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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Jul 2005 : 19:29:42
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Hammer 26th-30th, 1372 DR
Meriden checks into the Old Skull Inn, makes inquiries about travelling in the winter, and notices the other people that are currently staying in the Inn. Meriden has now seen an elf, a half-ogre, a red haired warrior woman travelling with a person in deep cloaks and a hood, and two adventuring parties.
Meriden realizes that the half-ogre is a monk dedicated to Helm. He introduces himself to her and finds out that her name is Emen, and that her master was attatched to the temple to Helm in Tilverton. Meriden buys Emen a drink, which immediately has an effect on her.
The pair watch as a young elf, apparently a moon elf, walks up to the red haired swordswoman to talk to her, unsuccessfully. As Meriden moves to talk with the woman himself, the elf speaks with the half-ogre Emen.
At this point in time, a member of one of the adventuring companies begins to make fun of the half-ogres appearance, and to defend his new friend, the elf, named Mourn, transfroms into a wolf in the midddle of the taproom. Someone in one of the company shouts “werewolf!” and several silver weapons are drawn and several spellcasters begin to chant.
Meriden pulls out his own silver bastard sword, but the swordswoman pushes past him, as does the cloaked figure. As the adventurers advance on the wolf-elf, the swordswoman whispers to her hooded companion. She anounces that she will deal with the werewolf, and for everyone else to back off and leave it to her. This gives the wolf time to bound out the window and head toward the trees.
The swordswoman speaks to Meriden and tells him that her friend is a paladin, and that he senses no evil in the elf-wolf. Emen leaves with the swordswoman and the hooded figure to find the elf-wolf.
When Emen catches up with the elf-wolf Mourn, Mourn explains to Emen that he is lythari, elf werewolves that are not evil, but that he needs a body guard and some clothes to disguise himself with. Emen agrees to take the commision, and sets off to find him closthes and tells him that she will leave the window of her room open for him to get back into the inn.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2005 : 19:31:10
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Midwinter, 1372 DR
The bard of Shadowdale, Storm Silverhand, was to perform at Midwinter festivities in Shadowdale, but she has been called away by important matters elsewhere. Meriden asks around among the adventurers that are wintering in the Old Skull, and finds out that there is an altercation in the north that has mobilized a force from Waterdeep, and that a mysterious city has appeared over the desert in Anauroch.
Emen explains to Meriden who Mourn is and that he is under her protection, and Mourn, using a disguise spell he has on a scroll, alters his appearance and does card tricks for money outside of the Old Skull Inn while food is being served for Midwinter.
In the evening, as the three adventurers gather just outside of the Old Skull Inn, a strange figure pushes a young lady over and grabs a bundle, a crying bundle, from her hands, and runs for the tree line across the street. The three give chase, and as they close on the figure, everything around them seems to shift and change into a much stranger forest.
The adventurers are faced with a huge creature with curling ram's horns looks down on them and demands to know why there are here at his backroad. The group explains that they are on their way to catch someone that just stole a baby.
The fey guardian demands to be paid a good story before he lets them into his backroad. Meriden tells the story of Wulgar and himself travelling back in time and being locked in statis for centuries. The guardian calls Meriden a liar but also tells him that it is a good story and lets him by.
As the three follow the path, both Emen and Mourn fall into a pit in the road, and Meriden has to help them get out of the pit. Mourn wanders around the top side of the pit off the path while Emen and Meriden wander the bottom of the pit, and each side erupts in thorny twig creatures, twig blights, as the adventurers take a step of the path.
Mourn rejoins the other two and the three fight off the little plant creatures, with Meriden doing the lion's share of the damage against them.
Further down the path the three run into a group of small humanoids wearing red caps and carrying scythes. The creatures charge forth from their hiding places and quickly knock Mourn out of the fight. Emen seriously wounds one, but then goes down herself. Meriden keeps a close eye on his companions while fending off the three creatures, and manages to kill all three of them in time to revive his badly wounded friends.
After Meriden heals Mourn and Emen, the three meet up with a dryad, who asks them why they are here. After making a good impression, the dryad tells them that there is an evil half fiendish dwarf that has allied to several Unseelie fey and corrupted this backroad. They are up ahead, and she can get the guardian not to let them leave and warns them of traps up ahead.
While they avoid one trap, another trap, collapsing trees fall on Mourn and Emen, and Emen and Meriden have to dig out a wounded Mourn from the trap. As they enter the clearing, they see several dead redcaps and a few dead centuars, as well as a red skinned dwarf with claws waithing for them.
The dwarf offers to deal with them for the price of the baby, and Mourn begins to bargain with the dwarf, but Meriden charges forward to attack before he can hear another word, with Emen directly behind him.
The durzagon enlarges himself, as does Meriden, and the two attack one another, as Emen circles around to engage the durzagon as well. Mourn lobs magic missles at the dwarf from a safe distance.
The durzagon finally falls down, and the party picks up the baby. Briefly the discuss wheather to tromp back through the backroad, or go forward, and eventually, they decide to go forward.
Upon exiting the gateway, the three find themselves near the gates of a city, a city that spans a body of water. Then recognize that the keep flys the pennants of Zhentil Keep, and they realize where they are.
