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A Journey to the Sea (Greyhawk) UPDATED 7 February 2008
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<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 4039397" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>Letter 48, pt. 1</strong></p><p></p><p>4th Ready'reat</p><p>Zeir-i-Zeif</p><p></p><p>Dearest brother;</p><p></p><p>As I told you in my last letter, the innkeeper Kouroush had arranged for us to meet someone who formerly belonged to the Black Flame cult. At the appointed time, Kouroush introduced us to a man named Babak. He seemed to know a little about us after we explained who we are. Someone called Sethis had warned the cult leader about us - we think this Sethis was the assassin who attacked and killed Illtud back in Ket.</p><p></p><p>Babak told us everything he could about the layout of the cult's lair, which is located in an abandoned manor house. He drew us a simple map of all the areas he's familiar with. He also told us what he knew about the way the Flame is presented to the cult members and how it's kept, though he didn't know much about that. It stays with the cult leader, presumably Kaligos, when it's not being displayed for cult activities.</p><p></p><p>After saying our thanks to Babak, we decided to go and have a look at the cult's lair, at least to see where it lies. Thor is now able to transform a whole group of people into birds, much to his delight, so he turned everyone else into ravens and we all flew there as a flock.</p><p></p><p>The cultists hadn't sealed up the house thoroughly and the twins were able to get inside and look around a little. But the cultists are so fearful that they keep a guard on the place at all times. We couldn't look in every room.</p><p></p><p>There's a statue of St. Cuthbert in the yard near the front entrance. Erasyne claimed she sensed something odd about it when she alit on its' head, but we couldn't investigate it further without drawing the attention of the sentries.</p><p></p><p>Babak had told us that the cult's next meeting would occur on the next dark of the moons, and we decided to wait until then to make an assault on their lair, in hope that we could wrest the Flame from them at that time. Since it would be another week before the meeting date, we had more time to fill with idle activities.</p><p></p><p>I had an odd experience with Delna - if you remember, she's the fairy who came to spy on us for the fey queen. I haven't paid her much attention since we fought Bloodfist, nor worried about the Queen's scrying, even though Shishir gave Delna back her scrying device.</p><p></p><p>Delna came into my room one afternoon while I was looking over the odds and ends I've gathered in hope of one day creating a bogun. Before I could stop her she crawled into my pack and pulled out the twig token the Lord of the Green gave me. Then she ran off to the twins' rooms and took their tokens as well, the cord ring and the acorn. </p><p></p><p>When she put all the tokens before me, she told me she thought if I incorporated them in the making of the bogun it might do something unusual. Being a fairy, of course she couldn't say just what she thought would happen.</p><p></p><p>I haven't been able to complete the ceremony, partly for lack of time and partly because I haven't quite all the knowledge I need to perform the ritual. Delna seems to think that using the fey tokens would make that special knowledge unnecessary. Ordinarily I wouldn't give much weight to the claims of a fairy, but I've given it some consideration and I think she may actually be right. </p><p></p><p>I spoke with the twins at dinner that evening, apologizing for Delna taking their items without their leave. They've both given me their blessing to go ahead and try using the tokens. If the ritual doesn't succeed I'll return their tokens to them; I don't think the objects will be harmed if the ritual fails. But I'm still not sure when I'll have the time to perform on the ritual. </p><p></p><p>The gods have been with us - all of our special items were finished before the date of our visit to the cult lair. I look forward to trying out my new armor. Thor has purchased a charm that can prevent the use of certain teleportation magics. I've never seen Kaligos myself, but Thor thinks he has, and the man escaped by use of such magics.</p><p></p><p>At the appointed date we made our way to the cult lair a short while before dusk. Varian kept complaining that we hadn't planned our assault well enough. I think he forgets we're not soldiers. </p><p></p><p>Thor shaped everyone into owls and I took my large owl shape as well. Then we perched on the crumbling stables to watch as the cultists arrived for the meeting.</p><p></p><p>Thor kept up a running chatter for us, as he was the only one who could communicate with everyone while in bird form. The cultists had two dogs in a small gatehouse, which he realized weren't ordinary dogs at all but hellhounds! After a bit we began to have the sense that our attack was anticipated.</p><p></p><p>Then someone alit on the statue of St. Cuthbert and it behaved oddly again. Its eyes reportedly glowed and it emanated a sensation of warmth, though I never experienced any of that myself. Ninad also claimed he saw an image of the saint in a window of the house. Thinking it might be some kind of blessing, he passed along that information to the rest of us through Thor. </p><p></p><p>I didn't think a whole group of owls swooping down to sit on a statue's head would look quite right, so I declined to try it myself - and in any case, I was larger than everyone else and would have been more obvious.</p><p></p><p>As more cultists entered the house, we all flew through an open window into the upper story and Thor returned us to our natural forms. Thinking protection from fire would be a good idea among the cult of the Black Flame, I cloaked us all in a protection from fire. </p><p></p><p>I wish I'd had the forethought to realize the cultists would have protection from fire, too.</p><p></p><p>Erasyne opened the first door and we found several armed men waiting at the foot of the stairs. We took them by surprise, though - they hadn't expected us to come from above. Thor transformed himself, Varian and I into birds again so we could get behind the men. Once that transformation was over, I shaped myself into a tiger. I've wanted to do that ever since I saw one up close weeks ago.</p><p></p><p>I had hoped that the sight of an armored tiger would be enough to scare off a few of our foes, but I guess they felt safe with their greater numbers. I'd underestimated how big a tiger is and found that I filled up the narrow corridor. I couldn't do much in the tight space. But after snarling and snapping at one of the men, I worked my way out into a wider passage.