[AU] The Ashes of Zahran (Massive Updates 2-13-04)

[WayneLigon]

Ashes of Zarhan
Episode 15: Island of the Mighty

The party consists of…
Vorz, male Litorian Totem Warrior (Wolf)2/Litorian3
Sellik, male Verrik Mage Blade4, Verrick 1
Kyran, female Verrik Iron Witch3/Mage Blade2
Mont Nuyen, male Human Unbound Unfettered5
Alayah, female Loresong Faen Greenbond5
Na-Vilarus, male Giant Giant 3, Warmain 2
Rizz, male kobold Expert2

Introducing: Shan Greensong, male Human Akashic3

Still on the road to the isle of the Mageborn, the group finally leaves the marsh area to enter the purview of the kingdom of Huran. The city of Blackgate, a minor harbor, is also the Royal Seat. Having heard odd things about the folk, the group decides to err on the side of caution. They keep to themselves as they enter the quiet city, noting the large number of guards, the disrepair of the outer walls, and the fearful demeanor of the cityfolk. A small place at about 5,000, Blackgate has blasted and melted chunks on the walls, as well as tightly walled and guarded farmholds close by the gates.

They ask in the marketplace about what sort of place this is, really only getting fear and distrust from the merchant they question. Trying to sell the expertly-prepared displacer beast hides, they find that the hide merchant has no real idea of their value, and so they get the idea of seeing the king. Mont especially is suspicious of what he reads between the lines in the discussion of the ruler.

The group moves through the narrow crowded streets to seek an audience with King Thorn, looking to trade with the people inside, but are turned away until it's mentioned they can provide entertainment. Knowing the King is starved for new experiences, the guard captain relays the message, and the group is told to come back later for the feast that night. They leave the small keep and turn back ti the city.

Na-Viloras goes to talk with the guardsmen even as the rest of the group seeks shelter in The Rusty Duck. The Duck proves a rowdy low class place, offering only watery ale and thin stew. The apprentices are taken aback by the surroundings, all save Thesa. Mont performs wonderfully at the Duck as they while away the time. Coin is spread generously around, and Vorz gains the company of several young ladies, especially one guardswoman named Kisa. He and Kisa disappear for a time, until the time to go back to the castle. During this time, the others have heard of the strange and sad circumstances surrouding King Thorn's only issue, his daughter Azia. Azia has had three husbands already, all of which have proven unable to get her with child. Obviously, of course, something is wrong with them; the first is said to have saddled his horse and disappeared with a large chunk of the treasury. The second and third have simply 'had accidents'. In any case, the King is desperate for a male heir to carry on his line.

At the appointed time, the group moves back up to the keep where they are treated to a sumptuous feast with the small group of nobly-born in the area, the aging king and his cold, flint-eyed daughter. Mont even sings some of his most inflaming love songs as his part of the entertainment, but she leaves the area, silent and cold. There are two other performers; the first doesn't do well at all, the young man being very nervous. He's not seen again. The second does quiet well. Mont is given a small purse of coin by the king, for his skill. Mont then goes to seek out the youth who left. Finding the boy out by the stables where he is to be 'escorted' off the keep grounds, he takes the kid aside and shows him a few pointers. Then he takes the young man, by the name of Shan Greensong, back into the keep with him. They play again when their time comes; the youth snaps one of the strings on his instrument, but Mont's playing is so good that not only does he keep the youth's mistake from being noticed, he manages to cover that part of the melody so they create this odd quasi-Litorian set of harmonies. Unusual, certainly, but well received. Shan then is offered some training, which he eagerly accepts. The apprentices do well at the feast, though this time Thesa is the uncomfortable one.

Vorz chats with the king's huntsman, and sells the displacer beast hide to him.

Nothing more is seen of the princess; Mont and Shan even sneak over to play underneath her tower windows, but the lights within are extinguished soon and they leave without seeing her.

They spend the night in the Duck, with Vorz going back to find Kisa and spend the night with her. The next day, they are on the road once more and soon cross over into the kingdom of Tharza and the domain of the Count of Wheron. Having a quiet day of travel, they do pass an odd quasi caravan of people. Careful observation by the group and Kyren's witchsight shows that they are not all they appear to be, and have in fact carefully tried to make themselves look like a small caravan of people from a particular merchant group. Na-Viloras and others can tell, though, that they have a few subtle details wrong. Kyren can tell at least one is a high-ranked Magister, coming from a country that people have said fear magisters.

