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The Durnhill Conscripts
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7302944" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 04: MANHUNT</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Galen Thorne, human paladin 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Syngaard, human fighter 2</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 13 December 2017</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>"A male half-orc was seen fleeing the castle and heading north, to the kingdom of Ashfall," announced Skevros. "After a brief investigation, it was determined he had broken into the King's living area and made off with a jade statuette of a serpentine dragon that belonged to the late <strong>Queen Katherine</strong>. Naturally, His Majesty wants the culprit caught and the statuette returned."</p><p></p><p>"Naturally," agreed Orion.</p><p></p><p>"And naturally, that's where we come in," added Galen.</p><p></p><p>"Naturally," agreed Skevros. "King Leornic doesn't particularly care whether the thief is returned dead or alive, but the theft itself is an effrontery to our kingdom and the thief must not be allowed to escape justice. The fact that he has fled to Ashfall makes it likely he's a citizen there, and thus it's possible the local authorities will not agree to turn him over to you. You will, therefore, need to find him on your own and return him here to Durnhill."</p><p></p><p>"Do we know what he looks like?" asked Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"Alas, we have no better description than 'a half-orc dressed in dark clothing and a hooded cloak.' However, I do have a depiction of the dragon statuette." Skevros unfolded a sheet of parchment from his vest and passed it over to his team of adventurers.</p><p></p><p>"I think that's pronounced 'depicture'," advised Syngaard. Skevros paused, decided it wasn't worth the time to argue the point, and pressed on. "You will be paid a thousand gold pieces each for the statuette's safe return, and another thousand apiece for the return of the half-orc, dead or alive," he said. "That's all we know at this time. <strong>Daleth</strong>, I'd like you to stay here and assist me in my magical divinations; I suggest the rest of you head to Ashfall immediately, before the trail gets any colder." The group recognized that as a dismissal and, as one, got up from their chairs. Four of them departed <em>The Enchanted Flagon</em>, their makeshift headquarters, while Daleth stayed behind to assist the king's adviser. If he worried about whether he'd be compensated for his assistance at the same level as his four associates, his elven face never betrayed such thoughts.</p><p></p><p>"Daleth!" repeated Syngaard once they were outside. "That's the name of that stupid elf wizard!"</p><p></p><p>"Yes," agreed Orion. "Daleth Stormsea, as a matter of fact."</p><p></p><p>"You knew his name this whole time?" demanded Galen.</p><p></p><p>"Sure," replied Orion. "Some of us actually pay attention to introductions."</p><p></p><p>"I'm still calling him 'Wizard-Pants'," the paladin muttered to himself, and Syngaard silently nodded his agreement.</p><p></p><p>"Back to the matter at hand," said Kaspar, "we should leave at once for Ashfall."</p><p></p><p>"Wait," replied Orion. "I'll only slow us down. Let's head over to this dealer I know - I want to pick up a riding dog."</p><p></p><p>"Do we <em>really</em> need a halfling on the team?" griped Syngaard to himself - but just loud enough to ensure Orion could hear his complaint. She graced him with a grimace of mutual dislike.</p><p></p><p>"No, that's actually a good idea!" agreed Galen. "I should pick up a warhorse while we're at it! I've got enough cash on hand, and every paladin should have a warhorse."</p><p></p><p>"You could all purchase riding mounts," suggested Orion. "Kaspar could pick up a light horse, and Syngaard, you'd probably do best with an ass, much like yourself."</p><p></p><p>"I ain't buying no dumb animal," retorted Syngaard, missing out on the insult entirely. "Then you gotta feed 'em, and care for 'em - I ain't signing up for none of that!"</p><p></p><p>"Then it's probably for the best that you don't," agreed Orion. "The gods know you couldn't possibly take care of your own ass anyway."</p><p></p><p>"You seem awful hung up on my ass," remarked Syngaard. Orion chose not to respond to the retort. She was silent for the rest of the trip to the riding mount dealer; Syngaard had nothing further to say either, until they got there and the halfling asked the owner as to the status of any riding dogs.</p><p></p><p>"Be sure to get a female," the fighter suggested. "Then we'll have two bitches on the team."</p><p></p><p>"Your words are not harmonious," chided Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"Hey, you noticed," snarled the scarred fighter.</p><p></p><p>In the end, Orion ended up with a male dog, which she immediately named <strong>Carl</strong>. Galen also found a warhorse he liked and purchased, but then opted not to name him quite yet, and further decided it would probably be best to leave him behind rather than take an untrained mount into potential combat.</p><p></p><p>"So, we wasted enough time yet, or can we actually start on our mission?" griped Syngaard. "Them thousands of gold pieces ain't gonna just jump into our hands if we don't deliver the goods!"</p><p></p><p>"Be at peace, friend," suggested Galen. "Ashfall is but a two-hour hike to the north; we will make it well before lunchtime."</p><p></p><p>The paladin's forecast proved to be correct: the group encountered no difficulties on the road north to Ashfall. Beyond the small kingdom stood the Baator's Breath Mountains, where plumes of black smoke rose into the sky from several different points and it was rumored there were gateways to the various Lower Planes, home to both demons and devils. Carl seemed to enjoy the stroll, bothered not in the least at wearing a small saddle or the insignificant weight of his new halfling owner.</p><p></p><p>Ashfall was a walled city, the capitol of the kingdom that shared its name, but the gates were open during the day and guarded by a meager force of elderly men. That was actually the second thing the adventurers noticed, the first being the fact that most of the city seemed to be covered in a light coating of soot and ash. "The place seems aptly named," observed Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>As a precaution, Galen opened his senses in the way he'd been taught at his training academy, scanning the area for evil. "Hmm," he scowled.</p><p></p><p>"What?" asked Orion, looking over at him from her perch on Carl - the first time she was roughly eye-to-eye to the human paladin over twice her height.</p><p></p><p>"I'm getting a low-level sense of evil permeating this entire area," he replied.</p><p></p><p>"The whole place is evil?" asked Kaspar. "How is that even possible?"</p><p></p><p>"I'm not sure," admitted Galen, then focused his attention on a good-looking woman strolling in their direction. She wore a tight-fitting leather outfit, which seemed to have been designed to show off her figure. Smiling directly at Galen, she glanced at the symbol of Hieroneous he wore around his neck and smiled even brighter, emphasizing the sway of her hips as she approached even closer.