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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7533653" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 31: MISDIRECTION</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 8</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Galen Thorne, human paladin 10</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 10</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 10</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Syngaard, human fighter 10</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 5 December 2018</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>For once, the summons coming from the rings they wore occurred while the group was out and about attending to their own individual duties, so Syngaard wasn't the last to arrive; instead, the conscripts showed up at the <em>Enchanted Flagon</em> at more or less the same time and entered the tavern as a group. As expected, Skevros was already in place at the round table. Not as expected were the five large emeralds on the table, one at each of the other seats.</p><p></p><p>The group each took their seats; Syngaard immediately picked up his emerald and examined it. "This is half of what we got last time," he complained.</p><p></p><p>"Quite so. However, that is merely a part of your payment for this mission. King Leornic is willing to pay you an additional nine emeralds upon completion of the task."</p><p></p><p>"Each?" asked Syngaard hopefully.</p><p></p><p>"Each," confirmed Skevros. That shut Syngaard up as he gave the king's adviser his full attention. The emeralds were each easily worth a full thousand pieces of gold - with nine more of them, the bald fighter would be able to purchase that item he'd had his eye on at that magic shop....</p><p></p><p>"I would infer the king's willingness to pay that much from the kingdom's treasury indicates the inherent danger of the mission," Daleth spoke up.</p><p></p><p>"And in that you would be correct," admitted Skevros. "The Azure Glade illusionists hunted down a pair of Seekers and chased them to a boulder where the Seekers said something about a mithral key and then disappeared into the boulder. Leorna, the Guildmaster of Illusion, thought it best to pass this information on to us that we might deal with the situation. After all, her group deals primarily in illusions - and is thus not particularly skilled in combat situations. Whereas we are much better suited to deal with the situation at hand."</p><p></p><p>"So we're getting paid this much just to go kill two Seekers?" Syngaard asked. "Not that I'm complainin', mind you."</p><p></p><p>"It's very likely those two are not alone. The boulder is very probably the doorway to a stronghold - or at least, one would imagine, a safe house. In any case, its loss would be a considerable blow to the Seekers of Eternity and thus, in the interests of safety to the kingdom of Durnhill, King Leornic deems it prudent for us to take care of the situation at once."</p><p></p><p>"I assume you have already <em>scried</em> upon the boulder in question?" asked Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"I have tried. I cannot get a good 'read' on the actual boulder - likely because it is in fact not really there, but rather an illusion - but I have gotten a good viewing of the area around it. (The 'boulder' appears as a fuzzy, indistinct spot when I <em>scry</em> upon the area.) But I feel confident I will be able to <em>teleport</em> you directly to the area. From that point, you are to find a way through this boulder and wipe out any and all of the Seekers of Eternity you find within. I would also ask that you search the place for any evidence of their future plans."</p><p></p><p>"And if we go there and there are no Seekers within?" asked Orion.</p><p></p><p>"Then you must make do with the payment already received." Syngaard immediately frowned at the words of the king's adviser. He'd already pocketed his emerald but was already anticipating nine more just like it. There had damn well better be some Seekers for him to clear out of their boulder hideout!</p><p></p><p>"Is everyone ready?" asked Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"Hang on - I'm going to go get Carl!" said Orion, scooting down from her chair and running upstairs to fetch the ghost of her riding dog and get him saddled up. Syngaard took the opportunity to have Karen fetch him a mug of ale from the bar. Upon their return - the halfling now perched upon the <em>ghost touch saddle</em> that allowed her to ride her incorporeal mount - Galen decided to summon his dire lion companion from the celestial realms. "To me, Burt!" he called, and the massive feline's form manifested in the back of the tavern. Sensing their imminent departure, Syngaard hastily finished his drink.</p><p></p><p>Once everyone had gathered together, Skevros wished them good fortune and cast his <em>teleport</em> spell. Syngaard tightened his grip on his trusty morningstar, ready for action in case there were any Seekers about upon their arrival.</p><p></p><p>Normally, during a <em>teleport</em> spell no time seemed to pass at all - you were first in one location and then you were somewhere else, all in the blink of an eye. Not so this time: there was a feeling of the individual party members being pulled away from each other, accompanied by the sounds of diabolical laughter. But then they were in their new location - only it wasn't anything like Skevros had described.</p><p></p><p>It was nearly pitch black, for one thing. The elves, with their better vision, readjusted more rapidly to the decreased level of illumination and soon realized the darkness was due simply to it now being in the middle of the night - although it had been mid-morning upon their departure. Daleth looked around and saw he was surrounded by strange, straight-trunked growths rising up from the ground in all directions. Kaspar saw the same thing from his own point of view from wherever he was - for the two elves were no longer right by each other - but the monk immediately recognized the growths as bamboo. He knew bamboo grew nowhere near the kingdom of Durnhill; that fact, plus the irrefutable fact it was now night, led Kaspar to the realization they were likely somewhere on the other side of the world.</p><p></p><p>Orion, Galen, Carl, and Burt were each likewise separated from the rest of the group, surrounded by bamboo in all directions. For whatever reason, the group's <em>teleport</em> spell had not only shunted them halfway around the world but had also scattered them across a wider area and now they were each separated from each other. The human paladin and halfling rogue each immediately called out for their respective mounts.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard found himself likewise separated from the rest of the group but he at least had a slightly different view. There were bamboo forests on either side of him but he stood upon a road, out in the open. Before him was a small, wooden bridge spanning a narrow stream and upon the bridge stood four figures. The two in the front wore armor that seemed both strange to the seasoned fighter yet still somewhat familiar - but in the confusion of the moment, Syngaard couldn't immediately recall where he'd seen such exotic armor before. One of the two armored soldiers - women, now that he got a better look at them - held a metal rod with a glowing spherical flame at its end, casting the quartet in reddish illumination. Behind these two stood a man in robes, which Syngaard assumed was some sort of wizard, and another woman, this one wearing the same sort of loose robes and pants worn by Kaspar.