Meriden falls down and prays to Helm, and is given a vision of the rebirth of Bane, and Meriden senses that the child is wanted by the church of Bane. When the vision is over, he checks the child and it has a birthmark that looks like a clawed hand with green eyes in the palm on her shoulder.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2005 : 19:33:16
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Alturiak 1st, 1372 DR
Early in the morning, before the sun comes up, a lone figure in woodland garb “falls” through a tree near the party, closely followed by two werewolves wearing several fetishes and charms.
Meriden and Emen close on the werewolves, as Mourn takes the baby and retreats from the fight, and the new figure, Grim Greycastle, circles wide around the fight with the werewolves.
As Meriden and Emen fight the werewolves, Grim casts entangle on the pair (as well as Meriden and Emen) and Mourn begins to fire magic missles at the werewolves. Emen manages to escape from entanglement often, striking and moving around the lycanthropes, as Grim fires arrows at the beasts. Meriden is stuck, but can reach and injure the nearby werewolves, and kills the first one after taking a single bite from it.
Mourn strikes the remaining werewolf with another magic missle, Emen continues to injure it, and Meriden finishes it off with his silver bastard sword.
One of the fetishes on the werewolves indicates that they are People of the Black Blood, and Grim explains that his master, a druid, gave him the book that he carries and shoved them through the nearest tree as several werewolves attacked his retreat.
Before the sun could rise, several creatures, worm like with insectile legs and bat wings, land near the party. They are confronted with a group of people in black and grey clothing that appear to have shadows rising off them like steam.
The leader of the group, who identifies himself as Ambassador Borsaelis of the City of Shade, and that he wants to calm the populations fears about the return of his city. He has a diplomatic mission to Zhentil Keep to perform, but wishes to give the party gifts as proof of his good will.
He gives each of them a silver ring set with a black stone that he says is a ring of protection and a ring of proof against necromancy. Emen, Meriden, and Grim all accept the gifts but put them in their packs, while Mourn gladly places it on his finger.
Borsaelis asks the group where they are from, and Mourn tells them they came from Shadowdale. Borsaelis tells them that if they wish to travel with the detachment they will gladly drop them off in Shadowdale on their way through to Sembia. He also offers to let them sit in on the meeting between the Shade and the powers that be in Zhentil Keep.
Not wanting to invoke any more questions, and worried about how exposed they are, Meriden and Grim (who gives the false name of Tobias), accept the offer to enter the Keep with the Shadovar group.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2005 : 19:34:16
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Alturiak 2nd, 1372 DR
Meriden, Grim, Emen, and Mourn are shown to the diplomatic hostelry in Zhentil Keep's southern portion, and the Shadovar tell them that they are completely free to do as they will. Grim casts around for some information and finds a brothel that fronts for a fence, and manages to buy a disguise kit. He comes back to the room and uses the disguise to make the baby appear as a half-ogre, and comes up with a story that the half-ogre Emen is his wife and the child is thiers.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2005 : 19:35:24
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Alturiak 3rd-6th, 1372 DR
Meriden and Emen secure supplies for taking care of the baby. Meriden rests, and wakes up to find that Mourn has bought a fighting wolf from an animal handler, as well as two chickens to feed it, and that Grim has travelled to the slave market to buy a young boy that he intends to set free.
Grim explains that he cannot free them all, but that he must do something. Meriden is just worried about how deep in the group is getting. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2005 : 19:36:33
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Alturiak 7th, 1372 DR
Ambassador Borsaelis and his group pick up the party and ask them if they wish to go with him to his audience with the rulers of Zhentil Keep. Grim and Meriden definitely want to see what is going on in this meeting, and so they volunteer. Meriden also manages to notice that one of the armored Shadover is wearing a holy symbol to Shar, and thus realizes what goddess the Shadovar hold dear.
Just after nightfall, the Shadovar and the adventurers travel to the Castellan's Chambers in Zhentil Keep. Scyulla Darkhope, leader of the Keep's military forces, appologizes for the fact that Fzoul Chembryl cannot attend himself, but is otherwise busy.
The Shadovar explain that they now claim all of Anauroch as Netherese territory, and as such, the Zhentil Keep caravan's that pass through it will have to pay to have access to the desert territory, as well as having Shadovar supervision.
Scyulla does not like this concession and tells them to explain why the Keep will have to concent to this. The Shadovar offer to make sure that the desert vermin (the Bedine) are scoured from the desert and thus the Zhentil Keep caravan will bring more profit when then travel across the desert.
Both Meriden and Grim are bristling at the discussion of free people as vermin and the causal way that their extermination is being discussed. Meriden is very uncomfortable in the presense of a cleric of Shar and a blackguard of Bane, and Grim wishes to strike out against oppresion any way he can, but both manage to sit through the audience.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jul 2005 : 19:37:44
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Alturiak 8th, 1372 DR
The Shadovar get ready to leave and offer to fly the party to a new destination, a meeting that the Shades say they have with the Dalelands Council. The group accepts, and they are strapped into the saddles of the Veserabs as they take to the air. The Shadovar then shift into the plane of Shadows as they fly south.
