Fall 07 Updates: The Messengers

[Paul]

These will likely frequently be very short as I will not usually have time to write them.

Cast

Horatio Greyhelm - A noble who practices mixing arcane spells and martial prowess. The youngest of three sons, his family has a keep which guards the Palantyne Aktenor border.

Tyr-Shane - A paladin of Pelor from Palantyne. She loves her morning star and can often be seen cuddling it when she sleeps.

Leo - A halfling rogue who works for the church of Heironeous. He has a large and long dachshund companion.

Tod Spit - A human sorcerer from Kaazka. He likes explosive spells and enjoys playing chess with his intelligent flying carpet companion. He also has a Merlin familiar named fish and is slightly loony.

Spero - A human druid archer from Methelein. He was raised by centaurs and spends much time with his mustang companion.

Seiryu Shu - An eastern water shugenja samurai. He has left home to prove himself and has been surprised to find his father this far east. His father has helped further his samurai training.

Wiglaf Rustaxe - A dwarven barbarian who has only just recently left his home in the underdark. He hopes to find information about his ancestral axe and armor.

Session 1: Jan 1-4, 1 "Beginings"

Jan 1: During a large storm on the plains, 5 travelers took refuge at a seemingly abandoned tower. A halfling named Leo, a sorcerer named Tod Spit, a Paladin named Tyr'shane, a noble named Horatio, and an easterner named Seiryuu. Inside they found a fresh corpse of a messenger with a sealed message on him. Investigation of the rest of the tower some dire rats, a spider the size of a horse and a small number of strange flying heads. They also found a group of hobgoblins who attacked them after a moment of questioning. After finishing searching the tower the group decided that they would try to deliver the message and news of the messenger's death to the rightful authorities.

Jan 2: After taking some time to bury the body of the messenger the group began to travel to the north through the plains until they were able to find a road to travel on but that evening were attacked by a group of seemingly spiders which displayed surprising tactical ability.

Jan 3: Further up the road they came upon a small hut. Inside they found a gnome, by the name of Toddemarshall. He offered them tea and food. Seiryuu purified his own while the Tyr'shane and Horatio ate their own. Tod and the halfling suspicious of being poisoned sneaked their own into their pouches. After spending a short time talking to the gnome and listening to his claims that the mushrooms kept the spiders away, they left and Horatio began to hallucinate. That night Tod and Leo sprinkled their mushrooms around the camp. During the watches each person noticed red pin points around them and heard skittering but they were unmolested.

Jan 4: Continuing up the road they came upon a river with a collapsed bridge. The began to search upstream for a way across and once again came upon the gnome they had met the day before. He offered to show them to a place to cross and led them to a place where the river was less wide and there was a log across. However when the halfling was crossing he noticed a large number of webs with things inside them above the group. Moments later the gnomes form changed to that of a spider with two humanesque arms.

[Paul]

Session 2: Jan 4-9, 1 "9 Days Late"

January 4: After a drawn out battle with the Aranea and it's minion spiders during which it put several members of the group to sleep repeatedly, Leo found himself paralyzed from spider-venom. Horatio climbed on of the nearby trees and cut down the hanging web-sacks. Inside 2 of them were a small child and a man, both desiccated beyond recognition. Horatio and Tyr'shane took a couple hours to bury the pair while Seiryuu took care of Leo. The then headed on to the village to see if anything could be done for Leo. At the village their weapons were taken by a pair of guards and they were questioned by the barkeep of the town's pub, who introduced himself as Robert. He seemed to have a decent amount of influence in the town.

After confirming who they were he returned their possessions and explained that no one had returned from that direction in the last month. Coincidentally they had not been attacked by any of the spiders which lived in a nearby cave during that time either. The group volunteered to check out the cave once their companion had recovered and in return the bartender gave them several potions to help them resist spider venom and promised to identify some of their items for them.

January 7: Guided by a map scribbled out by Robert, the group headed out to the cave. There they found it inhabited by a very large number of spiders but were also surprised to find a pair of drow. After speaking with Horatio a short time, the female of the pair, named Kiethine, offered Horatio a ring as proof of her good intentioned and in return he gave her one of his bracers with his house symbol on it.

When they returned to the town and explained what they had found the barkeep was angry that they had not killed the drow, claiming all drow to be monsters but still identified their trinkets as agreed.

January 8: The group went back to the river where the bridge had been with a group from the village who made a makeshift replacement. Before returning to the Village, Horatio examined what remained of the old bridge and found it had been sabotaged, rather than simply falling prey to bad weather and neglect.

January 9: At Horatio's request the group spent the day back tracking to the bridge to make sure it had not been once again sabotaged and concluded that the aranea they had fought 5 days previous must have been the culprit as there was no further damage. They then returned to the village with the intent of leaving the next morning.

[Paul]

Session 3: Jan 10-13, 1 "I really really really really hate undead"

January 10: After Leaving the small village, the group followed the path north out of the copses of trees. After a couple hours the path began to become a better kept road until it seemed that even wagons could travel comfortably on it. Being able to see the sky again it was noted that it was very clear, and while cold, there was not a cloud in sight. As evening approached, Horatio found a place beside the road in which to set up a camp. That night, near the end of their watch, Horatio and Tod heard movement from the road and noticed glowing red pin pricks approaching. Moments later the group was attacked by a group of orcish skeletons wielding scimitars. Jack took up a defensive position while Tod retreated. Soon Shane awoke and began to cleave through the undead warriors in pairs. Shu took the time to heal her as Leo slept through the battle only to be awakened moments later for his watch.