</p><p></p><p>"Guys!" called out Syngaard, not at all concerned that this might catch the attention of the quartet on the bridge, for they were already facing his way and the glow from his own magic morningstar made it difficult for him not to be seen in the darkness of the night. "We got possible enemies on the road over here - maybe the ones who brought us here!" Syngaard didn't waste time trying to figure out how these four had sabotaged Skevros's <em>teleport</em> spell (the workings of magic were way beyond the fighter's ability to understand), but the fact of the matter was that this wasn't where they were supposed to have ended up, so <em>somebody</em> was responsible! Still, showing good sense for once, Syngaard opted not to charge into battle against these strangers, for they might not be enemies after all, might not even be the ones responsible for their hijacking - and anyway, it was four-against-one odds at present and who knew how far away the others might be?</p><p></p><p>The four on the bridge called out to Syngaard in some unknown language, which only increased the belief in the fighter's head that they were way, way farther away from that fake boulder than they were supposed to be. When Syngaard didn't react as they had anticipated - they had probably commanded him to throw down his weapons or something - one of the fighters in front pulled out a curved sword from her belt and the other wielded her weird rod-with-a-ball-of-fire-at-its-tip, each striking a defensive stance as if expecting the scarred fighter to charge at them. The male in the back row also pulled out a katana, while the fourth figure just suddenly disappeared, although whether she had <em>teleported</em> or turned invisible Syngaard had no way of knowing.</p><p></p><p>"Guys?" he called out again, a slight tremor of fear in his voice. Four against one odds were bad enough, but throw in some <em>invisibility</em> and weird weapons and the bald fighter was definitely looking for some support from his companions!</p><p></p><p>Kaspar had heard Syngaard's first call and started running in the direction from which it came. He burst suddenly out of the bamboo forest and onto the road, behind the trio visible on the wooden bridge. He too struck a defensive pose, ready to strike out at any who would attack him.</p><p></p><p>Galen had heard Syngaard's call as well but hadn't been able to pinpoint the direction from which it had come, so he called out for Burt again and smiled when he heard the lion give a roar in reply. The bamboo stalks between Syngaard and the samurai suddenly parted as a dire lion went crashing out of the forest, raced across the road, and dove into the forest at the other side. Apparently Burt had showed up off to Syngaard's left and Galen was in the forest to Syngaard's right, but that didn't help the scarred fighter any in the meantime! "Stupid lion!" Syngaard growled. What use was having a dire lion in the group if it wasn't going to help you fight your enemies?</p><p></p><p>But the potential enemies were shouting in surprise as well, for they had not expected to see a massive lion come crashing out of the bamboo forest like it had. These forests had a reputation for being haunted by demons - perhaps the reputation was well-earned?</p><p></p><p>Daleth could see light from the direction of the shouting and was heading in that direction when he encountered an unexpected sight: a lone, unconscious woman stripped of all gear and clothing and tied to a particularly wide growth of bamboo, with a pair of sheathed blades - one longer than the other - placed tantalizingly just out of reach. In the dim starlight he could just make out the misty silhouette of Carl further in the woods. Whoever this woman was, she could wait - she wasn't in any particular danger and had no wounds upon her body. The elven wizard cast a <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell upon himself, anticipating impending combat, and headed in the direction of the shouting.</p><p></p><p>"<Did you see the demon lion?>" asked <strong>Kitome</strong>, her katana raised to fend off any attacks should the beast return - or should the ugly, bald demon on the road ahead move to attack. She spoke in the native tongue of her homeland.</p><p></p><p>"<I did,>" replied <strong>Akiko</strong>, the <em>flaming brilliant energy morningstar</em> in her hand likewise ready to strike. "<We must stand ready to defend the lord's son from all enemies.>"</p><p></p><p>"Carl!" came Orion's repeated cry and the ghost-dog went bounding off to find his mistress. The halfling heard Carl's barks of reply before he came bounding from the bamboo forest and onto the bank of the stream. She met him from the other side of the stream and he happily ran above the water - his ghostly paws never once even getting wet - and Orion leaped into the saddle, glad to be reunited once again with her trusty companion. "Let's go!" she called, steering him along the stream toward the road bisecting the forest, where she could see three strangers with weapons drawn and readied for battle.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard approached the strangers warily, calling out to them (in a language none of them understood), "If you're responsible for us being here, you're gonna pay for interferin'!" He wished desperately that Galen was here; the paladin, with his ability to sense the inherent evilness of enemies, usually pointed out who the scarred fighter should attack. "Galen!" he called. "Are we fightin' these guys, or what?" Lacking any immediate resolution, Syngaard slowly approached the trio on the bridge, his <em>human bane scimitar</em> raised for action and shield raised in defense. (Having seen the trio before him were all apparently human, the fighter had hastily switched weapons as he approached.)</p><p></p><p><strong>Nene</strong> suddenly reappeared behind Kaspar, her <em>invisibility</em> spell canceled as soon as she threw the pair of poisoned shuriken at the elven monk. Kaspar instinctively ducked one of the throwing stars but the other one struck true, its envenomed points stabbing deeply into the monk's shoulder. But then Kaspar reached over and plucked it from his body, tossing it disdainfully aside, mentally fortifying his body to reject the poison it contained.</p><p></p><p>The sudden combat had not gone unnoticed. <strong>Lord Shirimono</strong> barked an order to Kitome while pointing at the elven monk and the samurai nodded her willingness to do her Lord's bidding. Kaspar didn't notice her preparing to run up behind him; he was busy retaliating against Nene with a pair of shuriken of his own. While his lacked poison, his <em>tenryutsume</em> imbued the throwing stars with the powers of both fire and electricity, causing Nene to cry out in pain as each struck.</p><p></p><p>Galen, reunited with Burt, leaped upon the dire lion's broad back and followed the path of trampled bamboo Burt had left in his wake back to the road. The paladin's senses detected evil coming from the direction of Syngaard and the three people on the bridge before him. "Evil!" he cried out for the fighter's benefit.</p><p></p><p>"'Bout damn time!" Syngaard muttered to himself. He saw the samurai with their readied weapons and knew they were expecting him to go charging into them like a madman, so he did something he hoped would be unexpected: the threw his <em>returning javelin</em> at the one carrying the "miniature sun on a stick" (he wasn't overly eager to find out exactly what <em>that</em> weird weapon could do), and then closed the distance between them but stopped just far enough away to allow him to get in a good strike if either of the trio tried attacking him. He reached out with his shield hand and caught the returning magic javelin, keeping his scimitar ready to strike in his right.</p><p></p><p>Daleth suddenly exited the bamboo grove on the bank opposite Orion and Carl. Seeing the three enemies and having heard Galen's cry depicting them as evil, he channeled an <em>empowered fireball</em> spell through his <em>metamagic rod</em>. The flames engulfed all three figures on the bridge, stopping just short of reaching Syngaard. The man in robes screamed in pain and outrage, while his two female bodyguards took the attack in stoic silence.