Byzantium on the Shannon III

[CleverName]

Adventure 9:

New Friends and Obligations
Continuing the Journal of Gudlaug Hamarson (Jon Hanna)


The last few days have been…interesting. I have continued to stay in close proximity to the human wizard Andreas, and his body guard Dario. It seems wise to keep close with these two since our goals remain similar: The ultimate destruction of the Lich we have known as Volodya, or simply the “Necromancer.” Our last month spent in Jormunsteinn has been refreshing for me, but I’m not sure how much longer my companions will want to stay. It has been years since I have been to a purely Dekkalfar city, and I must say that I am enjoying it considerably. I find the dourness and stoic quality of these people is like a balm to me, after having spent so many years in the company of the more spastic races. I could easily spend much more time here, but I fear that I must soon move on and go about my duty.

A few days ago I was invited to view an unusual ceremony involving a dekkalfar initiate of the Halaglaz. His name is Urian. I have never met one of the Halaglaz, so I was pleased to get an opportunity to see what they are up to. I was allowed to bring my two human companions, which I did. Urian went through a ritual in which he fought some type of chaos spawn. He defeated it, loudly and with much splattering of viscera, and the ceremony was over. It all went rather quickly. After the ceremony we were introduced to some companions of Urian: Malcolm - a Cimbri warrior, Makar - a human sorcerer, Gann - a hobgoblin fighter, and most interesting, Copoc - a kulkan shaman. I have never met a Kulkan before. I find his beliefs and abilities to be most interesting. Andreas and I talked with these men after the ceremony, and learned that they had been involved in some adventures that may have bearing on our quest to discover what interests Volodya my have in this region. We were unable to discuss anything in detail, however, and Malcolm invited us to come take a cruise on their boat the next day. We accepted.

In the morning we met with Malcolm, Copoc, and Urian. It seems that Makar had been hired to provide protection for an outgoing merchant ship, and Gann had also found other employment opportunities. It seems that their group is breaking up. This disturbed Malcolm and Copoc. They told Andreas and myself that they were in the process of going up into the Cimbri lands to hunt down a group of Yuan-ti who are trying to get a base of operations set up. I found their story disturbing and offered any assistance I might be able to provide. Necromancer or no necromancer, my duties as a druid require me to protect Faerie against invaders.

We were well out of the harbor at this point, and had moved some ways up the coast. Hal, my rat friend, had climbed up onto the carved dragon head at the prow of the boat. Suddenly, when my back was turned, I heard him squeal, and fall off into the water. I went to the side and helped fish the swimming rat out of the water. He told me that the dragon head had shaken him off after he had relieved himself on it. I found this unlikely, but after Malcolm and Urian gave each other strange looks, they made us swear vows of secrecy, and told us that the boat was alive. At this point the dragon head turned towards us and confirmed it. I was amazed. This boat is a dragon, apparently, that has been cursed into becoming a boat. While we were marveling at this, suddenly the boat came to a halt in the water. The boat told us that it couldn’t move. Looking over the side, we were amazed to see a group of Sahuagin rising out of the water and preparing to attack us. There were also sharks circling. Apparently, they had a water elemental that they were controlling to hold and try to sink the boat. If it had been a normal boat it probably would have succeeded. The Sahuagin fired a volley of arrows at us, and the fight was on. Andreas, Copoc, and myself began dealing out damage to them via magic, while Malcolm, Urian, and Dario dispatched the ones who climbed onto the boat. These Sahuagin had attacked the wrong boat full of travelers. There were about 20 of the attackers, lead by a four-armed cleric of some type. They themselves were little match for us, but we discovered to our horror that there were hundreds, maybe thousands of Sahuagins swimming past us underwater. They were headed for the docks of Jormunsteinn.

It was an invasion!

 

[CleverName]

Adventure 10

The Belly Of The Beast
Continuing the Journal of Gudlaug Hamarson (Jon Hanna)


When we realized that the Sahuagin were invading Jormunsteinn, I quickly transformed myself into an eagle and flew off to warn the city. The boat itself turned invisible and flew back towards the docks. As I was flying back to the shack of the harbormaster, I saw a giant shadow moving under the water. The shadow was immense! I realized to my utter shock that it was a huge sea Drake. By Nature’s holy fury! I increased my pace and flew down to the docks. I turned back into my natural form and rushed into the harbormaster’s shack. “You’re being invaded!” I yelled at him. “Hundreds of Sahuagin are heading this way now. They have a sea drake with them. Sound the alarm!” The man jumped to his feet and ran to his window. When he saw that the sahuagin had started attacking boats out in the harbor, he moved quickly. He had a man light a huge bucket of tar that was up on a raised platform. This was apparently some type of alarm system. Huge clouds of black smoke billowed forth. A man also started blowing on a giant dekkalfar horn. A loud, low rumble sounded the alarm.

There was an Iconian war galley tied up at the docks used by the humans. We could see that the sahuagin were attacking it. The sea serpent wrapped a coil of its huge body around it, and was starting to squeeze. “Hurry,” the harbormaster shouted. ‘The Eorl’s son is visiting that galley. He’s on that ship!” I saw a dekkalfar up on the aft deck of the galley. I turned back into an eagle and flew over towards it. As I was coming up to the dock, I saw the Dragon ship with my companions appear as if coming out of a mist. No one else saw it.

My companions immediately started attacking the sea drake, and the sahuagin that were swarming up onto the dock. Urian and Dario attacked the Sahuagin with axe and bow, while Copoc, Andreas, and Malcolm tried to do something to the sea drake. The head of the drake was quite large, but quick, as one of the humans on the galley found out. The serpent swallowed him in one quick motion. Malcolm, quaffed a potion of Spider Climb and litterally ran up onto it’s head and started wailing away with his axe. I brought forth a fire elemental, and had it attack the coil of the drake that was wrapped around the galley. The captain of the galley let out an even louder scream of horror than she was already wailing. Apparently the cauldron of Iconian Fire that was on the galley was a little too close to the fire elemental I had unleashed. Oops! Well, that just gave us a new reason to get this over with quickly.