The Shadovar unexpectedly cut the trip short, and drop the party off in Shadowdale, explaining to them that something very important has come up. The party is very thankful to be back in Shadowdale and away from the Shadovar. As they travel in towards the dale, they see a figure lined in silver fire fighing a figure cloaked in shadows, then both dissappear.
Then, Mourn's ring leaks shadows, as the shadow weave magic in the ring shorts out the wards that exist in this area, in the proximity of Elminster's Tower. A rift opens in the sky around the tower, and the Old Sage appears and tries to close the rift.
Mourn frantically tries to take the ring off, and eventually Meriden, barely stopping Grim from taking off Mourn's entire hand, cuts off Mourn's finger to get the ring off.
By this time, Elminster has entered the rift and dissappeared. The rift then closes.
Soon after, a wild haired woman in a tattered dress appears, and gazes wildly at the group standing in front of her. Before anyone can offer an explanation, Mourn panicks and fires a magic missle at her, and the woman blasts them with a spell that knocks them out of the Prime Material Plane of Toril and into a plane of complete gray and silver skies.
The party eventually drifts into a portal, and Mourn launches into a heartfelt prayer to Corellon, asking for forgiveness for every impulsive thing he has ever done, asking for forgiveness for trying to make an icon out of a spoon that he careved to look like Corellon, and promising to take his god far more seriously from now on.
At this point a golden winged creature similar to an elf, but radiant and cloaked with energy, appears to the group, and asks them where they are from. After discussing what all has transpired, the celestial offers to take them home, and Meriden convinces the party that they should go back to Mistledale first to regroup. The celestial takes them back to Meriden's rented home.
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Edited by - KnightErrantJR on 11 Jul 2005 19:39:01 |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2005 : 17:08:32
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Alturiak 9th, 1372 DR
After Meriden shows everyone in the party around the rented house, they group rests and is sleeping the next morning as there is a knock on the door. When Meriden is awakened, he is confronted with Neylessa Sheldean, the leader of the Mistledale Lancers. She asks Meriden and his companions to attend a meeting at Haresk's mansion in Ashabenford at midday.
Grim takes the morning to forage for wolfsbane and belladona in the more wooded areas, and Meriden takes Mourn and Emen into town to do some shopping and selling before the meeting.
Meriden visits Noristuor the Wizard, who tersely examines the rings that the Shadovar had given them, informing Meriden that the rings are shadow weave items and that they break wards that they come in contact with. He offers to buy them and then sends them off.
While Meriden and Emen talk to Noristuor, Mourn stays outside and receives a message from a halfling currier, containing a note that details a business opourtunity. Jarwain, an importer of fine goods, has asked Mourn to talk with his friends about locating dragon eggs that might be for sale, and Jarwain wishes to secure them for an interested third party.
The party meets back up outside of Haresk's house, and is admited to the council room by the Mistledale Lancer guards outside. Indside the room is a collection of important local figures, including the other lords of Mistledale, excepting the High Councilor himself, Alok Silverspear and Luvon Greencloak, Jhaer Brightsong, and Storm Silverhand.
Storm details to the party that the two children in their care are both alright, and that they are currently with a Matron Fleet in Stump Hill, and that she is trustworthy and the mother of a Harper she knows of. She tells them that she has brought the horses with her from Shadowdale, and warms them to avoid her sister for a while.
Ulwen Sharin, acting High Councilor of Mistledale, informs the assembly that a Dalelands council has been called and Haresk has gone to that council. Ulwen also mentions that the winter has been unusually warm, and the patrol of Lancers has had to start sooner in the year then would be usual. Goblin patrols have started ravaging the Moonsea Ride into Tilverton.
Jhaer mentions that the Shadovar have been sending diplomats into the Moonsea, Sembia, and Cormyr. She and the councilors are afraid that the diplomats in these meetings are simply talking about carving up the dales to go to each respective area in the negotiations.
Storm mentions that the Shadovar are still tenatively allied to the Lord's Alliance in the North, sending aid to her sister Laeral as she tries to punch her way through the Phaerimm armies in order to give aid to the elven realm of Evereska, as well as trying to hear word of her husband Khelbun (at which point several of the Dale councilors are shocked to know that Elminster and Khelbun are both missing). Storm says that the Waterdhavians do not trust the Shadovar either, but currently they are still allied with them against the Phaerimm. She is leaving after the meeting to rejoin her sister.
Since the party has already decided to go to Anauroch to warn the Bedine about the plans of the Shadovar, they volunteer to try and ride ahead and punch a hole in the goblin lines that are blocking the Moonsea Ride.
After the meeting, Mourn explains to the rest of the party what is going on with the job offer from Jarwain, and the group is wary. They draw up plans to keep an eye on Jarwain for the next few days, to see what is going on.
Mourn goes to Jarwain's shop, demanding to see him, but his halfling attendant refuses to let Mourn talk to him.
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Edited by - KnightErrantJR on 04 Dec 2005 03:48:27 |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:48:00
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Alturiak 10th, 1372 DR
Due to Jarwain's interest in the party and the secret information that Meriden has, and his overtures to Mourn, the party decides to delay their departure from Mistledale for one day in order to do some information gathering on Jarwain. Mourn will enter the shop and try to speak with the merchant, while Grim keeps an eye on the back of the shop, looking for any clues.