January 11: As the group continued down the road they soon came to a place on the plains on which they could seen fire-pits in every direction as far as they could see. The road also seemed to have been trampled to the point where one could not tell where its sides had been although it was still possible to follow it. That evening Horatio searched out the nicest fire-pit he could find and the group camped again. There seemed to be no way for them to rest however as his watch was interrupted by skeletons and zombies climbing from beneath the ground to attack which almost killed several members of the party. During his watch Leo also heard noises and found another band of skeletons within 100 feet. He returned to the rest of the group and upon being awakened they all agreed that it would be safer to try to continue rather that risking being ambushed in their sleep again.

January 12: As they continued down the remains of the road, the group circled around several more groups of undead until a couple hours past daybreak they noticed a group of 5 mounted figures traveling toward them carrying a banner with the crest of Palantyne on it. Horatio hailed the group and found them to be knights of Palantyne, on patrol from Palerias. After a short description of their recent skirmishes and their reasons for traveling, the knight in charge agreed to send his squire with them to ensure their safety on the rest of the trip. Soon they were able to reach Palerias where the squire told them of the inn most knights frequented along with another that might suit their needs called "The Bell and Hammer". After getting rooms for themselves Leo went to the marketplace to sell the pearl of power that they had acquired. Shu spoke with a spell sword named Desin Treleway who took a liking to the noble and agreed to give him a letter of introduction to make things easier for the group when they attempted to contact the Spellswords in Palantyne.

January 13: Horatio went to an arena which had been adapted into a training area to practice. There he met Desin who recognized him as a friend of Shu and gave him the letter of introduction to the Spellswords that he had promised. Leo went to the temple of Heironeous and received a letter to deliver to their sister temple in Palantyne and Shane spoke with the priests of Pelor while she debated about buying healing items. That night the entire group met back up at the Bell and Hammer, agreeing that they would continue on their way the next day.

[Paul]

Session 4 Jan 14-17, 1 "Mephits and Goblins and Wolves, Oh My!"

January 14: After leaving Palerias and traveling for most of the day the weather seemed to take a turn for the worse. The skies filled with clouds and a heavy snow began to fall. Horatio was able to find a camp to rest in for the night while Shane scavenged firewood. Near the end of the first watch a very grimy dwarf entered their cave and after a short time trying to decipher what he was saying through his accent they realized he wished to stay in the cave. He introduced himself as Viglis Rustaxe. Moments later a bloated undead monster stepped into the cave flanked by several dwarven skeletons. With the help of the Viglis however they were able to destroy the creatures.

January 15-16: The next day the snow had stopped and for the purposes of safer travel the group traveled on with the dwarf. Soon however they found o large clearing in the snow with a large snowman in the middle. Shane had the rest of the group wait a moment expecting a trick but upon investigation was bombarded with snowballs throw by air mephits which quickly flew off. Half an hour later they came upon an old man sitting by the side of the road selling "crystal goblets" of water. After the Viglis ate one of the goblets realizing it was simply ice, Horatio pulled a fake beard off one of the mephits who quickly fled. For most of the rest of the day the group heard giggling from around the and Horatio recognized the sounds of the auran language in the winds. As they camped for the evening the mephits returned offering to make them a shelter for the night. Horatio accepted only to find the entrance also covered up by the mischievous mephits in the morning. After some trouble uncovering him the group continued on to a fork in the road. A sign told them a place called Blackbrook was to the left while Stormport was to the right. After a brief discussion the group took the left most path.

January 17: After traveling for a good portion of the day, the group arrived at Blackbrook, finding it to be a tiny thorp. They purchased two rooms at the Twisting Tree and spend some time speaking with Dale, barkeep. Viglis spent some time speaking to the village's blacksmith, a man named Nale. Leo spent some time speaking with a priestess of Pelor named Lana. In the evening, it began to snow heavily. At one point the door slammed open and an orc stepped in throwing a note wrapped around a rock at Lana before leaving. Upon reading it and listening to the party's inquiries she explained that it was a request for "protection money". Shane explained that she thought paying what they asked for would only encourage them and the group offered to go with her to speak with the orc.

After a short walk to the appointed meeting place, the village's graveyard, they found the orc waiting. He spoke for a short time, but it seemed this was just to give his goblin allies time to circle around. After a short battle, Viglis was able to kill the orc and his goblin allies had either fled, or were unconcious. After questioning one of the goblins the group found that there was a large talking wolf which wasallied with the orc. They also found where the orc's lair had been. Upon investigating, they found even more goblins but Horatio was able to convince them that they should leave without a fight as their leader was already dead. On their way back to Blackbrook, they were intercepted by a massive white wolf stepping out of the snow drifts. After growling through a short conversation with Horatio, it attacked, pulling Viglis to the ground. Leo and Shane quickly charged forward as Shu fired his crossbow. The wolf was able to knock several members of the group down with a blast of cold air but Shane was able to brain it while it was focusing on Horatio.

[Paul]

Session 5 Jan 14-17, 1 "The Big City"

Jan 15: After staying another night at "The Twisting Tree", the group spent the day helping to clear away the snow from the previous night's storm. Viglas spent most of his spare time fashioning a sap for Leo. At a little after noon the group was contacted again by Lana who, after once again thanking them for the night before gave them the winter-wolf pelt which had now been cured as well as a wand of healing in thanks.

Jan 16: Awaking early the party prepared to leave but on their way out of the inn they were intercepted by Dale who gave them each 2 "pasties", small meat and vegetable filled pies, in thanks for everything they had done. Shane led the way through the snow drifts with her horse.