I flew up behind the head of the beast, with the intension of using a close combat spell on it, when suddenly it whipped its head around and gulped me down! The vileness of that gullet is beyond my means to express. I slid down its throat and found myself in its stomach. It’s a good thing that I’m a dekkalfar, and can see in the darkness. I cast a protection from fire spell on myself, as I sloshed around amidst the creature’s stomach juices. Then I cast flamestrike on the spot I was standing. BOOM! The Giant Sea serpent apparently has an aversion for fire in the belly. Its stomach rolled, and I, along with the other man who got swallowed, was vomited back out. We landed in the sea with a splash. The Sea Drake unrolled itself from around the ship and bolted out to sea. Copoc, who could understand its language, heard it muttering as it left that no amount of money Abashag paid it was worth being killed for. This name meant something to Copoc and Malcolm, who gave each other a strange look.

The Eorl’s son, Uller, ran off of the Iconian galley and thanked us. When he was told that Abashag was possibly behind this attack, he grew quite concerned. He looked across the bay towards a lighthouse that was on an Island. When he saw Sahuagin going in to the structure, he became very agitated. “I need your help, but you must promise to keep a secret.” He stated. We agreed, and he continued. “I think Abashag and the Three Mothers are after an item we have hidden out on the island. I think this whole attack is just a feint, so that they can get it unmolested. There is no time for the city to get troops out to the island. Can you do it?” We told him that we could, and he continued. “The is a Horn of the Tritons buried under the basement of the lighthouse. If Abashag gets it, we will be unable to call them to the aid of the city -- perhaps she could even use it to harm the Tritons, who are the enemies of the Sahuagin. This would be disastrous!”

We promised to try our best to stop Abashag, as Uller ran off to see to the defenses of the city. We got onto the boat, and told it that Abashag was in the lighthouse across the bay. Apparently there is some history between the boat and Abashag, a sea hag that Copoc, Malcolm and the others had fought before. They had killed her on an island out in Skia Thalassa, but had not burned her body. Now she was back. In all of the chaos of the battle with the invading Sahuagin, our boat was unnoticed as it turned invisible and flew out to the island.

When we docked at the island, we rushed in and found that some acquatic trolls and ogres had dispatched the Dekkalfar guards. We set into them quickly. Malcolm and Dario ran to the front of the fighting, and soon, our enemies were vanquished. We searched the area and soon found some stairs spiraling down into the darkness. We headed down, and heard some talking. An awful voice was croaking out commands. It was the Sea hag Abashag. Apparently we were too late. She and her trolls already had the Horn. The others rushed towards the room where she was, while Andreas and myself hung back. Malcolm engaged another troll, and Copoc started speaking with his spirits. I asked Andreas if he had a spell of Dispel magic available to him. He nodded that he did, and I told him to be ready. I cast Rock to Mud on the floor surrounding Abashag and her minions, and Andreas quickly dispelled it, after they had sunk down to their ankles. Now they were stuck in the stone. We laid into them. Abashag cast a dimension door spell, and disappeared. She popped up in the room with the stairs leading up. Andreas earned his keep by hitting her with a feeblemind spell. Miraculously, it worked! Abashag turned into a gibbering idiot, and fled. She was much faster than us, and we thought she would get away. Luckily Andreas also had a dimension door spell, and he teleported back out to the boat. When he told the boat the Abashag was about to run out of the door, the boat floated up and waited. When the feebleminded Abashag burst forth from the door, the boat fell on top of her with a sickening crunch.

So much for that sea hag…

 

[coyote6]

I can see her trying to explain that one to the powers of evil: "I had stoneskin, protection from 2 energy types, resistance to the other three. But how was I supposed to anticipate a falling boat!"

Good to see y'all back.

 

[CleverName]

I can see her trying to explain that one to the powers of evil: "I had stoneskin, protection from 2 energy types, resistance to the other three. But how was I supposed to anticipate a falling boat!"

Good to see y'all back.

Yeah, they did not forget to burn her body and cast its ashes to the four winds this time.

From the first time they killed her:

Player 1: "Wow, she was a badass...a sorceress and a green hag!
Player 2: "I can't believe she killed Theon."
Player 3: "Yes, that is a damn shame, but at least he died heroically -- a paladin defending innocents, and us."
Player 1: "Well, we won't have to worry about her anymore. How many more days until we reach Jormunsteinn?"
Player 2: "Why is the DM smiling?"
DM: "About two days.Hmm, hmm. I know that it's been a while since we played, but...what game are we playing?"
Player 3: "D&D, smart a$$..."
Player 2: "Umm, guys, what did we do with the hag's body??
Player 1: "Oh crap, I've been playing for twenty years. I can't believe we forgot..."

Now all they have to worry about is Abashag's mom and coven mates -- the Three Mothers!!!

Thanks, for tuning in, Bob!

 

[CleverName]

Adventure 11

The Wonders of Jormunsteinn
by Copoc Kitzam (David Nickerson)


No sooner than White Dragon had crushed the life from the vile sea hag Abashag, we prodded the corpse for treasure. Unfortunately, several potions were demolished, but we collected a ring of protection, a scroll bearing the spells Haste, Dispel Magic, and Fly, and a ring with the Three Mother’s insignia, slightly bent, but holding three magnificent opals. Also, we recovered the coveted Horn of Triton Summoning- possibly the cause of the thwarted sahuagin invasion. Determined not to make the same mistake twice, we burned Abashag to black ash and crunchy bone fragments before sailing back to Jormunsteinn. May her vile spirit dwell forever in the Shadow Realms!

There was much commotion in the streets, a bizarre mixture of jubilant and mournful dekkalfar. Many paid their respects to those lost in the battle while others reveled in drink and games, overjoyed to find themselves alive. I noted one particularly boisterous group of dwarves erecting wrought iron hoops mounted on poles and arranged at varying heights. They wielded mallets forged of a wide variety of metals to propel sahuagin heads, which were surprisingly aerodynamic, through the hoops.

