Clearwater Crusaders - City of the Spider Queen (Updated 17th June)

[Eccles]

Miles' Journal - Part Nine

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Nightal 27th to 29th - Well despite my earlier comment about this road always getting dangerous again every time we clear it of such, we have thus far had an uneventful trip heading south towards Clearwater. The weather is wet and unspeakably foul, my hatred for winter endures still.

Nightal 30th - We continued our trudge through the snow and ice on the ground, until around midday when Pharaxes suddenly looked up to the east, and then hurriedly uttered some arcane words and vanished from sight (no doubt turning invisible). Scant seconds later we were beset by a group of the dragonkin (of which I slew one not long back0. However, one of the four that attacked us was able to breathe fire. While I nimbly avoided the torrent of flames that the creature belched forth upon us, my companions were not so fortunate, and Rand was felled almost instantly, denying us his usual awesome support. Luckily we have a priest to aid us now, and while the rest of us battled these flying creatures, Yvgeny restored Rand who promptly blasted the dragonkin from the skies. To his credit Pharaxes did eventually help out a little, though a warning would have been far more useful, as I bluntly reminded him. None of the dragonkin survived, we looted what we could from their bodies and headed on our way.

We slowed our travel a little, and while the day got more miserable still with this foul winter weather, nothing else tried to injure us apart from a small stone that made its way into my left boot and irritated me until we made camp.

Hammer 1st (1373 DR) - The first day of a new year, and rather than celebrating in a nice warm tavern (or a nice warm woman), I'm trudging through snow and mud on a mission to free a dirty little town from vampires. There are times when being me stinks!

Our campsite was observed tonight by some shadowy figure but we paid it little heed and it did nothing beyond watch. Rand set off early to go and scout out Clearwater using his magic to stay invisible and move quickly, he was certain he would avoid detection from the townsfolk (as the vampires themselves should be torpid during the daytime). He took Bisley (his owl familiar) with him also, to aloow him to scout from the air as well. By lunchtime he had not returned, though we had moved our campsite, trusting to Rand's good tracking skills to find us again. A couple hours later bisley, screeching like a banshee arrived at our new campsite and we followed him back to what looked like Rand's bloodied corpse. Our sorceror still clung tenaciously to life though, and Yvgeny was able to return him to consciousness. It turned out a dragonkin caught him, but left him just barely alive, though it stole away his magical crossbow (which he almost never used anyway).

Our campsite was again observed tonight, and then I was under fire, taking two crossbow bolts in my back in quick succession, and then another in my left leg. Stedd chased away my would-be assassin, who fled towards Clearwater.

Hammer 2nd - After listening to Rand's report on the state of the village and studying the crude map he drew in the dirt (plus the recollections of those of us who have been to Clearwater before), we decided on a course of action. Every day a forage cart was sent out of the village gates to fetch hay and straw for the villages livestock from a barn some distancxe from the walls. We decided upon ambushing the cart inside the barn, and driving it back ourselves, me using my change self spell to take on the role of the driver, the rest hiding in the back of the cart and Rand and Pharaxes following it on foot invisible. We were going to attack the village in early morning, so as to have the benefit of sunlight, and thus greatly reduce the vampires mobility.

Things went extremely well, and for once exactly as planned, we easily overcame the old man on the cart, and left him tied up in the barn, taking the cart and heading back towards the village. Passing through the gates, we waited until they were shut behind us before Rand blasted them to shards with a lightning bolt so as to ensure that we would have a viable escape route if it came to that. We then had to battle through a mob of dominated villagers to get to Alliandre's (Rand's mentors) house, where Rand knew there to be at least two coffins (having seen them there when he appeared back in that house returning from the savage plane we journeyed to). While the others pulled their punches and controlled their blows, limiting their effectiveness in the fight, I resolved not to do so and attacked the villagers as though they were any other foe. My duty is to rid Daggerdale of threats, vampirically controlled peasants qualify in my book. As I hacked my way through the mob, Yvgeny did his level best to ensure that none I felled succumbed to their wounds. The mob then pulled back to Alliandre's house (and as we could see elsewhere in the village, several other buildings, though mainly the Inn). We battled our way through them and to the two vampires they were shielding, eventually defeating the vile creatures, though Stedd was drained at least twice in the process, looking quite pale from the experience by the time we were done. We dragged their coffins out into the sunlit street and hacked them to splinters, denying the vampires a place to recover and thus sending them to their eternal rest.

Next up was the Inn, an altogether tougher prospect as fully half the village was packed within, all determined to stop us reaching any vampires that might be inside. Not only were there the peasants to conted with but Wights too, the vampire commanding the villagers to sacrifice themselves to the wights, to create more undead soldiers to fight us. At this point Slayer granted me an ability I did not know he had, and I found myself able to jump to great height, using this to smash in through a window on the upper floor of the Inn, launching a second front along with Stedd (whose ring allows him to do the same thing). We soundly defeated the wights, Yvgeny turning them to prevent them making more of themselves after only a couple villagers had been afflicted, and Khondar hacking the vile things to pieces in his usual gory way of fighting. Again, there was the mob of villagers in thrall to deal with and gain I refused to hamper myself, dropping many, several of which Yvgeny was not able to save. I regret their deaths, but I term them acceptable losses.

I led the way down into the Inn's cellar as having searched the ground and upper floor, we had yet to find any vampires. Khondar followed me down the steps, Slayer lighting the way. A vampire then dropped down off the ceiling (which I had forgotten to check), charming my dull-witted dwarven companion into protecting him. We quickly dealt with the vampire though. and then hacked up the barrel he was using as a coffin, and I beheaded him to finish him off forever, then taking the head and tossing it outside into the street where it was consumed in flames.

We assaulted the Van Cei manor then, battling darkness and web spells just to get in, plus the vampire lord, his ghostly wife (in Alliandre's body) and a pack of wolves he summoned from the nearby forests who got into the village via the gaping hole Rand had blasted in the gate as our escape route. The fight was vicious and spread over much of the great house. Rand drove the ghost from Alliandre's body, but slew his mentor in the process, still Yvgeny was on hand to hurriedly save her baby from its mothers fate. Furious then, Rand tore into the vampire lord (whom Khondar had been battling for some time, and steadily losing too), blasting great holes through the building with his spells to bring the daylight inside, finally vanquiching him in the dining hall. I proceeded through the building, hunting coffins, decapitating any corpses I came across to prevent them being used against us as undead minions. I was again briefly possessed by the ghost as I tried to enter the cellar, but the others easily knocked me unconscious, and then dealt with her soon after (I know not how, I was out for the count, I came round and was told they had finished off the ghost, I was happy to leave it at that). We dragged anything that could possibly be a coffin out into the sunlight, smashing them to splinters to make sure that these foes would never return to bedevil us again.

We then had to hurriedly clear the area as a bizarre flying contraption crashed out of the sky (apparently shot down by one of the spells Rand unleashed to open up holes in the manor that has hit it as it was flying over) and smacked stright into the Van Cei manor, levelling it. the pilot of this craft floated to the ground by means of some enchantment, and introduced himself as Halbrinn, a gnome who holds the job of Daggerdale's Cartographer.

With Clearwater's population freed from mind thrall to the vampire lord, they were keen to aid us in finishing our sweep of the village, giving us what information they had as to the whereabouts of the rest of the vampires, who we learned included Mayor Butterstone and the Sheriff. We proceeded to search the houses, starting with the smithy where we easily dealt with the elder Rudenheim, who had been turned into a wight. We sent his spirit to the Morndinsamman to pass judgement on his deeds in this life. It took us the rest of the day but we did it, finally finishing off the Mayor in Jake Morgans old house (the old man had become a wight, albeit a feeble one). The loss of the sheriff troubles me, as I've worked with them before, good men all of them. the loss of Mayor Butterstone on the other hand gives me some small hope that Clearwater might have capable leadership from now on. Indeed the townsfolk seem to want Rand to take up the post. With the vampires defeated, and Clearwater free of its nightmare, we celebrated the night away.

 

[Eccles]

An explanation:

It really doesn't come through in Miles' journal about exactly why he got shot three times in the middle of the night.

They were being stalked by a massively well trained assassin with a huge 'Hide' bonus. When Miles got very lucky and glimpsed him, the assassin revealed his Shadowdancer training by Hiding in Plain Sight, throwing his cloak around him and then disappearing.

Miles got all affronted and threw abuse into the night air, telling the assassin in no uncertain terms that he (Miles) wasn't impressed, that he'd seen better, and that he would take the assassin out any day of the week.

So the assassin shot him. (Out of a party of 6, 4 people then rolled '1' on a listen roll and failed to wake up!)

Miles' response? He again shouted that he wasn't impressed and that the assassin was crummy.

So the assassin shot him again.

And again.

Only a few superb rolls by the Monk meant that they could hear him, and he was chased off before his fourth shot polished off the abusive Miles...

 

[Eccles]

Miles' Journal Part 10

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Hammer 3rd to 4th - Helped the people of Clearwater to rebuild some of the village (most notably the gate that Rand blasted apart), in the wake of the village’s liberation. The folk wasted no time in scavenging stone from the collapsed Van Cei mansion to do repair work on their houses and property, as such routine maintenance had been ignored for some time. Oddly enough Pharaxes has not been sighted in days. The last I knew he was in the mansion, but he has always been solely concerned with saving his own skin so I refuse to believe that he was in there when it collapsed as the gnome's airship hit it. Perhaps he has decided that he had lingered in this place too long, it was clear from his demeanour to me that he was hunted, or at least considered himself to be such. I've seen that look in the eyes of the people who have been my quarry before.

Hammer 5th - We set off for Dagger Falls early, as Rand wishes to take Alliandre's body to the Temple of Lathander to try and get her resurrected. I am uneasy with the idea of this, but I know Rand well enough to know that nothing I say will dissuade him from this course of action, so I am staying silent on the matter. For my part, I will be glad to get back to my hometown and get out of the wilderness... at least for a while.

Hammer 6th - Barely any encounters today, save a few wagons on the road. Ohh yes, we did spot a small troop of kobolds, perhaps half a dozen of them not far from the road, in hiding from us, but possibly plotting an ambush on some travellers less suited to deal with them. I went to string my bow to pick them off, only to watch as Halbrinn sent a spark their way, which exploded out into a vast fireball, engulfing and utterly annihilating the hapless creatures. Clearly the gnomish hatred of kobolds is not understated!

Hammer 7th - A quiet day on the road, our only significant encounter was as we made camp this evening when the trees came alive around us. It would seem that the fireball Halbrinn unleashed yesterday severely pissed off at least one Treant, as it told us in no uncertain terms to get out of its woods. We camped in the road instead, and were very glad that traffic between Dagger Falls and Clearwater is as yet not fully re-established, as we were not run over in our sleep.

Hammer 8th - Nothing at all happened during our trek north today, though I daresay Alliandre's body is starting to smell a little. Corpses do that I know. I've not mentioned anything, and neither has anyone else, but from the look on a few faces, I can tell it's not just me who has noticed.

Tonight, not long after we made camp, our rest was disturbed by a pack of Dire Boars who came crashing through the undergrowth, several of them wounded. While the young stayed away, both adults charged into our campsite, enraged with pain and a savage fight broke out. I was viciously gored by the male boar, the pain causing me to lose my grip on my swords and with a flip of its tusked head I was sent sprawling in the mud, scrabbling around for Slayer's handle. The fight was then joined by a Phase Spider no less, the creature that had been preying on the boars, now turned its attentions to us, so we got caught in a vice. Stedd broke the back of the male boar, and then, finally finding Slayer (honestly for a talking sword he can be annoyingly quiet at the exact moments I need him to talk), I got up and finished off the female boar, leaving the spider for Halbrinn and Rand to blast apart with their spells.