</p><p></p><p>Out of habit, Galen focused his attention on her unseen aura - and gave out a gasp of pain as he staggered a few steps backwards.</p><p></p><p>"What is it?" asked Kaspar, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady the paladin.</p><p></p><p>"Overwhelming evil," croaked Galen, looking at the approaching woman in black leather.</p><p></p><p><That's right, Galen> said a voice inside the paladin's head, and inside all the rest of the adventurers' heads as well. <My name is <strong>Serenity</strong>, I'm a demon, and I have the free run of this place - in fact, I'm the Royal Executioner.></p><p></p><p>"You...you know me?" asked the paladin, still unsteady on his feet. His hand strayed to the hilt of the <em>Sword of Zehkar</em> strapped to his belt.</p><p></p><p><Ah-ah-ah!> scolded the demon. <Best not to start a fight you can't possibly win. What brings you here to my fine city? A dragon statuette, is it?></p><p></p><p>"You know of it?" demanded Orion.</p><p></p><p><I do now> Serenity admitted. <By the way, how's Skevros? Are you all enjoying your secret mission?></p><p></p><p>"I don't know what you're talking about," bluffed Syngaard.</p><p></p><p><I'm surprised you know what <em>you're</em> talking about half the time, Syngaard> smirked Serenity. <It's awfully empty inside that head of yours. But never mind: you'd be best served by checking out an establishment called 'Dirk's Cloaks.' He might be able to help you find your missing trinket.></p><p></p><p>"And where might we find 'Dirk's Cloaks'?" asked Orion.</p><p></p><p><Look around; it's not far.></p><p></p><p>"Screw this nonsense," muttered Syngaard, walking up to the nearest guardsman. "Hey, old-timer: you know where 'Dirk's Cloaks' is?" He did, and he pointed to the place, a nondescript building thirty feet or so down the street. Syngaard led the way and the others followed; Galen's gaze strayed back to Serenity, who gave him a seductive smile as she sashayed away, swinging her hips wildly at him as she walked.</p><p></p><p>"Ash-hole," muttered the bald fighter as he entered "Dirk's Cloaks."</p><p></p><p>Orion was the last to enter the cloak shop as she had to tie Carl's reins to a post in front of the building. <strong>Dirk</strong> turned out to be an elderly dwarf with grey in his hair and beard. "I help you folks?" he asked.</p><p></p><p>"We seek a half-orc, wearing a dark cloak," answered Kaspar. "He may have been trying to sell you an item of some worth: a small, green statue of a dragon."</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, that'd be <strong>Eric</strong>," agreed Dirk. "He was in here a couple of hours ago."</p><p></p><p>"Did he have the statue?" asked Orion.</p><p></p><p>"Sure did."</p><p></p><p>"And do you have it now?" pressed the halfling eagerly.</p><p></p><p>"Sure don't. That thing was carved out of solid jade, it was. Jade's very rare in these parts, and the craftsmanship was exquisite - dwarven carved, or I'm a bearded monkey. I told him I couldn't afford what it was worth."</p><p></p><p>"What was it worth?" demanded Syngaard, wondering if he could talk up the bounty for the statuette once they brought it back to Skevros.</p><p></p><p>"Practically priceless," replied the dwarf. "Too rich for my meager business, in any case."</p><p></p><p>"Where did this Eric go when he left here?" asked Orion. "Do you know?"</p><p></p><p>"Do I know? No," admitted Dirk. "Can I guess? Yep - I'd bet he's over at the new thieves guild, just outside of town. Serenity burned down the old one years ago, and she won't let another one get built within the city walls."</p><p></p><p>"She's a strange one," put in Galen. "What's her deal?"</p><p></p><p>"Well, I dunno if you've noticed, but she's a succubus," replied Dirk with a twisted grin. Orion shook her head sadly; she had figured it was probably something like that.</p><p></p><p>"And you let her roam around the city?" asked Galen in disbelief.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, yeah, sure," admitted Dirk. "She's in real good with the king."</p><p></p><p>"I'll just bet," remarked Orion.</p><p></p><p>"Naw, nothing like that," replied Dirk. "She showed up, did some mind-reading among the locals, and found out something nasty: the local thieves guild at the time had kidnapped the princess, asked for a ransom, and then sent a doppelganger in her place once the ransom was paid. The blasted thing lived in the castle - as the princess - for damn near nine years, with nobody any the wiser! Anyway, Serenity stormed in there, rescued the real princess, burned the place down, and killed the doppelganger right there in front of the king. That sort of thing buys you a lot of good will, demon or no demon! The king appointed her the Royal Executioner, and she's been nothing but good for the kingdom ever since."</p><p></p><p>"Do you mind a few more questions, off the subject at hand?" asked Galen.</p><p></p><p>"You folks aren't here to buy cloaks at all, are you?" asked Dirk.</p><p></p><p>"No, not really," replied the paladin. "We're just trying to track down the stolen statuette for the person from whom it was stolen. Serenity suggested we talk to you. I assume you don't just sell cloaks either - you're a fence, I take it?"</p><p></p><p>"Fair enough. Ask away," replied Dirk, purposefully not admitting to his status as a fence for stolen goods. But he was able to explain all of the elderly guardsmen at the gates and patrolling the streets: all able-bodied men in the kingdom were up in the Baator's Breath Mountains, fighting off an excursion of fiends trying to break through into the mortal world. He also happily directed the adventurers to the location of the thieves guild outside of the city. "They're a bunch of wannabes, mainly," admitted the dwarf. "I don't rightly expect them to be able to amount to much. You clean them out and want to get rid of any of their stuff, though, you come pay me a visit."</p><p></p><p>"We...may very well do just that," replied Galen, marveling at the fact that as a secret representative to His Majesty King Leornic the Third of Durnhill, he was now openly dealing with a fence of stolen property - he, a paladin of the virtuous Hieroneous! Verily, Fate did work in strange ways!</p><p></p><p>Outside the city of Ashfall, the group followed the old dwarf's directions and soon found themselves on a winding path leading up into the hills. Ahead, at the end of the path, they could see a dark, shadow-covered opening into the hillside that hinted at a cavern network - the perfect place for an aspiring group of thieves to want to set up shop.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, there was a sentry on duty. At the top of a rise stood a hooded half-elf, longbow at the ready. "Who goes there?" he demanded. "State your business!"</p><p></p><p>"We're looking for Eric," called Galen to the archer.</p><p></p><p>"He has something of ours, and we'd like to get it back," offered up Kaspar, thinking that a truthful explanation would be the quickest way of resolving the situation. Having spent so many years in a monastery perfecting his body, mind, and spirit, he often made the unfortunate assumption that everyone else was likewise striving to live a simple life of inherent goodness.