We asked for an attendant to conduct us to Brathor Goldenhand and we were soon approached by his son Uller, who was directing the massive and increasingly smelly clean up. Instinct urged me to consume the flesh of my fallen foes, but even I was repulsed by its foul stench. Perhaps I am becoming “civilized?“ After giving him the horn to deliver to his father, we went our separate ways. Gudlaug sought others of his faith, Malcolm went out to join in the revelry, and I retired to my inner sanctum to commune with the spirit of Kanul Yat Balam. It had been too long since I had visited my people, so I inquired about their well-being and voiced my concerns that the dreaded black kulkans might return soon to terrorize my village. Kanul Yat Balam assured me that all was well and that I was indeed following his path. He then requested to be further enlightened by the rare extravaganza of capering dekkalfar, and so I slipped into the night and rejoined Malcolm just in time to witness the tabletop finale of his unprecedented yet inspiring performance.

The ballad (i.e., drunken spectacle) went something like this…

(Currently awaiting Remi’s insert)​

The night was not a loss, however, as Malcolm gleaned some interesting information about the Iconian Ambassador Sir Narses Mandormenos Spartanos. He had resided in Jormunsteinn for ten years, was fluent in all of the faerie languages, and appeared to be in Brathor Goldenhand’s inner circle. This was apparently unusual for a human. He also had a sister named Bacauda who was lobbying for an Iconian temple in Jormunsteinn.

The next morning a loud banging brought me to instant alertness. Hoisting my greatclub, I invoked the Fury of Yax Che Mal. Gudlaug, who had slipped in during the night, opened the door for a bleary eyed dekkalfar who promptly summoned us to convene in two hours time at the citadel of Eorl Brathor Goldenhand. After I had chosen favored allies from my increasingly impressive spirit entourage and my comrades had otherwise busied themselves, the dwarf returned and we were led into Brathor’s Citadel. The stone dwellings silently boasted exquisite craftsmanship, though many passages were confining at times and rather difficult to navigate. They were splendid nonetheless.

When we were presented to the eorl, he was studying gems and referencing passages in a large tome. He was dressed immaculately, with hints of Iconian garb. Finally he looked up, introductions were made, and many thanks were offered. Brathor acknowledged us as heroes and presented us with finely crafted dekkalfar bracelets. Also he gifted Gudlaug with a war hammer, Malcolm with a dagger, and me with a sleek and deadly longspear. Brathor then inquired about our part in the battle and was suitably impressed until Malcolm cleverly dropped the name of Abashag. Brathor’s jaw dropped, his beard further polishing his already lustrous boots. The eorl appeared shocked to learn that the sea serpent was employed by the sea hag. Did Uller not tell him what had transpired? The ensuing conversation was both puzzling and frustrating, a battle of wits, with both parties vying for information while attempting to reveal nothing. We did learn that Brathor knew of the Coven of the Three Mothers, and had watched their power grow in his lifetime. He believed they were now commanding vessels of undead! He was also familiar with Abashag, calling her the Mother’s progeny, and seemed genuinely relieved that we had killed the hideous monster. Again. And burned her this time. All in all it was a very strange conversation, and raised as many questions as it answered. Was the whole invasion simply a diversion? An opportunity for Abashag to claim the horn? Was this just the beginning of an insidious campaign directed by the Three Mothers? Perhaps the most troubling revelation was the apparent lack of communication between father and son. It was a very strange conversation indeed.

Before long Brathor Goldenhand’s mood seemed to lighten. He thanked us again and mentioned that the Iconian ambassador, Sir Narses, would like to meet with us as well. As we prepared to leave he extended sincere wishes that we remain upon the island for the Festival of Nott, the dekkalfar goddess of spirits and the night. It was to take place in three days on the isle’s opposite shore.

Kanul Yat Balam’s appearance was forceful and sudden. He urged me to focus, hinting at a possible traitor in the midst of the dekkalfar. A conspiracy with Abashag! The Horn of Triton Summoning was supposedly well hidden. How did Abashag know where it was? Who could have divulged such information? I warned my comrades to be wary. Advice from Kanul Yat Balam, no matter how vague and obscure, is not to be taken lightly. And this had been his most straightforward revelation ever!

Slightly unnerved, we kept our appointment with the Iconian ambassador. We were well met by Sir Narses, and thanked profusely for our part in the previous day’s drama. Suspecting that we had suffered physical trauma, and obviously unaware of my rapport with the healing spirit Nak Te Kan, Sir Narses offered to heal us and return us to our previous vitality. He introduced his sister, Bacauda, and she requested to do a spell on me. I agreed, as indeed I still felt the effects of Abashag’s withering gaze and was quite curious to witness the magic of a human. Immediately I felt nothing. No restored vitality. No resurging strength. Gudlaug snickered. I am ever wary of those professing his faith. Perplexed and slightly annoyed, I resolved to summon Nak Te Kan soon but said nothing. Bacauda then smiled and promptly restored my strength.

Soon we were regaled with a sumptuous and delectable eight course meal. Inevitably, the conversation settled upon the world of spirits. Bacauda asked if spirits were good or evil. I chuckled inside. If only it were that simple. In vain, I attempted to describe the nature of spirits and the countless wonders of the hidden world in which they dwell. I extolled the Fury of Yak Che Mal, touted the unwavering strength of the mountain spirits, and raved over the fathomless wisdom of the deep sea dwellers. Finally Gudlaug suggested that I summon the spirit of a spoon.

I attempted this with humility and good humor, and surprisingly the tiny spirit was not dormant. It greeted all, claiming to have been awakened during its transformation into a spoon. It was extremely chipper, content to transport soups and other tasty morsels to salivating apertures. Of course no one present could see the wee sprite and it was not powerful enough to physically manifest itself.

The humans immediately washed the spoon and took it away to be revered. By Kanul I know not if they mock me or if they just suffer the oblivious fate of the spiritblind! I forget sometimes how life can be without the spirits. But it is of no matter. I live to serve Kanul Yat Balam, unfazed by the ridicule of others. If he sees fit to reveal himself solely to Copoc Kitzam then so be it! Forgive me. I return to my tale.

