Team Weem's 4e Campaign :: Session Summaries (April 4, 2009)

[weem]

I was posting these on a site for a while, but I am moving them here as I will be using the site for something else. I hope you enjoy them and feel absolutely free to comment or ask questions if you want. This is more for me to reflect on (my players won't see this as they do not come here to ENW), but I always enjoy getting feedback. And to clarify about my PC's not seeing this - they simply weren't reading it before (for the most part) so I'm not concerned about them not seeing here now

The Players

Shedian - [Dragonborn] Fighter
Grail - [Elven] Cleric
Ketana - [Eladrin] Wizard
Roland- [Bugbear] Rogue
Reed - [Halfling] Rogue

*Unfortunately, in many of the earlier postings, I refer to PC's as their race... so you will see things like "the Dragonborn" did this, etc. I'm far too lazy to go change those instances to PC names, but in all future postings, it won't be an issue.

Campaign Background

Long ago I used to play on the Known World (Mystara) as per the canon, etc. Coming to 4e after a long time away however, I found my memory of such things... lacking. I still remembered the big names and locations and all the general stuff about all the realms/kingdoms, but the details were gone. With that said, I use the map and the very basic ideas of the world I recall - everything else, I do with as I please - so no, this will not be an accurate Mystara game and for that I apologize (to you Mystara fans out there) - please keep that in mind as you go

[weem]

Session 1: June 21, 2008
Prelude, Part I
Reluctant Volunteers... and a Dragonborn

The town of Verge had been plagued with Kobold raids of varying sizes over the last few weeks. The players, all of which happened to be in town (for various reasons) were pulled into a meeting by Sherrif Krennan as he desperately put together groups of volunteers to fend off upcoming raids. The players were grouped together by Krennan and one night later successfully chased down and killed a band of Kobolds as they infiltrated an underground tunnel system used by them only days earlier. Happy with the efficiency of their work, the Sherrif asked them once again to help, but this time to go on the offensive. Scouts working for him had discovered multiple Kobold camps to the West and it was his hope that if he could hit the camps simultaneously, he could put an end to the raids - if only for a short while.

The group agreed and their numbers were increased by one as he forced upon them a young outlaw by the name of Pul. The young man had been involved in some moderately illegal activities recently, but the Sherrif trusted him as much as anyone else and thought it was time the "bandit boy" (as he referred to him during his imprisonment) make up for the crimes he had committed by "volunteering" to help the town.

The group left as such and by the next day had come across the camp they were to clear out, which they proceeded to do with ease. Upon exiting the filthy passage ways and rooms of the Kobold camp, they encountered one of Krennan's scouts - an elf by the name of Eriat. He told them that another group, tasked with a similar mission as theirs, had run into some kind of trouble and that if they could manage it, Eriat would appreciate them accompanying him to aid the group. They agreed, and were immediately on their way, heading further West into the hills.

[weem]

Session 2: July 5, 2008
Prelude, Part II
The enemy of my enemy

Eriat brought the group West towards the next Kobold site where they met the sole survivor of the initial group that attempted to clear it out the day before. The survivor, named Myak, told the group what he knew of this particular stronghold and they made their way in. After a number of various Kobold encounters, they came across a Wyrmpriest Kobold and his minions (as well as some Dragonshields) all of which they quickly dispatched.

After dividing the treasure, Eriat entered the chamber to claim a golden box discovered by the group. The box was flat and rectangular in shape. It had no discernible hinges or seem and was covered in intricate carvings of keys, and keyholes. Eriat demanded the box which was promptly handed over, but as they exited, Eriat ordered Pul to keep them here as he left with the box. A fight ensued that resulted in the deaths of both Pul and Eriat after which the box was recovered.

Exiting the stronghold, the group rested and prepared to return to town to deliver the news and gold box to the Sheriff.

[weem]

Session 3: July 19, 2008
Prelude, Part III
Friend Or Foe

Upon returning to Verge, the PC's confronted Sheriff Krenenn about why they were attacked by his scout Eriat, and why Eriat was after the box. The Sheriff claimed he knew nothing of a box and that the behavior they described Eriat having did not match up with the Eriat he had known for years. He then offered them a reward for helping with the Kobolds and said he would have more work for them by tomorrow. Unsure of who they could trust, the group decided that sleeping outside of town (as opposed to accepting the room and board being offered) was the safest route to take.

In the middle of the night they were awoken by a frantic Myak who told them they needed to get up immediately and follow him to meet with another scout. He told them they were not safe here. He lead the group up the river to a place known as Dead Man's Drop, a popular swimming hole nearby. When they arrived, they were ambushed. Myak indicated that "this is not what was supposed to happen" before he took the plunge over the cliff edge and into the river, escaping from the situation. The PC's fought off their attackers and won, deciding to camp nearby that night before heading back to town in the morning.

It was decided that morning that the Dragonborn would enter the town and try and find the whereabouts of Myak's home, at which point they could interrogate him about what he really knows. The remainder of the group would skirt the edge of town keeping an eye on him to make sure he was safe - but as they spotted the Sheriff moving in with guards, the quickly ran in and positioned themselves nearby to help aid him should it be needed.

The Sheriff claimed that he (the Dragonborn) was to be arrested for murder and ordered the guards to seize him. The guard hesitated as he let them know he would defend himself should they try. The rest of the group emerged from hiding and a skill challenge began with which the PC's attempted to persuade the guards to stand down. After successfully completing the challenge (making the guards question the orders of their Sheriff, who they did not like anyway) the Sheriff tried to escape. He was immediately caught and imprisoned.

The group then searched the sheriff's home and discovered incriminating evidence that assured them and the town that the Sheriff deserved to be imprisoned. They also discovered a letter written to the Sheriff ordering him to find "the key" as it "is an important item relating to the time of the Hutaaka". This lead the PC's to believe that the Sheriff was using the cover of attacking Kobolds in their camps to find this item.

After being assured that the Sheriff would be adequately guarded, the PC's were notified that the town's newly appointed temporary Sheriff was going to send word to Kelvin requesting a regiment of guards to be sent up to pickup and bring Krennen back to Kelvin for a trial. He asked them if they would like to deliver this note themselves so they would be reassured it made it there. They accepted and prepared to make the journey to Kelvin.

