It was another boring day looking for real work. No decent jobs to be had in the entire town...assuming I don't want to work the quarries, mines or fields. I'm back to beating up some unsuspecting gnolls in a circle challenge. Hey, it pays the bills.
Stewirk, my little goblin bookie, handles all my bets while I'm fighting. He's really smart and knows how to play the odds. He's also good for starting the fights, as he gets picked on quite a bit being a goblin in Bloodstone. The bullies picking on the little guys are usually cowards and wimps. Not much fun to fight but great for bringing in the money as they look tough
Today's first challenge is a gang of gnolls. They've been hanging around here most evenings for the past week causing trouble. Their leader, whose name sounds like a cross between a hacking cough and a dog bark (we just call him Liveroil, because that's what he smells like) was too chicken to be the first to challenge me. He made his lieutenant go first. Doesn't matter, I can take them all one by one no problem....hahaha, they think 1 on 10 will be better odds for them. Now it's a fair fight. Bring It On Baby Rrrrowwggh!!!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The Lightning Rail to House Sivis
There are so many things out here the likes of which I had never even imagined that they existed. First we took a floating carriage on the branch line to the lightning rail. Then, we waited at the station and a huge train of coaches appeared. I was overwhelmed and a little afraid since they distinctly smelled of fire, but Elaira said that it was normal and we shouldn't be concerned. We had to ride for several days to get to Korranberg.
On the second day, I overheard Elaira talking in her compartment. I checked to make sure everything was okay, and found her talking to a mechanical person, a warforged like Reader. She was scolding him and telling him that it was somewhat rude to peer into people's compartments on the train. He clanked a lot, and was much noisier than Reader. He also had these attachments that must serve some purpose... he called them "doodads." He wasn't terribly eloquent, so I couldn't piece together entirely what he was doing. He kept saying he was looking for "stuff" to take to his master, Robert, to sell. He did manage to tell us some of his story, telling us that his name was Stalwart, but that we could call him "Clangor." He said he is from the region that used to be called Narath. Horadric said that his former land is now the Mror Holds in Karrnath, very far away. He said he has been travelling for awhile, and it's been over a year since he has been back. So, I asked where he was keeping all the other items he had acquired for his master, and he said he hadn't managed to collect anything really in all that time. Then, Clangor said that his master is not a very nice master and does not make him proud. He did say he was the only servant of his master, and that he was commissioned to serve the master and help the house. I came away from this discussion feeling somewhat confused, as to why he is serving this master, and why he has not been competent enough to find any "stuff" in over a year that would be suitable, and exactly what "stuff" he was looking for, and why not just to sell the items and take the money to his master instead as that seems easier. I think Elaira felt sorry for him, as she offered to let him travel with us.
The next night, there was a horrible thunderstorm. I worried that it would interfere with the rail, but still the train carried us forward. I awoke in the middle of the night, not really sure why. I saw a flash of black cloth pass by my window, and I felt a little uneasy... I reached for my weapon and stood, quiet and vigilant, ready for trouble. And trouble ensued. Very shortly thereafter I heard Elaira trying to fend someone off. In the hallway I saw a female elf and an eladrin, and in Elaira's compartment I could see her scuffling with another elf, upon whom I landed a crushing blow. Clangor came out, too, and grappled with the eladrin. Before I knew it, we were all out there: Horadric shouting out that he could see their dragonmarks and that there was a kobold scurrying around; and Reader for some inexplicable reason not remaining safe in his cubicle but instead running around in the hall doing a poor job of hiding and subsequently being punched and carried off. Clangor and I went after him and got him back (but the would-be captors somehow leapt off the moving train and got away), while Keh'r had stopped an assassin in Elaira's room who subsequently committed suicide. In the guy's pockets we found some of Elaira's belongings--just personal stuff. Obviously she was targeted, as any number of compartments were closer to the doors than hers. Elaira, Horadric, and Keh'r talked about it at some length as they checked over the items they had found on our foes: five coins, a "to-do" list, a Chinese flute, a Bag of Holding containing another 300 coins, an Amulet of Resilience, and a Wand of Vicious Mockery +2. They came to the conclusion that Elaira was being targeted for some kind of scrying ritual. Creepy. The "to-do" list listed some arcane components that my arcane allies believed were going to be used for some kind of scrying and/or long-range teleportation ritual; also a note to "convince Dor'alla" and to "be creative in town," a reminder to write to Mom, and a note to talk to folks including Mordac. As we watched, the man's form changed to a whitish creature with purple hair. The others decided that he was a race called a changeling, and that he could assume other forms. Lastly, it's worth noting that the money he had left was not regular money like I've seen before, but somewhat different money. I asked the others about where that kind of money was from and Elaira said it was money from Breland. Reader had told us that he had recognized the assassin; he said it was a man named Ephraim who had assassinated an elder of House Sivis and that it was the man who Nym had been speaking with, in the event that had revealed to him Nym's treachery.
Fortunately, the rest of our trip was uneventful. At Korranberg, we were welcomed by House Sivis. We relayed information to them and did our best to learn useful information from them as well. I overheard Keh'r talking to one of the gnomes named Alvian about "Tasker's Dream"... I got the impression it had to do with developing the "ultimate language" to use to send information quickly through the speaking stones. Keh'r, however, seemed fascinated and the two had a long, in-depth conversation... something about compression rates? Moving on... Elaira was deeply involved in a conversation about the Prophecy. I didn't hear much of it, but I did hear the gonmes talking to her about some anomaly in the Pantheon, some demon type god named Orkus who is also called the "Prince of Undeath." It was around then that I noticed that although all the people there were very small, one of them was a dwarf while the others were gnomes. The dwarf was wearing a holy symbol; I later learn that he is a cleric named Bjornhelm working for the gnomes. Another gnome was overheard saying that Reader was a useless slacker. Poor guy. A sweet apprentice named Talia looked him over with Elaira. I heard her say that some of the damage would be permanent.
Then, the gnomes started telling us how dragonmarks were showing up all over the land, with the first having appeared in Warden Keep. They had already sent a party out to investigate. If I could only have gone, I could have gotten two tasks completed! But Elwood's letter will have to wait, as some surprising turns of events in House Sivis have settled our path in another direction for the near future.
