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Story HourPost your ongoing tales from your campaigns, and read those from others for inspiration. Lots of other RPG boards post "Story Hours", but this is where it started!
The continuing adventure of the Outsiders of Aera from the old boards. The old link can be found here and I'll work on putting the complete story into a single document.
The campaign takes place in my own campaign world called Aera, and those interested about some of the details can browse them here. It's not much to look at, but it provides some basic info on the world (and allows me to be vague so I can throw in twists and turns).
From time to time I'll post NPCs in the Rogue's Gallery, here. Feel free to post requests if you want to see a character posted!
Since some of you may be new here, I'll introduce the characters! (In alphabetical order).
Austarian Galanodal (male elven Rogue 8): The talented rogue often goes by the simple name of Star while around the campfire or in the local inn. His skills are exceedingly adept for the art of stealth and sleight of hand, sometimes too good. Star is especially knowledgable about organized crime and has pulled off a heist or three in his past. Star is currently in possession of the Amber Flame of Kurisk, the Kurisks being the dwarven mafia family of Saven, a Polarian city
Canthor (male elven Cleric 9): The elven cleric of Bryle was something of a lost soul until he came to Aera. His past had been locked away by a strange form of amnesia that has since been cured, but the road has been long with still more to go. An ex-cleric of the deity of war on his home plane, Canthor abandoned his ways of evil by joining the church of Bryle and works to protect his fellow party members and serve the church of Bryle.
Gale Glory (male human Fighter 9): The strong, silent Gale is somewhat of a mystery. During his relatively short time in Aera, Gale has proven his valor in combat time after time. His beloved double bladed sword once held a piece of his very soul, however when his sword was shattered in a recent battle against a pair of dwarven brothers, Gale lost part of his essence and strives to recover it.
Gwenlarianna Melaidon (Gwen for short) (female elven Ranger 9): This elven lass has a talent for handling animals and exploring the wilderness. On her home world she had trained as a Pathfinder, an elite group of guides and protectors who escort caravans and others on the road. During her time on Aera, she has become interested in the Riders of Gryphon's Nest, and one day hopes to become a Gryphon Rider. Gwen currently carries two pieces of the Medallion of the Gods, a powerful artifact in the land of Aera.
Lorethian Eldanesh (Lor for short) (male elven evoker 7/War Wizard 2): Lor is a frail wizard of war who has been immersing himself in magic his entire life. A distant relative to the king of his native kingdom, Lor has fallen into his element in the current chaotic war situation in the Free North of Aera. Lor's weakness is his frail health and will cough up blood on a rare occasion. One of Lor's goals is to find a cure for his malady.
Remus (male human Fighter 9): The tall, strong Remus has only recently overcome his fear of fire (thanks to the help of some fire resistant chainmail). In combat, Remus serves as the party's tank and has been referred to as the party's "blender". Remus is also an accomplished blacksmith and is one of the few people on Aera who has been able to use the legendary Forge of Liquid Fire. His greatsword emits an eerie green glow and at odd times he has been caught talking to his weapon.
Tarmus Woodblood (male human Bard 9): Tarmus is a seasoned bard. He has travelled the world and sailed the great sea to lands beyond. Originally from a farming family near Mydrana, Tarmus set out for adventure instead of continuing to work on the dying soil. His knowledge of Aera and support role in the group has been invaluable. He has an especially strong disgust for the Phantoms (assassins organization). Recently, Tarmus was reunited with his younger brother Yeric, a skilled swordsmen.
Last edited by Cloudgatherer; 16th January 2002 at 05:04 AM..
Summoned by a gate spell gone awry, our heroes found themselves in the midst of a battle that would have severe repurcusions for the rest of northern Aera. The wizard who had summoned them was imprisoned by an elven archwizard, sealing off their way home.
Since their abrupt arrival to this foreign plane, the Norther Alliance suffered the loss of Gryphon's Nest, its most powerful member, due to a "change in government" involving a discreet elven extremist group known as the Sulimarin. The withdrawal severely weakened the Free North, as the remaining cities could only wait for what was to come.
In the meantime, our adventurers traveled Aera, clearing out an old dungeon, making deals with a certain Polarian ambassador (Lady Lia Quickwater), and exploring the war oriented Polary.
As half the party emerged from Polary, the kingdom attacked its first free northern city: Ralanov. After a week of fighting on the walls, the party witnessed a man known only as the Dark Wizard, Polary's only recognized wizard (and apparently only wizard), use his magic to slay the main gate's defenders and allow the invaders into the city. The city fallen, our adventurers reunited in Aenith. After a week or two of preparation and adventure in Aenith, the inevitable occurred and Polary set their sights on the Aenith, the city of Bryle.
Thanks to our adventurers, the city started their defenses with their most prestigious paladin, Katrina Purelight and the Summersword. Katrina served to inspire the other paladins of Bryle, while the Summersword served as the conduit for focuing the cleric's power to raise a barrier of light to protect the city from attacks.
After a month of on and off combat, our heroes have been staying at the Warrior's Courage and taking their turns on the walls. Our party has also become something of a celebrity in the town of Aenith, having saved Katrina from the Dark Wizard, and prevented the Summerswords theft by the Phantom Ellison Lance.
Wings. Flapping wings. Many large flapping wings could be heard by the elven ears of Gwen and Star as they sat at their usual table in the Warrior's Courage. Peering into the continually lit sky, five gryphons and their riders passed through the barrier of light encompassing the city. The barrier turned aside half of all projectile hurled at Aenith, prevent translocation, communication, and scrying into the city, and was capable of resisting magical attacks. As a side effect, the town was bathed in continual daylight, with only the moon providing a hint to the time of day.