</p><p></p><p>Then Kitome, following her lord's orders, charged at Kaspar with her katana drawn. The blade came crashing down upon the elven monk, who sensed the attack at the last moment and tried to roll with the blow. His actions no doubt lessened the damage he received, but he felt the surge of unholy power cascading through the weapon's deadly blade.</p><p></p><p>Akiko, on the other hand, stood by her lord, magic morningstar ready to fend off the demon lion should it and its armored rider attack. In a last-ditch effort, she called upon the intruders to leave the area lest they be struck down by Lord Shirimono's guardians, but the words in her strange language meant nothing to the conscripts.</p><p></p><p>Orion moved Carl forward and tossed an electrified dagger from her <em>bag of blades</em> at Akiko. Nene, fearing her poisoned shuriken would do little against a wizard of such great power, opted to rush at Daleth instead and cast a <em>burning hands</em> spell at him. The flames blasting from her hands seemed mere wisps compared to the power of the elf's <em>fireball</em> spell, and Nene was aghast at how little an effect she had upon the foreign demon with the long, pointed ears.</p><p></p><p>Realizing his bodyguards would not likely be able to handle these demons on their own, Lord Shirimono stepped forward to strike at Daleth with his own ancestral blade, channeling all of his strength into one felling blow...only to have the blade deflected by an unseen force surrounding the foreign demon. The samurai lord snarled an epithet in his own native tongue.</p><p></p><p>Kaspar had turned to face Kitome and now gave her his undivided attention. He confounded her with a series of alternate strikes and fake-outs, forcing her to dodge to deflect an attack that never came while allowing a strike from a different direction to make contact. His <em>tenryutsume</em> sent bolts of electricity and blasts of flame erupting from each blow.</p><p></p><p>Galen concentrated on the auras of the combatants before him, narrowing down the overall sense of evil he had felt coming from their direction. Sure enough, all four members of the group sported auras tainted with evil. Worried about what that strange, fire-globed weapon might do to his dire lion, Galen leaped from Burt's back and ran past Akiko to help Kaspar take down Kitome. Akiko struck at the paladin with her glowing morningstar as he ran past but missed, whereas the paladin's <em>sword of Zehkar</em> struck true when he swung his blade at the katana-wielding samurai, felling her with a blow that cut deep through her armor and into the body beneath it. Despite the blood flowing in a rapidly-expanding pool beneath her, when Galen pulled his blade from her body she still breathed, albeit shallowly - and it was up to the gods to determine how much longer she would continue to do so.</p><p></p><p>Burt, seeing his master cut down one samurai before he could approach and aid him, turned and pounced at the other, scoring a few hits on Akiko with his teeth and claws. (If the dire lion had any qualms against going up against a woman with a small sun attached to a metal rod as a weapon, he gave no outward sign of it.)</p><p></p><p>Daleth was now under attack by both Lord Shirimono and Nene. Taking a step back away from each so he could get in some quick spellcasting, he threw a <em>glitterdust</em> spell at the pair. The ninja, Nene, was unaffected (although now covered in glittery dust that made her sparkle in the illumination from the glowing weapons all about), but the samurai lord was nowhere near as lucky as his devoted follower. Blinded by the spell, he backed away from combat and started staggering in what he thought was a safe direction: along the bank of the stream.</p><p></p><p>Ignoring the wounds inflicted by the demon lion and knowing the power of her own weapon, Akiko opted to attack Syngaard. The flaming orb that made up the head of her weapon passed straight through the scarred fighter's shield and armor and impacted heavily into his ribs; despite the burns that accompanied the resulting wound, Syngaard realized it felt very much like being struck by a morningstar. (And Syngaard had plenty of memories of what being struck by a morningstar felt like; most of the scars on his face were made by the morningstar he now wore at his belt before he took the weapon from the thug who had attacked him with it, back when he was just a teen.) But despite the pain of the wound, a broad grin spread across Syngaard's scarred face, as he realized the only thing better than a paying mission was a mission where you got to claim the enemies' weapons for your own. If this fire-orb-stick-thing was really nothing more than a magic morningstar, then Syngaard knew he'd be able to put it to good use in the future, just as he'd done with his <em>returning javelin</em> and his <em>human bane scimitar</em>, both of which he'd taken from enemies who had used the weapons against him.</p><p></p><p>Akiko stifled a gasp of fear at the sight of the scarred demon's unholy grin. She was the first of her group to die with honor, in combat against the enemies of her lord, as Syngaard's <em>human bane scimitar</em> crashed down upon her. Her <em>flaming brilliant energy morningstar</em> dropped from her grasp as she fell, Syngaard's greedy eyes following its every move.</p><p></p><p>From Carl's back, Orion threw another pair of electrified daggers at Nene, causing the ninja to swear at the halfling's uncanny accuracy. But she had other, more pressing concerns than her own safety. Casting a spell, she darted forward not at Orion or Carl (nor even at Daleth, who was a mere step away from the spellcasting ninja) but at Lord Shirimono, her master. At her touch the blinded samurai became <em>invisible</em>, the shining, glittery motes of dust that covered his body (the result of Daleth's <em>glitterdust</em> spell) likewise fading from view. Stumbling around blindly, unaware even of his own invisible nature, the samurai lord surprisingly not only managed to avoid combat with any of the foreigners in the area but also managed not to fall into the stream at his right.</p><p></p><p>But Nene's spellcasting had left her open to attack and Kaspar was more than willing to take advantage of that opening. He raced forward and punched with a fist striking as swiftly as a cobra, diverting the ninja's attention long enough for Carl to creep forward in full stealth mode (not even touching the ground beneath him), which in turn allowed Orion to unsheathe her <em>flaming short sword</em> and send it striking deep into Nene's back. The ninja opened her mouth in surprise, but the only thing that passed from her lips was a gush of her own blood. Then she, too, crumpled to the ground, dead.</p><p></p><p>With two dead and one bleeding out, the conscripts looked about for the missing samurai lord. Ignoring his vision and concentrating on sensing the auras of those around him, Galen felt Lord Shirimono's presence in an area along the stream. He called out the samurai's location and directed his dire lion to attack; Burt did so but only managed to hit once with a pair of claws, not being able to see what he was attacking.</p><p></p><p>"Where is he?" asked Syngaard, looking around for the invisible guy. He'd picked up the <em>flaming brilliant energy morningstar</em> before anybody else could lay claim to the weapon.</p><p></p><p>"To your right!" called Galen.</p><p></p><p>"I don't see nothin'!" the fighter insisted.</p><p></p><p>"Idiots!" hissed Daleth to himself, casting a <em>see invisibility</em> spell over his own eyes. Lord Shirimono appeared quite visibly to the elven wizard. "Syngaard: he's about twenty feet to the north of your present position!" he called.</p><p></p><p>"Which way's north?"</p><p></p><p>"THAT WAY!" yelled Daleth, amazed at the idiots he was forced to deal with while serving on this team of conscripts. In the meantime, Lord Shirimono kept stumbling further away along the streambed. The elf indicated the exact area with another <em>empowered fireball</em> cast directly at the fleeing foe. Lord Shirimono yelped in pain at the fiery explosion but didn't stop his awkward retreat.