Valley of the Dead: Chapter 1 "A gathering of heroes"

Peth and Kye follow Jill trough the meadow, the green grass feeling cold as it is still damp from the morning mists. They soon remove themselves from the noise of the crowded Western road and approach what seems to be a quiet, picturesque glen. A shallow stream cheerfully makes it's way trough, and the adventurers can see a dirt covered path that leads trough the forest and across what seems to be an old bridge.

Jill stops at the edge of the forest, and shouts excitedly:"This is where i saw the lady! Right there, on the Lover's Bridge. She was crying and i couldn't see her face, but she was right there." The child's small finger points towards the middle of the arched wooden bridge, that is now empty.





Merry nods in denial and steps forward while talking. "No, big man. It's a girl we are looking for! You know, like a woman - she emphasizes her words by slightly lifting her breasts up. - but smaller. Now let's go I don't want her to get too far in to the wilds."

The human girl walks down the path that Thok had come from last night, alongside the large Half Orc.

They soon approach the stream, with an old wooden bridge visible in the distance.




Meanwhile, Senslar slips in the crowd unhindered and can hear Lazarus speak. "Stop them! Use force if necessary. All transgressors must be apprehended and brought to the Cathedral for questioning!" The Paladin commander remains stationary, but High Priest Ferviel displays an angered face and jumps down from the podium, where he subsequently shoves his way trough the crowd, headed for the other end of the square.

In the battle, nobody seems to have paid heed to Alevyth - the combatants do not stop fighting but nobody seems interested in attacking him either.

As if as a joke, thick metallic dust the color of sunflowers is conjured up right in the middle of the fight. This causes much chaos and confusion, as men fumble with their weapons and start tripping over their own feet. Alevyth himself is caught and the spell is just too irritating for him to ignore the effects - all he can see now is a fog of sparkling golden particles.

The Paladins come rushing forward however, and draw their weapons. For the people who are not caught in the blinding effect, it is now apparent that the situation will not turn for the better. The combatants are isolated, the crowd now pushing away from them, and a clear field of about ten feet separates the two groups.

One of the men that swings his sword around in a clumsy attempt to hit someone, gets knocked down by the red armored Paladin's heavy steel shield. The loud ring, the cracking of his skull and the sound of the man's body hitting the floor can be heard by everyone.

"STOP OR YOU WILL ALL BE EXECUTED IN THE NAME OF LATHANDER!" thunders the man's voice, and a part of the combatants freeze in place. Some of the more stubborn fighters continue waving their weapons madly, and are subsequently brought down with pommel strikes and punches by yet more Paladins.

As Latham and Keht observe the chaos, they fail to notice a figure standing on the side. "You seem to take pleasure in this situation Wizard - the voice belongs to Dawnbringer Ferviel, who spit the word Wizard out as if it were poison. - You will come with me so that your part in this offense to His crusade can be judged. And - Ferviel raises his mail clad fist and points towards the spellcaster. - I will have none of your tricks! Do i make myself clear?"

"Ahm... Fine, little woman with little breasts. Thok understands." the hulking beast says, as he moves along the road. He watches around, and at the young woman, not completely trusting her.
As the pair stride alongside the stream, the halforc states. "Water" and closes up, drinking from the small river, after kneeling next to it. He then stands and cleans his dripping jab with his forearm. "Tastes funny" he says "Probably cows be nearby, Thok thinks water tastes a little cowish." Suddenly the man realized that he was delaying the youngster in the search of her sister. "Thok says nothing else, lets go." he determines and strides along with his long legs.

Taking a firmer grip on Yasaderian, Kye starts towards the bridge. "Stay thee here Mistress Jill, we will see if this troubled soul is stil about," he says dropping his visor in place.

With a muffled voice Kye says to the gnome, "I shall take thee top, look around the base for this White Lady. Together we shall pervail and basket in Helm's Glory the rest of this day." The young warrior strides with purpose towards the bridge.

OOC: I love your character Holyman, makes me laugh a lot.

Peth watches the big, armored man stomp towards the bridge, half in amusement and half in exasperation.

"Oh yes, let us basket in his glory," he mutters to himself wryly. Turning to Jill, he motions for her to stay put, then turns and slips towards the bridge, vanishing from sight and sound almost instantly.

Peth approaches the slope down towards the underside of the bridge, his eyes and ears probing for any sign of danger or of Tatters.

[sblock=OOC]
Hide check: 1d20+13 = 33
Move Silently check: 1d20+4 = 24

Oops, forgot the +2 bonus -- 35 and 26 respectively, then. Man, I hope I don't need those 20s for combat...
[/sblock]

Latham stares at the oaf for a few moments, wondering if he should risk any tricks, as was so eloquently stated by this moron pointing straight into his face. He turns and looks at Keht, who seems to be taking the supposed threat to great offense. Uttering a few words in Githzerai meant to stay the monk, the enchanter looks back at the paladin with a hint of irritability. "I suppose I could go with you, a man without authority here in Angelwatch. But really I seek no reward for my peacekeeping," he smiles sarcastically, demeaning the man to his face. "However, if you insist on rewarding me for my efforts, then I must invoke the right to bring my representation," a nod of his head indicates he was referring to Keht, who stands with his arms crossed, ready to punch the paladin in the throat at a moment's notice. "And if you should refuse me my right, then you just might see what tricks I am truly capable of," he spits out the word with venom and spite but appears to be ready to follow.