A gnome with glasses named Rattigan had begun calling out Horadric, and asking him about his past. This caught my interest, so I listened in a little more carefully. Horadric said he had been working with the Silver Flame, and said how he kind of just found himself somewhere without any memory of his past. He tried to make a joke about wanting a new memory unit, like Reader, but a hush fell over the House and it quickly became clear that this was no joking matter to the gnomes. Rattigan said that 66.358 percent of people with memory loss are important to a prophecy. Elaira asked more about the prophecy, and the gnomes started getting all sorts of books out. The dwarf cleric said he could not heal Horadric, but that he knew someone who could help. A skinny, old goblin named Cyrus came in. He told Horadric to come take part in a primal ritual to unlock his memory. I offered to help with the ritual and suggested that Reader should be healed too, but was told that Reader's memory loss being physical would prevent the magical ritual from restoring him, while the ritual may help break down the walls in Horadric's memory. All of us save for Keh'r went to do the ritual, while Keh'r decided to try his hand at gambling. Overall I don't have much skill with magic, but thought a ritual using primal energy might be a useful application of my skills.
I should have gambled, instead. Perhaps the way that I channel the primal energy only works for me personally, and isn't something that I can lend to others. Or maybe I was so unnerved by the group setting that I wasn't able to direct the energy appropriately. In any event, I think I might have killed a couple of birds. Cyrus seemed to be having quite a bit of luck, though, and he said he could see the Silver Flame moving away, that Horadric was not a member of the church, though possibly in a past life he could have been. He said that someone does not want Horadric to get his memory back; that he saw giants stomping the ground creating earthquakes, stone columns and orcs bowing before him; that then there was a view from the floor, with broken columns around and a plume of smoke, a corpse burning. He said he saw red flickering shadows, that there was a tigerlike creature called a rokshacka, a demonlike creature from the darkest areas of the world, stalking Horadric.
Then, the energy went awry, the glass ceiling of the House broke and earthquakes shook the very ground beneath us. A necrotic ooze began flowing down the shelves and among the hundreds of thousands of books in this place. A tiny lizard fell to its death, dropping at Horadric's feet. And Cyrus began screaming out, and as lightning flashed, a black dog appeared in Cyrus' place, the vision ended. We rejoined with Keh'r, who looked a bit dejected at the outcome of his night as well, and the next morning we spoke more to the gnomes about the next step.
They had managed to track down the portion of the prophecy that they had deciphered that they believed may be relevant to us now. It reads:
"The fall of one nation,
Erased from the great between,
Shall herald an open door,
A break in the armor between,
A dragon and its dreams,
A wall of red stone,
A huffing bull provokes,
Let him charge against a crimson brother,
Let him break against a charging oak
And give his wisdom to another."
It sounds like a bunch of gibberish to me and I am not sure I believe in Prophecy, but these lots are serious about it and I am willing to go along to help watch over them and to help try to restore Reader's memory. The gnomes said that the dragonmarks had begun appearing near Rivenroar, too, and that these along with the one at Warden Keep portrayed a dark future, that they should be studied to give us hints on how to help and stop the evil. They asked that the first thing we should do is to find Nym. They promised to pay us handsomely to track him to Graywall to the west. Cyrus (still a dog, the next morning) spoke up then, saying that the "wall of red stone" mentioned in the prophecy might refer to Graywall, a poorly-named city whose walls are in fact made of red clay. At this the gnomes became excited, saying that if we can bring any hints about the prophecy from this city, that they will give us extra money for any information we find.
Cyrus said he had a contact in Graywall named Bloodrush, who he spoke of as a useful, resilient, dependable sort. Elaira said she had heard of him as a great champion of the gladiator arena there, and Cyrus confirmed that it was the same. The gnomes asked Keh'r if he would be willing to delay his trip to Graywall to take a broken item back to Derrick in Brindol for repair. He agreed, and the rest of us set off with Cyrus toward Graywall. On the road, two interesting things happened. First, a weird glowy mark started appearing on my arm. I guess it must be a dragonmark? Elaira saw it one night while I was dressing into nightclothes. She told me with concern that I should keep it covered up when I was in public. I don't understand it much myself, so I certainly plan to follow her advice in this. Second, I had a dream about the letter I am carrying for Aelwyn. This has the letter on my mind... I probably dreamed about it because of all the talk about dragonmarks in Warden Keep. Hopefully this business in Graywall can get wrapped up quickly so that I can do the task that was set before me by Elwood.
We arrived in Graywall. It is an amazing place, with all sorts of kinds of people and creatures I have never seen before. I could just sit there and stare in wonder for hours at all the new things that await here. On the other hand, I received a few wayward stares myself, so I tried to hide in the middle of our group as best as I could. We walked around, seeing creatures dueling in challenge circles, lovers, musicians, shopkeepers... all manners of things. We stopped to watch one challenge circle, as an orc dueled with a gnoll. As we watched, Cyrus told us that we had come upon Bloodrush, the contact we were seeking. Bloodrush attacked the gnoll, and then a bunch of his friends rushed into the circle and all came upon Bloodrush at the same time, mobbing him. There must have been ten of them altogether. Cyrus said that we should help. I was a little wary, not being sure about the politics involved, but Cyrus told us that Bloodrush was a sportsman and would not do anything to provoke this attack justly. Clangor proclaimed that if Bloodrush was our ally, then he would fight. I am with Clangor on this one... if Bloodrush needs protection so that he can help us, I am willing to protect him.
On the second day, I overheard Elaira talking in her compartment. I checked to make sure everything was okay, and found her talking to a mechanical person, a warforged like Reader. She was scolding him and telling him that it was somewhat rude to peer into people's compartments on the train. He clanked a lot, and was much noisier than Reader. He also had these attachments that must serve some purpose... he called them "doodads." He wasn't terribly eloquent, so I couldn't piece together entirely what he was doing. He kept saying he was looking for "stuff" to take to his master, Robert, to sell. He did manage to tell us some of his story, telling us that his name was Stalwart, but that we could call him "Clangor." He said he is from the region that used to be called Narath. Horadric said that his former land is now the Mror Holds in Karrnath, very far away. He said he has been travelling for awhile, and it's been over a year since he has been back. So, I asked where he was keeping all the other items he had acquired for his master, and he said he hadn't managed to collect anything really in all that time. Then, Clangor said that his master is not a very nice master and does not make him proud. He did say he was the only servant of his master, and that he was commissioned to serve the master and help the house. I came away from this discussion feeling somewhat confused, as to why he is serving this master, and why he has not been competent enough to find any "stuff" in over a year that would be suitable, and exactly what "stuff" he was looking for, and why not just to sell the items and take the money to his master instead as that seems easier. I think Elaira felt sorry for him, as she offered to let him travel with us.