</p><p></p><p>Sadly, <strong>Silas Oakenarrow</strong> proved the hopeful monk wrong about his assessment of the situation, by the simple expedient of releasing his readied arrow - to fly directly at Orion, who was at the front of the group's procession. Crying out in pain and grabbing at the arm now sporting an arrow shaft, she rolled off of Carl and scampered to the protection of the short, nearly vertical rise between herself and the archer. Carl, tongue hanging out, wandered over to the halfling with a friendly expression on his canine face, not realizing the inherent dangers of the situation. When Orion yanked the arrow from her arm with a hiss of pain and flung it to the ground, Carl grabbed it up in his mouth, assuming this was a short-range version of "fetch the stick."</p><p></p><p>"It's on!" announced Galen as he scampered up onto a nearby boulder, giving him an excellent vantage point from which to shoot Silas with his shortbow, catching the half-elf with a shot that sliced through the outer edge of his shoulder.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard scampered up onto the boulder beside the paladin, readying his own ranged weapon for use. His wasn't anything fancier than a homemade sling, but it usually did the trick - or it did when the fighter actually hit his target with it, which unfortunately wasn't the case this time, as the bullet went whizzing past the half-elf's ear without connecting. Syngaard cursed the fates for somehow messing up his otherwise perfect shot.</p><p></p><p>Seeing that combat was now a surety, Kaspar ran along the bottom of the incline beside the path, calling out to Silas as he ran. "There's no need for violence!" he cried as he turned the corner and approached the archer's position, no longer shielded by the steep incline. "Let us talk, elf to elf!"</p><p></p><p>Silas was having none of it. Instead, he notched another arrow and let fly, this time shooting at Galen. The paladin dodged and let fly with an arrow of his own, having no better luck than his adversary. And then another combatant entered the field, stepping out from the darkness of the cave opening. This was a young woman dressed in black combat leathers - a leather outfit of an eminently more practical nature than that worn by Serenity. "We've got intruders, <strong>Reiki</strong>!" called Silas.</p><p></p><p>"So I see!" replied Reiki, a short sword gripped in each hand. She ran down the hill towards Galen and Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>Kaspar reached inside his robe as he raced up the hill towards Silas, pulling out a shuriken and flinging it at the archer. It clipped the side of his ear but did no further damage to the half-elf. Galen, in the meantime, dropped his shortbow and pulled out his longsword, rushing to advance upon Reiki. He swung it and caught her in the side; she rolled with the blow to lessen its effect, but it gouged a line of blood along her torso nonetheless.</p><p></p><p>Orion followed Kaspar's path up the hill, pulling and throwing a dagger from her belt as she did so. It, too, missed Silas, but she continued her advance just the same. Behind her, Carl followed, desperately trying to return the "stick" to his new master so she could throw it again (hopefully a little bit farther this time!).</p><p></p><p>Silas pivoted towards Kaspar and let fly with another arrow, opting to take out the enemy with the ranged weapons (whatever those shuriken were - he'd never seen one before) rather than the one who had dropped his shortbow to the ground. Kaspar twisted as he ran and the arrow merely grazed the side of his thigh in its passage.</p><p></p><p>Over on the boulder, Syngaard likewise dropped his sling and grabbed up the morningstar at his belt, swinging it in a powerful arc at Reiki, who tried to dodge but didn't quite make it, the spikes of the metal weapon crashing into her combat leathers and eliciting a cry of pain from the young thief.</p><p></p><p>"Reiki!" cried a voice from the direction of the cave, as yet another thief entered the fray. "Hang on, I'm coming!" This, Syngaard was pleased to see, was a half-orc male wearing a dark cloak. The scarred fighter wasn't quite as pleased to see the javelin in the half-orc's hand come flying in his direction, but he was pleased that he managed to bring his morningstar up in a defensive position in time and deflect the thrown weapon off to the side. Then, he was even more pleased to see the javelin rise up and return by magic to the half-orc's hand. "I'm claiming this weapon after we kill the half-orc!" he cried.</p><p></p><p>Reiki let her guard down a bit as she glanced over at Eric, and Galen took the opportunity of the lapse in her attention to strike her down with his sword. She gave a final cry and collapsed to the ground, unconscious and bleeding out. Grinning proudly at a job well done, Galen turned and faced the half-elf archer. Syngaard swung his morningstar at Eric, who leaped back but not before being grazed by the multipointed weapon. But he had leaped back far enough away to throw the javelin at the scarred fighter; fortunately, Syngaard ducked under its path of travel and it soared over his right shoulder - only to return course and reappear in the half-orc's hand once again. "I'm gonna like me that weapon!" the bald fighter announced, racing up for another swing at the thief.</p><p></p><p>Galen's longsword took out Silas, the path of its swing burning a deep gash across the half-elf's chest. He fell to the ground where he stood, leaving Eric as the group's only still-standing foe. Orion, having reached Reiki's fallen form, used one of her many daggers to slit the young human's throat, to ensure she wouldn't be reviving to cause them any further trouble. Kaspar, having reached Silas's unconscious form by this time, briefly considered doing the same with one of his shuriken, but opted instead merely to strip the archer of his weapons. That way, if he awakened, he'd be of no threat to the group, and the noble monk need not have the death of the misguided half-elf on his hands.</p><p></p><p>Galen stepped over to help Syngaard in his fight against Eric, but then the half-orc saw the blood spilling from Reiki's throat and gave a cry of despair. "Reiki--no!" he sobbed, all of his focus against the two combatants gone as he saw the lifeless corpse of his betrothed. Galen swatted the javelin from the half-orc's numb fingers and it fell to the ground; Syngaard immediately dived for it and cried out "Mine!" in triumph as he rose with the coveted weapon in his hands. Eric merely dropped to his knees in despair.</p><p></p><p>Galen, standing over the half-orc with his longsword raised, seemed hesitant to slay an unarmed foe - it wouldn't be the same as killing a foe in heated combat. Kaspar took the opportunity to place his hand on the paladin's shoulder, silently urging him to relent. "He is beaten," observed the monk.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, so he is," agreed Galen, allowing the <em>Sword of Zehkar</em> to drop down to his side.</p><p></p><p>"I believe you have a green dragon statuette that doesn't belong to you," said Orion as she sauntered up. "Hand it over and we might just let you live."