Eyre 6-Eyre 22
As the Cardinal got his bearings after several weeks in statue form, he explained to the Wolves the dangers of the Demon Wastes. Inside the Wastes, they would face deadly heat and a variety of fiendish beings who dwelled within. That assumed they could get past the Ghaash'kala, or "Ghost Guardians," the barbarian tribe sworn to prevent anyone from entering the Labyrinth, the natural formation of caverns and mesas that sealed the Demon Wastes away from the rest of Khorvaire.
In order to aid them, the Cardinal provided them with a few essentials. First he gave them his Decanter of Endless Water, which would ensure that they didn't go thirsty in the Wastes. Then he confirmed that the map they had found was probably a map to the compound of the Order of the Corrupting Flame, somewhere in the middle of the Wastes. Most importantly, he sent a message spell to Gorash Orno, a member of the Ghaash'kala. Gorash was a half-orc who had grown up in Thrane, and whose family still lived there, and the Cardinal was a family friend who had known the half-orc since his days as an infant. He called in favors owed by Gorash to guide the Wolves into the Labyrinth.
The Cardinal explained that though he could get Gorash to bend his oaths about letting someone enter the Wastes, even with the connection between the Silver Flame and the Binding Flame that the Ghaash'kala worshiped and the Cardinal's friendship, there was no way to get Gorash to bend on his oath to prevent anyone from leaving. The Ghaash'kala believed that anyone who entered the Wastes was potentially corrupted, and thus they would not let anyone out. In order to provide the Wolves with some sort of escape, the Cardinal told them he would arrange a vessel to sail around the other side of the coast with Verodin Atrelioth onboard. With any luck, a combination of Lysander's scrying and Brand's teleportation would allow them to board the boat. Brand asked about teleportation within the Wastes, and the Cardinal generally advised against it, saying that the magic of the Rakshasa Rajahs might interfere with it unpredictably.
Fearing that Whitehearth would not survive in the Wastes, Brand sent him back to his mother's village. The Wolves then set out along the Shadowcrags to get to the rendezvous point the Cardinal had arranged with Gorash.
After traveling for the better part of a day, the Wolves came to look up on the Labyrinth, a vast network of canyons and mesas that forms a natural maze of stone, some hundreds of miles across. Standing at a crack that made an entrance into the maze was a six and a half foot tall half orc dressed in burned and bloodied leather armor, a holy metal sword at his side. This was Gorash Orno. He warned the Wolves to turn back, warning them that even if they survived to reach their foes, they might be corrupted by the very nature of the Wastes. The Wolves insisted that they had to go in, Luggoth insisting more firmly than all the rest, and Gorash grimly agreed to take them in.
The heat was overwhelming, but Pel quickly set up a routine where he would cast a resistance to energy on everyone but Brand, who was wearing the Zakya's ring of heat resistance, at the beginning of each day. As a result, they were able to ignore the adverse effects of the heat, as well as avoiding dehydration with frequent use of the Cardinal's decanter.
Gorash told them that the journey would take them about twenty days at a standard pace, but he hoped to march longer each day and cut the time by as much as half. With the eternal rations that Brand had, as well as those they had acquired from the Zakya, they wouldn't have to hunt for the first eight days of the journey, which would help as well.
The Wolves generally managed to travel 12 hours each day instead of 8, although every day it tested the endurance of at least one of their number to do so.
In the middle of the first day of travel, the Wolves got their first taste of the dangers of the Wastes that did not involve the heat. As they walked through the caverns, at least one hundred feet tall on each side, an enormous ball of what seemed like lava began rolling toward them, pseudopods of flame and magma writhing in and out of its form. None of them could identify it, although Lysander guessed that it was some kind of ooze.
Pel aimed the Decanter of Endless Water, preparing to use its geyser effect on the massive ooze. As Brand and Luggoth began firing arrows to no noticeable effect, Gorash drew his longsword, Lysander began singing and Maechen entered Prophetic Favor. Then they had their next surprise about the nature of the ooze, as it moved its pseudopods in such a way to suggest spellcasting, and indeed tried to put Maechen and Lysander into a deep sleep, which they resisted.
Maechen blasted the ooze with an ice knife, which seemed to have an effect of slightly slowing and wounding it. Luggoth tried two more arrows, having some minor effect thanks to the magical nature of his bow, and Lysander began firing arrows from his magical bow as well. Seeing the minimal effect, Brand dropped his bow and pulled out his swords, moving up to draw the creature out, and Gorash moved up with him.
The ooze charged in, grabbing Brand with a powerful physical blow, and he could feel some kind of ooze in his system, but it was having no effect thanks to his ring of fire protection. Maechen tried a lightning bolt, but couldn't get past the ooze's magic resistance, and Luggoth decided to switch from his bow to his sword, as Pel unleashed a spray of water from the Decanter to minimal effect.
Gorash rushed in to help Brand, and was punched by the ooze in response, but he managed to attack in kind with his sword, sending jets of lava to the ground like spurting blood.
Maechen cast Haste to give the Wolves and their ally an advantage, and Brand tried to slip free of the ooze's grasp, finally deciding to dimension leap away from the creature's grasp. Luggoth charged in and joined Gorash in hacking at the ooze, but the creature responded by smashing and grabbing both of them, and they were held fast, struggling against its demonic strength. Pel gave up on the Decanter and threw a vial of holy water at the ooze, which sizzled on its surface, causing it some pain, but it was completely unclear how hurt (or not) the creature was.
