The party was contracted once again by Nebin to get another weapon from the forge level. He helped the party enter and they were on their own once again. As they made their way through the forge, they came upon a room with several gargoyle statues. Suddenly, one of them attacked, catching the party by surprise. Having trouble damaging it, the party resorted to more unorthodox methods. Maul, the killoren, turned into a tree, squishing the gargoyle and Odrik along with it, nearly killing Odrik. The gargoyle survived the attack, but not holy the holy water Paelias threw at it. After healing, the party ventured further. They soon came upon a gibbering mouther. Maul transformed into a velociraptor and helped the party attack. The mouther began to devour Maul, eventually succeeding. Once fully inside the mouther, Maul transformed into a tree once again, causing the mouther to explode into many tiny pieces. The room was covered with chunks of flesh and splattered with blood. The party eventually found the weapon they sought and made their way back to Nebin, who was very happy for its return. He allowed them the use of his ring of Chameleon Power. The party was then left wondering what to do once again.

The three members of the party found few friends in Hammerfast as two members of the party were elves. In one bar though, the party met a strange man named Nebin. He told them that he needed their help to go underground to get a wand that had been stolen from his father. Knowing the forge level was heavily guarded, Nebin used his spells of invisibility to get the three inside. They went inside and retrieved the wand with little difficulty. On their way out, Nebin distracted the guards, allowing the party time to escape.

Meanwhile, Odrik found that he had done all he could at Fallcrest. Most of the town was dead or dying already, so he was forced to leave. As he made his way to Hammerfast, he was stalked by a strange killoren. Upon arriving in Hammerfast, Odrik met up with the party, confused at the lack of leads. With Nimozaran missing, the party had no idea what to do. Just then, Altare noticed a strange figure he had seen earlier and gave chase, quickly losing the party. As he ran through the streets, he dropped Nimozaran’s hand. The strange killoren quickly snatched it up, losing sight of Altare. He decided to return the hand to the party since they would be easier to find than that tricky monk.

Altare eventually caught up with the strange man and followed him through a normal seeming building. At the bottom, Altare was surprised to discover that it was secretly a base for the demonic cult he had been pursuing. The members tried to catch him, but he attempted to escape, making it back up several floors before eventually being captured and dragged onto the altar in the basement. As punishment for killing one of the members of the cult, Altare was sacrificed. The party searched for him for hours, but was unable to find him. The killoren caught up with the party after several hours and quickly earned their trust after presenting them with Nimozaran’s hand.

The party returned to Fallcrest and rested at Dirk’s house which had been further vandalized in their absence. The disease still plagued the town. The following morning, the party was approached by a young monk who called himself Altare. The party was not sure what he could offer, but they agreed to allow him to join them once he mentioned Dirk. The party decided to make their way to Nimozaran’s tower to meet with him. On their way, the party was met by the brother of the guard Dirk had looted after the kobold attack. He and his men attacked the party. Altare showed off his fighting skills to the group, helping them to beat up the guards and take the brother prisoner so that he would call of his guards. The party retreated from that fight to Nimozaran’s tower. Upon entering, the party sensed something was wrong. They noticed blood on the stairs and went to investigate, leaving the tied up body of the brother wondering where they had gone. As the party made their way up to the top level, they found more blood and a strange room halfway up. They continued to climb the stairs until they reached to top and were attacked by a strange creature they had never seen before. Nimozaran was nowhere to be seen, other than his severed hand. The party tried to engage the beast, but it was far too powerful. The party retreated back down the stairs, stopping at the strange room along the way. As they looked inside, a mouth appeared on the far wall of the room, saying “Hammerfast” before disappearing. The party retrieved the body of the brother from the bottom of the tower and untied him, telling him to run. As they ran to the mayor’s mansion, the top of Nimozaran’s tower exploded in a great fireball, sending debris everywhere.

In the aftermath of the strange attack, the party tried to figure out what had happened. They could only determine that they needed to visit Hammerfast to figure out what was going on. Odrik could not leave the town though as he had to attend to the sick and wounded in Fallcrest. The other three members of the party set off to Hammerfast in his absence.

The party decided to travel to Gardmore abbey to search for further clues about Argenon. They entered the abbey and cautiously made their way through it. Along the way, the party encountered several traps and enemies. They made their way down several levels to where they found a giant pit and a giant ant colony. The ants attacked, but the party killed them with little difficulty, instilling confidence in themselves. As they ventured further, they came to a place that it appeared only Odrik could enter. The rest of the party was not good enough to go through the passageway. Odrik had to go back and forth making several trips due to his inability to solve some of the puzzles. The group helped him by giving him ideas each time he came back. The journeys back and forth were long though and the rest of the party decided to search the adjacent rooms to the entrance where Odrik kept coming back from. Meanwhile, Odrik discovered artifacts in the tomb that only he could enter. He gathered up what he could and brought it back to the party.

As Odrik was doing that, Dirk began to explore nearby rooms with Sealmin and Paelias. In one room, Dirk noticed a large ant hole. He felt certain that there was treasure hidden within, so he instructed them to tie a rope around his ankle so they could pull him back if he was in trouble. With that done, Dirk entered the ant hole. He crawled to the edge of the length of the rope before tugging on it to signal for Sealmin and Paelias to pull him back. He was disappointed that he had not found anything. On his way back, he encountered several giant ants within the hole. His space in which to move was very limited and he had ants in front of and behind him, so he had to try to get some lucky stabs in while Sealmin and Paelias pulled him out quickly. He fought as hard as he could as they were pulling him out, but he was poisoned on his way out. When Sealmin and Paelias got Dirk out of the hole, he was unconscious and barely clinging to life. Paelias attempted to heal him, but was knocked back by a giant ant. Sealmin and Paelias quickly suppressed the ant attack, but Dirk had died by the time they finished. They sealed the room and dragged Dirk’s body out of it. Odrik had returned by this point to find part of the party dead and the other two in bad shape. They regrouped and formulated a plan to get out of the abbey alive. Odrik attempted to throw Dirk’s body across the pit at the bottom of the stairs in the interest of giving Dirk a proper funeral back at the town. Odrik was not strong enough and Dirk’s lifeless body fell down the pit, landing at the bottom with a dull thud. The party quickly pulled up Dirk’s body for another attempt. When the body reached the top of the pit, the party saw that it was extremely mangled from both being eaten at by ants and from falling down a deep pit. The party quickly took all the valuable items from Dirk’s body and leapt across the pit, leaving the body for giant ants to devour. In a makeshift funeral for Dirk, Odrik threw a vial of holy water at the body, striking it and doing little more than marinating it for the ants. The party set back to Fallcrest, stopping by the family’s house on the way to inform them of Dirk’s death. The daughter was so sad upon hearing the news that she ran into the forest to cry. The party then made their way back to Fallcrest.

The party found themselves traveling to the Harken Forest to enlist the help of elves in the matter. They found it difficult to enter the city, but Sealmin was able to earn them enough favor to enter. While in the town, Odrik and Dirk split off from the party to drink and find information (though being a dwarf and a human in an all elven settlement made it difficult). Sealmin took the time to study in the library and Paelias went to gather information in a more constructive way than Odrik and Dirk. After one day of research, Sealmin learned of Argenon’s heritage and hometown. After the second day, Sealmin learned of Argenon’s family and his death. He also learned a little bit about Gardmore, Orcish Wars, and the Rule of the Septarchs.

After returning to Fallcrest, the party met with Nimozaran. He seemed more sickly and pale as well as tired. Argenon’s death aura had been growing stronger and had been adversely affecting Nimozaran. He told the party that they might want to look into Gardmore Abbey to see what answers were held within.

In the town, the party learned that the horses had mysteriously returned, bearing ghoul rot (though nobody noticed it was the horses at the time). The disease spread quickly, killing several people each week. The townspeople were too occupied though with fending off kobold attacks that had become more frequent as of late.

