The criminal gang made an attempt to kill us that very night, by setting up an ambush in an alley near our inn. We reacted well and were able to fend of the attackers, but did not take any prisoners.
As we returned to the inn, we realized that the ambush had been prepared by people who knew of our whereabouts and that we were under vigilance. That very night we setup a strong guard so that we could rest peacefully.
The next day was almost disastrous.
As we woke up we decided to go on investigating and trying to prove our innocence. We knew already that everything that happened in this town was seen by prying eyes and sent as information to a certain house in the marketplace.
Adolfiel decided to use the same methods they were using on us on that very house and spent the day learning about it. What she found out that day proved invaluable and probably saved our lives.
The rest of the group went on investigating around town. Mandin, the elves and the guards were to stay at the inn waiting for the permission for the ship to leave port.
As we had feared, there were spies all around us.
At a certain given moment we split up, with the cleric going to the house of healing and the mage going to the library. Tyrion and me were to go to the marketplace to look for Adolfiel and get the latest information.
At that moment, the assassin hit.
He had been waiting for us to relax our vigilance, split up and find a weaker opponent that he could easily defeat. He made a mistake by attacking us and not the cleric or the mage, because we survived his attack...barely.
As soon as we started fighting him, we realized he was easily powerful enough as to kill us both. Whoever wanted us dead had come to the conclusion that sending weaklings against us would not work and had decided to pay real money for real might. Thus, this assassin and thus, Tyrion and I were outclassed.
The combat tested us both to the limit. We were resourceful and competent, tried to team up, protect the other and profit from being two on one, but it was not enough, not today.
Very soon we started retreating and trying to escape cleanly. We combined our skills and performed manoeuvres that would have easily worked in normal situations.
The assassin followed us relentlessly and caught up with us over and over again. He poisoned us, made us blinded and paralysed, and run after us like an unstoppable tide.
We felt despair and tiredness dragging us down as the combat went on.
If this did not stop soon, we would be dead.
And finally, at the very last moment, the city guards finally appeared. They had come after the shouts and even though city guards are not known for their speed going towards trouble, they eventually got there.
As soon as he saw them, the assassin smiled, blinked at us, turned round and left, letting us live... for the moment.
The situation was very serious. We realized that we could not stay any longer on the streets, as the third attack would probably not miss again and someone in the group would fall.
We assembled the group in the local temple under protection from the priest. As we prepared to sleep, the balance of the day was bad, very bad.
Tyrion and I were spent, the ship was still blocked and we were still under accusation. We did not know who was attacking us nor how strong the enemy was and we did not dare to got out on the street nor return to our quarters.
But worse of all, the group was not complete.
The elves, Mandin and the guards were still at the inn, unaware of the day's events.
We could not go there to warn them, we were under siege.
The rope was closing around our necks and we were starting to feel it tight. In a few hours we would be choking...
Session 17: Beggars can't be Choosers
The streets of Fort Eyrie are a hornet's nest - and somebody stirred it...
Halflings and more halflings
The group arrived to Fort Eyre without too much trouble. In the road we had the time to get to know each other better and to broadly set up our master plan for the future.
The party seemed decided to go on searching for the missing slaves and searching for the pirate who took them away seemed the best way to do it.
Or intentions in Fort Eyre were to replenish our equipment, send Mandin, his guards and the three freed elves safely in their way and find some ship to take us north, at the very least to Marshport without passing through Poisson again.
This plan seemed sensible and not very difficult to accomplish. However, when there are halflings around, no plan works in a simple way.
The arrival to Poisson proved troublesome. We avoided paying the incredibly high "door taxes" for our cart by selling it to a local tradesman.
Up to that moment, our plans seemed to be progressing slowly but surely. We had good lodgings for the night, a passage in a big ship leaving the next day for Marshport and no problems of importance.
It did not last long.
Unfortunately, the guards did not like that we didn't bow to their corrupt ways and accused us of a crime that they themselves had committed.
The local captain, as good intentioned as he was, was also as thick as a brick and gullible as a sheep. He believed every word from the corrupt sergeant (we will have words, this sergeant and me) and ordered us not to leave the town.
He also ordered the ship to remain in port until things were more clear.
To make matters worse, the local criminal gang got wind of our interest for the pirate.
The clouds were gathering over our heads and we were not ready for the storm.
It took us some time to realize that this day's events would later spiral into combat, pain and death.
The party seemed decided to go on searching for the missing slaves and searching for the pirate who took them away seemed the best way to do it.
Or intentions in Fort Eyre were to replenish our equipment, send Mandin, his guards and the three freed elves safely in their way and find some ship to take us north, at the very least to Marshport without passing through Poisson again.
This plan seemed sensible and not very difficult to accomplish. However, when there are halflings around, no plan works in a simple way.
The arrival to Poisson proved troublesome. We avoided paying the incredibly high "door taxes" for our cart by selling it to a local tradesman.
Up to that moment, our plans seemed to be progressing slowly but surely. We had good lodgings for the night, a passage in a big ship leaving the next day for Marshport and no problems of importance.
It did not last long.
Unfortunately, the guards did not like that we didn't bow to their corrupt ways and accused us of a crime that they themselves had committed.
The local captain, as good intentioned as he was, was also as thick as a brick and gullible as a sheep. He believed every word from the corrupt sergeant (we will have words, this sergeant and me) and ordered us not to leave the town.
He also ordered the ship to remain in port until things were more clear.
To make matters worse, the local criminal gang got wind of our interest for the pirate.
The clouds were gathering over our heads and we were not ready for the storm.
It took us some time to realize that this day's events would later spiral into combat, pain and death.
Session 16: Dusk at Fort Eyrie
The party arrive at Fort Eyrie, but their investigations attract unwanted attention from both the guards and the local criminals...
Kruthiks, Magic and Ripping-Offs
Ill-prepared for the task at hand and with no clue of exactly what we were intended to accomplish, we entered the blood-reeking tunnels... We were soon assaulted by all sides by scary insectoid monstrosities, critters able to play the hit and hide game to almost perfection: the kruthiks.
As we proceeded further into the bowels of the earth, I pondered Sionas' words... what secret was he hiding from me? Could the caverns hide some powerful ley lines that would empower rituals conducted in the caverns? Was he summoning devils to his command, his red swollen eyes being a clue to his infernal interactions? Was it an area of wild magic, where no spell would work the same as usual? I decided to do some tests, out of the eyes of the spying guard that Sionas had sent to "protect" us... I started with silly cantrips and petty tricks but, soon, not seeing any effect to my spells, I decided Sionas had probably duped us, his demands not to use magic only some kind of twisted humour, and I decided to use any of the spells I had at my disposal.
And it was in due time, as in those caverns we almost found death at the claws and fangs of a Kruthik monstrosity, a gargantuan hive mother, surrounded by her horrific brood. The spy Sionas had sent with us died in that cavern, and we all could have perished, had we not used all our available resources in the difficult battle.
When, bloody and beaten, we exited the tunnels to tell Sionas of our success, the tricky wizard received us with anger and malice. He yelled at us, called us incompetents and told us that our use of magic had destroyed his experiments, a work of at least 30 years. He would not let the slaves free, even when we offered him more help to eradicate the Kruthik infestation and information on the wonders we had discovered during our travels.
We left Sionas' tower, intent on freeing the slaves using trickery, considering he would not free them otherwise. In the next days, the Halflings kept working in the tower, probably Sionas did not want to end abruptly his works at the tower, so that he would not angry them. We decided our best bet would be to make Sionas feel insecure by finding ways to make his position in Poisson uncomfortable.
So, while some in the group started spreading rumours that his treasure was false and running out, others tried to investigate further, but the only strange events were a couple of disappearances and some Halfling husbands cheating their wives: as days passed by it became clear that most Halflings, at least in Poisson, are cheaters by nature, and that their love of their Barrel of Ale god is lesser than their need to rip their visitors off. They overcharged us for everything: the food, the drinks, the rooms, the information they gave us...
We were desperate and clueless on how to proceed, when the slave that had helped us in the Kruthik lair, Leonardo, found us. He had been able to escape and had a plan: he would discredit the Wizard further and dupe the Mayor into calling Sionas for a meeting. With the wizard far away from the tower it would be easy enough to free the slaves. Tyrion then proposed using a cart to, disguised as merchants, enter the tower.
The plan seemed sound enough, so we gave it a try. Leonardo told the mayor that the wizard was running out of money, and convinced him to call for a meeting with Sionas.
In the morning, while the wizard rode to Poisson to meet the mayor, Tyrion, Leonardo and Vistra approached the tower disguised as merchants.
Unluckily for us, while approaching the tower, Leonardo was recognised by the guards at the entrance. It was not a big problem, as the guards were not in the mood for a fight, but Sionas had protected all doors magically and, unable to break them down easily, we aborted the attempt.
The plan had an unexpected effect, though, as Sionas grew paranoid. He decided that, as his works in the tower no longer had any sense, he would better leave before the Halflings realised that he was indeed running low on money. One day after a payday, and while the Halflings were paying attention to their Big Beer Barrel, Sionas packed his treasure and equipment and left the tower.
Part of the group had been monitoring the tower. When they saw the wizard leave, they waited some moments for him to get away, approached the tower and freed the slaves. The guards and Mandin decided to accompany us to Fort Eyrie, as they were now unemployed and would take Aygon's job offer.
As we proceeded further into the bowels of the earth, I pondered Sionas' words... what secret was he hiding from me? Could the caverns hide some powerful ley lines that would empower rituals conducted in the caverns? Was he summoning devils to his command, his red swollen eyes being a clue to his infernal interactions? Was it an area of wild magic, where no spell would work the same as usual? I decided to do some tests, out of the eyes of the spying guard that Sionas had sent to "protect" us... I started with silly cantrips and petty tricks but, soon, not seeing any effect to my spells, I decided Sionas had probably duped us, his demands not to use magic only some kind of twisted humour, and I decided to use any of the spells I had at my disposal.
And it was in due time, as in those caverns we almost found death at the claws and fangs of a Kruthik monstrosity, a gargantuan hive mother, surrounded by her horrific brood. The spy Sionas had sent with us died in that cavern, and we all could have perished, had we not used all our available resources in the difficult battle.
When, bloody and beaten, we exited the tunnels to tell Sionas of our success, the tricky wizard received us with anger and malice. He yelled at us, called us incompetents and told us that our use of magic had destroyed his experiments, a work of at least 30 years. He would not let the slaves free, even when we offered him more help to eradicate the Kruthik infestation and information on the wonders we had discovered during our travels.
We left Sionas' tower, intent on freeing the slaves using trickery, considering he would not free them otherwise. In the next days, the Halflings kept working in the tower, probably Sionas did not want to end abruptly his works at the tower, so that he would not angry them. We decided our best bet would be to make Sionas feel insecure by finding ways to make his position in Poisson uncomfortable.
So, while some in the group started spreading rumours that his treasure was false and running out, others tried to investigate further, but the only strange events were a couple of disappearances and some Halfling husbands cheating their wives: as days passed by it became clear that most Halflings, at least in Poisson, are cheaters by nature, and that their love of their Barrel of Ale god is lesser than their need to rip their visitors off. They overcharged us for everything: the food, the drinks, the rooms, the information they gave us...
We were desperate and clueless on how to proceed, when the slave that had helped us in the Kruthik lair, Leonardo, found us. He had been able to escape and had a plan: he would discredit the Wizard further and dupe the Mayor into calling Sionas for a meeting. With the wizard far away from the tower it would be easy enough to free the slaves. Tyrion then proposed using a cart to, disguised as merchants, enter the tower.
The plan seemed sound enough, so we gave it a try. Leonardo told the mayor that the wizard was running out of money, and convinced him to call for a meeting with Sionas.
