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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 1092733" data-attributes="member: 5675">Yvgeny's 10th Letter homeF.A.O. His Eminence Pietr Orik,C/o the Temple of Ilmater,The Triad’s Road,Temple District,Trailsend. Your Grace, Many portentous events have occurred to the Clearwater Crusaders since I last wrote. We have fought drow and their related creatures, and not all of us live to tell the tale. Now, as we are once again back in Dagger Falls, and some of my friends have returned as if from the dead, I once again have the energy to set quill to parchment, to further enlighten you on what my comrades and I have been up to. I will start with a change of personnel. It seems that Stedd has left the Crusaders, to attempt to further clear the name of his fellow brethren in the Old Order School. First he has to find them, of course! However, he is a resourceful fellow, so I wish him all the best. His place in the Crusaders has been filled by a mysterious mage (another; by Ilmater does no-one believe that the best access to magic is through the gods?) This mage, one Pavel Greycastle (not a fellow countryman, despite the appellation) apparently works for the government of Daggerdale, as Respen introduced him to us, and Miles seemed to know him, too. He is a shapeshifter by specialty, which should provide some useful variation to our attacking ability, I suppose. A day or so later, we began our journey to the crypts, and the drow. We tooled up with some scrolls and the odd wand and went on our way. I took possession of some interesting ‘pastries’ and a headband of intellect, from the ‘bakery’ we have here in Dagger Falls. This headband speeded up my understanding of Celestial no end, and I found myself better able to concentrate on my studies of the Twin Path, your grace. Thank Ilmater for such useful magics! I was now able to join the Crusaders on their journey to deal with this drow enclave with the hope that I could make a greater contribution. The journey to the crypts was mostly uneventful, save for the uncovering of evidence of drow predations in the area south of Dagger Falls. We passed a homestead that had been ravaged; a baby’s corpse had been hung in the charred branches of a tree like an icon of drow hatred. We took the baby down and placed it in the nearest building, along with as many other bodies as we could find, then collapsed the building to protect the dead from predators. The ground was still hard from winter frost, and we lacked the tools to create quality graves in such circumstances. What we did not lack was a renewed desire to visit some justice upon the perpetrators of this crime scene. So I offered up a prayer to Ilmater that the souls of these simple country people would be soothed by our dedication, and then we continued post haste to our destination. Just a few hours later, we arrived at the group of mausolea, which were hidden from the road by a hill. The largest crypt was set into the hillside itself, the sturdy main doors flanked by two armoured skeletons. Tools of some sort had been used on the doors, which had left them damaged, but had not reduced their integrity: We could not open them with a simple push, nor could Adamo, with whatever strange creatures he conjured on the far side of the door. We were reduced to announcing our presence by going through the door in our typical ‘understated’ style. For which, read: we bruted our way in! On entering the crypt, we found ourselves in a corridor that was strewn with the bodies of dead drow. Confirming that these corpses were not going to rise up, we took a closer look, finding a variety of weapons and the fact that they were all facing in different directions, suggesting they were ambushed. They had also been dead nearly a tenday, which boded well for us, as it suggested that we were unlikely to be met by a patrol here. Or, that drow have absolutely no respect for their dead… The bodies surrounded a door, which we promptly checked. No traps were detected so we risked a look inside, discovering a dusty crypt but nothing else. We then continued with caution up the corridor, until we discovered another door, which after another pause for trap-discovery, I opened. On entering the room, I found it filled with a number of sarcophagi… Then I triggered the protective trap, which was just inside the door. Two celestial dire lions appeared and pounced before I had moved even one inch further. I was raked and mauled close to death in a matter of seconds, my learning of the celestial idiom being insufficient to deter the lions from their pre-programmed path. When I came to, I found myself shielded from a wall of stone, but the roaring of the beasts on the other side told me that the lions were still keen to rend me in twain. We therefore left the room as swiftly as possible, continuing up the corridor after I had