When Moun discussing the business oppourtunity with Jarwain, Jarwain activates some strange dragon head scupture on the wall, which Mourn assumes is an anti-scrying device. Grim keeps an eye on the back of the shop, and eventually sees a figure teleport in behind the shop, then give a special knock and enter the shop from the back. Grim notices that the teleporting figure seems to be wearing the robes of a Cormyrean War Wizard.
Jarwain tells Mourn that his unnamed client is looking for dragon eggs so that they might train them to help them with security issues that they have been experiencing since an unfortunate recent series of events, and that he could not elaborate further.
Mourn leaves the shop without commiting to anything with Jarwain, and meets up with Grim. The pair then finds Meriden and Emen, who have finished provisioning for the trip to Tilverton, and from there into the Stonelands and Anauroch.
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Edited by - KnightErrantJR on 04 Dec 2005 03:49:47 |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:50:36
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Alturiak 11th-12th, 1372 DR
The group sets out toward Tilverton down the Moonsea Ride, which is still muddy and snowy from the strange winter weather. After the first day, they take a detour to the north, heading off toward the halfling village of Stumphill, where Matron Fleet is taking care of the baby they came to take care of, and the child slave that Grim saved from the Zhents.
Emen had a very hard time entering the halfing home, but the rest were put up for the night as Matron Fleet fed them all quite well, and gave them plenty of time with the children. The young boy was already helping immesurably on the farm, and was looking much healthier. Grim gave Matron Fleet some gold to help her take care of the children further, and she refused, but then put it aside to give to the children if they are still in their care when they get older.
After another fine meal from Jakert, the party says their farewells to her and head back onto the Moonsea Ride, and back toward Tilverton. |
Edited by - KnightErrantJR on 04 Dec 2005 03:51:57 |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:51:54
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Alturiak 13th, 1372 DR
The travel down the road is difficult in the snow and mud, and Mourn's horse is injured. Meriden heals the horse, and Grim lectures the whole party on riding horses in such weather (Grim using spells to keep up with the party), and lectures Mourn specifically for not being more careful with his mount.
After nightfall, the party is awakened by several creatures sneaking into the camp. A group of wererats in hybrid form attack the party. Emen draws her silver dagger, and Meriden his silver bastard sword. Grim attempts to slow down the wererats with an entangling spell, and Mourn shifts to wolf form.
Once Mourn reveals himself as a lycanthrope, the wererats shift to using their bites on him. Eventually the party is successful in their defense of the camp, but Mourn is bitten by a wererat. Meriden and Grim clean the wound as best they can.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:53:16
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Alturiak 14th, 1372 DR
As the party continues to travel toward Tilverton, at midday they encounter a wolf the size of a horse. Meriden and Emen stay well away, Mourn shifts to wolf form, and Grim stays close enough to speak with it, still a careful distance away.
Grim cannot calm the beast down, though it does not attack. Mourn speaks to the great wolf in its own language of barks and howls, and finds that the creature is fleeing the Beast Country due to a “wolf thing” that is a very cruel pack leader, and that it is hungry.
Grim and Mourn feed the beast, and it leaves the party to travel further down the road.
That night, just after the party sets up their camp for the evening, Mourn is keeping first watch in wolf form. A strange wolf approaches the camp, and Mourn tries to speak to it as he did the one on the road earlier. The wolf responds to Mourn in common, telling him that he will enjoy devouring his soul.
Mourn barks until the rest of the groups awakens, and begins to back away from the advancing strange wolf thing. Meriden puts the pieces together and recognizes the creature as a Barghest, and he advances on it with his magical bastard sword, and Emen stalks it with her magical butterfly sword. Mourn retreats and returns to elf form, and Grim circles around behind the Barghest with his magical dagger.
Mourn pelts the creature with magical missles from his spells, and Meriden and Emen keep the creature busy while Grim comes up behind the beast and sinks his magical dagger deep into the creatures organs. Meriden then douses the corpse in holy water and burns whatever is left. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:54:27
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Alturiak 15th-17th, 1372 DR
As the party nears the edge of the Dale, they have seen very little and have had a series of uneventful days. The clouds always hang low and grey, and mists rise from the ground constantly, and Grim is on edge with the strange weather.
Grim is on watch at night, and detects a rather unstealthy intruder. A huge troll shambles into the camp. Grim sends his animal companion, the dire rat Dogmeat, to wake up Meriden, and hopefully the rest of the party.
Grim manages to evade the troll until the rest of the party is awake. Emen charges the troll, and it picks up a log in camp and slams her with it, sending her flying. The troll graps Meriden with both of its hands and begins to pull the cleric apart, splitting his skin in an agonizing attack. Mourn stays near the campfire, lighting his arrows on fire and shooting them at the troll. On sticks in the log near the troll, but does not ignite.
Eventually the party wears down the troll, and they drag his corpse to the campfire, thus getting rid of the creature permanently.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:55:36
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Alturiak 18th-22nd, 1372 DR
A few simple mishaps with the horses in the mud (and a few more lectures from Grim) occur, and Mourn begins to feel ill, in general being less reasonable and less nible of (remaining) fingers. Storms always seem to be off in the distance, and the party finds some free wandering cattle that Mourn breifly toys with chasing, though the rest of the party talks the ill lythari out of his plan.
