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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8421340" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 18: MONKEY BUSINESS</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 2/paladin 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 4</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 2 October 2021</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>"I have to turn in my spellbook?" demanded Thurloe. He wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea of releasing custody of the spellbook Mistress Jandoval had given him to practice his novice-level spells, especially now that he'd actually started making sense of them.</p><p></p><p>"It's the rule," Xandro explained. "Anyone entering Baron's Haven has to turn in all spellbooks and magic scrolls."</p><p></p><p>The group was far enough back in line that Zander felt he could still pass on his thoughts without being overheard by the armed warriors - hobgoblins, by the look of them, and wearing the tabards of the High King of Armaturia, no less! - who were interrogating everyone passing through the city gates. "Would it fit inside the candy dish?" he asked quietly, referring to the extradimensional chest they'd received from the gnome wizard Grimblegrack Fishmelon. When opened, it gave the appearance of holding nothing more substantial than hard candy.</p><p></p><p>"Nah," Thurloe answered. "It's too big." Zander had a handful of magic scrolls that would easily fit inside the extradimensional opening but he figured he'd follow Thurloe's lead. Finally the fighter-wizard shrugged and said, "Okay, fine, I guess. I assume we'll get them back when we leave?"</p><p></p><p>"They'll give you a receipt when you turn them in," Xandro reassured him. He'd been through the city before and knew its ways - in fact, he even knew the innkeeper of the Merry Minstrel, the location of the next dream victim they were to rescue. So when they got to the front of the line, Thurloe handed over his spellbook without argument and received a receipt so he could pick it up when he left the city. Zander did likewise with his arcane scrolls. The hobgoblins informed the group - as they told everyone entering the city - that unauthorized spellcasting was not allowed within the confines of the city's walls, by order of <strong>Baron Korvail Devlin</strong> himself. Spellcasting could be performed under the supervision of one of the clerics of Delphyne, the Goddess of Magic, or at any of the various temples under proper observation. But any other spellcasting would have consequences, from simple fines to immediate incarceration and confiscation of all worldly goods, permanent banishment from the city, or even death.</p><p></p><p>"Good to know," Thurloe observed as the group entered the city gates. Then, once they were out of earshot of the hobgoblin security forces, he asked Xandro, "What's the big fear about people casting spells?"</p><p></p><p>"Nobody knows for sure," the bard replied. "Some say the Baron has had his future foretold, in which it was determined he would most likely be slain by a spell. Others claim he's plagued by recurring nightmares of someone killing him with a spell and has chosen to take matters into his own hands. But I wouldn't want to push the rule - best if we refrain from spellcasting if we can help it."</p><p></p><p>"They'd seriously kill us for casting a healing spell on someone?" asked Alewyth. That made no sense to the priestess of Aerik.</p><p></p><p>"Well, obviously the spell being cast would have some bearing on the punishment you receive. I imagine you wouldn't get in as much trouble for having cast a <em>cure light wounds</em> spell on an injured orphan as you would casting a <em>fireball</em> into a crowded marketplace."</p><p></p><p>Xandro led the group through the winding streets of Baron's Haven until they reached the Merry Minstrel Inn, a large, single-story structure in the better part of the common sector of the city. There was a reliable stable next door where the group's mounts could be cared for and their wagon stored until needed. Then the heroes entered the inn and were met by the white-haired owner, <strong>Jorbalee Bennicut</strong>. "Xandro Silverstrings!" she said with real delight in her voice. "As I live and breathe! It's been a while since you've been out this way! Are you up for providing some entertainment in the evenings during your stay?"</p><p></p><p>Xandro agreed at once and then explained the reason for their visit. Jorbalee expressed amazement that they knew of her sleeping guest and had a means to try to wake her from her weeks-long slumber. "You're welcome to give it a shot," she told the group, "but we had a cleric of Cal in here to try to revive her and none of his spells had any effect."</p><p></p><p>After entering their names into the guest book and handling over their keys, Jorbalee led them to their individual rooms to drop off their gear and then took them to where the dreamer lay. "She's a pretty well-known bard, a traveler like yourself," Jorbalee told Xandro. "Name of <strong>Carmen Melodius</strong>."</p><p></p><p>"I've heard of her," Xandro replied. "I've heard she's good."</p><p></p><p>"Well, I couldn't say as to that," Jorbalee sighed. "I showed her to her room and then sent one of the maids to fetch her when she never showed up for her first session at evening meal. She was passed out cold on her bed and we tried everything to wake her, to no effect." She put the key into the lock of a small room, the size of the rooms each of the heroes had chosen for their own overnight dwellings: a small, square room with walls 10 feet to a side, which contained a single bed and a large chest for holding one's gear. Opening the door, the group got their first look at Carmen Melodius. She was a young woman, with chestnut brown hair that came to the middle of her back. She was human, but with delicate features hinting at the possibility of some elven ancestry somewhere in her family tree. She lay upon her back, breathing quietly. Xandro noted the lute propped up against the room's storage chest; it was nicely made, no doubt of masterwork quality.</p><p></p><p>"We put her here in one of the smaller rooms once it was obvious she wasn't waking up any time soon," Jorbalee admitted. "And that was nearly a month ago."