| Module
Three |
|
Face2Face
Game
Year of the Tankard - 1370
| Kythorn - The Time of Flowers (June) | ||||||||||
| 18th |
20th |
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| 21st |
22nd |
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| Flamerule - Summertide (July) | 4th |
5th |
7th |
10th |
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| 11th |
14th |
15th |
16th |
20th |
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| 21st |
22nd |
23rd |
24th |
25th |
26th |
27th |
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| Eleasias - Highsun (August) | 4th |
5th |
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| 11th |
12th |
13th |
14th |
15th |
18th |
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| 28th |
29th |
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| Eleint - The Fading (September) | 5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
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Beorunna's
Well [Kythorn 29th]
As soon as the group heard the name of the owner of the second symbol, a feeling
to head south east grew within them. At the end of their conversation, Ssessibil
indicated that it would probably be best if the group left, since Beorunna's
Well was considered a holy ground by the Black Lions. With no more to say
to Ssessibil, and a new urgency to head south east, the group agreed, and soon
found themselves escorted a good few miles to the south east. Glandril, the
paladin from Silverymoon, explained
that the next major town that the group could head back to was Sundabar.
They would be traveling over open plains for the most part, towards the north
western arm of the Rauvin Mountains, and then following the path of the Rauvin
river towards Sundabar. The Rauvin
mountains were renowned for the orc tribes that lived there. On the route they
were intending to take was Citadel
Felbarr, which until recently had been known as the Citadel
of Many Arrows - once dwarven, but which had fallen to orcs - and had only
recently had been retaken by the dwarves.
The group made their way out onto the plains, leaving the barbarians behind and seeing nothing but the occasional dung from the herds of deer and elk that roamed the plains and generally made the staple diet of most carnivores in the north! By night fall, they were still far from any cover, and after setting watches, they went to sleep.
In the Wilderness [Kythorn 30th]
In the morning, they awoke to find themselves surrounded by a huge herd of elk
in a deep fog. Tankrin brought down one with his bow, and the group spent the
next few hours butchering and preparing some of the meat for taking with them.
By late morning however, the mist had burnt off and the herd had moved on. The
group continued their journey south towards the Rauvin Mountains - visible in
the distance the day before - they now started to loom closer. To the south,
one of the outcroppings of the Cold Wood
drew near, and not a moment too soon, as from the east, a war party of ogres
and orcs mounted on worg's charged towards the party! The group charged as best
they could towards the woods, just making it into the cover of the trees before
they were caught by their pursuers.
The battle within the edge of the wood was fierce, but eventually successful, and it was a somewhat more battered party that later exited the woods to continue their journey.
Rauvin Valley
[Flamerule 1st]
An uneventful day...
Rauvin Valley [Flamerule 2nd]
The next day saw them in the foothills of the mountains, following the main
river valley of the Rauvin, and approaching the dark and forbidding granite
walls of a huge dwarven fortress. It was a stark place, only relatively recently
retaken by the dwarves from the orcs, and as such, their reception there was
frosty once it became apparent that they were not there to join the ranks of
mercenaries who had flocked there to help rebuild and defend the place, drawn
by dwarven gold.
Sundabar
[Flamerule 3rd - 5th]
Another three days later, the group had finally reached Sundabar,
having travelled with a dwarven caravan for the remaining part of the journey.
The town was basically an old dwarven built surface town, grim and foreboding,
only slightly less so than the one they had left behind. They had been there
only a short while, finally luxuriating in the civilised comforts of a real
inn, when they were approached by a ranger who named himself Mosstreader and
identified himself as a member of the Harpers.
He informed the group that he had been sent by Lady Alustriel of Silverymoon,
and that she had worked out who the second sigyll represented. He confirmed
what Ssessibil had said - and that the next symbol represented a Zhentarium
necromancer named Gwath. Apparently Alustriel had guessed that the group would
have to pass through Sundabar, and
had sent Mosstreader to intercept them, as she believed that the sigyll 's would
force the group to go via the most direct route possible - which would begin
in the High Forest and continues
through the Upvale of the Delimbyir.
Since the High Forest was known to be dangerous area to non-elves, unless accompanied
by a known guide. Mosstreader also indicated that there were two elves who would
also share their journey.
The Moon Pass
[Flamerule 6th-7th]
Two days later, the group found themselves riding fresh horses through the Moon
Pass, in the company of the two elves Truebow and Windstrider. Having survived
an ambush by orcs ogres and even verbeegs, the group eventually made their way
down the other side, and after another day of riding, finally arrived at the
end of the day, on now tired horses, in Jalanthar.
Jalanthar
[Flamerule 8th]
The town of Jalanthar had a markedly
different feel from Sundabar. It had
the look of a frontier town, and a half ruined one at that. Obviously it had
been battered many times, and judging by the skulls on poles around it - mostly
by orcs. The town seemed to be inhabited by wild looking trappers and hunters,
all with wild stories about imminent orc invasions or how things were more peaceful
now that the threat from Hellgate
Keep had been destroyed. One had a story about some unknown force harassing
and attacking Zhent caravans down
in the southern reaches of the Delimbyir
Valley. He said that some of the Zhents in Llorkh
believed the Lich Lords were after them, others thought it was the work of the
Harpers. Apparently this secret force has also been attacking Dekanter too,
where the Beast Lord rules. Now the Beast Lord is supposed to have a large number
of everything from orcs and goblins up to beholders stashed away in the old
Netherese mine ruins there. After relaxing in the only inn in town, the Crowing
Cockatrice, the group with their three guides continued onwards the very next
day, drawn on by the constant pull of the Sigylls.
Foothills of the Nether
Mountains [Flamerule 9th-11th]
For the next three days, the group made their way south from Jalanthar,
slowly descending out of the foothills of the Nether
Mountains and towards the High Forest
- an expanse of dark green to the southern horizon. Keeping to the valleys and
away from open spaces, they managed to avoid any contact with orcs until the
last day, when they had to cross an open area. Their elven companions were convinced
that there was a group of orcs behind them, and they had to make a race for
the forest edge to escape them.
The
High Forest - the Citadel of the Mist[Flamerule 12th]
Time passed strangely once inside forest - as for the most part, the sky was
hidden by the dense canopy of leaves above them, and it was difficult to tell
the time of day. Keeping quiet at the behest of their guides, the group picked
their way through the overgrown forest, following no visible trail, and heading
towards what Mosstreader had called the Citadel of the Mists. This was the final
destination of the two elves Truebow and Windstrider, who were due to meet with
the Mistmaster. Soon enough the group found mist developing around them, and
they needed to litterally tie themselves together to continue their journey
without loosing each other. The elves and Mosstreader seemed to know their way
however, and soon they had arrived at the Citadel of the Mists.
Citadel was rather an overblown description of the place however, as it consisted of some simple stone fortifications in the middle of a mist filled forest. The two elves bade their farewells, and disappeared somewhere to meet with the mysterious Mistmaster. In the meantime, Mosstreader introduced the group to some others who happened to be there.
Gindle is very please to meet with Luckbringer Cherissa Mintareil - a visiting priestess of Tymora and a Harper as well. Also present was a good looking and charming wizardess from Silverymoon named Azure, and a rather dour man named Iltmul of Helm - a fighting priest. The group were hosted for dinner, where there was littke talk about the problems in the area - and only polite conversation about the group's journey and events in Silverymoon when they were there last. At one point, Cherissa took Gindle aside and spoke with him quietly about the next stage of their journey to a place called "Tall Trees".
The
High Forest [Flamerule 13-17th]
The next day was wet, with a light drizzel that seeped down through the trees
and the mist, forming on their leaves into big rain drops that always seem to
find the back of someone's neck. The group, still led by Mosstreader said their
farewells, and headed into the mists, travelling southwards towards a druidic
stonghold called Tall Trees. The journey was to take 4 more days, most of which
seemed to be wet and miserable, though luckily the mist disappeared after the
first day. Beyond normal wild life, there were no encounters.