Hammer 9th - We arrived back at Dagger Falls in the late afternoon and I immediately headed to report the recent events to Respen, relating that Clearwater was now free of the vampires, the entire infestation having been wiped out. He commended me on a good job, and chided me for not learning more magic, relying too much on my martial skills. He might well have a point. He agreed that Rand would make a fine Mayor for Clearwater should he take up the post.

Rand of course headed to the temple, and then onto the merchants quarters and Thayan enclave to sell some of our groups excess magical treasures and trinkets we have picked up of late, as well as to secure a diamond for use in raising his mentor from the grave.

After seeing Respen I headed to the Inn and paid for the works, clean bed, bath, good food and drink. Khondar has decided that our next mission is to liberate the Rudenheim Clanhold from the Ogre army that is occupying it. I guess that certainly qualifies as a threat to Daggerdale as those Ogres are not going to just stay in their (stolen) fortress forever. Still... assaulting a castle filled with Ogres does not to me sound very conducive to a long life at all.

Hammer 10th - Alliandre was successfully raised back to life at a dawn ceremony, at considerable cost to Rand, who then announced his decision to retire from the group and take up the position of mayor that the people of Clearwater clearly want him to assume. I wish him the best of luck. That part of the country is wild and often lawless, strong leadership is needed and during the past few days, Rand's determination to set right the wrongs done to Clearwater’s people has impressed me. He is as much a patriot as I am, in his own way. Should he ever have need of me, I would not hesitate to answer his call.

This leaves Stedd as the only remaining original member of the Crusaders, and oddly enough makes me the second longest lasting of the team. We have accomplished much, but there is still much more to do to ensure Daggerdale’s safety. The Ogres are next to be dealt with, and I still have a burning desire to repay the Zhents for the ruin they inflicted on my people during decades of occupation. I will have a reckoning for what they did.

 

[Eccles]

Yvgeny's second letter home:

To His Eminence Pietr Orik,
Temple of Ilmater,
King’s Palace Square,
Heliogabalus.

Your Grace,

Hoping this finds you in good health. Health has been playing on my mind as of late, probably due to close encounters with the accursed living dead. Ilmater! I've never had such dealings since my days clearing the last remnants of Zhengyi's army from our borderlands. No pleasant reminiscences, I can safely assure you! But I get ahead of myself; let me return to where I left off my last missive. I shall regale you with an unabridged version of events, as most of my previous adventures pale in comparison with this. Please forgive my complete lack of brevity and modesty in any of the following. I am not perfect!

Our journey to the village of Clearwater was eventful to say the least. According to my good friends, several trips up and down the road between Clearwater and Dagger Falls had been made in the last few months, but adventures and battles occur every time they make the journey. Portals to other lands (common enough in these parts I suppose, I've seen some myself) and werewolves (glad I missed those!) have now been joined by some hybrid man-dragon abominations! We were merrily tramping through the rain (Miles, poor thing, complaining all the while - he should try northern Damara at this time of year) when a flock of these half-dragons decided we were fair game. I can't help thinking these things were summoned in some way by the troublesome Gran'rath: One of them at least could breathe fire! I realised that we would need to shoot these creatures from the sky, so immediately leapt to the defence of Rand, who had been laid low by the flames. Indeed, on being revived Rand threw his usual bolts of electricity at those beasts who refused to fight on the ground, and eventually the rest were bested, although Khondar came close to death too. I think the saving graces of Ilmater were much appreciated, especially after I further salved the wounds of my comrades when we made camp that night.

The remainder of the journey to Clearwater was dogged by a shadowy figure. I will refer to him as he, but this is by no means certain. He followed us for some time but I was unable to observe him for long enough to note any methodology to his behaviour. On arrival in the vicinity of Clearwater, Rand offered to scout forwards into the village, as he knew the locations we would need to visit (the Van Cei mansion) better than the others. He took longer than expected though, but we waited until his owl familiar raised the alarm, then we went left the camp en masse to locate him. He was laid out unconscious, and in another few minutes may have been dead. Ilmater be praised, I was again able to prove my worth by bringing him round with a prayer of wound closure. Apparently, another of the half-dragons we encountered earlier had beset him: It took diverse magical items, but not his life it seems. Thank Ilmater the greed of these beasts outweighs their cruelty.

Our persistent shadower decided to show his mettle on the night before we were to enter the village. Appearances suggest the shadow was some form of guard for the village. However, it did not simply observe us: When challenged by Miles it promptly filled him full of crossbow bolts. Judging by the skill with which they were fired, I knew on the instant we were dealing with an accomplished sniper, not just a scout. Now, what would a deadly sniper with the ability to mingle with shadows so utterly that even my night vision could not pick him out be doing in the backwaters of Daggerdale? The only deduction I can make from this is that the Clearwater Crusaders have made some more enemies in high places. Our previous encounter with the dark rogues in Lord Morn's demesne might have been construed as a failed attack on that great personage. That opinion may have to change; I suspect the Clearwater Crusaders themselves were the target. Thank the Triad I have joined them, as if any of the politics of the Dales are to come to the attention of the King, I am sure they will occur in the presence of this group!

I digress! Speeding up the narrative a little, we made a plan to enter the village involving as little collateral damage as possible. Specifically: we hid in a cart until we were inside the walls. Naturally, this was totally against type for me! Rand however provided the greater wisdom: Many of the villagers were dominated by the incumbent vampires and therefore innocent. Indeed, he was very forthright about the protection of the villagers, proving that not all sorcerers are evil and uncaring demon-spawn.

So, we entered the village. Stedd and I set about us with our fists and Khondar used the butt of his great axe to subdue the villagers. Rand took no damaging action at all, and Pharaxes was absent as usual. The villagers eventually massed at certain buildings, indicating the places where the vampires were hiding: The first building was fairly close and turned out to have two vampire spawn hiding within. We let light into the house, disabling one of the vile creatures and allowing us to smash its coffin. The other fled upstairs and I was the first to pursue. I then got my first taste of the draining ability of these foul things. It felt as if my soul had turned to smoke, and was leaking through a hole where the accursed thing had touched me: An awful, awful feeling. I returned the touch with a good sprinkling of holy water and I hope the scum felt the same way I did! Certainly, I swung the aspergillum so hard it connected with the beast, so now it has a dent to prove that it has seen use! Finally, Stedd, Rand and I eventually bested the spawn, and with its coffin already destroyed this spawn and the previous one was no more.

The next stop was the Inn, which was populated with wights and villagers. The villagers immediately began approaching the wights, offering themselves up (under the command of the vampires) and thence becoming wights themselves. Clearly the choices were stark: Destroy the wights (villagers were in the way), kill the villagers (Triad forefend!) or attempt to turn the wights. I preyed with all my will, begging Imater to favour me and He did! Though I am but lowly in the eyes of the Crying God, He saw the need and I forced the two wights to flee from my god's aura! Only a few of the villagers had been drained, and these were quickly dispatched before they had a chance to rise up as wights and affect more villagers. This left the remainder of the villagers in the tavern to act as 'human shields' for the two turned wights, but they were swiftly knocked down. Only Miles spoiled the show. He and Stedd had gone through an upstairs window with a view to forming a pincer. As it was, one of the wights and its associated crew of villagers had fled upstairs. The problem with fighting with short swords is that there is very little that can be used to subdue the innocent. This is Miles' excuse. Personally, I find the attitude to human life Miles has to be wholly abhorrent, but I was true to my word, and did not waste breath beseeching him to avoid bloodshed. As it was, one of the villagers died upstairs, but Stedd did assure me that Miles did not actively seek to kill him, and called for me as soon as was practicable. Fortunately, I arrived in time to promise the villager that Ilmater would ensure he suffered no torment on his way to Kelemvor, and he willingly accepted Ilmater's blessing before he died. Scant comfort for me, but some for a soul that had been twisted by the foul touch of the wilfully evil vampires. This brought me back to my duty: To rid this village of the rest of it's unwelcome guests.

The cellar of the Inn proved to be the place where the next spawn would crop up. Although we descended with all due care, the foul creature still surprised us, managing to charm Khondar into not laying axe on it. The rest of us, boiling down the cellar steps with a vengeance, immediately surrounded it. I brought my wand of curing to bear; knowing as I did that a simple touch would suffice to damage the vampire's connection with the plane of negative energy. After a short melee it was dropped and became a cloud of noxious fumes, which disappeared into one of the casks. We promptly broke open the cask, and proved the wiliness of these creatures: It was indeed using the barrel as a coffin, which we would probably not have guessed had we not seen the vampire enter it with our own eyes. The cask was dragged upstairs and out into the sunlight and destroyed, the vampire with it.

So, our battle continued, mostly with the charmed villagers, until we reached the Van Cei manor. Being now wary of traps, I followed Rand and Stedd over the rooftop to the far side of the house (via a potion of spider climbing), leaving the rest (by which I mean Khondar and Miles, Pharaxes being invisible as usual) to battle their way in from the front door. On making our entry, Stedd returned to the other two, initially to aid Miles, who had navigated the traps in the entrance and was now beset by a well-armed and armoured fighter, now doubt the vampire lord himself. I decided to aid Rand, as it appeared that a ghost had possessed his mentor, the elven lady Alliandre, and the best way to ensure her survival was to cast the ghost out. Unfortunately, the ghost was exceptionally stubborn, using the lady's magic against us and laughing at my attempts at exorcism. Eventually Rand, who was using spells to weaken Alliandre, cast one more spell. In typically perverse fashion, knowing it would be bested, the ghost threw its possessee face-first into the volley of electrical orbs, killing her on the instant. It then promptly left the body and departed our presence through the ceiling. Rand and I rushed to Alliandre: We both knew it was too late to save her, but both sharing the thought that her child might be saved if we were very quick. With Ilmaters forsight, I had prepared a curing spell to use against the negative energy of the ghost. I could now use this for a better purpose, which was to heal the child the instant after I performed the caesarean. Clearly Ilmater was guiding my hand: Between us, Rand and I saved the child, which Rand named Braddoc after a member of the Clearwater Crusaders who had been lost in a previous adventure.

There was barely enough time for swaddling, however: I wrapped the babe in my winter blanket, as Rand strode through the door into the room where we could hear sounds of combat. I left the babe on the table and went to a defensible position, only to see the vampire fall into the room, shoving Rand aside as it came. My first thought was: Use your holy symbol. I took this as a message from Ilmater, for I knew I could not hope to turn this damned thing, so strong was its evil. I presented the symbol of the Bound Hands to the accursed beast and lo! he cowered down. This was exactly the opportunity Rand needed. He loosed lightning bolts at the ceiling, blowing a large hole all the way to the roof and letting the scant sunlight in. Fortunately, it was enough. Once again the light trapped the vampire lord, and this time it was destroyed before it could move away. Again, we searched the manor to find the vampire's coffin. In the search, the ghost possessed first Khondar, then Miles. In both cases, it attempted to keep the rest of us at bay by threatening the life of the person it possessed. Both times Stedd and I were too quick, and leapt at our possessed friend, knocking him unconscious before the ghost could carry out its threat. Bereft of easily possessed foes, the ghost was vanquished before it could cause more trouble. Hopefully, with its reason for return also vanquished (the vampire lord) the Clearwater Crusaders will not see it again.

Then, just as it seemed that most of the work was done, and I was enjoying visions of a joint church of Ilmater and hospital, a large object appeared out of the clouds. It was clearly heading straight for the mansion, so we vacated very rapidly, and just in time. The balloon (for such it was) promptly reduced my vision to a cloud of dust: Such is the will of Ilmater. The balloon had been punctured by pieces of debris from the roof of the mansion when it had been opened up by Rand spells, but the flier of the balloon (a gnome, as you may have guessed) was not killed in the blast. He was saved by a parachute, which is like a single wing that you dangle beneath by ropes (?!). I must try and enlist this gnome in creating some designs for our secret service. I'm sure they would be useful, although putting your faith in technology and not the Triad would be a little tricky (especially after having a look at the abovementioned parachute!) The gnome's name is Halbrinn, and his job is cartographer, currently working (or not: he's lost his vantage point!) on a map of Daggerdale.

