerges with the rest of the gear the witches took off her.

A search of the hut reveals nothing of interest apart from four vials which each contain a blood red elixir. There appears to be a similar liquid in the cauldron, presumably a work in progress.

The elixir is clearly magical, but at first the party cannot identify it. At last Gribron calls to mind an obscure substance known as “Tidereaver’s Tears”. This potion allows whoever drinks it to ignore the effects of strong currents and high winds. Normally this is of very limited usefulness, and it is not clear why the Ragesians are seeking to buy it in bulk.

There is still one hag left, so the party decide it would be best to spoil the latest batch of the potion brewing in the cauldron. Gribron does so by introducing a foreign liquid into the mix, in a way which is best left to the imagination.

Katrina seems very impressed with the way our heroes dealt with the skeleton horde, and requests to accompany them to Seaquen. They are more than happy to accept; a fire mage is always a handy companion to have.


*Scene 5 – Land Blockade*
_The Sour Lake Swamp
January 26th, 11 am_

The party are once more heading through the swamp. Once again, it is raining.

Jonathan spots a hawk flying above them. It is unusual to see birds flying in such weather, and he has a sneaking feeling the creature is spying on them. On the grounds that it is better to be safe than sorry, he raises his crossbow and shoots at the bird. However, it is a tricky shot at that distance, and he misses.

“What are you doing?” asks Katrina.

“That hawk is behaving oddly. I’m wondering if it might be a spy, or a wizard’s familiar or something.” He reloads his crossbow and tries again, but his aim is no better.

“Fair enough,” says Katrina. She pulls a pinch of bat guano from her spell component pouch, and mutters the words of a spell. A glowing pea of flame appears in the air, and then heads towards the hawk. It flies several feet past the animal.

“Missed,” says Jonathan. At that moment the pea explodes into a massive ball of fire. The blackened and singed body of the hawk falls into the swamp.

Solsus gives Katrina a sour look. “I’ll fly up ahead and see if anyone does appear to be waiting for a report from that humble animal you just blasted into oblivion.”

He returns shortly afterwards. “We are almost out of the swamp. It turns into a beach a bit further along. There are four elves up ahead, and they have a boat on the sand. I think they must be Shahalesti.”

“Any of them look ill at all?” enquires Jonathan. “As if they had just suffered the loss of a familiar?”

“No, they all looked fine.”

The party approach the elves cautiously. When they are spotted, one of the elves blows a horn. The other three fade into the undergrowth. The horn blower raises his hand in greeting, and waits for the party to arrive.

“Greetings travellers,” says the elf. “We are a detachment from the Royal Shahalesti vessel Osprey. Would you mind waiting here for a moment for our lieutenant to arrive?”

The party have no objection to this, and after significantly longer than a moment three more elves appear. Two of them are wearing chain shirts, and they seem to be supporting the third, who is wearing blue robes.

The robed figure seems to be in a bad way, and coughs several times as he addresses the party.

“I am Thalan, an officer in his Royal Majesty’s navy. We have reason to believe there are Ragesian agents in Seaquen, and we are seeking to prevent any more such from entering the town.”

“Are you okay?” asks Jonathan. “You seem a little distressed. I am a healer. Perhaps I can help.”

“No thank you,” replies Thalan. “There is nothing you can do for me. May I ask your business in Seaquen?”

“We are refugees from Gate Pass,” says Jonathan. “We are fleeing the Ragesian Scourge.”

“Then you will find a welcome in Seaquen,” says Thalan, “although the town is getting very crowded. We Shahalesti are seeking a treaty with Seaquen, in order to contain Ragesian aggression. May we meet again as allies.”

With that the elves head off, and the party are free to continue on their way. Next stop, Seaquen.


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## amethal (Nov 6, 2007)

Oh no!

http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=948678


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## RangerWickett (Nov 7, 2007)

Hehe.

On sort of the opposite end of the spectrum, I once had a player convince me in 3.0 to let him play a weretiger. After he tore through the first battalion of soldiers -- sadly, even on a crit, shortswords can't bypass that DR 15/silver they had in 3.0 -- I decided I had to start cheating back. I never used a pixie, though.


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## JonathanFarrier (Nov 7, 2007)

amethal said:
			
		

> Oh no!
> 
> http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=948678




Hmmm...an alternative Jonathan?

Three foot tall, gossimer wings, a disturbing smile and a large set of pliers. He is......

...THE TOOTH FAIRY...Mwa ha ha ha ha...


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## Toby Underfoot (Nov 8, 2007)

*Pixie-gibron*



			
				amethal said:
			
		

> Oh no!
> 
> http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=948678





Oh wonderful. I will cast off these nasty trousers and get out my tutu and I too will be a fairy. Hooray. hooray for pixies.  

And then there will be pixie-tortle, and pixie-witch, pixie-pussycat...and pixie-mental patient. And we can have tea and cakes and EVERYONE will be invited and it will be soooo much fun. Oh can we? Can we dearest Amethal?  Oh please say yes. Please do!    :\


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## RangerWickett (Nov 14, 2007)

How's the game going? Any updates coming down the pipeline?


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## amethal (Nov 15, 2007)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> How's the game going? Any updates coming down the pipeline?



No session last week (due to DM absence).

I need to write up this week's session, but haven't had a chance yet. Hopefully I'll be able to do it tomorrow evening.

EDIT Better late than never. Heavy roleplaying sessions take me much longer to write up than fights, for some reason.


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## amethal (Nov 19, 2007)

*Next installment*

*Act Two – Seaquen*
_Scene 1 – Western Approaches
January 26th_

The party emerges from the swamp into a rocky forest, and finds the road leading to Seaquen. There are a number of rowing boats abandoned on the side of the road, and an industrious group of workers are gathering them up and carrying them to the town. It appears that an enterprising half orc called Kor-Natheon is gathering them up in the hope of happier days to come, when the refugees are all going to want to go back to their homes.

Other workers are engaged in cutting down trees, with more enthusiasm than skill. Solsus’s expression darkens to see such destruction of nature, and he flies over to the nearest gang of lumberjacks.

“Why are you despoiling the forest in such a manner?” he asks.

The lumberjacks are extremely taken aback by the appearance of what they take to be a forest spirit. “We are taking the trees to build homes for the refugees,” one of them says at last.

“Very well,” says Solsus, mollified that they are using the trees for an acceptable purpose. “But have a care not to take more timber than you need.”

“Yes, your honour,” says the lumberjack.

The road leads through the refugee camps, and the need for more housing is obvious. Families are living in makeshift tents, and most are lacking even the most basic of amenities. The Ragesian Empire has a lot to answer for.

Once the party arrive at the town proper, it seems unremarkable. It is a collection of wooden and stone buildings, built around a harbour. The only place of interest is the walled compound of the Lyceum Academy, set on a hill to the north of the docks. After weeks of travelling, the town seems something of an anti-climax. As usual, it is raining.

The party discuss their options. They need to deliver the case to the resistance, whoever that might be. Caryk had been told by Torrent that her old mentor, a druid called Lee, would be a good place to start when they reach Seaquen. They should also probably contact the owner of the ship’s cargo, Vett, and let him know not to expect his animals.

Their discussion does not pass unnoticed. A skinny human with an engaging grin wanders up to them.

“Are you in need of the services of a guide, good gentlefolk?” he asks. “Judson is the name, and I know this place like the back of my hand. I can take you wherever you need to go.”

“How much do you charge?” asks Gribron.

“Only one gold piece per day. A real bargain.”

His sunny disposition wins over the party’s natural suspicion, and Judson is hired.

“Where would you like to go first, sirs and madams?”

*Scene 2 – Harbour District*
_January 26th_

The group decide that in fact they would like to dispose of some of the surplus equipment they have acquired on the course of their travels. Judson suggests the harbour district is the best place to do this. At this point Katrina, Caryk, Haddin and Crystin all take their leave, having various errands they need to do.

A large galleon, dominates the harbour. It is decorated with in ornate carvings, but somewhat blackened in appearance, as if damaged in a fire. Men are women are hard at work painting it in bright colours. “That is the vessel of the Wayfarers Theatre,” says their guide. “Apparently the Wayfarers have some ability to move their ship by magic, but the last time they tried it – just moving it a few yards to another berth in the harbour – it caught fire.”

Several members of the party nod at this. They have seen several examples on their travels of the fiery dangers of teleportation.

A group of Wayfarers has set up a booth on the shore, advertising their forthcoming production of “The Spectacular Trial of Toteth Topec.”  They are also auditioning for would be actors. Judson says he has considered giving it a go, but the party are most definitely not interested.

Taking his duties as a guide seriously, Judson points out a darkly veiled shop called Tattoomancy. The shop is currently closed – it only opens after sunset. The elves who run it craft tattoos for their customers, and some of their tattoos have magical powers. Judson sighs as, once more, the party are not interested.

It appears weapons and armour are in demand in Seaquen, which is understandable given the current political climate. The party have little difficulty selling their goods to various local shopkeepers and, in view of their recent adventures, decide it would be prudent to invest some of their profits in healing potions.

Judson believes there is a priestess of Olladra, goddess of healing, working amongst the refugees. Apparently disease is rife in the camp.

*Scene 3 – Refugee Camp*
_January 26th_

When they arrive back at the refugee camp, they see a strange sight. A massive eagle, fully the size of a horse, with some kind of saddle on its back. Standing by the eagle is a tall, armoured half elf woman. She appears to be speaking to the creature. Her tunic is emblazoned with an eight pointed cross, which some of the party realise identifies her as a member of the Order of the Aquiline Cross.

The Order is dedicated to healing. Its members are famous for healing all who need it, regardless of race, creed or religion. This approach does not sit very well with most priests.

It was wiped out by a demon, but a young human called Entras found an abandoned chapel in Shahalesti and re-founded the order. It is said that its members have a miraculous ability to survive injury.

Intrigued, the party wander over to talk to her.

“Greetings,” says Jonathan, and introduces them all.

“Hello,” replies the half elf, and introduces herself as Laurabec and the giant eagle as Takasi.

“We are looking for the priestess of Olladra,” says Jonathan. “I understand she is one of the priests tending to this camp?”

“We have eight sets of priests tending to this camp,” replies Laurabec, “although in most cases I wouldn’t really call it tending.” She seems somewhat frustrated, and eager to discuss her problems with the party. “All the sects are seeking to establish themselves in the current turmoil, and they are pulling in eight different directions. I’ve been trying to keep them from each others’ throats, and promote the idea of harmony, but its an uphill struggle.

“My plan is to establish a single temple to represent all eight deities. I was thinking of maybe calling it the Temple of the Sovereign Host, or some such. It would expose the people to all eight deities, and foster the spirit of co-operation which is so sadly lacking at the moment.”

“We’d be happy to help with this,” says Ambar.

“Maybe an outside perspective would help,” says Laurabec. “None of them listen to me any more. I’d be grateful for any help you could give. Anyway, Clara, the priestess of Olladra is working out of that tent over there.”

Thanking her for her directions, the party head on over. There is a very large queue of refugees in front of the tent. The priestess, Clara, is doing what she can to tend to them. She has two novices assisting her, but they seem good for little more than cleaning and bandaging wounds.

Jonathan strides boldly to the front of the queue, and Clara gathers her breath to give him a tongue lashing for his rudeness. He gets in ahead of her. “My name is Jonathan Farrier. I am something of a healer, ma’am, and I wonder if I could be of some assistance.”

“All assistance is gratefully received in the name of Olladra,” replies the priestess with a tired smile. “Have you any skill at treating disease?”

She and Jonathan work hard on the never ending stream of patients. Clara is happy to sell a fellow healer the handful of healing potions she has in stock. 

Eventually, he brings up the subject of the temple to the Sovereign Host. She is not impressed. “I serve Olladra. That is enough for me.”

“I have been speaking to Laurabec. She is a paladin of the Aqualine Cross. She feels it would help promote unity.”

“Don’t mention that order,” snaps Clara. “They are an affront to the gods.”

“Is there anything I could do to change your mind?” asks Jonathan.

“Hardly,” says Clara. Then she thinks for a second. “Such a venture is doomed to failure. All the priests here are far too proud of their own religions. However, I’ll make a deal with you. If you can get at least six of the other seven to sign up to this plan of Laurabec’s, then I will join as well.”

Jonathan takes his leave, and returns to the rest of the party, who have been in conversation with Laurabec.

“How did it go?” asks Laurabec.

“Not very well. I mentioned your name, but it didn’t seem to help,” replies Jonathan.

“No, it wouldn’t. The priests of Olladra, who as healers should be our closest allies, are often the ones who dislike the Order the most. I’m sorry, I should have told you that. As you can see, I’m no good at diplomacy and negotiation. I’m not very good at seeing things from the other person’s point of view.”

“Well, she did say she’d join if six of the others did. I’ll go and ask some more priests.”

Gribron snorts. “Looks like you haven’t learned anything from your rejection. We need to be a bit subtle about this. Find out some background information, and plan our strategy. What can you tell us about them, Laurabec?”

“Not a lot really,” she replies. “As I said, I’m not cut out for this. As well as Clara, there are three other groups of Ragesians. There’s also one sect each from Ostalin and Sindaire, a bunch of dwarves from a bit further north in Dassen, and the local Seaquen priests.”

“Right,” says Gribron. “Let’s start with the Ragesians. Who is nearest?”

“That would be the priests of Aureon, god of knowledge. Their camp is over in that direction, but I don’t know much about them.”

“We’ll soon fix that,” replies Gribron. “Let’s split up, and see what we can find out.”

A few hours later, they return and compare notes.

The high priest is called Theodore, and he loves to hear stories.

Rumour has it that he abandoned several of his companions on the road, but when he lost a book he went back for it. The book is a discourse called “The Path of Light”. Jonathan recalls reading a synopsis of the book once, and can remember several of the book’s key arguments.

None of the party claim to be particularly good at telling stories, but Judson grins and says, “As well as being a guide, I sometimes make a few silvers as a story teller in the taverns. I’m sure I could spin a few yarns to impress this Theodore guy. I don’t know anything about this Path of Light stuff though.”

“Is there any way we could get our hands on this book,” asks Agatha. “Maybe steal it from him?”

“No need for that,” says Judson. “If its such a famous book, the library in the Lyceum is bound to have a copy. Of course, I ain’t a member.”

“The Vett guy is a lecturer at the Lyceum,” says Solsus. “We were going to see him anyway, so I suppose now’s as good a time as any.”

*Scene 4 – Lyceum*
_January 26th_

The lecturers at the Lyceum live off campus, but close by. Judson doesn’t know Vett’s exact address, but finds out easily enough by asking the first student he sees.

Banahman Vett turns out to be a pale half elf. His cottage is comfortably appointed, but is overrun with animals. His pride and joy is his pet python, which Ambar turns down the opportunity to stroke.

Solsus introduces the party, and hands over the manifest from the Milsoven. “I’m sorry to tell you that the ship ran aground and all your animals died except for the attercops. They unfortunately escaped and we had to put them down when we arrived on the scene.”

Vett is disappointed by his news, but seems resigned. “I guessed something had happened; the ship should have arrived by now. Its just as well you got there when you did. Thirteen attercops running wild in the swamp could have played havoc with the local wildlife.”

Jonathan and Solsus look at each other. “Actually,” says Jonathan, “we only killed twelve.”

“Oh,” says Vett. “Still, a lone male is not a problem. All the attercops I ordered were male, just in case there were any accidents. Fascinating species. The males run down their prey and inject them with a paralysing venom and bring back to the nest. The females are bigger, and have silk glands which they use to immobilise the prey the males bring them. The eggs are then injected into the helpless victims, and hatch a few weeks later, killing the host.”

The party looks at each other in alarm. “We did find some sailors bound up in silk,” says Solsus.

“I see,” says Vett. “Where are these sailors now?”

“We sent them back to Vidor!” says Solsus. “Is there any way of removing the eggs?”

“A skilled surgeon, or powerful magical healing,” says Vett.

“We’d better head off back through the swamp then,” says Solsus. “Let’s go back and see Laurabec. She is a member of a healing Order, she should be able to come with us and treat the sailors.”

“You can’t leave tonight,” says Vett. “You won’t get very far into the swamp before dark. I appreciate you dealing with my attercops. Do you have anywhere to stay, or can I offer you the hospitality of my cottage for as long as you are in Seaquen?”

“That would be great”, says Gribron.

“It’s the least I can do. I wish I could do more, but times are hard at the moment. Is there any other way I may be able to help you?”

“Actually,” says Jonathan, “there is a book we are trying to track down, called “The Path of Light.”. Would it be possible to obtain it from the Lyceum library?”

Vett nods, and heads to his front door. He pokes his head out, and shouts at the nearest passing student. The lad comes over, and Vett sends him off on the errand.

Jonathan agrees to go through the book with Judson when it arrives, to coach him on his arguments with the priest Theodore the next day. Meanwhile, Solsus flies off in search of Laurabec, to ask her to accompany them on their expedition through the swamp the next day. He returns shortly afterwards.

“Did she agree to come with us?” asks Agatha.

“Not exactly. She thanked me for letting her know, climbed on to that eagle of hers, and swept off towards Vidor. I guess she’ll be handling it on her own.”

“Good,” says Gribron. “I could do without another trip through that swamp.”

*Scene 5 – Refugee Camp*
_January 27th_

The next day Judson, thoroughly briefed by Jonathan, makes a big impression on Theodore. The elderly cleric enjoys his story telling, and is very impressed with his logical and well thought out arguments.

“You make an excellent case, young man,” says Theodore. “You may count upon the assistance of the servants of Aureon. Knowledge is the key to a project such as this, so it is only fitting that Aureon should be the first deity represented in the new temple to the Sovereign Host.”

Next on the list are the followers of Dol Dorn. Once again the party split up to find out as much as they can. It appears that the leader of the group is not actually a cleric; instead it is a barbarian woman called Sonja. She reveres strength and is full of pride. It appears she will take offence unless she is either the first or the last leader approached.

“It’s a bit late to ask her first,” says Gribron, “so she’ll have to be last. Who’s next?”

Next on the list are the Dasseni dwarves. They revere Onatar, god of the forge, and feel most comfortable dealing with dwarves. They would look favourably on visitors who bring along a goat for them to sacrifice and perform an augury.

“No way,” says Solsus. “Sacrificing animals to predict the future is an offence against nature.”

They are very keen on lineage and like their visitors to recite their lineage back to at least three generations.

“That might be a problem,” says Jonathan dryly. His lineage is measured in months.

“Three generations?” says Solsus. “But that’s thousands of years!”

“I don’t think they mean pixie generations,” says Gribron. For some reason, he seems less than keen to identify his own ancestors. “What we need is a dwarf. Solsus, you changed into an elf in the Fire Forest. Can you do dwarves?”

“Yes,” says Solsus, “but not for long. I think getting caught pretending to be a dwarf wouldn’t go down very well.”

“I suppose not.” Gribron glances around the camp, and spots a muscular dwarf wandering past the party. “Hey, sir dwarf,” he says, “I wonder if you could do us a favour …”

The dwarf, whose name is Drolin, is eventually persuaded to negotiate on behalf of the party with the priests of Onatar. He is also more than capable of reciting his lineage back as many generations as required. 

Unfortunately, he is hopeless negotiator. The party parts on good terms with the dwarves, but the best they can achieve is a promise to join the temple if everyone else does.

The next target is the druids who follow Balinor, god of beasts. The party discover that they like travel stories and cats, and arrange an invitation to join them for their evening meal.

It is not clear whether Ambar qualifies as a cat or not. The head druid, a man who has taken the name Balin, doesn’t quite know what to make of her. It is time to try the travel stories. Solsus, being a fellow druid, acts as the party’s spokes-sprite.

“Have you travelled far to get here?” asks Balin.

“Oh yes,” says Solsus. “And we have had many adventures. Are you familiar with the Fire Forest?”

“But of course,” says Balin. “Its one of the wonders of the age, and also forms a miraculous barrier between the evil forces of Ragesia and the tempting prize of Gate Pass.”

“On second thought,” says Solsus, “let me tell you a tale of sea voyages and the terrors of the Sour Lake Swamp ….”

Balin is delighted with Solsus’s tales, although Gribron feels rather too much emphasis was been placed on certain minor errors he himself might have made in the course of the journey. The druids are eager to assist with the temple project, and the party head back to Vett’s in high spirits.

*Scene 6 – Refugee Camp*
_January 28th_

The party decides to tackle the Ostaliners next. They are a band of mercenaries, but have little love for the Ragesian Empire. The party’s researches have uncovered that they are led by Arick, a priest of Dol Arrah, god of battle. He is a human hippogriff rider, but otherwise little is known of him.

Once more Solsus does the talking, and he is able to have a long conversation with Arick about aerial combat which leaves the rest of the party thoroughly bored. When Solsus proposes that Arick joins the temple project, the priest is undecided.

“Of course, the temple would be in a defensible site,” says Solsus. “On a hill, for instance. If you joined the project, we would be grateful for your expertise in choosing the best position.”

“You seem pleasant enough people,” says Arick, “but I have not tested your mettle. Would one of you care to spar with me?”

Ambar, suffering near terminal boredom, is happy to oblige him. The mercenaries have marked out a training ring, and Ambar and Arick face each other at opposite ends.

One of the mercenaries gives the signal to begin, and both combatants spring into action. Arick is fast, but no match for Ambar’s lightning reflexes. The sword of Anyariel strikes the first blow. Arick quickly counters with his mace, which comes within a whisker of striking Ambar in the face. She just manages to dance out of the way on time, and instead takes a heavy blow to the chest.

Unperturbed, Ambar once more strikes home with her longsword. She easily avoids Arick’s response; possibly he has eased off slightly after coming so close to doing her a serious injury with his first blow. Ambar catches him again, and once more his blow goes wide.

Arick raises his mace in salute, and concedes the duel. “Very well fought,” he says. “There’s clearly nothing wrong with your mettle.” He speaks words of power, and Ambar’s bruises heal. He then turns his attentions on his own wounds, which magically close up.

“I would be honoured to join your project,” says Arick.

After lunching with the Ostaliners, the party head for the temple of the Devourer. Unlike the recently erected tents of the other faiths, this is a stone temple built many years ago by Seaquen’s fishermen to appease the dark god of the seas.

“Naturally, the temple would be built by the sea,” sys Gribron. Hopefully there are some hills by the sea, he thinks to himself, mindful of the previous promise to the followers of Dol Arrah.

“Would it be situated by the south harbour,” asks the high priest, “thus not requiring all the foreign refugees to enter the town itself?”

“But of course,” replies Gribron smoothly. There have to be some hills in the south, surely.

“And are you a man of the sea yourself?”

“Why, yes I am,” lies Gribron, born and bred in the land-locked city of Ragos. “However, my people’s methods are somewhat different to what you may be used to.”

He makes a few arcane gestures with his hands, and out to sea a ghostly net appears, hovering above the waves. A few seconds later, fish start jumping out of the sea to land soundlessly in the net.

“But I would not want to intrude upon your fishing grounds,” says Gribron, and the net disappears. The fish are returned to the water with a silent splash.

They fisherfolk are very impressed, and the followers of the Devourer sign up to the temple project.

Next are the Sindairese, followers of the secretive god of sorcery known only as the Shadow. The Sindairese are a whiny bunch, full of the woes of exile – even though everybody else in the camp is also an exile. 

Ambar happens to know that in Sindaire it is considered good luck to have a bear present at any negotiations.

“I can ask the druids if they know of any bears,” says Solsus. “Would we have to give them the bear as a gift?”

“Give them a bear? Of course not, that would be silly,” says Ambar. “Apparently they like it if a bear is there. We can take it away again afterwards.”

Solsus heads over to the druids’ camp. Balin is pleased to see him, and it turns out that he has a bear as a companion. The bear is currently in the woods, presumably feasting on incautious lumberjacks, but Balin is able to retrieve him.

Appropriately, it is twilight when the party, plus Balin and his bear, head over to the Sindairese camp. The high priest is called Vencer, and he is delighted to see the bear. He is also pleased to be in the company of Gribron and Ambar, two arcane spellcasters.

Gribron does the talking, and manages to mention the terrible plight of the Sindairese exiles in every second sentence. Vencer is very impressed by the party, and pledges his support to the temple project.


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## amethal (Nov 19, 2007)

*Continued*

*Scene 7 – Refugee Camp*
_January 29th_

The next morning, it is time to speak to Sonja, leader of the followers of Dol Dorn. The party impress on her their respect for her strength, and that they have come to see her last as they too wished to be in a position of strength before negotiating with such a powerful warrior.

She appreciates the gesture and, as the position is currently five in favour and two against, she follows the position of strength and throws her lot in with the temple project.

With six in favour, the party are able to use this to convince Clara and the dwarves to join as well, making it unanimous. The Temple of the Sovereign Host is a reality – or will be as soon as workers can be found to actually build it.

It is at this point that the party decide they really ought to do something about the case they have carried from Gate Pass, and resolve to see Lee, the druid.

*Scene 8 – North Harbour*
_January 29th_

Judson knows that Lee lives somewhere in North Harbour, and it is easy enough to obtain directions to the druid’s distinctive lair. On the way he tells the party what little he knows about the druid. Apparently he has an affinity for water – which should be useful, since its still raining – and has close links with the local sailors. He has a squid as a companion.

Lee turns out to live on a small rock, not really worthy of the name island, just off the north coast. A rickety wooden boardwalk connects the rock with the mainland. The party head cautiously across the boards, and are faced with heading down to a soggy dock area, or heading up to a cavern entrance. They decide to head up.

The cavern contains some crude wooden furniture, and a bell. Jonathan rings the bell, and after a short while a man appears. He is bald, tanned and muscular, and is dressed as a fisherman. Somehow he gives the impression of great power barely contained, like a dam ready to burst.

He examines the party carefully. “You must be the friends of Torrent I’ve been told to expect. I’m Lee. Please bear with me a moment. I have some other guests, who are just leaving.”

Lee disappears, to emerge a few minutes later with three others. Two of them are half orcs; one is armed and equipped as a warrior, the other is wearing wizard’s robes. 

However, it is the third figure which captures the party’s attention. Nominally human, his body is adorned with numerous unnatural protrusions and alterations. His cheeks have teeth growing out of them. His arms have tentacles attached to them. His left hand has a half formed eye growing out of it that glows occasionally.

(Later, Judson identifies him as Paradim Dogwood, an Ostaliner who runs a shop at the South Harbour called the Body Shop. He styles himself a biomancer, and sells all kinds of bodily alterations. He takes pride in the fact that he himself is a walking advertisement for his art.)

“Any friends of Torrent are friends of mine,” says Lee once his guests have left. “What can I do for you?”