repaired my wounds somewhat! By the Triad, no wonder the dark elves didn’t appear to wonder these particular catacombs! This thought was borne out almost on the instant, when Miles checked the next door. A black figure suddenly sprang from the surface of the door, engulfing the agent for a few seconds, before dissipating. The blanched face Miles wore for almost an hour afterwards attests to the fact that he almost succumbed to a powerful death spell. I almost felt sorry for him! Needless to say, the door from which this spell was triggered was left well alone by the rest of us, and we gingerly continued. We then went down some steps cut into the stone of the crypt, and found ourselves in a natural cave. Light from our various light sources illuminated bodies stacked along the walls of the cavern, and also a statue of Jergal in the centre of the open space. Not wanting to anger the Pitiless One by encroaching further into the crypt without acknowledgment, both Adamo and I made offerings of gold and gems to the statue, and then we continued on our way. We continued on through Jergal’s cave and were about to exit it into a corridor on the far side of the cavern when—curses—we walked headlong into another roper! Ilmater knows how we never see or hear these beasts as we approach, but yet again we were dodging incredibly sticky strands before we knew what hit us. I was weakened, again, but the rest were luckier. Knowing what we were dealing with this time, the rest rapidly charged the beast, and belayed it before it could snag them. Miles, in particular, made the thing suffer. Guess he must have studied the peculiar anatomy of ropers whilst we were in Dagger Falls. There’s nothing Miles hates more than being confronted with a creature and not knowing where to stick his blades to do the most damage; it is his raison d’étre, after all! After searching the roper’s environs, we continued on into the corridor, leaving the cave behind us, and quickly uncovered a second corridor off to our left as we progressed. Examining this new corridor led us to an open area strewn with piles of gear. This seems custom-made as a trap, as there was no other exit from this area other than back the way we came, so I stood guard in the connecting tunnel, whilst our more avaricious party members plundered the goods on offer. By Ilmater, as sure as every knight needs a healer, a trap was sprung as soon as the nearest pack was rifled. Some strange creature—a gnoll was my first thought—appeared from nowhere and attacked the group. The mask slipped after it burst amongst my comrades, however: It was actually a demon (a Maurezhi, by the Triad!) I do admit, your grace, that at that moment the red mists descended, and I foully cursed my ill luck at being at the back of the party for this fight, and weakened also! However, I was to have scant chance to intervene in this battle: Pavel suddenly took on the shape of a troll, and made this conversion pay by taking a huge chunk out of the foul beast. Grabbing the demon with both claws, he rent the creature in twain before I, or any of my comrades, could lay a weapon to it. I commended Pavel for his quick reactions, but silently cursed him for depriving me of any sport. Ilmater, I beg forgiveness for my bloodthirstiness, but I can’t deny my heritage! On completing the rummage of the gear found in this open space, we turned up some items of magic, which we stowed. We then continued back the way we had come, this time with Pavel in the lead, but it appears we had alerted some guards. On rounding a curve in the corridor, we came upon a narrow opening in the tunnel ahead, which was guarded by some drow. Arrows came sailing down the corridor towards us, but Pavel ignored these, and the rest used Pavel as cover to close with the drow as quickly as possible. The drow had a pet spider with them, but little else, so were quickly overcome. This was the first living drow I had killed since Cormanthor, and I dedicated the death to the unnamed child in the homestead we had passed. No remorse: I’m certain the drow died more quickly. It was at this point that we decided to call a hiatus to our advances into the crypts. A drop shaft was discovered in the room guarded by the drow, which we decided would only be explored after we had had a nights rest. Therefore, with yours truly in a weakened state, the rest of the Crusader’s decided that the level we were on would be explored thoroughly, whilst I got some rest. With that in mind, Adamo stayed with me, so that he could spend some time identifying the specific magics of some items he had and to ensure no harm came to me. The rest headed off, finding an as yet undiscovered part of the crypts hidden by an illusionary wall. I have not yet enquired into the details of this particular adventure, so cannot describe it to you, your grace. However, it seems mostly incidental, so I think we can leave