Anyway, back to the tale. With the worst of the vampires slain, the lady Alliandre's body to preserve, a baby to care for and Khondar to return more fully to the land of the living, it was decided that the rest of the Crusaders would finish the vampire-hunting job, whilst I would set up a makeshift hospital in the Inn. There I tended Khondar, his amazing dwarven constitution shrugging off the shroud of death with very little prompting from myself. I then tended to the villagers who were suffering the most. Some time spent in the thrall of such despicable evil does more damage to the mind and soul than to the body, but I helped as much as I can. This village could certainly use a church of Ilmater, and I will suggest as much to Sir Dundragon on our return to Dagger Falls.

My friends have returned, and have described the battle to clear the remaining undead from the rest of the village. Apparently, the smith and one other villager had been turned into wights, and the mayor and the sheriff had become vampire spawn (now full vampires, with their master killed). Halbrinn had joined Miles, Rand and Stedd in battling these creatures, which says a lot for a cartographer (could any doubt his bravery, given that he flies a large sac of explosive gas about the skies!) I congratulated them and healed their wounds, then we settled down for some well-earned rest, safe in the knowledge that the night would not bring horrors, other than our own dreams.

Only one final thing of note: Pharaxes has disappeared. He never seemed comfortable in our presence. To be honest, I don't think he liked the idea of mixing it with a well-known group: He certainly did prefer to keep a low profile. He did seem to have a furtive, hunted look. I wish him well, but currently have many other things that now require my attention, so cannot spare extra consideration for another lost soul. Ilmater! I can't save them all!

This concludes the Saving of Clearwater, with the loss of two souls. I hope Ilmater judges this a success.

I will write anon, your grace.
Yvgeny.

Ilmater save the King.

 

[Eccles]

Yvgeny's third letter home:

To His Eminence Pietr Orik,
Temple of Ilmater,
King’s Palace Square,
Heliogabalus.

Your Grace,

A lull in the hectic activities of the Clearwater Crusaders has allowed me to bring you up to date on events that occurred after the reclamation of Clearwater from the vampires. This missive should be more succinct than my previous effort!

The party stayed for a few days in the village after we had banished the nightspawn, mainly on rebuilding duties (houses and souls). Then, with the defences complete, we left to return to Dagger Falls.

Our trip back was notable for three occurrences. One: Halbrinn has a loathing for Kobolds, evidenced by his annihilation (by fireball) of a group of dog-men that tried to hide from us, just off the road. He excused this on the grounds that a merchant caravan would probably be their target after we had moved on. I have to admit there was little suffering involved, it being mere seconds between the spell being cast and half a dozen charred corpses being created! I am not sure what Halbrinn’s reaction would have been if, say, humans were amongst the kobolds; I’m hoping it wouldn’t have been the same… Apparently, the enmity between gnomes and kobolds goes back centuries. I clearly have much to learn about gnomish history, as I thought they were a peace-loving race…

The second notable occurrence should ensure that Halbrinn thinks twice in future before igniting fires in a forest: Our camp was disrupted by a Tree-man (Miles called him a ‘Treant’) when we stopped the following evening. By the Triad, this creature could have crushed us without a seconds thought! As it was, he told us in simple words that fire starters were not welcome in his woods, allowing us the use of the road, and the road only. Needless to say, for a traveller who lives by the good graces of Silvanus, I went decidedly hungry for a day or so. Additionally, without access to the herbs I was using to belay the odour from Alliandre’s body, there was many a wrinkled nose on the road that day following, too!

The third notable occurrence happened that evening (the day after our visitation from the Treant). This appeared in the form of a family of dire boars, and the family’s attacker: a phase spider. The boars were enraged, and attacked us on sight, the phase spider now taking the side of the creatures of the wild. I’m sure Silvanus was punishing us for causing such carnage in this particular stretch of wilderness: I think a trip to somewhere entirely different is long overdue! I did not play a large part in the battle, as I was protecting Alliandre’s baby son, and the mother herself (alright, her body, but Rand was quite determined to see her returned to life, so this was actually an important task). However, I was on hand to patch up wounds afterwards. Just taking one look at the why-me face Miles was pulling was sufficient recompense for all his misdemeanours in Clearwater: He certainly suffered his fill, being tossed like a rag-doll on the male boar’s tusks!

The following day we returned to Dagger Falls. Naturally, my first task was to report to the temple for a debriefing with Sir Dundragon. He certainly seemed reasonably pleased with my conduct, giving me an almost neck-dislocating clap on the back when I told him a vampire had drained me. I believe this was actually an expression of camaraderie—truly the man has a perverse sense of heroics! I informed him of the need for a presence in Clearwater, and that it was likely that Rand would be returning, probably as mayor. He agreed to offer a unit of the temple knights as protection to Rand, Braddoc and Alliandre (who had been returned from the dead by the Lathanderian clerics). Additionally, he sent Jory Trueman (2nd Head Cleric here in Dagger Falls) to take up the post of Cleric of Clearwater, so I believe we can safely conclude that at Clearwater: All’s well that ends well. I’m happy for Rand; he, Alliandre and Braddoc make an excellent family. For all Clearwater’s losses, it will certainly gain an excellent–and fiercely protective–new mayor. Praise Ilmater for that!

Next, it behove me to discover what had occurred in Dagger Falls in the tenday I had been away. Apparently, a well-known underworld snout had been asking about for a ‘man with foreign features and accent, and who wears grey monk’s robes’. This snout had been caught and questioned, but had little to give up except that his employer ‘hid amongst the shadows like they were his friends’. I’m sure I don’t need to point out the correlations: This sounds somewhat like the shadow-friend we encountered on the road south to Clearwater. A little more investigation may be required, but it’s possible I may have a new secret admirer…

No further information had come forth regarding the monks of the Old Order and the related slayings, or more news of Gran’rath the dragon. Apparently, the Dagger Falls watch are making progress, so I will allow them to conduct their business in peace for now.

Finally, the information I divulged some months ago now regarding the sighting of the Purple Cloak appears to have proven false. I’m sure she was here to get a look at the dragon, but it appears Gran’rath did not excite her interest, as I’ve heard nothing more concerning her since the end of Uktar. This is a shame, as I would greatly like to visit the righteous anger of Ilmater upon the scum of Toril that are members of the Dragon Cult (and a cleric of Talona to boot!). Oh! For the chance!

Ah! A possible way out of the predicament of being too well known has just been presented. Khondar has suggested that the perfect way to top our performance with the Clearwater vampires is a trip to his mountain stronghold. Apparently, the Rudenheim dwarf clan lost this stronghold many years ago to a gang of ogres and giants, who used some kind of dark magic to convert many of the clan members into undead. Clearly, this is a task where I could prove useful, and additionally make myself scarce from Dagger Falls for a while. Ilmater! I don’t like to skulk away, but my semblance has become known to more than just the Dagger Falls underworld, now. Include the powers that have taken an interest in the Clearwater Crusaders, too, and I can see that interesting times are ahead!

Through it all, though, you can be sure, your Eminence, that everything I achieve I dedicate to my Church, my King and my country. Ilmater save all three!

I’ll sign off for now, your Grace, but I’m sure more will follow soon.

Yours,
Yvgeny.

Ilmater save the King.

 

[Eccles]

Yvgeny's fourth letter home:

To His Eminence Pietr Orik,
Temple of Ilmater,
King’s Palace Square,
Heliogabalus.

Your Grace,

I am writing this in the evening after the first day’s assault on the erstwhile Rudenheim clan’s stronghold. The Crusader’s were rebuffed, to say the least. Whilst we lick our wounds, Halbrinn has teleported back to Dagger Falls with the body of Khondar, who fell to the tree-sized club of a maddened Hill Giant. A good day’s rest will be required after Halbrinn returns with the resurrected Khondar, before we venture on again. By the Triad, this will be a battle of attrition!

Let me bring you back in time to when we left Dagger Falls (Ilmater! My prose is becoming that of a romance writer! How Pavel would laugh at my prolix meanderings… There I go again!! Please, your eminence, have patience). I must return here to recount how we gained a mage to replace our trusty sorcerer. As I have previously described, Rand left for Clearwater with his new family and a retinue of Ilmataran knights, leaving us a man short. Halbrinn had certainly proved his usefulness, but his skills were firmly in the Illusion school of magic (barring the odd fireball of course!): We were likely to need someone who could back him up. Fortunately, we didn’t have to stoop to a mercenary (ugh! the very thought of employing a Thayan mage…), as someone dropped on us literally out of the blue. I’m not sure how he managed to get to Toril, but apparently he is a conjuror from the Prime Material sphere of ‘Earth.’ (No, I do not contradict myself; Earth isn’t only one of the inner planes. Apparently, the denizens of this area in the Prime declare it is a globe, like Abeir-Toril, made up of not only ‘Earth,’ but Air, Water and Fire too.) They don’t seem to be aware that their pet name is peculiarly odd, but as the ‘intelligent’ race populating this sphere is entirely made up of humans (a distinctly land-oriented group) I guess they are only conforming to type. Adamo (for such is the name of the mage) claimed to have somehow opened a planar rift (gate?) and had been sucked through, to appear in this vicinity. His story bore credence; I could detect none of the usual liar’s tics. However, the more I monitored him, the more I noticed a slightly distracted look. It was almost as if there was an invisible imp sitting on his shoulder and whispering in his ear. Then I remembered: He was a mage. There was a very good chance that there was an invisible imp, sitting on his shoulder and whispering in his ear! Still the niggle did not leave me, and later events would prove my senses worth listening to…

Two days in, on the trip into the Desertsmouth Mountains and the Rudenheim clan stronghold, beasts beset us. I cannot be more specific, as neither my companions nor I could name them. All I can do is describe them: Ugly, with odd-shaped heads incorporating a large proboscis. They used this proboscis to spit acid, which hit several of the Crusaders before we could act. I was splashed with this slime, which did my monks’ toga no good at all. Fortunately, it took several seconds before it began burning into my skin in earnest: Enough time for me to scrape a good deal off (the benefits of my heritage helping here, I suppose). Anyway, before the beasts had a chance to press their advantage, Adamo had summoned what I first took to be some kind of fiendish octopus. Before I had a chance to think ‘Cursed demon-spawn sorcerer!’ the thing had laid into our assailants and merrily ripped them to shreds. We mopped up the remainder of our foes in short order, and then questioned Adamo closely on just what his affiliations were. He assured us that he did not summon creatures from the lower planes, but ‘from beyond.’ There was definitely a glint of mania as he discussed this, but I put this down to a mage dabbling in the outer fringes of what is good for him, not to an evil bent, per se. Still, I would think it remiss of me not to keep an eye on this character, for we barely know him.

Further proof of the usefulness of our new mage came only a short while later when we blundered into the path of a foraging wyvern. Whilst the rest of us attempted to shoot the thing down with arrows, bolts and sling-stones, Adamo summoned a flying… thing. Apparently, he intended an owl, but the curse he is under (beyond my ken, this curse is otherworldly and I don’t comprehend it) brought what we saw. I will simply describe it as a wyvern-bane, for that was the result: The wyvern was torn in half, leaving us little to do except to clean ourselves up and continue.

