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Story Hour
Ghourmand Vale (3.5 campaign)
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 9109335" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 30: A BIRD IN THE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 9</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 9</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 9</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 9</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Orchid, elf druid 9</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 16 August 2023</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>The first morning back in Ghourmand Vale after returning from Cobb's Grange, Alistair got a surprise when he opened the door of the extradimensional living quarters and stepped out onto the top floor of the Dark and Light Club, for there before him was the renowned bard Holyrood Carp, but he was bustling around in a frenzy. "I say!" called out the young sorcerer. "Whatever is going on?"</p><p></p><p>"Haven't you heard?" asked the bard. "The famed author, E. L. Grimwade, is coming here this afternoon! There's going to be a special appearance in the town square, and then a dinner here, followed by me doing a performance on stage below! I've got to get everything ready--that reminds me, you don't have any new songs ready for me, do you? I'd like to kick off the performance with some new material. And you'll join us at the dinner before the performance? Apparently, E. L. is interested in meeting up with any local adventuring bands as well as hearing any popular local songs in the areas visited. Alistair? Are you listening?"</p><p></p><p>But Alistair's mind had practically frozen upon hearing that E. L. Grimwade - <em>the</em> E. L. Grimwade, author of the popular "Elfy Danger Silverleaf" series of novels for young kids - was going to be showing up here in Ghourmand Vale! At last, the young nobleman was going to get a chance to meet his all-time favorite author, whose books had helped him settle into a life of adventuring when he'd been kicked out of his nobleman family, and which had filled him up with valuable adventuring lore! He couldn't wait to meet him - he imagined the author to be very much like Elfy himself, likely an elven adventurer; the stories were all so true to life that he had to have some personal, first-hand experience into the life of an adventurer. Alistair was already planning on which book he'd bring to the performance that evening to have Grimwade sign: the very first book in the series, naturally, <em>Elfy Danger Silverleaf and the Greedy Goblins</em>. It wasn't the best book of the series - that, in Alistair's mind, was certainly <em>Elfy Danger Silverleaf and the Haunted House of Harrowfield Hills</em>, which had sent thrills up and down his spine as a child and still gave him goosebumps when thinking about the scarier bits - but it was the one that set off all of his adventures to follow, and there were a lot of important facts about Elfy himself that were later expanded upon in the follow-on books.... Belatedly, Alistair realized Holyrood was talking to him.</p><p></p><p>"Alistair! Do you, or do you not, have any new songs for me?"</p><p></p><p>Alistair snapped out of it quickly. "As a matter of fact," he replied, "I have one I was working on about Elfy Danger Silverleaf himself. It isn't quite done, but I can try to finish it up this morning, if you like."</p><p></p><p>"That would be ideal!" breathed Holyrood with a sigh of relief. "Now then, I've got to make sure the Club has everything for the dinner on hand, and E. L.'s favorite brandy...." The bard bustled off downstairs to check on things in the kitchen, while Alistair returned to his rooms inside the extradimensional dwelling to fetch the parchments upon which he'd been writing his latest song. He'd do up a song that would truly make E. L. Grimwade proud! And while it took him several sheets of scratch paper and numerous rewrites, he eventually got a version of the Elfy song down he liked, and transcribed it onto a clean sheet of parchment for Holyrood. Then he went to round up the other heroes to ensure they'd all be there when E. L. Grimwade came to visit. He imagined Chaevaris in particular would enjoy meeting the mind behind Elfy Danger Silverleaf, since all of her knowledge about the fictional character came second-hand from Alistair himself - perhaps, after meeting the actual author, she'd be curious enough to try reading the books (a copy of each story published thus far sat proudly on the bookcase in the lounge area of their extradimensional home). And wouldn't it be great if she hit it off with the author himself! Alistair could think of nothing more exciting than to have E. L. Grimwade himself have a reason to stay close to the group, and dating Chaevaris ought to be a good enough reason. Or, if not Chaevaris, there was also Orchid to consider - he didn't really mind which one the elven author preferred, just as long as he had a reason to stick around.</p><p></p><p>So that afternoon, when a crowd was gathering around the town square, Alistair stood smack-dab in the middle of the front row directly before the raised platform upon which E. L. Grimwade would give a speech before heading over to the Dark and Light Club. He had his copy of <em>Elfy Danger Silverleaf and the Greedy Goblins</em> held protectively in both hands, and he'd sent his grackle familiar to perch upon a nearby rooftop so the bird could warn him when the coach carrying the author was approaching.</p><p></p><p>The other heroes were also in the area, but as Elfy meant very little to them, meeting the author wasn't that big of a thrill. Still, they had all agreed to be in full combat get-up, so they'd all look the part of the Trained Professional Adventurers they truly were when they had dinner with Mr. Grimwade that evening. Holyrood had dropped hints the author was looking at starting up a new series of novels about Elfy traveling through the various Outer Planes, and had apparently been interviewing those who had gone to various other planes and returned to tell the tale. Alistair thought that was an excellent idea - it would certainly be educational for him, since so far the only other planes he'd been to (that he was aware of) was that warm place with the people wearing turbans, home of the notorious Jasgund Singh, and of course the Halfling Fairylands they'd traveled through to get back home - and where they'd just avenged the ravaged town of Cobb's Grange from the yuan-ti that had all but burned it down.</p><p></p><p>Harlan was leaning against a small building twenty feet or more behind Alistair. Ageratum was also on a rooftop, but while Ambrose's perch was to the southwest of the raised speaking platform, the little halfling sat on the corner of rooftop to the southeast - it was the best way a three-foot-tall halfling would be able to see the goings-on in any case. Orchid and Shushitan stood along a fence just to the south of the Dark and Light Club, whereas Chaevaris sat perched upon her <em>immovable rod</em>, raised to a four-foot height in the crook of the interior corner of the Dark and Light Club's L-shaped building. This allowed her to see above the heads of the crowd, which was starting to fill up now that the author's coach was due any minute.