Banewarrens d20 (Angelsboi's party)

[diaglo]

Hydra foiled

The next big thing was the hydra. Eleven heads and a massive body. Fiddle recalled the 7 headed one he had slain oh so many moons ago. He wasn't looking forward to this fight. Perhaps his new ally, the squidman, could distract the beast.

"I'll make us invisible as groups," Sully said. "And with this wand we can all fly." The gnome pulled out one of numerous pieces of wood tucked in his belt.

And with that Alya made them magically quiet too.

Up, up, and away. The party reached the top of the spiral staircase. They passed the hydra, but it did little other than sniff at them. Too late.

Down a corridor and ... into the midst of 3 hulking flesh guards. Battle was joined. Sully let loose another of his blinding magic dusts.

Valorean, Alya, Fiddle, Harp, and Vlad weighed in on the guards. Fextor hung back with Darian and the squidman.

Thump... the squidman's head rolled down the corridor. Fextor's swing was true. He rushed forward to join the others in the other melee. One, two, One, two...

They made quick work of the guards. Fiddle healed the injured.

"Freedom," Darian blurted.

 

[diaglo]

Bodak in a bag

The party made tracks to the cave in. Fiddle covered them as best he could.

They made camp nearby and decided on their next course of action. They needed to remove the curse from the tattoo on Darian. He would need to rest and wait for the morning. So Lathander would provide the proper magic.

On the subject of Valgrim it was decided to leave him behind in the bag. Fiddle dumped out the contents. The party sorted thru them and chose what they could carry. Valgrim went back into the bag. Fiddle stitched it closed with his infinite needles and slings. The party lost 17000gp worth of armor and another couple thousand gps for the bag. Fiddle chalked that up to Darian's shares.

Fextor went to work on the wall using the mining tools. A small burial site.

The night was uneventful. In the morning Darian removed the tattoo and fashioned a place in the wall for Valgrim with another spell. Fextor added a few touches.

Sully took them to Tilverton.

 

[diaglo]

Hopping around

The party dropped off Darian at the Rose Altar to start his work on crafting the items for the Smurfnibblins'. Sully left to pickup Grishelm from Ashabenford almost immediately.

There was a discussion with Filani. And then with Darian's high priest about all of the party's recent news. During which things got a little heated. Fextor was full of questions. It was then the party realized they hadn't told him everything. And Vlad too missed a part of the story.

Alya and Fiddle looked at each other. "Sybil," they said in unison.

So Sully took Fextor, Vlad, Alya and Fiddle to visit the old crinkled elf womyn.

Alarms sounded.

"Who dares arrive here uninvited?" the crone asked.

"Hiya," Fiddle blurted out. "It's us, the Stormslayers. We've got some news and information and possible goodies for ya."

The party filled in Sybil on the latest. And Fiddle told her and everyone about his idea to use the Black Grail and Sully's potion. With all the rounds covered and all the major players informed, Sully took the party back to rest for the night in Ashabenford.

 

[diaglo]

To recover a potion

Once rested, the party knew what had to be done. They would recover the Dragonsblood potion. The Kiss of Life as Sully referred to it now.

But that meant going to the Ruined Drow city.

Sully transported everyone to their normal spot outside the city. He again used his magic to make the party appear as goblins. They strode up to the Giants at the gate and beyond into the city. A little grunting and well chosen words made it an easier task to get by the big brutes.

Fiddle lead them to the ruined building. They ran into some trouble. A roaming band of drow ghouls and a Giant zombie. Alya used his swearing bow... And the party made quick work of the remaining undead.

Speed and silence were important now. Fextor went to work on the spot Fiddle indicated he had buried one of the potions. Everyone else stood watch and waited for trouble. The other potion was back on the terrace. After this one was recovered they would get the other.

Harp vanished. A little bit later he came back and beckoned for Fiddle to follow. Curiosity peaked. Fiddle went to see what his animal friend had found.

 

[diaglo]

My preciouusssss... st00pid hobbittssesss

Harp led Fiddle to another nearby building. The clang, clang, clang of Fextor’s work was only slightly muffled. Inside it was dark. Sully’s magic helped the hin to see. Harp ran ahead. A figure stirred. The image of the evil Vampire from the Banewarrens, the one who had slain Helgert, Moston, and nearly Vaesillian with but a flick of his wrist, came to Fiddle’s mind. They, too according to Darian, could command rats and wolves. This one was drow and a woman.

Quick and feral, the thin, wiry individual was covered with matted brown fur and had a long, hairless tail. She carried a rapier in her paw, and her face was distinctly ratlike. Her eyes constantly darted around, and the nose and mouth twitched whenever she was excited.

“No,” thought Fiddle. “Not a vampire. This one was alive. Something else. Something more like those hulking wolfmen the tiefling had as bodyguards. Silver. He would need to use silver if things got out of hand.”

“Good work, little one,” the sherat whispered in drow.

“His name is Harp,” Fiddle replied in drow.

“Logala, it speaks,” the drowess hissed. “And it fights well. We saw it and its friends kill the walking dead. But they are not goblins. No, Logala. They are not. Their friend tells us. Which side does it fight for.”

“We have nothing to hide,” Fiddle spoke. “We are just here to recover what is ours. We fight for no one but ourselves. The Stormslayers. I am Fiddle Dragonslayer Skipstone. I have slain many a dragon. Which side do you favor? You are not the dead. And you are not a giant.”

“Ours, it says,” Logala rambled. “Ours? This great city was once ours, Dragonslayer. Perhaps, we should take it to meet our friends.”