“We have brought a certain item down from Gate Pass,” says Solsus, careful not to give too many details. “It is of interest to the Resistance, but we are not sure who to deliver it to.”

Lee says nothing for a minute or so, as he weighs up various alternatives in his mind. Eventually he reaches a decision. “The best person would be Simeon, head of the Lyceum. He’s part of the resistance, and the de facto leader of Seaquen. I hesitate to suggest him because he has a great deal on his plate at the moment, but needs must; you will have to add to his troubles.

“I will write you a letter of introduction.”

The party wait for Lee to write the letter, thank him for his help, and leave.

They are heading for the Lyceum when they spot a crowd has gathered around a badly burnt building. They hear mutterings from the crowd. “Another burning”, “damned refugees”, “never had these fires till they came”, “who else could it be?”

The party head over. The building was of wooden construction, and has been pretty much burned to the ground. They shove their way through the angry crowd, and investigate the scene. Jonathan finds tiny tracks, possibly of rats, heading away from the building. Solsus confirms they look like rat tracks, but they both lack the skill to track creatures through a city.

“I can find you a tracker,” says Judson. He returns soon afterwards with a grizzled woodsman, who seems somewhat amused at the prospect of tracking rats across a town. The trail leads past some more burnt buildings and ends at a sturdy, brick built house.

Jonathan knocks on the door, which is eventually opened by a middle aged human woman. “Can I help you?” she asks.

“Do you know anything about rats?” asks Jonathan.

“Its about time!” declares the woman. “We’ve complained and complained to the council, and nothing has been done. Our cellar is overrun with rats. Nasty, vicious creatures. What are you going to do about them?”

The party get the woman to lead them to the cellar. She throws open the trap door, and they peer inside. Keen eyes Solsus can see best in the gloom. The cellar floor is indeed awash with rats. They are entering and leaving via holes in the walls. However, what everyone notices is that the rats’ teeth are giving off fiery sparks.

Solsus and Jonathan confer. There are tales of fiery monsters from Fernia, the Sea of Fire, which sometimes find their way into the world to wreak havoc. However, these creatures are reputed to consist largely of living flame, which is far more impressive than a few sparks.

Meanwhile, Agatha has identified that the rats are confined largely to the floor of the cellar. She amuses herself by hurling bolts of eldritch energy at them. Many of them are slain; the few survivors disappear into their holes.

The party decide to head back to their lodgings at Vett’s. Maybe the wizard can shed some light on the mystery.

On the way, Jonathan notices that a member of the town watch was staring at them in an unusual way. He points this out to the others. Once they round a corner, Solsus disappears from sight and heads back to the guard to see if there is a clue to his strange behaviour. He notices that the guard is heading after the party, a puzzled expression on his face. He reports back to the others, who decide to confront the man.

The guard turns the corner, and finds himself face to face with those he was following. He gives a start.

“Can we help you?” asks Gribron.

“No, I mean yes, I mean maybe,” says the guard. “What I mean is, I think someone is looking for you. A woman gave me your description, asked me to keep an eye out. Jess, her name was. She was really nice.”

The party thank the guard, and decide to do a bit of information gathering. It turns out that a number of people had been asked by “that nice woman Jess” to watch out for the party. Jess is apparently staying with the Auyang family, a group of wealthy merchants. Gribron gets the impression there is something odd about some of their informants, but he can’t put his finger on it.

Deciding it’s a problem for another day, they carry on to Vett’s house.

*Scene 9 – Lyceum*
_January 29th_

Vett is entertained by their tales of strange fires, and rats who generate sparks, but at first he can spread no light on the mystery.

“Could it be the result of some concentration of magic?” asks Solsus. “Fire magic, for instance?”

The wizard thinks for a moment. “Now you come to mention it, there are ancient tales of a wizard known as Pyromancer. He came to Seaquen, apparently because of a link to the Sea of Fire. He died here, and according to legend his tomb was built on that rift.

“Nobody knows where his tomb is supposed to lie. I suppose if the rift did exist, it might be possible for rats living there to take on some fiery qualities. It would take a long time, and there have been no stories of such rats before.”

“So maybe there’s been some activity in the tomb, which has driven out the rats?” suggests Solsus.

“Its possible,” says Vett, “but I can’t think who or what would be digging around in the Pyromancer’s tomb after all these years.”


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## RangerWickett (Nov 19, 2007)

Wow, that seemed to go over better than I would have hoped. I mean, admittedly it is reminiscent of EverQuest-esque mini-quests, but I hope it gave the players a good sense of the nature of the city.

Thanks again for posting these.


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## amethal (Dec 3, 2007)

_January 30th_

It is raining again.

Our heroes head to the Lyceum to see Simeon, the magic college’s headmaster. He is a busy man, as he’s the de facto leader of the town during the current crisis, but the heroes have the letter of introduction from Lee the druid and are able to get an appointment to see him.

When they arrive, a familiar figure is just leaving his office. Its Katrina, the fire mage they rescued from the swamp. She smiles at them, and says to Simeon, “These are the guys I was talking about. They are very good at troubleshooting. If you get any problems, you would be well advised to call upon their expertise.”

“I see you know Katrina,” says Simeon. “She’s becoming something of a local celebrity, due to her successes in the spell duel competitions. Are any of you interested in competing?”

The party decide that they aren’t, and bring out the case and explain its provenance.

Simeon is intrigued by the case, and confirms it is heavily warded. He calls upon the assistance of his deputy, a dwarf called Kiernan who specialised in defensive magic. Between the two of them, they are able to get the case open safely, and its contents are revealed to be a sturdy, leather bound notebook.

“It appears to be written in the infernal tongue used by the devils of Shavarath,” says Simeon. “I can normally read such writing, but it appears to be in code. It’s going to require some powerful divination magic to find out more. Fortunately that is my speciality, but it might take an hour or so.”

“We’d like to find out the contents of the case,” says Solsus. “Would you mind if we came back in an hour, when you are done?”

“No problem,” says Simeon. “Feel free to wander around the campus while you wait.”

“I am interested in magical healing,” says Jonathan. “Do you know of anyone who might have such items for sale?”

“The college professors are a pretty eccentric bunch, myself included,” says Simeon. “Some of us make magical tools from time to time to aid in our scholarly pursuits, but I’m not sure we’d have anything that was much use for a party of adventurers such as yourselves. I think your best bet for healing would be to visit Ogoth Who-Wears-No-Mask, one of our consultant lecturers.”

Ogoth turns out to be an orc. As advertised, he isn’t wearing a mask. He is somewhat surprised to see the party. Jonathan’s staff catches his eye, topped as it is by the skull of the unknown orc inquisitor they killed at Haddin’s farm.

“What’s that skull on your staff?” he asks gruffly.

“It’s a symbol of my healing order,” replies Jonathan. “We all carry them to show we are healers.”

“Where did you get it?”

“I bought it in a curio shop,” says Jonathan glibly. “I was wondering if you had any healing items I could buy to magically augment my own healing skills.”

He inspects Ogoth’s wares, and eventually purchases a magical belt. The rest of the group also pick up a few magical trinkets. Then they return to Simeon’s office.

“I have used various spells,” says Simeon, “but with mixed results. “The information in this notebook is very well protected, which perhaps explains why the security in place to prevent its physical theft was so lax.

“The author is Kreven, second in command of the Inquisitors. I know a fair bit about them, because Ogoth used to be a member.”

Jonathan is glad he didn’t reveal the true provenance of the skull on his staff.

“The contents were read and approved by another person, who has thus far been completely immune to my best attempts to divine anything about them. From this I conclude that it was most probably Leska herself, the head of the Inquisitors.

“It concerns the Scourge, the Ragesians’ attempt to capture ‘disloyal’ spell casters. As you know, we in Seaquen are completely opposed to the Scourge, which has given rise to our current refugee problems. However, I get the feeling that the term also means something else. Have you come across any such different meaning in your travels?”

The party shake their heads.

“Also, I have come across references to legends of something called a Trillith. I am not familiar with the term.”

Solsus thinks for a moment. “While we were travelling through the Fire Forest we found it was somehow possessed by a creature which might have been called ‘a child of Trilla’. We met a unicorn which had heard that term in its dreams.”

“I had an idea that Trilla is the name of a dragon,” says Jonathan, “but I can’t recall any more details.”

“Right, I’d like to keep the case, if I may,” says Simeon, “and see if I can find out any further information. I will be having a council meeting in a few days, and I’d like you all to attend. I have a feeling there’s a mission coming up which is suited to your talents. I’ll let you know the exact date once I’ve checked with the other attendees.”

That’s fine with the party, who are pleased to be shot of the case. They have finally completed the mission given to them by Torrent, and are now at something of a loose end until the council meeting. However, there is one mystery they haven’t yet followed up.

 “I think we should check out that lady who was looking for us,” says Agatha. “her name was Jess, and she was staying with some merchant family or other.”

“The Auyangs,” says Ambar. “Let’s see what she wants.”

*Scene 10 – Auyang Residence and elsewhere*
_January 30th_

The Auyang residence is easy enough for Judson, the party’s guide, to find. It is a moderately large house, set in its own grounds in the better part of town. A quick visit to the neighbours does not reveal any obvious skeletons in the family cupboard. The Auyangs are respectable merchants, and their houseguest Jess is “a very nice lady”.

Solsus turns invisible and flies around the house looking in windows. Excluding the servants, there are three women in residence. Tow of them appear to be mother and daughter, whilst the third is young and blonde haired, matching the vague descriptions they have had of Jess.

For the want of a better plan, the Solsus hangs back in the garden whilst the rest of the party knocks on the front door. It is opened by a middle aged servant woman with a sour expression.

“Can I help you?”

“We are here to see Jess,” says Jonathan. “I understand she has been looking for us.”

The woman’s expression softens at the mention of Jess, and she looks at the party carefully for the first time. “Of course,” she says. “Please come into the parlour and I will tell her you are here. I would ask you to leave your weapons in the hallway.”

After the party have divested themselves of their more obvious weapons, the servant shows them into the parlour. It is clearly a room designed for visitors, and contains those ornaments, furniture and decorations which the house owners like least. The maid heads upstairs to get Jess.

Gribron moves over to the window, to let in Solsus. The window is actually locked, but that poses no problem for Gribron the Sneaky. Solsus flies in and perches in a corner.

The maid returns with a blonde haired woman. The maid looks at the unlocked window in puzzlement. “I’m sure I locked that,” she says to herself, then recovers and says, “the lady Jess.”

“Thank you Maggie,” says Jess, and the maid leaves.

Jess is a young, short, pretty, blonde haired woman, dressed as a minor noble. “I am pleased to see the four of you,” she says in a melodious voice, with possibly a slight emphasis on the word four. “Are Caryk and Solsus not with you?”

“They are engaged about their own affairs,” says Jonathan. “We are at a disadvantage, madam. You seem to know us, but I do not believe we know you.”

“My name is Jess, “ says Jess, “and for the purposes of our business that is all you need to know. I seek to recover a certain case, and its contents, which I believe you are in possession of.”

“We don’t have it with us,” says Gribron, “but we can get it. How much are you offering for it?”

“The case is not yours,” says Jess. “It belongs to my employers, who are not very forgiving people. However, if you co-operate now and return it to me they will overlook your transgressions to date.”

“We have no proof it’s yours either,” says Gribron. “There’s no way we are letting you have it for free.”

“Very well,” says Jess. “My employers have given me a certain store of funds with which to pay incidental expenses. I will add you to the list. I can offer you one thousand pieces of gold in return for the case.”

“Make that two thousand, and you have a deal,” says Gribron.

“Two thousand it is, and it is up to you whether or not you choose to split the money with your absent colleagues. However, there remain other elements of the deal to agree. I do so despise those who try and rely on the spirit of an agreement, don’t you? This will need to be spelt out to the letter.”

After a fair amount of negotiation, it is agreed that the party will return the following morning with the case and its contents and receive the gold. The party claim not have opened the case or seen the contents, so cannot be held responsible if they are not what is expected, but Jess reserves the right to void the agreement if they have clearly acted in bad faith on this point. Neither side will try any violence or aggressive acts.

“Phew,” says Gribron after the party have left. “She loves attention to detail. That reminded me a bit of negotiating in the Fire Forest with that devil. There might be a clue there as to what we are dealing with ….”

The party head back to the Lyceum, and explain the situation to Simeon. Unfortunately, he does not have any books written in code in infernal which they can use as a substitute. He can, however supply them with an authentic looking blank notebook. Jonathan spends the next ten hours writing convincing looking gibberish in infernal. The book is then put back in the case, and Simeon and Kiernan ward the case with their most impressive-looking spells.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help in dealing with this Jess woman?” asks Simeon.

“No,” replies Solsus, “but it would be helpful if you had someone who could follow her to see where she went. I’m not completely convinced she is unable to see me when I am invisible. Perhaps we could ask Lee, the druid?”

“Good idea,” says Simeon. “He’s able to take the form of an animal, and could follow her without being spotted. I’ll arrange for him to be there when you hand over the case. With any luck, she’ll lead us to the rest of the Ragesian agents in Seaquen.”

January 31st

It is raining. It has rained every day since the party left the boat at Vidor.

The party return to the Auyang residence. The maid, Maggie, lets them into the parlour. Again, they have to leave their weapons in the hall, and again Gribron lets Solsus in through the window once the maid has left to get Jess.

Neither side trusts the other, but the exchange is carried out smoothly. The party leaves the house, and Solsus spots a bedraggled looking osprey perched on the roof of a nearby building.

“I know he’s a druid with an affinity for water and the sea,” thinks Solsus, “but he could have chosen something a bit less conspicuous. I hope Jess doesn’t know that ospreys don’t live in towns.”

Our heroes amuse themselves in town for the rest of the day, and receive a message in the evening to see Simeon at the Lyceum.

“Lee has reported back to me,” says Simeon once they get there. “He’d be here himself, but apparently he needs to go for a swim after all that flying.

“Surprisingly, Jess headed out of town with the case. Into the swamp, in fact. Lee followed her for a number of miles, and then she stopped and started exploring the area she was in. Seemed like a perfectly random bit of swamp to Lee. Anyway, once she was satisfied she knew the area she vanished in a ball of flame. Teleported away, by the looks of it. If she doesn’t have some kind of protection from heat she’ll have arrived at the other end extremely the worse for wear.

“If you ask me, she was scouting the area in case she needed to teleport back in the future. It helps her if she knows where she is going, and this way we don’t have any one particular spot we can guard.

“What is puzzling me is, if she is able to teleport then why bother going out to the swamp to do so?”

“I suppose it would be an inconspicuous place to do it from,” says Solsus.

“Not as inconspicuous as from her room,” says Gribron. “And if for some reason she preferred to pretend to leave town in the normal way, why go so far into the swamp? A few hundred yards would have been secluded enough.”

“There’s some factor here we don’t know about,” says Simeon.

****

The party go to bed. In view of recent developments, they have decided to set up watches. Agatha is on watch when there is a knock on the door of Vett’s house.

“Its always when I’m on watch,” she says to herself, and then kicks the others until they wake up. The knocking continues, but she doesn’t open the door until the group are somewhat prepared. After all, its not they who are having the emergency.

Outside is a teenage boy, carrying a lantern. Unsurprisingly, it is raining, and he is wet.

He is not very coherent. “The warehouse. Trouble at the warehouse. You have to come to the warehouse.” He is unable or unwilling to give any more information, and the party can either follow him or go back to bed.

Heroes that they are, they head out into the night.


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## Haunted (Dec 3, 2007)

It truly is sad that I'm all caught up now.  I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment


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## amethal (Dec 4, 2007)

Haunted said:
			
		

> It truly is sad that I'm all caught up now.  I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment



Glad you are enjoying it.

I'm posting it as we go along, more or less, and we can't quite manage to have a session every week. So apologies if it isn't updated as often as I'd like.


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## Haunted (Dec 4, 2007)

No problem on not being able to update every week.  I understand entirely.

I actually started my own players down this adventure path just a few weeks ago (they're at the abandoned village in the Indomitable Fire Forest as of this past Saturday).  Its great fun to see how another group has handled the options presented.


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## RangerWickett (Dec 12, 2007)

I know it can sometimes be hard to keep games going steady during the holidays, but should we expect more updates before the end of the year?


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## amethal (Dec 12, 2007)

Scene 11 – Warehouse

Once they are all outside, the lad leads them to a warehouse in the merchant district. It is dark, and raining, but Solsus can just make out the name above the entrance – “Auyamg Family Warehouse”.

The entrance itself is a large set of double doors, which are closed securely against the night. However, inset in one of the doors is a smaller door, which is suspiciously ajar. Solsus peers inside, but the interior is unlit and he can’t see very far.

“Seems normal enough,” he whispers. “Crates and boxes, mainly. No sign of any people.”

Ambar heads around the side of the warehouse to see if there are any other entrances. Solsus, Agatha and Gribron head inside. Gribron pulls out a magical torch which illuminates the entrance, but the rear of the warehouse remains in darkness. Jonathan waits outside with the boy, his crossbow loaded in case of treachery.

Solsus call briefly upon the power of nature, and a stone in his hand glows with light. He hurls it down the far end of the warehouse. There are more crates and boxes, but the warehouse is far from full. Trade has no doubt been suffering due to the war and the blockade. However, the light also reveals a shadowy figure stood at the far end.

“Welcome,” says it says in a melodious voice. “I believe you owe me some money.”

It is Jess. Quickly, Jonathan raises his crossbow and fires … at the boy. He can’t miss at this short range, and the lad collapses with a crossbow bolt in his throat.

“What was that?” says Gribron, alarmed.

“Nothing to worry about,” says Jonathan, wheezing slightly as he drags the corpse into the warehouse and deposits it in a corner.

“Jonathan Farrier,” says Jess. “You owe me two thousand gold pieces. The book was a fake.”

“I spent a lot of time on that fake,” replies Jonathan. “In fact, when you add up the labour involved, you probably owe me money. Also, we’d like our case back, please.”

While this conversation is going on, the party have advanced towards Jess. Solsus is in the air, trying to keep various beams and support structures between Jess and himself. He’s not entirely convinced she can’t see through his invisibility. Agatha has climbed one of the side walls and is watching Jess intently.

Suddenly, Jess’s form shimmers. Wings sprout from her shoulders, horns grow out of her scalp and a gleaming sword appears in her hand. With a snarl of rage, she hurls herself towards Jonathan, using her wings to help her leap over the various crates in her way. She moves with frightening speed, and before Jonathan can react she slashes him with her sword.

Crying out in pain, he backs off away slightly, and calls upon the power of dreams. He creates a scarf like mass of ectoplasm, and hurls it with his mind at Jess. It strikes home, and covers her in the sticky goo.

He also recognises her real form. “She’s an erinyes!” he yells.

“Must be a type of devil,” thinks Solsus. He hurls a sling bullet at her. In her current state she finds it difficult to get out of the way, and the bullet strikes her in the forehead – only to bounce off harmlessly. Most types of devil are resistant to mundane weapons.

“Let’s see how you cope with this,” says Agatha, and fires a blast of eldritch energy at the devil. It strikes home, and Jess snarls in pain. She seems to be somewhat resistant to Agatha’s blasts as well.

Gribron casts a spell, and nothing obvious happens.

Jess steps forward and swings twice at Jonathan. She is hampered by the goo, and both her attacks go wide. Jonathan retaliates by blasting her with electricity. The devil has a supernatural resistance to magic of all types, but Jonathan manages to penetrate her defences.

Solsus flies back to Jonathan and uses the healing wand.

“You’re next Solsus,” says Jess, looking straight at the invisible pixie. Then she is rocked by another blast from Agatha.

Gribron fires off a black ray at Jess. It strikes home unerringly, with much greater than usual accuracy thanks to Gribron’s previous spell of true striking. Jess stumbles, and cold seems to seep into her muscles, robbing her of some of her usual grace of movement.

Once again she is distracted by the effect, and misses Jonathan with her sword. He takes careful aim and blasts her once more with electricity. This time it strikes her in the head, and she takes considerable damage. However, she is tough and determined, and fights on.

Gribron fires a ball of fire at Jess. As a devil, she is immune to the fire effect, but at the heart of the ball is a rock which should do some damage. Unfortunately, as the others have realised, she is resistant to mundane weapons and the rock also fails to hurt her. Cursing, he starts to summon a celestial creature to aid in the fight against the devil.

Jess finally frees herself from the goo, strikes at Jonathan again. This time manages to wound him. However, she leaves herself open to his counter, and yet again his blast strikes true and defeats her spell resistance. Jess staggers backwards, and then collapses.

Gribron’s celestial dog appears,  wanders over to her corpse and sniffs at it.

Agatha comes down from the wall, and joins the others at Jess’s body. Gribron concentrates, and identifies that Jess’s sword and her large hair clip are magical. Curious, he pulls the clip from her hair, and is somewhat surprised when it turns into a hat in his hand. With the “hat” removed, a collar appears around Jess’s throat, inscribed with the familiar G motif.

“Someone has a lot of devils to call on,” says Jonathan. “I wonder why she didn’t teleport away when she started losing the fight. There’s more to this town than meets the eye.”

The party head for the Lyceum, and arrange an urgent interview with Simeon in the morning. He needs to know of Jess’s reappearance, and the murder of the boy (although not the name of the murderer). As it happens, Simeon was going to contact the heroes anyway – the council meeting is scheduled for the afternoon, and he’d like them to attend.
Act Three - Lyceum
January 31st, 2 pm

The council is meeting in the Aurad Tower. Once again, it is raining, but students have been stationed at the tower entrance and they use magic to dry off the guests.

Our heroes are among the first to arrive, and while they wait they pick up a few rumours about the progress of the war.

As they heard from Ambar, Gabal and his wizards attacked the Ragesian second army camp at Gate Pass once the inquisitors had been lured into the city. Ragesian losses are reported at nearly two thousand. Unfortunately for Gabal, one of the inquisitors made it back out of the city and dispelled his magical protection from fire. A mighty fire-breathing dragon had accompanied the Ragesian army, and incinerated the mage.

The party remember the wave of fear which washed over them after leaving the Inn in Gate Pass on New Year’s Day and several of them cannot suppress a shudder. However, they seem to remember someone telling them that a local druid eventually managed to slay the dragon.

Encouraged by Gabal’s death, the Ragesians counter-attacked, and are now in possession of the City’s westernmost First District. However, the Shahalesti are aiding the city by providing supplies from the east.

The Ragesian first army is still in Sindaire. It is believed they are hoping to link up with a Ragesian fleet which is en route to the Sindaire capital, but whether the fleet will be used to withdraw the troops, or simply re-supply them, is anybody’s guess.

The third army is massing on Dassen’s northern border. They may be intending a full scale invasion of Dassen, or possibly will simply cut through Dassen on their way to the Fire Forest. The fact the Fire Forest is mysteriously no longer burning means it provides another route from which to attack Gate Pass.

The fourth army is attacking northern Shahalesti.

It is not clear what Leska is attempting to achieve by this strategy. She has split her forces, and is occupying vast swathes of territory which she cannot hope to hold. There is no word as to the fate of the hundreds of mages captured by the Scourge.

Once all the guests have arrived, Simeon calls the meeting to order. He has made no concessions to the occasion, and is still dressed in his usual vets and pants. He doesn’t look much like a mage, let alone a leader of mages.

He introduces all the guests. The party have met many of them before. As well as Simeon, his Dwarven associate Kiernan Stekart is here. Somewhat surprisingly, the fire mage, Katrina, is also present and smiles at the party. They have also met Lee Sidoneth, the water-loving druid, and Xavious Foebane, the dwarf leader who handily defeated Jonathan at the game of conquest. Also, Laurabec Adelsburg, the holy warrior is here; however, she is not accompanied by the giant eagle, Takasi.

The ones they don’t know are Lorb Votberd, a dwarf magistrate, a flamboyant wayfarer called Giorgio, and ambassadors from Ostalin, Sindaire and Dassen. (Although technically Keifer Numhaut, the Dasseni, is an envoy, not an ambassador, since Seaquen is nominally still part of Dassen.)

Simeon starts the proceedings with a speech about the need for everyone to pull together and fight the Ragesians. “In conclusion,” he says, “our goal is to stop the Scourge, to drive back the armies of the Ragesian Empire, to dethrone Leska, and to ensure our families and homelands are safe. Now I hope you all have some idea how to do that. My ears are open.”

He then invites each of the guests to speak in turn.

First up is the Dwarven magistrate, Votberd. He uses the occasion to bring up a long list of grievances against the refugees, who he accuses of bringing crime and chaos to Seaquen. He is also convinced that there are Ragesian agents among the refugees. His plan is to systematically bring in every refugee for questioning, and lock up those who appear in any way suspicious.

Jonathan is incensed by this, and acts to speak next. “As a healer,” he says, “I have first hand experience of the horrors of plague. Disease is already spreading in the refugee camps, and the town itself is at risk. Our priority should be to improve conditions for the refugees, not treat them like criminals. Only when the town itself is safe from plague will we be in a position to make plans to fight a war.”

Laurabec speaks next, and agrees with the points Jonathan has made. Her speech is very, very long winded and her audience, particularly Votberd, grows more and more irritable.

Next up is Lee, the druid. He is looking as relaxed as ever, and gives a brief rundown of the naval situation. The north harbour is full, so ships are now docking in the south harbour. His plan is to wait and build up Seaquen’s strength, rather than engage in rash action.

Gribron speaks next. “I take it from what you’ve said, Lee, that we have no navy to speak of, just a few fishing boats and refugee ships. I suggest that we build ships of war, so that we can defend ourselves from an attack from the sea.”

The dwarf commander, Xavious Foebane, is keen to forge alliances with all the other nations. He also has a theory about the strange activities of Leska’s forces – they are looking for something, presumably the Torch of the Burning Sky. Xavious explains that the torch allows armies to be transported instantly to anywhere in the continent of Sarlonna; it would be a great blow to the war effort if Leska found it but a great victory for Seaquen if they could find it first.

Xavious considers that, heavily outnumbered as they are, Seaquen’s best hope is to form mobile teams of experts to carry out strategic missions. He has just such a force in mind – the elite knights of Dassen. Unfortunately, Seaquen would need to persuade King Steppengard to lend them.

Katrina speaks next. “I’m sure these knights of Dassen are fine fellows, but we have all the heroes we need in this very room.” She points out our heroes. “These brave souls rescued me from the witches in the swamp, and have faced down two devils sent by Ragesia to defeat them.”

“Three devils,” mutters Jonathan. “An imp still counts as a devil.”