The next night, there was a horrible thunderstorm. I worried that it would interfere with the rail, but still the train carried us forward. I awoke in the middle of the night, not really sure why. I saw a flash of black cloth pass by my window, and I felt a little uneasy... I reached for my weapon and stood, quiet and vigilant, ready for trouble. And trouble ensued. Very shortly thereafter I heard Elaira trying to fend someone off. In the hallway I saw a female elf and an eladrin, and in Elaira's compartment I could see her scuffling with another elf, upon whom I landed a crushing blow. Clangor came out, too, and grappled with the eladrin. Before I knew it, we were all out there: Horadric shouting out that he could see their dragonmarks and that there was a kobold scurrying around; and Reader for some inexplicable reason not remaining safe in his cubicle but instead running around in the hall doing a poor job of hiding and subsequently being punched and carried off. Clangor and I went after him and got him back (but the would-be captors somehow leapt off the moving train and got away), while Keh'r had stopped an assassin in Elaira's room who subsequently committed suicide. In the guy's pockets we found some of Elaira's belongings--just personal stuff. Obviously she was targeted, as any number of compartments were closer to the doors than hers. Elaira, Horadric, and Keh'r talked about it at some length as they checked over the items they had found on our foes: five coins, a "to-do" list, a Chinese flute, a Bag of Holding containing another 300 coins, an Amulet of Resilience, and a Wand of Vicious Mockery +2. They came to the conclusion that Elaira was being targeted for some kind of scrying ritual. Creepy. The "to-do" list listed some arcane components that my arcane allies believed were going to be used for some kind of scrying and/or long-range teleportation ritual; also a note to "convince Dor'alla" and to "be creative in town," a reminder to write to Mom, and a note to talk to folks including Mordac. As we watched, the man's form changed to a whitish creature with purple hair. The others decided that he was a race called a changeling, and that he could assume other forms. Lastly, it's worth noting that the money he had left was not regular money like I've seen before, but somewhat different money. I asked the others about where that kind of money was from and Elaira said it was money from Breland. Reader had told us that he had recognized the assassin; he said it was a man named Ephraim who had assassinated an elder of House Sivis and that it was the man who Nym had been speaking with, in the event that had revealed to him Nym's treachery.
Fortunately, the rest of our trip was uneventful. At Korranberg, we were welcomed by House Sivis. We relayed information to them and did our best to learn useful information from them as well. I overheard Keh'r talking to one of the gnomes named Alvian about "Tasker's Dream"... I got the impression it had to do with developing the "ultimate language" to use to send information quickly through the speaking stones. Keh'r, however, seemed fascinated and the two had a long, in-depth conversation... something about compression rates? Moving on... Elaira was deeply involved in a conversation about the Prophecy. I didn't hear much of it, but I did hear the gonmes talking to her about some anomaly in the Pantheon, some demon type god named Orkus who is also called the "Prince of Undeath." It was around then that I noticed that although all the people there were very small, one of them was a dwarf while the others were gnomes. The dwarf was wearing a holy symbol; I later learn that he is a cleric named Bjornhelm working for the gnomes. Another gnome was overheard saying that Reader was a useless slacker. Poor guy. A sweet apprentice named Talia looked him over with Elaira. I heard her say that some of the damage would be permanent.
Then, the gnomes started telling us how dragonmarks were showing up all over the land, with the first having appeared in Warden Keep. They had already sent a party out to investigate. If I could only have gone, I could have gotten two tasks completed! But Elwood's letter will have to wait, as some surprising turns of events in House Sivis have settled our path in another direction for the near future.
A gnome with glasses named Rattigan had begun calling out Horadric, and asking him about his past. This caught my interest, so I listened in a little more carefully. Horadric said he had been working with the Silver Flame, and said how he kind of just found himself somewhere without any memory of his past. He tried to make a joke about wanting a new memory unit, like Reader, but a hush fell over the House and it quickly became clear that this was no joking matter to the gnomes. Rattigan said that 66.358 percent of people with memory loss are important to a prophecy. Elaira asked more about the prophecy, and the gnomes started getting all sorts of books out. The dwarf cleric said he could not heal Horadric, but that he knew someone who could help. A skinny, old goblin named Cyrus came in. He told Horadric to come take part in a primal ritual to unlock his memory. I offered to help with the ritual and suggested that Reader should be healed too, but was told that Reader's memory loss being physical would prevent the magical ritual from restoring him, while the ritual may help break down the walls in Horadric's memory. All of us save for Keh'r went to do the ritual, while Keh'r decided to try his hand at gambling. Overall I don't have much skill with magic, but thought a ritual using primal energy might be a useful application of my skills.
I should have gambled, instead. Perhaps the way that I channel the primal energy only works for me personally, and isn't something that I can lend to others. Or maybe I was so unnerved by the group setting that I wasn't able to direct the energy appropriately. In any event, I think I might have killed a couple of birds. Cyrus seemed to be having quite a bit of luck, though, and he said he could see the Silver Flame moving away, that Horadric was not a member of the church, though possibly in a past life he could have been. He said that someone does not want Horadric to get his memory back; that he saw giants stomping the ground creating earthquakes, stone columns and orcs bowing before him; that then there was a view from the floor, with broken columns around and a plume of smoke, a corpse burning. He said he saw red flickering shadows, that there was a tigerlike creature called a rokshacka, a demonlike creature from the darkest areas of the world, stalking Horadric.
Then, the energy went awry, the glass ceiling of the House broke and earthquakes shook the very ground beneath us. A necrotic ooze began flowing down the shelves and among the hundreds of thousands of books in this place. A tiny lizard fell to its death, dropping at Horadric's feet. And Cyrus began screaming out, and as lightning flashed, a black dog appeared in Cyrus' place, the vision ended. We rejoined with Keh'r, who looked a bit dejected at the outcome of his night as well, and the next morning we spoke more to the gnomes about the next step.