In the morning, while the wizard rode to Poisson to meet the mayor, Tyrion, Leonardo and Vistra approached the tower disguised as merchants.
Unluckily for us, while approaching the tower, Leonardo was recognised by the guards at the entrance. It was not a big problem, as the guards were not in the mood for a fight, but Sionas had protected all doors magically and, unable to break them down easily, we aborted the attempt.
The plan had an unexpected effect, though, as Sionas grew paranoid. He decided that, as his works in the tower no longer had any sense, he would better leave before the Halflings realised that he was indeed running low on money. One day after a payday, and while the Halflings were paying attention to their Big Beer Barrel, Sionas packed his treasure and equipment and left the tower.
Part of the group had been monitoring the tower. When they saw the wizard leave, they waited some moments for him to get away, approached the tower and freed the slaves. The guards and Mandin decided to accompany us to Fort Eyrie, as they were now unemployed and would take Aygon's job offer.
Rescue success
Well,
it turned out that the wizard Sionas what not too happy with our performance. To be honest, I think that "not too happy" is an understatement, I would rather say that he was looking at us with murderous intent.
As we had to use magic to get rid of the insect queen ( or maybe because our own wizard had itching fingers... I understand myself), we destroyed what the wizard was looking for in the caves. Needless to say that he refused to free the slaves as agreed and we left, fearing that Sarielle's tongue would get us killed.
Of course, we couldn't let the slaves in this predicament and we planned to free them during a rescue attempt. We had some inside information when Leonardino escaped by himself and decided to act when Sionas would be in a meeting with the mayor. Disguised as workers, Leonardino and I came with a fake delivery of food with fake barrels to make the prisonners escape without the army of halfling workers noticing.
It went immediatly wrong as the guards saw throught Leonardino's disguise but thanks to our charisma and the belief in our just cause, we manage to convince them to let us in and discuss with their boss, Mandin. We were nearly discovered as the halflings made the barrel containing Vistra fall. Hopefully, I manage to cover the blunder and we went in.
It turned out that Mandin was being held inside the tower throught doors magically locked because of sionas' paranoia and with all the workers, it was not managable to break in unnoticed. we didn't know either what consequences could bring the breaking of a magically sealed door... my fear was a angry wizard teleporting right next to us.
Well, we decided to keep watch on the tower to wait for other oppotunities, especially as the worker's pay day was coming. We knew that the finances of the wizard were running low but we ignored to what extend. Desillusion came as the wizard paid the workers as scheduled... but no sooner that we feared we could never free the slaves, that we witnessed the wizard fleeing the tower under cover of the night. As we came checking, the guards were also packing with Mandin and told us that there were too much unrest with the halflings because of our stunts for the wizard to stay around.
We took the slaves with us and travelled with the guards to Fort Eyrie in order to find a boat to bring them home... and of course to put as many miles as we can between us and an angry mob of unemployed halfling looking for scpapegoats.
In the end, we did not heroically freed the slave through an epic fight against evil mages but considering the conditions, I am happy of the outcome of this adventure: slaves freed, no casualties for the innocents and all of us healthy enough too go on looking for the slavers.
To me, that was a full success.
it turned out that the wizard Sionas what not too happy with our performance. To be honest, I think that "not too happy" is an understatement, I would rather say that he was looking at us with murderous intent.
As we had to use magic to get rid of the insect queen ( or maybe because our own wizard had itching fingers... I understand myself), we destroyed what the wizard was looking for in the caves. Needless to say that he refused to free the slaves as agreed and we left, fearing that Sarielle's tongue would get us killed.
Of course, we couldn't let the slaves in this predicament and we planned to free them during a rescue attempt. We had some inside information when Leonardino escaped by himself and decided to act when Sionas would be in a meeting with the mayor. Disguised as workers, Leonardino and I came with a fake delivery of food with fake barrels to make the prisonners escape without the army of halfling workers noticing.
It went immediatly wrong as the guards saw throught Leonardino's disguise but thanks to our charisma and the belief in our just cause, we manage to convince them to let us in and discuss with their boss, Mandin. We were nearly discovered as the halflings made the barrel containing Vistra fall. Hopefully, I manage to cover the blunder and we went in.
It turned out that Mandin was being held inside the tower throught doors magically locked because of sionas' paranoia and with all the workers, it was not managable to break in unnoticed. we didn't know either what consequences could bring the breaking of a magically sealed door... my fear was a angry wizard teleporting right next to us.
Well, we decided to keep watch on the tower to wait for other oppotunities, especially as the worker's pay day was coming. We knew that the finances of the wizard were running low but we ignored to what extend. Desillusion came as the wizard paid the workers as scheduled... but no sooner that we feared we could never free the slaves, that we witnessed the wizard fleeing the tower under cover of the night. As we came checking, the guards were also packing with Mandin and told us that there were too much unrest with the halflings because of our stunts for the wizard to stay around.
We took the slaves with us and travelled with the guards to Fort Eyrie in order to find a boat to bring them home... and of course to put as many miles as we can between us and an angry mob of unemployed halfling looking for scpapegoats.
In the end, we did not heroically freed the slave through an epic fight against evil mages but considering the conditions, I am happy of the outcome of this adventure: slaves freed, no casualties for the innocents and all of us healthy enough too go on looking for the slavers.
To me, that was a full success.
When destiny looks at you
At that moment everything suddenly made sense, that was my destiny and my privilege. I would return to my family's name the honours it had always deserved. We would be respected again in Leavendale as we were in the past.
The gods had spoken by putting the whole village into danger and enslaving most of them. This is what happens when you embrace anarco-syndicalism and stop following the natural leaders.
During the first weeks after the attack, I had been too much in shock as to react. However, as time passed and the long hours of wait before the next work shift in the mines came, I came to the conclusion that I had been truly blessed. I had been trained all my life to perform a duty and until the day the slavers came, it seemed all my work, leadership and education were not needed or wanted.
But the occasion had arrived. Contrary to my father and his father, during my lifetime the whole village was in danger and needed its protector.
I would free all of them and bring them back to Leavendale so they could tell everyone what I had known all along, that anarco-syndicalism is wrong and that my family's rule is the best for them.
So when the adventurer's party showed up, it was not too surprising, the gods were merely giving me the starting push in my life's quest.
The first moments seemed encouraging, it seemed it would be easy enough to free the first slaves. Furthermore, it would be done by preforming a good deed that could also allow me to get to know better my helpers and see if they were worthy of coming along in my quest. I was unable to reach a proper conclusion, as it was not so clear.
They proved to be capable of winning a battle but seemed incapable of winning a war. Most of the Krucix died but almost all of us were nearly killed and we were unable to free the slaves. They needed a leader.
I was still captured, but the opportunity of having help outside the tower was too good to let pass. My relationship with Mandin and my family's famous diplomacy skills allowed me to set up a plan for a coordinated escape by sending the party a coded message.
However, the message was not well received and not well understood. They really needed a leader.
The plan was aborted and I had to think something else.
Mandin was growing uneasy. The mine seemed pointless, the halfling workers had an unquenchable thirst for easy money and could turn dangerous with a blink.
He agreed to let me go on one condition, that I would help him with my party if push came to shove with the Halflings.
And so I escaped, leaving behind three other Elves and vowing to come back.
Once I was able to contact the group of adventurers, I set in motion my new plan. The idea was to lure the wizard away from the tower so we could get in an rescue the prisioners. A simple negotiation with the Major provided the necessary time for a daring rescue.
The group's fighter suggested a classic Troy horse maneouver and I agreed on it. Well executed, the plan would be bold and fast, as good plans should.
However, the wizard had seen the intentions of our group and protected his site from any attack. We had to withdraw with a lot of information and no slaves.
Luckily, all our tactic defeats finally gave a strategic victory, as the wizard became more and more uneasy with his situation in Poisson. He felt the pressure of the group from the outside of his tower, but he had no enemy to fight, no target to aim at.
Pacience and prudence finally were our blessing. One night we saw from our vigilance posts the wizard pack and leave the tower.
We had been to him "like shadows in his dreams and had grown and grown inside his head until his will had given up".
Just like Son Tzo wrote in his "art of warfare against class 20 wizards" it should be done.
They needed a leader. And now they have one.
Without any violence, we simply entered the tower, freed the slaves and formed a new party with Mandin, the guards, the free elves the group of adventurers and me.
I pointed west and we all set off.
To Fort Eyre.
My quest had begun.
The gods had spoken by putting the whole village into danger and enslaving most of them. This is what happens when you embrace anarco-syndicalism and stop following the natural leaders.
During the first weeks after the attack, I had been too much in shock as to react. However, as time passed and the long hours of wait before the next work shift in the mines came, I came to the conclusion that I had been truly blessed. I had been trained all my life to perform a duty and until the day the slavers came, it seemed all my work, leadership and education were not needed or wanted.
But the occasion had arrived. Contrary to my father and his father, during my lifetime the whole village was in danger and needed its protector.
I would free all of them and bring them back to Leavendale so they could tell everyone what I had known all along, that anarco-syndicalism is wrong and that my family's rule is the best for them.
So when the adventurer's party showed up, it was not too surprising, the gods were merely giving me the starting push in my life's quest.
The first moments seemed encouraging, it seemed it would be easy enough to free the first slaves. Furthermore, it would be done by preforming a good deed that could also allow me to get to know better my helpers and see if they were worthy of coming along in my quest. I was unable to reach a proper conclusion, as it was not so clear.
They proved to be capable of winning a battle but seemed incapable of winning a war. Most of the Krucix died but almost all of us were nearly killed and we were unable to free the slaves. They needed a leader.
I was still captured, but the opportunity of having help outside the tower was too good to let pass. My relationship with Mandin and my family's famous diplomacy skills allowed me to set up a plan for a coordinated escape by sending the party a coded message.
However, the message was not well received and not well understood. They really needed a leader.
The plan was aborted and I had to think something else.
Mandin was growing uneasy. The mine seemed pointless, the halfling workers had an unquenchable thirst for easy money and could turn dangerous with a blink.
He agreed to let me go on one condition, that I would help him with my party if push came to shove with the Halflings.
And so I escaped, leaving behind three other Elves and vowing to come back.
Once I was able to contact the group of adventurers, I set in motion my new plan. The idea was to lure the wizard away from the tower so we could get in an rescue the prisioners. A simple negotiation with the Major provided the necessary time for a daring rescue.
The group's fighter suggested a classic Troy horse maneouver and I agreed on it. Well executed, the plan would be bold and fast, as good plans should.
However, the wizard had seen the intentions of our group and protected his site from any attack. We had to withdraw with a lot of information and no slaves.
Luckily, all our tactic defeats finally gave a strategic victory, as the wizard became more and more uneasy with his situation in Poisson. He felt the pressure of the group from the outside of his tower, but he had no enemy to fight, no target to aim at.
Pacience and prudence finally were our blessing. One night we saw from our vigilance posts the wizard pack and leave the tower.
We had been to him "like shadows in his dreams and had grown and grown inside his head until his will had given up".
Just like Son Tzo wrote in his "art of warfare against class 20 wizards" it should be done.
They needed a leader. And now they have one.
Without any violence, we simply entered the tower, freed the slaves and formed a new party with Mandin, the guards, the free elves the group of adventurers and me.
I pointed west and we all set off.
To Fort Eyre.
My quest had begun.
Session 15: Ins & Outs
As Sionaas is summoned to the Mayor's office, the group set their rescue operation in motion. As usual, however, things do not work out according to plan...