Jan 17: After traveling for most of the day Leo and Horatio noticed strange sound from coming over nearby hills. After hearing more noises for a couple minutes the entire group saw a troupe of monkeys charging over a hill top toward them. They could hardly believe their eyes noticing that each had wings. After a short combat during which one of the monkeys enchanted Shane into handing over her flail, and Shu put another to sleep their opponents had all either fled or had been dispatched. As night approached Viglas found a good defensible position for the group to camp at the base of a ruined tower. Having built a fire each person took watch in turn until during Leo and Shu's watch a woman stumbled into the camp, barefoot and with blood on her back before falling unconscious. She was very fair skinned with blond hair and vividly green eyes. Her hair also had red streaks in it. Shu briefly examined her but could not rouse her and Viglas placed her next to the fire to keep her warm.

Jan 18: When the woman who had stumbled upon their camp awoke in the morning she confessed that she could neither remember anything about herself nor even her name. Horatio gave her his cloak and Viglas gave her the name January. Still, Shane suggested she accompany them to Palantyne as she did not seem equipped for travel. After cleaning up the camp the group decided to take an hour detour to follow her tracks to see where she had come from but found them they seemed to simply go on and on. As they returned to the road however they were attack by a massive white bear. Viglas and Shane charged while Leo tumbled behind it. Horatio muttered a few arcane words to sheathe his blades in fire before joining them while Shu blessed them. After a few moments Shane had nearly been killed but she was able to brain the beast.
After spending the rest for the day traveling the group camped for the night to find strange things happen on each watch. During the first watch January could not be awakened by continuously cried while occasionally shouting out in pain. During the second watch she was seen standing in the center of the campfire before looking at Shu and saying "He's waiting for you." She then fell to the ground unconscious. During the third watch there seemed to be a strange chanting from all around them.

Jan 19: In the morning the group questioned January as to what she remembered of the previous night but she could not even remember having dreamed. Continuing on they soon approached the walls of Palantyne where they were briefly questioned and taxed for their weapons before being allowed inside. Horatio brought the winter-wolf to finish being tanned while Leo looked into where the spell-swords guild was. The rest of the group went to various temples and to the Golden Harp where they regrouped. They then went to the Spell-swords guild where after a short wait and showing their letter of introduction they were brought to meet Derek. As he came out of his office, Shu was very surprised to notice that he was accompanied by his father. After Shu's father left Derek was given the letter the group had been carrying. After reading it he identified the groups items as a payment and said he would contact them in the near future. Shu then went to speak with his father, inquiring as to why he had left the east. His father told him, he was there on business. He also continued Shu's training as a samurai. The rest of the group went to different temples which they found had few patrons at the time. Apparently many had been disappearing. Some had been found dead with their eyes glazed white. In the late evening the entire group met back up at "The Golden Harp" where they had dinner while telling each other what they had learned during the day. Eventually Shane went to check on January who had left to the stables some time earlier. There she saw a man holding his hand over Jan's mouth and pulling her out of the stable. He turned to look at Shane and she noticed he had pure white eyes and strange glowing tattoos on his face. Calling for her companions she began a chase...

[Paul]

Session 6 Jan 19-21, 1 "The Chase"

Jan 19: Shane quickly called her companions to her and began to chase after the kidnapper as they rushed to the stables. After following him down several alleyways the group noticed a sewer grate snap into place which Wiglaf and Shane quickly removed before jumping down through the opening and breaking through a layer of ice which covered a shallow river of filth. Fortunately the broken ice made it very easy for them to follow their quarry. However, after a short time of wading through the muck, led by Wiglaf, they were ambushed by a gigantic crocodile. Wiglaf and Shane charged forward while Tod watched the rear, warning his companions as a second crocodile approached from his side. He fought it along with Leo, Horatio, and Shu while Wiglaf and Shane fought it's larger cousin. Shortly Horatio tumbled toward the larger reptile and with his help, Wiglaf and Shane were able to kill it.

Continuing through the sewers they found a giant trash heap which had a Otyugh hiding within it. Shane quickly charged it with Wiglaf as Horatio enchanted his blades at its flank and Todd fired magical bolts of energy at it. Shu healed as Leo threw daggers. They were soon able to finish it off as it constricted Leo trying to make a meal of him. Further on in the sewers, they were attacked by a group of rats, led by a were-rat which although their weapons seemed to be rather inefficient, Todd was able to kill it with more magical missiles causing the rest of the rats to flee. Moments later they were attacked by a carrion crawler which crawled from a stagnant pool, having been disturbed by the melee but were easily able to surround and kill it.

Following the tracks the group found a large curtain covering their path. Wiglaf was about to charge through when Leo called for him to stop, wanting to search for traps but unfortunately this was heard by their target whose lair was on the other side of the curtain. The group was distracted by a massive cloud of whirling blades which shredded the curtain and injured all but the nimble Leo. Seeing the kidnapped January unconscious on the floor, Leo and Horatio charged her kidnapper whose back was to another pool of filth as Shane maneuvered past debris. Wiglaf bull-rushed their opponent into the pool as Leo and Horatio stabbed him from either side. Waving his hand, a blade flew through the air into their enemy's hand but even armed he was quickly cut down.

Searching the room, Leo was able to find several dead members of the churches of Pelor and Heironeus as well as a shortcut to the surface. Todd recognized some of the weapons in the room to be magical and retrieved them as Wiglaf and Shane carried the bodies to the surface. Horatio searched for the city watch with Leo as Wiglaf and Shane watched the bodies. After being interrogated by the city watch and members of two different churches they were taken aside by The Lord Mage, Derek Ranel. After having what happened explained to him he said he would contact them in a few days.

Jan 20-21: Wiglaf found himself sick the next morning from his time spent in the sewer but Shu was able to take care of him while Leo spent some time having the items they had found identified and sold. The next day they were contacted by Derek. He said that he wished to take them into his employ. He needed them to get some information for him at a masquerade ball as he would be watched to carefully while there, but they being well-known enough from their act of ending the kidnappings but not yet connected with him would be ignored without seeming out of place. They would each be allowed a guest and he would supply them with more details by the end of the week.