They had managed to track down the portion of the prophecy that they had deciphered that they believed may be relevant to us now. It reads:
"The fall of one nation,
Erased from the great between,
Shall herald an open door,
A break in the armor between,
A dragon and its dreams,
A wall of red stone,
A huffing bull provokes,
Let him charge against a crimson brother,
Let him break against a charging oak
And give his wisdom to another."
It sounds like a bunch of gibberish to me and I am not sure I believe in Prophecy, but these lots are serious about it and I am willing to go along to help watch over them and to help try to restore Reader's memory. The gnomes said that the dragonmarks had begun appearing near Rivenroar, too, and that these along with the one at Warden Keep portrayed a dark future, that they should be studied to give us hints on how to help and stop the evil. They asked that the first thing we should do is to find Nym. They promised to pay us handsomely to track him to Graywall to the west. Cyrus (still a dog, the next morning) spoke up then, saying that the "wall of red stone" mentioned in the prophecy might refer to Graywall, a poorly-named city whose walls are in fact made of red clay. At this the gnomes became excited, saying that if we can bring any hints about the prophecy from this city, that they will give us extra money for any information we find.
Cyrus said he had a contact in Graywall named Bloodrush, who he spoke of as a useful, resilient, dependable sort. Elaira said she had heard of him as a great champion of the gladiator arena there, and Cyrus confirmed that it was the same. The gnomes asked Keh'r if he would be willing to delay his trip to Graywall to take a broken item back to Derrick in Brindol for repair. He agreed, and the rest of us set off with Cyrus toward Graywall. On the road, two interesting things happened. First, a weird glowy mark started appearing on my arm. I guess it must be a dragonmark? Elaira saw it one night while I was dressing into nightclothes. She told me with concern that I should keep it covered up when I was in public. I don't understand it much myself, so I certainly plan to follow her advice in this. Second, I had a dream about the letter I am carrying for Aelwyn. This has the letter on my mind... I probably dreamed about it because of all the talk about dragonmarks in Warden Keep. Hopefully this business in Graywall can get wrapped up quickly so that I can do the task that was set before me by Elwood.
We arrived in Graywall. It is an amazing place, with all sorts of kinds of people and creatures I have never seen before. I could just sit there and stare in wonder for hours at all the new things that await here. On the other hand, I received a few wayward stares myself, so I tried to hide in the middle of our group as best as I could. We walked around, seeing creatures dueling in challenge circles, lovers, musicians, shopkeepers... all manners of things. We stopped to watch one challenge circle, as an orc dueled with a gnoll. As we watched, Cyrus told us that we had come upon Bloodrush, the contact we were seeking. Bloodrush attacked the gnoll, and then a bunch of his friends rushed into the circle and all came upon Bloodrush at the same time, mobbing him. There must have been ten of them altogether. Cyrus said that we should help. I was a little wary, not being sure about the politics involved, but Cyrus told us that Bloodrush was a sportsman and would not do anything to provoke this attack justly. Clangor proclaimed that if Bloodrush was our ally, then he would fight. I am with Clangor on this one... if Bloodrush needs protection so that he can help us, I am willing to protect him.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
C+5545
Task "Find Valuables" (r14, T+775, 0.1 complete)
Status: OK
I have found several people in distress. They seem to need my help, so I will help. They will be traveling companions. No further progress.
Status: OK
I have found several people in distress. They seem to need my help, so I will help. They will be traveling companions. No further progress.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Catacombs cleared... and a new quest.
We found a treasure chest containing 2260 gold, 400 silver, and two potions. As we walked through the ruins of the catacombs, in one room we walked past a defaced and broken altar, and saw some movement from behind it. I saw Treble reach for his dagger, but fortunately before he threw it he noticed that the shadow there was a warforged, lying with his back against the massive throne in the room. We could see the gears moving in the poor soul's head, and it was clear that something was not right. Some of the gears were missing teeth; obviously he had met with a match greater than he could face alone.
He spoke in a weak voice, telling us he was beyond help. As he spoke, Elaira healed him, and we could hear more strength in his voice. He said that he was from House Sivis, and that his name was Reader Thrane. He said he was from the House of Scribing, brought here to help decipher the dragonmarks detailling the Prophecy of the world. When we inquired about what he had learned from the dragonmarks, he looked a little confused for a moment, as he tried to regain his bearings. He said that he didn't know what the dragonmarks said; that he was acting as a servant of the gnomes of the same House; and that when he quit helping them, they took the information card from him and hurt him.
I wish we had gotten here sooner so that we could help him fight against those who attacked him, but the only thing we can help him for now is to ensure that justice is served. Reader told us that he quit helping because of Nym, the leader of the group deciphering the dragonmarks. He said he saw Nym consorting with goblins and talking to a known enemy of House Sivis, and a member of House Thuranni--an assassin. From this he learned that the assassin's mission was sanctioned by his House, and he decided not to aid the perpetrator of the treachery any longer.
At that point, he looked around, and focused his gaze on Keh'r with surprise evident on his face. He said that he remembered seeing another man of fire like Keh'r... one of Keh'r's kind... in his vision of the dragonmark. This comment really spurred Keh'r into action, and he said he wanted to start by finding the gnome that had gotten away, in case he had been among the group that took the information from Reader. Reader found a wand, and volunteered to join us. He said if he could make it to his main House, that they would take him back and he could relay to them the information about Nym's betrayal.
So we scouted the rest of the catacombs, looking for the gnome and the rest of the treasures we were to find, and of course to find Adronsias as well. In the whirlpool room, we saw a picture of the symbol of the Silver Flame on the floor, and there was a mechanism that activated the emblem to glow with radiant energy. Horadric just wandered right into it, but nothing happened. It was a trap, but not one meant for us, and Keh'r and Elaira ascertained that it affected only undead.
