Adventure: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part One

Lharvion 24-Barrakas 9, YK 998

The Temple of Kha'shazul Part One - Employment Offer
Having recently completed a job in the area of Sharn, a band of adventurers made their way to the city of spires to seek rest, recreation and hopefully future employment. They didn't have time to enjoy the former, as the latter came seeking them.

The adventurers were a varied lot from the eastern coast of Khorvaire. Their negotiator, the public face of the team, was a Karrnathi sorcerer who had spent some time in the military during the war, a man named Sokol Raaft. Their spiritual adviser and healer was Vedim Baldirk, a dwarven cleric of Onatar, forge god of the Sovereign Host. Their "retrieval specialist" was a Valenar elf without a warband, an artificer and rogue named Ayrmidon Dannelorn. And their muscle consisted of a Talenta halfling named Hamba and his bonded clawfoot dinosaur named Ooni.

While walking through the rain-soaked streets of Sharn in midsummer, Sokol received a message from the gnomes of House Sivis in his head. "Your services are requested. Bring your companions to Kern's Rest and Revelry tomorrow morning to discuss arrangements. Be prepared to travel. A House Sivis service."

Following the prospects of a job, the band showed up at the inn the next morning. They found a quiet, mostly empty hostel jointly operated by House Ghallanda and House Thuranni with multiple performing stages. A lone bard played her lute for the few patrons enjoying breakfast, and a perky young half-elf who had, er, "crossed paths" with Ayrmidon previously spotted them and guided them up the stairs and into a balcony room that overlooked the stage below.

A low table, covered with fruits and pastries, was set against the back wall, and several chairs sat at the balcony's edge. A middle-aged human with dark hair and a neatly-trimmed beard stood near the chairs, watching the musical performance. He turned and offered a slight smile to the adventurers, gesturing to the table. "Please, help yourselves. My name is Sur'kil, and we have business to discuss, which is always more pleasant on a full stomach."

After the adventurers had eaten their fill, Sur'kil explained the nature of the job to them.

"I am what you might call an independent researcher. I have recently uncovered hints and rumors of an ancient site dating back to the so-called Age of Demons. I would like to employ you to investigate this location, and to retrieve a relic that I believe might be there."

"This task is not without some degree of danger, which is why I require the services of individuals such as yourselves. The location, while nominally still in Khorvaire, is somewhat remote, and so I would like to procure your services for a period of at least four weeks. You will have free choice of any treasure found at the site with the exception of the relics I seek, for which you will be rewarded in full. I can offer you each a base fee of 250 gp per week plus travel expenses. I will provide half up front."

Sokol attempted to negotiate a better price, but found that Sur'kil was insistent upon the original asking price. However, he did agree to provide them with a larger cut up front, and gave each of them a pouch of 200 gold. He told them to buy any equipment they might need, and to meet him at the lightning rail in the afternoon.

After going out to buy some basic equipment in Sharn, allowing Ayrmidon time for his wandering eye and wandering hands to retrieve a rich student of Morgrave University of his coin purse, the band joined Sur'kil aboard the lightning rail, and found out that they were bound for the jungles of Q'barra. After three days of travel took them to Korranberg, they boarded the Swiftwind, a chartered House Lyrandar galleon headed for Adderport on the Q'barran coast. During the five days at sea, Sur'kil elaborated on their mission.

"The location you will be surveying is in the jungles of the Q'barran peninsula, to the south of the great volcano of Haka'torvhak. From Adderport, you will have a five-day trek inland to the site of the Temple of Kha'shazul. The temple is your destination and the site of the relics you seek."

"The temple is now used by a tribe of lizardfolk worshipers of some half-fiend dragon god. From what I understand, they demand tribute from other lizardfolk tribes in the region, so I would expect them to be armed and capable. However, the temple and its inhabitants are merely an obstacle."

"I believe the Temple of Kha'shazul hides a deeper secret, one unknown even to the current inhabitants. My research indicates the temple occupies a place where an ancient demon was cast down. Such places were guarded, in legend, by half-dragon beasts. Somewhere beneath that temple, I believe that the crypt of one such ancient creature lies, along with relics of that time. Those relics are what I am paying you to find."

Upon making landfall in Adderport, Sur'kil provided Sokol with a map with landmarks charting a course overland to the Temple of Kha'shazul, as well as a pair of sending stones to contact him once they found the relics, or if they were turning back empty-handed. He also handed them a box with five vials of antitoxin "in case you run into local inhabitants."

The Temple of Kha'shazul Part Two - Into The Jungle
After four days of travel through the jungle, they had their first encounter with the locals, as they came across a band of a half-dozen lizardfolk traveling the same path that they were following, only in the opposite direction. The two groups stared each other down, and Sokol attempted to talk with their obvious leader, who simply said in Common "We no want trouble."

The adventurers noticed that these lizardfolk had obviously been in a recent fight, but attempts to talk with them, even with Ayrmidon translating Sokol's Common into Draconic, ended in a wary peace that saw the two groups going their separate ways.

Another day later, as the trail grew wider, they had a much more intense encounter with local inhabitants. Hamba spotted movement in the jungle and saw a small humanoid, nearly perfectly blended with the vegetation, raising a bow to fire, and pulled down his death mask in response.

Reacting to this, Ayrmidon moved into the jungle, just as the humanoid, a Poison Dusk Lizardfolk, released his arrow and hit Sokol, the poison on the arrow sapping his strength. Another arrow, coming from another Poison Dusk concealed on the other side of the trail, narrowly missed Vedim, who responded by calling forth holy fire into his palm, even as Hamba charged forward aboard Ooni, throwing his boomerang into the jungle to strike the Poison Dusk sniper painfully on the shoulder.

Ayrmidon moved forward, firing off an arrow from his shortbow that caught the other Poison Dusk Lizardfolk solidly in the chest, causing him to let out a pained squeak before firing back and hitting Ayrmidon with his own poisoned arrow. Another surprise came as the leader of the band, another Poison Dusk Lizardfolk, fired another arrow at Sokol, who couldn't spot his attacker but did manage to fire his bow and kill Ayrmidon's target with a shot to the chest.

Hamba and Ooni crashed into the jungle, launching tangat and claw attacks at the Poison Dusk that had first shot at Sokol. Ayrmidon exchanged arrow fire with the leader of the band, hitting him once while the leader's arrow found a target again in Vedim, who was an easier target, out in the open on the trail. The other Poison Dusk dropped his bow and pulled out a length of hollow reed with a rope attached at the end and began spinning it, a low whistle beginning to emanate from the reed. Sokol put a stop to that with a burst of magic missiles that killed the Poison Dusk, and Hamba charged at the remaining Poison Dusk, the leader of the band, who tried to run and almost made it, but for magic missiles and hurled fire from Sokol and Vedim, which hurt him badly enough for Ayrmidon to chase him down and kill him with a shot on the run.

The Temple of Kha'shazul Part Three - The Temple
After two of their members had been poisoned, Sokol distributed Sur'kil's antitoxin, and Vedim administered healing magic to Ayrmidon. The adventurers traveled for a few more hours until, at dusk, the jungle gave way to an open space dominated by a huge stone structure. The Temple of Kha-shazul was a mass of vine-choked granite walls and columns, with two stone domes marking either end of its oblong shape, and a columned portion jutting out from the temple's entrance. Steam billowed from somewhere within the temple, venting through high open windows 20 feet above the ground.

The trail leading up to the temple diverged to the left and right, and rather than explore much further, the adventurers backtracked to a safer place in the jungle to rest for the night and heal their wounds.

In the morning, Hamba and Ayrmidon snuck down one of the trails and found a handful of small mud huts set up around a fire pit at the edge of the temple clearing. The huts looked suitable for halfling-sized creatures, with doorways about 3 feet tall. They noted one Poison Dusk Lizardfolk reclining near the fire, his bow within easy reach, a large toadstool serving as a pincushion for his arrows.

They reported back to the others and made a plan of attack, and then Hamba and Ayrmidon made their way back to launch the ambush. Hamba swung his tangat out from the foliage to slash into the Poison Dusk, surprising it by failing to kill it, as Ayrmidon cast Shield of Faith on his armor and waited to see how Hamba fared.

Another Poison Dusk made itself known inside one of the huts, firing arrow into Hamba's meaty left shoulder, which didn't prevent Hamba from slashing into and killing the Poison Dusk near the fire. Another Poison Dusk emerged from the hut and found himself the target of magic missiles from Sokol and a crossbow bolt from Vedim, as they rushed up to join the battle.

The Poison Dusk grabbed his bow and ran back into one of the huts, as the sound of one of the reed whistles began emerging from another hut.

As one of the Poison Dusk continued to fire arrows at Hamba, drawing his wrath and causing the halfling to charge into his small domicile to do battle, Sokol fired a snowball burst into the hut, narrowly missing Hamba but hitting the two Poison Dusk within. The one that had previously been magic missiled and hit with a crossbow was killed, but the other one, clearly tougher than the others, was merely wounded.

Vedim traded his light crossbow for his warhammer and moved in to attack the Poison Dusk who had sounded the alarm, although he found the hut cramped and difficult to fight in. Ayrmidon, moving in to attack as well, had the same difficulty with the small quarters and caught a longsword slash deep in his arm for his troubles. With little room to maneuver alongside Vedim in the tiny space, Ayrmidon tumbled over to the other hut and began aiding Hamba against the tougher Poison Dusk lieutenant.

The lieutenant put his back to the wall and fired two more arrows, but Hamba's fury shattered his nerve, causing him to miss both shots. Sokol turned and fired an ice dagger at the Poison Dusk battling Vedim, which missed but showered shards of cutting ice on the Poison Dusk nevertheless. Vedim launched burning hands at the surprised Poison Dusk, which responded by biting the dwarf on one of his hands.

Ayrmidon, switching foes again as positions changed, rushed back and dealt a cutting blow to the Poison Dusk, which began looking extremely shaky on his feet, although it did manage to exchange a few dodges and attacks with both Vedim and Ayrmidon before trying to flee and finding its skull smashed in by Vedim's warhammer.

In the other hut, the Poison Dusk lieutenant abandoned his bow and began clawing and biting at Hamba. They exchanged a few glancing blows before the Poison Dusk managed to maneuver Hamba into a bad spot and sink his teeth into the halfling's throat, all the while tearing at his chest and abdomen with his claws. Hamba was forced to retreat slightly and drink a potion of cure light wounds, as Sokol opened up on the lieutenant with magic missiles.

Ayrmidon moved in to attack the lieutenant and the two of them parried and dodged until Hamba, somewhat recovered and very angry, took a nasty swipe with his tangat that nearly disemboweled the Poison Dusk. Sokol finished him with another barrage of magic missiles.

The adventurers quickly searched the bodies, and Ayrmidon took what he knew from experience with the past Poison Dusk to be an amulet of natural armor and hid in the foliage, expecting someone to respond to the alarm.

They didn't have to wait long, as a few seconds later, a pair of massive, blackscaled lizardfolk the size of ogres charged in to attack Hamba and Vedim. Hamba was ready for the charge and slashed at the lead Blackscale Lizardfolk with his tangat twice, once at the creature's legs and then at his throat, and as he fell dead to the ground, Ooni turned her claws on the other one, which fell quickly to a burst of magic missiles from Sokol and a blast of fire from Vedim.

