We tied Charles and George together and left them near the river. Then we flew up and scouted the area around the town. We found the church on the outskirts of town, and after a bit more searching, we found a grave site northwest of town where about 40 slaves were digging out mass graves from the great Battle of Dragonwood Forest in the Hundred Years' War about 40 years back. A great pile of skeletal bodies were piled up near the excavation pit... poor souls, so much for "rest in peace."
The slaves and their masters spotted us as we flew over, so we had to engage them. I leaned over the railing and hailed them, telling them that we'd brought more cargo. After we disembarked, Treble stuck a dagger into one and battle ensued: us against three human cultists, two dragonborn whipmasters, one dragonborn death priest wielding a sceptre, and four zombies. The whipmasters were skilled in wrapping their whips around our ankles, grabbing us and knocking us prone. The death priest shot bolts of black ice at us, and the zombies were weaker, though still they charged at us and protected the others. It was a skirmish, for sure--especially for Aurora, who took a lot o' heat.
Afterwards, we searched the tents and the bodies of the fallen, finding a False Blood Amulet (which will help with my disguises) and Luckbender Gloves, which Treble put on. We found a journal that the death priest was keeping, whose code we have already made good progress in deciphering (I think we're a little more than half done with it). We also found 200 gold worth of gold, gems, and so on. We freed the slaves and talked to them, advising them not to return to the town. We found that there wasn't much else in the way of viable alternatives, so they agreed to wait at the camp until we cleanse the town of the slavery operation when we plan to return and tell them that it's safe. Many of them, however, had worked around the facilities, and they had a lot of useful information about the various operations. We learned that there are two kinds of undead that the slavers are using: zombies, raised from the ages-old skeletons and relatively mindless; and ghouls, turned from misbehaving slaves as a threat to keep the other ones in line (these have some level of intelligence and use their claws to immobilize a target before biting).
The others all agreed it would be best for the bodies at the mass graves here to be burned, which the slaves agreed to do after nightfall so as not to attract attention from the church. They said that the slavers go in rotation, and they weren't expecting a shift change until another day or so, so we had some time. We also learned that this is the only mass grave that was currently being excavated; others having been excavated in the past.
Some of 'em drew us a most useful map of the cathedral itself and the surrounding area. I found it interesting that they are shipping slaves from the mass graves while the graveyard right in front of the church had not yet been emptied, though the slaves said that they were already excavating slaves beyond their capabilities to raise them so far. On the map, they pointed out the inner structure of the old church and the new inner chamber constructed where Alhunder spends most of his time. They pointed out the two docks where slaves bring lumber from upriver on the barges (giving us a rough heading so we could pursue this remote camp as well), and a bunch of sleeping tents on the opposite sides for the slaves who are working on the cathedral itself.
The slaves told us we should expect to encounter scores of undead, a couple of whipmasters in the logging operation and a couple in the cathedral, three more death priests, and another six or so cultists. They also told us something new about Alhunder: that he is human, but one of his arms and hands is skeletal. It sounds like he has had the necrotic skin grafted onto his body, which we suspect should grant him some of the abilities of the undead.
We went along the river up to the logging camp, which was easy to find thanks to the trees felling in plain sight. We saw two whipmasters and about 70 slaves, as well as a couple of barges onto which the slaves were loading the lumber. We also saw three cultists, as well as some ghouls and zombies. The slaves had told us to be prepared for more undead at the logging camp because the slaves were armed with axes, so the ghouls would be used to help keep them in line. We landed near the smaller group, consisting of one whipmaster, one cultist, two ghouls, and three zombies. I told 'em we were bringing more cargo and should be unloading, and after we disembarked, Aurora attacked the whipmaster, stirring up a battle. We did a little better this time, though again somehow Aurora ended up in the thick of things. It was really tense for her there for a few moments before she regained her composure and helped to defeat the foes flanking her on all sides. One exciting turn in the battle happened once we had most of the enemies under control: while many of the slaves understandably ran for their lives, five brave ones came and fought against their captors alongside us! We cheered them on, and they seemed to have regained some vigor! Although once their immediate masters were dispatched, they thanked us and ran as well before the second wind of foes was upon us.