Our next foe was on a slightly different scale, however. Ilmater only knows what depraved magicks managed to infuse a 130’ (that’s one-hundred and thirty foot!) tall humanoid skeleton with false life, but that is what we were faced with. I reached for my holy symbol, but the emanations of negative energy told me that I could not hope to disrupt this thing’s contact with that plane: We would simply have to bring it down with weapons. Stedd helped by jumping to its pelvis (truly his ring of jumping has it’s uses!) and attacking the giant skeleton’s backbone at that point. Khondar, given enough space to swing his axe in massive arcs, just hewed at the things ankles (ankle-biter jokes may have been amusing: getting in the way of Khondar’s axe certainly wasn’t!) until it could stand no more. Finally, I hit the thing in the shinbone with an empowered fist, and a crack appeared… which spread up the bone to the knee. At this point, the negative energy fizzled, and I warned the rest to jump clear. On the instant, the remainder of the skeleton began to crack, and in a matter of seconds the whole thing collapsed. Fortunately, no one was buried. I dedicated the destruction with a short prayer to the Triad, but got no particular joy in my achievement. Such a skeleton could only have come from something as mighty as a race of long-lost super-Titans. What mighty personage deserved such a sacrilegious end, and who would perpetrate the crime of animating his remains? There would be answers…

Anyway, those answers would have to wait, as we were still travelling through dangerous terrain, and focus had to be maintained. So it was that we were ready when a pair bulettes (land-sharks, if you will) thrust up through the ground whilst we were travelling the next day. This fight was short, bloody and inglorious, so I will leave the description to those with more lurid memoirs…

The evening of this day brought us to within a few hours’ march of the stronghold, so we camped that evening under an escarpment that hid us from direct view of the stronghold, and made ourselves ready for the following day.

Looking back on our first attempt at forcing entry to the stronghold, I can see that our previous successes had imbued us with a little arrogance. We should have questioned Khondar as to possible secret entrances, for the main gate was well defended. First, we had to navigate a narrow winding gorge, protected by crossbow-firing dwarven skeletons, well hidden behind arrow slits, and the ogre guards set to protect the approaches. These we dealt with in short order, the skeletons being weak enough to scatter with a well-timed thrust of my holy symbol. However, the aura generated seemed weak, being barely enough to turn the undead. This, with hindsight, was a warning: There would be death ahead; this was not the best way. Khondar was to find this out, to my shame.

By the time we got to the main doors, they were barred against us. It took repeated should charges by Khondar to break open the doors (by the Triad, this is one strong dwarf!) but by that time, we were confronted by a chasm cleared of its rope bridge, with diverse enemies on the far side. The ogres launched javelins, mostly at the dwarf, whilst the giant did the same with several head-sized rocks. Halbrinn set up a distracting illusion to try to draw the enemies’ fire, whilst I formed up a spiritual fist of Ilmater, to try to dismantle the stack of rocks that the giant was using as ammunition.

After various exchanges of magic and huge projectiles, Halbrinn enspelled Khondar so that he could fly, and he and Stedd jumped the chasm to take the battle directly to the enemy. They took down some of the ogres, but the battle turned when Khondar attacked the giant. It shook with rage and then promptly unfurled a huge club and swung it at Khondar as if to bang in a tent peg. Despite the stoutness of the dwarf, he lasted mere seconds under the onslaught, being bashed to the ground, and then bashed again for good measure. There was quite literally nothing the rest of us could do; Stedd was forced to jump back to prevent the ire of the giant being directed at him. As it was, he managed to finish the last ogre before he jumped, receiving a blow with a rock by the giant for his troubles. He managed to get back, the last vestiges of consciousness leaving him as he landed, and allowing me to stabilise his ebbing life force with a minor prayer.

We were thus again obliged to use ranged weapons to kill the last giant. With a final concerted effort, the giant keeled over: As his rage left him, so the giant slumped and died, leaving the entrance hall devoid of living foes. We took this opportunity to rescue Khondar’s body then retired, swiftest, to heal, before reinforcements could arrive. I could hardly argue, although I had received little in the way of injury. It was plain to see that a number of the Crusaders had suffered greatly, so I dealt out healing as we went.

So this brings me to the current point in time. We have found a defensible position, the better to resist the search parties that will no-doubt be sent out to scout for us. Halbrinn has gone, using Khondar’s ring of teleportation (these were found on the bodies of the dark rogues encountered at Lord Morn’s mansion). He has taken Khondar’s body with him, with the idea of resurrecting him. The rest of us have completed work on the defences of our camp, and now rest (uneasily) with the expectation of discovery uppermost in our minds. Fortunately, no signs of pursuit have been discovered so far, which is fortuitous, as we now number only four with Halbrinn and Khondar not yet returned.

One last thing. Before I put this scroll in our teleporting case, I got a night’s sleep. During this period of slumber, I experienced one of those unusual dreams I get periodically. This, like the ones before, was accompanied by visions of an ancient, dust-enshrouded city. However, this time I walked amongst it’s narrow streets, accompanied by the winged celestial I’ve mentioned previously. The city had strange geometric buildings, multi-storeyed in terrace-like fashion and when the people talked, their language, though foreign, seemed almost comprehensible to me. Finally, the celestial brought me before a temple, which had a white conical crown, a crook and a flail as the symbol of the God it represented. Here, the dream began to fade, leaving just the temple’s symbol in sharp focus, until that too disappeared, and I found myself awake with cold drizzle chilling my neck and arm.

It appears Imater did not take my dreams as a sign of apostasy, however, for in morning prayers I felt invigorated. I was able to exceed the normal amount of Ilmater’s power I could accept into myself, so was able to prepare more spells than my usual allotment. Ilmater has blessed me with visions of my past, and with the ability to better shape my future! All-the-better to fight those forces occupying the dwarven stronghold of our friend Khondar, who has been returned to us hale and hearty, if a little lighter in gold!

I will write more anon, your grace, with Ilmater’s will. For now, I will sign off.

Yours,
Yvgeny.

P.S. Due to the rapid changes in membership, I thought it useful to list the new line-up of the Clearwater Crusaders.

Stedd of the Old Order. The only original member of the Crusaders, and a useful friend. His monkish skills are greater than mine, but he appreciates my healing powers all the same. Raison d’etre: Returning his monastery to its former glory and clearing their name.

Miles O’Kane. A professional killer, and probable enforcer in the employ of the government of Daggerdale. Has some small (but useful) skill in magic, scouting and fighting with two swords. The damage he can dish out, in the right circumstances, with these swords (each barely larger than a good-sized dagger) is appalling, but effective. Raison d’etre: The protection of Daggerdale and the destruction of the Zhents.

Khondar Axewielder. A barbarian dwarf, with awesome ability to wield a greataxe. Never approach within five feet when he is in battle, as the flying blood and gore may make you fear for your own life. Raison d’etre: The recovery of his clan stronghold and discovery of more Rudenheim dwarves.

Halbrinn. A gnomish technomancer, good with illusions and the odd fireball. Knows his technology, which should prove useful against traps and snares on our journey into the stronghold. Raison d’etre: The discovery of manuals of magical creation and mechanical engineering. Additionally, building his own ‘constructs.’ (?)

Adamo. Conjurer extraordinaire. Don’t know where he summons his beasts from (and don’t want to!) but proved his usefulness in several fights already. Raison d’etre: Unknown. I must rectify this, as he is truly an unknown quantity, himself.

Myself. Good at filling in all the gaps that my heroic friends don’t cover (namely: the ability to heal wounds and confound undead). Additionally, good with a stunning and empowered fist when a monster needs quieting quickly. Raison d’etre: Advancing the cause of Ilmater and Damara.

Hope that leaves you suitable enlightened, your eminence?

Ilmater save the King.

 

[Eccles]

Yvgeny's 5th Letter

To His Eminence Pietr Orik,
Temple of Ilmater,
King’s Palace Square,
Heliogabalus.

Your Grace,

I am writing this during a lay-up that has been forced upon us by the battering we have received this past couple of days. Although only that length of time has passed, half-a-lifetime’s suffering has been endured it seems, in trying to progress into this stronghold. Please excuse the poor quality of my script; my main writing hand is in no condition to hold a quill! I will relate the events in their entirety, but I will hold back on the details of our battles, excepting the important confrontations: To relive the slaughter of strong but stupid foes does no justice to my god, my country, or myself.

From my last debrief, the Clearwater Crusaders had set-up a defensive camp to await the return of Halbrinn and the dwarf, Khondar. Our enemy was indeed out in force to find us, but it was not until the morning that they discovered our trail, and by that time all six of us were ready for them. They were defeated, and though we took some injury ourselves, it was not deemed severe enough to prevent our immediate return to the stronghold.

However, the way was now trapped, as Stedd found out when he was first to approach the main doors (sealed again, after Khondar’s ‘shouldering’ of the previous day). Fortunately, Stedd has the reactions of a cat, and the fall of boulders that should have did for him purely dusted his sandaled feet as he jumped aside. No more traps prevented our approach, except the entrance way…

The main doors were no contest this time. Halbrinn used his magic on the doors to unbar them (interesting trick; magic is far more subtle than it first appears!) However, he could do nothing to prevent the little surprise on the other side: As soon as Khondar attempted an entrance, he was again met by a volley of javelins. So then it was my turn to attempt some subtlety. I moved up to the door, and took a quick scan to check no javelins were primed, then completed the spell of calming emotions I had memorised, which succeeded in pacifying the two ogres across the chasm from us. We took this opportunity to burst forth from the door, with a view to closing with the now quiescent ogres. However, they were still thinking rationally as one of them opened the door on the far side of the chasm and stepped through, calling out something in it’s guttural patois as it went. Our baited breath then became sharply intaken: The accursed thing had only called a thrice-damned chimera! With a green dragon’s head no less!! Expecting a dose of dragon’s breath, we were not disappointed: Most of us were out of the way when a cloud of noxious gasses was blasted at us. We all survived, but the newly repaired rope bridge did not. Fortunately, the chimera did not have the battle-nous of its keepers; it flew to our side of the chasm, which gave us the advantage of surrounding it. It did, however, charge at Khondar with it’s goat-head delivering a butt of such savagery that Khondar was knocked down. The good dwarf got straight back up, however, and joined the rest of us in returning the foul beast to the breast of whichever Power represents such things. We then turned our attention to the chasm that was blocking us from our goal…

Here is where our glorious ingression foundered, becoming farce. In his haste to cross the chasm, Miles lost his footing and plunged into the hole. We heard a distant splash from below; Adamo flew down to see if Miles could be saved whilst Stedd jumped the chasm with ease, carrying a magical rope. This thing tied itself to the bridge supports that were still left, giving us a method of crossing, whilst Stedd took on the remaining becalmed ogre.

Here is where I disgraced myself. Partway across I looked down, only to see a huge version of Adamo (a spell, I learned later, had enhanced his size and strength) hurtling towards me, carrying Miles! This momentary loss of concentration was enough for me to lose my foothold on the rope, and I tumbled past Adamo to fall with a breath-dislocating splutt! into the shallows of the same pool that had claimed Miles. Fortunately, I remembered my training and deliberately forced my body to go limp: I’m sure I would have broken every bone I had otherwise. The chasm was at least two hundred foot deep, and I was surrounded by a fog bank for some reason, which just added to my complete dazedness! I shortly found the reason for the fogginess: There was a gaggle of bowmen waiting on the banks, so it was fortunate for me that Adamo had laid the fog cloud, as it gave me an opportunity to use my wand to cure myself of some of the falling injury. As it was I was being carried along by a current in the water, and thus did not have the ability to prevent myself from being impelled from the cloud. The bowmen shot at me the moment I emerged, so I dragged myself from the water to deal with them. They were more of these dark rogues that the Clearwater Crusaders have been dogged by for some time now, from well before the time I saw them at Lord Morn’s, apparently. Like a punch-drunk kick-boxer from Kara-Tur, I just waded into these creatures, screaming profanities and not calling on my god, uncaring as to whether they dropped me or not. Finally, I felt a hand grasping at my toga, and just prevented myself from throwing a punch at Adamo, who had returned to rescue me from my predicament. I am afraid that I have disgraced Ama’s teachings in that moment; I must walk the Hard Path a little longer before Ama would judge me at journey’s end. To say nothing of the Gentle Path, your eminence! I have much more to learn there, too, of that you can be sure.