They pass the group and decide to stop at the last coastal village before the road turns inland, so they can eat good seafood. The Shoe and Ship is a tightly-run and clean inn, but the people within are somewhat too glad to see travelers, especially a group as odd and imposing as the adventurers. Finally, they manage to get the tale from the innkeeper; people die on the nights of the new moon.

The group can't determine what the cause is, though they quickly determine it is some kind of being. Vorz finds strange narrow claw marks on the roof of the foundry, where an odd shadow had been seen last new moon. It apparently looked in the windows, then waited over the door. That night, the blacksmith's apprentice went missing. Sometimes bodies are found, simply… dead. The innkeeper sends the group up to the cemetery hill to see what they can see. Vorz detects a foulness on the air, occasionally, and when the group gets to the cemetery, Sellik casts about for traces of magic. Seeing a moving patch of magic, he calls out and the group begins to pursue based on his directions.

Thus, it's Sellik who first sees that the mist around him has a face, just before it forms into the shape of a mojh vampire! The undead beast latches onto Sellik and envelops him, burying its muzzle in his neck and draining him almost to death in one blow! The group rushes to attack it, and soon manages to drive it off. Hurt and in mist form, the thing tries to flee up into the dark night sky, but Vorz leaps up the twice-dozen feet to slash at it with his sword.. then Na-Vilorus picks up Alayah (who has a readied Battle Healing spell) and tosses her through the monster. Alayah's spell laces the thing with positive energy, apparently disintegrating it.

Returning to the graveyard, they find the things grave and take the things they find there, including a magical amulet.

The remaining travel to the port city of Whitehearth is uneventful, and they ride into the walled city under cover of darkness and find accommodations at the Whale and Sail.

The next day, while looking for a decent ship to ferry them across to the island, Mont notices one of the dockworkers is subtly watching them. Doing nothing strange, being totally ordinary, the man still manages to position himself so he can keep an eye on the group; he's that good of a trained observer. The group manages to capture and disarm the man, who has several hidden weapons on his form. Kyren's witchsight reveals him to be an Akashic/Oathsworn, He's been paid 600 gold bits to observe the group, and retrieve the boy they've escorted thus far. Citing the man's total professionalism, they allow him to live, and Mont swears he'll have a little 'talk' with the Jeweler's Guild when they return to Runestone.

The ship sails, and they get to the mist-shrouded island where the academy stands. They are met at the docks by a group of magisters, and the apprentices taken away. The group turns the spy over to the academy disciplinarian person. The group gets to spend a wonderful night in the clean and well-maintained inn, situated in the 'foreign quarter' of the huge and sprawling complex.

 

[WayneLigon]

Ashes of Zarhan

Episode 16: The Iron Ring



The party consists of…

Vorz, male Litorian Totem Warrior (Wolf)3/Litorian3

Sellik, male Verrik Mage Blade5, Verrick 1

Kyran, female Verrik Iron Witch4/Mage Blade2

Mont Nuyen, male Human Unbound Unfettered6

Alayah, female Loresong Faen Greenbond6

Na-Vilarus, male Giant Giant 3, Warmain 3

Rizz, male kobold Expert3

Shan Greensong, male Human Akashic3

The group rises from the inn on the island, and catches the ferry back to the city of Whitebridge. There, they spend a nice morning looking around, browsing in the markets for trade goods (they find a particularly interesting form of windchime, some kind of native folk tradition, so they buy several for sale later). Mont talks to Shan about his craft a great deal, sitting and walking with the youth for some time.

Leaving the city, the group begins the long journey back. No ships were going to Runestone from Whitebridge, so they think to try their luck back in Blackgate or perhaps sooner. Now that they no longer have to worry about the apprentices, they feel sea travel may be safe for them once more.

Leaving the civilized areas around Blackgate, the group swiftly finds itself pacing a cavalry group that passes by them. Later, Vorz decides to track the group where it took a turn in the road; he smells blood, and then the faint sounds of combat come to the group. Racing to see what’s the matter, the group finds an ambush site that has taken out at least half the small 12-man armored troop. Racing ahead, the group comes upon the remnants of the cavalry troop.. in combat with a pair of tremendous armored hill giants! A gimr battle is joined as the giants destroy the rest of the troop before turning on the adventurers: only a few from the troop live, and of those, only a Litorian sergeant, Kzinalak, remains in the combat. Vorz actually manages to kill one of the giants simply through the power of his blows alone, scoring terrible shots to the monster’s vitals (death from massive damage). Finally, once the giants are dispatched (Mont makes several souvenirs from giant parts, including their huge teeth and tusks).

