Where we left off…

Our heroes have put up for the night in a Pelorian house of healing after escaping from their rented cottage which was set ablaze with them in it in the middle of the night.

Recap

Having spent the rest of the night without further incident, the group decides to spend the rest of the day preparing for their raid on the Ashenwood Gang’s hideout. They head to the market to purchase non-metal weapons and armor for dealing with the vampires’ rust monster pets, and then head back to the Great Library of Boccob in search of a sage who can tell them about the Plane of Shadow.

Where we left off…

After determining that the Cydonic Prince, Steponas has likely been abducted by the same gang of vampires who have been warring with Carboni’s 3 Rings Guild, the party captures one of a pair of mysterious individuals they discovered tailing them from Steponas’s last known residence.

Recap

Setting: A cluttered alleyway just off of Panthium’s crowded central market.

Fearing the inevitable approach of the city watch after their pursuit of the individuals who were following them, our heroes decide to take their captive to Carboni’s for interrogation. Before leaving the alley, Santiago knocks him unconscious, not trusting him to remain quiet due to a rather flippant attitude initially exhibited towards his captors.

The party exits out the far side of the alley with the unconscious skulk stuffed unceremoniously into the bag of holding. They make sure to let him out for air every few minutes, and generally proceed with caution to avoid the notice of the city watch.

Upon arrival at Carboni’s Guildhall, the party takes their prisoner down to a holding cell in the lower levels. When he is removed from the bag, the group discovers that their pursuer was actually a changeling. When he slipped into unconciousness, his features slipped back to their natural undefined state.

After sending for the thief master, Xandre & Santiago launch into a good-cop bad-cop routine hoping to loosen their prisoner’s tongue. After coaxing some basic information out of the changeling – his name is Leo, and he does, in fact, work for Samara, Xandre offers him a role in Carboni’s ranks in exchange for more in-depth cooperation. Meanwhile, Santiago engages in visible and aggressive martial arts exercises punctuated by brief intimidating charges to scream in the cowering changeling’s face.

Not wishing to be on the receiving end of the 1/2 orc’s fists, Leo agrees to cooperate and reveals the following information:

• Samara and her gang did, in fact kidnap someone matching Steponas’ description a couple nights previous.
• He was brought to the safe house where Leo was based before being transported to Baron Ashenwood’s Estate.
• The gang operates a number of safe houses and business fronts around the city. Non-vampire gang members are kept largely insulated from other cells on a need to know basis, but the vamps utilize a series of portals linked to the Plane of Shadow to travel unseen between Baron Ashenwood’s holdings.
• The Ashenwood estate contains no entrance on the material plane, but is said to be accessible from the Plane of Shadow.
• Leo’s base of operations is the closest access point to the Plane of Shadow in relation to the Baron’s estate. It is located in a section of abandoned sewer accessed from the commons just outside the Vecnan Parish.
• The trip across the Plane of Shadow is rumored to be very dangerous, and gang members refer to it as “The Run.” No non-vampire is known to have completed the Run alive.

Leo agrees to provide the group with directions to his base of operations and a map of the sewer leading to the safe house. After securing Leo’s conditional promise of protection from Carboni, the party retires to their rented cottage in the Pelorian Parish.

Later that night:

During the night, while Lanna and Santiago are standing watch, smoke suddenly begins to pour in through the windows and under the door of their cottage. Lanna and Santiago raise the alarm and proceed to battle the spreading flames as they shatter windows and pour into the house. Upon looking outside of the house, Lanna sees what appears to be someone in Pelorian robes watching the blaze from afar.

Roused by Lanna’s continued cries of alarm, the rest of the party wakes and gathers their belongings. When it becomes apparent that the fire is beyond their control, they decide to flee the burning building. Santiago smashes his way through the front door, surrounded by a ring of flame. Vester & Lanna climb through one window while Rayne and Piruk head out another. Xandre and Kit elect to take a more direct route from the upper level, leaping to safety with only mild injury suffered on the part of the bard.

As our heroes gather to assess their status, Lanna notices the mysterious figure has disappeared. The smoke from the fire, however, has roused the Parish and Pelorians are now converging on the site to battle the blaze. Santiago also notices a mysterious symbol painted on the chimney, which is determined to be an ash leaf.

Safe from the inferno, the party is put up for the night in a Pelorian house of healing. The plan for the following day consists of research and preparation for their strike against the Ashenwood gang.

Where we left off…

Eleanor and Daethin have bid farewell to their travelling companions. The cleric, having been accepted into training as a Shadow Guard, and the ranger having grown homesick for the forests of Elionde. The departees have been replaced by two newcomers sent by Carboni to assist the group. The new arrivals are an Aasimar bard, named Xandre Snow and a cleric of Olidammara known as Vester.

The party has just arrived at Kilner’s Plaza in an attempt to deliver a shipment of books to the last known residence of a man they believe to be the missing Cydonic prince, Steponas. Upon arrival, they find the building they seek cordoned off by the Parish watch, and mutters of “murder” percolating through the crowd.

Recap

Kit, Rayne & Xandre visit with Madame Encarnya, proprietor of a nearby bead shop whom Vester had seen peeking through her upstairs curtain at the commotion in the street. When the group enters the shop, the eccentric old woman sends her Gnomish shop girl to invite the trio up to her sitting room for a cup of tea and a chat.

Encarnya introduces herself and explains that she is but a lonely old woman who longs for the storied life of an adventurer. She offers to tell the party what she knows if they will tell her about themselves and their adventures. Kit senses that there is more to her than an innocent old lady. She suspects Encarnya deals in information.

The group shares some basic information with the woman. Kit tells her that they are adventurers traveling across the Westerlands righting wrongs, committing good deeds and exploring strange places. Rayne backs up Kits explanation with a fantastic account of their adventure rescuing the children of Fenwatch from the hag and her gray jester companion.

In exchange, the old woman informs the party that Old Shelby, the owner of the building next door was killed a couple nights past. She had seen him return home late at night with a beautiful woman on his arm. They had entered his apartment. A little while later, she heard shouting and the sounds of a struggle. Afterwards, she saw three or four individuals leave the downstairs apartment and head upstairs where there was a flash of light, followed by the sounds of another struggle. Then two figures left the upstairs apartment supporting a third slumped between them.

After bidding Encarnya farewell, and purchasing a couple trinkets from her shop as a gesture of goodwill, the group rendezvous with Santiago outside. The monk has been speaking with another 1/2 orc, Baako Leathergut, who owns a small cafe across the street. It seems that he is cleaning up after an unexpected rat infestation, which must have occurred around the time of the murder. He is grateful for Santiago’s assistance and commiserates with the monk about the prejudicial attitudes of humans who frequently assume 1/2 orcs are unclean savages.

The party decides that they must enter the apartment to view the scene of the crime first hand. Unfortunately, a pair of Boccobian guards stationed outside is preventing access and shooing any bystanders along their way. In order to bypass the guards, the party implements an elaborate diversion. Xandre, Rayne and Lanna take up position in the center of the plaza and launch into a song and dance routine led by the Aasimar on his fiddle. Meanwhile, Santiago bribes a group of children, who had been playing with the security perimeter stanchions to redirect their play so as to draw the guards’ attention away from the alley next to the house.

Kit and Santiago then make their way down the block before scaling up to the rooftops. Once they wind their way back to the cordoned off apartment, Kit first sends in her spider-thief to investigate the scene. After scrambling down the chimney, the construct returns with a bloody kitchen knife and snapshot recordings of a grisly scene. Kit and Santiago then drop into the alley and slip into the lower level apartment through the back entrance. Inside, they find the body of Shelby, sprawled in the main room, covered in muslin. Congealing bloodspray covers the walls and ceiling of the room. When Kit peeks under the cloth for a closer look, she sees that Shelby’s throat has been gruesomely torn out, as though by a wild animal. He also exhibits numerous smaller bite marks.

Kit gingerly returns the knife to the corner, where the spider-thief picked it up, and adjourns with Santiago to the alley. The infiltration team then scales up to the 2nd floor, where they enter through a bedroom window. The upstairs bedroom is undisturbed, but provides some tantalizing evidence for the pair. A suit of dragonhide armor sporting a large jewel in the breastplate is discovered in a locked chest at the end of the bed. A nearby wardrobe contains a heavy shield, covered in plain canvas. Beneath the cover, however, the shield is emblazoned with the dragon of Cydon and the purple fox that is Steponas’s personal sigil. Kit stuffs both the armor and shield into the main pocket of her haversack.

The main room of the upper apartment shows signs of a struggle similar to those downstairs… minus the bloodspray and the corpse. The front door has been forced off its hinges, and hangs at an unfortunate angle. Kit discovers a small pile of ash in the middle of the doorway strengthening her earlier suspicions that vampires were involved. The two infiltrators decide that they have what they need and return the way they came to rendezvous with the rest of the group.

Having discovered that the vampires who attacked Carboni’s guildhall have also likely kidnapped Steponas, the party decides to report to Carboni after a brief stop back at their rented cottage in the Pelorian Parish. On their way through Panthium’s central market from the cottage to the Olidammari district, Kit notices two figures behind them, which she suspects have been tailing the group since Kilner’s Plaza. The party ducks into a nearby produce shop where they concoct a plan to turn the tables on their mysterious tail.

Vester casts Alter Appearance upon himself and slips out of the shop headed back the way they came. Kit & Santiago then leave and continue in the original direction, suspecting that the tail may have spotted them sneaking into Steponas’s apartment. When the two leave, one of the tailing individuals follows, but the other remains watching the shop.

The rest of the party then follows, along with the other tail.

Further up the market, Kit and Santiago duck into an alleyway and turn to watch their pursuer. The tail heads to an alley entrance on the opposite side of the street, where he is joined by his companion. When the second pursuer arrives, he whispers urgently to the first. The two begin to flee down the far alley just as the rest of the group arrives.

Lanna immediately draws her sword, and the party gives chase down the narrow alley. Rayne pulls up short after stepping on a patch of caltrops laid to discourage just such a pursuit. However, Santiago’s speed aided by Kit’s decision to call forth the giant mantis from her enchanted amulet and a well placed hold spell from Vester allows the group to quickly apprehend one of their nosy pursuers. Unfortunately, the other manages to vanish out the far side of the alley, lost in a crowded market beyond.

Where we left off…

Our heroes stand before the altar deep in the kobold temple. Cries from the denizens of the complex can be heard echoing from outside as the kobolds flee in terror. Their leader is dead, their god has forsaken them.

But where is Rayne?...

Beauty is in the eye of… aw, forget it!

The dark-haired sorceress is missing. Last anyone noticed, she had just ported up onto a ledge back in the great hall. Meanwhile, kobold stragglers are dashing towards the exit of the room. Suspecting Rayne may have taken an alternate route towards the temple chamber, the rest of the party chooses to pursue the small reptilians fleeing through the most likely exit to cross Rayne’s path.

Piruk leads the way, laying out a straggling kobold sorcerer, unluckily stuck at the back of the fleeing mob. Frantic chatter can be heard through the exit. It appears that the rest of the kobolds are tangled up in the hallway beyond. Piruk pushes through the door, swatting at the heels of the panicked kobolds.

As he rounds the corner, he squints in the sudden glare of a beam of light. The hopping silhouettes of the fleeing, pass around a corner beyond the beam’s source, still barking in the strange draconic dialect. Once the crowd has passed, the dwarf can see a kobold standing calmly at the far end of the hall. It appears to be wearing Rayne’s watchlamp.

“It’s me, Rayne!” yaps the dog-faced reptile in the Common tongue.

Piruk considers this for a moment. He supposes that since the critter knows Rayne’s name, it must actually be her.

Daethin, who has pushed into the hall behind the dwarf, through a combination of caution and flippancy quips, “Oh yeah!? What’s the secret code?”

“Bunk beds.” yaps Rayne. “Now don’t move any further! those little buggers kept hopping over a spot in the middle of this passage… I think it may be trapped. I’ll go back around the other way and meet you in the temple.”

After the party regroups before the altar, they decide that the best course of action would be to pursue Juglanth Daar and the floating offering platform. Likely, the kobolds would have made an offering of the crystal, not realizing its true function.

