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<blockquote data-quote="Chimera" data-source="post: 2604523" data-attributes="member: 2002"><p><strong>Session 6</strong></p><p></p><p>25th Greening, 284</p><p></p><p>While Nok remains behind to tend to the wounded Artemis, the rest of us pack up before dawn and make a run for Minden town to sell off all this equipment that we’ve salvaged and pick up some supplies. We wanted to get out of town early to avoid letting anyone know that we were back in town. No sense spending the morning answering uncomfortable questions from Shandrill and others.</p><p></p><p>Along the way, we made a stop at the Widow’s Ford way station to speak to the Wardenry officers. They informed us that the Wardenry was sweeping the fens looking for the Black Skull’s base, but had not been able to locate it due to stiff resistance from the local Troglodytes.</p><p></p><p>As we rode north, I used my Prestidigitation spell to clean the three elven rugs of the filth and grime that had been deeply impressed into them. Dirty business, leaving a trail of slime down my legs and horse. Perhaps a good thing that we were not being followed, or any fool could simply have followed his nose. A very useful spell, this, but the entire experience left me dreading rather than looking forward to my next visit home. Surely my mother would set me to work cleaning everything and anything she could get her hands on. Heck, she’d probably take in cleaning just to keep me busy!</p><p></p><p>Arriving in Minden town just after noon, we got to business as quickly as possible. At the armory, we spent a while haggling over our large pile of Orcish arms and armor. At first, the proprietor didn’t want to give us much for any of it, wasn’t interested in a lot of it. It got to be very discouraging and we were just considering walking away when a particular suit of black scale mail grabbed her attention. It seemed to be in the style of a famed Mitlanyuli craftsman who disappeared roughly 25 years ago. This peaked her interest and she took a harder look at several other pieces, deciding that they too were either his work, or that of someone trained by this craftsman.</p><p></p><p>She was so eager for more information that she made us a very good deal on the entire package. Leothan was so pleased at being able to unload the lot that he sweetened the deal with arrangements to replace his and Xilo’s armor with better stuff from her shop. All in all we were very happy with the arrangements. It was good to unload several hundred pounds of arms and armor and walk away with enough money to outfit our group.</p><p></p><p>Just after this, I managed to find Luke Walton residing in Minden. He being a former instructor in the Transmutational arts and the Scholam. A few well placed words and some deference to the master and I was in! Taking up his teaching role once again for my benefit, I was able to make a few minor trades while setting up a good relationship for future dealings.</p><p></p><p>One thing of note that I did learn from him was in regards to the Dust of Disappearance that we took off Vortigren. Walton tells me that it was almost certainly made by Burl Macklin, a Halfling Sorcerer in Greenhill with black market connections. Walton says that there is no real market for such things beyond the high level black market (such items being prohibitively expensive for such limited use), so he can only imagine that is where it came from. Interesting. We will have to further investigate this Macklin fellow when time allows.</p><p></p><p>Later in the afternoon, we move on to the Elven district to sell the rugs. A bit of a surprise as half the district turns up to marvel at the rugs. Within minutes, a collection had been gathered to purchase them for a good price, paid all in gems. It seems that they turned out to be of Ressean handiwork, which is a rarity in the Islands.</p><p></p><p>Late in the day, we gathered together and headed back to Fairhill, moving as quickly as we could and arriving after dark. We go straight to Durban’s Notch to avoid questions. </p><p></p><p>Shortly thereafter, Nok arrives from a foray into Fairhill. At first he is very quiet and clearly disturbed, but will not say anything. At length, we manage to coax the matter out of him. What we hear is very alarming.</p><p></p><p>Earlier in the evening, Shandril called a community meeting. Nok hid nearby and watched the ceremony. Shandril’s magic kettle was brough forth and made to glow by her magic. One by one, the people of Fairhill came forward and laid their hands upon the kettle. As they did so, the kettle began to glow brighter and brighter. After doing this, each of them walked off looking dazed and blissful. The last two to go forward were Laurel, who was rather strongly affected by the kettle, and Baran, who appeared to be pained by the experience. They both argued with Shandril over whether this was really necessary, or was it all Shandril’s pride?</p><p></p><p>After everyone left, Shandril drew the golden light into herself and read from a scroll. A portal in the shape of the Wheel of the Four Winds appeared and a golden figure with fiery eyes stepped forth. She conversed briefly with it and it departed. After it left, Shandril collapsed.