Maechen used a spell to determine the creature's abilities and vulnerabilities, learning that they needed magical bludgeoning weapons to hurt it, and that it was vulnerable to ice, but somewhat resistant as well. As he shouted this information out, Brand grabbed Maechen's club, intending to give it to Luggoth when he broke free, but instead he had to rush over and dimension door Gorash away from the ooze before their guide was killed. Pel blasted away with magic missiles, but was unable to overcome the creature's spell resistance.
As Maechen cast a spell to give himself a bronze dragon's lightning breath and blasted the ooze, Luggoth managed to struggle free of the creature's grip and run back to join Brand and Gorash. Everyone was free, and someone suggested the idea of escape rather than battle. Even the dedicated Gorash had no trouble agreeing to this, but they hit a snag as the ooze moved with surprising speed and grabbed Pel, Maechen and Pel. Brand used one of his last dragonmark abilities for the day to teleport Maechen away, and Lysander used his dragonmark to summon a shadow ice storm while Pel fired his wand of magic missiles inside the ooze.
Exhausting his dragonmark completely, Brand teleported Lysander and Pel away as Maechen breathed lightning on the ooze once more. Before the ooze could close again, Luggoth grabbed Maechen and ran, with the rest of the Wolves close behind him.
Later that night, burned and beaten, the Wolves used Daern's Instant Tent to rest and recover. Worrying about how long they could keep up this pace, they exhausted healing spells and magic wands of healing to get everyone back up to full strength for the next day.
On the next day, again at about midday, they had their second encounter with the denizens of the Labyrinth. As they were walking, Brand caught a shadow on the ground, and looking up carefully and subtly, he spotted that they were being watched. There were some eight beasts following them, each about the size of a large cat, coming from different sides of the cavern.
Brand identified them as feral yowlers, the results of long-lost magical breeding experiments. They were pack hunters, evil and cruel, and they hunted by using a fearful yowl that shook their targets and made them easier prey. Even as he related this, the yowlers let loose with their piercing cry, and even the hardened Wolves found themselves a bit distracted by it.
Fortunately, Lysander was able to counter the effect as he began belting out a bawdy elven war song, and the Wolves leaped into action. Brand rushed forward into one of the groups, slashing at one of the yowlers, as Luggoth went to another cavern and attacked a different one, shifting as he did so. Maechen cast Haste once more, although Brand was outside its effect, and Gorash charged up to help the ranger as Pel fired his crossbow at one of the yowler's high up in the cliffs.
The yowlers pounced down into the canyons, moving in groups to attack. The battle soon split into threes, with Gorash and Brand defending against three of the yowlers on one side, Luggoth battling two others on the other side and Maechen, Lysander and Pel dealing with the remaining three in the center.
Lysander acquitted himself well, stabbing his rapier into the neck of one of the yowlers and then swinging his sword back around to stab it in the foreleg, putting it off-balance and allowing Pel to slash at its vital points twice with his scimitar. To their dismay, even three well-landed blows, though bloody and effective, didn't bring down one of the hideous catlike creatures. Brand discovered the same thing when he swung a salvo of three blows at one of his attackers, and Luggoth discovered a nasty property they had, a gift from their displacer beast traits, that gave them a minor displacement effect.
The yowlers struck back with claws and teeth, and they nipped at heels and legs, trying to trip their foes or distract them to help their pack-mates. Gorash was badly wounded, but all of the Wolves were feeling the results of multiple wounds, even as they continued to swing their attacks at the same beasts, none of which would seem to fall. Maechen flew into the air and breathed Silver Dragon breath, but the yowlers resisted its paralyzing effects.
Finally, after a barrage of rapier blows from Lysander, Pel was able to flank a badly wounded yowler and finish it off with his scimitar. Lysander tumbled over to flank the other yowler attacking the changeling, and he stabbed another well-struck blow from his rapier, stabbing into the creature's spine and causing electricity to run all through it and down its tail. To his dismay, this didn't kill the yowler. On the other side of the canyon, Brand felled his first yowler with a deadly strike through the chestbone, and it fell in a bloody heap.
The yowlers regrouped and attacked again, knocking down Pel and Luggoth and tearing Gorash's chest so badly that he fell unconscious, bleeding into the sandy floor of the Labyrinth. Brand wasted no time teleporting him across the cavern, but one of the yowlers they had been fighting followed, even as the other one moved to help its pack.
Luggoth didn't get up, instead slashing with his greatsword from the ground, killing one of the yowlers he had been attacking and starting in on the other one. Lysander continued to move and attack, stabbing with his rapier and trying to stay out of the way of the yowlers' teeth and claws, wounding one badly enough that Maechen was able to kill it with a well-aimed magic missile.
As Pel cast a healing spell on himself and Brand used a wand to help Gorash get up, the yowlers attacked once more. One of them bit Lysander in the arm, the other began stalking towards Brand, who was unable to get his sword out in time because of the use of the wand. However, the badly wounded Gorash, his sword drawn, stepped in front of his savior and slashed at the incoming yowler, wounding it badly and dodging its return attack. Maechen, meanwhile, used his dragon breath to paralyze one of the yowlers who had moved in to attack Pel and Lysander.
As Luggoth continued to chop from the ground, Pel and Lysander teamed up on another one, and the yowlers' numbers were diminishing. Lysander stabbed his foe in the chest, leaving a bloody, sucking chest wound, as, on the other side of the canyon, Brand finished off the yowler that had come after him and Gorash. Luggoth slashed at the hamstring of the last yowler attacking him, and it began to run pitifully away, as did its deeply wounded friend, but Luggoth killed it with a throwing axe, and Maechen touched down on the ground to smash the skull of the paralyzed yowler with his club. The last yowler, its chest wound leaving gouts of blood behind, wasn't fast enough to escape, and the Wolves fell upon it and killed it.