The alarm quieted, the camp pacified and the threat momentarily over, the adventurers took a moment to pause. Should they check the other trail, or head directly to the temple, now that the alarm had most certainly been raised?

XP: 1375

Hit Points Remaining/Other Notes:
(10 hp each for 5 minutes)
Vedim 41 hp, Hamba's 25 hp, Sokol 31 hp, Ayrmidon 17 hp

Upcoming Schedule for February and March

February 8th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Four
February 15th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Two
February 22th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Five
February 29th - No Gaming - STAPLE! Party

March 7th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Six (Paul out)
March 14th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Three (Paul out, Chris in?)
March 21st - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Seven
March 28th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Four (Nate out)

OK, here's the planned schedule for the gaming group, which looks like all Eberron, all the time in February and March. Figure in April we can finish up Wolves and start in on another campaign, preferably one that someone else runs so I don't have to prep for a different campaign each week. :)

Chime in and let me know if there are any of these weeks you're not available.

Xydryk Jhaelian

(Randy: feel free to reformat this post into your usual "character"-style.)

Xydryk Jhaelian is a tall, pale Aereni necromancer. Xydryk is of the line of Jhaelian, which is deeply spiritual, producing many of the most powerful adepts and clerics of Aerenal. His mother Shaedrin is a member of the noble house of Jhaelian, and though their relationship is close, communication between them has been infrequent since Xydryk began his quest. At age 146, he is still a young man, though he has already lived longer than the average human will. He may live for thousands of years -- he is patient, and calm.

Xydryk is searching for a way to achieve his full potential, in the hopes of being raised to the nobility and eventually to the Undying Court. His chosen path is as one of the undead hunters of the Deathguard. He does not yet have the Right of Counsel, though one of his goals is to achieve that singular recognition from the Undying Court. Accordingly, he traveled to Xen'drik on behalf of a patron in the Court, who, seeking more information about the Aereni's ancient homeland, has asked him to be his eyes in the world beyond Shae Mordai.

As an elf of Aerenal, Xydryk knows that physical appearance is ultimately irrelevant. In fact, in keeping with his Jhaelian upbringing, he has already begun the process of discarding physical beauty in preparation for Transition. Xydryk doesn't judge people by their appearance; while others may be seduced by beauty (or horrified by disfigurements), to him these are simply transitory aspects of life. His face is covered by a skull tattoo, and he has grafted undead bone to the flesh on his torso and shoulders. His long, straight black hair falls to his waist, and his raven familiar Akthryx broods upon his right shoulder.

While many consider necromancy to be the magic of death, for the Aereni it is far more. In studying death, the Aereni wizard learns about life. In studying fear, he learns about hope. To the elves of Aerenal, the study of necromancy is as much a philosophical voyage as a quest for power; the wizard's ability to strike down his enemy with a ray of enfeeblement is a side benefit of his work, not the point of it. The one path that the Aereni avoid is the creation of negatively charged undead: vampires, liches, wraiths, and the like. The Aereni believe that these creatures are anathema to life. According to Aereni lore, the deathless are sustained by the energy of Irian and the devotion of their descendents -- energy that is freely given. Negative undead take the energy they need to survive -- siphoning away the life energy of Eberron itself. Karrnathi necromancers scoff at this belief, but the Aereni take it very seriously.

To an outsider, Aereni often seem cold and repressed. This is not actually the case; the elves feel emotions as strongly as any other race. They simply don't display their feelings as blatantly as members of the younger races, and they rarely reveal their thoughts to strangers. Xydryk does possess a sense of humor, but it is quite sophisticated; his jokes may take an hour or day to come to fruition. Humans generally find Aereni humor to be dull or confusing, while the elves consider the culture of the Five Nations to be simplistic and crass -- though it can be excused on account of youth.

Full stats at rpg.benkimball.com

The Prodigal

...returns?

Just saw that you're starting a new arc about a lich. Sounds wicked fun, plus it's not every week. If there's room for me, and you wouldn't mind my rejoining (I promise no psionics), I'd enjoy playing. If not, no big deal. Just let me know.

Cheers!
Ben

Upcoming Schedule for January - February

January 11th - No Gaming - Matt & Chris Out
January 18th - No Gaming - Rogues Gallery Anniversary Party
January 25th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part One

February 1st - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Four
February 8th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Two
February 15th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Five
February 22th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Three
February 29th - No Gaming - STAPLE! Party

OK, here's the planned schedule for the gaming group, which looks like all Eberron, all the time in February.

Chime in and let me know if there are any of these weeks you're not available.

Eyes of the Lich Queen Character: Ayrmidon Dannelorn

Name:Ayrmidon Dannelorn
Race: Elf
Class: Rogue 4, Artificer 1
Experience: 14,063
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Religion: Undying Court/Ancestor: Dannelorn Enginemaker
Homeland: Valenar
Age: 123 Height: 4'11" Weight: 91 lbs.

Statistics: STR 13, DEX 20, CON 12, INT 18, WIS 13, CHA 15, BAB +3, Fort +2 (+2), Ref +4 (+8), Will +3 (+4), Init +5, AC 18 (+3 armor, +5 Dex) Move: 30', HP 24, Action Points 3

Skills: Appraise +5, Balance +7, Climb +5, Disable Device +16, Escape Artist +9, Gather Information +6, Hide +13, Jump +3, Knowledge (Local) +8, Knowledge (Architecture/Engineering) +9, Knowledge (Artificer) = Level + Int. bonus: +5, Listen +3, Move Silently +13, Open Lock +17, Search +19 (+21 vs. Secret Doors), Sleight of Hand +13, Spellcraft +8 (+10 vs. Scrolls), Spot +7, Tumble +13, Use Magic Device +10 (+12 vs. Scrolls)

Infusions: 1st - 3/day

Class Abilities: Artificer Knowledge, Artisan Bonus, Sneak Attack +2d6, Trapfinding, Evasion, Trap Sense +1, Uncanny Dodge
Weapons/Attacks: +9 (1d6 +2, Rapier +1), +8 (1d6, Shortbow)

Equipment:

+1 Rapier, Longbow, (20) Arrows, Masterwork Longsword, Masterwork Studded Leather Armor, Goggles of Minute Seeing, Gloves of Dexterity +2, Wand of Magic Missiles (1st) -50 charges, Scroll: Cure Moderate Wounds (2d8 +1), Scroll: Spider Climb (2), Scroll: Snake's Swiftness, Scroll: Knock (2), Scroll: Instant Search, Scroll: Create Magic Tattoo, Scroll: Expeditious Retreat, Scroll: Hide From Undead, Masterwork Thieves Tools, Sunrod (5), Acid (1), Feather Fall Token (1), Backpack, Belt Pouch, 50' Silk Rope, Chalk, Small Steel Mirror, Flint & Steel, Explorer's Outfit.
9 CP, 19 SP, 70 GP, 0 PP

Feats: Nimble Fingers, Weapon Finesse, Scribe Scroll
Proficiencies: Simple Weapons,hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, short sword, longsword, longbow, Light Armor
Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Gnoll, Goblin, Orc

History: Like all elves of Valenar, Ayrmidon Dannelorn was once a member of a proud warband. During the Great War, Ayrmidon served in his warband's infantry, using his artificer abilities to aid his fellows in battle. But a youth spent climbing trees and exploring caves had left Ayrmidon more suited to spying than he was to combat or artifice. He excelled at stealing into the camps of Brelish or Thranish troops, taking supplies or setting horses to stampede. When Brelish troops slaughtered his warband, Ayrmidon was left for dead, pinned beneath his own Valenar steed (he always was a better thief than horseman). Full of survivor's guilt, Ayrmidon couldn't return to his own people. They would think him a coward at best or an incompetent at worst for living when his fellows all died. And so Ayrmidon began his carrier as a thief, breaking and entering to challenge and enrich himself, all to prove his worth outside his warband. Over time he found other companions as brave and adventurous as himself. Ayrmidon has sworn to protect this new warband as best he can, hoping to become the greatest sneak thief the world will never hear of.

Brand's Holiday Shopping Guide

Just a few thoughts as we go up against the likes of William and his vampire brood as well as our old friends from the Lords of the Dust. Seeing as we have some shopping to do, we should probably each load up on a few affordable items that can make a big difference against our anticipated foes.

Silversheen: At 250 gold a shot, this is a very useful item for making any of our weapons useful against vampires. Let's learn from our mistakes in Ravenloft and make sure everyone can hurt our vampire buddies.

Oil of Bless Weapon: I was originally looking at an expensive magic sheath that would make my piercing rapier a match for a rakshasha 3 times/day, but for only 100 gold I can buy some oil to mimic the effect. Several vials of this would mean that we wouldn't be as reliant on Pel for a spell that would bless our weapons. (The weapon is treated as having a +1 enhancement bonus for the purpose of bypassing the damage reduction of evil creatures or striking evil incorporeal creatures (though the spell doesn’t grant an actual enhancement bonus). The weapon also becomes good, which means it can bypass the damage reduction of certain creatures.)

Potions:
Protection From Evil could be useful against domination and a potion only costs 50 gold. If some of us spend 750 gold, we could even get a few potions of Magic Circle vs. Evil so that even if one person is dominated, another party member could get near them and prevent any new orders from being given while they remain in the circle.

Randy, please let me know if I've misunderstood any of this information. Thanks!

Eberron Interlude: Three Weeks to Xen'drik

Dravago 1 - Dravago 15

And so it was that after a night of rest and rushed planning, the Wolves planned to begin their trek towards Zarash'ak to catch a slow boat to Stormreach. But The Prophecy had one last surprise for them.

When they awoke the next morning, Maechen was gone. He had left simple, short notes to each of the Wolves explaining his departure. While he slept, dreams had come to him, dreams that he was certain were sent by his master, calling him back to Argonessen. He expressed his regret at leaving the Wolves, but said that he hoped the Prophecy would set their paths together again in the future. His note to Luggoth read "You are on the path, Luggoth, and I believe the Wolves will keep you on that path. Do not be swayed by honeyed words and promises, for the Lords of Dust still have an interest in you, and you have a larger role to play."

Unhappy about the departure of their comrade, the Wolves had no choice but to continue without him. Following a plan devised by Brand and refined by Lysander and Pel, the Wolves split into two groups, planning out a rendezvous spot based on Brand's knowledge of the Eldeen Reaches. Luggoth and Cavoletta would lead Savannah and her son Borgoth through the Reaches, moving in a slow but inexorable path towards the swamps of the Shadow Marches. For three days, as they traveled, Brand would teleport with Pel, Lysander and Arenydee to several locations to lay a false trail and send messages to potential allies. At the end of those three days, the Wolves would reunite at a planned rendezvous spot where Brand had hunted often as a boy.