“I have been in contact with my brother Rantle,” adds Katrina. “He has become a key figure in the Gate Pass resistance, and he too speaks highly of these heroes. You could do a lot worse than entrust your missions to them.”

Next to speak is the wayfarer, Giorgio. He ahs little to offer the council, but states that the wayfarers might be persuaded to set aside their traditional position of neutrality. He invites everyone present to tomorrow night’s premiere of their performance of “The Spectacular Trial of Toteth Topec”. He emphasises how important it is for Seaquen’s morale that everyone makes a show of unity and attends.

He moves around the room handing out tickets. He seems somewhat surprised when he reaches Jonathan.

“You seem somewhat familiar. Have we met, sir?” he says.

“That’s not likely,” says Jonathan, who doesn’t recognise Giorgio.

The envoy from Dassen speaks next. He states that King Steppengard is displeased that Seaquen’s offer of sanctuary has let to so many refugees flooding through Dassen. He also feels it is this which has made Dassen a potential target for Ragesia. It is the king’s policy to seek a non-aggression treaty with the Empire.

Ambassador Snord, from Sindaire, is more supportive of Seaquen’s cause, but explains that with the Ragesian first army already in their country his people are reluctant to openly oppose Leska. What his people need is a sign that the Ragesians can be beaten.

“So basically, you’ll join us once we are winning,” says Gribron sarcastically.

The ambassador ignores his heckler. “As for the Torch of the Burning Sky, presumably that’s with the dead emperor. He died at a place in Sindaire called Castle Korstull. A storm of fire has rained down from the sky ever since, killing everything it touches. Nothing could have survived the firestorm to take the torch – and I don’t see how you could manage to retrieve it either.”

Finally, ambassador Lonam is the last to speak. She says, self-importantly, “Khagan Onamdammin, our ruler, deeply regrets that his neighbours might be endangered by the Ragesian army, but is willing to lend his elite, fierce armies if his neighbours are reasonable. Ragesia intends to conquer your entire nation. Would it not be reasonable to trade us one third of your land, so that you may keep the rest from the greedy, cruel Ragesians?”

This does not go down well, to put it mildly. Everybody starts yelling at once. Amidst the confusion, the door opens and a human mage rushes into the room. Kiernan, the Dwarven abjurer, quickly casts a spell and the luckless mage is hurled backwards out of the room. This has the effect of quieting the assembly.

“Kiernan,” says Simeon carefully, “that was Johund you just attacked.”

“Better safe than sorry,” replies Kiernan.

The luckless Johund climbs back to his feet, and enters the room in a somewhat more circumspect fashion. “Elves! A group of elves have flown over the wall and are headed this way. They fly the flag of Shahalesti.”

At this point, the elves arrive. There are seven of them, and their leader is a female elf in expensive sliver armour.

“Declare yourself,” snaps Simeon.

“I apologise for this intrusion,” replies the elf smoothly. “I am Shalosha, daughter of Shining Lord Shaaladel of Shahalesti. I bring you word from my father.”

“Very well,” says Simeon. “You may address the council.”

Shalosha reaches into her pouch and pulls out her prepared speech. She seems to be uncomfortable reading some of the phrases; it is clear this is not a speech she herself has written.

“I come with an offer of safety and salvation for your city, and those who shelter here. As you know, Shahalesti is the shining jewel of civilization, and now we are attacked by the armies of Ragesia. For every loss we suffer, the progress of all nations suffers. We are the only power strong enough to drive back the fires of Ragesia, but even for our greatness, victory is not assured.

“My father, Lord Shaaladel, knows that some of the nations whose ambassadors stand in this very hall would like to see Shahalesti fall, for they don’t realize that in so doing they are wishing for their own doom. Even the most trustworthy here can admit that it is difficult to have faith in the leaders of other nations when the most they can do is send a few diplomats to the banner of Seaquen.

“Shahalesti sends a fleet. Seventeen of our ships sail now to this peninsula, surrounding it from all directions to protect it from hostilities. By this we show our devotion to the fight, and – so my father believes – we prove that it is our nation who should lead that fight.”

“You’ll have to dock in the south harbour,” mutters Gribron.

The beautiful elven princess ignores the interruption and continues with her prepared speech. “We invite you to join with us in the war against Ragesia. Many potential allies have found their way to your city, and so we have come here to meet them. However, we will not risk betrayal on any scale, nor would it be wise for you to risk it. So we ask that you hand over control of Seaquen to the Shahalesti fleet, so that we may begin checking the purity of your allies’ spirit. Admiral Telshanth will serve as provisional governor of Seaquen ..”

At this point, the envoy from Dassen begins yelling about how his country will never hand over its territory to a bunch of elven cut-throats, and the rest of her speech is drowned out. Simeon manages to get the Dasseni calmed down.

Gribron is not impressed with the speech. “You speak of alliances, but what you are proposing is conquest, the same as the Ragesians. You cannot defeat the Ragesians on your own. You need our help, and the sooner you realise it the better you’ll fare.”

Shalosha turns to him. “I appreciate the wisdom in your words. However, my father is adamant. Unless you agree to my father’s terms the fleet will blockade the town. I will speak to my father and try and arrange a compromise, but it will take time.”

The elves leave, and Simeon declares the meeting is over. However, he asks the party to remain behind as he has something further to discuss with them.

“We are proposing sending a diplomatic mission to King Steppengard of Dassen,” he says once everyone else has left. “The support of Dassen is crucial to our undertakings, and there is a very real possibility that they will sign a non-aggression pact with Ragesia. Not that it will do them much good in the long run.

“Do any of you have any diplomatic skills?”

The party shake their heads. Diplomacy is not their strong point. “No matter,” says Simeon. “I have someone in mind I can send as an envoy. The court of King Steppengard is a hotbed of intrigue at the best of times, and these are far from the best of times. What I would like is for you to accompany our envoy, and protect him form those who would do him harm. Are you agreeable?”

The party accept, and agree to accompany the envoy to Dassen. The expedition is not due to set out for a week or so, they can still go to the theatre.
Act Four – The Storm
February 1st, 7pm

The play takes place on the Wayfarer’s ship. The crew have finished repairing the damage from the ship’s last, disastrous teleport attempt. The wayfarers have laid on a ferry service, and Guildmistress Larkins greets all the guests personally. A burly man holds an umbrella to keep the inevitable rain off the Guildmistress.

She too seems to recognise Jonathan from somewhere, but he has never met her. The rest of the party, however, spot a distinct family resemblance between Jonathan and the Guildmistress.

“Welcome aboard ladies and gentlemen,” says the Guildmistress. She turns to Jonathan and says, “Forgive me sir, but you remind me a lot of my son. Of course, he’d be a lot older than you.”

“Really,” says Jonathan. “Where is he now?”

“He died, tragically, in a fire.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” replies Jonathan, and the party head below decks to the theatre level. Surprisingly, the theatre is at least four times the size it should be; clearly the wayfarers have taken advantage of some sort of magical extra-dimensional space. Their seats are at the back, as befits their lowly status, and they can hear the wind through the hatch of the main deck.

“The wind seems to be picking up,” says Gribron. “I think a storm is brewing. Hopefully it will blow away this incessant rain.”

The lights dim, and music appears to come from nowhere. The curtain slowly rises and a man strides onto the stage. It is the wayfarer, Giorgio, in the costume of the tile character, the mage, Toteth Topec. He stares around him suspiciously.

“He’s got a very suspicious look on his face,” whispers Ambar. “He’s clearly up to something.”

“Hush,” says Jonathan. “He’s playing a part. He’s acting.”

A massive serpent leaps down from the ceiling. Toteth barely manages to dive out of reach of its snapping teeth. Toteth then somersaults back to his feat – Giorgio is clearly an accomplished acrobat – and grabs the serpent’s tail. He clambers onto its back as it whips around the stage, and cracks it in the teeth with his staff. The serpent vanishes, and Toteth falls twenty feet to the stage, landing nimbly on his feet.

The audience cheer and applaud. So begins “The Spectacular Trial of Toteth Topec.”

Act one shows Toteth seeking out great magic, pursued by the serpent, now revealed as a dragon, as he goes. 

His journeys carry him to many foreign lands where he fights strange beasts, all the while pursued in the shadow by the dragon. He befriends three mages along the way, each helping him at a different leg of his journey with their control over flames, winds, and sea, but ultimately Toteth travels alone in a great desert, under the searing sun. Demons assault him, heat drives him mad, and he sees a vision of the Stormchaser Eagle (one of the four elemental spirits of Gate Pass) crashing to the earth before him. Toteth passes out, and the dragon hovers over him. But before it can strike, a beautiful, dark-skinned woman in green robes finds Toteth, falls across his body, and prays for help. Light beams from the heavens, and the dragon flees again to the shadows. As the stage fades to darkness, the woman carries Toteth to her home, and a deep percussive thrum shakes the theater, like the beating of a massive heart.

Toteth wakes in fits, light and dark represent many passing months as the woman tends to him. As he heals a romance forms between them, and the healing montage ends with a flamboyant love song and mock battle between Toteth and his love’s in-laws so he can marry her. The battle is interrupted at the funniest moment by a tremor, and people in the audience actually cringe in fear as the stage seems to crack and intense winds blow out of the deep. Toteth realizes the world is still in danger, and he recalls the vision he had of the Eagle. He sets out to find a way to save the woman he loves, leaving her behind, not realizing she is pregnant.

Another montage shows his incredible journey, as he faces riddling fairies, battles giant spiders, and braves a cursed pyre filled with evil spirits to find a gem that can seal the world. Interspersed during the odyssey are images of his love, growing slowly more pregnant, until finally she gives birth. When she does, she is visited by the other three mages who aided Toteth in Act One, and they bless the child, swearing to go join the geomancer’s quest so he can come home soon.

They travel through the aftermath of the various monsters and challenges Toteth has defeated, the ease of their journey a humorous counterpoint to the geomancers. But then they find him, and see him standing atop a shining peak, fighting the dragon of bright shadows. Toteth holds the gem high, trying to capture the dragon’s soul so he can take its power to heal the world, but the dragon is stronger. It bites him in half and the stage goes dark, the only thing visible is the gem, which falls and shatters.

There is an intermission, during which Katrina begins to spoil the rest of the plot. She also declares that the three play is full of obvious allusions to the current political situation. The dragon is Ragesia, the air mage is Ostalin, the fire mage is Dassen and the water mage is Shahalesti. Toteth is Sindaire and his love is Seaquen.

The party settle back down into their seats in time to spot Giorgio – free of the play because Toteth is now dead, heading up onto deck. Once again he has a suspicious look on his face.

“He’s not acting now, is he?” says Ambar.

“No, he’s not,” replies Jonathan.

“Then let’s follow him and see what he’s up to.”


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## amethal (Dec 12, 2007)

No session this week as only three players available. We are still on for next week, at least at the moment.


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## Sheyd (Dec 13, 2007)

Definately  this is one story hour I've enjoyed reading and look forward to more of it.  I have a few of the Burning Sky modules but I haven't run them yet.  This makes me want to start using them now but I have to wait.  Reading this story hour also makes me think of starting one of my own...

Pixies... dangerous little things...  Pixies living in human cities... MORE dangerous... a DM whom I play with now and again had a group of them take to hauling relatively small grindstones up into the bowels of trees and dropping them on the unsuspecting...  A VERY effective weapon!   He calls it a 'Grindstone baptism'!


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## amethal (Dec 14, 2007)

Sheyd said:
			
		

> Definately  this is one story hour I've enjoyed reading and look forward to more of it.  I have a few of the Burning Sky modules but I haven't run them yet.  This makes me want to start using them now but I have to wait.  Reading this story hour also makes me think of starting one of my own...
> 
> Pixies... dangerous little things...  Pixies living in human cities... MORE dangerous... a DM whom I play with now and again had a group of them take to hauling relatively small grindstones up into the bowels of trees and dropping them on the unsuspecting...  A VERY effective weapon!   He calls it a 'Grindstone baptism'!



I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Do you have the Monastery of Two Winds? There's an encounter pretty much at the start of that which spells bad news for pixies. I really don't know how I'm going to play it yet.


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## Sheyd (Dec 15, 2007)

I believe I do have that one... I don't remember much about it at the moment but I'll find it and read through it..  Needless to say I won't post anything that'd give away vital information about it to your players who as proven read this thread.


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## RangerWickett (Dec 18, 2007)

amethal said:
			
		

> I'm glad you are enjoying it.
> 
> Do you have the Monastery of Two Winds? There's an encounter pretty much at the start of that which spells bad news for pixies. I really don't know how I'm going to play it yet.




Heh, I hadn't thought about that being a problem for PCs. Well, as long as he stays invisible he should be okay, but I think it might be more fun if he didn't. *grin*

I eagerly await the next installment.


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## amethal (Dec 24, 2007)

Out on deck, it becomes clear that the wind is definitely picking up.

A pair of orcs axe-wielding orcs are now stood on the deck. One of them wears a wizard’s robe, but looks particularly unintelligent. The other is clad in plate mail. Our heroes remember that they mete the same two orcs at the home of Lee the druid; the orcs and Paradigm Dogwood, the biomancer, had been leaving as they arrived.

Strangely, there are now four barrels on deck – everyone is pretty sure they weren’t there earlier.

At first there is no sign of Giorgio, then he emerges from the captain’s cabin. Suspicious behaviour indeed.

“What were you doing in the captain’s cabin?” asks Jonathan.

“Nothing that need concern you,” replies Giorgio. “I have various duties to take care of.”

Gribron decides to head back below decks and check with the Guildmistress (who is also the captain) as to whether Giorgio is allowed to enter her cabin. Much to his surprise, the hatch won’t open – even though the party just came up that way. There’s no obvious locking mechanism; it must be magic of some kind.

The orcs and Giorgio all seem quite nervous, and it is rubbing off on the party. 

Jonathan concentrates and a translucent scarf appears and wraps itself around him. Gribron and Ambar mutter defensive spells which have no visible manifestation. Solsus takes to the air, and Agatha sidles off to one side.

A low-pitched humming noise starts to come from the captain’s cabin. It is growing in intensity. “So, how do you like our play so far?” asks Giorgio in a loud voice.

Jonathan remembers that the Wayfarer’s Theatre is able to teleport itself. Doing so is a bad idea given the “Burning Sky” effect which is currently causing extreme fire damage to those who travel any distance by such means. Also, the majority of the town’s dignitaries are below decks watching the play. Presumably the controls are in the captain’s cabin, which Giorgio has just come out of ….

Gribron and Jonathan exchange glances, and Jonathan gives a slight nod.

This is all the encouragement Gribron needs. He rises twenty feet up from the deck and unleashes a bolt of searing flame at Giorgio. It strikes home, but the Wayfarer is not even so much as singed. He obviously has some kind of magical protection. The flame does illuminate the metal armour under Giorgio’s costume – it appears he has more than one kind of protection.

In passing, Gribron notices from his elevated position that there is now a rowboat tied up alongside the ship. It appears to have some occupants, who are either dead or sleeping.

Ambar leaps forward, drawing the sword of Anyariel as she does so. She slashes at the orc “wizard”. He is unarmoured, and does not seem to have troubled to cast any defensive magic – if indeed he is able to do so – and her blow strikes home. However, the ship is rocking in the storm and the uncertain footing robs her blow of some of its force. The orc snarls, and reaches for a scroll tucked in its belt.

Solsus creates a ball of flame in the palm of his hand, and hurls it at the orc. He takes the blow without flinching, and it appears he too is protected from fire. Solsus bites back a curse – profanity is a poor response to such a serious situation – but he is very unhappy. The ability to create such fire is his major offensive ability, and if two of his opponents are immune to its effects it seems likely the third will also be protected.

Jonathan judges that the armoured orc is likely to be the weakest in will power, and unleashes powerful blast of mental energy at it. The orc reels under the assault, but remains standing. Jonathan considers taking cover behind a nearby barrel, but he is somewhat suspicious of their recent appearance. However, he does not trouble to move away from the one he is adjacent to.

Agatha views Giorgio as the primary threat, and unleashes a blast of eldritch energy at him. It strikes home, and his face contorts in pain. However, he seems to be a resilient character, and he nimbly climbs up the mast into the rigging. From this vantage point he utters a loud, ringing noise.

“That’s a spell of shattering,” thinks Jonathan. “What’s the point of that? Unless …” At that moment, the barrel next to him explodes in rain of fire and splinters. Fortunately for Jonathan, his translucent scarf blocks the splinters, and his belated realisation enables him to dodge the worst of the flames. Whatever is packed into those barrels, it clearly responds badly to being shattered.

The orc “wizard” finishes extracting the scroll from his belt, and reads it aloud in a halting fashion. He is surrounded in magical energy, and for a moment it seems as if he is going to suffer a backlash, but he finally manages to get the spell off. Immediately he and his two allies start moving more quickly, energised by the magic of the spell.

Moving swiftly forward, the orc warrior swings at Ambar with his battleaxe. The blow connects, and the catfolk reels backwards.

Jonathan fancies he can hear chanting, as if another spell was being cast, but glancing around he can’t see anybody else. Shrugging, he launches another mental attack on the orc warrior but surprisingly the orc manages to resist this time.

Gribron, twenty fete up in the air, looks across at Giorgio in the rigging. “So, you think you have an advantage up there do you? See how you like this!” The rigging is now coated with a thick, greasy goo. Giorgio tries to hold on, but loses his grip on the now slick surface and falls to the deck. However, his acrobatic prowess has already been demonstrated during the first two acts of the play, and he lands nimbly on his feet.

Agatha takes a pot shot at him as he falls, but misses.

Solsus flies down behind Ambar, and uses his healing wand to repair her wound.

Giorgio appears to have taken umbrage at Agatha’s repeated attempts to blast him. He responds by aiming a cacophonic burst of sound at him. Agatha falls to her knees in pain, her hands over her ears.

The orc “wizard” chants another spell, and tries to touch his comrade. Its easier said than done, given that the orc is in melee with Ambar, but he manages it. Instantly, the orc’s muscles bulge and he seems to grow in strength. Encouraged by his new power, the orc warrior launches a mighty swing at Ambar, sacrificing precision for power. However, she anticipates it and sways out of the way.

However, at that moment a halfling appears from hiding, and scampers across the deck towards her. (“That must be the spellcaster I heard,” thinks Jonathan, wise after the event.) Ambar does not see him coming, and his shortsword is thrust with supernatural accuracy into her kidneys. With a grunt of surprise, Ambar collapses senseless to the deck.

Gribron view the orc fighter’s magically enhanced muscles with some consternation, and lets fly a ray of black energy. It strikes the orc squarely in the chest, and his muscles deflate. Solsus tries to use the healing wand on Ambar, but it cannot overcome the severity of her wound and she remains unconscious.

Agatha staggers back to her feet, having managed to overcome the effects of the burst of sound – at which point Giorgio hits her with another one. Once again all thoughts of attack vanish as she tries to cover her ears against the sound.

Jonathan lashes out with a storm of crystal shards. The two orcs and the halfling all take damage.

The orc “wizard” casts another spell, and a sheet of flame springs out from his fingertips. It is aimed at Jonathan, but by pure fluke it also hits the invisible Solsus. Jonathan is distracted by the flames, and the orc warrior swings his battleaxe at the open target. The blow should have decapitated Jonathan, but the healer is able to use his prodigious mental strength to create an impromptu shield of protection. 

The orc howls in rage as his blow suddenly passes through quicksand and loses much of his force. However, it turns to a howl of triumph as Jonathan nevertheless falls to the ground clutching a grievous wound in his neck. 

As Jonathan is about to pass out for the pain Solsus quickly touches him with the healing wand and keeps him conscious. With the last vestiges of his mental powers, Jonathan manifests another shard of crystals, again injuring both orcs and the halfling.

Gribron moves forward and engulfs the orcs in a stream of bright lights. The “wizard”, possibly being more experienced in this area, manages to shut his eyes in time, but his comrade is blinded by the light.

Agatha manages to throw off the effects of the sound burst, and appears Giorgio has exhausted his ability to cats that particular spell. Instead he takes a leaf from Gribron’s book, and a layer of grease appears below her. Her feet fall out from underneath, and she lands on the ground. Fortunately, her ability to manifest eldritch energy works equally well from a prone position, and a blast flies out from her hand and strikes the orc wizard squarely in his back. With a grunt of surprise, he collapses to the ground dead.

Jonathan calls upon the power of his magical belt, and some of his wounds are healed. He clambers to his feet, only to be stabbed by the halfling. Fortunately for him, his vitals are protected by the translucent scarf, and as a result the halfling cannot do any meaningful damage with his little shortsword.

With one orc dying and the other blinded, and having taken a fair amount of damage himself, the halfling then leaps over the side of the ship. Gribron note that although the halfling is close to the rowboat he chooses not to land in it. Instead, he falls into the harbour and sinks without trace.

Agatha finishes off the orc fighter with another blast, and Giorgio is left without allies. “Curse you all,” he says. “This is not over!” He disappears, only to re-appear five hundred feet away on a ferry moored in the harbour. There is a puff of flame as the Burning Sky takes effect on him, but his fire protection saves him from damage. With a rude gesture toward our heroes, he pulls out a potion from his belt pouch and drinks it. His wounds heal slightly, and then he jumps over the side of the ferry into the murky waters of the harbour.

Solsus agrees with Giorgio that the conflict is not yet over, and flies towards the ferry. The winds have become very strong, but for some reason Solsus is able to fly through them with ease.

Meanwhile, Jonathan pours a healing potion down Ambar’s throat and the other search the bodies. The two orcs each have a potion of some sort, and an empty potion bottle. Jonathan identifies the potions as granting the ability to breathe under water; it also appears the empty bottles previously contained a similar potion.

Gribron begins to strip the bodies whilst Jonathan heads for the captain’s cabin. It is dominated by a large table, which contains a map of Sarlonna and a number of buttons. As far as Jonathan can tell, the ship is set to teleport to the north eastern coast of Shahalesti, a distance of many hundreds of miles.

 The humming is becoming increasingly loud, but Jonathan is eventually able to figure out the sequence of the buttons and cancel the imminent teleportation of the ship. He also locates the button which turns off the ward on the hatch to the theatre.

Solsus uses the power of his fey heritage to transform himself into an impressively sized dogfish, and dives down into the harbour in search of Giorgio. He methodically searches the area around his last sighting of the wayfarer, and his persistence pays off – he spots Giorgio walking along the bottom. His costume is billowing in the water, and it is clear he is wearing a chain shirt underneath it which is weighing him down nicely.

The pixie is not aware that the others have discovered potions of water breathing on the ship, but it is obvious that Giorgio must be using some form of magic to allow him to breathe on the harbour floor. Once more Solsus calls upon fey magic, and dispels Giorgio’s ability to breathe water.

Instead of providing life giving oxygen, the wayfarer’s next breath pours water in his lungs. Coughing and spluttering, he swims up frantically, weighed down by his metal armour. With a supreme effort, his face breaks the surface of the water, and he gulps down a lungful of air.

Solsus, however, has not finished with him. The various clumps of seaweed floating in the harbour suddenly come alive, and grapes hold of Giorgio’s limbs. Now that unable to swim, the weight of Giorgio’s armour carries him back down to the sea bed. His struggles grow increasingly weak as he heads for a watery grave …..

While this is happening, back on the Wayfarer’s Theatre Gribron has opened the hatch to the deck below. He is faced by Guildmistress Larkins, who seems somewhat distressed. “What is going on?” she demands. “Who activated the wards on the hatches?”

Jonathan emerges from her cabin, and explains the situation. Simeon, the head of the Lyceum, comes up as he does so.


Gribron investigates the rowboat attached to the ship. Its occupants appear to be elves, dressed as Shahalesti sailors, who have died by fire. However, his keen eyes soon detect that they are in fact humans who have been altered to look like elves – presumably by the biomancy practised by Paradigm Dogwood.

“I think we were intended to blame the Shahalesti for blowing up the ship,” sys Gribron. “We saw the biomancer Dogwood at Lee’s as well as the orcs. I think we should pay Lee a visit.”

“It sounds like you and your comrades have performed very well,” says Simeon. “If those orcs and the biomancer were seen associating with Lee, then it would appear Lee has some questions to answer. I suggest we drop by his home before this storm becomes unendurable.”

The short trip to Lee’s little island proves something of a strain for Simeon, as he is battered by the growing strength of the storm. However, our heroes appear impervious to the effect of the winds. Jonathan speculates that this might be a side effect of the boon they received from killing Indomitability, the spirit of the Fire Forest. In any event, it’s a welcome development – but Solsus is becoming more and more convinced the storm is not a natural phenomenon.

Lee’s home is deserted, and its sparse accommodations seem too frugal even for the famously ascetic Lee. The druid has left home. “Let’s head for the Lyceum,” says Simeon. “I have various items of equipment there which will enable me to quickly track down our wayward harbour master.”

****

Simeon, headmaster of the Lyceum, is a powerful diviner. Divination is far from being the most high profile of the various wizardly disciplines, but used correctly it can produce extremely useful results.

“I’m having no results at all!” says Simeon in disgust. “That’s not possible. How can Lee be protected by such powerful magic?”

Jonathan pulls together in his mind various events which have occurred during the party’s stay in Seaquen, and comes up with a theory. “Something appears to be happening in the Fire Tomb which has stirred up the rats. Could Lee be hiding there?”

“Of course!” says Simeon. “The legendary Fire Tomb is supposedly protected by numerous wards against scrying. That’s one reason why no one has ever found it. However, there’s no way I can send out people to look for it in mundane fashion with this storm going on.”

“Its clearly not a natural storm,” says Solsus. “However, we seem to be immune to its effects. If you recall, we came across some witches in the swamp who were brewing potions which protected against high winds. I imagine the Ragesian agents are also immune to the storm.”

“Not a natural storm, you say,” says Simeon thoughtfully. “I wonder if I can identify where it is emanating from. Please excuse me while I test out my theory; in the meantime I will have the college healers tend to your wounds.”

Simeon disappears into his study, and returns some time later. “This storm has an eye,” he says. “It is centred over an area of the East coast. I don’t suppose you know this, but the East coast was the site of the original town of Seaquen. It became unstable following an earthquake several hundred years ago, and the town moved further west to its current site.

“Since you guys seem to be resistant to the high winds, would you be willing to check out the eye of the storm and see if you can find and stop what is causing it? If the storm continues to rise in intensity it will blow away the entire town.”

Act 5 - The Fire Tomb
Scene 1 – The Sunken Prison

Some time later, our heroes find themselves amongst the sunken ruins of eastern Seaquen. The eye of the storm is above a courtyard to the extreme east, littered with statues of gargoyles. It gradually dawns on the party that this “courtyard” is actually the roof of the building, which from the inscriptions appears to have once been a prison of some kind.