As the party made their way to the Shadowfell, they were attacked by bandits. They were able to make their way to the Shadowfell though using the horses they had rented from the town. The party came upon the tower and found Argenon raising his undead army in the tower. The bodies of mages and guards littered the floor as skeletons and other undead creatures rose up to attack. As Argenon was over a huge rift, the party could not reach him. In the ensuing fight, the party killed a skull lord. When it fell, zombies began feasting on its corpse. As more undead attacked, the situation grew more dire. The party decided to use the amulet they got from Nimozaran. They woke up shortly after in Dirk’s house.

After talking with Nimozaran about what they had seen, the party learned that they should begin seeking out dragons to help prevent them from being slain by the undead armies. Before setting out to Lake Nen, the party contacted the owner of the horses they had rented with bad news. They paid him for losing the horses on the Shadowfell, then set off to Lake Nen in Dirk’s boat. They encountered several enemies on Lake Nen, eventually finding the lair of the Bronze Dragon Ealthyrazxarthen. They entered the cave he lived in to find him, fighting their way all the way back to his room. Ealthyrazxarthen informed the party that he had been spending his time lately trying to get in touch with the evil dragons to tell them about the danger that Argenon posed to them. Ealthyrazxarthen had not made any progress, but pointed the party in the direction of a young black dragon that lived in the Witchlight Fens. He feared that the black dragon was a target of Argenon.

The party went to make its way to the Harken Forest to speak with the Elves there. On the way, they passed a small hamlet and decided to stay the night. The family there had been terrorized recently by a vampire, so the party agreed to kill it. When he visited, the party killed him quickly, putting the family at ease. Dirk fell in love with the eldest daughter of the family. The father, grateful to the party for saving his family, promised the daughter to Dirk for marriage when his adventure was finished.

The party woke at 3 in the morning to the sounds of a howling ward battle going on outside. As they geared up and ran outside to find the source of the disturbance, they saw a mass of kobold attacking the town of Fallcrest. The whole guard had joined in the fight as had Nimozaran. The party went to arms and joined the fight. Nimozaran prepared and unleashed spells (to no avail) while the party was working with the guard to slay the kobold. They were able to stop a flank over the wall and shut down the frontal assault on the gate. After several hours, the blood of kobold washed over the land by the gate to Fallcrest. Many guards had been slain, but the kobold were all dead. Dirk, thinking nobody was watching, looted the body of a fallen guard. He was promptly arrested and taken to jail. The remainder of the party talked with Nimozaran who had done some research and supposed a dead man named Janus Argenon was the mysterious lich being rumored to exist nearby. Knowing they could not do anything about the situation at the time, the rest of the party returned to Dirk’s house to stay the night. They didn’t have a key to enter the house, so they broke down the door. They also smashed up a lot of his glasses and plates on accident. When they woke up the next morning, the house had been vandalized.

The party felt that Dirk had suffered enough being in prison overnight and decided to bail him out. They enlisted the help of Lord Warden to pardon Dirk, but he did not accept it. The party was given a quest to free Dirk. They were told to find a valuable sword called Moonbane. They were instructed to go to Gardmore Catacombs, a place that had become infested with goblins. The party encountered many traps in the abbey as well as many goblins. They were eventually able to make it to Moonbane, retrieving it and returning it to Fallcrest. After they returned it, Dirk was (reluctantly) pardoned. The party returned to his house where Dirk was sad to find it in such poor shape as it had been vandalized once again while they were gone.

The party spoke with Nimozaran the following day to see if he had learned any more details of the mysterious lich. Nimozaran informed the party that he required sacred texts and that Diria of the Temple of Faiths had them. The party convinced her to give up the texts. Nimozaran was able to use an orb to show the party what he had discovered. The party saw Argenon scrying an undead army in a ritual. At that point, the orb shattered right in front of them. Nimozaran instructed the party to go to the Shadowfell to prevent Argenon from summoning his undead army.

Sealmin, Paelias, Odrik, and Dirk never planned to meet in Fallcrest. It just happened that way, it was almost like destiny. The four found themselves in the same bar, socializing with people when they decided that they could form an adventuring party to earn some money. Each man brought a unique skill set to the table to aid the party. Sealmin, an accomplished wizard, was able to cast powerful spells to keep enemies at bay. Paelias, a cunning ranger, was able to use his knowledge of nature and his keen tracking ability to stalk and stealthily kill his enemies. Odrik, a valiant paladin, was able to strike at enemies with powerful blows while supporting the party with his ability to heal. Dirk, a stalwart fighter, was able to absorb most of the damage from enemies while hacking away at them with his sword.

The four adventurers immediately hit it off and decided to go into business together. The party then went to search for ways in which they could apply their skills to earn money. They were contracted by Lord Warden to clear the Kobold Hall. He had been annoyed with kobold raids of late and wanted the party to help end them. The party was also contacted by Teldorthan Goldcap, dwarven armorer who was looking for a cured green dragon hide. He told the party that he believed the hide was inside the hall. With that, the party set off towards Kobold Hall.

As the party made their way through the hall, they began to learn the fighting styles of their comrades. They also learned of some other unfortunate quirks. Dirk had an insatiable curiosity about him that seemed to cause him to compulsively open every crypt the party passed. Once, there was something good in the crypt, but for the most part there was either nothing or a dangerous enemy lurking within.

Fortunately, the party made it through the hall alive and discovered that the dragon hide had been taken by the undead. With that information and the hall cleared, the party headed back to Fallcrest to collect their rewards and rest. They were contacted by Nimozaran the Green who had a long talk with the party about undead and the lich.

I find myself in a precarious situation. A week ago I thought that this journey was over. Now it seems that I’m still in the middle of it. Also it appears that the Crimson Hand still has a sizable force, and they know that Vancer is dead.

Just outside the Yeth Woods was a large camp. After flying over their I quickly learned that the Crimson Hand has a huge amount soldiers and they all really don’t like me, it probably has to do with me killing Vancer. But who really knows why they hate me? Lute, Bombaros, Larkin, and I had to hike around. Then we spent the greater part of this week in a dark swamp called Malevor. The good news is that I can accurately say that it was worse than hell. Load moans, disgusting water, and worst of all skeletal arms that reach out of the water and try to kill you. Shortly after that three, well I’m not sure what they were but they for definitely dead, things, tried to kill us. After that we decided to press on and get out of there.

Just outside of Malevor is Fort Erkon. I’m not quite sure how this next part happened but after they let us in and gave us a place to stay I began noticing that as the day went on people began to admire me. Buy dinner I was the guest of honor. As it turns out nobody survives Malevor. Also the soldiers at this fort have had very little to do. Their commander, Malicar, informed me that it has been this way for a while, it seems that Malevor is not longer the threat to Distaff that it once was. Which means that the men are bored and as luck would have it they were offered a job by the Crimson Hand. After telling Malicar, and all the leaders of the fort my entire story they have agreed to help oppose the Crimson Hand, if it comes to that.

We also learned about another fort near by, Exa, that the Crimson Hand has also extended an offer to. Malicar stated that they even have an adviser from the Crimson Hand there. That is our next destination. Unfortunately now that I have these men all willing to fight for me I have no choice to continue on. I will not let them down. If this comes to war, which it almost certainly will, I’ll lead the charge.

Right after dinner Malicar told me that there is a dark wizard that lives in the center of Malevor. Actually the wizard created Malevor by trying to merge this plane with the plane of darkness. According to Malicar the wizard would be willing to help us destroy the hand, which by the way Bombaros had the whole time.

But even after all this there was one event in this whole week that overshadows all of it. Malicar asked me if we had met before. We haven’t, ever. He says to have met someone who looks exactly like me at Exa. He made it clear that it was not Vancer. That means that there is only one other person that I believe it could be: my son.

Life

The good news is that I am no longer in hell. Actually in my current state there are very few things that could make this situation any better. For once I am actually safe and not bleeding to death. This is the first time in almost two years.