Badly wounded after the battle, the Wolves and Gorash nevertheless managed to travel a full day and a half again, and used a number of healing spells and abilities while resting in their tent. Fortunately, the next two days were uneventful, save for the brutal endurance tests that 12 hours of daily marching were causing.
On the fourth night, Brand heard a loud sound outside their tent, and when he looked out, he saw a massive, fiendish tyrannosaurus rex charging toward them. The Wolves and Gorash scrambled out, and as Lysander cast Allegro to increase their speed, Brand popped the tent closed and they fled from the frustrated beast, which watched its dinner speed magically away.
After an hour or so, they found another campsite and rested uneventfully until morning.
The next day, as they traveled, the screaming winds that echoed through the caverns were replaced by a loud whooshing sound, and a flash flood swept through the Labyrinth. Luggoth, Lysander and Maechen managed to scramble to higher ground, but Gorash, Pel and Brand were swept away in the flood. They managed to keep their heads above water and avoid the boulders and trees caught up in the maelstrom, and Maechen, using his flight spell, was able to fly ahead and catch them and get them out of the water. The Wolves waited for the rushing water to die down and then were on their way again.
This was the general tone for their march, a couple of days of uneventful travel interrupted by the occasional rockslide or flood or deadly creature. They ran afoul of a bluespawn godslayer that found Maechen's draconic alliances offensive, but they were able to flee from the beast with the help of Allegro, and they battled and killed a pair of greathorn minotaurs that thought the Wolves would make a tasty snack.
After eight days had passed and their eternal rations were expended, they found themselves traveling slower, even at forced march speeds, because they had to keep an eye out for food. The hunting was sparse, but with Gorash's knowledge and Luggoth and Brand's skills, they were able to hunt enough game to keep the group fed.
Finally, just over two weeks later, they emerged at last from the Labyrinth. Gorash pointed out across the expanse of volcanic wasteland, telling them that they should be careful, because being out in the open on the Wastes would be more dangerous than the Labyrinth. He guessed that at the speed they had maintained through the Labyrinth, it would probably take them about six days to get to the Order's fortress. He also told them that whichever of them survived should come to find him, and perhaps they could join his tribe. He had found them brave warriors, and he owed Brand in particular a debt of gratitude for saving his life.
Flattered but not entirely pleased by the notion of staying the Wastes as members of the Ghaash'kala, the Wolves turned to face the next leg of their journey: A week long trek across the Wastes in search of a deadly group of former Silver Flame warriors who had lived in this vast expanse for over twenty years.
XP
900 XP (Brand/Pel/Maechen)
667 XP (Lysander/Luggoth)
1600 XP (Gorash)
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Eberron Adventure Journal: The Demons' Prophecy (5)
Therendor 13-Eyre 6, YK 999
Upon deciding they were safe from immediate reprisals from Solgar, the Wolves went directly to Oura Gellast to tell her what they had learned. When they told her that he was a Rakshasa, she was shocked and worried. She insisted that they had to get out of Thaliost and Thrane immediately. "Solgar is more dangerous than I'd guessed... he'll have trumped up charges within the hour. You need to cross the border into Aundair."
Oura agreed to come with them, but only after she had gotten Rav Corus, the priest who had covered for her. He'd be in danger as well. Brand used his connections to get first class passage booked to Fairhaven on the afternoon lightning rail, but just before the train was to depart, a young boy gave them a note indicating that Oura wasn't coming. She couldn't leave others behind to face the danger for her.
The journey into Aundair was relatively brief, although it was about 20 hours until they reached the city of Fairhaven in the early evening the next day. Onboard the train, the Wolves took time to rest and heal, and Lysander tried to scry Cardinal Ossul Hetrion, but he was unable to find him.
Upon arrival in Fairhaven, they went to the House Cannith enclave to see if Lady Elaydren was available. As luck would have it, she had returned from her honeymoon in Stormhome three days prior, and she met them in a lush reception chamber with cheese, wines and open arms. She also had a message, in a sealed envelope, that was addressed to Maechen Eyre in Draconic tongue.
The message was from his master, who indicated, in the usual obtuse speech of a dragon, that they should go to the Eldeen Reaches and Brand's mother, which would take them on the next leg of their journey, according to the will of the Prophecy. Elaydren offered to hide them for as long as she could, even if it put her own position in jeopardy, but they didn't need to take her up on her offer, as they decided to follow the directives of Maechen's master and head to the Eldeen Reaches. Elaydren offered them magebred horses and provisions, an offer they did accept.
Before they left Fairhaven, however, they had some messages to send and errands to run. Pel sent a vague, coded message to Brand's mother to expect visitors, but to be wary of danger, and he also sent a coded message to Alestair Marktaros in Trolanport to apprise him of their travel plans. Lysander sent a message to Arenydee and his superiors in House Phiarlan to give them an update, and Luggoth sent a message to Savannah that Sharn might not be safe, and that she should be especially careful.
After that, Lysander and Pel went to seek information about a cult of the Traveler in Fairhaven so they could get some scrolls to help if they should encounter a Rakshasa again, all the while subtly spreading the rumors of Solgar Dariznu's true identity. With little time in a bustling metropolis, they had a difficult task, but the two information-gatherers' exceptional skills helped them find a congregation of The Dark Six.
Unfortunately, later that night, Pel found out that the congregation was considerably more dangerous than the average Traveler meeting, and the price requested for scrolls was not in gold, but in favors to dark gods, a currency he wasn't willing to pay. Or at least, not willing to pay again, as an encounter with a priest of The Keeper who recognized his god's mark upon Pel reminded him of the price Lysander had agreed to for his resurrection, several months ago in Stormreach.