The five gryphons and their riders landed in the courtyard of the Temple of the Spirit, an elaborate temple dedicated to Bryle and projecting the barrier of light over the city. In total, nine people dismounted the five gryphons. Sheila Freefall, an elite gryphon rider, gave them a wave as she dismounted Winter, he white gryphon. Each of the other four gryphons had a rider and a passenger, but it was the passengers that caught the attention of the gathering townsfolk.
Two wizards, wearing the emblems of the Guild Wizard's of Gryphon's Nest dismounted. An elf in a green robe and a human in blue robes stretched their aching legs, as Olon Matran, the head cleric of the Temple of the Spirit, emerged to meet them.
Tarmus gave out a shout of excitement as the next passenger dismounted. Yeric, his younger brother, had managed to convince the Riders to give him a ride into the beseiged city. The brothers hugged as the two began telling their stories.
The last passenger to dismount was a strange halfling. Wearing bright blue clothing with a streak of blue hair in his otherwise brown mop, the other riders were keeping a watchful eye on the pint-sized curiousity. He fluttered about, often picking up mundane items to have a look, then returning them when he was through.
One of the riders asked the party about an inn to stay at, and the party suggested the Courage. Meanwhile, Olon was examining a sword that resembled the Summersword, obviously a sun blade as the guild wizard in the blue robes pulled the blade a quarter out of its scabbard for Olon's inspection. Olon shook his head, and the wizard placed the blade back on his belt.
The group made their way back to the Warrior's Courage. The pair of wizards sat at their own table and immediately started talking to each other, their voices low. The Riders retired for the evening, including Sheila, in order to sleep off the effect of riding the gryphons for hours. The halfling in the bright blue clothing introduced himself as Milo, and proceeded to examine various items of interests. Despite Star's attention to detail, Milo managed to examine his money pouch, but was caught putting it back.
"Nice pouch," Milo remarked.
"Give me that!" Star exclaimed. Needless to say, the party started paying more attention to the small pick pocket. He had this tendency to see something interesting, lift it off of someone, examine it, then put it back. Most of the time, this was done without anyone noticing.
The sound of bad pipe playing immediately behind him caused Tarmus to spin around in his seat. Milo had "examined" his pipes and was trying to play a tune.
"How do these things work anyway?" the halfing inquired.
"Here, let me show you," Tarmus sighed as he took up the pipes and began to play a melody. The sounds fascinated the halfling and held his attention through the entire song. During his play, Tarmus laced his song with the suggestion that Milo turn over his mace to him.
"No, I don't think so," Milo smiled at him. Apparently, Milo was strong willed.
Meanwhile, Star could see an old man, a patron who often told "ghost stories" and similar strange tales, and the blue robed human wizard apparently talking to themselves. "Odd," thought Star, what could he possibly be saying. Listening carefully to the old man, he could only hear that he "did not want to return" and that he "was too old."
"You there!" the elven wizard suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Lor. "Where did you get that?" he asked, pointing at Lor's wand.
"We recently rescued Katrina from the Dark Wizard, perhaps you've heard of it?" Lor inquired.
"No, I haven't. The wand, where did you get it?" the elf repeated.
"We recovered several items from the tent Katrina was in. This being one of them. If you know what to do with it better than I, then please," Lor stated as he offered the elf the wand.
The elf's anger drained from his face. Lor had reacted unexectedly, and offered the wand to him. Taking the wand, the elven wizard broke it over his green robed knee.
"Can you cast a light spell?" he inquired. Lor quickly went through the motions and summoned the cantrip, enchanting a copper piece with magic light.
Lor picked up his spellbook, placed it in his pack and joined the other wizards at their table. Lor's manners and decor managed to ease the wizards' moods, and stories spilled forth. The magic just destroyed was known simply as "dark magic." It was discovered long ago and was once the cause of some distress among the Gryphon's Nest Guild Wizards. The guild eventually banned the use of the alternate form of magic, but the troubles didn't end there. A long war ensued, with renegade guild members driving the practicioners of dark magic to extinction. The "war" had happend over a hundred years ago, but the memory was still fresh in the minds of several wizards, including Avery, the elf in the green robe who had just broken the dark magic wand over his knee.
A man matching Lor's description of purple clothing and a black mask had come to Gryphon's Nest. Apparently, he managed to buy his way in, which is normally refused. While in the town, he conducted some business, and left with a few magic items. Regardless of if he was a dark magic user or not, the blue robed man stated flatly he did not wish to see another war.
The blue robed human, who did not give his name, went on to tell of his position of leadership in the guild, not a position he wanted. The previous leaders of the order fled Gryphon's Nest when the elves came, and leadership fell to him and two other wizards. He and Avery had come to Gryphon's Nest to deliver a sun blade to Olon Matran and conduct their own business. They would be in town until their business was completed. Lor thanked them for their company, and wished them well as he rejoined the his friends.
"You heard that?" Lor asked, seemingly no one in particular.
"Yes, all of it," answered Star, who had successfully eavesdropped on the entire conversation. Lor nodded and returned to his seat.
The hours rolled by. One by one the adventurers retired for the night. However, one of them had an unexpected visitor. As he entered his room, Gale could hear a clear voice.
"Come in, close the door, and listen to what I have to offer," the voice stated. The Dark Wizard's voice was in the room, somewhere in the dark corner, but Gale could not make out any shape. He did as he was asked.
"What do you want with me?" he asked in his usual grim manner.