Santiago leads the way, clambering easily up a secured grapple and through the hole in the back wall of the temple. The cylindrical passage through the hole continues for about 20 feet before opening into a massive, high ceilinged chamber. The room is lit by an eerie, blue glow, which appears to emanate up through irregularly spaced holes in the floor. Directly opposite the tunnel where the party stands, is a massive vertical split in the chamber wall. The gap runs from the floor, until lost in the darkness above.

Kit moves tentatively forward, wary of potential traps. Closer inspection of the gaps in the floor reveals that the blue glow actually emanates from the underside of the floor, which hovers above a void with no visible bottom. Stepping out towards the center of the room, Kit is suddenly surprised, when the floor beneath her feet begins to slide forward. The platform continues until it thuds into another section, at which point, Kit hops off. She makes her way over to the far edge of the room and peers through the gap in the wall at the seemingly endless abyss beyond.

Kit returns to the group and stands to the side with Daethin, letting the more inquisitive members of the party work out the solution to the shifting platforms. Santiago hops about the room, largely at the direction of Rayne and Eleanor as the blocks shift back and forth.

After shifting, and re-shifting the various platforms, at last they appear to clear a path for a block that is lined up properly to drift through the gap in the chasm wall. The whole party piles onto the close confines of the moving platform, and holds still as it drifts silently across the room and through the sheer divide. As they clear the narrow channel, the darkness opens out into a massive gulf of black. A great, subterranean canyon hollowed out beneath the mountainside.

The platform drifts silently on. The arcane glow from its underside is far too weak to illuminate the canyon walls or bottom as is the everburning torch held in the rogue’s hand. Soon, a pair of faint, blue lights begin to grow up ahead. The pinpoints become blotches, and then discernible blue flames burning in braziers beside a great stone arch. The platform drifts slowly into a slot carved in a stone ledge before the arch, slowing to a halt with a dull thud that echoes faintly in the blackness.

Our heroes step gingerly off the platform and peer through the archway. Beyond its span, they see numerous other points of the same blue fire, burning from numerous torches. The torches are held in the hands and claws of stone figures, standing silently in a broad gallery.

The group moves hesitantly into the gallery, Kit in the fore. Through the archway, they see that the stone figures are of various creatures, mostly denizens of the Underdark; drow, duergar, umber hulks and grimlocks but occasional surface species pepper the grim gallery. The statues are frozen in active poses, many with a look of surprise or horror permanently carved on their face.

“Basilisk victims… mutters Daethin. The kobolds have made them offerings to their god.”

Each statue has been decorated in a bizarre fashion. Draped with bits of clothing and baubles, but always in a way that would seem incongruous to the statue’s nature; Drow dressed in dwarven helmets and pink gowns, A gnome in kobold array, his face painted with draconic slurs. a great, flightless subterranean bird wearing nothing but a loin-cloth and a large novelty phallus, strapped to its forehead.

The dread of the beholder’s physical threat begins to be matched by a fear of it’s mental inclinations in the minds of our heroes.

As the group nears the center of the room, they stop at sudden movement from among the statues. Two swirling masses of wearerless clothing unwrap themselves from the statues and make for the party. The raggamoffyns swirl towards the nearest targets attempting to wrap their cloth tendrils around them.

The group beats back the assault, successfully breaking up and dispersing one of the constructs, only to see the other grab ahold of Rayne. Piruk, Lanna and Kit rush to help dislodge Rayne from the constricting grasp of the living clothes. The sorceress manages to hold the wrappings at bay, preventing the odd entity from gaining control, but soon the struggle devolves into a stalemate. Everytime a scrap is removed, another seems to grab on. After what seems like an eternity, the remaining raggamoffyn lets out a burst of sparkling gem dust, temporarily dazzling those around it. It then swirls away, carrying one of Rayne’s belt pouches in its clutches.

After blinking the spots from their eyes, the party continues to the end of the gallery and through the corridor beyond to a great, round chamber. The walls of the chamber are lined with alcoves, each holding a ridiculously-dressed statue. In the room’s center, is a dais holding a closed chest among a pile of various and sundry offerings, all presided over by the stone form of an illithid. Above the dais floats the horrible orb of Juglanth Daar.

The lesser beholder opens its great central eye as Kit peers into the room. The rogue goes rigid, stunned by the eye’s power. The rest of the party does not waste time trying to diplomacize with the horror. Leaping a shallow gap at the edge of the room, Lanna, Eleanor, Piruk and Daethin all rush in, firing up at the circling orb. Rayne moves into the doorway and unleashes a massive fireball. She does not think she can draw on such a large amount of arcana to cast another spell of its power. The ball of flame bursts, scorching the beholder as it dodges out of the way. Juglanth Daar responds by casting a ray of flame from one of his lesser eyes, setting the ditch at the edge of the room ablaze, separating the party with a burning barrier.

Several of Daethin’s arrows strike home, as does a blast of divine energy from Eleanor. Then the beholder makes a fatal mistake. In order to bring his central eye to bear on everyone in its chamber, the orb drops to hover just above the ground. Unfortunately for the aberration, the eye has little power over our heroes who immediately rush to engage the beast in melee. Piruk’s hammer opens several great contusions on the orbs rubbery hide as Daethin continues to fill it with arrows. Rayne lets loose several acid arrow spells, but each time they hit home, Juglanth Daar immediately dispels the acid’s effect to save it further damage.

The battle begins to lean our heroes way. The injury caused by Juglanth’s eye rays is outpaced by the battle prowess of the party. Soon, sensing that it cannot win the fight, the great orb lets out a snarl of frustration and withdraws straight upward in an attempt to flee its grounded companions. Lanna switches from her sword to her longbow, and a final volley from the Paladin, Daethin, and the javelins of Santiago at last pierces the life from the beholder. The great orb lets out a sickening gurgle before dropping heavily to the ground with a sickening squish.

At last, the party stands alone surrounded by the treasure horde of Juglanth Daar.

Where we left off…

Our heroes have just broken through the far side of the barbican in the mysterious kobold-infested complex. They stand within the shelter of the far passage, panting from the exertion of the fight. Eleanor tends to the wounded as best she can, while Daethin and Piruk stare down the dark, featureless stone hallway.

Recap

The party continues along the passage in the lower level of the kobold complex. The distant yapping of kobolds raising the alarm can be heard behind them. The passage winds along, unbroken by side paths or doorways, and the party is forced to stop only once, when Kit throws a cautioning arm up at the discovery of a pressure plate in the floor. Further observation by the rogue, and by Piruk reveals a hatch in the ceiling above the plate. Most likely forming some sort of deadfall trap. The group carefully marks the danger zone with a ring of white chalk before proceeding.

Soon, a bend in the passage reveals a ramp leading up to a large room. From the bottom, the group can only see tall pillars lit by the ruddy glow of torches. Kit and Daethin proceed forward cautiously to investigate.

Stopping just far enough up the ramp to be able to see over the upper edge, the two scouts spot a curious site in the room beyond. In the center of a great, pillared hall an unidentified animal roasts on a spit over a bed of coals. The spit is unattended, and the meat has begun to char. The acrid odor of overdone food drifts into the tunnel. Beyond the cook fire, a quartet of kobolds stands staring into the passageway. Each is dressed in a low, wide-brimmed hat and an unusual black half-coat. They stand poised with instruments in hand. A fiddle, mandolin, drum and horn.

“I really don’t like the idea that they appear to have prepared a concert for us.” mutters Daethin.

Further observation reveals that the musicians are not the only ones in the room beyond. The two scouts notice over half a dozen other kobold snouts peering out from behind the chamber’s stone columns. None of the ambushers appear to be aware of the scouts’ presence.

Daethin and Kit return to the group to discuss their plan of attack. After some deliberation, our heroes decide to strike hard and fast. Rayne leads the way, creeping cautiously up the passage until she has a clear line of sight for casting. As she begins her spell, however, things spring into action.

A barked order in draconic is immediately followed by the four musicians striking a dramatic chord which turns into a stirring, staccato rhythm. The music is blended with the thrum of several bowstrings, as a hail of arrows flies into the passageway, several striking Rayne as she weaves her spell. The sorceress manages to complete the delicate gestures despite the stinging distractions, and returns fire with a massive fireball.

As suddenly as the music began, the quartet becomes a solo.

Following on the heels of Rayne’s opening barrage, the rest of the party charges forward, sensing the tactical advantage. As Santiago clears the passageway in the lead of the group, he suddenly comes under attack by a hail of stones hurled from a ledge above the passage opening. Simultaneously, two kobold rogues who had been hiding on either side of the opening rush the monk to take up flanking positions.

The rest of the party joins the fray shortly thereafter, pouring out of the tunnel entrance into the great columned hall. The room is massive, lined with pillars of stone, which stretch up to the high ceiling lost in the gloom above. The wall to the party’s right is dominated by a massive stone facade, carved from the rock wall. A pair of great double doors are mounted in the facade at floor-level, while twin stairways unwind from either side, climbing to a similar set of doors on a balcony above. Over the two entrances, a massive depiction of the symbol that has been marked throughout the complex so far, has been carved in relief. Our heroes will gawk at the sight later. There is a fight at hand!

A flight of arrows from Daethin’s bow lays out the last of the charred kobold bards. As he falls, however, a pair of sorcerers come into view at the far end of the room. One unleashes a magic bolt of acid, which sizzles into Lanna as she closes with one of the kobold rogues. The other spreads a sheen of magic grease across the center of the room in an effort to block any attempts to charge.

Soon, the tide of battle begins to turn against the would-be ambushers. As the whole party clears the end of the passageway, they begin to gain the upper hand. Piruk’s Maul, along with Lanna’s blazing sword and the flying fists of Santiago, make quick work of any kobold within striking distance. Daethin holds the spellcasters at bay with suppressing fire, while Kit picks her way along the edge of the room, in an effort to close with the unarmed magic users.

Then, Rayne uses Baleful Transposition to port herself onto the ledge where the rock-throwing kobolds have continued to pelt the party as Wigston fires off a Sleep spell, which drops most of the rock-throwers into a deep slumber.

Suddenly outnumbered, panic begins to set in among the kobolds. The two sorcerers turn to flee as do the remaining rock throwers. One of the casters manages to avoid Kit, fleeing through a small door at the far end of the chamber. The other runs for the lower entrance in the massive facade, Santiago hot on its tail. Rayne drops one of the fleeing rock-throwers with a volley of magic missiles from her magic gloves, but the other manages to flee into a room at the far end of the ledge.

Justt as the last kobold sorcerer throws open the great double doors, Santiago lays him out with a killing strike to the base of his spine. The sound of chanting can now be heard through the doors.

The chamber beyond is a massive, semicircular auditorium. A kobold dressed in shaman’s robes stands before a great, stone altar piled with offerings. Two more sorcerers stand to either side of the shaman, while a gathering of other kobolds look on from a balcony above.

The shaman faces a massive image of a staring eye, carved in relief on the far wall above the altar. The pupil of the eye is a hole set in the wall 15 feet above the temple floor. As the shaman’s chant grows in intensity, the offerings on the altar are born up towards the hole on a platform of arcane force.

“Juglanth Daar!” cries the shaman, “Juglanth daar! Confn jihai hesi regipre!”

Hoping to disrupt the ritual, Santiago charges into the chamber and delivers a viscous trip attack to the shaman, sending him sprawling on the floor.

The sorcerers react to the invaders by filling the entryway with a magic grease slick, and then unleash a volley of acid arrows at anyone who appears. The Shaman manages to regain his feet and strikes out at Santiago, his hand bathed in an entropic glow. The monk feels the shaman attempting to sap his strength, but manages to resist the withering effect. He retaliates and once again sweeps the shaman off his feet, before springing away from his fatiguing touch.

The rest of the party begins to make their way gingerly through the area affected by the grease spell. The shaman, battered and bloody from Santiago’s repeated attacks, regains his feet and defiantly completes his ritual, his voice rising to a crescendo. “Juglanth Daar! Juglanth Daar! Svent hesi irlym! Juglanth Daar!” As he completes his chant, he lashes out with one hand and sends an Unholy Blight spell hurtling into the clustered heroes standing in the doorway. Most of the group takes withering damage, but Piruk catches the blast with his mouth open and is left sickened.

As the shaman unleashes his spell, the object of his summons comes floating through the hole above the altar. A horrible floating orb, dominated by a single eye set above a gaping maw crowned by half a dozen wriggling tentacles, each tipped with a smaller, glaring eye.