On returning to the stronghold entrance, we resolved that we would go no further. Both Miles and I were severely concussed, and diverse others had taken serious wounds. We set about using the little time we had to facilitate an easier ingress into the entrance area, but were surprised when a flying blue ogre suddenly appeared. I have not seen an ogre mage before, but knew exactly what it was as soon as I laid eyes on it—they are quite considerably different from their lesser kin. Its first action was to blast us with a maelstrom of frigid air, laying several of our members out on the instant. I quickly swallowed a potion of invisibility, the better to revive my fallen companions before more magic could be used to kill them. However, it seems the ogre mage was purely interested in who had invaded its citadel, for it did not press its advantage after we had returned fire with our own abilities, simply disappearing so completely we were unable to locate it.

We took this opportunity to make our escape, before more conventional forces returned to finish us off. Thus ended our second attempt at invasion of the Rudenheim clan stronghold, with the ignominious record of not getting any farther than the entrance for the second time! Damn these dwarves for creating such an eminently defensible front door!

We then spent the rest of that day recovering. As mentioned previously, Miles and I were mostly concussed, so recovered without the aid of Ilmater. I was obliged to use some prayers on the others, but it was not so much that I was completely devoid of the protection of my god. We then returned under cover of darkness, to see if we could surprise the occupiers.

With the Triad’s blessing, we were able to get past the doors into the stronghold with no battle required, as the guards were asleep. Those who could easily cross the chasm finished off these guards in short order. The rest of then crossed the chasm with considerably more care than last time, blessed as we were with the luck to have got thus far without a great deal of noise.

We moved stealthily past the doors on the far side of the chasm, and then Miles scouted ahead, searching the caverns that were immediately behind the doors. He returned, telling us that there were a group of sleeping ogres on one side of the cavern and an ogre and giant on the other, and that many stalagmites and stalactites, with a large central column that we could use to hide our progress, divided the cavern. I blessed the Crusaders with Ilmater’s favour for this impending battle, and then we all progressed as stealthily as possible towards our sleeping enemy. So it was that we were able to make a commendable ambush of our foes. I tackled the giant with Khondar; Stedd took an ogre to himself, while Miles, Halbrinn and Adamo battled the remainder of the other ogres. This fight went in a fairly straightforward manner, notable only for the fact that I managed to stun a hill giant. Ilmater! But the tools I have been provided with are most useful!

When we had finished, we listened for signs that our approach had been discovered. There were sounds of our enemies from two directions, one from a large room attached by an umbilical tunnel from our current location, and protected by a portcullis. The other sounds were coming from a corridor on the east side of the cavern. The sounds from this direction seemed to indicate that a large war party was approaching, from the south, up this corridor. We resolved to go north, checking the first room we came to. Before we had a chance to move, however, a small shiny object was seen to fly, north to south, along the corridor. Before it could escape from sight, Halbrinn flashed a fireball at it, blowing it from the air before it could report our existence. Halbrinn had good presence of mind, here, as it turned out to be a silver raven, which he quickly pocketed. He explained its usefulness as we swiftly sped north: It was a ‘figurine of wondrous power,’ a generic catchall for an animated object that appears as some form of beast, any one of which having diverse powers. Apparently, a silver raven is a common minor form of such an object. My heart still skipped a beat, however: I have spent too long in Scardale Town not to see Silver Ravens (q.v. letters sent circa Elesias 23rd - Eleint 9th, 1372 DR), or symbols thereof, as something entirely different!

Enough of the conspiracy theories! On opening the door we were in front of, we found ourselves before an oversized desk, with an ogre behind. This ogre clerk was quickly dispatched, without excessive noise alerting the group to the south. No pause for thought was allowed, however, as we still needed to find a place to hide from that pack of ogres, so when we came to two doors, I quickly listened at one while Halbrinn went to the other. Halbrinn was unfortunate to trigger a trap, enveloping himself in a cloud of gas, which attacked his respiratory system (at least I judged it so from the hacking cough that emitted from the poor gnome!). There was little I could do to prevent the progression of the gas in his lungs, but fortunately his own body forced his recovery better than my healing skills. He then got up off the floor and disabled the trap: Truly impressive!

However, our perils were not over, for the door refused to budge when we tried to open it. Khondar charged at the door, shifting it a little, but before he could bash the door again, it was jerked open and he charged headlong into set halberds, impaling himself horribly. The ogres simply kicked his body from their weapons, then reset them. We were now faced with a doorway full of bristling blades, with a steady stump-thump pounding echoing up the corridor to the south. Soon, we were going to be trapped like rats in a barrel, as the corridor we were in ended with a blank wall, just around the corner from us. We had no choice but to get into the room; it was the only defensible position and the other door was closer to the southern pack. I dragged Khondar out of the way, reviving him as I pulled him clear. So close to death, he could not help in this fight, so went with Halbrinn to guard our rear.

Adamo then summoned one of his otherworldly creatures (a ‘snake’), to deal with the commander of the ogres, who was standing well into the room and out of our reach. Miles, who was better trained in house-to-house warfare, had taken up a position where he could stab the ogres when they lunged out of the doorway, using the walls to either side of the opening itself to provide cover against the longer and less wieldy weapons. Fair credit must go to him, for he braved many stabs before he fell. I then forced myself amongst the halberds, in order to drag his body from the fray, and got skewered quite badly in the process. By this time, the snake had crushed the leader to death, which demoralised the ogres. With the beast behind them now turning its attention to them, the ogres in the doorway were bested in the ensuing pincer.

With the ogres out of the way, we pushed into the room; using the furniture the ogres had piled up against the door to again barricade it. Halbrinn had apparently used some form of illusion to delay our pursuers to the south, and we used this respite to block-up the door properly. It did not stop the invisible ogre mage however, which had apparently entered the room unbeknownst to us (probably by teleportation, or some gaseous form). It demanded we drop our weapons and our valuables, assuring us we would be allowed to depart if we did. Not one of us obeyed: All still standing attacked on the instant as if we were all one creature. Stedd leapt at the blue-skinned ogre, which had manifested near the ceiling behind us. The creature then dropped to the floor, standing in a corner to prevent flank attacks. Adamo, assessing the situation with a speed rarely found in those not militarily trained, launched a swarm spell at the creature, then advised us to rush the beast to prevent its escape from the mass of vermin (bats, in this instance) thence created. Blocked into the corner and unable to cast spells due to the battering of numerous bats, it looked like the ogre mage would be swiftly destroyed. However, it had one last surprise for us: It lashed out at Adamo with foot and fist, knocking him flat. Clearly, the sly beast had had some training in the Art! However, that was its last attack; with a final concerted effort we dropped it before it could escape the swarm and teleport away again. Dropped it, but didn’t kill it: Fortunately, Stedd and Miles noticed that its wounds were not leaking blood: It was regenerating like a troll! We quickly applied some fire to its wounds, searing them enough to ensure that they could not close up. At last, the ogre mage was dead.

Miles had brought Adamo around, which was fortunate! The ogres were by now beginning to break through our barricades, one getting into the room in a vain attempt to get to his leader. This one managed to put Adamo down again, but we finished him off before he could do more damage. I then brought Adamo round, and just in time. Halbrinn had slowed down the first few ogres through the door with a spell that threw a wave of colours at the ogres, causing some of them to pause as if stunned. Adamo then shored up the defences by creating a mass of black tentacles in the doorway and corridor. The few ogres who managed to get themselves in a position to trouble us were dealt with, and the rest ran away, demoralised by seeing their leader in a pool of blood with a whole nest of writhing tentacles blocking their way.

Adamo said the spell he had cast would prevent ingress or egress for several hours, so we used that time to rest up. We examined the corpse of the ogre mage for valuables, and anything useful to illuminate the M.O. of these beasts. One of the objects in the possession of the ogre mage was a staff, which paused to speak as I was putting the thing in our magical bag of holding. I felt the thing use a spell to affect my mind; momentarily, I was moved to listen to it. However, the spell was broken as soon as I asked it whether it knew of Ilmater; it said no, and I was able to move freely again. I promptly dropped the staff into the bag before it had another chance to attempt an enchantment.

Come the morn, and we were ready to fight on. I prayed for my spells as usual, and used the great majority of them in straightway healing my injured comrades and curing Halbrinn’s lack of breath (caused by the gas trap from the previous day) with a restoration spell. I reserved a few prayers for emergency, then declared myself ready.

Adamo’s tentacle spell had dissipated, and so we were free to leave the room we were in. We explored the corridors off the eastern end of the cavern, and the cavern itself, finding nothing of interest save for several chests containing a goodly amount of Rudenheim mithril. We therefore went back to the umbilical-like corridor off the southeastern end of the cavern, and followed this tunnel to the abovementioned portcullis. This was raised in short order, and we entered what was a large room, with a door at either end, and with a large section of floor dug up. We checked the doors, but found them nothing more than elaborate traps: Both were protected by magical fire, and both hid nothing but a blank stone wall, when opened. There was nothing for it but to hope the hole in the floor could lead us somewhere. The hole had steps cut into it, which we followed down, arriving shortly at a narrow walkway.

We followed the walkway for a little distance, before coming upon a small river. Well trained in the peccadilloes of this place by now, we were expecting a little je ne sais quoi, and that is what we got. A water ogre wielding a huge spear suddenly burst from the river, as we were about to cross, forcing us to hurry. Miles, Stedd, Khondar and I all tumbled or jumped past the thing. However, there was little room on the far side, and Stedd and I were forced to tumble from the path we were on, fortunately falling just a couple of dozen foot or so, to land safely on a flat stone floor below. Before we had a chance to help the magic users, we were forced to reassess. We heard the guttural speech of perhaps a couple of ogres and a giant, and suspected it was going to be mere seconds before we were discovered. Trusting Halbrinn and Adamo to deal with the merrow, we arranged ourselves to rush the other group. We crept as close as possible, and then charged in a surprise attack.

Stedd went for an ogre, while Miles and Khondar went for the giant. I went for the giant, too, hurdling the stream that the giant was standing by with a ten foot flying kick. I delivered the kick to the giant, but fell awkwardly in the stream, slipping down the bank and into the water. Clearly this giant was smarter than the rest, for he ignored his more immediate foes (Khondar and Miles) to finish off the one that had just disadvantaged himself (namely: me!). I then learnt what is meant by a ‘crushing defeat’. I will not describe it any further than that, other than to say that when I woke up I was in possession of several broken ribs, a dislocated arm and severe bruising over most of my body: The rest of the day was one of the ‘holiest’ I’ve ever experienced! Ilmater, have mercy, that hurt! I cannot describe the rest of the battle, but it appears Adamo had managed to charm the water ogre into aiding the rest of the Crusaders, and this swung the battle in our favour. After being brought round, I heard that Miles had scouted a bit further into the cavern we were in, discovering a mixed group of six foes. At this point we decided that it may be wise to adjourn to the surface again, and camped this time in the entrance to the stronghold, the better to spy for any foes that approached. Fortunately, none did.

It is now the evening after the day mentioned above. I have spent the afternoon resting, and searching for food, which is scarce in this part of the wilderness. I have also communed with Ilmater, for I am planning a confrontation with the ogre mage’s staff. I know that this may not be wise, but we need an insight into our foes methodology. If the ogre mage is just the edge of the glacier, we must have warning as to what we will face next, or more may die. For now, I’ll just lie still and pray to Ilmater for guidance. Ouch, these aching ribs!

Yours,
Yvgeny.

Ilmater save the King.

 

[Eccles]

Yvgeny's letter concerning conversations with a Staff of Power

Your eminence,

The following is a transcript of my discussions with the ogre mage’s staff. I have included this so that you may gain an insight into its behaviour; its M.O. was mostly inscrutable to me. Additionally, I have written the entire dialogue from the point of view of the third person. Please forgive this conceit; I do not write it thus to absolve myself of any sin for speaking to such an instrument. Rather, it is purely in the interests of a more documentary approach. Yes, yes, I’m playing to the gallery, and I simply wish to conceal it! Just ask Pavel to look it over, I’m sure he’ll burst my bubble!