Before they left, Lysander scried on Verodin Atrelioth, and found him sitting at an inn in Trolanport that Lysander recognized as the Satyr's Pipe.
The next morning, the Wolves began their long horseback journey from Fairhaven to the Towering Woods of the Eldeen Reaches. They kept a low profile, traveling via less well-used roads and camping rather than stopping at inns, and had a relatively uneventful journey. About ten days into the journey, five days after they had crossed the Aundarian border into the Eldeen Reaches, they received a message from Alestair: "Cardinal kidnapped, most likely Rakshasa. We encountered Zakya, it escaped. Backtracking Cardinal's route from Sharn, hoping for clues. Further communication via Artos d'Sivis in Trolanport."
Three more days later, deep in the Towering Wood, the Wolves encountered one of the dangers of the Eldeen forests, a pair of horrid bears, twisted by the magic of Gatekeeper druids to protect against Xoriat, but now roaming free and remaining true to their bestial natures.
Having caught the attention of the beasts, the Wolves dismounted and began preparing for battle, as Maechen entered a state of Prophetic Favor and Pel cast Bless on the group. Luggoth moved forward and was attacked by one of the bears, which missed, dripping acid from its claws as it swung.
Brand and Luggoth engaged the bears as Maechen used fireballs to soften them up. One of the bears slashed at Brand, leaving an acidic rent in his armor and slashing him open at the chest. He fell to the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Lysander tried to distract the bear from his grievously wounded friend using mirror image as Pel cast Sanctuary and moved in to administer healing magics.
Luggoth shifted, his fearful presence driving one of the bears away temporarily. The other, emboldened by the blood it had drawn from Brand, remained in the fray, but suffered a deep sword wound from Luggoth, as well as a piercing from Lysander's rapier and a burst of magic missiles from Maechen. Though bloodied, the massive beast seemed to hardly feel these wounds, and the Wolves began to worry about the encounter.
Shifting out of his bestial form to heal, Luggoth swung at the bear again, leaving another deep gash in its chest. Lysander stabbed at its haunches as well. Brand, though unconscious, was stabilized by Pel's healing magics, but Pel shifted his focus to healing Luggoth, who was now going toe to toe with the horrid beast, even as the other one stopped its flight now that Luggoth's form was no longer fearful.
As Maechen peppered both bears with magic missiles, Luggoth shifted again, once again terrifying the more distant bear, which reconsidered its return and fled into the forest. The remaining bear swung one more acidic claw into Luggoth before another slash from Luggoth's greatsword and magic missiles from Maechen's wand finally killed it.
The remainder of the trip was uneventful, and on the morning of Eyre 4, the Wolves arrived at the village of Sharri Wayfinder, Brand's mother. They found a small but thriving druidic and ranger community, and met Sharri's husband, a ranger named Beren. They told the Wolves that their arrival was welcome, because the community had need of them.
Rorsa, the awakened dire wolf that the Wolves had rescued from Whitehearth in the Mournland, was there with her pack, although she had clearly been in a fight recently. She explained that a day before, she and her pack had encountered a band of trolls who were hunting in the forest. They had managed to escape, only losing two of their number, but there were forest trolls in the pack, and that meant they could certainly track the wolves back to the druid village. Sharri asked if the Wolves could deal with the troll band before it endangered the village.
By way of help, Sharri provided them each with goodberries and antitoxin for healing and poison resistance, given that the forest trolls were known to use poisoned weapons.
Brand was able to track the troll band, and the Wolves began silently approaching the troll camp. Brand scouted ahead, and saw that there was a massive mountain troll, the size of a giant, three ogres and a forest troll hiding in a tree. They were in two clearings, close to one another but separated by trees and a stream. After making plans and casting a number of spells to prepare themselves, they launched their plan.
Lysander used his mirror image, hat of disguise and a black bear from Brand's pouch to look like a pack of rangers so as to arouse less suspicion as he wandered into the range of the remaining trolls and ogres. He began singing, successfully fascinating every one of the monsters, except for the Mountain Troll.
Fortunately, it was enough of a distraction for Maechen to get off a fireball spell that killed one of the ogres and wounded the Mountain Troll slightly. This was the signal, and the rest of the Wolves charged in, with Luggoth and Pel combining to kill one of the other ogres as Brand, Whitehearth and the bear engaged the last ogre. The forest trolls, one of whom Brand hadn't seen, began throwing javelins, one of which hit Pel, but he didn't succumb to the poison.
Lysander pulled out his bow and began shooting seemingly ineffective arrows at the mountain troll, even as the black bear and Whitehearth continued to engage the remaining ogre. Whitehearth fled after the ogre landed a powerful blow to his skull, but the bear remained and managed to bite and claw the ogre to death.
While Pel began firing his wand of scorching ray at one of the forest trolls, Brand cast blades of fire on his weapons and dimension leaped into the tree to kill the other one, knocking it out of the tree. The angry mountain troll moved toward Maechen, whose know vulnerability spell failed, but Luggoth shifted and raged, moving in to attack the giant beast. He successfully got its attention and earned a solid smashing from his club as a result, which knocked the shifter down and severely bruised him.
Seeing the troll raising its club to finish his friend, Lysander, thinking himself protected by mirror image, rushed in to distract the troll, but discovered rather painfully that it could smell his true location and had no trouble hitting it with his tree trunk sized club. With both Lysander and Luggoth badly wounded at the hands of the mountain troll, Maechen fired off an empowered fireball in the vicinity of its head, hoping to bring it down, but it seemed only more angry at the damage, and angrier still as Luggoth stabbed his sword deep into the beast's ankle. Roaring with pain, he smashed Luggoth again, nearly killing him but missing Brand and the bear as he swung the club in a great arc.