Fiddle and Logala negotiated a peace. Fiddle would get his friends. And Logala would lead them to meet the remaining true drow of Maerimydra. The newest faction in the war the party had found. A battle of Five Armies… The Drow, The White Banshee, The Moandites, The Giants, and The Dalesmen.

 

[diaglo]

The Once Hidden, now Found.

It took Fiddle a lot of doing, but the party finally did follow him to meet Logala. She was in rat form. She led them on a merry chase thru the ruins of the city. Clearly she knew the place well. She also kept them safe from discovery. Fiddle made sure to cover their tracks as best he could just in case. Time slowed down.

A large inn stood at the intersection. Its upper stories destroyed by fire, but its ground floor was more or less intact, even if the broken windows and smashed furniture out in the street indicated that it did not escape the attention of looters. The bonfires from the Giant’s army were nearby.

Logala uncovered a hidden hatch and climbed from view. The others tensed up. The enemy of my enemy is… Fiddle hurried and followed the drowrat.

“Who have you brought us, Logala?” a deep male drow voice asked from the shadows.

“Friends,” Fiddle replied. This startled a small female goblin in the corner.

The leader of the group or so Fiddle assumed strode into view. His hair was black and cut short, and his skin was as inky black as the shadows he came from. He dressed stylishly in black and dark grey, wearing studded leather. He moved very gracefully with a Greatsword strapped across his back.

Logala and the leader spoke in the language of drow sign. The rest of the party arrived. Alya and Sully took over for the party. Sully dropped the disguises. Hamadh spoke for the drow.

The history of the past few months came to the front. The drow were betrayed to the Giants by some of their own. A secret cult. They worshipped the White Banshee. The giants were led by Kurgoth Hellspawn. Part Giant, Part something else. And then the drow turned on the Giants. What it was over…Hamadh didn’t know. The party or more to the point Fiddle filled in some of the gaps. The Black Grail. The Moandites. The trouble above ground. The reason for the party being here. Heck Fiddle told them about the Spirals of Manzessine and the mind flayers. In return for the information and a password to get into Castle Maerimydra, the Stormslayers would remove the Black Grail and seed the trouble for the besieging forces. The chaos caused by the theft would be the catalyst the Drow needed to possibly regain their city. This too would fulfill the Stormslayers obligations to the now deceased Randal Morn. At least in Fiddle’s mind.

Fiddle warned the others it was not safe. The party had compromised the Hideout. The groups split up. The party fled to the North to recover the last potion. They would meet Logala and get the password later.

 

[diaglo]

Storming the Castle

The fires on the terrace were gone. The goblin patrols too. By Fiddle's reckoning the White Banshee and her undead had turned the tide. It wouldn't be long now before the Giants were all walking corpses.

The party travelled the tunnel to the secret room. Fiddle dug into the mushroom mess and pulled out the potion. They honed their weapons and checked their gear. Sully and Alya ran thru a list of magic they might need in the assault on Castle Maerimydra.

A brief discussion ensued. Should Sully go home and give the potion, The Kiss of Life, to his Auntie? What would the place be like in a month? a week? heck even a day? The magic of conjuring was all messed up. Something. Something inside Castle Maerimydra most likely caused the necromancy to improve and the other magic to falter.

First they would need to get clear of the Giant's Army. Logala and Hamdh had said to come at the Castle from the back. It was unguarded. Once inside the party would need to be drow or undead or just very, very lucky.

The party trudged around the perimeter of the city by way of the Lake and the slave pens. A way Fextor suggested. They met with Logala at the right location. She whispered the password.

Spoiler

Olgar Shiverstone whispered it too so I don't have it in my notes.

And away they went. Across a great expanse of land. Two slobbering vicious ghoul things sniffed the air, but they did not discover the party. The way continued upto a high steep cliffside. With the use of magic a doorway to reach the summit without climbing was produced.

A little uneasiness and then they were clear. They were almost there. The backdoor of Castle Maerimydra.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The assault begins within 48 hours ...

"Certain Death? Small chance of success? What are we waiting for!"

 

[diaglo]

Inside, outside, upside down

Castle Maerimydra greeted the party. Three massive towers connected by slender bridges plus a series of buttressed walls. One of the towers hung from the cavern ceiling. And all of this protected by a Forbiddance spell the party had the password to bypass.

Still they needed to get inside. The back door was at the top of a funneled stairway. Two heavy metal doors blocked further progress. The party each said the password as they ascended the stairs.

"The patrol returns," a drow voice called inside. And then directed back to the party thru a small hole. "Any news from the outside?"

"We are from farther afield," Alya replied. "We must report to the commander."

The gate edged open. "Hurry up and get inside and be quick about it," the drow scolded. "The fun is about to begin again soon."

"Damn, dirty goblins," Fiddle blurted.

Inside there were 3 other drow males besides the doorelf. Also one of the Revenancer's pets helped guard the room.

Alya exchanged a few more words with the doorelf and then led the party into the next room. A mess hall. Six more drow sat here. One stood and asked of news from the outside. Alya once again diverted the potential inquistion. He led the party into a grand hallway. Doors in many directions. The party hung around trying to figure out which way next.

A drow female strode out of one door on the way to the mess hall.

Not that one, Fiddle guessed. He counted in his head, "That makes 11 drow and 1 undead enemy at our rear."

So the party chose another door using the left hand rule and continued.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

That left-hand rule served pretty well.

Well, that plus seeming, invisibility sphere, silence, good bluff checks, and some good luck. And a tendency to resist all the halfling's suggestions.