Eventually the group runs into a band of orcs on the road. There are six of them, and the leader demands a tribute to pass on the road, which they claim by right of defeating a Purple Dragon patrol on the road.
Emen and Mourn engage the foot soldiers, and Meriden engages the warrior's leader. Grim closes on the orc's adept, and gets close enough to him to keep him from spellcasting. He begins to ask the adpet why they ended up on this road.
The leader fends off Meriden's attacks for a while, but Mourn and Emen dispatch the other orcs. The adept explains to Grim that they were herded out of the Stonelands during the War with the Devil Dragon and the goblins forced them even farther from home. Meriden breaks off his attack with the leader, and the leader goes to confer with the adept.
Grim explains to Meriden that if the orcs give them any trouble, they can backstab them in their sleep if they travel with them. Meriden expresses a desire to stab them in the front now. The orc leader is similarly not enamored with his adepts conversation with Grim. The leader and Merdien charge one another, and Meriden cuts him down, and Grim ends up killing the adept. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:56:57
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Alturiak 23rd, 1372 DR
The entire day is exceptionally dark, overcast, and foggy. As the group enters the foot hills outside of the Thunder Peaks, they see a horde of charging creatures, a mob of goblins that are charging down the pass down whatever is near them.
Seeing them from a distance up the slope, Grim manages to entangle them as they charge forward, Meriden and Emen charge, and Mourn skulks off to the side to pelt the goblins with magic missles.
Meriden manages a hit and run attack, and the horde is slowed by the entangling plants. Emen does serious damage to the horde of goblins, but is drawn into the mob and trampled beneath them.
Meriden makes another assault on his warhorse, and Grim and Morn attack from a distance. Emen manages to get up from under the trampling feet, and goes on a rampage of destruction, flinging broken goblin bodies to and fro until the entire mob is dispersed and dead.
Several hours later, the group runs into another band of goblins, a group of several warriors, archers, ordered around by two worg riders.
Grim manages to sneak around the warriors to harass the archers, and Dogmeat follows him to attack another archer. Mourn shifts into his wolf form and charges toward the archers as well. Meriden and Emen attack the warriors directly in front of them, and Meriden draws the fire of three of the archers, taking several hits on his shoulder and thigh.
After Emen smashes several of the goblin warriors, she is felled by one of the archers, whose shot is especially well placed and seriously wounds the monk, causing her to fall unconcious. Mourn, Dogmeat, and Grim tear through the archers, and the riders stay back barking orders.
Meriden dispatches the rest of the warriors, and then leaps off his horse to aid Emen. Mourn and Grim finish the archers, and one of the worg riders charges Mourn, injuring the still sick lythari. The lance strikes deep and well, but barely injures the wolf, causing the wolf rider to rethink his attack.
The second wolf rider turns and runs, and Mourn and Grim finish off the first rider. All of the goblins have grim trophies and trinkets from the Purple Dragon Patrols that they have ambushed and slaughtered.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:58:01
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Alturiak 24th, 1372 DR
Deep into Tilver's Gap, the party runs across a column of goblins wearing black leather armor studded in bronze studs. The goblins are commanded by a goblin in relatively fine black and copper robes.
The goblins fall on the band, and the goblin in robes cast a spell that shoots a net made of shadows at the monk Emen. Emen is ensnared and cannot escape the shadow net. Meriden attacks the column of warriors, and Mourn circles around toward the spellcaster on one side, just as Grim does on the other.
Meriden dispatches more goblin warriors, and the goblins spellcaster traps Mourn in another net of shadows. Mourn desperately begins to cast spells trying to escape the net, and ends up freezing a spoon to his nose and casting light on his own forehead.
Grim is near the goblin spellcaster when the goblin manages to shrink the druid rogue. Now only half his size, and a bit smaller than the goblin, Grim attacks and kills the spellcaster.
The goblin warriors start to bear down on Meriden, so Meriden dispels the shadow net over the monk Emen, who promptly charges forward and begins to destroy goblins left and right. The two make short work of the goblins after the monk is free.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 05:59:22
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Alturiak 25th-26th, 1372 DR
The party travels the rest of the way into Tilver's Gap, and out the other side, into the city of Tilverton. At the front gate, the guards are surprised that the group has made it down the trade road with the goblins about, and tell them about the missing patrols. The guards, upon hearing that the group is seeking to travel to the Altar of Shields, the Temple of Helm, send for a runner to get a member of the Helmite clergy.
The Helmites arrange for the party to receive an adventuring charter and have Mourn Ninefingers registered as a spellcaster with the War Wizards. The group is granted an audience with the leaders of the temple, and Meriden explains what is going on between the Shadovar and the Zhentarim, and asks for Helmite help to aid the Bedine against the Shadovar. The Helmites tell Meriden that the Shadovar are currently helping Regent Alusair rebuild Arabel. They do not wish to upset the Crown. But they are interested in the parties quest, and offer to send some aid in the form of gifts and a ranger to take their animals once they reach the edge of Anauroch. If they can produce proof of the Shadovar's dealings, the church of Helm will aid them in speaking with the Crown.