</p><p></p><p>Alewyth explained the procedures the group would be using to try to revive the dreamer. "You won't be casting spells, will you?" Jorbalee asked, a note of worry in her voice.</p><p></p><p>"Not at all," assured the dwarven priestess. "But we'll need a larger room for us to make our attempt, as it works best if we sit around her in a circle and this room is kind of small for that. Is there another room we could use?" Jorbalee offered up a currently vacant room some 15 by 20 feet. "That will do nicely," Alewyth agreed and Wakuren scooped the sleeping bard up in his arms to carry her to the new location.</p><p></p><p>Once in the larger bedroom, Wakuren laid Carmen on the bed and then he and Thurloe pulled it into the middle of the room. Alewyth placed a leather headband around Carmen's head, in the center of which lay a dreamstone, which she positioned to sit in the middle of her forehead. Then each of the group pulled out their own headband and tied it into place. They took their places around the bed, sitting cross-legged with their backs straight in a meditation posture. "What should I do?" asked Jorbalee.</p><p></p><p>"If you don't mind, you can stay here and watch over us as we sleep," Wakuren answered her. "And please feel free to wake us up in an emergency." The innkeeper agreed and watched as each of the five closed their eyes, slowed their breathing, and eventually fell asleep in a sitting position. She wasn't quite sure how they accomplished it; that didn't look to be particularly comfortable and she doubted if she'd be able to sit in such a configuration herself at her age.</p><p></p><p>Carmen's dream was somewhat unusual in that she didn't seem to appear in it; while this wasn't unique in the dreams of the people the five heroes had rescued thus far, in most cases they'd appeared in their own dreams. But the five stepped into the dream side by side, finding themselves in a strange jungle, with trees overhead covered in silvery-green leaves, while two suns beat down overhead in a purple sky.</p><p></p><p>"Weird place," muttered Zander, looking around.</p><p></p><p>A sudden crashing sound brought everyone's attention to a section of jungle up ahead and to their right. Trees were being uprooted and tossed aside, while a deep roar echoed from all directions. In a moment, a massive ape stepped into a clearing, contemptuously tossing aside a tree he'd just pulled from the ground for the crime of being in his way. Then he roared again, beating his chest with hands that were each much larger than any of the heroes.</p><p></p><p>"Weaken him!" suggested Thurloe, holding up a dreamstone in his hand before him as if it could ward off the giant gorilla. The others followed suit, each doing their level best to try to weaken the dream-ape, either by shrinking him down or siphoning off some of his impressive strength. It was difficult to see whether their attempts were having any success, and then the 50-foot-tall gorilla locked eyes with Alewyth and rushed forward, running on his back legs and the knuckles of his enormous hands. He crossed the clearing before Alewyth could even bring <em>Sjondra</em> up to try to ward him off and his closed fist came crashing down upon the dwarven priestess, crushing her flat in one blow.</p><p></p><p>The others instantly panicked, dropping everything they held in their hands and fleeing at top speed as far away from the ape as they could. But he was too big, too fast - one by one, he scooped them up and crushed them in his hands or stomped them into a pile of shattered bones and torn flesh beneath his feet. In each case, they were snapped back awake as they "died" in the dream.</p><p></p><p>"Is everything okay?" Jorbalee asked nervously, seeing them flutter their eyelids and snap awake (often with a gasp or a stifled scream).</p><p></p><p>"It's gone better," admitted Thurloe. Looking around the room and seeing everyone was now awake, he said, "Okay, that didn't work. Let's go in again and this time we'll try to show up at different points in the jungle instead of all clumped together like we were last time." Based on their past experiences, when they went into the same dream on subsequent attempts it would have "reset" to the same point it had been at when they'd first entered.</p><p></p><p>It took minutes of resettling themselves to readiness for sleep, and then one by one they each arrived back in the Dreamlands. "Didn't work out so well, huh, kupo? asked Mogo.</p><p></p><p>"We have a new plan," Thurloe assured him as he stepped through the dream doorway and back into Carmen Melodius's dream.</p><p></p><p>Sure enough, the jungle had been restored and the dream-ape was just now destroying the northeastern section of trees as the other dreamwalkers popped into the jungle at various different points. At least it would take longer for the ape to chase them all down this way - and now that they were prepared, Thurloe hoped they wouldn't be affected by the sudden panic the first sight of the massive ape, ten times taller than a man, had fostered in their hearts.</p><p></p><p>The ape beat its chest in the clearing and roared its defiance as the five dreamwalkers each tried using their lucid dreaming training to somehow weaken the beast. The ape looked all about him, finally spotting Thurloe and racing his way. "Oh, sh--" the fighter got out before the ape's massive fist crushed him into paste.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth decided to try a different tactic. Lucid dreaming wasn't always as successful in every dream, as each dreamscape seemed to have its own set of rules, its own internal logic. So she decided to treat this not as a dream to be manipulated to her own desired end state but rather to act as if it were happening in the Mortal World. Thus, she fought it here as she would have fought it there, by casting a <em>spiritual weapon</em> spell. A dwarven warhammer formed of solid force materialized beside the startled gorilla and smashed him in the face. He roared in anger and instinctively swatted at it but it dodged in the air and avoided his grasp.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren followed Alewyth's lead and a second <em>spiritual weapon</em> took shape, this one a heavy mace, the weapon favored by Cal, God of Air and Healing. It too slammed into the giant gorilla, while Zander tossed his <em>figurine of wondrous power</em> over by the ape. The cooshee took on full-sized elven dog form - and was crushed underfoot almost immediately by the massive simian. Then the dream-ape ran over to Alewyth, scooping her up in one hand, biting off her head, and then spinning and throwing her headless body at Zander Quilson, snapping his neck by the speed of his throw.