Seeing the danger the mountain troll possessed, Pel distracted himself from combat with the forest troll that had closed with him and popped a flame strike scroll out of his infinite scrollcase instead. The flame strike angered and damaged the troll further, but it was difficult to tell if all the damage was having any effect on the massive foe.
The forest troll, clearly not liking the odds, ran away as the Wolves all began concentrating their attack on the mountain troll. Maechen fired empowered magic missiles and Pel fired his wand of scorching ray, as Brand moved in with his bear to attack the gigantic troll in melee. Luggoth and Lysander managed to crawl behind trees, and Lysander used magic to heal Luggoth, who had recovered somewhat from his wounds by shifting forms again.
As Maechen fired another empowered magic missile, Luggoth stood up and pulled out his longbow, but he didn't need it, as Pel fired one last scorching ray at the mountain troll and it fell, crashing to the ground and causing it to shake for a full 10 seconds.
Brand tracked the forest troll that had fled to their cave lair, and the Wolves killed it with little trouble. There, they found the trolls' stash of treasure and magic items, as well as an interesting package of a ring, a weeks' worth of eternal rations, and a map with notes in a language none of them spoke on the back.
They returned to the village to rest and memorize spells, and to tell Sharri that the trolls had been dealt with. In the morning, a comprehend languages spell revealed that the note was something the forest troll had written down, indicating that a Zakya was coming to the cave soon, and that he had the cardinal with him. It didn't take much deduction to realize that the map was more than likely a map to the Order of the Corrupting Flame's headquarters in the Demon Wastes, and that the Zakya was bound there. It was clear that the troll was an operative of the Lords of Dust, and the ring (protection against the fiery elements of the Wastes) and rations were for the Zakya. This was why the Prophecy had directed the Wolves to the Eldeen Reaches, clearly, and they weren't about to miss the opportunity.
Armed with this knowledge, the Wolves went back to the cave to await the arrival of the Zakya. They weren't sure exactly when he was coming, and so they took turns on watch. Pel spent his time outside as a troll, doing his best to "think troll thoughts" to fool any incoming Rakshasa, and Lysander used his hat of disguise to appear green and warty as well. He sensed someone trying to read his thoughts and resisted, and they saw another troll approaching.
The disguise didn't fool them, and the "troll" quickly revealed itself to be a Zakya.
The Zakya charged in and attacked Lysander, and the rest of the Wolves emerged from the cave. As Pel began casting align weapon on the Wolves' weapons and Maechen cast defensive spells on Luggoth, the Zakya maneuvered to keep his back protected and attacked Brand.
Maechen cast Haste on the group, and they moved in with their good-aligned piercing weapons and made short work of the Zakya, which only managed to score one hit on Lysander and one hit on Brand before he died.
Dumping out the Rakshasa's bag of holding, they discovered some a gem, some gold, a scroll, and a stone model of Cardinal Ossul Hetrion. They quickly realized that the Zakya had transformed the Cardinal to make him easier to transport, and Maechen used one of his scrolls of stone to flesh to restore the Cardinal. He was grateful, and offered to help them destroy the Order of the Corrupting Flame. For Luggoth, the thought of dealing with the men who had killed his family was more motivation than the favor of a high-ranking Cardinal of the Silver Flame and the reward he offered. But he'd take that too.
XP:
Lysander 1920 XP
Luggoth 2113 XP
Pel 2273 XP
Maechen 2273 XP
Brand 2513 XP
Upon deciding they were safe from immediate reprisals from Solgar, the Wolves went directly to Oura Gellast to tell her what they had learned. When they told her that he was a Rakshasa, she was shocked and worried. She insisted that they had to get out of Thaliost and Thrane immediately. "Solgar is more dangerous than I'd guessed... he'll have trumped up charges within the hour. You need to cross the border into Aundair."
Oura agreed to come with them, but only after she had gotten Rav Corus, the priest who had covered for her. He'd be in danger as well. Brand used his connections to get first class passage booked to Fairhaven on the afternoon lightning rail, but just before the train was to depart, a young boy gave them a note indicating that Oura wasn't coming. She couldn't leave others behind to face the danger for her.
The journey into Aundair was relatively brief, although it was about 20 hours until they reached the city of Fairhaven in the early evening the next day. Onboard the train, the Wolves took time to rest and heal, and Lysander tried to scry Cardinal Ossul Hetrion, but he was unable to find him.
Upon arrival in Fairhaven, they went to the House Cannith enclave to see if Lady Elaydren was available. As luck would have it, she had returned from her honeymoon in Stormhome three days prior, and she met them in a lush reception chamber with cheese, wines and open arms. She also had a message, in a sealed envelope, that was addressed to Maechen Eyre in Draconic tongue.
The message was from his master, who indicated, in the usual obtuse speech of a dragon, that they should go to the Eldeen Reaches and Brand's mother, which would take them on the next leg of their journey, according to the will of the Prophecy. Elaydren offered to hide them for as long as she could, even if it put her own position in jeopardy, but they didn't need to take her up on her offer, as they decided to follow the directives of Maechen's master and head to the Eldeen Reaches. Elaydren offered them magebred horses and provisions, an offer they did accept.