The party cautiously move onto the roof, then head down an external staircase to “ground” level. The staircase emerges on the edge of the sea, and it is likely that the prison is severely flooded. However, there is a door into the side of the building.

Once inside, they encounter a large room with several exits. The water is waist deep, and the party proceed warily. However, only Gribron spots the approach of a pair of turtle-like creatures beneath the water. One of them is heading for Jonathan, the other is heading for him. Quick as a flash, Gribron vanishes and re-appears at the far end of the party. 

A creature lunges at his disappearing form, then snaps at Jonathan in its disappointment. Fortunately, the disappearance of its preferred foe puts it off, and its jaws miss the healer. Unfortunately, the other monster clamps its jaws on Jonathan and tries to drag him off to its lair. 

Jonathan digs in his heels and resists being dragged, then retaliates with a mental blast which staggers his adversary but does not cause it to release its grip.

Solsus, seeing Jonathan’s plight, creates a flame in his hand and hurls it the part of  Jonathan’s captor which appears above the surface. The ball of flame strikes true, but the creature shrugs off the effect. It appears to be resistant to fire. Solsus successfully bites back another curse, but can’t help feeling very hard done by. Humans, orcs, turtles, is there nothing vulnerable to fire?

Gribron casts a spell, and a wave of nausea flows over one of the creatures. It suddenly feels very ill and turns tail. The monster squirts ink at Ambar, narrowly missing her eyes, then swims away.

The turtle holding Jonathan tries again to drag him away but once more Jonathan stands firm. Irritated by his resistance, the creature strikes at him with its claws but causes only minor wounds. This movement makes it more of a target, and Agatha successfully blasts it, causing it to sink down dead to the floor with Jonathan in tow.

Whilst Jonathan is extricating himself from the dead turtle, Gribron follows the other creature. He hurls an orb of acid at it but it doesn’t seem to notice. However, it has recovered from its momentary illness and heads for the nearest target – namely Gribron. It bites him, but fails to achieve a grip on him.

Agatha flies in above the water – who knew she could do that? – and blasts it. The creature roars in defiance, and Ambar thrusts the sword of Anyariel into its open mouth. The second monster dies. An inspection of the corpse reveals more evidence of biomancy – this is clearly no ordinary turtle.

Gribron investigates the surrounding rooms.

He finds one room contains only a lever – apparently connected to a trap of some kind situated to the north. A careful search of the corridor to the north of the room reveals a spear trap, which is a recent construction. Clearly there is more here than would be expected from an ancient prison; it looks like they are in the right place.

Another door reveals a waterlogged room which is home to a horde of rats. They are happily swimming around, but occasionally give off sparks from their teeth and fur. Fire Tomb rats! Gribron closes the door.

The last room is more interesting. The knee deep water is full of dead fish. At the far end is a large metal chest. Above it on a shelf are a dozen or so bottles which appear to contain alcohol.

Jonathan fires his crossbow. There is a squelchy sound as the bolt strikes home, which doesn’t seem like metal on metal. Jonathan shrugs and starts to reload. Gribron hunts around in his pack and pulls out a vial of acid. He hurls it at the chest. It strikes home, but there is no effect – even though normally splashing acid on metal would give rise to some sort of reaction.

“Are you done?” asks Jonathan.

“For the moment,” replies Gribron.

Jonathan fire another bolt at the chest, which again strikes home with an unusual sound. Even more unusually, the chest then starts to move through the water towards Jonathan and Gribron.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” says Gribron. “Does the chest have hundreds of little legs?”

“Can’t see under the water,” says Jonathan. He drops his crossbow and pulls out his mace, preparing to strike the chest once it comes within range. Unfortunately for him, the slow moving chest suddenly manifests a ten foot long arm, which swings out and bashes him. In addition to being damaged by the blow, Jonathan also finds himself stuck fast.

Enraged, Jonathan strikes out with his spiked gauntlet – only to have that struck to the chest as well!

Fortunately, Ambar and Agatha step forward at this point. The catfolk strikes the chest a telling blow, and nimbly avoids getting the sword of Anyariel stuck in its adhesive. Agatha follows up with a blast of eldritch energy which reduces the creature to an amorphorous pile of goo.

There are numerous coins stuck to the creature’s base, but they turn out to be copper. However, the bottles of alcohol on the shelf behind it are worth some money.


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## amethal (Dec 24, 2007)

No session next week due to DM visiting family.

I can't really do justice to the awesome-ness of what Solsus did to Giorgio. 

Dispel water breathing + entangle + drowning = great session, even if the RAW by RW gave him a tedious out via DD I arbitrarily removed by house rule.


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## RangerWickett (Dec 25, 2007)

I heartily approve. Thanks for posting these. They're quite a treat.

Merry Christmas!


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## Toby Underfoot (Dec 28, 2007)

*Truly imaginative*

The death of Giorgio was like a Play in itself. Act one. Excellent. Act two. Superb. Then of course the death scene. And it looked so realistic. True Karma for that tumbling little 'actor'. That's the last time he'll go friggin' in the riggin'.Can't wait for the encore.


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## RangerWickett (Dec 28, 2007)

Toby Underfoot said:
			
		

> Can't wait for the encore.




_Zombie_ wayfarer? Hmmmm.


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## amethal (Jan 6, 2008)

The party hear the sound of something splashing towards them through the water. Ready for more trouble, they turn round – and relax when they recognise Caryk’s distinctive form.

“Hi Guys,” says Caryk. “Simeon saw me helping the townsfolk weather the storm, and said you might need some help.”

“You could say that,” says Jonathan. “Our powers are almost spent.”

“Then perhaps we should rest, and recover our faculties?”

“I’d love to,” says Jonathan, “but these winds are getting stronger by the minute. If we rest, there won’t be a town left to save.”

They press on, and emerge into what was once the prison’s cell block. In theory there are twelve cells, in two banks of six with a corridor running between them. However, the cells are all so damaged that it is a simple matter to clamber in and out of them. Each cell is occupied by two human skeletons. The two nearest skeletons each have a metallic necklace of some kind.

“There’s no way those skeletons date from the time this was a prison,” says Jonathan. “They would be in much worse condition. In fact, they remind me of the bones on the witches’ island – and we all remember what happened there”

“I’d better go first then,” says Caryk. He steps cautiously into the passageway – and nothing happens. 

“That’s good,” says Jonathan, and steps in behind Caryk. As soon as he does so, the skeletons clamber to their feet and advance on the party, with their bony, claw-like fingers outstretched.

Skeletons are probably the weakest of the undead, and most necromancers supply their skeletal minions with at least rudimentary arms and armour in order to make them more effective. However, these skeletons, like the ones on the witches’ isle, have to make do with their natural weapons.

The party manages to dispatch the skeletons relatively easily, suffering only a few scrapes and bruises in the process.

They head into the next chamber, which if anything is more heavily waterlogged than the last. The only obvious exit is a set of stairs heading downwards – but these are completely underwater. Our heroes pause to consider their options, but suddenly three dark shapes head towards them through the water. These appear to be some kind of strange combination of man and fish, presumably more examples of biomancy.

Only Jonathan spots their stealthy approach. He catches the lead creature a glancing blow with his mace. This seems to enrage the beasts, and they target him with their attacks. They seek to grab hold of his flesh with their teeth and claws and drag him under the water, but he is able to fend them off until Caryk can stride forward in support.

Agatha tries to blast the nearest creature, but forgets to allow for the displacement effect of the water and her shot goes wide. Cursing, she adjusts her aim and this time there is no mistake – the creature lets out a burbling scream and sinks to the floor.

Jonathan and Caryk combine their efforts on the second one, and it collapses under their onslaught.

Gribron, seeking to conserve what is left of his magical powers, draws his sword and stabs it deep into the gill slits of the third. He then withdraws his sword with a deft twist, and the fatally wounded creature collapses in a pool of blood. The others look at him in disbelief ….

Caryk is clearly the party’s best swimmer, and he heads down the stairs to investigate the creatures’ lair. The only interesting feature of this downstairs room is the five foot diameter hole in the floor. There is a red glow coming from the hole, and the water feels considerably warmer here. Someone has rigged up a pulley next to the shaft.

Running out of air, he heads back up to the others. 

The party do a quick inventory, and determine that between them they have three potions of water breathing. Gribron volunteers to drink one and scout out the shaft.

Gribron investigates the pulley, but can identify nothing unusual about it. The shaft descends further than he can see, and he decides to head down it. Unfortunately, he fails to spot a pair of thin wires across the top of the shaft, and he breaks them as he swims through. There is a brief pause, then a muffled crack, as if a thunderstone had just exploded. Clearly he has triggered an alarm system of some kind.

He swims down the shaft, and is amazed when his head emerges into air. He is looking into a large cavern, which is almost completely free of water. Some force, presumably magic, is preventing the water from entering. There is also a river of lava cutting the cavern in two. It is not immediately obvious where the lave is coming from, but the only way across is a hump backed bridge. There is a closed stone door on the far side of the bridge.

Gribron is pleased that there is air in the cavern. The lack of potions won’t be a drawback after all. He heads back up and gets the others.
*
Scene 2 – The Pyromancer’s Tomb*

The party heads down the shaft and into the cavern. Just as they arrive, the door at the far end bursts open and eight half orcs rush into the room. They are heavily armed and armoured, and are wearing the uniform of the Ragesian army. Moving in a disciplined formation, they take up positions on the edge of the lava and loose a volley of crossbow bolts at the party. Miraculously, every shot goes wide.

Caryk steps onto the bridge, to ensure the soldiers cannot cross and attack his comrades, and lets loose a burst of sonic energy which causes four of them to reel in pain; two of those four are briefly stunned by the impact.

Gribron moves up behind Caryk. “Close your eyes,” he whispers, and Caryk complies. A burst of glowing lights erupts from Gribron’s hands, engulfing Caryk and four of the soldiers. Two of the soldiers collapse under the sensory overload.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Agatha content themselves with picking off the soldiers with ranged attacks – Agatha’s eldritch blasts naturally proving more effective against the heavily armoured troops than Jonathan’s crossbow.

Two of the soldiers drop their crossbows and un sling their shields and battleaxes. They then step forward to engage Caryk, leaving an inviting gap between them for him to step into and allow them to flank him. Caryk is not going to fall for that, however, and the soldiers can’t penetrate his defences.

The remaining soldiers let off another volley, far more ragged than the first.

Gribron creates an illusion of a solid bridge covering the entire lava. “I’ve put up a bridge,” he says to his comrades. “We can all pile across.” Fortunately, none of his companions take him up on that. The Ragesian soldiers have a healthy respect for the lava – unbeknown to the party, one of them recently fell in and died horribly – so are reluctant to trust this bridge either.

Shrugging, Gribron causes his “bridge” to rise up and move towards the Ragesians, who withdraw before it in disarray. Their formation thus disrupted, the party are able to pick them off relatively easily.

Gribron and Jonathan move forward to loot the bodies – including those of the two unconscious ones – whilst Caryk opens the stone door. He sees a room with two doors in the opposite wall. Between the doors is a stone dragon head. The dragon is snarling, but the interior of its mouth is completely dark.

Each of the soldiers had two potions. Agatha identifies them as healing potions. They tie up the two survivors, and start to interrogate them. However, they appear to have had some training in resisting questioning – or possibly they fear their superiors more than they fear the party. Of course, they don’t know our heroes that well ….

Caryk shuts the stone door, to keep the heat out of his chamber, and starts examining the dragon’s head. He could probably fit inside its mouth, but for some reason he is reluctant to do so.

Meanwhile, Gribron and Jonathan have lost patience with the prisoners. Sine threats are not working very well, they decide on a more practical approach. Taking an arm each, they dangle him over the lava.

“Now you’d better start co-operating, or we’ll drop you in,” snarls Gribron. Unfortunately, at that moment his grip slips, and the half-orc’s foot falls into the lava. Instead of answering the question, he starts screaming in agony.

This noise attracts Caryk’s attention even through the closed door, and he heads back into the cavern to see what is happening. When they spot the door opening, Gribron and Jonathan simply let go and the half orc falls to a grisly death.

Seeing the pair at the edge of the lava, Caryk rushes over. “What happened? What was that screaming?”

“One of the prisoners tried to escape,” says Jonathan, “but tripped and fell into the lava. We tried to catch him, but we were too slow.”

“What a horrible way to go,” says Caryk with a shudder. “Bring the last prisoner through into the next room. That should avoid any more tragedies, and perhaps he can tell us something about the dragon.”

The half orc seems slightly more co-operative now. He denies knowing anything about the dragon, claiming they had all steered clear of it, but volunteers to investigate.”

Caryk helps him into the mouth. “Can you see anything?”

“It’s a small room. There’s a door at the far end, with glowing red runes around its edges.”

“Can you read what they say?”

“No.”

The party clamber in after the half-orc, but none of them can read the runes either. Jonathan guesses that they are probably in ignan, the language of fire creatures.

Gribron moves forward and checks the door for traps. He can’t find any, so sets about trying to open the door. However, the door resists his attempts at opening. More ominously, as soon as he touches it the runes around the door start to flare angrily and the ceiling turns an ominous red in colour.

“I think we’d better get out of here,” says Gribron.

The rest of them agree, and set off in a mad scramble for the exit. The half-orc brings up the rear, hampered by his bonds, and he is still in the room when lava starts to rain down from the ceiling. He too dies horribly.

The two doors from the other room both turn out to lead to the same place, a roughly C shaped room with two exits. The room seems to be some sort of biomancy laboratory. There are vats and tanks containing strange fluids, and various tools and texts of the trade.

Gribron discovers a magical bottle, which seems to contain an almost endless supply of air. This must be how the Ragesians enter and leave through the water.

The door to the north leads to what appears to be a storeroom of some sort. It has been cleared of any useful items. There is a strange stand on a desk in the corner. It is an oval wooden plate, with a setting for an orb of some sort. It is carved with images of two unidentified gods blowing storms from their lips.

The other door opens out into another cavern. This also has a river of lava flowing through it, spanned by a single bridge. There are a couple of what appear to be cells on the other side. They are of recent construction, presumably “improvements” made by the Ragesians.

There is also a door on this side of the lava. Caryk moves over to it and opens it, his comrades close behind.

Once the door is open, Caryk catches a brief glimpse of the figure of an orc, his face covered by a bear skull mask and a three pronged metal claw strapped to his waist. It could be the twin of the inquisitor they killed at Haddin’s farm.

Before any of the party can react, a massive sheet of flame shoots out from the orc’s hands and engulfs the party. A burning hands spell – but one far more ferocious, and covering a larger area, than they had ever seen before. It appears the Fire Tomb makes fire spells far more potent than normal.

Caryk casts a protective spell on himself, then heads into the room. Gribron drinks a healing potion. Agatha strikes the orc a powerful blow with an eldritch blast, but he barely flinches. Clearly he is a tough opponent. Jonathan wings him with a crossbow bolt, but he does not even seem to notice.

The inquisitor once again calls upon the power of his unknown deity, and a massive wall of fire erupts out of the floor in front of him. It splits the room in two, then flows out through the doorway and splits the rest of the cavern in two as well. Jonathan and Agatha are caught within it, and stagger out of it at opposite sides. Jonathan notices that the side he is on, the inquisitor’s side, is not giving off any heat. The other side is very definitely hot, and Caryk and Gribron both suffer from the flame even though they were not caught within the wall itself.

“This isn’t going well,” thinks Caryk, as he casts another protective spell on himself. He is trapped in the room, taking damage from the heat, but unable to reach the inquisitor without running through the wall of fire. His comrades cannot enter the room to help him without doing the same, as the wall of fire runs through the doorway.

Gribron drinks another potion of healing, and tries to think of a plan. Jonathan does likewise.

Agatha can’t see the inquisitor through the wall, but she can remember where he was standing earlier. She fires a speculative blast at his last known position, and is rewarded by the sound of it striking home.

The inquisitor curses his own foolishness, and changes position. He cannot see any targets either, but he launches a blast of sound through the wall. He doesn’t know exactly where Caryk is, but it doesn’t really matter as this spell affects the entire area. 

Caryk grunts as he gets a taste of his on medicine. Then he draws a deep breath and rushes through the wall and attacks. The inquisitor is amazed by Caryk’s insane bravery, and is unable to block the blow.

Gribron makes a decision, an also rushes towards the wall. However, just as he reaches it he disappears, and re-appears on the other side.

Jonathan steels himself, and runs through the flames too.

“You lot can run through fire to reach the bad guy if you want,” thinks Agatha, “but I’m staying where I am.”

The inquisitor gestures, and a ball of fire appears in his hand. He hurls it at Caryk, who is very much the worse for wear after his recent experiences. The effect of the Fire Tomb applies once more, and Caryk collapses to the ground. At least he isn’t bleeding to death, thanks to Indomitability’s boon.

Gribron pulls a bag from his backpack, and hurls it at the inquisitor. It splits apart on impact, and drenches the orc in foul smelling goo. The goo quickly hardens, hampering his movements.

Jonathan then, with the last of his mental strength, hurls a bolt of acid at the inquisitor. The orc tries to counterspell, but the attempt fails. The acid strikes home, and the orc collapses into a badly damaged corpse.

Seeking another orc skull for his small collection, Jonathan pulls off the bear mask. He is surprised to recognise the inquisitor – it is Ogoth, the orc they met at the Lyceum. Clearly he wasn’t an “ex-inquisitor” after all.

Gribron loots the body, and finds a wand of healing. He gives it to Caryk, who uses it to heal everybody and then gives it back to Gribron. The orc also has a number of scrolls, a magical brooch, another wand of unknown purpose, and an unusual orb. The orb is an eight inch sphere of black glass etched with unusual curving silver patterns.

“This orb is radiating strong transmutation magic,” says Gribron. “I think it must be what we are after. Question is, how does it work?”

“Maybe there’s a clue in this room,” says Caryk. “We’d better have a hunt around.”

There are no clues, but there is a sizeable amount of what appears to be mail sent to Seaquen from out of town, somehow intercepted by the Ragesians. One of the items is addressed to Jonathan Farrier, much to everyone’s surprise.

Jonathan opens up his package, and finds three crystals and a note.

“Dear Jonathan,

“I have entrusted this note to a courier who is teleporting into Seaquen. He is confident he has sufficient protection from fire to survive the effect of the Burning Sky. I have seen troubled times ahead for Seaquen, and I hope the enclosed cognisance crystals will help you weather the storms to come.”

It is signed with Dreamcatcher’s rune.

The party move to check out the cells, of which there are four. One of them contains a mysterious white stone monolith, and is magically warded. Two of the others are occupied by a human male and a Shahalesti elf female, who Caryk quickly frees.

The man is called Teymour and the woman is Faquaniel. They both attempted to teleport to Seaquen  with more powerful companions, only to arrive in the cell with the white monolith instead. Their arrival triggered a number of traps, which immobilised them. The guards then killed their companions and imprisoned them.

“That explains why that erinyes didn’t want to teleport,” says Jonathan. “That monolith would have drawn her into this trap. I suppose the Wayfarer’s ship is too big to be caught. 

“Still no sign of Lee. I’m pretty sure we’ve been everywhere now. You two wouldn’t happen to know anything about his whereabouts by any chance?” He describes Lee to them.

“He was here earlier,” says Faquaniel. “He and the orc had an argument. Lee said he was leaving, and taking with him what he called the control wand in order to keep it separate from an orb of some sort, ‘just in case’. The orc said he was being paranoid, and that it would be perfectly safe down here. Lee took the wand anyway, and stormed out. I guess the orc was wrong, huh?”

“How the heck are we going to find Lee in this storm?” asks Gribron. “He’s bound to have taken some of those tidereaver’s tears, so he’ll be unaffected by the wind.”

“I don’t know,” says Caryk, “but we’ve got to try.”

*Scene 3 – Back into the Storm*

As our heroes head back up to the open air, they can feel the increased effect of the wind. The water near the exit of the prison has become very choppy, and the wind is cutting through every crack in the building’s walls.

Once outside, the ferocity of the storm is amazing, even though the party are safely in its eye. Rocks, boulders, trees, even buildings are being blown about.

“If Lee’s out and about in that, then he’s dead,” says Caryk. “Tidereaver’s tears won’t save him from being hit in the head by a tree.”

At that moment Jonathan receives a magical mental message from Simeon. “Lee has left the Fire tomb, and I’ve been able to scry on him at last. He’s hiding behind a statue of what appears to be a gargoyle.”

Jonathan passes this information on to the others. There are a number of gargoyle statues on the prison roof.

“Come out Lee,” bellows Gribron. “We know you are hiding behind that statue.”

There is a brief pause, and then the familiar bald, tanned and muscular figure of Lee Sidoneth steps out from his hiding place. “Greetings,” he says. “I wish we met in better circumstances.”

“Give up the control wand Lee, and we’ll let you live,” says Caryk.

“A noble offer, Caryk, but one that duty prevents me from accepting. My hands are tied. The best counter offer I am empowered to make is that if you give up the Orb of Storms I will make your deaths as painless as possible.”

The party howl in derision at this feeble proposal. Moving quickly, Lee snatches two crystals from his pocket, and hurls one at each of the nearest statues. Amazingly, they come to life. 

Lee points a finger at Agatha. “Kill her!” he commands. Both statues fly over to Agatha and do their best to rip her apart.

Agatha ducks under their claws, and hurls a blast of eldritch power at the nearest gargoyle. It strikes home, but the creature has some resistance to her attack and not all of it gets through.

Jonathan, calling upon the mental energy in the first of his cognisance crystals, manifests a bolt of ice which strikes the druid. Gribron hurls another of his little bags at Lee, but fumbles the throw horribly.

Caryk calls upon the power of Aurean to bless the party.

Lee calls a bolt of lightning down from the storm and onto Jonathan. However, some sixth sense allows him to step out of the way at the last moment, and he avoids the worst of the damage.

Agatha is not so lucky. She falls under the onslaught of the gargoyles. She pulls a potion from her belt and manages to drink down its healing draught. It makes her feel a bit better.

Jonathan launches another ice bolt. Gribron strides forward and strikes Lee. Lee starts to feel tired as the spell held in Gribron’s hand leeches away his energy, but he strikes back with a flurry of painful blows.

The gargoyles continue to tear into Agatha. She falls into unconsciousness, barely alive. Caryk moves over to her and casts a healing spell, but its not enough to get her back on her feet. The gargoyles, obedient to their master’s commands, continue to attack their prone opponent. They rip her apart, and then crumble back into stone as the spell that animated them wears off.

Caryk kneels down next to Agatha’s ravaged body. To his amazement, she is still alive, even though no one should be able to survive the wounds she has taken. This must be the final, unlooked for benefit of Indomitability’s boon. Uttering a brief prayer of thanks to Aurean, he charges towards the druid.

Gribron has resorted to using his wand to fire magical missiles at the druid, and is slowly wearing him down. Lee retaliates to somewhat more effect by calling down bolts of lightning from the storm.

Jonathan, having exhausted the power in the last of his crystals by manifesting a bolt of ice that misses Lee by scant inches, joins Caryk in melee. Its not clear which one of them strikes the telling blow.

Lee falls to his knees, and drops the control wand. He turns his face up to the skies and cries out, “Master, let your winds destroy them!” Immediately, a whirlwind grows up put of his body, ripping his flesh into tiny pieces which fly away on the wind. When his body finally disintegrates, the eye of the storm disappears and the party are suddenly engulfed by the storm, and in terrible peril as objects start hurtling towards them.

Jonathan spots the control wand, resting on the empty pile of Lee’s clothes, and grabs it. Without knowing what else to do, he simply wills the storm to stop ….. and it does!

*Scene 4 – Messenger of Gentle Winds*

Battered, bruised but triumphant, our heroes head back to what is left of Seaquen. Agatha in particular, now fully healed by the power of the inquisitor’s wand, cannot believe that she is still alive.

Caryk is the first to hear the steady flap of giant wings. Looking up he spots the Takasi the giant eagle heading towards them.

Takasi glides in to land before them, and bows. “The storm has broken,” he says, “but not before destroying much of the town, and also sinking most of the Shahalesti fleet. Many lives have been lost, including that of my friend, Laurabec.

“I return now to the Twilight Forest, to mourn my dear friend. However, were it not for your bravery things would have been much worse.” He opens a talon and drops three crystalline objects in front of Caryk. “Take these as a symbol of my regard. If you should have need of me, crush a crystal and call out my name.

“Three times I shall answer your call, but do not delay too long in seeking my assistance for I foresee that eventually your journey will take you to places where my modest abilities will be inconsequential. Fare you well, my friends.” With that he takes to the air and flies off into the distance.

“These crystals,” says Caryk. “They’re not …. worth … anything are they?”

Jonathan picks one up and examines it. “I don’t think so.”

“Thank Aurean for that!”


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## RangerWickett (Jan 9, 2008)

Hey, not all heroes can be motivated by altruism. Just remind them, though, how much money they'll make in book deals, endorsements, and the lecture circuit after they save the world.


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## Toby Underfoot (Jan 9, 2008)

Oh joy. A life of Jonathan Farrier meets Al Gore. Ever heard of that song  'Gloomy Sunday'?


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## RangerWickett (Jan 15, 2008)

So what's up next?


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## amethal (Jan 24, 2008)

Apologies for the delay, and I'm still one session behind (and soon to be two sessions), but I bring you our first session of The Mad King's Banquet.

A session in which my players earned a massive amount of XP and all I got to do was fail saving throws. Although Gribron did lose 2 hp from falling out of a sleigh.


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## amethal (Jan 24, 2008)

*Part 1 of 2*

*The Mad King’s Banquet
Act One – Message for the King*
*Scene 1 - Lyceum*
_February 8th, 10am_

A week has passed since our heroes saved Seaquen from destruction.

Noble hearted Jonathan spent much of that time helping to heal the injuries caused by the storm, whilst the rest helped out with the rebuilding to a greater or lesser degree. It is also a time to take stock and re-supply.

However, these activities are interrupted by a request to meet Simeon at his office.

When our heroes arrive, they find Simeon is accompanied by Kiernan, his right hand dwarf, and the fire mage, Katrina. It occurs to Gribron that Katrina has become a central figure in Seaquen’s politics in a short space of time. She greets the characters warmly, as is her usual habit.

Also there is a fourth person, a half-elf who Simeon introduces as Balan Bostom.

“If you remember the council meeting,” says Simeon, “I mentioned that we would be sending an envoy to Bresk, the capital of Dassen, to meet with King Steppengard, to try and convince him not to sign a non-aggression treaty with the Ragesians. Such a treaty would allow their troops to march through his lands, and both attack Gate Pass from a new direction and threaten us in Seaquen.”

