Clearwater Crusaders - City of the Spider Queen (Updated 17th June)

[Eccles]

Whilst Aeron was dead, his mind span in strange fever-dream. This is what he remembers: -

--

Your mind clears for a few moments, as if from a fevered dream, and you see a weary old man toying with a pipe.

He stands in a clearing in a forest, surrounded by crisped bodies and shattered bones. Small fires remain in the undergrowth. Even in your vision, you can smell the reek of ozone and burned flesh. Elminster frowns, and looks abruptly straight at you. He smiles, clearly exhausted.

"Mistress", he bows in your direction. "Another necromancer. A Bone Lord this time. Had I been two minutes later, he would have succeeded in crossing the Pale. The damn evil clerics are the ones I can't stand. They've been pouring into the Dales for weeks now, taking advantage of the Dark Tide. I'm amazed there are still bodies to dig up."

He turns, and crosses the clearing, limping heavily. In two soft strides, you stand beside him and reach out one soft hand in his direction, offering healing.

Elminster looks down. "Ah yes. A Pale Master and two Bone Golems. The power which the Tide has is incredible. Storm was nearly overpowered by two hastened horrid wiltings, and I teleported just in time to save her. I don't suppose you could just take the Dark Tide away?" He shrugs as he stares irreverently into your face. You say nothing, but reach out and touch him on the cheek. Elminster is restored.

"I supposed not. I have warned the Harpers, but I just hope that your chosen are enough to deal with the cause. Blessed be to thee, Mystra."

You smile, and fade from the Prime.

And your connection with a goddess is broken.

 

[Eccles]

And there we go, all up to date.

Sorry for the huge number of updates at once, but I've had very poor access for the last day or two, and have been stockpiling updates.

As you might imagine, the group was *not* happy about the way this fight went. Ironically, when choosing spells that morning, Aeron had deliberately chosen not to carry the Holy Word spell, which would have ended the entire fight in one round.

You pays your money and you takes your chance, I suppose. Still, that's the first time they've used one of the 3 Raise Dead scrolls they've been carrying around since 10th level!

 

[DumbAnimal]

Let's hope Mystra's 'chosen' are more effective than us! - Halbrinn

 

[Eccles]

Let's hope Mystra's 'chosen' are more effective than us! - Halbrinn

Uh... You realise that... Uh...

Oh, never mind...

After all, can you give any reason other than divine providence why someone new turns up every time you have a casualty?

 

[DumbAnimal]

After all, can you give any reason other than divine providence why someone new turns up every time you have a casualty?

Well I've been looking around this forum for a bit and have to conclude that the underdark sees more traffic than the M25...that and we don't exactly have a recruit selection process.

 

[Brakkart]

Well I've been looking around this forum for a bit and have to conclude that the underdark sees more traffic than the M25...that and we don't exactly have a recruit selection process.

Heh yes, our party refill procedure borders on conscription:

1. Is this person in the wrong place at the right time (ie here and now)? YES
2. Are they likely to kill us in our sleep? NO

Excellent, welcome to the Clearwater Crusaders! May you live long and prosper (even though neither is that likely).

 

[Eccles]

The Clearwater Crusaders sheltered in the familiar cave in the mushroom fields beyond the city of Maermydra. Having slain the guards and smashed open the tunnel into the main cavern, before slaughtering the nearest group of guards within the city itself, several of the group were concerned that they would be easy to trace.

Others, meanwhile, were preoccupied with their injuries.

It did not take long for Yvgeny to exhaust his healing powers on his fellows, whilst Miles retreated to the rear of the cavern and healed himself rapidly by exhausting almost a dozen charges out of his Wand of Cure Light Wounds.

After he had finished, he turned to the rest of the group.

"I can spare 9 charges from this wand. Who needs healing?"

The reaction this raised was something of a surprise to him, however. Stedd took two paces forwards, raising his hand, before pausing, puzzled. Aeron could abrely move from the floor, but Jason leapt to his feet, snatched up his weapon, and bellowed "doppelganger!" at the top of his voice.

