After this latest outing I'm completely sick of Mulmaster and its jerkface nobility. A pox on all 49 of their houses. The first half of the adventure played out like an episode of Miami Vice, only without Miami or actually finding the source of the particular vice in question (silkroot). According to the DM we blew our chance to discover the source of the drug by cutting off a conversation prematurely. Having been tasked with rescuing two not-damsels we may have been a bit hasty in securing a lead that did bring us to where we needed to be. Neither of the damsels were interested in leaving the cult willingly (they never are). A pitched battle ensued against multiple armed guards/thugs and a feathergale knight. Another battle against Axbeaks and a flock of ravens (why couldn't it have been seagulls) followed soon after. It could have gone a little better but what really did us in was going up against a pair of griffons backed up by a thunderwave casting monk and one of the people we were there to save. The Griffons managed to crit six times. The bard died, the wizard died, one of the monks and the paladin was KO'd. The other monk barely hanging on with 3 HP and I (Life Cleric) managed to barely put down 'the boss' and KO the rapier wielding not-damsel. I also went through all four of my healing potions. In a fit of rage for killing my favorite halfling bard buddy I turned 'the boss' into a thin red paste with my warhammer. After stabilizing the Paladin and leaving with the unconscious prodigal daughter I went back to the noble who sent us into this mess to collect our fee and offer him a 1000 yard stare while he thanked me for my discretion and promised to do something about the Phlan refugee crisis. Fortunately the bard (played by my RL friend) gets a freebie raise dead on account of his faction association. The Wizard was level one, so rather than deal with resurrection sickness, he was encouraged to create another character for next time. Hopefully not a wizard that will empty his spell slots on witch bolt and ray of sickness on the same thug when the battle was already more or less under control. Facepalm. Things might have gone a bit better for us as a whole if we managed to pick a certain lock which would have allowed us to confront the griffons, boss and underling by entering the room from 2x2 entrance instead of single file down a spiral staircase. That bottleneck really made a mess of things along with the massive number of crits. At any rate, my buddy needs another adventure to reach level 4. I certainly don't mind sitting on top of the tier having just reached level 4. Plate mail seems like a distant dream when all my gold and off hours are being sunk into brewing healing potions, but it's something to look forward to. The DM was pleased he got to murder a couple of us given it was his penultimate game before 'retirement'.