“Who could forget that meeting,” says Gribron. “With those arrogant elves turning up and everything.”

“Since none of you claimed any diplomatic prowess,” says Simeon, “I have arranged for Balan here to be our envoy. If the king won’t listen, perhaps Balan can persuade some of the nobles to support us. There are eight lords of the eight domains, and they are a pretty disparate bunch.

“The journey to the king’s court is not without danger, and the court itself may be worse – there is a Ragesian inquisitor in residence at the moment. I’d appreciate if you heroes would accompany Balan, to make sure nothing happens to him.”  

The party agree to the task, and arrange to meet Balan the next morning. Simeon offers to supply them with healing potions, and any other gear they might need.

On their way back to their quarters, they notice a young man staring at them. The man wanders over to them. He seems quite overawed to be speaking to the saviours of Seaquen.

“I… I’m sorry to bother you. I wanted to ask, are you going to Bresk? Would you be able to take a letter to my father?”

“News travels fast around here!” says Solsus. “What’s your name, and who is your father?”

“Sorry, I should have said. My name is Jineer. My father is Jinis. He’s Lord Gallo’s proxy at the court of King Steppengard. I’m afraid something bad is going to happen to him …”

“If he’s there and you are here,” says Solsus, “what makes you think he might be in trouble?”

“I spoke to that lady, Cristin. You know, the one who has visions. She said she had a vision about my dad, she saw him ‘Caged by Madness’. I don’t know what it means, but it doesn’t sound good. Please can you help me?”

They certainly remember Cristin’s visions from the time they travelled with her and her father through the Fire Forest. At that time, those visions which were comprehensible proved to be disturbingly accurate.

The party agree to take the letter. It is unsealed, and once out of sight of Jineer they inspect it carefully for poisons, hidden blades and the like, and then read it. Basically, its contents are as advertised, with the addition that Jineer has praised the party as the saviours of Seaquen and asks him to request their aid if he gets into trouble.

The next day the party leave town with Balan. It takes them a couple of days to get through the swamp to Vidor, but this time their journey is uneventful. From there it is a short journey to the Nasham River.

The breaking of the storm at least put an end to the constant rainfall. However, the weather has now turned colder. As a result, the Nasham River has frozen over, and the party are able to hire a reindeer-drawn sleigh and travel along it. 

It is approximately one hundred and twenty miles to Bresk. The sleigh makes good progress across the ice, so the trip should take about three days. Throughout the journey, Balan picks up all the expenses, courtesy of a purse given to him by Simeon.

*Scene 2 – Nasham River*
_February 10th, 2 pm_

At first, the journey is uneventful. There are convenient inns at which to spend the night, and the people of Dassen are polite, if not particularly welcoming. However, the closer they get to Bresk the more guarded and withdrawn the population seem to become. The party discover that the king has recently instituted a secret police force, called the Talon, to hunt out traitors and assassins, and as a result the people are wary of strangers – whilst eager to loudly proclaim their loyalty to the throne at every opportunity.

Solsus gets into the habit of flying above the sleigh in order to keep an eye out for trouble ahead. At one point, he hears the sound of a disturbance ahead and to the side of the sleigh. He disappears from sight, and flies over to investigate.

 Strange and disturbing sight greets him. A large crowd of people are fleeing across the snow-covered hills. They are being pursued by a towering monstrous centipede with glowing red plates along its back. The centipede-like creature is obviously generating intense heat, turning the snow to water as it passes. Solsus realises that if the creature reaches the river it is likely to melt the ice, with very bad consequences for any of its quarry who are on the river at the time.

Thinking quickly, Solsus calls out to the others for assistance, then creates an illusion of a wall of ice between the centipede and its prey. The creature stops in puzzlement. It clearly has at least a rudimentary intelligence. It pauses for a second, then tries to melt the “wall” using the heat from its body. It hasn’t realised the wall is an illusion, and this allows its prey to open up a slight lead.

Solsus strikes the creature with a sling bucket, but the armoured beast doesn’t even notice. “This might take a while,” thinks Solsus, “and that illusion isn’t going to hold it forever.”

At that moment a roiling cloud of blackness surrounds the beast. Nauseated by the fumes, the creature vomits up the burnt remains of its last victim, and it retreats out of the cloud.

Gribron grins to himself. “You’d think a beast like that would have a stronger stomach!”

“Hopefully it is cleverer than it looks,” says Jonathan. “Or at least has something passing for a mind.” He lets loose a blast of mental energy, and the beast writhes in agony.

Agatha follows up with an eldritch blast, and Ambar launches two magical missiles of force which unerringly hit their target. Somehow it didn’t seem like a good idea to strike the hot creature with her wooden sword.

Jonathan fires a bolt of electricity at the creature, Ambar lets loose with some more force missiles, and the creature falls down dead. It clearly posed a threat to fleeing peasants, but couldn’t manage so much as an attack against an experienced party of adventurers.

The creature’s erstwhile prey come over to the heroes, and offer their heartfelt thanks. It emerges that they are refugees heading for Seaquen, and they promise to spread word of the party’s latest exploit, which can only increase their already impressive reputation.

February 10th, 3 pm

The sleigh continues to speed along the river – until suddenly it comes to an abrupt halt. Jonathan and Gribron are caught unawares, and are hurled out of the sleigh onto the ice.

Gribron winces in pain, and gingerly gets to his feet. Jonathan, in contrast, seems unharmed by the experience.

“How do you do that?” asks Gribron.

“All it takes is a positive mental attitude. I will away the pain, and there is no pain. Or injury.”

The party investigate the sleigh. In an unlikely twist of fate, one of the runners has caught on a loop of leather which is poking up through the ice.

“Let’s break a hole in the ice and see what’s under there,” says Gribron.

“I strongly recommend we move the sleigh first!” says Balan.

The loop of leather turns out to be a belt belonging to a corpse frozen in the ice. Further digging uncovers another two bodies. The ice around them does not match the rest of the river’s surface. It appears someone has melted the ice with fire, dumped the bodies in the resulting hole, then relied on the re-freezing of the river to hide the evidence.

Each body has the same device on its clothing – a leopard and a serpent dancing under a sunburst. Balan recognises this as the livery of Lady Dene, one of the eight lords of Dassen. Two of the men were shot in the back by crossbow bolts. The third appears to have been hanged.

The party are reluctant to be caught with unexplained corpses, and decide their best course of action is to burn another hole in the river and toss the bodies back in. Jonathan persuades the others that he needs to carry out a full autopsy first, and spends a happy ten minutes with his tools while the rest of them find somewhere else to look.

_February 10th, 4 pm
_
It is starting to get dark, and the party are on the lookout for an inn to stay the night.

The road normally winds and turns in the distance, but at this point it is running alongside the river. Up ahead the party can see a colourful caravan of three wagons stopped by the roadside. The halfling owners are remonstrating with a group of armed men who are engaged in searching the wagons. The men – four foot soldiers and a mounted leader - are wearing what Balan identifies as King Steppengard’s symbol – a rearing sphinx surrounded by eight small triangles.

As the party approach, there is a woman’s scream. The halflings increase their clamour as the King’s men pull a human woman out from a concealed crawlspace underneath the middle wagon.

Solsus, invisible, calls out to the men, who try to figure out which of the party is speaking.

“Move along,” says the  mounted man. “This is the King’s business.”

In response, Jonathan throws back his hood and waves of fear flow out from him towards the men. Gribron repeats the trick that worked so well with the magical centipede, and two of the men are caught in a black cloud that leaves them retching.

The enemy leader draws his sword, and strikes down his prisoner. Those of his men who are not incapacitated turn on the halflings.

Solsus flies soundlessly forward and checks on the woman. She is alive, but only just. Carefully, he uses his healing power to close the worst of her wounds.

Agatha tries to blast the leader from the saddle, but he is a tough opponent – he sways but he does not fall. Snarling, he moves his horse forward and strikes at Agatha, but she dodges nimbly out of the way. 

Jonathan fires a blast of fire at the nearest soldier. The man screams in pain, but is still alive. Compassionate as ever, Jonathan follows up with a blast of ice to put out the flames. “Don’t bother to thank me,” he says, as his victim turns into a half-burnt, half-frozen corpse.

Gribron waves his hands, and a cone of scintillating lights shoots at two of the soldiers – and the invisible Solsus. Fortunately, Solsus has seen this particular spell before, and manages to cover his eyes in time. This is the second time Gribron has sprayed his fellow party members, but at least this time it wasn’t deliberate.

Ambar and Agatha manage to down the enemy leader, and his troops collapse under the magical onslaught of the rest of the party.

Their female victim, now fully healed, is very grateful. The halfings have suffered superficial cuts and bruises, but are otherwise fine.

“Who are those men, and why were they attacking you?” asks Solsus.

“They are members of the Talon, the secret police force,” says the woman.

“I see they were wearing badges,” says Gribron. “They obviously take their secrecy every bit as seriously as the Gate Pass Resistance does.”

“They stopped our wagons and accused us of being spies,” says one of the halflings. “We are peaceful merchants, heading home to Ostalin. What could we be spying on? This kingdom has gone mad, and the sooner we are safely back home the better.”

“But you were smuggling this lady,” says Agatha.

“My name is Hethal,” says the woman. “After the tragic death of the king’s family …”

“The what!?!” exclaims Balan. “We haven’t heard anything about this.”

“It was terrible,” says Hethal. “The King’s five eldest children were at a party. They and all the other guests were cut to pieces, but there was no sign of any assassins. Almost at the same time, as far as we can tell, the King’s other thirteen children and the Queen were fatally poisoned at dinner. The King would have died as well, but purely by chance he was delayed from attending the dinner by one of his nobles, who wanted to complain about the Ragesian ambassador.”

“But what does this have to do with you?” asks Solsus.

“The King’s response was to form the Talon. It’s headed up by his advisor, the gnome wizard Nina Glibglammer. They have been scouring the countryside, accusing people of all sorts of things. My boyfriend, who is one of Lady Dene’s envoys, was accused of being one of the assassins. He managed to escape with two of his friends, and is heading back to his lady to give her news of what’s been going on.

“I heard that the Talon were coming for me because of my connection to him, and these brave halflings agreed to try and smuggle me into Ostalin.”

“Then we have some bad news for you,” says Jonathan, putting on his most sympathetic voice. “We found three bodies in Lady Dene’s livery buried under the ice. I guess your boyfriend didn’t make it back to Lady Dene.”


----------



## amethal (Jan 24, 2008)

*2 of 2*

*Scene 3 – Bresk*
_February 11th, 2 pm_

The party arrive at the walled city of Bresk, population 10,000 – but going down rapidly. There are long queues of anxious looking citizens trying to get out of the city, but the queue to enter is much shorter. All foreigners are being subjected to intense questioning by the gate guards, but Balan’s diplomatic papers ensure the party are let in with few problems.

Balan leads them to the Golden Griffon, an inn conveniently close to the Royal Castle. The party have been booked in to a suite of bedrooms with a common living area between them. Balan sends word to the castle, and confirms that he has an audience arranged for the next morning.

“I am going to prepare my presentation for tomorrow,” says Balan. “I hope that you will all accompany me to court in the morning, in case the Ragesians try anything. In the meantime, I suggest that you all try and find out as much as you can about the current political situation, as our information is clearly completely out of date. I don’t want to make any embarrassing mistakes tomorrow if I can help it.”

The party head out into the city, and question everybody they can. The task is complicated by the fact that everyone is afraid of the Talon, and no one wants to say too much to them in case they get accused of being a spy or an assassin.

However, they do find out that of the eight lords who are members of the Council of Nine (the king is the ninth), Gallo, Dashgoban and Timor are opposed to Ragesia and so against the non-aggression pact. Megadon, Rigo and Namin are hostile to Seaquen and are in favour of allowing the Ragesians free passage through Dassen so they can crush the town. Iz and Dene are undecided.

They also find out that there is a problem in delivering the letter from Jineer to his father. Lord Gallo’s proxy has been arrested for treason, and is currently languishing in the King’s dungeons.

“Caged by madness,” says Solsus. “Another of Cristin’s visions has come true.”

“I’ll draft a release order,” says Gribron. “It shouldn’t pose any difficulty for a man of my artistic talents. The question is, who should it come from?”

“Why not have it come from that gnome, Glibglammer. She’s head of the Talons, so is probably in charge of prisoners,” says Jonathan.

Solsus decides to head back out and see if he can find anything useful about Glibglammer. As a wizard, she could be expected to be favourably disposed towards Seaquen, home of the famous Lyceum, and Balan mentions that he counts her among the town’s allies. However, Solsus soon finds out that recently she has started seeing Seaquen as a threat to Dassen.

This unusual change of heart that reminds Solsus of the Seela opposition leader in the Fire Forest, who apparently woke up one morning determined to end the Song of Forms. There was a report that the Seela turned into some kind of strange, tentacled entity and flew away when his plans were thwarted by our heroes.

Balan appreciates the new information about Glibglammer. “I had been planning to rely on her to support our cause,” he says ruefully. “That would have been a less than successful approach to take. I wonder what else we don’t know …” 

Gribron prepares a cunning warrant, ostensibly from Glibglammer. It authorises the bearer to interrogate the accused traitor Jinis Bremman. If the prisoner proves uncooperative, the bearer is to remove the prisoner from the dungeon and take him to a place of seclusion in order to “Put him to the Question”. 

Gribron, Agatha and an invisible Solsus head for the King’s dungeon. The guards are suitably impressed by Gribron’s forged warrant, and escort them in to see Jinis. They then tactfully leave the cell and lock the door.

“I have a letter from your son,” says Gribron.

Jinis reads the letter, and looks at Gribron in wonder. “ Jineer thinks very highly of you. Alas, I am already caged.”

“I suggest you become uncooperative,” says Gribron.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You know. Uncooperative. Shout. Scream. Stamp your feet. Improvise!”

Jinis obliges, and the guards return to see what the problem is.

“The prisoner is uncooperative,” says Gribron. “In accordance with my warrant, I shall remove him from this place and take him to a place of seclusion so he may be Put to the Question.”

The guards shrug, and escort Gribron, Agatha and Jinis down the corridor to another room, which is clearly a torture chamber. The room has seen recent use, and is in a good state of repair.

“You can Put him to the Question in here,” says one of the guards.

“My orders are quite clear,” says Gribron. “I must take him from this place.”

“Nobody leaves this dungeon without a release order from the King,” replies the guard. “And we haven’t had one of those in a long time.”

Gribron waves his hands in a complicated arcane gesture, and tries to magically bring them round to his way of thinking. Unfortunately, he’s wasting his time – the guards in the King’s dungeon are regularly bolstered against magical persuasion by the prison’s duty chaplain.

“Are you defying Nina Glibglammer, head of the Talons?” says Gribron. “She is not a person to cross. My associate and I will be in serious trouble if we fail to follow our orders to the letter, and you may rest assured we will draw her attention to your role in this incident at the earliest opportunity.”

The guard shrugs. “You do that. In the meantime I’ve got my orders and I intend to follow them, and gnomes be damned.”

 A disgruntled Gribron heads back to the inn. “Can you believe the attitude of that guard,” he complains. “That was a perfect warrant, perfect. But no, he’s got his orders and he won’t use his common sense. It would serve him right if we really were Talons, and he ended up accused of treason himself.”

However, once back in the company of the others he throws himself enthusiastically into formulating a new plan.

Soon he is heading back to the dungeon, apparently accompanied by Agatha. In fact “Agatha” is really Solsus, wearing Agatha’s hat of disguise (which she took from the body of the erinyes in the Auyang warehouse in Seaquen).

“We don’t want to report back our failure,” says Gribron to the dungeon guards. “We are going to give the prisoner one more chance to co-operate.” 

“Knock yourself out.”

Once more the guards lock our heroes in the cell with Jinis. Gribron quickly explains the plan. Jinis takes the hat of disguise, and disguises himself as Agatha. Solsus uses his fey powers to appear to be Jinis for a short time.

Gribron calls for the guard, and he and “Agatha” leave with hangdog expressions. “We are in so much trouble,” says Gribron on his way out, but the guards don’t care. “Did I say we?” mutters Gribron under his breath. “I meant you …”

Solsus can’t maintain Jinis’s appearance for very long, but when the glamour wears off he simply turns invisible. It is a while before the guards realise Jinis’s cell is “empty”, but when they do they panic. Solsus is able to slip out of the cell in the ensuing confusion, and escapes from the dungeon when the guard is changed.

Gribron takes Jinis back to the Golden Griffon. Lord Gallo’s proxy is very grateful to be rescued.

“I am going to sneak out of the city and head north to my Lord’s lands,” he says. “I’ll tell my Lord of your heroism, and if you wear out your welcome in Bresk you can always find sanctuary at Gallo’s Fend.”

“It was our pleasure,” says Balan, who hadn’t lifted so much as a finger in the rescue attempt. “We have an audience with the King tomorrow. Is there any information you can give us which might make this audience pass more smoothly?”

Jinis thinks for a moment. “King Steppengard gets more unpredictable with each passing day. The loss of his family hit him hard. However, are you familiar with the Book of Eight Lands?”

The party shake their heads.

“The Book is an artefact tied in to this region. Its name refers to the time when there were eight kingdoms in Dassen, before King Steppengard united us and carved out a ninth land for himself. It records the lineages of all the rulers of the lands of Dassen, and is seen as a symbol of stability, all the more important in times of chaos such as we are now experiencing.

“You should mention the Book in your speech tomorrow, or risk demonstrating a lack of understanding of the past and present of Dassen. It doesn’t really matter what you say about it, just show the audience that you are aware of its significance.”

*Scene 4 – Audience with the King*
_February 12th, 12 pm_

The party are ushered into the throne room at noon, two hours after they were supposed to have an audience with King Steppengard. There are dozens of people already present in the throne room – proxies, assistants, ambassadors and one noble in person, Lady Namin.

King Steppengard is sat on his throne. His beard is unkempt, his clothes are crumpled and he looks like he hasn’t slept for days. In front of him, a slim man in manacles is being harangued by a curly haired female gnome dressed in black.

It turns out that the man is Relder, clerk to Lord Gallo’s recently rescued proxy Jinis. The gnome, of course, is Nina Glibglammer.

She leans close to Relder and says, “The King is offering you a chance to confess and ask for mercy.  It is no secret that Gallo has …”

“That’s _Duke_ Gallo,” he interrupts. “His family has defended our nation for centuries.”

“Gallo,” repeats Glibglammer. “He had the most to gain if the assassination attempt on our King had succeeded. There has undeniably been an attempt to frame the Ragesians.” She gestures to a dark corner of the room, and for the first time our heroes identify the Ragesian ambassador, dressed in a red robe inscribed with torch symbols. He is guarded by a hulking figure in a heavy cloak, who wears the bear skull mask of an inquisitor.

“The Ragesians,” continues Glibglammer, “have offered to protect us in this time of trouble. But Gallo can’t accept that. He wants his war. Admit it!”

Relder tries to reply, but he is clearly confused. A rumour spreads through the audience that he is under a mind-influencing spell of some kind. Eventually, Glibglammer gives up and turns to the king.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I think this man’s memory has been altered by magic.”

The King nods sadly. “I wish for nothing other than to execute this man for his part in,” he draws a breath, “my family’s murder, but justice must be served. This man may yet prove to be an innocent pawn in this atrocity. Take him back to prison.

“I tire of trials. I will take audiences now.”

This is Balan’s cue. He steps forward and gives his presentation. Thanks to the party’s efforts, he knows Glibglammer is no longer a friend, and he makes sure to mention the Book of the Eight Lands. He also knows which nobles are indifferent, unfriendly and hostile and addressed their proxies accordingly. He has also made a shrewd guess as to why the unmarried Lady Namin might be here in person to comfort the recently widowed king.

 His speech is a tour de force. His arguments are compelling, and the non-hostile proxies are completely convinced. Even the previously hostile proxies look very favourably on his case. It is clear to everybody that the non-aggression pact has everything to do with serving Ragesian interests and does nothing but weaken Dassen. The crowd start to roar their approval.

“Silence!” says Steppengard, and the noise dies away.

“You!” he says, pointing at Agatha. “You don’t seem to have the silver, honeyed tongue of your associate. We can speak plainly. How many friends and family have you lost in this war?”

Agatha is nonplussed to be singled out from the crowd in this fashion. “Um, none,” she says. “Your Majesty,” she adds as an afterthought.

The king barely listens to her answer. “I have lost nineteen,” he says. “My wife. My children. I have suffered. This is known. Yet what I cannot make people understand is that Dassen must not suffer war. None of my subjects will lose their family because of a fight which is NOT ours.

“You of Seaquen, you nest of vipers, you will get no aid here.

“Who next wishes to address their king?”


----------



## amethal (Jan 28, 2008)

*Scene 5 – Golden Griffon and North Gate*
_February 12th, 7 pm_

The rest of the afternoon passes uneventfully. 

The party pick up a few items in the city’s market. Jonathan is able to find a craftsman willing to paint his skull mask, and decides on he’d like it red, with one black tear falling from an eye socket.

Now they are enjoying a meal at the inn when a tall, gangly man approaches. Solsus remembers seeing him amongst the crows during their audience with the king, but he’s clearly no noble.

The man seems nervous as he approaches, and whispers to the party, “You must leave! You are in danger!”

“Who are you?” asks Solsus.

“My name is Humbrand. I’m one of the king’s minstrels. I saw you at the audience, but the king wasn’t in the mood for my music. I can’t answer any questions. It is dangerous to be seen with you.”

“If that’s what you are worried about,” says Gribron, “head for the latrine. I’ll follow in a minute.”

Humbrand does not seem keen on this plan, but heads for the latrine. A few moments later Gribron follows him in. When he is satisfied only the two of them are present, he casts a spell and Humbrand vanishes from sight.

“There you go,” he says. “You can come back and give us some more information, and nobody will see you.”

Once they make it back to the table, Humbrand provides more forthcoming. “The king has sworn out an arrest warrant for you. The guards will be coming to arrest you later on tonight. Your only chance is to flee north to Duke Gallo’s lands. I have arranged for you to be let out the north gate.”

“Arrest us?” says Caryk. “We have broken no laws. I’m sure once we explain that to the lawful authority, we can quickly clear up this misunderstanding. Maybe we should turn ourselves in, to try and speed up the process?”

“No, no,” says Humbrand. “In these days of fear and suspicion, an arrest warrant is tantamount to a death sentence. The king is insane; he sees spies and assassins everywhere.”

“I see,” says Caryk. “If he is insane, then he is no longer competent to hold office, and the arrest warrant is illegal. I think we are lawfully entitled to oppose this injustice.”

“Why are you helping us?” says Solsus to Humbrand.

“I can’t tell you that. Head for the gate if you want to live. Now I must go.” Humbrand moves towards the door of the inn, watched by Agatha, who is able to see the unseen. She informs Gribron when Humbrand has left, and he dismisses the spell of concealment.

“There was something strange about his manner,” says Gribron. “I think he was under an enchantment of some sort. I think someone ought to follow him and see what he gets up to.”

Solsus volunteers and, flying invisibly, is easily able to follow Humbrand. The man returns to the castle, where he is promptly arrested by the guards. Solsus returns to the others to report his findings, and the party retire to their rooms to plan their next move.

“The north gate could be a trap,” says Gribron. “I think we should go and investigate.”

“I’ll stay here,” says Balan. “The inn should be safe enough, and I’m confident I can slip past any guards if they do come to arrest us.

The rest of them head out of the inn, and decide to wait for a while in a nearby alley, to see if anybody seems to be following them. At one point a skinny man emerges for the common room and urinates in the alley. Its not clear whether he spotted the party or not – and it’s a mystery why he didn’t use the inn’s latrine – but he soon heads back into the inn. Solsus sneaks in after him, and spots him sitting at a corner table, nursing a mug of ale which he seems in no hurry to drink. The man appears to be unarmed and unarmoured, and might be a simple commoner after all.

Pondering this somewhat odd behaviour, our heroes set out in search of the north gate, which proves to be easy enough to find. The party finds a convenient spot from which to study the guards. It is difficult to tell, but they do seem to be somewhat on edge. Solsus creeps closer and eavesdrops on their conversation, but doesn’t find out anything useful.

Gribron creates an illusion of the party and sends it towards the gate. The guards snap into alertness. “Do you wish to leave the city?” asks one.

“Yes,” says Solsus, flying invisibly in roughly the same location as his illusionary double. “Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all. Open the gates!” the gates creak open, and the illusion marches out of the city, accompanied by the real Solsus. The gates close again, and the illusion winks out as Gribron can no longer see it to maintain it. Solsus looks around, but doesn’t spot anyone lurking in ambush.

Solsus returns to the party, and they continue to watch the gate. The guards have visibly relaxed following the party’s “exit”. Soon afterwards a pair of merchant types, having watched the illusionary party leave, head over to the guards and ask if they too can leave. Their request is refused.

“Seems safe enough after all,” says Gribron. “I’ll wait here and keep an eye on things. The rest of you head back to the inn and get Balan, the sleigh and our gear.”

“Who put you in charge?” says Agatha. “Still, any plan which gets me away from you is a good plan!”

They head back to the inn, and lurk once more in the alley. Solsus decides to scout out the upstairs windows, and almost immediately spots a hole in one of them. “That wasn’t there before,” he thinks. The hole is just big enough to allow a human or similar sized creature to reach in and unlock the window. 

He decides to investigate, and reaches in and opens the window. Judging by its sparseness, this must be Caryk’s room. He looks around, but sees nothing else out of place, and heads over to the door. He can’t remember if Caryk locked his door when he left – Caryk will later confirm that he did – but the door is not locked now.

Solsus eases open the door as quietly as he can, and sneaks into the communal living room which links all their bedrooms. Again, all seems to be as they left it. Solsus heads over to Balan’s room, and tries the door. It is unlocked. Solsus opens it carefully. The room is unlit, but some light comes in through the window and Solsus’s fey heritage enables him to see quite well in conditions of low light. 

Balan is sitting in a chair, apparently asleep. Solsus scans the room, and can see no threats. He calls out softly, but Balan does not stir. Solsus moves closer, and sees that Balan’s nose has been smashed in by a blunt instrument of some sort, possibly a fist. He is dead, and Jonathan will later speculate that the blow he suffered could have caused a splinter of bone to break off from the nose and penetrate the brain, with fatal results.

Once again the room seems undisturbed, although Solsus does note that the purse of gold Balan had been carrying to cover the group’s expenses seems to be missing.

Solsus returns to the others and explains the situation. He then heads into the stables to secure their transport. He rouses the sleepy stable boy and gets him to ready the sleigh. He also warns the boy that there is trouble coming, and advises him to keep his head down.