Before they left Fairhaven, however, they had some messages to send and errands to run. Pel sent a vague, coded message to Brand's mother to expect visitors, but to be wary of danger, and he also sent a coded message to Alestair Marktaros in Trolanport to apprise him of their travel plans. Lysander sent a message to Arenydee and his superiors in House Phiarlan to give them an update, and Luggoth sent a message to Savannah that Sharn might not be safe, and that she should be especially careful.
After that, Lysander and Pel went to seek information about a cult of the Traveler in Fairhaven so they could get some scrolls to help if they should encounter a Rakshasa again, all the while subtly spreading the rumors of Solgar Dariznu's true identity. With little time in a bustling metropolis, they had a difficult task, but the two information-gatherers' exceptional skills helped them find a congregation of The Dark Six.
Unfortunately, later that night, Pel found out that the congregation was considerably more dangerous than the average Traveler meeting, and the price requested for scrolls was not in gold, but in favors to dark gods, a currency he wasn't willing to pay. Or at least, not willing to pay again, as an encounter with a priest of The Keeper who recognized his god's mark upon Pel reminded him of the price Lysander had agreed to for his resurrection, several months ago in Stormreach.
Before they left, Lysander scried on Verodin Atrelioth, and found him sitting at an inn in Trolanport that Lysander recognized as the Satyr's Pipe.
The next morning, the Wolves began their long horseback journey from Fairhaven to the Towering Woods of the Eldeen Reaches. They kept a low profile, traveling via less well-used roads and camping rather than stopping at inns, and had a relatively uneventful journey. About ten days into the journey, five days after they had crossed the Aundarian border into the Eldeen Reaches, they received a message from Alestair: "Cardinal kidnapped, most likely Rakshasa. We encountered Zakya, it escaped. Backtracking Cardinal's route from Sharn, hoping for clues. Further communication via Artos d'Sivis in Trolanport."
Three more days later, deep in the Towering Wood, the Wolves encountered one of the dangers of the Eldeen forests, a pair of horrid bears, twisted by the magic of Gatekeeper druids to protect against Xoriat, but now roaming free and remaining true to their bestial natures.
Having caught the attention of the beasts, the Wolves dismounted and began preparing for battle, as Maechen entered a state of Prophetic Favor and Pel cast Bless on the group. Luggoth moved forward and was attacked by one of the bears, which missed, dripping acid from its claws as it swung.
Brand and Luggoth engaged the bears as Maechen used fireballs to soften them up. One of the bears slashed at Brand, leaving an acidic rent in his armor and slashing him open at the chest. He fell to the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Lysander tried to distract the bear from his grievously wounded friend using mirror image as Pel cast Sanctuary and moved in to administer healing magics.
Luggoth shifted, his fearful presence driving one of the bears away temporarily. The other, emboldened by the blood it had drawn from Brand, remained in the fray, but suffered a deep sword wound from Luggoth, as well as a piercing from Lysander's rapier and a burst of magic missiles from Maechen. Though bloodied, the massive beast seemed to hardly feel these wounds, and the Wolves began to worry about the encounter.
Shifting out of his bestial form to heal, Luggoth swung at the bear again, leaving another deep gash in its chest. Lysander stabbed at its haunches as well. Brand, though unconscious, was stabilized by Pel's healing magics, but Pel shifted his focus to healing Luggoth, who was now going toe to toe with the horrid beast, even as the other one stopped its flight now that Luggoth's form was no longer fearful.
As Maechen peppered both bears with magic missiles, Luggoth shifted again, once again terrifying the more distant bear, which reconsidered its return and fled into the forest. The remaining bear swung one more acidic claw into Luggoth before another slash from Luggoth's greatsword and magic missiles from Maechen's wand finally killed it.
The remainder of the trip was uneventful, and on the morning of Eyre 4, the Wolves arrived at the village of Sharri Wayfinder, Brand's mother. They found a small but thriving druidic and ranger community, and met Sharri's husband, a ranger named Beren. They told the Wolves that their arrival was welcome, because the community had need of them.
Rorsa, the awakened dire wolf that the Wolves had rescued from Whitehearth in the Mournland, was there with her pack, although she had clearly been in a fight recently. She explained that a day before, she and her pack had encountered a band of trolls who were hunting in the forest. They had managed to escape, only losing two of their number, but there were forest trolls in the pack, and that meant they could certainly track the wolves back to the druid village. Sharri asked if the Wolves could deal with the troll band before it endangered the village.
By way of help, Sharri provided them each with goodberries and antitoxin for healing and poison resistance, given that the forest trolls were known to use poisoned weapons.
Brand was able to track the troll band, and the Wolves began silently approaching the troll camp. Brand scouted ahead, and saw that there was a massive mountain troll, the size of a giant, three ogres and a forest troll hiding in a tree. They were in two clearings, close to one another but separated by trees and a stream. After making plans and casting a number of spells to prepare themselves, they launched their plan.
Lysander used his mirror image, hat of disguise and a black bear from Brand's pouch to look like a pack of rangers so as to arouse less suspicion as he wandered into the range of the remaining trolls and ogres. He began singing, successfully fascinating every one of the monsters, except for the Mountain Troll.
Fortunately, it was enough of a distraction for Maechen to get off a fireball spell that killed one of the ogres and wounded the Mountain Troll slightly. This was the signal, and the rest of the Wolves charged in, with Luggoth and Pel combining to kill one of the other ogres as Brand, Whitehearth and the bear engaged the last ogre. The forest trolls, one of whom Brand hadn't seen, began throwing javelins, one of which hit Pel, but he didn't succumb to the poison.
