Rivers End.....

[RayneBlythewood9]

We meet the ambassador and after some confusing looks and a slow conversation we come to some terms. The ambassador was coming to meet them and find out if they were worthy of being allies. We talk to him and inquire about his people and learn about what it would take to gain their allegiance. He informs us of reinforcements that are in route to the stronghold. He states that if we are able to take them out in battle that would show are strength and worthiness.

The next day we set out to engage the reinforcements. We decide to set up an ambush in the mountains. We are outnumbered 3 or 4 to 1, but with our plans and ambush in place we are able to make due. We find a large cavernous passage that they are going to come out of and we set up just outside. We set up two glyph of warding's for the initial attack. One glyph was about 30 feet outside of the cave mouth and it was set to go off when an arcane mark entered it. Marcus our resident caster put his arcane mark on one of Terak's arrows to help detonate the trap. The other glyph was about 40 feet in front of the other one and it would go off if anyone not marked with the arcane mark entered the area.

We had two of us on each cliffside and Drassell and Hal at the far front. Terak and I were on one side of the gorge and Marcus and Ryu were on the other. I'm going to let Marcus finish this journal entry on this battle if he will. The two mages we fought each had one of the most evil items ever created and it makes me nervous just thinking about it let alone writing about it. I can't go on....

 

[Shallown]

Really Hobbs...

I am not gonna let anyone take a peek at my personal journal which details our traveling and encounters. I do wish you would overcome this fear of fire. So a few low level mages through out some fireballs. The up side is only one mage was alive after our first volley the other having gone down quickly. Of course since the downside was the remaining mage was firing blind with his wand since I had vlcoked them off from retreat with a Solid Fog spell. Actually a second Solid fog since he dispelled my first. I would have taken him out myself except for the Minor invulnerable globe he had managed to bring into existance. It effectively shut down my arsenal of magic to actually wound the enemy. Luckily I kept them tied up with the fog until we could surround them and the Globe was almost expired.

Now that I have babbled on this long ...

It seems the reinforcements were a team of trained mountain fighters with wizard support. We knew the pass they had planned to traverse and set up an ambush outside the cove that cut through the mountain top. They exited extremely cautiously having been forwarned be the few individuals who survived our orginal assualt. Two scouts exited using boots that allowed them to spider climb. They moved slowly forward but our ambush was set will dilgence and forthought to this possibility so as the rest of the unit moved forward they crossed the glyphs we had set and that triggered our responce. After arrows, acid balls and glitterdust hit the unit it was soundly injured. They were more or less broken into two units of about 10-12 each. They were well trained and fell into formations to protect the blinded, injured troops in the front unit and to protect the wizard in the rear. The surviving wizard in the rear unit managed to get A minor globe off of a scroll to shield them from almost all my spells except for the solid fog I had. It encompassed their formation and locked them down fairly well. The remained so as the wizard fired fireballs out blindly.

Our fighters rolled into the first unit and managed to keep them on the defensive and cutting through them slowly. Myself and Terak continued to pelt the leaders with spells and arrows until they manuvered toward us on the ravine walls. At that time we both took to the air he with an air walk and I with a fly spell.

We managed to mop up the remaining forces leaving only the 10 man or so unit in the rear. We moved into position and I dispelled my own Solid fog and we moved in to finish the Job. No one escaped. Later as we cleaned up Dressell went into the cave to explore and discovered that it had its own guardian and soon we were dealing witha spider of quite fearsome porportions. It had long mandibles unlike any spider I had seen before and had managed to lay out Dressell in one blow. We defeated it soundly but it was a challanged considering how drained we were in resources from the ambush.

I'll let Hobbs get back to the story telling, after all it is his forte and he should have little problem now that the scarry fire part is gone...

Really Hobbs ...
I lob around globes and balls of acid that scorch and peel the skin off of creatures and for some reason you see fire as more fearsome.

OOC - My wizard has acid substitution and uses it for almost all his spells. Also he sees the world from the point of veiw of a Professional adventurer. He didn't fall into Adventurering it was his career choice. He sometimes sees the other characters as less than "Professional" Like Hobbs Fear of fire. The Fear is not a game mechanic flaw but totally a matter of roleplaying. So as a group none of us use fire if we can avoid it.

Later

 

[RayneBlythewood9]

I apologize to any readers who may read this journal in the future. I will try to control my emotions and my fear.


Well after using Glitterdust on the big spider like monster, it retreated and we were able to take it out with ranged attacks. Then we gathered our things and headed to the white bridge to meat with the ambassador.


We met with the ambassador and furthered along the process. He was going to talk to his people and meet back with us in a week or so. We met back with our people and they then seemed rather upset about our negotiations and cut us out of the loop and took over. Our services will no longer be needed in the matter. Thank you very much. And that ends our interactions with the new race.