The
High Forest - Tall Trees [Flamerule 17th]
On the afternoon of the fourth day, as the group walked amongt increasingly
large and ancient trees, the group were greeted by a pair of rangers, who Mosstreader
hailed as Karthan and Rodor. Initially suspicious of the Mosstreader's companions,
they accepted his assurances, and bade the group to continue. Finally, the group
reached an area where buildings were suspended many hundreds of feet above their
heads in huge trees. A group of rangers and druids appeared to preparing for
battle. Mosstreader explained that this was one of the last safe places on their
journey southwards. During the evening meal, the group discovered the reason
for the druid's preparations. Further into the centre of the High Forest, the
elves were driving an increasing number of orcs and bugbears from the forest.
Some of these were now infringing on the areas protected by the druids, and
so the druids were working to drive them away and south.
About a week's journey to the south, on the river Delimbyir was a place known as Elven Port. Luckily, there was a portal from Tall Trees to Elven Port, which would cut a significant amount of time for the journey. After resting for the night at Tall Trees, the group passed through, this time saying their farewells to Mosstreader.
Elven Port [Flamerule 18th]
The first surprise when the group passed through was when Joe stepped through
the portal right behind them. Having not seen him since he fled into the Moonwood
several weeks previously. They spent some time catching up.
Mosstreader had explained that Elven Port was the ruins of an ancient trading post town, where elves had traded with humans many centuries ago. It had long since fallen into disuse however, and was now little more than a number of over-grown buildings close to the river Delimbyir. Mosstreader had also warned the party about their journey southwards on the old river road. There were several dangers. Bands of orcs and bugbears were increasingly in the area, harassed out of the High Forest centre by the elves, and the Land of the Lich Lords was on the other side of the river. The latter seemed to be the more dangerous. Any humans or part humans would find themselves drawn at night to the ancient Netherese ruins. Those who had not the strength to resist would be drawn there by the calls of the undead lich lords who rule over that domain now. If they didn't drown in the fast flowing Shining River, their life once beyond the far shores would most certainly be lost.
Only a few minutes after coming out of the portal, the group stumbled upon what appeared to be a sleeping magic user, who reacted rather violently at being woken, summoning two weird creatures that seemed like a cross between wolf spiders and moray eels. After an extended battle, the group defeated the stranger and his summoned minions, only to see a band of orcs mounted on worgs charging towards them in the distance. A fireball and a bit of magical misdirection later, together with some sword work and fancy horse work - and the group managed to leave the orcs behind.
The Delimbyir river [Flamerule
19th-27th]
The next couple of days were spent riding along the banks of the river. The
lands between the forest and the river were overgrown by brush and copses of
trees. These lands descended gradually from the forest toward the river, dropping
off rather suddenly then, just before the river to form a fairly hidden river
trail. The far side was a desolate treeless place, rising into the foothills
of the mountains beyond. A large band or orcs were spotted on the opposite bank
- luckily outside of arrow range. They were being ld by strange undead looking
creatures.
During the second day of riding, ruins appeared on the far bank, broken towers and crumbling buildings, scattered on hill tops and vales alike with no pattern. As night fell, lights could be seen glowing in some of the distant towers, and the group first fell under the calling of the lich lords.
That first night, the call was easy to resist for those with human blood. During the nights that followed however, it became increasingly hard to avoid their call. Sleepless nights started to take their toll, and at one point, Glandril had to be restrained from throwing himself fully armoured into the river.
On the 3rd day, the group came across a group of bugbears on the road. Amazingly, the group managed to bluff their way past them, and there was no need to enter into combat.
On the 5th day, about 2 hours before sunset, the group spotted a a camp of about 200 orcs along the trail ahead of you. There was another camp of about 20 orcs on the other side of the river. This second group had 10 long rowboats beached on the bank of the Delimbyir. Both groups had campfires burning and appeared to be about to eat for the evening. As the party started to make their way inland to go around the group, a pale figure appeared on the far side of the river, and started coordinating the group to get the boats into the water. Rowing across, the orcs started ferrying the larger group across to the other side. Hoping not to be noticed, the party continued to creep past in the darkness.
Two restless nights later, the group found themselves faced with the Heartblood - a tributary of the Delimbyir. Half way across the ford, the group were attacked by orcs behind them. Invoking the power of the Helm of Darkness, Tankrin lay a curtain of darkness behind them to obscure the enemy's view, and the group legged it. As they climbed the bank on the far side of the river, they looked back to see a much larger force of orcs a couple of miles distant. A messenger was racing back to tell them.
Immediately, the group goaded their horses into a faster pace, and the chase was on. Over the next 2 days, the group slept little, pushing their mounts to the limit to keep ahead of the worg mounted orcs. As they travelled, they occasionally spotted orcs on the other side of the river, but this became less and less often, as the hills on either side of the river grew nearer, and became more steep. Eventually, the party were effectively travelling in a canyon. Behind them, when they came across sections of river that were particularly straight, they would catch occasional glimpses of their pursuers, but over the last day, they lost sight of them.
The Shinning Falls [Flamerule
28th]
It was near the evening of the 2nd day that the group could hear a roaring in
the distance, and soon found themselves on a very narrow trail, mostly washed
away, right next to the edge of a huge waterfall. A stupendous view opened up
in front of them, allowing them to see for miles. The river cascaded down a
huge waterfall, and the trail - such that it was - angled off down the cliff,
zigzagging it's way to the bottom some several hundred yards below. At the bottom
of the falls, the river continued on, down through rapids, occasionally hidden
from view as it wound it's way down through foot hills. Many miles away to the
south, at least a couple of days journey, what looked like a town could be seen
- probably Loudwater.
Tired and worn out, the group descended the cliff and headed off sideways, away from the trail, looking for a cave or somewhere they could find shelter for the night. The found one, and set watches - (I think Clint went and set an alarm spell at the bottom of the ramp as well - to try to give them some advance warning in case their pursuers caught up with them.
The road to Loudwater [Flamerule
29th]
The night passed peacefully however, and the new day dawned bright and clear,
giving them clear views over the Delimbyir Vale. In the distance, a glimpse
of movement caught someone's eye, and it appeared that there was a flying beast
above a road - somewhere to the east of the town. After a moment, there was
an orange flash, and the beast - be it dragon or whatever it was, had disappeared.
Early that afternoon, the group came across three corpses. The bodies to the side of the road had probably been dead for a few days. The first signs of rot were appearing around the wounds, which seemed to be axe slashes. The weapons of the dead were scattered around the ground, also uselessly broken. They found a large dagger and two long swords with broken blades, two broken longbows and nearly 40 broken arrows. There was also a long wooden staff that had been broken into three pieces and a broken wand of oak wood. One of the men wore no armour. The others wore badly damaged helmets and chain mail. One had a note on it which implied that the men were members of the Zhentarium, and that they were to try and infiltrate the party.
Loudwater [Flamerule 29th afternoon]
Pressing on, the group made it to Loudwater about mid afternoon. Somewhat
belligerently, the guards let the group in, asking only a few questions about
who they were and where they had come from. The town appeared quite beautiful,
with flowers everywhere. The gate guards recommend a couple of inns, and the
group headed off to stay at go to stay at one. From talking to some people,
it became quickly apparent that the town was suffering from lack of trade -
as the Zhent caravans that formed the bulk of the trade had been attacked, and
none had made it through recently.
As it was only late afternoon, the group decided to spend some time shopping for supplies. In one particular shop, the shopkeeper makes them suspicious. A subtle "detect magic" spell indicated that there was significant magic in the rear of the shop, and - without telling Glandril, the group decided to come back later and investigate.
Loudwater [Flamerule 29th evening]
Sure enough, after night fall, the group broke into the back of the shop. It
appeared the owner (Pralever) was still awake and upstairs. In the back room,
they found an iron golem, and they fled as the owner came down to investigate.
Making their way back to the inn, they were met by a dwarf named Warddh who
claimed to be a member of the Harpers.
He provided some information on their journey ahead.
Nighthunters Crossing
[Flamerule 30th]
The next morning the group started on their journey towards the next town Llorkh.
A four day journey, they had been told that there there was an Inn to stay at
only one day out at a small hamlet called Nighthunters Crossing. There the innkeeper
- an actively anti-Zhent ex-adventurer type, mouthed off about some of the things
that the group were likely to encounter.