[weem]

Session 4: Aug 24, 2008
Chapter I: A Road Frequently Traveled
Killing The Messengers

The party left Verge, the drama of Sheriff Kreenan and their battles with Kobolds behind them. Their eyes were now firmly set on getting to Kelvin to deliver a request from the new Sheriff - a request for soldiers to be sent for Kreenan. Heavily undermanned and under protected, they could spare no one to deliver him themselves. The new sheriff also hoped that upon arrival, said troops would be obligated to help with any further incursions by the Kobolds, or by Goblins for that matter. Rumors from Rifflian to the South indicated that Goblins were attacking the city there and had even been seen working side by side with Kobolds and other creatures.

By the time the party arrived in Rifflian it was apparent the city had recently been attacked, and while it was not from a force worthy of taking and/or destroying the city, it was obviously large enough to inflict serious damage.

Arriving with them were refugees from Verge, as well as the stories of their (the party's) success against the Kobolds and the corruption of Sheriff Kreenan. As word spread, they received more stares and became the focus of more and more attention. Eventually they were dragged into a tavern by an eager group of men offering to buy them drinks and wanting to hear their tales... they were less than excited, but went along with it.

It wasn't long before the Constable of Rifflian stepped into the tavern and made his way to the group. He had heard of how they had helped the people of Verge and appreciated everything they had done. He let them know that he had something they might be able to help him with as well if they were willing. They agreed to hear what he had to say at which point he offered to recommend a place to stay for the night and more information about the task in the morning.

By the end of the night, the group had all but split up and found accommodations of their own. By the next morning (with some efforts by the Constable and his men) the group had regathered to hear the plight of the Constable. He lead them to the building from which he worked and took them to a cellar where a small prison cell was located and was currently being occupied by a human wearing normal civilian clothing, but the boots of a Rifflian soldier. The Constable told the group that the man (LT. Greywall) was caught trying to steal from the city vault with the aid of Goblins. He was caught with the help from "an ally of Rifflian", for which the Constable was very grateful (though he never mentioned who the person was).

The dilemma the Constable was now faced with needed to be resolved immediately. The man, who most definitely was guilty of attempting to steal from city coffers, was a Lieutenant of Rifflian and had many supporters - people who were very loyal to him and do not believe the charges against him. The polarization in the community due to this predicament was threatening the peace at a time when the city was barely being held together after the Goblin attacks. The Constable needed to have Greywall brought from the city to Kelvin as soon as possible. However, he could not trust to send him to Kelvin under the guard of his troops - he didn't know who could and could not be trusted - this task required a third party as he saw it, especially now that he had been presented with the gift of a proven group of individuals from the North.

There were two major problems with getting Greywall out of the city however. The first was that as soon as it was known he was being taken out, the party would in all likelihood become the target of some kind of ambush from those loyal to him. Secondly, if the group wanted to use deception to get him out, there could be outrage about the tactics and those loyal to the Lieutenant may incite a full blown riot. With both of those possibilities in the light, the Constable agreed that using deception to get him out was the best method and that he would deal with the reaction as need be.

After much planning, the group decided to have an cart brought to the building as if it had been found abandoned (the building was the location for holding such things). A crate from the cart would then be brought down to the cellar (again, normal procedure). that crate would then be used to hold Greywall long enough to get him out of the city via the cart driven by false merchants (under the hire of the Constable) which the party would follow and take control of outside the city limits.

Despite some miscalculations and mis-communications by some of the Constables men, the plan worked and the group eventually arrived in Kelvin with Greywall. In Kelvin, the Wizard of the group met up with his mentor and gleaned some information about the Hutaakan civilization (Kreenen's paperwork mentioned something about a "key important to the Hutaaka" located within the Kobold stronghold - the group believes this has something to do with the key/keyhold inscribed "box" found in the stronghold). Ketana's mentor (Garicci) mentioned a friend (Mareco) of his who studied the Hutaakan civilization residing in Specularum... if they wanted to know more about the Hutaaka, they needed to speak with him.

The group then went to speak to General Pailer on behalf of the Constable of Rifflian (who wanted them to let the general know of the troubles his city had just had). The general heard (which seemed more like dismissed at the time) their concerns and sent them on their way.

At this point they decided to head to Specularum to investigate the Hutaaka connection further. While camping along Duke's Road on their first night, they were awoken by a man who called himself "Backwater". This was a man they had seen enter the room to speak with General Pailer as they left. He warned then that he was hired to kill them, and despite the fact that he accepted money for the job, killing them was not his intention - but, the General had sent troops to follow him to assure he did the job. While trying to get more information from Backwater, they were attacked by the General's men. Backwater and some of his men helped the group fight off the soldiers and took them into the woods to one of his many hideouts. At the hideout were other men and some elves, about 40 people total. Backwater informed them he had been keeping an eye on them when he heard of their deeds while he was visiting Verge.

In fact, Backwater claimed to be the grandson of a man who was a member of the Clan of the Cliffs... a group of men (outlaws according to others) who once lived in what was once the Kobold stronghold the group cleared out. His father grew up there as a boy, but the clan was forced out due to unknown events after which the kobolds moved in. It was at this point that Backwater asked to see the box. The group was hesitant at first, but he assured them he only wanted to see it and that if he wanted to take it, he could have it by way of his men. The group showed it to him. Backwater responded that he was not aware of anything about the box, but that it was simply a family heirloom/trinket he had heard of and wished to see, but at that point he grabbed at what appeared to be a necklace under his shirt - a move that made the group uneasy, despite his outward appearance that everything was normal.

That night, Roland, who carried the box, was awoken by a buzzing from his bag as well as light emitting from it. He pulled out the box which burned his hand causing it to fall to the ground. It lit the entire camp with intense light which dimmed to a large glow into which faint images of humanoid figures stepped. Their faces and hands had what appeared to be scales and their focus seemed to be on the box. Despite the fact that they seemed to be nothing more than projections, they seemed well aware of their surroundings and continued moving towards the box. He quickly put it back in his bag... the light faded, and the figures disappeared.

Backwater immediately made them pack and escorted them to the southern border of the woods. He feared his hideout had been compromised, but told them that should they need his help, he would not be far away. They then made their way to Specularum...

[weem]

Session 5: Sep 20, 2008
Chapter I: A Road Frequently Traveled (cont)
Against The Will, Away From Home

The party camped after leaving the forest. When they awoke, Shedian was gone. Nearby stood 3 dragonborn bearing the crest of his clan. They notified the group that he would catch up with them.

They continued to Specularum.