Corellon is the Lord
After having buried Streisan the way she deserved, we reached the town of Poisson. As soon as we got to the town, we realized that something wird was going on: nobody took care of the land, the prices were abusive and almost everyone was wearing some kind of jewels or other luxuries. Some peasants told us that a wizard had arrived to the town recently and that he had started building a tower. Apparently he was in a hurry and he paid really well. We had hardly had the time to look for a place to rest, when some villagers rushed into the town crying for help: there had been an accident in the tower and they needed a healer. Vistra offered her services and went to the tower. We all followed her to see how we could help.
The wizard, Sionas, and his foreman, Mandin, were trying to manage the chaos in that tower. The structure of the building was quite strange as below the tower the workers were digging some kind of artificial cave (it must be an offense to Corellon to build a house higher than one floor or that is digging a dungeon into the Earth... ignorants!). In fact, probably for this absolute lack of respect, the Lord had punished them with a terrible accident: part of the ceiling of the cave had collapsed and some workers were trapped.
The situation was so terrible, that Sionas and Mandin accepted all the help they could get and they led us to the place of the accident. In a dark cave, only with the help of torches, we could see some workers trying to help their friends out of a huge pile of rocks. The first thing I noticed was the difference between these workers and the rest of inhabitants of the town: the workers were much taller and of course more elegant than the halflings that ruled the small town of Poisson. As I got closer, I observed one of the workers who was kneeling while removing the rocks. He was tall (I would say taller than myself) and his hair was very long. The sweat covering his muscular torso shone in the orange light of the torches, making the tatoo he wore in the lower part of his back even more remarkable. I slowed down to admire that perfect body, that piece of art which nobody but Corellon could have created. Suddenly, he had finished piling up a small amount of rocks and he turned around to remove them and then I felt how my heart stopped: it was not the first time I had seen those green eyes, those perfect lips and those pointy ears. It was him!!! We had found him!!! I was so happy that I forgot our reason to be in that dirty cave. He looked at me and I saw a sparkle shine in his eyes when he recognized me.
Yes, he DID recognize me. I was not transparent any more. And even more: I was not transparent to him. When I recovered from the first shock, I wanted to talk to him, but it was already late: he whispered to me that he was there with some of the elves that had been captured by the pirates and that they were working as slaves for the wizard. Some of our friends were still under the rocks. I kneeled by his side and helped him.
Once we digged our way into the cave, we noticed that some kruthix lived in the cave and probably it had been them (and Corellon, of course) who had provoked the accident. Here we had a great opportunity to free our friends: we offered Sionas our services to erradicate the kruthix from the cave and, as a reward, he would free the slaves. He agreed, under the condition that no magic could be used in the cave. Unfortunately, we had underestimated the number of kruthix that were living in the cave so much, that we had to use all our resources to fight for our lives. That included Sariel using some spells. When we got out of the cave, Sionas was really upset. He was so angry that he did not want to let the elves go. Damned wizard!!
We decided to go back to the town and think how we can help our friends out of that tower. Now I have some time to reflect about the best possible solution to have Leo (well, his name is Leonardino, but he lets us, his very best friends, call him Leo) out of that awful place... and to imagine what would I do if I were the wizard (sigh).
The wizard, Sionas, and his foreman, Mandin, were trying to manage the chaos in that tower. The structure of the building was quite strange as below the tower the workers were digging some kind of artificial cave (it must be an offense to Corellon to build a house higher than one floor or that is digging a dungeon into the Earth... ignorants!). In fact, probably for this absolute lack of respect, the Lord had punished them with a terrible accident: part of the ceiling of the cave had collapsed and some workers were trapped.
The situation was so terrible, that Sionas and Mandin accepted all the help they could get and they led us to the place of the accident. In a dark cave, only with the help of torches, we could see some workers trying to help their friends out of a huge pile of rocks. The first thing I noticed was the difference between these workers and the rest of inhabitants of the town: the workers were much taller and of course more elegant than the halflings that ruled the small town of Poisson. As I got closer, I observed one of the workers who was kneeling while removing the rocks. He was tall (I would say taller than myself) and his hair was very long. The sweat covering his muscular torso shone in the orange light of the torches, making the tatoo he wore in the lower part of his back even more remarkable. I slowed down to admire that perfect body, that piece of art which nobody but Corellon could have created. Suddenly, he had finished piling up a small amount of rocks and he turned around to remove them and then I felt how my heart stopped: it was not the first time I had seen those green eyes, those perfect lips and those pointy ears. It was him!!! We had found him!!! I was so happy that I forgot our reason to be in that dirty cave. He looked at me and I saw a sparkle shine in his eyes when he recognized me.
Yes, he DID recognize me. I was not transparent any more. And even more: I was not transparent to him. When I recovered from the first shock, I wanted to talk to him, but it was already late: he whispered to me that he was there with some of the elves that had been captured by the pirates and that they were working as slaves for the wizard. Some of our friends were still under the rocks. I kneeled by his side and helped him.
Once we digged our way into the cave, we noticed that some kruthix lived in the cave and probably it had been them (and Corellon, of course) who had provoked the accident. Here we had a great opportunity to free our friends: we offered Sionas our services to erradicate the kruthix from the cave and, as a reward, he would free the slaves. He agreed, under the condition that no magic could be used in the cave. Unfortunately, we had underestimated the number of kruthix that were living in the cave so much, that we had to use all our resources to fight for our lives. That included Sariel using some spells. When we got out of the cave, Sionas was really upset. He was so angry that he did not want to let the elves go. Damned wizard!!
We decided to go back to the town and think how we can help our friends out of that tower. Now I have some time to reflect about the best possible solution to have Leo (well, his name is Leonardino, but he lets us, his very best friends, call him Leo) out of that awful place... and to imagine what would I do if I were the wizard (sigh).
Session 14: Don't Meddle in the Affairs of Wizards
As the party emerges from the Kruthik tunnels, they are faced with the wrath of Sionaas, who holds them responsible for his particular loss. Mandin, however, is somewhat more sympathetic...
A dangerous path...
The life of an adventurer often leads to dangerous situations, and the group, as an entity, emerges either strengthened or weakened out of it.
I am afraid that our group is slowly sliding along a slope that will lead to its demise.
Although we had a constructive start, and a successful group, the death of Streisand was a serious blow. It happened on our trip to Poisson under conditions that, I feel, should not be talked about. (What the fuck was she thinking? Going alone where we could bring her no support! Silly girl! I could only rush to see her legs being chewed off, stupid! Now it is too late, she won't learn any more).
Hum... anyway, I have witnessed the remaining sisters becoming more and more reckless in the following events. As we were exploring the caves under a wizard tower under construction, Sarielle was pulling the devil's tail by casting magic were she knew it was dangerous (we were warned not to use magic inside the caves) and Adolfielle was running from an encounter to an other without resting or healing.
It lead of course to another tragedy as a guard (Garmish) fighting with us died because we couldn't bring him healing on time. It could have been far worse as my last potion drunk at the last second made Adolfielle escape the jaws of death and Leonardino, also on the verge of dying, was rescued by Vistra.
Of course, all of this takes an even darker shade when I precise that we were fighting, at the same time, a horde of frenzied creatures along their beloved acid-blasting queen mother.
I am used not to this of my own protection, but I think I will have to slam my fist on the table is the group follows this hasty and dangerous path. After all, this is not only in battle that these kids need protection and guidance.
Oh Bahamut, give us the strengh...
I am afraid that our group is slowly sliding along a slope that will lead to its demise.
Although we had a constructive start, and a successful group, the death of Streisand was a serious blow. It happened on our trip to Poisson under conditions that, I feel, should not be talked about. (What the fuck was she thinking? Going alone where we could bring her no support! Silly girl! I could only rush to see her legs being chewed off, stupid! Now it is too late, she won't learn any more).
Hum... anyway, I have witnessed the remaining sisters becoming more and more reckless in the following events. As we were exploring the caves under a wizard tower under construction, Sarielle was pulling the devil's tail by casting magic were she knew it was dangerous (we were warned not to use magic inside the caves) and Adolfielle was running from an encounter to an other without resting or healing.
It lead of course to another tragedy as a guard (Garmish) fighting with us died because we couldn't bring him healing on time. It could have been far worse as my last potion drunk at the last second made Adolfielle escape the jaws of death and Leonardino, also on the verge of dying, was rescued by Vistra.
Of course, all of this takes an even darker shade when I precise that we were fighting, at the same time, a horde of frenzied creatures along their beloved acid-blasting queen mother.
I am used not to this of my own protection, but I think I will have to slam my fist on the table is the group follows this hasty and dangerous path. After all, this is not only in battle that these kids need protection and guidance.
Oh Bahamut, give us the strengh...
Session 13: The Hive
The adventurers explore the tunnel network and eventually stumble into the creatures' lair, where they face their most deadly opponent yet. Did they bite off more than they could chew?
Session 12: Into the Labyrinth
Numerous small holes are visible at the end of the collapsed mine shaft, clearly the work of burrowing critters. Following the attackers into their natural habitat, however, is a risky proposition...
Pressing Problem in Poisson
The Nerathian Temple
Those were terrible moments, huddled at the foot of the stairs that gave access to the Temple, spiders and hungry beetles blocking our way forward, the angry wyrmlings preventing a retreat.
With the booming thunder of the drakes' lightning shocks resonating in our ears, we used several flasks of oil to defend ourselves from the incoming beetle swarms and Adolfiel vented her fury on the critters, preventing them from becoming a serious menace.
Once we had rested some minutes, I had enough time to create a Tenser's Floating Disk and we carefully placed the body of our sister on top of it. As we still could hear the screeches of the dragons, we decided to explore the ruins. They seemed to be an ancient Nerathian temple, part of which had collapsed, probably due to an old landslide. The place was infested with insects, and several scary centipede-looking bugs attacked us appearing from tunnels they had burrowed through the walls and floor of the collapsing temple. We killed several before the rest decided to flee to their warrens.
In the temple we found an old altar with an indentation, some Nerathian tablets, a magical orb -which we placed in the middle of the altar, following the instructions of the tablets, but with no apparent results- and several other minor objects.
Scientific Notes
Today I have time to do some sketches - I am using a new book, as the original one I left at Ioun's chapel in Marshport to be copied there by a priestess-. Here you can see the horrible crocodiles that devoured poor Streisan and the centipede-looking creatures that attacked us in the temple. I have decided to name this new crocodile species Streisanorum Bocatae, in honor of my decesaed sister.
The Long Road to Poisson
The following day we left the ruins. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I could not avoid remembering when we three used to play near Leavendale's river and how I taunted Streisan and told her she could not run faster than her shadow and I could -of course using magic, but she was too young to know back then.
We followed the road, which at times could not even be called a path. Slowly, the ground became drier, and the swamp gave way to a beautiful forest where we found a nice tree to bury Streisan. We were preparing the digging tools when a screech alerted us to the presence of one of the blue wyrmlings that had attacked us the day before. I focused all my anger on the creature and she felt semiunconscious to the ground, where we quickly surrounded and almost killed it, but dragons, even young ones, are full of cunning and surprises, and this one survived our flurry of blows and, seeing itself in peril, decided to retreat to her lair to lick her wounds, even though Vistra, for a short time, was able to ground her again.
So we buried Streisan with her spear, and sent her body to the Circle, so that her soul can enter again the Wheel of Life, and with a final tear we said goodbye to her recklessness and to her playfulness, to her naivety and to her good and loving heart.
A few hours later we left the forest and reached a lonely hut, surrounded by a beautiful garden. We knocked the door and a halfling woman greeted us with good manners. She told us her husband was a lumberjack and that we could not stay at her place, as there was not enough place for a group of big adventurers, but we could sleep near her hut if we wanted. She invited us to tea and asked, as a favor, if we could repair the roof of her hut. While Adolfiel and I worked on the roof, Tyrion and Vistra shared a cup of tea with the halfling.