Day One - A Misguided Attempt
For Luggoth's group, the first day of travel was relatively uneventful, although Luggoth quickly learned that Cavoletta's interest in him was more than just that of a lost tribe-mate. Whenever Savannah was out of earshot, Cavoletta would make increasingly lewd suggestions that she and Luggoth should "restart their tribe with new life." Luggoth, having gotten more in touch with his animal side thanks to studying the ways of the were-touched master, found this animal intensity alluring, although whether he acted on it in the heat of passion one night on the trail, who is to say?

Meanwhile, Brand's group attempted to teleport to Fairhaven, but due to Brand's relative unfamiliarity with the location, they instead found themselves in the thematically similar, but considerably more dangerous, Passage, home of Brand's devious uncle Aeromus. It was decided that spreading a false trail in this city might be a bit too dangerous, and so the Wolves disguised themselves and hid out in an inn until Brand was ready to teleport again, the next morning. During the night, Arenydee confessed that she didn't entirely trust Cavoletta. The were-touched mistress had been a great help to them, had saved their lives several times, but Arenydee could not read her thoughts with her magical medallion, and this made her wary. She hadn't wanted to say anything while in close proximity to Cavoletta.

Day Two - Deception, Death and Discovery
As Luggoth and his group continued through the Eldeen Reaches, both Luggoth and Cavoletta sensed that they were being followed. They found a defensible location, a wooded area with a cave, and sent Savannah and Borgoth to hide inside before trying to stalk their pursuers. As it turned out, the pursuers were Lukar Drosin, agent of the Silver Flame and ally, and the House Tharashk half-orc bounty hunter he had hired to help track them down. "Cardinal Hetrion told me that his hands are tied politically, but he stands ready to assist you if he can," Lukar said. "I'll journey with you to help clear your name." Turning to the bounty hunter, Lukar said "Thank you for your assistance, my friend. Without your skills, I doubt I would ever have found them." As he produced a bag of gold, the half-orc shook his head.

"I'm not a friend. I'm a bounty hunter." Luggoth and Cavoletta were already in motion at this point, but it took Lukar a second to figure out what was going on, a second in which the bounty hunter chopped deep into the Silver Flame agent's body with his greataxe. The rest of the bounty hunter's allies, hidden in the forest, opened fire with bows and charged in with greataxes. A dozen trained half-orc bounty hunters were no match for two angry shifters and a Silver Flame spellcaster, though. Lukar fell in battle, but when it was over, a dozen of House Tharashk's best lay beside him. The sound of horses, bringing reinforcements, drove Cavoletta and Luggoth to run, although Luggoth shrugged off Cavoletta's suggestion that we "Leave behind the girl and her cub! They'll be safe enough, and they're slowing us down!"

This day was easier for Brand's group, as they managed to successfully teleport to Fairhaven. Disguised, they set about their individual missions in the town. Pel infiltrated Lady Elaydren's house, not only to leave her a personal written message but also to see if he could ferret out the spy. In the short time he had, he was unable to make much progress, although his gut feeling was that she had not, in fact, been compromised as Arenydee believed. Pel also stopped by "Karch's Korner" to have a chat with Tyman Karch in disguise and leave a message for him as well. He was disappointed to learn that Karch was not a printmaker so much as someone who sold parchment, ink and book-binding materials, although he was heartened to find that Karch believed the charges against the Wolves to be "so much rubbish! They protected my family from the worst kind of demons!" Pel also learned, while doing some research, that the Golden Dragon had been bought by the three-nation coalition and was being retrofitted as a warship, and that Captain Alastair and his crew were now on different ships in the Lyrandar fleet.

Lysander and Arenydee slipped into the local House of Phiarlan to talk with contacts made there while Lysander was playing his tour. This included a visit with Viceroy Dulaen Elorrenthi d'Phiarlan, Lord Seneschal of Aundair and Master of the Demesne of Memory. He agreed to help spearhead a word of mouth campaign amongst the bards of Aundair that would cast doubt on the Wolves' involvement in the affairs in Sharn. He cautioned them, however, that Baron Elvinor had expressly told him not to be too strident in protesting their innocence, although she hadn't said why. She had indicated only that if it were to be a certainty that they had not tried to assassinate King Boranel, things might go very badly for the Wolves.

While Lysander went out to speak with underworld contacts made in Fairhaven, Arenydee and Brand arranged separately to send some of the messages the Wolves had agreed upon. They sent a message to Elias Volan asking him to look into the supposed vampirism cure mentioned in the Morgrave Library archives. They sent a message to Chance protesting their innocence and assuring him that Pel remained on the path of the Traveler. And they sent a message to Dahlia Hume d'Orien in Sharn that Brand was innocent, and asked her to spread the word amongst those in the House.

Before they left, Viceroy Dulaen insisted on giving the Wolves a private dinner, which they warily accepted. Their paranoia turned out to be for naught, however, as Dulaen was a gracious host providing the best meal these Wolves had had in months, and packing their Haversack full of delicious pastries and fine Aundarian wine for their journey.

After the meal, there was also one more surprise waiting for them. Emerging from a hidden compartment where she had observed them, an older elven woman identified herself as Ceranda Elorrenthi d'Phiarlan... Lysander's mother. She explained that after the death of Lysander's father in the war with House Thuranni, she was presumed dead, and she used that to infiltrate the Emerald Claw, hoping to find out if they had been involved in the shadow schism. After more than 20 years with the organization, however, she had seen and done awful things, but she had never been able to determine one way or the other if the Claw was involved in the schism that killed her husband. Finally, two years ago, she had given up, made her existence known to House Phiarlan and come back to the House in exchange for the information she had gathered. She had returned to Sharn, operating in disguises and working on various missions for Baron Elvinor, who was one of her distant cousins. Because she had hidden her survival from her son and had nothing to show for it, she was too ashamed to meet him, although she did use scrying abilities to keep an eye on him from time to time and worked in the shadows to help him when she could.

When the Wolves' supposed assassination attempt took place, Ceranda asked Elvinor to let her help. Elvinor suggested that she go to Fairhaven and investigate Lady Elaydren d'Cannith, to see if she was still an ally of the Wolves. All of her investigations showed that she was a loyal and true ally, and she was unable to determine any information leaks. When she heard that her son was in Fairhaven, she felt it was time to meet him directly. And she had an offer for him, and for his fiancee. "Let me take my new daughter-in-law, or as good as, since you've not had time to wed, and let us do some digging here in her homeland of Aundair. Perhaps we can find out a little bit more about what drives this nation to ally with King Boranel, and maybe find some information that can give the Wolves some leverage in the government here." With Lysander's permission, Arenydee agrees to stay behind and once again indulge in some spy work. Lysander's mother also provided him with a name from Baron Elvinor, Bethesne Shol d'Phiarlan, who would be his contact at the Chapterhouse in Stormreach.

The next morning came the most dangerous part of the operation, the "sighting" of the Wolves in Fairhaven. Pel and Lysander traveled together in the merchant districts of Fairhaven, selling some of the magical items they had recovered from the Corrupting Flame and purchasing a pair of hats of disguise for Brand and Luggoth. Once this was done, they dropped their disguises, rejoined Brand and continued doing some magic item selling and shopping until they were quite certain the guard had spotted them. At that point, they teleported away. The original plan, if the first teleport to Fairhaven had worked, was to teleport to Sigilstar inside Thrane and lie low before teleporting into Zilargo to visit with the ambassador there, but a missed jaunt had thrown that plan out of kilter, and so they teleported a day early to the rendezvous point in the Eldeen Reaches.

Day Three - Last Chance for Stormreach
They waited nervously for a day, hoping that their allies would reach them. Indeed, they did, but they weren't the first ones to the rendezvous point. As midday approached, and a warm spring rain began to fall, the Wolves heard the roar of an elemental fire ring and then saw an airship heading in their direction. They braced for an attack, drawing weapons and preparing wands, but they softened their stance as they saw a familiar form leap off the airship and begin levitating toward the ground. Tworock, the half-giant who had once fought beside them, came to rest gently on the earth, his eyes glowing with psionic power, and then he greeted them with a hearty "Hail the Wandering Wolves!"

Tworock explained that the ship was called The Last Chance and that it's captain, Garth d'Lyrandar, was a Windwright Captain of House Lyrandar who had recently come to Xen'drik. Medrea, the drow oracle of the Native, had been keeping tabs on Brand by scrying ever since he rejoined the Wolves, and though she wasn't able to see him when he was in the Demon Wastes, she did reacquire him once he returned to the Eldeen Reaches, and so they knew of the rendezvous plans. The Native hired Captain d'Lyrandar and the Last Chance to fly to the rendezvous and pick them up, and he sent Tworock so that they'd know they could trust the captain and his ship.

The Wolves spent the night in the cabins of the ship, floating above the rendezvous point, and they got to know the captain and his half-elven crew. Garth confessed to Pel privately that he was a follower of the Traveler, and that he knew that the Wolves were innocent. He suggested to them that his services were being paid for by The Native until he got back to Stormreach, but if they needed help and he wasn't engaged in other business, he would be happy to hire his airship out to the Wolves at a moderate rate if they needed transportation.

The next morning, after eating a breakfast in the ship's galley, Brand used his dimension door ability to teleport to the ground and wait for Luggoth, Cavoletta, Savannah and Borgoth to return. It was midday the next day when they reached the rendezvous point, but they stayed out of sight, fearing danger from the airship. Fortunately, Brand spotted them, and he told them what had transpired with the airship. He teleported the group up to the deck of The Last Chance, and the ship was underway for Xen'drik.

On their journey over the Shadow Marches and across the Thunder Sea, the reunited Wolves shared their experiences in the days prior. The trip took about six days, all told, a fraction of what traveling by boat would have taken. There were several bad storms passing across the Thunder Sea, but Captain d'Lyrandar was a skilled pilot, and he and his crew gave the Wolves a safe, if not always comforting, ride.

Arrival in Stormreach
On Dravago 9, the Last Chance sailed over the city of Stormreach, and Garth flew them over to the docks, where the Native's diplomat, Yanesh Hite, was waiting to receive them. Hite was dressed in a glamerweave set of monk's robes, a strange dichotomy of humble fashion and flashy fashion sense, and his manner was likewise somewhat fractious. He was friendly and robust with Brand and Tworock, whom he had spent plenty of time with, and seemed deferential and friendly towards Pel, but his mood towards the rest was courteous but standoffish. Lysander thought he sensed a particular dislike from the man, although Pel assured him that he was being paranoid. Hite handed a bag of gems to Garth, who thanked the Native for his service and expressed that if anyone needed him, he'd be staying at the House Lyrandar enclave for at least a few days. Pel caught a glance at the bag of gems, and although he wasn't sure, he estimated their worth at well over 10,000 gold... clearly The Native had paid a pretty penny to get them safely to Stormreach.

Lysander adopted a disguise using his hat, and Pel changed into a disguise as well, and they went to the Chapterhouse, the joint venture of House Phiarlan and House Ghallanda. They met with Bethesne, who turned out to be a lovely young elf who performed a singing act at the Chapterhouse each night. She expressed admiration for Lysander's songs and tales, although she hadn't seen him perform them since she had been living in Stormreach for the last 30 years. As previously arranged, all responses to messages they put out in Khorvaire had been sent to different contacts in House Phiarlan, who then sent messages to their own contacts in House Sivis, who then sent messages to Bethesne in Stormreach.