</p><p></p><p>Eric looked up at her - or rather, over at her, for even slumped over on his knees he was taller than the halfling. "I don't dare," he replied. "It has to be destroyed--it's evil!"</p><p></p><p>"Evil?" demanded Galen. "Says who?"</p><p></p><p>"<strong>Dave</strong>," replied Eric, leaving the heroes none the wiser. "He said it was a source of great power, and great evil. He called it a phylactery, I think it was. Anyway, he hired me to steal it from King Leornic so it could be destroyed."</p><p></p><p>"Nonsense," snorted Galen. "Do you have it here?" Wordlessly, Eric reached inside his shirt and handed over the jade statuette of a coiled dragon. Dirk had been right: it <em>was</em> exquisitely carved.</p><p></p><p>"Do you recognize this?" asked Galen, holding up his holy symbol of Hieroneous for the half-orc to see. When Eric nodded, Galen continued, "A paladin learns to be able to spot the auras generated by evil, and that includes objects as well as people. I tell you, man, this statue is not evil." Somewhat disconcertingly, Eric himself was also not generating an aura of evil, as the paladin would have suspected. "I think this Dave fellow sold you a bill of goods."</p><p></p><p>"So what now?" asked Eric.</p><p></p><p>"Now, we return you to Castle Durnhill and the statue back to King Leornic," replied Galen.</p><p></p><p>"No! You can't! They'll kill me!"</p><p></p><p>"He's probably right," observed Orion. "He stole from the king; they're not likely to let that pass."</p><p></p><p>"It seems like Eric's theft was not motivated by greed," put in Kaspar. "Perhaps, given the circumstances, the king would understand if we let him go."</p><p></p><p>"Nuh-uh, no way," objected Syngaard. "We were told to bring him in, dead or alive, as simple as that. Skevros ain't gonna pay us no thousand gold each for lettin' him go!"</p><p></p><p>"Under the circumstances..." began Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"Hey, I got an idea," interrupted Syngaard and brought his morningstar down hard upon the back of the half-orc's head. Eric fell forward, face-first onto the ground.</p><p></p><p>"What?" complained Syngaard as Kaspar glared at him with a look of betrayal. "I hit him with the metal shaft of the weapon, not the pointy bits! He'll be fine!"</p><p></p><p>"I would not see our prisoner slain out of turn," argued the elven monk.</p><p></p><p>"Fine," snarled Syngaard, pulling a coil of rope from his backpack. "Then you can be in charge of tying him up and carrying his sleeping carcass back to Durnhill."</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>As expected, once they returned home with their unconscious captive and had briefed Skevros on the half-orc's tale, the king's adviser denied the statuette's status as a phylactery. "Such an item is used to house the soul of an undead monstrosity called a lich," he informed the team. "Are you suggesting that the late Queen Katherine is a lich?"</p><p></p><p>"I don't rightly know," admitted Galen. "But I think we should destroy the statuette, just in case Eric's story is true."</p><p></p><p>"Out of the question!" stormed Skevros. "The statuette is a treasured reminder of His Majesty's deceased wife! He would never allow it!"</p><p></p><p>"Plus, we ain't getting no reward for no smashed statue," pointed out Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"Why not?" reasoned Galen. "The reward was to be paid for its return, which we have done. But now, given the possibility that something's not right here, I think we should destroy it, just to be safe."</p><p></p><p>"Give it here," demanded Skevros. Not wanting to disobey his appointed leader, Galen passed it over. Then, surprisingly, the king's advisor raised it over his head and brought it smashing down upon the table, shattering it into pieces. "Are you satisfied?" he asked Galen. "Had this been an evil artifact, like a phylactery, it would not have been so easily destroyed." Then, casting a spell over the shattered pieces, the adviser caused them to fly back together and reform the dragon statuette once again, once again whole and as good as new.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, okay," admitted Galen.</p><p></p><p>"I shall expect no further talk about Her Majesty being an undead abomination," warned Skevros. "Not only because it's distasteful and untrue, but because it borders on treason." He glared at the paladin and added, "I should think some sober reflection and atonement would be in order."</p><p></p><p>"Agreed," admitted Galen in a quiet voice, looking down at his boots.</p><p></p><p>"In any case," replied Skevros in a more normal tone of voice, "you have fulfilled the requirements of your mission. I will have the promised rewards sent to your individual homes immediately. That is all."</p><p></p><p>"What about Eric?" pressed Orion. "What will happen to him?"</p><p></p><p>"He will be turned over to the castle guards, to await a ruling by His Majesty. I expect he will be executed shortly thereafter."</p><p></p><p>"Poor dupe," sighed the halfling.</p><p></p><p>"He made his bed when he stole from the king, whatever his intentions or beliefs," replied Skevros curtly. "Now he must answer for his actions."</p><p></p><p>The group left the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> deep in thought. "I think we should return to Ashfall," announced Galen suddenly.</p><p></p><p>"Whatever for?" asked Orion.</p><p></p><p>"Why, to slay that succubus, of course," answered Galen, with a tone of voice indicating mild incredulity that the question even had to be asked. "She's a demon, parading around in the world of mortals!"</p><p></p><p>"She seems to be doing some good up there, though," pointed out Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"And the King of Ashfall seems okay with it," added Orion.</p><p></p><p>"We ain't ready to fight off no succubus," announced Syngaard. "Hell, she practically knocked you on your ass just by you lookin' at her!"</p><p></p><p>"...I was simply unprepared for the aura of overwhelming evil," countered Galen. "Now that I know what to expect..."</p><p></p><p>"Overwhelming," repeated Syngaard. "I ain't in no hurry to get overwhelmed. Besides, we told Skevros about the situation and he ain't given us no assignment to go kill her off. So no reward, no way I'm going back there to start no trouble with no demon." And the bald fighter took his new <em>javelin of returning</em> and headed back to the brothel where he worked and slept between assignments for the kingdom, whistling a merry tune.</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>Joey stayed home for this adventure since he wasn't feeling very well - hence Skevros deciding he needed Daleth's help as a spellcasting assistant. But he had sent prior word, via his dad, of Daleth's name. However, he still hasn't decided on an image to use to represent his elven wizard. So, as a gag, I did up a series of eight potential "Daleth Stormsea" images to be used for his initiative card, consisting of such things as the Keebler elf; Dobbie the House Elf from the "Harry Potter" series; Hermey and his stern elven boss from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"; the Elf on the Shelf; the title character from the "Elf" movie; and a bunch of other cartoony elves too ridiculous to warrant serious consideration. Naturally, I didn't get to share these with Joey himself when we played through this adventure, but Dan and Vicki got a kick out of them, as did Joey and Jacob the following Saturday when they showed up for our next "Kordovian" gaming session. Joey's been put on notice to come up with an actual image for his PC, but he's half-tempted to call my bluff and use Hermey's boss as the image for Daleth Stormsea.