"It is what I can do for you. I have something that might interest you....a piece of your soul." Calmly the Dark Wizard proceeded. "I came across it unexpectedly, and I can restore it to you. I'm offering you the chance Gale, the chance to join the winning side. Join me and the Mithral Blades, and you'll be well rewarded for your efforts."
"What do I have to do?" Gale inquired.
"Not so fast. I require an answer, now. This is a one time offer. Join first, then you get the assignment," he replied. The silence only hung over the room for a moment before Gale opened the door and walked out. He proceeded out into the night air, needing to clear his mind and think about the things that are important to him.
Star found him wandering around the city, and the two returned to the Courage. Star learned of the events in his room, and Gale eventually passed out on a table.
The next morning, the party members exchanged information. The fact the Dark Wizard was in the city concerned the party, however there was little they could do about it. They had informed the Temple of the Spirit, which already had at least a couple dozen clerics around at all times several city watchmen. The party proceeded to gaurd duty on the walls, and the watch passed uneventfully.
As the party's shift ended, they saw Katrina heading for the center of town, the Temple of the Spirit., with a city watchman She gave them a smile and a wave as she went. Normally, she would have gaurd duty, but perhaps she was summoned to the temple today? Lor's mind began to race, but it was only a smile and a wave right?
Canthor and Gwen wished to talk with Katrina and decided to tag along with her as the rest of the party returned to the courage. They three talked for a bit about the attack, the arrival of the wizards and other small chat. As the conversation progressed, additional watchmen started to walk with them. Five, then ten, then fifteen, and finally twenty watchmen were escorting Katrina and the other watchman to the temple. As the group approached the temple, Gwen started to get worried.
"Excuse me, Katrina," Gwen started, looking around at the numerous watchmen. Katrina kept walking as the watchmen barred Gwen and Canthor's path with quickly drawn shortbows and arrows. As Katrina and her accompanying watchman entered the temple, the watchmen attacked.
Why the watchmen were attacking them raced through Gale and Gwen's minds. These were true members of Aenith's defensive force, they had seen them on the walls, around town on patrol. Their more immediate concern quickly became survival.
The swift moving Gwen quickly informed Canthor she was going for help, and did so. Meanwhile, Canthor had used his magic to protect himself from his attackers as numerous arrows, grapples, and longswords deflected off of his armor. He held them off valiantly until for a long minute until his companions arrived.
The rest of the party, excluding Remus who moved slower in his armor, quickly arrived back at the temple. The watchmen were split in two groups, one around Canthor flailing on him with longswords, and another aiming their bows at the rest of the party. The party swung into full action, Lor unleashing a fireball killing half of the watchmen instantly. The explosion made the remaining watchmen look at the carnage, and only one fled in terror. The remainder were quickly slain by the rest of the party, however two were subdued as Remus, the party leader, arrived on the scene and gave the order to do so.
The party quickly proceeded to the temple's main entrance. The temple was generating the barrier of light that was protecting Aenith, if anything were to happen...
A wall of ice greeted the party as the doors were opened. Taking his greatsword, Remus proceeded to cut through the ice. The tepmle beyond was covered with ice, over a dozen dead clerics were frozen stiff, Olon stood in the middle of it all, Katrina was withdrawing the Summersword from the altar, and the Dark Wizard was waiting patiently in the corner with his hands on a blue staff topped with an expensive diamond.
"Katrina, what are you doing?!?!" Gwen cried out as she ran in. Unfortunately, she collided into a wall of force.
"I'm trapped in a sphere, go around!" Olon called. However it was too late. Katrina handed the Dark Wizard the Summersword, and he quickly cast a dimension door to take him elsewhere in the city.
"He's still in the city!" Lor called out. "He'll be close, within a couple hundred feet!" As the party spilled into the temple, they had another problem, Katrina was attacking them! Star left in search of the Dark Wizard, hoping to stop him before he unleashed his next plot, while the party had to fight a paladin of Bryle.
"She's being controlled, don't kill her!" Olon called from his force prison. Katrina nearly had Gwen on the ground before Canthor could heal her, but in the end Katrina was no match for the party and fell unconscious on the ground as the sky turned back to blue, the light barrier having disappated.
The party did what they could with the fallen Katrina, binding her with rope and removing her weaponry. The wall of ice and the hemisphere of force wore off around Olon, and he told the party he would handle the situation here. The party quickly set out, heading toward the main gates, the sound of increased fighting, and....loud footsteps?
On a cross street in front of them, a large, scaly, tailed cornugun turned and headed for the gates. Glancing over his scaly shoulder, he saw the threat, and turned to meet it. If pitty could be felt for devils, it would be here as he never had a chance despite his magic abilities, size, and deadly whip.
In the space of two short breaths, Gwen had fired her most deadly volley of arrows ever. Her mighty composite longbow obliterated the monstrosity by plunging several well placed arrows in the creatures skull.
Even after it fell, Star still held his drawn bow on the creature. "I'm worried, don't these get back up?" he inquired. Lor searched his memory, and Star was correct. Olon was quickly retrieved, and he blessed his a weapon and ended the creatures evil existence.
The party proceeded to fight on the walls alongside the people of Aenith. For twelve hours the onslaught raged on, the Polarians were pressing now that the barrier was down. Finally the retreat was called, and the Polarians withdrew to a safe distance. Heavy damage had been done on both sides, but the city was safe. A comforting thought as our adventurers drifted off to sleep...
I'll give 500 XP to the first PC to register and post a reply.
I thought killing the watchmen was a little excessive. Anyone else think so? Out of 20 people, 17 died. The Dark Wizard made good use of dominate person, but his little band was quickly overrun.