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren had activated his <em>ring of invisibility</em> and crept up behind the ape, wondering if it might be possible to somehow crawl up his leg and back, so he could attempt a shield-strike against the back of the ape's skull. But the creature spun around and snatched up the half-orc, who apparently hadn't been as invisible to the ape's senses as he might have hoped. The cleric-paladin was crushed between the ape's hands and his crumpled body tossed to the ground, while the ape looked about until he found Xandro.</p><p></p><p>"Uh oh," gulped Xandro as the ape sped in his direction. Using the training he'd received by his moogle instructors, the bard willed himself awake before he got to experience "death" again at the hands of the bloodthirsty ape.</p><p></p><p>"Well, that's no good," Thurloe complained when everyone was back awake. They talked it out among themselves and decided this was another dream well beyond their present ability to handle. Xandro explained their failure to Jorbalee. "We've encountered this once before," he told her. "We'll do with Carmen what we did with the other dreamer we were unable to save: leave a dreamstone in contact with her forehead so she can attune with it over time, and we'll be back later after we've had additional training. Would it be okay if she stays in that other room where her gear was placed?" Jorbalee agreed that would be fine and a dejected Wakuren picked Carmen back up in his arms and carried back to her own smaller room.</p><p></p><p>That done, the heroes decided to do some shopping now that they were in a decent-sized city, for most of their travels thus far, besides an excursion into a pair of dwarven Underdark cities, had been among smaller villages. They'd each amassed a fair amount of coin and were eager to spend some of it, hopefully on magic items that would make their combats that much easier. But other than a few scant potion shops, they were disappointed to find Baron's Haven hosted no major magic shops at all. Wakuren stopped by the local Temple of Cal and spoke with the clerics there, paying them in advance to craft him a <em>wand of cure light wounds</em>. Thurloe likewise ordered a <em>wand of magic missiles</em> from the wizards at the Temple of Delphyne, who advised them they could craft the wand but would need to deliver it to him outside the confines of the city. In each case, it would take three days of crafting to have the wands ready. Figuring there wasn't a real rush to get to the next dream victim (and with Xandro eager to earn some extra coin playing for the guests at the Merry Minstrel Inn), they agreed to stay in town long enough to take delivery of the wands.</p><p></p><p>At dinner time that night, the other four were sitting at two tables facing the corner of the dining area, where Xandro played the lute and sang on a raised stage. Jorbalee was bringing over a basket of rolls when all of a sudden she teetered, her eyes rolled up into her head, and she collapsed forward onto the floor, the dinner rolls bouncing along the floor. Zander was the first to notice and he jumped up from the bench to see to her. "She's not responding," he said when he tried waking her up by slapping her gently.</p><p></p><p>Xandro announced a brief intermission and joined the others in seeing to Jorbalee's condition. It was just like all of the other dream victims they'd dealt with so far, although this was the first time they had heard of someone being affected while awake. But they got one of the servers to fetch them the key to the larger room where they'd tried waking Carmen and Wakuren placed her on the bed, which was pulled back to the middle of the room. With hungry guests to attend to, the server couldn't stick around so Zander activated his <em>figurine of wondrous power</em> and commanded his elven dog to wake him up if there were any disturbances here in the room while the five dreamwalkers tried entering Jorbalee's dream to pull her back to wakefulness.</p><p></p><p>This time the dream almost seemed familiar, for it took place in some underworld lit only by the streams and rivulets of magma - very similar to the dream of Lady Camilla Middlewich, only instead of the dream-victim being suspended in a web-cocoon and being menaced by a giant spider, Jorbalee's wrists and ankles were bound and she had been thrown over the back of an ebon-skinned horse who was rapidly carrying her away. This was no ordinary horse, though, as evidenced by the flames it had in place of a mane and those encompassing its hooves as it raced across the hellish landscape.</p><p></p><p>"Weaken it!" Thurloe commanded for the second time that day, raising the dreamstone he held in his hand like a magic talisman. The others did the same, doing what they could to try to weaken the nightmare bearing Jorbalee away from them. And this time it seemed to have an effect, for the creature, who had been running through the air several feet above the surface of the magma-cracked stone beneath it, was forced back down to ground level and its speed noticeably decreased - enough so that Wakuren and Thurloe were able to chase after it, even though that meant jumping across ever-widening streams of liquid magma. Alewyth cast a <em>bless</em> spell on the group and Xandro began his song of courageous inspiration, until the half-orc was close enough to slam his shield against the nightmare's flank, just as Thurloe cut it with his bastard sword from the other side. Zander cast a <em>ray of enfeeblement</em> spell at the hell-beast, weakening it even further. The nightmare lashed out with his flaming hooves, but before too long the heroes had slain it. It vanished immediately upon death, leaving a bound Jorbalee to fall to the ground - but not before Wakuren could leap below her and prevent her from getting burned by the magma. She landed awkwardly upon the cleric-paladin's armored back, as his face was pushed into the burning lava...