From time to time we heard flapping noises and saw big bats hiding in the shadows, but the woman assured us they were harmless. She also told us that Poisson was only half a day to the north, and that most of its inhabitants were working in the construction of the tower of some crazy wizard.
After the nice conversation, we made camp near the hut... We were awakened by some loud noises... the halfling woman was a horrible disfigured Hag! She had poisoned the tea, and even with the loud noise Tyrion was still snoring. Thankfully, Vistra's dwarven constitution allowed her to resist the effects of the poison and she had alerted us.
The battle was fierce. Every time any of us left the area illuminated by the campfire, she was attacked by the bats, so we tried to stay in the light, but there we heard the insidious thoughts the Hag tried to plant in our brains, and they provoked an agonising pain. It was a miracle that we survived, but we fought with all our resources and with a final push from Vistra, the Hag fell in the camp's fire, where she burnt like a dry husk, her horrible screams resounding in the darkness of the forest.
Pressing Problem in Poisson
After the attack of the Hag, the night passed uneventfully and we prepared for the final leg of our journey. After half a day of swift march, we started seeing some farms, all of them showed signs of being slightly unattended. We asked the occupants of a couple farms, and we learnt that they were inhabited by Halfling women, and that the men were "having fun" in Poisson, helping in the construction of a tower. All Halfling women wore expensive golden jewelry... it seemed the owner of the tower, someone they called Sionas, was a good employer.
We arrived at the main square of the village at dusk. The only inn of Poisson was surrounded by a multitude of tents, and several dozen Halflings were busy in and around the inn, spending their money in getting drunk as fast as their little mouths allowed them to.
The prices at the inn were outrageous and we couldn't even get a real bed, but we were tired of eating rations for three full days in a row, so we accepted the offer of the owner, a busy Halfling called Samner, and took our first nice warm dinner of the trip. I tried to earn some money for the group using my magical skills, but I was too tired to focus and I did not get much money out of the drunken Halfling builders.
We also asked for directions to Mandin's home, and everybody told us he lived at the construction site. We also learnt that the workers had been mainly digging what would become the cellars of Sionas' tower.
We were thinking about retreating to our tents, when a scared Halfling rushed into the inn calling for a cleric. The Halfling priest -probably these little creatures honour a Barrel of Ale above all- had prayed too much and seemed too tired after honouring the Barrel for what looked like hours, judging by his drunken stupor, so Vistra offered herself for help. The Halfling did not seem very convinced, but he had no other choice, so he finally told us that there had been a cave in at the construction site and Sionas needed help to rescue the workers. We all rushed to the Tower - a three mile trek-, following the Halfling, who was riding a pony, as fast as we could.
At the entrance to the tower we were met by Sionas. He was an extremely stern-looking eladrin. He told us that there had been a cave in while expanding the cellars of the tower and that he needed help with the wounded and with the removing of rubble. We followed him into what seemed like a constructed mine shaft, leaving behind some kind of elevator and descending into the depths following a long flight of stairs.
The end of the shaft had collapsed and we saw some people already working removing rubble. When we approached to help the workers, we were amazed when we got closer to them... They were some of the elves that had been taken prisoner in Leavendale! They seemed well-fed, but our surprise turned swiftly to anger when we heard their story...
Apparently, the captain of the ships that assaulted our village was a hobgoblin brute called Szakim, and he had sold the strongest elven prisoners to Sionas to work in the digging as slaves. They had not been tortured, but forcing an Elf to dig without seeing the sun and feeling the wind in the leaves of her forest can be considered a sort of torture. I confronted Mandin, who was the construction chief with the information, and he seemed to be ashamed of the events, but told us that removing the rubble and rescuing the wounded was of utmost importance now. Mandin also warned me not to use magic, as he feared that could have been the cause of the collapse.
While we worked helping our fellow Elven citizens, Sionas came from time to time to check the progress. He seemed genuinely concerned, so I tried to resist the urge of insulting him for his part in the enslavement of the Elves.
Soon, we started finding bodies. The first one we found was still alive, but his legs had been chewed off from knee down! There seemed to be more to the situation than the collapse, and our suspicions were confirmed when all the other bodies we found had similar marks of having been bitten by critters.
I spoke with Sionas, told him that the tunnels were obviously compromised and that he would need someone to clean the infestation before he could proceed with the construction works. In exchange for the job, I asked him to at least release the Elven prisoners, and he agreed with my demands, with the condition that we did not use magic while in the caverns.
One of the Elves said he would join us. We gave him some of the equipment we had found in the Nerathian temple, and we prepared ourselves to enter the dark and dangerous tunnels...
Session 11: Out of the Woods?
Though overcome with grief over Streisan's demise, the survivors march on through the forest toward Poisson, unaware that Fate has a surprise in store for them...
Farewell
After the fight with the elves, I had decided not to continue writing this diary. I was enjoying life, together with my two sisters, facing and defeating the world in its own terrain; it did not matter if it was an ice elemental, a clever gnome or a wild bear: we always prevailed... or I thought. Today life has hit us with all its cruelty and we have not managed to avoid the blow.
The day was evolving as usual: we were marching along the way from Marshport to Poisson, when we reached a damaged bridge. The bridge was broken in the center, having quite a large gap between its two remaining parts. While we were deciding how to cross the river, Streisan realized that the gap was not very long and simply jumped to the other side... when she realized that she was not there alone: a group of huge crocodriles were guarding the bridge and attacked her as soon as she crossed to the other bank. At that moment it was impossible for us to cross, so she decided to attract the attention of the beasts and run as fast as she could away from the river, thus letting us the space we needed to cross.
However, the coward crocodriles surrounded her. She fought bravely against the creatures while the cavalry was crossing safely the river... but this bite was more than she could chew. Before we could get to her, the damned crocodiles had bitten her leg and managed to make her fall. Once she was on the floor, they went on biting until they took her last bit of life out of her. Thanks to her we could get rid of the animals, but the price we had to pay was too high.
Now I'm writing these lines by my sister's corpse. It's strange: if I did not know what has happened today, I would say she is there resting, that she had being hunting and that the blood covering her arms and legs is not hers, but a bear's. Her face is calm and relaxed, because she knows she has served Corellon well. I am going to miss her.
The day was evolving as usual: we were marching along the way from Marshport to Poisson, when we reached a damaged bridge. The bridge was broken in the center, having quite a large gap between its two remaining parts. While we were deciding how to cross the river, Streisan realized that the gap was not very long and simply jumped to the other side... when she realized that she was not there alone: a group of huge crocodriles were guarding the bridge and attacked her as soon as she crossed to the other bank. At that moment it was impossible for us to cross, so she decided to attract the attention of the beasts and run as fast as she could away from the river, thus letting us the space we needed to cross.
However, the coward crocodriles surrounded her. She fought bravely against the creatures while the cavalry was crossing safely the river... but this bite was more than she could chew. Before we could get to her, the damned crocodiles had bitten her leg and managed to make her fall. Once she was on the floor, they went on biting until they took her last bit of life out of her. Thanks to her we could get rid of the animals, but the price we had to pay was too high.
Now I'm writing these lines by my sister's corpse. It's strange: if I did not know what has happened today, I would say she is there resting, that she had being hunting and that the blood covering her arms and legs is not hers, but a bear's. Her face is calm and relaxed, because she knows she has served Corellon well. I am going to miss her.
Elven Lament
Today has been the saddest day of my life, and weeks will pass until I am able to smile again at the sun... Streisan is dead! and life will never be the same.
As expected, the marshes between Marshport and Poisson were a foul place, full of mosquitoes and dangerous wild animals. The so-called road was a path overgrown with brambles and advancing was treacherous and tiring. The bridge was indeed broken, and the river was full of nasty-looking reptile creatures. I was preparing to create a Tenser's Floating Disk when I heard a loud crash. Streisan, in her recklessness, had not waited to carry out the discussed plan and had leapt a full 20 feet to the other side of the bridge. There she landed on a weakened section wich cracked, leaving her legs dangling dangerously close to the gigantic crocodile's maws. The creatures got into a frenzy at the sight and smell of such a tasty morsel and started to jump frantically trying to close her jaws around Streisan's legs.
She was able to get out of the crashed section into a kind of platform from which she would have been able to defend herself from the crocodiles while the rest of us crossed the river -she had a rope with her and Tyrion was tying it to our side of the bridge-, but she somehow got again in reckless-mode and charged wildly into the jungle, out of our reach and sight, the crocs following her in a feeding frenzy.
We crossed the river as quick as we could, but by the time we arrived we could only stop the crocs from devouring her completely. As the last of us were crossing the river, we were attacked by two blue wyrmlings. Luckily for us, there was a nearby ruined temple which entrance was blocked by a cracked stone slab. While Adolfiel and I maintained the dragons at bay, Tyrion and Vistra broke the sealing slab with the picks we had judiciously stored in our Bag of Holding.
Dragging the mangled body of our sister behind us, we could barely escape the lightning bolts of the dragons entering the dark ancient temple...
Time for a song to say farewell to Streisan, the "Friends Farewell":
As expected, the marshes between Marshport and Poisson were a foul place, full of mosquitoes and dangerous wild animals. The so-called road was a path overgrown with brambles and advancing was treacherous and tiring. The bridge was indeed broken, and the river was full of nasty-looking reptile creatures. I was preparing to create a Tenser's Floating Disk when I heard a loud crash. Streisan, in her recklessness, had not waited to carry out the discussed plan and had leapt a full 20 feet to the other side of the bridge. There she landed on a weakened section wich cracked, leaving her legs dangling dangerously close to the gigantic crocodile's maws. The creatures got into a frenzy at the sight and smell of such a tasty morsel and started to jump frantically trying to close her jaws around Streisan's legs.
She was able to get out of the crashed section into a kind of platform from which she would have been able to defend herself from the crocodiles while the rest of us crossed the river -she had a rope with her and Tyrion was tying it to our side of the bridge-, but she somehow got again in reckless-mode and charged wildly into the jungle, out of our reach and sight, the crocs following her in a feeding frenzy.
We crossed the river as quick as we could, but by the time we arrived we could only stop the crocs from devouring her completely. As the last of us were crossing the river, we were attacked by two blue wyrmlings. Luckily for us, there was a nearby ruined temple which entrance was blocked by a cracked stone slab. While Adolfiel and I maintained the dragons at bay, Tyrion and Vistra broke the sealing slab with the picks we had judiciously stored in our Bag of Holding.
Dragging the mangled body of our sister behind us, we could barely escape the lightning bolts of the dragons entering the dark ancient temple...
Time for a song to say farewell to Streisan, the "Friends Farewell":
"Aeons passed since our essence
from the Maelstrom of Chaos was fished
and in the beautiful Wheel of Living
we were allowed to roam free.
Our threads entwined for a long time
and so many moving moments we lived
now you wander the forest no longer
and the Feywild your home is to be.
Will you cross again the waters?
Will you again in the Circle live?
I hope I'll recognise your likeness
when the Wheel's next turn makes us meet."
from the Maelstrom of Chaos was fished
and in the beautiful Wheel of Living
we were allowed to roam free.
Our threads entwined for a long time
and so many moving moments we lived
now you wander the forest no longer
and the Feywild your home is to be.
Will you cross again the waters?
Will you again in the Circle live?
I hope I'll recognise your likeness
when the Wheel's next turn makes us meet."
Session 10: The Broken Bridge
Tragedy strikes as the group traverses the dangerous swamps between Marshport and the Hidden Coast...
Escaping winter
After several cold and damp nights, it was great to sleep in an enclosed area, with a nice chimney fire at our sides.