On the road to Llorkh [Midsummer]
The next day the group left Nighthunters Crossing, and spent the day riding
east . The trail was severly rutted from many wagon trails, but was fairly easy
going on horseback, at least as long as they kept to the grass either side of
the trail. A constant drissil of rain did put a damper on the day, but in the
evening it disappeared, and the sky cleared, providing them with a beautiful
sunset and a promise of a good day to come. That night, the group camped and
were witness to the wonderful sight of two full moons - Midsummer Night - the
only night of the year when both moons were full in the sky at the same time.
In the distance, a solitary wolf howled, but luckily, no werewolves came near.
(OOC: Yes - I forgot to mention this in the session! Which was a great shame - since I had been looking forward to this!!!!!!)
On the road to Llorkh [Eleasias
1st]
The next day was a beautiful clear day, sun shining and flowers blooming along
the trail - a fine summers day. The party's journey was marred only by coming
across several burnt out wagons and rotten corpses, probably killed by a combination
of edged and blunt weapons. This must be the problems that the Zhents had been
talking about - the cause of the breakdown of the trade route. Throughout the
day, the remains of different caravans were discovered, and for all the time,
the feeling that they were being watched.
On the road to Llorkh [Eleasias
2nd]
Another bright sunny day, and the warnings of the dwarf Warddh from Loudwater
seemed suddenly quite far behind them, as the countryside around them seemed
both peaceful and beautiful, the weather almost hot even. At least it was till
they came across yet another massacred caravan. Ravens and other carrion birds
flapped away as the group disturbed then, riding slowly through the carnage
in disgust. Within half an hour however, something happened which put even that
out of their mind. A bright golden glow grew rapidly in the air around them,
until suddenly it was so bright they were effectively blinded. With a slight
lurch, the glow then went, and the group found themselves in a large circular
stone room with a stone roof, faced by a number of dwarves.
The dwarves were well armed, and fairly surly looking.. Behind them, a short corridor led to a door - the only visible exit to the room. The dwarves immediately started to interrogate the party, often making references to Luskan - a town many hundreds of miles away to the north, and one which doesn't have a very good reputation. Gindle gets off his horse and steps forward, not pleased with the way the group are being treated, and gets a lightning bolt from a rune wielding dwarf for his trouble, blasting him to the far side of the room. Weakened by the lightning blast, Gindle partially heals himself, before trying to charm the dwarves leader. The act is recognised however, and he is blasted again. This time however, the lightning bolt is reflected on the dwarf with the lightning bolt rune stone, as Gindle's forearms burn for a moment, the sigylls on his arm burning away the clothing covering them. The leader of the dwarves strides forward, peering at the sigylls in horror.
The dwarf turns to the party, seemingly part outraged and part terrified. "How?", he asks. "Where be ye getting these horrible, accursed runes of contagion? Who are ye? Where are ye from? Are ye from the South? Are ye from the Great Rift?" The king looks deeply into your eyes, frightened and horrified, as though he sees the reawakening of a terrible, ancient evil. Before the group have much of a chance to respond however, he speaks again, "Go!", the dwarf commands suddenly. "Go! Take yer horrible curse from me halls! Begone, I say, and may the gods have mercy on ye!"
With that the group are effectively teleported via the golden glow again back to the road from whence they came.
Llorkh [Eleasias 2nd Evening]
Somewhat confused by the turn of events, the group continue on their journey
towards Llorkh, arriving there near the end of the day. The guards on the city
gate seem somewhat surprised to see people arriving from the direction of Loudwater,
given the recent problems that all caravans have been encountering. They question
the group carefully, and then indicate that the Lord of Llorkh - a man named
Geildarr - would probably want to see them to talk to them - as there was a
reward being offered for information about what had caused the various caravans
to be destroyed.
The group visited Geildarr, and after a fairly long interview, in which the group explained all about their encounter with the dwarves - the Lord of Geildarr gave them a reward of 700gp.
On the Dawn Pass Trail [Eleasias
3rd - 6th]
The very next morning, the group continued on their journey, exiting Llorkh
and starting the long journey south east towards a distant place called Yarthrain.
The journey time was estimated at 2 Rides - 20 days! Laden with supplies for
the journey, and concerned about the reports of what they would have to pass
through, the group rode with trepidation through the gates of Llorkh, and onto
the trail leading up to the pass. Ahead of them was "the Lands of the Beast
Lord". The land continues to rise, and become more barren. Cold winds occasional
sweep around the exposed road, but the weather for the most part is clear and
dry. Visibility is clear, and there are regular spots where previous caravans
have camped. Of bandits, beasts or any other types of threat, there is no sign.
Eventually, however, the group make it to the pass itself. The trail passes through a narrow gorge, cut in the saddle of a pair of mountanous hilltops. Built into the sides of the george, looking down onto the trail, are fortified guard posts. On the road itself is a large party of Gnolls, heavily armoured. Spreading out across the road, the gnolls demand a payment of 1000gold for safe passage across the Land of the Beast Lord. Using the money given to them by Geildarr, and scraping together some other funds, the group pay the heavy toll, and continue on their journey. Behind them, from one of the hill tops, a large bonfire is lit, visible for many many miles ahead as green smoke rises into the air above...
The group continued for several miles, making their way down through the foothills of the mountains. Eventually they spotted a caravan heading in the opposite direction. the caravan was manned by Gnolls, humans and possibly even a few half orcs. After a brief exchange, the two groups continued on their way.
The next few days were uneventful. the weather was fine the terrain was easygoing and despite spotting goblins, gnolls and occasionally orcs, the toll they had paid appeared to have done the trick as they were not bothered.
The Mines of Dekanter [Eleasias
6th]
On the 4th day however the group found themselves working past and
ancient mining village. A huge number of goblins watched them as they slowly
made their way along with the main road. As they reach a fork in the road they
were stopped however by a group of gnolls.
The gnolls demanded that they travel with them into the Mines of Decantar to meet "da big boss". Seeing that they were outnumbered the group decided to follow the gnolls and find out who this big boss person really was. Trouping deep into the mines, past some ancient magical wonders (like a huge underground lake where the shore was purple sand, and constant rain fell from the ceiling above), the party was very worried to find out that's the big boss was in fact a beholder with a mind flayer body guard.
The beholder, named Ranzan, wanted to examine their sigylls and told them that they would soon be on their way if they cooperated. It seemed to think that they would be heading on to Darkhold to meet their master Sememmon. They did not to try to correct his misunderstanding, though they did not recognise either the name of the place nor the person Ranzan mentioned.
Initially Ranzan asked to view the sigylls on Glandril, however as Glandril had no sigylls, he instead ended up looking at Gindle's. often examining them with two of his eyes, a ray sprung from another eye. There was a violent reaction, and gravel burst from the sigylls, blasting the beholder and smashing one of it's eyes from its head.
Glandril took the opportunity to attack the beholder and a battled started. The beholder was killed, and the mind flayer managed to escape, but not before Glandril was turned to stone by the magic within one of the beholder's eyes.
Some gnolls were killed in the corridor with a lightning bolt, and the group began to explore some of the nearby rooms, where they found several interesting items as well as trapped chest and a mimic. One gnoll did manage to escape though.
The group split up then, Gindle praying for assistance from Tymora whilst Clint studied his spellbook, the others heading off to explore further around the shore of the underground lake. Leaving a trail of foot prints in the purple sand, the three of them trudged for several hundred yards before finding a short corridor leading to a large stone door. Finding a hidded handle, they pulled it, only to hear a distant bell, and a few moments later, the rain stopped in the main cavern. Frustrated at being unable to open the door the group moved on around the lake, noticing that the water level seemed to dropping. Meanwhile, Gindle and Clint had decided to head around the other side of the lake. The lake proved to be huge, and pretty featureless, and eventually, the re-united group returned to the door. Clint tried to break the door by enlarging it with the wand of enlarge, but it seemed too strong, and merely jammed within it's stone frame.
Eventually, the group gave up and headed back towards the route they had entered by, worried that they would have to fight their way past a huge number of gnolls and goblins. But at the first corner, the group received a mental call from the mind flayer, informing them that the Beast Lord had decreed that they should go free, and that Ranzan had been wrong to try to interfer with them.
The group made their way out, where they found their horses (but not Glandril's war horse), and they rode away from the mines of Dekanter with their skins still intact.