[Paul]

Session 7: Jan 22-27, 1 "We all wear masks"

The day after having spoken to Derek, Leon and Tyr-Shane were intercepted by a pair of paladins, one of Pelor and the other of Heironeous. Each was to be the official representative of their prospective churches. They were each also given a squire who would help them prepare for the ball and make sure that each looked respectable. The squires accompanied the group through the city later in the week as they looked for more adequate accouterments, while being led by Horatio. Wiglaf also went back to speak with the dwarf Bairn during the week to learn more about his ancestral crest. One evening while the group was having dinner at the Golden Harp, they were approached by a beautiful silver-haired woman with slightly blue tinted skin. She introduced herself as Liza, a friend of Derek's and explained what he requested they do while at the masquerade. There were several factions that were rising among the spell-swords and Derek wished for them to find out anything they could about them. He also hoped they could find anything about their host whom had been connected to a series of dire coincidences recently.

At the end of the week the day of the ball arrived. The group came to the house at which it was taking place and was introduced as they entered the main ballroom. Horatio brought January as a date and began the evening by impressing many of the other guests with his considerable dancing ability. He was soon rudely interrupted by another insisting on cutting it. It was his eldest brother, Porthos Greyhelm. Still, Horatio proved to be the better dancer of the two and January was unimpressed by Porthos' attempts to woo her. Soon Horatio also ran into his other brother Arthur, who seemed somewhat disinterested in the entire affair even as he was civil and showed some affection to his brother.

Meanwhile Shu spoke with various Spell-swords. Many showed interest in him but it seemed most of that interest was in using him as a healer. He did however find out about one of the faction of spell-swords who were interested in using the group's power to help the wilderness. Wiglaf noticed Bairn but spent most of his time at the buffet table or drinking. Tyr-Shane spent some time speaking with Octarius, a the one remaining empowered cleric of Pelor who had introduced himself immediately upon seeing her there. Leo found an empty room and changed from the outfit he had arrived in into another so as to remain unrecognized throughout the night.

Later in the evening, Horatio and Leo explored much of the house as Horatio schmoozed the other guests before heading down to the basement where they found several areas they were not allowed into. Horatio also noticed that his eldest brother was spending a great deal of time speaking with the host, a man named Terence Bitterwood. After a short time Wiglaf came down and distracted one of the guards by getting him drunk. Leo meanwhile searched out one of the locked rooms and found a seemingly abandoned temple. He went to get Tyr-Shane while Horatio convinced the guard, bow very sick from his time drinking with Wiglaf to go lie down and that he would take over for him. Shane recognized the area as a cathedral to Wee-Jas and between her and Leo they recognized that while the area had been made to look abandoned, that most likely was not actually the case as everything of religious significance was in good condition and free of dust. Later, just before the end of the evening, Horatio spent a good deal of time in the library and found a great number of texts dealing with the politics of Aktenor between Palantyne and the Spell-swords that seemed to have had much of recent use.

[Paul]

Session 8: Jan 28-Feb 3, 1 "Ahhhh! A bear???"

The day after the group reported to Derek about what they had learned at the masquerade ball he met them again at "The Golden Harp". There he thanked them for their efforts and informed them that he had another mission for them. He wanted them to look into the disappearance of a hunter of undead named Anadan and find out what they could about his mission. It turned out he had been working for Derek searching for a part of a lich named Kularkuthan's phylactery. While from what they and Derek knew a Lich should not be able to split apart it's phylactery, Derek still insisted it had happened. The last contact with Anadan had been about a month previous when he had been in Tirna'cel and said he was leaving toward a post at the border of Aktenor and Palantyne. The group agreed to take on the mission and in thanks and for compensation for their previous work for him he game them each a small gift and some platinum. He also gave them some gems to cover their future expenses.

The next day was spent getting a draft horse and wagon for the group before they left to the north, having decided to go to Tirna'cel, rather than straight to the post Anadan had been heading towards. When they left, most of the group rode on the wagon while Shane took the lead on her horse. After a time riding into the norther hills they began to hear disturbing howling but were able to brush it off until near dusk they were attacked by two howlers, giant spiked beast whose howl could damage a person's mind. They charged the group from either side snapping at them and attempting to impale them on their spikes. Leo was bitten but Shu was able to heal him before anything serious came of it. Horatio began to take on the other by himself while the rest of the group fought the first. After a short time Wiglaf and Shane were able to finish off the first and Shane helped Horatio finish the second.

The next day they passed several travelers on the road and found the trek becoming more treacherous. As they were setting up their camp however they were once again accosted, this time being attacked by a massive elemental of ice. After a short time fighting most of the groups weapons seemed rather ineffectually but Horatio was able to injure it severely by sheathing his blades with fire. Meanwhile Leo healed him and soon the creature collapsed into a group of shards of ice.

They continued into the mountains until Wiglaf found a cave in which to spend the night but the group was interrupted during Shane's watch as a large man covered by a bear skin came in dragging a dears corpse. After questioning them about why they were in his cave he introduced himself as Dain. They soon found they had missed the pass they were looking for to get to Tirna'cel as part of it had caved in during a recent earthquake. They also found that he had been a guide to Anadan to get from Tirna'cel to a river village where the group decided to go rather than to Tirna'cel once they had been given directions as to how to get their.

They next day the group backtracked to the caved in pass they had missed in the previous day. They spent some time getting the horses and wagon over the cave in before finding another cave in just past it. On the to of that cave-in were several ogres, three goblins, and a salamander. They began to throw rocks and shoot arrows as the salamander shot blasts of fire at them. Wiglaf charged up the slope at the ogres as Horatio and Leon attacked the other. Meanwhile Shane mounted her horse and attempted to get it to charge up the slope while Shu put a goblin to sleep. Leo and Horatio were able to kill their Ogre with Shane's help and Leo climbed up to fight the goblins and Salamander followed by Horatio. Wiglaf finished off his opponent as Shane climbed to the top of the slope to fight the Salamander which dropped its wand and drew a spear. Between the whole group though, it was soon killed.