Aye, a huge ruckus arose and the rest of the enemies rushed across the battlefield towards us. We're ready to finish them!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
XP for Slaves of the Old Empire Session #8
Each player gained 650 experience for the session. That will take you to level 6.
Total XP: 7600 (level 7 at 10000xp)
Total XP: 7600 (level 7 at 10000xp)
Friday, March 26, 2010
The pit of the snake gods; a sexy body
First we went after Thorn into the secret passage. We came upon three horned drakes (easily defeated), but four piles of hay, from which we drew the inference that Thorn had ridden one of the drakes away from the compound. We followed the tunnel to its end, leading outside the compound to the other side of the hill. We followed the drake footprints a ways, but lost them.
Treble scouted the garbage pit in the dining room of the lodge, reporting back that he heard some hissing. Meanwhile, I freed the slaves, and Colvin helped convince them to watch Leshna while we investigated the pit. They were relieved to be freed and several of them agreed to help.
In the pit, we fought two carrion crawlers, six huge centipedes, and two spiderlike otyughs that kept grabbing Aurora. She seemed to be frustrated by this, but she held her own pretty well. When it finally looked like we had gotten a solid hold on the battle, a powerful earth elemental came onto the scene and started sending quake shocks through the region. Once all were defeated, we headed down the tunnel, ultimately finding a vast cavern... the entrance to the Underdark. Some among us have interest in pursuing this new area... but for now we have more pressing matters ahead.
The trip beneath wasn't entirely useless: we had found 100 gold in the trash, and another 300 gold in gems littering the walls of the earth elemental's lair.
After this, we went aboveboard and freed the slaves. They cheered when they heard our suggestion to take everything that wasn't nailed down, to take the boat and the wagons, and to go the nearest port town Galethspyre to sell the loot and split the proceeds. We encouraged some of them to make way to Cragwar to assist the other slaves we had left behind, telling them there was a monetary reward offered for the help.
Then, we put Leshna in the hold and headed for Woodhelm. She dropped out of the boat about an hour down the road. I was kind of pissed about it because we had already checked the hold for holes before leaving her in there, so I have no idea how she got out. I didn't have time to obsess about it for too long, however, as a group of five big, blood-red hawks attacked the ship, swooping at Treble and Phelaia and causing us to veer slightly off-course. Of course it would be this exact instant that our ship veered into a writhing cloud of dire giant mosquitoes that engulfed Brogar, Colvin, and Aurora, who were swatting themselves trying to get them off. Eventually we rid ourselves of the pests, and a bit later we come upon a boat going to the south. We weren't sure, but Phelaia suggested that it might be the boat coming to the south to pick up the slaves from the compound, and she suggested that we intercept. We talked about the best way to go about it, and ultimately decided that it would be best for me to disguise as Leshna.
I borrowed a silk dress from Phelaia and changed in privacy. As Leshna, I could feel a new spring in my step... I hadn't looked this good in ages, and it felt great. I even caught Colvin looking appreciatively. Heh. I sauntered a bit around the ship, and it helped that we had interrogated Leshna for so long, because I was much better able to affect her attitude and speech mannerisms when I leaned over the rail, showing off my new assets, and hailed the ship below. I told them that they were late, to which they seemed surprised to see me, and stammered that the slaves weren't cooperative. I asked if they were better-equipped this time, to which they replied that they weren't. At the suggestion of the others, I suggested that we had brought some recruits to help keep the slaves in line, and asked if they could use the help. They seemed relieved and docked so I could send my "recruits" aboard. I did, at which point "my" guys (Morangan, Treble, Brogar, Aurora) easily overpowered their two, and when they asked more about what was happening, I told them that we were following orders and were told to take over their ship.
We took them (Charles and George) belowground as some of the others made the ship unseaworthy. I ordered them to answer the guards' questions, and then I went aboveboard with a few of the others who were preparing to set sail. The others reported back that they learned the following: their group consisted of Alhunder (a "brilliant" leader who could raise the dead and create undead; talks to Orcus every day), ghouls, zombies, four death priests, 8 more guys about their level, and two whip-wielding guys in town and more at the gravesite northwest of town. They learned that Leshna was about the level of one of the death priests in the organization.