In the first instance that Yvgeny touched the staff, the green gem at the tip glowed, and a feeling of well-being and confidence suffused him. Then it spoke in a soft, almost feminine voice, saying:

Staff (voice): “You're not human after all, are you?”

Yvgeny: “No, not human, although I'll thank you if you'll keep that to your self. If you show me that you can be trusted I'll tell you more, because I think we can make a good partnership. Suffice it to say (for now) that my friends and I are working for the greater good, and number one on our list is clearing this dungeon of the minions of your ex-master. Incidentally, did you notice how easily we dealt with him? I think you picked the wrong side, so I hope you'll be helpful. Exactly how helpful can you be, by the way? It is my particular wish that you dedicate yourself to helping further the cause of Ilmater, my god. He likes to ease the suffering of the needy, what do you say to that?

“Speak.”

The gem on the staff then flickered, subsiding to a dimmer glow for a few moments. Suddenly, the staff spoke again:

Staff (voice): “Speak, it orders me.”

A second, more powerful voice then suddenly entered Yvgeny’s head, without passing through his conscious hearing. The voice was harsh and male.

Staff (telepath): Orders US.

Then the voice and telepathic entities within the staff conversed with Yvgeny, in turns:

Staff (voice): “Servant of this Ilmater, god of things not dwarven.”
Staff (telepath): This is good.
Staff (voice): “This pleases me.”
Staff (telepath): Pleases US.
Staff (voice): “We can help much.”
Staff (telepath): We can offer you the hearts and minds of those who oppose you. We can assist you in the tasks that lie before you. We can help you subdue and outwit any foe that stands in your way. You are more powerful than the last master.
Staff (voice): “Master of many years.”
Staff (telepath): Speak now in turn, thing that is not dwarf, yet is not man.
Staff (voice): “Yes, speak... Aasimar.”
Staff (telepath): What powers have you?
Staff (voice): “What powers do you have?”
Staff (telepath): What bring you to bargain?
Staff (voice): “What have you to trade?”

Yvgeny: “Speak not of bargains, if you will spend time out of the pocket dimension you were incarcerated in: Bargains are for devils and their addle-minded petitioners. I will not petition you to help me.

“Now, you know me as an aasimar, and you see truly. That should be sufficient to tell you some measure of my power. Additionally, I am a priest of Ilmater. This is a god of healing, who eases the suffering of others. I am inclined to act the same way, so if you consider this a weakness you will not share my path. I can heal, bless, enhance my strength and durability and protect myself and others from evil. I can destroy undead, or make them run in fear from my faith. I am also a monk, as your previous master was, with the ability to stun a foe with a single punch, using the power of my god to enhance the blow.

“It is my desire to aid the cause of my adopted homeland, the nation of Damara, which is across the Moonsea from these Desertsmouth Mountains. As such, I aid in any effort which diminishes the strength of Damara's foes, or who threaten those countries that Damara would enlist as allies. As such, the rabble of your ex-master did threaten the peace of Daggerdale and had also performed heinous acts against the dwarves of this stronghold. What know you of the modus operandi of your ex-master? Was he acting on his own, or did some greater power drive him to attack this place?

“Now, tell me of your own desires, and I will tell you whether I, or one of my allies, can fulfill them.

“Speak, please.”

Staff (voice): “Incarcerated?”

The green gem sparkled when the staff said this, as if amused at Yvgeny’s conceit concerning the bag of holding.

Staff (voice): “What means a moment in a bag to a creation of wood and stone? The ages of nature have been endured.”
Staff (telepath): And have been found wanting.
Staff (voice): “Your powers are interesting, although barely sufficient when laid up against our previous walking servant.”
Staff (telepath): Truly that was a creature with power and potential.
Staff (voice): “Speak of your foes. What creatures are you charged to destroy?”
Staff (telepath): And your question of the last walker's goals is not answerable. We were kept within a glove and used only in battle.
Staff (voice): “We demand that we not be incarcerated outside the flows of time once again. Our hearts are things of earth and nature.”
Staff (telepath): We know only that he was charged with furthering the Entraat Phineal.

Staff (voice): “We shall not assist you further until our needs have been met.”
Staff (telepath): Agreed.

Yvgeny: “Your ‘previous walking servant’ was soundly beaten by a few bats, as I recall. As for my power: What use is power if it is used purely to lord it over a rabble whose greatest achievement was to destroy a small outpost of dwarves? My ambition is to complete the cycle begun by my celestial ancestor: I would ascend to the upper planes, the better to serve my god. What thinkest thou of that? As for my foes: You wish for specifics? I think we can start with the Zhentarim and the Thayans. These use slaves as if they were chattels, which frankly disgusts me. The Zhentarim, additionally, are bullies and ruled by representatives of the worst of gods: those who exploit the weak. It cannot be borne! I also have issues with the Drow, for the same reasons. What is your stance?

“You must also give me more insight into your own abilities, if you wish to avoid incarceration. You indicate that you have the ability to reduce your size, but surely a great work of wood and stone such as yourself would have far greater powers? This information will also provide me with a better guide as to which of my companions would better suit your demeanour. I have chosen myself as a temporary intermediary, for your powers are unknown and could be dangerous. Incidentally, would you name yourselves? I would style you ‘Legion’ if that is appropriate and does not affend.

“I thank you for the information concerning the ‘Entraat Phineal.’ I admit this has little meaning to me at present, although diverse of my companions may prove more knowledgeable.

Yvgeny then walked off a goodly distance from the camp, to ensure no magic could affect his companions. He then cast a spell of protection from evil, and removed the staff from the bag.

Yvgeny: “Now: Please speak of your own abilities and whether we have a common path.”

Both voices then spoke simultaneously (via audible sound and telepathically) as the staff was lifted from the bag:

Staff (telepath): We have no interest in your ambitions.
Staff (voice): “We have no interest in your ambitions.”
Staff (telepath): We have no interest in your foes.
Staff (voice): “We have no interest in your foes.”
Staff (telepath): We shall speak no further until our needs have been met.
Staff (voice): “We shall speak no further until our needs have been met.”
Staff (telepath): We are in an unpleasant state. We are to be cleaned in purest snow-melt water and then dried.
Staff (voice): “In the beard of a Dwarf.”
Staff (telepath): In the beard of a Dwarf. Yes. This is satisfactory. Then we shall speak further.

The gem abruptly stopped shining.

Yvgeny shook his head sadly, and then made to put the staff back in the bag. Clearly, he could not oblige the staff to discuss its reticence, and he was not prepared to take any risks without proof the staff was not evil. As Yvgeny moved to put the staff back in the bag, however, he felt a tingling. Some of the day’s injuries suddenly melted away! The staff very nearly fell from Yvgeny’s surprised fingers, but he managed to keep a hold on it.

Staff (telepath): We sense that you are unwilling to aid us.
Staff (voice): “We are not so ungracious.”
Staff (telepath): We shall see you in another age.
Staff (voice): “You can place us into your sack now.”

Yvgeny then felt a pressure within his mind, but threw off the spell.

Yvgeny: “Oh, you are still speaking to me then? I had supposed you were sulking, but I thank you for easing the tightness in my chest. Now, I'm sure there's snow-melt water around here, as we are in the mountains, although it will require some rather trecherous climbing to reach the snow-line. Additionally, at that point I will not be in the vicinity of a dwarf. Are you sure you want to be dried with a dwarf's beard? They're notoriously testy about their facial hair and the only dwarf available in the vicinity is my companion. He's a barbarian with an axe. Now, how about I bless some of this lovely clean spring water to clean you with, and then dry you in my tabard?”

Staff (voice): “At no stage have we pretended to stop speaking to you.”
Staff (telepath): At least so far as is possible. However if you wish to act in partnership, you will need us willing.
Staff (voice): “We shall need to compromise. We shall compromise on the water.”
Staff (telepath): We shall not compromise with the beard of the dwarf; the Petter Shaal must be obeyed.
Staff (voice): “Without respect and trade, we are reluctant to assist you further.”

Yvgeny at this point was presented with a choice: To throw away the chance that the staff could aid in the current quest, and any further tasks that could prove useful to his cause, or to risk angering the dwarf. Quite simply, it was not in his nature to avoid risks, so Yvgeny chose to risk the dwarf…

Yvgeny: “Khondar. Khondar!”

Yvgeny shakes the dwarf.

Yvgeny: “Wake up. I have a request of some delicacy, and I need your help.”

The sleepy dwarf rolls over and blinks at Yvgeny before asking:

Khondar: “What's wrong?”

Yvgeny: “I have... Talked to the staff we picked up after kicking the magic ogre's head in. It's agreed to help us in getting your stronghold back, but first it insists on being cleaned in pure water and then dried... In the beard of a dwarf. I realise this is slightly beneath your dignity, but could you indulge it? I shall make sure it renders every aid in your quest. It heals, you know.”

To Yvgeny’s great surprise, Khondar agreed almost on the instant. Blessing Khondar’s undwarvishly unpredictable nature, Yvgeny washed the staff in some holy water, and then dried it in Khondar’s beard.

The rest of the story concerning the staff is yet to unfold, but the following has been noted concerning its powers and personality: -

The staff can act as a powerful weapon (in the conventional sense). It is very well balanced, allowing it to be wielded in either the main weapon hand or off-hand without difficulty. Its magical enchantment also increases the wielder’s accuracy, allowing a greater number of strikes on target, and also does greater damage per hit.
It can cure simple wounds.
It can communicate, both vocally and telepathically.
It dislikes dwarves.
It likes to be perfectly clean. This borders on obsessive.
It has powers of suggestion (as per the spell).
It has either a personality, or several personalities, of its own.
This has manifested in attempting to force its will upon Yvgeny on more than one occasion, with Yvgeny being subordinated on one occasion.

I hope this document provides some enlightenment, your eminence. I will of course keep you informed of any further discoveries I make concerning this staff, but I will not compromise my mission in doing this. Please have faith, your eminence, and trust me.

Yvgeny.

Ilmater save the King.

 

[Eccles]

Yvgeny's 6th Letter

To His Eminence Pietr Orik,
Temple of Ilmater,
King’s Palace Square,
Heliogabalus.

Your Grace,

I will continue straight on with the account of our travails in the stronghold of the Rudenheim’s as it ended in the previous letter. I will apologise in advance for lapses in grammar and narrative, for our enemies have sorely tested me—mentally as well as physically. I must count amongst these the staff I have attempted to mind-wrestle; this battle has proved the most tiring of all. I have a transcription of my tête-à-tête with this device, which I have included elsewhere in this report for your information. For now, I will restart my account with our taking a rest in the entrance of the stronghold…

After getting an agreement with Khondar to appease the staff (I still cannot believe Khondar accepted this request; truly his behaviour is not as predictable as most dwarves!) it did condescend to offer limited help. We then continued with our watch until the sun’s rays lit the sky and it was time for prayers. We got a late start, allowing us some time to recover from the previous day’s hardships, then we returned to the room with the hole in the floor. Then, with a prayer to Ilmater, I joined the others in descending again into the hole; taking the steps back to the underground caverns.

On arrival at the little river previously containing the merrow, we stopped. The cavern was dark; the ensconced torches having gone out some time before. We heard no sound, so I lit the end of the staff to facilitate vision for those not able to see in the dark. We waited on the path just beyond the river whilst Halbrinn, using the form of a bat, scouted the cavern. He returned to us to tell us that several ‘large living objects’ were waiting in the cavern below us; I instantly put out the light illuminating our position. (The green stone atop the staff continued to glow, however, and with hindsight, it was probably this that triggered the trap that was to come. I will discuss this later.) I also realised that we were in a vulnerable position: The cavern floor was rocky and the giant may be able to see in the dark too! We would be skittled off our narrow ledge in short order, if we didn’t move quickly. Indeed, as we were making decisions the giant threw rocks our way, fortunately none hit us.

