Correl: An Element of Origin

[MarauderX]

Session 16: Confrontation

The party watched as Jerrin molded the stone away from the only door out of the room. The door revealed spiral stairs down and the group paused at the door to consider the merits of who should be first. Alex volunteered to scout ahead and the others agreed to follow once he was out of sight. Alex descended the stairs to find a similar door, covered in thick cloth, and began removing it. He stopped for a moment to allow the others to descend the stairs noisily before continuing.

Once the cloth was removed Alex strained to see under the gap of the door. He could only see a few feet, but could tell there was light in the room and nothing in front of the door. Pushing against it slightly revealed that the door would open, but was unlike the others in that the swing was opposite. Alex relayed the information to the others and Bratton moved up to the door to open it and see the room. Pushing it open, he was amazed at what he saw, and the others craned their necks to see while his eyes struggled to take in all that he saw.

On either side of him he saw two jade statues, each humanoid and seven feet tall with sleek lion-like heads. Each was flanking a pile of strange green goo that encased humanoid forms within. In the middle of the room four pillars rose to support a round stone platform above, and the deep blue light in the room seemed to emanate from the top of it and fill the rest of the room. On the other side of the room, a mirrored pair of statues stood regally over two more blobs of green, each with a figure trapped within. Next to the far one on Bratton’s left he saw two robed figures and charged straight for them.

The others piled into the room to see, and Jerrin and the others recognized the familiar eastern face of Di’an, and next to him was another familiar figure, though much different than they had last seen him. The bands of runes that fell from around his neck were the first clue, but the piercing eyes gave Golthar away. He turned to them, his face a waterfall of mixed emotions before it settled on menacing indifference. As he turned, the party saw a shock of red hair that sprouted from the top of the mound of green goo that could only be Stephan. On the walls hung crisp paintings of more lion-headed humanoids dressed in fine clothing in various poses of standing or sitting.

Alex shouted Di’an’s name, hoping to give Bratton pause as he raced across the room. The dwarf still swung his axe around the column near Di’an, catching the monk by surprise as the blade slashed a deep scarlet across his robes. Thovaas stepped into the room and began extracting the figure from the nearest mound of green goo, an elf. Golthar stepped away and waved his hand twice, and everyone paused to watch as the two far statues crackled to life and their smooth textures frayed to form a jagged dark-green skin. The stone swords they wielded in both hands were larger than the great sword Thovaas carried, and they strode forth to attack with them. Di’an called for the fighting to cease, as he was sure they would see the folly of attacking when they knew who Golthar was. So the party slowed their attack and instead freed the elf completely, as well as a half-orc named Arashika and a dwarf, Gregor. All the while Golthar went on explaining himself, which to the group sounded more like a justification. Di’an went on and on, arguing with Thovaas and the others, demanding that his actions were for the greater good of Correl, that Stephan had set them up, and that with the goblin threat behind them they could move forward, together, to seek the same goals. Thovaas drew his arm back and swung at Di’an’s face with the back of his gauntlet in an attempt to slap some sanity back into him.

Di’an scowled at him, hurt more that the paladin would not try to figure out what he was saying. The fighting resumed, and the party split to gang up on each of the stone menaces that resumed their advance. Arashika immediately darted towards Golthar, tackling the tall man to the floor, keeping him from doing anything else. Di’an stepped behind one of the stone giants and cast a spell, striking Thovaas in the chest with a gob of acid before going to help out his self-described master, Golthar. Thovaas went after him again but stopped to assist Bratton with the green stone giant and worked to bring it down quickly, but it was a much larger task than they had realized.

Alex, Yaritza, Jerrin and Tempest attacked the other green stone giant, chipping away at it regularly. Tempest wrestled the statue to the floor where it picked itself up again as everyone near it bashed as hard as they could, but still it stood and lashed out towards Alex but missed and a part of the wall gave way under the stone sword.

Golthar growled strangely under Arashika before he struggled to freedom, stood, and saw as a large crocodile solidified next to him. He turned to step away, trying to bring the other two statues to life, but was trapped by the crocodile’s gripping bite. The beast dragged him to the ground in its crushing bite and Arashika heard him grit his teeth under the pain just before she tried to punch him.

Yaritza took a heavy shot to the body and head and she flew backward to lay in an unmoving heap behind Bratton. Jerrin brought forth another animal, a wolf, and it appeared and took her place as he swept to the side and healed her. The others fought on, hacking and slashing bits of green stone from the statues.

Golthar struggled free once more. He ran to a corner behind one of the statues and stopped to watch as the crocodile and Arashika pursued him. Golthar then brought the remaining two statues creaking to life, their shimmering jade dulling to green stone before they both attacked the crocodile, landing punishing blows to make it dissipate. Golthar smiled at Arashika before bolting to escape through the hidden door the party had just come through. Jerrin spotted him escaping and mounted Tempest just after he brought down one of the green stone giants. With ranged help from Alex, Thovaas finished off the second with a powerful swing of his greatsword.

Jerrin pried open the hidden door to the spiral staircase upward. Bratton began pulling Stephan loose from the green goo he was encased in, and Alex assisted the weakened dwarf to the hidden stairs. The second pair of statues lumbered forth, swinging their swords with deceiving ease at the summoned wolf Jerrin had brought forth. Thovaas assisted Bratton as Stephan collapsed over the dwarf’s shoulder, both hands and feet touching the stone tile floor. Thovaas then stayed between them and the statues as everyone clambered into the stair. The statues turned and lunged at the door, stabbing inward several times before giving them a chance to pull it shut.

At the top of the stairs Jerrin opened the door to see Golthar once more. His hair was disheveled and his robe shimmered iridescent colors where it had been slashed and torn by the many strikes downstairs. He was gathering papers from the desk, and stepped towards one of the chests when he heard Tempest’s low growl. Golthar swiveled to face Jerrin on his mount and grimaced before his feet lifted from the floor as he glided to the trapdoor twenty feet above. Jerrin dismounted and girded Tempest to attack. The wolfhound leapt onto the desk then soared through the air at Golthar but his jaws only clamped down on the robe, tearing away another strip of fluttering iridescence. Golthar disappeared through the trapdoor hole, temporarily blocking the afternoon sunlight.

Jerrin saw the knotted rope dangling from the roof and heard the others coming up the spiral steps, so he waited for them as he watched the opening. The others arrived slowly, having brought the four captives with them and laying them down on the soft rugs and couch. Stephan’s eyes rolled in his head as he coughed violently, green goo projecting from his mouth. The elven prisoner could only raise his head to look at the scene below, while the dwarf struggled to stand firmly. Alex and the others looked nearly as tired from the fight below, but they all nodded in a silent agreement to climb to the roof. Quickly, Jerrin went up first and saw how the rooftop had changed. Arashika gripped the heavy ornate chair behind the desk and smashed it against the wall and pried away a makeshift club from one of the legs.

On the inset pentacle on the roof, green flames arose, and on the other side a form wearing Golthar’s robes raised and lowered its arms, pulling the flames higher with each gesture. In the center of the pentacle a head bubbled forth, gleaming bulbous eyes sprouted and a monstrous red form rose to two feet. The creature that Golthar had become directed the beast, and the eye stalks that lined its back and the attached orbs gazed around and locked on Jerrin as he was about to pull himself onto the roof. The oblong head pivoted to face him, and Jerrin felt a queasiness overtake him, and he slipped down the rope to the desk below. As he tried to explain what nastiness he had seen, the group formed a ring around the desk as it clawed at the open air through the opening. It disappeared for a moment, and then the opening went dark as it dropped its body through the hole, splintering the desk into pieces as it landed.

The thing clawed at the group, landing a few blows, but the party went to work on it systematically, stabbing in the back as it turned, slicing at every opening it left. Before long the group had brought the beast to its end, and a bloody mess was layered on top of scattered papers and broken wood. Again they looked up to the opening, and the impervious Thovaas was the first to climb up this time. He and Arashika rushed across the roof towards Golthar and raced around another foul demon that emerged from the circle of green flames. Thovaas and Arashika paused to study their altered opponent, who was now over seven feet tall. They approached him as he wove a spell, soft strips of his tattered iridescent robe waving around his muscular limbs. His head was that of a tiger, and he had long flowing hair that coursed over his shoulders and back. Claws tipped each of his fingers and sharp teeth flashed as he spoke. Fur covered his entire body and spat the words of tainted magic with a guttural growl.