Meanwhile, out in the alley, the others hear the tramp of marching feet heading for the inn. A patrol of guards is approaching. It sounds as if they have some large creatures with them –  horses perhaps, but the noise doesn’t really sound like hooves.

The party shrink back into the alleyway as the guards arrive at the inn. There are twelve soldiers, two sergeants and one officer – and two, winged, horse sized creatures with lion-like bodies and the heads of rams.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” thinks Jonathan. “What the heck are those things? Some kind of sphinx perhaps? Not what you’d expect in a city.”

The officer is met at the door of the inn by the apparent commoner who attracted the party’s attention earlier. He leads all but two of the soldiers inside, with much bluster and fanfare. The sphinxes, if that is what they are, decide against squeezing through the door and remain outside with the two sentries, snorting and steaming in the cold weather.

One of the creatures glances towards the alleyway, and the party shrink back into the shadows. Caryk is conscious that his shell is hard to hide. It seems to Jonathan that one of the creatures winks at him, before ostentatiously looking in the opposite direction.

Solsus rejoins them, and explains that he has arranged for the sleigh to be brought out the back door of the stables. The party are able to get in the sleigh and head off along the snow covered streets to the north gate without having to confront the soldiers sent to arrest them.

However, there is no avoiding the guards at the north gate, and their arrival is met with consternation.

“We’d like to go through the gate please,” says Gribron.

“But you left an hour ago…,” splutters one of the guards.

“Obviously we didn’t, otherwise we wouldn’t be here now, would we?” says Gribron patiently.

The bemused guards have no answer for this, so do what comes naturally in such situations – they pass the problem up the chain of command. One of them goes off in search of the sergeant, who is none too pleased at being roused from his comfortable office and sent out into the chill night air.

The sergeant takes in the situation before him, and his mood gets even worse.

“What were you orders, private?” he bellows.

“To let the foreign party out of the north gate, sergeant,” replies the guard.

“And were those orders somehow unclear? Or were they too difficult? WHY IS THE GATE SHUT WHEN YOU HAVE ORDERS TO OPEN IT !?!”

“Opening the gate now, sergeant,” says the subdued private. “Sorry sergeant.”

Once more the gates creak open, and the party head off into the night. “Good luck,” the sergeant calls out as they pass through.

*Act Two – Gallo’s Fend
Introduction  – Gallo’s lands*
_February 17th, 1 pm
_
It takes about two days to reach Lord Gallo’s lands. Our heroes discuss the strange things that happened in Bresk, but are pretty much baffled by the whole thing. 

They have various theories about their easy escape. Possibly the regular soldiers are opposed to the Talon secret police, and so helped the party evade their arrest warrant. Alternatively, the party’s presence in the lands of Gallo might be intended as a pretext for the king turning against the northern lord he suspects of orchestrating the assassination of his family.

When the party do arrive at the border of Lord Gallo’s lands, they find their reputation has preceded them. Jinis, Lord Gallo’s proxy, arrived the previous day and told everyone he met the story of how the party rescued him from the king’s dungeon. They are lauded as heroes, and escorted by Lord Gallo’s men to his capital, Gallo’s Fend.

Gallo’s Fend is a heavily fortified city beside the Nasham River. It is built on imposing cliffs, and has never fallen to assault or siege. Gallo’s troops are some of the finest in the land, battle hardened from skirmishes with their Ragesian neighbours across the Alydi Gap and from expeditions against various savage tribes within Dassen itself.

The party are met by one of Duke Gallo’s menservants, Rodger, who invites them to an audience with the Duke Gallo the next day. In the meantime he places himself at their disposal.

Having some free time, they busy themselves selling those items of their loot, such as Talon armour, which it would have been imprudent to offer for sale in Bresk. The city is on a war footing, and they get good prices for the weapons and armour they sell.

*Scene 1 – An audience with Duke Gallo*
_February 18th, 10 am_

Rodger leads the party to Duke Gallo’s castle. To their surprise, they are met at the gates by the Duke himself. He is a tall man, with blond hair that is starting to turn grey. He steps forward and offers his hand. He is accompanied by his retinue, which includes his proxy, Jinis.

“I am Michael Gallo,” he says. “If what I’ve heard about you is true, then you are most welcome in my city. Please follow me inside.”

Everyone assembles in a small conference chamber, and Duke Gallo sets out the situation as he sees it.

“Its hard to get word out of Bresk right now, but all the signs are that King Steppengard is preparing to march his army here to attack me. He has accused me of assassinating his family, and trying to assassinate him, as a means to putting myself on the throne of Dassen. He has also accused me of harbouring fugitives from his justice – namely yourselves.

“I am no doubt biased, but I think that in attacking me he is making a serious strategic mistake. The Ragesians are the real threat. The late Emperor Coaltongue was very reliable; he only had two approaches to his neighbours. If he wanted your lands, he’d send in an army and take them by force. On the other hand, he was an honourable man. If he signed a treaty, he’d stick to it. 

“This Leska, who styles herself as Empress, she’s a tricky one. The entire Ragesian Third Army is sitting on the other side of the mountains, waiting for the snow to melt so they can march down the Alydi Gap into my lands and wave their non-aggression and free passage treaty in my face. 

“Are they really going to all this trouble just so they can destroy your little swamp town of Seaquen? I think not.  It’s Dassen they want, and I’m the only thing in their way – and my own king is marching against me …

“Will you help me defend this land against the Ragesians?”

The party agrees to help the Duke.

“Excellent,” says Duke Gallo. “For your services thus far, and in expectation of your services in the future, please accept this promissory note for 2,000 gold pieces.”

At this point Proxy Jinis moves forward, and there is a brief whispered conversation between him and the Duke. “My apologies,” says Duke Gallo. “In the light of Proxy Jinis’s most compelling arguments, I must withdraw this promissory note, and replace it with one which more befits heroes such as yourselves; I award you with a promissory note for 4,000 gold pieces.”

“Is that 4,000 gold pieces each?” asks Gribron.

“Alas no,” says the Duke with a smile. “The amount is to be shared among you. There is, after all, a war on.

“I will spend the rest of the day in discussions with my advisors, in order to determine how best to proceed. Please enjoy the amenities of Gallo’s Fend, and return here tomorrow at the tenth hour when I shall have a task for you.”

_February 19th, 10 am_

The next day, the party have another meeting with the Duke.

“I have had further intelligence,” says the Duke, “which estimates that King Steppengard is bringing north an army of ten thousand along the frozen Nasham River. Frankly that is a laughable amount; I command nearly as many men, although admittedly they are not all at Gallo’s Fend – some are spread out amongst my various outposts. Gallo’s Fend has never fallen to an enemy assault, and Steppengard’s ten thousand men will fare no better.

“However, the forty thousand men of the Ragesian third army are a different matter. We can’t afford to have our fortifications weakened by the king, or even worse be under siege when the Ragesians get here.

“So I have resolved to meet King Steppengard’s army in open battle, in the hope that we can win a quick victory before the snow melts in the passes. I know that the late envoy Balan did a wonderful job of convincing the nobles of the rightness of Seaquen’s cause and the need to hold of the Ragesians. I calculate that victory over Steppengard will be the final impetus they need to throw in their lot with me. The Ragesian third army cannot take Gallo’s Fend if the combined might of Dassen is defends the city.

“In order to defeat King Steppengard in the field, I really need the support of my neighbours, Lord Dashgoban and Lady Timor. They are friends and allies, but will be understandably reluctant to defy the King and start a civil war. What I need to sway them is evidence of Ragesian treachery. On the other hand, if I have wronged Leska and the Ragesians are no threat to Dassen, then I can safely sit behind the walls of Gallo’s Fend and let my King’s army carry out its futile assaults.

“This is where you come in. I have six watch towers along the Alydi Gap. If the Ragesians are planning to invade, the obvious first move is for them to take the towers. Please could you ride north through the Gap as quickly as possible, inspect the towers and either confirm they are intact or bring back evidence of Ragesian treachery.”

The party agree to undertake the mission, and set off immediately.

*Scene 2 – Alydi Gap*
_February 18th, 6 pm_

It is cold and dark in the Alydi Gap. Our heroes have been supplied with horses by Duke Gallo, and they have ridden them hard. Were it not for liberal use of the healing wands also supplied by the Duke, one or more of the horses would have died under the strain.

The watch towers are cunningly concealed. Our heroes have a map, but still struggle to locate them. However, the first five towers prove to be safely in Gallo hands. Their remote garrisons are pleased to be receive winter visitors, and express surprise that the political situation has grown so fraught.

All that remains is to visit outpost six. It is situated on a rocky spur over a hundred feet tall, only accessible by a narrow path which laboriously winds its way up at a forty five degree angle.

As they have done on five previous occasions, the party approach the fort cautiously. Solsus turns invisible and flies ahead to investigate.

There are two humanoid sentries on the roof of the tower, huddled up against the cold. They could be Ragesians, Dasseni or scarecrows – it is impossible to tell under these conditions. However, they are accompanied by a two legged, dragon-like creature with wings and a long tail ending in a wicked stinger. This is a wyvern, and there are none in Duke Gallo’s army. The Ragesians, on the other hand, use them frequently.

Solsus returns and informs the others of what he has seen. The Ragesians have taken outpost six. Nobody suggests returning to Gallo’s Fend with the news. Instead, it is agreed that Solsus and Agatha will fly up and take on the troops on the roof, whilst the rest move up the path and try and go in via the front door.

The invisible Solsus fires a sling bullet at the wyvern, and strikes it in the left eye. The beast bellow in pain. Agatha blasts the beast and really gives it something to complain about.

The rest make it up to the tower’s door without being seen. Unsurprisingly, it is locked. Gribron pulls out his lock picks, but to no avail. Caryk waits patiently for Gribron to come up with an alternative plan, but Jonathan doesn’t feel like hanging around. He pulls out a potion from his belt pouch, drinks it down and then effortlessly scales the side of the watch tower. He climbs onto the roof and blasts the unsuspecting wyvern with a ray of fire.

Solsus makes an arcane gesture and a ball of flame appears in his hand. He hurls it at the wyvern.

Meanwhile, Gribron puts away his lock picks, pulls out a wand and calls out, “Open!” There is a loud click as the door unlocks itself.

The battered wyvern, delighted to finally have a target, moves towards Jonathan and strikes at him with its tail stinger. However, the blow misses. The two sentries on the roof fire arrows at Jonathan which likewise fail to connect. Agatha hits the wyvern with another blast.

Jonathan sees his chance to finish off the badly wounded wyvern. He carefully makes sure he does not lower his guard, despite the proximity of the beast, and engulfs the wyvern and both sentries in flames. The beast dies, as does one of the guards. The other, however, is made of sterner stuff and strides towards Jonathan, shrugging off a blow from Solsus’s sling as he does so.

He wrong foots Jonathan with a cunning feint. Unfortunately, he also fooled himself, and the follow up attack goes wide. Jonathan scrambles across the roof, and manages to stay out of trouble long enough for Agatha to bring down his assailant with a couple of well timed eldritch blasts.

Meanwhile, back on the ground floor, Gribron and Caryk have entered a large room with one exit and no apparent enemies. However, there are a number of arrow slits in the far wall which Gribron considers are likely to have archers behind them. He proves to be correct, but fortunately most of the volley is aimed at the elusive Caryk and they fly go wide.

Gribron has no wish to be a target for further arrows, and rushes for the door out of the room. He is not surprised to find that it too is locked, but a quick tap from his trusty wand solves that problem. He hangs back slightly to let Caryk lead the way, and both of them confront the six figures in the corridor beyond.

A confused melee follows, with Caryk engaging in hand to hand whilst Gribron provides magical support. It is touch and go for a while, but the tide of the battle turns once Jonathan, Agatha and Solsus emerge from a staircase behind the Ragesians. Soon the enemies are dead, and our heroes are in possession of the watch tower.

Jonathan ends up with another inquisitor mask to add to his collection, but this one was clearly a novice so he wonders whether to bother.  He also finds a book of Ragesian propaganda, denouncing the various other nations and aggrandising the destiny of Ragesia. It has some interesting comments about Dassen, and Jonathan thinks it may come in handy when trying to persuade the other lords to unite against the Empire.

Gribron, on the other hand, has found something much more interesting - the written orders for the Ragesian infiltrators.

“Take the first outpost, then stay put, receiving supply drops every other day. When we learn of the success or failure of Madness, our weather mages will break the winter over Alydi Gap. When the thaw begins, prepare to take additional outposts.”

The party ponder the meaning of these orders. It reminds them that Cristin’s vision was that Jinis would be caged by madness.

“The king is clearly insane,” says Solsus, “so I guess the madness has succeeded. The Ragesian invasion must be imminent.”

The party discuss whether they should defend the tower against the Ragesians. Flushed with their successful re-capture of the tower, they seem convinced that they can prevail over the forty thousand soldiers apparently heading their way. However, in the end they decide to compete their original mission and return to Gallo’s Fend; the captured Ragesian orders will surely be enough to persuade Lord Dashgoban and Lady Timor to aid Lord Gallo.


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## RangerWickett (Jan 28, 2008)

Hehe. Well, it took 300 Spartans against a million Persians. Forty-thousand Ragesians are 1/25 of that, so I think you'd need a 12-person party for them to prevail.

They'd still all die, of course. 

Nicely written. I'm pleased by the party's confusion.


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## amethal (Jan 28, 2008)

*Scene 3 – Dashgoban*
_February 19th, 10 am_

Lord Gallo holds another meeting with our heroes.

“Now you’ve brought back the evidence I need,” he says, “it is time to activate the mutual defence pacts I have with Dashgoban and Timor. I will be sending Jinis to meet with each of them, and I would like you to accompany him as his escort, in case he gets into any more trouble!

“The Talon are no doubt watching my borders by now. The best way to avoid them en route to Lord Dashgoban is to head through the Pitchwood. Of course, you’d have to get by the pitchlings, but its probably easier than taking on the Talon.”

Jonathan consults his memory. “Pitchlings are a type of fey,” he says. “They are apparently immune to fire based attacks. According to legend, if you hold an unlit torch in your hand it will spontaneously ignite if there is a pitchling within one hundred feet.”

“I will not be able to accompany you,” says Solsus. “The pitchlings are part of the unseelie court, whilst I am a seelie fey. By ancient treaty we are barred from each other’s lands.”

“After you have met with Lord Dashgoban, head to Lady Timor’s lands via the town of Pitchwood Burg. The town is on the edge of the forest, situated by the River Nashan. My spies tell me that King Steppengard is using the frozen river to move his army quickly northwards. If the citizens of Pitchwood Burg can be persuaded to spread their pitch harvest across the ice and ignite it, it will melt the river and force the King to move the rest of the way along the snow-bound roads.”

“Why don’t you offer them compensation for their harvest?” says Gribron. “It’ll be hard for them to survive the winter otherwise, whoever wins this war.”

Lord Gallo agrees, and authorises Jinis to offer a thousand gold pieces in compensation to the townsfolk.

“After Pitchwood Burgh,” continues the lord, “you can simply follow the road to Lady Timor’s capital. However, I’m sure the king will have it blockaded. Alternatively, you could scale the Glaskeel Cliffs, but that route is not for the faint hearted. They are over half a mile high.”

There being no further business, the party set off on the road to Dashgoban.

The Pitchwood is a dense forest of pitch pines. The road through it is about fifteen miles long and no one knows who built it. What is sure is that no one risks entering the forest to maintain it, so it is now little more than a narrow, muddy, overgrown track. The forest is alive with eerie noises, a bizarre mixture of giggles and thick, greasy dripping sounds. Anything could be hiding in the undergrowth.

Jonathan holds an unlit torch in his hand as he rides through the forest, in the hope that it will help him detect a pitchling ambush. They have travelled about five miles into the forest when his torch suddenly blazes into light.

The party halt their horses, and scan the terrain ahead. However, nobody can spot any pitchlings, or any other threats. They cast what defensive magics they can, and press on grimly.

Suddenly a voice calls out from the forest, in broken Common. “Leave money and stuff.! You go or we burn you!”

Gribron and Jonathan call out various things in reply, but it becomes clear the pitchlings speak very little of the Common tongue. The party try various other languages, but with even less success.

Suddenly the sound of chanting emerges from all sides. The party start to feel sleepy, but all except Ambar manage to shrug off the enchantment. The horses, however, are not so lucky, and begin to slump to the ground. Gribron is the first to react. He kicks his horse, which jerks awake with a start. However, there is another chanted spell and suddenly the undergrowth reaches round and grabs the horse, holding it fast.

“Got you!” says Gribron. He has spotted the creature which cast the last spell. It is a slender, spiny humanoid figure, completely naked but covered in a coating of black pitch. It has a spiky longbow, but no arrows. “There’s one over there,” he says, doing his best to point out the fey to his companions, then casts a spell. There is a loud trumpet blast, and Ambar and her horse start to wake up.

“Where is it?” says Caryk. “I can’t see anyone.”

“I can,” says Jonathan with a smile. A blast of cold flies from his fingers, and engulfs the pitchling. The creature’s flesh turns to ice, then shatters into a thousand pieces.

Five large gourds fly out from the forest, and strike home against the party. The fragile casings shatter, and the projectiles explode into flame. Agatha is struck; Gribron and Caryk are both struck twice. However, all the party can now see the fey who threw them, standing in a rough semicircle in front of out heroes.

Ambar retaliates with missiles of force. Agatha uses her eldritch blast, but it does reduced damage. It appears that, like Solsus, these fey are resistant to damage from attacks unless silver weapons are used.

Gribron’s horse tries to break free from the entangling vegetation, but to no avail. As is his wont these days, he creates a cloud of noxious black fumes. Three of the fey are caught within it. Two of them are overcome, and can only retreat, coughing and spluttering.

Jonathan tries to explode the mind of the fey who resisted the cloud, but the creature is too strong willed to succumb.

Caryk moves his horse over to the fey, skilfully guiding it past the clutching branches and brambles. He tries to leap off his mount and attack, but his foot catches in the stirrup and all he can manage is an undignified hop.

Gribron is starting to find his situation, atop a burning horse which is entangled by burning vegetation, to be uncomfortable hot. He concentrates for a second, vanishes and re-appears half way up a nearby tree.

The three surviving, (non-vomiting) fey continue to rain down fire on the party. Caryk nimbly side steps the missile aimed at him, but cannot avoid being splashed. Agatha and Ambar are both struck.  They retaliate with more magic missiles and eldritch blasts. Jonathan finishes off one of their victims with another attack of cold.

Caryk, his intended target having been killed by Jonathan, heads over to another one. That particular fey aims a projectile at Gribron, but the mage quickly casts a mind-influencing spell and the fey decides to go for the nearby Caryk instead. However, his indecision costs him dear, and he fluffs the throw badly. Demoralised, the fey turns to run but Caryk quickly cuts him down.

The other two fey, presumably still vomiting, have melted back into the forest. The party briefly consider trying to track them by the sound, but decide venturing off the road into the depths of the forest would be foolhardy. They heal their wounds as best they can and carry on towards Lord Dashgoban’s castle. Fortunately, the rest of their journey through the Pitchwood passes without incident.

Lord Dashgoban’s castle is situated twenty miles from the Pitchwood, on a stone outcropping. Unusually, no town has grown up alongside the castle. Dashgoban’s cavalry are practising manoeuvres in the surrounding fields, but when the party arrive they stop, and greet them enthusiastically. It is clear they are eager for battle.

The party are shown into the castle, and Lord Dashgoban greets them warmly. Somewhat to the party’s surprise, he turns out to be a dwarf.

“My proxy was very impressed by the extremely articulate and convincing speech Balan gave at the audience with the King,” he says. “His words have spread among my men, and all of them are eager to foil the evil schemes of the Rasgesians. They’d ride off now if they could.

“I, on the other hand, must be a touch more pragmatic. Do you have any actual evidence that the Ragesians intend to do us harm?”

The party show him the documents they retrieved from Outpost Six. “Evidence I need and evidence I have!” bellows Lord Dashgoban. “I can lend Lord Gallo one thousand horse and two thousand foot. Join me in a toast to victory, and please accept my hospitality for the night.

*Scene 4 – Timor*
_February 20th, 8 am_

The party set off early towards Timor. As they leave they see signs that Lord Dashgoban’s army is preparing to break camp and head for Gallo.

Soon afterwards, they arrive at Pitchwood Burg. They ask to see the head of the town, and are brought before Father Albert, an old priest. Jinis, as the only trained diplomat in the group, does the talking.

Father Albert is initially unreceptive to the idea of sacrificing the pitch harvest. However, the promise of compensation from Lord Gallo of a thousand pieces of gold, coupled with the party’s assurances that Lord Dashgoban also favours the plan – something of a white lie, although they are sure the dwarf would have approved of the plan had they thought to mention it to him – soon brings him round.

Then it is time to head on to Timor, and the party have to decide on a route. It turns out that some of them are less than keen on the idea of a long climb up the steep Glaskeel cliffs, so they decide to take the road. If King Steppengard’s forces have indeed set up a blockade, then they’ll simply smash their way through it.

This is a situation in which Solsus would have proved very useful, but Agatha offers to take over the scouting duties in his absence. Her abilities are growing, and now include the power of flight. Gribron uses his invisibility spell to make her disappear from view, and she flies off ahead of the group.

The road to Lady Timor winds its way ever upwards. In many places, stone bridges cross deep gorges. At one such bridge, Agatha spots a group of horsemen hiding in a copse of trees at the far end. She returns to the party, and tells them what she has seen.

Gribron comes up with a plan. He casts a spell enabling him to levitate, and Caryk ropes him to his horse, which can then pull him along whilst he is up in the air. Gribron then makes himself and Jonathan invisible, and creates an illusion of himself and the two other invisible party members. He sets the illusion marching along the road. The real Caryk and Ambar walk alongside their illusionary companions.

Once the illusion rounds the bend before the bridge they are spotted by the horsemen. Seven men wearing the uniforms of King Steppengard’s army ride out from the copse of trees and confront the group.

“Stop and identify yourselves!” demands the leader.

“No thanks,” replies Jonathan, and unleashes a blast of fire far greater in area than anything the party have seen before. The hapless soldiers are caught completely unprepared, and all seven perish in the flames. The dying screams of men and horses echo through the hills.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” says Jonathan. “Usually at least one of you would be within the area of effect, and I’ve had to do my best to resist the temptation.”

The party head across the bridge, eager to see if the bodies have anything worth looting. Suddenly a large, long limbed creature clambers up from underneath the bridge. It is sinuous, but very strong, and its hands end in razor sharp claws. It aims a lazy blow at Caryk which would have done serious damage had it connected, but the tortle manages to duck out of the way in the nick of time.

“Troll!” screams Jonathan. “Use fire and acid!”

“Okay,” replies Gribron, and two beams of flame erupt from his hand. One misses, but the other strikes true – and has no effect whatsoever. “Fire didn’t work,” says Gribron in dismay.

Jonathan hits the troll with a bolt of cold, and Agatha follows up with an eldritch blast. Meanwhile Ambar and Caryk take on the troll in hand to hand. They all do damage, but the troll’s wounds start to close again of their own accord. The beast tries to rip of Jonathan’s head, but misses.

Gribron uses his nauseating cloud, but trolls have strong stomachs and the creature is unaffected.

However, the combined efforts of the rest of the party manage to inflict wounds faster than the troll can heal them, and the creature collapses to the ground. “Quick,” says Jonathan. “Roll it off the bridge into the gorge before it recovers.”

“Wait!” says Gribron. “It has a couple of potion bottles in its belt. They might be worth something.” Whilst Agatha keeps blasting the prone troll, Gribron nimbly takes the potions. Then he, Jonathan and Caryk roll the troll off the bridge and into the gorge below.

“Do you think that will kill it?” asks Caryk.

“Who cares!” says Gribron. “Let’s get out of here.”

Soon afterwards, the party arrive at Lady Timor’s castle, and are granted an audience.

“I have heard of you,” she says by way of introduction. “Rumour has it you were responsible for putting out the fire in the Forest of Innenotdar.”

“That is correct,” says Jonathan. “The forest was possessed by a powerful fire spirit, and it seemed to us that the only way to save the fey of the forest was to defeat the spirit. This had the effect of putting out the fire.”

“We did what we thought was right,” says Caryk. “None of us were sure what the consequences would be, but it had to be attempted.”

“I won’t pretend to be pleased,” said Lady Timor. “The Ragesians are making slow and steady inroads into Gate Pass, and if the city was to fall they will have a clear run through the forest into my lands.

“However, I appreciate your honesty, and Balan’s speech has convinced me that the Ragesians must be opposed. I will commit the following forces to Lord Gallo’s cause – fifty mages, eight hundred infantry, two hundred cavalry and one of my elemental allies.”

The party’s mission has been a resounding success.


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## amethal (Jan 28, 2008)

Finally up to date!


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## JonathanFarrier (Jan 28, 2008)

(Impromptu happy dance...err "disturbingly frantic dance")

Fire, fire burning higher,
Bright my enemies flaming pyre

Bones to ash and flesh to dust
Bodies burn and life is lost

Ahem...yes...quite. I shall, of course, endeavour to restrain myself around my allies when manifesting...pretty...damaging...pyrotechnic...(drools)


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## Toby Underfoot (Feb 1, 2008)

*Agatha's wise words*

Ah Jonathan Jonathan Jonathan

I remember clearly Agatha's wise words..."We're all the same height lying down"....no sorry...that was...something else...I forget what it was to do with. Can't have been terribly important. Anyway...yes Agatha's (other) wise words, "You have to sleep sometime!". Of course, she said them to me. But I suppose the concept could be more generally applied. Hmm?

Gribron
Ultimate Magus


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## RangerWickett (Mar 28, 2008)

*bump*

I know keeping up a storyhour is tough, but I'm curious where things stand now.


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## amethal (Mar 30, 2008)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> *bump*
> 
> I know keeping up a storyhour is tough, but I'm curious where things stand now.



Yeah, I've got really behind on it. I'll cut down on the detail in an effort to get up to date.


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## amethal (Mar 30, 2008)

*Scene 5 – Commando Raid (Interlude)*
_February 25th, 7 am_

Message from Adar Stonechisel, Captain of Engineers, to Lord Gallo.

My Lord,

Greetings and salutations. I beg to report the successful completion against the enemy catapults.

As ordered, my engineers extended the ancient tunnels under the Otharil Vale, so that they emerged within one hundred feet of the enemy position. We were able to confirm that there were ten heavy catapults, protected by a ditch, a wooden palisade and an estimated fifty soldiers and forty engineers. The engineers were readying the catapults to begin bombarding our defences at first light. 