Meriden and Emen arrange to take vows advancing their rank within their perspective Orders within the church of Helm. Their vows will be taken the following night.
Meriden takes the party's gems, arms, and armor that they no longer need to the Temple of Gond to barter, and to convert their treasure to more portable items. Emen goes with him. Mourn goes to Gahlaerd Mossmere, a local wizard, to buy magical trinkets for the group as well as to purchase the components he needed to summon a familiar. Grim travels to Filani of Tantras to pay her to research some of the magic items the party has found, as well as to take advantage of her forte, political research, to learn more about the Bedine and Anauroch.
Grim, a follower of Mieilikki, goes to the shrine of Silvanus to pick up some scrolls to help him decipher Sylvan, so that he might learn the language, and donates some gold to them as well as picking up some new spell components. Grim takes a room at Grimwald's Revenge while the other members of the party stay at the austere cells in the Altar of Shields.
Mourn asks the clerics of Helm to repair his finger, and they do, though he receives a vision from Helm that indicates that he is somehow not pleasing to the God of Guardians. Mourn is very happy when the experience ends.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:00:56
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Alturiak 27th, 1372 DR
The next day, Grim picks up his notes on the Bedine from Filani, and the party meets with him at Grimwald's Revenge, where they meet their hired ranger, Neddivel, who appears to be a bit touched. They also run into Wulgar Browniefriend of Hillsafar Hall, Meriden's old friend, who has taken an underground route from Glen to the Thunder Peaks just outside of Tilverton, and is relaxing in the bar until he is ready to go home. He decides to join up with the party.
Mourn completes his ritual to find a familiar, and a hawk answers his calling.
Emen and Meriden enter into their rituals in order to ascend in rank. Emen is locked in a meditation chamber, and Meriden is given the sacred sword that he must kneel before and levitate with his own force of will all night long on his vigil.
Both Emen and Meriden manage to complete their trials, and in the morning the clerics of Helm ask for Helm's boon, dispelling all fatigue in the two Helmites that might have afflicted them from their overnight vigil.
Emen is awarded the title of Adept Lady Knight Emen of the Order of Everwatch Knights. Meriden receives the title of Adept Watcher Meriden Greystag of the Order of He Who Watches Over Travelers. Emen is assigned to act as Meriden's bodyguard on this upcoming quest. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:01:59
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Alturiak 28th, 1372 DR
Meriden, Emen, Wulgar, Mourn, Grim, and Neddivel all set off early in the morning. Mourn has sold his horse and travels mainly in wolf form now. The party heads north, along the Thunder Peaks, toward the Stonelands. Neddivel only mutters to himself about the horses for hours.
Out of the hills comes a giant, carrying a rock in its hand. Emen tries to warn the giant off the path, but the hill giant takes the half ogre's warning as some kind of interest in him, and he decides to knock her out and drag her off as his new bride. He begins to hurl rocks at her, and strikes her solidly.
Neddivel fires off a shot from his bow at a long distance and manages to hit the giant in the forehead, causing it great pain, though not mortally warning it. Mourn and Grim both spread out and attack at a distance, while Meriden and Wulgar charge the giant. Emen joins them.
Neddivel continues to fire, but the closer he gets, the worse his aim is. The hill giant hits Emen with his club, knocking her out of the fight, and Meriden and Wulgar engage him at close range, while Grim sneaks in closer, still firing his bow.
The hill giant is frustrated by the dwarf attacking him, and eventually the party dispatches the hill giant, and Meriden takes care of Emen, healing her with his spells.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:03:05
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Alturiak 29th, 1372 DR
The party manages to run into two well armed and armored ogres in the hills. Innitially they want to rob the wandering travellers, but when they see the half-ogre female monk Emen, they are even more interested in her than the hill giant was.
The fight is relatively short, but Emen tells the other members of the party that they are not to kill the last ogre standing, because he has to pay for the untoward interest in her that he has shown. The duel is very short and ends with Emen unscathed.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:04:06
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Alturiak 30th-Chess 3rd, 1372 DR
The party sees a flying group of aarakokra at far range, in part due to Mourn's hawk, though the bird people aren't a threat. They also meet up with a patrol of Purple Dragons, and they compare notes about what they have encountered in the region and what might lie ahead for them.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:05:10
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Chess 4th, 1372 DR
The party is ambushed by a group of gnolls that begin their assault with bows. The party closes on them, and Meriden uses a spell to shatter one of their battle axes. The group makes short work of the beastial creatures.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:07:03
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Chess 5th, 1372 DR
The party reaches the violent, stormy region known as the Desert's Edge, and Neddivel takes the horses and leaves to meet up with the Purple Dragon patrol that they met days earlier, and from there travel back to Tilverton.
As the group passes into the stormy region, Mourn's hawk returns to him, agrivated and afraid desperately about the creature he saw in the air. As a precaution, Meriden casts several protectives spells on his companions, as well as increasing Wulgar's strength.
The creature lands in front of them, and they see that it is a blue dragon, only a bit larger than a human. It introduces itself as Vesistyrvran, and demands a tribute to his master, the Blue Suzerain Malagrys. He also demands to know what outsiders are doing in Anauroch.