Alex, Jerrin and Bratton emerged through the hole and were struck with a spell from the dreadful Golthar. A moment of confusion struck each of the three then passed for Jerrin and Bratton, but not for Alex. He wandered about the rooftop in a daze, coming perilously close to the edge. Jerrin engaged the fiendish beast, and directed Bratton to assist Thovaas with Golthar. Yaritza inquired about the situation from below, hesitant to climb up the rope in her weakened state.

Alex’s lucidity came and went, as sometimes he would aim at Jerrin and the next moment he would go for the fiend. The other three teamed up to surround the beastly Golthar, and Golthar tried to side step his way around them for a better position, all the while slashing Brattons armor and flesh to ribbons. Jerrin attacked with mitigated strikes, trying to protect himself from the beast more than hurt it. Alex’s head finally cleared and he worked his way around to fire at Golthar several times, and Jerrin turned to join them in the attack. The fiendish beast turned its gruesome head towards Alex and leapt at him, only to disappear in a burst of green flames that made Alex flinch.

Golthar punished Bratton time and again, and the tenacious dwarf slumped to his knees before falling forward unconscious. Thovaas swung his sword in an arc of fury, and the smiting blow bit deep into the back of Golthar, sending another spray of blood to cover his robes. Arashika swung her club as Golthar spat out his frustration at the party, how their races were mere infants in the history of the world and at the loss of so much history and knowledge at their bloodthirsty hands. She swung her club again and connected with the top of his head, and before he could fall Jerrin was stabbing his knife in and out of the defeated Rakshasa. The group pummeled the body, making sure that it was deep beyond any doubt before Jerrin turned to stop Bratton’s bleeding wounds.

The group took in a deep sigh of relief and began to laugh with joy over their victory. The green flames still bellowed from the inscription in the top of the tower, but the oppressive fear that tingled at the backs of their minds had subsided before fading to nothing. The sun shown down with a different light, and the bright white flames on the tops of the columns had fizzled and vanished. They had defeated this evil, from whatever time or place he said he was from.

 

[Old One]

Session 16: Confrontation


Di’an scowled at him, hurt more that the paladin would not try to figure out what he was saying. The fighting resumed, and the party split to gang up on each of the stone menaces that resumed their advance. Arashika immediately darted towards Golthar, tackling the tall man to the floor, keeping him from doing anything else. Di’an stepped behind one of the stone giants and cast a spell, striking Thovaas in the chest with a gob of acid before going to help out his self-described master, Golthar. Thovaas went after him again but stopped to assist Bratton with the green stone giant and worked to bring it down quickly, but it was a much larger task than they had realized.

Fear Arashika Skar! The half-orc warrioress and bowling pin extraordinaire !

Now, if only her player could remember a few things noted on her character sheet (like sneak attack +1d6), all would be well !

~ Old One

PS - How many hit points of damage can a raging Arashika do with one punch? Answer: A lot! (15, IIRC)

 

[MarauderX]

Session 17: Homeward Bound

Alex, Thovaas and the others breathed a sigh of relief at the top of the tower. Tired, Jerrin sank to his knees to check on the fallen dwarf Bratton, and Arashika kept her eye on the unmoving body of Golthar. Gathering themselves, each bandaged their wounds before descending to back into the tower. Bratton was lowered down, and the others gave weak congratulations and thanks for defeating Golthar. Setting up a watch, the group rested for the rest of the day and through the night.

During their rest, Stephan and his friends explained how they were captured over a month ago by hobgoblins on their way to the tower. The hobgoblins moved them to the goblin lair in the Stone Forest where they saw Rollof, and the two were overjoyed to see each other alive despite their predicament. Rollof was defiant towards the goblins which resulted in daily beatings. After a time, Stephan and the others were escorted south through the woods and across the plain by a large hobgoblin mounted on a pure white wolf.

Once they arrived at the tower they met Golthar, and behind his warm, gentle smile lay wicked manipulation as they were released from their bonds only to be paralyzed in green piles of goo. Time was frozen as they were woken only to be questioned or to have magic pry at their memories to see what they knew. In the meantime, each spent plenty of time staring at painting in front of them, a faded glory of ages past, depicting -headed humanoids looking regal with fine clothes and perfect posture.

Each resisted the questions that Golthar and his assistant Di'an asked, mostly in a dazed reflexive habit, still weakened by the paralyzing green goo. They asked about the other ruins that they had visited, what they found and questioned thoroughly about what they were after. It was during one of these sessions that they were interrupted by the party emerging from the door.

Stephan admits that he has been trying to study the ruins and the things he has found there to uncover more such places. Though they might have been picked through once already, much seems to have been left behind, and certain words of arcana call the powers forth from mundane devices. Stephan continues, saying that he was the one who had determined the tapestries at Sukyskin were ancient, and he was also looking for more to gain any knowledge of where other sites might be.

At the last site, Stephan admits that he found descriptions of a tower with a sunken town at the edge of the plateau, and deciphered a location from vague writings in the texts he found. Before setting out, he recruited the same three that had accompanied him before - Gregor, a dwarven fighter, Arashika, a fearsome female half-orc, and Myrrin, an elven rogue and sorcerer. Gregor and Arashika had earned Stephan's trust after guarding his brother Pyotr's horses when moving them to Kargam for sale, and Myrrin came recommended by the dwarf, which Stephan accepted based on the unusual recommendation.

In the meantime, Stephan had needed someone to fill his shoes and escort the horses to Kargam with his brother Pyotr. He talked to Rollof, a great contact in the city for finding talent, and he came up with a good group that could do the task and leave him free to find the tower and ruins. It was when they were headed towards Sukyskin that the group was ambushed.

Large spikes grew up from the earth, striking their horses, and a moment afterward arrows whistled from the trees to strike them. Disorganized, the group sundered as a large imposing figure, that of an Ogre, came forth from the trees. Trapped, the group fought against them as best they could but soon they fell one by one.

They were surprised to wake up alive the next day, though the wounds left painful marks of their defeat as they were marched and dragged to the goblin lair.

*****

The next morning Jerrin assisted with healing on some of those whose wounds had not mended. The party decided to leave the belongings they had found them in the chests, and didn't say anything to Stephan or the others about it. Gregor and Myrrin stayed close together, and hedged towards Stephan, while Alex and the others went to the stairs. Alex explored the stairwell thoroughly and found concealed doors on each side of the spiral staircase. Behind the doors was a corridor that wrapped around the room, and at each one of the locations for a picture Alex could see through it into the room. In it the two statues had turned back into jade and stood motionless in front of the battered door to the stairs.

The group ventured into the room and searched for anything else extraordinary. Alex climbed one of the columns in the room that supports a large slab of stone above. The stone curved downward in the middle, and Alex pulled himself up to the lip of the slab to see that it is concave and a pool of a blueish liquid acted like a mirror to reflect the ceiling another ten feet above. Alex balanced himself on the ledge easily, and dunked an empty flask into the blue water and climbed back down, holding the flask out tentatively as if asking for a volunteer.

Gazing around the room, each looked away in turn until Yaritza stepped forward. She cast a few incantations of detection on it, gave up, and downed a healthy mouthful. She replied gleefully that it made her tingle and healed her wounds. Alex went up again and filled his other empty flasks as well as two waterskins with the liquid before looking to move on.

The group headed down the next stairs to the last floor left in the tower and Alex opened and pushed it into the room to see what was there. The room was full of desks and tables, and on any flat surface piles of books and loose parchement were stacked precariously. Five older sages in robes stood towards the back, wide-eyed, while four human guards stood between them and the spiral stair. Cautiously eyeing one another with weapons drawn, each side waited for the other to move, and finally Alex spoke up to ask who they were.

One of the sages explained that they were there to assist Golthar in translating texts that he had recovered, and since Golthar was a rich benefactor, the sages came to Chautauqua at his request. The party explained that Golthar was not who he seemed and was now dead, and they dragged the body of the fallen creature to prove it. Finally believing them, the sages thought that they would accompany the group back to Kargam, and would accept the party's company.