That evening, they camped at the edge of a wood, a dark and lonly moor on their left, a dark and menacing wood on their right. The trail led south between the two.
The Lonely Moor [Eleasias
7th]
The next day, the group continued on their journey, their spirit's low from
the loss of the paladin. Passing a dark pool on the moor, Tankrin fired a burning
arrow into it, wondering if it was perhaps oil. The arrow disappeared into the
depths of the water, and something was disturbed. A few moments later, a young
juvinile black dragon erruptedfrom the pond. Gindle cast a light spell directed
at it's eyes, and it was blinded. In rage, it flew after the group, focusing
in on the sound of their horses running. Breathing acid over some of the group,
it landed, hoping to attack it's enemy more directly, but Clint lets loose with
a lightning bolt, and the group take the battle to the young and inexperienced
dragon. Amazingly, they triumph over the creature. Using a spell from a scroll
to enable them to breath under water, some of the group enter the dank dark
waters, searching for the dragon's lair and it's gold. The floor of the pond
is covered in gold, and through the use of a detect magic spell, they locate
a magic sword, a magic dagger, and a magic ring (which turns into a dagger).
Exiting the pool, the three divers shivver as they dry off, then start to cut up the body of the dragon. Gindle takes several of the dragon's teeth, and Dortle cuts our a number of sheets of the dragon's skin, hoping to use it once cured to make some armour. As the evening gets dark, and numerous scavengers gather to feast on the dragon's corpse, the group finally finish the gruesome task, and move away to make a camp.
The Prelor Prarie [Eleasias
8th]
In the morning, after prayers and healing, the group moved on. and near the
end of the day, reach the end of the Lonely Moor and the woods fade away to
the west, leaving a large open prarie, with mile after mile of softly waving
grass. Camping in a small hollow, the group spent a cold night on the prarie
without a fire.
The Prelor Prarie [Eleasias
9th]
After a poor breakfast in the morning, the group performed some more healing,
then continued on. Once, in the distance, they noticed what looked like a group
of lanky figures moving across the plains, but otherwise they spotted very little.
As evening approached, they spotted a fortified camping ground. The place had
a 12 foot tall wooden palisade around it, though the main gate had been ripped
from it's hinges and lay half burnt off to one side. Inside the palisade was
a burnt out wagon, a fire pit, and a number of bones. There also remained the
charred remains of a number of trolls. Despite the concern about troll attacks,
the group reasoned the palisade was the safer place to camp and set them selves
up for the night. A fire was lit, and for the first time in days, the group
had a warm meal, albeit not a very nourishing one. With water running low, and
little to eat beyond beef jerky and dragon steaks.
As night approached, Joe and Tankrin took on the first watch. After a couple of hours, Tankrin was surprised when the spirit of a dead warrior appeared to him and silently gestured for him to follow. Calling to rouse the others, Tankrin followed the spirit into a crawlspace under the bush in the middle of the palisade, where he found he found the remains of the warrior. The spirit gestured for him to take a small strong box, engraved with an instruction to deliver to Lord Winter of Eveningstar in Cormyr. Having taken the box, the spirit voicelessly informed Tankrin that if he failed to do his duty, then he would be cursed by the spirit. After extracting himself from the bush, Tankrin started to inform the others when suddenly trolls attacked the compound. Clint started firing off the Trollkiller staff that the Harpells had given them, whilst the others fought the trolls. Unfortunately, one of the trolls got close enough to Clint to strike the mage, knocking him unconcious. As Dortle hacked the last troll to death, Tankrin grabbed up the staff and invoked it again, despite the lack of visible trolls. With no living trolls nearby, the staff exploded in his hands, leaving just cautorised stumps. Gindle applied healing magic, bringing both Clint and Tankrin back to conciousness.
The Prelor Prarie [Eleasias 10th-15th]
Over the next few days, the group continued their journey to Yarthrain, moving
as quickly as they could.
Yarthrain [Eleasias
16th]
The group arrived in Yarthrain mid afternoon, and having booked rooms in the
inn and heard about the reason for the burnt out ruins in the middle of the
village, decided to investigtate. They killed a mind-flayer and an Invisible
Stalker... Dortle aged 10 years through seeing a ghost close up. They also heard
about a harmless ghost/spirit of a bride who needed to be laid to rest... Tankrin,
who had tied daggers to his stumps had a local blacksmith make a "stump
mount" for his hand cross-bow.
Yarthrain [Eleasias 17th-18th]
The group remained in the village healing up and performing some identification
spells. Clint identified that the long sword that Gindle had found earlier in
the black dragon's lair was in fact cursed, and had already started to corrupt
him, boosting his physical attributes and lowering his mental ones as it thirsted
for blood. Dortle took the sword and destroyed it in a forge before Gindle had
realised what the curse was and thought Clint was still trying to identify the
spell... On the 17th, the group delved again into the cells below the ruins,
and killed two more mind flayers, finally finding the remains of the "bride",
bringing her to the surface (with her cash & sword) and burying her. The
pull on the sigylls, which had been absent for a few days, started again, drawing
them south towards the next village on the trail - Drawn Swords.
Drawn Swords [Eleasias 19th]
The next day, the party made their way south-east across the plains
towards the small town of Drawn Swords. The rested horses made good time, and
the group could see the hill that the town was situated on for many miles before
they got to it. Arriving, they climbed the spiral road towards the center of
the town, where a short way from the ruined castle on the summit, they stopped
at the only inn. The town, close to the nearby Northdark Woods, seemed to be
a place where nobles and hunters came, mainly from Berlusk, but often from further
afield. It turned out that there was some form of portal in the old ruined castle,
that was used to link this back-of-beyond town with a more well travelled part
of the realms. They also met a group of other adventurers, though apart from
being real nosy about what they had, didn't interact with them that much.
Speaking to Windor Cannh - a ranger and a key figure in the town, Gindle showed the Harper pin he had been given by Lady Alustriel, and managed to arrange for a contact with a high priest of Lathander in the distant Berlusk to help regenerate Tankrin's hands. The meeting took place just through the portal in Berlusk the following morning (Eleasias 19th). After paying a sizeable donation of their funds to the priest, the ceremony was performed, and Tankrin's hands were restored.
Trail to Rolling Hills [Eleasias
20th]
Having had Tankrin's hands restored, the group left Drawn Swords and
followed the trail east for most of the day, though during the afternoon, the
low cloud in the over cast sky eventually developed into a thick fog. The trail
became fainter, harder to follow, and soon, the group were not 100% sure they
were still on the right path anymore, as the ground rose slightly below them,
becoming barren with rocky outcrops. Stopping to examine the ground, the group
realised that the crunching feeling underfoot came from bones, and that somehow,
they had managed to veer off course, and were now in the middle of "the
Battle of Bones" - a site where an ancient battle of huge proportions once
occured. A chill settled into the air that had nothing to do with the temperature...
Battle of Bones [Eleasias 20th evening]
Soon, the group were attacked by a variety of undead, and things started to
look increasingly dire, until a priestess of Kevlemor arrived with paladins
in tow and dispersed the undead. The group were then led out of the Battle of
Bones towards the town of Rolling Hills, where they could recover.
Rolling Hills [Eleasias 21st morning]
The following morning, the group, having rested and healed themselves, travel
the trail southwards toward the ruined village of Ladydove. Before they left
Rolling Hills however, they were told about how Ladydove - it used to be a village
of half-elves, but many years ago, was laid waste by a dire dragon that lives
in the Well of Dragons. The Well of Dragons is a large (3 mile wide) crater
in which it is reputed that Dragons come to die. Apparently there is one remaining
building in Ladydove that was unharmed by the dragon - and a well renowned high
level retired mage and dragon expert lives there, running the inn.
Ladydove [Eleasias 21st evening]
Arriving at close to sun-down, the group entered the Dire Dragon inn and met
with Yajandra Dlaethero, who used magic to help her run the inn alone. Talking
to her, they discovered a little more about the Well of Dragons, situated less
than a mile away. Whilst eating, a group of three travellers enter the inn.