</p><p></p><p>Syngaard, finally aware of the rough area where his foe was to be found, took him out in perhaps the smartest way possible: rather than swinging a weapon at the air and hoping to hit, the fighter cast his arms straight out from his sides and ran as fast as he could directly forward; as soon as he collided with something he couldn't see, he brought his arms in to give his unseen foe a bear hug. The two (only one of which was visible) collided and fell to the ground. Lord Shirimono struggled feebly, but was no match for the strength of the ugly demon pinning his arms to his sides from behind.</p><p></p><p>Galen, in the meantime, had stabilized Kitome by giving her the most minimal amount of healing possible; she was still unconscious but would no longer bleed to death. The paladin had intended to interrogate her about how they had all come to be here; hopefully Wizard-Pants had some spell that could help with the language barrier. Kaspar, in the meantime, had gone over to where Daleth had told him there was another unconscious woman bound to a bamboo growth, and the monk cut the bindings lashing her in place with the sharp edge of one of his shuriken. He then untied the sash from about his waist and removed the garment from about his arms and torso, placing it around the unconscious woman for modesty's sake. Then, gathering up her weapons (he presumed they were hers), he lifted her and brought her back to the rest of the group.</p><p></p><p>Daleth used a <em>tongues</em> spell from his <em>staff of divination</em> to allow himself to speak the young woman's language, once Galen had determined her aura held no taint of evil and he had brought her back to consciousness with a healing spell. She cringed upon awakening and finding herself surrounded by strange-looking foreigners, but Daleth spoke soothingly to her in her own language and that helped calm her down.</p><p></p><p>"What is your name?" the elf asked the young woman wearing Kaspar's top.</p><p></p><p>"I am called <strong>Mikito</strong>, bamboo spirit," the young woman replied, obviously thinking Daleth was some sort of spirit of the grove.</p><p></p><p>"We just fought a man with three female bodyguards," Daleth informed her. "Were they the ones who bound you in the grove?"</p><p></p><p>"Are they dead?" the woman asked in lieu of answering the elf's question.</p><p></p><p>"Two of the women are dead. The man and one of the women in armor are still alive."</p><p></p><p>"That is too bad," snarled the woman. "It would please me to hear that Lord Shirimono had been slain." Once Daleth translated her words to the others, Syngaard piped up, "Not too late for that!" He still held the struggling, invisible in a bear hug the samurai couldn't break. "Do we need this guy alive for any reason?"</p><p></p><p>Galen thought it over. "I suppose not--" he began, thinking they already had another unconscious foe they could interrogate and a former victim giving willing testimony to the group. That was all Syngaard needed to hear; he released his right hand from the invisible samurai lord long enough to bring his new weapon crashing down upon the man's head, crushing it instantly. The samurai's body regained visibility upon his death. "Done!" Syngaard called back to the group.</p><p></p><p>Slowly, the woman's story took form. She was one of her lord's samurai bodyguards, assigned to protect his son, Lord Shirimono. While she would speak no ill of her lord, she lamented that he did not see in his son the evil that lurked there and would not believe the truth of his actions even with proof of his evildoing before him. "I have been steadfastly loyal to my lord, but I was punished by Lord Shirimono for failing to meet up to his own twisted standards of behavior. After he had finished with me, he left me bound in the haunted grove to die of exposure."</p><p></p><p>"Haunted?" asked Daleth.</p><p></p><p>"Oh yes," insisted Mikito. "The grove is known to be haunted by many strange demons."</p><p></p><p>"So what will you do now? Will you return to your lord, the father of Lord Shirimono?"</p><p></p><p>Mikito hung her head. "I cannot. If I were to return to him, even with proof of his son's actions, I would be faced with death and dishonor. As I will be when his body is found, after I had failed to protect him."</p><p></p><p>"We could speak on your behalf," offered Kaspar once Daleth had translated the young woman's words.</p><p></p><p>"It cannot be. You are outsiders; your words hold no value. You would be executed as spies."</p><p></p><p>"Then perhaps you would like to come back with us," offered Daleth. "We live in a land far away from here, where you would never be found." Mikito seemed to be thinking it over.</p><p></p><p>"What are we going to do with her back home?" Orion asked, confident that the woman couldn't understand her words.</p><p></p><p>"I'm sure Skevros can put her to good use," reasoned Galen. "I mean, he found a good use for Gumruk - I'm sure he could find a use for an exotic girl who's good with a weapon."</p><p></p><p>"I'm sure Mama Kat could put her to good use, too, come to think of it," interjected Syngaard. "Exotic girls bring in extra coin."</p><p></p><p>"Syngaard!" hissed Orion. "You're not sending her to your brothel!"</p><p></p><p>"Well, maybe as a bodyguard then, like me," he countered. "Mama Kat's still got need of a bodyguard when I ain't around - like all the time I spend with you lot getting <em>teleported</em> all across creation."</p><p></p><p>"I will accept your kind offer," Mikito finally answered Daleth, oblivious as to what the others had been saying about her potential fate in Durnhill.</p><p></p><p>"So what should we do about this one?" asked Orion, indicating the unconscious form of Kitome. Mikito explained through Daleth that Kitome would suffer much deserved dishonor for her continued survival when her lord's son had been slain under her watch, and furthermore that the party would most likely be mistaken for the strange ghosts that supposedly haunted this forest.</p><p></p><p>Before leaving, the group went through the possessions of those they had slain (and of Kitome, still unconscious and now tightly bound). Mikito recovered her own clothing, armor, and weapons which had been stashed away nearby in the grove; once back in her own garments she gave back Kaspar his robe and sash with a grateful bow. The elven monk returned the bow and put the garment back on. Most of the enemies' gear (save for Syngaard's new weapon) was stuffed into the <em>bags of holding</em>, Orion guessed they would sell for a fair amount of coin to collectors if no one else.</p><p></p><p>"Hey! That reminds me!" piped up Syngaard. "We ain't gettin' our other nine emeralds just yet!"</p><p></p><p>"We'll earn them soon enough," Galen promised. "But first we must return to Skevros, so he can try <em>teleporting</em> us again."</p><p></p><p>"Maybe this time he ought to send us a little farther away from the boulder in question," suggested Daleth. "I suspect the misdirection of the <em>teleport</em> spell was a defensive measure by the Seekers of Eternity to keep their enemies from using such methods to gain entrance to their stronghold."</p><p></p><p>"Next time we'll just walk up to it and kick our way in," suggested Syngaard.</p><p></p><p>"You get to do the kicking," offered Orion.</p><p></p><p>"Fine by me."</p><p></p><p>"Fine by me, too," replied the halfling, smiling at the thought of Syngaard with a broken toe after kicking an actual boulder - she wouldn't put it past the stupid lunk!</p><p></p><p>"If we're ready...?" asked Kaspar, drawing forth the <em>ring of return</em> from his extradimensional <em>bag of holding</em>. Everyone grabbed hold of the ring (or, in the case of Burt and Carl, were ridden by one who did), and then the monk activated the magic of the device. In an instant they were gone, leaving the "haunted grove" behind them.