As a result, Bethesne had several messages for the Wolves. Arenydee and Ceranda reported that they had discovered some information that might be of interest to the Wolves: Someone high up in the Aundarian government had dispatched a covert force to Stormreach on some kind of mission, but they didn't have any more details on that just yet. Lady Elaydren had sent along a message of support, although she warned that her own influence in House Cannith was on the wane due to her links with the Wolves. A message from Dahlia Hume d'Orien promised similar support, even offering to abandon her post in Sharn and come to Stormreach to continue helping brand learn the ways of the Blade of Orien.

There was also a message from Elias Volan containing the information he had gotten from the Morgrave Archives. Tracking down the clues they had given them, he came across a reference to a fallen warforged professor named Seeker, wo had died in Xen'drik seeking out some kind of grove of ancient spells. The Morgrave Library had, in a sealed area, a record of his final expedition last year when he sought the frozen giant city of Yaoteco Venta that supposedly contained a vast array of powerful giant magic. There was also a record of what was on his final messenger. It was an image of glowing runes on massive stone walls, encased in ice, and the message "Such arcane treasures! Bring another translation stone, for spells of life and death, of terrifying insight, dimensional upheaval and arcane construction abound." Elias saw that at least a dozen others had checked these records in the past few months, and he gave them the list of names, although he expressed that many of those names were probably false. The records also mentioned a new expedition being prepared in Stormreach to leave in the month of Dravago.

Volan had one postscript to his message. After leaving Morgrave to go to the Sivis message station, he found a letter in his pocket, addressed to Pel. He didn't know how it had gotten there, but inside he found a short note he was supposed to pass along. It said simply "Green allies report a pale former friend has broken with their organization and taken a dozen of their agents. He seeks revenge, and may be in Xen'drik even now. Be on your guard."

As Lysander and Pel prepared to leave, a halfling barmaid came over with a bottle of wine from Sharn. Stuck to the underside of the bottle was a small folded note that read simply "Von Ruthvek's Splendors - Dravago 16 - Wear Disguise, I'll Find You - KJ" Lysander looked around, but was unable to determine who had sent the bottle, and the halfling barmaid said that she had found it sitting on a tray at her station with five platinum pieces and a note that told her to deliver it to a man fitting Lysander's description (in the disguise he was currently wearing.)

While Lysander and Pel were having their meeting, Brand and Luggoth went to buy and sell equipment. They visited The Citadel of the Twelve to purchase spells, magic items, weapon enchantments and the like, using a signed note from Baron Elvinor that indicated they were purchasing for her in order to avoid The Twelve's traditional 5% mark-up. They sold some goods to Black Iron, the smithy that specialized in giant-sized goods, as well as some to Von Ruthvek's Splendors of the South, one of the Stormreach's best known antiquities dealers and the best place in town to get strange and magical items identified. It was there that they first heard about the auction going on in one week's time.

As it turned out, a Professor Greyare, who had been presumed dead after going missing along with the rest of a Morgrave University Expedition a year ago, had returned to Stormreach about a month ago in the company of a pair of adventurers who had rescued him from a band of drow in the jungles of Xen'drik. Greyare had the journal of the head of the expedition, a warforged named Seeker, which purported to point the way to an immensely valuable lost giant city, and Valexa Von Ruthvek had partnered with Morgrave University and The Wayfinder Foundation to hold an auction for the journal. Von Ruthvek's is decked out for an enormous party to celebrate this auction, which also includes an auction for a number of smaller antiquities. As part of the money she paid them for antiquities and magic items purchased, Valexa gave Brand and Luggoth (in their disguised identities) four invitations to the event.

You have one week in which to get enchantments done, which means basically anything costing 7,000 gp or less (or any item you're buying new) will be finished. Anything costing more than 7,000 gp (like bumping a +2 weapon up to +3) will not be done by the time of the auction, which as you might have guessed is where we'll be starting the next adventure. So you'll be out that weapon when we start the adventure, waiting on its return from the sorcerers at The Citadel of the Twelve.

While in Stormreach, the Wolves discover a few interesting things about the city:
-Local crime is mostly run by The Bilge Rats, who run mugging, protection rackets and robbery from the ships and warehouses and who have loose ties to the Boromar Clan.

-There is a small inn named The Ship's Cat which is run by a shifter named Harysh and, as long as the Wolves don't mind sharing the inn with her dozen cats, they find that she offers excellent care to animal companions, as well as fair dealing and discretion, the latter of which would be hard to come by at the busier Chapterhouse.

-Just about every god is worshipped here, some under unfamiliar names taken from the giant pantheons. Since the Dark Six are worshipped openly in Stormreach, Pel finds the first public temple to the Traveler he's ever seen.

-House Jorasco has an impressive setup here, including a high-ranking spellcaster who can cast raise dead and a resurrection altar that can be used on behalf of favored clients. Pel wishes ruefully that they had discovered this before they made the deal with a cleric of The Keeper to resurrect him on their first trip here.

-There are an astonishing amount of gladiatorial battles held in the Red Ring, all legal under the auspices of the Storm Lords who run Stormreach.

-Once a month, a ring of ancient stones known as the Circle of Visions produces a programmed image that changes each time, sometimes something simple and sometimes something more sinister. No one knows if these are works of art from the Age of Giants, some sort of ongoing communication or prophecy or something else. While the Wolves are there, the Circle produces an image of meteor showers crashing into the jungles.

Questions for the comments section:
Does Luggoth take Cavoletta up on her offers? And if so, will he try to keep it secret from Savannah? If he's going to resist, I'm going to need three separate Will saves, at DC 15, DC 17 and DC 20, as his new ties to his bestial nature make her nature hard for you to resist.

Does Lysander want to scry on anyone in the 17 days between leaving Sheryn Wayfinder's community and going to the auction?

Will Brand try to sneak in some time with Saia while he's in Stormreach, even though it might put him at risk?

Does Pel have anything he wishes to do in Stormreach?

With a relatively secure but risky message system, is there anyone you want to send a message to back in Khorvaire? Keep in mind that each time you send a message, there's a chance that the system House Phiarlan has set up will be compromised, and you could lose contact with House Phiarlan in Khorvaire as a result.

Eberron Character: Garth d'Lyrandar

Name: Garth d'Lyrandar
Race: Half-Elf
Class: Rogue 1/Sorcerer 6/Windwright Captain 2
Experience: 40,500 (Next Level 45,000)
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Religion: The Traveler
Homeland: Stormhome, Aundair
Age: 29 Height: 5'1" Weight: 124 lbs.

Statistics: STR 10, DEX 16 (18), CON 12, INT 14, WIS 15, CHA 16 BAB +4, Fort +2 (+3), Ref +7 (+11), Will +8 (+9), Init +4 (+4), AC 19 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +1 Ring, +1 Amulet), HP 41

Skills: Balance +14, Bluff +9, Profession (Sailor) +13, Concentration +13, Diplomacy +8, Hide +12, Listen +5, Move Silently +12, Spellcraft +4, Spot +5*, Tumble +8, Use Magic Device +9

* = +3 in Daylight, Familiar bonus - All other skill bonuses, synergies and ability score bonuses added in to total

Spells: 0-level (6/day): Amanuensis, Detect Magic, Electric Jolt, Light, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Read Magic; 1st-level (7/day): Charm, Comprehend Languages, Identity, Lesser Orb of Electricity, Shield; 2nd-level (7/day): Alter Self, Electric Loop, Invisibility; 3rd-level (4/day): Hold Person, Lightning Bolt

Class Abilities: Acquire Ship (The Last Chance airship), Master Pilot, Shipboard Fighter, Uncanny Dodge, Trapfinding, Sneak Attack +1d6
Weapons/Attacks: +9 (1d6+3/18-20, +1 Rapier of Spell-Storing), +4 (1d6, quarterstaff)

Equipment: +1 Rapier of Spell-Storing, +1 Twilight Leather Armor, Amulet of Natural Armor +1, Ring of Protection +1, Ring of Mystic Lightning, Gloves of Dexterity +2, Wand of Magic Missiles (9th level, 50 charges), (2) potions of cure moderate wounds, backpack, 50' silk rope, quarterstaff, 1,270 GP
Feats: Least Dragonmark (Fog Cloud 1/Day, CL 8th), Lesser Dragonmark (Wind's Favor 1/day, CL 8th), Protective Mark, Weapon Finesse
Proficiencies: Simple Weapons, hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, short sword and light armor
Languages: Common, Elven, 2 more

Name: ??
Race: Hawk
Statistics: STR 6, DEX 17, CON 10, INT 8, WIS 14, CHA 6, BAB/Grapple +0/-10, Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +2, Init +3, AC 20 (Touch 15, Flat Footed 17), Speed 60' Flight, HP 4

Skills: Listen +6, Spot +18
Feats: Alertness, Weapon Finesse
Special Abilities: Low Light Vision, Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link, Deliver Touch Spells, Speak with Master
Weapons/Attacks: Talons +5 melee (1d4-2)

History: Garth d'Lyrandar grew up in Stormhome, Aundair, the son of two reasonably high-ranking members of House Lyrandar. His dragonmark manifested when he was in his early teens, and he began serving as a sailor aboard some of the Lyrandar galleons. Though his vessel wasn't directly involved in the conflict of the Last War, the route took them into naval battles with Karrnathi forces and the re-awakened pirates of the Lhazaar Principalities, and eventually he became a bit laissez faire about death, having seen so much of it.

Garth was never entirely clear what his father did for the House. It involved a lot of liaisons with other Houses, especially House Phiarlan and House Cannith. Unfortunately, that meant that he was in Cyre, working on something with House Cannith, on the Day of Mourning.

Whatever Garth's father was up to, it must have been important. Garth had been working his way up the ladder on the galleon, thinking that perhaps in 15 years he might be captain of his own airship. Instead, it took three. He was offered the chance to train as a Windwright Captain, and almost immediately after he'd completed the training, he was offered the chance to be captain of his own airship, which he named The Last Chance.

Garth wanted nothing more than to get far, far away from Stormhome and whatever House Lyrandar politics had gotten his father killed, and perhaps even been involved in whatever happened to create the Mournland. He took his shiny new airship, his half-elven crew and set sail for Xen'drik. He came equipped with a manufactured reputation for years of work, bolstered by some impressive flying through the dangerous skies around Xen'drik, and this reputation got him hired by The Native to go back to Khorvaire and pick up his son Brand and his friends the Wandering Wolves.

Which was a lucky break for Garth, as he was a worshiper of the Traveler, and believed, as did many of the faith, that Pel and his friends were innocent. The chance to help them clear their names was enough of a reward for him... shame House Lyrandar couldn't just take a percentage of that.