</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris noted quite a lot of new faces, including those of a bunch of new guards hired on to help keep law and order in the city - or what passed for it, in any case. She also noticed a wizard standing back at the assembling crowd, pointing and seeming to whisper in his hands. Straining her elven hearing to their limits, she was able to hear him say, "That one - in the red robes. He's got magic about him." In those two simple sentences, the elven archer deduced two things: that the wizard was steering an accomplice towards a specific target (and she happened to notice Alistair was wearing his red robe today, no doubt the better to stand out in front of his lifelong hero), and they were likely looking to steal magic items from their victims. She looked over at Alistair to see if she could pick out who the wizard might have been guiding, and she saw a male dwarf muscle his way into position to stand next to Alistair.</p><p></p><p>"I say!" declared the young sorcerer to the dwarf at his right. "Quite a big thrill, getting to meet Mr. Grimwade, isn't it? Are you a fan of his books?" The dwarf merely shrugged and grunted, waiting for the chatty human to turn away again before seeing what all might be pilferable. Unfortunately, the wizard might have steered the dwarven thief over to this particular target but he hadn't been able to tell him just what exactly he had on his person that might be magical in nature. The fop wore a pair of magical bracers on his arms, but those would be difficult to steal without him noticing...he wore a nice-looking rapier at his belt, but that too would be awkward to make off with...ah! A finely-crafted dagger also hung from the sorcerer's belt, with a hilt exquisite-enough looking that it could very well be magical. Daggers, being lightweight, were much easier to make off with. He waited for the most opportune time, then with a quick motion lifted Alistair's masterwork silver dagger from its sheath and pocketed it up his own sleeve - and right before the unwitting target turned and looked him straight in the eye. Expecting a confrontation of some sort, the dwarf was relieved to hear the fop merely blurt out, "I think his carriage is approaching!" For indeed Alistair had felt a wave of impinging excitement rising through the link he shared with his grackle familiar.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, well, I can't stay - gotta get to the mines for my shift!" mumbled the dwarf, moving away from his first mark of the afternoon. Another dwarf had sidled up to Harlan in an attempt to try to pilfer something off of him, but the paladin's alert posture and countenance made him distrustful that he'd be able to grab anything and get cleanly away. As it was, Harlan was using his paladin's sense of detecting evil about him to note that there was quite a lot of evil in all directions, most of it of the fairly harmless type, but disturbingly, some of it coming from a few of the new guards. And then his concentration was centered upon a pair of young women who were approaching the raised platform from the north - they'd just passed by Orchid and Shushitan. The evil emanating from their auras overpowered those of anyone else in the crowd. They were dressed as fashionable noblewomen, with gloves and matching sashes draped over their shoulders like scarves, and they walked with a regal bearing, as if they knew full well the rabble all around them were beneath their contempt.</p><p></p><p>Up on the rooftop, Ageratum had been watching the crowd and saw the wizard and dwarves, seemingly in contact with each other; there was also a guy dressed very similarly to the new guards who seemed to be part of the same team. Having worked in a Thieves Guild herself, the little halfling was fairly sure she was watching members of a new thieves guild - new to Ghourmand Vale, in any case - make their moves. It looked like one of the dwarves might have gotten something off of an inattentive Alistair, but she couldn't be sure from the angle she was looking. She decided they should have some sort of means of long-distance communication, or hand signals or something, for she knew if she just yelled down at Alistair the thieves would just vanish into the crowd - that was one of the first lessons any competent thieves guild taught its members. But as Chaevaris hopped down from her perch and deactivated the <em>immovable rod</em> in one quick motion, catching up with the wizard and spinning him around to face her, he wrested himself away and started running. She gave chase, but he turned a corner and when she followed - a mere few seconds behind him - he was gone, either having teleported away or rendered himself invisible. Up on the rooftop, Ageratum saw the two dwarves and the suspicious-looking fighter-type make their own exit from the crowd, apparently warned away by the wizard after he'd been spotted as their lookout.</p><p></p><p>"Here he comes!" squealed Alistair as the coach pulled around a corner and came to a stop along the right side of the raised speaking platform. The door opened and Holyrood Carp stepped out, reaching a hand up to help an elderly woman out of the coach. Alistair stretched his neck trying to see past the woman (<em>Did E. L. Grimwade bring his mother along? - How nice,</em> Alistair thought to himself, although he would have imagined Grimwade's mother would have been an elf, as he had always believed the author of the most famous fictional elven adventurer ever had to be an elf himself to get all of the details of Elfy's life so right), but didn't see anyone else step out of the coach. And then Carp led the woman up the steps of the platform, waved to the cheering crowd, and called out, "Ladies and Gentlemen - it is my great pleasure to introduce to you all the famous author, E. L. Grimwade!" The older woman - likely at the latter end of her fifties and fast approaching sixty years of age, if she hadn't already gotten there - waved to the crowd with one hand, clutching her pocketbook close with her other.</p><p></p><p>Alistair's jaw fell open in shock. <em>This</em> was E. L. Grimwade, the famous author of the Elfy Danger Silverleaf books? An old lady - an old, <em>human</em> lady? How could this be?</p><p></p><p>Harlan was astonished as well, but not because of the author's age, sex, or race. Rather, he was surprised at the high level of evil coming from her direction as she waved to the crowd. And there was no mistaking the fact it was coming from her, for the only one else up on the stage with her was Holyrood Carp, and the paladin knew from past experience the bardic performer was anything but evil.</p><p></p><p>One of the aristocratic women, a ravishing-looking redhead, called out, "Hey, Grimwade! You have something that doesn't belong to you, and we want it back!" Orchid, seeing the commotion, cast a <em>speak with animals</em> spell and asked her timber wolf companion if he smelled anything out of the ordinary. He wagged his tail at the fact that his mistress had once again suddenly remembered how to speak the wolf language, but informed her that nothing stood out as odd.</p><p></p><p>Up on the raised stage, E. L. Grimwade hadn't heard the redhead's comments and was calling out to the crowd, "Greetings! For those of you who follow the stories, you know Elfy is a wanderer, going wherever he's needed. Well, I'm pleased to inform you that there will be a new series of stories where he'll be traveling to other planes of existence. I have been traveling around myself, talking with some people who have traveled the planes themselves, as a means of doing research for these books. Why, just recently, I visited the <strong>Marquis Lorn D'Veih</strong>, a noted diabolist, at his castle in the Misty Mountains, and he has provided me with many insights about the kinds of dangers Elfy might encounter on the Lower Planes."