</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>Logan had me queue up several episodes of "Music from the Hearts of Space" with an Asian feel for the background music of this session, but we started out with music with a completely different feel. Then, when the <em>teleport</em> spell was hijacked, he had me switch the music. I therefore had a pretty good clue going in that we were headed into Kara-Tur (or its equivalent), but I said nothing; he's held on to other, similar behind-the-scenes secrets for me when I've DMed my campaign. (There are occasional advantages to having two DMs in the same household.)</p><p></p><p>And Syngaard is well and truly pleased with his <em>+2 flaming brilliant energy morningstar</em>. I was tempted to have him sell his original one, but I think he'll hang onto it as a backup weapon in case anything happens to his new toy. (Plus, it has sentimental value.) After all, he now has enough money to buy that thing he's been saving up for, even without those other nine emeralds....</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7533653, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 31: MISDIRECTION[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Daleth Stormsea, elf wizard 8 Galen Thorne, human paladin 10 Kaspar Hardstrike, elf monk 10 Orion Nightsky, halfling rogue 10 Syngaard, human fighter 10[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 5 December 2018 - - - For once, the summons coming from the rings they wore occurred while the group was out and about attending to their own individual duties, so Syngaard wasn't the last to arrive; instead, the conscripts showed up at the [i]Enchanted Flagon[/i] at more or less the same time and entered the tavern as a group. As expected, Skevros was already in place at the round table. Not as expected were the five large emeralds on the table, one at each of the other seats. The group each took their seats; Syngaard immediately picked up his emerald and examined it. "This is half of what we got last time," he complained. "Quite so. However, that is merely a part of your payment for this mission. King Leornic is willing to pay you an additional nine emeralds upon completion of the task." "Each?" asked Syngaard hopefully. "Each," confirmed Skevros. That shut Syngaard up as he gave the king's adviser his full attention. The emeralds were each easily worth a full thousand pieces of gold - with nine more of them, the bald fighter would be able to purchase that item he'd had his eye on at that magic shop.... "I would infer the king's willingness to pay that much from the kingdom's treasury indicates the inherent danger of the mission," Daleth spoke up. "And in that you would be correct," admitted Skevros. "The Azure Glade illusionists hunted down a pair of Seekers and chased them to a boulder where the Seekers said something about a mithral key and then disappeared into the boulder. Leorna, the Guildmaster of Illusion, thought it best to pass this information on to us that we might deal with the situation. After all, her group deals primarily in illusions - and is thus not particularly skilled in combat situations. Whereas we are much better suited to deal with the situation at hand." "So we're getting paid this much just to go kill two Seekers?" Syngaard asked. "Not that I'm complainin', mind you." "It's very likely those two are not alone. The boulder is very probably the doorway to a stronghold - or at least, one would imagine, a safe house. In any case, its loss would be a considerable blow to the Seekers of Eternity and thus, in the interests of safety to the kingdom of Durnhill, King Leornic deems it prudent for us to take care of the situation at once." "I assume you have already [i]scried[/i] upon the boulder in question?" asked Kaspar. "I have tried. I cannot get a good 'read' on the actual boulder - likely because it is in fact not really there, but rather an illusion - but I have gotten a good viewing of the area around it. (The 'boulder' appears as a fuzzy, indistinct spot when I [i]scry[/i] upon the area.) But I feel confident I will be able to [i]teleport[/i] you directly to the area. From that point, you are to find a way through this boulder and wipe out any and all of the Seekers of Eternity you find within. I would also ask that you search the place for any evidence of their future plans." "And if we go there and there are no Seekers within?" asked Orion. "Then you must make do with the payment already received." Syngaard immediately frowned at the words of the king's adviser. He'd already pocketed his emerald but was already anticipating nine more just like it. There had damn well better be some Seekers for him to clear out of their boulder hideout! "Is everyone ready?" asked Daleth. "Hang on - I'm going to go get Carl!" said Orion, scooting down from her chair and running upstairs to fetch the ghost of her riding dog and get him saddled up. Syngaard took the opportunity to have Karen fetch him a mug of ale from the bar. Upon their return - the halfling now perched upon the [i]ghost touch saddle[/i] that allowed her to ride her incorporeal mount - Galen decided to summon his dire lion companion from the celestial realms. "To me, Burt!" he called, and the massive feline's form manifested in the back of the tavern. Sensing their imminent departure, Syngaard hastily finished his drink. Once everyone had gathered together, Skevros wished them good fortune and cast his [i]teleport[/i] spell. Syngaard tightened his grip on his trusty morningstar, ready for action in case there were any Seekers about upon their arrival. Normally, during a [i]teleport[/i] spell no time seemed to pass at all - you were first in one location and then you were somewhere else, all in the blink of an eye. Not so this time: there was a feeling of the individual party members being pulled away from each other, accompanied by the sounds of diabolical laughter. But then they were in their new location - only it wasn't anything like Skevros had described. It was nearly pitch black, for one thing. The elves, with their better vision, readjusted more rapidly to the decreased level of illumination and soon realized the darkness was due simply to it now being in the middle of the night - although it had been mid-morning upon their departure. Daleth looked around and saw he was surrounded by strange, straight-trunked growths rising up from the ground in all directions. Kaspar saw the same thing from his own point of view from wherever he was - for the two elves were no longer right by each other - but the monk immediately recognized the growths as bamboo. He knew bamboo grew nowhere near the kingdom of Durnhill; that fact, plus the irrefutable fact it was now night, led Kaspar to the realization they were likely somewhere on the other side of the world. Orion, Galen, Carl, and Burt were each likewise separated from the rest of the group, surrounded by bamboo in all directions. For whatever reason, the group's [i]teleport[/i] spell had not only shunted them halfway around the world but had also scattered them across a wider area and now they were each separated from each other. The human paladin and halfling rogue each immediately called out for their respective mounts. Syngaard found himself likewise separated from the rest of the group but he at least had a slightly different view. There were bamboo forests on either side of him but he stood upon a road, out in the open. Before him was a small, wooden bridge spanning a narrow stream and upon the bridge stood four figures. The two in the front wore armor that seemed both strange to the seasoned fighter yet still somewhat familiar - but in the confusion of the moment, Syngaard couldn't immediately recall where he'd seen such exotic armor before. One of the two armored soldiers - women, now that he got a better look at them - held a metal rod with a glowing spherical flame at its end, casting the quartet in reddish illumination. Behind these two stood a man in robes, which Syngaard assumed was some sort of wizard, and another woman, this one wearing the same sort of loose robes and pants worn by Kaspar. "Guys!" called out Syngaard, not at all concerned that this might catch the attention of the quartet on the bridge, for they were