We entered another room, with a deep scrying pool and a(n apparently nonmagical) face carved into the wall. As Keh'r approached the middle of the room, he felt the floor shift, and all the doors closed, trapping us in there. There was no response when Elaira talked to the face (and while I'm sure she felt silly talking to a stone face, you just never know with those arcane arts what might happen). Keh'r waded into the water, and as the pool rippled we could see a picture of the throne room we had just left, and it was empty. Apparently, however, he had stood on a pressure plate and the mouth on the face dropped down and water came pouring out, fast. Treble worked double-time trying to unlock the three locks on the door behind him, and Shamash helped; meanwhile Rhogar and I had gone to use brute force on the other door in the room and succeeded in making only a small hole in it. As we worked, waist-deep in water, we could see the picture in the scrying pool change to display the room with the silver flame emblem. We were able to see then that the pool's scrying was activated by ripples in the water. Keh'r saw a chest in the water, with chains on it, 30 feet down. He swam down to try to get it, but found it chained to the floor at the bottom of the pool. Elaira was studying the scrying pool, and she saw a gnome go into the flame room. She pointed him out to us, and Reader told us that it was Nym, as we watched him cross the room and go out the opposite door. Shortly thereafter, Rhogar could see him through the hole we had punched in the door where we were, and Nym looked more than a little surprised to be suddenly covered with acidic dragonborn bile... that is, until he disappeared at least. This time we had lost him for sure.
Meanwhile, the room was still filling with water. I checked out the drains and noticed that they had been sealed by the trap when it was activated and were now covered by a metal sheet. I'm not much for finesse so I just started whacking on it with my flail. Elaira told us she could see in the scrying pool a shadowy figure looting all the recesses along the walls in one of the rooms of their treasure. With renewed vigor, Rhogar burst through the door. By now the water had risen enough that it began pouring out of the doors. As Rhogar got out, he saw a goblin who froze upon seeing him. Shamash used his wand to kill it.
Finally I busted the drain and the water started to subside. In the meanwhile, Keh'r was still struggling with the treasure, and enlisted Treble's help to teleport it out of the water. As they managed to bring the chest up, I smashed the rest of the drains so that the water all drained out more quickly. Rhogar and Shamash had managed to find a blanket--a protective shroud--among the recesses. Inside the chest, we found 14 platinum pieces, and about 5000 silver. The scrying pool then showed an image of a dwarf tied up... almost certainly Adronsias, and he was still alive!
I used my tracking skills to follow Nym's blood trail to the entrance of the catacombs, but after that the trail ended again. We listened carefully, but could not hear him, either. Definitely lost him. Rhogar placed the shroud over Kartenix's body, and carried it to the foyer, where we left it as we went to search for Adronsias. We entered the van Jallach tombs, where we found a room with a square of runes on the floor. Horadric examined the runes, proclaiming that they spelled "van Jallach" in wizard's script. Keh'r touched them, and said he felt a little lightning jolt. Otherwise, they seemed to be harmless and we avoided them anyway as we proceeded to the next area, where we encountered Adronsias. Immediately I untied him and Rhogar healed him, and we gave him a moment to collect himself before we asked him about the things he had seen. He said he had seen some gnomes a few days ago, but none since then. He said he did know of a fancy-type stone of some sort that Reader could use to call his House. He said he would show us a speaking rock in the woods after we were finished with our business in Brindol.
We found the rest of the treasures from the Hall of Great Valor, so we took them back to Brindol and took Kartenix's body to the Temple of the Silver Flame. Councillor Troyas seemed very pleased with the resolution we provided, and gave us 500 gold for completion, as promised. (But the best part was the meal he provided to us. I could eat there every day. We sure never had food like that back home.) We also examined our shroud, and found it to be a Shroud of Revival. The others agreed that I should be the one to carry it for now. We went back to Derrick's shop to buy potions of healing to stock us up for the journey ahead.
After that, we followed Adronsias to the woods, and he led the way to the speaking stone. He showed Reader how to use it to call his House in Korranberg, in Zilargo. Reader used the rock, and it was really somewhat amazing to see how he could use a rock to talk to someone so far away. I can see how something like that would be useful. After he was finished, Reader told us that he made us an appointment with his House, and that he learned that Nym was not there.
We rested and went to board the lightning rail to take us to Zilargo. I will have to check the map to see if Warden Keep is along the way, so that I might deliver the message I have for Aelwyn if time permits.
He spoke in a weak voice, telling us he was beyond help. As he spoke, Elaira healed him, and we could hear more strength in his voice. He said that he was from House Sivis, and that his name was Reader Thrane. He said he was from the House of Scribing, brought here to help decipher the dragonmarks detailling the Prophecy of the world. When we inquired about what he had learned from the dragonmarks, he looked a little confused for a moment, as he tried to regain his bearings. He said that he didn't know what the dragonmarks said; that he was acting as a servant of the gnomes of the same House; and that when he quit helping them, they took the information card from him and hurt him.
I wish we had gotten here sooner so that we could help him fight against those who attacked him, but the only thing we can help him for now is to ensure that justice is served. Reader told us that he quit helping because of Nym, the leader of the group deciphering the dragonmarks. He said he saw Nym consorting with goblins and talking to a known enemy of House Sivis, and a member of House Thuranni--an assassin. From this he learned that the assassin's mission was sanctioned by his House, and he decided not to aid the perpetrator of the treachery any longer.
At that point, he looked around, and focused his gaze on Keh'r with surprise evident on his face. He said that he remembered seeing another man of fire like Keh'r... one of Keh'r's kind... in his vision of the dragonmark. This comment really spurred Keh'r into action, and he said he wanted to start by finding the gnome that had gotten away, in case he had been among the group that took the information from Reader. Reader found a wand, and volunteered to join us. He said if he could make it to his main House, that they would take him back and he could relay to them the information about Nym's betrayal.
So we scouted the rest of the catacombs, looking for the gnome and the rest of the treasures we were to find, and of course to find Adronsias as well. In the whirlpool room, we saw a picture of the symbol of the Silver Flame on the floor, and there was a mechanism that activated the emblem to glow with radiant energy. Horadric just wandered right into it, but nothing happened. It was a trap, but not one meant for us, and Keh'r and Elaira ascertained that it affected only undead.