We therefore left the path, Miles and Stedd dropping to the floor of the cavern and following the rough edge of a wall for guidance, stepping quietly all the while. Khondar and I (both being blessed with night vision) continued along the path, which dropped at an angle to meet the cavern floor a small distance ahead. Adamo and Halbrinn opted to remain on the path, using as much of the ledge as possible as cover from the projectiles of the ogres and the giant.

Our planned attack all came apart, however, when we were ambushed ourselves! Two ogres suddenly popped out of hiding, each lobbing a container of some burning, sticky material (pitch, as it turned out). The reason for this was not to burn us (although it did) but to describe our position to our enemies, which four ogres made use of immediately. All attacked Khondar, forming up in two ranks to fully exploit the reach of their huge halberds. Khondar went down very quickly, but the rest of the Crusaders were also swift to react, tumbling in around the ogres to make the job of finishing off the dwarf more difficult. I managed to stabilise Khondar with a simple healing spell, then demanded of the staff that it help me. It silently queried me why it should! I managed to get some aid from the thing, after promising that I would clean and polish it. Incredible! It gave me more minor healing and a suggestion: “Whack the thing,” referring to the giant. Doing so proved quite effective, delivering damage to the beast of some note.

However, not enough: The giant returned the blow, which at this point in the battle was enough to plunge me into unconsciousness again! However, I was not the only one. All of our front-line fighters did not complete this fight standing: Khondar, Miles, Stedd and I all finished the battle on the floor, leaving it to Halbrinn and Adamo to complete the vanquishing of our foes. Halbrinn had uncovered a new weapon, apparently. He now has the ability to kill foes with a mere thought. I asked him how he achieves this: Apparently, he can create phantoms in the enemy’s mind, that makes it appear that his worst enemy is about to set on him. This can scare him so completely, that he simply dies on the spot! There is definitely more to the school of Illusion than meets the eye (pun intended, if you’ll forgive me, your eminence!)

Anyway, this time it was decided that we would take an extended break. After revival, Khondar, Miles, Stedd and I were in such a state that we determined to take two whole days to recover, so we returned to the entrance yet again. There was hope that we had now broken the back of the ogre force inside the stronghold, having destroyed its leader and several of its most powerful minions… Not all, however, as our return was to reveal.

On re-entering the cavern we had been stymied in twice, now, we discovered no living foes. Halbrinn again took the form of a bat, so as to scout the tunnel Miles had checked on our first incursion here, and returned with information regarding a many-headed beast, a huge be-chained giant and what appeared to be the rest of the Rudenheim clan. The many-headed beast was probably a hydra, we decided, but could make little of why a giant would be chained up. Either consideration was nothing compared to the information that there were still living dwarves here. Clearly, it was behoven of us to hurry to the rescue of the said dwarves, for it was certain they would be in poor health and delay would only bring additional deaths.

We therefore straightway approached the caverns that the dwarves had been stationed in. Between the Rudenheims and us were the huge giant and it’s cronies, however, so we were obliged to deal with them first. The cave that this group were in was connected to the tunnels we were occupying by a narrow passageway. It was difficult to see how we could all approach, so we decided to send in a decoy to try and tempt them out. Miles chose this task himself, as he was clearly the best of the Crusaders at approaching unnoticed.

His skill was such that he managed to get to within a dozen feet or so of a group of ogres, when one particularly eagle-eyed specimen managed to spot one of our group! It charged out, followed by diverse of its companions, leaving Miles stranded between the ogre commander and the ogre grunts, with us on the far side. The ogre grunts had not spotted Adamo, however, so he used this opportunity to enclose the rushing ogres in a mass of sticky webbing. Unfortunately, some loose strands managed to catch hold of me too. Whilst my friends prevaricated, I gave them permission to set fire to the webs, even though I was still stuck: Better a little injury through fire than to be held fast while foes beat you with impunity. With the webbing out the way, and just a little singeing to contend with, we joined battle with the ogres that were still alive. Miles had surprised the leader by now, and once he was dead, the other ogres soon capitulated without his guidance.

None of us had taken much notice of the huge giant all this time. This was to change when we heard a dreadful clanging sound, and saw lengths of chain being catapulted across the floor: The giant had wrenched his bonds free of the hard stone cavern walls! We were now faced with a huge giant with two long, heavy chains for weapons, which was not an appetising thought by any means! Fortunately this giant, although even stronger than the others, was as stupid as a stump, and we managed to best it without anyone falling.

The way was now free to help the Rudenheim dwarves. The dwarves had indeed rarely been fed, probably just enough to allow them to continue working the mines as slaves to the ogres. Halbrinn immediately offered to return to Dagger Falls via teleport to pick up food supplies, and requested the use of my ring of teleportation. Naturally, I agreed on the instant; seeing the poor state of these dwarves, there was no need to consider. However, the staff feellllt

Damn, the staff has extennddddd INTERDICTION

POLISH ME POLISHME POLISHMEPOLISHMEPOLISHMEP

I cannot write or speak of it, not POLISHright now. I believe the staff is PPPOLIREVENTING ME.

Today, I have control. Just looking at the preceding paragraph, it is obvious now that it was preventing me from describing events involving the dwarves, but it was not obvious at the time! The staff was gloaaattn GLOATING as I looked on the Rudenheim dwarves. It is now clear to me that this staff is a bane versus dwarves, and I have jeopardised our mission in clearing the ogres from the stronghold by removing it from our bag of holding. Still, it may yet prove useful in uncovering the power behind these ogres. I clearly have apologies to make to Khondar and his clan, once this is all over.

We aided the Rudenheim dwarves, although the staff prevented me from entering the cavern to heal any of them. Halbrinn offered to teleport back to Dagger Falls to pick up some food for the obviously famished Rudenheims, and requested that I offer my ring of teleportation to facilitate this. Naturally, I proffered it on the instant, which I think helped to assuage the gnome’s opinion that I had been completely taken over by the staff: It would appear that the gnome overheard my conversation with the thing. Not to worry; Halbrinn is certainly trustworthy, as indicated by his rapid offer of help to the dwarves. I further offered reassurances by providing some of the gold required for the purchase of victuals appreciable to dwarves, as did all the others, to their credit.

So, within a matter of hours the dwarves had food and ale, and we were able to turn our attention to the last remaining beast in these caverns preventing us from further exploration. The first item on the agenda was to discover whether we were truly facing a hydra. To this end, we approached the lair of the beast with due caution, until we were faced with a ledge of some twenty foot or so. This appeared to be the demarcation point for which area belonged to ogres, and which area belonged to the beast: Probably, the beast could not climb this ledge easily.

Adamo scouted into the cavern, protected by the requisite spells to ensure he was not easily uncovered. When he returned he gave us the news: It was indeed a hydra, with seven heads. However, it was also orange in colour, marking it out as a non-standard member of its species. Recalling old legends, more than one of us voiced our concerns: This was probably a fire-breathing specimen, a pyrohydra! Immediately, we adjusted our battle plan: We would need a weapon with a cold edge, and we would have to avoid using fire in any spells. Fortunately, Khondar had just the weapon, an axe wreathed in cold flames. So, we planned to attack the hydra with ranged weapons, weakening it as much as possible, before unleashing Khondar and his axe on it. We had not stopped to fully mull over all the legends on pyrohydras, however, as we were to find out!

Our first mistake was to approach without enough caution, attracting the hydra’s attention before we were in position. Therefore, we only got a few projectiles launched before it was upon us. It used one group of heads to breathe in one direction along the ledge, and the other group to breathe in the other, thus negating our ruse of spreading out to fill the cavern opening. I was quick enough to dodge the fire, but not every one was so lucky. Additionally, my sharp eye had spotted something the others appeared not to have noticed: The wounds from our sling stones and arrows had already gone in the mere seconds it took to reach the ledge! Worrying that it could heal faster than we could injure it, I immediately called for a retreat. But the rest of the Crusaders had entered gung-ho mode now, and ignored me.

Khondar gave out a battle cry then jumped from the ledge, axe trailing cold blue fire as he swung it in a massive overhand arc to connect with the beast. And connect it did, and how! A massive chunk of flesh should have been gouged from the beast’s breast… But the meat did not fall away: The wound had healed on the instant the blade passed through it, leaving no discernable damage in its wake! At this point, I started to worry. Already the battle had turned against the Crusaders who had jumped from the ledge: Miles had followed Khondar to the floor of the hydra’s cavern, and had been flattened by the beast for his audacity. My first thought was to ensure that my comrades could return, so I went to Stedd’s pack for the magical rope that was there. Before I had a chance to remove it, however, Stedd had jumped down to the cavern floor, to circle around the hydra and punish it in a pincer. Adamo also returned to the fray at this point (having been severely burned in the hydra’s first flame attack) and conjured one of his strange beasts to do battle with the hydra. Halbrinn too was attempting to weaken the creature with spells, but it was not obvious whether any of the damage was having a permanent effect.

Finally, with enough distractions, Khondar was able to scoop Miles up and attempt to climb the ledge. From all the growling and grunting, I would opine that he had forced himself into a towering anger, the better to charge up the twenty foot wall, and, by Ilmater, he achieved both! In a matter of seconds, the dwarf had scaled the distance, fully laden with two sets of equipment and Miles, too!

With the stricken Miles now out of the mauling range of the beast, we chose to gracefully retreat at this point, Stedd quickly extricating himself from battle, leaving Adamo’s summoned thing to suffer the brunt of the hydra’s ire. Thence, we adjourned to the cavern of the dwarves, the better for me to treat the burns and wounds of the group, and for us to plan a better strategy.

At this point I feel I should mention the usefulness of formian workers, as they are creatures I am sure we have overlooked in terms of their ability to heal. Apparently, if it is possible to gather a crew of eight together, you can get them to heal wounds of a serious nature. This applies to the summoned formians of the alternate planes, too, as I saw when Adamo called on some to help heal Miles. Triad be praised, Adamo’s spell did not go awry this time, although it does require at least two castings of the summoning spell to bring enough formian workers to perform the curing. It is useful to know that spell casters can provide healing, if they have the wisdom to memorise the right conjurations. Perhaps I will enlist the help of Adamo, the next time we visit a deprived area!

We discussed with the dwarves whether the hydra had any weaknesses. Between them and ourselves, we managed to recall some details that would help us. The dwarves, with the wisdom of older minds, remembered that certain types of hydra could not be injured excepting the removal of all their heads. However, they added a warning to this: The heads would grow back in mere seconds if the stump were not seared by fire or withered with acid. However, we knew that this hydra was resistant to fire, so only acid would be any use!

Halbrinn and Adamo were of the opinion that certain types of magic could also be used, but only potent types that kill instantly, so luck would be required as not many of those types of spells were available to us. We took stock: The dwarves were in no condition to fight, and Khondar was the only one of our group who typically wielded a weapon large enough to sever heads in a single blow. Miles was of the opinion that if he could catch the thing off guard, he could deal a blow of such severity with one of his swords that he could drop the thing on the instant. Quite how he could perform such a miracle with a blade of about a foot and a half in length versus a hydra standing twenty-odd foot tall was beyond my ken. Clearly, he has some mystical slaying ability (I just hope he only puts it to ‘good’ use!) Stedd and myself were best with our fists, and bludgeoning weapons would not remove heads easily. I voiced the opinion that perhaps this battle was not to be won, and we should attempt subterfuge to circumvent the beast entirely. This was decided as the best plan, with slaying spells to be used as a last resort. Miles was still not happy, however. It seems the beast had kindled his fighting spirit more than the ogres had: I certainly detected none of the reticence that had been in evidence since our arrival at the stronghold. Still, considering the hydra had flattened him swiftest in our previous battle, I guess he felt some payback was in order!