But as for how I got out of hell.

I had no idea how I was going to escape that place. I began taking odd jobs in the hopes that I could buy my way out eventually. The hardest job I took while down there was to steal a magical pike from some large demon. The good news was that the client wanted the target to know what was going on. Which is really good seeing as I have always favored the direct approach? After trying to scare the target into doing what I wanted, this did not work. I had Drake destroy the front of his shop. That led to the target kicking the crap out of me. I managed to escape, with the help of Drake of course, and double back steal the pike and fly away.

I would highly recommend Half-Dragon companions to anyone I know. While members of my party may think that Drake is simply an animal that I use for transportation it saddens me to admit that he is most likely my closest friend.

Back to the story. A made a fair amount of profit off of that job and Shamus, of all people, found a way to get us home. Using the money I had earned I purchased some new weapons. Just a note I would also highly recommend rapiers that shock the people you stab. Shamus had found a few people to aid him I guess. One is a woman named Larkin, a Halfling named Lute, and another Halfling whose name I cannot remember, I call him Bombaros. Anyway as it turns out the way to open a portal back is simply to use the ruby hand where we came in.

Shamus instructed me to destroy the hand when we returned. He also decided to stay behind. I have no idea why he would do that but at least I don’t have to worry about how he is going to get me killed now. After returning through the portal the ruby hand was nowhere to be seen. It must have been destroyed in transit or by its use.

After wandering in the unfortunately too familiar Yeth Woods for a while I had Drake fly me up a tree and after climbing up further I was able to get some bearings. That would be when I fell out of the tree. To be completely honest the goal was to catch a ride on Drake and land safely. He, however, must not have heard me because after breaking what felt like hundreds of branches I smashed into the ground safely.

I tried to get some sleep that night but Bombaros decided it best to set a tree on fire. Just so anyone who reads this in the future knows, Treants don’t like it when you set their kin on fire. After failing to reason with him, the large tree, Bombaros and I fought and eventually that large mass of wood let us pass safely through the forest. Now we sit on the edge of the forest. I can’t help but wonder is this all finally over?

Life

To be honest I do not know the date. It appears that in hell there is no true light or dark just a constant dim haze. I am unsure of how many days I have been down here but at this point that is not important. Here is what I do know:

• Killing Vancer solved nothing as I am currently trapped in hell.
• Shamus is less than helpful in this situation and has done nothing to contribute to solving the problem.
• Heldur is dead.
• I don’t know where Ramie is.

Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself though. Here is what happened. Heldur, Ramie, and Myself found a temple in the forest, the temple Shamus told us to go to. In there not only did we break the seal that prevents the hell plane from crossing with ours but we finally killed Vancer and his goons, minus Morlock unfortunately. And that is of course when Shamus shows up and gives us the whole picture and informs us that by doing what he told us to we have endangered the world. Well a portal to hell opens and this huge demon begins to come out of it and we have no choice but to jump in and kill it. What I mean by that of course is me being wounded jumped through and promptly lost consciousness although the last thing that I saw was Heldur being cut in two. When I gained consciousness I found the large demon dead and Shamus alive, I would rather deal with the demon than Shamus. After continuing to use my cover as Vancer I was able to get us to a safer area, with Vancer dead and Morlock running around I don’t think that cover will be viable much longer.

Now Shamus is telling me that he has become reacquainted with an associate of his and he thinks we should meet. How bad can it be? I mean this person has only died and come to hell.

Life

The heroes turned in for the night, but did not sleep for long before they were awoken by an evil harpy that threatened them and then flew off after being attacked. The party then went back to sleep and got a full rest. After waking up, the party decided to head back to the staircase to go up to the top floor. When they left the torture chamber, the heroes encountered many skeleton enemies. The skeletons gave chase and forced the heroes to quickly retreat to the balcony in the room they had slept. Lenna, who had run immediately after seeing the enemies, tied a rope in the room, then jumped off the balcony, slowfalling over the outer wall of the compound. Caravir flew up and away from the danger. Murdoch had not had time to make an extract, so he and Sedridor used the rope, to quickly slide down four stories to the ground. They made it most of the way before the rope was cut. Fortunately, they survived the short fall. From there, the two ran to the outer wall and Sedridor defended Murdoch as he prepared an extract.

Meanwhile, Caravir flew to the top floor, noticing a strange orb in the middle of the room amongst several enemies. She tried to attack the orb, failing to damage it, but killing the enemies in the process. As she went to investigate, she suddenly had visions of her party reunited around the orb. Just then, she heard enemies coming from floors below. She locked the trapdoor and fled to the roof by climbing up a rope.

Meanwhile, Lenna had safely made it over the outer wall, but was quickly spotted by guards who gave chase. She fled quickly into the darkness, hoping that they would not follow her.

As Murdoch finished his potion, Sedridor was cleaving enemies left and right. Murdoch helped him clean up the few remaining enemies before drinking the extract allowing the two to levitate over the wall and down the other side. From there, they decided to look for Lenna. Sedridor was able to pick out her tracks and they followed the tracks straight to Lenna. Upon meeting up with Lenna, the three noticed that Caravir was not among them. They then heard a loud scream and saw a harpy falling from the roof of the tall tower. Unbeknownst to the three, Caravir had just slain it. The three broke back into the compound and made their way up to the top of the tower.

At the top of the tower, Caravir met the other three by the orb. Lenna reached out to touch the orb and was sucked into it. Sedridor tried to pull her out, but was unable to. Murdoch reached into the orb as well and it began to suck him in. Soon, all four of the heroes were dragged into the orb and transported back to the other spire where Il’Curiarth awaited them. They climbed to the top of the tower and waited for him to appear. After a short wait, Il’Curiarth came before the party and challenged them to a battle of wits. The party emerged victorious. As a reward, Il’Curiarth took out his own mind and presented it to the party. He then explained that they must seek the relics of the two other lords who were depicted in the other two statues. The party had to make two more stops before they could visit the tomb proper in the tomb of the ogre lords. With a wave of his hand, he sent the party back to the room where they had first entered the mirror. The party went back to the fountain room to rest and recuperate from what they had just been through.

Scribed by RunningInSquares

As Sedridor entered The Mirror, he was faced with a great expanse that seemed to stretch on forever. An impressive sight considering this place seemed to be completely underground. In front of himself, he saw a pyramid. Behind, he saw an identical pyramid. Sedridor walked towards the pyramid in front of him, only to discover it grew further from him with every step. Sedridor determined that he could not reach the pyramid that way, so he decided to walk backwards instead. While the pyramid in front of him did not grow closer, the one behind him did. Sedridor decided to keep walking backwards to go to that pyramid instead. He walked backwards for a couple hours before he ran into a strange object. As he hit it, Sedridor heard the clinking of glass vials as he heard Murdoch say “Ouch!” Sedridor asked Murdoch how long it had taken him to follow into the mirror. Murdoch told Sedridor that it had only taken him a few seconds to follow Sedridor into the mirror. Caravir on the other hand seemed intent on staying put until Murdoch and Sedridor returned with Lenna. It then hit Murdoch, there was no sign of Lenna. Sedridor explained that he had looked for her, but found no trace of her. The two decided that it was best to keep going in the manner Sedridor had been for hours now. They walked backwards as they talked forwards for the next couple of hours as they went to the pyramid.

Upon arriving at the pyramid, Murdoch and Sedridor were greeted by an odd pair of men. They looked completely identical aside from the fact that one wore a green vest and the other wore a red vest. The one in the green vest greeted them saying that the place had many names. The other one promptly interjected, stamping his foot and shouting that it was only known by one name. Already, Sedridor and Murdoch saw the conversation ahead taking a long time. The two men said that there was one way into the pyramid, but one of the two of them was a liar and would mislead them. They told Sedridor and Murdoch to choose wisely. As the two thought of a way to determine which was the liar, Caravir popped out of nowhere and fell to the ground before the two. Unfazed by what had just happened, Sedridor asked the man in the red vest a question that revealed to Sedridor who the liar was. He guessed correctly and the heroes were instructed to take 11 steps back and close their eyes to enter the pyramid. Caravir got up and brushed herself off, confused at what had just happened and why her party had disappeared. After attempting to make small talk, she decided to follow the other two.