The one who ran away actually succeeded in his Will save (natural 20). And as of the end of my last post, Katrina and the two watchmen who are still alive are in Aenith's jail, possibly still under the Dark Wizard's influence.
__________________ Cloudgatherer
It's more cooler with the thing...
heh, heh, now that i know i am the first poster, i can post an actual reply.
I did think that killing all those guardsmen was a little bad, but we couldn't do much about breaking the control. I guess we could have gotten a really big net and tried to tie them up. but I don't really know how well that would have worked.
Pretty cool with my bow huh? i kicked butt!! And now that i have leveled, i shall kick even more.
Oh, and the best thing about the adventure was that I got to say "hi" to Winter, Shelia's gryphon.
Did anyone know the watchmen were being controlled before the fight was over?
[Edit]: In the spirit of giving (well, it was the holiday season), I'll give 300 XP to anyone that posts before this Friday's game. Game feedback, adventure ideas, character info and the like will all be appreciated. This doesn't apply to Gwen, as she has already posted and collected her reward.
Last edited by Cloudgatherer; 17th January 2002 at 03:31 AM..
For 300 Exp I'll bite... not that I'm selfish or need exp to motivate me... never. =)
As a quick note and follow up to last week's adventure: at the end of the fighting, exhausted, completely out of magic, and having been fighing for far too long, Lor demanded to go to the temple to check on Katrina. Upon reaching the temple he inquired as to her health and that of the other two caputred guards. Olan replied that they were fine, but had been magically bent to the Dark Wizard's will.
Lor, realizing what he had done, dropped to his knees mumbling under his breath incoherently. Remus had to phyisically carry Lor back to his room. Sleep offered no respite that night.
The party has made quite a few unwise decisions in our short time in Aera, with the killing of innocents becoming an all-to-common occurrence. The first time this happened, it happened to a hapless human griffin rider; some harsh words were exchanged between the party members, and it became evident that no one had wanted him to die, not even the one who flung the fireball. Sometimes, in the heat of battle, things get confusing and decisions have to be made quickly, usually for the best, but not always. Eventually, I found that the first act was justifiable from a player's perspective, yet I still think it is unacceptable from the view of my character.
This latest event could have been avoided just like the last one, but it wasn't. Cloud asked whether or not anyone _knew_ that the guardsmen were controlled. Yet as most things, only the DM is privy to such absolutes; the rest of us have to guess. As a player I was fairly certain that they were under some sort of mind control, it just "makes sense" with the rest of the campaign. But of course 90% of role playing is separating character knowledge from player knowledge.
What did Remus think? Well, he had lots of time to think about it because being encased in metal along with having the title of party pack mule usually assures my late entrance to battle. Remus saw the same guards that had been fighting next to him for the past month now attacking his friends. He doesn't know anything about the arcane arts except for the tried and true "get out of the way when the little guy in the funny hat starts to mumble." But ever since Remus killed that paladin of the evil fire god (it was an accident, I swear!) he has been a little weary of leaving humanoid opponents in little pieces all over the battle field. Remus has learned that corpses don't say as much about the evil one's plans as prisoners do. He feels so strongly about this, he is taking a feat which removes the penalty for dealing subdue damage. I think Remus would not have killed any of the guards had he been able to get there before it was all over. All he did was yell out to the others not to kill the last two guards.
From the player's perspective, I understand Lor's player's use of fireball. I think he thought that it would only soften them up rather than kill them out right. Oops. But Remus is confused by Lor's actions, since he was the most vocal during the aftermath of the griffin rider incident. Canthor's actions also bother Remus, since it is doubtful that Bryle would have condoned them.
Tonight we will see what the rest of the siege holds for our party, and hopefully we can keep the body count down.
Remus was kind enough to lend me his account, since this !#$%!@#$% board software refuses to let me register...
Anyway, guess I'll post good 'ol Yeric's background here, as I described in my earlier e-mail to our illustrius DM. It's pretty rough, given that it was just pulled from a mailing; I apologize in advance.
-----
Background: Yeric was very young when his brother Tarmus left the farm, entrusting it to his future care when their parents grew too old to do so themselves. He was a passable farmer, and started his help with the chores at an appropriately young age. However, the same wanderlust that struck and eventually took his sibling always held a place in Yeric's heart as well.
As such, he was fascinated when a wounded, grizzled old man wandered onto the farm, seeking refuge. His name, or at least, the name he claimed, was Arthir Conrad (lvl 14 Successor), and of his background he spoke very little. They knew he hid from someone, or something, but the family was able to glean little more. He did his share of the chores, though, and as the months passed, he fit in like he'd always been there.
While his own past was carefully guarded, Arthir was more than happy to regale young Yeric with tales of the lands he'd picked up in his travels, from the Free North to Polary and even to beyond the ocean. The boy had no real talent for recalling the stories, however much he enjoyed them, but what he _did_ show some skill in was battle.
Each day, the elder warrior would wake just before sunup and retreat to the woods to train his craft before the days' chores needed doing. For weeks, thinking himself unobserved, Yeric followed, watched, and later would try to imitate the strangely controlled, yet incredibly powerful movements. Until the day Arthir, who had himself been secretly observing the younger's attempts, revealed himself and offered to train him with his parent's consent.
The older Woodbloods thought it a good idea, for they knew the land well, and doubted there were more than a handful of harvests left in its increasingly barren fields. Their offspring would need to go forth into the world and learn a new craft. The world was a tough place, and a man couldn't go wrong knowing how to defend himself.
Yeric showed a natural ability for the art, and although the word "successor" never touched his lips, his unequaled natural alacrity and farm-bred hardiness, coupled with a keen mind and attention to detail, sped his studies greatly. Months turned to years, and the farm indeed petered out, leaving the family with what little savings they had on hand and in danger of being unable to support themselves. But they were given a blessing, in the return of the elder Woodblood sibling, Tarmus, back from lands unknown.