Upcoming Schedule for November - January

November 16th - No Gaming - Wizard World Texas
November 23rd - No Gaming - Thanksgiving
November 30th - No Gaming - Paul Out

December 7th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part One
December 14th - Final Character Building for Eyes of the Lich Queen (Paul out)
December 21st - No Gaming - Jason Out
December 28th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Two

January 4th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Three
January 11th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part One
January 18th - No Gaming - Rogues Gallery Anniversary Party
January 25th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Two

I figured it was probably time to go ahead and see if we wanted to try and schedule any gaming in December/January. I've scheduled based around what I can make, as folks chime in with comments I'll modify accordingly. If we wind up with no week where everyone can make it, maybe we can do some casual board/card gaming and character-building for the Eyes of the Lich Queen Eberron adventure in December, and get back to the Wolves in January.

If my planning on Lure of the Ancient Spells (the next Wolves adventure) is correct, then we should be able to take a break there after Part Five (ideally, although we could break at a different point) and run Eyes of the Lich Queen, based on when Matt's schedule is free. Figure Eyes will be a once every two or three weeks kind of thing, as we're planning it around Matt's schedule.

So chime in, let me know what weeks you're definitely (or possibly) out so we can firm up the holiday gaming schedule.

Ravenloft Character: Ashlyn the Undead Hunter

Name: Ashlyn
Race: Human
Class: Paladin 5/Exorcist of the Silver Flame 3
Experience: 28000
Alignment: Lawful Good
Religion: Silver Flame
Homeland: Thrane

Action Points: 9

Statistics: STR 14, DEX 8, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 14, CHA 18, BAB +8/+3, Fort +12, Ref +6, Will +9, Init -1, AC 20 (+10 armor, +1 shield, -1 Dex), Spd 20 ft, HP 65

Skills: Diplomacy +6, Heal +8, Knowledge (the planes) +3, Knowledge (religon) +10, Listen +2, Sense Motive +12, Spot +2

Class Abilities: Turn Undead (7/day, 2nd level), Flame of Censure, Weapon of the Exorcist (longsword), Weapon of Silver (longsword), Darkvision 30 ft., Resist Possession (+2 sacred bonus on charm/compulsion from undead, +4 to resist magic jar, etc.), Smite Evil 1/day (+4 to hit/1d6+3 damage), Smite Evil 2/day (+4 to hit/1d6+5 damage), Lay on Hands 20/day, Detect Evil at will, Divine Grace (already added in), Aura of Courage (+4 on saving throws vs. fear to allies within 10 feet), Divine Health (immune to all disease)

Weapons/Attacks: +12/+7 melee (1d8+4/19-20, +1 longsword), +8 ranged (1d8, masterwork light crossbow)

Equipment: +1 full plate, heavy steel shield, +1 longsword, masterwork light crossbow, 10 silvered bolts, 10 cold iron bolts, 10 alchemical flare bolts, 10 alchemical flare stakes, 2 alchemical sun flash, potion of eagle's splendor, potion of cure serious wounds

Feats: Lightning Reflexes, Silver Smiting, Toughness, Weapon Focus (Longsword)

Prepared Spells: 1st level (2/day): Bless Weapon, Cure Light Wounds

Proficiencies: Simple and martial weapons, all armor & shields (except tower)

Languages: Common

Enemies, allies, theories, tasks, etc.

"A deep game, my friends, with many pieces on the board," says Pel "As yet I do not clearly see whose hand it is that moves them all against us. A masterful player, to be sure, but we've a few moves of our own to make before contest ends."

Enemies and others to watch out for

The Lords of Dust
The Emerald Claw - known to have negotiated with the Tyrants
The nations of Breland, Aundair and Thrane
uh, King Boranel
The King's Dark Lanterns
The Tyrants and Boromar allied crime families
The fake Wandering Wolves - who/what are they?
The fake Pel - who is it?
Sharri d'Deneith and House Deneith
Uncle Aeromus and House Orien
Lucan and Grilsha
regular old Bounty Hunters - I really do hope we run into some, actually.


Allies and potential help

House Phiarlan (intel and PR)
The Native
Brand's boss's daughter - (forgot her name, if I ever knew it) she could probably help w/travel, our reputation in Orien, getting through to Hackrazet?
Lady Elaydren - compromised by apparent spies in House K'nieth
Cardinal Hetrion - hindered by Thrane's war stance
Lucan Drosa - Thranish spy
Verodin Atrelioth - Thranish paladin
The church of the Traveler - dicey but potentially useful
Chance - preist of the Traveler and casino mogul in Sharn
The Traveler him/herself - why not?!?
Captain Alastair of the Golden Dragon
The Swords of Liberty - Brelish anti-monarchist revolutionaries (are they just Brelish? what's their deal? Classic movements of this type are often composed of a wealthy merchant middle class, or disgruntled peasants)
Ambassador Avadarrn of Karnath
Lysander's contact in Zilargo
just thought of him - Halas Martain?
our friends at Clifftop Guild including...

Elias Volan (mage) and his band which at last count also had a rogue, a cleric and a bard.

Hackrazet, Farmer Demon - surrounded by House Orien guards.
Tyman Karch - wealthy merchant of Fairhaven, has a paper and printing concern in Sharn
Cord Lanner - former enemy, current status unknown
Moloch - Daask Lt., status unknown

Theories and questions

Who is ultimately behind this? How are the Lords of Dust involved?
Is this a monolithic conspiracy or is a single individual/organization pulling the many strings?
Who would stand to gain by this war?
Is King Boranel a mover in this or is he being manipulated? Has he gone mad?
Why have the Wolves been specifically targeted? Who wants us out of the way and why?
How did they know about Gareth's Gear? Did they know we own it or were they just targeting Tock?

ok, well, I guess that's just questions. Answering some of these will help formulate the theories...and suggest more questions, I'm sure.

Suggested actions

Before we go to Xen'drik I suggest we do the following:

1. Make contact with our...contacts in House Phiarlan. They may be our best conduit for info/msgs in and out of Sharn and can help on several fronts.
a. General intel gathering - no one's better for this
b. Spreading positive WW PR thru bards and such. Manipulate teh scuttlebutt.
c. Vampirism cure research at Morgrave - I'd suggest they approach Elias Volan for this job, and he can put to good use the education that we paid for.*
d. If needed, Elias could likely also get general geo-political knowledge from Morgravian scholars as well. I'm sure the war is a hot topic on campus.
e. Sniff out Swords of Liberty as a possible resource
f. perhaps employ pamphleteering by SoL, poss. using Tyman Karch somehow**
g. if discoverable, Pel is curious about the fates of Cord Lanner and Moloch
i. find the spy in House K'Neith?
k. anything else?

*when all this is done we ought to set up a WW sholarship at Morgrave. or maybe just a Pel Grant. Ooooh!

**got the seeds of a scheme in mind how to do this, i'll put them at the end.

2. Pel would like to get a message to Chance at the Traveller's church in Sharn, whether through Phiarlan by some other means. The msg would re-state the Wolves innocence, breifly explaining where we've been, and point out that the "Pel" in Sharn is not Pel (if he hadn't already figured that out). It would likely include some cryptic phrase that would prove the sender's identity. Pel would ask that the truth be spread through the church's grapevine, with an appeal to render us aid when and where possible. (I blew a feat on having clerical clout and I expect it to pay off, damnit!)

3. Get similar messages to as many of the following as possible, however we can:
a. Ambassador Avadarrn
b. Brand's "girlfriend"
c. Captain Alastair (where is the Golden Dragon currently? what's it's schedule?)
d. Lysander's "gnomie" in Zilargo
e. Lady Elaydren (w/warning about spies)
f. Tyman Karch
g. Anyone else we can think of

These notes would all need to be be cryptically bland enough to escape undue scrutiny, yet with clues that mean something to the intended receiver.

4. Find a way to revive Tock. Shipped to Zilargo/vice versa?

5. Maybe have "Gareth" make an appearance in Sharn, perhaps filing some kind of claim on the shop. Pel can't do this, obviously, and the only person I can think of that might be able/willing to is Chance. I'm not married to this idea - it has some complications.

6. Once we have a better idea of what the vampire cure is, it may be needful to locate William before we head out - depends on what it is. I'm really excited about this idea and can't stress enough how important I think it is. Not only will it solve the William/Sharri/House Deneith problem, it could potentially do the same for Lucan, or anyone else who doesn't want to be a vampire anymore, thereby revolutionizing the entire undead economy!

7. Any other ideas, anyone?


a pamphleteering scheme might work as follows - If Karch and the SoL (or others) can be contacted and are willing to help, Master Karch's facility could be "broken into" and the necessary supplies "stolen". This would divert suspicion from Karch when tracts produced on his equipment begin to appear.

Before any of that of course, Pel will send a Message to Tyman Karch (Pel takes 10 on his diplomacy when composing this, giving him a 20):

Dear Master Karch,

Appropriate salutations.

I wanted to express once again my gratitude for your patronage, and the pleasure of having met you and your lovely family, despite the mildly unpleasant events of our journey.

I regret to say that due to the current circumstances, the speculative venture we discussed has been temporarily put on hold. My stating this may cause you some suprise at this missive, but may also allow you to correctly conclude that a certain politician is not who he claims to be, nor that my associates, whom are also known to you, have committed the acts which have been reported of them.

Though our proposed business matter cannot be pursued at this time, it may be possible for you, if you are willing, to lend some rather invaluable aid to our just cause, such as would greatly put us in your debt. If so, we will attempt to contact you again, either directly or through a verifiably trustworthy representative.

An appropriately pleasant closing statement.

Your Truly,
P of the WW

Characters, Backup Characters & House Rules

In order to help me with planning, can folks make sure and update their characters on the blog sometime in the next couple of weeks? If nothing else, if everyone could post in the comments what level you are (I believe everyone but Pel is 10th, but Pel may have reached 10th as well), that would be much appreciated.

Does everyone have a backup character that they might want to play in place? If not, it might be worth making one just in case.

Backup characters will always be built one level behind the average level of the party, which as of the last adventure is now level 10. This does mean that resurrection, even though it costs a level, is just as viable an option as a backup character, *if* you can find someone to resurrect you. You will have the XP in the middle between the level you are and the level of the rest of the party.

So currently, if you build a backup character, that character is level 9, and has 40,500 XP. You can spend as much of that XP as you want on building magic items if you have Crafting feats, as long as you don't exceed the cash limits for those items.

Which are: You will start with the wealth indicated on the Character Wealth by Level table (DMG, p. 135). Currently, that is 36,000 gp. You can spend up to 19,000 gp on a weapon (up to +3) or up to 16,000 on any one other magic item (no more than +3 armor, in other words). Other than that, no more than 9000 gp on any one item. This means that with the exception of the one special bonus item, you're limited to +2 weapons and armor. In addition, any wondrous item that costs more than 2500 gp, or any item that comes from a source other than the main Eberron book or the DMG, is subject to GM approval. You'll probably get it, but I reserve the right to say no.

I'm also instituting a new house rule regarding death. Instead of dying at -10, your character now dies if you exceed your Constitution score in negative hit points. This will make you considerably more durable and a little more resistant to instant kills, I hope.