</p><p></p><p>...and then the dreamscape vanished all around them and everyone woke back up. They were back in the inn, the cooshee wagging its tail at seeing them back to full wakefulness, Wakuren instinctively feeling his face to make sure it hadn't been burned. "What happened? Why are we here?" asked the innkeeper, a puzzled frown on her face as she tried to recall the dream that was even now starting to fade now that she was back awake. She had been bringing out a basket of rolls, she remembered that....</p><p></p><p>Alewyth filled her in on what had transpired and then Jorbalee leaped to her feet and rushed back to see to her guests, embarrassed to have fallen asleep on the job as she had. Thurloe and Wakuren pushed the bed back up against the wall while Xandro went back to finish his musical set back in the dining area. The others followed and the rest of the evening was uneventful. And Jorbalee returned the fees for the rooms overnight, furthermore insisting that their dinners were on the house.</p><p></p><p>It was the next morning, with the group at one of the dining tables eating a decent breakfast, when the next bit of excitement made itself known. Thurloe was devouring his fourth piece of thick bacon when he heard a commotion just outside the inn. There was a crashing sound, the unmistakable sound of horses crying out in fear, and a roar of anger and pain that sounded very much like that of the dream-ape they'd fought - twice - to no avail in the dreamscape of Carmen Melodius. Thurloe leaped up from the bench and ran to the inn's front door, standing on the porch and looking to see what was going on. There, on the street in front of the inn was an overturned wagon, with the enormous wooden crate that had been lashed to it laying in the street with a good chunk of the back side smashed open along the top. The four horses that had been pulling the wagon were in distress, the rear two struggling to get back up onto their legs after the wagon - which looked to have overturned after one wheel hit a rut in the road - had pulled them over as it spilled on its side. The wagon's driver had been thrown some distance and was holding his head in one hand as he struggled to stand up without falling over. And running up from behind the wagon were two men and a mastiff dog. The smaller of the two men was completely bald, carried a wooden staff, and wore a green hooded robe and laced sandals. But he was by no means a small man, only seeming so in contrast to the hulking brute who came up behind him with his mastiff dog, for this hairy peasant looked to be nearly seven feet tall, with thick sideburns.</p><p></p><p>The bald man ran up to the crate making soothing noises while the large peasant approached the inn, where the other heroes had joined Thurloe to see what was up. "Everything's okay," boomed the peasant. "Sorry for any disturbance, but everything's under control now. Please go back inside - there's nothing to see here."</p><p></p><p>That seemed particularly fishy to Zander, for everything did not seem to be under control: whatever was inside the wooden crate was still roaring and trying to pound its way out and the horses were still succumbing to panic. On a hunch, the elf activated the <em>true seeing</em> aspect of his <em>scout’s headband</em>. And what he saw surprised him beyond all belief, for under the effects of the headband the elf saw not a towering peasant but a massive gorilla, and not a mastiff dog but a baboon. Both wore collars and the gorilla was still talking, trying to convince everyone that there was no need for anyone to render any assistance.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren stood right behind Zander and he was using his paladin training to try to detect any evil in the area. Sure enough, he was able to sense a source of evil, and while it would take him a moment's concentration to determine its exact location he was pretty sure it was going to be focused on the bald man over by the crate, who wasn't the least bit concerned by the cries of the horses or the bleeding head of the driver but was instead focused on the creature trying to break out of the crate - and just about succeeding, by this time.</p><p></p><p>Xandro pulled his lute from his back and began a tune quite different from the ones he usually played in combat; rather than inspiring courage in his friends, the better to aim their strikes with weapons and spells, he played a tune designed to fascinate those who might otherwise wish to do him or his friends harm. And the tune worked, almost instantly, for the large peasant stopped talking and the mastiff sat down on his haunches, mesmerized by the bard's tune.</p><p></p><p>"That big guy's a gorilla," Zander whispered to the others. "And that dog's a baboon."</p><p></p><p>"I'm going to go check on the driver," Thurloe announced, heading towards the horses, all four of which were now back up on their feet. The driver was on the other side of them, so the fighter was going to have to skirt around them.</p><p></p><p>"Bald guy's evil!" Wakuren announced, having by this time discerned that he was indeed the source of the emanations of evil he'd been picking up. He wound his way around the <em>fascinated</em> apes in the collars that cloaked them in illusions so they could fit in among the people in a large city without drawing any attention to themselves. The half-orc still wasn't sure what <em>that</em> was all about, but he was more interested in confronting the bald man at this point. As Wakuren approached, Zander stepped down off the porch and threw a thunderstone at the bald man, having assumed he was a spellcaster and hoping to mess up his ability to cast spells by deafening him. The stone exploded in a cacophony of noise but it failed to deafen the bald man, who merely looked annoyed at the attempt. He moved his hands and spoke something that Wakuren, who was fast approaching him at this point, could tell was some sort of spellcasting, although he couldn't determine the exact spell being cast. It wasn't directed at him, in any case, rather at the creature inside the crate.</p><p></p><p>Only the creature wasn't inside the crate for very much longer. With a final punch, the crate's side gave way and out stepped a dire ape - not as big as the dream-ape in Carmen Melodius's dream, but standing a good nine feet tall. The bald man pointed at Wakuren and the dire ape obliged, smashing a simian fist into the half-orc's face and sending him reeling back. Alewyth stepped down from the inn's porch and almost cast a spell to aid her friend, but looked around warily and saw a number of bystanders accumulating in the area (although one look at the loose dire ape in the city generally spun them about and had them fleeing at top speed). She didn't dare risk it. Instead, grumbling to herself, she fished her old sling from a belt pouch and started making her way towards the brawl.