Now we have to figure out how to get them out of the way so we can go in and destroy their operation. I don't mind at all being in Leshna's body for awhile longer.
Treble scouted the garbage pit in the dining room of the lodge, reporting back that he heard some hissing. Meanwhile, I freed the slaves, and Colvin helped convince them to watch Leshna while we investigated the pit. They were relieved to be freed and several of them agreed to help.
In the pit, we fought two carrion crawlers, six huge centipedes, and two spiderlike otyughs that kept grabbing Aurora. She seemed to be frustrated by this, but she held her own pretty well. When it finally looked like we had gotten a solid hold on the battle, a powerful earth elemental came onto the scene and started sending quake shocks through the region. Once all were defeated, we headed down the tunnel, ultimately finding a vast cavern... the entrance to the Underdark. Some among us have interest in pursuing this new area... but for now we have more pressing matters ahead.
The trip beneath wasn't entirely useless: we had found 100 gold in the trash, and another 300 gold in gems littering the walls of the earth elemental's lair.
After this, we went aboveboard and freed the slaves. They cheered when they heard our suggestion to take everything that wasn't nailed down, to take the boat and the wagons, and to go the nearest port town Galethspyre to sell the loot and split the proceeds. We encouraged some of them to make way to Cragwar to assist the other slaves we had left behind, telling them there was a monetary reward offered for the help.
Then, we put Leshna in the hold and headed for Woodhelm. She dropped out of the boat about an hour down the road. I was kind of pissed about it because we had already checked the hold for holes before leaving her in there, so I have no idea how she got out. I didn't have time to obsess about it for too long, however, as a group of five big, blood-red hawks attacked the ship, swooping at Treble and Phelaia and causing us to veer slightly off-course. Of course it would be this exact instant that our ship veered into a writhing cloud of dire giant mosquitoes that engulfed Brogar, Colvin, and Aurora, who were swatting themselves trying to get them off. Eventually we rid ourselves of the pests, and a bit later we come upon a boat going to the south. We weren't sure, but Phelaia suggested that it might be the boat coming to the south to pick up the slaves from the compound, and she suggested that we intercept. We talked about the best way to go about it, and ultimately decided that it would be best for me to disguise as Leshna.
I borrowed a silk dress from Phelaia and changed in privacy. As Leshna, I could feel a new spring in my step... I hadn't looked this good in ages, and it felt great. I even caught Colvin looking appreciatively. Heh. I sauntered a bit around the ship, and it helped that we had interrogated Leshna for so long, because I was much better able to affect her attitude and speech mannerisms when I leaned over the rail, showing off my new assets, and hailed the ship below. I told them that they were late, to which they seemed surprised to see me, and stammered that the slaves weren't cooperative. I asked if they were better-equipped this time, to which they replied that they weren't. At the suggestion of the others, I suggested that we had brought some recruits to help keep the slaves in line, and asked if they could use the help. They seemed relieved and docked so I could send my "recruits" aboard. I did, at which point "my" guys (Morangan, Treble, Brogar, Aurora) easily overpowered their two, and when they asked more about what was happening, I told them that we were following orders and were told to take over their ship.
We took them (Charles and George) belowground as some of the others made the ship unseaworthy. I ordered them to answer the guards' questions, and then I went aboveboard with a few of the others who were preparing to set sail. The others reported back that they learned the following: their group consisted of Alhunder (a "brilliant" leader who could raise the dead and create undead; talks to Orcus every day), ghouls, zombies, four death priests, 8 more guys about their level, and two whip-wielding guys in town and more at the gravesite northwest of town. They learned that Leshna was about the level of one of the death priests in the organization.
Now we have to figure out how to get them out of the way so we can go in and destroy their operation. I don't mind at all being in Leshna's body for awhile longer.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
XP for Slaves of the Old Empire Session #7
Each player gained 400 experience for the session.