The heroes found themselves falling for a long time before landing in a substance that was neither water nor air, but seemed to have qualities of both. It was thicker than air, but the heroes could walk and breathe freely in it. Below them, they noticed a large vortex, so they decided to walk down into it. Some distance down, the party found a set of symbols that told them clues about three men, three swords, and three seals. The party was tasked with determining which man and which sword matched up with which seal. After the thinking was done, Murdoch went to give the answers to the seals. The first one glowed white. The second one glowed red, so Murdoch ran away from it quickly. The third one also glowed red before striking Murdoch with black lightning, severely injuring him and leaving him with some amnesia. The party worked again to figure out what they had done wrong before they guessed again, that time correctly. The party was then able to proceed onwards towards the end of the vortex. Eventually, the road split into three directions. The party decided to split up.

Caravir chose to take the earth seal path. She eventually came upon a room with a single tree inside it. Inside the tree, she noticed several acorns. Caravir decided to climb up the tree to get one. She then felt sleepy and decided to rest a little. After she woke up, she saw the grass had grown since she had been there and she decided to get down. As she did, a lithe dryad emerged from the bark began to speak to her. It asked her many questions about magic and nature, testing her knowledge. After answering the questions, the bark determined she was worthy of passage onwards.

Sedridor chose to take the heaven seal path. He eventually wound up in a bright room where the floor seemed to match the ceiling, if there was one. In the middle of the room, he saw a lone tree. Behind it, he noticed a barred door. After trying to take the bars off the door, Sedridor determined he would be unable to do it. Just then, a mysterious voice addressed him from behind. Sedridor turned to find a mysterious figure behind him. The figure took off his hood, revealing himself to be dark Sedridor. The two fought (well Sedridor did most of the fighting at least) for a while before the dark Sedridor cackled with laughter and told Sedridor that he would not be rid of the enemy so easily. As Sedridor attacked more, he began to feel more pain. The evil Sedridor used the distraction of pain to his advantage and struck Sedridor hard, knocking him unconscious. He awoke slowly shortly afterwards, seeing his doppleganger trying to open the door. Sedridor slowly got up and and approached his enemy from behind. As he grew closer, the doppelganger turned around just in time to see Sedridor’s blade slice him right between his eyes. Sedridor then proceeded to leave the room.

Murdoch chose to take the night seal path. He kept going down the hall as it got darker and darker until he was in a room lit only by the faintly growing potions hanging from a tree in front of him. A deep voice told him to take one of the potions to pass on, the other three were poisonous. Murdoch was given three clues to the potions, but he was left curious about the nature of the fourth color. He used his alchemical knowledge to determine it was just colored water. He was allowed to pass. In the next area, he saw the remaining three colors. He chose the next color because it was “not what he would expect it to be” and he found that he had chosen correctly once again. In the next area, the two remaining colors lay before him. He chose correctly again and was allowed into the final area. In that room, there were three new colors. Murdoch decided that he needed to mix all the colors of the correct potions together. As he stood in that _Black Night _room, the _Child in Time _drank the Deep Purple potion. Not feeling a Burn or seeing Smoke on the Water, it seemed like he had chosen correctly. After a Hush, the voice revealed the path out of the room for him. Murdoch took the path…..Highway Star.

The three heroes met up on the other end of their respective staircases before moving on. Each found that he or she had received a small coin bearing the seal of their respective tests. They soon came upon a large spire. The three quickly climbed to the top of the spire where they saw three large statues identical to the ones they had seen in the hall of mazes. As the heroes looked on, the air shimmered and a gigantic robed figure appeared before him. The figure revealed himself as Il-Kuriarth and the heroes realized that he looked exactly like one of the statues encountered in the Hall of Mazes. He told the three heroes that they must rescue Lenna who had entered the mirror and gone the wrong way, heading into the pyramid that Sedridor had been unable to reach. With a wave of his hand, Il’Kuriarth sent the heroes into the pyramid. Inside was a huge chasm with a tiny catwalk above it. Within the cavern was a giant mass of darkness, pulsing with energy and crackling with black lightning. With nowhere else to go, the heroes jumped down into the chasm and into the darkness beyond.

They found themselves on solid ground (a marsh actually but not air at least), but surrounded by darkness. In the distance, they thought they saw a dark spire rising up from the ground. The party yelled out for Lenna, but no answer came. Instead, they were attacked by a mob of evil creatures that came from the darkness. The creatures did terrible terrible damage to the party, though much of the damage came from Murdoch being paralyzed with lit bombs in his hand. Caravir and Sedridor were able to pick up the slack and were able to dispatch the monsters. The party quickly healed before another wave came. The second wave went down just as the first did.

From there, the party decided to head towards the spire. They got to a safe distance before they decided to see what was going on outside. Murdoch used the time to brew a mutagen while Caravir and Sedridor looked around and saw that the guards came in vision of the great gate every five minutes and that there were four sentry groups on the wall surrounding the spire. The party decided that Sedridor and Murdoch would run up to the gate, levitate up the wall, run across, then levitate down. If they were spotted, Caravir would unleash fireballs upon the sentries. As Murdoch and Sedridor got to the wall, they were attacked. Caravir began firing fireballs at the sentry groups, killing two and injuring a third group. Murdoch and Sedridor got to the top of the wall, but were engaged by the remaining sentry groups. Caravir was unable to help due to the splash radius of her fireball spells, but she was able to keep other sentry groups from joining the fight. Sedridor and Murdoch were able to kill the enemies on the wall and they jumped off the other side, safely levitating down to the ground. The party then came to a heavy door. It was too much for Sedridor, so Murdoch used his suddenly abnormally high strength to help open the door, then to close it.

Inside, the party found a spiral staircase before them. They decided to head up it. Hearing voices above and below them, Murdoch and Sedridor decided to levitate to the ceiling to hide. They crawled up the stairs past the enemies that approached while Caravir was not so stealthy. She managed to get off a wall of fire, preventing the guards from following her however and the party made it up to the fourth floor, where they noticed Lenna’s sword covered by blood and guts. They noticed the bloodstains dragged off into the next room, so they went in and locked the door. The party then found themselves in a torture chamber. Suddenly, a gigantic hooded creature emerged from the shadows, but Sedridor quickly slew it with his sword. In the corner, they found a very nice candlestick that had been taken from Telvenier’s house by Lenna. Murdoch was running out of bombs and Caravir was running out of spells, but the party could not idly sit by and let Lenna suffer. They bravely entered the next room.

In the room, they encountered a very frightening skeletal enemy that proceeded to attack them with his skeleton minions and a possessed Lenna. She knocked down Caravir and Sedridor while Murdoch threw bombs at the leader. When he was out of bombs, Murdoch began throwing his other possessions including his dagger and his sickle, the former of which stuck into a skeleton and the latter of which sunk into Lenna. Caravir was blinded by Lenna, but was able to blind Lenna in return. Sedridor, having no need for ammunition, took great pleasure in destroying most of the enemies in the room. A couple times he was knocked over, but Murdoch was able to give him water to revive him. Eventually, the leader of the group was slain and only one skeleton remained. Sedridor was about to bleed to death and Murdoch was about to get knocked unconscious and thus unable to save Sedridor. A skeleton lay on the floor next to Murdoch, but Caravir blindly cast a spell, killing the skeleton before he could harm Sedridor or Murdoch. The skeleton’s body had been blasted into ash. Sedridor hefted the leader’s gigantic sword, pleased with its power. As the party recovered, Lenna became her old self, realizing she had just been controlled by another being. She healed the party and then the four decided they should rest before they made their daring escape.