We all woke up with lots of energy and set immediately to search the tower. We realised that most of the ice encasing the building had melted away; we also found reasonable answers to some of the questions from previous days:
1- We found the portal on the tower's roof led to the mountain range near Wyllea. Obviously, Draigdurroch was obtaining his supplies through the portal, and that included wyllflower. Was he using the flower to power any mystical ritual or was he addicted to the substance?
2- The strange-looking crystals embedded in the tower's walls were spying glasses. Once the ice encasing the tower melted, we could use the crystals to survey the region surrounding the tower. It is such a good idea that I have made some notes, and I will try to use the same devices if I am ever able to buid a tower for myself.
3- Double doors in the ground floor led to a natural cavern with many passages going out of it. In the middle of the cavern there was a table with some maps. The maps detailed some of the passages, other passages were unexplored. It seemed obvious that Draigdurroch had been exploring the caves, and that they somehow led to what he thought could be Karse. I stored the maps in the Bag of Holding and made a mental note to do some research when back at Marshport.
As there was nothing more to discover in the tower and we did not want to explore the cavern maze, we left the tower -we closed the door and I used the Magic Mouth ritual to leave a joke-message behind: "Beware! This tower is now the property of the Four Queens and the Joker!".
In our trip back to Marshport we searched again the Goblin lair. There we met some bears rummaging through the food cases, and Streisan quickly charged them, without giving time to Adolfiel or me to try to calm the bears first -sometimes she is clearly too reckless- so the bears had no choice but to attack us and we had to kill two of them and force the rest of the family to flee.
We also met Aygon, but he did not know anything of interest about Draigdurroch.
Back at Marshport, we had to wait some days for the Mayor to receive us, so I used the time to keep on reading the books Aygon had lent me and doing some research on Karsus. In Marshport's library I found a book marked by some scribbled notes with what seemed to be Draigdurroch's handwriting. Apparently, Karsus was a very powerful mage or demigod that tried to become a god. In the process, the gods punished him for his vanity and destroyed his city, Karse. Reputedly, the city was full of wonders and Karsus' notes on his research to become a god would be priceless to anyone that could find them.
The Mayor of Marshport paid us very well when we told them that we had taken care of the Goblin menace, defeating some of the critters and making the rest scatter and flee the area. Then we told him we wanted to travel to Poisson and asked him if the city needed any adventuring work to be done in that area, but there seemed to be none.
We then asked for directions and learnt that there were two roads to Poisson. The most direct route crossed a river, but it was not maintained and nobody knew whether the bridge would be intact. The other longer route crossed some hills and would add one day to our trip. We decided to try the shorter route first, and discussed a plan to cross the river using Tenser's Floating Disk if necessary.
Finally, as it was Streisan's nameday, Adolfiel and I decided to buy her a gift. Adolfiel found a pair of boots that would be perfect for her, and we passed a nice evening, joking and carousing, oblivious to the darker days that awaited us...
We all woke up with lots of energy and set immediately to search the tower. We realised that most of the ice encasing the building had melted away; we also found reasonable answers to some of the questions from previous days:
1- We found the portal on the tower's roof led to the mountain range near Wyllea. Obviously, Draigdurroch was obtaining his supplies through the portal, and that included wyllflower. Was he using the flower to power any mystical ritual or was he addicted to the substance?
2- The strange-looking crystals embedded in the tower's walls were spying glasses. Once the ice encasing the tower melted, we could use the crystals to survey the region surrounding the tower. It is such a good idea that I have made some notes, and I will try to use the same devices if I am ever able to buid a tower for myself.
3- Double doors in the ground floor led to a natural cavern with many passages going out of it. In the middle of the cavern there was a table with some maps. The maps detailed some of the passages, other passages were unexplored. It seemed obvious that Draigdurroch had been exploring the caves, and that they somehow led to what he thought could be Karse. I stored the maps in the Bag of Holding and made a mental note to do some research when back at Marshport.
As there was nothing more to discover in the tower and we did not want to explore the cavern maze, we left the tower -we closed the door and I used the Magic Mouth ritual to leave a joke-message behind: "Beware! This tower is now the property of the Four Queens and the Joker!".
In our trip back to Marshport we searched again the Goblin lair. There we met some bears rummaging through the food cases, and Streisan quickly charged them, without giving time to Adolfiel or me to try to calm the bears first -sometimes she is clearly too reckless- so the bears had no choice but to attack us and we had to kill two of them and force the rest of the family to flee.
We also met Aygon, but he did not know anything of interest about Draigdurroch.
Back at Marshport, we had to wait some days for the Mayor to receive us, so I used the time to keep on reading the books Aygon had lent me and doing some research on Karsus. In Marshport's library I found a book marked by some scribbled notes with what seemed to be Draigdurroch's handwriting. Apparently, Karsus was a very powerful mage or demigod that tried to become a god. In the process, the gods punished him for his vanity and destroyed his city, Karse. Reputedly, the city was full of wonders and Karsus' notes on his research to become a god would be priceless to anyone that could find them.
The Mayor of Marshport paid us very well when we told them that we had taken care of the Goblin menace, defeating some of the critters and making the rest scatter and flee the area. Then we told him we wanted to travel to Poisson and asked him if the city needed any adventuring work to be done in that area, but there seemed to be none.
We then asked for directions and learnt that there were two roads to Poisson. The most direct route crossed a river, but it was not maintained and nobody knew whether the bridge would be intact. The other longer route crossed some hills and would add one day to our trip. We decided to try the shorter route first, and discussed a plan to cross the river using Tenser's Floating Disk if necessary.
Finally, as it was Streisan's nameday, Adolfiel and I decided to buy her a gift. Adolfiel found a pair of boots that would be perfect for her, and we passed a nice evening, joking and carousing, oblivious to the darker days that awaited us...
Session 9: The Clan of the Cave Bear
Having uncovered the secrets of Draigdurroch's frozen tower, and no longer subjected to the fearsome blizzard, the party travels back West...
Draigdurroch's Folly
Inside the tower, the cold was bearable and it was immediately obvious that it was abandoned and that it had been the residence of a wizard. As the source of the cold seemed to be in the roof of the tower, we decided to go to the top of the tower first.
Most rooms of the tower had no clue or interesting hint for us, but in one room of the tower we found the corpse of a Halfling dressed with peasant robes, and in another, that seemed to have served as a library we found a lot of information.
Apparently, the owner of the tower was a Dwarven wizard called Draigdurroch. He had been researching an entity called Karsus and searching for the ruins of a city called Karse. According to his frozen notes, the entrance to Karse could be found in a cavern complex below his tower, but it was a maddeningly complex maze and he had been painstakingly mapping the corridors and tunnels of the caverns for some time.
In his notes I also read that some faeries had warned Draigdurroch and threatened him with retaliation if he did not stopped his studies, but he had disregarded their warnings and attacked the faeries... judging the situation of the tower it had turned to be a bad choice.
I also found an interesting Red Book that seemed magically trapped and an amulet engraved with Draigdurroch's name. The amulet allowed me to control a magical floating disk that gave access to the tower's roof from a room with walls studded with strange-looking crystals.
As we arrived on the roof, we saw it was covered by an ice dome. The cold and ice seemed to emanate from a huge crystal embedded in the dome. There was also a chest from which open lid creatures of ice started emanating and charging at us. I had been waiting for this all day; my hands moved deftly and a sphere of fire materialized on top of the portal and started melting all the ice elementals entering through it.
At that moment, a gigantic creature of ice detached itself from the dome and fell in the middle of the group. The monster rushed towards Tyrion and grabbed him with its powerful ice fists and approached the chimney shaft of the tower's roof with evil intention in his eyes. Tyrion's eyes searched in full panick for an escape and a strange smile crossed his lips when he saw Streisan charging to the rescue... zup! and in the blink of an eye Tyrion was charging towards the monster while Streisan tumbled down the shaft, letting out a swear each time her head banged a brick.
The ice creature then went for Adolfiel, tired of being peppered by her arrows, and though Adolfiel managed to avoid it a couple times, he was finally grabbed ... and another of the sisters went down the chimney. More or less at that time Streisan appeared back at the roof, her head covered in blood, yelling with all the force of her mighty lungs, and foaming through her mouth -she looked like Bonpapá, a legendary Elvish character that leaves gifts to children in winter, usually climbing in and out of the houses through the chimney.
Already weakened by our attack and surprised to see that Streisan had survived her descent down the chimney shaft, the creature jumped out of the tower and lost itself in the wilderness.
We then quickly destroyed the crystal in the dome, then the deathly cold seemed to subside enough to make it bearable and no more ice creatures emerged from the portal. A short investigation showed that the chest had also some wylflower residue in it, near where the portal spiraled.
Anyway, we were too tired to think about all the mysteries the tower still contained, so we went to the tower's ground floor, made a big fire in a chimney and immediately fell asleep. I took the first guard turn, so that I could finish this chapter of the diary and think on ways to repay Tyrion's dastardly move... uuum, the wylflower offers a lot of possibilities... time for him to see the beauty of the elven body again...
Most rooms of the tower had no clue or interesting hint for us, but in one room of the tower we found the corpse of a Halfling dressed with peasant robes, and in another, that seemed to have served as a library we found a lot of information.
Apparently, the owner of the tower was a Dwarven wizard called Draigdurroch. He had been researching an entity called Karsus and searching for the ruins of a city called Karse. According to his frozen notes, the entrance to Karse could be found in a cavern complex below his tower, but it was a maddeningly complex maze and he had been painstakingly mapping the corridors and tunnels of the caverns for some time.
In his notes I also read that some faeries had warned Draigdurroch and threatened him with retaliation if he did not stopped his studies, but he had disregarded their warnings and attacked the faeries... judging the situation of the tower it had turned to be a bad choice.
I also found an interesting Red Book that seemed magically trapped and an amulet engraved with Draigdurroch's name. The amulet allowed me to control a magical floating disk that gave access to the tower's roof from a room with walls studded with strange-looking crystals.
As we arrived on the roof, we saw it was covered by an ice dome. The cold and ice seemed to emanate from a huge crystal embedded in the dome. There was also a chest from which open lid creatures of ice started emanating and charging at us. I had been waiting for this all day; my hands moved deftly and a sphere of fire materialized on top of the portal and started melting all the ice elementals entering through it.
At that moment, a gigantic creature of ice detached itself from the dome and fell in the middle of the group. The monster rushed towards Tyrion and grabbed him with its powerful ice fists and approached the chimney shaft of the tower's roof with evil intention in his eyes. Tyrion's eyes searched in full panick for an escape and a strange smile crossed his lips when he saw Streisan charging to the rescue... zup! and in the blink of an eye Tyrion was charging towards the monster while Streisan tumbled down the shaft, letting out a swear each time her head banged a brick.
The ice creature then went for Adolfiel, tired of being peppered by her arrows, and though Adolfiel managed to avoid it a couple times, he was finally grabbed ... and another of the sisters went down the chimney. More or less at that time Streisan appeared back at the roof, her head covered in blood, yelling with all the force of her mighty lungs, and foaming through her mouth -she looked like Bonpapá, a legendary Elvish character that leaves gifts to children in winter, usually climbing in and out of the houses through the chimney.
Already weakened by our attack and surprised to see that Streisan had survived her descent down the chimney shaft, the creature jumped out of the tower and lost itself in the wilderness.
We then quickly destroyed the crystal in the dome, then the deathly cold seemed to subside enough to make it bearable and no more ice creatures emerged from the portal. A short investigation showed that the chest had also some wylflower residue in it, near where the portal spiraled.
Anyway, we were too tired to think about all the mysteries the tower still contained, so we went to the tower's ground floor, made a big fire in a chimney and immediately fell asleep. I took the first guard turn, so that I could finish this chapter of the diary and think on ways to repay Tyrion's dastardly move... uuum, the wylflower offers a lot of possibilities... time for him to see the beauty of the elven body again...