</p><p></p><p>The other woman stepped up beside the redhead, also dressed in an aristocratic fashion. She called out to the author, "Do you remember us, E. L.?"</p><p></p><p>Alistair turned to ask the dwarf who'd been standing next to him if he had known E. L. Grimwade was a woman, but the dwarf had already vanished. But then he heard his name being mentioned by Holyrood Carp up on stage, and his attention was brought back to the figures on the raised platform. "Miss Grimwade will be spending some time in Ghourmand Vale as part of her research, talking to our local adventuring group, the Trained Professional Adventurers! Ah, here's Alistair, a member of the TPA, right here in the front row!" Alistair's eyes grew large at the thought of actually shaking hands with his favorite author: actually touching the hands that wrote down the stories that had enthralled him since he was a wee lad. "I'm very--meeting--to happy you," he stammered.</p><p></p><p>The redheaded aristocrat interrupted, storming around the corner and stepping up beside the stuttering sorcerer. "When you get a minute..." she said, frowning sternly at the elderly author. Harlan, back in the crowd, had been focusing on determining the exact sources of evil, and he now could determine the evil he sensed in E. L. Grimwade was emanating from her handbag - and it was as concentrated as the evil coming from the two aristocratic women pushing their way towards the author. He started advancing himself, pushing his way through the crowd to approach the stage. Deciding the elderly woman likely needed some protection, the paladin reached out to touch her and cast a <em>protection from evil</em> spell upon her.</p><p></p><p>The second aristocrat, a brunette with striking green eyes, actually hissed in irritation as Harlan cast his spell. "E.L.," she called, "you were there at Lorn's place and you took something that didn't belong to you! Now return it at once!"</p><p></p><p>"What? Preposterous!" snorted E. L. Grimwade. "I took nothing!"</p><p></p><p>"Let's not have any wild accusations!" chided Holyrood Carp, looking over at the two beautiful women. "I'm sure this is all some sort of misunderstanding." But the redhead had, by that time, gotten tired of waiting and cast a <em>charm monster</em> spell at E. L. Grimwade - which, thanks to Harlan's protective spell, failed miserably. But that was all Harlan needed to confirm his suspicions that neither of these women were human, and he reacted quite violently, by pulling out his <em>flaming burst longsword</em> and driving it into the body of the redhead. He could tell part of his thrust was impeded by skin much thicker and denser than that of a human woman, which only gave him further evidence he was dealing with a fiend.</p><p></p><p>Ageratum had seen Harlan initiate combat from up on her rooftop perch and activated her <em>cloak of arachnida</em>, using its spidery powers to walk down the side of the building. Fortunately, many people in the crowd were scattering due to the paladin's sword-swinging - they had no desire to get caught up in a fight - so the little halfling made better time than if she'd have had to push past unmoving bodies. She drew her <em>human bane short sword</em>, thinking its specific magical enhancement would be well-suited for these two human foes.</p><p></p><p>Orchid also started moving forward, casting a <em>call lightning</em> spell as she did so. She brought the first bolt blasting down out of the sky to strike the redhead; as Harlan's initial target, she was the only one the druid knew for sure was an enemy. However, while the bolt hit its target it failed to even cause the redhead to flinch - Orchid assumed she either had some type of resistance to spell energy or was somehow immune to electrical blasts. Shushitan was at her side, and then took off to try to bite the redhead (having seen his mistress target her with a lightning bolt, he knew she was fair game), but he snapped at her and missed as well.</p><p></p><p>However, having directly engaged the redhead in battle, Harlan, Orchid and Shushitan were all suddenly able to see the redhead as she truly was: her red hair and aristocratic features were true to form, but they could now see the raven-dark, feathered wings growing from her back. Of the three, only Harlan realized what that meant: they were fighting an erinyes devil!</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris had also noted the commotion at the front of the stage and fitted an arrow to her bow, pointing it at the redhead. She still saw the illusory form of the woman, but she trusted Harlan's instincts and had no reservations about shooting her once she was sure of a good shot. Harlan swung his sword at the red-haired erinyes and missed, which was a shame as he'd infused his blade with holy smiting energy, but he caught her on a backhand swing and brought forth blood from a gash along her arm. The dark-haired aristocrat loosened the sash from around her neck and snapped it at Holyrood, where it wrapped tightly around his ankles and brought him falling to the ground. Then, surprisingly, she willing dropped her own illusion and flapped her wings, flying up above the crowd and landing upon the roof of the Dark and Light Club. She pulled a composite bow from her back and fitted an arrow of her own to it, readying to fire at E. L. Grimwade.</p><p></p><p>Alistair cast a <em>haste</em> spell upon the heroes, to include Shushitan and his favorite author. "Get down!" he called to E. L. Grimwade, interposing himself between her and the two erinyes devils. He hadn't had time to cast any of his normal protective spells - <em>mage armor</em> and <em>shield</em>, primarily - but he wasn't about to let any harm come to Miss Grimwade while he was in a position to prevent it! Unbidden, Ambrose flew over to a different rooftop where he could keep an eye on the dark-haired erinyes for his master. Unnoticed, E. L. Grimwade pulled a small notebook from her pocketbook and began furiously scribbling notes.</p><p></p><p>Cursing, Carp managed to extract himself from the sash binding up his feet and flung it aside. Nearby, the redheaded erinyes had pulled out a longsword of her own and was engaging Harlan in a swordfight. Her thin blade caught the paladin across the upper shoulder, opening a wound. But then Ageratum was suddenly there, under foot, pushing Alistair out of her way as she brought her short sword striking up at the redhead, in a flanking position with Shushitan. Her blade hit her deep in the thigh muscle, and Ageratum twisted the blade for good measure as she brought it back out.</p><p></p><p>Orchid, however, was more worried about the erinyes up on the rooftop. She spun and cast a <em>baleful polymorph</em> spell at the devil, hoping to transform her against her will into a harmless rabbit. But again, to her chagrin, the spell had absolutely no effect. Shushitan was likewise having no luck in getting his teeth around the redhead's arm, try as he might. But the erinyes on the rooftop had felt the attempt and if nothing else it distracted her momentarily from trying to attack E. L. Grimwade; instead, she cast a <em>charm monster</em> spell upon Orchid, hoping to be able to trick the druid into using her spells against her own allies. Fortunately for Orchid, her willpower was strong enough to avoid the spell's effects.