So, after taking some time to rest and then to sleep, we made our preparations and then returned to the hydra’s lair. We had decided to use illusions and silence. I would provide a focal point for a silence spell to cover any noise as we crept about the cavern, while Halbrinn would set up a distracting illusion to draw the hydra away from our path. We approached to the ledge and then crept down, circling the cavern by following the wall with our left hands (it appeared this cavern was roughly circular—information from the dwarves). The hydra was attracted by our approach, using scent I assume. Our scent was quickly covered by Halbrinn, however, as he set up an illusion, with all the requisite olfactory components, of dire boars on the ledge behind us.

Arriving at a door in the wall of the cavern, we quickly ducked inside, only to realise that Miles had dropped back to stay in a short, blind side tunnel that we had passed. Determining that he had a purpose, we left him to it, and explored the room we had entered. Luck was not with us, however. There was little in the way of anything of interest, this being nothing but a storage area for mining equipment. We now had to quickly decide what to do, as the hydra would soon be finishing its boar snack, and would be sniffing us out.

Glad of the opportunity to escape the confines of the storage cave, I took a quick peek back out into the hydra’s lair, using the remains of my silence spell to cover the noise. Indeed, the hydra had given up on the boars: The spell had already dissipated. It could certainly sniff us out, however, although it appeared to be taking most interest in the tunnel that Miles had hid in. We had to act fast, or the beast would incinerate Miles where he hid (unless it already had; the sniffing would indicate otherwise though). We quickly formulated a plan to try and distract the hydra again, whilst simultaneously crossing the cavern to the only other exit we knew of.

The silence spell had now faded, so we simply left the cave we were in at full speed, knowing that we were unlikely to remain undetected for long, anyway. Sure enough, the hydra took immediate interest, catching Adamo with several bites, even though he was invisible. Fortunately, I had been watching Adamo as he faded from sight, and invisibility doesn’t hide sprays of blood, or the thump of a body hitting the ground. Calling on Ilmater for strength, and deliverance from fire and tooth, I charged from the cavern and scooped up Adamo even as I ran. A maw knocked me sideways as I passed the beast, but it was insufficient to check my momentum, and I continued until I was well clear of the threat range of the hydra. There, I jabbed the wand of curing into Adamo back as he rested over my shoulder, and muttered the phrase of spell release. Setting Adamo down, I slapped at where I guessed his face to be, hitting him hard on the nose. That woke him up!

In the meantime, Halbrinn had taken to the air in the form of a pixie! Dancing on air, out of reach of the hydra, he swooped in to deliver his ‘visions of death’ spell. We all held our breath, as the hydra began acting strangely… Then it keeled over! I hesitate to name the horrors that a regenerating pyrohydra would see in its mind’s eye, but whatever it was, the spell drew them forth, and the hydra died.

With the beast vanquished, we all took a well earned breather, then explored the cavern of the hydra, finding many things of interest in the process, as well as the usual treasure. I then took the opportunity to complete my report, which is the missive that I have just completed and you are reading!

So, we have one more exit from this cavern to explore, and then we can declare the second level of the Rudenheim stronghold secured. However, I do not count my vegetables before they are dug, as many a late frost has shown the wisdom of! So, I will ensure that the Clearwater Crusaders proceed with caution, your eminence, as I am sure you would be disappointed if the tale ended here!

Yours, as ever,
Yvgeny.

P.S. I hear you are taking a tour of the provinces, so I will direct future missives to the Temple in Trailsend. Your eminence, once you arrive there, I would beg a boon of you. If you could retrieve any information from the Trailsend secret service concerning one Yuri Grigorsson I would be grateful indeed. He is deep throat as a slave in Thay, and I would fervently wish to hear anything he has found regarding my sister.

Thanking you with the highest regards, your eminence. And look out for orcs when you travel to Ironspur; they favour this time of year for ambushes!

Ilmater save the King.

 

[Eccles]

Yvgeny's Seventh Letter

F.A.O. His Eminence Pietr Orik,
C/o the Temple of Ilmater,
The Triad’s Road,
Temple District,
Trailsend.

Your Grace,

A strange and wonderful thing has happened! Only a little time has passed since I last sent word to you regarding the vanquishing of the dread Pyrohydra (a Lernaean variety, I have since learned, that being the type that regenerates wounds) by the Crusaders. However, I have undertaken a spiritual journey of a length incommensurate to that short time period, and hence wish to share my experiences now!

Recalling the details related in my last letter, you would remember that we had a single exit from the hydra’s lair. However, a second, hidden egress was also uncovered, this being two huge iron doors, hidden from plain sight by incantations of misdirection. Despite finding this second door, we chose to leave by the conventional exit, if only because there were likely to be greater challenges in the rooms protected by the hidden door, and we preferred to venture in that direction only when we had removed the chance of attacks from behind us.

The conventional door opened upon a spiral stair, leading down. This we descended in careful fashion, until some way down we came upon a portcullis, with the opening mechanism on the far side from us. Some shape-changing spellcraft from Halbrinn followed by some deft lock picking allowed us to pass without too much trouble. We paused a little way down the stair after the portcullis to listen, and sundry of the group opined that there was talking from below. Therefore, we rearranged our marching order to allow the fighters to the fore, with Khondar taking the lead as we emerged into the chamber at the bottom of the steps. I had just enough time to notice that the cavern was the very one that I had unceremoniously dumped myself into when I fell from the rope in the stronghold entranceway chasm… Before I noticed that it still contained its complement of bowmen! This time, however, I had not left my wits behind, and called to my friends that the life of one of these fellows should be preserved, that we may extract information from him.

Khondar was in the firing line again, receiving several arrows in tender locations! The doughty dwarf shrugged off the pain, however, to charge at the now unconcealed rogues… The rogues were crouching on boards laid across the fast-flowing stream mentioned previously in my reports concerning this cavern. We soon proved to the rogues that balancing on boards was not the wisest of choices: One was killed very quickly by Khondar, whilst another was knocked into the fast flowing stream and out through the tunnel in the cavern wall. The last one fell under a savage blow to the neck from Miles, but I managed to bind a tight tourniquet about the wound before too much of the fellows lifeblood spurted out; we had our prisoner. Miles then went to follow the rogue who had fallen into the stream, as his screams could still be heard from the tunnel: That noise had to be quelled.

Suddenly, a strange mist started filling the cavern through a door in the far wall from the stream. Thinking it could be toxic, I lifted the fallen prisoner and laid him on the winding stair, above the level of the mist. Adamo then summoned an air elemental, which sucked up the fogginess by way of a wind vortex, and revealed the source of the obscuring cloud. One of the rogues had escaped us while we dealt with those by the stream, and had alerted some friends. They had then caused steam to be emitted from some braziers in the room beyond the doors (a steam room for the easing of the muscles of dwarven miners, it appears!) Our creeping foes, left without their cover, were forced into sudden retreat when we poured forth through the door into the steam room.

Stedd was first into the next room, and reported some kind of magical darkening triggered by one of the rogues. Something clicked inside my head: ‘thieves that use darkness spells… Tieflings!’ I thought! I was through the door and into the steam room quicker than you can say nemeses!

The battle then became a series of skirmishes, as our assailants sought to maintain their distance from us, allowing them to pepper us with projectiles with impunity. There were no obvious demon-spawn; just rogues with some sorcerous ability, it would seem. These sorcerer-rogues fell back through the steam room to a further room, forcing us to follow; said room degenerating into a shambles as previously hidden foes re-entered the fray from areas beyond it. Spells were let fly into the melee from both sides, and sword, axe and fist flashed about with very little room for manoeuvre.

I was not to be the champion in this fight. Although I did manage to force ‘Slayer’ from the hands of one of our assailants (recovered, by our enemies, from the pool that Miles had fallen into) by stunning its new owner, I was swiftly set upon by two or three others, all using my vitals for pincushions. I was downed very shortly thereafter, and was only awakened by Adamo’s Formian Workers some time later.

However, this is not the end of my report. During the time my spirit was considering the journey to the House of the Triad, I was visited by my Celestial Guide. This time, there was no expedition to the lands above ground, neither to Mulhorand, Thay nor to Damara. Instead, the entire dream, if dream it was, was spent in the dark.

I visited underground realms, grim and evil, where no light was permitted. Dark elves—I recognised them as Drow—visited all manner of tortures upon others, not just upon those not of their race, but also upon other Drow. I saw creatures strange to my eyes, but with obvious cunning, and with exotic powers that went beyond magic. These creatures, too, had slaves, although often treating them as food, or in other equally degenerate ways.

My Guide took me to these places, flashing horror after horror before my eyes until I thought that I had been mistaken, and some demon in angelic form had brought me on this journey. At one point I felt as if I was being immolated, and was not sure if this was a bodily or spiritual sensation…

Then, my guide said: ‘Choose.’

It seemed to me, then, that the choice was this: Die, be martyred and live in Ilmater’s House. I had already done enough to expect this reward.

Or, continue my quest. A new mission was being set before me: To transcend the simple work of my past two years I would need to undertake a perilous quest into the Underdark. There, my duty would be to free as many of the forsaken slaves of those dark lands as could be managed.

My Guide then conversed with me at some length, outlining my lack of humility and lust for power as additional factors that would be absolved in such a self-sacrificing quest. Thus chastened, I requested a little time to consider, and spent some minutes in prayer. And then I agreed. Your eminence, I understand that your blessing would be required in this new endeavour; there is little I could monitor of the Dales as my travails underground would likely take me some distance from those lands. However, I am sure you would agree that this new quest, taken as it is with the blessing of Ilmater, would justly supplant the needs of Damara regarding the politics of the Dales, which I have mostly fulfilled in any case. Please consider this just a short leave of absence, as I intend to return to the fold as soon as I have judged my quest into the Underdark completed. Finally, I will of course keep you informed as to my progress. You may even consider this more a change of mission for the secret services, as I believe there are only a few agents in place in the Underdark?

In accepting my Guide’s proposal, I was invited to receive the blessing of Ilmater. I was brought before a man of middle years, bent over with the number of his wounds and injuries. He appeared so unprepossessing that it took me several moments before I realised that this was an image of my God!

I knelt before Him, and received His touch. All the pain and uncertainty I was then suffering melted away and I knew my own mind more clearly than I ever had before; I knew I had chosen the right path, even though I may (or may not!) live through more pain and darkness as a result. Not only were my hurts healed, but also I felt an energy suffuse my blood, as if my earth-bound flesh had become nothing but light. I then saw in my minds eye what I would become if I continued down the path I had chosen for my future: I could indeed become a full celestial!

And then my reverie was over. I woke with a start to find myself back in the caverns of the Rudenheims, with all the hurts (and some additional singes!) to contend with. But I was not downhearted, for now I had some inkling of my destiny!

So, that is how it stands, your eminence. I will continue to write, of course, but I think you can now expect some variation to my reports! Finally, now that I am back in the lands of the living, I have also noticed some additional favours that Ilmater has granted me: Knowledge of a whole host of new spells! Now I cannot wait to begin prayers to test some of them!

More will follow, your eminence, but for now I must proceed again with my comrades.

Yvgeny.

Ilmater save the king.

P.S. I have added this at the last moment, more through wonder than anything else! It appears I have already begun the journey to the upper planes, as I have started to manifest powers normally only belonging to true celestials! Along with my ability to create light, I now also appear to have the ability to use Ilmater’s blessing, and to protect myself from evildoers several times in one day. I seem to be able to do this spontaneously, without having to store the spell’s power within myself beforehand. I am amazed at the generosity of Ilmater! Clearly, this quest I have chosen to undertake is close to the heart of our God.

Hence, I must not fail.

Ilmater save the king.