Lysander pulled out his bow and began shooting seemingly ineffective arrows at the mountain troll, even as the black bear and Whitehearth continued to engage the remaining ogre. Whitehearth fled after the ogre landed a powerful blow to his skull, but the bear remained and managed to bite and claw the ogre to death.
While Pel began firing his wand of scorching ray at one of the forest trolls, Brand cast blades of fire on his weapons and dimension leaped into the tree to kill the other one, knocking it out of the tree. The angry mountain troll moved toward Maechen, whose know vulnerability spell failed, but Luggoth shifted and raged, moving in to attack the giant beast. He successfully got its attention and earned a solid smashing from his club as a result, which knocked the shifter down and severely bruised him.
Seeing the troll raising its club to finish his friend, Lysander, thinking himself protected by mirror image, rushed in to distract the troll, but discovered rather painfully that it could smell his true location and had no trouble hitting it with his tree trunk sized club. With both Lysander and Luggoth badly wounded at the hands of the mountain troll, Maechen fired off an empowered fireball in the vicinity of its head, hoping to bring it down, but it seemed only more angry at the damage, and angrier still as Luggoth stabbed his sword deep into the beast's ankle. Roaring with pain, he smashed Luggoth again, nearly killing him but missing Brand and the bear as he swung the club in a great arc.
Seeing the danger the mountain troll possessed, Pel distracted himself from combat with the forest troll that had closed with him and popped a flame strike scroll out of his infinite scrollcase instead. The flame strike angered and damaged the troll further, but it was difficult to tell if all the damage was having any effect on the massive foe.
The forest troll, clearly not liking the odds, ran away as the Wolves all began concentrating their attack on the mountain troll. Maechen fired empowered magic missiles and Pel fired his wand of scorching ray, as Brand moved in with his bear to attack the gigantic troll in melee. Luggoth and Lysander managed to crawl behind trees, and Lysander used magic to heal Luggoth, who had recovered somewhat from his wounds by shifting forms again.
As Maechen fired another empowered magic missile, Luggoth stood up and pulled out his longbow, but he didn't need it, as Pel fired one last scorching ray at the mountain troll and it fell, crashing to the ground and causing it to shake for a full 10 seconds.
Brand tracked the forest troll that had fled to their cave lair, and the Wolves killed it with little trouble. There, they found the trolls' stash of treasure and magic items, as well as an interesting package of a ring, a weeks' worth of eternal rations, and a map with notes in a language none of them spoke on the back.
They returned to the village to rest and memorize spells, and to tell Sharri that the trolls had been dealt with. In the morning, a comprehend languages spell revealed that the note was something the forest troll had written down, indicating that a Zakya was coming to the cave soon, and that he had the cardinal with him. It didn't take much deduction to realize that the map was more than likely a map to the Order of the Corrupting Flame's headquarters in the Demon Wastes, and that the Zakya was bound there. It was clear that the troll was an operative of the Lords of Dust, and the ring (protection against the fiery elements of the Wastes) and rations were for the Zakya. This was why the Prophecy had directed the Wolves to the Eldeen Reaches, clearly, and they weren't about to miss the opportunity.
Armed with this knowledge, the Wolves went back to the cave to await the arrival of the Zakya. They weren't sure exactly when he was coming, and so they took turns on watch. Pel spent his time outside as a troll, doing his best to "think troll thoughts" to fool any incoming Rakshasa, and Lysander used his hat of disguise to appear green and warty as well. He sensed someone trying to read his thoughts and resisted, and they saw another troll approaching.
The disguise didn't fool them, and the "troll" quickly revealed itself to be a Zakya.
The Zakya charged in and attacked Lysander, and the rest of the Wolves emerged from the cave. As Pel began casting align weapon on the Wolves' weapons and Maechen cast defensive spells on Luggoth, the Zakya maneuvered to keep his back protected and attacked Brand.
Maechen cast Haste on the group, and they moved in with their good-aligned piercing weapons and made short work of the Zakya, which only managed to score one hit on Lysander and one hit on Brand before he died.
Dumping out the Rakshasa's bag of holding, they discovered some a gem, some gold, a scroll, and a stone model of Cardinal Ossul Hetrion. They quickly realized that the Zakya had transformed the Cardinal to make him easier to transport, and Maechen used one of his scrolls of stone to flesh to restore the Cardinal. He was grateful, and offered to help them destroy the Order of the Corrupting Flame. For Luggoth, the thought of dealing with the men who had killed his family was more motivation than the favor of a high-ranking Cardinal of the Silver Flame and the reward he offered. But he'd take that too.
XP:
Lysander 1920 XP
Luggoth 2113 XP
Pel 2273 XP
Maechen 2273 XP
Brand 2513 XP
Friday, August 17, 2007
Out tonight
My incoming email's experiencing about a 12 hour delay right now, so I'll post this hear in case the same goes for outgoing.
Since my mom and step-dad have decided to come into town this weekend, Shawna refuses to let me go to gaming. I don't know why she won't let me avoid my parents. I help her avoid hers all the time!
Anyway, sorry. I will be at gaming next week.
Since my mom and step-dad have decided to come into town this weekend, Shawna refuses to let me go to gaming. I don't know why she won't let me avoid my parents. I help her avoid hers all the time!
Anyway, sorry. I will be at gaming next week.
Crew Manifest
Being the Crew Manifest of The Stunted Lady
The saltiest sea-dog sadists this side o' the locker. Keep a weather eye out! Afore ya know they're even close, ya feel the steel on yer neck.
Nose to the wind brother.
If ya catch a hint of rum mixed with blood, piss, and vinegar, beware! Yer sea days er through, yer hell days er just beginnin'!