Following the delightful meal, Bacauda revealed that she had enveloped me earlier in a spell meant to detect evil. Quickly, so as not to offend, she explained that the serrated claw hanging from my neck had aroused her suspicions and had indeed, she claimed, been touched by evil. I gazed at the black appendage of Dalas Salik, razor sharp and wickedly efficient. I turned to Bacauda, and everyone present, and assured them that the claw posed no danger and that in fact, its spirit had proved invaluable in our struggle against the sahuagin, freeing our vessel from the water elemental that held it fast.

Kanul Yat Balam has bade me to use Dalas Salik’s powers to further his goals, and this I will continue to do , secure in the knowledge that Dalas Salik is safely contained, regardless of her nature. Still, I will remember Bacauda’s words.

Up until the moment we left, the ambassador and his daughter continued to thank us. We were presented with three potions- Remove Curse, +3 Weapon Enhancement, and Heroism- along with some delicious and juicy oranges. As a final gesture, Bacauda offered me a copy of the Logotheum, the holy book of Logos. I will study it and learn what I can. Perhaps it will shed some light on how the humans, among others, have become such a powerful force in this world, supplanting the vast and ancient Kulkan Empire.

Sated and ready to face our next challenge, we departed to find horses for our journey to the island’s opposite shore and the intriguing Festival of Nott.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

DM's Note: Keith (playing Andreas and his cohort, Dario) found a job just before this adventure so, we had Sir Narses ask Andreas and Dario to bear tidings of the twarted attack on Jormunsteinn to the Iconians officials in Ephesium. He took a lock of Gudlag's hair to later scry the group and attempt to rejoin them (assuming his job schedule allowed.)

So now I was down to running a game with basically a rogue, a druid and a shaman. It was going to make figuring EL's a little tricky...

FYI: Adobe pdf of city notes: Haradrak (279 kb)

 

[Old One]

Cool...

Wayne,

Glad to see you and the crew are back...

I am about 1/2 way through all the updates, but just wanted to skip to the end and say welcome back!

~ Old One

 

[CleverName]

Wayne,

Glad to see you and the crew are back...

I am about 1/2 way through all the updates, but just wanted to skip to the end and say welcome back!

~ Old One

Thanks, Old One !

[...furiously knocking on wood...]

 

[CleverName]

Adventure 12

Koob Konspiracy
Malcomb of the Vacomagi (Remi Truer)


A bloodlusting Rogulkan is charging me. I’m surprised, but I’m not surprised, know what I’m saying? I avoid his attack and dismount my horse, I see that his little gnome friend is taking on Gudlag, whose horse does a good job of knocking her about. Hm, guess I should start at the beginning . . .

We’d saved Haradroc from a bunch of fishy-frog-guys (I wrote a song about it somewhere, what were the words, again? Never mind), Sahuaguin or something. The Eorl suggested we check out some local culture, specifically a festival of Nott in some godforsaken little Dwarf fishing village called Adaroth. Still, a party’s a party, so we, Gudlag, Kopoc, and I, headed out there to see if we could rest a little before getting back to more serious undertakings.

The trip was pretty dull. I mean, yeah, there’s some pretty breathtaking 200 foot drops to the sea and what have you, but their buildings have so little style, no color, no . . . verve. We get near Adaroth, pass through a small surrounding forest and . . . well, there’s no nice way to say this but it’s a pit. Sure, there’s a big dais and some votive images of Nott (lots of chariots being pulled by goats), but overall it’s just a grubby little village. We see a dwarf bossing folks around, turns out he’s the Sheriff, and he directs us to an Inn with a hand with too few fingers. We talked our way into the room, and as drab as the town of Adaroth was, the Inn was not. It was loud, and there were all sorts of weirdoes hanging around.

There was a purple guy with tusks and fine robes, there was a blue skinned fellow doing tricks for children, a Cimbri in robes, probably another sorceror, a gnome sorceror (whom Gudlag pointed out had runic tatoos for Loki on her face), and, most obviously, a very loudly complaining orc. He shouted something about ‘Going back and killing them’ to his companions, a gnome, a dwarf, and a calm-looking Losalfar who seemed to be in charge. Gudlag sent Hal the Rat over, because we’re nosy that way.

They were talking about stone giants, but Hal couldn’t really ascertain any more As reward he got to swim in the lutefisk that the Inn sold. I can’t stomach the stuff, so his little show didn’t really affect my feelings about lutefisk one way or the other. It’s a food fit for rat bathing. The part of four across the room had quieted down, and so we got down to the business of finding out what was going on in town. Turns out that there was going to be three contests. The main was Koob, a throwing game that’s apparently very popular. There would also be a blind fighting competition and a sorcery competition. Prizes and honor are great, but we asked the Innkeeper if he had any information on Stone Giants, that’s where our heads were at.

He said he didn’t know much, but that Thusolo 6-finger, the Sheriff might know something, as might his mother, a mystic of some type who lives in a cave outside of town. Serious business done, we haggled about a renting a Koob set from the innkeep, intent on practicing before the competition. It’s not a terribly hard game, we’re gonna kick some ass come the competition.

After practicing we talked to the Sheriff, he didn’t know anything. The old woman in the cave was amusing, and Gudlag seemed to enjoy whatever smokable was in the pipe she offered, but other than confirming that, yes, there were Stone Giants around, it wasn’t a terribly productive meeting.

Once we came, blinking out into the sun, Gudlag decided to take a scout around, as an eagle, and Copoc and I headed back to the Inn. There we saw the Gnome who had been with that loud Rogulkan earlier. An idea popped into my head. “Copoc, I’m going to pretend I’m intoxicated,” I said, and threw my arm around the lizardman and began to stagger. Copoc held me up, and we stumbled into the room.

“Woo! That was some strong stuff, eh, Copoc?” I exclaimed. The gnome’s head shot up. “What kind of stuff?” she asked.