</p><p></p><p>Shishir came bounding down the stairs, avoiding the guards as if they didn't exist, and went haring off down the passageway after one man who fled. I decided to follow him. </p><p>-----------------------------</p><p><strong><em>To be continued...</em></strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 4039397, member: 30035"] [b]Letter 48, pt. 1[/b] 4th Ready'reat Zeir-i-Zeif Dearest brother; As I told you in my last letter, the innkeeper Kouroush had arranged for us to meet someone who formerly belonged to the Black Flame cult. At the appointed time, Kouroush introduced us to a man named Babak. He seemed to know a little about us after we explained who we are. Someone called Sethis had warned the cult leader about us - we think this Sethis was the assassin who attacked and killed Illtud back in Ket. Babak told us everything he could about the layout of the cult's lair, which is located in an abandoned manor house. He drew us a simple map of all the areas he's familiar with. He also told us what he knew about the way the Flame is presented to the cult members and how it's kept, though he didn't know much about that. It stays with the cult leader, presumably Kaligos, when it's not being displayed for cult activities. After saying our thanks to Babak, we decided to go and have a look at the cult's lair, at least to see where it lies. Thor is now able to transform a whole group of people into birds, much to his delight, so he turned everyone else into ravens and we all flew there as a flock. The cultists hadn't sealed up the house thoroughly and the twins were able to get inside and look around a little. But the cultists are so fearful that they keep a guard on the place at all times. We couldn't look in every room. There's a statue of St. Cuthbert in the yard near the front entrance. Erasyne claimed she sensed something odd about it when she alit on its' head, but we couldn't investigate it further without drawing the attention of the sentries. Babak had told us that the cult's next meeting would occur on the next dark of the moons, and we decided to wait until then to make an assault on their lair, in hope that we could wrest the Flame from them at that time. Since it would be another week before the meeting date, we had more time to fill with idle activities. I had an odd experience with Delna - if you remember, she's the fairy who came to spy on us for the fey queen. I haven't paid her much attention since we fought Bloodfist, nor worried about the Queen's scrying, even though Shishir gave Delna back her scrying device. Delna came into my room one afternoon while I was looking over the odds and ends I've gathered in hope of one day creating a bogun. Before I could stop her she crawled into my pack and pulled out the twig token the Lord of the Green gave me. Then she ran off to the twins' rooms and took their tokens as well, the cord ring and the acorn. When she put all the tokens before me, she told me she thought if I incorporated them in the making of the bogun it might do something unusual. Being a fairy, of course she couldn't say just what she thought would happen. I haven't been able to complete the ceremony, partly for lack of time and partly because I haven't quite all the knowledge I need to perform the ritual. Delna seems to think that using the fey tokens would make that special knowledge unnecessary. Ordinarily I wouldn't give much weight to the claims of a fairy, but I've given it some consideration and I think she may actually be right. I spoke with the twins at dinner that evening, apologizing for Delna taking their items without their leave. They've both given me their blessing to go ahead and try using the tokens. If the ritual doesn't succeed I'll return their tokens to them; I don't think the objects will be harmed if the ritual fails. But I'm still not sure when I'll have the time to perform on the ritual. The gods have been with us - all of our special items were finished before the date of our visit to the cult lair. I look forward to trying out my new armor. Thor has purchased a charm that can prevent the use of certain teleportation magics. I've never seen Kaligos myself, but Thor thinks he has, and the man escaped by use of such magics. At the appointed date we made our way to the cult lair a short while before dusk. Varian kept complaining that we hadn't planned our assault well enough. I think he forgets we're not soldiers. Thor shaped everyone into owls and I took my large owl shape as well. Then we perched on the crumbling stables to watch as the cultists arrived for the meeting. Thor kept up a running chatter for us, as he was the only one who could communicate with everyone while in bird form. The cultists had two dogs in a small gatehouse, which he realized weren't ordinary dogs at all but hellhounds! After a bit we began to have the sense that our attack was anticipated. Then someone alit on the statue of St. Cuthbert and it behaved oddly again. Its eyes reportedly glowed and it emanated a sensation of warmth, though I never experienced any of that myself. Ninad also claimed he saw an image of the saint in a window of the house. Thinking it might be some kind of blessing, he passed along that information to the rest of us through Thor. I didn't think a whole group of owls swooping down to sit on a statue's head would look quite right, so I declined to try it myself - and in any case, I was larger than everyone else and would have been more obvious. As more cultists entered the house, we all flew through an open window into the upper story and Thor returned us to our natural forms. Thinking protection from fire would be a good idea among the cult of the Black Flame, I cloaked us all in a protection from fire. I wish I'd had the forethought to realize the cultists would have protection from fire, too. Erasyne opened the first door and we found several armed men waiting at the foot of the stairs. We took them by surprise, though - they hadn't expected us to come from above. Thor transformed himself, Varian and I into birds again so we could get behind the men. Once that transformation was over, I shaped myself into a tiger. I've wanted to do that ever since I saw one up close weeks ago. I had hoped that the sight of an armored tiger would be enough to scare off a few of our foes, but I guess they felt safe with their greater numbers. I'd underestimated how big a tiger is and found that I filled up the narrow corridor. I couldn't do much in the tight space. But after snarling and snapping at one of the men, I worked my way out into a wider passage. Shishir came bounding down the stairs, avoiding the guards as if they didn't exist, and went haring off down the passageway after one man who fled. I decided to follow him. ----------------------------- [B][I]To be continued...[/I][/B] [/QUOTE]
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