The Crew Manifest of the Stunted Lady
Captain Remy the Two Fisted Midget (Randy)
Hanno Nurvi--Lead Boarder (Chris)
Rude Willie McKitrick---Quartermaster (Dirty Dave)
Blackpowder Barclay--Sniper, Bodyguard, Hitman, Marine (Paul)
Jebediah Cotton--Master of Sails, Navigators Babysitter, Grizzled Veteran
Gurglin' Pablo Jones--Bright, Lookout
Johnny Bones--12 year old navigator prodigy
Hawkeye McGee--Agile, Master of Guns
Barnacle Brainjack--Carpenter, Happy
Sweatin' Wallace Dawkins--Surgeon (Young, rotund)
Gorgeous Roger Morgan--Bright and um, yeah, boarding party (bp)
Poopdeck Enrico--Lazy
The Last Blain Brother--Clueless, bp
Reekin' Radly Jones--Coward
"Tripod" Ezekiel Straw-Veteran, bp, distinguished
No-Eyes Javier-Agile, Lookout-ropemonkey, bp, distinguished
Scurvy Gums Wally-Sneaky, bad teeth, bp
Fartin' Rupert Slaughter--Gung Ho, bp
Booker Earbeard--Happy, bp
Eel Skin Jake--Veteran, bp, distinguished
The saltiest sea-dog sadists this side o' the locker. Keep a weather eye out! Afore ya know they're even close, ya feel the steel on yer neck.
Nose to the wind brother.
If ya catch a hint of rum mixed with blood, piss, and vinegar, beware! Yer sea days er through, yer hell days er just beginnin'!
The Crew Manifest of the Stunted Lady
Captain Remy the Two Fisted Midget (Randy)
Hanno Nurvi--Lead Boarder (Chris)
Rude Willie McKitrick---Quartermaster (Dirty Dave)
Blackpowder Barclay--Sniper, Bodyguard, Hitman, Marine (Paul)
Jebediah Cotton--Master of Sails, Navigators Babysitter, Grizzled Veteran
Gurglin' Pablo Jones--Bright, Lookout
Johnny Bones--12 year old navigator prodigy
Hawkeye McGee--Agile, Master of Guns
Barnacle Brainjack--Carpenter, Happy
Sweatin' Wallace Dawkins--Surgeon (Young, rotund)
Gorgeous Roger Morgan--Bright and um, yeah, boarding party (bp)
Poopdeck Enrico--Lazy
The Last Blain Brother--Clueless, bp
Reekin' Radly Jones--Coward
"Tripod" Ezekiel Straw-Veteran, bp, distinguished
No-Eyes Javier-Agile, Lookout-ropemonkey, bp, distinguished
Scurvy Gums Wally-Sneaky, bad teeth, bp
Fartin' Rupert Slaughter--Gung Ho, bp
Booker Earbeard--Happy, bp
Eel Skin Jake--Veteran, bp, distinguished
Friday, August 03, 2007
Upcoming Schedule for August and September
August 3rd - Pirates of the Spanish Main (Randy, Jason and Chris)
August 10th - Game To Be Decided (Randy, Jason and Chris)
August 17th - Game To Be Decided (Randy, Jason, Chris and Nate)
August 24th - Eberron: The Demons' Prophecy Part Seven
August 31st - Eberron: The Demons' Prophecy Conclusion
September 7th - Savage Worlds Pulp? (Paul out, Dave out)
September 14th - Savage Worlds Pulp? (Paul out, Dave out)
September 21st - Savage Worlds Pulp? (Paul out)
September 28th - Savage Worlds Pulp? (Everybody in?)
OK, so it looks like August is off for about half the group in the first three weeks, and then back on for the last two. That should give us enough time to finish up the latest Eberron adventure. I know Paul is out for two weeks in September, but I don't know if anybody else has anything going then. Jason, any interest in running a Savage Worlds pulp game around that time? Maybe one where Paul's character can trap door out in the 2nd and 3rd sessions, and trap door back in at the last? Dave, what do you think about playing pulp at that point? Will your other-game prep work be done at that point?
Alternately, if Jason's up for a couple one shots in the first and last weeks of September (or a two-parter with an extended break), I can run an Eberron one- or two-shot in the middle of September with new characters. Let me know what you guys think.
Then in October, we go back to Ravenloft, and after that, it'll probably be time for another return to Eberron.
August 10th - Game To Be Decided (Randy, Jason and Chris)
August 17th - Game To Be Decided (Randy, Jason, Chris and Nate)
August 24th - Eberron: The Demons' Prophecy Part Seven
August 31st - Eberron: The Demons' Prophecy Conclusion
September 7th - Savage Worlds Pulp? (Paul out, Dave out)
September 14th - Savage Worlds Pulp? (Paul out, Dave out)
September 21st - Savage Worlds Pulp? (Paul out)
September 28th - Savage Worlds Pulp? (Everybody in?)
OK, so it looks like August is off for about half the group in the first three weeks, and then back on for the last two. That should give us enough time to finish up the latest Eberron adventure. I know Paul is out for two weeks in September, but I don't know if anybody else has anything going then. Jason, any interest in running a Savage Worlds pulp game around that time? Maybe one where Paul's character can trap door out in the 2nd and 3rd sessions, and trap door back in at the last? Dave, what do you think about playing pulp at that point? Will your other-game prep work be done at that point?
Alternately, if Jason's up for a couple one shots in the first and last weeks of September (or a two-parter with an extended break), I can run an Eberron one- or two-shot in the middle of September with new characters. Let me know what you guys think.
Then in October, we go back to Ravenloft, and after that, it'll probably be time for another return to Eberron.
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