[Paul]

Session 9: Feb 3-8, 1 "A trip past a water wheel"

Feb 3: After searching the bodies of the ogres and goblins, the group climbed past the rest of the rock slide and continued down the path. They soon came to a path which led to a fork in the road and a sign telling them which way led to Tirna'cel. Having decided to avoid Tirna'cel in hopes of catching up with Anadan sooner, they took the other path. Soon the trail began to degenerate in to mere cairns meant to help travelers prevent themselves from becoming lost. Even so, Wiglaf was still able to find a decent place to camp. That night however, while on watch Leo noticed a huge hulking shape coming toward their camp. Quickly waking the rest of the group they found it to be a troll, intent on using them for a meal. Shane and Wiglaf jumped to their feet as Leo and Horatio flanked the creature. Tod fired magic missiles at it and Horatio caused his blades to blaze. While Shane, Leo, and Wiglaf were able to seriously injure it, only Horatio's flaming weapons were able to do any real lasting damage and thus when the troll fell, Leo quickly grabbed wood from the fire to burn the body. Mere hours later the group was attacked again, this time by wolverines as large as horses. The monsters dealt no mortal wounds to the group but they feared another attack might finish them. Horatio suggested before going back to their bedrolls that they should move the bodies as the burnt troll corpse might have been what attracted the wolverines. Fortunately, they were not attacked for the rest of the night.

Feb 4-6: The next day Wiglaf found that they had wandered off the trail but was able to lead the group back to it by evening. A day later they arrived at the village which they had been looking for, which they soon learned was called "Rock-river". Inside they went to "The Bronzed Frog" owned by a half sea-elf named Baraistel. While talking to him they learned that Anadan had indeed been to the town and had left down river to the town of "Fangrel". He also told them about the towns mill which many people would explore when they came to the village. Intrigued, the group visited the tourist trap. Where they found that the mill, rather than being what they expected, was completely run by giant water-wheel. They also found many trinkets being sold. Leo went to the towns general store where he sold some of the items they had gotten off the goblins before they all returned to "The Bronzed Frog" where they had a meal of fried fish and Horatio told Baraistel about their adventures before being questioned about the group's name. At that point many different ideas were thrown up but seeing that they did not yet have one, he left to speak with other customers. The next day Leo spent some time at the docks looking for a boat to charter for their journey to "Fangrel" and while he did find one, the group would have to wait until the next day to leave. He also agreed that instead of paying, the group would defend the barge. At this point the group returned to "The Bronzed Frog", where they spent most of the day speaking with Baraistel.

Feb 7-8: Rising early, the group joined the barge and began the journey down stream. They decided to keep watches during the day as well as the night as they were guarding the boat. On the second day a person was sighted watching them from shore as were 2 large bulges in the water. Moments later the bulges took vaguely humanoid form. One holding the barge and the other coming onto it to attack. The group immediately rallied a defense only to find the man on the shore call lightning down on them. Tod fired magic at him making him have to stop to defend himself while Horatio attacked the elemental which was holding their boat and Leo attempted to leap to shore. He was unfortunately unable to make the jump and spent a short time sputtering and trying to keep his head above the water. Meanwhile as one elemental was slain, the other climbed onto the boat and began to attack Horatio as Shane steered the boat toward the shore with the help of Wiglaf. Leo finally made it to the shore and the druid drew a sickle while calling his remaining elemental to aid him. Horatio then leaped into the shallows to help Leo as the barge came ashore behind him. Leo and Horatio were able to finish off the druid and elemental just as Shane came ashore. She then bound the druid's hands and wounds so that she might bring him to justice and question him.

[Paul]

Session 10: Feb 8-10, 1 "Let's annoy them into submission"

After having bound the druid, the group took their captive and continued down the river. Wiglaf wanted to gut him but Leo and Shane felt they would be better off bringing him to the proper authorities. Leo took some time to interrogate him and found that he had been attacking ships "in defense of nature" for some time and decided it was his duty to keep the man company for the rest of the journey, or at least until he begged to be handed over to the dwarf. The next day the group arrived at the docks near Fangrel which they had been traveling to and deciding to try to make the town by nightfall, began their journey with the now unconscious druid in the back of their wagon. As night approached they saw lights to the right of the road and began the leave the path, thinking them to be from the town only to be attacked by a huge pair of "Swamplight Lynxes". One charged out of the swamps at Shane while the other attacked Wiglaf from the other side. Leo and Horatio quickly came to their aid while Shu healed and Tod cast a previously unseen spell, blasting one of the giant cats with flames. Soon the lynxes dropped their prey only to have one of the two gutted by the combined efforts of Leo and Wiglaf while the other fled.

Soon after getting back onto the road the group came to the actual town of Fangrel where after being questioned at the gates they were led to the city's barracks where they deposited the druid and where Horatio stayed for a short time to fill out a report. Meanwhile the rest of the group went to "The Boarhound" where they paid for rooms for the night and a dinner of a gray stew. Leo spoke with the barkeep and learned that Anadan had been there a few weeks prior but had left hastily after some business with a necromancer who was currently incarcerated at the barracks. Horatio suggested they question the necromancer and scheduled and appointment at the barracks for them the next day with Shane and Wiglaf while Leo led Tod and Shu to the market place to sell the rest of their loot from the ogres and druid. While walking through town however, Shu was almost bowled over by a young woman who bombarded him with questions and hung on his arm up until they went to meet the necromancer at his jail cell. Their Leo spent his time showing how much of a bother he would be if the man did not tell them what they wanted to know until finally the group was led away. They then decided to search out his tower but unfortunately found their path barred by a lock Leo could not pick. Wiglaf however was able to scale the tower's wall and climb in through a hole in the roof after which he let the group in from the inside. Inside the tower they found many abandoned rooms including the necromancer's bedroom and library where they found a chess board which Leo and Tod took and some information on phylacteries in a book which Leo took. They then returned to the barracks where Leo tried to get another audience with the necromancer but was refused as he did not wish to be further antagonized.