</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris released her arrow and it went streaking across the distance to bury itself in the redhead's side, just below where her raven-dark wing grew from her back. She cried out in pain, and her momentary distraction allowed Harlan to strike her twice in rapid succession, the first of his blows channeling Pelor's holy energy into her fiendish body. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious but stable from the proximity to the <em>Blood Mirror</em>.</p><p></p><p>Alistair sent a <em>magic missile</em> spell streaking to hit the dark-haired erinyes still up on the roof, while Holyrood took care of getting E. L. Grimwade to safety, escorting her back to the carriage off to the side of the raised platform. Ageratum stepped forward and took a moment to slit the throat of the redhead; her sword's <em>human bane</em> enhancement might not have been tailor-made for this situation but it handled the task just fine.</p><p></p><p>Orchid tried dropping another lightning bolt from her previously-cast spell upon the remaining erinyes, but it too failed to do anything upon striking the devil. Chaevaris nocked another arrow into place and took careful aim up at the erinyes, waiting to fire until she could do so with maximum effectiveness. Shushitan bent down over the slain redhead and ripped a hunk of flesh from her arm, noting the meat was strangely spicy.</p><p></p><p>Belatedly, Harlan cast a <em>bless</em> spell over the assembled heroes - usually, it was a spell he cast before combat, but then again they usually had more of a warning that combat was imminent; this time, events began without much in the way of warning. But then he staggered under the effects of an <em>unholy blight</em> spell cast down from the rooftop by the erinyes; looking around him, he saw she'd managed to catch the other four heroes in its vile area of effect as well. Some were affected more than others, but all five heroes - and Shushitan as well - felt some level of queasiness from the vile spell.</p><p></p><p>Alistair responded with another <em>magic missile</em> spell, sending five bolts of force energy streaking up at the dark-winged devil. Ageratum placed a "pebboulder" from Alistair's stash into her sling and swung it up at the erinyes, striking her in the torso and causing the pebble to revert to its full boulder size, which nearly toppled the devil over the top of the roof. Orchid cast a <em>flame strike</em> spell up at her and this time she managed to overcome the devil's inherent resistance to spell energy, burning her with holy fire. Chaevaris released her arrow as the devil writhed under the <em>flame strike</em> spell's effects, catching her in the side. And Harlan, down below, summoned his celestial pegasus from across the planes; in a heartbeat, Nova materialized in the town square and the paladin leaped up upon the broad back of his trusty aerial steed.</p><p></p><p>With a leap forward, the erinyes took to the air, flying down at Chaevaris and casting a <em>charm monster</em> spell upon her, but the archer's mind shrugged off the spell's intended effects. And then Alistair brought her down with another casting of the tried-but-true <em>magic missile</em> spell; it seemed particularly satisfying to see the arrogantly beautiful devil take a face-plant straight into the village street. Ageratum bounded over to her in a moment, lifting her by the hair with one hand while the other brought her blade slicing across the devil's throat. And just that quickly, the threat was over, and Holyrood Carp deemed it safe to allow E. L. Grimwade to exit the carriage.</p><p></p><p>The elderly author's face was flushed with excitement; to her, this had been a sort of exciting field trip. "Ma'am?" asked Harlan politely, dropping from Nova's back and stepping over to the woman. "Would it be all right if I looked inside your handbag?" Miss Grimwade handed it over without question, and the paladin reached in and pulled out a flask made of iron. "Oh my!" exclaimed the author. "I never-- I'll bet that <strong>Tickler</strong> put that in there!" She went on to explain that Tickler was the manservant of Marquis Lorn D'Veih, and that she hadn't got on well at all with the man. "I wouldn't put it past him to sneak that into my handbag just to try to get me into trouble with the Marquis," she mused. Harlan explained that the <em>iron flask</em> was a powerful magic item that was often used to imprison extraplanar entities and that it was currently emitting a very powerful aura of evil. He volunteered to have the Trained Professional Adventurers deal with whatever fiend was trapped within, and Miss Grimwade gave him her consent. "I should like the flask back when you're done, however, young man," she said. "I shall want to send it back to the Marquis - I don't want him thinking I stole it from him."</p><p></p><p>"The Marquis who's a noted diabolist?" asked Alistair.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, he's actually quite nice, when you get to know him," assured the author. "I'm sure he'll understand." Alistair wanted to point out that he'd apparently already sent two erinyes devils to fetch the item back from her, but he didn't want to contradict the woman whose works he adored so much.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the day's events went quite well; Miss Grimwade dined at the Dark and Light Club and then watched Holyrood's performance, which he led off with the new "Elfy Danger Silverleaf" song that Alistair had penned for him earlier that morning. The author seemed very impressed, clapping in delight along with the rest of the audience. Alistair felt like his heart would burst with pride, but he was mostly overcome with a profound sense of relief that he hadn't embarrassed himself any further after his fit of mushmouthedness upon first speaking to his favorite author. And then, after the performance was over, Holyrood used his bardic talents to determine the <em>iron flask</em> likely contained a vrock - a vulture demon.</p><p></p><p>"We'll want to release the vrock under controlled conditions," determined Harlan.</p><p></p><p>"The Stone Keep?" suggested Chaevaris. "We'd be surrounded by clerics and paladins." That was agreed to be the safest bet; they'd prepare spells accordingly and have everyone in a circle, ready to let loose with everything they had once the vrock was released from its <em>iron flask</em> prison.</p><p></p><p>"It sounds very exciting!" exclaimed Miss Grimwade. "I shall very much look forward to observing the decanting!" Try as they might, the elderly author would not be dissuaded from observing the slaying of a vicious fiend on the Material Plane, so Alistair promised they'd take every precaution to ensure her safety. They decided they'd head over to the Stone Keep in the morning, and they delivered Miss Grimwade to her rooms in the local inn, promising to pick her up before heading off to the Stone Keep.</p><p></p><p>It was only when he had put his prized copy of <em>Elfy Danger Silverleaf and the Greedy Goblins</em> - now inscribed on the inside front cover with a personal note from the author - back on the bookcase and returned to his bedroom to disrobe and go to sleep that Alistair noticed his masterwork silver dagger was missing from its scabbard. He sputtered in indignation, but then decided he wasn't going to worry overly about it - it had been quite a wonderful day, stolen dagger notwithstanding.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>After the adventure was over, I noted how this one was on the exact opposite side of the "prepare for battle" time scale; last week, we'd had unlimited time before heading into the halfling village overrun by yuan-ti, whereas this time we had no warning at all before battle was upon us.