In addition to the forces our scouts had reported, there was also a dragon providing aerial cover. I am not an expert in such matters, but I am reliably informed it was a red dragon, and was later privileged to witness its fiery breath.

Our elite commando force took up positions at the edge of the tunnel. The mage, Gribron, was able to use his arcane powers to provide himself and the rest of the team with some protection from fire. He then cast another spell, and the team disappeared from view, apart from the scholar, Jonathan, who remained with us.

We attempted to spot their progress across the snowy ground. I think I saw some footprints, but it may have been a trick of the moonlight. In any event, King Steppengard’s forces did not raise the alarm.

The force managed to climb over the ditch and fence without being seen, but someone amongst the enemy must have heard them, because the soldiers started firing crossbow bolts. However, with no visible targets their efforts were futile. This attracted the attention of the dragon, which made a clumsy turn in mid air and started heading towards the soldiers. 

A force of Steppengard cavalry also noticed the disturbance, and headed towards the catapults. Their starting position was a fair distance away, and in the event they arrived too late to influence the battle.

As per the plan, our invisible strike team began covering the catapults in oil. This put the soldiers on full alert, and their commanders attempted to coordinate their actions to find their invisible foes. They were aided in this by the appearance of the dragon, which seemed able to identify at least the rough area its enemies were in. It attempted to bite the targets it found, but with little success – and when it did manage to bite Solsus, the pixie’s fey heritage protected him from the worst of the damage. Eventually, in sheer frustration, the dragon let loose a blast of fiery breath. Gribron’s magic protected his allies from the worst of the damage – but the nearest, oil soaked catapult was not so lucky, and started burning merrily.

Once all the catapults were soaked, our team started throwing vials of alchemists fire at them, and soon they were burning merrily. This was Jonathan’s cue, and he emerged from the tunnel and let loose a massive sheet of flame which had the catapults burning even more furiously.

Jonathan then somehow transformed himself into a wyvern, beloved of Ragesia’s military, and headed towards the dragon. The beast responded to the challenge, abandoning the catapults. However, in a ferocious battle of tooth and claw the dragon proved no match for the wyvern, and perished.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team started harassing the soldiers and engineers who were trying to put out the fires. This cancelled their invisibility, but their superior mobility was enough to keep them out of the worst of the harm.

Then the dragon fell, and the morale of the soldiers broke. They abandoned the fight and routed. The team, their job done, withdrew back to the tunnel. As per our orders, once the last member had passed into the tunnel we collapsed it to prevent any pursuit.

Adar Stonechisel, Captain of Engineers.

*Scene 6 – The Battle of Gallo’s Fend*
_February 26th, 7 am_

Duke Gallo addresses our heroes.

“Greetings, my friends. Many thanks for your sterling efforts on behalf of this land. You have proven yourselves to be heroes time and time again. If you are willing, I have one last task for you.

“I had hoped that the destruction of his siege engines would drive King Steppengard to the negotiating table. However, a day of talks has proved fruitless. The enemy general, Konigsmarshall Malken, is clearly under strict instruction to accept nothing less than our surrender. Only victory on the battlefield can end this crisis, but every soldier who dies on either side is a victory for the real enemy, Ragesia.

“What I need is a decisive victory, with minimum loss of life. I am therefore proposing to attack the King’s forces in the Otharil Vale. I have split my army into two wings, and we will attempt to envelop the King’s army from either side. With both his flanks turned, Konigsmarshall Malken will have to concede defeat.

“However, while this is happening, our centre is under-manned, and Malken can escape the envelopment by bursting through our line. All of our troops are needed elsewhere; I am hoping that you heroes will agree to defend the centre and give my troops the time they need to win the battle.

“This is a very dangerous task, but you will not be completely unsupported. I can spare you two of my chaplains. They will try and keep out of the fight, but will be able to heal your wounds. Also, Lady Timor has offered the services of one of her elemental allies.”

Lord Gallo produces a small, vaguely rabbit shaped device. “This is called a Thumper. Thrust it into the ground to activate it. It will attract the attention of the elemental, which will come to your aid. It only works once, so use it wisely.”

Our heroes accept the challenge, and soon find themselves in the centre of the Gallo line. For some of them it is a particularly lonely place, as some of the others turn invisible.

The first wave consists of thirty two soldiers, one commander, one cleric, two of the ram headed criosphinxes and a minotaur. There is also brief aerial support in the form of a male headed androsphinx, which flies in behind the party, roars at our heroes and flies off again.

Agatha panics at the noise, and flees away from its source – towards the onrushing Steppengard army. Fortunately, she is invisible and escapes detection. The rest of the party are able to deal with the first wave in her absence.

The second wave consists of sixteen mounted knights and three armoured trolls. (Unbeknownst to our heroes, these are brothers of the troll they killed en route to Lady Timor’s.)

Jonathan, low on energy after the first wave, pulls another transformation, taking the form of a remorhaz. More despite this than because of it, the party manage to defeat the second wave. 

There are also occasional incoming fireballs from an enemy wizard. Once the party have defeated both waves, they head after the wizard and bring down the wizard, his escort of eight knights, and a female headed gynosphinx. Our heroes identify that the sphinx is under some sort of charm effect, but find it easier to kill her than to remove the spell.

Jonathan has a hypothesis that the gynosphinx is the reason the randy criosphinxes have accompanied the army.

The party’s resounding success is mirrored elsewhere on the battlefield, and the Steppengard army surrenders to Duke Gallo.
*
Act Three – Served Cold*

_Scene 1 – Victory Parade in Bresk
March 1st, 1 pm_

Duke Gallo’s army enters Bresk in triumph. The people of Bresk are unsure of how best to respond, but in the end opt for lining the streets in curiosity and giving the occasional half hearted cheer.

After an hour, the Duke’s army arrives at the courtyard of Castle Steppengard.

King Steppengard himself awaits them. He looks healthier than when the party last saw him. He offers a handshake of reconciliation to Duke Gallo, then addresses the crowd.

“My people, recent times have been dark for our country. But I am here to tell you that better days lie ahead. All of Dassen’s lords and ladies have arrived here in Bresk, to forge together a new, better future.

“Duke Gallo, I commend you for your brave and steady heart. Though we disagreed, and crossed swords because if it, I know now that you acted only with love for your homeland.”

“Huh,” snorts Agatha. “Crossed swords? I didn’t see His Majesty anywhere near that battlefield. He must have a very long sword to reach Gallo’s Fend from here!”

“I welcome you all into my house,” continues King Steppengard, “and offer you all a chance to compete in the Tournament of Unity. Tomorrow there will be games and celebrations, and in the evening there will be a banquet for myself and the lords and ladies. There we shall speak of unpleasant but necessary matters. Thieves and scoundrels lurk on our borders, but as one united nation we shall defeat them.”

“You are talking of the Ragesians, right?” says Duke Gallo, but the King merely smiles.

_Scene 2 – Tournament
March 2nd, 9 am_

Our heroes are staying at the home of a minor noble who owes Duke Gallo a favour.

The Duke himself is tied up in ceremonial duties, but he has asked our heroes to keep their eyes and ears open for treachery. King Steppengard’s change of heart seems too good to be true, but with the Ragesians on the border Duke Gallo cannot afford to turn down the chance for unity. The party agree to liase with proxy Jinis as necessary.

None of the games interest our heroes. They even turn down the opportunity to perform in the festivities.


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## Rugult (Apr 2, 2008)

I am really looking forward to the next update on this!  I fondly remember Adventure 4 as one of the most political and roleplaying intense adventures of the campaign, and thus like seeing other takes on it.  I remember that one of my PC's (the rogue of course) took to calling Duke Gallo 'Gally'.

I very much enjoyed your description on the fight with the wizard.  It brings back a flood of good memories!

Hope you update soon.


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## amethal (Apr 7, 2008)

Gribron briefly takes part in as shell game a nimble fingered young man is running, but being the staunch supporter of law and order that he is, takes exception once he realises the man is cheating. Yes, cheating! In a shell game! What is the world coming to? Instead of hiding the coin under one of the three cups, he has palmed it instead.

Angrily, Gribron accuses the man of being a cheat. The man tries to laugh it off, producing the coin from Agatha’s ear,  but Gribron is not to be mollified so easily. In the end they agree on a  compromise – one last game, double or quits. Gribron loses – fair and square, as far as he can tell. With a shrug he pays the man with illusory gold and wanders away.

In the distance our heroes can hear the sound of fireworks. They come across a man in a fake beard and gaudy robes who is responsible for the noise and flashing light. A sign proclaims him to be “Whizbang the Fabulous”, and his show is a big hit with the watching children.

He bows to his audience, then turns to Gribron. “Excuse me, do you know where I could get a drink?”

“I know just the place,” says Gribron. “Allow us to buy you a beer at the Golden Gryphon.”

As our heroes return to the inn where they spectacularly failed to protect the diplomat Balan from assassination, they spot an old man playing an accordion. It looks a lot like Balan’s old instrument.

Inside the inn, ‘Whizbang’ introduces himself as Zachar. “This fair has been a real boon to performers such as myself,” he says. “Things have been all doom and gloom around here ever since the king’s family was murdered, and nobody has been in the mood for fireworks.

“Everybody is glad of a chance to celebrate for once. I’ve made more money today than in the past month. Only problem is, I’ve run out of supplies, and the alchemists I normally use are all tied up on some special project for the king. I’ve tried a few others, but they are also too busy to help, for the same reason.

“You look like a bunch of adventurers to me. I don’t suppose you’d happen to have any thunderstones, alchemist fire or something you could sell me? If not for my sake, for the sake of the children?”

The party has a surprisingly large stock of items that make loud noises and / or explode, and soon a happy Zachar heads off to put on another show.

After a few more beers, our heroes head back out into the fair. Its getting on for midday, and the food vendors are out in force. Solsus hears the sound of arguing voices coming from one of the carts, and the party amble over to see what all the fuss is about.

A man is standing holding  plate with a piece of steak on it. A halfling dressed in a chef’s outfit is haranguing at him. “Bah!” he says at last. “As though you, an eater of gruel, would understand the finer aspects of the culinary arts. Take your money and begone!” The halfling leaps up and dashes the plate from the man’s hands. If falls to the ground and breaks. The disgruntled chef then hurls a handful of coins onto the floor after it.

The man picks up his money with as much dignity as he can muster and stalks off into the crowd.

It seemed like a lot of money for a piece of steak, but as the party get closer they can see the halfling’s price list. Even the soup is three pieces of silver per bowl.

“Um, a bowl of soup each please,” says Gribron cautiously, half expecting the enraged halfling to throw something at him. However, the chef merely grunts, and hands out a bowl of soup each. He glares at them as they eat it, as if daring them to make a disparaging remark.

In fact, the soup is delicious, probably the best they have ever tasted. “That’s good soup!” says Gribron, and the rest join in with the praise. This seems to calm down the chef, and the tension flows out of his body.

“Thank you,” he says. “Its good to find people who are able to appreciate the finer things in life. I’m not used to catering for uncultured palates.”

“So who do you normally cook for?” asks Solsus.

The halfling pulls himself up to his full height of three feet. “I am Randas Slabovalles,” he declares. He waits in vain for recognition to dawn on the faces of our heroes, and his scowl returns. “Chef to His Majesty, King Steppengard,” he adds at last.

“Isn’t there a banquet for the lords tonight?” says Solsus. “I’d expect you to be hard at work in the royal kitchens.”

“So would I,” snarls the halfling. “However, His Majesty has seen fit to bring in …” He pauses, in a vain attempt to regain his composure, before spitting out the rest of the sentence. “….. Outside caterers! I have been given the week off, and banished from my kitchen!”

A pair of the royal guard wander over, attracted by the commotion. “Move along there, Randas,” says one of them. “Stop making a scene, and take yourself home before your big mouth gets you into trouble.”

“He’s not doing any harm,” says Gribron.

“Not yet he isn’t,” replies the guard, “but we are under orders to make sure this fair is a happy event, and his yelling and shouting is spoiling the mood.”

“I was leaving anyway,” retorts the halfling. “None of you peasants are fit to eat the merest crumb of what I produce.” He begins packing up the wagon, and the party head off.

Solsus is concerned that the halfling might be in trouble, and follows him invisibly until he gets safely home. Then he rejoins the others.

“Strange cooks in the kitchen,” says Jonathan. “And the alchemists are all tied up on some special project. Could they be planning to poison the king and the lords?”

“We’d better go and report this to Lord Gallo’s proxy,” says Agatha. “This sounds like exactly the kind of thing he told us to watch out for.”

Our heroes head back to see Jinis, the proxy. Dozens of other people have the same idea. It seems Lord Gallo’s return to the capital has convinced everybody with a grievance to attend his court in the hope of getting a hearing. Harassed servants are trying to maintain decorum and arrange some sort of order of precedence. They wave our heroes straight through, which leads to much bitterness amongst the crowd and the odd hostile comment.

“These are Lord Gallo’s elite agents,” retorts one of the servants. “They have done sterling service to the kingdom and certainly take priority over the likes of you!”

Once inside, they meet a flustered looking Jinis. “Welcome, my friends,” he says. “Dealing with all these matters of state is proving somewhat stressful, but it is much better than my last stay in the capital, in His Majesty’s dungeon. What can I do for you?

The party explain their fears about the king being poisoned, and Jinis smiles. “Poison is the least of our worries at present,” he says. “As foreigners, I wouldn’t expect you to know this, but our nobles are protected by the Book of Eight Lands, Dassen’s most prized possession.”

This rings some bells, as they remember Balan referring to the book in his ultimately futile speech to the assembled court.

“The book,” continues Jinis, “is a mighty artefact that protects all the nobles from poison, and also from mind affecting magic. We need have no worries on that score, although as a precaution I will see to it that my lord Gallo is given some additional magical protection against poison, just in case.

“It may be that these occurrences are just coincidence, but with the fate of the Kingdom resting on this couple of days, we cannot be too careful. Just because we are not threatened by poison, it does not mean there is no plot at all. Please continue your investigations.”

The party head back out to the street. If anything, the crowd waiting to see Jinis has grown during their brief meeting. As they leave one applicant, a dark haired dwarf currently stationed towards the back of the queue, seems to come to a decision and follows them out.

Once out in the street, the dwarf says “Pssst!” in a low voice. Our heroes all turn and look at the stranger. “No, don’t look at me!” he says in anguish. “Follow me into that dark alley, over yonder, where we can talk in private.”

The party exchange glances. If it’s a trap, it’s a very obvious one. This fair might finally be getting interesting. They follow the man into the alley.

“Is that right?” asks the man. “You are Lord Gallo’s special agents?”

“We are indeed,” says Jonathan. “I am Jonathan Farrier, a scholar.”

“I can’t see Lord Gallo. I can’t even get in to see his proxy. I need you to hear me out. Strange things have been happening.”

“Okay,” says Agatha. “What’s your story?” She sounds almost disappointed, and scans the alleyway as if hoping to make out the shapes of figures lurking in ambush.

“I’m one of the castle guards,” says the dwarf. “I work the night shift. Normally, I’m stationed in the old graveyard. That’s where the castle sewers come out, and flow into the river. There’s a locked gate and stuff, but it’s a potential weak spot in the castle defences.
“Anyway, the other day I was re-assigned to the castle’s Special Vault, the one where they keep the Book of Eight Lands. Nothing too unusual about that; we guards go where we are sent, and anyway it was a much better posting. That graveyard’s a pretty spooky place; you get the odd ghost, which you have to know how to deal with.

“I tried to find out who’d been assigned to my old duty, so in case they were rookies and didn’t know about the ghosts, but nobody could tell me who it was. Typical mess up, I thought, so since last night was my night off I decided to head down to the graveyard and see if the new guards needed any advice.

“When I got there, there were no guards at all! Instead, a bunch of people in robes – priests maybe – were taking delivery of a load of casks. What possible reason could there be for bringing a load of casks into a sewer?

“That left me pretty puzzled. Then today I get a message telling me I won’t be working tonight, so I could enjoy the festival. I tried to find out who was going to be replacing me at the vault; its going to be tough luck on them, pulling extra duty when the festival is on, so I figured I owed them a favour. But once again, it seems nobody is replacing me.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I thought I’d tell Lord Gallo about it. Only now I’m telling you, instead.”


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## amethal (Apr 7, 2008)

_Scene 3 – Sewer
March 2nd 7 pm_

Our heroes look around the graveyard. It is not a very inspiring sight. The light covering of snow can’t hide its current state of disrepair. Finding the sewer exit is easy enough – they just follow their noses – and that looks even less inviting.

“After you,” says Agatha, and with a sour expression Gribron wades into the foul smelling tunnel, his feet crunching on various frozen items on the tunnel floor, which he tries not to examine too closely.

Once Gribron is well and truly into the tunnel, Agatha turns to the others. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all. Perhaps we should all go home before we all smell as bad as Gribron does.”

“The way is blocked by a grating,” says Gribron from inside. “I’ll see if I can pick the lock.” However, when he touches the rusty grating it falls over backwards with a crash. Its hinges have been snapped off, fairly recently by the look of things, and then someone must have propped it back up again.

“Do you think you could make a bit more noise?” asks Agatha. “Some of the dead in the graveyard might not have heard that crash.” 

Low groans and hisses start coming out of the tunnel. “Stop messing about,” says Agatha. “I know its you making that noise.” 

The rest of the party clamber into the tunnel and head towards Gribron, who turns to Agatha and places his hand over his mouth. The groans and hisses continue unabated.

“So you’re making noises using magic,” snorts Agatha. 

Gribron rolls his eyes skyward in an exaggerated gesture of despair. “Then maybe you’d like to go first,” he says.

“No thanks. That’s your job. You’re the expendable one.”

Gribron moves cautiously along the tunnel, his magical torch in his hand. Ahead the tunnel opens out into a fairly large cavern, decorated with numerous odd looking lumps of ice, some of which are several feet high. They are packed closely together, and seem to be the source of the strange noises.

“I’ll check out the cavern,” says Solsus. He vanishes from sight, and flits past Gribron. As he approaches the frozen objects, they start to thrash and wave about, but he manages to elude their grasp and returns to the others.

“What are those things?” asks Agatha.

“Zombies, I think,” says Solsus. They have been half buried in the ground, and frozen in place. Looks like they are under orders to attack intruders. There are a few small holes in the ceiling off to the right, but too small to get casks through.

“There is also a grating at the far end, where the zombies are thickest. It’s then only way I can see for getting large objects out of the cavern, assuming you know the trick of getting past the zombies.”

“I know a trick or two,” says Jonathan with a smirk. “Let’s see if I can warm those zombies up a bit.” The cavern suddenly erupts in a fiery explosion. When the steam clears, the zombies in the area of effect are reduced to charred dust.

The party cautiously approach the grating. The remaining zombies whirl their arms in a futile attempt to reach them. It is a heavy metal grate, and despite their best efforts our heroes are unable to lift it. “Maybe it will be easier from the other side,” says Gribron. He vanishes briefly, and then appears on the other side in a shower of sparks. He crouches down and starts to carefully examine the grating.

Concentrating on his work, he fails to notice a large, shambling, skeletal figure until it is almost too late. The creature reaches out for him with its long, pink tongue. Gribron gives a shriek and jaunts back to the other side of the grating.

“What the heck was that?” he demands.

“I couldn’t make out any details,” says Jonathan, “and its moved back out of sight, but it looked to me like a mohrg. If so, I seem to remember you want to avoid being touched by its tongue. Could you go back up there and have a closer look for me?”

“No way!” says Gribron. “I’m not going back up there on my own.” He studies the underside of the grating, using the extra knowledge he has gained from his brief look at the top. He manages to tweak it so that it can be opened more easily from this side, and they heave on the grating once more. 

This time it opens, and they climb quickly into the room above. However, there is no sign of the mohrg. Instead, they are in a square room that looks somewhat familiar.

“This is the torture chamber in the prison,” says Gribron. “We ‘questioned’ Jinis here when we were trying to rescue him. That door leads out into the corridor.” He cautiously tries the door. “Its locked. Are mohrgs any good with locks?”

“They are quite cunning, but I don’t think they are very mechanically minded,” says Jonathan. “I wonder where it could have got to …”

At that moment a concealed door in the corner of the room opens, and the creature lumbers out. Its long pink tongue heads for Gribron, and once more he has to jaunt out of the way. Then Agatha, Jonathan and Gribron manage to blast it into pieces.

They search the room, but find no more secret doors, and nothing much of interest, although Jonathan pockets some thumbscrews. Gribron picks the lock on the door and they head out into the corridor. There are two more door off the right hand side, and a door at the end.

Gribron remembers that the door at the end leads into a guardroom, and has stairs leading up into the castle proper. They decide to investigate the other two rooms, which turn out to be storerooms of some sort, but they don’t find anything useful. Someone has been using one storeroom recently for some kind of alchemical experiments, but they are unable to determine what it was.

Solsus listens at the door of the guardroom, and can hear voices. He can’t make out individual words, but it sounds like two or more people are having a relaxed conversation, obviously not expecting trouble.

Trouble is what they get, however. Jonathan transforms himself into a troll, and the party bursts into the room. Inside there are four soldiers, the Ragesian ambassador and his aide, Inquisitor Torrax.

The ambassador tries to flee whilst the rest hold off the party, but our heroes slaughter all six opponents in short order. The soldiers were members of the royal guard, presumably subverted by the Ragesians into their service. In a macabre touch, they each have a piece of black onyx in their mouths – this makes it easier to bring them back as undead should they die on duty.

It appears the ambassador has been composing two messages to send to his superiors, one claiming success and one reporting failure. It appears the plan is to kill the nobility of Dassen. The inquisitor, meanwhile, had been passing the time by reading a book of humorous prisoner confessions.

A door leads into the cell block. The party give it a cursory search, but it appears all the prisoners have been released – perhaps as part of the festival.

The two Ragesians have a variety of interesting magical items on them, which the party split amongst themselves. What is perhaps more interesting is a blank scroll, of the sort normally sued to hold an arcane spell. The spell has been cast recently, wiping the information from the scroll but leaving behind a faint residue. Agatha examines it carefully. “I think it once held a rope trick spell,” she says at last.

“The spell that creates an extra dimensional hiding place?” says Gribron. “Interesting. If they had such a bolt hole, why weren’t they using it?”

“It wouldn’t last very long,” says Agatha. “Only a couple of hours, probably. It can’t be in here. I’d see it if it was. I’m very good at seeing unseen things.”

“Maybe they are using it for something else?” suggests Caryk. “Perhaps the missing casks are filled with alchemists fire, and they have positioned them above the banquet table. When the spell ends, the cask will fall on the king and his guests.”

“Seems a bit too random and unpredictable to me,” says Jonathan. “From what we’ve seen, the Ragesians like complicated plots with nothing left to chance.” He thinks for a moment. “I wonder … The protection the Book of Eight Lands gives to the nobles. Would it work from a different plane, do you think?”

“Maybe not,” says Agatha. “If they put the book in the extra dimensional rope trick, it would count as being on a different plane, and might leave the nobles vulnerable to poison. And that dwarf did say the special vault was unguarded.”

“So what do we do now?” asks Caryk. “Head for the kitchens, or head for the vault? The banquet is probably starting any minute now.”

“From what I remember of the layout of the castle,” says Solsus, “the banqueting hall is pretty much at the top of these stairs. Let’s head there, since it is closer.”

The party emerges onto a long corridor To the left it leads to the banquet hall and the kitchen. To the right it leads eventually to the vault. The party head left, and are soon accosted by the guards outside the banquet hall. There are at least a dozen guards here, and many more within earshot.

“Halt,” says the first guard, who appears to be a captain. “This area is off limits at the moment. There is an official function in progress.”

“We are with Duke Gallo,” says Jonathan. “We need to get in and see him as a matter of urgency.”

“I’m sorry,” replies the guard. “The king has left strict orders they are not to be disturbed. It’s not just a banquet, it is an important diplomatic event aimed at restoring the kingdom’s unity. If you are with the Duke, you should have gone in with his other guards earlier.”

“There are guards in there?”

“Of course. All the nobles have retinues.” He sniffs the air. “And none of them smell as bad as you do. I can’t possibly let you in to a royal banquet smelling like you do, even if I wanted to.”

“Has the banquet started yet?”

“No, the first course hasn’t gone in yet.”

“Then let us into the kitchen.”

“Why would you want to go into the kitchen?” The guard eyes them suspiciously, taking in their arms and armour for the first time. “What is your business here anyway? Ever since the King’s family was murdered we’ve all heard the tales of assassins and agitators seeking to unsettle the kingdom.”

Solsus, in despair, decides to fall back on the truth. “We think there is a plot to poison the nobles. We need to get into the kitchen to check.”

“Poison? That’s ridiculous. The Book of Eight lands protects the nobles from poison, as well as enchantment and divination magic.”

“We have reason to believe the book may not be working,” says Caryk. “But anyway, you said there were guards in there. They’ll be poisoned even if the nobles survive. Some of them are probably friends of yours.”

The guard hesitates, uncertain where his duty lies. Then he comes to a decision.

“All right, you can inspect the kitchens. But me and my men will come in with you, to make sure there’s no funny business. And for the sake of all the gods don’t handle any food. You all stink. Have you been in the sewers or something?”

Our heroes head into the kitchen. A group of servants are working hard to get the first course ready. They glance up at the intrusion, then go back to work. The guard tries to get their attention, but they ignore him.  This dedication seems somewhat unusual; Agatha uses her arcane sight and confirms they are under some sort of spell.

Caryk calls upon the power of Aurean, and confirms her diagnosis. “It is some sort of enchantment effect, controlling their minds. It is a powerful one too, but I can’t identify it.”

“Maybe I can dispel it,” says Solsus. “My fey heritage gives me a thorough knowledge of such things.” He casts a spell, and nine of the ten servants slowly stop working. The tenth continues on.

“Only one is still under the spell,” reports Caryk. “I suggest you restrain him, but gently since he is but a victim here.”

Meanwhile, Gribron and Jonathan have been searching the large kitchen. They find a collection of casks, which contain a weird red powder.

“What’s in the casks?” asks Gribron.

“Dunno,” replies one of the cooks. “It’s a special spice we were ordered to put in all the food. Foreign, apparently.”

“All the food? The king as well?”

“Yeah. Anyway, the nobles like to swap plates. You know, just in case.”

Jonathan examines the contents of the casks. Suddenly, it dawns on him what they contain. “This is a rare alchemical substance called Red Madness,” he says. “It will drive anyone who eats it temporarily insane, generally sending them on a killing spree.”