We entered another room, with a deep scrying pool and a(n apparently nonmagical) face carved into the wall. As Keh'r approached the middle of the room, he felt the floor shift, and all the doors closed, trapping us in there. There was no response when Elaira talked to the face (and while I'm sure she felt silly talking to a stone face, you just never know with those arcane arts what might happen). Keh'r waded into the water, and as the pool rippled we could see a picture of the throne room we had just left, and it was empty. Apparently, however, he had stood on a pressure plate and the mouth on the face dropped down and water came pouring out, fast. Treble worked double-time trying to unlock the three locks on the door behind him, and Shamash helped; meanwhile Rhogar and I had gone to use brute force on the other door in the room and succeeded in making only a small hole in it. As we worked, waist-deep in water, we could see the picture in the scrying pool change to display the room with the silver flame emblem. We were able to see then that the pool's scrying was activated by ripples in the water. Keh'r saw a chest in the water, with chains on it, 30 feet down. He swam down to try to get it, but found it chained to the floor at the bottom of the pool. Elaira was studying the scrying pool, and she saw a gnome go into the flame room. She pointed him out to us, and Reader told us that it was Nym, as we watched him cross the room and go out the opposite door. Shortly thereafter, Rhogar could see him through the hole we had punched in the door where we were, and Nym looked more than a little surprised to be suddenly covered with acidic dragonborn bile... that is, until he disappeared at least. This time we had lost him for sure.
Meanwhile, the room was still filling with water. I checked out the drains and noticed that they had been sealed by the trap when it was activated and were now covered by a metal sheet. I'm not much for finesse so I just started whacking on it with my flail. Elaira told us she could see in the scrying pool a shadowy figure looting all the recesses along the walls in one of the rooms of their treasure. With renewed vigor, Rhogar burst through the door. By now the water had risen enough that it began pouring out of the doors. As Rhogar got out, he saw a goblin who froze upon seeing him. Shamash used his wand to kill it.
Finally I busted the drain and the water started to subside. In the meanwhile, Keh'r was still struggling with the treasure, and enlisted Treble's help to teleport it out of the water. As they managed to bring the chest up, I smashed the rest of the drains so that the water all drained out more quickly. Rhogar and Shamash had managed to find a blanket--a protective shroud--among the recesses. Inside the chest, we found 14 platinum pieces, and about 5000 silver. The scrying pool then showed an image of a dwarf tied up... almost certainly Adronsias, and he was still alive!
I used my tracking skills to follow Nym's blood trail to the entrance of the catacombs, but after that the trail ended again. We listened carefully, but could not hear him, either. Definitely lost him. Rhogar placed the shroud over Kartenix's body, and carried it to the foyer, where we left it as we went to search for Adronsias. We entered the van Jallach tombs, where we found a room with a square of runes on the floor. Horadric examined the runes, proclaiming that they spelled "van Jallach" in wizard's script. Keh'r touched them, and said he felt a little lightning jolt. Otherwise, they seemed to be harmless and we avoided them anyway as we proceeded to the next area, where we encountered Adronsias. Immediately I untied him and Rhogar healed him, and we gave him a moment to collect himself before we asked him about the things he had seen. He said he had seen some gnomes a few days ago, but none since then. He said he did know of a fancy-type stone of some sort that Reader could use to call his House. He said he would show us a speaking rock in the woods after we were finished with our business in Brindol.
We found the rest of the treasures from the Hall of Great Valor, so we took them back to Brindol and took Kartenix's body to the Temple of the Silver Flame. Councillor Troyas seemed very pleased with the resolution we provided, and gave us 500 gold for completion, as promised. (But the best part was the meal he provided to us. I could eat there every day. We sure never had food like that back home.) We also examined our shroud, and found it to be a Shroud of Revival. The others agreed that I should be the one to carry it for now. We went back to Derrick's shop to buy potions of healing to stock us up for the journey ahead.
After that, we followed Adronsias to the woods, and he led the way to the speaking stone. He showed Reader how to use it to call his House in Korranberg, in Zilargo. Reader used the rock, and it was really somewhat amazing to see how he could use a rock to talk to someone so far away. I can see how something like that would be useful. After he was finished, Reader told us that he made us an appointment with his House, and that he learned that Nym was not there.
We rested and went to board the lightning rail to take us to Zilargo. I will have to check the map to see if Warden Keep is along the way, so that I might deliver the message I have for Aelwyn if time permits.
Success on the second attempt
We returned to the catacombs, to the place from which we had been forced to retreat the day prior, this time determined to be victorious. This time we were better prepared, with the potions we had bought from Derrick's shop and a new set of magic items surreptitiously provided to us by Agathor and Balthazar of the Silver Flame. Those two agreed to come with us as well, to reinforce our ranks, and this time we were ready; as soon as we entered, Elaira bolstered my defenses and I drew upon the power of winter.
Our foes again put forth a good showing, but this time they would not drive us back. The wight summoned some archer skeletons and we also found ourselves fighting a runespiral demon, two wererats, and two evistros, as well as the bone shard skeleton and some of the blazing skeletons from last time. Not only did I find myself immobilized for part of the battle, but I had the most difficult time making my hits connect as I thought they should. Fortunately the others were up to the task, and I was still useful tactically speaking. Perhaps I was somewhat unrattled by the wight's horrific visage, or perhaps I lost my resolve somewhat when I found myself struggling to stay in the fray after taking a bunch of hits. Either way, I think the turning point in this battle for me was when Elaira encouraged me to attack one of the guys and I heard my flail connect with a resounding "whack." One last thing worth mentioning: a gnome appeared during the battle and shot some pot-shots at us before running away before we could stop him. After this we went deeper into the temple to try to rescue Adronsias.
Our foes again put forth a good showing, but this time they would not drive us back. The wight summoned some archer skeletons and we also found ourselves fighting a runespiral demon, two wererats, and two evistros, as well as the bone shard skeleton and some of the blazing skeletons from last time. Not only did I find myself immobilized for part of the battle, but I had the most difficult time making my hits connect as I thought they should. Fortunately the others were up to the task, and I was still useful tactically speaking. Perhaps I was somewhat unrattled by the wight's horrific visage, or perhaps I lost my resolve somewhat when I found myself struggling to stay in the fray after taking a bunch of hits. Either way, I think the turning point in this battle for me was when Elaira encouraged me to attack one of the guys and I heard my flail connect with a resounding "whack." One last thing worth mentioning: a gnome appeared during the battle and shot some pot-shots at us before running away before we could stop him. After this we went deeper into the temple to try to rescue Adronsias.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
XP for Slaves of the Old Empire Session #11
Each player gained 800 experience for the final session.