“Some kind of pipeweed,” I replied, “There’s this old woman in a cave we went to visit, very nice, shared with us and everything! Wheeeeee!”

It worked, she started talking to us. Turns out her name was Gen, the Rogulkan’s name was Varic, the Losalfar was Haken, and the dwarf was Mert. Gen looked Copoc and I over and said that there might be some work for us, if we were interested, and to talk to Haken about it. She then sped off in the direction of the cave to, I assume, acquire some of the old woman’s smokables.

Gudlag returned, but had not managed to find the Stone Giants. We quickly discussed our plan of action, and settled on a bit of subterfuge. We sent Hal ahead to the room where Gen’s crew was staying, just so I’d know what I’d be walking in to. Hal reported Haken, Varic, and Mert were all there, arguing about something (apparently Varic had peed in someone’s boot). I quaffed a potion of Glibness and walked over to their room. When I knocked, the argument abruptly ended, and Haken answered the door. “Gen sent me, she said I should talk to Varic about work,” I said.

“I’m in charge,” said Haken, unamused.

“Look, me and my friends could seriously help you out with your little giant problem, but we were told to talk to Varic, and that’s who my friends want to deal with.”

We went back and forth, but I could see that Haken really, really needed the help with these giants. He finally acquiesced to my demand, and I took Varic with down to the common room to meet with Copoc and Gudlag.

I noticed, above Varic’s head, a shimmering patch of air. I tossed a stone at it, but to no avail, it remained. Guess these guys didn’t trust their Rogulkan comrade. We set to questioning Varic. They had been searching for something in the woods when they were set upon by a couple of Stone Giants. The Giants were small, and Varic and his party managed to run them off. Varic mentioned that there were some kids there, and, “Just as I was about to put the boot to them,” the big Giants showed up, killed one of their horses, and ran the party off. Now they were looking for help to kill the giants. We asked what they were looking for, Varic started to answer, but was interrupted by the thump of men coming down the stairs. Mert and Haken rushed into the room, and managed to quiet Varic before he blurted anything out.

Haken informed us that, yes, they were indeed attacked by the Giants, and they were looking for help.

“What were you looking for in the mountains?” Gudlag asked, “We need to know everything if we’re going to work with you.”

It went back and forth, and finally Haken acquiesced. He hurried us outside, looking around for unseen spies. When he had us out of earshot of anyone, he told us that they were looking for the tomb of an old Gnome sorcerer, inside of which was a reservoir of Wyrd. Wyrd is basically a liquid form of ‘free spells’ for Sorcerers which allows them to cast any spell they know without depleting their daily supply. Haken made it clear that he was hiring us to help get past the Stone Giants, and that he expected us to the leave the tomb to him and his party. We agreed, as long as we got the loot from the Stone Giants, convinced as we were that they were mindless killers.

At that point, a Druid from a nearby town came running by. Apparently some plague had struck the town, and he was looking for Adaroth’s Druid to help out with containing the spread of the disease. The Druid had promised to oversee the Sorcery contest, and seeing Haken (who had already been asked to be a judge) talking to Gudlag, the Druid asked Gudlag to take over for him. Gudlag accepted, and the Druid ran out of town.

The plague was carried in blood, and killed by creating large, open, bloody sores all over a person or creature’s body (the plague had apparently first struck the town’s cows). It sounded like a messy and unpleasant way to die, simultaneously, slowly, bleeding out and rupturing from within. Haken wanted to use this plague to weaken the Giants. Gudlag, Copoc and I voiced concerns that the plague might spread if we poisoned their water supply, but Haken assured us everything would be fine, and sent Mert and Varic out to get a haunch of infected meat. Varic was equipped with a Periapt of Health borrowed from Haken, and he also had a large, sealed waterskin to transport the infected meat to its intended targets.

This made up my mind. I had gone from disliking to deeply distrusting Haken. He was endangering an entire village, and possibly more, for his greed. Even if it was a stinkhole village with no pizazz, lack of fashion sense is no reason to be killed by irresponsible sorcerers on a power kick. I suggested that we attack Mert and Varic as they returned to Adaroth with their poisonous cargo, but Gudlag and Copoc wanted to wait and see if we could understand their true purpose in all this. So Gudlag, in the form an eagle, followed Varic and Mert as they headed toward the plague town. As we left the common room, where we had discussed this course of action, I noticed Gen hiding behind a table, trying to listen in. I don’t believe she could hear us, but it made me a little nervous.

Gudlag did not return until late that night. Things had taken a strange turn. He told us that he had seen Mert and Varic, after they had retrieved the plague meat, steal into the Giant’s camp, and drop some of the vile beef into the Giant’s water barrel. When they had left, Gudlag took a chance and approached the Giants, trusting in his skills, spells, and innate toughness to get him out of there if the situation got ugly. He told the Giant’s leader that their water was poisoned, and that he and his friends would help the Giants fight their poisoners. When faced with the piece of meat in their water, the Giants agreed to help us, but only if Gudlag presented Copoc and I in a day’s time to help the infected Giants. The Giants also revealed that they were looking for a deposit, said to be in the area, of a substance that blocked the aura of magic. This substance could be used to create magical gear that would not appear magical, a truly great treasure. Gudlag opined that perhaps this deposit had something to do with the placement of the Wyrd, and agreed that if we found the Wyrd, and this substance was there, we would leave it for the Giants.

Gudlag had also seen Varic bury the rest of the infected meat in the ground near the camp, in case something went wrong. A flamestrike later and Gudlag headed back to tell us what had happened. Gudlag saw, on his way back, that Mert and Varic had a camp in the woods outside of town.

After hearing this story, we resolved to meet the Giants as soon as possible. Copoc and I walked out of town a ways and then Copoc flew us to the Giants, while Gudlag flew ahead to make sure we’d be welcomed. We meeting with the Giants was fairly quick. I didn’t have much to add, because it was mostly talk about healing the giants in case they got sick, strictly Gudlag and Copoc’s area of expertise. They cured who they could, and vowed to have enough spells to cure the rest of the Giants the next day (there were 12 or 13 of them, of all ages). We agreed to ride with Haken and his party, but when they attacked the Giants, we would turn on Haken’s group, and drive them off or kill them. We left the Giants, and made plans of our own. We hoped to catch at least a few of them checking on the Giants health, and so Copoc and I camped out in the woods, hidden, in hopes of an ambush. Gudlag headed back to sleep in our room.