In Specularum, the went immediately to the library looking for the man known as Mareco, a friend to Giricci who was said to know more about the Hutaaka than anyone. However, when they reached the Library that night, he was no longer there. At this point they made their way down the street to the very large Church of Bahamet of which Grail had visited earlier. In fact, it was there that he was assigned the task to travel to Verge in the first place.

At the church Grail tried to meet with Bishop Forrimar who assigned him the task but was told he was out as well - they should try back the next morning.

The following day they returned to the Library where they spoke with Mareco. He gave them more information about the Hutaaka including what they looked like (a feline-like race), that in order to find them keys were needed (to see their valley) and finally that their box in all likelihood was a tool used to "see things that happened in the past" - basically a way to witness a history, or bits of it at a time. why it would be so sought after though he could not answer, as the value of such an item would be great to only a few people.

They then went back to the church and met with Bishop Forrimar (Ketana stayed behind at the library). Here the Bishop listened to all that Grail had to say, and even dispatched a message to Kelvin, presumably to resolve the treachery of General Pailer.

On their way out, Grail was asked to help light the candles after giving an offering. At this point, the box began to glow and hum. Roland pulled out the box as Grail ran out the door towards the library just up the street. There he grabbed Mareco (who he wanted to have witness the event) as well as Ketana. They made it back in time to see most of it which involved the scaly creatures sneaking up behind what appeared to be 4 Hutaakan wizards. These wizards appeared to be using magic to hold back a large group of the scaly creatures. Just as the stealthy scaly creatures launched their attack on the wizards, the image faded. They were then abruptly removed from the church.

The following day, they looked for work as they decided to wait a week for a friend of Mareco's to get to town who might discern more about the magic of the box. Grail heard of a work detail happening to the East at a bridge where his healing services could be of great help. Ketana stayed behind again at the Library.

The next day, Ketana is approached by a dragonborn bearing the symbol of their fellow dragonborns clan. He told Ketana that their friend was in great danger and needed the party's help to rescue him. Ketana left that night for the bridge, gathered Roland and Grail and brought them back. The next night the dragonborn approached them and they immediately left to free their friend.

Held in the back of a small warehouse building, they found him beaten and almost unconscious - it became apparent right away that he had been drugged/poisoned. Although this appeared to be some kind of trap, they freed him and fled as a group entered the building and began to chase them. The dragonborn who brought them here told them they needed to get to the pier immediately - they would have to run and look for the largest ship in the harbor which would be near a large stone building. A man there would help them when they arrived.

The chase began.

This was a skill challenge involving someone determining the best route via streetwise or perception, someone aiding the dragonborn (who was semi-unconscious) to "run" and the other person aiding either one of those two. Failures in determining the best route, or in in the athletics check of the dragonborn would lead to delays and shots being taken at the party (poisoned darts).

Roland held up their friend while Grail and Ketana lead the way through the streets. They eventually made it to the stone structure where a human wearing the clan crest of their friend directed them to a basement entrance. Inside, they moved to the back of the building where a small tunnel led through the cliff face on the other side and out to a plank that went into the large galley 2 levels below deck.

Once inside, the double hatch door was closed and they found themselves in a room with 14 others inside. It immediately became apparent that this was indeed a trap. A man here told them he knew they carried a very unique item and that they could give it to him now, or be forced to strip down and it would be taken.

After a long moment of silence, Roland jumped into action and the fight was on to get back out the way they came in... only the group was prepared. After an extended fight during which the party killed 3 of their men, the group was eventually put down by poison, or in the case of Grail, by being reduced to zero. Ketana was cornered and told to give up at which point he did.

Eventually Roland and Grail came to and were allowed to roam about the upper deck, but Roland had been relieved of the box. After a week of travel, the boat arrived in Thyatis where they were escorted off - but the fate of their dragonborn friend remains a mystery, though they heard tales from men on board that he was tied to the anchor and dropped into the sea at some point.

[weem]

Session 6: Sep 24, 2008
Chapter I: A Road Frequently Traveled (cont)
Oceans Apart

This session was run for Shedian by himself to catch him up to the current events.

Shedian awoke to find himself near a campfire on the beach, his friend (a fellow Dragonborn) Graxt was nearby preparing fish over the fire. He had indeed been cast over the side of the Cliff Diver attached to its anchor, and though his memories of the last few days were hazy, one of the last things he recalled seeing was Graxt jump from the side of the boat into the water to help.

They left for Thyatis immediately and arrived later that night.

Graxt led them through the darkest, most dangerous sections of Thyatis until they came to the Brackentack Inn. The Inn resided on property not owned by Thyatis and therefor was a hang out for all manner of people with devious intentions - but it was also a primary location to gather information.

After securing a room for the night the two slept but awoke and left early the next morning for their next destination - Thyatis harbor and the Cliff Diver. Graxt and Shedian made a few stops to purchase a helmet (for Shedian) as well as some new clothes with which to disguise themselves. Graxt seemed to have a plan to get on board, which he needed to do in order to gather information for his clan.

With a good amount of bluffing and intimidation, they were able to make their way aboard the boat and were given a room. Here they waited out the hours until nightfall. Graxt had explored the boat before - a custom modified galley used by the Watchers (thieves guild). There were many secret passages and escape routes which came in handy that night as they made their way from the room, up to the old captains quarters (which were no longer used and in dire need of cleaning).

In the old captains quarters, they looked through every drawer, nook and cranny all the while Graxt gathering as many documents as he could find (among other things). The pair was discovered however and a fight broke out. They won the fight, but jumped from the ship as more Watchers arrived.

Shedian had hoped to find the golden box that he heard had been taken, and as it turned out Graxt had found it and he handed it over after their escape. They went to an Inn and rested for the night.

The next morning, Graxt led Shedian to an Inn where he told him his friends were staying. Shedian entered the Inn and Graxt went on his way.

[weem]

Session 7: Oct 8, 2008
Chapter II: The Path to Understanding
Ghostly Companions

Shedian rejoins the group. Having regained possession of the box, he gave it back to Roland warning him that he should keep a closer eye on his belongings. He also refuses to go into detail about where he has been and who was involved, and so begins a time of mistrust between various members of the group.

Ketana remembered that Thyatis had a very large and well known library and that they may get more information there about the box. With the help of the others, he gathered a few documents related to the person previously in possession of the box. However, that had the box approximately 175 years in the past, so he definitely would no longer be around to question about it. However, the man belonged to a prestigious family who had roots in Thyatis and was tied to the temple of Archaic Studies.