</p><p></p><p>Incidentally, we got confirmation that "Daleth" is pronounced with a hard "a" - which is fortunate, because had it been a soft "a" I would have assigned him "Tekthith" as a middle name.</p><p></p><p>Logan used the "City Streets" Pathfinder Flip-Mat for the section of Ashfall containing "Dirk's Cloaks" and the "Hill Country" one for the fight with Eric and his two thief companions. Incidentally, Logan hadn't anticipated us letting Eric live - he was sure we'd cut him down with no questions asked. DMs are constantly being surprised by their players' actions, it seems.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7302944, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 04: MANHUNT[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Galen Thorne, human paladin 2 Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 2 Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 1 Syngaard, human fighter 2[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 13 December 2017 - - - "A male half-orc was seen fleeing the castle and heading north, to the kingdom of Ashfall," announced Skevros. "After a brief investigation, it was determined he had broken into the King's living area and made off with a jade statuette of a serpentine dragon that belonged to the late [b]Queen Katherine[/b]. Naturally, His Majesty wants the culprit caught and the statuette returned." "Naturally," agreed Orion. "And naturally, that's where we come in," added Galen. "Naturally," agreed Skevros. "King Leornic doesn't particularly care whether the thief is returned dead or alive, but the theft itself is an effrontery to our kingdom and the thief must not be allowed to escape justice. The fact that he has fled to Ashfall makes it likely he's a citizen there, and thus it's possible the local authorities will not agree to turn him over to you. You will, therefore, need to find him on your own and return him here to Durnhill." "Do we know what he looks like?" asked Kaspar. "Alas, we have no better description than 'a half-orc dressed in dark clothing and a hooded cloak.' However, I do have a depiction of the dragon statuette." Skevros unfolded a sheet of parchment from his vest and passed it over to his team of adventurers. "I think that's pronounced 'depicture'," advised Syngaard. Skevros paused, decided it wasn't worth the time to argue the point, and pressed on. "You will be paid a thousand gold pieces each for the statuette's safe return, and another thousand apiece for the return of the half-orc, dead or alive," he said. "That's all we know at this time. [b]Daleth[/b], I'd like you to stay here and assist me in my magical divinations; I suggest the rest of you head to Ashfall immediately, before the trail gets any colder." The group recognized that as a dismissal and, as one, got up from their chairs. Four of them departed [i]The Enchanted Flagon[/i], their makeshift headquarters, while Daleth stayed behind to assist the king's adviser. If he worried about whether he'd be compensated for his assistance at the same level as his four associates, his elven face never betrayed such thoughts. "Daleth!" repeated Syngaard once they were outside. "That's the name of that stupid elf wizard!" "Yes," agreed Orion. "Daleth Stormsea, as a matter of fact." "You knew his name this whole time?" demanded Galen. "Sure," replied Orion. "Some of us actually pay attention to introductions." "I'm still calling him 'Wizard-Pants'," the paladin muttered to himself, and Syngaard silently nodded his agreement. "Back to the matter at hand," said Kaspar, "we should leave at once for Ashfall." "Wait," replied Orion. "I'll only slow us down. Let's head over to this dealer I know - I want to pick up a riding dog." "Do we [i]really[/i] need a halfling on the team?" griped Syngaard to himself - but just loud enough to ensure Orion could hear his complaint. She graced him with a grimace of mutual dislike. "No, that's actually a good idea!" agreed Galen. "I should pick up a warhorse while we're at it! I've got enough cash on hand, and every paladin should have a warhorse." "You could all purchase riding mounts," suggested Orion. "Kaspar could pick up a light horse, and Syngaard, you'd probably do best with an ass, much like yourself." "I ain't buying no dumb animal," retorted Syngaard, missing out on the insult entirely. "Then you gotta feed 'em, and care for 'em - I ain't signing up for none of that!" "Then it's probably for the best that you don't," agreed Orion. "The gods know you couldn't possibly take care of your own ass anyway." "You seem awful hung up on my ass," remarked Syngaard. Orion chose not to respond to the retort. She was silent for the rest of the trip to the riding mount dealer; Syngaard had nothing further to say either, until they got there and the halfling asked the owner as to the status of any riding dogs. "Be sure to get a female," the fighter suggested. "Then we'll have two bitches on the team." "Your words are not harmonious," chided Kaspar. "Hey, you noticed," snarled the scarred fighter. In the end, Orion ended up with a male dog, which she immediately named [b]Carl[/b]. Galen also found a warhorse he liked and purchased, but then opted not to name him quite yet, and further decided it would probably be best to leave him behind rather than take an untrained mount into potential combat. "So, we wasted enough time yet, or can we actually start on our mission?" griped Syngaard. "Them thousands of gold pieces ain't gonna just jump into our hands if we don't deliver the goods!" "Be at peace, friend," suggested Galen. "Ashfall is but a two-hour hike to the north; we will make it well before lunchtime." The paladin's forecast proved to be correct: the group encountered no difficulties on the road north to Ashfall. Beyond the small kingdom stood the Baator's Breath Mountains, where plumes of black smoke rose into the sky from several different points and it was rumored there were gateways to the various Lower Planes, home to both demons and devils. Carl seemed to enjoy the stroll, bothered not in the least at wearing a small saddle or the insignificant weight of his new halfling owner. Ashfall was a walled city, the capitol of the kingdom that shared its name, but the gates were open during the day and guarded by a meager force of elderly men. That was actually the second thing the adventurers noticed, the first being the fact that most of the city seemed to be covered in a light coating of soot and ash. "The place seems aptly named," observed Kaspar. As a precaution, Galen opened his senses in the way he'd been taught at his training academy, scanning the area for evil. "Hmm," he scowled. "What?" asked Orion, looking over at him from her perch