The next day was fairly uneventful. Copoc flew us back to Adaroth under the last cover of night, and we all passed out from exhaustion. Hal, whom we had left to spy on Haken’s room before we left, had nothing to report. I slept while Gudlag and Copoc returned to the Giants to finish curing their affliction. When they returned, it was almost night, almost time for the festival.

I have to admit, Copoc may be a freakish lizardman who hails from a strange land beyond my experience, but he is one hell of a Koob player. He singlehandedly won us the Koob championship, and did it without breaking a sweat. I entered the blindfighting contest, and after easily besting my first opponent, I went toe-to-toe with the purple Rogulkan, and lost in a real heartbreaker of a duel. He was a truly valiant foe. The last competition was the Sorcery competition. It was your usual display of wizardly flash. Fireballs, disintegration, that sort of thing.

After the festivities, Haken said we should ride for the Giants, take them by surprise. I was a little surprised by this myself, but didn’t see how we could turn Haken down without arousing more suspicion. He claimed that Varic and Gen would meet us at their camp in the woods, and so we set out. The forest was dark, and as I squinted through the inky blackness, I thought I heard a twig snap. Suddenly, out of the brush, Varic leapt at me, bellowing, his Rogulkan face twisted in rage. Gen ran towards Gudlag, and Mert dismounted and leapt towards the Druid as well. They had really and truly gotten the drop on us, not that it was terribly surprising. One of them had probably seen Gudlag flying in and out of our room’s window, and Gen had tried to overhear us talking in the common room while we planned what to do about following Mert and Varic, so it was probably her. No time to think about that now! There was a battle to be won!

I faced off with Varic, each of us trading savage blows. I concentrated on him so thoroughly, that I barely noticed when Copoc was set upon by wolves, or that Gudlag was in a spot of trouble. They were clearly trying to kill Gudlag first. Being a Druid his word would have been their death in town, and Haken and his crew couldn’t risk that. My greataxe sang, and buried itself deep in Varic’s flesh again and again. Finally he looked like he had been wounded to horribly to stand, but still his rage pressed him on. I landed a final blow, tearing his chest asunder, and as he dropped, I ran to help Gudlag, who looked to have taken heavy damage. A blow from Mert had dazed him slightly, and it looked as if he would not be able to cast a spell against Haken, who had teleported into a copse of trees away from the road, and was hurling lightning bolts into the fray. I whispered to the Gods of luck, and Gudlag straightened, and fired a tremendous gout of flame towards the trees, followed quickly by a localized ice storm.

Copoc finished off the wolves, but Mert managed to drop me with a swift blow from his axe. I was almost unconscious, but a few seconds later I heard both Gen and Mert fall along with their allies, and I was quickly brought back to health by Copoc’s wand of healing. We looked over the grim sight of the battlefield, and knew we had been lucky to survive this. Both Copoc and Gudlag’s spells had been depleted badly while healing the Giants, and it was our potent combination of luck and skill that had gotten us through the battle. We searched their bodies, and headed towards the Giant’s camp. They thanked us for helping them, and revealed that they had found a door, unseen on previous explorations, in the cliffs near their camp. We set out to explore this door, and hopefully find the fantastic treasures that Haken had been willing to kill a good and honorable, if extremely large, people for.

 

[CleverName]

Adventure 13

Gnomeward Bound
Continuing the journal of Gudlaug Hamarson (Jon Hanna)

We made a brief stay with the Stone giants, during which time we cured the rest of their tribe of the disease that had infected them. Copoc and I also healed the wounds the party had taken in our battle with Haken’s group of treacherous adventurers. A day or so later we made our way to the crack in the mountain that the Stone giant chief had told us about, accompanied by a few giant guards. We were to give any and all of the magic masking crystal that we might come across to these giants. Of course, we were most interested in obtaining the Wyrd that was supposedly hidden inside. Malcolm and I agreed that if we could get our hands on the Wyrd, it would be an invaluable item with which to bargain with the Cimbri queen of Vacomagus.

Malcolm, Copoc and I entered the entryway early in the morning. After traveling eastward down a corridor for about 60 feet, we came to a chamber with a marble statue of a Gnome standing on a tall pedestal. The pedestal radiated magic, so we decided to give it a wide berth. The statue was obviously of the gnome sorcerer, Harseth, that Haken had told us was buried here. He was the owner of the Wyrd that Haken was so intent upon obtaining. Harseth had died about a hundred years ago, and this was crypt. Why a gnome sorcerer wanted to be buried on Jormunsteinn is a mystery. Well, maybe it’s not all that mysterious. The magic shielding effects of the crystal that is said to be found here was probably the reason. Harseth probably figured that it would keep adventurous types from finding his tomb and raiding it.

I guess that plan went to Hel didn’t it?

Copoc and I stayed back while Malcolm searched the area for traps. There were hallways leading in opposite directions from the room with the pedestal. Malcolm started carefully checking the passage, which led to the north. Well, he indeed did discover a trap, as a huge barrel-shaped stone came flying down the hall at tremendous speed. Malcolm dodged, so the stone kept on coming towards Copoc and I. We were bowled over, and the stone struck the magical pedestal in the room behind us. The stone was disintegrated as it struck the pedestal. Now we knew what the magic effect had been! Malcolm told us that another magic effect had been triggered when the stone had brushed against him as it rolled down the hall. Apparently it had an effect that would turn a victim into stone. Then the barrel would then shatter him into dust. Nasty stuff. We heard a noise coming from the direction where the barrel had come from. It sounded like another stone barrel was being automatically reloaded into the trap. Malcolm quickly managed to wedge the trigger for the trap safely while we passed.