The group made off that day, loading up Thovaas's steed with chests, tapestries and other items. As they left Chautauqua, the party realized they were being followed. In the distance they recognized the outlines of more hobgoblins on their trail across the plain. As night came, they reached the edge of the woods. The party was looking to use the woods for cover, but the sages and others refused to stay there in case the hobgoblins attacked. So they made a bonfire and set up a line of sticks hidden in the waist-high grasses near the forest. With the bonfire still going all night, the older sages slept closest to the woods so they could make it to cover quickly. Alex and several of the others hid in the darkness just outside of the light of the fire during the watches.

At about three in the morning, Alex heard the unmistakeable sound of hobgoblins. He rose and alerted Gregor and soon the others were woken up. The group stayed behind the line of picketed sticks, and after a few minutes they heard a shout. With the large group silhoetted by the bonfire, the hobgoblins stood from their hiding in the grasses to take aim and fire. They reloaded and fired again before charging into melee.

The large group of warriors met them on the other side of the stick picket, and a large ogre led the way, swinging a huge club with both hands at Thovaas. The hobgoblins clashed with the rest of the party and sage's bodyguards. The fight ensued with everyone eventually joining in, and the ogre was finally defeated, sending the remaining hobgoblins running into the darkness. As they returned and checked on the rest of the camp, they went to wake up the sages, who had apparently slept through the entire fight. However, two of the sages were already awake from the sounds of battle; the others had been murdered in their sleep.

Each person began to account for their location, and finally the elf Myrrin came back, blood still fresh on his scimitar. By the firelight no one could tell whether the blood was human or hobgoblin. Staring, Thovaas and the others looked Myrrin over for signs of betrayal while Gregor the dwarf stood by him.

 

[MarauderX]

Small version of the Town Map of Chautauqua. The tower is in the center, and the steps up from the plains to the town is at the bottom.

 

[MarauderX]

Golthar's Rant at the Tower during Session 16

Golthar rants loudly, seething with anger as his voice seems to change into a growl as if he was speaking through a mouthful of teeth.

“I see that you have discovered what is in my private quarters. Such is the behavior of disrespectful animals, lacking discipline to leave be what they do not understand and I can see your greedy eyes are still lusting for more. Such is the way the slave races have always been, but I am starting to understand there is much more to them than I had initially estimated. For such short lived races it was unlikely they would ever gather the knowledge or power of any of the elders, but indeed it did happen, with the aid of the Creator gods’ children.

“For the Creator gods made the elder races, granting us dominion over all the lands of Craeloth. We prospered and ruled over the lands, completely loyal to the Creators and thankful for the gifts they gave us – majestic homes, fertile lands, open skies and powerful magic. The Creators had Children, furthering our understanding of the Creators as masters. With their aid we made likenesses of ourselves to do our menial tasks and other labors. The Creators’ Children granted us the creation of dwarves to mine our mountains, humans and Halflings to sow our fields and raise our livestock. We had fey to tend our forests, orcs to dig our homes and giants to move our loads. The slave races were short lived to keep them in check, and they were of great amusement to pit the fiercest of them against one another.

“Then the Creators’ children, Pelor, Heronious, Hextor, Vecna, and the others, granted the slave races divine powers. Then the Children gods granted them a new type of magic – arcane is what we labeled it, which meant second-class to us. While we, the elder races of Elves, Rakshasa, Litorians, Dragons, Illithid and others had perfected the Creators’ magic, the Children bastardized it in a way so the slaves could learn to use facets of it. It didn’t take us long to realize the threat we had made for ourselves, and how we were betrayed by the Children.

“The elder races moved to crush the uprisings, but not all were against them. The elves, which had for the longest time flown the lower skies beneath the high-flying dragons, had joined the cause of the slaves. For this the Creators’ struck them down from the skies, removing their wings so that they too had to walk amongst the beings they had created. And they are you.

"Now I seek out the members of my own kind, those in hiding for over 3000 years, after my own home had been destroyed by uncivilized heathens in the southern deserts. And now I have followed their clues and I know where they are, I will find them myself, whether or not I have the tapestries to guide me. And you can try to stand in my way or you can come with me and discover more power and knowledge than any of you can understand. It is this power that have to weild against you in destruction or this power with which I can aid you. Now I understand the slave races, and can relate to their plight in a new way. Now we are all equal, to share the lands together until the rediscovery of the Creators.

Come, will you join me? Or are you just as dumb and blind as all your ancestors? Grrr... I see you have made your choice to die, just as you should, like the oblivious savages you are!!"

 

[MarauderX]

Excerpts from Shamuss’s journal:

“…Text after text affiliates the elves as an elder race, calling upon them as superior in intelligence as they had ‘invented’ humans. One of them says the humans could be bred much faster and replaced easier than the dwarfs, and they were still superior to the orcs, which had definitive limits to their learning. In all, these facts are astonishing to behold if they are proven true by the time frame of the astrological studies…”

“…Golthar has afforded us a most peaceful home, with guards that, although unsettling, are loyal to his money and stay well out of our way. Since we have taken residence, only occasional visitors are seen headed our way, and some approach as close as they can only to be curbed by the hobgoblins. One such group was a small squad of centaur that had to flee from the steps of Chautauqua to escape…”

“…Astrological studies seem to be another of the elder races favorite hobbies, as when we asked Golthar if we could verify the authenticity of the texts through astrologic extrapolation, he paused as if reflecting, then took us straight to a set of 11 volumes, each chronicling years of timelines with relation to star locations. After we leafed through the books we did verify that the texts, according to our detection magic and the astrological charts, were authentic. Now we must dwell on the implications…”

“…Today we had a discussion on the topics of research and translation with Golthar. Golthar seems unconcerned with the knowledge that the elves are one of the elder races, as if he knew their history already, and wished us to pursue leads that would bring up other of the elder races and clues as to their last known whereabouts. We persisted on finding more about our own history and Golthar raised his voice for the first time, acting as though we were children, quelling the idea with an angry fist.”

“…Golthar seems unconcerned about an approaching band of warriors that defeated a hobgoblin patrol sent to deter them. He seems transfixed on the latest items we had found for him, a reference to a thread that could illuminate a correct path, or if incorrectly used, would forever destroy the magic in the artifact…”

“…We have discussed amongst ourselves how the knowledge of human and elven history, should it be true, impact the rest of the Kingdom. Though the king and others may tolerate such knowledge, it would certainly inflame a race war against the elves. At current times, the elves are perhaps the most influential source of magic and knowledge, and their culture permeates through all of human society, from fashionable dress and song to codes of conduct and justice. What people might do to purge elven influence from human society could be devastating…”

“…The band of mostly humans has infiltrated the tower at the lower levels, and Golthar was still unconcerned, as if he had discovered something that they couldn’t change. Again he told us to keep translating to find out as much as we could, but we have been too afraid of the attackers to continue accurately…”

“…One of the attackers is a devotee of Heronious, something completely unexpected in these borderlands. Given that it may be a ruse, we are still suspect and have prepared with magical spells to bind them should they invade our quarters, leaving no time for more translations, much to Golthar’s chagrin…”

“…The invaders have met us, and have killed a tiger-like beast, similar to the Rakshasa of our texts, and claim it is the Golthar that we know. Their proof was overwhelming, and we have submitted to being duped by the being, and offered our hand in friendship. The group accepted, and we exchanged awkward looks, and they eyed us as if we would be loyal to the end. We have agreed to travel with them back to Kargam, as they would make better companions than the hobgoblins living in the south-west. Though we wish we could stay to research what we really had found, it would be much safer to gain funding for more protection and possibly help from the Red Knights before researching more of the texts at Chautauqua…”

 

[MarauderX]

Session 18: Elven Interruption

The group stared around the fire as the elf approached. He wiped the viscious blood from his scimitar, and as he did Jerrin approached and couldn't tell whether there was human blood on the blade. Invoking a means to speak with animals, Jerrin then asked Tempest, his wolfhound companion, what type of blood was on the weapon. Tempest replied that both hobgoblin and human blood were on the blade, but could not tell when or whether the blood was from Shamuss the Sage.