Total XP: 9550 (level 7 at 10000xp)
Total XP: 9550 (level 7 at 10000xp)
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thorn returns
So Aurora's hidin' on the barge, and I'm crackin' the whip an' shoutin' at the slaves, when we all see the airship appear on the far opposite side of the courtyard. There were too many enemies between me an' them, so there wasn't much we could do for 'em, and Aurora and I decided to hold our cover. I could see that our guys on the airship disembarked and were met with somethin' of a welcoming committee, as a whipmaster, a zombie, and a ghoul greeted them. A skirmish ensued and they managed to not die, which was about all I was hopin' for.
After, they freed 35 of the slaves as they ran around the cathedral. When they were upon us, chaos ensued at our camp. Brogar took 35 slaves they freed on the way (now armed, thanks to the armaments we'd hidden on the ship) and another five from our loggers, and headed to the east to liberate more slaves. Aurora came out from hiding, and some of our slaves armed themselves too, and we found ourselves setting upon a whipmaster, a cultist, and two zombies. As the battle was underway, a ghoul came from behind and began eating the slaves. It was a scuffle, that's for sure, as I shot at the ghoul before running up onto the scaffolding so he couldn't charge at me. The slaves fought bravely although several of them lost their lives. After we had taken care of the foes in our immediate mist, Colvin pointed out that we could shoot at the death priests guarding the doors of the inner sanctum of the cathedral. He must've shouted it out loud or something, because as soon as he said so, they shot at us instead. Colvin maneuvered forward so he could attack 'em both, and when the double doors burst open, he found himself uncomfortably close to a newly-undead Thorn, who immediately started swinging at him. Colvin barely managed to stay standing, being the only one of us close enough to take the full brunt of Thorn's rage. So we found ourselves set upon by Thorn and two death priests.
The death priests in particular tried to curse us in an attempt to make Colvin & me fall from the scaffolding, but in this they were unsuccessful. Thorn, having lost Colvin as a target, raced into melee combat with Aurora. Morangan managed to inflict a very devastating blow on one of the death priests, while Treble in the end was the one who finished Thorn off (and kill-thiefed the death priest that Colvin, Morangan, and I had been attacking).
In the end, from this we had gained the following: mundane hide armor, a greataxe, Thorn's Ring of Orkus, some magical Gauntlets of the Ram (which Colvin snatched up and put on before hardly anyone'd gotten a chance to look at 'em), a set of Iron Armbands of Power (likewise which Aurora quickly claimed) and two amulets from the death priests: an Amulet of Mental Resolve and an Amulet of Physical Resolve, which Aurora volunteered to hold in the meantime in case they may come in handy. Brogar rejoined us, along with the slaves, saying they had cleared out the remainder of the enemies from the courtyard. Several of the slaves seemed to recognize Morangan, but I don't know the whole story there.
Now we're tryin' ta decide whether or not to rest up before confronting Alhunder. I have plenty of resources left, myself, but some of the others don't, as they used some against Thorn. Either way, I'd quite enjoy Alhunder believing he was betrayed by Leshna, and this might be my last chance to pose as her, so I might see if Phelaia still has that dress handy........
After, they freed 35 of the slaves as they ran around the cathedral. When they were upon us, chaos ensued at our camp. Brogar took 35 slaves they freed on the way (now armed, thanks to the armaments we'd hidden on the ship) and another five from our loggers, and headed to the east to liberate more slaves. Aurora came out from hiding, and some of our slaves armed themselves too, and we found ourselves setting upon a whipmaster, a cultist, and two zombies. As the battle was underway, a ghoul came from behind and began eating the slaves. It was a scuffle, that's for sure, as I shot at the ghoul before running up onto the scaffolding so he couldn't charge at me. The slaves fought bravely although several of them lost their lives. After we had taken care of the foes in our immediate mist, Colvin pointed out that we could shoot at the death priests guarding the doors of the inner sanctum of the cathedral. He must've shouted it out loud or something, because as soon as he said so, they shot at us instead. Colvin maneuvered forward so he could attack 'em both, and when the double doors burst open, he found himself uncomfortably close to a newly-undead Thorn, who immediately started swinging at him. Colvin barely managed to stay standing, being the only one of us close enough to take the full brunt of Thorn's rage. So we found ourselves set upon by Thorn and two death priests.
The death priests in particular tried to curse us in an attempt to make Colvin & me fall from the scaffolding, but in this they were unsuccessful. Thorn, having lost Colvin as a target, raced into melee combat with Aurora. Morangan managed to inflict a very devastating blow on one of the death priests, while Treble in the end was the one who finished Thorn off (and kill-thiefed the death priest that Colvin, Morangan, and I had been attacking).
In the end, from this we had gained the following: mundane hide armor, a greataxe, Thorn's Ring of Orkus, some magical Gauntlets of the Ram (which Colvin snatched up and put on before hardly anyone'd gotten a chance to look at 'em), a set of Iron Armbands of Power (likewise which Aurora quickly claimed) and two amulets from the death priests: an Amulet of Mental Resolve and an Amulet of Physical Resolve, which Aurora volunteered to hold in the meantime in case they may come in handy. Brogar rejoined us, along with the slaves, saying they had cleared out the remainder of the enemies from the courtyard. Several of the slaves seemed to recognize Morangan, but I don't know the whole story there.
Now we're tryin' ta decide whether or not to rest up before confronting Alhunder. I have plenty of resources left, myself, but some of the others don't, as they used some against Thorn. Either way, I'd quite enjoy Alhunder believing he was betrayed by Leshna, and this might be my last chance to pose as her, so I might see if Phelaia still has that dress handy........
Saturday, April 10, 2010
XP for Slaves of the Old Empire Session #10
Each player gained 700 experience for the session.