[Paul]

Session 11: Feb 11-19, 1 "Pay no attention to the necromancer behind the curtain"

Feb 11:Horatio rose early to try one last time to speak with the necromancer alone. After speaking with the guard for a time and sending a message to him in his jail cell he was finally allowed to speak with the prisoner. Garth (necromancer) started the conversation mentioning Horatio's surname and soon admitted that he did know where Anadan had gone but required a service in return. At his trial the next day Horatio would have to plead his case stating that he needed the necromancer's help so that Garth might get a more lenient sentence. Horatio then returned to the rest of the group to discuss this with them. Leo did not want to have anything to do with the plan but Tyr-shane and Shu reluctantly agreed with Horatio that it seemed their only option. Horatio spent the rest of the day speaking with various sources about Garth's crimes before together the entire group went to speak with the newly arrived magistrate in the evening. He introduced himself as Magistrate Falgir and after speaking with Horatio for a short time allowed the group to examine the items that had been confiscated from the necromancer. They found, an adamantine dagger, a spell book, a massive cauldron, and some uniform pieces of glass. Horatio, Shu and Tod examined them to find that the cauldron was a device which could create zombies from corpses and could be used to help create a lich's phylactery. The glass disks could be used to trap devils. Then, after making a formal request to attend Garth's hearing they returned to "The Boarhound" to go to bed.

Feb 12: Rising early the group met to discuss their plans for the day. Soon they went to speak with Garth and tell him their decision that they would ask for a lighter sentence for him if he gave them his help. At the trial they listened to his charges which ranged from grave robbing, to possession of illegal magical devices, to the creation of undead. The magistrate, because of the Greyhelm name being known and respected as were the spell-swords Horatio was working for, gave Garth a light sentence of three months under Horatio's watchful eye on the condition that he would give his full cooperation in Horatio's affairs. After the trial the group spoke with Garth about the whereabouts of Anadan learning he had gone to the valley of Kyuss. They then spent the rest of the day in the town before leaving early the next morning with Garth.

Feb 13: Early in the morning the group began their journey to Horatio's family's keep They traveled for most of the day before coming to a gypsy dancing and singing at a fire. Most of the group found this odd but Shane was captivated and got down off her horse to walk toward her. Moments later the illusion was seen for what it actually was, a hideous harpy, and the group attacked. Another harpy flew from nearby bushes to aid it's ally but the pair were quickly driven off.

Feb 14: The group finished their trek toward Greyhelm keep where they met Horatio's father. He seemed somewhat terse with Horatio but they were given rooms to stay in and were invited to feast none the less. Horatio also insured that Garth could be left their and left the necromancer's spell book with his mother for safe keeping.

Feb 15-19: Heading away from Greyhelm keep, the group headed back toward the swamps and toward the valley of Kyuss. After several days of travel east they found the path they weer searching for leading to the north. Following it they set up camp only to have a nightmare, an evil flaming horse, charge into the camp. Luckily they were awakened by Tod's alarm spell and were not caught completely by surprise. Shu bravely charged forward drawing his blade and cutting into the beast in an single cut. Shane and Horatio quickly joined him as Leo threw a dagger and Tod fired magical bolts of energy at the beast. Leo and Horatio then ham-stringed the creature from each side as Shu healed Shane and moments later she smashed the monster's face to pieces with her flail.

[Paul]

Session 12: Feb 20-24, 1 "I guess we can keep running into helpful strangers?"

Feb 20: After their ordeal fighting the nightmare, the group rose early to continue their trek into the swamp. They traveled for most of the day but progress was slow because of the cart. As evening approached they saw a lone figure atop a horse step out of the underbrush into their path. He introduced himself as Spero and after speaking with Shane for a short time revealed that he had been traveling with Anadan until a few days prior when their group was attacked by a group of zombies and was split up. Shane then revealed that the group was in fact looking for Anadan and requested that as Spero was looking for his former companions, that he lead them. Agreeing, he took point and Shane took up rear guard. An hour later Spero began to search for a campsite but while doing to the group was attacked by 2 giant plant creatures, shambling mounds. Horatio tumbled off the wagon to fight one as Shane fought the other. Leo moved to assist Shane while Shu cast speels to strengthen the group and Tod Spit and Spero rained down cover-fire. Soon the monsters looked like nothing more than piles of rotten fruit.

Feb 21: The group continued their journey deeper into the swamp the next day and were able to make good progress with Spero leading them. He was easily able to find safe paths for their horses and wagon. That evening they discussed their travels with him before setting up watches and going to bed. During Shane's watch however they were awoken from one of Spit's alarm spells being triggered. Moments later they spotted a strange biped moving toward their camp. The digester spit a long stream of acid at Shane and Spero temporarily incapacitating the former. Horatio quickly leaped to his feat and charged the monster as Shu helped Shane. Spero climbed onto his horse so as to be able to shoot at the creature from a higher position as Spit cast more spells. Shane once revived by Shu got to her feet and finished the creature off.