on Carl - the first time she was roughly eye-to-eye to the human paladin over twice her height. "I'm getting a low-level sense of evil permeating this entire area," he replied. "The whole place is evil?" asked Kaspar. "How is that even possible?" "I'm not sure," admitted Galen, then focused his attention on a good-looking woman strolling in their direction. She wore a tight-fitting leather outfit, which seemed to have been designed to show off her figure. Smiling directly at Galen, she glanced at the symbol of Hieroneous he wore around his neck and smiled even brighter, emphasizing the sway of her hips as she approached even closer. Out of habit, Galen focused his attention on her unseen aura - and gave out a gasp of pain as he staggered a few steps backwards. "What is it?" asked Kaspar, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady the paladin. "Overwhelming evil," croaked Galen, looking at the approaching woman in black leather. <That's right, Galen> said a voice inside the paladin's head, and inside all the rest of the adventurers' heads as well. <My name is [b]Serenity[/b], I'm a demon, and I have the free run of this place - in fact, I'm the Royal Executioner.> "You...you know me?" asked the paladin, still unsteady on his feet. His hand strayed to the hilt of the [i]Sword of Zehkar[/i] strapped to his belt. <Ah-ah-ah!> scolded the demon. <Best not to start a fight you can't possibly win. What brings you here to my fine city? A dragon statuette, is it?> "You know of it?" demanded Orion. <I do now> Serenity admitted. <By the way, how's Skevros? Are you all enjoying your secret mission?> "I don't know what you're talking about," bluffed Syngaard. <I'm surprised you know what [i]you're[/i] talking about half the time, Syngaard> smirked Serenity. <It's awfully empty inside that head of yours. But never mind: you'd be best served by checking out an establishment called 'Dirk's Cloaks.' He might be able to help you find your missing trinket.> "And where might we find 'Dirk's Cloaks'?" asked Orion. <Look around; it's not far.> "Screw this nonsense," muttered Syngaard, walking up to the nearest guardsman. "Hey, old-timer: you know where 'Dirk's Cloaks' is?" He did, and he pointed to the place, a nondescript building thirty feet or so down the street. Syngaard led the way and the others followed; Galen's gaze strayed back to Serenity, who gave him a seductive smile as she sashayed away, swinging her hips wildly at him as she walked. "Ash-hole," muttered the bald fighter as he entered "Dirk's Cloaks." Orion was the last to enter the cloak shop as she had to tie Carl's reins to a post in front of the building. [b]Dirk[/b] turned out to be an elderly dwarf with grey in his hair and beard. "I help you folks?" he asked. "We seek a half-orc, wearing a dark cloak," answered Kaspar. "He may have been trying to sell you an item of some worth: a small, green statue of a dragon." "Yeah, that'd be [b]Eric[/b]," agreed Dirk. "He was in here a couple of hours ago." "Did he have the statue?" asked Orion. "Sure did." "And do you have it now?" pressed the halfling eagerly. "Sure don't. That thing was carved out of solid jade, it was. Jade's very rare in these parts, and the craftsmanship was exquisite - dwarven carved, or I'm a bearded monkey. I told him I couldn't afford what it was worth." "What was it worth?" demanded Syngaard, wondering if he could talk up the bounty for the statuette once they brought it back to Skevros. "Practically priceless," replied the dwarf. "Too rich for my meager business, in any case." "Where did this Eric go when he left here?" asked Orion. "Do you know?" "Do I know? No," admitted Dirk. "Can I guess? Yep - I'd bet he's over at the new thieves guild, just outside of town. Serenity burned down the old one years ago, and she won't let another one get built within the city walls." "She's a strange one," put in Galen. "What's her deal?" "Well, I dunno if you've noticed, but she's a succubus," replied Dirk with a twisted grin. Orion shook her head sadly; she had figured it was probably something like that. "And you let her roam around the city?" asked Galen in disbelief. "Oh, yeah, sure," admitted Dirk. "She's in real good with the king." "I'll just bet," remarked Orion. "Naw, nothing like that," replied Dirk. "She showed up, did some mind-reading among the locals, and found out something nasty: the local thieves guild at the time had kidnapped the princess, asked for a ransom, and then sent a doppelganger in her place once the ransom was paid. The blasted thing lived in the castle - as the princess - for damn near nine years, with nobody any the wiser! Anyway, Serenity stormed in there, rescued the real princess, burned the place down, and killed the doppelganger right there in front of the king. That sort of thing buys you a lot of good will, demon or no demon! The king appointed her the Royal Executioner, and she's been nothing but good for the kingdom ever since." "Do you mind a few more questions, off the subject at hand?" asked Galen. "You folks aren't here to buy cloaks at all, are you?" asked Dirk. "No, not really," replied the paladin. "We're just trying to track down the stolen statuette for the person from whom it was stolen. Serenity suggested we talk to you. I assume you don't just sell cloaks either - you're a fence, I take it?" "Fair enough. Ask away," replied Dirk, purposefully not admitting to his status as a fence for stolen goods. But he was able to explain all of the elderly guardsmen at the gates and patrolling the streets: all able-bodied men in the kingdom were up in the Baator's Breath Mountains, fighting off an excursion of fiends trying to break through into the mortal world. He also happily directed the adventurers to the location of the thieves guild outside of the city. "They're a bunch of wannabes, mainly," admitted the dwarf. "I don't rightly expect them to be able to amount to much. You clean them out and want to get rid of any of their stuff, though, you come pay me a visit." "We...may very well do just that," replied Galen, marveling at the fact that as a secret representative to His Majesty King Leornic the Third of Durnhill, he was now openly dealing with a fence of stolen property - he, a paladin of the virtuous Hieroneous! Verily, Fate did work in strange ways! Outside the city of Ashfall, the group followed the old dwarf's directions and soon found themselves on a winding path leading up into the hills. Ahead, at the end of the path, they could see a dark, shadow-covered opening into the hillside that hinted at a cavern network - the perfect place for an aspiring group of thieves to want to set up shop. Unfortunately, there was a sentry on duty. At the top of a rise stood a hooded half-elf, longbow at the ready. "Who goes there?" he demanded. "State your business!" "We're looking for Eric," called Galen to the archer. "He has something of ours, and we'd like to get it back," offered up Kaspar, thinking that a truthful explanation would be the quickest way of resolving the situation. Having spent so many years in a monastery perfecting his body, mind, and spirit, he often made the unfortunate assumption that everyone else was likewise striving to live a simple life of inherent goodness. Sadly, [b]Silas