As they proceeded with the sages' burial, the group noticed that the packs the sages had brought with them were gone. Turning, Varekai saw a few papers near the fire, and in the fire the packs were burning slowly. Varekai grabbed a staff and yanked the charred packs out of the fire one by one. Searching through and through the pages near the fire, they put together only a few readable pages from Shamuss's journal. Reading through them they discussed what it could mean and why someone would want to throw them into the fire. The fire light cast an eerie glow across faces as the groups shuffled to either side to discuss their thoughts with one another.

Jerrin, Thovaas and Alex grouped and talked about why the elf might want to murder the sages. Alex strode up to the elf as he and the dwarf, Gregor, went silent. Alex made some conversation with them, gaining a bit of their trust by badmouthing the paladin. Gregor seemed irked that the paladin would ever think it was Myrrin or anyone else, and was convinced the hobgoblins probably had an assassin looking for something on the sages. The elf didn't say to much and Alex gained a bit of trust from the huffy dwarf.

Jerrin was given the pages for safe keeping, and he and a few others slept away the few hours until dawn. Once dawn approached the group talked to the sages and Myrrin to see if anything had changed. Quentin guarded the head sage, Rian, carefully whenever anyone wanted to speak to him. A few saw a small sparrow fly among them to land on Jerrin's shoulder, and it spoke softly into his ear, then Jerrin whispered something to it before he returned to stride through the thickets with ease.

The group traveled very slowly during the day as a dull drizzle fell from the overcast sky. Between travelling through the forest, the weather and the little sleep the sages had, the progress was extremely slow. The day passed and everyone in the group was cold and soaked to the bone. The sages were glad to stop early and start a fire to try to stay warm before the night fell. Everyone agreed to having double watches so that they could keep an eye on one another.

During Alex and Varekai's watch, Alex saw movement at the edge of the fire light. It was a familiar face to Alex, though not necessarily friendly, and Varekai sprang from his seat ready to face an attack for the second night in a row. Instead Alex told him to lower his guard as the elf approached. Once in the firelight Alex knew it was He'lander, a friend of Jerrin's, and he spoke only to say that he had business with Jerrin.

Jerrin and He'lander spoke for a time, and elf seemed distressed about something that he needed to share with the halfling. After half an hour the two parted, and He'lander was swallowed by the darkness of the night. The others took watches and the rest of the night passed without incident, save some verbal sparring with Myrrin. When the sages woke they immediately noticed their missing packs. At first they seethed quietly, then their voices crested as they realized someone in the group had thrown their backpacks into the fire and ensured that all their belongings were destroyed. Rian was livid, tearing into Alex, Quentin and Varekai, then Yaritza before cursing everyone but his fellow sage. Myrrin pointed out that he was lucky to be alive, unlike three of his comrads, and the sages fell into frustrated silence.

The next day passed as slowly as the last, the rain and forest slowing down the sages to nearly a crawl. The night was nearly as miserable, and the campfire was the only thing keeping the sages from catching a sickness. The day was a little better as the rain had ceased. As they made their way through the forest they passed through a meadow, and on the other side of it they were hailed by a group of elves.

Myrrin called back to them, waving his hand at them, and they were just as rain soaked as the party and had a grim look of determination. There were only four of them, and He'lander was one of their number. They were still some distance away, and called out for the sages to be released to them under their care. Thovaas and the others questioned why, and the elves explained that they were afraid the sages knew too much and had to go through a proceedure to erase some of their memories. The group negotiated with the elves to talk with Rian, and Rian would be accompanied by Quentin. He'lander and the elf leader, Thamios, met them in the middle of the meadow.

Thamios insisted that both sages come with them, that the elves wouldn't leave unless the sages were with them. Thamios slowly reached out for Rian, waving his hand to come as if Rian were a reluctant child. Rian looked at Quentin, and just as he was about to speak, two flame-tipped arrows sailed through the meadow to attack the party. Thamios drew two scimitars and struck Rian to the ground with a slashing blow. The elven wizard cast a spell which webbed in Varekai, Jerrin and his mount Tempest. Myrrin drew his scimitars and attacked Akashira from behind, and Gregor's mouth fell open in astonishment that transformed into a blind rage as he charged for the elf.

Quentin stepped back and fired an arrow that connected with He'lander, ruining the spell he was in the middle of casting. The others reacted to close around Myrrin while Yaritza cast spells at the elven archer. Flaming arrows descended to strike Quentin before he and Varekai closed to engage Thamios face to face. Jerrin struggled out of the web before calling forth a wolven spirit nearly at the same time as He'lander sent his to attack the elven wizard. Alex closed the distance between himself and the elven archer as a rolling ball of flame chased him through the brush. The wizard cast a spell to mirror himself before casting another to blind He'lander.

Myrrin fell to a Thovaas's sword, saving Akashira from his speedy blades as she struggled to remain concious. Thovaas stabilized her wounds before she ran to aid Quentin and Varekai, the latter of which had several slash wounds across his unarmored body.

The archer was tripped to the ground by the large summoned wolf, and the elven wizard's images were disappearing rapidly. Thamios was knocked to the ground after giving up his last scimitar, his smug face fully expecting leaniancy. The wizard cast one last spell, her magic arching to center around Thamios in an effort for him to escape by surrounding him with a stinking cloud. Akashira, Varekai and Jerrin fled the cloud of noxious gas and coughed violently afterward. Gregor charged straight to Thamios in the center of the cloud as he lay on the ground and his axe could be heard by all as it crunched and splattered the elf's bones and blood in bitter hate.

The elven archer was skewered by Alex's rapier and the wizard was flipped through the air and battered on the ground by the pair of summoned wolves and her torn body lay still as the first ray of sun in three days split the clouds to beam down on her broken form. Gregor, coughing, emerged from the cloud of stench with fresh blood covering the entire front of his body. He stared wildly, and his teeth gritted as he saw the blind elf He'lander stumble towards him. The dwarf took several steps towards his new target before Jerrin could intervene. The dwarf cursed them both and sank his axe into the tree next to him in frustration.

The tension eased from the fight, and one by one they relaxed in the open forest. In his own defense He'lander explained that when he requested help he didn't expect killers out for their agenda. The eerie realization of what they had read and saw started to dawn on them as they had over a week left to journey back to Sukyskin, let alone Kargam.

 

[MarauderX]

Session 19: On to Kargam

Continuing on towards Sukyskin, the group kept the two dwarves, Gregor and Bratton, away from the blind He'lander. Jerrin took the disabled elf forward where the talked about the recent events, and He'lander told Jerrin of a recent encounter he and elves had with a squad of insectoid beings that jumped them. After the elves fled and were split up, He'lander said that he was chased relentlessly by three of the spider people before he fell from exhaustion near a stream bank. When he awoke there was a carcass of a deer next to him and he saw a large gray hunking form slink into the cover of the woods. Waking fully, He'lander rested and regained strength for another day, and saw parts of the three insectoid beings strewn about around him. They looked as though they had been torn asunder, and recently. He'lander got to examine the creature closely upon it's next visit in the morning, and the hairless, six-eyed beast followed him loosely through the woods as he met up with the other surviving elves. They had lost five other elves to the spider beings that ambushed them, and now they were off to try to capture those returning from Chautauqua they thought were dangerous.

Jerrin relayed most of this information to the others, and it was Sir Thovaas that spotted the gray beast early the next morning while he was on the last watch. It approached as quietly as it could, it's form nearly hidden in the surrounding fog, and Thovaas could see that it had something draped over it's shoulder. He could see the distinct six eyes and huge maw with rows of teeth and changed his position to get a better angle should it approach too closely. It heard him, and pivoted to face him for a second before tossing the carcass of a doe toward him, and the body of it skittered along the leaves of the forest floor to stop at Thovaas's feet. The beast was easily ten feet tall with broad, muscular shoulders that were wider than a horse, and it seemed to move fluidly back into the forest, crunching branches beneath it's heavy weight. Thovaas breathed a sigh of relief only after five minutes of silence.

The rest woke the next morning to a freshly prepared breakfast by Thovaas, and the campfire crackled as a pan cooked a side of venison for all. It was a needed break after eating only leafy plants and bitter tasting berries collected by Jerrin and stale, dry jerky that was running low. Everyone felt at ease with the new beast as a watchdog to fetch them food, as every morning it brought them a fresh kill.