already facing his way and the glow from his own magic morningstar made it difficult for him not to be seen in the darkness of the night. "We got possible enemies on the road over here - maybe the ones who brought us here!" Syngaard didn't waste time trying to figure out how these four had sabotaged Skevros's [i]teleport[/i] spell (the workings of magic were way beyond the fighter's ability to understand), but the fact of the matter was that this wasn't where they were supposed to have ended up, so [i]somebody[/i] was responsible! Still, showing good sense for once, Syngaard opted not to charge into battle against these strangers, for they might not be enemies after all, might not even be the ones responsible for their hijacking - and anyway, it was four-against-one odds at present and who knew how far away the others might be? The four on the bridge called out to Syngaard in some unknown language, which only increased the belief in the fighter's head that they were way, way farther away from that fake boulder than they were supposed to be. When Syngaard didn't react as they had anticipated - they had probably commanded him to throw down his weapons or something - one of the fighters in front pulled out a curved sword from her belt and the other wielded her weird rod-with-a-ball-of-fire-at-its-tip, each striking a defensive stance as if expecting the scarred fighter to charge at them. The male in the back row also pulled out a katana, while the fourth figure just suddenly disappeared, although whether she had [i]teleported[/i] or turned invisible Syngaard had no way of knowing. "Guys?" he called out again, a slight tremor of fear in his voice. Four against one odds were bad enough, but throw in some [i]invisibility[/i] and weird weapons and the bald fighter was definitely looking for some support from his companions! Kaspar had heard Syngaard's first call and started running in the direction from which it came. He burst suddenly out of the bamboo forest and onto the road, behind the trio visible on the wooden bridge. He too struck a defensive pose, ready to strike out at any who would attack him. Galen had heard Syngaard's call as well but hadn't been able to pinpoint the direction from which it had come, so he called out for Burt again and smiled when he heard the lion give a roar in reply. The bamboo stalks between Syngaard and the samurai suddenly parted as a dire lion went crashing out of the forest, raced across the road, and dove into the forest at the other side. Apparently Burt had showed up off to Syngaard's left and Galen was in the forest to Syngaard's right, but that didn't help the scarred fighter any in the meantime! "Stupid lion!" Syngaard growled. What use was having a dire lion in the group if it wasn't going to help you fight your enemies? But the potential enemies were shouting in surprise as well, for they had not expected to see a massive lion come crashing out of the bamboo forest like it had. These forests had a reputation for being haunted by demons - perhaps the reputation was well-earned? Daleth could see light from the direction of the shouting and was heading in that direction when he encountered an unexpected sight: a lone, unconscious woman stripped of all gear and clothing and tied to a particularly wide growth of bamboo, with a pair of sheathed blades - one longer than the other - placed tantalizingly just out of reach. In the dim starlight he could just make out the misty silhouette of Carl further in the woods. Whoever this woman was, she could wait - she wasn't in any particular danger and had no wounds upon her body. The elven wizard cast a [i]magic circle against evil[/i] spell upon himself, anticipating impending combat, and headed in the direction of the shouting. "<Did you see the demon lion?>" asked [b]Kitome[/b], her katana raised to fend off any attacks should the beast return - or should the ugly, bald demon on the road ahead move to attack. She spoke in the native tongue of her homeland. "<I did,>" replied [b]Akiko[/b], the [i]flaming brilliant energy morningstar[/i] in her hand likewise ready to strike. "<We must stand ready to defend the lord's son from all enemies.>" "Carl!" came Orion's repeated cry and the ghost-dog went bounding off to find his mistress. The halfling heard Carl's barks of reply before he came bounding from the bamboo forest and onto the bank of the stream. She met him from the other side of the stream and he happily ran above the water - his ghostly paws never once even getting wet - and Orion leaped into the saddle, glad to be reunited once again with her trusty companion. "Let's go!" she called, steering him along the stream toward the road bisecting the forest, where she could see three strangers with weapons drawn and readied for battle. Syngaard approached the strangers warily, calling out to them (in a language none of them understood), "If you're responsible for us being here, you're gonna pay for interferin'!" He wished desperately that Galen was here; the paladin, with his ability to sense the inherent evilness of enemies, usually pointed out who the scarred fighter should attack. "Galen!" he called. "Are we fightin' these guys, or what?" Lacking any immediate resolution, Syngaard slowly approached the trio on the bridge, his [i]human bane scimitar[/i] raised for action and shield raised in defense. (Having seen the trio before him were all apparently human, the fighter had hastily switched weapons as he approached.) [b]Nene[/b] suddenly reappeared behind Kaspar, her [i]invisibility[/i] spell canceled as soon as she threw the pair of poisoned shuriken at the elven monk. Kaspar instinctively ducked one of the throwing stars but the other one struck true, its envenomed points stabbing deeply into the monk's shoulder. But then Kaspar reached over and plucked it from his body, tossing it disdainfully aside, mentally fortifying his body to reject the poison it contained. The sudden combat had not gone unnoticed. [b]Lord Shirimono[/b] barked an order to Kitome while pointing at the elven monk and the samurai nodded her willingness to do her Lord's bidding. Kaspar didn't notice her preparing to run up behind him; he was busy retaliating against Nene with a pair of shuriken of his own. While his lacked poison, his [i]tenryutsume[/i] imbued the throwing stars with the powers of both fire and electricity, causing Nene to cry out in pain as each struck. Galen, reunited with Burt, leaped upon the dire lion's broad back and followed the path of trampled bamboo Burt had left in his wake back to the road. The paladin's senses detected evil coming from the direction of Syngaard and the three people on the bridge before him. "Evil!" he cried out for the fighter's benefit. "'Bout damn time!" Syngaard muttered to himself. He saw the samurai with their readied weapons and knew they were expecting him to go charging into them like a madman, so he did something he hoped would be unexpected: the threw his [i]returning javelin[/i] at the one carrying the "miniature sun on a stick" (he wasn't overly eager to find out exactly what [i]that[/i] weird weapon could do), and then closed the distance between them but stopped just far enough away to allow him to get in a good strike if either of the trio tried attacking him. He reached out with his shield hand and caught the returning magic javelin, keeping his scimitar ready to strike in his right. Daleth suddenly exited the bamboo grove on the bank opposite Orion and Carl. Seeing the three enemies and having heard Galen's cry depicting them as evil, he channeled an [i]empowered fireball[/i] spell through his [i]metamagic rod[/i]. The flames engulfed all three figures on the bridge, stopping just short of reaching Syngaard. The man in robes screamed in pain and outrage, while his two female bodyguards took the attack in stoic silence. Then Kitome, following her lord's orders, charged at Kaspar with her katana drawn. The blade came crashing down upon the elven monk, who sensed the attack at the last moment and tried to roll with the blow. His actions no doubt lessened