“Juglanth Daar!” cries the shaman, triumphantly.

“Moradin’s Dross!” mutters Piruk. “Beholder!”

Santiago and Lanna are undaunted by the fearsome orb, they charge forward and cut down the shaman. Juglanth Daar glares down at the humanoids who have just destroyed his prime servant. His gaze holds the fearful and weak willed temporarily helpless.

Our heroes are neither fearful, nor weak willed, and by and large resist his eye’s effect. Juglanth Daar, then directs his forward tentacles down towards the party, rays of flame and dark magic lance out from the eyes at their tips, but once again, the group is largely unfazed. Sensing the power of his opponents, the great eye snarls, before turning to follow his last offering back through the hole from whence it appeared.

The kobolds panic! Their leader is dead! Their God has forsaken them! They begin to wail and flee for their lives. One of the sorcerers is cut down by Kit before he can escape, but the rest of the diminutive reptilians make the exits.

Standing in the aftermath of their assault, the group takes stock of their situation… Kit looks around, puzzled “Hey… Where’s Rayne?”

Where we left off

The back wall of the teleportation chamber stands partially in ruins. A black hole, ringed with crumbled masonry and guarded by a pair of Holdout soldiers, gapes before the party. They have taken a day to rest and equip themselves for the coming hunt. A crude sigil has been carved into the stone above the doorway. Signs of their quarry can be easily seen in the thin layer of dust at the tunnel’s entrance.

Wigston steps forward, his kiitar slung over his shoulder and a blunt-nosed gnomish blunderbuss tucked into his belt.

“Filthy kobolds… let’s get this over with…”

Recap

Our heroes set off in search of the missing crystal key that will activate the teleportation circle in the ruined keep. Sofya, the mage suspects it was stolen by the kobolds that were occupying the ruin when the Holdouts arrived in Thunder Vale.

The tunnel leading through the back wall of the teleportation tunnel is dark and cramped, forcing all but Wigston, Piruk and the diminutive Rayne to stoop as they move along. The party proceeds cautiously into the gloom with Kit leading the way, everburning torch held high, constantly scanning for traps left by devious kobold hands.

Soon after the faint glow of torchlight emanating from the keep’s basement disappears behind them, the group stumbles upon their first trap, already sprung. The tunnel is mostly blocked by a rockfall. A search of the area reveals the tripwire that triggered the collapse and the shaft cut into the ceiling, which held the rocks.

The group is forced to squeeze through a narrow opening left by the collapse, wriggling over the pile of boulders one at a time. On the far side of the blockage, they find the poor Holdout conscript who triggered the collapse, his body and armor crushed beneath the rocks.

The tunnels beyond begin to widen and the sound of running water echoes through the caverns. The hillside beneath the falls that give Thunder Vale its name is riddled with caverns carved out by the slow seep of water from the river above.

Further down the trail, the party gets their first glimpse of a kobold. At a fork in the trail crossed by an underground stream, Daethin spots a kobold scout peering out from behind a stalagmite in the left passage. The reptilian creature lets out a yelp when it realizes it has been spotted and dashes up the passage behind it, out of sight.

A search of the area reveals a number of caltrops submerged in the shallow stream waiting for unsuspecting travelers. Kit gathers all that she can find, netting an additional two bags worth of the spiky objects and clearing the trail for crossing.

The party weighs the wisdom of following the fleeing kobold down the left trail. Is it luring them into a trap? Will it warn its tribe if they don’t catch it? After some hasty debate, they decide it is worth the risk to follow. After all, how much trouble can one kobold be?

The group proceeds cautiously after the fleeing kobold. The tunnel gradually rises. Soon, it opens into a sort of grotto, lit from above by several narrow fissures which run all the way to the surface. A dozen limestone pillars surround a mossy pool, which sparkles in a shaft of sunlight.

As the party approaches the pool, they hear a rapid clicking sound, which increases in intensity as they get closer. The clicks grow more intense the closer they get, but the source of the sound eludes them. Piruk notices that as he enters the chamber, the whiskers in his beard grow stiff and begin to stand on end.

Suspecting a trap, but unable to find any specific danger, Eleanor elects to try a blind guess approach. She begins lobbing bits of metallic junk out into the center of the chamber, hoping to make something happen. As each item splashes into the pool, the mysterious clicking grows more frantic before subsiding.

Then she sees him. The kobold they have been pursuing stands veiled in shadow in the exit on the far side of the room. He fires a shot with his bow, but not towards Eleanor. Movement on the pillar beside where the arrow struck reveals the target. A curious gray lizard with bright blue markings flinches away from the arrow and clicks furiously. Eleanor looks around and spots several other lizards on other pillars. Then another shot…

This one connects and suddenly there is a crackling hiss, a bright blue flash and Eleanor is jolted with a searing current of electricity. Piruk manages to dive back as he feels his beard stiffen, catching a less intense shock.

The party backs away down the hall to ponder the obstacle and allow Eleanor to heal herself. Rayne’s suggestion that a well-placed fireball could solve the problem is vetoed by Lanna, who wants no part in attacking animals that were likely just defending their home. After some deliberation, the group elects to return to the fork and try the other passageway.

The other path proves less hazardous. They only need to stop once to bypass more caltrops laid out in a stream. Continuing on, the tunnels wind downward, deeper into the mountainside, until they open at last into a massive cavern. Soaring pillars of natural rock frame the entrance to a subterranean structure. Broad steps lead up to a doorway, above which is displayed the same symbol seen in the teleportation room… only much larger and more carefully carved.

The group passes cautiously through the portal and along a broad, straight hallway. The hall eventually ends at a ledge perched above a broad, square pit. A similar ledge can be seen across the chamber, with a similar halway leading away from it. A rope ladder dangles down the far ledge. The only other feature of note in the room is a large, metal plate set into the wall of the far ledge at the same level as the pit floor.

Kit is the first to investigate. Climbing down a secured rope, she creeps across to investigate the metal plate. As she is searching for traps, she hears shuffling and grunting coming from the other side of the barrier. Dashing back to the party, she reports her findings.

Fearing that something might trigger the plate in the far ledge to reveal its contents, the group moves forward, wary of danger. Daethin, Wigston and Rayne remain on the ledge, ready to attack anything that should show itself on the far side of the pit. The rest of the party creep back down the rope and pick their way gingerly across to the rope ladder on the far side of the room.

About halfway across, Piruk suddenly pauses, contemplating the wall to their right. He summons Santiago over to assist him. The two begin prodding and prying at the wall, eventually causing a section to shift. They begin tugging on a massive stone door, behind which they find a hallway.

Just as Piruk and the monk are getting the door open, Kit decides to climb the rope ladder to investigate the upper hallway. About 3/4 of the way up, however, one of the rungs gives way and triggers an audible click. Looking around frantically, the rogue notices acidic looking smoke beginning to rise from the top of the ladder. Thinking quickly, she leaps back, allowing her ring of featherfall to carry her safely back to the floor.

“Shoonk!” The rope ladder falls, and the metal plate drops into the floor. Behind the plate, in a shadowy cave, a massive reptile with eight legs and glowing red eyes begins to shuffle forward.

“Basilisk!” shouts Daethin.

The three standing on the ledge unleash their readied attacks in quick succession. A fireball from Rayne is immediately followed by two swift arrows from Daethin and a blast from Wigston’s blunderbuss. As quickly as the danger appeared… it is gone, sinking charred and pierced to the floor before it even had a chance to glare.

Where we left off

Our heroes stand in the woods near the south bank of the Ossir’narrh River in Cydon. The sound of armored horsemen can be heard behind them on the far side. Two Catfolk monks, who Virago appears to know have just dropped from the trees in front of the group…

Recap

The party continues their journey south, now escorted by the two catfolk monks (known as judo cats) Diamond and Sapphire. The catfolk explain that they were sent by Brahm, leader of the Cydonic Resistance, to intercept Virago as he returned from his mission and to bring him to the Resistance’s new base of operations.

The party learns that Lance Commander, Brahm Vispakal is one of Prince Steponas’s most trusted officers. He was tasked with watching over Steponas’s lands and estate when the king was murdered. They also learn that a special investigative branch of the Cydonic military, known as the Redemption, was formed shortly after the King’s death and tasked with rooting out the murderer and the cause of the Blight.

The Redemption began targeting those who refused to swear an oath of sole allegiance to Tornas, believing that their loyalty was suspect and that Steponas was responsible for the Blight cursing the land. They began raiding the lands of the holdouts. When they came to Steponas’s estate, Brahm resisted and was eventually forced to flee.

Brahm and the holdouts are now regrouping in a secluded valley known as Thunder Vale in the mountains on Cydon’s southern border. After two days journey, our heroes reach the camp and arrange to meet with Brahm and the other resistance leaders.

On the morning after their arrival in the Holdouts’ camp, the group is summoned to a ruined castle that sits at the southern end of the vale. This ruin is in the process of being refortified, but has already been set up as the headquarters for the Holdout leaders.

Upon entering the castle, the party witnesses an event of swift justice born of the deep divisions within the country. The body of a man is born past them out through the gates along with various bits of rubbish being cleared from the ruin. Brahm stands in full plate in the middle of the courtyard, flecked with blood and wiping down his recently used blade. He is flanked by a rotund priest of Heironeous and a willowy mage woman looking somber. When asked about the body, the Holdout leader states that the man was a spy for the Redemption who was tried and found guilty of his crimes.

The subject is then dropped abruptly when our heroes are invited into the castle’s great hall. There, they meet with Brahm, the priest and the mage who are respectively introduced as Father Yarov and Sofya. During the meeting, Virago reveals the purpose and results of his mission. He had been sent by Brahm to locate Ilyari, one of Steponas’s other trusted officers who was leading his personal guard in Dragonfall on the night he disappeared. Virago reveals that he caught up with the man deep in the Blighted lands of the Eastern plateau. Ilyari was wandering in rags, delerious with the Blight.

During moments of apparent lucidity, Virago managed to uncover that King Lytanias had learned of the rising Blight and had sent Steponas away in search of something, which could defeat the growing evil. The objective of the quest was most likely the lost Jewel of Ilysias, which is said to hold the spirit of the great hero of Cydon. Steponas did not want to leave, fearing that the King’s life was likely in danger with such evil in the realm. He fought with the King to be allowed to stay, but eventually relented and left Cydon under the King’s orders. Sofya and Father Yarov suspect the Prince traveled to Panthium to consult the vast libraries and numerous sages found in the city.

Virago reveals that Ilyari died of his symptoms shortly after and that he then began his return journey via a circuitous route to avoid the worst of the Blight. He retells the story of his incarceration and escape with the assistance of our heroes.

Brahm then asks if the party will aid the Holdouts and presents a number of specific ways in which they can help:

1. Bring news of Ilyari’s death to his wife, who is of barbarian descent, in hopes that she will be persuaded to contribute Ilyari’s personal forces to their cause out of a sense of loyalty to her husband and a thirst for revenge.
2. Make contact with officers of the Royal Guard in Westgate, who were disbanded when the army took control of the border city after the King’s murder. The ultimate goal of this mission would be to retake the city for the holdouts in order to establish a functioning supply chain for their military buildup.
3. Search for a crystalline key that was removed from a permanent teleportation circle in the basement of the castle. Sofya suspects the key was stolen by a tribe of kobolds who were inhabiting the castle when the Holdouts arrived in the Vale. Recovering the key would reactivate the circle and allow the party to more quickly go in search of Steponas.

Our heroes are naturally hesitant to take sides in a conflict they don’t see as directly relevant to their mission. Eleanor and Lanna particularly do not wish to be drawn into the human bloodshed that is likely to accompany the retaking of Westgate. After much discussion, they agree that their best course of action is to go in search of the missing crystal in hopes of eventually rendezvousing with Steponas and joining his quest to cure the Blight.

Their decision made, the party is invited to take the day to rest and restock. Brahm provides access to the military stores, allowing each member of the group to requisition 1000g worth of equipment for their coming mission.

Where we left off

Our heroes are traveling south from Talynbourg fleeing Captain Dekelor and his men. They have just defeated a barnyard full of tainted pigs after four days of travel through pouring rain and mountain storms.

They are tired. It is evening, and it is raining…

Recap

Eleanor pauses at the entrance to the vacant farmhouse. The screams of a frightened horse drift through the rain from the barn.

The party gathers around the barn door as Eleanor attempts to push it open.