Total XP: 6950 (level 6 at 7500xp)
Total XP: 6950 (level 6 at 7500xp)
Saturday, March 13, 2010
XP for Slaves of the Old Empire Session #6
Each player gained 450 experience for the session.
Total XP: 6550 (level 6 at 7500xp)
Total XP: 6550 (level 6 at 7500xp)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Thorn is betrayed... again
In the morning, I enchanted a rapier for Treble, and tried my hand at brewing a couple of potions. The potions are a new craft for me, and I'm pleased with the results. I gave one to Brogar and one to Morangan. We made a rough plan for the others to follow somewhat behind, and I headed up to the lodge, dressed as one of the battleragers. An orc was there, with a white flag of surrender. When he saw me, he ran up and shouted with relief "Brock! I'm so glad to see you. What happened?" ...so I guess that made me "Brock." Check. He said he was trying to find Agrawal, to give him a message from Thorn, but since I reported being unable to find Agrawal, he suggested that we go together to give Thorn the update. I was a little worried when he looked expectantly at me, being as I didn't know the layout of the place, so I told him to lead the way. We passed a hall on the right where it's clear that slaves are being kept... I saw their cages out of the corner of my eye and heard the ruckus from the room. And right down the hall we went, through a door into an office. Behind a large desk sat Thorn, dressed in black chain. There were two warforged against the wall behind him, holdin' quarterstaves. To the right of his desk was a striking Eladrin archer lady, and to the left of the door was an ogre, noisily chugging some foul-smelling concoction from a mug the size of a bucket, his giant club resting on the wall next to him.
Thorn asked what happened, and I relayed (uh... basically) the truth: that Agrawal must have betrayed him, that he and his men had drawn "our" guys out with a ruse and then stormed the lodge, killing most of its occupants, with only a few of us left to drive him out. I told him I had been searching for him and his crew but had been unable to find them. He was extremely angry, and ordered me and Murg (oh, so that's the guy who led me in here...) to clean the place up.
Murg helped me carry one of the bodies out of the lodge to the river. Next time I disguise myself as such a high-ranking officer, I should remember to give orders with more confidence to avoid arousing suspicion. Thankfully, Murg was naive and stupid, so he didn't catch onto my blunder. As we exited the lodge with a body, I said somewhat loudly, "Let's take him over to the mouth of the river and give him a water burial," unsure of whether my allies were within earshot. Apparently they were, though; that shiny rapier I'd just enchanted and polished for Treble appeared, sticking through Murg's chest before we even reached the river. I shouted "Murg, get down!" and brandished my greataxe. I fully intended to take a swing at Treble if need be, to keep my cover, but Murg was running like hell for the lodge and I swung at a post instead, to give the appearance of attacking our "common foe."
Poor Murg never made it to the door. I did a quick once-over on his pockets to see if he held any keys of any type but found only a few silvers, which I left on his person. I stood guard in front of the lodge, where Aurora approached and asked what she should do, posing as one of the shifters we had fought the previous day. I ordered her loudly to search for the intruders, and in a softer voice I told her to relay to the others what we had seen.
Shortly after, Thorn roared down the hall, ordering me back to his room. I obeyed, and he was properly livid. He accused me of working with Agrawal, and I denied it. He said he had just seen Murg be killed, a magic I will have to investigate when I have the time to devote my attention to it. The lies dripped glibly from my mouth as I told him Agrawal's guys were out there launching an assault on our lodge while I was trying to defend the outer doors. He totally bought it; although he seemed somewhat confused, he couldn't help but believe my convincing story. Then, to my surprise, he told me to go find Agrawal or whoever was in charge, and send 'im in.
I headed back to the front, and found my party there, about to launch an assault on the lodge. I told 'em that the boss wanted to see whoever was in charge, and backed away from them into Thorn's office, where he told all of 'em to come in, which they did. Brogar posed as the fellow in charge of us all, and told Thorn that he intended to take the slaves. Thorn didn't appreciate this too well, and ordered us all to be killed, as by now he had begun to believe that Brock had betrayed him. (First Agrawal, then Brock... Thorn wasn't having a good day.)