the damage he received, but he felt the surge of unholy power cascading through the weapon's deadly blade. Akiko, on the other hand, stood by her lord, magic morningstar ready to fend off the demon lion should it and its armored rider attack. In a last-ditch effort, she called upon the intruders to leave the area lest they be struck down by Lord Shirimono's guardians, but the words in her strange language meant nothing to the conscripts. Orion moved Carl forward and tossed an electrified dagger from her [i]bag of blades[/i] at Akiko. Nene, fearing her poisoned shuriken would do little against a wizard of such great power, opted to rush at Daleth instead and cast a [i]burning hands[/i] spell at him. The flames blasting from her hands seemed mere wisps compared to the power of the elf's [i]fireball[/i] spell, and Nene was aghast at how little an effect she had upon the foreign demon with the long, pointed ears. Realizing his bodyguards would not likely be able to handle these demons on their own, Lord Shirimono stepped forward to strike at Daleth with his own ancestral blade, channeling all of his strength into one felling blow...only to have the blade deflected by an unseen force surrounding the foreign demon. The samurai lord snarled an epithet in his own native tongue. Kaspar had turned to face Kitome and now gave her his undivided attention. He confounded her with a series of alternate strikes and fake-outs, forcing her to dodge to deflect an attack that never came while allowing a strike from a different direction to make contact. His [i]tenryutsume[/i] sent bolts of electricity and blasts of flame erupting from each blow. Galen concentrated on the auras of the combatants before him, narrowing down the overall sense of evil he had felt coming from their direction. Sure enough, all four members of the group sported auras tainted with evil. Worried about what that strange, fire-globed weapon might do to his dire lion, Galen leaped from Burt's back and ran past Akiko to help Kaspar take down Kitome. Akiko struck at the paladin with her glowing morningstar as he ran past but missed, whereas the paladin's [i]sword of Zehkar[/i] struck true when he swung his blade at the katana-wielding samurai, felling her with a blow that cut deep through her armor and into the body beneath it. Despite the blood flowing in a rapidly-expanding pool beneath her, when Galen pulled his blade from her body she still breathed, albeit shallowly - and it was up to the gods to determine how much longer she would continue to do so. Burt, seeing his master cut down one samurai before he could approach and aid him, turned and pounced at the other, scoring a few hits on Akiko with his teeth and claws. (If the dire lion had any qualms against going up against a woman with a small sun attached to a metal rod as a weapon, he gave no outward sign of it.) Daleth was now under attack by both Lord Shirimono and Nene. Taking a step back away from each so he could get in some quick spellcasting, he threw a [i]glitterdust[/i] spell at the pair. The ninja, Nene, was unaffected (although now covered in glittery dust that made her sparkle in the illumination from the glowing weapons all about), but the samurai lord was nowhere near as lucky as his devoted follower. Blinded by the spell, he backed away from combat and started staggering in what he thought was a safe direction: along the bank of the stream. Ignoring the wounds inflicted by the demon lion and knowing the power of her own weapon, Akiko opted to attack Syngaard. The flaming orb that made up the head of her weapon passed straight through the scarred fighter's shield and armor and impacted heavily into his ribs; despite the burns that accompanied the resulting wound, Syngaard realized it felt very much like being struck by a morningstar. (And Syngaard had plenty of memories of what being struck by a morningstar felt like; most of the scars on his face were made by the morningstar he now wore at his belt before he took the weapon from the thug who had attacked him with it, back when he was just a teen.) But despite the pain of the wound, a broad grin spread across Syngaard's scarred face, as he realized the only thing better than a paying mission was a mission where you got to claim the enemies' weapons for your own. If this fire-orb-stick-thing was really nothing more than a magic morningstar, then Syngaard knew he'd be able to put it to good use in the future, just as he'd done with his [i]returning javelin[/i] and his [i]human bane scimitar[/i], both of which he'd taken from enemies who had used the weapons against him. Akiko stifled a gasp of fear at the sight of the scarred demon's unholy grin. She was the first of her group to die with honor, in combat against the enemies of her lord, as Syngaard's [i]human bane scimitar[/i] crashed down upon her. Her [i]flaming brilliant energy morningstar[/i] dropped from her grasp as she fell, Syngaard's greedy eyes following its every move. From Carl's back, Orion threw another pair of electrified daggers at Nene, causing the ninja to swear at the halfling's uncanny accuracy. But she had other, more pressing concerns than her own safety. Casting a spell, she darted forward not at Orion or Carl (nor even at Daleth, who was a mere step away from the spellcasting ninja) but at Lord Shirimono, her master. At her touch the blinded samurai became [i]invisible[/i], the shining, glittery motes of dust that covered his body (the result of Daleth's [i]glitterdust[/i] spell) likewise fading from view. Stumbling around blindly, unaware even of his own invisible nature, the samurai lord surprisingly not only managed to avoid combat with any of the foreigners in the area but also managed not to fall into the stream at his right. But Nene's spellcasting had left her open to attack and Kaspar was more than willing to take advantage of that opening. He raced forward and punched with a fist striking as swiftly as a cobra, diverting the ninja's attention long enough for Carl to creep forward in full stealth mode (not even touching the ground beneath him), which in turn allowed Orion to unsheathe her [i]flaming short sword[/i] and send it striking deep into Nene's back. The ninja opened her mouth in surprise, but the only thing that passed from her lips was a gush of her own blood. Then she, too, crumpled to the ground, dead. With two dead and one bleeding out, the conscripts looked about for the missing samurai lord. Ignoring his vision and concentrating on sensing the auras of those around him, Galen felt Lord Shirimono's presence in an area along the stream. He called out the samurai's location and directed his dire lion to attack; Burt did so but only managed to hit once with a pair of claws, not being able to see what he was attacking. "Where is he?" asked Syngaard, looking around for the invisible guy. He'd picked up the [i]flaming brilliant energy morningstar[/i] before anybody else could lay claim to the weapon. "To your right!" called Galen. "I don't see nothin'!" the fighter insisted. "Idiots!" hissed Daleth to himself, casting a [i]see invisibility[/i] spell over his own eyes. Lord Shirimono appeared quite visibly to the elven wizard. "Syngaard: he's about twenty feet to the north of your present position!" he called. "Which way's north?" "THAT WAY!" yelled Daleth, amazed at the idiots he was forced to deal with while serving on this team of conscripts. In the meantime, Lord Shirimono kept stumbling further away along the streambed. The elf indicated the exact area with another [i]empowered fireball[/i] cast directly at the fleeing foe. Lord Shirimono yelped in pain at the fiery explosion but didn't stop his awkward retreat. Syngaard, finally aware of the rough area where his foe was to be found, took him out in perhaps the smartest way possible: rather than swinging a weapon at the air and hoping to hit, the fighter cast his arms straight out from his sides and ran as fast as he could directly forward; as soon as he collided with something he couldn't see, he brought his arms in to give his unseen foe a