I'm Rich, Bitch! - Dividing The Treasure

I've also updated the Party Treasure listing, and you'll find that you've got roughly 17,800 GP worth of gold, platinum, silver and gems therein. If you want to divide it and leave the party treasure empty of everything save a few silver, you could have 4,450 GP each. On top of that, you have the following if you sell it all in Stormreach:

TOTAL SALE VALUE
43,335 GP (or roughly 10,800 gp each with 135 gp left for Party Treasure)
+1 Buoyant Splint Mail (2675 gp)
Granite Cup (100 gp)
Adamantine Armband with Ruby Inlay (400 gp)
Silver-Plated Copper Anklet (120 gp)
(1) Scale Mail (25 gp)
(1) Heavy Steel Shield (10 gp)
+1 Slick Studded Leather Armor (2475 gp)
Cloak of Resistance +1 (500 gp)
+2 Greataxe (4160 gp)
+1 Spear of Returning (4150 gp)
Masterwork Longsword (160 gp)
+2 Full Plate (2) (5,650 gp for both)
+1 Heavy Steel Shield (2) (1,170 gp for both)
+1 Healing Half Plate (4875 gp)
+2 Twilight Leather Armor (4580 gp)
+1 Studded Leather (585 gp)
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 (2) (2000 gp for both)
Cierra's Spellbook (Sell for 1700 gp)
8000 gp worth of spell components

As you can see, this will leave each of you quite wealthy to buy magic items or engage in your various plans and schemes. It will also leave the magic shops of Stormreach quite well stocked for a week or two at least.

In addition, here's what you each claimed personally for your treasure from the Corrupting Flame's hoard:

PEL
Ring of Invisibility
+2 Glamered Studded Leather
Eternal Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds
Hat of Anonymity
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds

LYSANDER
Ring of Protection +2
+1 Brutal Surge Whip (4150 gp if sold)
(13) +1 Arrows
Amulet of Health +2 (the Hand of the Mage will fetch 450 gp at market)
Wand of Magic Missile (5th level, 32 charges)
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds
Talisman of the Disk

BRAND
+3 Warhammer (9160 gp)
+2 Morningstar (8154 gp)
Minor Cloak of Displacement
+1 Hunting Longbow
+1 Bastard Sword
Potion of Cure Light Wounds
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (2)

LUGGOTH
+2 Greataxe
Masterwork Composite Longbow (Str 15) w/ (14) +1 Arrows
Bolt Shirt
Potion of Cure Light Wounds
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (2)
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds

It seems worth noting that upgrading a magic weapon from +1 to +2 costs 6,000 gp (and takes 6 days), upgrading from +2 to +3 costs 10,000 gp (and takes 10 days). Upgrading armor from +1 to +2 costs 3,000 gp (and takes 3 days), +2 to +3 costs 5,000 gp (and takes 5 days) and +3 to +4 costs 7,000 gp (and takes 7 days). Anything above that is beyond the scope of Stormreach's shops, or indeed most cities that aren't the size of Sharn or Fairhaven. Those costs are cumulative, by the way... upgrading from a +1 weapon to a +3 weapon costs 16,000 gp and requires 16 days total. Buying equivalent bonuses (keen, shock, etc.) are usually the same, although some abilities (especially ones in the Magic Item Compendium) have flat costs instead that tend to be higher. Buying a +1 magic weapon generally costs between 1,300 and 1,400 gp.

Oh, on an unrelated note, one of my regular customers (Chris Jones) has gamed a little bit with the Sunday group, and he's a nice guy who I think would fit in well with the group. Though a novice gamer, I asked him if he'd be interested in joining the group and he expressed an interest. Since he's a relatively new gamer, I don't know that he'd want to take on the daunting task of playing your spellcaster, but he might be able to play a new ally for the Wolves to help bolster the gaming party back up to five members.

Upcoming Schedule for October & November

October 12th - Savage Worlds Pulp
October 19th - Expedition to Castle Ravenloft Arc Three
October 26th - Halloween Movie Night at Nate's

November 2nd - Expedition to Castle Ravenloft Arc Three
November 9th - Expedition to Castle Ravenloft Arc Three
November 16th - No Gaming - Wizard World Texas
November 23rd - No Gaming - Thanksgiving
November 30th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part One

OK, here's the schedule for the next couple months. Let me know in you comments if you guys would rather I prep for Eberron (the Wolves) or Deadlands at the end of November. Post about what's been going on while you've been hunting the Lords of Dust for a couple months should be coming later tonight or tomorrow.

Eberron Interlude: Return To The Eldeen Reaches

Eyre 28

When the Wandering Wolves reached the community of Sheryn Wayfinder, they were surprised to see several familiar faces. Arenydee had arrived from Sharn about two weeks ago, and with her were Luggoth's girlfriend Savannah and her son Borgoth. There was another shifter, too, a ruggedly attractive woman named Cavoletta whom they had met on the road.

Arenydee fills the Wolves in on what has been happening since they last communicated with Sharn, almost two months ago. After spending a couple of days in Fairhaven visiting with old friends, Arenydee took the Lightning Rail back to Sharn, where she did a variety of work for House Phiarlan. After getting some of the messages from the road from Lysander, she did a little digging on Cardinal Hetrion, to find out when he was traveling, but she never knew where to send the message.

On Therendor 20, Arenydee was relaxing in the House Phiarlan enclave when a pair of frightened shifters came in, asking for her. They were Savannah and her son Borgoth, and they claimed to have been attacked in the streets by fiendish looking humanoids of some sort. They fled to the Silver Flame chapel where they worshiped, but Savannah wanted to talk to Luggoth and let him know about this, because of the messages they had exchanged and the worry he had shown for them. Arenydee arranged for Savannah and Borgoth to stay with her until they sorted things out.

That turned out to be trickier than she had first thought, because on the night of Therendor 21, in the middle of a City Council party at the Celestial Vista Restaurant, someone tried to assassinate King Boranel. And House Phiarlan being what it is, they knew before the Sharn Inquisitive printed it the next day who that someone was.

It is at this point that Arenydee produces a copy of the Sharn Inquisitive for Therendor 22, with the front page article: "Renowned Adventurers Disrupt Event With Attempted Regicide." The article goes on to describe how the Wandering Wolves (made up of Luggoth, Maechen, Lysander and Brand), despite not having been invited to the party or seen prior to the attack, launched an ill-fated assassination attempt on King Boranel and his entourage, including his young bride. The King's guard held them off, and the Wolves were forced to flee. An investigation is ongoing, and King Boranel has offered a 2,000 gp reward for the capture of each member of the Wolves.

Arenydee tried to contact the Wolves. She had received a communique from Lysander just a week prior, indicating that they were heading to the Eldeen Reaches. She intended to set out for the Reaches immediately, but before she could leave, she heard word that Gareth's Gear had burned down, with at least two people inside it at the time. Gareth's was owned by a dear friend, she explains, and though his body was not found inside, the ruined metal and wood form of Tock, the store's artificer, and the body of dwarven manager Jalis ir'Mroranon were.

Baron Elvinor summoned Arenydee and told her that she suspected a conspiracy against the Wolves, and that they wouldn't hesitate to act against their loved ones. She arranged passage to Aundair on the Lightning Rail before things got worse, providing Arenydee with false identities and money to get them clear. The investigative powers of House Phiarlan were already being brought to bear on this clear frame of the Wolves.

Arenydee managed to keep up on the news, both through reading the Korranberg Chronicle and by using her own contacts. When Arenydee and her companions arrived in Fairhaven five days later, they immediately went to stay with Lady Elaydren, and she told them what had developed in that time. The Wolves had left about two weeks ago, and since then, Elaydren had been keeping tabs on information about them out in the world. She was quite distressed by what she had found.

After three days of investigation, the King announces that the Wolves had been involved in some sort of altercation in Thrane, and they were wanted there as well. Questions at their guild revealed that they had arrived back in Sharn a week ago, and that they had been seen talking with a half-orc who was now identified as a member of the Daask. Questioning Pel revealed that the group had taken on a contract from Droamm, which he had refused on moral grounds. He didn't know exactly what it entailed, only that it involved a great deal of money. Documents and platinum found in the living quarters of Luggoth revealed that they had taken on a contract from the Hags of Droaam to kill King Boranel. The King announced the formation of a special task force to hunt down the Wolves and bring them to justice.

He also announced that this was an act of war by Droaam, and increases the troops on the border. After a quick vote from the City Council, the Daask "arrest on sight" order was changed to "killed on sight," and a de facto martial law started in the lower territories of Sharn.

Statements were released in the Sharn Inquisitive and the Korranberg Chronicle by House Deneith and House Orien, both condemning the Wolves. Sharri d'Deneith promised the assistance of House Deneith to the King's task force, while Aeromus d'Orien expressed his deep regret about Brand, spilling dirty laundry about his father and saying that he should have trusted his instincts, rather than his desire to see his nephew redeem himself. Brand was officially exiled from House Orien, and Orien announced its intention to help capture the Wolves by posting information and making their own security aware of the Wolves and their compatriots. House Phiarlan issued a statement denying Lysander's involvement, claiming that this was a frame, but they could not provide proof of his whereabouts, and were generally discredited in the media by Sharri d'Deneith.

Arenydee explains that she, Savannah and Borgoth were only in Fairhaven for three days when they were attacked out in the open by fiendish agents of the Lords of Dust. She fought them off, but determined that their cover had been blown, and it was time to move again. Elaydren provided them with horses and Cannith security to get them to the Eldeen Reaches, where they could hopefully find the Wolves. She expressed her willingness to help, although Arenydee admits to you that she thinks Elaydren's house is compromised. She doesn't doubt Elaydren's sincerity, but believes that there are agents watching her and waiting for the Wolves to contact her for help.

While riding towards Varna in the Eldeen Reaches, Arenydee and her group was attacked. This time, in addition to a half-fiend leading from the air, there was a Zakya Rakshasa and other fiendish troops. The Cannith bodyguards fell quickly, and Arenydee was sure they were going to die. That's when Cavoletta made her presence known. Cavoletta burst in, and at first Savannah and Borgoth thought she was Luggoth. She tore into the attackers and drove them off, then revealed to Arenydee that she had been following them ever since they left Fairhaven. Arenydee tells you that this confirmed suspicions she had that they were being followed.

Cavoletta at this point breaks in to explain. She has been trying to find Luggoth ever since seeing stories about him in the Korranberg Chronicle. Like him, she is a weretouched master, and she only recently learned the truth about her family. Her human mother and father told her that they had found her when she was just a tiny child, beaten and bloody and near-death. They took her in, but were never able to figure out where she came from. Cavoletta believes that she was a member of Luggoth's tribe who survived the attack, and she's been looking for him ever since. She heard of Savannah and Borgoth in Sharn, and following rumors about their travel north, she went to Fairhaven. She heard about the attack on them and went to offer her aid, but she quickly found out that it was too late, and that they had fled the city. Using her tracking abilities, she followed them, and caught up to them a day before the attack. She had been off hunting to find some food as a peace offering before making contact, and came back just in time to help Arenydee drive of the agents of the Lords of Dust.

After five more days of traveling together, Arenydee, Cavoletta, Savannah and Borgoth reached Varna. They arranged to stay the night at an inn while Arenydee checked in discreetly with House Phiarlan. Much had happened while they were on the road. "The Sigilstar Accords" were signed in Thrane, with Aundair, Thrane and Breland declaring war on the nation of Droaam. The very day before they had arrived in Varna, these accords were acted upon, and Droaam was invaded by military forces from those three nations. Back in Sharn, Councilor Sava was killed by Daask forces, and her trusted aide Pel had taken over and was taking a hardline stance against the Daask and the gang war, helping to mobilize increasing numbers of Watch forces against the Daask.