Scribed by Runninginsquares

Our heroes awoke from their sleep in the room where they were attacked by statues. Feeling confused still, the group decided to use the ravens of Lenna and Caravir to help determine which paths to take. This led them along the maze more quickly, but without the satisfaction of having solved the maze. Eventually, the group stumbled upon a dead body that had written a clue in the dirt on the floor. He had drawn the shape of a clock with 12, 3, 6, and 9 on it and mentioned that the answer was there. The group pondered the meaning for a while before giving up and moving on. Eventually, Murdoch suggested that there was perhaps a correlation between the number of statues in a room and which way they should travel. Caravir then supposed that perhaps different statues were worth different amounts of points and that that could somehow affect the outcome. As Murdoch excitedly ran down paths he deemed to be correct (and that were correct most of the time), the group finally found themselves at a new hallway and a sign that indicated that they were leaving the hall of mazes. Relieved, the group headed onwards.

They soon found themselves with a choice, to continue straight or to turn left. Ahead, a sign read “Pitfalls Ahead,” so the group decided to go left towards what they supposed was the mines. They had to use the Rock of the Grey Wielder to open a door to lead into that path. As they walked down the hallway, the party heard sounds of metal hitting rock and other busy working sounds. As they kept going, the sounds got louder and louder until the group found themselves at an intersection. The two paths branched off to the left and right and were not smoothly carved out like the paths the group had traversed until this point. With louder sounds coming from the right path, the group decided to travel the other direction. As they walked down that hallway, they were soon met by reptillian enemies that promptly attacked. Six of them hurled spears at Sedridor, but they harmlessly bounced off his body as he laughed and sliced the nearest foe in half in a single stroke. As he advanced towards the spearmen in the back, Caravir cast a wall of fire on the group, incinerating most of them and leaving the group presumably safe for the time being. To get rid of the awful stench of the bodies, they were thrown into the wall of fire. Unfortunately, all of the heroes but the mighty Sedridor found themselves to be quite ill, especially Lenna. The half night of sleep they received was rather rough.

In the middle of the night, Murdoch was suddenly awoken by strange noises. Without a sound, he prepared and threw a bomb at what he presumed to be his enemies, missing them. The bomb did allow him to see the locations of his enemies and it caused the party to wake up. As the party slowly began to engage the enemies, the situation looked bad as the group was still tired from the previous battle. They fought on bravely anyway though. In the distance, a necromancer approached, casting spells on Sedridor and Caravir and eventually blinding Lenna. Sedridor valiantly cleft many an enemy in twain (so that never again, the twain would meet). As the necromancer approached the group, the situation became more dire as he started to deal great amounts of damage with the help of his friends. Sedridor was downed after the enemy focused their attention to him. Caravir began to cast spells, but was soon targeted by the enemies and was chased away from the front lines as Murdoch moved to take the brunt of the damage. He dropped a potion for Sedridor, who had regained consciousness and was beginning to get up. As he dropped the potion and threw some bombs at the necromancer, landing a couple hits, Murdoch was struck by one of the reptillian enemies, knocking him unconscious. Lenna by this time had been blinded and was clumsily feeling around, trying to heal her teammates as the necromancer drew closer. By this time, Sedridor had gotten up and as he took a swing at the enemy, he became paralyzed, unable to move for quite some time. With Murdoch unconscious, Sedridor paralyzed, and Lenna blind; the outlook did not look good for the party. Caravir heroically fought off the remaining enemies though, allowing the party time to quickly heal and retreat back to the hall of mazes where they could be sure they were not followed.

Slowly but surely, the group found the courage to not return to town, but to instead head deeper into the mysterious cave. They came to the sign that read “Pitfalls ahead” once again and decided to go back towards the mines. They quickly spotted a small armada of reptillian enemies approaching them quickly, so the party retreated through the door again, managing to sever the arm of one of the enemies. The group decided that it would be best to make their way onwards past the pitfalls. They decided to have Lenna go in front so she could slowfall if she fell into a pit. They would then have Murdoch brew a levitation extract to get them across the pitfall. After three pits, the group had to rest to recharge after all they had been through that day. After waking up, the group found themselves at a most peculiar room. When they dropped a crossbow bolt into the pit before them to see how deep the pit was, the bolt flew up towards what they perceived as the ceiling. The group decided to climb over to the strange rungs on the other side to climb down (up) the pit to the other end. Upon reaching the other end, they could safely walk on the ground again. The group went down the hallway before them until they came to a great fountain spewing water everywhere. Lenna blindly went straight at it, only to come out feeling completely recharged in every way, even including her sight. The rest of the group enjoyed the fountain and took the time to grab as much of the water as they could for their journey. On the wall of the room was a sign that read “Vigil.” As the heroes looked at it, they saw the first Vigil. The heroes were able to determine what they saw either took place before Nenton the Bold came to Nenta or it was a vision of the distant future.

The group chose to take one of the five doors leading out of the fountain room and they followed that hallway for miles until they were faced with the choice of left or right. The party decided that they would split up and would return in half a day if they found nothing. Caravir and Lenna went right while Sedridor and Murdoch went left. Sedridor and Murdoch didn’t want to turn around because they felt that they were bound to see something eventually and they figured that the girls would try to catch up to them anyway. They continued going down the hallway for a couple days finding another Rock of the Grey Wielderalong he way. Eventually, the girls caught up to the two guys while they were asleep. The girls quietly snuck by and went on ahead. After some more time, they saw a sign that just said “S.” Both girls immediately fell into a catatonic state. Sedridor and Murdoch caught up some time later to find the girls just laying there. They decided to give Lenna some of the water, which woke her up right away. She warned against looking up at the sign. Murdoch ignorantly looked up to see what she was talking about and fell into a catatonic state himself. Lenna and Sedridor then woke up Murdoch and Caravir and the group pressed on.

The four eventually found themselves in a room with a large statue like they had seen before. They saw a vaguely reflective thing on the wall behind the statue that could only be the mirror. They were told by a sign above that they needed to brave the mirror to uncover some secrets. First, the group decided to look at the second Vigil, which was on a wall of that room. The party also discovered a hidden closet type room full of priceless artifacts possibly dating back to the creation of the strange cave in which they found themselves. Lenna bravely decided to go into the mirror as she saw no other course of action. Sedridor soon followed as he could not stand there as a mere sign questioned whether he was brave enough to face a challenge. Murdoch followed for a reason that nobody knows and possibly didn’t even exist. Caravir remained for several days, waiting for them to return before she finally decided to enter the mirror.

What trials await our heroes in the mirror? How much time passed for those in the mirror while Caravir waited? What is happening out in Nenta? ALL SHALL POSSIBLY SOON BE REVEALED AT ONE POINT IN TIME OR ANOTHER!

TO BE CONTINUED.

(Scribed by RunninginSquares)

In the days following the funerals, Caravir and Murdoch spent time in what was now Murdoch’s mansion. One day, street music could be heard outside. Caravir was not particularly interested in what was going on, but Murdoch was drawn out the door off towards the music. In the mansion, Lenna found herself cleaning as well as looking out for valuables to steal. She was eventually ordered to polish the stairs, so she set off to do that. Before she could however, Caravir told her to go investigate the music and report back. Lenna set off to do that. Meanwhile in the crowd watching the music, Sedridor found himself entranced by the dancing and the juggling. He was approached by a rather annoying woman (Lenna) who he shooed away quickly. As Lenna left him, she attempted to steal from a noble, Sir Spragstaff to get money for the gnomes, but he caught her. Fortunately, Lenna was able to charm him by the time the guards came and there was no problem. Soon after, Sedridor noticed a tall man (Murdoch) that looked like the adventuring sort standing in amongst the crowd. The man began to make his way over to the gnome selling his wares and Sedridor followed.