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe had gone around the horses and was now approaching the bald man from the west. He pulled the composite bow from his back and readied an arrow as he moved forward. Xandro continued his song, knowing full well his power to keep the two apes <em>fascinated</em> would only continue to work for so long - still, it was a way to keep them out of the fight for a bit, so he was determined to make it last as long as he could.</p><p></p><p>With a look of irritation, the bald druid cast another spell, not in the least bit concerned about who might see him do so. Immediately, thick briars rose up from the ground, forming a full <em>wall of thorns</em> in the street blocking the overturned wagon from the inn. Wakuren was already on the inner side of the curved wall and Thurloe was approaching from the west, but it would keep the others at bay, for it stood 5 feet tall and was twice that in thickness. Alewyth, her path blocked by the thorny barrier, started heading east to go around it. She loaded a thunderstone into her sling instead of a normal sling bullet.</p><p></p><p>Then the dire ape stood to his full height and Alewyth had a perfect shot lined up even despite the <em>wall of thorns</em> between her and her target, who was pulling the bald druid up onto his shoulder. She wound up and released her thunderstone, which struck the ape's back and exploded in sound, but likewise failed to deafen either the ape or the druid. Still, it had been worth the attempt.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren, anger stoked, cast a <em>spiritual weapon</em> spell, not caring if anybody saw him do so - this was obviously in the best interests of the city at large and he was sure he could talk his way out of any kind of penalty if it came to that. A heavy mace of solid force manifested by the dire ape's back and the half-orc caused it to go slamming towards the bald spellcaster who was obviously behind this whole situation somehow. But <strong>Manu the Awakener</strong> dodged the incoming blow and looked contemptuously down at the half-orc. "Do not waste time trying to stop me!" he yelled down to Wakuren at a volume much louder than needed; perhaps the thunderstones had had some sort of an effect after all.</p><p></p><p>The dire ape roared in pain as it moved away from the overturned wagon, taking a moment to pull out the arrow Thurloe had just sent streaking into his side. Then a cooshee suddenly sprang into being at the dire ape's feet; Zander having just thrown the <em>figurine of wondrous power</em> over the <em>wall of thorns</em>. The elven dog barked furiously at the dire ape, stopping only long enough to bite at a hairy ankle. But then Manu cast another spell and suddenly there was an entire swarm of spiders crawling all around - and over - both the cooshee and Wakuren. Both felt the pinpricks of innumerable bites on their flesh as spider venom started coursing its way through their veins.</p><p></p><p>But by now Alewyth had reached the eastern end of the <em>wall of thorns</em> and had pulled a tanglefoot bag from her pack. Winding up for a good throw, she hurled it at the dire ape's foot and it exploded in a puff of dust that quickly hardened in the air, adhering the ape's foot and leg to the cobblestone street. With a grunt of surprise and dismay, the dire ape realized he was stuck in place!</p><p></p><p>Manu looked down to see what was preventing his <em>dominated</em> riding mount from making any progress and in doing so got clobbered by Wakuren's <em>spiritual heavy mace</em>. The half-orc had been chasing after the retreating dire ape, swatting away stray spiders and he ran, and had caught up to him now that the simian's forward progress had been halted. Thurloe shot another arrow at the ape, causing it to roar in fury. By then, Xandro's song had run its course and the two apes who had been <em>fascinated</em> by it snapped out of their lethargy and looked about them at the chaos that had arisen while they hadn't been paying attention. The gorilla - to all but Zander, a large, heavyset peasant - spun about and chased after Wakuren slamming him in the back of his head with a massive fist. Zander chased off after Alewyth, heading for the eastern edge of the <em>wall of thorns</em>.</p><p></p><p>The cooshee exited the pile of spiders, took a moment to shake off most of the ones crawling in and on his fur, and then bounded after the stuck dire ape, snapping at his other leg as the giant simian broke free of the hardened goo by a massive effort.</p><p></p><p>And it was at this point the four hobgoblins showed up.</p><p></p><p>"What's going on?" one demanded as he approached Xandro, who was still over on the front porch of the inn where he'd been playing his lute. "Who's responsible for these thorn bushes?" Another approached Alewyth, stopping her from advancing past the <em>wall of thorns</em> and demanding answers to the same question. Both the bard and the priestess of Aerik gave the same answer, pointing at the bald druid riding on the shoulder of a dire ape - and then, as if to prove his own guilt, he blatantly cast another spell: an <em>animal growth</em> spell that caused the dire ape to expand to twice his already considerable height. With longer legs and a longer stride, it continued its flight from the others and had soon scrambled out of view, taking a corner onto a side street.</p><p> </p><p>Looking back and seeing the hobgoblin guards, Wakuren quietly dismissed his <em>spiritual weapon</em> spell, hoping it hadn't been noticed, and turned to face the peasant who was hitting him in the back. The half-orc knew Zander had said this was really a gorilla, but if it was the illusion was very well crafted, for Wakuren would never have guessed he was fighting off anybody other than a very large human. He brought his shield smashing into the ape's side, and then the baboon - still to all appearances a large mastiff dog - raced up and started biting Wakuren as well.