Feb 22-24: The next day the group found themselves entering the valley of Kyuss. There they found no signs of life, not even mosquitoes bothered them but Spero insisted that this was where he had passed through with Anadan. At the end of their second day in the valley they finally found the remnants of Anadan's camp and in it, part of his journal. The remaining part of the journal read as follows:

Many at the city of Stormport seem to have been having complaints about swarms of bony creatures attacking them. After a short investigation we seem to have determined that unsurprisingly they have been localized near the graveyard.

After meeting with the gravedigger and hearing his complaints we learned of a newly uncovered crypt. Apparently a passageway to it opened up during a recent earthquake. We will search it out tomorrow.

After a short trek through the sewers we were able to find the newly opened crypt. It seemed it had once belonged to a noble who was killed many year previous, Tavala said we should look into what we could find about him before Continuing and I agreed.

We were able to find some more information about the noble whose tomb has been opened up. He was apparently killed by a massive swarm of rats and could not be raised despite many attempts.

As we ventured into the crypt we were attacked by swarm after swarm of bone rats. We quickly found that the only way to fight them efficiently was by smashing them to pieces. Swords and spears were useless. In the depths of the crypt we found what seemed to be a nest. As we expected massive blasts of fire were quite effective at eradicating the creatures. As is true with many undead, cold seemed useless against them.

Today we met with Derek Ranel, the Lord-Mage and agreed to his terms. We will gladly search out anything we can about the Phylactery of this lich he is searching for even if it will take us through the borderlands and into the swamps of Aktenor.

We finally have a leads. We have brought one of the necromancers to justice and have learned that apparently one of the other men who had helped with the creation of the foul creature went to hide a piece of its phylactery in a cave to the east. I have been able to procure a map to the area but the necromancer himself laughed at me claiming it to be an abandoned valley and even his companion did not return. What truly puzzles me though is the fact that he mentioned it being a piece of the lich’s phylactery. I did not believe they could be broken up without being destroyed. This does not bode well for the future.

Felinor seems to have contracted some sort of swamp fever but it is nothing I was unable to take care of. This valley still seems like a terrifying place even as we have not been attacked since entering it. Every man claims to see movement from all sides and during watches they claim to hear voices and to see lights.

After entering the valley things seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. We were ambushed by creatures, much like zombies, whose very appearance drove fear into the hearts of many of my most experienced companions. Many fled into the swamps and I can only hope they fared better than the rest of us. We did manage to destroy the worm infested spawn but not without paying a terrible price. The worms in their bodies leapt onto us and burrowed into our flesh. One companion, in a frenzy, cut off his own arm to get the worm out of his body only to bleed to death. I however was not so lucky as to have an arm to cut off. Wriggling past my armor my worm had burrowed into my chest. Tavala ran out into the mist filled bog where I could hear her screaming frantically until suddenly, there was quiet. Even now I can feel the worm burrowing through me into my neck. I only hope journal hlp other peepl… Tavala back… she see me… drool… not drool… worm… chew… no… me live… not want die… hurt… hrrrttt… hhungrrrieee…

After reading the disturbing ending the group debated how wise remaining would be. Leo asked if there was anything else that Derek had wanted them to do and Spit brought up that they could still finish Anadan's mission as they were relatively close to where he had determined the Phylactery to be. Eventually it was decided that traveling back through the swampy valley at night would be too dangerous so they made camp.

During the night another of Spit's alarm spells went off and the party was awakened to find themselves being ambushed by two zombies one of which Spero recognized as Anadan. They were filled with small worms which attempted to hop from their hosts to new victims as the zombies attacked. Fortunately none were able to burrow into any of the party members and soon the pair were defeated. Leo searched the one which was recognized as Anadan while Spero searched the other. However, just as the search was completed and Leo picked up a compass off of Anadan's corpse a massive flesh golem burst from the swamp and charged him...

[Paul]

Session 13: Feb 20-24, 1 "Everywhere belongs to someone; Joining the Tribe"

Feb 24: As the golem charged Shu called out "LEON needs HELP!" as Leon tumbled away. Shane immediately charged forward swinging with his morning-star and crunching was heard as bones broke from within the creature. Spero fired arrows to distract it while Shu charged the creature slashing at it's torso and Spit threw blasts of fire at it. Horatio quickly climbed into the wagon and pulled out the necromancer's adamantine dagger and shouted "Use this!" as Leon tumbled up onto the golem's shoulders. Being tossed the dagger Leon Slashed wildly at the monster's back before being thrown to the ground. Moments later Shane was able to finish smashing it to pieces. Leo, upon searching the golem, found several scrolls and a small spellbook in an iron box within it's chest. After distributing the items Shane and Horatio carried the golem's body away from the camp before throwing it into the bog.

Feb 25: Using the compass that they had found on Anadan to make sure they were going in the right direction, Spero continued to lead them through the swamp until after passing between a pair of huge dead trees. Immediately a large group of skeletons stepped out of the shadows. A huge well-armored man with red glowing eyes stood behind the creatures and immediately demanded to know why the group was trespassing in his grove. Horatio quickly stepped forward and apologized to the armored warrior for their intrusion. After a short discussion he promised they would immediately leave but requested one form his skeletal entourage to guide them around the grove so that they would not accidentally enter again. The death knight grudgingly accepted and one skeleton stepped forward as he faded into the shadows. While following the skeleton around the grove Spero was able to lead them past the dangers of the swamps that did not bother their skeletal guide. The group then continued on for several more hours so as to camp as far away from the grove as they could.

Feb 25: After traveling through the next day Horatio was interrupted during his watch by a large group of lizard men with two who were the size of ogres. They stated that they had entered the territory of their tribe and were trespassing. Horatio convinced the lizard-men not to attack but could not get them to agree to allow the group through their territory. Eventually the lizards said they would bring any who were willing to give up their weapons to see their shaman who might be willing to grant their request. Spit made a big deal about not wanted to give up his 'spellbook' while Shane and Shu were reticent about giving up their weapons. Horatio and Spero agrees but Leo flat out refused claiming they would be left helpless. Eventually when the rest of the group seemed to feel it was thier only option, he grumbling relented. The lizard-men said they would return the next day to guide them to their village.