At the cart, the man was selling special items in return for pieces of old runes and other things that sounded rather rare. The man introduced himself as Nobin. After a less than stimulating conversation with Murdoch, Murdoch left the cart and began to head for home. On his way, he was stopped by Sedridor, who suggested that the two of them could adventure together to kill goblins. Murdoch, overjoyed at possibly making a new friend, gleefully accepted his offer and said they should go tell Caravir as she would be interested in killing things too.

Unbeknownst to them, Caravir had made her way to the music after becoming frustrated at Lenna not reporting back in a timely manner. She met up with Lenna at the cart angry at first, but less so after the annoying shopkeeper engaged her in conversation. He showed her a valuable staff and told her that he needed something in return for it. Before he could say what, Lenna leapt at the man and grabbed the staff right out of his hand and ran away. Caravir was initially surprised by Lenna’s sudden thievery, but quickly caught on and aided Lenna in her escape by causing the shopkeeper to become so stupid he could not even hope to chase after Lenna. Caravir quickly made her escape with gnomes shooting at her, but she was able to make it back to the mansion safely where she confronted Lenna about her thieving ways after congratulating her on a great heist. While that was going on, Murdoch and Sedridor arrived and joined the conversation. They were soon interrupted when the head butler, Dimmus, at the mansion pulled Murdoch aside to tell him of a great treasure Telvenier hid within the mansion. Murdoch told the group about the treasure and they began searching the basement for it. They quickly determined that it was hidden in one of the many kegs of wine. Unfortunately, going through them all would take time unless they decided to just dump the wine out which seemed a terrible waste. They decided that there was only one logical course of action: HOUSE PARTY!!!!

The party was successful in that all the wine was taken care of and the key to the treasure was found. It was less successful in that the mansion was pretty thoroughly destroyed by drunken antics: 2 vases, 2 chandeliers, 2 chests of drawers, 4 busts of Telvenier’s ancestors, and 1 really nice rug were destroyed. Fortunately, Lenna was able to rob many passed out nobles. Murdoch and Sedridor had passed out, so Caravir and Lenna went to search for the treasure themselves. They wandered into the corridor for the treasure hidden away in a corner of the basement. They came across a spear trap which Caravir was able to dispel using a huge blast of fire. They eventually made it to the door to the treasure after a slight mishap with a collapsing floor. After examining the door handle, they determined it was probably poisoned or trapped, so they decided not to open the door. The next day, they brought Murdoch and Sedridor on the adventure with them. At the poisoned door, they let Murdoch volunteer to open it. Fortunately for Murdoch, he was particularly resistant to that poison and he only noticed that his hand was rather slimy after opening the door. Inside the treasure room, the group found a great stash of loot which they distributed based on need. Also in the room was a Count Cornelio, the Scourge of Taxes costume. Murdoch tried to steal it before anyone noticed, but everyone wound up noticing. They tried to interrogate him about the identity of Count Cornelio, but Sedridor intervened and said that Murdoch’s business was his own. The party then rested in the mansion for the next few days while Murdoch slept off his hangover. Sedridor visited several bars in those days and encountered a strange figure that went by the name of “J” each day. Sedridor eventually became frustrated with him and intimidated him enough to make him leave.

After the third day of rest, the group set off from the mansion to the cave (Tomb of the Ogre Lords) where the party had suffered two losses previously. On the way there, they were attacked by three eagle/lion hybrids. It was a tough fight, but the party was able to kill them. After some wandering, the party came to a crossroads. They took the path that did not say danger and still the floor crumbled away under them. Fortunately, no one in the party died from that fall and they set off in the other direction. The party eventually found themselves in a room labeled “”/wikis/Hall%20of%20Mazes/new" class=“create-wiki-page-link”>Hall of Mazes." It was rather disheartening as that meant the party really did not know where they had been on the map. They decided to set off into the hall, choosing to go down one of the four paths open to them. Lenna went in one way first, noticing a light at the end of the tunnel. As she walked towards it, she found she had somehow been transported to the other side of the room and the hall had lead back to the room in which she started. The party determined that there was only one real path out of each room and they marked the path they took out of each room with crossbow bolts. The party continued in this manner for several hours until they wound up in a room where the statues came to life. The party quickly armed themselves and began pounding at the statues with all their might, trying to break the tough stone. After a tough battle, the party emerged victorious and decided it would be a good idea to rest in the room to recharge their bodies and more importantly, their sanity.

(Scribed by RunninginSquares)

As the door ahead of the adventurers swung open, they saw before them a very long and dark hallway. The four adventurers set off in search of answers for what the strange writings they had found were. After travelling down the hallway for what seemed like hours, they encountered some drips coming from the ceiling. After a few seconds, they becane to come together to form a large gelatinous cube. It began to attack them, so the adventurers struck back. It swiped unsuccessfully at Telvenier and Murdoch, missing them both. It did manage however to assimilate CaravirCaravir into its gelatinous mass, slowly tormenting her. As Saleous offered support, Murdoch and Telvenier bombarded the cube. As it slowly inched forwards towards the group, it managed to grab Murdoch, trapping him inside along with Caravir. Acting quickly, Telvenier and Saleous managed to destroy the creature.

The four ventured deeper into the tunnel only to discover an alternate path that was blocked off by rubble. Attempting to clear a path, Murdoch threw a bomb at the rubble. The bomb managed to clear the rubble that was there (by sending it flying all over the place, including into Saleous’ right arm), but more rubble just filled its place. The four decided to rest there before setting off. After what seemed like a good night’s sleep, the group was woken by Caravir’s alarm as a rust monster approached them. They were able to fight it off, but not before it devoured Telvenier’s rapier. After it had been vanquished, the group set off deeper into the tunnel. Eventually, they happened upon a human corpse. It was holding some small things including a MYSTERIOUS LETTER which helped the group decipher the language that had been puzzling them. It seemed that they were in some sort of tomb for ogre lords. The letter also warned them (in very poor grammar) of danger in the “maze” and “mirror.” Translations were left for mirror and danger, which helped the group break the code. As they delved deeper into the dungeon, the group found themselves at a crossroads. They chose to go the way that did not indicate danger. At the next turn, the group was split. Telvenier and Murdoch really wanted to go towards the danger, while Caravir and Saleous were more cautious. Deciding that perhaps there might be something important at the mirror, the group set off to the left. As they went down the path, suddenly the floor broke from under them and the group fell 40 feet down a hole onto some spikes. Telvenier and Saleous were killed instantly. Murdoch was knocked unconscious and was bleeding profusely. Caravir barely retained consciousness, but was able to stabilize Murdoch. The two of them examined the corpses of their friends, determining that they were definitely dead.

Caravir managed to throw the grappling hook up to the ledge, allowing Murdoch to climb out. They then worked together to get the bodies of Telvenier and Saleous out of the hole before Caravir climbed out. They set up for the night next to the hole and slept after healing a bit. Their sleep was interrupted as they were attacked by a swarm of rats. Thanks to magic missle and a bomb or two, they were able to kill the rats rather quickly, but not before one managed to bite Murdoch, causing some sickness later on. With the bodies of their fallen comrades strapped to their backs, Caravir and Murdoch set off deeper into the cave, hoping to find a quicker way out. After nearly getting lost in what turned out to be the maze, they decided to turn around and head back the way they knew went out of the cave. They slowly, but surely made their way out of the cave, befriending one of the dogs that had attacked them before on the way out. As they left the cave, they discovered one of the horses had run away and the other three were very weak. They loaded Telvenier’s body and some equipment on the horses and set off to Maystone.