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe had continued his advance and even though the dire ape and the bald spellcaster had gotten away, he now had two other targets within range. Firing an arrow at the mastiff, he got it in the throat and it fell over, dead. Even in death, though, it retained the illusion of being a large dog.</p><p></p><p>"<strong>Bongo</strong>!" cried the "peasant," enraged at the death of his companion. Thurloe was still too far away to punish, but the half-orc was right here so <strong>Ngoto</strong> continued pummeling Wakuren with his gorilla fists.</p><p></p><p>"Those two are really apes," Zander explained to one of the hobgoblins, and when the guard looked skeptical the elf took off his magical headband and handed it over. "See for yourself," he offered. The hobgoblin put it on and cried out a crude exclamation of surprise. "He's right!" he called to his three companions as the cooshee helped Wakuren fight off the gorilla as best he could, even though it meant being one of the closest targets to the swarm of spiders, which quickly encompassed the elven dog, Wakuren, and the gorilla - the spiders gave no preferential treatment to the allies of the man who had summoned them here. That was enough for the gorilla, who decided it was time to high-tail it out of here and try to catch back up with Manu; unfortunately, to do so he ran close enough to Thurloe to give him time to pull the bastard sword from his back and bring it swinging down upon the "peasant's" head. He fell to the ground, dead from the fighter's blow - and the illusion-dampening powers of the sword caused it to be revealed as the simian creature it really was.</p><p></p><p>After that, the hobgoblins started taking statements from the eyewitnesses. Fortunately, nobody had seen any of the heroes casting spells, although there were plenty of eyewitnesses to Manu having done so. Thurloe bent over the body of the "mastiff" and removed its collar, revealing its true baboon form. Once the hobgoblins were satisfied they had enough information, they offered up a reward of 50 gold pieces for slaying the dire ape and 100 pieces of gold for bringing in the bald druid, dead or alive. "We're on it!" answered Thurloe, eager for a second chance of taking the bald guy down.</p><p></p><p>The heroes headed out in the direction the dire ape had last been seen, picking up sightings by eyewitnesses who eventually led then to the edge of the city, where a bystander had said the ape climbed right over the city walls and was heading into the Darkwood Forest. "We've likely lost them, then," lamented Alewyth.</p><p></p><p>"Not necessarily," remarked Zander. "Cooshees are excellent trackers."</p><p></p><p>That certainly ended up being the case. The group headed back to the city gate by which they had entered the previous day and Thurloe and Zander retrieved their spellbook and scrolls, respectively. Then they walked along the outside of the city wall until the cooshee picked up the dire ape's scent - and then he was off like a shot, with the others racing to catch up with him. The ape wasn't particularly difficult to track, either, for his greater weight meant he left quite deep footprints in the dirt and had left a distinctive trail of broken branches and pushed-aside smaller trees in his wake. Eventually, they tracked the dire ape into a clearing after a mere 20 minutes or so of following the trial through the forest.</p><p></p><p>Zander grabbed his cooshee and held him at bay so the elven dog wouldn't go rushing right up to the bald druid before the others had had time to prepare for combat. But in the meantime, they were puzzling over what he was doing, for the dire ape - now at its original size, a still-respectable nine feet tall - was stretched out on his back upon the forest floor and the druid was in the process of attaching heavy manacles to each limb. The chains connected to the manacles had been fastened to the trunks of sturdy trees. "This is necessary," the druid told his compliant dire ape (for the <em>dominate animal</em> spell he'd cast upon the simian earlier was still in effect), "for the spell I must cast upon you to awaken you to your full intellect takes a full 24 hours. But then you will have gained your full birthright and will join your brothers as one of us." He snapped the third manacle in place around the dire ape's right wrist and moved over to do the same with the creature's other hand. The heroes, watching silently at the edge of the clearing, decided not to do anything until the dire ape had been fully restrained.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth scanned the area for any other potential allies the bald druid might have hanging around but saw none. There was a simple tent over by a clump of trees, small enough it would only hold the druid and no others. She spotted a few nests on the ground, one large enough for the gorilla and a smaller one likely belonging to the baboon, but they had both been slain in the city and the lack of any other such nests bode well that there weren't any other <em>awakened</em> apes in the vicinity. Over on the other side of the clearing was a mound of dirt with a flat rock somewhat askew at the top of it, but no indications of anyone but the druid that they'd be facing.</p><p></p><p>In the meantime, Thurloe quietly cast a <em>shield</em> spell upon himself, since he'd left his buckler back in the inn. Then, once the dire ape had been fully chained in place, the fighter gave a nod to Zander and he cast the spell he'd been waiting to use. Instantly, the <em>scorching ray</em> leaped from his fingertips to strike Manu the Awakener, who cried out in pain and surprise at the unexpected attack. Seeing that battle was now on, the cooshee darted forward and bit at Manu's leg. Then, sensing uncast spells in the druid's prepared repertoire, the dog snatched one of them up and ripped it from Manu's inventory. The latent spell energy, he knew, could be converted to be used by his sorcerer master.</p><p></p><p>Xandro had unpacked his lute during the wait for combat to begin and now he started strumming the chords to his most commonly-used tune, the one inspiring his friends to greater heights of courage. Thurloe had his composite bow out and sent an arrow flying over to strike the druid before he could retaliate with a spell. So far, the three attacks - Zander's spell, the cooshee's spell-ripping bite, and Thurloe's arrow - had all happened in a matter of mere seconds, before the druid had even realized the danger he was in.