</p><p></p><p>After a short time, Kord of Kord came to collect Shandril and help her get to her house. He seemed very sad and disappointed with Shandril, telling her that it was not right to rely on the strength of others.</p><p></p><p>With this, we immediately set to rest and prepare for an early morning departure for the keep. I figured that this would be our last shot at getting to the keep before Shandril lowered the boom and took steps to ensure that we made no further forays in that direction. We had lied to and evaded her as much as we could in order to complete our mission. We needed to get it done as quickly as possible at this point.</p><p></p><p></p><p>26th Greening, 284</p><p></p><p>Just before sunrise, we gather our gear and begin to head toward the path to the Keep, only to find Shandril and Arlen sitting on the fencerow waiting for us. We paused and briefly considered heading for alternative paths, but as we had clearly been seen, there was nothing for it but to speak to them and pay the piper.</p><p></p><p>Shandril stepped forth and adamantly insisted that we not disturb the keep, boasting that she had set a guardian over it that we could not defeat. She seemed quite angry with us and was in no mood to brook any opposition. However, Leothan and I were not to be dissuaded from our mission. I explained that I was on a commission from the Scholam to retrieve Eralion’s papers. Leothan likewise drew on the responsibility of his pastoral duties to resolve the matter of the Keep. We both explained that, as long as the keep remained, it would be a danger to the people of Fairhill. A danger that we meant to put an end to, once and for all time.</p><p></p><p>Arlen then stepped to the fore, suggesting that we lie to the Scholam about Eralion’s papers, claiming that they had been destroyed. He asked that we accept Shandril’s will and not disturb the keep any further, though it appeared obvious to all of us that he was only half-hearted in this matter.</p><p></p><p>For nearly an hour we argued, discussed, persuaded and explained that we would not be dissuaded. We explored Shandril’s motives for not wanting us to go on to the keep until it was apparent why. A spark of insight on Leothan’s part (a strange ray of sunlight alighting on his head momentarily as his eyes went wide) gave the truth of it.</p><p></p><p>Shandril was afraid. She was feeling guilty. Eralion had been her lover and she was torn and distraught over what had happened to him. She was burying the truth of it from herself and the town, feeding on the assistance of all, doing everything and anything she could to avoid facing it. Leothan convinced her that the only way out of this whole mess, the only way to end it, is for her to come with us and confront Eralion’s shade. Reluctantly, she agrees.</p><p></p><p>Heading out to the keep, we saw no more evidence of Tavok and his Orcs. I don’t know if Tavok fled after our last encounter or was dealt with by Shandril’s guardian.</p><p></p><p>When we arrived, we were immediately confronted by a Jann. A tall, flaming figure that was clearly the guardian that Shandril had summoned. It stepped forth in it’s might and denied us passage. Shandril insisted that it step aside, to no avail. Once summoned, it’s purpose was clear, and Shandril now lacked the strength she had possessed the night before when summoning it.</p><p></p><p>After a short pause, Leothan, Arlen and Shandril stepped forth as one, representing the Gods, the King, and the Summoner, in that order. Proving their authority, they requested that the Jann allow us passage. Reluctantly, it agreed, but with a caveat that Shandril would face a reckoning one day for her actions. She looked quite uncomfortable at that idea. The Jann also informed us that it had “dealt with” both the defilement of the chapel and the spiders than infested the northwest tower. Whether or not that defilement included Tavok is the subject of some speculation.</p><p></p><p>Upon entering the cellar beneath the keep, Leothan placed Eralion’s amulet upon the seal on the trap door, causing it to dissolve. We moved downward by rope into a circular chamber filled with equipment and 6 armored statues. Unfortunately, once we had all arrived and begun to investigate the chambers, the “statues” sprang to life, or rather, unlife, revealing that there were in fact, Zombies hidden in the armor.</p><p></p><p>Leothan destroyed several of them with the power of his god, followed by Shandril, who turned the last few. Xilo then set about destroying the Zombies the old fashioned way while the rest of us began searching the lab equipment that filled this room. As Shandril and Arlen began rapidly rummaging through the materials, the rest of us saw that we too had better get cracking before any important papers were seized by the two of them and lost to us. Leothan and I each spotted books we gathered, while Artemis found a small wooden box. Later, Lex informed us that she had sighted Shandril pocketing a box or book of some kind.</p><p></p><p>There was a small adjoining apartment that was clearly deserted and a search turned up nothing of value or note. We poked around a bit more, since this could not possibly be the entire complex. A bit of a let-down until Nok noticed a trapdoor concealed under one of the desks. Shandril was surprised by this, saying that it wasn’t there the last time she was here, but I’m not buying it. I don’t think she’s being very honest with us at this point.