The ogre attacked Brogar, and battle ensued. Soon into it, Thorn escaped to save his own skin. Between the two warforged and the eladrin, we found ourselves often knocked to the ground. Some of the others got up, just to be knocked down again. I saved myself the trouble and stayed down. I think I need to work on my tactics a bit, but the others did well here: Phelaia launched a round of devastating attacks, Colvin erected a wall of bolstering light, Brogar bravely fended off the ogre and a tiger as well (until the ogre finally crushed him, at which point I healed him and he got back up and kept fighting), Aurora whirled her blades around like a madwoman, Morangan shot arrow after arrow, and Treble teleported to flank the ogre and bring the massive creature down. This battle was another tough one; at one point we had Phelaia, Morangan, Brogar, and Treble all bloodied before Colvin healed them with his wall, saving Morangan from falling unconscious the next round. In the midst of all this was the Eladrin, shooting pot shots at us from down the hall until Colvin went to chase her down as the battle wound up.
In the end, Colvin, Phelaia, Brogar, and Morangan went after the eladrin while Aurora and Treble searched the two rooms in the back. I was somewhere between the two sets of my allies, waiting to act as a reinforcement. After several minutes, we all rejoined together. Colvin, Phelaia, and Brogar brought the eladrin back with them as their prisoner, Treble reported finding a secret passage behind a bookcase in Thorn's bedroom, and Aurora reported finding some papers, a secret lever that opened a trap door to a fifteen-foot-deep pit in front of the desk, and an odd mirror (which I plan to investigate further).
We all healed up, and the questioning of the prisoner commenced, as I rifled through the papers that Aurora had found and examined the eladrin's magic items: a ring and an amulet. I think we'll be going after Thorn through the secret passage next, to try to stop him from getting away. The next likely plan is to free the slaves.
Thorn asked what happened, and I relayed (uh... basically) the truth: that Agrawal must have betrayed him, that he and his men had drawn "our" guys out with a ruse and then stormed the lodge, killing most of its occupants, with only a few of us left to drive him out. I told him I had been searching for him and his crew but had been unable to find them. He was extremely angry, and ordered me and Murg (oh, so that's the guy who led me in here...) to clean the place up.
Murg helped me carry one of the bodies out of the lodge to the river. Next time I disguise myself as such a high-ranking officer, I should remember to give orders with more confidence to avoid arousing suspicion. Thankfully, Murg was naive and stupid, so he didn't catch onto my blunder. As we exited the lodge with a body, I said somewhat loudly, "Let's take him over to the mouth of the river and give him a water burial," unsure of whether my allies were within earshot. Apparently they were, though; that shiny rapier I'd just enchanted and polished for Treble appeared, sticking through Murg's chest before we even reached the river. I shouted "Murg, get down!" and brandished my greataxe. I fully intended to take a swing at Treble if need be, to keep my cover, but Murg was running like hell for the lodge and I swung at a post instead, to give the appearance of attacking our "common foe."
Poor Murg never made it to the door. I did a quick once-over on his pockets to see if he held any keys of any type but found only a few silvers, which I left on his person. I stood guard in front of the lodge, where Aurora approached and asked what she should do, posing as one of the shifters we had fought the previous day. I ordered her loudly to search for the intruders, and in a softer voice I told her to relay to the others what we had seen.
Shortly after, Thorn roared down the hall, ordering me back to his room. I obeyed, and he was properly livid. He accused me of working with Agrawal, and I denied it. He said he had just seen Murg be killed, a magic I will have to investigate when I have the time to devote my attention to it. The lies dripped glibly from my mouth as I told him Agrawal's guys were out there launching an assault on our lodge while I was trying to defend the outer doors. He totally bought it; although he seemed somewhat confused, he couldn't help but believe my convincing story. Then, to my surprise, he told me to go find Agrawal or whoever was in charge, and send 'im in.
I headed back to the front, and found my party there, about to launch an assault on the lodge. I told 'em that the boss wanted to see whoever was in charge, and backed away from them into Thorn's office, where he told all of 'em to come in, which they did. Brogar posed as the fellow in charge of us all, and told Thorn that he intended to take the slaves. Thorn didn't appreciate this too well, and ordered us all to be killed, as by now he had begun to believe that Brock had betrayed him. (First Agrawal, then Brock... Thorn wasn't having a good day.)