We turned into an east leading passage. I stayed back while Malcolm and Copoc went forward. They entered a room that was apparently the crypt. There was a stone coffin that had been opened and searched through, apparently years before. It looked like someone had beaten us to the crypt and had already despoiled it. While I guarded in the hall, the others looked around for any secret doors, but found none. We decided to go back the way we had come and go down the southward passage from the room with the statue of Harseth.

As we started down that passage, we heard a heavy scraping sound echoing towards us. Much to our surprise and discomfort, a stone golem was coming our way. Harseth, apparently being a vain little gnome, had fashioned the 10-foot tall golem in his own likeness. There’s nothing quite like being attacked by a giant stone yard gnome. This fight was brutally tough. Not knowing what else to do, I cast Stone to Mud on the golem. This apparently slowed him up a bit. Copoc readied his war club, while Malcolm jumped up to trade blows with the creature. This was a mistake. The golem was incredibly tough. I’ll have to study up on them in case I ever run into one again. It sucked up a lot of damage and seemingly shrugged it off, while it was dealing horrific damage to Malcolm. Copoc and I tried to help, but we quickly found that our efforts were pretty useless. The golem dealt a crippling blow to Malcolm, which knocked him unconscious. In desperation I called forth a dire bear in the hallway behind the golem, and had it attack. Copoc healed Malcolm back to consciousness. Unfortunately when Malcolm tried to stand, the golem dealt him such a tremendous blow, that Copoc and I were splattered with his teeth, blood, and brains. His lifeless corpse lay in a pile at our feet.

“By the great spirit,” Copoc blurted, “He snuffed Malcolm!”

“Let’s get the F*** out of here!” I bravely responded

While the bear and the golem were grappling, we drug Malcolm’s body out of the crypt, out to the ledge on the mountainside. Copoc and I left it there and went back in. Malcolm had done a lot of damage to the golem, and the bear was continuing the onslaught. I summoned up 2 dire wolfs to help, and eventually the golem was destroyed. It had beaten the dire bear bloody, but it was finally gone. Copoc and I went back out to deal with Malcolm’s body...

Luckily, I had a scroll of reincarnation. I set about casting the spell. When I asked Malcolm’s spirit if he wanted to come back, he hemmed and hawed a little, but eventually agreed. You never know what you’ll return as when you get reincarnated, so Copoc and I were interested in seeing just what Malcolm would be -- wouldn't a gnome be ironic?

As his body was reforming, it looked for a second like it had an Alfar shape, but it changed into a true Cimbri form as it finalized. Malcolm looked like a fairly nondescript, non-tattooed Cimbri. He was somewhat disgruntled at having been killed, but all in all, it could have been a lot worse. We decided to sleep the night and return to the crypt the next day.

The following morning, we went back in and continued down the hall where the golem had killed Malcolm. He didn’t look happy when he saw the smeared blood on the floor. We kept going down the hall and entered a library. There were many books and scrolls kept behind glass on shelves there. There was also another statue of that frigging gnome Harseth. We eventually discovered that there was poison behind the glass that would flow out if the glass were broken.

We all thought that there had to be something we were missing, because as far as we knew we had searched the entire crypt by this point. We started looking for secret doors, but couldn’t find anything. I said we should go back and check the crypt room one more time, because it seemed suspicious. We went back in, and this time I came in with the others. Well, I discovered that the room was actually under an illusion. My being a druidical dwarf with enough smarts to not be fooled by such things allowed me to see through it instantly. I saw that the room was actually larger than the others had found it yesterday, and there were passageway leading from it to the east and south. The stone coffin that looked like it had been despoiled was obviously a ruse to discourage people like us. We went down the eastward passage, and after dealing with another illusion that made the door at the end appear inoperable, we finally made it into the real crypt room. After some searching, we found Harseth’s robes, which appear to be very powerful, as well as some wands and scrolls and such. We also found a Ring of Protection that we gave to Copoc immediately. As of this point, we had found a good but of loot, but not the thing we were here to find.

We had not found the Wyrd.

We started down the south leading passageway, and I detected a great deal of magical effects there. It seems as if there were 5 different magical runes on the wall of the passage leading to a door at the end. The first was a Rune of Death. Yow! I managed to dispel it, after some effort. We decided that since there was no real rush that wee were dealing with, that we would take as many days as it took to dispel the runes as we went down the hall. Over the course of the next two days, I dispelled a Rune of pain, a Rune of Insanity, a Rune of Fear, and lastly, another Rune of Death. Finally, on the door at the end of the hall was an Arcane lock spell, which I also dispelled.

We entered a cavern that glittered with a strange crystal. We knew we were in the right place. All of our magical effects worked in the cavern, but you couldn’t detect them. Very powerful stuff. In the center of the cavern was a small pool of liquid. It did not radiate magic, but it glowed with a blue light. This was obviously the Wyrd. None of us three could get any use from it, but to a Sorcerer, this stuff is priceless. We retrieved a small cask from our camping supplies and ladled the Wyrd into it. Once the cask was full, we plugged it up and stuck it in my magical haversack, which is really quite handy.

Finally we were done being grave robbers, and we could get to tracking down these Yuan-ti creatures that the others had told me about. We decided that we would bring a cart from the village up here, and cart away all the books and scrolls back to Haradrak to sell…

 

[CleverName]

Adventure 14

Swimming with Oozes

by Copoc Kitzam, Kulkan Shaman (David Nickerson)

After pillaging Harseth’s lair and bottling the Wyrd we made our way back to the village to relate the tale of Haken’s sinister plot. We were cleared of any suspicions and before long returned to Haradrak where we sold the many useless baubles we had gathered. Soon we were dripping with gold and eager to spend our newfound wealth. We rested for several days while items were crafted to meet our specifications. I had the magical enchantment suffused within my great club enhanced and Yax Che Mal was well pleased. Soon an unsuspecting foe shall know his wrath!