The days of travel were faster with the sunny weather, and the heat was mitigated by the dense tree canopy above. Jerrin chose the most direct path back to Sukyskin and the trails were wide and easily traversed by the slow moving sages. They ventured to the bandit camp the party had raided months ago, and now everyone could sense they were close to the homestead.

As they approached Sukyskin, Taras emerged from the woods to greet Jerrin first, then spotted his uncle Stephan and jumped and hooted loudly with glee. The two of them talked the rest of the way back, and the party asked questions about what had been happening recently there. Taras gave curt answer, and only noted that a group of elves had arrived expecting to buy the horses but were very disappointed. Soon they arrived at the homestead and saw for themselves how the place had changed. They were greeted with much fanfare, as Taras had ridden ahead to shout their return.

The main building of Sukyskin was still there, and the burnt palisade was replaced and coated with a flame retardant wax to prevent being burned the same way in the future. Sir Thovaas spotted this and knew that someone with military experience was at the homestead, and sure enough ten of his fellow paladins showed themselves after putting down the tools they had been working with. Three cabins had been built in a clearing, and stone foundations were being laid for a forth. The forest had been cleared away to allow for a much larger garden and one field was dedicated to raising corn to support the larger populace at the homestead, and a pack of pigs were housed next to a fence that held a new group of wild horses being trained for riding.

The entire populace of Sukyskin surrounded the group, and the party estimated that about a hundred now lived at the homestead. Among them were the ten paladins, survivors from many of the other camps that were attacked, and refugees from smaller camps in the area that came for the protection. The party and Stephan each told their version of the trip to Chautauqua, and from there how they met. Included was that Golthar, the man in nice robes with a halfling servant, was actually Stephan's captor, and how they had a long battle that ended in his defeat. Then the sages were rescued and everyone traveled back to Sukyskin as they fended off hobgoblins. The group skipped any mention of fighting the elves before returning.

The night was a riotous affair, and Pyotr was more than a little drunk as he and his brother made toasts and told the stories of the adventurers with much exaggeration. Jerrin became the role model of adventure for all the children, and the six of them questioned him relentlessly about how big all the challenges were. Thovaas caught looks from no fewer than three single ladies that were attracted to his ease with words as well as the role of a victorious protector. The lone elf at the homestead, Ariel, and her constant companion Argan were missing from the festivities as she was weak from the fatigue of travel.

The next day the party woke up late to the sounds of the smithy Willis working metal, making the final touches to Jerrin's scimitar before presenting it to the curly haired halfling. The blade was absolutely perfect in every way, proportioned correctly for his size and the balance was perfect to make the blade swish with little effort of the wrist. The sharpened blade had several markings on it from the crafter that had a small moniker with Jerrin's name embossed into the guard.

Thovaas also had a present waiting for him, and his bow was carefully hung waiting for him to return for a few final adjustments to the bow string and notch length. Once positioned, Thovaas spent a good hour practicing with the powerful bow. Arrows sliced into the tree he used as a target, each time sinking deeper and deeper into the pulpy flesh. Satisfied, he made his way around the site greeting each person and inquiring about their welfare. Others also made the rounds, and some, like Arashika, were avoided more than others, but no one showed any ill will towards anyone else. The dwarves eventually stopped where the paladins were building the new cabins and began reworking and tooling the foundation stones, demanding that the footings were too shallow and the walls weren't straight and that the cabin would have been built as poorly as the three before it, and they were lucky the pair of dwarves had stopped by to correct their work.

The day passed lazily away as the adventurers took a much earned respite from traveling and action. The night was spent in a deep rest as others at the homestead took watch. Then Thovaas was woken as someone with gentle hands shook him. Darya, Pyotr's wife, stood over him at his bedside and told him to be quiet then she walked to the door. She motioned for him to follow and he quietly made his way out of room and ascened the stone spiral stairs behind her. They reached the top and Thovaas smiled meakly, then she shook her head and pointed down from top of the tower to the edge of the clearing. Through the fog it was too hard to see what she was pointing to, but after hearing the crashing of the woods then the tearing of what could only be a tent, Thovaas knew immediately what it was.

He sprinted down the steps, his broad shoulders bouncing from side to side on the curved staircase. He fould He'lander and woke him just as he heard the crushing of wooden barrels and crates. Thovaas also kicked the feet of anyone he passed, stirring the rest of the party from their deep slumber before he sprinted out into the camp to confront the gray beast as is tore another crate to splinters.

Jerrin, Varekai, and the others joined them quickly as they watched it violently destroy the contents of the tent. The other paladins of Thovaas's order clambered to the front, only hastily armed with swords and shields. Pyotr and the rest of his family formed a semi-circle around the beast as a line against the rest of the inhabitants of Sukyskin. Jerrin spoke soothing words of the forest to it, and He'lander stood motioning as he tried to lead the beast away from the camp, but it heeded neither of them. The paladins charged forward, led by Sir Keljin, and the group watched as the first young knight was killed, his arm tugged from its socket before the beast's mouth removed half of his side.

The inhabitants watched in horror as the group made little headway at first, swords biting into the gray flesh with seemingly no effect. A second knight was killed, his rib cage splayed open for all to see his innards, and a third had his head bitten off and spat out to bounce in the mud near Thovaas. Varekai came at the beast from behind to kick it several times between the legs as Jerrin brought forth a celestial wolf as large as a horse. Sir Keljin wounded the beast next, and it turned to wrench his intestines out, dashing his organs on the ground and swatting his jaw from his face. He slumped to his knees as he tried in vain to reassemble himself.

The celestial wolf tore again at the thing's leg, tearing into the calf until it fell backward, sitting on the ground. Thovaas stabbed the beast and Varekai leapt through the air and brought down his elbow to cave the sloped forehead between the two rows of eyes. The gray beast twitched several times and Thovaas ran it through several times to make sure it was dead. The remaining paladins followed his lead and did the same for good measure.

Surveying the carnage, the others were left to clean up the beast as Thovaas laid his fellow knights to rest in the small area dedicated as a cemetary. Guilt wracked over the loss of life by all, He'lander bid his farewells and disappeared into the forest. He told Jerrin that he would relay any talk of the elves to him should there be dire tidings. Until then, perhaps they would meet in Elarith soon.

The groups stayed another day to rest and relax before heading to Kargam, and a great many of them were going to head back to the city. Stephan wanted to sell his comprehensive journal, and the sages and others wanted to return home. Plans were made to leave the following morning on foot as there were not enough horses to be used. During the day a Red Knight stopped by with three apprentices, and he asks Pyotr for lodging, hot meals and a chance to bath. The four of them were tired as they had traveled all night, and when asked why the young apprentice almost answers, then a stern look quiets him into silence. The Red Knight mentions that they are headed east to the town of Gable Falls, and that they had come from the north.

Pyotr and Darya were up early, breaking one of the horses, and they bid them all well, and to keep watching over Stephan and Taras as long as they could. The sages were prepared, along with Quentin, Varekai, Arashika and a few returning paladins.

The travel was easy along the open path, and they reached Misha’s Ferry a little before nightfall. There was no sign of Misha, and the paladins had mentioned that she was no where to be seen whenever they had passed the first time on their way to Sukyskin more than a week ago. They stayed the night in her cabin, and before dawn Thovaas saw a lumbering form making its way up the path slowly. Thovaas woke Jerrin and he could see it was a huge bear, and was the same they had seen with Misha, and could tell by the feathers that it was definitely her pet. He called to it softly, and used an enchantment to understand one another’s speech. It asked about Misha and whether they had seen her recently, and mentioned that it last saw her nearly ten days ago. Jerrin kept the bear company the rest of the night as it rested on a blanket next to the cabin, and he was the only one that waved goodbye as they crossed on the ferry.

A few more days brought them to the large town of Velja, a place that had taken advantage of being close enough to trade with Kargam and far enough to warrant stopping for the night. The sage Rian demanded to pay for everyone for night of rest at an inn there, and the next morning the party came up with the idea of taking a river boat into the city. Jerrin met some fellow halflings that owned a boat for transporting goods and with them on board they would leave at noon if the group was ready. Everyone crossed the narrow plank to board the small ship, and before long the short crew had the boat on its way to Kargam.