The man (whose journal entries they found in the library) was named Faeleen and as it turned out, upon visiting the temple of archaic studies, he had a great grandson also named Faeleen and it was with him that they met. Faeleen knew little about the box, and only had a page or two from the journal. He allowed it to be copied and gave them a little more information on the box (what little he had). The elder Faeleen had discovered the box in a temple buried in the Malpheggi swamp far to the East along with some other items of interest (including an ancient coin of some kind) and so it was there that the group decided to leave for.

They procured passage aboard a ship said to be carrying cargo between various locations on it's way East.

The ship ride began simply enough, but after a few days it became apparent to the group that the ship had more than just the regular sailor crew... it was the home to many many ghosts. The crew knew of the ghosts, and the ghosts were benign in nature. Every four to seven days they would appear throughout the decks of the ship and make their way to the deck. Once there, they gathered around a female child ghost who would then walk off the edge of the ship - the rest of the ghosts following. And so this exact event would always play out the same according to the crew.

However, on the night before they pulled into Minrothad City, the box began to vibrate and hum as it prepared to project an image. As it did, the ghosts appeared as if summoned - they all came to watch the projected image while still ignoring anything the group themselves did. As soon as the projected image had concluded, they all turned and walked away, fading into nothing once more.

In Minrothad City, the group stepped of the ship which would be staying in the port for one night after which they intend to reboard and continue on.

[weem]

Session 8: Nov 8, 2008
Chapter II: The Path to Understanding
Ghostly Companions (cont)

As the crew began unloading various crates and supplies, the group decided to look for something to do. However, they were soon approached by local soldiers and a captain who had questions for them.

As it turns out, the ship they had come in on was about to be raided/confiscated for smuggling/stealing goods and they wanted to know what the group knew about the crew, the ship, destinations, etc. While talking to them, a fire broke out aboard the ship while it was being raided so the questioning ended abruptly.

The group spent the night out on the beach under what was a clear night sky. Unfortunately they were awoken in the morning by a rain storm.

The group then decided to investigate by heading to the place where the injured were being brought to. Grail offered to help out as best he could and after some fishing around found a member of the crew (someone they recognized but had never spoken to). They led him away from the location he was being cared for to question him. Needed to apply certain "interrogation" techniques, Grail was sent away for food and drinks. The crew member did not share as much as information as they had hoped and the interrogation turned into a fight which resulted in the near death of the crewman.

They returned him to the place he was taken from, which earned them some irritated looks from the caretakers there, and decided to go see about sneaking aboard the ship to investigate the fire (though they were hearing that the boat was taking on water).

Upon arriving on the docks, they could see the boat was listing to one side slightly and had sustained heavy fire damage, but had not yet sunk and by all accounts it was not going to. Before they could set a plan in motion to sneak on board, the captain found them and led them down, offering to let them check out the boat first hand.

The boat was relatively gutted, with the focus of investigation occurring down below decks, near where their quarters were. When they got there, they noticed a group huddled around a particular wall and upon closer inspection found out what the buzz was about. On one particularly burned wall was a hand print... small... the size of a small child's hand burned in white ash and surrounded by a larger white ashen circle. They immediately chalked it up to the ghostly girl, but did not share this information with anyone.

That night they stayed in a nearby Inn. In the middle of the night, Ketana was awoken by a whispering. It was the ghost girl who at the same time was 'pawing' at his bag for what they assumed was the box. Upon pulling it out, the ghostly girl touched the box and triggered some kind of projection, only this time the circumstances were very different. For one, the box did not heat up and two, it was not projecting light of any kind, although an image was very obviously playing out before them.

The projection was that of a ship, whose passengers (relatively wealthy looking humans) appeared to be shackled to a chain, which was attached to the anchor which then was suddenly cast overboard yanking to the ocean all of those attached. Off to the side, there were more people watching, crying, or looking away and the focus came in on one particular woman holding a baby. The ghostly girl reached for her, but the image faded causing her to let out a very high pitched screech before suddenly disappearing.

Ketana began a ritual to comprehend the language he heard the girl whispering. It was something being said over and over again so he had it memorized, but the language was only vaguely familiar to him. when the ritual was completed he came to understand her whispering as, "I will find you, and I will kill you".

The next day, the group was offered a ride aboard a merchant ship by the captain who had been questioning them. They took him up on the ride, but on the second night, the ghostly girl appeared on deck startling the crew. As she made her way downstairs, the crew followed. She went all the way down to the room of the group and disappeared. This got them in a lot of trouble. They were held in their rooms until the morning.

That morning the captain of the ship put them on a smaller row boat and his crew rowed them to the nearby shore of Safari Island (In the Kingdom of Ierendi). There they were left, although they were given directions to the nearby village of Pupami.

They traveled through the day arriving at night and finding the village completely abandoned. Only the light in an upstairs window of the Inn offered any hope of company. when they entered the room, they found a lantern lit, but also the body of a human male who also happened to be missing a large portion of the back of his head. At that moment, they heard screeching outside and witnessed 5 creatures charging toward the Inn. They were humanoid in figure, running on 2 legs with claws for fingers, black skin, and no facial features (except for a slit for a mouth).

The group quickly prepared the room for combat just in time for the creatures to arrive trying to force themselves in. By the time the first one finally made it through the door, two more burst in through the windows of the room and the fight was on.

After defeating these creatures, the ghostly girl appeared holding the hand of another ghost... the ghost of the man on the ground. This ghost, however, could see the group (or at least didn't ignore them) and even talk to them. He did not remember anything really other than one moment writing in his journal and the next wandering the upstairs portion of the Inn as a ghost.

The group gathered the journal which was downstairs, at which point Jacob (the ghost) discovered that he could join them downstairs as well now. Piecing the journal together for Jacob he read and began to remember what happened. Him and his friend Markeen had been sent to Pupami to investigate the disappearance of a number of villagers which eventually led to them abandoning the village. He had sent Markeen for supplies in the southern village of Kobos, so he might still be there. Also in the journal they discovered that these black creatures were inactive during the day and that more had been discovered at a tower to the south.

Heading there, they passed another creature (it was now daylight) who stood completely still, it's face staring towards the sky. As an experiment they touched it and it prang to life attacking them, but they quickly ended its life.

At the tower they found more of the same and quickly dispatched of a large group of them on the second floor.

On the fourth floor they found a room with a floating black and glowing orb in the center of the room and an elderly man on the other side of it. There were also black figures in this room chained to chairs. Upon noticing them, the man eventually ran up some stairs to the roof, blocking his exit with a gate.