“It’s stuck…”

Piruk hefts his maul and gestures for her to step aside. With a mighty overhand strike, he blasts the door from its hinges, but instead of falling inward, it rebounds back out propelled by a collapsing mass of timber. The dwarf dodges out of the way just ahead of the crashing logs and the horse’s frightened screams double their intensity.

“Door’s open.” he says as he steps aside.

Eleanor approaches the open doorway, her holy symbol radiating light from her Celestial Brilliance spell. The glow illuminates the barn’s interior and glints off of the dust motes and bits of hay shaken loose by the collapsing timbers. It appears that half of the hayloft had been leaning on the front entrance and came crashing down with Piruk’s strike.

Through the musty snow of drifting hay, a rearing and snorting clydesdale can be seen, his eyes rolling wildly in fright. A wave of putrefying stench rolls out through the open door, boiling over the cleric and forcing her to steel her suddenly churning stomach.

“Ceffyl, you speak horse don’t you? We could use your help over here!”

The unicorn looks indignant. “What!? Speak horse? It’s not like… oh, nevermind…” He noses up into the doorway beside Eleanor and assesses the situation. Locking eyes with the terrified clydesdale, he suddenly rears, silhouetted in the light from Eleanor’s spell. The unicorn emits a distinct aura of command.

The terrified horse responds. His bucking slows and his whinnies lessen until he eventually stands calm, breathing heavily from his exertion and appearing entirely exhausted. Ceffyl turns and leaves the doorway, and a few minutes later, the horse makes his way tentatively out of the barn.

Lanna approaches the beast, “You must be starving,” she says, reaching into her pack for a carrot, “here.” The horse wolfs down the offered carrot hungrily and then another. Ceffyl watches from the side, mildly dismayed that his supply of treats seems to be dwindling so rapidly.

A search of the barn uncovers the body of the horse’s former owner lying next to a dropped riding saddle, a massive festering horseshoe-shaped contusion lending a lopsided look to his head. The corpse had a purse with some gold in it, and a second, weathered saddle is found on a hook nearby.

Their search of the barn complete, the party now sets about making camp for the night. Daethin elects to give the man a proper burial – Rayne’s offer to turn the barn into a funeral pyre is rejected for fear of a massive blaze drawing unwanted attention. Given the foul odor lingering about the barn, the party then opts to risk a rainy night in the structurally compromised cabin.

As everyone settles in around Eleanor’s holy symbol, still basking in a Celestial Brilliance effect, Virago speaks.

“I would like to thank you for aiding my escape back in Talynbourg. You have all proven yourselves quite resourceful in a tight spot. I realize there is still a lack of trust between us, so in the hopes of remedying that, I would like to fill you in a bit more on the situation here in Cydon. If for no other reason than to let me piss in peace for once… Anyway, so as to avoid rehashing what you already know, why don’t you give me your perception of what is going on, and perhaps I can provide further clarity.”

The group talked into the evening, huddled in the small one room shack as rain pattered on the roof. Their discussion ranged from the king’s murder, to Virago’s mission, to the extent and potential sources of the Blight, all of which appear thoroughly intertwined. What follows is a summary of the information that was gained.

The Situation in Cydon

The King’s Murder

• The King was murdered on Midwinter’s Night while under guard in his chambers. The murder weapon appears to have been a dagger belonging to a Royal Guardsman.
• The guards stationed outside his chamber were killed as well, but none of their weapons were missing.
• Steponas was in town for the Midwinter Feast, and had been heard arguing with his father earlier that day. When the King’s murder was discovered at the watch change, Steponas was nowhere to be found.
• Immediately after the King’s murder, troops from the army were sent to seal and reinforce the main border crossings out of the country.

The Succession

• Once the traditional mourning process was completed, Tornas assumed the throne as was his birthright.
• The fact that Steponas was still MIA did not help ease the growing suspicion against him. The fractures were most obvious among the militarized nobility since Tornas commanded the army and Steponas the royal guard.
• In order to quell any question of potential divided loyalties among the Guard’s officer corps, Tornas insisted that each man swear an oath of sole allegiance to him, renouncing any authority formerly held by his absent brother. Any who refused were discharged from service. Any who were suspected of knowing Steponas’ whereabouts, or who were considered potentially dangerous were kept under close watch.
• Tornas’ attempts to quickly restore order rubbed some people the wrong way. Some officers did not take to being discharged and began to rally their commands to them, taking refuge in their keeps and holdfasts on their own lands. They did not wish to renounce the man they had called general and friend so easily. Most felt that Steponas at least deserved the chance to represent himself in honorable combat.

Virago’s Mission

• Virago is working for the Cydonic Rebellion. The leader of the rebellion, a man by the name of Brahm had sent him in search of someone who may know the last whereabouts of prince Steponas. Virago was on his way back from that mission when he ran afoul of Col. Dekelor. He has been making his way back towards his friends by a circuitous route when he was finally caught and arrested in Talynbourg
• Virago hints that he was successful in his mission, but declines to go into more detail at this time.

Through the Blight

The next morning, our heroes set off once again, traveling south into the band of Blight spreading from the river Ossir’narrh. After several days of storms, the weather appears to be cooperating at last.

As they make their way southward, the countryside grows more barren and bleak. Birdsong is entirely absent, with the exception of the ominous squawk of scavenging crows. Spring fields lie unplowed and overgrown with weeds, and homesteads and villages stand vacant and gaping at the lonely group of companions. Even the trees appear twisted, and despite a clear sky, the spring sun seems weak and diffuse.

The absence of people emboldens our heroes who now stick to the road for their travels desiring to cross the cursed landscape as quickly as possible. After two days of hushed travel, Daethin’s ears pick up a new sound ahead. The unmistakable rush of a river grows ever louder with their approach.

As the traveler’s crest a rise in the trail, they spot the serpentine flow of the Ossir’narrh unwinding across their path. The water flows swift, and muddy and the banks appear swollen with the recent storms. The road winds down the far side of the hill to a crossroads, where an abandoned inn stands facing a stone bridge across the river.

Making their way cautiously down to the edge of the bridge, Kit and Daethin discover that the middle of the span appears to have washed out in the storm. Bits of the crumbled decking poke just above the surface on the downstream end leaving an empty space of about 15 feet. In the reeds on the far bank of the river, the duo can make out the low silhouette of a rowboat.

The bridge is a squat stone structure consisting of three arched spans. Four pillars rise from anchor points in the arches, to a height 10 feet above the bridge deck. Wrought iron lanterns hang from hooks on the sides of the pillars and each is topped with a glowering gargoyle.

Kit makes her way cautiously out onto the bridge, searching for traps or anything out of the ordinary. She notices a pile of broken stone lying at the base of one of the gargoyles and looks up suspiciously at the statue.

Edging out to the gap, the rogue prepares to peer over the edge when she catches a flash of sudden movement. A pair of tentacles lash out from the lip of the bridge, wrapping tightly around Kit’s arm as she tries in vain to dodge out of the way. The dripping rubbery arms begin pulling the rogue towards the gap in the bridge, as another tentacle pops up above the lip, this one sporting a single alien-looking eye at it’s tip. Kit struggles and manages to wriggle free of the tightening grasp, scrambling back out of reach. Her shout brings the others rushing down to the riverside.

Kit returns, shaken, to her friends on the bank and explains the nature of the tentacley obstacle blocking their path. The group starts to ponder ideas for dealing with the creature, and Kit eventually decides to go have another look… this time while firmly tethered to prevent her from being dragged into the water.

She looks around for a sturdy anchor point from which to secure her line, and decides to try hooking her grapple to one of the gargoyles looming from the bridge’s pilings. She flings the hook towards one of the statues, but just before it hits, the statue moves and flaps off the pillar with a snarl.

Having discovered that at least one of the gargoyles is alive, Eleanor attempts to politely question it about the creature in the water. When the gargoyle proves contrary and ill-tempered, the cleric, along with Daethin, take a different tack and threaten it with violence.

While this futile discussion is taking place on the bridge, Rayne moves downstream slightly, hoping to get a better line of attack on the source of the tentacles. As she moves off alone down the bank, suddenly, the other three gargoyles launch from their perches and converge on the sorcerer, raking at her with their claws and snapping with their bites.

Then, everything is movement. Kitrushes to aid her friend, stabbing the nearest gargoyle in the back with her short sword. Rayne steps back and blasts her attackers with Color Spray, leaving one blinded by the dizzying fan of magic light. Daethin, sensing that negotiations have broken down makes good on his threats and lets fly with three arrows of shock.

Daethin’s arrows catch the hovering gargoyle full in the chest as it attempts to flap out of range. Its body goes stiff with the violent jolt, and plummets into the rushing current. A moment later, a dark tentacle lashes out from the gap in the bridge, hurling the gargoyles stony corpse at Daethin and Eleanor. The body falls harmlessly short and chunks of gargoyle scatter down the bridge as it shatters on the deck.

The other gargoyles fare little better than their fractured companion as the rest of the group rushes to Rayne’s defense. Lanna’s sword sends molten flecks of gargoyle flying as Santiago lays into one with a flurry of blows. One of the creatures, suffering from horrible injuries attempts to flee with it’s life, but is brought crashing back to earth with a well places strike from the butt of Rayne’s crossbow.

The remaining two gargoyles soon follow their companions into the great darkness, brought down by the ferocious defense mounted by our heroes… leaving only the troublesome tentacles blocking the way across the river.

As the group is half-heartedly lobbing arrows and alchemist’s fire in the direction of the partially submerged creature, Daethin’s ears perk up. He straightens suddenly and turns to the south.

“Horsemen… lots of them, by the sound of things… we’d best move quickly before they see us!”

Rayne once again steps up to the river bank.

“Okay, enough pussy-footing around… let’s go fishing.”

The sorcerer narrows her eyes in concentration and lets fly with a series of fireballs aimed just below the water line in the bridge gap. Each blast sends a plume of magically heated steam and water up and out from the site of impact. Rubbery chunks of blasted tentacles begin to plop down onto the bridge and into the river… still the sound of approaching horse grows louder.

“That should do it.” She says, “Let’s get moving.”

Santiago takes a running leap across the gap, easily clearing it.

“That’s all well and good…” grumbles Piruk, “But what about those of us with less spring in our step?”

“Must I do everything?” Rayne sighs heavily and tromps out to the gap in the bridge. She pulls out her rod of frost and points it at the river below. When she speaks the command word, a beam of sublimating air arcs out from the end of the rod as the river below begins to rapidly ice over. Soon, the space between the two nearest bridge pilings has frozen a foot thick. With no place else to go, the river water begins to slosh over the icy surface.

“It’ll be slick, so go slow.” Says Rayne, lowering herself gingerly over the lip of the gap.

One by one, the party slowly makes their way across Rayne’s makeshift bridge. Those with mounts coax them to jump the gap, rather than trying to convince their creatures to climb down and then up the five feet between the regular bridge and Rayne’s icy stopgap.

After some coaxing by Ceffyl, the new-found horse makes the leap and the entire party gathers on the far bank of the river. Looking back across, they can just make out the specks of riders appearing over the distant hillside.

Virago speaks in urgent tones, “We’d best get moving. The bridge will delay them, but not forever.”

Seeing the wisdom in the rogue’s words, the group heads quickly towards the treeline. They have only moved a dozen yards into the sheltering woods, when they hear a rustling in the branches above. A voice with thickly rolled r’s speaks from hiding.

“O hai thar hoomin. We has finded u. U has frendz.”

Virago slows to a halt… “Oh, shit… the twins.”

A pair of catfolk drop from the trees above landing in front of the puzzled group. They are dressed in monks robes, one in blue, the other white. They strike a dramatic pose, respectively brandishing siangham and a quarterstaff.

“Sapphire. Diamond. Let’s get out of here.” Virago nods to each of the catfolk in turn and pushes past them heading deeper into the woods.

Where we left off…

Lanna pauses to catch her breath, standing over the two watchmen who gasp hopelessly from their wounds and mingle their blood on the flagstone floor of the ready room. She glances toward the far door where a wiser member of the guard just retreated to lick his wounds. A faint clatter of movement comes from the other side of the door. She can feel Ceffyl’s insistant tug reaching out from the North.

The front door to the Talynbourg Watch Garrison creaks heavily on its hinges, left ajar when Santiago charged through after a fleeing watchman just moments before. A crisp night breeze gusts in from outside, hinting of freedom.