Thovaas had bought a bottle of fine wine for the return trip, and the other paladins followed his example and got their own. As they drank, the halflings suddenly came up with the rule that if you were drinking on their boat you had to share with them. The boat was filled with loud song as they glided downstream, and the halflings made foul gestures and purposely relieved themselves in the direction of other river boats as they passed one another.

Night came, and the group slept soundly as they slipped into the city. They were woken and welcomed by the sounds of the night in the city; occasional yelling, doors slamming, dogs barking, street torches crackling, and the lapping of the water as it hit the docks. They hopped down to the docks and went to one of the row homes of the Order of Conheci with the sages. Once they were dropped off, Arashika bid farewell, and Stephan and Taras stayed at an inn with Thovaas and the others. Varekai stayed at the single monastery in the city. It was determined that Alex would barter for the best prices he could for each of the gems and other items they were looking to sell, and they would all meet in a few days.

The next day during their brief time there the group was already hearing about the city. The favorite topic was that King Gerin was due in the city within the week and that Marquis Hoil was expected to host not only him, but all of the other five barons of the east at the same time. This was supposed to be some big meeting, and King Gerin’s father and grandfather had done the same in the past when they thought the eastern kingdom was getting out of line. Now it was said that King Gerin wanted to do the same, and the host, Marquis Hoil, wasn’t even in the city to help prepare! He was in the elven city of trade, Elarith, trying to secure a common tax rate between them so that Kargam could receive more equitable trade for elven goods in high demand. Marquis Hoil would have to hurry back and get started on preparations, as the city was already starting to swell with people as they expected a week of holidays and a chance to see the King. The party realized that they were likely to be in the thick of it all.

 

[MarauderX]

While at Sukyskin, Alex ventured around to a lonely area free from prying eyes. There he pulled out the small jeweled box that he had taken from one of Golthar's chests. He examined it thoroughly, and it still seemed to have a sense of magic about it, but wasn't sure if it was related to a trap or keeping the box sealed, so he went ahead and started on the lock.

From across the camp, Jerrin, Thovaas and Varekai heard a loud explosion and saw a small puff of black smoke mushroom into the sky. They rushed over to see Alex, his face and chest black, acting as innocent as the day he was born. He offered a few excuses and they left him alone, each thinking that perhaps he was trying to learn magic. As soon as they were gone he pulled out the box, the jeweled finish unblemished from the magical explosion.

It took Alex nearly an hour to finally pop all three locks at the same time, but when he opened it he could certainly tell it was worth it. Inside was a diamond and two saphires, a golden needle with golden thread attached, and a scroll. While the saphires might fetch 500 GP each, the diamond was worth much, much more. Also inside was a scroll of parchment with some ancient writings. Alex spent the rest of the day deciphering the script and placed his translation below it. It read:

“The appliance of the golden needle and the needle’s adjoined never-ending thread to the tapestries will yield results when applied to unique cloths that have been enhanced magically even when the fabric and tool combined were not fashioned in juxtaposition with one another. Likely it is then that such combinations could be made using codes to reveal writings and more that may have been hidden within the fabrics that were meant to be unlocked. It is also as likely that messages could have been further scrambled, or worse, given misleading information if a certain combination of the needle, thread and material were combined. Such magic would only be of deception; there lacks strength in the magic behind such subtle messages to enfold effects of devastation. It comes as no surprise that the coding and the needle should have a combination of colors as to indicate a truthful response from the target material, and in this we have found through the magic of true seeing and stronger filtering devices. To this end we know of certain behaviors, but cannot predict one to the next with any certainty as message, needle, thread are different from one to the very next though they come from the same city and source creator. To this end we cannot clearly decipher the correct messages of the Litorians without the appropriate needle and thread.”

He showed the scroll to Jerrin and Thovaas to see what they could make of it.

 

[MarauderX]

Session 20: Threats Unmasked

After more than a week passed, the party met at one of the favorite taverns in the city to discuss what had been happening in the last week. Hook Tavern appealed to locals and travelers alike, as the main attraction was a sturdy wall that had various size hooks upon it, and from them overly rowdy patrons were hung by their belts for the amusement of the clientele. Stale bread was standard fare, and the large muscular form of the owner helped tend the bar when he wasn’t lifting offenders onto or from the wall. The bard Larsi, once a slim, handsome youth several decades ago, played songs loosely and led the crowd in chiding insults of those hung on the wall.

At the tavern they heard the gossip that the King had arrived secretly somehow, and was at the castle already along with his entire entourage. Many people didn’t understand this, as they were expecting the King to parade through the city on the day he arrived so that all could see him. Instead, people were showing up in droves at the castle for a glimpse of him when he came out onto various balconies to wave at the crowds below.

The party discussed how the gems and other items were selling and what they had done in the last week when the sage Rian arrived and was greeted by Quentin. The sage was wearing new robes which matched the colors of the Order of Conhenci, a council of sages devoted to the acquisition of knowledge. He asked if the group would be free to meet with the Order’s leader Marak to discuss what they had experienced at Chautauqua and get their story on how the three sages were murdered. Satisfied that he would see them at Marak’s home tomorrow morning, Rian left the tavern.

The party showed up in the middle of the morning at Marak’s home in the merchant district and was invited inside. Rian was there and escorted them to the second floor to talk with Marak alone. Marak was dressed in purple robes with golden symbols embroidered seamlessly into the fabric, and as they looked at it the robes seemed to shimmer slightly as he moved to greet them, an unexcited expression across his face. He wore a brimless cap on his head that matched his robes, and his gray beard was neatly trimmed. The room, as much of the row house, seemed to be overflowing with books and parchment. Marak swung his hands with several motions and several stacks of books on the floor glided to empty spaces on the bookcases surrounding the room, and soon there was enough room for the five party members to assemble.

Marak sat down in his ornate chair before saying, “I understand from Rian that there was a lot more to his adventure in Chautauqua than expected. Though he was reluctant at first, he eventually spoke of the texts in the tower there and I can only assume that his description of the burning of their packs and the deaths of the other sages lends credence to the information contained there. Rian’s account was that there are texts written by an elder race, and they were involved with the creator Gods and somehow the elves were part of it. Rian finally discussed this openly with me alone and said that you might have a better understanding of events and the motivations of Golthar. So truly, what do you believe about such things?”

Varekai was the first to answer and he recounted everything that he knew, including the altercation with the elves in the forest before their return and said that Shamuss and the other two sages were likely murdered by an elf named Myrrin. This was news to Marak and was asked to expound on the ‘elven death squad’ that they defeated in the forest and what they had hoped to do with Rian and Siakam. This information seemed to weigh heavily on the sage, and his face cracked with emotion for the first time.

The group took the opportunity to change the subject and learned more about the Order and about it’s foundation by a man named Conhenci. Marak revealed that the first time he saw any mention of an elder race or creator gods was mentioned by Conhenci’s fallen protégé, and though his work was studied many of them considered it ravings of a jealous, paranoid madman. The party learned from Marak that the only other occurrence of Rakshasa was far to the south, and he seemed strangely puzzled about the creature lurking in Correl. Marak asked to be excused, as he was to meet with the King’s advisor Nemdori soon and would have to weigh whether he should mention any of these events to him.

Once outside, the group discussed the meeting and as they did Alex noticed a hobbling old one-eyed woman crossing the busy street and that she was about to be run over by a wagon loaded with barrels that couldn’t stop. The driver yelled at her, and at last moment Alex reached out and yanked her out of the way as the wheels rumbled by within inches of them.

Realizing what had happened, the crone promised him a vision and she closed her good eye and opened her other, revealing a milky whiteness with an hourglass iris. Her head tilted back and she spoke loudly for all to hear, stuttering as Alex kept her from falling.
“I can see…there… are swords… two, crossed… above you… and inside… there is much to be revealed…uncertain… risk, but… you should know… you must know… I can see… turning… AHH!… the cloth robes on wood… and the vision dims.” Her bad closes and she peers at Alex with her good eye, thanking him yet again for saving her before she hobbled away.