Suddenly in another corner of the room a monster sprung on the group. IT was a large gorilla-looking creature with horns - some kind of demon. They defeated it and made their way to the roof where the elderly man leaped to his death.

Jacob the Ghost appeared while they rested and let them know that Markeen needed to see this orb in the room - it was very important.

They left for Kobos, found Markeen, and brought him to the tower. He indeed needed to see the orb telling the group that him and Jacob had come across a number of these and had been destroying them via a ritual that the group would now need to help him with - enter a skill challenge.

Ketana read from an ancient scroll while the three others held a stone (from Markeen) each and stood one in each of three etched circles around the orb. Ketana needed to read without distraction and the others needed to not leave their circle and remain as still as possible. This became very hard to do when two rounds in 12 demon-like birds emerged from the orb and began attacking them all (making their checks harder).

Eventually they succeeded and from the orb emerged two demons which put up a great fight but were eventually defeated, and the orb was destroyed.

They decided to rest in the tower as they let Markeen investigate the box to see if he could give them any information on it.

[weem]

Session 9: Dec (Date Unknown)
Chapter III: Temple Bound
Back On Solid Ground

The players leave the island and get back to the mainland arriving in the coastal town of Athenos. Here they discover someone has arrived within the last few days and is highering many locals to help with an expedition into the swamp.

When they seek out this person, they find that it is Faeleen. Having told the players of the temple in the swamp, he decided to head there himself and offer to go with them as a partner. If they could simply escort him in to recover an item (he said what it was specifically was his business) then he would provide the support to maintain a presence at the site allowing them (the players) to gather, safely store, and eventually return with them to town any treasures they may discover within.

They agreed and were off the next day...

...a week later (and after a few encounters with crocs of varying sizes, among other things) they arrived where the temple was said to be. The problem was, the temple was not there, and in its place stood a large ominous black fortress. Upon further inspection of the outer parameter of the front (the rest was buried in the hill behind it or under large amounts of foliage) the fortress seemed to have appeared there at some point, pushing large amounts of earth out of it's way.

They moved inside to investigate this mysterious fortress...

[weem]

Sessions 10 and 11: Jan (Unknown Dates)
Chapter III: Temple Bound
Dark Fortress

Through these two sessions, the players explored multiple levels of this seemingly abandoned fortress. During these two sessions, they learned the following...

1. This fortress had spent time in (below the furface) of the ocean. Many passages were blocked with silt that contained sea shells and other evidence leading to this theory.

2. The fortress was built by some race of dwarves unknown to them and probably built for war as there were entire chambers dedicated to the storage of siege equipment

3. Mysterious crystals of various sizes played variosu roles in the fortress. They discovered crystals of "small" and "medium" sizes. Some glowed brightly, some were faint and others had no glow at all - but there were doors in the fortress that would open when certain crystals were placed in nearby slots. There was also a humanoid construct that would briefly animated when crystals were positioned into slots on its back.

It also presented some mysteries aside from questions raised based on finding above. Some of these new mysteries were...

1. In some rooms long chains hung from the ceiling with hooks on the end that were hooked into rings on the floor. These rings were always inside of an etched rectangle on the floor of 5' x 2' dimension. In some rooms these chains and hooks numbered in the 20's - the purpose of which was unknown

2. There were levers in various rooms and hallways that either could not be moved, or simply did nothing when moved


Exploration of the fortress continued down to the 3rd level...

[weem]

Session 12: Feb 14, 2008
Chapter III: Temple Bound
Dark Fortress (cont)

Moving closer to the 3rd floor (down) in the fortress, they discovered they were being watched by someone. Following the figure they discovered a small room at the end of a narrow passageway. In this well furnished room sat an elderly halfling who promptly welcomed them and asked them to have a seat and relax. Introducing himself as Fenwick, he was very pleased to have visitors!

The room he was in had walls marked with various small holes and thin slits running that ran the height of the room but were only a few inches wide.

Through the course of a long conversation they learned that Fenwick had lived here in the fortress for quite a while. He confirmed that, yes, the fort has the power to move between locations. He also let them know there were many other creatures throughout the fortress - some native to areas the fortress came to, and others who had actively sought out the fortress for whatever reasons they had.

Sensing they could trust him, the PC's presented their box to him, hoping he could tell them something about it. To their shock, he pulled out an identical box! He told them that this box is a key of sorts... a portal key, but he could not explain the mysterious things happening around the box during their time with it.

He slid the box back to them... or at least they thought he did at the time.

Fenwick told them that if they were looking to get to the feywild in search of the temple (that was supposed to exist where the fortress now stood) he could help them, but he would only do so if they could attain for him a large crystal from the floor below. They would have to get it from a race of snake-like creatures. This caught their attention based on the images the box had been producing in the past.

They made their way down to the 3rd floor and after a number of encounters discovered a crystal being protected by these "snake people". They brought the crystal back to Fenwick...

[weem]

Session 13: Feb 21, 2008
Chapter III: Temple Bound
To the Feywild and Back, Part I

Fenwick, having attained the crystal from the group, has them exit his room where he intends on meeting them shorty.

As they waited outside in a larger room, the passages leading out suddenly close, sealed shut as the walls seemed to melt closed.

"Why did you leave him with the crystal?" a voice echoed... it seemed to come from everywhere.

"Why wouldn't we", Shedian responded, "he said he could get us to the Feywild". The group looked around, still puzzled as to who or what they were having a conversation with.

"You have made a terrible choice" the voice responded.

Just then the floor below them began to descend, slowly at first but rapidly the speed increased until they were free falling. Below them they were quickly approaching a bright light and before they could blink, they were falling hard to the ground outside.

As their eyes adjusted to the light, they realized they were completely surrounded by a number of figures who held weapons to their heads... they were also missing their friend Roland [he could not make the game that night].

"Tell me now why we should not kill you", stated one of the figures.

Their eyes began to adjust and they found themselves prone, and surrounded by what could only be described as goat-men. They stood quite tall and very muscular, but they had the legs and heads of a goat - including the curled horns.

Grail quickly responded, "We mean you no harm" as they stood slowly to their feet.

After a brief conversation [skill challenge] the group was lead to a nearby camp of many goat-men. It seemed these ones belonged to a much larger force.

They were escorted to one of their superiors by the name of Torbor. He stood slightly taller than all the rest and wore the symbol of Melora. Torbor explained little, preferring to listen to what the group had to say in response to some light questioning. He then led them to a tent where they were to sleep for the night - but they were free to roam about the camp.

