Friday, January 15, 2010
An adventuring job
Last week, this fellow, Mishaan, who I've crafted items for several times in the past, came into the shop. He told me that he wanted me to craft him a Bag of Shielding of a particular size, that could help give him some protection against the contents of the bag. I told him I had just the thing in mind, and we settled on a price. This time, though, he said he was in a hurry to organize a mission, and instead of waiting for the item, he asked me if I would go to Greenwood Villa and deliver it to 'im. I told him that usually I charge a travel fee, but being as I appreciate repeat customers who pay promptly and in full, I'd waive the charges and do it for the cost of travel expenses. He agreed, and we made plans to meet in a tavern a week hence. He told me that actually, he was recruiting for the mission as well, and he invited me to join along as long as I was there delivering the bag. He said that I could expect a hefty sum if I joined along, and for me it was a safe investment to at least listen to his spiel, given that I know he pays as promised.
Then, Mishaan asked me if I knew any other adventurers that I could recommend recruiting. I told 'im about that time I went to the cemetery to go after Volkir, and about how of that lot we took along with us, only a few of 'em really would have the mettle for a serious mission. I told 'im that Treble has worked in this area a long time, so I was pretty sure I could find 'im and ask 'im if he was looking for a job from someone who pays reliably, and if so, I'd see if he wanted to come along with me. I told Mishaan that I don't know Colvin, Agathor, and Balthazar as well, but that he could get in touch with them by sending a message over to the Temple of the Silver Flame if he wanted to see if any of them were available. I told him that of the three, especially Colvin really hung in there with us when it got nasty in those crypts. He's a brave fellow even if I did have to save his life when he got himself in a pickle. I said that Agathor led the mission, but he and Balthazar went to stave the Children of Winter off of our flank, so they weren't there in the thick of the action, although I thought they would be useful if they were available. I told him that the other fellows, Horadric and Rhogar, were adventuring types who aren't from this area, so I don't know how he'd get in touch with them, but if he managed to find them, they would be worthy allies.
During the intervening week, I crafted Mishaan's bag, putting as much care into it as I do to all of the items that I craft. I met up with Treble and we headed out to Greenwood Villa to meet with Mishaan at the tavern for drinks and information. Colvin was there too, and sitting with them was Aurora, a strong-looking (if hairy) woman with a bunch of weapons at her disposal. Mishaan offered us hefty doses of excitement, fame, and most of all treasure if we joined him in his mission to retrieve an artifact from an old hideout. He promised us each 100 gold for our time and trouble even if the artifact was not there, which seemed fair enough, so we all agreed to join. He told us that the old hideout we would be looking for was that of the Stormcrow Company, a trio of disreputable adventurers who had disappeared fifteen years ago, and showed us a map he had drawn of the area where he thought we might be able to find it.
The next morning, we headed out toward the area that Mishaan had indicated on his map. It took us pretty much the whole day to get down there, and I suggested we make camp a little away from the woods and enter the woods in daylight. The others agreed, even Colvin, who was reluctant and had to be convinced not to make camp right in the middle of the woods with wolves all around. The next morning, Aurora and Treble climbed up a tree to look for the rock outcropping we were using as a landmark to decide from whither to enter the woods. They pointed the way and we all headed that direction and went into the woods. It was dark and the brush and undergrowth were overgrown in the woods, so it was slow going. We all tried to use our skills to the best of our abilities to help, but some of us were more successful than others. I especially gave a long look to Colvin, who told us all that he was skilled in Nature, and then instead of tracking his way through the woods he started incanting prayers and calling forth lightning from the sky and bring blasted trees down all around us. Poor Treble out in front there almost had a close call when a limb came crashing down right in front of him. Hopefully this was an anomaly, and Colvin will prove himself to be more useful in the future, or Mishaan might not give as much weight to my recommendations in the future.