The party headed back to the Hook Tavern to divvy up the gold from the gems and jewelry Alex bartered well for. Each took his share as they listened to Larsi ridicule a drunkard that had passed out hanging on the wall. As they sat, an elf that had a drink at the bar strode over to the group confidently and sat down on a stool at the end of their table.

The elf introduced himself as Fisselle, an aid to Minister Mayrith, the elven ambassador in Kargam. Fisselle apologizes for following them, and then admited that he was in disguise earlier as the old crone to try to fool them into visiting The Crossed Swords. He continues by mentioning that he had been spying on the Order of Conhenci for some time, to keep tabs on them for the elven ambassador, and had followed the head of the Order, Marak, to The Crossed Swords late at night for a few nights in a row. He thought it was peculiar, as it only occurred recently and happened after Marak had learned he was to meet with the King’s advisor Nemdori.

The elf alluded to knowing about the party and where they had been in the recent past, and because of this he thought they were trustworthy to keep a secret, as otherwise distrust between elves and humans may erupt, possibly during the King’s visit. Fisselle asked that the group visit The Crossed Swords while he maintained a watch on Marak. The party peered at the elf suspiciously and he apologized again, saying that he would like to know what was there before meeting with Minister Mayrith in a few hours. Since the group was still silent, he leaned forward to whisper as Larsi struck up a loud song. He said that he had been using magical means to try to pry into what Marak was thinking, but said that he had changed recently, that he was different somehow, whether is was a magic that affected him or something else. But with the King now in the city, Fisselle decided he couldn’t wait any longer.

As Fisselle spoke Alex searched his memory about anything dealing with two crossed swords and suddenly it clicked. There used to be an old bar that was called The Crossed Swords, but wasn’t sure if was still around or where it might be. Quentin seemed to be thinking of the same thing, and thought that perhaps Larsi would know, or otherwise he could ask around.

Alex waited for Larsi to take a break and introduced himself. Larsi welcomed him warmly, saying it was good to see him at Hook Tavern several times in the last week. Alex asked if he knew about a bar called The Crossed Swords, and at first the bard thought Alex was trying to dredge up something on him, but Alex’s innocent question instead fired up tales of ladies and booze. Larsi said he used to be the best bard at The Crossed Swords when he was younger and had more hair on his head, and his voice was so smooth and charming before the late nights of smoke and drink wore it from him. Alex cut to the chase and asked about where it was, and Larsi dropped the reminiscing to tell him it was in the Tower district along the river to the north. With some gold to whet his whistle, Larsi gave Alex a great description of where it was and told him to go around to the back.

*****

The party took the ferry from the government district across the river to the tower district, and noticed the sharp contrast between the neighborhoods. The tower district seemed to have been almost abandoned a decade ago when nearby swamp gases and other foulness pervaded the entire area. The stench now was from unkempt streets and the filth of the river, and underlying that was the noxious smell of decay.

The empty streets were easy to traverse, and following a way along the river they saw a decrepit sign with two crossed scimitars from a long way off. The bar looked like it was once at a great location next to a town square that had docks jutting north into the river. Now the docks looked rickety and unsafe, and the bar’s windows were covered with boards and nailed in place from the outside. They saw a city patrol, probably the last of the day for the tower district, make its way back to the ferry. Any calls for help would probably go unheeded, except by those looking for an easy opportunity.

Alex made his way around to the back of The Crossed Swords, a two-story building with a pitched roof, cautiously examining the backdoor when he noticed the window next to it had the bottom boards smashed through. The opening was large enough to fit Thovaas, and the group piled inside, except for Quentin, who patrolled around the building and down several alleyways looking for any signs of trouble. Alex peered into each of the dark downstairs rooms, sifting through them for anything of note or value. Finding nothing, Jerrin was the first to make his way down the kitchen stair to a landing, then shining the light into the basement he saw something bumpy and green blocking the bottom of the steps. It stood so still that it took Jerrin a moment to discern the bumpy green wall’s face and long nose just underneath the basement joists that held up the first floor.

Jerrin backed up the steps quickly, and the others drew their weapons in anticipation. Alex and Thovaas flanked either side of the opening, and as they waited nervously until a large groping hand shot up through the floor boards beneath Alex. The hand clawed around for a second before withdrawing to the black basement below. Alex swiveled and shot an arrow down through the opening, not sure if he hit the thing as Jerrin described what it was. Backing off, Jerrin and Alex went towards the window opening they had come through as the green clawed hand split more of the floorboards. Thovaas headed up the stairs and Varekai called for the others to follow.

They heard the thing in the basement screech and thought that it was ascending the stairs up to the first floor as they saw unsettled dust rise in clouds from the stairway. Varekai kicked open one of the doors along the corridor and found the room behind empty. The others stopped on the landing and looked for the best defensible position. Thovaas strung his powerful new bow and notched an arrow, waiting for the thing to climb the next set of stairs.

Varekai pushed open the door to the next empty room, then to the room at the end of the hall. There, in the center of the floor, was the crumpled form of a body and the robes looked familiar. Alex strode down the steps and glanced around the corner as his fingers closed on a pouch with something gooey inside. The beast was at the bottom of the steps, and Alex threw the glob down at the beast where it connected with its leg before breaking open to glue the thing to the floor. Alex watched as it screeched and grabbed one leg with both of its sinewy hands and yanked the foot loose, then repeated with the other leg. It came clumsily up the stairs and stopped with one foot on the landing next to Alex.

Alex drew out a clay flask, ducked and threw it side arm into the thing’s chest where the clay broke easily and fire exploded from it. A portion caught the back of Alex’s hand just before he strode up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Varekai strode closer for a better look at the robed body when he heard Thovaas loose his arrow between the sounds of the heavy footfalls. Varekai turned to see the beast, still on fire, with a druid-weasel clasped on to its side tightly.

The group traded blows with what Jerrin had described as a troll, a large beast that healed quickly and might be vulnerable to fire. Thovaas took several scrapes by the thing before stepping back to invoke the healing power of Heironious. Jerrin’s wolfhound companion, Tempest bit deeply into the green rubbery skin and Varekai tumbled into the midst of battle. Alex dove between the troll’s legs and slid down the stairs where he failed to gain his footing and tumbled down to the landing without injury. He stood, only a tad disoriented, and thrust his rapier through the creature from behind as the beast clawed at Jerrin’s weasel form, its claws raking down his spine deep enough that the shape changer fell unconscious to the floor.

Varekai struck the thing hard in the throat and the larynx was crushed to one side, but the thing didn’t flinch at the pain but raised its claws to take a swipe at him. Thovaas wielded his sword in both hands and swiped at the thing, giving a perfect opening for Alex to thrust his thin blade between its vertebrae at the base of the skull. It pitched forward, half on the stairs, and that was when Alex saw the hole he had created in its abdomen was starting to close.

Quickly Alex stabbed it again and again as the others picked up the recognizable body of Marak, head sage of the Order of Conhenci, and carried it downstairs. Thovaas called down to Quentin who gave the all-clear and inquired about within. Alex emptied a vial of oil on the troll as he could see it was still slowly mending the deep wounds. Varekai gingerly picked up the weasel-shaped druid and carried him downstairs before quickly investigating the basement. Alex sparked a flame to the oil and the body of the troll sizzled. The kindling he had hastily packed around it caught the flame and spread the fire to the adjacent stair walls and railing.

Alex bounded down the stairs to the basement as Varekai came up. There he discovered the empty room had a trapdoor down to a stagnant pool of filthy water below, perhaps knee or waist deep. The room stank of the troll, and with the smell of smoke permeating the air Alex decided to leave with the others. The group speedily made their way to the ferry and noticed that it was slowly on its way back. They saw thick black smoke start to rise steadily against the darkening sky and heard far cries to help with the fire as it started to gather momentum. Alex strode back to help with the fire for a minute before he headed back to board the ferry back to the government district of Kargam.

*****

At the opposite side of the river an official looking dock hand took note of their passage and demanded ten gold pieces for bringing a dead body with them through the city. Alex paid and they strode swiftly off of the dock explaining to Jerrin how they got to the ferry and why the place was on fire. Varekai sprinted ahead to meet Fisselle the elf and said he would meet the party back at the castle where Thovaas was going to present the dead body as evidence of a crime.