bear hug. The two (only one of which was visible) collided and fell to the ground. Lord Shirimono struggled feebly, but was no match for the strength of the ugly demon pinning his arms to his sides from behind. Galen, in the meantime, had stabilized Kitome by giving her the most minimal amount of healing possible; she was still unconscious but would no longer bleed to death. The paladin had intended to interrogate her about how they had all come to be here; hopefully Wizard-Pants had some spell that could help with the language barrier. Kaspar, in the meantime, had gone over to where Daleth had told him there was another unconscious woman bound to a bamboo growth, and the monk cut the bindings lashing her in place with the sharp edge of one of his shuriken. He then untied the sash from about his waist and removed the garment from about his arms and torso, placing it around the unconscious woman for modesty's sake. Then, gathering up her weapons (he presumed they were hers), he lifted her and brought her back to the rest of the group. Daleth used a [i]tongues[/i] spell from his [i]staff of divination[/i] to allow himself to speak the young woman's language, once Galen had determined her aura held no taint of evil and he had brought her back to consciousness with a healing spell. She cringed upon awakening and finding herself surrounded by strange-looking foreigners, but Daleth spoke soothingly to her in her own language and that helped calm her down. "What is your name?" the elf asked the young woman wearing Kaspar's top. "I am called [b]Mikito[/b], bamboo spirit," the young woman replied, obviously thinking Daleth was some sort of spirit of the grove. "We just fought a man with three female bodyguards," Daleth informed her. "Were they the ones who bound you in the grove?" "Are they dead?" the woman asked in lieu of answering the elf's question. "Two of the women are dead. The man and one of the women in armor are still alive." "That is too bad," snarled the woman. "It would please me to hear that Lord Shirimono had been slain." Once Daleth translated her words to the others, Syngaard piped up, "Not too late for that!" He still held the struggling, invisible in a bear hug the samurai couldn't break. "Do we need this guy alive for any reason?" Galen thought it over. "I suppose not--" he began, thinking they already had another unconscious foe they could interrogate and a former victim giving willing testimony to the group. That was all Syngaard needed to hear; he released his right hand from the invisible samurai lord long enough to bring his new weapon crashing down upon the man's head, crushing it instantly. The samurai's body regained visibility upon his death. "Done!" Syngaard called back to the group. Slowly, the woman's story took form. She was one of her lord's samurai bodyguards, assigned to protect his son, Lord Shirimono. While she would speak no ill of her lord, she lamented that he did not see in his son the evil that lurked there and would not believe the truth of his actions even with proof of his evildoing before him. "I have been steadfastly loyal to my lord, but I was punished by Lord Shirimono for failing to meet up to his own twisted standards of behavior. After he had finished with me, he left me bound in the haunted grove to die of exposure." "Haunted?" asked Daleth. "Oh yes," insisted Mikito. "The grove is known to be haunted by many strange demons." "So what will you do now? Will you return to your lord, the father of Lord Shirimono?" Mikito hung her head. "I cannot. If I were to return to him, even with proof of his son's actions, I would be faced with death and dishonor. As I will be when his body is found, after I had failed to protect him." "We could speak on your behalf," offered Kaspar once Daleth had translated the young woman's words. "It cannot be. You are outsiders; your words hold no value. You would be executed as spies." "Then perhaps you would like to come back with us," offered Daleth. "We live in a land far away from here, where you would never be found." Mikito seemed to be thinking it over. "What are we going to do with her back home?" Orion asked, confident that the woman couldn't understand her words. "I'm sure Skevros can put her to good use," reasoned Galen. "I mean, he found a good use for Gumruk - I'm sure he could find a use for an exotic girl who's good with a weapon." "I'm sure Mama Kat could put her to good use, too, come to think of it," interjected Syngaard. "Exotic girls bring in extra coin." "Syngaard!" hissed Orion. "You're not sending her to your brothel!" "Well, maybe as a bodyguard then, like me," he countered. "Mama Kat's still got need of a bodyguard when I ain't around - like all the time I spend with you lot getting [i]teleported[/i] all across creation." "I will accept your kind offer," Mikito finally answered Daleth, oblivious as to what the others had been saying about her potential fate in Durnhill. "So what should we do about this one?" asked Orion, indicating the unconscious form of Kitome. Mikito explained through Daleth that Kitome would suffer much deserved dishonor for her continued survival when her lord's son had been slain under her watch, and furthermore that the party would most likely be mistaken for the strange ghosts that supposedly haunted this forest. Before leaving, the group went through the possessions of those they had slain (and of Kitome, still unconscious and now tightly bound). Mikito recovered her own clothing, armor, and weapons which had been stashed away nearby in the grove; once back in her own garments she gave back Kaspar his robe and sash with a grateful bow. The elven monk returned the bow and put the garment back on. Most of the enemies' gear (save for Syngaard's new weapon) was stuffed into the [i]bags of holding[/i], Orion guessed they would sell for a fair amount of coin to collectors if no one else. "Hey! That reminds me!" piped up Syngaard. "We ain't gettin' our other nine emeralds just yet!" "We'll earn them soon enough," Galen promised. "But first we must return to Skevros, so he can try [i]teleporting[/i] us again." "Maybe this time he ought to send us a little farther away from the boulder in question," suggested Daleth. "I suspect the misdirection of the [i]teleport[/i] spell was a defensive measure by the Seekers of Eternity to keep their enemies from using such methods to gain entrance to their stronghold." "Next time we'll just walk up to it and kick our way in," suggested Syngaard. "You get to do the kicking," offered Orion. "Fine by me." "Fine by me, too," replied the halfling, smiling at the thought of Syngaard with a broken toe after kicking an actual boulder - she wouldn't put it past the stupid lunk! "If we're ready...?" asked Kaspar, drawing forth the [i]ring of return[/i] from his extradimensional [i]bag of holding[/i]. Everyone grabbed hold of the ring (or, in the case of Burt and Carl, were ridden by one who did), and then the monk activated the magic of the device. In an instant they were gone, leaving the "haunted grove" behind them. - - - Logan had me queue up several episodes of "Music from the Hearts of Space" with an Asian feel for the background music of this session, but we started out with music with a completely different feel. Then, when the [i]teleport[/i] spell was hijacked, he had me switch the music. I therefore had a pretty good clue going in that we were headed into Kara-Tur (or its equivalent), but I said nothing; he's held on to other, similar behind-the-scenes secrets for me when I've DMed my campaign. (There are occasional advantages to having two DMs in the same household.) And Syngaard is well and truly pleased with his [i]+2 flaming brilliant energy morningstar[/i]. I was tempted to have him sell his original one, but I think he'll hang onto it as a backup weapon in case anything happens to his new toy. (Plus, it has sentimental value.) After all, he now has enough money to buy that thing he's been saving up for, even without those other nine emeralds.... [/QUOTE]
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