It was Tarmus who had the brainstorm that would save the farmstead. With Arthir's agreement, the bard set out to find young men and women with the potential to be trained in combat, and yet had the means to provide some payment. Nothing extravagant, as the extra hands could also be used to work on tilling and revitalizing the land, but enough to support such a large community in the meantime.
Yeric, however, soon became restless, especially as his brother's tales of adventure mixed with Arthir's in his mind. With no farmwork to occupy his time, he soon set out on his own, seeking to both join his brother and his strange band of stranded outlanders, as well as help in collecting neophytes for their odd training academy.
---
Sleep came easily to our adventurers, save Lor. The slaying of almost a dozen watchmen on his behalf will trouble his weary mind for days to come, but in other respects the sleep was refreshing to our heroes.
Awaking at midday, they joined a rather large crowd in the common room of the Warrior's Courage. People were celebrating, drinking, feasting, and swapping stories. In particular, the well-known bard, Jaren Windwalker, stood among a group of townsfolk and providing them with news of the outside world. Since the collapse of the light barrier around Aenith, magical communications into the city will once again work. Tarmus and Star pulled Jaren aside when the opportunity presented itself, and Jaren was more than happy to share what he knew with the subjects of some of his most recent tales.
For starters, Ralanov has nearly been liberated. The Northern Alliance had mustered an army and had been attempting to retake the city for several weeks. The tide has turned in the North's favor thanks to a new hero with the name of Lugtee Hardroc. Lugtee became famous for rescuing Devon Treespire, the lord of Ralanov, and the two of them have been leading forays into the city in an effort to liberate it. In sadder news from Mydrana, the people there say they have witness Cloudgatherer's death, having seen him consumed by some magic spell. In happier news, King Starfire of Glarcaster is still looking for a queen, but is narrowing his search and the elven nation of Huranti is celebrating their king's (Aran Leafpath) 100th birthday with a month long celebration.
As for local news, the Polarian army has withdrawn, retreating toward the west (towards Ralanov). Thrin has left for Ralanov to assist in the fighting, and Katrina has also left on a quest to redeem herself in the eyes of Bryle. The next day, the clerics of Bryle will hold a service for the slain watchmen, clerics, and the other casualties of the Polarian attack.
The news was a bit for the party to take in. So much has transpired in the last month, but it was good to once again hear of the outside world. Over the midday meal, the party discussed the news and celebrated along with the people Aenith. Lor was not present at the time, he had left much earlier.
While the party saw Milo in the common room, they did not pay him much heed. The halfling, curious as ever, proceeded to wander about the room, looking for anything curious. The party held many interesting items (at least to Milo): Tarmus's pipes (still not sure how to play these), Remus' selection of weaponry (a halfling could get lost in here), Star's lockpicks (nice tools), Gale's dagger (eh, just a dagger), and Gwen's pet rock.
"Gwen's pet rock?" Milo thought. The halfling studied the rock intensely, as if seeing something in it that others could not. Sitting at his table, Milo started to bang the rock on the table.
"Bang, bang, bang."
"Ow, ow, ow!" exclaimed Gale. Milo paused for a moment. Could there be a relation here? Naw, that would be silly...
"Bang, bang, bang, bang" Milo thwacked the rock faster upon the table.
"Yeeeoooow! Gimme that!" cried out Gale, as his fellow adventurers, and half of the inn, watched the party close in on the halfling.
Star took the rock from Milo, who admitted to lifting it off of Gwen. The rock was originally looted from the Dark Wizard's personal chest. However, not being magical, the party had not paid much attention to it.
Gale took the rock from Star and Star offered to buy Milo a few drinks. As they sat together at the bar, Star kept a close eye on the cleptic halfling. While Milo has always put whatever he has "examined" back so far, Star wasn't taking any chances.
<Slap> "Eek," Milo exclaimed, Star having slapped his hand as he reached for Star's dagger.
"Here, take this," offered Star, giving Milo another cup of mead. "Why were you banging that rock?"
"There's something in it," Milo answered, "some kind of glow."
"How many has he had?" Tarmus asked Star, who gave a him a smirk.
"I know! I'm going to the library," Milo announced. "Wait... no I'm not...I didn't say that," he added before leaving.
Star, Remus, and Tarmus followed the halfling. After carefully avoiding some of the librarians, Milo settled down at a table and started to flip through some books dealing with spirits. The three also saw Lor brushing up on his reading, and passed along the situation to the elven mage.
The party lounged around for several hours. Around dinner time, Milo returned, a triumphant look upon his face. Gale's soul piece was in the rock (or was the rock), and Milo could perform the ceremony to restore it to him (more specifically his weapon). Milo would only require a few things for the ceremony: a certain type of elven wine, a bathtub full of water with soap, couple kegs of beer, a variety of fruits, lots of meat, a dagger with an ivory blade, an antique rocking chair, and a large room (the Warrior’s Courage most expensive room).
A little puzzled, the party acquired the requested items the next day. Star "acquired" the bottle of wine (he picked the lock, took the wine, left the money for it) the previous night. While a few members of the party attended the service for those slain in the attacks, the other members spent their time in the marketplace. As nighttime rolled around, everything was ready.
Milo ran about the room, seeming to put everything precisely where it needed to be, often moving an item an inch or two in a direciton and re-examining its position. When he was satisfied, he asked Gale to stand in the middle of the room and placed the other members of the party in specific locations.