Daethin, Eleanor and Rayne frantically root through the shelves and cupboards of the garrison’s evidence room, searching for their confiscated gear. The rest of the party stands over the unconscious obstacles to their flight, panting at the top of the stairs.

In the square outside, Santiago has just caught up with the guard who fled seeking reinforcements from the keep, which looms atop the hillside, a mere 100ft. away.

Let’s Blow this Popsicle Stand…

Lanna stoops over the two guards lying bloody on the floor before her. She lays a hand gently on each of them as she opens herself to the healing flow of the Goddess of Life. She channels a thin stream of Ehlonna’s divine radiance into the unconscious watchmen and the flow of blood begins to slow. Their breathing becomes deep and regular. They will certainly feel it when they wake up.

The door on the far side of the room closes with a thud but the indistinct clamor of aggravated men can still be heard beyond it. Lanna looks to the main entrance where a second guard has just fled.

In the evidence room at the top of the stairs, the rest of the party scrambles frantically to recover their gear. Moving between shelves, racks and cupboards, they recover their confiscated belongings as thoroughly and efficiently as possible.

Virago and Piruk are the only two who bother attempting to don their armor. The rest decide that haste is more important and sweep their bits of plate and leather into Daethin’s open bag of holding.

While gathering up her weapons, Eleanor notices a particularly fine looking battle axe leaning in the corner. As she is testing the heft of it, Piruk’s eyes go wide. “Adamantine! Best let me hang on to that lass, I’ll make sure it’s put to good use.”

Kit pauses briefly in her own collection effort to try her newly recovered thieve’s tools on a large chest bearing the sigil of Talynbourg. With a satisfying click, the lid pops open to reveal the party’s coin purses along with several additional sacks of gold. These too get swept into the bag of holding.

In the chill night outside, Santiago dogs the heels of the fleeing watchman. He delivers several hefty blows, one of which sends him reeling and unable to move. The half-orc then follows up with a mighty strike that sends the unfortunate guard into unconscious slumber.

The monk turns back to the town square, only to see another guard headed in his direction, limping heavily and pursued by a sword-wielding Lanna. He begins to advance on the guard, who freezes, wide eyed and immediately bolts in the other direction calling frantically for aid. Realizing that their escape effort is getting louder by the moment, Santiago urges Lanna to break off pursuit and gather her things to leave.

The two return inside, passing by Rayne who is shoving the ready room’s furniture up against the door through which the guards had first appeared. The clamor coming from the far side of the door has now moved upstairs.

The party has nearly finished gathering their things when they suddenly hear three sharp blasts from a horn coming from the building’s roof. Immediately after the alarm is sounded, every dog in Talynbourg begins to bark and howl into the night.

Virago rushes to the entrance and peers out into the night. “We’d best be going. Soon!”

The last of their things collected, the group gathers just behind the threshold to the main entrance. Kit, stands in the lead with her Horn of Fog at the ready. Eleanor casts a protective Sanctuary spell over the rogue who then charges out the door, leaps off the steps and lets out an eerie, hollow blast on her magic horn. A single crossbow bolt thuds harmlessly into the dirt by Kit’s feet as a billowing cloud of vapor spreads out from the horn to fill the area immediately outside the garrison’s entrance.

The rest of the group acts quickly, charging out the door and down the steps. As soon as they burst out of the protective cover of Kit’s cloud, they come under withering fire from crossbowmen who have taken position on the Garrison roof. Ahead of them, they see two city watch charging towards them up the darkened street.

Our fleeing heroes turn the corner of the building cutting north through the alleys and back ways of the town. A second blast from Kit’s horn once again masks their flight from the rooftop snipers, but the group must pause briefly to help Wigston and Piruk keep up.

Soon, the party is fleeing in a twisting chase with the two watchmen on their tail. Eventually, one of the guards, whose appearance suggests a great love of mutton and good ale begins to falter in his pursuit. His partner, frustrated, reluctantly realizes that he faces steep odds alone against nine armed fugitives and pulls up as well.

Once our heroes have put the pursuing watchmen well behind them, they slow their pace and continue forward carefully, taking care to avoid the patrols now combing the city streets. The nighttime shadows and continued barking of the town’s dogs provide ample cover, and the party reaches the town’s north wall without further incident.

They pause in the shadow of an alley to assess the situation at the wall. They are approximately 100ft. from the north gatehouse where they can see two guards peering up the street. Eleanor reaches into the bag of holding and hands Santiago a length of knotted rope. He then runs for the wall and leaps to grab hold of the wall-walk, pulling himself up onto the narrow ledge. The guards’ gazes remain fixed on the lighted street 100 feet away.

Santiago secures the rope to the parapet and one by one, the rest of the party creeps from hiding and scales the wall, crouching low to avoid detection. When everyone has reached the wall-top, they shift the rope to the opposite side. Kit waits behind, and when the rest of the party has made the descent, she releases the rope and then leaps from the parapet, trusting her Ring of Featherfall to arrest her descent.

Tasting freedom at last, the party moves north from the wall, where they are met by a concerned-looking Ceffyl (if a unicorn can look concerned) with Crooktooth and Scar in tow. After discussing their next course of action, the group decides to travel south with Virago. They then begin the painstaking task of circling around the town, while taking care to cover their tracks in hopes of delaying the inevitable pursuit.

They continue picking their way south until the eastern mountains begin to release the glow of the coming dawn. As day approaches, our heroes take shelter in a wooded ravine, out of view of the south roadway and the surrounding farmlands. Foregoing a fire, the group collapses for a much needed rest.

Our heroes are in up to their necks. They have been brought in for questioning after Kit’s spider-bot disrupted a perfectly pleasant evening at the Lion’s Paw by trying to steal a jewel from one of the well to-do patrons.

Interrogation

The party is escorted from the Lion’s Paw Inn by a squad of city watch, along with the Cydonic soldiers who saw the incident with the spider-bot in the Lion’s Paw common room. They lead them to the squat, stone building next door that the party first saw when they checked in at the inn. The banners of Cydon and Talynbourg hang from wrought iron posts above the main entrance.

Inside, the group finds themselves in the town watch’s ready room. There is a table with half eaten meals sitting on it. Several chairs have been pushed back in a haphazard fashion.

They are lead up to a counter and asked to remove any weapons, belt pouches or other non-clothing items from their person and to place them on the counter. The guards then perform pat-down searches to make sure nobody is concealing anything else on them.

Our heroes are then lead one by one into an adjacent room while the others wait outside. The room is bare, with thick, stone walls and furnished only with a table and two chairs.

The man who appears to be in charge of the Cydonic soldiers who were eating at the inn beckons each interrogant to sit. He introduces himself as Colonel Dekelor. Once the accused is seated, he begins the questioning.

Order of Interrogation

1. Kit Results
2. Eleanor Results
3. Rua’Lanna Results
4. Rayne Results
5. Daethin Results
6. Wigston
7. Piruk Results
8. Santiago

As each person finishes, they are escorted from the room, back through the ready room and down to the building’s holding cells.

The Verdict

Our heroes are escorted downstairs to the building’s holding cells to await Dekelor’s decision. When he finishes with the interrogations, he comes down to inform the party of their fate. Because Mistress Thryn has had her jewel returned, and because the party agreed to pay the damages incurred to the Lion’s Paw common room, they are not under arrest. However, because they are in the country without proper paperwork, and because they have disturbed the peace once already, with a high potential of doing so again, Dekelor has decided that they will be escorted to the border town of Westgate, where they will be handed over to the watch for deportation back to Turimor. Once they are out of Cydon, the group’s gear… minus the items deemed contraband within Cydon or used in the commission of the previous evening’s disturbance, will be returned to them.

They will depart with Dekelor’s platoon in the morning. Until that time, the party will be guests of the Talynbourg watch, and will remain in their holding cells.

Resisting Arrest, (after the fact…)

Recap in the works… for now, enjoy pictures of the aftermath

Location:
Talynbourg

Current Task: Travel to Cydon to seek the source of the Blight

NPCs Met:

• A mysterious cloaked stranger
• Lugubrous
• Father Augustin

A Needed Rest:

Upon arriving in the Cydonic town of Talynbourg, the party checked into rooms at the merchant inn, The Lion’s Paw. They then set out to sell their accumulated loot and to see if they could gain some insight into recent events occurring in the mountainous country.

Research Efforts:

Eleanor decided to head across the town square to the church of Heironeous, where she offered her services as a healer in exchange for conversation and use of the church’s library.

• Results

Daethin, Piruk, Rua’Lanna and Wigston headed into the adventurer’s quarter, where they ended up at the Chopping Block Tavern. They supplied the local patrons with drinks in an effort to loosen some tongues.

• Daethin’s Results
• Piruk’s Results
• Rua’Lanna’s Results
• Wigston’s Results

By the evening of the first day, the party had successfully unloaded the collective spoils of their journey. The next day was spent conducting the research and information-gathering efforts listed above.

Daethin, Wigston and Rayne spent some time out at Daethin’s dire-wolf and unicorn-friendly campsite drinking pearl infused wine as they identified the various magic items the group had picked up in their travels.

In the midst of their investigatory carousing, the trio was visited by a mysterious cloaked traveler. He asked politely if he could rest by their fire before heading into town. After discretely checking with Ceffyl to see if the visitor smelled of evil, the group cautiously decided to allow him to share their fire for a bit.

The mysterious figure asked a few small-talk questions about the services to be found in town and the general location of each. In the midst of the conversation, another visitor arrived. A member of the city watch had been dispatched to investigate reports of a very large wolf frightening the flock of one of the local goatherds on his way to market. When he saw that the dire-wolf in question was tethered and barded, he issued an awkward reminder to the party to make sure their animals were under control, before excusing himself back to his duties.

A little while after the guard had left, the mysterious stranger also excused himself, and continued on to the town gate, leaving behind a small purse with a few gold inside.

The adventurers continued their identification efforts unmolested for the rest of the afternoon. The only other incident of note occurred when a platoon of Cydonic infantry marched past into the town, lead by a leather-clad scout and an impressively armored knight mounted on the back of one of the Cydonic dire rams, which the group had previously only heard about.

Dinner and a Floor Show

That evening, the party convened out at Daethin’s campsite to distribute their newly identified items and to discuss their course of action. They decided that it would be prudent to proceed to the capitol to get a better sense of recent political occurrences and potentially to offer their assistance to the prince regent.

After deciding on a course of action, the group adjourned to the common room of the Lion’s Paw, where Wigston set about performing for the patrons. The clientele consisted mostly of merchants and the aristocracy of the town, along with a table of Cydonic soldiers enjoying an evening meal.

The bard was in the middle of a tale of forbidden love when Daethin, pondering a trip to the bar, noticed a disaster about to occur. It seemed that Kit’s spider-thief had gotten loose at some point during the day’s shopping trips and was now perched on the back of a chair occupied by an affluent looking woman, and was reaching towards the sparkling jewel in her hair.

Hoping to avert a disaster, Daethin quickly rose and crossed the common-room under the pretense of going to refill his drink. As he passed behind the spider-bot, he made a grab for the construct. Unfortunately, the squirrely machine dodged away from Daethin’s grasping hands, while simultaneously giving a mighty tug on the woman’s jewel, forcibly yanking it from her hair.

The woman screamed.

Wigston’s performance halted mid-syllable. The spider-thief, jewel in tow made a b-line for the table where Kit was sitting. Kit, thinking quickly decided to play the victim and began screaming hysterically as soon as the spider thief reached her.

The table of soldiers stood up and their leader, a lighthaired man in an impressive and meticulously polished suit of plate ordered Daethin to halt immediately. The elf threw up his hands and backed away from the screaming woman, unsuccessfully attempting to extract himself from association with the robbery.

Meanwhile, Kit bolted for the door as she continued to scream and play the victim. Unfortunately, the soldiers had gone into control mode and had no intention of letting the victim of a crime leave the scene, especially if the culprit was potentially hiding somewhere on her person. Kit was halted at the door by a soldier urging her to calm down and return to her seat.

The other members of the party tried various tactics to either dissolve or escalate the situation in order to facilitate an escape. Eleanor offered to assist the soldiers in their investigation, while Piruk took the opposite tack. Slamming down his tankard, he roared at the officer nearest to Kit to unhand his wife and immediately charged the offender. Unfortunately, the dwarf’s balance failed him as he attempted to vault a table in his path. Slipping on one of the dishes, he landed face first in a surprised merchant’s soup.