</p><p></p><p></p><p>End of Session 6</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Chimera, post: 2604523, member: 2002"] [b]Session 6[/b] 25th Greening, 284 While Nok remains behind to tend to the wounded Artemis, the rest of us pack up before dawn and make a run for Minden town to sell off all this equipment that we’ve salvaged and pick up some supplies. We wanted to get out of town early to avoid letting anyone know that we were back in town. No sense spending the morning answering uncomfortable questions from Shandrill and others. Along the way, we made a stop at the Widow’s Ford way station to speak to the Wardenry officers. They informed us that the Wardenry was sweeping the fens looking for the Black Skull’s base, but had not been able to locate it due to stiff resistance from the local Troglodytes. As we rode north, I used my Prestidigitation spell to clean the three elven rugs of the filth and grime that had been deeply impressed into them. Dirty business, leaving a trail of slime down my legs and horse. Perhaps a good thing that we were not being followed, or any fool could simply have followed his nose. A very useful spell, this, but the entire experience left me dreading rather than looking forward to my next visit home. Surely my mother would set me to work cleaning everything and anything she could get her hands on. Heck, she’d probably take in cleaning just to keep me busy! Arriving in Minden town just after noon, we got to business as quickly as possible. At the armory, we spent a while haggling over our large pile of Orcish arms and armor. At first, the proprietor didn’t want to give us much for any of it, wasn’t interested in a lot of it. It got to be very discouraging and we were just considering walking away when a particular suit of black scale mail grabbed her attention. It seemed to be in the style of a famed Mitlanyuli craftsman who disappeared roughly 25 years ago. This peaked her interest and she took a harder look at several other pieces, deciding that they too were either his work, or that of someone trained by this craftsman. She was so eager for more information that she made us a very good deal on the entire package. Leothan was so pleased at being able to unload the lot that he sweetened the deal with arrangements to replace his and Xilo’s armor with better stuff from her shop. All in all we were very happy with the arrangements. It was good to unload several hundred pounds of arms and armor and walk away with enough money to outfit our group. Just after this, I managed to find Luke Walton residing in Minden. He being a former instructor in the Transmutational arts and the Scholam. A few well placed words and some deference to the master and I was in! Taking up his teaching role once again for my benefit, I was able to make a few minor trades while setting up a good relationship for future dealings. One thing of note that I did learn from him was in regards to the Dust of Disappearance that we took off Vortigren. Walton tells me that it was almost certainly made by Burl Macklin, a Halfling Sorcerer in Greenhill with black market connections. Walton says that there is no real market for such things beyond the high level black market (such items being prohibitively expensive for such limited use), so he can only imagine that is where it came from. Interesting. We will have to further investigate this Macklin fellow when time allows. Later in the afternoon, we move on to the Elven district to sell the rugs. A bit of a surprise as half the district turns up to marvel at the rugs. Within minutes, a collection had been gathered to purchase them for a good price, paid all in gems. It seems that they turned out to be of Ressean handiwork, which is a rarity in the Islands. Late in the day, we gathered together and headed back to Fairhill, moving as quickly as we could and arriving after dark. We go straight to Durban’s Notch to avoid questions. Shortly thereafter, Nok arrives from a foray into Fairhill. At first he is very quiet and clearly disturbed, but will not say anything. At length, we manage to coax the matter out of him. What we hear is very alarming. Earlier in the evening, Shandril called a community meeting. Nok hid nearby and watched the ceremony. Shandril’s magic kettle was brough forth and made to glow by her magic. One by one, the people of Fairhill came forward and laid their hands upon the kettle. As they did so, the kettle began to glow brighter and brighter. After doing this, each of them walked off looking dazed and blissful. The last two to go forward were Laurel, who was rather strongly affected by the kettle, and Baran, who appeared to be pained by the experience. They both argued with Shandril over whether this was really necessary, or was it all Shandril’s pride? After everyone left, Shandril drew the golden light into herself and read from a scroll. A portal in the shape of the Wheel of the Four Winds appeared and a golden figure with fiery eyes stepped forth. She conversed briefly with it and it departed. After it left, Shandril collapsed. After a short time, Kord of Kord came to collect Shandril and help her get to her house. He seemed very sad and disappointed with Shandril, telling her that it was not right to rely on the strength of others. With this, we immediately set to rest and prepare for an early morning departure for the keep. I figured that this would be our last shot at getting to the keep before Shandril lowered the boom and took steps to ensure that we made no further forays in that direction. We had lied to and evaded her as much as we could in order to complete our mission. We needed to get it done as quickly as possible at this point. 