Upon arriving in Maystone, they went first to the temple of Sarenrae and presented them with Saleous’ body. They agreed to contact Sarenrae before attempting to resurrect him. After leaving the body there, Caravir and Murdoch went to meet Geron, Mayor of Maystone to tell him what happened to Telvenier. He was drunk at the time, but was able to receive the message. Murdoch volunteered to take over as the town’s tax collecter. Geron was reluctant at first, but after some negotiating, he changed his mind. Plans were made for a burial the following morning. Inside the coffin for Telvenier, Murdoch placed a bomb with the inscription “for protection in the afterlife” in the coffin. He and Caravir went back to the mansion to rest. After convincing the butler that Murdoch had inherited the mansion, the butler let Murdoch and Caravir inside to rest. The following morning, 14 people attended the memorial service for Telvenier. As his coffin was lowered into the ground, a muffled explosion could be heard.

After the ceremony, Caravir and Murdoch went to the temple of Sarenrae where they found that Saleous did not wish to be resurrected. A small service was held for him at the church. Murdoch and Caravir went back to Telvenier’s mansion to rest after their journey, wondering what lay ahead. That night, while Caravir slept, Murdoch took up the role of Count Cornelio. After successfully completing his tasks, he returned to the mansion. On his way there, he noticed a shadowy figure leaping across the rooftops. As he saw the figure in better light, he saw the face of Count Cornelio looking back at him. Confused, Murdoch whispered up “How are you alive?” The figure said nothing and threw a knife down at Murdoch, cutting him. Murdoch fled the scene and wandered confusedly back to the mansion wondering who that Count Cornelio could be. Perhaps great troules lay ahead with the war in the halfling community. And what answers did the cave hold for the adventurers still?

(Scribed by RunninginSquares)

Friday, July 2, 2010

Caravir returned to the group after resolving her “feminine issues.” There was some speculation as to what she meant by that, but in the end, it was decided that it was perhaps best not to look too far into that issue. Reunited, the group spent the night in Telvenier’s mansion. That morning, Telvenier decied to go see what the inscription on the box was about. After trying to sneak into the church library, he decided to go back and get his priest costume. While he was getting dressed, Saleous came into his room. After an awkward back and forth, they went to the church together. Meanwhile, Murdoch and Caravir stayed at the mansion to do whatever they pleased.

At the church, Saleous went to pray while Telvenier searched for a way to find out what language the mysterious writing was. After getting frustrated, he went and waited for Saleous to finish praying so he could ask for his help deciphering the box. After showing Saleous the box, Saleous wisely suggested not showing Murdoch as he “didn’t trust him with that power.” After determining that they could not find the answers they sought at the library, Saleous and Talvenier came back to the mansion to meet up with Caravir and Murdoch on their way to visit Maro. They stopped at the bar on their way to see if anyone had advice on where to find examples of old languages. They happened upon a mysterious man who seemed very interested in the inscription though he could not understand it. Telvenier was suspicious of the man and only allowed him to see half of it. The man offered to travel with them should they find themselves doing things involving that in the future. From the bar, they set off to Maro’s house, but Maro was not home so they decided to head out to Fallcrest after consulting with the mayor.

The group stopped in Winterhaven on the way to Fallcrest. They took up a quest to kill any orc or goblin they came across and with that, they set off in the opposite direction they had been asked. It was not that they didn’t plan on killing those creatures, they just wanted to do it on their own time. They continued on to Fallcrest. In Fallcrest, Caravir looked up her old teacher, Nimozaran. He was rather disapproving of the presence of Telvenier and Murdoch, but agreed to help them examine the box anyway. While he was doing that, the group split up to do things on their own. Caravir spent time learning some new spells. Saleous went to the church to pray. Telvenier and Murdoch went to the local bar to pick fights. They eventually found one, but the fight was quickly broken up by the bartender. At that point, they decided to leave and get some rest for the night. The next day, Nimozaran revealed that he only knew four of the characters on the box, but he did not know the language. Telvenier asked him to open the box, but he was unable to do so. After consulting some other wizards, the box was easily opened. Inside, they found a stone that was just as confusingly inscribed as the box in which it was contained. Telvenier began referring to it as the Rock of the Grey Wielder.

With the rock in hand, the group went back to the cave where they had discovered the horses and where the floor had collapsed. They proceeded down into the cave. After following a path for a short way, the group was attacked by an ogre. Thanks to the quick thinking of Caravir and the quick healing of Saleous, the group was able to survive the encounter. Before they could gather their wits however, a second ogre rushed at them. They were able to kill it with more ease than the first. After that, the group went back up and camped out for the night to rest and recharge. The next morning, they set back into the cave. After traveling further, they fell into a pit. As Saleous climbed out of the pit and prepared to help the rest of the group get out, he noticed goblins coming his way. The group quickly sprang into action and the goblins were easily slain. The group pressed onwards until they noticed more goblins. A larger battle ensued in which the group found themselves victorious once more. With the goblins slain, they collected proof of the killings for the open quest before continuing on into the cave. Eventually, they came to a wall with a strange inscription on it. It appeared to have similar characters to the box though, so Telvenier put the stone of the gray holder into the wall and it began to open…

TO BE CONTINUED!

(Scribed by RunninginSquares)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Caravir left the three guys a note that she would be unable to join them due to mysterious reasons. Telvenier attempted to discover the reason to no avail. The three set off with the 6 horses provided by the mayor and travelled to the goblin cave where they set up camp for the night. The horses refused to enter the cave, so they had to set up just outside. Telvenier climbed a tree and fell asleep. Saleous and Murdoch also went to sleep. Murdoch was awoken in the middle of the night to strange movements just outside of camp. He let out a battle shriek which awoke Telvenier and Saleous. Murdoch threw a bomb at the shadowy figures, managing to start a brush fire. The three quickly worked to put out the fire after determining that the danger was gone and probably had never even existed.

After going back to sleep, they were once again attacked. This time, all three were ready for combat and they hit the attackers to a degree that caused the attackers to flee. At that point, the three really wanted to get the horses into the cave where they would be safer. Murdoch threw a bomb at the horses to spook them into the cave, but the plan backfired as two ran off in one direction and two more charged Murdoch, hurting him, and continuing to run away. Left with two horses, the three loaded them up the following morning and set off to find two more of the horses that had run away.

They found the two horses in a cave somewhat nearby and Saleous tied them up. Murdoch and Telvenier explored the cave while Saleous watched the horses. Frightened by a shadow, Murdoch threw a bomb at a wall, obliterating it and causing some structural instability within the cave. He fell in a hole and hurt his leg badly. Shortly after, Telvenier made a bigger hole and both he and Murdoch fell in. Thanks to the help of Saleous, they both made it out of the hole and the three decided to set off back to the goblin cave to load up the other two horses. Despite missing two horses, they were able to bring back the remainder of the supplies in the cave. The mayor thanked them and paid. Before they left, the mayor tasked the group with finding Count Cornelio, the scourge of taxes. Murdoch as well as Telvenier knew exactly who the criminal was, but nobody else in the room did. When Murdoch jokingly stabbed at Telvenier as if to catch him, he accidentally stabbed Telvenier. Murdoch was promptly thrown in jail, only to be bailed out a day later by Telvenier. While in jail, the guards broke all of Murdoch’s “drug paraphernalia.” He was forced to buy new equipment from the seedy alchemist’s shop. While he did that, Saleous and Telvenier went on a rather comical search for the mysterious Count Cornelio. They ultimately decided that it would be best to round up every thief in the city and hope that one of them was the Count. They stopped at the halfling union where the halflings there almost blew Telvenier’s cover in front of Saleous. Saleous decided that the halflings were very suspicious and most likely the culprit was one of them.

Meanwhile, at the alchemist shop, Murdoch finally gave into temptation and allowed the shopkeeper to show him some illegal drugs. While being led into the back room, Murdoch came up with a good idea, to arrest the shopkeeper and frame him as Count Cornelio. As the shopkeeper began hallucinating, Murdoch tied him up and tried to get him outside, but he failed and inhaled, leading him on an epic adventure through time and space with Tiamat and Bahamut for the next 24 hours.