As it neared dark, we found the outcropping. As dusk surrounded us, so did a pack of wolves, as we approached the clearing. Our team was somewhat divided on whether we should make a run for it or stand and fight, so our tactics were not ideal, as Mishaan and Treble tried to make a run for it while Colvin and I decided to choose a patch of ground and defend it. The fighter lady stayed with the two of us, and I planted my deep red battle standard in the ground to mark the ground as ours. Colvin and Aurora quickly found themselves surrounded by wolves, and so I conjured an arcane eye to help them see the weaknesses of their foes. At one point there, Aurora was knocked prone and rather than help her up, Colvin stepped aside and roasted the whole area with fire and hail. I had given her an elixir of protection, so she didn't seem too much worse off for the wear. While I have to admit that his fiery hailstorm was effective in dispatching several of the wolves, I can't help but think that the bloke must have been having an off-day, first bring trees down around our rogue and then bringing fiery hail down around our fighter. Off-days happen to the best of us, so let's hope that the lad learns from this to temper somewhat his youthful impulsiveness.
Anyway, the battle was over in short order, so we decided to sleep in the hideout ruins for the night. Aurora volunteered to sleep on the trap door, and Treble volunteered to keep watch, which worked for me. Tomorrow, we plan to go into the burrows underground and look for Mishaan's artifact.
Then, Mishaan asked me if I knew any other adventurers that I could recommend recruiting. I told 'im about that time I went to the cemetery to go after Volkir, and about how of that lot we took along with us, only a few of 'em really would have the mettle for a serious mission. I told 'im that Treble has worked in this area a long time, so I was pretty sure I could find 'im and ask 'im if he was looking for a job from someone who pays reliably, and if so, I'd see if he wanted to come along with me. I told Mishaan that I don't know Colvin, Agathor, and Balthazar as well, but that he could get in touch with them by sending a message over to the Temple of the Silver Flame if he wanted to see if any of them were available. I told him that of the three, especially Colvin really hung in there with us when it got nasty in those crypts. He's a brave fellow even if I did have to save his life when he got himself in a pickle. I said that Agathor led the mission, but he and Balthazar went to stave the Children of Winter off of our flank, so they weren't there in the thick of the action, although I thought they would be useful if they were available. I told him that the other fellows, Horadric and Rhogar, were adventuring types who aren't from this area, so I don't know how he'd get in touch with them, but if he managed to find them, they would be worthy allies.
During the intervening week, I crafted Mishaan's bag, putting as much care into it as I do to all of the items that I craft. I met up with Treble and we headed out to Greenwood Villa to meet with Mishaan at the tavern for drinks and information. Colvin was there too, and sitting with them was Aurora, a strong-looking (if hairy) woman with a bunch of weapons at her disposal. Mishaan offered us hefty doses of excitement, fame, and most of all treasure if we joined him in his mission to retrieve an artifact from an old hideout. He promised us each 100 gold for our time and trouble even if the artifact was not there, which seemed fair enough, so we all agreed to join. He told us that the old hideout we would be looking for was that of the Stormcrow Company, a trio of disreputable adventurers who had disappeared fifteen years ago, and showed us a map he had drawn of the area where he thought we might be able to find it.
The next morning, we headed out toward the area that Mishaan had indicated on his map. It took us pretty much the whole day to get down there, and I suggested we make camp a little away from the woods and enter the woods in daylight. The others agreed, even Colvin, who was reluctant and had to be convinced not to make camp right in the middle of the woods with wolves all around. The next morning, Aurora and Treble climbed up a tree to look for the rock outcropping we were using as a landmark to decide from whither to enter the woods. They pointed the way and we all headed that direction and went into the woods. It was dark and the brush and undergrowth were overgrown in the woods, so it was slow going. We all tried to use our skills to the best of our abilities to help, but some of us were more successful than others. I especially gave a long look to Colvin, who told us all that he was skilled in Nature, and then instead of tracking his way through the woods he started incanting prayers and calling forth lightning from the sky and bring blasted trees down all around us. Poor Treble out in front there almost had a close call when a limb came crashing down right in front of him. Hopefully this was an anomaly, and Colvin will prove himself to be more useful in the future, or Mishaan might not give as much weight to my recommendations in the future.