In deep cold
The information that the gnome gave us led us to a barren part of the mountains. The cold weather and the snow started to become so dangerous that it became impossible to rest properly outside. Luckily, it did not take long before we found the origin of this evil and unnatural weather.
The wizard's tower was covered with ice as if a giant cascade had fallen on it before freezing. It seemed lifeless, but very soon we discovered that some evil ice creatures were guarding its entrance. They proved to be very difficult to defeat and I would have been in serious trouble (even more serious that usual, I mean) if Vistra had not helped me with her healing powers.
After accessing the entrance hall, we decided to explore the tower itself before further investigating the tunnels beneath it. The source of the cold seemed to come from the top of the tower, so it seem obvious to go straight up.
The tower was empty except for the lifeless body of a halfling, but we found a lot of information about a wizard that lived here and was doing some kind of evil investigation. In his logs he talked about getting supply of something to continues his investigation.
As we went up to the tower's roof, we finally found the source of the cold.
It was a big cristal encased in a dome of ice above the tower. Inside the dome there was a chest with a portal to somewhere horrible and a frozen monster. As soon as we got up on the roof, evil ice beings tried to attack us coming through the portal. They were pretty weak but they were many and they kept us busy until Sariel used one of her best tricks to block the portal. Unfortunately, by the time we realized that the portal was blocked, a new, BIG monster had had time to detach itself from the ice dome.
It looked like a giant frozen scorpion with lots of tentacles and spikes and ugly parts everywhere. It occupied most of the dome as it stood on the center of the tower's roof, perched on the chimney. We did not have a lot of space to manouver and its tentacles were very long.
Although the monster was very powerful, it became obsessed with killing Tyrion and that way we could prevent it from attacking my sister or the cleric, so the combat was going pretty well for us.
However our luck did not last long and the monster finally was able to grab Tyrion with two of its tentacles and lifted him into the air.
It was at that moment that Tyrion decided to use his famous and very appreciated teleporting ability. He had used it before to help others, and we all respected him for it. He had helped an elven mother and his baby during the attack on our village and he had freed Vistra from a giant spider's web. Every time before, he had teleported someone out of harm's way to put himself in danger instead.
This time, he teleported out of the ice monster's grip. It worked wonderfully, with only a small detail to regret.
By teleporting himself to safety, that cowardly sack of monkey dung teleported me into the ice monster's grab in his place.
The monster looked surprised for a second and then happily went on hitting me instead. When it realized I was too tough for it to kill swiftly, it simply rose me up on its tentacles and threw me down the chimney.
I fell three floors down to the kitchen, insulting Tyrion during the fall.
I could have taken a lot of damage, but my sister Sariel used another nice spell and I could start running up the tower without even a scratch.
It took me forever to climb back to the tower's roof, I had to climb threee floors and use a really slow magic elevator. However, I still had not finished insulting Tyrion when I stepped back into the roof.
The monster was almost dead by then, but it had managed to throw my sister Adolfiel the same way than me, down the chimney. When it saw me coming back to the fight, it grew afraid and ran away melting back into the ice dome.
As we stood there catching our breath, we realized that the cold coming from the crystal was so intense we could not resist it and would end up killing us. After trying to study it's properties, we saw it had been manipulated to alter it's powers and decided we could not control it, so we destroyed it.
The cold stopped being so dangerous so we had the time to think about the portal. It had not closed, but the evil beings did stop trying to come through.
We investigated a little more and found some Wyllflower near the portal, I think it is this stuff that was being supplied to the wizard. But why, I have no idea. So we just left the portal there, inside the chest, open to somewhere very cold and probably dangerous.
When we came down the tower, we were spent. Adolfiel had almost died with the combat and the fall. I also was so tired and so worried about Adolfiel that I decided to let Tyrion live another day and kill him the next morning.
A lot of questions remain open to me, as I go to sleep:
- What is the Wyllflower doing here?
- Where does the portal go to?
- What happened to the wizard?
- What are we looking for in the caves?
- Who manipulated the cristal?
- What is the frozen monster in the roof?
- What are the jewels in the walls of the corridors of tower?
- Where is Vistra going to find a new bodyguard?
The wizard's tower was covered with ice as if a giant cascade had fallen on it before freezing. It seemed lifeless, but very soon we discovered that some evil ice creatures were guarding its entrance. They proved to be very difficult to defeat and I would have been in serious trouble (even more serious that usual, I mean) if Vistra had not helped me with her healing powers.
After accessing the entrance hall, we decided to explore the tower itself before further investigating the tunnels beneath it. The source of the cold seemed to come from the top of the tower, so it seem obvious to go straight up.
The tower was empty except for the lifeless body of a halfling, but we found a lot of information about a wizard that lived here and was doing some kind of evil investigation. In his logs he talked about getting supply of something to continues his investigation.
As we went up to the tower's roof, we finally found the source of the cold.
It was a big cristal encased in a dome of ice above the tower. Inside the dome there was a chest with a portal to somewhere horrible and a frozen monster. As soon as we got up on the roof, evil ice beings tried to attack us coming through the portal. They were pretty weak but they were many and they kept us busy until Sariel used one of her best tricks to block the portal. Unfortunately, by the time we realized that the portal was blocked, a new, BIG monster had had time to detach itself from the ice dome.
It looked like a giant frozen scorpion with lots of tentacles and spikes and ugly parts everywhere. It occupied most of the dome as it stood on the center of the tower's roof, perched on the chimney. We did not have a lot of space to manouver and its tentacles were very long.
Although the monster was very powerful, it became obsessed with killing Tyrion and that way we could prevent it from attacking my sister or the cleric, so the combat was going pretty well for us.
However our luck did not last long and the monster finally was able to grab Tyrion with two of its tentacles and lifted him into the air.
It was at that moment that Tyrion decided to use his famous and very appreciated teleporting ability. He had used it before to help others, and we all respected him for it. He had helped an elven mother and his baby during the attack on our village and he had freed Vistra from a giant spider's web. Every time before, he had teleported someone out of harm's way to put himself in danger instead.
This time, he teleported out of the ice monster's grip. It worked wonderfully, with only a small detail to regret.
By teleporting himself to safety, that cowardly sack of monkey dung teleported me into the ice monster's grab in his place.
The monster looked surprised for a second and then happily went on hitting me instead. When it realized I was too tough for it to kill swiftly, it simply rose me up on its tentacles and threw me down the chimney.
I fell three floors down to the kitchen, insulting Tyrion during the fall.
I could have taken a lot of damage, but my sister Sariel used another nice spell and I could start running up the tower without even a scratch.
It took me forever to climb back to the tower's roof, I had to climb threee floors and use a really slow magic elevator. However, I still had not finished insulting Tyrion when I stepped back into the roof.
The monster was almost dead by then, but it had managed to throw my sister Adolfiel the same way than me, down the chimney. When it saw me coming back to the fight, it grew afraid and ran away melting back into the ice dome.
As we stood there catching our breath, we realized that the cold coming from the crystal was so intense we could not resist it and would end up killing us. After trying to study it's properties, we saw it had been manipulated to alter it's powers and decided we could not control it, so we destroyed it.
The cold stopped being so dangerous so we had the time to think about the portal. It had not closed, but the evil beings did stop trying to come through.
We investigated a little more and found some Wyllflower near the portal, I think it is this stuff that was being supplied to the wizard. But why, I have no idea. So we just left the portal there, inside the chest, open to somewhere very cold and probably dangerous.
When we came down the tower, we were spent. Adolfiel had almost died with the combat and the fall. I also was so tired and so worried about Adolfiel that I decided to let Tyrion live another day and kill him the next morning.
A lot of questions remain open to me, as I go to sleep:
- What is the Wyllflower doing here?
- Where does the portal go to?
- What happened to the wizard?
- What are we looking for in the caves?
- Who manipulated the cristal?
- What is the frozen monster in the roof?
- What are the jewels in the walls of the corridors of tower?
- Where is Vistra going to find a new bodyguard?
Session 8: Elemental Shards
Once the group gains entrance to Draigdurroch's tower, it becomes evident that its frozen chambers hide a sinister story...
Warming up is hard to do
We left Aygon's dwelling using a secret service door that was more comfortable to use than the entrance from which we had accessed his abode in the first place.
This time we followed what seemed to be an ancient path that led further into the icy hills. The day passed chilly and miserable as the previous one, and when we were already thinking about giving up the search, we found a big cavern in the face of a cliff. The cave showed signs of having been inhabited by a big group of Goblins, but at the moment it was deserted.
It seemed that fate was against us, but we did not want to give up so easily. We climbed the cliff where the cavern was located and, in the distance, detected the outline of what seemed to be a tower. It seemed to be far away, so we made camp in the cave. It was a damp, chilly, dreary night with the blizzard blowing outside and the sound of Adolfiel's chattering teeth constantly interrupting my meditation.
Another freezing day, another exhausting hike, but this time it seemed we had a clear goal! As we got closer to the building, it became clear that it was indeed a tower, and that it was completely encased in ice! It dominated its surroundings, built atop a low hillock, surrounded by suspicious-looking statues of wolves and mages. The ice encasing the tower was erupting from its roof, and our suspicions that the terrible weather conditions had a magical cause grew stronger.
I was so worried beholding the statues for any hint of them being magical guardians -during my studies in Fallcrest I had read many stories of wizards protecting their towers with that sort of creatures- that I was completely surprised when chunks of snow and ice took the shape of gigantic scorpions that charged us. Other pieces of snow coalesced into icy snowmen that threw balls of hard compact ice at us. It was clear that something was amiss in the tower, and that these creatures of ice had been somehow attracted by the cold emanating from it.
The battle was violent and dangerous; Streisan charged the monsters as if she had lost her mind after all the frustrations of the previous days and it was difficult for the rest to keep her pace. Only with the help of Vistra was she able to survive, but her courage and recklessness motivated the rest of us to go on and with courage, determination and lots of luck we were able to defeat the ice elementals.
After the battle, I explained to the rest my fears about the statues and we decided to topple them. Some animated and attacked us, but most of them had been shattered by the cold and gave us no trouble.
With the blizzard growing stronger, we digged the ice out of the entrance doors and entered the tower...
Scientific Notes
Well, even though the creatures we found around the tower are clearly not natural, I could not resist making a drawing of the scorpion-like ice elemental. I think I will add an extra chapter to my Ecology book, one about the different Planes of Existence and some examples of its creatures, which in some books of old are called Elementals.
This time we followed what seemed to be an ancient path that led further into the icy hills. The day passed chilly and miserable as the previous one, and when we were already thinking about giving up the search, we found a big cavern in the face of a cliff. The cave showed signs of having been inhabited by a big group of Goblins, but at the moment it was deserted.
It seemed that fate was against us, but we did not want to give up so easily. We climbed the cliff where the cavern was located and, in the distance, detected the outline of what seemed to be a tower. It seemed to be far away, so we made camp in the cave. It was a damp, chilly, dreary night with the blizzard blowing outside and the sound of Adolfiel's chattering teeth constantly interrupting my meditation.
Another freezing day, another exhausting hike, but this time it seemed we had a clear goal! As we got closer to the building, it became clear that it was indeed a tower, and that it was completely encased in ice! It dominated its surroundings, built atop a low hillock, surrounded by suspicious-looking statues of wolves and mages. The ice encasing the tower was erupting from its roof, and our suspicions that the terrible weather conditions had a magical cause grew stronger.
I was so worried beholding the statues for any hint of them being magical guardians -during my studies in Fallcrest I had read many stories of wizards protecting their towers with that sort of creatures- that I was completely surprised when chunks of snow and ice took the shape of gigantic scorpions that charged us. Other pieces of snow coalesced into icy snowmen that threw balls of hard compact ice at us. It was clear that something was amiss in the tower, and that these creatures of ice had been somehow attracted by the cold emanating from it.