Oakenarrow[/b] proved the hopeful monk wrong about his assessment of the situation, by the simple expedient of releasing his readied arrow - to fly directly at Orion, who was at the front of the group's procession. Crying out in pain and grabbing at the arm now sporting an arrow shaft, she rolled off of Carl and scampered to the protection of the short, nearly vertical rise between herself and the archer. Carl, tongue hanging out, wandered over to the halfling with a friendly expression on his canine face, not realizing the inherent dangers of the situation. When Orion yanked the arrow from her arm with a hiss of pain and flung it to the ground, Carl grabbed it up in his mouth, assuming this was a short-range version of "fetch the stick." "It's on!" announced Galen as he scampered up onto a nearby boulder, giving him an excellent vantage point from which to shoot Silas with his shortbow, catching the half-elf with a shot that sliced through the outer edge of his shoulder. Syngaard scampered up onto the boulder beside the paladin, readying his own ranged weapon for use. His wasn't anything fancier than a homemade sling, but it usually did the trick - or it did when the fighter actually hit his target with it, which unfortunately wasn't the case this time, as the bullet went whizzing past the half-elf's ear without connecting. Syngaard cursed the fates for somehow messing up his otherwise perfect shot. Seeing that combat was now a surety, Kaspar ran along the bottom of the incline beside the path, calling out to Silas as he ran. "There's no need for violence!" he cried as he turned the corner and approached the archer's position, no longer shielded by the steep incline. "Let us talk, elf to elf!" Silas was having none of it. Instead, he notched another arrow and let fly, this time shooting at Galen. The paladin dodged and let fly with an arrow of his own, having no better luck than his adversary. And then another combatant entered the field, stepping out from the darkness of the cave opening. This was a young woman dressed in black combat leathers - a leather outfit of an eminently more practical nature than that worn by Serenity. "We've got intruders, [b]Reiki[/b]!" called Silas. "So I see!" replied Reiki, a short sword gripped in each hand. She ran down the hill towards Galen and Syngaard. Kaspar reached inside his robe as he raced up the hill towards Silas, pulling out a shuriken and flinging it at the archer. It clipped the side of his ear but did no further damage to the half-elf. Galen, in the meantime, dropped his shortbow and pulled out his longsword, rushing to advance upon Reiki. He swung it and caught her in the side; she rolled with the blow to lessen its effect, but it gouged a line of blood along her torso nonetheless. Orion followed Kaspar's path up the hill, pulling and throwing a dagger from her belt as she did so. It, too, missed Silas, but she continued her advance just the same. Behind her, Carl followed, desperately trying to return the "stick" to his new master so she could throw it again (hopefully a little bit farther this time!). Silas pivoted towards Kaspar and let fly with another arrow, opting to take out the enemy with the ranged weapons (whatever those shuriken were - he'd never seen one before) rather than the one who had dropped his shortbow to the ground. Kaspar twisted as he ran and the arrow merely grazed the side of his thigh in its passage. Over on the boulder, Syngaard likewise dropped his sling and grabbed up the morningstar at his belt, swinging it in a powerful arc at Reiki, who tried to dodge but didn't quite make it, the spikes of the metal weapon crashing into her combat leathers and eliciting a cry of pain from the young thief. "Reiki!" cried a voice from the direction of the cave, as yet another thief entered the fray. "Hang on, I'm coming!" This, Syngaard was pleased to see, was a half-orc male wearing a dark cloak. The scarred fighter wasn't quite as pleased to see the javelin in the half-orc's hand come flying in his direction, but he was pleased that he managed to bring his morningstar up in a defensive position in time and deflect the thrown weapon off to the side. Then, he was even more pleased to see the javelin rise up and return by magic to the half-orc's hand. "I'm claiming this weapon after we kill the half-orc!" he cried. Reiki let her guard down a bit as she glanced over at Eric, and Galen took the opportunity of the lapse in her attention to strike her down with his sword. She gave a final cry and collapsed to the ground, unconscious and bleeding out. Grinning proudly at a job well done, Galen turned and faced the half-elf archer. Syngaard swung his morningstar at Eric, who leaped back but not before being grazed by the multipointed weapon. But he had leaped back far enough away to throw the javelin at the scarred fighter; fortunately, Syngaard ducked under its path of travel and it soared over his right shoulder - only to return course and reappear in the half-orc's hand once again. "I'm gonna like me that weapon!" the bald fighter announced, racing up for another swing at the thief. Galen's longsword took out Silas, the path of its swing burning a deep gash across the half-elf's chest. He fell to the ground where he stood, leaving Eric as the group's only still-standing foe. Orion, having reached Reiki's fallen form, used one of her many daggers to slit the young human's throat, to ensure she wouldn't be reviving to cause them any further trouble. Kaspar, having reached Silas's unconscious form by this time, briefly considered doing the same with one of his shuriken, but opted instead merely to strip the archer of his weapons. That way, if he awakened, he'd be of no threat to the group, and the noble monk need not have the death of the misguided half-elf on his hands. Galen stepped over to help Syngaard in his fight against Eric, but then the half-orc saw the blood spilling from Reiki's throat and gave a cry of despair. "Reiki--no!" he sobbed, all of his focus against the two combatants gone as he saw the lifeless corpse of his betrothed. Galen swatted the javelin from the half-orc's numb fingers and it fell to the ground; Syngaard immediately dived for it and cried out "Mine!" in triumph as he rose with the coveted weapon in his hands. Eric merely dropped to his knees in despair. Galen, standing over the half-orc with his longsword raised, seemed hesitant to slay an unarmed foe - it wouldn't be the same as killing a foe in heated combat. Kaspar took the opportunity to place his hand on the paladin's shoulder, silently urging him to relent. "He is beaten," observed the monk. "Yeah, so he is," agreed Galen, allowing the [i]Sword of Zehkar[/i] to drop down to his side. "I believe you have a green dragon statuette that doesn't belong to you," said Orion as she sauntered up. "Hand it over and we might just let you live." Eric looked up at her - or rather, over at her, for even slumped over on his knees he was taller than the halfling. "I don't dare," he replied. "It has to be destroyed--it's evil!" "Evil?" demanded Galen. "Says who?" "[b]Dave[/b]," replied Eric, leaving the heroes none the wiser. "He said it was a source of great power, and great evil. He called it a phylactery, I think it was. Anyway, he hired me