Feb 26: The next morning the group was awakened by an even larger group of lizard-men who after commandeering all of their weapons and Spit's "spellbook" lead them to their village. Their they were brought to meet with the villages shaman. Upon entering the shaman's hut they found she was strange, even for a lizard-person as who lower body was that of a snake. She discussed what the party wished for a short time and eventually agreed to allow the group to pass through their land and she would answer their questions under several conditions.
-First, they would have to join the tribe by winning a trial by combat.
-Second, they would have to return in the near future to leave an appropriate offering for their snake goddess.
-Third, they would have to come to the aid of the tribe if it were even in need.

After a short discussion the group agreed and after being given back some of their weapons were led to the middle of the village where they saw a huge ankylosaurus (Mace-tailed dinosaur) being brought out. They were warned that if they were to kill the creature, they themselves would be killed and were then pushed forward. After a short battle they were bloodied but alive and their opponent was unconscious. The shaman immediately slithered toward it to heal it before approaching the group. She told them about the item they were searching for saying they had delivered it to a black dragon who lived at the far edge of the valley on the edge of their territory. They would occasionally offer it tribute to leave them alone but other than that and their delivery they generally did not make contact with it. She also identified several of their items for them in exchange for a pouch of emeralds.

[Paul]

Session 14: Feb 27- Apr 1, 1 "Endings... for now..."

Feb 27: On the first day out of the lizard-folk village there finally seemed to be some signs of life in the valley. The group noticed that Horatio had found a familiar, i tiny feathered velociraptor. It eyed Leo hungrily but mostly nipped and Horatio's fingers. After a short time however they were ambushed by larger raptors, sans the feathers. They attacked in unison from all sides trying to catch the group unaware, some attacking horses while others attacked those in the wagons. Horatio immediately hopped off the wagon to defend the horses while Spero attacked one with a rolling ball of flame and his spear. Leo and Spit double teamed another while Shane attacked one from horseback. Shu blessed the group and attacked with his sword. After a few of the raptors were killed, the rest fled thinking that they would find easier meals elsewhere.

March 1: After 2 more days of travel the compass led the group directly into a swamp. Spero noticed a mostly submerged cave sticking out from under the water and after mentioning it to the rest of the group, Horatio and Spit began discussing what they new of black dragons and their lairs. Leo used his helmet to cast protection from acid and attempted to swim forward to investigate but never having prided himself on his swimming ability quickly returned. Spero then shifted into a crocodile and swam into the cave, finding it led to a room with piles of gold and a huge stone thrown. The rest soon followed as he tugged the rope they had attached to him but Spit had a hard time making it so he returned and carried the sorcerer into the lair in his mouth.

Moments after their arrival the black dragon returned bursting from another pool. They scattered and Spit used a scroll of energy resistance to protect himself as it spit out a blast of acid. Shane charged the monster as Horatio maneuvered to attack it from behind. Spero changed back from his crocodile form and after healing himself began to lay down cover fire for the group while Leo tumbled into a flanking position. Shu healed Shane and skirted around the outside of the combat as Leo tumbled toward him to be healed after nearly being eviscerated for his efforts. Shane and Horatio were able to seriously injure the dragon but it retaliated with another stream of acid which knocked Shane out. Moments later Leo used his angel-helm to heal the paladin before hamstringing the dragon as Shane leaped to her feet attacking it from behind as it's attention was on Horatio who had pierced it all the way though it's leg. After knocking him down it turned back to Shane and Leo only to have Shu sneak up behind it to heal Horatio who was able to slay it. After catching their breath the group searched the dragons hoard and were able to find mirror which reflected only a skeletal face. It seemed to be the phylactery they were searching for. Spero and Spit began to butcher the dragon for its scales and claws. The rest of the group examined the treasure which included an intelligent flying carpet which quickly befriended Spit. A few hours later they returned to their waiting mounts and wagon and set up camp for the night.

March 3-16: The group returned to Horatio's family's keep the way they had come stopping for a day at the lizard-folk village. While there, they spoke once again with the village shaman and gave her a large supply of dragon meat as a sacrifice for their snake goddess. The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful and they were able to make it to Greyhelm keep.

March 17- April 1: Having returned to Horatio's home with most of a dragon's corpse, the group was given a warm welcome. Even Horatio's gruff father showed some signs of approval. While in the keep, Spero had a new dragon-bone bow fashioned and enchanted for him as well as a set of armor made from the dragon's scales. Horatio had a large dagger made from one of the dragon's teeth while the rest of the group had smaller pieces made into trophies. Leo dropped off the empty box they had taken out of the golem with the necromancer as a parting gift. After a few days another group arrived at the keep who were searching for them. The group was led by an elf named Yumil who had served at the siege of Palerias. He had been sent after them by Derek Ranel to find why they were sending no progress reports and to make sure nothing had happened to them. He had an odd following including a cleric and a paladin of Thor who were keeping one of their other companions (who never spoke within 20 feet of the cleric) on a short leash for most of the time. The cleric spent some time speaking with Tyr-Shane of the glories of Thor. There was also a red-headed mercenary woman who had served with Yumil at Palerias. After a day at the keep they said they would return to Palantyne to inform Derek that "The Messengers" would soon be returning from their mission, having found Anadan dead, but with the phylactery. After having spent a little more than a week at the keep the group finally headed on their way once again to Palerias, where they arrived on the last day of the month and arranged a meeting with Derek for the next day.