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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 1278156" data-attributes="member: 5675">Miles' Journal - Part 21Tarsakh 12th to 13th - Rested up back to full health to save wasting charges from my wands (which I bought another of, can't be too careful, and besides I had exhausted one of them), and then went out to try and find this assassin who has bedeviled Yvgeny on more than one occasion. Tarsakh 14th - My days of tracking and stalking finally paid off, though not in the manner in which I wanted as I got lured into a prepared ambush doubtless meant for Yvgeny. However, while I am not sure how he would have survived it, I was able to duck and roll out of a room that the assassin darted into and I followed him, only to find that he had vanished, and that the room was greased. It was then that a trio of demonic snakes appeared and tried to grab me, and a creature that looked like an insane burning child popped into being too, and set everything alight. Not wishing to end up as a charred husk, I rolled out of the room into the alleyway, which was then blocked off by a wall of ice!! Clearly this assassin is either a wizard, or has the services of one at his disposal. As my opponents closed in on me I darted past them with a burst of speed from my boots and cast my alter self spell to give me the bat wings I am fond of, soaring up and out of the ambush. I lost the assassin though and worse was to come. I flew across the town to try and get hold of Adamo, reckoning who better to combat a mage who can summon creatures than another mage who can do the same. In my haste to gather allies I neglected to consider the effect that seeing a bat-winged figure flying over the town would have on the people of Dagger Falls and a mass panic broke out. Nor was this helped when the Innkeeper at the Red Rock Tavern (where Adamo normally resides when in town) was terrified by my appearance and set his ogre bouncer on me. I swiftly dispatched the thuggish creature, and left money for his burial as I again took off to fly to the Old Man’s Drum, hoping that Stedd would be there. He was there, thank Mask, and we headed off (on foot this time) back towards where the ambush had been, as there was now a sizeable fire engulfing that part of the town (no doubt caused by the fire child thing). We met up with the rest of the Crusaders there (and Yvgeny's overly fanatical paladin superior, who was eager to carve up a demon that had been sighted. Thankfully I had dismissed my wings before entering the Old Man's Drum). Working together we did manage to contain the fire, though Halbrinn broke our Bag of Holding in the process as he tried to scoop up far too much water in it at once from the local river, and the thing burst. With that under control, I went to make a report to Respen about the unfortunate occurrences, but instead was confronted by Duke Braille, the erstwhile commander of Daggerdale’s army (what there is of it), who ranted and raged at me for some time, dropping the words "court martial" and "death sentence" into the tirade. He wants me transferred to his command, like the pigheaded idiot could even understand how I wage war. The man is a total irrelevance, given a title with no meaning and an army that couldn't stop a Zhent raiding force, let alone an army. For my part I followed protocol, saying "Yes Sir", and "No Sir" as and when needed. After a short argument with the Crusaders about whether we should go to fight the Drow, or stick around for judgment on my case, I retired to my room, the argument unresolved. Tarsakh 15th - I woke this morning to receive a puzzling package. On opening it I found that it contained a generous severance pay, a backpack and a confusing note. It seems that I have been removed from the official lists of government paid employees, in effect made redundant, yet I am to be retained on salary to be doing what I have always done. As an aside I have been transferred to Duke Braille’s command... so I guess I'll just carry on reporting to Respen then. I gathered the Crusaders together, and after trying (and failing) to buy a Portable Hole from the Thayans, we settled on a new Bag of Holding. We then headed off back to the Dordrien Crypts. The trip was uneventful, and the only thing of note was a skeleton surrounded by ash outside the crypt doors. We couldn't make anything out of it though, so we just ignored it. It took us several hours to get back down through the crypts and the chasm to the Temple, but that damn forbiddance effect meant that fully half our group was unable to enter this day, so we decided to explore Szith Morcane instead. We do so, finding out that rather than an actual town as such, Szith Morcane is actually a vast cavern, dotted with farmsteads and many, many huge fungi (probably grown as crops in the underdark). Our travel through this area was peaceful save for a short fight with a pair of Underdark Squid (at least I think that is what they were), as we walked along the shore of a lake. I managed to kill one, but the other escaped with severe wounds. After a bit more uneventful exploring, we headed back to our secured area and rested. Tarsakh 16th - Getting up early, we headed back down the chasm to the temple and Adamo opens up a new passage into the temple. It seems that the drow had anticipated this though, as they had used walls of stone to alter the corridors inside. Aeron dispelled the forbiddance, and also the Unhallow effects, in effect leveling the playing field. Making our way to the large chamber we had battled in before and been forced to flee from; we launched our attack on the remaining Kiaransalee cultists. Pitched against us this time was the drow vampiress, a drow priestess, a vampiric drider, a pair of Quth Maren and a nasty surprise as the drow had turned both Vorin and Grim into undead minions and used them against us. No quarter was asked or given as battle was joined, and the fighting was fierce. Thankfully none of the Crusaders fell in battle, and we saw to the destruction of all our foes save for the vampiress and priestess, both of whom fled. We set off after them through the temple, the place was littered with exploding skull traps and other deadly magics, but very little of this fell sorcery had much effect save to slow us, and even then not by much. After some searching, we located the vampiresses hidden sarcophagus and using sunlight spells, utterly annihilated her. The priestess escaped us again! On looting the complex and the numerous bodies we found many items of interest, in particular the equipment from both Grim and Vorin which their undead selves had for the most part retained. I won't easily forget Vorin, something of his soul lingered in the undead he had become, and he kept demanding to be destroyed even as he fought me. I was responsible for leaving him to die the first time, and I put him down this time also. We also found a very disturbing letter, pertaining to what the drow are up to. I feel it is vital to get this back to Respen as soon as possible. In the interests of having a copy of the letter, I have transcribed it into my journal below: Daughter, Our Dark Lady favours my efforts, and my research proceeds well. Within five tendays, perhaps six, all will be ready for the Day of Great Vengeance. The Spider Queen is dead; we have already brought low the Spider-kissers and seized our rightful place in the realms of the dark. Now the Day draws near when we shall avenge ourselves upon those of the day-blasted lands, too, and achieve that ultimate triumph denied us so long ago. While I prepare my Great Revenance, it falls to you to make ready the way. Harry the surface-dwellers, hunt them in their woods and fields, and take the measure of their strength. Do not concern yourself with putting them on their guard; our Lady desires their blood, their fear, and their dreadful anticipation of our ultimate act of revenge. With each slaying we grow in her favour and sow the seeds of our coming victory. If they come against you in Szith Morcane in irresistible strength, slay as many as you can. Withdraw from the fight if you must, and bring Zedarr with you, but as for the rest - they are to stand and die for the glory of the White Banshee. The battle for Szith Morcane will come to nothing when our Great Revenance comes to pass. If anything, our final vengeance is made ever sweeter by each fleeting, false hope our enemies entertain before it falls upon them. Work great slaughter for our Lady's dark glory, my daughter. Soon I will come to you from Maerimydra with such dark and terrible might that all Faerun will tremble before us. Mother It would seem that the raids the drow launched upon Daggerdale are but the first stage of a much more insidious plan to do harm to the folk of Daggerdale (and indeed by the sounds of it, everywhere else!). With this in mind, we headed back to Dagger Falls to find a festival in progress as the town will be hosting a meeting of the Dales council in a few days. The guard I questioned on the gate we entered town by, said that the first few dignitaries had already arrived. The group split up upon entering the town, and myself and Stedd headed to the Old Man’s Drum, paid for our rooms and went to bed.</blockquote>

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