They chat with Yajandra as well, saying that they are scientists who wish to
enter the well that night whilst the moon was up. Gindle, Clint and Tankrin
follow the three into the woods towards the Well of Dragons, suspicious about
them, whilst Joe and Dortle stay on the porch of the inn, chatting. A battle
ensues, with the three powerful strangers definitely getting the upper hand.
Even when Dortle and Joe finally catch up, it is touch and go, when suddenly
a bunch of draconians appear out of the trees, and finish the battle, before
stealing a ring from one of the dead and disappearing into the night again.
Tankrin, who had very nearly died at the hands of a summoned shadow, was brought
back to conciousness by Jeth.
Stripping the ex-dragon cultist's bodies of anything useful, the group made their way back to the Dire Dragon inn, and met again with Yajandra, who showed no surprise at their post battle condition, and certainly no judgement on their actions. During the conversation, the group offered one of the magic items they had taken off the still warm corpses of the dragon cultists - a bowl marked with carved dragons. Yajandra shows great interest in this magical item, and after some discussion, the group eventually part with the bowl in exchange for being teleported closer to their destination - Daggerdale. It was agreed that they would travel the following morning.
Daggerdale [Eleasias 22nd midday]
The following morning, the group stepped through a portal to arrive in the middle
of a junction between roads. A well travelled and maintained road - the Northride
- lead northeast towards Shadowdale, and southwest towards Cormyr, and a lesser
trail angled nortwards towards Daggerdale, skirting the edge of Spiderhaunt
woods on the left. The group, not knowing what to expect, or even where to look
for "Gwath", trudged down the road towards the dale, somewhat worried
about how they would find Gwath, let alone defeat her. Remembering what Ssessibil
had told them about Gwath being both a necromancer wizard working for the Zhentarium
AND the Dragon Cult, and operating out of a secret dungeon somewhere in Daggerdale,
the group had some reservations, but the sigills drove them on, an insistent
pressure to do something, albeit not giving them direction this time.
On the road (the Tethyamar Trail), the group encountered what initially appeared to be a group of men and women simply standing around - however, a poorly thought out battle was suddenly initiated, and it turned out that the "people" were in fact dopplegangers, which changed their shape as they fought in an attempt to confuse. Their leader had some form of magic at hand however, and disappeared.
Daggerdale - Anathar's Dell [Eleasias 22nd night]
Moving further into the dale, the group found a sign pointing down a side trail
towards Anathar's Hall in Anathar's Dell - a place offering fine food and lodgings
and only a short detour from the trail. Wishing to sleep again in proper beds
and eat hot food, the group decided to take the detour. Reaching the small hamlet,
the group found the inn and partook of the fine fare that had been advertised.
During the evening, the owner of the inn, a dwarf wife named Kharva, chatted
amicably with them, and in particular Dorn. The group found out some of the
history of Daggerdale - namely that the dale had once been dominated by the
Zhentarium and their allies, but only last year - the Year of the Gauntlet (1369)
- Randel Morn, the long time local leader of the resistance movement, had finally
managed, with assistance from his freedom fighters and some others, to push
the Zhentarium out of Dagger Falls. The dale was still a dangerous place, roamed
by broken up into leaderless bands of Zhentarium troops, brigands and orcs.
In fact, apparantly, Randel Morn had been encouraging adventurer's to come into
the dale to help mop up the Zhentarium remnants and any other monsters that
had crept into the area, and to that end, Kharva had a map
of the dale that she could give them for free. They also heard that Randel
Morn had disappeared again recently, which was not welcome news, as he was the
one man who might have been able to point thm in the direction of this Gwath
person.
Taking lodgings in the guest houses - small cottages around the inn itself, and after a good meal and drink - the group took their rest, glad to be in a peaceful area for a change. The sleep was not sound however, as a nightmare descended on the group. <Link to Nightmare description> Waking to broken windows, the group discovered that most windows in the hamlet had been broken somehow during the night. Other similarly bewildered people look out, trying to see the cause of the sudden damage. One witness claimed that a terrifying dark shape had flown overhead at high speed.
Daggerdale - Serpent's Bridge [Eleasias
23rd midday]
In the morning, other people had arrived in the hamlet - a group of Freedom
Fighters - who had been camping back on the main Tethyamar Trail had witnessed
a large dragon flying low over the tree tops from the south, circling over the
Serpent's Bridge, and then returning. A while later, it returned, northbound
again, flying low and fast over their camp, with a deafening thunderclap. They
couldn't tell what colour it was, silhoeted in the moonlight, but it was pretty
large, and it looked like it might have had riders.
Driven by the sigills to do something, the group moved onwards, heading towards a place on the map that that they thought might offer some hope of finding the necromancer "Gwath" - a place called Gwathburg. Returning to the Tethyamar Trail, they continued northwards, crossing the Serpent's Bridge. On the otherside of the river, the party met three men, who were examing the scene of some fairly recent battle. Two corpses, a large blackened area with a third charred corpse in the middle, and a couple of still steaming puddles. One of the men claimed to have been a witness to the battle, which he described as including some winged dragon like lizard-men, that fought with the two dead men and a femaie spell caster. The female spell caster died at the hands of her own spell - a fireball that was reflected back at her - and the two steaming puddles were from a couple of the dragon like men that were killed. Finally, a dark winged man sized figure emerge from the background, with glowing red eyes, barking orders at the others before the lot of them hurried off to the north east - towards the ruined castle that way (Castle Daggerdale). One of the farmers, searching the corpse for coins, straightens a wrinkled tunic, exposing the symbol of the Dragon Cult.
Daggerdale - Green Orb [Eleasias
24th morning]
Continuing their journey, the group made it to the trail leading towards Green
Orb - another hamlet on their way towards Gwathburg. Here they spent the night.
The locals seemed less friendly than those at Anathar's Dell, though they weren't
hostile, and the group finallygot a decent night's rest. In the morning, they
moved on again, this time following the almost completely overgrown trail towards
the ruined village of Dagger Springs.
Daggerdale - east of Dagger Springs [Eleasias 24th dusk]
A few miles before the village, as dusk was drawing close, the group spotted
fire light ahead. Moving closer, they realised that the fire had two giant figures
standing either side of it, with a third sitting down on the far side. The group
split, Dortle, Clint and Jo hanging back, Tankrin and Gindle moving up close
on either side to get closer. Upon getting closer, Gindle could see that the
third giant was much smaller than the other two, and was bound hand and foot
with tight cord. Taking his chance, Gindle rushed up behind the nearest giant
and back-stabbed it. Battle joined, Clint let loose with a fire ball, relying
on Gindle's enchanted ring of fire protection to protect him. But the giants
were fire giants, and although scorched, were not seriously damaged by the fireball.
The third figure rolled away from the fire, only to be freed by Tankrin. And
just in time to rescue Gindle from almost certain death at the end of the first
giant's huge sword. The second fire giant had stormed towards the source of
the fireball however, only to receive several other spells. Dortle, runnig forward
manages to hit the giant once, before finding himself grabbed and hurled like
a bolder towards Clint! It was a close thing, but the two fire giants were finally
defeated. The Firbolg, who named himself Tharg, urged the group to flee, as
the two giants were just part of a larger patrol of giants, and there were another
seven somewhere about!
The group hurried on, now joined by the shape shifting Firbolg, grateful for his rescue from the giants. Reaching the ruined village of Dagger Springs, the group holed up in some ruined buildings (and an old oak tree for Jo and Tankrin), and rested up till morning.
Daggerdale - Dagger Springs [Eleasias
25th early morning]
In the morning, Jo spotted the approach of the remaining giants, led by a single
giant scout, following their tracks. Clint, protected by a stoneskin spell,
stepped out into the open and waited for the giant to come into range of his
spells. But the giant bent and grabbed at a large boulder, picking it up easily
and hurling it at great speed towards Clint. The mage tried to dodge, but the
stone bounced along the ground and smacked into the mage, almost smashing him
into the ground. (Ed - Of course Clint's player was rather put out that
he couldn't dodge a large boulder from that range - and refused to believe that
the DM was following the correct laws of physics!) Brushing himself down,
the unharmed mage rises to his feet and looks again towards the giant, as if
to say "is that the best you can do?" Flabbergasted that the little
man could rise again, the giant approached closer and battle was joined. Through
use of spells, some teamwork, and help from the Firbolg, the giant, and his
companions when they arrived as well, were finally defeated. Finding some healing
potions on the giant shaman, the group healed themselves up somewhat, and moved
on again towards their goal of Gwathburg.