</p><p></p><p>Dan decided he'd "handwave" the battle with the vrock, figuring that with all of the precautions we were taking the outcome was pretty much a done deal, as we'd have five PCs all with readied actions before the vrock even knew it was in combat - as well as a host of clerics and paladins as backup.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 9109335, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 30: A BIRD IN THE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 9[/INDENT] [INDENT] Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 9[/INDENT] [INDENT] Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 9[/INDENT] [INDENT] Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 9[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Orchid, elf druid 9[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 16 August 2023 - - - The first morning back in Ghourmand Vale after returning from Cobb's Grange, Alistair got a surprise when he opened the door of the extradimensional living quarters and stepped out onto the top floor of the Dark and Light Club, for there before him was the renowned bard Holyrood Carp, but he was bustling around in a frenzy. "I say!" called out the young sorcerer. "Whatever is going on?" "Haven't you heard?" asked the bard. "The famed author, E. L. Grimwade, is coming here this afternoon! There's going to be a special appearance in the town square, and then a dinner here, followed by me doing a performance on stage below! I've got to get everything ready--that reminds me, you don't have any new songs ready for me, do you? I'd like to kick off the performance with some new material. And you'll join us at the dinner before the performance? Apparently, E. L. is interested in meeting up with any local adventuring bands as well as hearing any popular local songs in the areas visited. Alistair? Are you listening?" But Alistair's mind had practically frozen upon hearing that E. L. Grimwade - [I]the[/I] E. L. Grimwade, author of the popular "Elfy Danger Silverleaf" series of novels for young kids - was going to be showing up here in Ghourmand Vale! At last, the young nobleman was going to get a chance to meet his all-time favorite author, whose books had helped him settle into a life of adventuring when he'd been kicked out of his nobleman family, and which had filled him up with valuable adventuring lore! He couldn't wait to meet him - he imagined the author to be very much like Elfy himself, likely an elven adventurer; the stories were all so true to life that he had to have some personal, first-hand experience into the life of an adventurer. Alistair was already planning on which book he'd bring to the performance that evening to have Grimwade sign: the very first book in the series, naturally, [I]Elfy Danger Silverleaf and the Greedy Goblins[/I]. It wasn't the best book of the series - that, in Alistair's mind, was certainly [I]Elfy Danger Silverleaf and the Haunted House of Harrowfield Hills[/I], which had sent thrills up and down his spine as a child and still gave him goosebumps when thinking about the scarier bits - but it was the one that set off all of his adventures to follow, and there were a lot of important facts about Elfy himself that were later expanded upon in the follow-on books.... Belatedly, Alistair realized Holyrood was talking to him. "Alistair! Do you, or do you not, have any new songs for me?" Alistair snapped out of it quickly. "As a matter of fact," he replied, "I have one I was working on about Elfy Danger Silverleaf himself. It isn't quite done, but I can try to finish it up this morning, if you like." "That would be ideal!" breathed Holyrood with a sigh of relief. "Now then, I've got to make sure the Club has everything for the dinner on hand, and E. L.'s favorite brandy...." The bard bustled off downstairs to check on things in the kitchen, while Alistair returned to his rooms inside the extradimensional dwelling to fetch the parchments upon which he'd been writing his latest song. He'd do up a song that would truly make E. L. Grimwade proud! And while it took him several sheets of scratch paper and numerous rewrites, he eventually got a version of the Elfy song down he liked, and transcribed it onto a clean sheet of parchment for Holyrood. Then he went to round up the other heroes to ensure they'd all be there when E. L. Grimwade came to visit. He imagined Chaevaris in particular would enjoy meeting the mind behind Elfy Danger Silverleaf, since all of her knowledge about the fictional character came second-hand from Alistair himself - perhaps, after meeting the actual author, she'd be curious enough to try reading the books (a copy of each story published thus far sat proudly on the bookcase in the lounge area of their extradimensional home). And wouldn't it be great if she hit it off with the author himself! Alistair could think of nothing more exciting than to have E. L. Grimwade himself have a reason to stay close to the group, and dating Chaevaris ought to be a good enough reason. Or, if not Chaevaris, there was also Orchid to consider - he didn't really mind which one the elven author preferred, just as long as he had a reason to stick around. So that afternoon, when a crowd was gathering around the town square, Alistair stood smack-dab in the middle of the front row directly before the raised platform upon which E. L. Grimwade would give a speech before heading over to the Dark and Light Club. He had his copy of [I]Elfy Danger Silverleaf and the Greedy Goblins[/I] held protectively in both hands, and he'd sent his grackle familiar to perch upon a nearby rooftop so the bird could warn him when the coach carrying the author was approaching. The other heroes were also in the area, but as Elfy meant very little to them, meeting the author wasn't that big of a thrill. Still, they had all agreed to be in full combat get-up, so they'd all look the part of the Trained Professional Adventurers they truly were when they had dinner with Mr. Grimwade that evening. Holyrood had dropped hints the author was looking at starting up a new series of novels about Elfy traveling through the various Outer Planes, and had apparently been interviewing those who had gone to various other planes and returned to tell the tale. Alistair thought that was an excellent idea - it would certainly be educational for him, since so far the only other planes he'd been to (that he was aware of) was that warm place with the people wearing turbans, home of the notorious Jasgund Singh, and of course the Halfling Fairylands they'd traveled through to get back home - and where they'd just avenged the ravaged town of Cobb's Grange from the yuan-ti that had all but burned it down. Harlan was leaning against a small building twenty feet or more behind Alistair. Ageratum was also on a rooftop, but while Ambrose's perch was to the southwest of the raised speaking platform, the little halfling sat on the corner of rooftop to the southeast - it was the best way a three-foot-tall halfling would be able to see the goings-on in any case. Orchid and Shushitan stood along a fence just to the south of the Dark and Light Club, whereas Chaevaris sat perched upon her [I]immovable rod[/I], raised to a four-foot height in the crook of the interior corner of the Dark and Light Club's L-shaped building. This allowed her to see above the heads of the crowd, which was starting to