The battle was violent and dangerous; Streisan charged the monsters as if she had lost her mind after all the frustrations of the previous days and it was difficult for the rest to keep her pace. Only with the help of Vistra was she able to survive, but her courage and recklessness motivated the rest of us to go on and with courage, determination and lots of luck we were able to defeat the ice elementals.
After the battle, I explained to the rest my fears about the statues and we decided to topple them. Some animated and attacked us, but most of them had been shattered by the cold and gave us no trouble.
With the blizzard growing stronger, we digged the ice out of the entrance doors and entered the tower...
Scientific Notes
Well, even though the creatures we found around the tower are clearly not natural, I could not resist making a drawing of the scorpion-like ice elemental. I think I will add an extra chapter to my Ecology book, one about the different Planes of Existence and some examples of its creatures, which in some books of old are called Elementals.
Session 7: Menace of the Icy Spire
Having convinced the strange Aygon to give them shelter for the night, the group set out to put an end t0 the Frost Goblin menace, and end up discovering a long-forgotten tower encased in ice...
On the right track?
After having spent some time in Relkingham for Ghesh's funeral, we headed towards the north. During our time in Relkingham we heard some rumours about possible ships similar to those that had attacked the elven settlement having been sighted near Marshport.
On our way north we stopped in Sylfren, so the three sisters could have some time with their mother. I have to say the trip being uneventful was a welcome relief from the adrenalin rushing charging we've had to endure in the past few days.
I must admit that the chances of completing my pilgrimage have gone to the near impossible. I have taken up a path which will allow me to spread Berronar's teachings, and I must now follow it to it's end. I spent a lot of time in Marshport at their rather small hospital, helping to heal those that require it while some of the others were gathering information. In the evenings I was filled in on what information had been gathered; hearing about the evil that was happening to the north across the mountains, about the legend of Angerplea and the Black Cry which could possibly be related to our quest to find out what had happened to the elves.
But although we gathered information, we got no further regarding to where we should go next. I decided to ask guidance from Beronnar. I received a sign, pointing me to the north. I feel the events across the Whitecap mountain range is where my presence will be required. But after having talked to the Major of Marschport, he talked about increased goblin activity in Nirnwood to the north and how it could pause increasing concern to travelers to Marshport. I was convinced by Tyrion and Sariel that clearing this issue could possibly save lives and shouldn't require that long, compared to the time it would take to travel to the Nantir Vale.
Traveling to the Nirnwood forest, we found the weather fighting against us. The cold biting through our thick winter clothing. We met a band of brigands that were easily defeated. They seemed more like misplaced souls than brigands after we had a talk to them. They had found a map of a supposed 'treasure' cove. We decided to see if we could find this location with the help of the brigands. Arriving at their camp we found it had been attacked, most of their materials and supplies looted. We followed the tracks, reaching a group of frost goblins. We managed to dispatch all but the leader who managed to flee dispite Tyrion's efforts.
We finally found the location of the map within a cave system. A solid metal slab with engravings into them saying 'death awaits you', curiosity having taken the better of us we went to investigate. This lead us into a rather diabolical system of traps, which unfortunatly, Streisan beared the brunt of their trickery. Getting dumped into filth, burned on several occasions. I did my best to protect her but the nature of the traps made this very difficult, I am thankful though she managed to survive the ordeal. The final trap was a dragon, very well crafted as it seemed a dragon from the front, although there were some quirks which tipped us off it actually wasn't. But as soon as Streisan and Tyrion managed to get behind the dragon it was clear that it was mechanical. They disabeled the dragon and we found a goblin, rather well dressed, unfortunalty without a tongue. Later we found the culprit of the trap systems, which ended up being a gnome (although we can't confirm this) who through a failed experiment ended up as a weapon able to change it's size, shape. Having a chat with him, and apologising for having invaded his home, we managed to convince him to give us accomodations while we searched for goblin threats in the region. I also managed to convince him to lend me the Draconomicon, although at this time I am unsure if I will be able to decipher it as it seems far more complex then I originally believed.
We are still going to be searching for more traces of the goblins in the area, but for now I'm happy we got comfortable accomodations, especially as it's comfortably warm.
On our way north we stopped in Sylfren, so the three sisters could have some time with their mother. I have to say the trip being uneventful was a welcome relief from the adrenalin rushing charging we've had to endure in the past few days.
I must admit that the chances of completing my pilgrimage have gone to the near impossible. I have taken up a path which will allow me to spread Berronar's teachings, and I must now follow it to it's end. I spent a lot of time in Marshport at their rather small hospital, helping to heal those that require it while some of the others were gathering information. In the evenings I was filled in on what information had been gathered; hearing about the evil that was happening to the north across the mountains, about the legend of Angerplea and the Black Cry which could possibly be related to our quest to find out what had happened to the elves.
But although we gathered information, we got no further regarding to where we should go next. I decided to ask guidance from Beronnar. I received a sign, pointing me to the north. I feel the events across the Whitecap mountain range is where my presence will be required. But after having talked to the Major of Marschport, he talked about increased goblin activity in Nirnwood to the north and how it could pause increasing concern to travelers to Marshport. I was convinced by Tyrion and Sariel that clearing this issue could possibly save lives and shouldn't require that long, compared to the time it would take to travel to the Nantir Vale.
Traveling to the Nirnwood forest, we found the weather fighting against us. The cold biting through our thick winter clothing. We met a band of brigands that were easily defeated. They seemed more like misplaced souls than brigands after we had a talk to them. They had found a map of a supposed 'treasure' cove. We decided to see if we could find this location with the help of the brigands. Arriving at their camp we found it had been attacked, most of their materials and supplies looted. We followed the tracks, reaching a group of frost goblins. We managed to dispatch all but the leader who managed to flee dispite Tyrion's efforts.
We finally found the location of the map within a cave system. A solid metal slab with engravings into them saying 'death awaits you', curiosity having taken the better of us we went to investigate. This lead us into a rather diabolical system of traps, which unfortunatly, Streisan beared the brunt of their trickery. Getting dumped into filth, burned on several occasions. I did my best to protect her but the nature of the traps made this very difficult, I am thankful though she managed to survive the ordeal. The final trap was a dragon, very well crafted as it seemed a dragon from the front, although there were some quirks which tipped us off it actually wasn't. But as soon as Streisan and Tyrion managed to get behind the dragon it was clear that it was mechanical. They disabeled the dragon and we found a goblin, rather well dressed, unfortunalty without a tongue. Later we found the culprit of the trap systems, which ended up being a gnome (although we can't confirm this) who through a failed experiment ended up as a weapon able to change it's size, shape. Having a chat with him, and apologising for having invaded his home, we managed to convince him to give us accomodations while we searched for goblin threats in the region. I also managed to convince him to lend me the Draconomicon, although at this time I am unsure if I will be able to decipher it as it seems far more complex then I originally believed.
We are still going to be searching for more traces of the goblins in the area, but for now I'm happy we got comfortable accomodations, especially as it's comfortably warm.
The Ice, the Fire and the Gnome
Getting an employment
The mayor of Marshport was impressed to see a group of Relkingham rangers offering their services. He told us there had been some complaints of Goblin raids in the north-eastern farms and roads and that he would reward us if we could do something about it.
Having nothing better to do, we did some preparations for the journey. As it will be seen, it was not enough, but everybody else was so frantic about leaving the city that they did not allow me to spend a little bit more time preparing; a pity, as I was really enjoying the scholastic atmosphere of Marshport's library.
There are two kinds of adventurers: those that rush to action and those that fill their bag of holding with useful stuff.
The Ice...
We spent the following days freezing in various meadows, hills, forests and gullies of Marshport's countryside. Even though we were well prepared for the cold, the winter was being specially harsh and the wind and snow was our constant companion.
After some days of exploring and tracking, we met a group of Elves! They acted very suspiciously and after some "talk" they were forced to give up their fishy attitude...- Streisan calls it surrendering. They had bought a map which, according to them, pointed to a treasure. When we accompanied them to their camp, we discovered it had been robbed by a group of Goblins, who we promptly tracked, battled and soundly defeated. Only the goblin boss avoided our wrath.
With nothing better to do -apart from freezing-, and not knowing for sure whether the Goblin menace was vanquished, we followed the map instructions. The map led us to a cavern complex which we navigated with great spelunking skill, to arrive to a strange-looking black plate with the words "Death awaits those who enter here" or some crappy scary phrase like that.
There are two kinds of spelunkers: those that know when to turn back, and those that don't...
Brave adventurers as we are, we disregarded the warning and tried to open the obvious door. Unexperienced as we were, it took us some hours to figure out that we only needed to push the plate.
...the Fire...
The plate was some kind of doormat, cleverly set in rails that allowed it to rotate and show different phrases "Welcome", "I'm not at home", "Trespassers will be Incinerated", "Death Awaits Intruders" and such... the smell of treasure and hidden knowledge attracted us, like Kobolds are to adventurer's swords.
Anyway, to describe it quickly, in another great show of recklessness and thoughtlessness, Streisan managed to fall in every single trap of what we considered a tomb seemed to contain, even when she was not leading the way: she got dumped into a pit of filth, burnt, crushed and more, all of which she endured with her usual stoicism and good humour (this is obviously a joke, dear diary).
There are two kinds of elves. Those that jump on the pit and those that hover over it.
After some time wandering the tunnels we came face to face with what looked like an enormous wyrm of legendary power. After some time observing the wyrm, we realised it had to be some kind of mechanical contratption, and Tyrion and Streisan could finally show their best skills and did what they are best at: destroy the machine-dragon.
...and the Gnome
It turned out that what we though was a Tomb full of treasures was the household of a gnome artisan called Aygon, fond of traps, mechanical devices and stupid jokes. And what is more, someone or something had turned him into a weapon! So he could not leave his house and had a mute Goblin servant that helped him go to the loo and read him bedside stories.
Anyway, the Gnome's house was warm, full of intelligent games, nice wine and better books, so we decided to stay and talk with him. He constantly demanded jokes from us, and though we all tried, I must say Tyrion's were the best -must have something to do with him being a Hummy and all.
In exchange of letting us stay and sleep at his home, Aygon requested our help to contact an artisan friend of his that lives between Marshport and Fort Eyrie, so that he would come and repair the dragon.
Well, and that's all for the moment; I'll start reading a couple of books I borrowed from Aygon before going to bed.
Tomorrow we'll try to find more Goblin tracks. We are going to give it a couple more days before going back to Marshport... I must not forget to put some mining stuff in the Bag of Holding, I think it would be useful.
Scientific Notes
Not that it's really my area of expertise, but I found Aygon's traps amusing and clever thought, so I asked him to sketch them for the group. I don't think anything I saw in Aygon's home can really help me with my Ecology book, although we found some interesting beetles in the cellars... bugs are great in Ecology books!
The mayor of Marshport was impressed to see a group of Relkingham rangers offering their services. He told us there had been some complaints of Goblin raids in the north-eastern farms and roads and that he would reward us if we could do something about it.
Having nothing better to do, we did some preparations for the journey. As it will be seen, it was not enough, but everybody else was so frantic about leaving the city that they did not allow me to spend a little bit more time preparing; a pity, as I was really enjoying the scholastic atmosphere of Marshport's library.
There are two kinds of adventurers: those that rush to action and those that fill their bag of holding with useful stuff.
The Ice...
We spent the following days freezing in various meadows, hills, forests and gullies of Marshport's countryside. Even though we were well prepared for the cold, the winter was being specially harsh and the wind and snow was our constant companion.