Five days later, Arenydee, Cavoletta, Savannah and Borgoth arrived in Sheryn Wayfinder's village, only to hear that the Wolves had gone into the Demon Wastes about a week ago. They resolved to wait, and hope that no further attacks from the Lords of Dust or whoever was behind this conspiracy against the Wolves materialized in the meantime. That was almost two weeks ago.

The day before the Wolves returned, Baron Elvinor d'Phiarlan sent a messenger to speak with Arenydee at the druid community. After verifying her identity, this messenger told them that Elvinor had discovered a few things about the conspiracy. First, she was certain the Tyrants were involved, as the impersonation of the Wolves during the "assassination" was nearly flawless. If she wasn't sure it was a frame, she'd believe it was the Wolves themselves. Certainly Pel's exclusion from the group of assassins pointed to Tyrant involvement, but Elvinor knows that Pel is with the Wolves, so it seems that he may have been excluded from these plans as well. Indeed, Pel is probably in more danger than the rest of the Wolves, because someone has taken his identity, and Elvinor very much doubts it was without the permission of the Council of Tyrants. She has heard that the Council has new leadership, a changeling named Vadis having taken over and formed an alliance with the Boromar, bringing the gang war in Sharn to a close. There are even rumors that this new Boromar-Tyrant alliance is cooperating with the Sharn Watch and King's Dark Lanterns to root out the remaining Daask, as part of the war effort.

Elvinor heard that Cardinal Ossul Hetrion launched a raid on an Archbishop's home in Thaliost almost a month ago. A bishop believed to be in league with the Lords of Dust was killed, and a paladin and town priest were found in the basement of the Archbishop's mansion, tortured but alive. Their tales of Rakshasas, however, were without physical proof, and Hetrion's charges and claims of the Wolves' innocence were shouted down by the other Cardinals. All of this information was hushed up, but Phiarlan has spies everywhere. Elvinor believes that because Thrane went to war with Droaam partially due to the actions of the "Wolves," they can't afford to believe that they were tricked, and so they are avoiding looking too deeply into the matter.

Elvinor also knows that the task force hunting the Wolves is exceptionally skilled, featuring agents from the Citadel, the King's Dark Lanterns and even the Redcloak Brigade. Though even House Phiarlan was unable to discern their makeup, Elvinor has heard rumors that they have tracked the Wolves to Fairhaven and are no doubt on their way to the Eldeen Reaches. She has no doubt that, as it stands, they are more powerful than the Wolves in stand-up fight. Her suggestion is that they should flee to Xen'drik, where the reach of Khorvaire's laws doesn't quite extend, while the resources of House Phiarlan are put to work finding out more about who framed them and how it can be reversed. To avoid legal entanglements, she suggests traveling on foot to Zarash'ak inside the Shadow Marches, then paying to get aboard an independent cargo ship headed to Stormreach. It will be slow, as the trip is nearly two months long, but better that than running across the military and law enforcement forces of Thrane, Breland and Aundair, all of whom are now looking for the Wolves based on agreements in the Sigilstar Accords. Elvinor has provided Arenydee with 100 platinum, which she believes will be enough to get them all aboard a ship.

Treasure of the Order of the Corrupting Flame

The following list is what you found on the persons and in the lair of the Order of the Corrupting Flame. Post in the comments what you want to claim for your characters, and you guys can sell the rest when next we play.

Weapons:
+3 Warhammer
+2 Morningstar
+2 Greataxe (2)
+1 Spear of Returning
Masterwork Composite Longbow (Str 15)
+1 Hunting Longbow
(27) +1 Arrows
Masterwork Longsword

Armor:
+2 Full Plate (2)
+1 Heavy Steel Shield (2)
+1 Healing Half Plate
+2 Twilight Leather Armor
+2 Glamered Studded Leather
+1 Studded Leather

Magic Items:
Amulet of Health +2
Eternal Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds
Minor Cloak of Displacement
+2 Ring of Protection
Wand of Magic Missile (5th level, 32 charges)
Hat of Anonymity
Amulet of Natural Armor +1 (2)
Cloak of Arachnida
Bolt Shirt
Ring of Invisibility
Scroll of Create Undead (11th)
Scroll of Teleportation Circle (17th)

Potions:
Cure Light Wounds (2)
Cure Moderate Wounds (6)
Cure Serious Wounds

Cierra's Spellbook:
1st - Charm Person, Distract Assailant, Feather Fall, Identify, Inhibit, Magic Missile, Ray of Flame, Shield; 2nd - Arcane Lock, Hideous Laughter, Invisibility, Scorch, See Invisibility, Sting Ray; 3rd - Dispel Magic, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Lesser Telepathic Bond, Ray of Dizziness

Money and Goods:
8000 gp worth of spell components
20 vials of ink, 100 sheets of parchment
1000 pp
500 gp
1000 gp worth of gems

Upcoming Schedule for September and October

September 7th - Savage Worlds Pulp Character-Building (Paul out)
September 14th - Game Off
September 21st - Savage Worlds Pulp (Paul out)
September 28th - Savage Worlds Pulp

October 5th - Savage Worlds Pulp (?)
October 12th - Expedition to Castle Ravenloft Arc Three
October 19th - Expedition to Castle Ravenloft Arc Three
October 26th - Expedition to Castle Ravenloft Arc Three

OK, so we're taking the second week of September 14th off because Paul, Nate and Dave are all out, and Randy will be very tired. Then we'll play Savage Worlds pulp to completion, either through September or into October depending on how long it runs, and then pick up with Ravenloft again in October, if that's cool with Nate.

For November, we can either come back to the Wolves, go back to pirates or play Deadlands (which I'm reading and prepping). I've also got the alternate Eberron campaign based on their "Eyes of the Lich Queen" mega-adventure that's supposed to run from 5th-9th level. Figure that if Matt Sturges wanted to play D&D, I might run that when he's available, so we have an alternate campaign to accommodate schedules.

I know that one week of November is Wizard World Texas, and we won't play then.

Adventure: The Demons' Prophecy (7)

Eyre 22 - Eyre 27

The journey across the Demon Wastes was as harrowing as Gorash had promised. Fortunately for The Wolves, even without Gorash's guidance, Brand and Luggoth's expert tracking and hunting skills were up to the task of catching enough food to keep them fed, and the Cardinal's decanter gave them enough water. They moved more slowly due to the hunting, but they continued the 12 hour a day marching, which allowed them to make up the time.

The marching was grueling, and every day at least one of the Wolves would be exhausted by the end of it, collapsing into Daern's Instant Tent and resting for the night, healing whatever minor wounds they had gotten in conflict with the creatures on the Wastes. The Wolves were able to handle many of them with relatively little difficulty, but they never had a day when they weren't subjected to some kind of attack.

On the second day, as the sun was at its hottest, their journey took them across a series of mesas surrounded by a river of lava, with creaky, half-broken wood and rope bridges connecting them. As they approached, a group of ten half-orc barbarians, members of the Carrion Tribe known as the Plaguebearers, came rushing at them. Some of them leaped fifteen feet across to get at them, while others rushed without care over the precarious bridges.

Maechen cast Haste as spears flew past Lysander and Brand, and as Pel cast a bull's strength on Luggoth and Lysander cast mirror image on himself. Luggoth had his greatsword out and swinging at the nearest Plaguebearer, slashing him three times across the chest, back and shoulder, but the barbarian roared angrily in response, refusing to die so easily, even after Maechen peppered him with magic missiles. Brand pulled out the brutal surge whip, swinging it with both hands for balance and knocking one of the Plaguebearers over the side, but the barbarian managed to grab hold of the mesa and begin pulling himself back up.

The Plaguebearers flew into a rage, swinging their filth-encrusted spears and destroying most of Lysander's mirror images, as well as wounding Luggoth, Maechen and Pel. Lysander drew his rapier and attacked, stabbing one of the barbarians viciously in the kidney, leaving him bleeding and weak, but still alive, at least until Pel finished him off with a barrage of magic missiles from his wand.

Luggoth chopped the head off his wounded foe and swung through into the next, following up with a vicious blow that literally cut him off at the knees and stabbing into his fallen torso to kill him as well. Brand, meanwhile, threw a wolf from his bag of tricks into the midst of another group of Plaguebearers before moving in to assist it.

The Plaguebearers showed no fear at having lost three of their members, and while one of them threw a spear at Maechen, the others destroyed Lysander's last mirror image and struck Lysander himself, and another stabbed Brand once more with his filthy spear. Maechen responded to his attacker with an acid orb, and Lysander once again unleashed a flurry of blows on one of the barbarians, knocking him off-balance with well-placed stabs at his arms, legs and chest. Luggoth moved in between the suddenly exposed Lysander and his foes, slashing the off-balanced foe across the chest three times to finish him before moving on to swing his sword at another barbarian.

As Brand waded into melee alongside his wolf, swinging his shortsword and rapier together, Pel drew his scimitar and waded into melee as well. Maechen stepped back behind him and fired his wand of magic missiles at the barbarian who had been struck with an acid orb, who continued to battle, stabbing a spear into Pel, before Lysander moved over and finished him off with a pair of deadly rapier stabs. Lysander opened up an attack on another Plaguebearer, which Luggoth finished off with a series of deadly blows from his greatsword.

Brand continued to exchange blows with his foes, looking more and more like a dirty pincushion, but he did finish off his opponent. Meanwhile, Lysander and Luggoth combined to kill two more. Battling the last remaining Plaguebearer, Pel took another spear hit, but responded with a flurry of rapier strikes, including one that included a burst of deadly power from his devastation gauntlets, and Maechen finished him off with a blast of magic missiles.

As they caught their breath, recovering from the quick but brutal battle, the Wolves looked behind them and to the west and saw an army of at least one hundred more of the Plaguebearers charging at them. Lysander cast Allegro as Maechen's Haste spell faded, and the Wolves dashed across the rickety bridges over the lava. Brand slashed the bridges behind them with his longsword, staying just ahead of the raging horde, and he was last across one of the bridges when it snapped underneath him, but he managed to leap over to the mesa, and the Wolves got safely away.

Two days later, just after sunrise, as the Wolves had begun following a brackish green stream of what might have been water, they came upon a massive beast, dressed in chainmail, drinking from the foul water. It turned and its red eyes burned as it charged at them, fire bursting from its nostrils and mouth.

Maechen recognized it, yelling out "It's a Nessian warhound! They're pets of fiends!" as it moved toward them, showing a caution that indicated its fiendish cunning. Luggoth shifted and charged, and the warhound bit into him as he came in close, hard enough that his fiery jaws even cut through the protection of Pel's fire resistance spells. Brand moved in to assist his friend, suffering a savage bite from the warhound as well, but biting back with a slash of his shocking shortsword.