So, they returned to the clearing where they landed after being ejected from the fortress. They landed on the edge of this clearing along the tree lines. The clearing was very large, almost one half of a mile across and resembling an almost perfect circle. Around this cirlce stood a number of small towers and at each of these there seemed to be a squad of the goat men positioned.

They approached the nearest and began asking them questions. As it turns out, the towers served some kind of purpose that would be apparent when the fortress were to appear here. The men warned the group not to venture too far into the perimeter of the clearing... if they were inside when the fortress appeared, they would be killed instantly. Grail bravely made his way (quickly) in to inspect ruins that were scattered in the area. He marked down a number of symbols to study later before making his way back out (quickly again).

The group eventually returned to their tent to sleep. Before doing so, they had a brief conversation with Torbor and then one of the Seekers pulled Ketana aside and asked to speak to him in private... he returned 30 minutes later speaking nothing of his conversation with them.

They waited for morning to come and a highly anticipated conversation with Torbor...

(Session To be Continued)...

[weem]

Session 14: Feb 21, 2008
Chapter III: Temple Bound
To the Feywild and Back, Part II

The next morning, Torbor was much more forthcoming. It turns out they were now in the Feywild - something they had guessed the day before. Not only that, but these men were waiting for the fortress to appear. Apparently the locations the fortress "blinks" to are not random, but rather occur in a repeating sequence. With the help of the "Seekers" (intelligent men, followers of Ioun), he said, they had predicted the appearance of the fortress would occur at this location within the next few days. It was one of the reasons that this was the place the group was 'dropped' when they were.

They also discovered that the fortress is sentient - it has thoughts and ideas of it's own - it was the fortress who unceremoniously ejected them through a portal. The fortress was also not the only one of its kind, although it is different from the rest in that the sentient being that was contained within its walls is behaving with much more independence than their creators thought was possible. This also lead to their next discovery - the fortress (and others like it) was built by Duergar dwarves hundreds of years ago with the help of other races from below the surface of the feywild - infact, this fortress in particular was built for the exact purpose of moving into and taking the Valley of the Hutaaka.

And so it was, a number of connections were finally made. But as the group said, they were met with more questions now in the face of a few answers.

The group explained the circumstances surrounding the box they had been carrying and upon pulling it out discovered that a switch had been made on them by Fenwick. They now had his box - a seemingly ordinary box with a low level of magic on it. More than likely it too was a portal key, but it also more than likely did not contain the powerful and mysterious magic their original had... anger ensued.

After this long conversation Torbor was visited by one of his scouts with information. He told the group that the scout had witnessed their missing friend fall some distance from where they had landed - he had immediately been grabbed by a group of the reptilian people and rushed away to a small camp half a days journey away. The scout would lead them there so they could rescue him.

They quickly made their way to the camp and arrived as the sun set. It was a small outcropping of ruins on a hilltop. With surprise, they jumped into the camp killing all enemies, but all they found were corpses (goat men) and all of Rolands' belongings... but no Roland.

No tracks could be discerned from the camp so they moved back towards the clearing.

Hours later, as they drew near the clearing, they heard a large booming concussive sound. The scout moved to a nearby tree, crouching down, "Get down!" he yelled.

As they did, they were buffeted with a strong force of wind. Tree limbs, and all matter of debris flew by them as they huddled, but eventually the force subsided.

They quickly made their way to the clearing ahead where sure enough, the fortress now stood. It did not take up the entire clearing, but rather stood in the dead center, several hundred feet inside the perimeter from any side.

The scout moved to the nearest tower, "we must active the towers and protect them!" and the group followed. At the tower they were attacked by the snake people and they could see that these creatures were attacking the other towers as well - they were trying to stop the towers from being activated for some reason.

They cleared and activated this tower, but could see another one nearby was being overrun. The group (minus the cleric) ran to help as he remained behind to watch the one they had just cleared. Within range of his bow, he repeatably fired on the enemies form his vantage point. During all of this, debris was still falling from the sky... various foliage and stone from the ruins... but one particularly large piece caught everyone's attention as it descended towards the tower this new fight had been for.

Everyone moved as quickly as possible to avoid the falling stone as it tore into the top, destroying the mechanism needed to activate it [random roll here on where it would fall - bad luck for them].

They had survived and done what they could and now everyone was gathering within the perimeter, preparing to march into the fortress behind Torbor. He barked out orders in a language they could not comprehend and before they knew it, they were all charging headlong into one of the entrances - 3 PC's following approximately 50-70 goat men, as well as Torbor and his 2 "Seekers".

The entire group made their way in to the center chamber (after a few run-ins with the fortress defenses which claimed the life of a number of goat men). This chamber was the control room of the fortress - it was where the fortress would be activated. Based on what they had seen so far, Torbor guessed the fortress was not fully activated (did not have all 8 crystals needed).

This chamber was a few hundred feet across and even more in height. In the center stood a column around which stairs spiraled up 10 feet in width. They went all the way up where they ended on a platform. This platform had 4 bridges extending in each direction from the center out towards the walls of the chambers. At the end of each was a slot for a crystal to be placed and a crank that had to be turned 4 times (standard action each turn) in order to activate the crystal. By the time they reached the top, they had 7 rounds to complete the tasks. Crystals were handed out and they split up - the PC's splitting into two to tackle two bridges and NPC's on the rest.

However, they were all attacked by snake people as they tried to activate the crystals - so while they tried to defend themselves, they had to also turn the cranks.

As if that were not enough, the fortress threw in one of it's last lines of defense, dropping in guardians from the ceiling attached to chains... they were large and while they were crude and slow, it took a lot to chop them down.

After a long hard fight, they eventually won with Torbor calling to the fortress to call of its guards (after he activated it) and while the fortress delayed as best it could, it eventually gave in and everyone was finally able to rest after much excitement.

[weem]

Session 15: Mar 7, 2009
Chapter IV: Familiar Ground
From The Depths

Having ended combat with the fortress, Torbor ordered the fortress deactivated - everyone pulled the 8 crystals from their positions. His hope was that without any source of power, the fortress could not port away from the feywild giving him time to clear out the fortress and prepare it for occupation.

The Seekers were bringing someone in with intimate knowledge of these kinds of fortresses but he would not he there for two days.