Daggerdale - Near Gwathburg [Eleasias 25th mid-morning]
Following the trail, the group came across what looked like an injured man,
who staggered out of the bushes on the trail ahead. As Clint rushed ahead to
see to the man, he suddenly keeled over, fast asleep! Gindle, more cautious,
approached with drawn swords, and Tankrin and Jo ducked into the undergrowth
on either side of the trail to flank the man. Tharg also suddenly fell asleep,
as he met the gaze of the man... Bursting into movement, the man, obviously
some form of shape shifter, shifted into a part wolf, part man and drew his
sword, cutting at Gindle. In the bushes on either side, the sound of snarling
was heard as both Jo and Tankrin found themselves battling several large wolves!
The strange beast man attacked fiercely, his blade rimmed with a red glow and
his jaws snapping at Dortle and Gindle. But the dwarf and half-orc priest fought
well together, and finally managed to defeat him. As the last of the wolves
died, the group roused Clint and Tharg, and made to move on their way. But Gindle
picked up the weapon the wolf man had been using, and suddenly found himself
possessed by an powerful force, compelling him to attack the nearest being!
Using his helm, Tankrin dropped a globe of darkness over Gindle, and lassoed
him, pulling him off his feet just as the possessed Luckpriest burst from it.
Dortle grabbed up a rock, and hurled it at Gindle, who then tried a Charm spell
on the dwarf. Using the wand of Lolth, Clint engulfed the area in first web,
then seeing that the web doesn't seem that strong, invoked a dome of ice over
his head instead, trapping him. As Dortle forced his way through the web towards
the dome of ice, Gindle realised the sword could produce flame, and starts to
use the flaming blade to break through the ice. As the blade broke through the
ice to burn away the web beyond, Dortle risked the flame and grabbed it, janking
it away from Gindle and dropping it to the floor. Gindle finally came to his
sences.
Wrapping the evil blade in cloth, the group rested up for a short while, before preparing to move on. Tankrin suddenly spots that the corpse of the Wolfwere had disappeared. Moving on swiftly, the group make camp a few hours later, much closer to Qwathburg. The first watch was disturbed by the sound of distant wolves, but otherwise the night passed without incident. In the morning, Gindle dedicated all his spells to healing, and then napped himself for an hour, before learning his healing spells again. Much refreshed, the group continued the short way along the trail towards the mysterious Gwathburg, and hopefully the necromancer Gwath that their sigylls are driving them towards.
Gwarthburg [Eleasias 26th midday]
Finally, they reached the fortified manor house known as Gwathburg. Initially,
it seemed deserted and run down, but then movement was spotted in one of the
guard towers. Climbing the walls, Gindle and Tankrin made their entrance from
the rear, whilst Dortle, Jo, Clint and the Firbolg Tharg entered from the front.
As they approached, arrows came flying from one of the gate houses. Clint let
loose a fireball, which cleared the two gate houses, and the four of them charged
up towards the gate. Meanwhile, Gindle and Tankrin (after Gindle had fallen
off the wall once!), back-stabbed the guard in the right hand rear tower, and
moved on to defeat the other one at the rear. The soldiers seemed like they
were already more dead than alive, so pale and gaunt. Breaking in through a
rear window, the pair explored the building, whilst the group at the front dealt
with the guards at the front. Tharg, somewhat begrudgingly joining in, in gratitude
for being rescued from the fire giants, seems a little puzzled about what they
are trying to achieve, but joined in anyway. A fireball zipped out from the
shadows of the main entrance, only to be absorbed by Clint's rod of absorbtion.
Charging forward the frontal assault group entered the main front entrance of
the building, only to find themselves in a gloomy hall. As the gloom cleared,
the doors slammed shut behind them, and they were faced by an undead beholder,
which started to intone "You have entered the Gwathburg wrongfully,
where you have no right to be and nothing to seek. For your crime you must either
swear to defend the lady of the house for the rest of eternity, or you must
fight me to the death, and die you shall! What is your choice?"
Of course, before it had managed to finish speaking, Dortle and the Firbolg charged forward to attack the eye, Dortle striking a mighty blow. The floating orb used it's magic to try to disintergrate the firbolg, who dived aside, the ray scorching along his side. Another ray zapped Dortle, who staggered under the death ray, and then also shrugged off an attempt at pertrification. Clint, quickly casting, blasted the eye with a lightning bolt, before Dortle and Tharg rushed forward to finish it off.
Meanwhile Gindle and Tankrin made their way around the back of the building and found their way into the same room. Examing two doors, the thieves in the party, found some traps. Tankrin disabled the physical trap, whilst Clint stepped forward to absorb the magical trap with his rod of absorbtion. Once the door was open, the group were faced by a Death Knight, and a room of 33 skeletal warriors on bunks.
Tharg is the receipient of a death spell, barely surviving, and Clint absorbs a huge fireball into his rod. Dortle and Gindle go forward to do battle with the death knight, as the Skeletal warriors behind start to stir. As the Death Knight finally goes down under Tharg and Dortle's battering, Clint let off a fireball in the room with the Skeletal Warriors.
The group then decided to open up the OTHER door in the room, which led, via a hidden pit, to a room full of coffins. There was a well in the room as well, together with a door leading to the main circular tower at the rear of the room. Sneaking through the room and hoping not to wake the dead, the group made their way slowly up the tower, avoiding most of the traps along the way. At the top of the tower, was a room with a statue in the middle and spikes on the ceiling. A strange reverse gravity spell caused Gindle to fall upwards, missing the spikes to go through an illusionary part of the ceiling into the upside down room above - there, he was attacked by a wraith like creature. Some of the others managed to make their own way to the same place, and eventually, the undead being is dispatched, though not before someone was held magically.
Opening a book, first one, then almost all of the others deciding to blindly follow, get teleported downstairs next to the well, where coffins start to open, revealing the ghosts of the 15 vampire lords who Gwath had once had at her command. The group flee, with more white hair than they had before.
In the meantime, the firbolg Tharg has, whilst the others were up the tower, finally managed to get the front door back open again, and already left, deciding his debt to the party was well and truely paid already.
Travelling across DaggerDale [Eleasias
27th - Eleasias29th]
Keeping out of trouble, the group made their way to their next major objective.
The Sigylls were driving them to find Gwath, and the Gwathburg seemed a good
place to look for her, but it had turned out not to be so. Their next thoughts
were to find Randal Morn - the leader of this area, so that they could ask him.
If anyone knew where to find Gwath, then Randal would.
DaggerFalls [Eleasias 30th morning]
Arriving late-morning at Daggerfalls, the group discovered that the town was
under siege. Trapped inside the town was a force of Zhentilar, who had thought
they were the attackers, before their defenders slipped away through secret
tunnels, blocking them behind them and turning the tables - besieger into besieged.
Having spoken with Captain Durmark of the besieging forces the group discovered that Randle Morn, the one person who might have helped them find the elusive Gwath that the sigylls drove them to find, was still missing, but believed to be held captive inside the besieged town.
This information proved incorrect however, when a captured Zhentish priest of the God Iyachtu Xvim - the Son of Bane - was brought in and questioned. He revealed that Lord Morn was being held captive by the beholder Xulla in the Temple of the Sky. The prisoner had come from the Flaming Tower below, and didn't know what was going on up above. But he was certain that Lord Morn was a prisoner there, as he saw his unconscious body being transported up there tied to the back of a griffon.
(Flaming Tower - "a large tower that the Zhents recently rebuilt, and they chained to it is a big chunk of rock that floats up in the sky. People call it the Temple in the Sky. It's a product of the old Netherese magic. In old times, the voice of Bane used to speak from there. Nowadays, the Flaming Tower below is held by the Zhentish and controlled by their Xvimist priests, while the temple above is in the hands of an allied beast cult. In the temple they worship a beholder named Xulla.")