Milo then asked Gale to drive his blade into the rock. Gale hesitated, but with some reassurance from Milo, did as the halfling asked. There was a small spark, the rock disappeared, and Gale fell to the ground. Canthor immediately checked on him, he was alive and unconscious.
"Whew, glad that's over with," remarked Milo, popping open the expensive elven wine and starting to drink. The party stared at him for several long moments. "What?" he asked. "Throw him in the tub and let's have a feast!" With a shrug the party joined in.
Gale awoke the next morning in a bathtub, in the middle of a room with food everywhere along with his passed out friends and Milo sleeping on the bed. He also had a tattoo on his arm that said "Mom", courtesy of Star (who doesn't really know how to give tattoos). Gale was upset with the halfling, but Milo reminded Gale that he fulfilled what he said he would do: restored Gale's soul back into his blade. Gale decided he would not give Milo a beating.
While Milo was enjoying his large room, new antique rocking chair, and ivory letter opener, the party proceeded downstairs for their morning meal. As the party finished their morning meal, Olon Matran, high cleric of Bryle, entered the Courage. He asked the party to do what they could in Ralanov, as it would only be a few more days before the army that had left Aenith would pound the Northern Alliance forces between them and the walls of Ralanov. The party readily agreed, and as soon as they could locate Lor they would be off.
However, locating Lor was a bit of a problem. The party checked the library and found he wasn't there. Next, Olon cast a sending to Lor, asking him his location. Lor returned a short reply to the effect of "I'm busy" that made Olon's eyebrow rise up a bit. Slightly frustrated with the elven mage, Olon cast a scrying spell to see for himself. Lor was speaking with a cleric at the Temple of the Spirit. At the temple, Lor refused to emerge from the clerics chambers, and Olon had to ask the party to respect their privacy (there was some mention of having Remus knock the door down, but he wisely asked Olon for a key instead).
Without Lor, the party proceeded to the Great Library. Olon asked the party to trust him as he handed each of them blindfolds. He was not supposed to show the party "this", so if the party doesn't see it... The party proceeded down a few flights of stairs blindfolded, each holding the shoulder of the person in front. When the party did stop, they could hear a small "whoosh" sound.
"After you feel a disorienting sensation, you can remove your blindfolds, but not before." Each member was given a small push, and reality spun end over end. As quickly as it had started it was over, each standing on solid ground once again. Removing their blindfolds, the party took a look around. The were in the courtyard of Temorana, Ralanov's castle and central building. They had emerged from one of over twenty archways in the courtyard leading to the main entrance of the castle, which they were only (roughly) 50 feet away from now.
The sound of lightning rang out from above the party. Looking up quickly, the party could see the end of a lightning bolt shoot out from one of the upper levels of the castle. In the same breath, the castle's main doors burst open, and a well tanned, tall, muscular bald man grunted "Who you?" in bad Common.
"Hi!" greeted Star, "Olon sent us." Star drew a silver short sword, a piece of proof Olon had provided them to avoid being killed by the forces of the Northern Alliance.
"What? Where you come from?" the barbarian grunted, trying hard to figure things out. The barbarian was standing in front of a heavy plated dwarf, and a woman dressed in traveler's clothing holding her bow. When Star inquired of her if she was the one in charge, the fighting began.
Quickly the party took cover behind the archways. The portal that had brought them to Ralanov had closed immediately after the last member had emerged, but they had moved little since then. Gale quickly few up to the barbarian, striking him with his double bladed sword. The barbarian returned the favor in spades, dishing out a good sum of damage to the fighter. Yeric also rushed in, attempting to close on the bowwoman quickly. In response, the dwarf in full plate called on his divine powers, and placed a blade barrier around the party. Luckily, all four party members affected managed to avoid it, and the fighting continued. Remus became paralyzed during the fight, Gale and Gwen were nearly slain by the raging barbarian, but in the end the party proved victorious. Gale slew the barbarian, Remus knocked out the dwarven cleric of Valeya, and the female rogue was subdued in a similar fashion.
The fight over, the party proceeded to tie up their captors. Elven ears could hear footsteps approaching their location from within the castle. Quickly Star closed the doors and asked Remus to hold them shut. The large man looked at the elf, took out two rods, and holding them against the doors, he clicked a single button on each of them before walking away, leaving the rods suspended in the air. (Gotta love immovable rods).
The footsteps came to the doors, and attempted unsuccessfully to open the doors. Seconds later, a magical doorway appeared just in front of the castle doors and Lord Devon Treespire and a man with bright red hair emerged. The red-haired man pointed a staff of swirling colors at the party, but Star was already holding out the silver sword once again.
"Wait, wait. We are foes of Polary," he called to the pair.
"Who sent you, lad?" asked the red-haired man, still holding his staff on the party.
"Olon sent us," Star answered. This seemed to convince the red-haired man, now lowering his staff. Devon however, wasn't as thrilled.
"Thieves!" he spat at the party, pointing accusingly at Gwen in particular. "You stole from me and now..."
"Not now," the red-haired man stated, holding his multicolored staff across Devon's chest to hold him back. The Lord of Ralanov appeared to have a respect for the staff as he quickly quieted. The red-haired man introduced himself as Lugtee Hardroc. He and Lord Treespire have been conducting hit and run missions into the city for several days, attempting to weaken Polary's hold. However, in the last few days (since the fall of Aenith's light barrier), they have had to contend with the Dark Wizard, who they have fought to a standstill thus far.
"I suggest we leave for now," Lugtee suggested. The party readily agreed, and hoisting their prisoners they proceeded to leave the city while avoiding Polarians. A squad of 20 came upon them suddenly, but just as suddenly Lugtee dispatched of them with a single prismatic spray from his staff (which blinded Star and Yeric, Star was healed by Canthor, but Yeric would have to wait).