Meriden tries to convince Vesistyrvran that they should ally, as the Shadovar could be a threat to the Blue Suzerain as well, but the blue laughs at Meriden, proclaiming that Malygrys is allied to the Shadovar. He begins to fly away, and as a parting gift fires his breath weapon at Meriden and Morn, badly injuring Meriden, and seriously injuring Mourn and knocking him out cold.
Emen realizes that the dragon cannot be allowed to escape to warn the Shadovar, and so dives at the creature and drags it down, grappling with it and keeping its head pointed up and its wings pinned.
Meriden revives Mourn and heals himself, and Mourn fires an acid arrow at the creature from his wand, striking its wing. The dragon batters Emen with its tail, trying to break her hold and beginning to wound her. Wulgar swings his axes, but it first gets deflected by the dragon's wing. Grim sneaks in closer to the beast while Emen continues to wrestle with it.
Wulgar manages several powerful swings, seriously wounding the beast and hewing through its tough scales, and Grim manages to slide his dagger deep into the wounds and find a vital spot, killing the dragon before can further batter Emen, who is now badly brused and battered from the tail.
The party proceeds to cut several body parts from the creature for potential use later.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:09:19
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Chess 6th, 1372 DR
A sandstorm blows up and the party takes shelter in a nearby ruin. The ruin is relatively small, at least the accessable regions of it, but Wulgar manages to find a magical trap from ages gone by, and when he accidentally triggers the trap, he is turned into an insubstantial shadow.
Meriden recieves a vision from Helm showing him the importance of his mission, and assuring him that someone will rescue the dwarf and restore him, and that the dwarf will be safe in his current form from almost any harm. Meriden must press on.
The party reluctantly leaves. Wulgar nods his ascent to his friend, gesturing to him to be brave as they press on. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:10:22
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Chess 7th, 1372 DR
The party comes across a corpse in the desert, apparently a tomb robber of some kind. When they get close, the corpse jumps up and attacks the monk, slashing her with its claw, and grabbing her, drawing the water from her blood through the open wound.
Emen breaks the undead thing's grip, and Meriden manages to turn the creature. Having determined that it is carrying magical items, the party stalks the creatures, and Meriden breaks his turning to slash the creature in half. They manage to find a wand that identifies magic items, and a headband and gloves that might increase a persons ability to find traps, disable them, and open locks. They also find several damaged scrolls that would miscast if used.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:11:35
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Chess 8th, 1372 DR
The group arrives at the Kho-Sivhat Oasis, controlled by the Shikalla tribe of Bedine, a particularly honorable tribe that had even worked with Purple Dragon patrols on the Desert's Edge hunting down evil humanoids. The party approaches the way their research has indicated, and they allow a representitive of the tribe to relay their wish to enter the oasis to Sheik Ari Bin Arikat, leader of the Shikalla.
Arikat allows them to enter, and find him already speaking with representitives of another tribe. When he is done with the other Bedine, he turns to the outsiders, and Grim, utilizing his knowlage of the Bedine, presents the alliance between the Shadovar and the Zhentarim, and Meriden presents them with gifts of food and water from the church of Helm.
Arikat is favorable toward them, and his other guest, Alir Kir'Akin of the Cult of the Sacred Skull, speaks with them. He tells them that their holy skull, an artifact through witch their deceased ancestors speak with them, has told them of a way to break the alliance between the Shadovar and the Zhentarim. Kir'Akin also tells them that they have allied themselves with the Harpers through the Harper Witch Ruha, who has recently began to organize Bedine tribes against the Shadovar.
A group of Shikalla warriors working with Sacred Skull Cultists and the Harpers would sneak an item into a Zhent camp for the Shadovar to discover, then allow them to begin fighting over what the Shadovar would perceive as a theft of their property. They want the party to raid a nearby ruin and obtain an artifact that is neccissary for this plot.
The party agrees, and gets directions to the ruin, a place considered holy to a band of renegade Bedine outcasts, sorcerers and murders who worship the god Na'sir, god of the dead, whom they regard as equivilant with Cyric.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:13:19
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Chess 9th-10th, 1372 DR
Travelling at night and resting by day, utilizing some gear from the church and some from the Shikalla, the group moves closer to the ruins. They end up encountering an enormous vulture, a creature considered sacred to Na'sir. As the creature flies closer, the group notices that it has a symbol of Cyric on its neck, and its stench makes Meriden sick, though Emen is fine.
Emen does serious damage to the creature, though it manages to fly straight up then dive onto the sickened Meriden before it dies. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:14:41
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Chess 11th, 1372 DR
The party scouts out the guards on the ruins below them in the dunes. After counting out how many guards there are and trying to pick out the spellcasters, Mourn shifts to wolf form, Grim makes himself invisible with a potion and sneaks in behind the guard that appears to be an arcane spellcaster, and Meriden charges forward to make a distraction.
Meriden appears to be feebleminded from the sun to the guards, who laugh at his antics. When they let their guard down, Grim slits the throught of the sorcerer, instantly killing him. Emen and Mourn charge forward to join the fight, and when he gets closer, Mourn shifts back to elf form, naked and carrying the wand that he charged forward with in his mouth.