“The note we found in the Alydi Gap watchtower referred to ‘If Madness succeeds’,” says Solsus. “This must have been what they were referring to. It’s not a poison, so the Book wouldn’t protect the nobles.”

“Technically, I think it is a poison,” says Jonathan, “just an alchemical one rather than a natural one. I don’t think it matters though. If the heavily armed guards eat this stuff and run amok, it would turn into a bloodbath in there.”

“So is the Book working or not?” asks Agatha.

“I don’t know, and I don’t see how we can safely find out,” says Jonathan.

“I do,” says Agatha. “Let me have a quick peek into the banquet hall.”

The guard captain, out of his depth, agrees to her request. They leave, only to return shortly afterwards.

“Lord Gallo’s sword is magical,” says Agatha.

“I imagine it is,” says Jonathan. “He’s rich enough to have any number of magical trinkets.”

“Of course,” says Agatha. “But up until now I’ve never been able to detect any magical auras on him. The Book must have been preventing divination spells, as the captain said. Well, it isn’t any more.”

Leaving most of the guards in charge of the kitchen, the captain and his men accompany our heroes to the vault at top speed. “I’ll explain the situation to the vault guards,” says the captain as they arrive.

However, there are no guards to be seen, and the party are able to walk straight in. “So what is stopping the Book just walking out?” asks Gribron with professional curiosity.

“There are a load of magical wards at the entrance,” says Agatha, “which are working perfectly as far as I can tell. However, if we find the book, feel free to try and steal it. Just let me get to a safe vantage point first.”

She spends a nervous couple of minutes looking for an invisible window into an extra dimensional space, but eventually she finds it. Solsus flies up and retrieves the book. With a meaningful glance at Gribron, he puts it back into its designated place.

“I guess we’ve saved the day again,” says Gribron. “All that’s left is to tell Lord Gallo and the King what has happened, and collect our reward.” He saunters off back to the banquet hall, with the others in his wake.

“Seems a bit too easy to me ….” says Agatha thoughtfully.


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## amethal (Apr 8, 2008)

_Scene 4 – Banqueting Hall
March 2nd – 8 pm_

The banqueting hall is a large room, with nine tables arranged around the walls. Each lord and his retinue is has their own table. The King’s table is opposite the entrance doors. King Steppengard is accompanied by his bodyguard, a mail clad figure known only as the Blade of the Kingsguard, and his gnome assistant, Nina Glibglammer.

King Steppengard looks up as our heroes enter. “The first course, at last. We have been waiting an inordinate amount of time.” Then he realises the newcomers are actually a bunch of adventurers, and his expression darkens.

Nina heads over to intercept them, but Lord Gallo intervenes just as she reaches the door. “My apologies, Your Majesty, but these people are with me.”

“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” demands the king.

“I will attempt to find out,” replies Lord Gallo, and beckons the party over to him. Solsus quickly fills him in on the day’s events, and Lord Gallo gives a wry smile. “I should have known things wouldn’t go smoothly; nothing in Dassen ever does these days.”

Lord Gallo gets to his feat, and addresses the king. “Your Majesty, it appears that my retainers have defeated a plot to neutralise the Book of Eight Lands and poison yourself and this noble company.”

“Preposterous,” says one of the other lords. “Who would do such a thing?” There are mutterings from the rest of the audience, and King Steppengard holds up a hand for silence.

“Poison!” he says in a harsh voice. “Poison. Let me tell you of poison. Truly vile is the poison that clutches at my heart, day and night. You slew my wife, my children, you ended my line in blood and terror.

“I created this land, brought together the eight petty, squabbling domains, and this is how I am repaid…. In the blood of my family … Well, I have vowed they shall not die alone. What I have created, I can also destroy. This land will die with them.”

King Steppengard gets to his feet, reaches behind his chair and pulls out a wickedly barbed flail. He then strides menacingly over to Lady Namin’s table. “And you, you harlot. You sought to replace my wife, as if anyone could. You will be the first to die!”

Lady Namin’s retainers step between her and the king. The Blade of the Kingsguard, is clearly bemused by this turn of events, but steps forward to protect his royal charge from Lady Namin’s men.

However, the king does not need his help. With a howl of frustration he wades into combat. Lady Namin’s retainers are no match for his battle frenzy, and his ferociously whirling flail sweeps them out of his way like so much wheat. Lady Namin tries to flee, but there is nowhere to go. The retainers of the nearby nobles have locked shields around their masters, and refuse to offer her any protection. With a wolfish grin the king brings round his flail once more and dashes out her brains.

The King’s guards outside the banqueting hall make as if to enter, but the king waves them back. “You men, stay out of this. This is between me and the lords. It is not for the likes of you to get involved. Merely stop these cowardly so called “nobles” from fleeing my just wrath.”

Utterly confused by this turn of events, the soldiers do as he says.

“I can’t see any magical auras around the lords,” says Agatha. “The protection of the Book must be working again.”

“Me neither,” says Caryk, his divination spell also still active. “However, it looks like the Book isn’t much use against old fashioned violence ….”

Nina Glibglammer, still stood by the entrance, starts to laugh. It is a deep, horrible, booming sound that seems completely incongruous coming from such a small person. Then she begins to change before their very eyes. She grows larger and more and more insubstantial, until the doorway is being blocked by a huge, smoky, serpentine, multi-headed monster of nightmare. Somewhere writhing its heart here is still the rough outline of  a gnome, but it is hard to make out any details as the creature somehow seems to be in several places at one – and also nowhere.

Heroic Caryk heads towards this terrifying apparition, whilst trying to make out more details using his magically enhanced sight. Unfortunately, the sensory input is too much for his mortal mind to cope with, and it is forced to take refuge in insanity …

Agatha briefly also descends into madness, but is able to shake off the effect and tear her eyes away from the creature.

Gribron acts quickly. He gestures, and a cloud of roiling black smog engulfs both King Steppengard and his elite bodyguard. From within the cloud comes the sound of choking and spluttering. “That ought to hold them for a while,” he says.

He is half right. King Steppengard emerges alone from the fog, a wild look in his eye, but there is no sign of the Blade of the Kingsguard. The King strides towards the nearest noble, Lord Megadon. Again the lord’s retainers seek to bar his way, and again they are shattered by the king’s flail. “I never liked you Megadon,” says King Steppengard absently as he caves in the lord’s skull. “Now, who is next, I wonder …”

“To me, to me!” yells Lord Gallo. “Everybody, over here in the corner. If we do not stand together, we will fall separately.” The remaining five lords and ladies hesitate for a moment, then make a mad rush for the apparent sanctuary Lord Gallo is offering.

Ambar moves forward to protect their retreat, the sword of Anyariel in her hand. As if sensing her need, the sword is suddenly bathed in flame. King Steppengard steps toward her. “I have no quarrel with you, girl, but you are in my way.”

Ambar’s sword slips through his defences, and leaves a burning gash in his arm. The king merely smiles at the pain, and his return blow crashes into Ambar. Her magical protections stand up to the king’s flail, but only just. Battered and bruised, she has little option but to withdraw.

Solsus vanishes from sight and heads towards her, his healing wand at the ready.

Agatha elects to target the nightmare creature, but it is not where she expects it to be, and her blasts pass harmlessly through it.

Caryk, caught in the depths of insanity, lashes out at the nearest foe. As luck would have it, it is the monster. He seems to have no difficulty finding the creature’s location despite its ever shifting form; it is as if his madness is giving him additional insight.

The monster lets out another howl of glee, and suddenly the threads start running in the room’s tapestries. In seconds each one has been reduced to a pile of multi-coloured yarn, which then flies towards the monster and is absorbed. As each piece of material is absorbed, the creature becomes more and more solid, until it is fully corporeal.

“Thanks a lot,” says Agatha. “I can hit you now.” She pours several blasts into the now solid creature.

The beast recoils in pain. “Yesss,” it hisses, the voice seeming to come from all the snake heads at once. “And now I can hit you too …” The creature darts forward and strikes out with all its heads. Agatha is grievously bitten, and collapses to the ground. She looks to have taken a mortal wound, and her comrades look on in disbelief. Then her body twitches slightly, and they remember Indomitability’s boon. That strange creature’s power has protected her from the attack of something even stranger. Agatha will survive this fight – if any of them do ….

Caryk’s head clears briefly, and he aims some more blows at the creature. His aim is true, but he cannot bring down the beast. Its devastating counter-attack brings him to his knees. Its poison races through his veins, and the clouds of madness descend once more upon him.

Gribron conjures orb after orb, which he hurls at the creature, seeking out its vulnerabilities. To his surprise, all the elements seem to have an effect. That is all the cue Jonathan needed, and he joins the attack with fiery bolts of his own.

The monster is driven back, with gaping holes in its body. Then it gathers itself, and springs forward to finish off Caryk.

“What shall I do,” calls out Ambar. “Go for the king, or the beast?”

“The beast,” says Gribron. “Concentrate on the beast!”

Ambar nods, and bolts of force flow from her hand towards the creature. She half expects them to fizzle out, but they strike home. This is too much for the beast. Its form collapses in on itself, leaving a pile of thread on the floor. However, its ghostly outline remains. “We will meet again,” it hisses. Then even the ghost is gone.

Solsus busies himself healing his injured friends. Jonathan and Gribron, still uninjured, turn their attention to the King.

King Steppengard,  however, has dropped his flail, and is staring into space. “What have I done?” he whispers. “What have I done …” He starts to weep.

Slowly things begin to return to a semblance of normality.

The King, his face sunken in horror and disbelief, removes the crown from his head. “I let that creature control me, tie me in a knot, imprison me in my own grief.” He moves to throw away the crown, only to be stopped by Gribron.

“You can’t give up now,” says Gribron. “The Ragesians are on the border, your people need you. You have to stay, and try and clean up your mistakes.”

The King glances at Lord Gallo and the five other nobles. Lord Gallo nods slowly, and with a sigh the king puts the crown back on his own head.

“Very well, I shall do as you suggest. The land needs to be rebuilt, and it will need brave heroes if we are to survive the dark days ahead. And so my first act will be to bestow knighthoods on the five brave adventurers who have saved me from myself.”

Solsus re-appears and gives a slight cough. “Um, actually Your Majesty, that should be six brave adventurers!”


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## RangerWickett (Apr 10, 2008)

Cool stuff. The party seemed rather subdued about the king going around killing his subjects. What did they make of the snake monster?


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## amethal (Apr 10, 2008)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Cool stuff. The party seemed rather subdued about the king going around killing his subjects. What did they make of the snake monster?



Yeah, couldn't believe it myself. The King says he's sorry and everybody's friends again!

They don't know what to make of the snake monster, alhough yesterday they met Balance (yeah, still behind with this thing!) and its finally starting to make some kind of sense.


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## Rugult (Apr 10, 2008)

Hey, it's just like he's a jedi.

King:  "Ohhhh  I've done such terrible deeds, but now I'm good again."
Everyone else:  "Yeah, makes sense to me."

Glad to see that Steppengard kept the crown in your campaign.  Same thing happened in mine, but man was it a tense moment.  Honestly I have to say that Adventure 4 still remains one of my favorites in the series, just for the 'politicing' and epic fight at the end.


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## NarlethDrider (Apr 11, 2008)

i stayed up really late to read this thread(i have to get up in 4 hours to go to work;()----lookin forward to more! I might have to pick this series up


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## amethal (May 24, 2008)

*Mission to the Monastery of Two Winds
Act One – Journey through Ostalin
*
_Scene 1 - Lyceum
April 1, 10am
_
Our heroes have arrived back from Dassen, and have spent some time basking in the glory of their achievements. Eventually, they are called into Simeon’s office. It seems the headmaster has another mission for them.

Simeon is accompanied by his two main aides, the abjurer Kiernan and the fire mage Katrina.

“I must ask you to keep what I tell you confidential,” says Simeon. “We have cleaned out several nests of Ragesian agents, but I am convinced that there are more spies in the town who we haven’t identified.

“At the moment, the situation is fairly good, or at least as good as we can reasonably hope for. You’ve managed to stall the Third Ragesian Army on the border of Dassen. The First Army is still scattered around Sindaire, trying to find a way through the firestorm into Castle Korstull.

“The Second Army has taken Gate Pass, but is having trouble with the resistance.”

Katrina interrupts at this point. “I gather my brother Rantle is proving a serious thorn in their sides. I had hoped he’d leave Gate Pass and join me here in Seaquen, but he has other ideas.”

“The Fourth Army is moving into northern Shahalesti,” continues Simeon. “Our information from the region is sketchy, but it appears the elves are being forced to retreat. I suspect they will soon attempt to sue for peace. Whether or not Leska will listen is anybody’s guess. Her strategy so far has been baffling. The only place the Ragesians seem interested in holding on to territory is in Gate Pass; everywhere else they march in, overcome any defences and march out again.

“You may remember that in the aftermath of the storm which struck Seaquen there was evidence linking the catastrophe with the Monastery of Two Winds. Our treacherous harbourmaster, the druid Lee, trained there originally, and the item he used to control the weather had signs of having been created there.”

“I am sure the monastery had nothing to do with the storm”, says Caryk. “The two leaders, my erstwhile master, Longinus, and his brother Pilus, have long pursued a policy of neutrality. Also, what could they possibly gain from the town’s destruction?”

“Indeed,” replies Simeon. “You may remember the refugee monks from Ycengled, led by Three Weeping Ravens. He and his followers sought sanctuary at the monastery when they were driven from their forest temple, but the Two Winds monks would not let them in, all part of their much vaunted neutrality.

“However, it was our only lead. Whilst you were on your mission to Dassen, we sent a group of five brave people to the investigate the Monastery. Longinus and Pilus refused to see them, presumably in order to maintain their neutral stance.

“Then, we received a message from them saying that a company of Ragesian soldiers had arrived in the town, and were trying to attack the monastery. Considering its content, the tone of the message was strangely calm, and we have heard nothing since.”

“Why the Ragesians would be interested in the monastery is a mystery,” says Kiernan. “Its on the border between Ostalin and Sindaire, and fairly close to Castle Korstull. But so are plenty of other places, and the monks are skilled in air magic, particularly the two leaders. It would be a tough nut to crack, so the Ragesians would need a compelling reason to attack it.”

“I attempted a divination,” says Simeon. “The results, as usual, were cryptic. ‘No single wind can destroy the Torch’s fire, but a second wind could be its ruin.’ We take this to mean that the leaders of the monastery might be able to create a magical wind which will blow away the firestorm around Castle Korstull for long enough for a team to enter the castle and search for the torch.

“This we would like you to undertake a mission to the monastery. See if you can find out what, if anything, has happened to the previous group. Investigate any connection between the monastery and the magical storm in Seaquen. But primarily, your goal is to try and enlist the aid of the monks against the firestorm, and then enter and search Castle Korstull. What do you say?”

After a short discussion, the party accepts the mission.

“Good,” says Simeon. “You are the ideal choices, as Caryk is familiar with the monastery and its region. It’s a long journey, but Katrina has come up with a plan.”

“The leader of the Wayfarers, Sheena Larkins, can teleport you there,” says Katrina. “Apparently she is able to polymorph you all into red dragons or similar fire immune creatures, enabling you to avoid the effect of the Burning Sky.”

“Unfortunately, your plan would kill us all,” says Jonathan dryly. “Such magic can provide the outward seeming of a dragon, as well as its mundane features like tough hide, wings and large claws, but does not allow access to its more supernatural abilities. I very much wish it did.”

Simeon and Kiernan exchange dismayed glances. “I see,” says Simeon. “Unfortunately neither of us have any experience with transmutation magic. Our specialities lie elsewhere.”

“I can make you all extremely resistant to fire,” says Kiernan. “We have established that the effect of the Burning Sky is least strong at midnight. An attempt to teleport then should be survivable.”

“It’ll certainly be survivable by you,” retorts Gribron. “After all, you aren’t coming with us. I think we’d need a bit more of a guarantee, if its all the same to you.”

Jonathan thinks for a moment. “Kiernan is an adept mage, and its not that far to the monastery. Let me see, based on what we know of the effects, adjust exponently for the distance, carry the two, add a margin for error ….. Yes, I can survive such a trip.”

“What about the rest of us?” asks Agatha.

“The pixie is the frailest, but I calculate he’d be very unlucky if he actually died from the experience. The rest of you should suffer no more than third degree burns.”

The party spend the day preparing for their trip, and assemble at the town gates the next morning.

Sheena Larkins is there with Simeon. “I am most familiar with the city of Yen-Ching, on the Ostalin side of the mountain,” says Sheena.  I will transport you to the private garden of a friend of mine. You will then have to obtain horses for a trip to the monastery, which will take a couple of days.

“I could try and scry out a site closer to the monastery, but that greatly increases the risk of you arriving somewhere other than intended.”

The group have to head out ten miles into the swamp, as the teleportation beacon in Seaquen is still operating as a trap for those trying to teleport within the confines of the town unwary. The trek passes without incident, and they make good time. Then there is nothing to do but camp and wait for midnight.

Sheena casts the spell, and the party vanishes …..

*Scene 2 – Ostalin
*_April 1, Midnight
_
The party arrive in Yen-Chin in a massive ball of flame.

“I hope we haven’t set fire to the garden,” thinks Solsus, but when the flame clears it becomes evident that will not be an issue.

The party are standing in a metal cage, next to a black object which looks very similar to the teleportation beacon in Seaquen. The cage is in the centre of a courtyard, flanked by four towers. Ostalin soldiers stand on top of the towers, aiming longbows at their new arrivals.

A woman on one of the towers calls out,” Identify yourselves or die!”

“I am Sir Jonathan Farrier,” says Jonathan. The rest of the group also identify themselves, except for Solsus, who has turned invisible and is hoping for the best.

“I am Captain Felpan of the Ostalin Royal Guard,” replies the woman. “My lord will wish to question you. Throw down you weapons and we will let you out of the cage. Your equipment will be returned to you once we are satisfied your intentions are not hostile, and you will be free to leave.”

The group throws down their various weapons, some with more reluctance than others – it is clear they have no choice.

Captain Felpan and her men lead them to a small villa on the edge of the courtyard. They walk past numerous silent guards; whoever the lord is he is clearly well protected. They are taken to a soft, comfortable room with dozens of plush beds  and the strong spell of incense.

Standing in the centre of the room is a tall, dark haired young man apparently in his mid twenties. He is wearing a richly decorated uniform, but has an odd appearance. His face seems to be a bizarre and anatomically impossible combination of orc and elf.

Captain Felpan bows. “I present to you the Grand Khagan, ruler of Ostalin, his m\ajesty, my lord Onamdammin.”

“The hour is late, so let us keep this brief,” says Onamdammin. “Who are you, where are you from and why are you in my northernmost city?”

True to his word, the interview is short – which is fortunate, because the party are hard pressed not to stare at the Khagan’s bizarre face. He is familiar with the monastery, and scoffs at the news that the Ragesians have laid siege to it. He is confident “my close friend Pilus” will be more than capable of driving off even a battalion of Ragesians.

He then terminates the interview, but offers the party the attentions of his harem for the night.

After some hesitation, the party accept his offer. They learn a number of interesting facts about the Khagan from the harem. The previous Khagan was a mighty human warlord, who dramatically expanded the kingdom’s borders. His son, however, is not the man his father was – literally in this case, since Onamdammin is a half elf..

Growing up in a world dominated by the half orc emperor Coaltongue, Onamdammin came to see his elven blood as weakness, and turned to biomancy in order to make himself more like an orc. A recent fey arrival in his harem took pity on his “curse” and attempted to “heal” him, resulting in the current mishmash of elf and orc features.

The Khagan had the well meaning fey petrified. All fey who enter Ostalin are similarly turned to stone – there is an audible gulp from the corner of the room at this point, but there is nobody there. The monk Pilus is a master of biomancy, and is working on a solution for the Khagan.


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## amethal (May 24, 2008)

Scene 3 – the Mountains
April 2nd

Eager to leave Yen-Chin behind, the party buy horses and head into the mountains. Caryk knows the way, and leads them along the trail. The roads are steep, and in some places stairways have been carved out of the cliffs, complete with winches to aid mounts and pack animals.

As usual, Solsus flies ahead to scout out the terrain, and at one point he returns and informs the party that the steps up ahead are broken, resulting in a treacherous scree slope.

“Can we get up the slope?” asks Caryk. “It is not far from here to Eresh, the village at the foot of the monastery.”

“Probably,” says Solsus, “but it looks a good spot for an ambush. I’ll go back and check it out.”

Solsus flies back to the scree slope, and spots a small group of Ragesian soldiers hiding at the top of the slope. Forewarned, the party are able to spring the trap, although the sudden appearance of a fire slinging goblin sorcerer, riding a dire wolf, proves somewhat alarming.

Then its on to Eresh itself, which is believed to be under siege by a company of Ragesian soldiers. The siege itself is very disappointing – the soldiers wander around aimlessly, and seem to have no interest in assaulting the village. They are accompanied by a number of hellhounds, who are currently curled up around a camp fire as if they were nothing more than large dogs.

The party is able to wander into the camp unchallenged. The strangely calm message from the previous expedition to the monastery might be a symptom of a wider malaise. The group decide to speak to the leader of the soldiers; a sergeant half heartedly points them in the direction of Lieutenant Kormus’s command tent.

Kormus is drunk. “Hello,” he says, on seeing the characters. Then he slumps back in his seat.

“What is going on,” asks Jonathan.

“Nothing, much. We’re supposed to be pressing the attack on the village, but none of us are really motivated, we’re just killing time until General Signus gets back.”

“Whose General Signus?” says Agatha.

“He’s my commanding officer. He led the original attack on the village. It went quite well at first, but then everyone descended into apathy. The General wasn’t happy, and left to get more troops.”

“What happens when he gets back?” asks Gribron.

“He’ll probably hang me,” says Kormus. “I guess I deserve it. I’m a rotten leader.”

“Shouldn’t you either carry out your orders, or run away?” says Gribron.

“I suppose so, but I can’t be bothered. Everything seems too much effort at the moment. We are all just going through the motions.”

“So you won’t be needing your sword, then?” says Gribron.

“I suppose not. Got no use for a sword any more.”

“Can I have it?”

Lieutenant Kormus thinks about this for a second, takes another pull on his wineskin, and then hands over his sword. Gribron’s eyes light up; it is clearly a high quality weapon.

“Thanks,” says Gribron. “We’ll be leaving now.”

“Whatever.”

The party head towards the village. That side of the camp is guarded by a squad of soldiers. “Hey,” says one of them. “Stop. You can’t go in there.”

“Yes we can,” says Jonathan, and the group heads past the guards, who scowl at them for a minute and then slump back into despondency.

Act Two – The Calm over Eresh

Scene 1 - Eresh
April 5th

The village of Eresh is extremely calm. A few burnt out buildings mark the extent of the Ragesian’s previous attack. Villagers sit on their front steps, staring into space. A few Ragesian soldiers wander around aimlessly. It is clear that it is not just the Ragesian camp which has fallen into apathy.

“What’s going on, do you think?” says Jonathan.

“Who cares?” replies Gribron. “I think I’m just going to sit down here for a while.”

“Me too,” says Agatha. “What’s the point of all this rushing around. Let’s take it easy.”

“Come on chaps,” says Caryk. “We need to find out what’s going on.”

“You do it,” says Gribron, closing his eyes.

“Not going to get much out of them,” says Jonathan. “How are you feeling Solsus?”

“Perfectly normal,” says the pixie. “I worry about the villagers, however. They seem even more badly affected than the soldiers. Some of them look pretty thin and emaciated. They might not be eating properly.”

“Go and scout around, see if there are any clues.”

Solsus flies off, and returns a few minutes later. “I did see one villager who seemed unaffected. Maybe we should speak to her.”

The party head where he indicated, although cajoling the more apathetic members into keeping up is a full time task. The villager nods at them, beckons, and then disappears into her house.

Jonathan and Caryk follow her in, whilst Solsus keeps watch. The house itself is empty apart from veils hanging from the ceiling to the floor. There is no furniture of any kind. It is clear nobody could live here.

A woman’s voice calls out from behind the veils, “We are Balance. You have met our kin.”

Caryk steps forward, only to see the woman vanish before his eyes. Instead a man’s voice speaks from behind him. “The scales weigh heavily and you actions will tip it.” Caryk turns around in time to see the figure of a man fade from sight.

“This place gets weirder by the minute,” says Jonathan. “What kin? What scales?”

“I have no idea,” says Caryk. “Perhaps we should head up to the monastery. Perhaps they can give us a clue as to what the heck is happening here.”

Caryk leads the way to the mountain at the far end of the village, although in truth the massive monastery building is perched in such a spot as to be clearly visible from any point in the village. The path is steep and narrow. At the bottom is a sign which reads, “Quarantine conditions; no access to the monastery”.

“Do you think that applies to us?” says Caryk. “We aren’t villagers or Ragesians, and I spent many years studying here before they insisted I leave.”

“We are on an important mission,” says Solsus. “We need to visit the monastery as part of that.”

The wind starts to pick up as the group heads up the mountain path, making an already difficult ascent even harder. The snow and ice doesn’t help either.

“Its almost like the wind doesn’t want us to climb this mountain,” says Jonathan.

“Its funny you should say that,” says Caryk. “Its been years since I’ve been here, but something has been nagging me. Something I half heard once, about the quarantine procedure.” 

Suddenly the air in front of them coalesces into a vaguely humanoid form. It stretches out its arms, and gale force winds thrust the party back down the path. They land in a heap, bruised and battered. The wind creature strides towards them menacingly.

“Air elemental guards, of course! I remember now,” says Caryk.

“That has really pissed me off,” says Gribron. “Everything was so calm and peaceful, but now I’m mad!”

“Me too,” says Agatha, launching an eldritch blast at the elemental. 

With all the party now back to normal (whatever that implies …) they soon see off the elemental, and arrive at the monastery’s massive doors. The doors are firmly locked. Caryk bangs the knocker. There is silence for a minute or so, and then a small plate opens in the door, revealing the eyes and nose of a woman.

“Greetings,” says Caryk. “I am …

“Begone with your curse!” the woman interrupts. “The masters have said outsiders are not welcome.”

“We are on a mission from Seaquen,” says Gribron. “We wish to speak to your masters.”

“There are strange things afoot in the valley,” replies the woman. “Ever since you outsiders brought your curse into town. We know your origin, and your task, and that your allies were harbingers of the unnatural stillness. It cannot be allowed to spread to the monastery.

“If you wish to see masters, first sort out the mess down there.”

The panel slams shut.

Shrugging, the party head back down into Eresh.


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## RangerWickett (May 27, 2008)

Still reading, still enjoying. Waiting for word on the poor caravan.


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