After some days of exploring and tracking, we met a group of Elves! They acted very suspiciously and after some "talk" they were forced to give up their fishy attitude...- Streisan calls it surrendering. They had bought a map which, according to them, pointed to a treasure. When we accompanied them to their camp, we discovered it had been robbed by a group of Goblins, who we promptly tracked, battled and soundly defeated. Only the goblin boss avoided our wrath.
With nothing better to do -apart from freezing-, and not knowing for sure whether the Goblin menace was vanquished, we followed the map instructions. The map led us to a cavern complex which we navigated with great spelunking skill, to arrive to a strange-looking black plate with the words "Death awaits those who enter here" or some crappy scary phrase like that.
There are two kinds of spelunkers: those that know when to turn back, and those that don't...
Brave adventurers as we are, we disregarded the warning and tried to open the obvious door. Unexperienced as we were, it took us some hours to figure out that we only needed to push the plate.
...the Fire...
The plate was some kind of doormat, cleverly set in rails that allowed it to rotate and show different phrases "Welcome", "I'm not at home", "Trespassers will be Incinerated", "Death Awaits Intruders" and such... the smell of treasure and hidden knowledge attracted us, like Kobolds are to adventurer's swords.
Anyway, to describe it quickly, in another great show of recklessness and thoughtlessness, Streisan managed to fall in every single trap of what we considered a tomb seemed to contain, even when she was not leading the way: she got dumped into a pit of filth, burnt, crushed and more, all of which she endured with her usual stoicism and good humour (this is obviously a joke, dear diary).
There are two kinds of elves. Those that jump on the pit and those that hover over it.
After some time wandering the tunnels we came face to face with what looked like an enormous wyrm of legendary power. After some time observing the wyrm, we realised it had to be some kind of mechanical contratption, and Tyrion and Streisan could finally show their best skills and did what they are best at: destroy the machine-dragon.
...and the Gnome
It turned out that what we though was a Tomb full of treasures was the household of a gnome artisan called Aygon, fond of traps, mechanical devices and stupid jokes. And what is more, someone or something had turned him into a weapon! So he could not leave his house and had a mute Goblin servant that helped him go to the loo and read him bedside stories.
Anyway, the Gnome's house was warm, full of intelligent games, nice wine and better books, so we decided to stay and talk with him. He constantly demanded jokes from us, and though we all tried, I must say Tyrion's were the best -must have something to do with him being a Hummy and all.
In exchange of letting us stay and sleep at his home, Aygon requested our help to contact an artisan friend of his that lives between Marshport and Fort Eyrie, so that he would come and repair the dragon.
Well, and that's all for the moment; I'll start reading a couple of books I borrowed from Aygon before going to bed.
Tomorrow we'll try to find more Goblin tracks. We are going to give it a couple more days before going back to Marshport... I must not forget to put some mining stuff in the Bag of Holding, I think it would be useful.
Scientific Notes
Not that it's really my area of expertise, but I found Aygon's traps amusing and clever thought, so I asked him to sketch them for the group. I don't think anything I saw in Aygon's home can really help me with my Ecology book, although we found some interesting beetles in the cellars... bugs are great in Ecology books!
Cranks, levers and wheels
For most of the time in Marshport, we went around the city trying to get information about the missing ship. Although we learned some interesting things, the trail was cold. All our information came from before the attack on our village, and not from after. They could be anywhere.
We learned from the major of the town that the north of the Whitecap Wall was under attack from evil beings and that there had been some raids on the merchants on the road to Marshport. He asked us to go investigate a little. We decided to go as it seemed that all kinds of evil were coming from that direction, even the foul weather.
The investigation was very interesting, we discovered some goblin clans and, helped by a group of elven treasure hunters, we got rid of most of them. However, their leader was very fast and it escaped before we could catch him.
While we were following his tracks, we found a cave that, after some exploration, gave us access to the most annoying place I have ever seen.
It was the household of a gnome artisan, fond of traps, mechanisms and stupid jokes.
We pushed into the corridors, piqued by curiosity and found trap after trap after trap, each more painful and humiliating than the one before.
I fell into all of them, sometimes repeatedly.
I got burnt, crushed and even sunk into a pit of filth. I was angry beyond measure, I even had to stand the jokes of my sisters, while I was going first and falling into yet another trap. How unfair can the world be?
The final joke was a stupid mechanical dragon that was so well made that it took us some minutes before realizing it was fake.
Me and Tyrion ran behind it and we destroyed the machine, giving us access to the living quarters of the gnome.
He (or it, he was a gnome trapped into a shape shifting weapon, of all things) gave us some information, proved he could be at least as talkative as my sisters and tested Tyrion's love for gaming (which I'm starting to find interesting too).
I left the gnome's cave with some lessons well learnt:
- Sometimes, your eyes can deceive you. Even a dragon can be copied.
- Gnomes are pricks, especially when they are intelligent and get bored.
- Next time we find traps, Adolfiel will go first.
We learned from the major of the town that the north of the Whitecap Wall was under attack from evil beings and that there had been some raids on the merchants on the road to Marshport. He asked us to go investigate a little. We decided to go as it seemed that all kinds of evil were coming from that direction, even the foul weather.
The investigation was very interesting, we discovered some goblin clans and, helped by a group of elven treasure hunters, we got rid of most of them. However, their leader was very fast and it escaped before we could catch him.
While we were following his tracks, we found a cave that, after some exploration, gave us access to the most annoying place I have ever seen.
It was the household of a gnome artisan, fond of traps, mechanisms and stupid jokes.
We pushed into the corridors, piqued by curiosity and found trap after trap after trap, each more painful and humiliating than the one before.
I fell into all of them, sometimes repeatedly.
I got burnt, crushed and even sunk into a pit of filth. I was angry beyond measure, I even had to stand the jokes of my sisters, while I was going first and falling into yet another trap. How unfair can the world be?
The final joke was a stupid mechanical dragon that was so well made that it took us some minutes before realizing it was fake.
Me and Tyrion ran behind it and we destroyed the machine, giving us access to the living quarters of the gnome.
He (or it, he was a gnome trapped into a shape shifting weapon, of all things) gave us some information, proved he could be at least as talkative as my sisters and tested Tyrion's love for gaming (which I'm starting to find interesting too).
I left the gnome's cave with some lessons well learnt:
- Sometimes, your eyes can deceive you. Even a dragon can be copied.
- Gnomes are pricks, especially when they are intelligent and get bored.
- Next time we find traps, Adolfiel will go first.
Am I not an elf and a brother?
Today we have had a tough day in the forest. The wind is pretty cold and the snow does not let us keep the speed we would like to. At one point, we have found the tracks of a big group of goblins (at last!). We were tracking the goblins, when suddenly, a voice comes out of some trees: two elves were blocking our way. They seemed quite nervous and hostile. At first I was happy to see two elves (I do not like the nasty smell of humans), but their aggresivity was growing fast. Some seconds afterwards, a group of elven archers was surrounding us. All of them were very nervous and did not believe we were hunting the goblins. It was pretty obvious they had somthing to hide...
The fight was fast. These archers were not very brave and after we hit their chieftain a bit hard, they decided to surrender. At this moment I realized their commander was hiding some kind of document from us so, with all my diplomacy and tenderness I took it from him. It was some kind of map, but I could not recognize the area. The elves had not heard anything of any goblins and they were very hostile to us... and they wanted to hide the map. What could that be? We told them to take us to their camp. They might have something we could find useful (food, equipment or even information they might drop in our way to the camp). However, by the time we got there, the camp had been obviously attacked and plundered. Someone (the goblins?) had taken everything and burnt the tents. However, in their escape, they have not bothered erasing their track.
We rushed after the raiders until we found them. They were very strange creatures (it is the first time I have ever seen a blue goblin!!) that were carrying all the goods of the elves. We attacked them and managed to take all the food back, but the goblin commander managed to scape.
After the fight, the elves finally believed that we were tracking the goblins and, in their conversation, they suggested that the map was leading them to a treasure (damn, no "X" showing the place in the map; anyway, we should have known) and offered us to join them in a 50% - 50% basis. After a tough negotiation, we agreed on a 70% - 30% of the treasure (yes, I know, we can also be terribly convincing if we try). Tomorrow we will go on looking for the treasure (and the goblins' liar) if this stupid snow does not kill us first.
The fight was fast. These archers were not very brave and after we hit their chieftain a bit hard, they decided to surrender. At this moment I realized their commander was hiding some kind of document from us so, with all my diplomacy and tenderness I took it from him. It was some kind of map, but I could not recognize the area. The elves had not heard anything of any goblins and they were very hostile to us... and they wanted to hide the map. What could that be? We told them to take us to their camp. They might have something we could find useful (food, equipment or even information they might drop in our way to the camp). However, by the time we got there, the camp had been obviously attacked and plundered. Someone (the goblins?) had taken everything and burnt the tents. However, in their escape, they have not bothered erasing their track.
We rushed after the raiders until we found them. They were very strange creatures (it is the first time I have ever seen a blue goblin!!) that were carrying all the goods of the elves. We attacked them and managed to take all the food back, but the goblin commander managed to scape.
After the fight, the elves finally believed that we were tracking the goblins and, in their conversation, they suggested that the map was leading them to a treasure (damn, no "X" showing the place in the map; anyway, we should have known) and offered us to join them in a 50% - 50% basis. After a tough negotiation, we agreed on a 70% - 30% of the treasure (yes, I know, we can also be terribly convincing if we try). Tomorrow we will go on looking for the treasure (and the goblins' liar) if this stupid snow does not kill us first.
Boredom in Marshport
We have been in Marshport for quite a long time and we are making little progress (if any) in our investigation. Vistra is devoting herself to healing the poor, while Sariel, Streisan, Tyrion and myself try to look for more information about the pirates that raided out town. We have asked the sailors and businessmen in town about the ship and we have heard nothing but fairy tales: some people say it is a ghost ship, others say it is cursed, some others that the captain is a daemon or something like that. Blah, blah, blah. Nothing useful. Our stay at Marshport is not only sterile in terms of information: these stupid humans are corrupting us. Tyrion has spent a small fortune gambling and my own sister Streisan has started also taking this stupid and dangerous activity. Tyrion was even interested in a greedy, lustful human female and Streisan and me had to free him from her lecherous arms (in his defense I have to admit she was really good looking). At the begining he protested a bit but I am sure he will be grateful to us one day.
To avoid all the vice present in human cities, we have decided to visit the Mayor of Marshport and, even if he had no useful information about the raiders, we offered him our services. Perhaps the town had some trouble we could fix, while we keep ourselves busy for some days and earn some money to go on in our quest. He mentioned some unimportant goblin raids coming from the north. Apparently, some farmers and travellers had been attacked by these goblins in the area close to the mountains.
So, we prepared our expedition. It was winter already (a pretty cold one, at least for a delicate lady of the forests as me), so we took all the things we needed for a journey of some days through the snow. While crossing the gate out of Marshport, I was happy again: back to the beauty of Nature, to the forests... and out of this ugly, noisy, dirty and boring city of Marshport. Hurrah!
To avoid all the vice present in human cities, we have decided to visit the Mayor of Marshport and, even if he had no useful information about the raiders, we offered him our services. Perhaps the town had some trouble we could fix, while we keep ourselves busy for some days and earn some money to go on in our quest. He mentioned some unimportant goblin raids coming from the north. Apparently, some farmers and travellers had been attacked by these goblins in the area close to the mountains.
So, we prepared our expedition. It was winter already (a pretty cold one, at least for a delicate lady of the forests as me), so we took all the things we needed for a journey of some days through the snow. While crossing the gate out of Marshport, I was happy again: back to the beauty of Nature, to the forests... and out of this ugly, noisy, dirty and boring city of Marshport. Hurrah!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)