Emen dispatches the divine spell caster, and Mourn fires several magic missles into the guards, and Meriden and Grim dispatch their guards on their side of the ruin entrace as well. Emen is faced with three guards. She grapples the one in the middle, and when the other two go to either side of her, she drops the grappled guard and strikes and kills the ones on either side of her. One guard, trying to jump down on her from above, trips and lands face first in the sand.
Before she can return to fighting the one she dropped, Meriden hurls his bastard sword across the entrace at him, burying it in his forehead.
Mourn gets dressed, and the party searches the bodies, finding a key. Before opening the doors to the temple crypt ruins, Grim checks for and disarms a trap on the door.
Entering the room, they meet another group of guards. The guards go down quickly, although the arcane spellcaster nearly roasts Grim with a fire spell before being killed.
The next chamber is huge, and has two large crystal skulls on either side, 10 feet tall, and adorned with Loross symbols and symbols of the god Jergal. On the double doors at the far end, the party notices a shifting, glowing symbol.
Grim does not know how to disarm the shifting glyph, but does dicern the symbols for lightning and shadow. Emen starts hurling bodies at the glyphs, hoping to set them off. The lightning glyph does go off, striking the corpse and the monk as well, though the divine spellcasters quickly heal her. Finally, they simply open the doors, triggering the shadow glyph, but avoiding its effects.
The next room is a huge crypt, with several stone cairns and an altar at the far end. There is also a skelatal creature wearing chain mail and holding a large black iron mace. The creature moves with some intelligence, and Meriden immediately casts silence on the creature.
The skelatal creature, wearing robes of Jergal and a holy symbol of Cyric, swings its mace at Emen, wounding her, but surprised at the lack of damage done to her. Her fists manage to damage the skelatal form of the creature slightly. Mourn fires an acid arrow at the creature that strikes it solidly. Grim's dagger has no effect on the creature, and Meriden's sword has very little effect.
The creature strikes Meriden and his mace pumps unholy energy into the cleric, injuring him even more than the blow did. Grim drops his daggers, grabs his staff with both hands, and swings with all of his might at the mace to knock it out of the creature's hands. Mourn casts a spell on himself to improve is accuracy in combat.
Grim manages to disarm the creature, and he grabs the mace. The mace courses with evil energies that damage the druid, and he throws the maces as far away from the creature as he can. Mourn uses his new accuracy to throw a flask of alchemist's fire at the undead, catching it on fire.
The unarmed creature reaches out and touches the monk, injuring her greatly and nearly paralysing her. Meriden uses his newfound abilities as an Initiate of Helm to summon the Mace of Odo, and strikes the creature, wounding it greveiously. Mourn throws another flask of alchemist's fire, missing the creature, but setting his altar on fire, and catching the creature with a burning ember from the altar. It is still on fire and taking damage from his acid arrow.
Nearly dead, but not wanting to see her friends suffer, Emen charges forward and bear hugs the undead priest, crushing some of its ribs before the creature manages to break the hold on him. Meriden douses the creature with holy water, and Grim heals the almost dead monks wounds.
Charging in with more holy water, Meriden attacks from one side, and the newly healed, but still wounded, Emen charges from the other side. They manage to destroy the creature, and Grim pumps a healing spell into the remains to make sure it is destroyed. Meriden douses it with holy water and blesses it.
In the remains, they find a small pulsing black sphere, the size of a marble, and put it in a bottle to bring with them. The temple begins to sink and take on sand, and the group runs out of the chamber, toward the entrance. The lythari briefly notices that there is a secret door in one of the crystal skulls, but they do not have time to investigate.
Shortly after the party leaves the entrance, the temple crypt to Jergal, newly reconcrated to Cyric, sinks forever beneath the sands of Anauroch.
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:16:03
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Chess 12th, 1372 DR
After travelling for a day, the party spots several flying figures in the air. Afraid of trouble, Meriden beings casting defensive spells and enhancements, and they take cover. Eventually the figures are close enough for Grim to spot as metallic dragons.
Harper rangers, a male named Urlvrick and a female named Reinigear, riding brass dragons have arrived to collect the artifact and to proceed with the plan that they have worked out with the Bedine. Urlvrick and his dragon, Nearvaniskilligrandar, will meet with the Bedine and proceed to the Zhent outpost. Reinigear and her dragon, Vhulstigannigorigan, will fly the group back to Tilverton if they wish to go.
The party mounts up on Vhulstigannigorigan, who is very curious about them and talks incessantly. Grim is especially thrilled to have a conversation with the dragon about anything that pops into the talkative dragon's mind. |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2005 : 06:17:06
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Chess 13th-16th, 1372 DR
Vhulstigannigorigan flies the party back over the Stonelands, near the Thunder Peaks, and down into Tilver's Gap outside of Tilverton. Dispite the wishes of Meriden, who wants to land directly at the temple of Helm, Reinigear thinks it wise not to surprise the Purple Dragon garrison with any dragon landing in the middle of town in the wee hours of the morning, thus they land just outside the gates at sun up on the 17th.
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KnightErrantJR's Mistledale Campaign Journal