Telvenier and Saleous decided to get some sleep for the night after informing the mayor of their plan. The following morning, they went in search of Murdoch and discovered a strange smoke coming from the backroom when they went into the alchemist’s shop. They called in two guards to help. The guards entered the room and promptly fell under the effects of the drug that Murdoch and the shopkeeper were on. Eventually, two more guards assisted Telvenier and Saleous in getting the four out of the shop. The shopkeeper was arrested, but Murdoch was not thanks to the influence of Telvenier. While Murdoch recovered, Telvenier and Saleous looked into the Count Cornelio issue more. After Murdoch woke up, he began to claim that Count Cornelio was the shopkeeper. Saleous rightfully remained skeptical and decided that Murdoch was lying. The session ended as the three were convincing the mayor to increase the guard in the halfling district.

(Scribed by RunninginSquares)

18 Threst 237N

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Murdoch and Telvenier, two travelling taxmen/thieves found themselves travelling from Maystone to Jeth in order to rob a church at which Saleous was located. After nightfall, Murdoch and Telvenier disguised themselves and attempted to enter the church, only to be noticed by Saleous. After some spite vandalism, Murdoch and Telvenier felt bad about what they had done and volunteered to help with repairs. Saleous told them it was fine and for some reason, the three of them set off to Ilik. Upon arrival there, the three of them went to an inn to find rooms. Murdoch impersonated the owner of the in, resulting in a strange quasi family reunion and getting his friends a free room. Before they could settle in, Telvenier ran afoul of the locals by detonating one of Murdoch’s seemingly endless supply of bombs in the inn. A mob formed to get Telvenier and he fled. Murdoch was able to convince the villagers that there was a horde of bandits riding in and gave Telvenier some time to escape. Murdoch later went in search of Telvenier and wound up falling asleep in the street. He was picked up and arrested by the town guards and incarcerated. Saleous stayed at the inn for the night, hearing the sobs of the innkeeper who had just once again lost his twin “brother.”

Meanwhile, Caravir found herself wandering through the forest westward towards Maystone. She was making good progress until one night when she was discovered by a group of goblins. After managing to chase them off, she injured one and captured him. She tied him up and tried to talk to him regarding why he had attacked her. When it became apparent the conversation was going nowhere, she stuck him in a hole and covered the hole with a rock. The following morning, she dragged the poor goblin along as she travelled. After several hours, she realised she had been dragging a dead goblin for quite some time as he had stopped moving hours before. She untied the bloody carcass of that goblin and set on. The following night, she was attacked once again by goblins, this time capturing one and imprisoning it again. The following morning, she stuffed the goblin in her pack and set off.

In Ilik, after searching all over town for each other and starting a town wide fear of giants, Saleous and Telvenier reunited with Murdoch. Figuring their business was done there, they decided it would be best to head towards Maystone to tax some people. They set off on a long journey.

As Caravir made her way towards Maystone, she had to fight through more and more goblins. She successfully slew several of them, letting her raven feast on their carcasses. She kept the one in her pack alive hoping that she would find a translator in Maystone.

Caravir eventually arrived in Maystone and attempted to find a goblin translator. Most people simply told her that goblins only live to kill and she should not look into it much. She consulted the mayor of the town very late at night about the issue. He directed her to Maro, a rather flamboyant and crazy wizard who was able to vaguely translate what the goblin was saying before he decided to use LIGHTNING! EEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!!! on it. After a long argument about the wrongful goblin killing, the wizard gave Caravir two spell scrolls for her trouble and sent her on her way. She got a room at the inn and rested and studied her newly acquired scrolls.

Saleous, Telvenier, and Murdoch rolled into town the following day and did some taxing before eventually being directed at Caravir. The meeting was initially less than polite on both sides, but they all were able to form a team and they set off to inquire about the position for adventurers. The mayor then sent the group off to get a shipment of weapons back from the goblins.

The group set off into the goblin cave, valiantly defeating all the goblins within. They were not able to bring back all of the weapons in one go, but they got what they could back to the mayor. Caravir convinced the mayor to give each group member double their initial promised salary for bringing back the weapons.

At the end of the session, the group was preparing to head back to retrieve the remaining weapons.

(Scribed by RunninginSquares)

The party decided to head directly to Jorn’s house, figuring that it would be best to complete the mission as quickly as possible. It was about half an hour’s walk according to the map the old bartender had given them. Halfway to Jorn’s, Ehlorra noticed several men following at a distance. As the party continued on, she suddenly remembered that the bartender had mentioned something about a “bad part of town.” Too late now, she grimaced.

As they entered the alley, two more bandits stepped out of the shadows. “I think it’s time for you to leave,” remarked the first, hefting his short sword. “Your kind isn’t wanted here.” As he was speaking, Ehlorra noticed several other men pointing crossbows from the shadows. With a quick nod, the party leaped into action. Dynamisk hurled globs of acid while Ehlorra punched and kicked her way through the darkened alley; Larkin ducked to get a bead on the bandits on the balcony above, and Olga took the opportunity to introduce them to her GA. They party defeated most of the men, though two escaped. Thanks to Color Spray, they were able to take a hostage, whom Olga readily interrogated. She noticed a red hand tattoo on the man’s wrist. She learned that these men were affiliated with the Crimson Hand, a local human-superiority group that had recently been exerting more power over the region. The captured mage mentioned something about a routine patrol, though Larkin got the feeling that it wasn’t the whole story, and Dynamisk wondered if this group could be related to the ruby hand that they acquired from the highwaymen the day before. Once they were thoroughly satisfied with his information, the party left the man bound in the alley.

On their way out of the alley, Ehlorra and Dynamisk were shot from behind. Dynamisk and Olga were able to identify the attacker, and Larkin shot him with a poisoned dart before he escaped, heavily injured, back into the dark alley. Ehlorra got the feeling that he didn’t make it very far.
Injured and tired, the group decided to stay in an inn for the night to recover their wounds. They all stayed in the same room since Ehlorra was still unconscious from the assassin’s attack.

In the morning, the party was surprised to see a group of the town guard in the inn’s tavern. As they descended the stairs, the barkeep pointed them out and the guards moved to place them under arrest. It took all of Olga’s will to go along, but after several minutes of custody she had had enough. The group attacked, trying to flee; though they made a valiant effort, the guards were heavily armed and eventually prevailed in disarming and jailing the party in the cellar of a church. The guards, particularly the captain, were extremely excited about the ruby hand that Olga had recovered from the bandits, and took all of the party’s gear.

Once they were in the cell, the party waited until all but one of the guards left, then Olga broke down the cell’s wooden door, though it took long enough for the guard to call upstairs for reinforcements. At this point, Dynamisk and Larkin were unconscious. Ehlorra and Olga battled the guard at the door, but before he was defeated Ehlorra had fallen. Dynamisk and Larkin finally regained consciousness and aided Olga in defeating the last of the guards, including the captain. As they searched the upper story of the church for the weapons that had been stripped from them, Olga heard a small troop outside, preparing to enter and recapture them. Olga and Larkin positioned themselves in the armory and surprised the goons, finally defeating them after a long and heart-wrenching battle on both sides.

Olga hefted the now-unconscious Dynamisk onto her back as she and Larkin raced out of the church, toward the city gate, trying their best to avoid the crowds of citizens calling for more guards. The gate was heavily guarded, so they elected to climb onto a rooftop from the alley below. To their horror, they realized that the roof was in direct line of sight of the guard towers. Olga and Larkin quickly crammed themselves into a staircase, closing their eyes and breathing heavily, praying that they would stay hidden.

As Olga squeezed herself tighter into the already small staircase, she suddenly felt a shadow hovering above her. She opened her eyes to the sight of a dwarf clad in camofluage and full survival gear pointing a crossbow at her face. “Nice to meet you,” the dwarf growled. “I’m Jorn.”

(Scribed by Cpt_Tempesta)