The group met with the local Florin Falconhand of the Riders of Myth Drannor, Damian Rarth, a logger from Snowmantle, Rayanna the Rose of the Red Ravens, one of the Freemen of Cormyr named Rinaldo and representatives of Lord Mourngrym in Shadowdale and the Riders of Mistledale, together with Captain Durmark and Sir Ariton Delmis, a faithful paladin of Torm and commander of the Freedom Fighters in Daggerdale to discuss a possible rescue plan for Randel Morn.
After a long disucssion, the party agree to help with the attack, and move with a sizeable force to the Flaming tower to attack the next day.
The Flaming Tower [Eleint 1st]
As the main assult begins, Jhessail Silvertree of the Knights of Myth Drannor
gave Tankrin a ring of sending, telling the group that she will remotely teleport
them out once they have found and rescued Lord Morn. The group are made invisible
and teleported by into the bottom of the floating hunk of stone high above the
tower. Soon they encounter a couple of Gnoll guards, which are dispatched, before
a further 4 Gnolls come to investigate. These too are dispatched. The group
then headed up a stair-case sized for giants and humans, and came to a level
where there were lots of cells. As first Gindle, and then all the others bar
Clint passed through the portal, all enchantments were removed by some powerful
runes on the entrance. Clint, now the only party member still invisible decided
to wait in the stairwell. Moving along the corridor, the group foun some cells
with people in them, as well as several Gnoll Guards! In trying to open a cell,
Joe got stuck by a poison needle, and turned himself to stone to slow the poison.
The Gnolls were dispatched, Tankrin using her helm of darkness extensively,
but the group failed to find Randle Morn.
Back in the stair-well, a group of Gnolls came down the stairs. three of which charged into the corridor to do battle with Gindle and co, the remaining tried to high-tail it back up the stairs, only to find his way blocked by a sudden wall of ice - curtesy of Clint. Heading down instead, he found another wall of ice materialising in front of him. Once all the Gnolls were taken care off, Gindle prayed and cast a slow poison spell on Joe, and then Joe, no longer a statue, went on to release all the prisoners.
Then, a fire giant appeared on the other side of the upper wall of ice, smacked a large hole in it, before disappearing off and returning with four hell hounds. A fierce battle was undertaken, in which Dortle very nearly got creamed by the fire giant. Then, whilst Tankrin and Dortle headed up the stairs, Gindle hung back to skin a hell-hound - making a real mess of it - not being skilled at that sort of activity.
At the top of the stairs, Tankrin found a corridor leading towards a circular room with Randle Morn in it, the man hanging unconcious in a green mist, seemingly racked in pain. Avoiding a pit, the remainder of the party regroup and wonder how to release the Lord Morn. Finding a staircase on the opposite side of the room, the group start to make their way up - quickly realising that there were numerous traps on the stair-case. At the very top of the staircase Gindle was rather shocked to find himself face to face with a Beholder. The group attack, and the battle isn't going that well, when suddenly the beholder simply topples over and crashed into the ground. Without searching the room, the group head back downstairs and find that the spell holding Randle Morn had disapaited, leaving his unconcious body lying on the stone floor. It is about now that the group notice that the second sigyll for Gwath has disappeared from their arms
Tankrin used the ring to tell Jhessail Silvertree that they had found Randle Morn, and moments later, they were all teleported back to the ground outside the battle. The main battle was just about over, and a short while later, the Knights of Mythdrannor declared that they would finish the job they'd once tried to do before - destroy the Flaming Tower once and for all. Taking a box from a wagon, one of the Knights - Florin Falconhand opened it and a ghostly woman stepped out - a woman who was introduced as Syluné, also sometimes called the Witch of Shadowdale. The ghostly witch - a spell singer - stepped towards the tower and unleashed an almost unceasing stream of power which reduced the tower and the floating stone above it to nothing more than a glowing pit in the ground. The remainder of the day was spent healing the injured and counting the losses, which luckily, were not too severe. Despite magical healing, Randle Morn remained unconcious, recovering from his ordeal.
Chilling out in Daggerfalls [Eleint
2nd]
The following morning the group retraced their steps together with the army,
returning to Daggerfalls, where the siege had since fallen - news of the fall
of the Flaming Tower having preceeded ahead of them. As a key element of the
attack, the party were invited to a meeting with Randle Dorn, the Daggerdale
leader now conscious again. He helped explain a lot:
"Well, the story I could tell you would take several days, and I don't have the energy to do that yet, so you'll have to settle for the short version. The creature you destroyed the in the Temple in the Sky was not the beholder Xulla, it was one of the most vile and evil creatures ever found in the Dales, an ancient drow lich named Gwath. To start at the end of the tale, Gwath came into possession of some extremely powerful scrolls from ancient Netheril. She used one of these to completely destroy the spirit of Xulla and to occupy the beholder's body. Then she captured me and used an even more powerful scroll to try and take me over. What she wanted to do with me is a time-consuming process. She wanted to take me over completely, to have full access to my thoughts, memories, knowledge, personality, everything. To do that, her magic had to contain and completely subdue my soul, to push it back into the corners of my physical being, where her spirit could control everything, but she could use my spirit anytime she wished. She was still in the process of magically subduing my spirit, when she was destroyed. This process apparently can take varying amounts of time, depending upon whether the victims resist or not. I resisted as well as I could. Meanwhile, she pumped me full of her knowledge, and as a result, I know answers people have been seeking for a long time to a great many secrets. That sums up the end of the story. Let's go back to the beginning, more than 750 years ago. There's a land far away in the south called Dambrath. You've probably never heard of it, but you most likely have heard of Luiren, the halfling nation that makes the famous cheeses and raises pipeweed. Dam¬brath borders on Luiren, and it's a land controlled today by evil half drow. But more than 750 years ago, Dambrath was a land where men were locked in a constant battle with the drow beneath them. It was in these days that the high priestess of Llolth, Gwath, went north, on a mission from the spider queen herself. Drow were trying to take control of the western Dalelands and already were in control of Shadowdale, ruling over it from the Twisted Tower there. Gwath came to the Daleswood north of Shadow Gap it's called Spiderhaunt now had a tower built there for herself and filled the wood with all varieties of giant and magic spiders to defend the tower for her. From her tower, Gwath, in the name of Llolth, steered all efforts of the Drow to cement control of the northwestern Dales. At this time, Myth Drannor rose to its glory, and it come often to combat between the elves and other folk of Myth Drannor and the drow of the Twisted Tower. In the Year of the Lance, Gwath turned the tide and won the battle with Myth Drannor. She succeeded with Llolth's help in opening a gate in Myth Drannor to the Army of Darkness, and the fall of Myth Drannor began. However, before that, the lead¬ers of Myth Drannor had found Gwath's tower in Spiderhaunt and had launched several forays against it, forcing her to flee. In the Year of the Scarlet Sash (679 DR) already, she abandoned her tower and fled to the unsettled edge of the mountains in our valley, Daggerdale, which was known then as Merrydale. The Fall of Myth Drannor was inevitable, in truth, the city would collapse in another two years. Shadowdale was a drow stronghold, with Gwath as high priestess, and Gwath's eyes now were upon Merrydale. Not long after moving into the newly-built Gwathburg, Gwath's drow captured a party of adventurers trying to make its way through the Desertsmouth Mountains and found among the treasures these adventurers had won several strange scrolls in a language that was foreign. These proved to be a powerful set of scrolls from ancient Netheril. The scrolls fascinated Gwath and began to draw her away from Llolth's path and into the weave of magic. The years in the Gwathburg marked the beginning of her betrayal of Llolth and her new path as a wizard. More than 100 years after obtaining these scrolls, Gwath used one for the first time, to sum¬mon 15 great vampire lords to Merrydale. With the arrival, Gwath built a new tower deep within the Desertsmouth Mountains, south of the old Tethyamar Mines. This tower is filled with foul magic, but to date, it has remained unfound. That is past. It can be destroyed at last, for I know where it is. Gwath was in her new tower, and the 15 vampire lords took possession of the Gwathburg. It was their goal to destroy the human population of Merrydale, to open the Dale to the Drow, to at last give them the sole control over the lands between the Tesh and the Ashaba. However, Gwath and the Drow overestimated their power. The men of the lands that now are the