As it neared dark, we found the outcropping. As dusk surrounded us, so did a pack of wolves, as we approached the clearing. Our team was somewhat divided on whether we should make a run for it or stand and fight, so our tactics were not ideal, as Mishaan and Treble tried to make a run for it while Colvin and I decided to choose a patch of ground and defend it. The fighter lady stayed with the two of us, and I planted my deep red battle standard in the ground to mark the ground as ours. Colvin and Aurora quickly found themselves surrounded by wolves, and so I conjured an arcane eye to help them see the weaknesses of their foes. At one point there, Aurora was knocked prone and rather than help her up, Colvin stepped aside and roasted the whole area with fire and hail. I had given her an elixir of protection, so she didn't seem too much worse off for the wear. While I have to admit that his fiery hailstorm was effective in dispatching several of the wolves, I can't help but think that the bloke must have been having an off-day, first bring trees down around our rogue and then bringing fiery hail down around our fighter. Off-days happen to the best of us, so let's hope that the lad learns from this to temper somewhat his youthful impulsiveness.
Anyway, the battle was over in short order, so we decided to sleep in the hideout ruins for the night. Aurora volunteered to sleep on the trap door, and Treble volunteered to keep watch, which worked for me. Tomorrow, we plan to go into the burrows underground and look for Mishaan's artifact.
Friday, November 13, 2009
A valiant....... escape
We continued exploring through the catacombs, opening a door that led into darkness. Horadric lit the way as we walked through a long room, finding on the far side of it the boy, Thuran. Treble shouted at him, which just seemed to upset the poor thing. I went over and told him we were there to help, and attempted to break him free of his shackles. However, the iron chain was very thick and I wasn't able to break it. I tried attacking a length of the chain with my flail, attempting to break it, but again saw no results. Horadric and Jellissa came over and helped me try to break the chain again, but even together we were unable to break such a thick chain. I followed after the others, leaving Horadric behind to pick the lock and take care of Thuran.
Through the pillared hallway, Keh'r lit up his sunrod to illuminate a room full of foes. We found ourselves facing three skeletal archers, two blazing, fiery skeletons, two bonewretch skeletons, a deathwalker wight, a bone shard skeleton, and six decrepit skeletons. I maneuvered to the front lines to find a spot from which I could better mark my enemies, and found myself being besieged by ranged attacks: three arrows from the archers, an orb of black energy from the wight, and two flaming orbs from the blazing skeletons. I was looking pretty ragged, and so I was grateful when Rhogar touched my arm and infused me with healing energy. In the meantime, Rhogar cast a safe zone behind the pillars, to bolster our defenses as we awaited the melee enemies to join with us as our allies traded ranged attacks with the skeletons. However, this didn't work as well as we'd hoped, as Rhogar was subsequently knocked unconscious in short order and we found ourselves in a position where we needed to run in earnest.
Keh'r went into the fray to grab Rhogar and drag him to safety, as I dealt a grave injury to one of our foes and used the Earth's gifts to slow them down behind us. As Keh'r and I were heading out, we found Horadric and Elaira were still too close to the enemies, so we slowed and encouraged them to run ahead of us. I took a few more hits, and Elaira and I became slowed. I found myself again in need of healing; I paused from the fray to heal myself and push my enemies away, and was surprised and grateful when Horadric lent me his aid as well... I didn't know he had such an ability. As Keh'r and I were bringing up the rear to help cover Elaira and Horadric, and I was slowed and therefore unable to run quickly away, I found myself again the target of several attacks. I would have been alright if it weren't for the fact that the blazing skeletons had set me aflame and I was unable to douse the fires, and therefore I found myself still weakening quickly. Keh'r was on fire, too, but he didn't even seem to notice it. However, he did notice that I was having some trouble staying upright, and he pulled a flask from his belt, ran over to me, and said, "Here, drink this!" and reached up to pour the potion into my mouth. I was too weakened to protest that I'd rather drink it myself, and took a big swallow of the healing potion. This gave me the energy I needed to follow Horadric and Elaira out the door, with Keh'r and Rhogar behind me. Even so, the fires continued to burn me until finally Rhogar helped me to put them out before they sapped the rest of my energy reserves. We fled from the castle and headed back for Brindol, taking a much-needed long rest so that we could replenish our strength. During our rest in the forest, Elaira broke the news to Thuran about the death of his father. She did it as gently as she could, but the poor boy was still devastated. When we got to Brindol, we took him to his mother.