26th Greening, 284 Just before sunrise, we gather our gear and begin to head toward the path to the Keep, only to find Shandril and Arlen sitting on the fencerow waiting for us. We paused and briefly considered heading for alternative paths, but as we had clearly been seen, there was nothing for it but to speak to them and pay the piper. Shandril stepped forth and adamantly insisted that we not disturb the keep, boasting that she had set a guardian over it that we could not defeat. She seemed quite angry with us and was in no mood to brook any opposition. However, Leothan and I were not to be dissuaded from our mission. I explained that I was on a commission from the Scholam to retrieve Eralion’s papers. Leothan likewise drew on the responsibility of his pastoral duties to resolve the matter of the Keep. We both explained that, as long as the keep remained, it would be a danger to the people of Fairhill. A danger that we meant to put an end to, once and for all time. Arlen then stepped to the fore, suggesting that we lie to the Scholam about Eralion’s papers, claiming that they had been destroyed. He asked that we accept Shandril’s will and not disturb the keep any further, though it appeared obvious to all of us that he was only half-hearted in this matter. For nearly an hour we argued, discussed, persuaded and explained that we would not be dissuaded. We explored Shandril’s motives for not wanting us to go on to the keep until it was apparent why. A spark of insight on Leothan’s part (a strange ray of sunlight alighting on his head momentarily as his eyes went wide) gave the truth of it. Shandril was afraid. She was feeling guilty. Eralion had been her lover and she was torn and distraught over what had happened to him. She was burying the truth of it from herself and the town, feeding on the assistance of all, doing everything and anything she could to avoid facing it. Leothan convinced her that the only way out of this whole mess, the only way to end it, is for her to come with us and confront Eralion’s shade. Reluctantly, she agrees. Heading out to the keep, we saw no more evidence of Tavok and his Orcs. I don’t know if Tavok fled after our last encounter or was dealt with by Shandril’s guardian. When we arrived, we were immediately confronted by a Jann. A tall, flaming figure that was clearly the guardian that Shandril had summoned. It stepped forth in it’s might and denied us passage. Shandril insisted that it step aside, to no avail. Once summoned, it’s purpose was clear, and Shandril now lacked the strength she had possessed the night before when summoning it. After a short pause, Leothan, Arlen and Shandril stepped forth as one, representing the Gods, the King, and the Summoner, in that order. Proving their authority, they requested that the Jann allow us passage. Reluctantly, it agreed, but with a caveat that Shandril would face a reckoning one day for her actions. She looked quite uncomfortable at that idea. The Jann also informed us that it had “dealt with” both the defilement of the chapel and the spiders than infested the northwest tower. Whether or not that defilement included Tavok is the subject of some speculation. Upon entering the cellar beneath the keep, Leothan placed Eralion’s amulet upon the seal on the trap door, causing it to dissolve. We moved downward by rope into a circular chamber filled with equipment and 6 armored statues. Unfortunately, once we had all arrived and begun to investigate the chambers, the “statues” sprang to life, or rather, unlife, revealing that there were in fact, Zombies hidden in the armor. Leothan destroyed several of them with the power of his god, followed by Shandril, who turned the last few. Xilo then set about destroying the Zombies the old fashioned way while the rest of us began searching the lab equipment that filled this room. As Shandril and Arlen began rapidly rummaging through the materials, the rest of us saw that we too had better get cracking before any important papers were seized by the two of them and lost to us. Leothan and I each spotted books we gathered, while Artemis found a small wooden box. Later, Lex informed us that she had sighted Shandril pocketing a box or book of some kind. There was a small adjoining apartment that was clearly deserted and a search turned up nothing of value or note. We poked around a bit more, since this could not possibly be the entire complex. A bit of a let-down until Nok noticed a trapdoor concealed under one of the desks. Shandril was surprised by this, saying that it wasn’t there the last time she was here, but I’m not buying it. I don’t think she’s being very honest with us at this point. End of Session 6 [/QUOTE]
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