</p><p></p><p>But now a flash of movement caught Thurloe's eye. Off to the right, a pair of burly figures stepped into view. The fighter recognized them as bugbears right away, for they'd tangled with one of them back at the old abandoned silver mine where he had ended up taking his bastard sword <em>Spellslicer</em> from the hands of its previous owner, who'd been transformed into a yellow musk zombie. This pair had solemn faces that turned to anger as they looked down at the pile of dirt and the misplaced stone at their feet. Then they stepped forward and each let a javelin fly, one aimed at Thurloe and the other at Zander. Whatever had angered them, they had apparently decided the five heroes were a part of it.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth cast a <em>bless</em> spell on the group, glad to no longer be under the ridiculous restrictions of Baron's Haven. Wakuren cast a <em>spiritual weapon</em> and sent it hurtling at Manu's head, then activated his <em>ring of invisibility</em> and faded from view. The heavy mace struck the druid on the side of the head, causing him to topple over on his side, unconscious, with his life's blood dripping onto the leaves of the forest floor below him. Behind him, the dire ape struggled against his bonds, but the manacles and chains had been made thick enough to keep him bound. He roared in fury, struggling to free himself to no avail.</p><p></p><p>But even though Manu, the man they'd been sent to take down, was out of the fight it looked like the two bugbears had stepped up to take his place. Zander, not liking having been targeted by a bugbear javelin (even if it had just barely missed him), cast another <em>scorching ray</em> spell, this time targeted against the one who had thrown his javelin at the elven sorcerer. The bugbear erupted in flame for a brief moment, but luckily for him it hadn't lasted long enough to start his fur blazing.</p><p></p><p>The cooshee ran up and almost tackled his master in his exuberance, tail wagging furiously as he transferred the spell energy into Zander's frame. The elf knew instinctively that he now had more spell energy than he'd had a moment before, and also how powerful a spell it would allow him to cast. He smiled at the thought that he could now cast one more <em>scorching ray</em> than he'd have been able to cast normally. "Good dog!" he called down to his canine companion.</p><p></p><p>Xandro was continuing his lute playing when all of a sudden he was attacked from an unexpected direction: a small monkey dropped down from the branches overhead and started clawing at the young bard's face. "Hurt master!" the monkey snarled. Alewyth and Thurloe found themselves in the same predicament, with a snarling, shrieking monkey dropping on their heads and scrambling all around their shoulders and backs, pulling on their hair and scratching them with their claws. Thurloe's adversary bent over and bit him on the ear.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe wasn't having any of that! Realizing it was a dangerous maneuver and one likely to cause him a rather embarrassing self-inflicted wound if he missed, he dropped his bow at his feet and brought his bastard sword out of the sheath on his back. Then he brought the sharp side of the blade up against the monkey, with enough force to poke into its furry body but not enough power behind it to continue on into the side of his own head. It was, he thought to himself, somewhat like shaving, only he was trying to scrape off a deranged monkey from his face instead of several days' worth of whiskers. Sadly, the monkey was too nimble to have been brushed away with such a slow attack and he perched himself on the top of the fighter's head, one hand pulling on the ear he'd bitten.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth, with <em>Sjondra</em> in hand, wasn't foolish enough to use it to try to strike the monkey plaguing her - she knew she'd likely only bonk herself in the head in the process. She instead tried grabbing the monkey with her free hand, but it was able to scramble out of the way, scampering across her back and ending up on the other shoulder. It howled profanities in her face, something the dwarven priestess had never before in her life experienced.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren redirected his still-active <em>spiritual weapon</em> at the bugbear Zander had fried with his spell, and the heavy mace bashed in the side of the creature's skull, slaying him instantly. Zander cast another <em>scorching ray</em> at the other bugbear, but unfortunately for the elf his target managed to duck under the fiery blast at the last moment. But the cooshee snapped his jaws at the bugbear's leg, getting a good grip on his left leg. He tried toppling the bugbear onto his back, but the foe had too stable of a footing for that to occur. Instead, he brought his morningstar crashing down on top of the cooshee's head, causing him to howl in pain and instantly release his grip upon the goblinoid's leg.</p><p></p><p>Xandro dropped his lute to the ground and tried grabbing the monkey biting his face. He was unable to catch the nimble foe and reached to his belt for the dagger he wore there in a sheath, at this point willing to risk a self-inflicted wound if it would get the hairy enemy to leave him alone. Thurloe was able to catch his monkey with the blade of his sword, causing it to howl in pain. Alewyth had likewise managed to clock her monkey a good one with a dwarven fist, then grabbed an arm and got a good grip on it. But the monkey similarly had a good grip on her hair and wasn't about to be pulled off his victim that easily.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren had by this time positioned himself behind the remaining bugbear, noticing absently there were words carved into the lopsided stone on the raised pile of dirt. He slammed his shield into the unsuspecting bugbear's back, popping back into visibility as he did so. Zander, deciding the bugbear was likely being sufficiently taken care of by Wakuren and his own elven dog, decided to help the others who were being savaged by the little monkeys. A <em>magic missile</em> spell had three missiles streaking from the elf's fingertips, two of them hitting the monkey on Thurloe's head and killing it outright, the other one hitting the monkey on Xandro, causing it to squeal in outrage and hold still long enough for the bard to get a good grip on it and fling it away. He then pulled the light crossbow from his back and - tempting as it was to target the little tormentor-monkey - sent a bolt crashing into the remaining bugbear.