Some of us stopped by Derrick the artificer's stall to buy potions of various types to help us when we re-enter the castle and face the enemies again. I am not pleased that we had to run from the battle in the first place, but still consider it somewhat a success that we got all of us out of there alive with the condition that we were in when we left. Tomorrow we will try again with more resources, and we will triumph and defeat the brigands who attacked Brindol. We also stopped by the Hall of Great Valor and returned the two artifacts to Sertanian. He was pleased to see us and looking relatively well; he was happy to see the artifacts returned. While I was there I saw Horadric, who told us that he had stopped by the Temple of the Silver Flame and met two acquaintances of his who he convinced to join us as we re-entered the catacombs and defeated the wight and its allies. When we took Jellissa to her temple, she offered us three healing potions as a token of gratitude for our help. If yesterday's battle was any indication of what we'll be facing tomorrow, we will definitely need them.
Through the pillared hallway, Keh'r lit up his sunrod to illuminate a room full of foes. We found ourselves facing three skeletal archers, two blazing, fiery skeletons, two bonewretch skeletons, a deathwalker wight, a bone shard skeleton, and six decrepit skeletons. I maneuvered to the front lines to find a spot from which I could better mark my enemies, and found myself being besieged by ranged attacks: three arrows from the archers, an orb of black energy from the wight, and two flaming orbs from the blazing skeletons. I was looking pretty ragged, and so I was grateful when Rhogar touched my arm and infused me with healing energy. In the meantime, Rhogar cast a safe zone behind the pillars, to bolster our defenses as we awaited the melee enemies to join with us as our allies traded ranged attacks with the skeletons. However, this didn't work as well as we'd hoped, as Rhogar was subsequently knocked unconscious in short order and we found ourselves in a position where we needed to run in earnest.
Keh'r went into the fray to grab Rhogar and drag him to safety, as I dealt a grave injury to one of our foes and used the Earth's gifts to slow them down behind us. As Keh'r and I were heading out, we found Horadric and Elaira were still too close to the enemies, so we slowed and encouraged them to run ahead of us. I took a few more hits, and Elaira and I became slowed. I found myself again in need of healing; I paused from the fray to heal myself and push my enemies away, and was surprised and grateful when Horadric lent me his aid as well... I didn't know he had such an ability. As Keh'r and I were bringing up the rear to help cover Elaira and Horadric, and I was slowed and therefore unable to run quickly away, I found myself again the target of several attacks. I would have been alright if it weren't for the fact that the blazing skeletons had set me aflame and I was unable to douse the fires, and therefore I found myself still weakening quickly. Keh'r was on fire, too, but he didn't even seem to notice it. However, he did notice that I was having some trouble staying upright, and he pulled a flask from his belt, ran over to me, and said, "Here, drink this!" and reached up to pour the potion into my mouth. I was too weakened to protest that I'd rather drink it myself, and took a big swallow of the healing potion. This gave me the energy I needed to follow Horadric and Elaira out the door, with Keh'r and Rhogar behind me. Even so, the fires continued to burn me until finally Rhogar helped me to put them out before they sapped the rest of my energy reserves. We fled from the castle and headed back for Brindol, taking a much-needed long rest so that we could replenish our strength. During our rest in the forest, Elaira broke the news to Thuran about the death of his father. She did it as gently as she could, but the poor boy was still devastated. When we got to Brindol, we took him to his mother.