Alevyth was quite ready to engage the enemy, as the dust began obscuring his vision, causing him to be unable to see the field of battle. Trying to wave the dust out of his vision, his right arm, possessing no weapon, waved agitatedly in front of him as if attempting to swat a fly. Realizing it was of no avail, the Paladin simply readied his shield, preparing to attack any who attacked him, but would not initiate aggressions knowing that the paladins of Lathander were intervening. While the young Paladin's goal was noble, he had a feeling that may not matter if he did not acquiesce.

[sblock=OOC]
Ready action to attack anyone who strikes at Alevyth with his kneeblade
1d20+8=28, 1d6+2=7 Critical Threat, confirmation roll
1d20+8=19
Additional damage if threat is confirmed
1d6+2=5

Of course, I roll up a critical threat in the 'storybased' portion of the adventure... lol[/sblock]

"Wooow, how'd you do that?!" Jill shouts excitedly when the Gnome disappears. "You must be reeealy good at hide and seek." she states matter-of-factly and starts walking around, looking at the ground. "Tell me if you find Tatters... And don't touch him! He doesn't like it when other people play with him."

Kye steps on the wooden beams, his heavy mail clad boots producing a low thumping sound as he walks over the aged oak. The bridge is curved, about four feet wide, with a low protective fence on each side. There is nothing out of the ordinary with this construction. Kye can feel that he morning has suddenly gotten much colder, as a brisk chill slips under his armor and clothes.

Peth goes under the bridge, his short stature allowing him to walk standing up beneath the otherwise low hanging construction. Two rows of thick square beams support the bridge, and the stream running below it seems fast and about two-three feet deep. There is nothing to be noticed at a first glance here, either.

[sblock] Spot checks, Listen checks, and a Search check if anyone intends to actually do a concentrated serach. [/sblock]

Merry seems genuinely shocked, she raises her finger and points to the Norht-West. "Yes there is a farm there and... never mind..."

The girl smiles and continues on. "JILL! JILL WHERE ARE YOU?" she resumes shouting, and looks around with her pretty gray eyes.

[sblock] Spot and Listen for Thok. - 2 penalty on listen because Merry is shouting right next to him.[/sblock]



Alevyth stands alert, sensing the commotion around him. As an experienced warrior, he has learned to use other channels of information, besides eyesight. Just in time, he senses the killing intent of what seems to be a large man swinging to his side. The awkwardly flawless appearance of the lad now matched the perfect strike he disperses towards his attacker.

Alevyth's knee shoots out, closing the distance between him and what he can only assume is a big, foul smelling mercenary. The man stinks like sweat, garlic and sour wine, and grunts something like "Outta my way ye queer!", seconds before the lad's knee sinks deep in the man's entrails.

With a scream, the attacker grabs his gut and pulls back, but a piece of bowel is caught on Alevyth's blade, which causes his attacker to drop to his knees, shouting with pain.

In a moment's notice, the young Paladin can sense someone approaching from behind.

[sblock] Roll a Listen check, -10 penalty for the battle and the screaming of the disemboweled man. Roll a Reflex save as well. [/sblock]


The Cleric pins his eyes as if he is trying to bore a hole in Latham's skull. They seem to glow with a strange blue glow, which suggests a permanent enchantment of some sort. He then speaks, in fluent Githzerai:

[sblock=Githzerai]Keep your dog on it's leash, and spare me your half assed threats boy! You will come with me now, or I will shove this man's head up your Wizardly arse - he nods towards Keht.[/sblock]

"Your peacekeeping botched the Paladin's attempt at stopping the violence, and turned the fight in to a massacre. But if you are as smart as you think, you should have known what the effects of your Glitterdust spell would be. So this means you wanted to cause more strife, which in my eyes, makes you just as guilty as the rest of the troublemakers."

With that, Ferviel puts his hands on the glowing heavy mace hanging from his belt and awaits a response. He seems alert, and quite battle hardened from this distance. His face is scarred in several places, and his dirty blond hair shows signs of gray around the temples. Beneath his cloak and robes of a Priest of Lathander, one can see a very plain and durable suit of plate armour, that has been dented and scratched in battle more than once and lacks the shine and polish of Lazarus's suit.

[sblock]Roll and int check. If it's above 15, Roll a Spellcraft check for me. This is a little bonus info for you [/sblock]

Alevyth's body felt the satisfaction of a well placed blow on what seemed to be one of those the Watcher saw as a threat to the natural order, one who caused the pain Ilmater encouraged his faithful to take upon themselves. KNowing that the pain he inflicted on this man would spare others pain, he pulled back hoping the blow would cause the others pause.

[sblock=Check results]
Listen= +1 bonus (+1 from base wisdom, +1 more from the 'Blessing of Myth')
1d20-8=8 Penalty included.
Reflex Save: +1 base, +3 Dex, +2 Charisma, +1 cloak of resistance
1d20+7=15
Subtract three if dexterity does not apply due to blindness[/sblock]

"Relax, Priest, I said I'd go along. No need to get all huffy-puffy. And I figured your dear paladins would be competent enough to resist the effects of a simple Glitterdust. I guess I was wrong. All praise Lathander." He looks at the man with a mixture of pity and disgust. Clerics. What good were they, relying on prayers and unequivocal blind faith. At least most of them weren't as zealous as most paladins, though this one appeared he might buck the trend.

[sblock=OOC]I forgot the Myth-Bonus, so both rolls should be 1 higher. Intelligence Check of 16 with a Spellcraft Check of 42. So 17 & 43.[/sblock]