As Lysander began singing a song to inspire the Wolves, Pel pulled a scroll from his case and let loose with a burst of searing light that singed the beast. Luggoth attacked, finding the chainmail barding and natural armor of the warhound difficult to punch through, but successfully slashing it once, and it responded with a breath of fire against Pel, Luggoth and Brand. Brand's ring protected him, and Pel dove out of the way with his roguish quickness, and Luggoth suffered only minor burns. The warhound took note of this muted reaction to his usually deadly fire breath and switched over to biting for the rest of the fight.

Pel cast bull's strength on Luggoth as Maechen once again hasted the entire group, but when he moved to join the combat, a deep crack in the earth split even further, nearly causing him to tumble in. Lysander leaped over the chasm before it could completely separate him from the rest of the Wolves, tumbling in to join the fight.

Luggoth flew into a rage, slashing and chopping at the warhound, which gave as good as it got with vicious bites. However, there was only one of the warhound, while there were many Wolves, and Brand and Lysander assisted Luggoth in melee as Pel and Maechen fired crossbow and magic missiles at it. Pel's bolt hit the warhound in the ear, causing it to bleed but having surprisingly little effect in terms of pain.

The Wolves, having dealt what seemed like a massive amount of damage to the beast with little outward effect beyond blood and anger, began to think about withdrawing, but Luggoth slashed again, cutting off one of the warhound's foreleg and then bringing his sword down through its skull, causing the red light to go out of its eyes.

After some quick healing using spells and wands, the Wolves moved on, and found the rest of the day relatively uneventful.

Two more days of travel later, deep into the night, the Wolves spotted a castle in the distance that they believed to be the headquarters of the Order of the Corrupting Flame. Brand was somewhat tired, and Lysander a little bit as well, but the rest of the Wolves were relatively hale and hearty, and they determined not to wait any longer before approaching. After a brief discussion, figuring out who could see in the dark conditions (Pel with his goggles, Lysander and Luggoth with their natural abilities), they decided to use invisibility on Maechen, Luggoth and Pel while Lysander and Brand snuck in with them, Lysander leading the way. After about two minutes of walking at a hurried pace, they saw that approaching the castle wouldn't be quite so easy.

The castle was situated in the middle of a stone formation, clearly modified by magic, that sat a hundred feet above a huge (Lysander estimated it at about 100-150 feet wide) lake of lava. The only means of access was via a 15 foot wide bridge of stone, and guarding that bridge was an assortment of skeletons, zombies and other undead. In addition to the tower, there were three smaller structures on the stony island, none of them any closer to the bridge. With five minutes to go before their invisibility wore off, Brand used his ability to dimension door the group to the front door of the tower.

Pel went to work on the lock with his tools, only to discover that the door wasn't locked. The Wolves quietly snuck in, finding a massive pit filled with spikes, skeletons and decomposing bodies in the entryway. Lysander looked down and saw that the bodies showed obvious signs of torture, and that they included men, women and children. Though none of the Wolves heard it, Maechen accidentally kicked some stones into the sides of the pit, alerting their foes in the next room. Byron and Cierra Deloreth, the ranger/assassin and mage of the Order respectively, as well as Oreth Cyrt, their half-orc barbarian/rogue, were in the next room. Byron spotted two of the Wolves and realized there were more there, so he had his sister cast see invisibility and invisibility on him, as Oreth cast Shield of Faith. Oreth and Cierra climbed the ladder to warn the others as Byron stayed behind to prepare a welcome.

The Wolves entered the common room of the castle, which was divided by a lake of naturally occurring lava, metal roasting spits hung across for cooking. They also saw a water barrel full of fresh water. At the back of the room, standing in front of the ladder leading upwards, there were six skeletons, the servants of Oreth and Cierra, but the actual members of the Corrupting Flame had already moved or vanished.

Little did they know that Byron was moving in, his masterwork longsword drawn, preparing to launch an assassin's strike on Luggoth. He became visible as he stabbed the sword, but Luggoth's toughness and agility saved him, and Byron used his bolt shirt to teleport over to the top of the ladder, hanging on by means of his cloak of Arachnida.

Lysander fired his bow, hitting Byron, but the assassin managed to flip out of the way avoid Maechen's lightning bolt. However, upon landing back on the ladder, he caught a crossbow bolt in the gut from Pel. He fired his own bow at Luggoth, sinking an arrow into his chest, before jumping up and onto the higher level.

Up on the higher levels, as Oreth went to warn Suthar Askarda, the blackguard leader, and Mareth, the cleric, Cierra was casting shield on herself, and Vento cast shield of faith and bull's strength to prepare himself. Down below, Brand cast embrace the wild to gain the scent ability in order to detect Byron, and Lysander cast Eagle's Splendor on Pel, who used his newly enhanced turning to destroy the skeletons.

The Wolves began climbing up the ladder as the Order continued casting spells, with Mareth casting Shield of Faith and Veil of Shadow, a spell Vento also cast on himself. The Order was ready for a battle, as were the Wolves, when Brand initiated the combat by dimension leaping onto the second level. Cierra responded with a ray of dizziness that missed him, and then Vento charged in with Rhino's Rush, slashing him with his greataxe. Luggoth responded by shifting and leaping into the room, causing fear in Byron and slashing his sword across Vento's right arm, denting his plate mail.

Brand moved in to join Luggoth in attacking Vento, and Vento responded by slashing Brand with his axe. Byron tried once again to shoot Luggoth with an arrow using his Distract Assailant spells, but failed to connect with the armored and heavily agile shifter, and he took a burst of magic missiles from Maechen in return. Pel cast Prayer, aiding his allies and weakening his enemies.

As Suthar and Mareth climbed down the ladder to join the combat, Cierra tried to cast Hold Person on Luggoth and, when that failed, dropped a fireball in the midst of the Wolves. Unfortunately for her, the fireball had little effect on the Wolves but was enough to finish off Vento after the damage he'd suffered from Luggoth and Brand. Byron began firing arrows in bursts of three, first at Luggoth and then at Brand, and Lysander stepped up to cast a cure moderate from the wand on the beleaguered Brand.

As the battle was joined in earnest, Maechen cast Haste on the Wolves and Pel used a Keen Edge scroll on his scimitar. Tired of being fired upon, Luggoth charged in to attack Byron, but the one who had his attention was Suthar.

"Foul beast! Do you truly believe the Silver Flame didn't know? The passage spoke of tilting the balance, of struggle... could they trust that this unknown child, tainted with the very beast blood that the Silver Flame had once fought against, would tilt towards good? Or was it not imperative that they act? If they were wrong, the Prophecy would unfold without them, but if they were right, they would be saving the world from great evil."

Mareth cast Sacred Healing so that all of the Order would begin regenerating as Oreth joined the battle, attacking but missing Luggoth, and Cierra fired a Divine Vengeance spell at Brand. Byron stepped back from Luggoth, firing arrows, but he was shaken by Luggoth's intimidating presence and missed all three shots, which allowed Luggoth to painlessly move forward and slash him again. Pel cast a web spell that slowed all of the Order and trapped Oreth.

As Mareth cast a Mass Aid spell to counteract Pel's Prayer, Suthar closed with Luggoth and began attacking him, ranting all the while. "According to the Prophecy, you're fated to kill Jaela and plunge Eberron into war again. So you see, my bestial friend... you're as damned as I. You just haven't committed your act of heresy yet."

Luggoth responded by saying "You don't understand, I don't care if I'm damned, as long as you're dead!" and landed two vicious blows on Suthar.

"And I don't care if I die, as long as you're damned," Suthar responded, spitting blood onto the floor. "Your father didn't die quickly, you know. He fought like a demon to prevent me from getting to you. I had to disembowel him to get him to stop, and even then he kept clawing at me, pathetically, trying to stop me. His resolve was actually quite impressive... even though my men had cut off your mother's head, even though I had your baby sister's skull crushed with a mace, he wouldn't give up. Only when all of his lifeblood had spilled did the light in his eyes finally go out, as he realized he had failed."

As Suthar and Luggoth battled, Brand drank a potion of cure moderate wounds and then stabbed Cierra through the heart, killing her. Byron cried out with rage at the death of his sister and fired arrows at Brand, hitting him with one of them, as Lysander moved in to help Luggoth with Suthar, stabbing him with his rapier. Maechen opened up with bronze dragon breath on Oreth and Byron, but Byron dodged both that and an attack by Pel, focusing his enraged attacks on Brand, who had killed his sister.

"Mareth, I believe it's time we were leaving," Suthar said, causing Mareth to cast a Mass Sanctuary spell that shielded the living Order members from attacks by Lysander and Maechen, but the rest of the Wolves resisted. As Suthar tried to walk out, Luggoth attacked him, and the same thing happened with Oreth and Brand. Lysander, unable to attack directly, set fire to the web, dealing a little damage to Mareth before she could escape. Maechen, unable to attack, cast bull's strength on Brand, who could, as Pel moved in and attacked Byron.

Luggoth rushed over and bit Suthar in the jugular, causing the blackguard to stumble to the ground. As he stood up, Luggoth attacked again, and the unsteady Suthar missed his return attack on Luggoth. The rest of the Wolves and Order moved in to join the battle, exchanging some blows, and as Oreth and Byron attacked, they lost their protection from Sanctuary. Byron tried to kill Brand with a sneak attack and failed, and Brand launched a retaliating strike with his rapier, as Lysander stabbed Oreth.

Finally, Maechen breathed lightning breath at Suthar, who dropped to the ground, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. An enraged Luggoth looked down at Suthar, whose eyes registered exactly what had happened as the shifter stabbed his greatsword into the man who had orchestrated the murder of his tribe and then followed through by cutting Byron's head off and slashing a deep wound in Oreth.

Mareth, enraged by the death of Suthar, promised Luggoth that though he might kill them, he would remember them forever, and tried to cast Wither Limb, which Luggoth resisted. In casting the spell, she opened herself to attack, and when Lysander stabbed Oreth, the rogue flinched, drawing attacks from Lysander, Pel and Luggoth, whose sword claimed another member of the Order.

Mareth, all alone, was blasted by Maechen's magic missiles and then surrounded by the Wolves. She tried to inflict critical wounds on Luggoth, but failed to connect, and after Brand stabbed at Mareth, Lysander moved in to attack as well. He moved into Maechen's line of fire, preventing a blast of lightning, but Lysander yelled out to "do it, I'll be OK," Maechen blasted the cleric with lightning, killing her despite her armor of healing.

As Luggoth's rage began to end, he returned to Suthar's corpse and chopped his head off.

The Wolves explored the remainder of the compound, finding a stash of treasure and expensive spell components, as well as a teleport circle inside the stable. After debating whether it would take them to safety or to the lair of the Lords of Dust, they decided to try it as their best, easiest means of escape.

Brand was dismayed to find that the circle teleported them into the Eldeen Reaches, meaning that the victims of the Order had clearly been from villages in the area. He marked the location of the teleport circle, since it was a gateway from the Demon Wastes, and determined to tell his mother about it. Then the Wolves, bloody and battered but victorious and loaded down with treasure, began their journey back to the village of Sheryn Wayfinder.

XP
3800 (Lysander/Luggoth)
4180 Pel
4770 (Maechen/Brand)