Several tense moments later, Miles managed to persuade the group that this uncharacteristically generous offer sprang from his need to have others in his team able to take damage for him, and not because he actually liked them or anything.

Slightly reassured by this, the other Crusaders relaxed again, and allowed Miles to use his wand.

.oOo.

Whilst this argument continued on the other side of their cavern, Halbrinn sank down onto the floor clutching the last of the group's black pearls. Crushing it into a small phial of wine, he concentrated, and began to identify the collection of magical items in front of him.

Yvgeny was left to stand guard, and was therefore away from the group when he heard a soft noise away in the cavern.

*bamf*

Moving closer, he heard what could have been incredibly soft footsteps coming from the direction of the cavern wall to his south, but when he approached, he could see nothing.

 

[Eccles]

The Crusaders rested, although the group never grew completely comfortable following Yvgeny's mention of the noise he had heard.

The next 'morning' (a time declared by the clerics as morning, anyway), the group arose, traded magical items a little more, and then began to prepare spells.

After Aeron had been restored by Yvgeny, he then began to pray in more detail to Mystra, although not without bemoaning the sudden reduction in his spell-casting capacity.

Yvgeny then moved on to curing and restoring Jason as well, when it transpired that he had caught some terrible disease from the demonic ghouls of the previous day.

Whilst Aeron spent a second hour praying to Mystra, and Miles (to everyone's astonishment) settled down to pray to his own darker god, Halbrinn pulled a large mirror out of his Portable Hole (prompting looks of astonishment and envy from several other group members), and settled down to scry the wizard he had teleported to Szith Morcane.

Ignoring the sneers and criticisms from his fellows, the gnomish wizard satisfied his own curiosity when the looking-glass cleared.

The drow wizard was no longer bound with ropes. Instead, he was chained to a large stone stool, whilst a purple disembodied hand whipped at his chest and back with a long thin switch.

Strangely, the wizard did not look quite as distraught as might have been expected.

Halbrinn stopped scrying. At least the Wizard had got somewhere, and wasn’'t dead. He had learned something.

 

[Eccles]

The group discussed matters between themselves.

Miles and Stedd were terrified of the potential contained within the tower, and refused to go back at this stage.

Faced with this, the others talked things over, but they were unable to reach concensus; especially when Miles proposed going to the demon and giant alliance and giving them the password to the castle. Aeron was totally opposed to this plan, and refused to have any part in it. This didn't stop Miles from spending a lengthy period trying to persuade him away from his moral course, and to join him in betraying more or less everybody.

Perhaps still more bizarrely, however, was Stedd's willingness to support Miles, when Stedd's whole upbringing and tradition was one of moral uprightness and propriety.

Once again, Jason began to loosen his hammer-arm, whilst muttering "doppelganger" under his breath.

 

[Eccles]

Eventually, after over an hour of discussions, it was decided that the group would re-enter Maermydra, and would then head to the far side of the cavern. There, they would attempt to strike the two groups of undead that Miles had seen there on a previous scouting mission.

Variously flying, creeping, hiding and invisible, the group stealthily moved into the cavern. They met at the temple in which they had fought the Nightwalker.

Almost immediately, Miles and Halbrinn heard footsteps coming from the direction of the building in which they had slept.

Halbrinn and Jason (both invisible) flew to take up flanking positions, whilst the others hid behind the walls of the ruined temple. Soon enough, a small party of undead moved towards them; two morhgs and two of the hideous acid-dripping skinless quth-maren led 4 large zombie ogres towards the group. And almost immediately, the undead spotted Aeron's shining armour and tabard, crouched inadequately behind a rock half his size.

Miles leapt out firing his bow, and the undead split their forces, sending half to attack Aeron, and the others moving towards Miles.

Stedd, Jason, Halbrinn and Yvgeny leapt out of hiding, leaping, clubbing, slashing and smashing at the foes; Halbrinn's lightning bolt firing a bright strike through the enemy and illuminating the whole cavern very briefly.

.oOo.

Across the massive cavern, the bright strike of lightning made heads look up. Even the slow ungainly undead realised something was amiss.