Varekai sprinted briskly through the streets to Hook Tavern where he didn’t find the elf. He ventured back to Marak’s home and didn’t see any sign of the elf, but instead saw the old crone sipping tea at a table nearby. He made his way to her and they discussed what Thovaas was now carrying around – Marak’s body, which was anywhere from four days to a week old. The disguised elf was shocked, but not for long as he told Varekai to quickly hide as Marak marched by them. Varekai watched the sage enter the row house before sprinting back to the castle to meet the others.

Thovaas and the others met a sergeant of the guard at the castle’s main gate, and a line of guards blocked their way from entering. Thovaas explained the predicament to the man and asked to meet with Nemdori, as he and the King might be in danger if someone, or something, was posing as Marak to gain entry. The sergeant shook his head, trying to turn them away as the party saw a flurry of commotion over the sergeant’s shoulder. Several soldiers ran to and fro, and soon the barking voice of a short man brought order to the knights inside the walls. He shouted at the men forming a line at the gate to turn back around and face the city or they’d get a good taste of his boot leather. Thovaas called to him loudly, demanding attention.

The short portly lieutenant puts his hands on his hips and scrutinized Thovaas and the others before asking what they were about. Thovaas replied that Nemdori and King Gerin may be in trouble as an intruder might have made his way through the security disguised as a renowned sage of Kargam, Marak of the Order of Conhenci. The lieutenant was dressed in ceremonial clothes and crossed his arms at what Thovaas had said. More commotion erupted behind him and he hastily said that something has happened already and that Thovaas should make sure to see him early tomorrow morning after a few things had settled down. With that the lieutenant pivoted on his heel and marched three paces before waving his hands about and barking more orders to a group of young squires that seemed to be gossiping inside the walls.

Varekai returned, out of breath, and relayed to the others that he had seen Marak return to his row home in the merchant district. The group traveled there and stopped across the still-bustling street as venders of all types kept longer hours to accommodate travelers. Alex and Quentin examined the surrounding block, and it was likely the row house block had a courtyard behind it that was shared by all the neighbors and that the easiest course of action was to approach via the front door.

They were greeted by a younger sage, a boy who was just starting to grow a thin mustache, and he let them in after recognizing Jerrin, Varekai and Alex. Thovaas came in last, still carrying the body, and as soon as he brought it in the smell began to saturate the foyer and adjacent common room where three other sages were bent over books with candlelight and an unnaturally bright fire burned in the fireplace. The young sage went to notify Marak that they were there to see him and he reappeared on the stairway to motion them to follow. Cautiously they ascended the to the second floor and walked down the narrow corridor as bookcases lined the walls and papers, books and parchments of all manner lay on any horizontal surface. Eventually they came to Marak’s quarters, much larger than any of the others, and they walked in one by one. Thovaas propped up the corpse of Marak outside the door as Marak, or whoever it was, slowly sat in a lavish chair and clasped his hands together, fingers folded in front of his face, and he stroked his short cut beard with his index fingers nervously.

The group asked where he had been, and told him that the King’s advisor Nemdori had likely been attacked. Marak’s blank face merely blinked in acknowledgement and he eventually replied that all men die, perhaps it was his time. The party glanced at each other and asked if he knew anything about it and Marak responded that when he left the castle Nemdori was still alive, and had no ill will against the man, and as a matter of fact hoped his advice was useful to him. The room was thick with tension and the sage answered several more questions but knew they were up to something. Thovaas asked him to explain one more thing, and pulled forth the real Marak’s body from outside the doorway and pointed to it.

Marak paused for a moment, and that’s when Jerrin and Thovaas noticed a third arm holding a slender wand protruded from Marak’s robes. The wand expelled something with a flash at the paladin, and he had a sudden change of opinion about the sage, that perhaps he had gotten the story completely wrong and whoever this was had used Marak’s name for a good reason, perhaps a better reason than he should ever know, after all he said that Nemdori was still alive when he left. The others took fighting stances and Alex was the first to jump into action, slashing across the side of the three armed mage.

That was when the image of the sage disintegrated and behind it was a six-armed woman with a serpent’s tail from the waist down. She hissed and growled as all six of her arms waved incantations of magic, drawing forth several spells at the same time. A wave emanated from her, and Alex and Jerrin watched their size diminish to half of their height while Thovaas pondered a way to stop the fight so they could find out why this interesting being was so evil. Jerrin’s companion Tempest bit the creature’s tail and swung her to the floor as Varekai struck at her with his fists, but she slithered upright once more and cast yet more spells.

The room went black and she cast one spell that failed to affect Varekai and another to douse Tempest with acid, and immediately afterward Jerrin brought forth a vicious bat to attack and surrounded her with a pink glow so that Quentin could still shoot at her through the darkness. Alex swiped at her several times and they heard Thovaas slip and fall on the greased floor that he couldn’t see in the dark room. He had broken the marilith’s enchantment and was even more livid after falling to the floor. As he picked himself up and strode to stand between Tempest and Alex, she dispelled the bat Jerrin had called and slashed out with her vile-looking weapons to slash at those near her.

Jerrin blasted her with a flame that shot from his diminutive hand and brought forth an ape next to her and the creature crushed a small table and overturned bookcases as it beat its massive limbs against the wall. Thovaas swung his sword in a slashing arc across her chest and watched as she recoiled from the smiting blow. Alex and Varekai worked to find a weak point as she again cast more spells.

A wall of stone materialized from the floor to the ceiling, blocking in Jerrin and the summoned ape on one side in darkness as another glob of acid missed the target to eat away at old tomes across the room. Jerrin responded to her spell by shaping an opening in the stone wall wide enough for the ape with his own magic, and the ape pummeled her with its massive fists. The other struck out at her as she moved over the piles of books, slithering in a backwards fashion to shatter open a set of hidden shutters to the courtyard at the back of the row house. She stopped there to cast more spells at the party, and again Varekai overcame whatever charm she sought to place on him. Afterward she leapt from the window to glide softly to the courtyard below as an eagle manifested itself behind her in time to dig its talons into one of her arms.

Thovaas and Varekai leapt from the opening in the wall to fall on and next to her respectively. She cast a spell that formed a stone wall in the window opening above, preventing the Jerrin, now as a panther, Quentin and the shorter Alex from jumping to the courtyard below. Instead they sprinted down the stairs to the first floor as several other mages of the order cast incantations of protection for themselves and the books that they protected, most notably against fire. Thovaas’s sword opened a deep gash in one of her arms, and she only used four of them to cast a spell that again failed to affect Varekai before wheeling around to slash Thovaas into unconscious submission. The eagle Jerrin had summoned still pecked at her as she brought her weapons to bear on Varekai, his slashed robes falling in ribbons to the ground. Her tail stabbed him in the thigh, excreting thick green venom onto his leg, and that was when his body started to quiver strangely, even to her.

She watched as Varekai’s form changed, growing hair and height until it stopped expanding and he was just barely recognizable. Before the marilith stood a hybrid between wolf and man, snarling as her stoic face had changed to one of horror as she cast yet another feeble spell in his direction. Jerrin and his companion Tempest broke through the back door first, taking a moment to gather in what, and who, the hairy canine beast was and thankful that he was attacking their six-armed foe. Jerrin reverted to his shrunken Halfling form before running to aid Thovaas and stop his bleeding while commanding tempest to attack to give him cover.

Varekai unleashed a bellow that shook the whole of the neighborhood and lashed out at the marilith, landing blow after blow until she fell under his punishment and Jerrin turned to witness his hybrid form ravaging the neck of the limp creature, blood flushing in rivulets through the grass of the courtyard.

Thovaas awoke in time to see Varekai back away from the marilith corpse, and they cautiously sized one another up as the neighbors in the courtyard opened their doors and shown enough lanterns to catch a glimpse of the blood soaked werewolf and its strange fallen prey. Varekai ran into the darkness of the courtyard, jumping and swinging from footholds until his silhoutte could be seen against the stars of the sky as he made his way onto the roof and out of sight. Quentin and Alex hustled outside, and soon the sages barged out behind them, each glowing with magical protections.

*****