Some of us stopped by Derrick the artificer's stall to buy potions of various types to help us when we re-enter the castle and face the enemies again. I am not pleased that we had to run from the battle in the first place, but still consider it somewhat a success that we got all of us out of there alive with the condition that we were in when we left. Tomorrow we will try again with more resources, and we will triumph and defeat the brigands who attacked Brindol. We also stopped by the Hall of Great Valor and returned the two artifacts to Sertanian. He was pleased to see us and looking relatively well; he was happy to see the artifacts returned. While I was there I saw Horadric, who told us that he had stopped by the Temple of the Silver Flame and met two acquaintances of his who he convinced to join us as we re-entered the catacombs and defeated the wight and its allies. When we took Jellissa to her temple, she offered us three healing potions as a token of gratitude for our help. If yesterday's battle was any indication of what we'll be facing tomorrow, we will definitely need them.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Two more saved prisoners
First, we gathered mushroom caps and dragon extract, following the artificer's instructions. It was really fascinating as we worked to dissect the dragon, and Derrick's instructions helped us save quite a bit of time, as we were able to deftly extract what we needed. There were so many mushrooms that we were able to get a lot of mushroom caps to bring back as well. We went into the door to the east, where we saw an old woman trapped in a chalky circle. She matched the description we were given of Zerixa. Treble shouted at her, which only managed to irritate her. When we went in, Horadric conjured a hand to sweep the circle away, but it was zapped and disappeared. It was then that we noticed that the circle was flickering in and out of existence. Elaira suggested that we could possibly brush the chalk away, if we did it quickly. Treble tried, but wasn't fast enough and his hand got shocked. I'm not comfortable at all with the arcane arts, so I decided to whack the circle with my flail, and it flickered away. Zerixa thanked us and told us that they took Kartenix's son back upstairs. She said her captors thought she was a witch, and they were trying to get her secrets. We took her back to town, to the Temple of the Silver Flame, where we had left the others.
The next day, when we went back to the catacombs, it was very hot outside, which made the hike more difficult. I helped many of the others, though still Elaira twisted her ankle on the steep mountain path. However, we did manage to stay on course and avoid most of the mountain hazards, as well as the wildlife. When we returned to the catacombs, we went to a room upstairs that Treble had scouted previously. There were five hobgoblins and two drakes awaiting us. I charged in, and took out three of the hobgoblins early into the fight. The drakes kept spitting at me and trying to bite me, so even though we cleaned up the enemies without too much trouble, I still ended the fight bloody. As we were resting so that I could staunch my wounds, Treble heard some chains clanking. We found Jellissa the priestess chained to a wall. I ripped the chains right out of the wall, so she was freed. She told us that the boy, Thuran, was being held nearby, but she didn't know where. We decided to search the room before we left, and in the sarcophagi we found a glowing crystal dragonshard, 100 gold, and 100 silver pieces. Elaira fit the shard into her bow.
We checked a few of the doors, finding that they weren't dead-ends and instead led to long corridors. We chose one way over the other and headed down the hall, to enter a large room filled with thin statues. They were cold to the touch but otherwise seemed lifeless. Keh'r and Horadric spent quite some time studying the statues. Being uninterested in magic statues, I went ahead, as I heard footsteps and did not want to be caught by surprise. Around the corner came a hobgoblin wearing plate armor with a red hand emblazoned on it. Judging by that, along with the taunts he threw at us, it was definitely Sinruth, accompanied by two female hobgoblins. Elaira hummed a song, the tune of which made me feel invulnerable as I slammed my flail into Sinruth. To keep the hobgoblins from attacking my allies, I used Earth's power to cover the ground with frost; I taunted the hobgoblins to draw their attacks onto myself; and Keh'r and I physically blocked the passageway so that they could not pass. Although in the background I could hear some of my allies muttering and grumbling about how impotent the mighty Sinruth was, from where I was standing and absorbing all the attacks... well, it wasn't so easy from where I was standing, as I kept alternating between getting knocked bloody and being healed by Elaira. After Sinruth was defeated, the two female hobgoblins seemed to want to avenge him, as their attacks were even more accurate and devastating. A few of my other allies found themselves bloodied as well. Eventually, we did finish off all the hobgoblins and then searched the room to see what we could find. We found the gauntlets from the Hall of Great Valor, and the dragoncrest helm was there, too.
We also found a wooden box. Treble said he disabled the trap on it, but when he opened it, a cloud of noxious gas came out of it. I almost passed out. After the gas was gone, Elaira sang a soothing song that helped us recover from the fumes. Inside the box was 240 gp and a healing potion. In Sinruth's breast pocket, we found a map of the region, with several paths marked and ambush places noted on it. There was also a map of Brindol, and a letter to Sinruth from "The Emissary." In the letter, The Emissary told Sinruth to attack Brindol by night and to steal from the Hall of Great Valor. It also mentioned giving prisoners to a wight, so perhaps this is what was meant when the goblin prisoner told us that the prisoners were being offered to appease the undead horrors. We also found a spiked chain, which I took with me. On our way back out of the room, Horadric and Keh'r studied the statues again, discovering that the enchantment on them was called Winter's Chill, and was put there by the Children of Winter. I told the others what I knew about the Children of Winter, the death cult that has no respect for life. They misuse the Earth's gifts and cause those who encounter them to think badly of druids... let's just say it would be best for them if I don't run into them anytime soon.