At this point, the situation went from dire to worse. Rayne foolishly attempted to use her wand of charm person on the lead soldier. The spell failed, as did her sleight of hand attempt. Then, members of the city watch arrived on the scene, responding to the sounds of screaming coming from the usually peaceful inn. One of the officers, the same one Daethin had met earlier that day at the campsite leaned over to the lead soldier and whispered, “Those are the folks I saw speaking to that one you brought in earlier.”

Recognizing that the futility of their escape attempts, and unwilling to resort to outright violence, the party at last decided to comply with the soldiers’ orders to return to their seats. Once the scene was secured and the jewel was returned to the shaken woman, the lead officer, who the group could now see sported the lightning and gauntlet symbol of Heironeous on his armor, ordered the guards to take our heroes into custody and to escort them next door to the city watch headquarters for questioning.

Recap Pending:

Activities: Fought the ethereal filcher and raided its nest. sent the slaves back to their homes. Continued into Cydon. Ambushed by displacer beast. Arrived in Talynbourg.

Location:
An Ogre Outpost in The Cloud Peaks

Current Task:
Rescue Kit!
Travel to Cydon to seek the source of the Blight

NPCs Met:
Wigston Muxloe

Treasure Gained: Update: Adjusted to reflect the items identified in Session 32

Location:
The Cloud Peaks

Current Task:
Travel to Cydon to seek the source of the Blight

NPCs Met:
Olympos

Treasure Gained:

Location: the Tangled Fens
Current Task: Travel to the Heartspring to investigate the cause of the mysterious blight spreading through the Fens.
NPCs Met: none

Treasure Gained:

Location: Fenwatch to the Tangled Fens
Current Task: Travel to the Heartspring to investigate the cause of the mysterious blight spreading through the Fens.
NPCs Met: none

Treasure Gained:

Introduction:
It has been a week since the party returned to the village of Fenwatch having rescued several of the town’s children from the horrors of enslavement by a hag and her grey jester companion. Since returning, Our heroes have managed to restore some semblance of life into the rescued younglings. They are once again able to act independently and have begun exhibiting emotional responses. However, it is clear that their injury, like the injury to the surrounding land is still very much present.

Eleanor has been spending her days deep in study, seeking new information on the evil that is infusing itself into the countryside. After poring over ancient texts on morality, religion and its struggles with the manifestation of evil, she has uncovered some information on what may be causing the mysterious sickness in the land and how to better resist or even treat the illness.

Kit has been spending her days pestering and bribing Content Not Found: Ipswitch-npc to help her better understand the workings of her spider-bot. He has revealed that the maintenance logs found along with the spider bot revealed that, while the construct excelled at retrieving metallic objects such as bits of armor or jewelry washed up in the water vats, it did not fare so well when asked to deal with less shiny objects. The bot has no real concept of value and is easily distracted. He suspects its animating spirit may have been derived from some sort of retarded pixie.

Rayne has taken to looking after the children.

Content Not Found: pyke-npc has taken over management of Fenwatch. His men have converted the Wayshepherd’s guild into their base of operations. Access to the building is now restricted to those with an appointment to discuss a specific matter with the Sergeant. The town now exists in a state of martial law. Pyke’s men make regular patrols of the town perimeter and temporary barricades have been set up around the core of the village. Controlled access points have been established on the major streets while building gaps and alleys have been barricaded with the detritus left over from the town’s ravaging.

Pyke’s fortifications are clearly temporary, as Ipswitch has begun laying out markers and digging foundation points for what will eventually become a perimeter fence encircling the town.

While the townsfolk occasionally grumble about Pyke’s blunt and authoritarian methods, they seem comforted to once again have a sense of security creeping back into their lives.

Ba’art does not seem as grateful for the security afforded by the new military presence. During the day, he busies himself assisting the townsfolk as they recover the town, one building at a time. However, at night, he often sits quietly, alone or with his former deputies looking quite sullen over a pot of ale from one of the kegs Content Not Found: gunhilda-npc managed to salvage.

It is the day before the party’s planned departure back into the Tangled Fen. They sit at a long breakfast table set up in the main hall of the Pelorian Temple. The morning sun streams in through the great rose window high on the east wall casting an intricate mosaic of refracted color across the room.

Session 24: Recap
The party sets out into the Fens heading Northeast toward the rumored location of the Heartspring. The trees quickly close in about them as Daethin leads the way through the underbrush. Going is slow, as there is no discernible trail in this part of the Fens, but Daethin is confident of their heading.

Around midday, there is a sudden commotion from the back of the group. The party turns to see Piruk fending off a large vine that is flailing and attempting to wrap itself around the resisting dwarf. Daethin recognizes the assailant as an assassin vine, which likely intends to dine on dwarf.

The party quickly comes to Piruk’s aid. After Rayne lobs a couple vials of alchemists fire to little effect, Eleanor manages to severely injure the plant creature with a well-placed dispersal of defoliator, which also kills all of the undergrowth within a 5 foot radius.

Piruk then gains the upper hand, smashing the injured vine to a pulp with his maul.

The episode leaves the party on their guard for similar dangers and leaves Lanna feeling a bit queasy at Eleanor’s use of alchemical toxins on the local environment.

Our heroes find themselves deep in the Tangled Fens nearly a full day’s march from Fenwatch. They have just stumbled across a clearing that used to be some sort of encampment. Unfortunately, upon arrival, the only living residents were three blood-soaked lunatics standing among the mangled corpses of the camp’s former residents. After Kit accidentally fell into a pit trap rigged along the entry path, you were promptly attacked by the raving trio and forced to end their lunacy.

Location:
Fenwatch

Current Task:
Heal the children and help rebuild the town

NPCs Met:
Brother Saul, Sergeant Pyke

Treasure Gained:

An Excerpt from the Musings of Sister Eleanor Daystar...
as written by Naughtsauce. Bonus xp to the Cleric!

In her seemingly never-ending days spent growing up in the Sun Spire, Eleanor often found her mind wandering during her studies. She was much more likely to be caught staring out the golden paned windows, and in all outward appearances seemed to be romanticizing future adventures she would have whilst spreading the Word of The Shining One to those who needed it. Internally however, she was wracked with strife.

Sister Daystar’s primary fixation was nearly wholly consuming – the chance to seek out and smite the evil that took so much from her – a desire she hid within herself as to not start whispers amongst the other members in her order. The Mother of her Order, however, was never one to allow austere politeness to overcome familial concern and duty, and she found it difficult to turn blind eye to the Sunfire that would fill Eleanor’s eyes whenever studying histories of the Undead scourges and their weaknesses.

Eleanor would constantly replay to conversation she had with to Mother of the Order four days before leaving the Sun Spire, like some Bardic song – always there, never-ending, mind-consuming.

“You will reach a point, Eleanor, where you will need to choose a path,” her warm, strong voice providing heft to her message. “As long as you serve Our Lord Pelor, he will bestow his graces upon you. But be aware of the differences between Holy Retribution and personal revenge, and know that the order of the world outside plays out nothing like heroic deeds of our imaginations.”

Pelorian clerical education and training, while comprehensive, did little to prepare Eleanor for the horrors she had witnessed thus far since meeting her traveling companions. The Mother was too true; the world outside the Abbey was cold, exposed, and brutal. Worst of all, it was in the midst of battle where she felt furthest away from His love.

She recalled an incident in the forest. Behind her, the shambling masses approached, the their stench nearly overwhelming. The calls of her companions seemed muffled, far away. Like some inborn instinct, she quickly turned to face her attackers, her flaxen hair surrounding her head like a halo of His Light. She swung into one ghoul with all her might, her mace obliterating what was left of the abominations’ face. Clutching her Holy Symbol with her other hand, her mental faculties were lost in interminable rage that flowed through her body and outward into the horde of ghouls until nothing was left but dust, and an aching, cold emptiness filling her armor.

Coming out of the swamp into Fenwatch filled Eleanor with an aching relief. At last she was back in society, albeit in a town which had been laid to waste. Here, she knew her purpose, could tamp down the flames within, and serve her Lord Pelor admirably.

Looking around upon arrival, it was clear that most of the townsfolk seemed greatly surprised that the party made it back alive, and even more so upon seeing the rescued children in tow. Rayne, who has taken it upon herself to serve as temporary guardian for the children, was clearly haggard and unwell, but still made her priorities apparent.

“Eleanor, we must get these children to the infirmary,” she said briskly. “Your healing has been insufficient.” Eleanor was still surprised at Rayne’s concern. Until their encounter at the cottage, Eleanor knew not of a maternal bone existing within her companion’s body.

Eleanor felt rebuffed by the impulsive, immolation-happy dragon-blood, wanting to defend herself. “I wasn’t adequately prepared!” she thought defensively. Her studies, her interests, all seemed to focus on the destructive powers of The Fiery One. Instead, she nodded gravely, swallowed her conceit, and replied gently, “You are correct Mistress Rayne, and time is of the essence.” Eleanor’s voice then took a more serious tone, her eyes a look of concern, and as she brushed a stray hair out of her companions’ eye said, “keep in mind as well, you yourself are suffering, as is Lanna, and neither of you will recover until we can all rest, and pray for more healing from Pelor.”

Upon reaching the Wayshepard’s Guild, followed by and increasingly large group of curious townsfolk, it became painfully apparent that Sergeant Pyke had fully taken up residence, and the party even had difficulty gaining entrance despite having the rescued children in tow.

With some brusque transactions between Rayne and the Guards, the party was at last allowed entrance and access to the infirmary. The nurse rushed to the children, questions coming so fast and with such weight of concern, that it took the pair of adventures a good few minutes to calmly communicate their findings.

“Complete bed rest,” the matron demanded, “for the both of you.” She gave Rua’Lanna and Rayne both such a steely gaze that both women could do nothing in protest.

Still, while Rua’Lanna was dressing her wounds and bedding down, Eleanor was sure she heard her grumble softly, “’Tis nothing but a scratch…” and then something she couldn’t quite make out. She couldn’t help but think, out of all the things Lanna had learned prior to her return to the party, why she still couldn’t admit to the mortality of things – the laws of nature, of life and death.

Eleanor felt Lanna was the closest thing to a friend she ever had, that is, before she was called away. Rua’Lanna provided Eleanor with her first chance to proselytize – she felt as if someone cared for what she had to say, wanted to learn from her, and the feeling was intoxicating.

“Tell me what I should do,” her companion once asked her, clutching her arm upon entering a tavern. Never before had anyone asked Eleanor for spiritual guidance or opinion.

“I will let tell you as I see a need arise,” Eleanor said, in a voice she thought sounded sagely. The truth was, she was stunted by her cloistered upbringing – Eleanor knew nothing of survival, dungeoneering, and even lacked the basic outward geniality required to befriend others. She loved Lanna, because she seemed as insecure as herself, and yet still, for some reason, looked up to her. But not anymore, not since her return. Something was different about Rua’Lanna now – she was a true paladin. No longer did she feel the need to confer with Eleanor on spiritual matters. Since Lanna’s return, Eleanor knew she was tightening up, closing off. She knew others viewed her as judgmental, but she was hardly herself a decision maker – it was the only mask she knew to use to cover the pain she carried with her always. The pain of loss, of inferiority.

Rayne, still exuding what Eleanor saw as unnatural, familial compassion, insisted allowing the afflicted children into her bed to sleep. “What does she hide?” Eleanor wondered. “Has she not always been childless? Self-serving? An arsonist?” Suddenly, scripture came back to her:

“Passing undo judgment clouds the sky of His Day. The Sun shall rise and fall. Those who judge will lose the Light to find their way.”

“I must rest, I must pray to help my comrades,” resigned Eleanor. She shuffled tiredly out of the infirmary, only to see Daethin, Piruk, and Master Ba’art, having what appeared to be a heated discussion with Sergeant Pyke.

“That Pyke, how insufferable!” Eleanor said to herself. “I’d like to see how haughty his attitude would appear when faced with the trouble end of the dwarf’s maul.” Eleanor liked Piruk the moment she met him in the infirmary, when he resigned himself to join their party to make right a situation he could not even recall. He carried within himself a lawfulness and strength of will she herself lacked. Their encounters with the hag and jester only solidified those opinions. His protectionist instincts toward the children seemed neither contrived nor out of place, and he was a fighter of the highest quality.