I also acquired a Bead of Force and an Earth Elemental Gem. Malcolm and I both purchased Amulets of Health and he went on to be fitted for a gleaming new belt. Gudlaug procured some trinkets as well, but I can’t recall what they were. The numerous stone spirits drifting through Haradrak intrigued me, but they were mere wisps. I have failed repeatedly in my attempts to contact the mountainous spirit of Jormunsteinn. Perhaps more research is required. My spirit entourage has grown steadily, but I feel confident in my ability to command more powerful spirits still. When preparations are complete I will attempt to contact Gondoc, the greatest Kulkan warrior to ever crack the egg, friend to shamans of legend, and destroyer of the Black Nest!

Time passed and we licked our wounds. We received news of a huge conflagration in Kostelna, with much rioting and many deaths. This news was quite satisfying. After leaving word of our destination for absent comrades, we set sail for Vacomagus, intending to present the cask of Wyrd to Queen Nighean (na VAUHN)) and ask her favor in our upcoming battle. Malcolm claimed to have “been in her presence” and assured me that she would not employ the Wyrd for evil ends. We talked much on our journey, reviewing what we had learned and building our case. We would warn Nighean of the nefarious Black Kulkans and their alliance with the Yuan-Ti, a race of shapeshifters and snakes, hypnotists that could cause fear and command dark spirits. They were in league with demons and the Three Mothers, and more importantly they had possibly infiltrated Cimbri lands. We had written proof of an alchemist named Krace hiding among the Saluri. He had a viable formula to create the dreaded demon’s breath, a deadly drug with devastating effects that we had witnessed first hand. Our case was tight and we felt confident. We charted the most efficient route to Vacomagus and planned for a relaxing voyage.

Nothing ever goes as planned, and this became apparent once more at 3:00 AM during Gudlaug’s watch. He spotted a floating corpse and several bits of wood banging into White Dragon. He shook me and Malcolm and we then hooked the body and reeled it in. Luckily White Dragon awoke in time to vault into the sky and avoid a collision with an old Iconian merchant ship. Upon close inspection we could see that the ship was slimy and covered with black mold. It was listing and appeared to be rotten, reeking of dead bodies. Seaweed entangled the ropes and lines as if it had recently surfaced from an extended submersion. Even more strangely, an Iconian war galley was protruding from the merchant vessel.

Suddenly the light dawned. This was a Three Mother’s Zombie Ship!!! We immediately rolled the corpse off of White Dragon’s deck. Gudlaug flew closer in owl shape to detect magic. He was quite successful as the entire ship radiated magic, but a very strong emanation also came from a book placed near the wheel. Gudlaug detected movement within as well, and this prompted him to cast greater dispel magic on the listing vessel. Millions upon millions of worms began pouring out of cracks and holes in the wood, causing the ship to list even more and subsequently drawing hordes of skeletons from the hold. A wraith-like figure also made its presence known, shouting something in a language unfamiliar to me. I would later learn that it had commanded the skeletons to take the book. Perhaps sensing the most immediate threat, the wraith raced toward Gudlaug. White Dragon blasted it with a cone of cold and then became invisible, moving closer to the loathsome vessel. As the skeletons continued to emerge and congregate on the slippery deck, I called upon the great Xmukane Kan to haste Malcolm and fortify my natural defenses with the strength of stoneskin. One of the skeletons lunged for the mystical tome and quickly slipped down into the sea. Malcolm and I jumped into the fray and Yax Che Mal bolstered my club with his fury. Malcolm, however, was most impressive, tearing into the skeletons and dispatching two or three to my every one. After a brief battle above, Gudlaug finished the wraith fiend with a vicious flame strike. To my amazement he then morphed into a porpoise, diving deep and giving chase to the descending dead. I will certainly have to find out which spirits this druid has befriended!

Malcolm and I continued to smash skeletons, wondering if we should follow Gudlaug into the sea. Just as we vanquished the last of our foes our comrade surfaced, dripping blood and a glistening, bubbling ooze. He was smiling however, and holding the tome that had nearly slipped through our fingers. He related how an inky cloud had enveloped him, soon to be followed by poisonous, acidic tendrils. This aquatic ooze surely would have taken his life had he not transformed himself into an octopus to escape its suffocating grasp and then polymorphed the creature into a tiny, harmless gold fish. After that, recovering the book from the lone skeleton had been a simple task.

Following a brief rest we searched the hold of the zombie ship. We located several chests that contained a sum of 5000 gold pieces. We also stumbled upon a larder of recruit bodies patiently waiting for an opportunity to man one of the Three Mother’s vessels. We knew that the ship must be destroyed. A flame strike from Gudlaug proved unsuccessful, so White Dragon suggested that she might be able to tow the hulks apart. This worked like a charm and both ships sank into the murky depths.

The tome was written in Rolgulkan (big surprise) and in fact harbored a secret compartment. The spirits were generous, as Malcolm was able to discover a poisoned needle trap without having to suffer its consequnces. The compartment contained a pitch black sail covered with twinkling star patterns. We wondered if this may be a magical means for the Three Mothers ships to travel through the Shadow Plane. Deciphering the script proved this to be true, but also mentioned some sort of draining of some sort of essence. This revelation caused us pause. White Dragon agreed to help test it, and also asked to retain the sail if it functions as suspected.

I retired to my quarters as we continued our voyage, recounting the events of the day and wondering what I might have done to aid our party more. We had all had some close calls recently-some of us closer than others-and I felt that I had not made use of the spirits to the full extent of their might. I was, however, feeling closer to Kanul Yat Balam. At that moment he showed me a way to gain some of his powers for an unlimited duration. He recited a spell and suddenly I saw my various magical items in a new light. Not only was my great club anchoring the menacing fists of Yax Che Mal, it was now awash in a magical aura all its own. Kanul Yat Balam performed another incantation and I immediately knew that this ability to detect magic was permanent. I felt strangely weakened, but remained hopeful that this vision might prove helpful on some future quest. Until I can contact the great warrior Gondoc I will be content to do the best I can and listen constantly for direction from Kanul Yat Balam, First of the Kulkans and Master of Spirits.

Off to Vacomagus!

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DM Notes:

FYI: Adobe pdf of city notes: Vacomagus (247 kb)