At the Northern Alliance camp, several hours later when Lor had met up with the party (teleport), Lugtee informed them of the situation: they are going to retreat. While they would have taken the city with continued raids by Lugtee and Treespire, the Dark Wizard has made the situation more difficult. The approaching army would flank the Northern Forces and crush them. And so, the plan is to retreat to Gryphon's Forest, use the trees as cover, and think of a new plan. The party consulted Thrin over the suspected rumor of Cloudgatherer's death, and it came as news to her. The party knew more about it than she did. After spending the night rumaging through their spoils (the three they defeated were Mithral Blades, Polary's "not-so-secret" police force), they distributed a few items of magic before settling in for the night.
The next day, Lor, Gwen, and Star teleported to Mydrana to learn more of the rumors. Sure enough they found eye-witnesses who claim to have seen the archwizard be "consumed" by magic. A following blast of light blinded onlookers, but they found the clothing of the wizard. Only the wizards of Mydrana Magica would go near the clothing. Star managed to arrange to see the clothing, he even asked if he could have it, but the wizards refused (go and make a similar set of clothing, they told him).
The three returned to the Northern Alliance camp, and debated their next course of action. Star was vocal in his desire to vanquish the Dark Wizard, once and for all. Lor was doubtful, he suspected the party would suffer heavy losses if not slain outright in such a fight. The debate lasted quite some time, but in the end Lor's opinion prevailed, and the party would retreat to the Gryphon's Forest with the army.
DM's Notes: The fight went a little easier, especially since I forgot barbarians have uncanny dodge and Star dealt quite a bit of sneak attack damage (did I say barbarian? I meant barb/fighter).
Also, did I get the final decision right? There was quite a bit of discussion at the end of the session on "what do to next". Any decision is fine with me, but the worst decision is indecision!
Anyhow, let me know how you enjoyed the adventure. Any ideas for future escapades, plans, or personal vendettas (damn that Dark Wizard, damn him to the Burning Depths!) feel free to respond. I may or may not offer XP this time so beware!
I have been noticing stuff about the player's interactions with the world. Recently, it seems that events are kind of scripted for us... I have been thinking about the event with Milo, and how he solved Gale's problem for us. Milo did all of the work, and discovered that Gale's soul was in the rock, and how to get it out of there. I think that it would have been a little more fun and challenging to have the players try to solve the problem... for example:
-Gwen is walking along, and falls down (trips or something... or falls off her horse) and lands on her pouch with the rock in it.
-Gale yells out in pain when Gwen lands....
-Party puzzles over this for many hours... and discover the cool rock in Gwen's pouch
-Party realizes they have to get Gale's Soul out of rock...
-Party (maybe just the smart ones... certinaly not me with INT of 10) goes to the library to see if they can find something out about this rock
-Party succeeds and Gale is restored.
Now I understand that this would be a little harder to set up (you have to get Gale to react to me landing on the rock w/o giving too much away), but I certainly think that this would have involved the players a bit more in decisions that are going on.
Now, also, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that I don't like anything that is happening to us. I like the fact that we can decide what to do with the army outside of Ralanov, as well as help Katrina out of the Dark Wizard's camp.
Well, Gwen is ready to kick more bad-guy butt.... we'll see what happens this week.
__________________ Just remember that I've lived through two GM's... that devil doesn't scare me!
Hi again!
I just want to say (kinda in response to my last post) that tonight's adventure was lotsa fun because we got to choose a lot of what we did in the tower. While I am sure Treespire's defection to the Dark Wizard's side was planned, it wasn't scripted as to how we were going to get out of the situation. I have to say that I had a lot of fun jumping off of the castle.
__________________ Just remember that I've lived through two GM's... that devil doesn't scare me!
The scenario with Gale can be called "scripted." The party had the stone for several adventures and didn't wonder "Gee, why would the Dark Wizard have an ordinary rock in his chest of magic goodies?" (Although I have an idea for a wizard who has a pet rock...)
First, I decided to use it to try and bait Gale. He was offered his soul restored to him, in return for his help. Naturally, he refused. I did try to give Gale the choice (it is his soul after all). So, after several adventures I had Milo "lift" it off of Gwen and pound it hard on the table and the rest is known. If Gale had handled the rock earlier, then he would have felt the rock's warmth, just as he did in the last story hour adventure.
Since I never intended to take it away in the first place (I didn't know he wanted his soul in the sword when it was broken), I decided to make it relatively painless to get it back. Gale suffered a little RP embarrassment and the party had a little celebration!
In the Northern Alliance camp, our heroes discussed their present situation. Olon had sent them into a warzone, but the North had already committed to retreating to River's End via Gryphon's Nest. The party, it would seem, is running out of options and the outlook for Aera looking dimmer by the day.
As the party chatted amongst themselves, an irrated Lord Treespire entered the tent followed by Lugtee Hardroc. "You!" he pointed accusingly at Gwen, "Return my amulet to me."
"How do you know I have it?" she retorted.
"You were the only one who could have known I had it. I felt the presence of your piece, just as you felt mine!"
In her defense, the party laid out their situation. They needed the Medallion of the Gods to free Cloudgatherer and to return home. Treespire found this tale amusing, as he broke out into laughter at the thought. The party was quite serious, which gave Treespire a reason to pause and evaluate the story. He wasn't given long to ponder over it.
"Didn't you want them for something?" Lugtee asked Treespire, a hint of annoyance in Lugtee's voice.