it. Anyway, Adamo and I were not beset, and I had managed to rest and regain some strength. However, we were still on our own when Adamo and I heard the sound of someone following us. Fearing we would be ambushed whilst we were short numbered, Adamo struck before we had even had a good look at our would-be attackers. Sighting a huge dire lion, Adamo summoned some form of abominated dire ape to deal with it. I could see nothing of the battle at this point, so energised a Searing Light spell for use on the nearest target that showed itself. I advanced to where Adamo was standing, thinking his position safe. It was not, however; we were immersed in a column of fire, roaring down from some source in the tunnel roof. This turned out to be some lay line running underground, a surmise I have made due to the source of the spell: Judging from the voice proclaiming the pre-eminence of nature, a druid had just bombarded us. Now, as I am sure you know, your eminence, the vast majority of druids are reasonable people (providing you abide by their rules, of course!). Calculating that this druid was most likely hunting the drow that had burned out the homestead, I decided I would attempt to discover the answer. Unfortunately, I was roasted a second time for my trouble, by a fireball from a mage ally of the druid. When we finally saw eye to eye, the druid’s pet lion had been slain (not out fault, actually, the fireball had done for it), Adamo was almost dead and I was badly singed to say the least. Ilmater! If only people would talk first, instead of glorying in their ability to kill and maim in the shortest possible time! Incidentally, the druid’s name is Deirdre, and the mage’s name is Bob. Odd names. Still, I wasn’t saying so! Another wizard then appeared out of nowhere, perpetuating the confusion. He spoke shortly to the druid about some items that had been removed from a client’s person, who was shortly to be resurrected. This wizard was working for an ‘insurer’ by the name of ‘Mench.’ By the Triad, your eminence, by this time my head was totally in a spin, so I did not have the savvy to stop him and ask some questions before he was gone again! I settled myself by offering all and sundry the benefit of some healing; at least I knew where I was, there! Soon after this, the rest of the Crusaders turned up. Miles had apparently been laid low, so I followed Pavel to where Miles had been hidden, and healed the stricken agent. On bringing Miles round, we headed back to join the others. Things were made considerably clearer when Miles saw the druid and the mage: He recognised them as employees of the Daggerdale government, and finally we saw the irony of our situation. They had been specifically sent to help us; instead, we had begun a battle with them. Ilmater, this was not one of our better days! We headed back to the drop shaft, Adamo taking the lead. He was most unhappy that the Daggerdale contingent had not issued a warning, given that they were informed of who they were looking for (were they not given specific descriptions?) and this appeared to have affected his judgment. He charged down the drop shaft, with the rest of us struggling to keep up. We traversed a short corridor, and then found ourselves before another drop shaft, where Adamo actually paused. I took a cautious look over the edge of the shaft, my vision delineating a small cage set into the wall of the vertical tunnel, some thirty feet or so down. The rest of the shaft continued down until I could see no more, which suggested that this shaft was more than sixty feet deep. A bottleneck, if ever there was one! I reported my findings to the rest, and we sat down to decide a plan of action. Adamo, tired of the cautious indecision of the rest of us, enchanted a stone with a light spell and dropped it into the shaft. The reason there was a cage set in the shaft then became obvious: It contained a bat, which began flapping around noisily in the cage, squeaking an almost inaudible warning. My slightly sharper ears picked it up quite clearly; as I’m sure the drows’ did too. At this time, a fey mood took Adamo. He cast a spell, then jumped into the shaft and began floating downwards… Below, the sounds of battle were joined seconds later. Light from the stone Adamo had dropped illuminated dark figures, at least three, attacking the mage, who then slumped to the ground as though in a swoon. I dropped one of our special pastries in the hope of delaying the figures from doing their worst (the detonation, your eminence, was quite painful on my ears even though I was standing at least seventy feet from the explosion!) However, when I looked back I saw that all three had ignored the blast from the flash-bang, and were continuing to ravage the fallen mage. Deirdre then summoned a swarm of flying insects to try and distract the figures, whilst Halbrinn and I used spells and prayers and empower Miles (invisibility and protection from evil). He, being the best climber, and now strengthened by magic gloves, was the best man to rescue Adamo, so we dropped a rope down the shaft, that he might climb down. Miles also had the last teleporting ring in the party, which could be used if all else failed. Deirdre decided she would help too; some guilt seemed to be manifesting itself, here, I suppose, so she also followed Miles down the rope. Here is where Vorin’s heroism overcame good sense. Deciding that he, also, could contribute to saving Adamo, he ran to the rope and began climbing down before any of the rest of us could prevent him. Clearly, it had not occurred to him that Miles had the teleportation ring, and now he was already halfway down. Curses! Worse, the drop shaft had once again become pitch black: Clearly, a spellcaster had enshrouded proceedings with a darkness spell. Knowing that my simple light spell could not penetrate the darkness, I strained my ears to discover what was going on, and repeatedly called to discover whether help was required. All I could hear was a peculiar hissing noise, the source of which became clear when I pulled up the rope after a minute or so. The last ten foot had been eaten through by acid. Fearing that floods of acid had done for our comrades, those at the top of the shaft were forced to conclude that a horrible evil was beneath us, and we should retreat now, before we were all consumed. I cursed my inability to save any of my friends, and my unwillingness to follow them into death. However, to delay longer would almost certainly spell our deaths, so Bob, Pavel, Halbrinn and I headed back to Dagger Falls. There we explained to Respen how abject our failure was, and that at half the Crusaders were dead. Fortunately, we were in error. Two days after we arrived in Dagger Falls, who should turn up at the inn but Miles and Adamo! They told tales of how Miles’ ring malfunctioned and dropped them unceremoniously in the realm of the Shield Dwarves, in the Rift Valley, Tethyr. This is, naturally, the short form of their tale, which, verily, was almost as perilous as any of the battles we had survived thus far! The dwarves of the Rift do not take kindly to strangers, apparently, and were mostly in favour of doing the two humans in! But they survived, and after some wrangling (involving virtually all the mithril we had stored in the bag of holding) they were set free, and returned to Dagger Falls via another teleport spell. By the Triad, they were mostly none the worse for their experience! There explanations also covered just what had gone on at the bottom of the drop shaft. Apparently, so form of ghastly drow undead had surrounded Adamo, but it was the sleep arrow of the living drow archer that did for him so quickly. Additionally, the acid used to attack the rope came from one of these undead dark elves, not from a dread acid spell, or monster, or anything else of that variety. Needless to say, I felt slightly foolish. But then, where was this information in our mission report, given by Respen? I thank the Triad my own secret service is better informed, of that you can be certain, your grace. So my roster of failures is just a little shorter, as I prey this evening. I feel the greatest pang that Vorin has not survived, as he was one of the best of men, being a cleric of Torm and a good fighter. He sacrificed his life, and two of his comrades survived because of it. I shall not forget that fact. Finally, as discussed, there have been some personnel changes. To keep you up to date, your eminence, I will now list who has come and who has gone. Stedd of the Old Order. Stedd has left the Crusaders to pursue the secrets of the disappearance of his school, and to get his school pardoned for crimes perpetrated by Shades. Miles O’Kane. As ever, still looking after his own and Daggerdale’s interests (in that order). Halbrinn. Halbrinn is still occasionally a gnome, although also a pixie and an ogre, though not at the same time. He has indeed proved useful in searching out traps, but has also shown much skill in creating magic items. Adamo. Still an amazing conjuror, although I’m beginning to doubt he has a firm grip on his sanity. Time will tell… Vorin. A cleric of Torm, with some ability in the way of the open hand. Unfortunately killed trying to aid in the rescue of Adamo from a group of drow undead, archers and mages. Pavel Greycastle. A shapeshifter specialist mage. Uses the strengths of any beast that is most pertinent to the current situation by changing his form to suit. Favours the form of the troll, which is disconcerting in the middle of an all-out mêlée, to say the least! Also an employee of the Daggerdale government, like Miles. Myself. Still here, your grace, and still making a contribution, in my own way. Yvgeny. Ilmater save the king.</blockquote>

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