fill up now that the author's coach was due any minute. Chaevaris noted quite a lot of new faces, including those of a bunch of new guards hired on to help keep law and order in the city - or what passed for it, in any case. She also noticed a wizard standing back at the assembling crowd, pointing and seeming to whisper in his hands. Straining her elven hearing to their limits, she was able to hear him say, "That one - in the red robes. He's got magic about him." In those two simple sentences, the elven archer deduced two things: that the wizard was steering an accomplice towards a specific target (and she happened to notice Alistair was wearing his red robe today, no doubt the better to stand out in front of his lifelong hero), and they were likely looking to steal magic items from their victims. She looked over at Alistair to see if she could pick out who the wizard might have been guiding, and she saw a male dwarf muscle his way into position to stand next to Alistair. "I say!" declared the young sorcerer to the dwarf at his right. "Quite a big thrill, getting to meet Mr. Grimwade, isn't it? Are you a fan of his books?" The dwarf merely shrugged and grunted, waiting for the chatty human to turn away again before seeing what all might be pilferable. Unfortunately, the wizard might have steered the dwarven thief over to this particular target but he hadn't been able to tell him just what exactly he had on his person that might be magical in nature. The fop wore a pair of magical bracers on his arms, but those would be difficult to steal without him noticing...he wore a nice-looking rapier at his belt, but that too would be awkward to make off with...ah! A finely-crafted dagger also hung from the sorcerer's belt, with a hilt exquisite-enough looking that it could very well be magical. Daggers, being lightweight, were much easier to make off with. He waited for the most opportune time, then with a quick motion lifted Alistair's masterwork silver dagger from its sheath and pocketed it up his own sleeve - and right before the unwitting target turned and looked him straight in the eye. Expecting a confrontation of some sort, the dwarf was relieved to hear the fop merely blurt out, "I think his carriage is approaching!" For indeed Alistair had felt a wave of impinging excitement rising through the link he shared with his grackle familiar. "Yeah, well, I can't stay - gotta get to the mines for my shift!" mumbled the dwarf, moving away from his first mark of the afternoon. Another dwarf had sidled up to Harlan in an attempt to try to pilfer something off of him, but the paladin's alert posture and countenance made him distrustful that he'd be able to grab anything and get cleanly away. As it was, Harlan was using his paladin's sense of detecting evil about him to note that there was quite a lot of evil in all directions, most of it of the fairly harmless type, but disturbingly, some of it coming from a few of the new guards. And then his concentration was centered upon a pair of young women who were approaching the raised platform from the north - they'd just passed by Orchid and Shushitan. The evil emanating from their auras overpowered those of anyone else in the crowd. They were dressed as fashionable noblewomen, with gloves and matching sashes draped over their shoulders like scarves, and they walked with a regal bearing, as if they knew full well the rabble all around them were beneath their contempt. Up on the rooftop, Ageratum had been watching the crowd and saw the wizard and dwarves, seemingly in contact with each other; there was also a guy dressed very similarly to the new guards who seemed to be part of the same team. Having worked in a Thieves Guild herself, the little halfling was fairly sure she was watching members of a new thieves guild - new to Ghourmand Vale, in any case - make their moves. It looked like one of the dwarves might have gotten something off of an inattentive Alistair, but she couldn't be sure from the angle she was looking. She decided they should have some sort of means of long-distance communication, or hand signals or something, for she knew if she just yelled down at Alistair the thieves would just vanish into the crowd - that was one of the first lessons any competent thieves guild taught its members. But as Chaevaris hopped down from her perch and deactivated the [I]immovable rod[/I] in one quick motion, catching up with the wizard and spinning him around to face her, he wrested himself away and started running. She gave chase, but he turned a corner and when she followed - a mere few seconds behind him - he was gone, either having teleported away or rendered himself invisible. Up on the rooftop, Ageratum saw the two dwarves and the suspicious-looking fighter-type make their own exit from the crowd, apparently warned away by the wizard after he'd been spotted as their lookout. "Here he comes!" squealed Alistair as the coach pulled around a corner and came to a stop along the right side of the raised speaking platform. The door opened and Holyrood Carp stepped out, reaching a hand up to help an elderly woman out of the coach. Alistair stretched his neck trying to see past the woman ([I]Did E. L. Grimwade bring his mother along? - How nice,[/I] Alistair thought to himself, although he would have imagined Grimwade's mother would have been an elf, as he had always believed the author of the most famous fictional elven adventurer ever had to be an elf himself to get all of the details of Elfy's life so right), but didn't see anyone else step out of the coach. And then Carp led the woman up the steps of the platform, waved to the cheering crowd, and called out, "Ladies and Gentlemen - it is my great pleasure to introduce to you all the famous author, E. L. Grimwade!" The older woman - likely at the latter end of her fifties and fast approaching sixty years of age, if she hadn't already gotten there - waved to the crowd with one hand, clutching her pocketbook close with her other. Alistair's jaw fell open in shock. [I]This[/I] was E. L. Grimwade, the famous author of the Elfy Danger Silverleaf books? An old lady - an old, [I]human[/I] lady? How could this be? Harlan was astonished as well, but not because of the author's age, sex, or race. Rather, he was surprised at the high level of evil coming from her direction as she waved to the crowd. And there was no mistaking the fact it was coming from her, for the only one else up on the stage with her was Holyrood Carp, and the paladin knew from past experience the bardic performer was anything but evil. One of the aristocratic women, a ravishing-looking redhead, called out, "Hey, Grimwade! You have something that doesn't belong to you, and we want it back!" Orchid, seeing the commotion, cast a [I]speak with animals[/I] spell and asked her timber wolf companion if he smelled anything out of the ordinary. He wagged his tail at the fact that his mistress had once again suddenly remembered how to speak the wolf language, but informed her that nothing stood out as odd. Up on the raised stage, E. L. Grimwade hadn't heard the redhead's comments and was calling out to the crowd, "Greetings! For those of you who follow the stories, you know Elfy is a wanderer, going wherever he's needed. Well, I'm pleased to inform you that there will be a new series of stories where he'll be traveling to other planes of existence. I have been traveling around myself, talking with some people who have traveled the planes themselves, as a means of doing research for these books. Why, just recently, I visited the [B]Marquis