The ogre attacked Brogar, and battle ensued. Soon into it, Thorn escaped to save his own skin. Between the two warforged and the eladrin, we found ourselves often knocked to the ground. Some of the others got up, just to be knocked down again. I saved myself the trouble and stayed down. I think I need to work on my tactics a bit, but the others did well here: Phelaia launched a round of devastating attacks, Colvin erected a wall of bolstering light, Brogar bravely fended off the ogre and a tiger as well (until the ogre finally crushed him, at which point I healed him and he got back up and kept fighting), Aurora whirled her blades around like a madwoman, Morangan shot arrow after arrow, and Treble teleported to flank the ogre and bring the massive creature down. This battle was another tough one; at one point we had Phelaia, Morangan, Brogar, and Treble all bloodied before Colvin healed them with his wall, saving Morangan from falling unconscious the next round. In the midst of all this was the Eladrin, shooting pot shots at us from down the hall until Colvin went to chase her down as the battle wound up.
In the end, Colvin, Phelaia, Brogar, and Morangan went after the eladrin while Aurora and Treble searched the two rooms in the back. I was somewhere between the two sets of my allies, waiting to act as a reinforcement. After several minutes, we all rejoined together. Colvin, Phelaia, and Brogar brought the eladrin back with them as their prisoner, Treble reported finding a secret passage behind a bookcase in Thorn's bedroom, and Aurora reported finding some papers, a secret lever that opened a trap door to a fifteen-foot-deep pit in front of the desk, and an odd mirror (which I plan to investigate further).
We all healed up, and the questioning of the prisoner commenced, as I rifled through the papers that Aurora had found and examined the eladrin's magic items: a ring and an amulet. I think we'll be going after Thorn through the secret passage next, to try to stop him from getting away. The next likely plan is to free the slaves.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
XP for Slaves of the Old Empire Session #5
Each player gained 550 experience for the session.
Total XP: 6100 (level 6 at 7500xp)
Total XP: 6100 (level 6 at 7500xp)
Every Rose has its Thorn... or something
Agathor--
Surely, from my last correspondence, you must be wondering what has been happening with our little party. I apologize for the delay in reporting since our cleansing of the Stormcrow Company's old hideout.
On the way back from the hideout, we encountered a band of pilgrims that had been attacked by bandits. We tracked down the bandits and recovered some of the property that was stolen, and in the process uncovered a strange plot involving the smuggling of many slaves. Since then, we have been dealing with that problem, tracking the operation to a compound located on the Dagger River. Through clever tactics and Derrick's profound skill at disguise, we have rescued many poor souls from bondage, and inflicted large casualties and property damage on the slavers.
In particular, we have made an enemy of an orc named Thorn, who is the head of the operation. In the past few days, we cleaned out his "Dagger River Compound," killing a good many of his grunts, including some higher-value minions, such as an ogre, some bloodrager orcs, a few pet tigers, and two warforged spellcasters. Alas, Thorn escaped through a secret tunnel in the middle of the battle. After he fled, the battle slowly turned to our favor, Brogar bravely holding off the ogre (and suffering gravely for it) while the rest of us dealt with the others, including a female eladrin archer with some skill in stealth and arcana, presumably his second in command. During the entire battle, the eladrin woman proved to be quite a nuisance, firing at us from a distance with sorcerous burst attacks that repeatedly knocked us prone. When the ogre and the eladrin were our only remaining threats, I decided I had had enough, and chased after her, determined to give her a drubbing, or at least keep her busy so the rest of the team could handle the ogre.
To make a long story short, the others killed the ogre, and the eladrin woman led me on a game of hide-and-seek. Phelaia was the only one close enough to assist me, but together we flushed out the woman and coerced her into surrendering. We have agreed not to kill her in return for any information she can give us (an easy promise to make, since we are law-abiding citizens).
Tonight, we shall see what else she has to tell us. I have a feeling that this wasn't Thorn's only base of operations, and an even stronger feeling that we have not seen the last of him.