(During this time, Fenwick arrived with Roland in tow. Roland had apparently been dropped form the fortress to a different location where he was kidnapped by the snake people. After being lead from camp to camp over the next 2 days, he was rushed by his captors onto the fort after it appeared, moving through the chaos and fighting outside.

Once inside he was held captive in a room with two humans, though he was unable to speak to them. After an unknown amount of time (day or two) Fenwisk suddenly showed up... many of the snake men fled the room - those that stayed regretted it immediately as they were attacked suddenly by a high pitch ringing in their ears. Their ears bled and they fell to the floor as Fenwick released the humans and Roland. The humans left down a side passageway, and Roland followed Fenwick all the way to the rest of the group).

The rest of the group wanted to immediately attack Fenwick - they aggressively approached him demanding he give their box back. He did so, and let them keep his box when they offered it back. Fenwick then warned them that he should keep the box - that they would regret keeping it sooner than they could imagine - but they chose to keep it.

Fenwick then warned the Seekers (Kasen particularly - the leader of their group) that bringing "Redger" here would be a terrible mistake. The Seekers scoffed at him, and the PC's were in agreement - Fenwick could not be trusted. He went on his way, satisfied that he had tried.

That day, Ketana studied the box with the aid of the Seekers as well as helped them in the study of the fortress looking for more information that could help aid them in predicting its next location to which it would port.

The next day, Redger arrived (a day early) and to everyone's surprise, he was a Duergar dwarf! The Seekers lead him up to the control platform. They wanted to be sure the fort could not go anywhere and that it was safe to keep in the feywild for further exploration/occupation.

Redger ordered the fortress activated.

Once activated, it spoke to him...

"I know you"

"Yes you do", Redger responded.

He then began speaking to the fort in his native language, which no one seemed to understand. As he spoke to the fort, one of Torbors men came up to the platform having ran the whole way...

"They are coming", he panted
"Who? The snake men?", Torbor asked
"No", the man replied, "HIS kind!" he said, pointing a finger at Redger

At that, Redger drew his knife and lunged for Kasen saying "This is the end" before doing so.

A fight ensued from which Redger was killed. It seemed he knew he was to sacrifice his life. However, during the fight some of the players tried to remove crystals, but they would not budge.

Kasen, at the start of combat, knelt down and began casting a ritual.

After the fight ended, he finished the ritual - Water Breathing.

At that moment, ocean water began pouring in from side passages slowly filling its way up towards them 150 feet above.

"That place we hoped the fort would not go... we have arrived"

The fortress had ported into the ocean.

The players, as well as the Seekers, Torbor and one of his men, managed to swim their way up to the surface from where they could see the lights of a town (Rugalov) on a nearby shore.

They eventually arrived to find that the town was under attack by Troglodytes and Snake people. After a few encounters, they were able to kill off the creatures and discover that they had come "from the ocean" as some of the citizens of the town had witnessed... and so it was assumed they indeed came from the fortress as well.

The fighting had gone through to the morning, so as the sun rose, they were being hailed as heroes but inside they felt guilt for having been a part of the reason the monsters were here in the first place.

That day they were treated like kings... free food and rooms. They slept until mid afternoon only to find an even larger crowd had gathered around the Inn in which they stayed.

The mayor (of Rugalov) spoke with them that afternoon... he asked them questions about where they were from - how did they come to find the town in danger, etc. The group did a poor job of lying and it was apparent to the mayor details were being kept from him. But despite that he thanked them and rewarded them with horses to help them on their way - though they were more than welcome to stay.

After the mayor left, the group spoke with the Seekers and it was decided that the Seekers would return home to Ylarum to try and determine the forts next location while the PC's would head to Kelvin. Records indicated that the royal family of Karameikos had regular contact with the Hutaaka. So, the royal library in Kelvin may have information they need about the Hutaaka - particularly, where they might go to find the portal into the valley.

[weem]

Session 16: Mar 21, 2009
Chapter IV: Familiar Ground
We're Not Heroes

The PC's (after some travel time) arrive in Kelvin followed by 5 men from Rugalov who had various tasks to do there, including notifying officials of the events that had occurred earlier.

Grail checked in with his Church. Things were busy as his Bishop from Specularum had moved up to Kelvin and was setting a number of things in motion. He put Grail to work helping offload supplies from the docks to a warehouse for future use as aid for the poor.

Ketana went to check in with his master only to discover that his school was gone. Not only were they gone, they apparently left "8-9 months ago". For the PC's, only 2 months had passed since they were last here, and so they discover that time did indeed pass differently for them in the Feywild than it did back on their homeland.

With the amount of time that had passed (they discovered that almost a year has passed) they learned the outcome of a few things they had played a part in long ago, including that Rifflian was now doing quite well (in part, thanks to them) and that the constable was now about to obtain a job in Kelvin. They discovered this when they ran into him in Kelvin - and when he learned they were looking to access the Royal Library, he told them he would try and pull some strings to make it happen.

The next day they were met by a sheriff and scribe - the men required information from the PC's about their possible visit to the Royal Library (why do you need access, what are you looking for, for how long do you need access, where did you come from, etc). The sheriff said he would return in a day or two with more information if the access was approved. If they didn't hear from him after two days, they could consider it denied.

The PC's went out for the day, but when they returned, one of the men from Rugalov who traveled with them had gathered people to the tavern with the epic tale of how the PC's had saved the town. The excitement only grew when it was further discovered that the PC's were also involved in helping rid Verge of kobolds so long ago.

The PC's soon became surrounded and overwhelmed as they crowd continued to grow exponentially. At the height of it, local guards intervened and separated the PC's from the crowd, moving them into the tavern. With the tavern protected, the sheriff showed up who had questioned them before - it was not safe for them to stay here (obviously).

They were loaded into a coach and whisked away into the Noble district within the walls of the royal castle. Here they were taken to the home of John and Sara Marilinev - friends of the sheriff, and also the family put in charge of looking after the Royal Library.

They had dinner and stayed the night with the (very wealthy) nobles and were told they would be granted access.

The sheriff then brought the PC's into the castle, a trip during which he told them of the very specific rules they were to adhere to in the library.

The Royal Library was simply the personal library of the royal family. In fact, they were told there was a chance that while they were in the library, a member of the royal family may enter (there were a few rules related to how they were to handle themselves in this situation if it were to occur).

In the library, they had access to everything and had someone working there help them find books with information they needed. Some of the things they learned were...