western Dales and northwestern Cormyr as well as the elves of Cormanthor arose, to rid this part of Faerûn from the drow and vampire menaces. After six years of the vampire plague, which led to Merrydale becoming known as Daggerdale, men from the southern part of Daggerdale and northern Cormyr, led by priests of Lathander, crossed the land, destroying large numbers of vampires and at last finding the Gwathburg and destroying the 15 vampire lords as well. In eastern Daggerdale, waves of elves from Cormanthor swept across the Dagger Hills, destroying the vampires there and then ravishing Gwath's gateway to the East, the village of Highstone in the Dagger Hills, which had become known as Bloodstone, where every man, woman and child had died in a vam¬pire feast or had been turned into a vampire. The attempt to conquer Daggerdale with vampires failed, and men gained courage. With elven help, they began working to clear Shadowdale of the accursed drow there. They built Cas¬tle Grimstead near Shadowdale, which fell after 30 years to the dark elves, but after another 40 years of hard resistance, the men and elves captured the Twisted Tower and drove the drow back into the Underdark. Gwath's bid for power in the name of Llolth had ended in defeat, although the wizardess herself re¬mained free. In the years that followed, all memory of Gwath was lost in Daggerdale, for in these years the wizard and later lich was active primarily in Sembia, as a high member of the Cult of the Dragon. Before ascending to lichdom, she was the mate of the Bane priest Algashon, who steered Sammaster through the developing years of the cult, and Gwath had every intention of winning Sammaster's posi¬tion with time. Algashon also was the father of Gwath's only child, a daughter named Gothyl. She had become a demi-shade. She reopened her mother's old tower in Spiderhaunt two years ago and held me captive there. But things also went awry in the Dragon Cult. The organization was constantly without organization and in chaos, and many of its members were as insane as Sammaster himself. But then Sammaster was destroyed and after him Algashon. Sammaster's mistress, Kargmelchina, had vanished. And so, Gwath became one of the cult's greatest Keepers of the Secret Hoard. The combined chaos and in¬sanity made it difficult to bring the cult together, as she wished, but as this century drew near, she felt she was achieving some success. And then Sammaster returned as a lich, in the mountains above Shadow Gap, raving with what Gwath perceived as new madness, advocating the creation of dragon vampires. Gwath conspired with two other leading Keepers of the Secret Hoard Xarth Kistar, a priest of Bane and double agent in Zhentil Keep, and Harbet Gall, a double agent priest of Malar the Beast Lord in the Great Dale to have Sammaster destroyed. They obtained magic to destroy Sammaster from an insane old lich named Azimer who haunted the empty halls of the School of Magic beneath the ruins of Myth Drannor, and they hired an arch mage named Ssessibil Istahvar in the Lonely Tower near the Cold Wood in the North to work this magic upon Sammaster, because they did not consider themselves powerful enough to do it. However, Sammaster was a strong opponent for Ssessibil, and their duel of magic went on for some time. Gwath became impatient and betrayed Sammaster to the Harpers as well, and a combined as¬sault of 12 Harper paladins plus Ssessibil's magic at last succeeded in destroying Sammaster's lich, although his phylactery has never been found. After the destruction of Sammaster's lich, Gwath wearied of the Dragon Cult and focused her sights instead upon the Zhentarim and indeed forged new alliances with Manshoon and the leaders of the Zhentarim. She appeared now in a magical form as a sorceress named Gwenda, and her intrigues led to the fall of Teshendale and later to the fall of my family here in Daggerdale. After the Time of Troubles, however, first disgusted with the Zhents' subservience to Bane and the loss of so many Zhentilar and then with their new subservience to Cyric, who in the end destroyed Zhentil Keep, Gwath became disgusted with the Zhents too. Her new hope for power became the secretive Iron Throne in Sembia. Disguised as a beautiful sor¬ceress named Gwanett, she did what the best spies in the Dales have failed to do, she rooted out some of the more important figures in the Iron Throne and made deals with them. Even before she closed her dealings in Sembia, she began setting her plot here in Daggerdale into motion. Long ago, her daughter, Gothyl, had sought lichdom and failed, ending up as a demi-shade. Gwath entered the Tomb of Shraevyn and worked magics to place Gothyl's spirit into the Sword of the Dales which the ancient mage Shraevyn had created for our protection back in the days when Dagger¬dale still was Merrydale. With the help of one of her Netherese scrolls, Gwath had given Gothyl an ability to free herself from the sword by taking over my body. Gwath then would have been able to remain in the background, where she preferred to be, while Gothyl in my body and mind would be running Daggerdale. Well, that didn't work out as planned either, because I was rescued. However, when Gwath came back from Sembia, these events didn't bother her that much either. She would have had to drive the Zhents out of Dagger Falls anyway, and that much already was accompa¬nied. Daughter Gothyl's fate was Gothyl's problem. She had failed Gwath and was no longer of inter¬est. Gwath set the next event into operation and saw to it that Tyran the Outlaw Prince received steady and reliable tips about Slater and the weaknesses of her Zhentilar in Teshwave, and as she knew he would, Tyran drove the Zhents out of Teshendale for her. Next of all, she needed me, and she decided she was going to take me over herself this time. But the problem is, even with a Netherese scroll, it can take a lot of time to take the kind of control of a person that she wanted. If it's not done right, you get the body and lose the soul, and she needed not only my body but also my spirit - 100% intact. So, she needed a sheltered situation. Her supply of Netherese scrolls was running short, and she had to use another one, this time to de¬stroy the spirit of the beholder Xulla and take over its body. Xulla was a safe cover. The chances that anyone would bother him were as good as nil. It's just that Gwath forgot again, as she has so often, to take an important point into consideration. The Xvimist priest down below was absolutely insane. He went so raving mad that he turned on his own, and one of them blew the whistle, showing you the way here. You rescued me on time, and in some way I still don't understand, you managed to destroy Gwath. All I know is that some wave of magic came over her, and her spirit just seemed to disintegrate. In any case, the Dales and Cormyr will be better for it. I know where her tower is hidden, where there still are a few Netherese scrolls hidden, and I know who some of the powerful folks behind the Iron Throne in Sembia are, and I also know where there are some highly respected people in neighboring lands who really are nothing more than agents of the Zhentarim. So with Gwath destroyed, there's going to be a good housecleaning. Now, my last comment, then it's time for me to rest again. Daggerdale is indebted to you folks. When you're tired of your adventuring, come back here to us. I can promise each of you a very valuable land grant. If you're a priest, we'll build you a temple. If you're a mage, we'll build you a tower or whatever else it is that a mage builds. If you're a bard, we could even try to start a new bard's college here in Daggerdale. You see, I know where Gwath has her fortune hidden, and with it, we can do a lot of things that weren't possible earlier. But I also know that the wandering boots have to start pinching before the time's right for my offer. Just don't forget it. The new Daggerdale really needs folks like you." |
Trouble in Daggerfalls [Eleint
3rd]
Leaving Randal Morn to recuperate, the group realized that there was no pressure
from the sigylls for them to move on, and with the offer of free land and building,
they dreamed about setting up a thieves guild of their own (OOC: As most of
them are "good" characters, I have no idea why they would want to
do this, but I wasn't going to argue with them). Left to their own devices the
group decided to explore Dagger Falls and generally get into trouble. Finding
a tower that appeared to be abandoned, the group decided to break into it, fantasies
of finding riches and magical items, or perhaps taking the place over as their
own. Despite reports by locals of a ghost that inhabited it. together with various
warning signs and magical mouths telling them not to, they went ahead anyway,
much to their cost, as both Clint and Dortle were significantly aged by the
ghost. Various magical traps in the tower, the maze below and the wizard's laboratory
weakened the party significantly before they met the true owner of the tower,
a wizard who was half-way through the process of transforming himself into a
lich. LUCKILY for them, the lich was not an evil lich per say, and had in his
past, been a follower of Tymora as well - so was lenient with the group - mass
teleporting them back to the street outside and "persuading" Gindle
to actively promote the fact that the tower was NOT unoccupied, and that the
owner preferred his privacy!
Resting up in Daggerfalls [Eleint
4-5th]
Over the next couple of days the group rested and healed up - Tankrin in particular
had been very close to death. They also thought more about the remaining four
sigylls on their arms.
Last updated: 15th January 2006