I hope you are well, and look forward to seeing you, Balthazar, and the others again. Walk always in the light of the Flame,
--Colvin
Surely, from my last correspondence, you must be wondering what has been happening with our little party. I apologize for the delay in reporting since our cleansing of the Stormcrow Company's old hideout.
On the way back from the hideout, we encountered a band of pilgrims that had been attacked by bandits. We tracked down the bandits and recovered some of the property that was stolen, and in the process uncovered a strange plot involving the smuggling of many slaves. Since then, we have been dealing with that problem, tracking the operation to a compound located on the Dagger River. Through clever tactics and Derrick's profound skill at disguise, we have rescued many poor souls from bondage, and inflicted large casualties and property damage on the slavers.
In particular, we have made an enemy of an orc named Thorn, who is the head of the operation. In the past few days, we cleaned out his "Dagger River Compound," killing a good many of his grunts, including some higher-value minions, such as an ogre, some bloodrager orcs, a few pet tigers, and two warforged spellcasters. Alas, Thorn escaped through a secret tunnel in the middle of the battle. After he fled, the battle slowly turned to our favor, Brogar bravely holding off the ogre (and suffering gravely for it) while the rest of us dealt with the others, including a female eladrin archer with some skill in stealth and arcana, presumably his second in command. During the entire battle, the eladrin woman proved to be quite a nuisance, firing at us from a distance with sorcerous burst attacks that repeatedly knocked us prone. When the ogre and the eladrin were our only remaining threats, I decided I had had enough, and chased after her, determined to give her a drubbing, or at least keep her busy so the rest of the team could handle the ogre.
To make a long story short, the others killed the ogre, and the eladrin woman led me on a game of hide-and-seek. Phelaia was the only one close enough to assist me, but together we flushed out the woman and coerced her into surrendering. We have agreed not to kill her in return for any information she can give us (an easy promise to make, since we are law-abiding citizens).
Tonight, we shall see what else she has to tell us. I have a feeling that this wasn't Thorn's only base of operations, and an even stronger feeling that we have not seen the last of him.
I hope you are well, and look forward to seeing you, Balthazar, and the others again. Walk always in the light of the Flame,
--Colvin
Friday, March 5, 2010
I think they're on to us...
Treble went to check out the stream... there he found a portcullis in the mouth, which he didn't swim down to investigate. In the meanwhile, Phelaia, Colvin & I dragged bodies away from the lodge while Aurora and Brogar smashed the archer's gallery so that it could not be refortified before our return. I was just in the middle of picking up the feet of a dead orc when the door opened and a Harrier looked at us, mouth agape, and ran out shouting. While he was looking, I did my best to look menacing at my... uh, teammates, and look like I was cornered. But I have to admit that my position looked pretty bad and probably ruined my cover. We attacked the guy, managed to pierce him bloody, but he still ran into a door shouting for backup.
From two directions came a total of four of the wimpy guys, three harriers, two bloodragers, one mage, and one alchemist type. The son-of-a-bitch mage cast those damned flies again. I hate those. At least I was outside the zone this time, and we managed to kill him before he had a chance to do much else. I did plant my Battle Standard of Might, so all of our attacks were just a bit more deadly. One of the Bloodragers was wearing an amulet and a set of fancy armbands, and I heard several among the party exclaiming over how nice they'd be to have among our loot. The alchemist started throwing these vials at us which were pretty annoying in their own right (ongoing damage, penalties to our ability to attack accurately), but he kept cover behind his allies so he lasted longer than he otherwise would've.
This battle overall was somewhat of a challenge, I'd say. A bunch of us had to use healing potions (and I had to use mine on Colvin). Not to mention that at some point in the battle, Brogar, Aurora, Colvin, Phelaia, and Morangan were all openly bleeding. For awhile there, Colvin looked like he was barely standing. But we came through, even though it wasn't easy. It woulda been an easier time if we'd had a chance to rest first, but I guess next time we need to ask our demolition crew to try to hack a little more quietly lest we rouse the whole lodge.