Of course he did. With reluctance, Treespire proposed a dangerous plan: he wanted to sneak back into Ralanov and retreive a cache of items he still has hidden in his castle, Temorana. He would be willing to "forget" about the medallion business in return for their services.
Star's ears instantly perked up. The party readily accepted the task, and Star in particular took the lead role. Treespire provided him with a rough layout, a guesstimate as to the defenses, and their target location: which he asserted he had to access, otherwise someone else's life may be forfiet.
Night came quickly as the party prepared for their escapade. Sneaking into the city was rather easy. Multiple gaps in the walls, the cover of night, and Star's expertise easily solved the problem. Making sure to conceal their sources of light, the party and Lord Treespire approached Temorana's outside gates.
Several hundred feet away, two lone guards stood watch. Lor, in bat form, surveyed the castle itself. There were an additional sixteen archers on the roof. The roof was only four floors up, with each floor being twenty feet to climb. Their destination was the third floor.
"Take them out quietly," Treespire stated. With stealth, Star and Yeric crept along the arches along the walkway to the main entrance, as well as their targets. In two breaths the problem was taken care of and two guardsmen would never rise again.
Using the cover of the arches, the rest of the party proceeded to open the large wooden doors of the castle just enough to fit inside. In a small, twenty by twenty foot room, a large iron door blocked their path and small circular slots, designed for hurling alchemists fire, flanked the party on each side. Pulling a scroll from his pouch, Treespire started a spell and an opening appeared to the left of the large iron door. Treespire had cast a passwall to get through the stone instead of the iron.
The room beyond served as the Lord's audience chamber. Doors on the right and left and the throne in front of the party. As Treespire closed the passwall spell that had brought them into the room, Star could hear several footsteps approaching the left door. The party hid along the leftmost wall, except for Lor, who hid by the throne in a polymorphed mouse form.
Five loud guards opened the door and stepped in. Closing the door, the talked for a few breaths about the taking of the city and how the army from Aenith would ensure their hold upon Ralanov. The party was still hiding along the left wall, just barely out of sight, however if they crossed the room to the other door, they would easily be seen.
Sure enough, they did. Instantly Canthor cast silence, muting any sound. In the span of two breaths, five guards lay dead or dying in a silent throne room.
Proceeding with care, the party proceeded out the right door. This brought them to a large corridor, with several doors, but led them to the stairs proceeding upwards. In mouse form still, Lor checked around. To the far left of the stairs, three more guards sat at a large dinner table eating. At one of the table, Lor pushed off a metal plate and ran through another door. One of the guards cursed the rodent, asked the gods for a cat, and left the dinner area. Two guards left.
After some debate, the party decided on stealth, and Treespire concurred. Most of the party easily crept by without making so much as a sound. However, Canthor made enough noise for the feasting guards to take notice. They shrugged it off, must be someone on patrol, or a guardsman going upstairs to train.
The party passed by the second floor, listening only long enough to hear the crack of wood on wood: training. Treespire described a training area on the second floor, along with wooden weapons. There were a few still awake and making use of its facilities.
Proceeding up the stairway, the party arrived at the third floor. In total, an invisible mouse who was Lor, scouted the floor and noted the six longspearmen on watch. The party quickly formulated a plan, turn Lor, Star, and Treespire invisible, proceed to the room and retreive the items.
With ease once again, the trio made their way across the floor. The invisible Lord of Ralanov tried the door, it wouldn't budge.
"This door shouldn't be locked," Treespire whispered to Star. Quietly, the rogue proceeded to pick the lock, however he found the door already unlocked. Something else must be holding it shut.
"Go back, let me handle this," asked Treespire. Star acknowledge, but instead crept around another corner, and proceed to wait.
Several breaths went by. The door didn't move and no sound came from Treespires direction. Anxiously the rest of the party waited in the stairway, which suddenly lit up with an explosion of fire!
The spidery words of magic turned Treespire visible as he hurled the small red bead at the stairway. The party had disguised themselves as Polarian patrolmen, but now they were *scorched* patrolmen.
The stunned guards of the third floor looked in both directions, trying to understand what is happening. Treespire pointed at the stair way, "You have intruders," he informed them curtly, and in a softer tone directed at the stairs, "I'm sorry."
The fight began in ernest. The guards quickly raised their voices in alarm as Treespire teleported himself away. Lor and Star, keeping invisible, attempted to make heads or tails of the door Treespire had brought them too, while the rest of the party fought for their life. Canthor manned the stairway, and the rest of the party engaged the longspearmen. The battle was close, Yeric, Tarmus's brother, fell once, but his brother quickly used his bardic healing magic to stand him back on his feet. Remus single-handedly fought three of the foes himself, killing two and nearly slain by the third, but was saved as Yeric rushed over and slew the guard. During the battle, Canthor unleashed a deadly flamestrike down the stairwell, buying the party precious time. In a flash of insight, Tarmus pulled out a scroll and created a thick wall of stone to block the passageway. It wouldn't hold for long, but it would have to do.
Beaten, stabbed, burned, and in a general state of pain the party proceeded to heal itself through spells as they discussed their options. In short order, they decided upon escape via the roof. Getting out his tower shield, Remus lead the party up the stairs.
The longbowmen had their arrows ready, patiently waiting for a foe to show itself. It was unusual for someone to lug a towershield up four flights of stairs, and so the archers opened fire. Over a dozen arrows plunged into Remus' shield. The party hesitated slightly, Gwen fired an arrow back at the longbowmen, while they unleashed another barrage at Remus, this time aiming for his shield specifically, dealing damage to the formidable barrier.
but I don't really know how well that would have worked.