Kzinalak tells them about the raids coming down from the mountains to the north; the count has commissioned a newly-formed mercenary company to deal with the threat posed by the marauding creatures: the Winterhawks.

Returning to the farmhouse that lay at the beginning of the path, the group and the remaining calvary officers lay up for the night. Scouting the area, Vorz and Na-Viloras find dire wolf tracks that surround the farmhouse, and markings scratched on trees that are obviously meant to be guides to very tall creatures. Tracking back via the signs, they find that the signs guide the giants along a gully-like depression that would keep their movements hidden even from most of the hunters and woodsmen in the area, and hide tracks. The signs go back towards the mountains in a roughly straight line. Disturbed by the discovery, the group sets a watch that night. The next day the group returns with the remnants of the troop to Whitebridge to meet with the Count’s captain of the guard and relay the message, acting as official emissaries from Runestone.

Returning back down the road, the group stops to rest for the night at the same farmhouse. As evening falls, a visitor comes walking down the road towards the door. Suspicious at the non-scent from the young woman, Vorz confronts her. She smiles sweetly up at him, this elaborate sword held carelessly over her shoulder. "You are Vorz?" she says to him, and he nods. "I am here to kill you.." She tosses the sword away disdainfully and punches the huge Litorian, crushing bones under her superstrong fist. She lashes out quickly with bare fist and kicks, dealing him terrible damage while he misses her most of the time, or barely scores a hit. Magic washes over the woman like water, so the group finally opts to surround her even as she’s about to kill Vorz… and they all jump her. All of them together are barely able to keep the woman down, but it’s obvious that simply overbearing her does no real harm to her. So they stay holding her while Vorz uses his acid blade to gradually dismember her. Then they start burning the body parts. Once they manage to chop parts of her off, Sellick and others realize just what she is: a flesh golem. Sent specifically to kill the group. Object loresight even gives that as the primary function of the ‘item’. She was over a hundred years old, built by a Mozh Magister.. who lived in the Tower of Fangs, the place far to the north that has been linked to the demoness Khaz-Hadrath.

A little unnerved by the appearance of a specific assassin, that could track them down in the middle of a supposedly secret mission, the group spends an uneasy night. Dealing with a dire bear that come sniffing around the farmhouse (they basically bribe it to leave, giving it the braised super-dense flesh of the golem), the group departs in the morning for Blackgate.

Travelling to the village where they dealt with the vampire, Mont unveils his newest trade good as a gift to the innkeeper: the Queen’s Measure cup, a shotglass made from the massive canine of a hill giant.

Leaving there, the group once more encounters an odd group of wagons. This time, though, Vorz smells the scent of flesh gone bad, human waste, and other unpleasant things.. apparently coming from the boxed and crated merchandise. Alayah, still becoming used to her ability to constantly see the nature spirits that surround us all, sees that there is a large ‘bubble’ around the caravan where no nature spirit will approach. The outriders, guards and the robed caravan master give the group leeway to pass, and make as to continue on to Whitebridge. But clever eyes see a bit of corn fall from the back wagon at regular intervals. The group realizes these people must be some sort of slavers, and make to attack. The guards and outriders respond as expected, but then the caravanmaster reveals himself as a chain-covered demon! The fight against the monster and the chains it commands is hard-fought but at last the group wins. Taking the long crates out, they find several human slaves. Some have died. All but one (the girl pushing her packing material out of the loose bottom, hoping someone would get curious and search the crates) are drugged and only semi-conscious. And four… four have The Plague. They were kept in a specially marked box.

Alayah manages to cure the diseases the plague victims carry, forcing the corrupt spirits from their bodies. The group sends to Blackgate, a mere two hours away, for healers and transport for the would-be slaves. As the adventurers get the wounded and weakened people to the river for clean water and bathes, some of them also interrogate the only survivor of the group, a mercenary woman named Deliza. She tells the group about how she’s been with the slavers for some time now, but only recently has the… demon been around. Since then, they’ve run slaves but they also do other, darker things. She confesses all, certain now that she will die. She simply doesn’t care anymore. The group finds out about them selling tainted feed to the ostlers and the poor, the disease victims sent into cities to spread death and chaos… all in a long line up and down the forested coast area. There are other groups but she doesn’t know any specifics about them. She does know about the contacts in Blackgate, one of whom is the hide merchant the group dealt with earlier.