Total XP: 8750 (level 7 at 10000xp)
Total XP: 8750 (level 7 at 10000xp)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Ghouls, ghouls everywhere
We had a few moments to retreat and prepare for the onslaught of ghouls that we saw advancing on us. About fifteen it was, and we all did various preparations to be sure that we wouldn't be caught unawares by 'em. In the distance we could see another group of slaves taking on a whipmaster and a cultist, and as our own battle waged on, we could see them winning the fight. Fortunately for us, the ghouls didn't all arrive at once, and rather were spread out in four waves. The ones that did arrive, we did our best to hit swiftly and hard to increase our chances of success. A bunch of ours in the front line were caught immobilized by 'em, but that didn't hinder 'em from holdin' the line so that those of us in the back could keep doin' our jobs. Somehow Aurora seemed to take on most of the attacks, but she didn't do too bad for herself.
After the battle was over, a quick search of the battlefield yielded some nonmagical weapons. Some of the slaves agreed to come with us and help free those who were being held at the cathedral. The group told us that we should expect to find some whipmasters at the cathedral and some undead as guards of the approximately 100 slaves remaining; as well as some death priests ad zombies. Like the others, they suggested that Alhunder could be found in the inner chamber. They told us that the town contains about 200 citizens, mostly farmers and hunters, who are forced to worship Orkus under the looming threat of the undead. After a bunch of discussion, a plan started to form: I would pose as a whipmaster, with Aurora hiding aboard my ship. The slaves were willing to spend the day loading one boat full of lumber so that we could all get down there safely. I would take about ten of them aboard my ship, and another ten or so would go with the others, followin' behind in the airship. Three on our ship were willing to man the ballista, at Brogar's suggestion. They would arrive a bit behind, and then Aurora, myself, and the slaves would be in position to flank from the other side. Let's hope it works out for us.
Before we rested, we finished analyzing the journal we had found on the death priest at the excavation camp. The journal contained a bunch of prayers, death poetry, and much expounding on his personal beliefs and convictions about his commitment to Orkus. It only mentioned Alhunder briefly, and we didn't find anything of tactical use. We did find three rituals in the book: one ritual for desecrating ground, and two ways to raise the undead (one to be used on helpless living people to turn them into ghouls like those we faced earlier, and one to be used on ancient skeletons to turn them into a weaker zombie-like version). Upon reading the rituals, Colvin became somewhat agitated and enraged, and insisted vehemently that the book be immediately burned. He was probably even too fired up to hear Phelaia's faint protestations, for before we knew it, he had set it aflame in a trash can aboard the ship, with him muttering about "unholy rituals" and "vile, evil magics." I had no use for the rituals myself, and don't sell things of the sort in the shop, so I had no objections.
Anyhow, we all slept through the night, in shifts, and the next day started implementing the rudiments of our plan after dawn approached. We had plenty of time during the journey down for me to ask the slaves to give me clear detail about the best way to fit in, so I've been updated on the usual routine, schedule, mannerisms of the whipmasters, and so on. Wearing the chainmail and clothing of the deceased, and brandishing a whip, I feel prepared to do the part. As we sailed down toward the dock, I could see about 20 slaves and 1 whipmaster near the docks; and another 35 slaves, a whipmaster, and a couple of zombies towards the back of the cathedral. As we docked, I could see two death priests standing guard outside the inner sanctum where Alhunder more than likely is (for if he was not there, why would it be guarded?). I hailed those on shore and shouted at my slaves, every once in awhile covertly looking skyward for signs of an airship. My guess is that we have another couple of hours before Aurora's hiding place will be revealed to the others on land, so hopefully we can find a good tactical time to get this party started before we find ourselves in trouble.
After the battle was over, a quick search of the battlefield yielded some nonmagical weapons. Some of the slaves agreed to come with us and help free those who were being held at the cathedral. The group told us that we should expect to find some whipmasters at the cathedral and some undead as guards of the approximately 100 slaves remaining; as well as some death priests ad zombies. Like the others, they suggested that Alhunder could be found in the inner chamber. They told us that the town contains about 200 citizens, mostly farmers and hunters, who are forced to worship Orkus under the looming threat of the undead. After a bunch of discussion, a plan started to form: I would pose as a whipmaster, with Aurora hiding aboard my ship. The slaves were willing to spend the day loading one boat full of lumber so that we could all get down there safely. I would take about ten of them aboard my ship, and another ten or so would go with the others, followin' behind in the airship. Three on our ship were willing to man the ballista, at Brogar's suggestion. They would arrive a bit behind, and then Aurora, myself, and the slaves would be in position to flank from the other side. Let's hope it works out for us.
Before we rested, we finished analyzing the journal we had found on the death priest at the excavation camp. The journal contained a bunch of prayers, death poetry, and much expounding on his personal beliefs and convictions about his commitment to Orkus. It only mentioned Alhunder briefly, and we didn't find anything of tactical use. We did find three rituals in the book: one ritual for desecrating ground, and two ways to raise the undead (one to be used on helpless living people to turn them into ghouls like those we faced earlier, and one to be used on ancient skeletons to turn them into a weaker zombie-like version). Upon reading the rituals, Colvin became somewhat agitated and enraged, and insisted vehemently that the book be immediately burned. He was probably even too fired up to hear Phelaia's faint protestations, for before we knew it, he had set it aflame in a trash can aboard the ship, with him muttering about "unholy rituals" and "vile, evil magics." I had no use for the rituals myself, and don't sell things of the sort in the shop, so I had no objections.
Anyhow, we all slept through the night, in shifts, and the next day started implementing the rudiments of our plan after dawn approached. We had plenty of time during the journey down for me to ask the slaves to give me clear detail about the best way to fit in, so I've been updated on the usual routine, schedule, mannerisms of the whipmasters, and so on. Wearing the chainmail and clothing of the deceased, and brandishing a whip, I feel prepared to do the part. As we sailed down toward the dock, I could see about 20 slaves and 1 whipmaster near the docks; and another 35 slaves, a whipmaster, and a couple of zombies towards the back of the cathedral. As we docked, I could see two death priests standing guard outside the inner sanctum where Alhunder more than likely is (for if he was not there, why would it be guarded?). I hailed those on shore and shouted at my slaves, every once in awhile covertly looking skyward for signs of an airship. My guess is that we have another couple of hours before Aurora's hiding place will be revealed to the others on land, so hopefully we can find a good tactical time to get this party started before we find ourselves in trouble.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
XP for Slaves of the Old Empire Session #9
Each player gained 450 experience for the session.
Total XP: 8050 (level 7 at 10000xp)
Total XP: 8050 (level 7 at 10000xp)
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