We spent some time in town and were summoned by the governor to take care of a matter. He wanted us to travel to an outlying town and investigate the rumor that an outlawed evil church was worshiping in the area.

We find out more information and leave to investigate the town. Upon our arrival the town was having a meeting of officials. They iquire into our presence and are relaxed when they hear the statement that we are adventurers passing through. They take a minute to discuss things amoung themselves and come to a concensus to ask us for help.

It turns out that a few townsmembers have gone missing and they would like us to look into it. We find out some information and set up plans to be guided to an area where the beast was sited. Our cleric uses a spell to see through the eyes of a person and if the touch someone the spell can pass to the touched victom.

That helps us to get a few more leads. He placed it upon our guide Ford, who spoke to a couple people and the thatcher. The thatcher was against our helping him, but he didn't seem to have anything involved with the Kinslayer worshipers.

Well let me skip the boring clus search and get to the good stuff. We were led to the area where the beast was last seen and then headed towards the site of a possible cave dwelling. We camped a mile or two from the area where we thought the beast would inhabit and were attacked in the night.

Our guide went out in the middle of the night to excuse himself of some fluid and that's when it began. About 5 or 6 dire wolves attacked with a Winter wolf I think. Our guide screemed in the woods and then they were on us.

The party reacted quickly and we were able to defend ourselves against the sudden attack. We had entagled the area and blasted with a few area attack spells. Terak our resident cleric protected us from the cold blast of breath the nasty wolf had. After we finished the wolves we went to find our guide.

Ford our guide was wouded up a tree. Things just didn't seem to fit with the situation though. Ryu our ranger was treed by a wolf and it stayed at the base of the tree waiting for him to falter. Even with ranged attacks falling upon it, but none stayed near Ford's tree.
We also have reason to believe his wound may have been self inflicted. More like a clean knife cut than a jagged ripping claw.

Another sign happened when we were skinning the dire wolf hides. Hal my effigy/golem body guard saw Ford the guide tear up for a second when he ws skinning one of the wolves. So we set ford up and decide to split ways and let him take his hide back to camp while we check out the cave.

We once again put the vision spell on him and go to check out the cave. Hal carries Terak while the spell is going because he can't see through his own eyes while looking through Ford's. As we move on we find out that Ford has stopped moving back to the camp and began to tear up and bury the wolve skin. This helps us to conclude the set up and the ambush.

We continue with our journey and check out the cave. The cave had a foul smell and turned out to be chemicals to keep animals away. Inside the cave was a costume of a bunch of dead animal hides sewn together to make a large hideous looking beast.

Well we then put some things together and decide that the ranger encampment outside of town in the old ruined keep was most likely the temple of kinslayer. The suit of skins most likely belonged to them to help capture sacrifices for rituals.

We check back in on Ford to see if he has arrived at their camp and he was quickly approaching. He entered the camp and seemed to speak to a couple of people and through a few read lips checks, Terak was able to come up with Ford telling what happened and the other guys looking upset tell Ford to leave while they informed someone else.

Ford left the camp and returned later and looked toward a large back tent where a large man was pointing towards him and yelling things and throwing things while restrained.

We found some enemies rather quickly or actually they found us, but we were about to bring our own ambush upon them. By the use of Prying Eyes we scouted the encampement and solidified our reasons for thinking they were the Kinslayers worshipers. We plan our ambush tonight and will attack in the morning.

I'll get back to that later on tonight I have a few errands to run around town.

 

[RayneBlythewood9]

With the aid of prying eyes we scouted the encampment and find that the back tent was hiding an entrance to the rest of the compound. Down below was the temple to Kinslayer and two of his main worshipers. We were able to get a layout for our assault and we hit in the morning.

We assaulted from the back of the compound closest to the big tent. We were going to clear the topside and then sweep down below.

We met some resistance on top and were surprised that the two stronger worshipers didn't present themselves topside to fight.

One worshipers was a cleric of kinslayer and the other a spiked chain fighter. When we swept down into the temple we met the two of them right away. The spiked chain monster was the first to be taken out, with the cleric unable to get a heal on him in the closing moments of his death.


A few rounds later the buffed up cleric follow his fellow worhipers. We rounded up what little treasure and information we could and set out for town.

We also ran into a small snag with the worshipers. They had been infected with were blood and turned into werewolves.

Down below they had the missing townsfolk caged in the corner. They were also infected.
We plan on disinfecting them on the next full moon.

Back in town we ran into the local magistrate and were seriously questioned. Especially when we showed up with the missing locals that were werewolves.

After fulfilling all the questions and letting them check things out. We were cleared and we volunteered to disinfect the locals.

We will return to River's End in three days or so after the full moon and the process to rid the locals of disease.