Lorn D'Veih[/B], a noted diabolist, at his castle in the Misty Mountains, and he has provided me with many insights about the kinds of dangers Elfy might encounter on the Lower Planes." The other woman stepped up beside the redhead, also dressed in an aristocratic fashion. She called out to the author, "Do you remember us, E. L.?" Alistair turned to ask the dwarf who'd been standing next to him if he had known E. L. Grimwade was a woman, but the dwarf had already vanished. But then he heard his name being mentioned by Holyrood Carp up on stage, and his attention was brought back to the figures on the raised platform. "Miss Grimwade will be spending some time in Ghourmand Vale as part of her research, talking to our local adventuring group, the Trained Professional Adventurers! Ah, here's Alistair, a member of the TPA, right here in the front row!" Alistair's eyes grew large at the thought of actually shaking hands with his favorite author: actually touching the hands that wrote down the stories that had enthralled him since he was a wee lad. "I'm very--meeting--to happy you," he stammered. The redheaded aristocrat interrupted, storming around the corner and stepping up beside the stuttering sorcerer. "When you get a minute..." she said, frowning sternly at the elderly author. Harlan, back in the crowd, had been focusing on determining the exact sources of evil, and he now could determine the evil he sensed in E. L. Grimwade was emanating from her handbag - and it was as concentrated as the evil coming from the two aristocratic women pushing their way towards the author. He started advancing himself, pushing his way through the crowd to approach the stage. Deciding the elderly woman likely needed some protection, the paladin reached out to touch her and cast a [I]protection from evil[/I] spell upon her. The second aristocrat, a brunette with striking green eyes, actually hissed in irritation as Harlan cast his spell. "E.L.," she called, "you were there at Lorn's place and you took something that didn't belong to you! Now return it at once!" "What? Preposterous!" snorted E. L. Grimwade. "I took nothing!" "Let's not have any wild accusations!" chided Holyrood Carp, looking over at the two beautiful women. "I'm sure this is all some sort of misunderstanding." But the redhead had, by that time, gotten tired of waiting and cast a [I]charm monster[/I] spell at E. L. Grimwade - which, thanks to Harlan's protective spell, failed miserably. But that was all Harlan needed to confirm his suspicions that neither of these women were human, and he reacted quite violently, by pulling out his [I]flaming burst longsword[/I] and driving it into the body of the redhead. He could tell part of his thrust was impeded by skin much thicker and denser than that of a human woman, which only gave him further evidence he was dealing with a fiend. Ageratum had seen Harlan initiate combat from up on her rooftop perch and activated her [I]cloak of arachnida[/I], using its spidery powers to walk down the side of the building. Fortunately, many people in the crowd were scattering due to the paladin's sword-swinging - they had no desire to get caught up in a fight - so the little halfling made better time than if she'd have had to push past unmoving bodies. She drew her [I]human bane short sword[/I], thinking its specific magical enhancement would be well-suited for these two human foes. Orchid also started moving forward, casting a [I]call lightning[/I] spell as she did so. She brought the first bolt blasting down out of the sky to strike the redhead; as Harlan's initial target, she was the only one the druid knew for sure was an enemy. However, while the bolt hit its target it failed to even cause the redhead to flinch - Orchid assumed she either had some type of resistance to spell energy or was somehow immune to electrical blasts. Shushitan was at her side, and then took off to try to bite the redhead (having seen his mistress target her with a lightning bolt, he knew she was fair game), but he snapped at her and missed as well. However, having directly engaged the redhead in battle, Harlan, Orchid and Shushitan were all suddenly able to see the redhead as she truly was: her red hair and aristocratic features were true to form, but they could now see the raven-dark, feathered wings growing from her back. Of the three, only Harlan realized what that meant: they were fighting an erinyes devil! Chaevaris had also noted the commotion at the front of the stage and fitted an arrow to her bow, pointing it at the redhead. She still saw the illusory form of the woman, but she trusted Harlan's instincts and had no reservations about shooting her once she was sure of a good shot. Harlan swung his sword at the red-haired erinyes and missed, which was a shame as he'd infused his blade with holy smiting energy, but he caught her on a backhand swing and brought forth blood from a gash along her arm. The dark-haired aristocrat loosened the sash from around her neck and snapped it at Holyrood, where it wrapped tightly around his ankles and brought him falling to the ground. Then, surprisingly, she willing dropped her own illusion and flapped her wings, flying up above the crowd and landing upon the roof of the Dark and Light Club. She pulled a composite bow from her back and fitted an arrow of her own to it, readying to fire at E. L. Grimwade. Alistair cast a [I]haste[/I] spell upon the heroes, to include Shushitan and his favorite author. "Get down!" he called to E. L. Grimwade, interposing himself between her and the two erinyes devils. He hadn't had time to cast any of his normal protective spells - [I]mage armor[/I] and [I]shield[/I], primarily - but he wasn't about to let any harm come to Miss Grimwade while he was in a position to prevent it! Unbidden, Ambrose flew over to a different rooftop where he could keep an eye on the dark-haired erinyes for his master. Unnoticed, E. L. Grimwade pulled a small notebook from her pocketbook and began furiously scribbling notes. Cursing, Carp managed to extract himself from the sash binding up his feet and flung it aside. Nearby, the redheaded erinyes had pulled out a longsword of her own and was engaging Harlan in a swordfight. Her thin blade caught the paladin across the upper shoulder, opening a wound. But then Ageratum was suddenly there, under foot, pushing Alistair out of her way as she brought her short sword striking up at the redhead, in a flanking position with Shushitan. Her blade hit her deep in the thigh muscle, and Ageratum twisted the blade for good measure as she brought it back out. Orchid, however, was more worried about the erinyes up on the rooftop. She spun and cast a [I]baleful polymorph[/I] spell at the devil, hoping to transform her against her will into a harmless rabbit. But again, to her chagrin, the spell had absolutely no effect. Shushitan was likewise having no luck in getting his teeth around the redhead's arm, try as he might. But the erinyes on the rooftop had felt the attempt and if nothing else it distracted her momentarily from trying to attack E. L. Grimwade; instead, she cast a [I]charm monster[/I] spell upon Orchid, hoping to be able to trick the druid into using her spells against her own allies. Fortunately for Orchid, her willpower was strong enough to avoid the spell's effects. Chaevaris released her arrow and it went streaking across the distance to bury itself in the redhead's side, just below where her raven-dark wing grew from her back. She cried out in pain, and her momentary distraction allowed Harlan to strike her twice in rapid succession, the first of his blows channeling Pelor's holy energy into her fiendish body. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious but stable from the proximity to the [I]Blood Mirror[/I]. Alistair sent a [I]magic missile[/I] spell streaking to hit the dark-haired erinyes still up on the roof, while Holyrood took care of getting E. L. Grimwade to safety, escorting her back to the carriage off to the side of the raised platform. Ageratum stepped forward and took a moment to slit the throat of the redhead; her sword's [I]human bane[/I] enhancement might not have been tailor-made for this situation but it handled the task just fine. Orchid tried dropping another lightning bolt from her previously-cast spell upon the remaining erinyes, but it too failed to do anything upon striking the devil. Chaevaris nocked another arrow into place and took careful aim up at the erinyes, waiting to fire until she could do so with maximum effectiveness. Shushitan bent down over the slain redhead and ripped a hunk of flesh from her arm, noting the meat was strangely spicy. Belatedly, Harlan cast a [I]bless[/I] spell over the assembled heroes - usually, it was a spell he cast before combat, but then again they usually had more of a warning that combat was imminent; this time, events began without much in the way of warning. But then he staggered under the effects of an [I]unholy blight[/I] spell cast down from the rooftop by the erinyes; looking around him, he saw she'd managed to catch the other four heroes in its vile area of effect as well. Some were affected more than others, but all five heroes - and Shushitan as well - felt some level of queasiness from the vile spell. Alistair responded with another [I]magic missile[/I] spell, sending five bolts of force energy streaking up at the dark-winged devil. Ageratum placed a "pebboulder" from Alistair's stash into her sling and swung it up at the erinyes, striking her in the torso and causing the pebble to revert to its full boulder size, which nearly toppled the devil over the top of the roof. Orchid cast a [I]flame strike[/I] spell up at her and this time she managed to overcome the devil's inherent resistance to spell energy, burning her with holy fire. Chaevaris released her arrow as the devil writhed under the [I]flame strike[/I] spell's effects, catching her in the side. And Harlan, down below, summoned his celestial pegasus from across the planes; in a heartbeat, Nova materialized in the town square and the paladin leaped up upon the broad back of his trusty aerial steed. With a leap forward, the erinyes took to the air, flying down at Chaevaris and casting a [I]charm monster[/I] spell upon her, but the archer's mind shrugged off the spell's intended effects. And then Alistair brought her down with another casting of the tried-but-true [I]magic missile[/I] spell; it seemed particularly satisfying to see the arrogantly beautiful devil take a face-plant straight into the village street. Ageratum bounded over to her in a moment, lifting her by the hair with one hand while the other brought her blade slicing across the devil's throat. And just that quickly, the threat was over, and Holyrood Carp deemed it safe to allow E. L. Grimwade to exit the carriage. The elderly author's face was flushed with excitement; to her, this had been a sort of exciting field trip. "Ma'am?" asked Harlan politely, dropping from Nova's back and stepping over to the woman. "Would it be all right if I looked inside your handbag?" Miss Grimwade handed it over without question, and the paladin reached in and pulled out a flask made of iron. "Oh my!" exclaimed the author. "I never-- I'll bet that [B]Tickler[/B] put that in there!" She went on to explain that Tickler was the manservant of Marquis Lorn D'Veih, and that she hadn't got on well at all with the man. "I wouldn't put it past him to sneak that into my handbag just to try to get me into trouble with the Marquis," she mused. Harlan explained that the [I]iron flask[/I] was a powerful magic item that was often used to imprison extraplanar entities and that it was currently emitting a very powerful aura of evil. He volunteered to have the Trained Professional Adventurers deal with whatever fiend was trapped within, and Miss Grimwade gave him her consent. "I should like the flask back when you're done, however, young man," she said. "I shall want to send it back to the Marquis - I don't want him thinking I stole it from him." "The Marquis who's a noted diabolist?" asked Alistair. "Oh, he's actually quite nice, when you get to know him," assured the author. "I'm sure he'll understand." Alistair wanted to point out that he'd apparently already sent two erinyes devils to fetch the item back from her, but he didn't want to contradict the woman whose works he adored so much. The rest of the day's events went quite well; Miss Grimwade dined at the Dark and Light Club and then watched Holyrood's performance, which he led off with the new "Elfy Danger Silverleaf" song that Alistair had penned for him earlier that morning. The author seemed very impressed, clapping in delight along with the rest of the audience. Alistair felt like his heart would burst with pride, but he was mostly overcome with a profound sense of relief that he hadn't embarrassed himself any further after his fit of mushmouthedness upon first speaking to his favorite author. And then, after the performance was over, Holyrood used his bardic talents to determine the [I]iron flask[/I] likely contained a vrock - a vulture demon. "We'll want to release the vrock under controlled conditions," determined Harlan. "The Stone Keep?" suggested Chaevaris. "We'd be surrounded by clerics and paladins." That was agreed to be the safest bet; they'd prepare spells accordingly and have everyone in a circle, ready to let loose with everything they had once the vrock was released from its [I]iron flask[/I] prison. "It sounds very exciting!" exclaimed Miss Grimwade. "I shall very much look forward to observing the decanting!" Try as they might, the elderly author would not be dissuaded from observing the slaying of a vicious fiend on the Material Plane, so Alistair promised they'd take every precaution to ensure her safety. They decided they'd head over to the Stone Keep in the morning, and they delivered Miss Grimwade to her rooms in the local inn, promising to pick her up before heading off to the Stone Keep. It was only when he had put his prized copy of [I]Elfy Danger Silverleaf and the Greedy Goblins[/I] - now inscribed on the inside front cover with a personal note from the author - back on the bookcase and returned to his bedroom to disrobe and go to sleep that Alistair noticed his masterwork silver dagger was missing from its scabbard. He sputtered in indignation, but then decided he wasn't going to worry overly about it - it had been quite a wonderful day, stolen dagger notwithstanding. - - - After the adventure was over, I noted how this one was on the exact opposite side of the "prepare for battle" time scale; last week, we'd had unlimited time before heading into the halfling village overrun by yuan-ti, whereas this time we had no warning at all before battle was upon us. Dan decided he'd "handwave" the battle with the vrock, figuring that with all of the precautions we were taking the outcome was pretty much a done deal, as we'd have five PCs all with readied actions before the vrock even knew it was in combat - as well as a host of clerics and paladins as backup. [/QUOTE]
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