When it was all over, we had found a bunch more mundane weapons: scimitar, longbow, spear, greataxe, club, and quarterstaff. When we came upon the quarterstaff, Colvin snatched it up excitedly, saying he had plans for it. We also found some of the alchemical potions: acidic fire, alchemist's spark, eyesting, and stink bomb. Lastly but certainly not least, we had come upon the following, on the bloodrager: Amulet of Life, Belt of Sacrifice, and Iron Armbands of Power. I claimed the belt for myself, as Colvin took the amulet and Brogar snatched up the armbands. We dragged a few of the bodies out and retreated to the ship to rest.
Before resting, we divided up our loot and traded among ourselves for Arcana components. Even though I was tired, there was still work to do today, but the crafting is a comfortable work for me and isn't too taxing. I actually found it somewhat relaxing to be alone with my tools and my art. I crafted Phelaia a fine pair of gloves, that would have looked finer had I better materials at hand, but I had to work with what we found at the compound. I did my best to dust them off and repair any holes before empowering them with magic. I took Colvin's new quarterstaff and imbued it with the power of lightning, sanding down the rough edges and balancing its heft. My own crossbow was next. I enjoy working most on items that I've crafted myself, and this was a special case, as taking a precision item like this and improving its effectiveness even more requires a lot of skill and challenge, which makes it a rewarding task. After that, I decided to call it a night, and start fresh the next day.
My plan? Is to go into the lodge, by myself, disguised as the bloodrager. Not sure what I'll do after that. Hrm.
From two directions came a total of four of the wimpy guys, three harriers, two bloodragers, one mage, and one alchemist type. The son-of-a-bitch mage cast those damned flies again. I hate those. At least I was outside the zone this time, and we managed to kill him before he had a chance to do much else. I did plant my Battle Standard of Might, so all of our attacks were just a bit more deadly. One of the Bloodragers was wearing an amulet and a set of fancy armbands, and I heard several among the party exclaiming over how nice they'd be to have among our loot. The alchemist started throwing these vials at us which were pretty annoying in their own right (ongoing damage, penalties to our ability to attack accurately), but he kept cover behind his allies so he lasted longer than he otherwise would've.
This battle overall was somewhat of a challenge, I'd say. A bunch of us had to use healing potions (and I had to use mine on Colvin). Not to mention that at some point in the battle, Brogar, Aurora, Colvin, Phelaia, and Morangan were all openly bleeding. For awhile there, Colvin looked like he was barely standing. But we came through, even though it wasn't easy. It woulda been an easier time if we'd had a chance to rest first, but I guess next time we need to ask our demolition crew to try to hack a little more quietly lest we rouse the whole lodge.
When it was all over, we had found a bunch more mundane weapons: scimitar, longbow, spear, greataxe, club, and quarterstaff. When we came upon the quarterstaff, Colvin snatched it up excitedly, saying he had plans for it. We also found some of the alchemical potions: acidic fire, alchemist's spark, eyesting, and stink bomb. Lastly but certainly not least, we had come upon the following, on the bloodrager: Amulet of Life, Belt of Sacrifice, and Iron Armbands of Power. I claimed the belt for myself, as Colvin took the amulet and Brogar snatched up the armbands. We dragged a few of the bodies out and retreated to the ship to rest.
Before resting, we divided up our loot and traded among ourselves for Arcana components. Even though I was tired, there was still work to do today, but the crafting is a comfortable work for me and isn't too taxing. I actually found it somewhat relaxing to be alone with my tools and my art. I crafted Phelaia a fine pair of gloves, that would have looked finer had I better materials at hand, but I had to work with what we found at the compound. I did my best to dust them off and repair any holes before empowering them with magic. I took Colvin's new quarterstaff and imbued it with the power of lightning, sanding down the rough edges and balancing its heft. My own crossbow was next. I enjoy working most on items that I've crafted myself, and this was a special case, as taking a precision item like this and improving its effectiveness even more requires a lot of skill and challenge, which makes it a rewarding task. After that, I decided to call it a night, and start fresh the next day.
My plan? Is to go into the lodge, by myself, disguised as the bloodrager. Not sure what I'll do after that. Hrm.
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