1/ The royal family did indeed maintain a strong relationship with the Hutaaka, but this was kept secret. Many suspected, but the proof only existed here in the library where logs were maintained of official meetings, etc.

2/ The king and the rulers of the Hutaaka would meet officially once per year. While their dignitaries might meet more regularly, the rulers of each side met in an official capacity once per year. When the Hutaakan leaders came to Kelvin, it was kept secret, and when the king would visit them, they public was told a lie about where he was going.

3/ About 200 years ago, the king (at the time) sent hundreds of his elite royal soldiers into the mountains north of Threshold. The official reason given to the people was the extermination roaming hordes of goblins - but the real reason for sending them was to get them into the valley of Hutaaka to help defend the Hutaakan people from some threat.


There were other things learned as well, but as they were discussing these items with the librarian, he was interrupted when someone entered the library - it was Prince Stephen Karameikos II (18 years old).

The Prince had with him his personal guard and the PC's stood still waiting to see what happened. The Prince looked over the shoulder of the librarian and made his way towards them.

He asked them why they were researching the Hutaaka. The PC's told him that they felt the Hutaaka were in danger. They told him of the fort, the Duergar and almost everything else.

The Prince told them, "We need to warn them right away!" and had his guard go get his 'night bag'. Once the guard returned with his bag, he showed them to a secret passage out of the library... It closed/sealed behind them... this was normal to the Prince who had obviously used this exit many times. The problem was that they security he simply used to walk by before (stone soldiers that animated and allowed him to pass), now went into attack mode when faced with people 'not of royal blood'. This lead to a number of encounters as they fought their way through chambers.

Eventually, they escaped into the royal district. The Prince got everyone horses and they fled Kelvin, all the while the PC's coming to the realization that they were now probably marked for death here.

After a night's stay in High Forge, they continued north, bypassing Threshold and entering the mountains to the North West where they eventually made camp.

Tomorrow, they would enter the Valley of the Hutaaka... the PC's can hardly believe they are about to see it!

[weem]

Session 17: Apr 4, 2009
Chapter IV: The Valley of Hutaaka
Ruins, Rivers and Reptiles

Prince Stephen Karameikos II lead the party deeper into the mountains, arriving around noon to a small set of ruins.

The party wanted to use the box to locate the portal, and so they did - it allowed them to see it, and would allow them to enter only Stephen warned them against doing so. His coin could also allow them to pass through the portal, but had the added benefit of notifying "defenses" on the other side that it was him arriving as opposed to 'something else'.

Once in, the party saw they stood on the eastern most end of a large valley split by a river. They also noticed that on this side they stood among many ruins and as they took it all in, a small set of ruins to the west began to rise. It turned out to be a 'ruin' golem by the name of Ploto who immediately welcome Stephen back and eventually walked with them down the hill to a nearby village. During the walk, the party noticed they were being followed on either side by very small humanoids (about 2-3' in height) carrying spears and stealthily walking amongst the tall grass watching their every move. Ploto told them not to mind the 'little ones' and eventually the creatures stopped following.

At the village they were warmly welcomed by the chief of the village Hemin before spending the next few hours relaxing and taking in the views. Stephen had immediately left the village using a mount owned by the chief (a 'large lizard-like creature') in order to pass along their warning to the 'Emporer' at the palace. The group was told they could not go any further into the valley before staying a few days here among the people, putting in time to help them with various tasks while also learning about the valley.

As the sun set they met for dinner and had a number of questions answered about the valley, and the Hutaakan people themselves. The village was made up mostly of Hutaakans, but also was home to some humans and elves, and even one dragonborn.

The chief set up each member of the group with a person in the village who would not only have a lot to share with them, but could also learn a lot from them.

Shedian (the dragonborn fighter) was housed with the only dragonborn there. Over the next few days Ketana learned about the origins of his people and in fact all people - it was the belief of the Hutaakan's that all life spawned from this valley. Ketana was exited to learn about his heritage and especially that the palace in this valley was home to a wealth of information about the peoples of the valley, including the origin history of his people.

Grail (the elven cleric) was housed with the chief himself. They spent the next few days discussing religion with the chief primarily listening, and asking questions.

Ketana (the eladrin wizard) was housed with a very intelligent Hutaakan who had many questions about the Known World. He also solicited Ketana's help in the plans for a new bridge they were constructing as well as advice on the use of magic, with which he knew a little of.

Reed (the halfling rogue) as housed with a Hutaakan who did not seem pleased to have his company. Over those next few days, he shared information about respecting the valley, its people, nature and many other things, all while assigning him to menial tasks here and there.

On their third day in the Valley, a horn was blown in the village gathering everyone to the chief. He told them that the reptilian creatures had been spotted again and that they needed to head out and investigate.

With information gained from scouts, they were able to prepare an ambush which was pulled off successfully (despite the loss of three Hutaakan lives). The reptilian creatures were indeed the snake people. Were they here because the fort was about to arrive, or had they come in via another portal - this was one of the primary questions left un-resolved.

Back in the village, the chief 'received a message' that Stephen needed them at the palace. The cheif decided that while they were not ready to move about the valley, he should still ensure that they get to the palace right away. With that said, the boarded a small boat and quickly made their way there arriving the following day (the boat seemed to move very fast - un-naturally fast).

At the palace, they were eventually met by, and led into the emperors court by Stephen. Next to the emperor stood a much aged Fenwick. The Emperor , as it turned out, wanted to hear this warning directly from those who had been witness to the events (the party) and so the confirmed it all.

The Emperor had more he wished to discuss, but it would have to wait until the next morning as he had much to do.

The party was escorted to their (lavish) chambers where Fenwick told them they all had to leave immediately. He could not say where, but he began etching a door onto the wall of their room as they tried to get more information out of him.

Eventually this etched doorway became an actual door into a stone room. They entered and after a brief bit of time there realized... they were back in the fortress. Ketana had been told that he would meet Fenwick again by the Seekers - they warned him that he should not take his eyes off of him and to stay close, so he did just that - however, as the party passed a room where combat was taking place, the others stopped to look...

...what they saw was themselves fighting Redger and the constructs in the control tower of the fortress from a few weeks earlier! (session 15 above).

Continuing past that, Fenwick lead them to a room with a large, uncut crystal surrounded in a cylindrical force field. Fenwick said they had to help him, in order to make sure they themselves survived the fight they had just passed!

From the floor rose two very ominous, very imposing constructs, whose obvious purpose was to destroy them... "This is where I need your help" Fenwick stated as they prepared to fight...