She stopped, pressing herself behind a pillar, and waited for the argument to subside. Eventually, the dwarf turned to head in the direction of the infirmary, presumably to check on the state of the children. Eleanor stepped out, but the dwarf hardly seemed to notice, his eyes far away, tinged with sadness, as he trod on.

“Piruk!” Eleanor called out. “Master dwarf, wait!” She stepped quickly to catch up him, as he slowly turned around meet her, eyes on the floor. “I see the sadness in your heart, but I want you to know I think you performed admirably. Those children, all of us, we are all indebted to your bravery and skill.”

She slid her right hand up and down her left bracer in a nervous gesture. “Whatever your plans are, I hope they include joining us.” Eleanor was blushing at this point, and she desperately hoped the dwarf’s eyes were still fixed on the floor. At this point, however, his eyes rose to meet hers, and the pain she saw caused her own eyes to moisten.

“Sister Eleanor, I have failed.”

“No! Sir Piruk! You are a hero!” Eleanor was adamant, tears coming now.

“In whose eyes? In the eyes of parents whose children didn’t return? The empty sockets of the children’s skulls we found in the garden?” The stoic dwarf trembled now, and Eleanor knelt slightly to meet him face to face.

“In my eyes, sir. I am a good cleric, Piruk, but I am not a skilled one,” she said through a whimper. “I have neither the determination of will you have, nor the strength, nor the control. I do, however, believe I have a little compassion, and I think you outshine me in that area as well.” She placed her hand on his armored elbow, and with a gentle tug said “let us go check on the children.”

The party stood before the blazing inferno, which was quickly consuming the remains of the cottage and the horrors it contained. A billowing plume of greasy black smoke rose into the afternoon sky. Our heroes watched with mixed emotions., grateful that they had rescued half a dozen of the village children, but still shaken by what they had seen inside the building now consumed in flames.

Rayne, still looking green after having suffered the Gray Jester’s empathic feeding was tending to the children. The gaggle of younglings, while free of the Jester’s control, were still far from recovered. Their complexions remained ashen and their expressions, vacant. Their eyes followed Rayne wherever she went. The charm she had cast on them had succeeded in restoring a basic level of responsiveness to the children, but only when Rayne was the one speaking.

Daethin, perhaps clued in by a subtle stiffening in Scar’s stance at his side, looked up suddenly, listening. Several of the others turned from the fire to follow his gaze to the tree-line along the Southeast edge of the clearing surrounding the lake. Hidden beneath the shadow of the densely packed trees, they saw several stooped figures heading in their direction with a gait that lay oddly between a shamble and a lope. The sounds of gutteral growls now became audible above the pop of the timber frame behind them.

“Ghouls!” Daethin’s voice dripped with contempt. “Figures. With all the carnage that took place here, they probably think of this clearing as an endless schmorgasboard. I wouldn’t be surprised if that old hag fed them like squirrels.”

Kit watched the trees, futiley trying to gain an accurate count of the numbers headed their way. “Can ghouls swim?” she asked, and after receiving puzzled looks from the group, eplained “because if they can’t, we could take refuge out on the lake.”

“Swimming for it might be a reasonable plan for you, but for those of us in steel, the water route is a bit impractical.” Eleanor chided as she loosened her mace from its hanger.

“Agreed,” said Daethin, “They can’t come for us directly while we stand in sunlight, so they appear to be moving to cut us off from the path back to town. If we make haste, we can probably get there first, and with a little luck, we will get back to town before dark.”

“Get those children moving! GO!” bellowed Piruk, and the group broke into a run, attempting to slip past the advancing ghouls before they could cut off their escape.

The party managed to reach the trail ahead of the advancing pack, and paused briefly to catch their breath.

“We’re about ten miles into this place. We should hurry, but make sure to pace yourself because we have a long way to run!” said Daethin. “and keep an eye on those kids!”

The group set off quickly in the direction of Fenwatch with the sound of the pursuing ghouls following behind. As they ran, the group strung out along the narrow track with Rayne and the children staying to the middle of the group.

After a mile or so, the forest dropped into boggy swamplands. The game trail wound between fetid pools and mires and the trees sprouted beards of moss.

“This place reeks of decay,” panted kit as she trotted along.

Lanna slowed and glanced over her shoulder. “That’s not the swamp. Behind us!”

Piruk Eleanor and Santiago whirled to look behind them. Two gnarled and twisted figures with sickly decaying skin came into view behind them. The snarled as they caught site of their quarry and prepared to dash forward.

“Ghasts!” cried Daethin, “It’s worse than I thought.”

Lanna did not hesitate. Grasping her holy symbol of Ehlonna in her sword hand, she presented it forcefully at the advancing horrors. “Unnatural things! By the power of the Woodland Queen, return to death!” The wooden unicorn talisman was bathed in a green glow, which spread to Lanna’s hand before bursting forth in a verdant light.

The ghasts recoiled at the site of the Ehlonnic symbol and fled back down the path.

The party resumed their flight, quickly covering another two miles before they were once again forced to repel the advancing undead pack. This time, Eleanor took on the task of repelling the monsters, turning them with the fury of Pelor.

At this point, the children began to slow. Though their expressions remained blank, their stumbling steps belied the onset of exhaustion.

Rayne called out, “We need to slow down or we’ll be carrying the children the rest of the way!”

The group slowed to a walk, acutely aware that the sounds of indefatigable pursuit were growing gradually louder.

Soon, a new sound drifted to the party from out of the underbrush to the East. A mixed group of ghouls and ghasts had flanked the fleeing heroes and were crashing towards the middle of their group.

The creatures burst out of the bushes rushing directly at Rayne and the children. Santiago rushed to the rescue, pummeling the oncoming horrors with a tremendous flurry of blows as Rayne attempted to usher them to safety. Lanna charged into the fray as well, but one of the beasts managed to latch on to one of the fleeing children who fainted from the shock of the ghoul’s bite.

A blast of holy vengeance from Eleanor ended the brute’s chances of a quick and easy meal. Unfortunately, the other ghouls had changed course and were continuing for the weakest members of the group, the children.

Recognizing the peril of the young ones and not wishing to lose those he had sworn to protect, Piruk hurtled forward to place his formidable maul between the children and their assailants.

As Rayne struggled to get the younglings clear of the threat, One of the powerful ghasts petrified her with its corrupting strike just as Lanna managed to turn the rest of the pack by once again summoning the holy power of the Nature Goddess.

At last, Piruk and Santiago succeeded at laying out the last remaining ghoul. Throwing Rayne over one shoulder, Piruk lead the way. Fortunately, the effects of the ghast’s foul touch were short-lived and Rayne was soon able to make her own way once again.

The group ran on, ever aware of the sounds of pursuit behind them. Soon, however, another sound began to cut through the trailing snarls. The trees ahead began to thin and the party soon found themselves on the bank of a rushing river.

A fallen tree spanned the rapids forming a makeshift bridge. Unfortunately, the spring run-off had left the log slick with moisture and moss. Daethin succeeded in crossing with little difficulty, but as Rayne attempted to lead the children to the safety of the far bank, several lost their footing and two were toppled into the rushing creek.

The sounds of the ghouls grew louder.

Piruk did not hesitate. Aided by Rua’Lanna, he waded fearlessly into the stream to take hold of one of the struggling children. Meanwhile, Kit hurled a rope to the other. Unfortunately, the swift-flowing stream was proving too much for the child, exhausted from running, and he began to slip along the rope.

Thinking quickly, Santiago leapt to the child’s rescue. Grabbing ahold of him, he stood, balanced expertly in the midst of the onrushing current.

While Rayne, Piruk and Santiago were seeing to the children, the frontrunners of the ghoul pack once again pulled into view. The thrum of Daethin’s bow alerted the group to the danger as one of his arrows found its mark in the first ghoul’s shoulder.

Again, Eleanor stepped forward, brandishing her holy symbol. “By the light of the Sun God, go back to the darkness from whence you came!” she cried. Her arm burst forth in a nimbus of holy light and once again the pursuing undead recoiled.

At last, Rayne managed to help the rest of the children safely to the far bank. With the makeshift bridge no longer clogged with frightened young ones, Kit was able to cross quickly. The heavily armored holy-warriors, Lanna and Eleanor chose to ford the river instead, relying on their strength to keep their feet against the current.

Just as the last of the party reached the far bank, the pursuing pack once again came into view up the forest path.

“Quickly now!” urged Piruk as he laid a shoulder into the log bridge, “lend me a hand with this!” Lanna and Santiago stepped to Piruk’s side and pushed against the upstream side of the log with all their might. Soon, the massive trunk began to shift under their combined effort. Then with a final heave, the trio spun the log free where it was caught by the current and pulled swiftly downstream.

“If that doesn’t stop them, it should at least hold them back for a time.” Said Piruk “but let’s not wait around to find out!”

The group set off once again at a run until they noticed that the sounds of pursuit were fading. Soon, the only sounds that remained were those of the party’s heavy footsteps and panting breath. The sounds of the fen had otherwise returned to normal. Only the occasional splash from some muck-dwelling creature, and the thrum of circling insects broke the steady shuffle of their passage.

Just as the light of day was giving way to the golden hues of evening, the group at last broke free from beneath the trees. There before them, lay overgrown pastures and gardens, and beyond the open ground, rose the ramshackle town of Fenwatch.

As the group paraded their way into the streets, work crews wrapping up a day of clearing and repairing buildings damaged by the porcine onslaught, paused in their work. The onlookers stood silent, largely expressionless, some with the faintest hint of surprise or hope cutting through the mask.

“I never thought I’d be so happy to be back here again.” Daethin muttered, as the group made their way, at last to the relative safety of the Wayshepherds’ stronghold.

Here is a recap written by Galgacusferox, who plays Daethin Moonshadow. 500 bonus xp to the elf!

Daethin frowned as he scanned the ground in front of him. In his left hand, he held his longbow, with an arrow clasped against the stave and ready to fire quickly at need. With his other hand he batted at the branches which overhung the path, impeding his party’s progress. Scar padded quietly by his feet, the wolf’s long snout close to the ground, sniffing.

They were marching quietly through the Tangled Fens. They were seven, now. Rua’lanna had returned from her journey to Elionde, bound on a mission from the church of Ehlonna. Daethin was glad to have the paladin back in the group. She was a strong sword-arm, and she was very easy to poke fun at, and always gave a worthwhile reaction when provoked.

The two newcomers were Piruk the dwarf, and Santiago, an enigmatic half-orc. Both had proven themselves in battle already, which counted for a lot in Daethin’s book, and he had even begun to form a bond of friendship with the tormented dwarf – they shared a background as soldiers, even if their approach to combat differed as much as their blood. He was still trying to read the big, quiet monk, however. He’d never seen anyone perform the sorts of feats Santiago had done in battle, and yet, when at his ease, Santiago was reserved and polite. He was a different kind of warrior from the elves Daethin had fought beside.

They marched on, stopping now and again for a brief rest and a sip from their magical travel-mugs. The swampy forest was alive with sound all around them – the buzz of insects, the hiss of wind in the trees, the echoing clamor of frogs. Daethin should have been at east out here, amongst trees and sky and the sounds of nature; but there was something beneath it all, something wrong…

He froze, his hand shooting up to halt the others behind him. Underneath the sounds of the swamp, at the very limit of detectability, he could hear it.

“Listen,” he said quietly.

It was far-off, an echo, but somehow it came through clearly: the voices of children, forlorn and despairing, their whimpers intertwining with the voices of the forest, as if the trees themselves were weeping.

They all heard it after a moment. Scar was quiet, his ears swiveling toward the sound. Lanna grew visibly impatient, staring off into the forest in the direction the sound was coming from. Eleanor gripped her holy symbol, her eyes closed, her lips moving. Kit just seemed nervous; the thief was a brave fighter when it came to things of flesh and blood, but the supernatural realm tended to make her jumpy. Rayne gazed off towards the sound, her head cocked, her face unreadable. Santiago seemed to accept the new sound with a slight frown and a furrowed brow.

Piruk was pale, his eyes wide, seeing something only he could see. Then he swallowed, lifted his hammer off his shoulder to grasp it in both hands. He looked at Daethin.