to steal it from King Leornic so it could be destroyed." "Nonsense," snorted Galen. "Do you have it here?" Wordlessly, Eric reached inside his shirt and handed over the jade statuette of a coiled dragon. Dirk had been right: it [i]was[/i] exquisitely carved. "Do you recognize this?" asked Galen, holding up his holy symbol of Hieroneous for the half-orc to see. When Eric nodded, Galen continued, "A paladin learns to be able to spot the auras generated by evil, and that includes objects as well as people. I tell you, man, this statue is not evil." Somewhat disconcertingly, Eric himself was also not generating an aura of evil, as the paladin would have suspected. "I think this Dave fellow sold you a bill of goods." "So what now?" asked Eric. "Now, we return you to Castle Durnhill and the statue back to King Leornic," replied Galen. "No! You can't! They'll kill me!" "He's probably right," observed Orion. "He stole from the king; they're not likely to let that pass." "It seems like Eric's theft was not motivated by greed," put in Kaspar. "Perhaps, given the circumstances, the king would understand if we let him go." "Nuh-uh, no way," objected Syngaard. "We were told to bring him in, dead or alive, as simple as that. Skevros ain't gonna pay us no thousand gold each for lettin' him go!" "Under the circumstances..." began Kaspar. "Hey, I got an idea," interrupted Syngaard and brought his morningstar down hard upon the back of the half-orc's head. Eric fell forward, face-first onto the ground. "What?" complained Syngaard as Kaspar glared at him with a look of betrayal. "I hit him with the metal shaft of the weapon, not the pointy bits! He'll be fine!" "I would not see our prisoner slain out of turn," argued the elven monk. "Fine," snarled Syngaard, pulling a coil of rope from his backpack. "Then you can be in charge of tying him up and carrying his sleeping carcass back to Durnhill." - - - As expected, once they returned home with their unconscious captive and had briefed Skevros on the half-orc's tale, the king's adviser denied the statuette's status as a phylactery. "Such an item is used to house the soul of an undead monstrosity called a lich," he informed the team. "Are you suggesting that the late Queen Katherine is a lich?" "I don't rightly know," admitted Galen. "But I think we should destroy the statuette, just in case Eric's story is true." "Out of the question!" stormed Skevros. "The statuette is a treasured reminder of His Majesty's deceased wife! He would never allow it!" "Plus, we ain't getting no reward for no smashed statue," pointed out Syngaard. "Why not?" reasoned Galen. "The reward was to be paid for its return, which we have done. But now, given the possibility that something's not right here, I think we should destroy it, just to be safe." "Give it here," demanded Skevros. Not wanting to disobey his appointed leader, Galen passed it over. Then, surprisingly, the king's advisor raised it over his head and brought it smashing down upon the table, shattering it into pieces. "Are you satisfied?" he asked Galen. "Had this been an evil artifact, like a phylactery, it would not have been so easily destroyed." Then, casting a spell over the shattered pieces, the adviser caused them to fly back together and reform the dragon statuette once again, once again whole and as good as new. "Yeah, okay," admitted Galen. "I shall expect no further talk about Her Majesty being an undead abomination," warned Skevros. "Not only because it's distasteful and untrue, but because it borders on treason." He glared at the paladin and added, "I should think some sober reflection and atonement would be in order." "Agreed," admitted Galen in a quiet voice, looking down at his boots. "In any case," replied Skevros in a more normal tone of voice, "you have fulfilled the requirements of your mission. I will have the promised rewards sent to your individual homes immediately. That is all." "What about Eric?" pressed Orion. "What will happen to him?" "He will be turned over to the castle guards, to await a ruling by His Majesty. I expect he will be executed shortly thereafter." "Poor dupe," sighed the halfling. "He made his bed when he stole from the king, whatever his intentions or beliefs," replied Skevros curtly. "Now he must answer for his actions." The group left the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i] deep in thought. "I think we should return to Ashfall," announced Galen suddenly. "Whatever for?" asked Orion. "Why, to slay that succubus, of course," answered Galen, with a tone of voice indicating mild incredulity that the question even had to be asked. "She's a demon, parading around in the world of mortals!" "She seems to be doing some good up there, though," pointed out Kaspar. "And the King of Ashfall seems okay with it," added Orion. "We ain't ready to fight off no succubus," announced Syngaard. "Hell, she practically knocked you on your ass just by you lookin' at her!" "...I was simply unprepared for the aura of overwhelming evil," countered Galen. "Now that I know what to expect..." "Overwhelming," repeated Syngaard. "I ain't in no hurry to get overwhelmed. Besides, we told Skevros about the situation and he ain't given us no assignment to go kill her off. So no reward, no way I'm going back there to start no trouble with no demon." And the bald fighter took his new [i]javelin of returning[/i] and headed back to the brothel where he worked and slept between assignments for the kingdom, whistling a merry tune. - - - Joey stayed home for this adventure since he wasn't feeling very well - hence Skevros deciding he needed Daleth's help as a spellcasting assistant. But he had sent prior word, via his dad, of Daleth's name. However, he still hasn't decided on an image to use to represent his elven wizard. So, as a gag, I did up a series of eight potential "Daleth Stormsea" images to be used for his initiative card, consisting of such things as the Keebler elf; Dobbie the House Elf from the "Harry Potter" series; Hermey and his stern elven boss from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"; the Elf on the Shelf; the title character from the "Elf" movie; and a bunch of other cartoony elves too ridiculous to warrant serious consideration. Naturally, I didn't get to share these with Joey himself when we played through this adventure, but Dan and Vicki got a kick out of them, as did Joey and Jacob the following Saturday when they showed up for our next "Kordovian" gaming session. Joey's been put on notice to come up with an actual image for his PC, but he's half-tempted to call my bluff and use Hermey's boss as the image for Daleth Stormsea. Incidentally, we got confirmation that "Daleth" is pronounced with a hard "a" - which is fortunate, because had it been a soft "a" I would have assigned him "Tekthith" as a middle name. Logan used the "City Streets" Pathfinder Flip-Mat for the section of Ashfall containing "Dirk's Cloaks" and the "Hill Country" one for the fight with Eric and his two thief companions. Incidentally, Logan hadn't anticipated us letting Eric live - he was sure we'd cut him down with no questions asked. DMs are constantly being surprised by their players' actions, it seems. [/QUOTE]
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