I think the next order of business is to take Jellissa, Kartenix's body, and the treasures back to Brindol before searching this segment of the dungeon further to find Thuran.
The next day, when we went back to the catacombs, it was very hot outside, which made the hike more difficult. I helped many of the others, though still Elaira twisted her ankle on the steep mountain path. However, we did manage to stay on course and avoid most of the mountain hazards, as well as the wildlife. When we returned to the catacombs, we went to a room upstairs that Treble had scouted previously. There were five hobgoblins and two drakes awaiting us. I charged in, and took out three of the hobgoblins early into the fight. The drakes kept spitting at me and trying to bite me, so even though we cleaned up the enemies without too much trouble, I still ended the fight bloody. As we were resting so that I could staunch my wounds, Treble heard some chains clanking. We found Jellissa the priestess chained to a wall. I ripped the chains right out of the wall, so she was freed. She told us that the boy, Thuran, was being held nearby, but she didn't know where. We decided to search the room before we left, and in the sarcophagi we found a glowing crystal dragonshard, 100 gold, and 100 silver pieces. Elaira fit the shard into her bow.
We checked a few of the doors, finding that they weren't dead-ends and instead led to long corridors. We chose one way over the other and headed down the hall, to enter a large room filled with thin statues. They were cold to the touch but otherwise seemed lifeless. Keh'r and Horadric spent quite some time studying the statues. Being uninterested in magic statues, I went ahead, as I heard footsteps and did not want to be caught by surprise. Around the corner came a hobgoblin wearing plate armor with a red hand emblazoned on it. Judging by that, along with the taunts he threw at us, it was definitely Sinruth, accompanied by two female hobgoblins. Elaira hummed a song, the tune of which made me feel invulnerable as I slammed my flail into Sinruth. To keep the hobgoblins from attacking my allies, I used Earth's power to cover the ground with frost; I taunted the hobgoblins to draw their attacks onto myself; and Keh'r and I physically blocked the passageway so that they could not pass. Although in the background I could hear some of my allies muttering and grumbling about how impotent the mighty Sinruth was, from where I was standing and absorbing all the attacks... well, it wasn't so easy from where I was standing, as I kept alternating between getting knocked bloody and being healed by Elaira. After Sinruth was defeated, the two female hobgoblins seemed to want to avenge him, as their attacks were even more accurate and devastating. A few of my other allies found themselves bloodied as well. Eventually, we did finish off all the hobgoblins and then searched the room to see what we could find. We found the gauntlets from the Hall of Great Valor, and the dragoncrest helm was there, too.
We also found a wooden box. Treble said he disabled the trap on it, but when he opened it, a cloud of noxious gas came out of it. I almost passed out. After the gas was gone, Elaira sang a soothing song that helped us recover from the fumes. Inside the box was 240 gp and a healing potion. In Sinruth's breast pocket, we found a map of the region, with several paths marked and ambush places noted on it. There was also a map of Brindol, and a letter to Sinruth from "The Emissary." In the letter, The Emissary told Sinruth to attack Brindol by night and to steal from the Hall of Great Valor. It also mentioned giving prisoners to a wight, so perhaps this is what was meant when the goblin prisoner told us that the prisoners were being offered to appease the undead horrors. We also found a spiked chain, which I took with me. On our way back out of the room, Horadric and Keh'r studied the statues again, discovering that the enchantment on them was called Winter's Chill, and was put there by the Children of Winter. I told the others what I knew about the Children of Winter, the death cult that has no respect for life. They misuse the Earth's gifts and cause those who encounter them to think badly of druids... let's just say it would be best for them if I don't run into them anytime soon.
I think the next order of business is to take Jellissa, Kartenix's body, and the treasures back to Brindol before searching this segment of the dungeon further to find Thuran.
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