“Let’s go,” he said, nodding toward the trackless forest.

“Aye,” Daethin said, reluctantly. “Be on your guard. We don’t want to come to the same end as others who’ve come this way.”

“Bloody right we don’t,” muttered Kit, her hand tight on her rapier’s hilt.

They set off through the woods, heading vaguely east, following the eerie sound. It grew louder as they went, until all could hear it clearly, and the natural sounds of the wood were drowned out. Daethin tried to focus on finding a clear path, pushing undergrowth aside, scrutinizing the ground, but soon the sound was not only too loud to ignore, but it had changed. Before it had been a pathetic whimpering; now it rose to terrified shrieks, screams of agony which sawed at the air and put his nerves on a razor edge. Lanna, Piruk, and Eleanor looked nearly frantic, and Lanna kept trying to push past him.

“Corellon’s pointy ears, woman,” Daethin growled, “do you want to get us lost out here?”

“Just hurry up, you skinny little faerie,” Lanna grated back at him, but there was no anger behind the comment, only a frantic haste. Behind her, Piruk said nothing, but his eyes burned with a different kind of frenzy, a mounting rage mingled with an echo of harsh shame.

Kit walked with her hand hovering next to her head, as if she were about to clap hands over her ears to shut the ghastly noises out. Her other hand still held the rapier’s hilt, white-knuckled.

Then, in an eye-blink, the sounds stopped. The natural noises of the wood returned.

Minutes later, the trees began to thin, and then they were standing in a clearing on the shore of a lake. A low frame house stood on the shore several hundred yards away. Black smoke floated lazily up from its chimney.

“I don’t like this,” Daethin said. They stood in a cluster, discussing what to do next. The house stood a hundred yards away, eerily quiet. Daethin got the uncomfortable feeling he was being watched.

“There is a thick aura of evil will all about this place,” Lanna said, as if she hadn’t heard him.

“I fear that the longer we stay here, the greater risk we run of contracting an insidious blight just from the air itself,” said Eleanor, examining the silk sash in her hands. The piece of cloth had turned inexplicably brown as they moved closer to the mysterious house.

“All the more reason to make haste,” Lanna replied. Her sword was in her hand; the tip seemed to tremble with the paladin’s eagerness.

“We have no idea what’s in that cabin,” Kit put in. “I think we should take more time to scout around.”

Piruk heaved a heavy sigh; the burly dwarf was leaning on his war-hammer, his face troubled. “I want to get in there as badly as anyone,” he finally said, “but I can’t ignore the fact that we have no information whatsoever on the tactical situation inside-.”

“Then you three can sit around out here and ponder your tactical situation all afternoon,” Lanna snarled, cutting him off. “Meanwhile, I’ll be in there, kicking ass and saving innocent lives.” Without another word or a backward glance, she stormed off toward the house. After a moment, Rayne and Eleanor followed, casting dark glances back at the stragglers. Santiago went with them, his expression neutral, walking with a quiet readiness about him.

Daethin spat. “This again,” he grumbled, and Kit shook her head.

“I have a plan,” said Piruk.

“Let’s hear it,” said the elf.

A moment later, the three started forward, Piruk following the main body of the group towards the door, Kit and Daethin circling wide to the left and right, respectively. Daethin took the arrow in his right hand and laid it across the bow as he walked, working his way into better shooting range, Scar loping along quietly behind him. His eyes never left the house’s front door. He stopped when he was about thirty yards from the house; he saw Kit move in a little closer. Piruk was a dozen yards from the front door as Lanna, Eleanor, Rayne, and Santiago came up to the house.

Lanna immediately tried the knob. Finding the door unlocked, she pushed it open, and all four of the companions filed in.

Daethin’s keen ears heard voices, but nothing distinct. Then he started: a small, gaunt figure appeared in the doorway. It was a child, a young boy. His eyes stared lifelessly out at Daethin as the child closed the door with the click of a latch.

The sounds of battle erupted suddenly from inside. A flare of magical fire burst from the windows; he could hear Rayne calling words of power in a clear voice. Then came another voice: a shrill cackle that made the hairs on the back of Daethin’s neck stand up.

“Shit,” Kit yelped.

“Follow me!” Piruk roared, and charged for the door.

Daethin frowned at the house. It wasn’t very big, and there was no knowing the layout of the inside. Four of his companions were in there, probably close to chopping each other’s heads off in a wild melee. Not a good place for a bowman, especially around the tiny front door.

“Kit!” he yelled. “Let’s go around back!”

“Right!” the thief agreed, running over.

Piruk gave a wordless shout and pounded the door with his mighty hammer; splintered wood flew all around him. He drew the weapon back for another swing, and then Daethin and Kit were around the corner to the right of the door, out of sight.

There was a lush vegetable garden around the back of the house; they skirted it and found a little path running to a rear door. That was in the side of what looked like a kitchen outbuilding, added on to the back of the house. The chimney with its black smoke rose above it.

“Check it,” Daethin said, but Kit was already there, examining the door-frame closely. She jiggled the handle, found it locked, produced a couple of pins and a length of wire seemingly from nowhere.

Inside the house the sounds of battle continued, as did the bizarre cackling.

The door popped open, and the two friends raced inside. They were in the kitchen: the walls were lined with cupboards, and an ample basket of picked vegetables lay next to the door. There was a frantic fluttering, and Daethin brought up his bow; but he lowered the weapon when he saw the small bird-cage hanging by the door, a startled raven beating its wings against the bars, squawking in fear.

There was a second door, one that seemed to lead into the house’s main ground-floor room. The clatter of weapons and the endless laughter came clearly through the thin portal.

“It’s unlocked,” said Kit, standing by the door.

Daethin turned to Scar. “Stay,” he said, and the wolf sat where he was, yellow eyes wide and bright, ears forward.

Daethin shoved the door open and drew his bow until the arrow’s feathers tickled his cheek. But what he saw made his stomach clench and his eyes go wide in shock.

The house’s main room was a charnel-house and a madman’s art-gallery. There was a long table set as if for a communal dinner, and on each platter was a bloody hunk of meat. Daethin’s knowledge of anatomy, among both civilized creatures and things of the wild, left no doubt that these were butchered human carcasses. On the walls all about the dining-room were framed sculptures; but the sculptures, too, were crafted of human remains, bleached bones that were small and delicate…

A battle raged amidst the hideous scene. The door was a broken ruin, lying splintered on the floor. Nearby were several children. Many of them lay unconscious, and as he looked he saw Santiago grab one of the fallen forms and haul a little girl out through the ruined door. Piruk came in a second later to do the same.

Some of the children were up and moving, and they seemed to be fighting against the party – albeit feebly. Lanna and Eleanor were trading blows with a withered creature like an old woman with livid green skin; Daethin recognized a Green Hag, a demon of the swamp. The creature swiped at Eleanor as he watched, her nails scraping off the cleric’s shield with a painful squeal. Two children batted at Lanna with tiny, weak fists; the paladin tried to ignore them as she swung her long-sword, angry flames trailing the blade through its arc.

Right in front of Daethin, less than thirty feet away, was the source of the demonic laughter. He was a spindly figure, attired like a court fool, with multi-colored clothing and a hat hung with bells. But his face was a hideous, leering mask, his eyes gleaming red. His fingers twitched greedily as he leaned towards Rayne. The young sorceress stood there, helpless, racked with irresistible guffaws, obviously caught in a spell of forced laughter that left her doubled over, her face locked in an expression somewhere between incredible mirth and intolerable pain.

Daethin could tell this creature was a kind of fey, one of the People of the Wild, but an evil thing, a sprite which fed on the very life force of other creatures. As he watched, the Jester seemed to be sucking something out of Rayne, like an insubstantial mist, wisps of the sorceress’s very spirit.

Daethin scowled. He centered his arrow on the Jester’s chest. The creature was oblivious to him, caught in the rapture of his feeding-frenzy.

“Die for your misdeeds,” the ranger growled, and loosed his arrow.

The shaft sang as it flew, and the Jester screamed as the broad arrowhead sank into his chest and shot out his back in a spray of blood. Kit bounded past Daethin in the arrow’s wake, bringing her crossbow out from the folds of her cloak. There was a sharp snap as she fired, and a bolt sprouted from the Jester’s eye. The fey creature shrieked again and grabbed at his face, then toppled backward onto the floor, writhing and wailing in agony.

“Huh,” said Kit. “Cold Iron.”

Seeing the Jester’s death-throws, the Green Hag tried to bull her way past Eleanor and out the door. But Lanna’s sword flashed, and the Hag screamed and fell to her knees, clutching at a wounded leg. She looked back up just in time to see Piruk loom over her in the doorway, hammer held high. There was a grisly thunk as he struck, and the Hag sank to the floor, her skull crushed.

Instantly, the two children who’d been battering at Lanna fell to the floor, unconscious.

Daethin rushed over to Rayne, who had stopped laughing and was now gasping deeply, her face red. After making sure she wasn’t badly hurt, he came over to the Jester.

The fey thing was still slightly alive. He giggled feebly as Daethin came over, blood oozing out the corners of his mouth. Daethin drew his long sword from its scabbard at his belt. The Jester’s one remaining eye seemed to laugh at him even then.

“Trouble the living no more, and go to what reward awaits you,” Daethin said, and chopped downward. The Jester’s head rolled across the floor, his laughter silent at last.

“Pelor,” Eleanor said in her clear alto, “let Your light shine unstained upon this place, and cleanse it, the resting-ground of many of Your innocent children. The manner of their deaths was gruesome indeed, a dark affront to Your light and goodness. Please, accept them now unto Your breast, that they may know the light and warmth they ought to have enjoyed, living many long years under Your sky.”

“Ehlonna,” Daethin heard Lanna mutter, “let Your earth embrace these, who came from it in the Beginning. Reclaim this earth as sacred land, that wholesome things may grow here. And forgive our slaying of one of Your People, the wayward sprite; but we struck only in accordance with the Law of the Wild – we killed to keep one of our Pack from being devoured.”

Daethin said nothing. When he prayed, he prayed to Corellon, for aid in battle, and none of those they’d found buried in the vegetable garden had been elves, or even warriors. Nonetheless he was glad to hear the two half-elven women speak the rights over that earth. He knew it was evil not to respect the dead, especially these, innocents taken in the dawn of their lives, by forces too dark for them to understand. The vegetables that had been fed by the rotting flesh of slain children lay hacked to pieces over the dark earth; he and Lanna had seen to that, the two companions who squabbled so often silently helping each other in a task both knew needed doing.

While the two holy women prayed over the burial ground, Piruk knelt nearby, forehead pressed against his hands where they rested on the hammer’s haft.

“I’m sorry,” he said, over and over. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Santiago also stood nearby, his eyes closed. Daethin thought he heard a low rumble from the half-orc, as if he were uttering a low chant.

They came around the front of the house a little later. Kit and Rayne were there with the gaggle of surviving children; all of the young humans stared blankly, uninterestedly, at their saviors, but Rayne seemed to have charmed them, waving a magic wand and speaking to them in sweet tones that Daethin would not have expected from the brooding, pyromaniacal sorceress. In any case, the children now followed her, a silent troupe of small, gaunt figures.

There was a fluttering and a chittering from his left shoulder. “Hush, you,” he said in a friendly tone. The raven sat there; he’d managed to calm it and coax it from its cage in the battle’s aftermath. There was something in its eyes which bespoke a wit keener than usual for such a bird. He had his suspicions, but it appeared they would remain unconfirmed for now.

“I wish we could give the rest of the remains a more conventional burial,” he said as he came up to the sorceress and the thief.

“Cremation’s very conventional,” Rayne said, “and it’s also a fitting way to dispose of this…” She trailed off.

“Abomination,” Lanna finished for her, and Daethin could only nod.

Without another word, Rayne raised a hand. A searing beam of light sprouted from her palm and pierced the side of the house; instantly the wood started to burn, and soon the entire building was a towering column of flame.

There was a nearly imperceptible sound, like a contented sigh from dozens of young voices, that rose on the fire’s hot wind and passed away.

“We did rightly,” Eleanor said, smiling.

Then there was another sound, from behind: a rustling as of hundreds of feet in the thick brush, and a whisper of voices uttering wordless hunger between savage fangs.

Daethin whipped around, bow at the ready, and stared into the tree line a hundred yards away.

“Uh oh,” he said.

“What now?” said Kit.