Vorz gets to Blackgate to find the city sealed, and the black flags of Plague flapping in the spring breeze. Several dozen people are outside the walls, charged with keeping those inside from coming out. Smoke rises from the walled town where houses full of infected are locked and burned in an attempt to contain the disease. Riders and wagons are sent back for the former prisoners, as well as a couple greenbonds to aid in treating the sick and injured, though they are nowhere near Alayah’s skill or power. They relay the infor about the traitors to the militia captain, who sends word back into the city via arrow.

 

[WayneLigon]

Ashes of Zarhan

Episode 17 and 18: A Return Home and Gold



The party consists of…

Vorz, male Litorian Totem Warrior (Wolf)3/Litorian3

Sellik, male Verrik Mage Blade5, Verrick 1

Kyran, female Verrik Iron Witch4/Mage Blade2

Mont Nuyen, male Human Unbound Unfettered6

Alayah, female Loresong Faen Greenbond6

Shan Greensong, male Human Akashic3

The group takes their prisoner and departs from the area around Blackgate after making sure that healers and such are made available for the former slaves. Na-Vilorus and Rizz decide to stay behind and aid with the clean-up and then stay in the area, to see what can be seen and hear what can he heard. There is a parting, then the shrunken group leaves to make their way around the lands of Blackgate.

First staying with the good Baron Ruder, who will be housing most of the healed former slaves and working at finding them a place once more, or a way back home, the group sets out on the Forest Road which is a days-long detour to the city of Heron, then a shortcut through dense forest back to the main road. Their first night, seeking shelter from the oncoming storms, the group finds an abandoned shrine, though with a fresh deer sacrifice on the worn altar. Once the group steps closer, the bas-reliefs arise and come to life, revealed as hideous gargoyles. A long and bitter fight later, the group stands victorious only to discover that the shrine was once a temple to the baboon god. They discover no hidden areas, save for the temple hoard of silver. And the sword trap that pins Mont.

The city of Heron proves to be a clean and bright walled town, with peaceful people who seem to thrive under Duke Emeris. Their stay is too brief, though, for they are eager to get back home. Taking a shortcut through the forest towards the marsh road, they kill two blade-trolls and hear tell of their smithy and underground complex. The group moves on, through, rejoining the road a couple of days later and escorting in a merchant wagon that turns back when it hears of plague in Blackgate.

Once back in Runestone, the group settles into their villa. Mont goes to see Eana up in the castle, and hear what can be heard about how things have gone over the past weeks. Other than to comment that the Queen tires easily after her long sessions or meetings, she has little real news to impart other than she’s currently working with Crown people on dealing with the traitorous Lord Tharan. Conn has been kept busy, dealing with possible threats to Eana and others, and with maintaining the information network in the Lost Quarter.

After buying potions from Iaska and watching the woman give some lessons to Alayah in exchange for the rare herbs gathered on the trip (as well as gold), the group begins to see what weaponsmithing options are open to them. Contacting Ua-Sylos, a Giant woman who deals in strange and unusual merchandise, mainly spell components, they go see Ar-Lyrn, an armorer.

The group now has another large party at the villa to celebrate their homecoming, and Mont buys off the bond for the two women that have done the most for Vorz as paid companions. Choosing to stay with the huge Litorian for now, the two human women take up residence in the villa for now. During the party, Vorz and Alayah scout the area (knowing that they are still menaced by the shadowy figure of the Jewelers Guildmaster) and encounter two ghouls spying on the villa from a rooftop. They dispatch the monsters without finding much, save that the emaciated bodies were tattooed in a southern jungle manner.

The next day, the group goes to see Dolmen Havvek, the Goldsmiths Guildmaster. The man is pleased that his only son has been delivered safely to the island and the safe keeping of the Magisters. He gives the group their reward, and also some information on the ongoing feud. Mont praises the man’s son, Coran, to him and the Guildmaster invites the group to his hunting lodge a day outside of town, on the edge of the wild lands. The next day finds them mounted up and journeying there, in the company of the Guildmaster, his guards, and servants. The slow-moving party beds down for the night about halfway there, and in the night they are attacked by a trio of medusa who manages to turn most of the Guildmaster’s troops to stone. Finally, the terrible monsters are slain, and the group journeys back to the city so help can be dispatched to the people left behind.

Later, the group decides to pool their money and purchase a failing inn in the good part of town, and re-christen it the Merry Medusa. Days are spent getting the place ready, arranging for entertainment, and such. Shan is given a place at the Inn as entertainer, and the group anticipates a goodly profit from the place.

Lastly, Vorz deals with the artificer Elarus to get some items made.