</p><p></p><p>Heavily wounded, the loyal cooshee snapped at the bugbear again, receiving for his efforts another blow from the bloody morningstar that almost killed him outright. Xandro shot the bugbear again and Thurloe ran up to him and sent a powerful swing of his bastard sword slicing into the goblinoid's side. This was enough to finally kill him; blood spilled from his lips along with some incomprehensible curse in the Goblin tongue.</p><p></p><p>Zander took care of the remaining two monkeys with another <em>magic missile</em> spell. <em>Scorching ray</em> was a nice spell to have added to his repertoire but sometimes it was best to stick with the classics.</p><p></p><p>A quick check of the bugbears' bodies revealed they carried nothing on them but their own weapons and armor. However, curiosity compelled Thurloe to pull the flat stone with the writing on it - the characters were in the Goblin tongue, although he couldn't read what it said - and saw a short, vertical shaft leading down to a small chamber where the bandaged body of another bugbear-sized figure had been laid to rest. However, the wrappings had been cut away at the corpse's neck, no doubt to have gained the tomb desecrator access to whatever amulet or necklace had been buried with the body.</p><p></p><p>"What's that all about?" Alewyth asked.</p><p></p><p>"I got a feeling our bald guy there's been robbing bugbear tombs," Thurloe answered. "These two have probably been tracking him and just assumed we were in with him when they showed up and found us here with him." He dropped the heavy stone back into place at the top of the vertical shaft, sealing up the burial site of the bugbear entombed below.</p><p></p><p>Xandro had been checking out the body of Manu and found the key to the manacles on a thin chain around the druid's neck. Thurloe investigated the druid's tent and found a bunch of fruit, which he carefully fed to the bound dire ape - who was hungry enough to be fed by a stranger. Then, having established he was a friend - or at least not an enemy - Thurloe took the key and unlocked the manacles around the dire ape's ankles.</p><p></p><p>"There's a 50-gold-piece bounty on the big guy," Zander pointed out.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, but he's just a dumb animal," Thurloe countered. "He wouldn't have fought us in the city like he did if baldy here hadn't made him." He released one of the dire ape's wrists from the manacle, ready to jump back out of range if the simian took advantage of his near-freedom to attack the fighter. But when he failed to do so, merely held out his manacled other hand, Thurloe approached, unlocked it, and stepped away. The dire ape got on all fours, rubbed each wrist in turn, and then knuckle-walked away.</p><p></p><p>"And it's not like we're in desperate need of the 50 gold, either," Thurloe observed. "We're already getting 100 pieces for the druid."</p><p></p><p>"We should probably heal him," Wakuren offered.</p><p></p><p>"Nope," Thurloe insisted. "He brought all of this on himself. And since he's a druid, we'll let nature decide if he lives or dies." He scooped up the unconscious figure and transferred him to one shoulder. "You guys lead on: I'll take the rear. I don't want any of you healing him when I'm not looking."</p><p></p><p>And thus, half an hour later, the five heroes returned to Baron's Haven with the corpse of Manu the Awakener.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>This was a rather lengthy session, going almost five hours. I used a King Kong figure I picked up recently (when <em>Godzilla vs. Kong</em> was in the theaters) for the dream ape in Carmen Melodius's dream. And the second dream caused Joe (Zander's player) to speculate that if there was a Queen of Dreams, there might also be a King of Nightmares as well. (An interesting premise, even more interesting in that I already have a "King of Nightmares" initiative card in my inventory for use in an upcoming adventure....) And I had a blast with those awakened monkeys at the end, doing my best howler monkey imitation at full volume to those whose PCs had been targeted by them.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>T-shirt worn: Lacking any shirts with monkeys on them, I wore a "Spider-Man" T-shirt to represent the spider swarm Manu the Awakener cast inside the city to help try to escape his attackers.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8421340, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 18: MONKEY BUSINESS[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 1[/INDENT] [INDENT] Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 2/paladin 2[/INDENT] [INDENT] Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 4[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 2 October 2021 - - - "I have to turn in my spellbook?" demanded Thurloe. He wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea of releasing custody of the spellbook Mistress Jandoval had given him to practice his novice-level spells, especially now that he'd actually started making sense of them. "It's the rule," Xandro explained. "Anyone entering Baron's Haven has to turn in all spellbooks and magic scrolls." The group was far enough back in line that Zander felt he could still pass on his thoughts without being overheard by the armed warriors - hobgoblins, by the look of them, and wearing the tabards of the High King of Armaturia, no less! - who were interrogating everyone passing through the city gates. "Would it fit inside the candy dish?" he asked quietly, referring to the extradimensional chest they'd received from the gnome wizard Grimblegrack Fishmelon. When opened, it gave the appearance of holding nothing more substantial than hard candy. "Nah," Thurloe answered. "It's too big." Zander had a handful of magic scrolls that would easily fit inside the extradimensional opening but he figured he'd follow Thurloe's lead. Finally the fighter-wizard shrugged and said, "Okay, fine, I guess. I assume we'll get them back when we leave?" "They'll give you a receipt when you turn them in," Xandro reassured him. He'd been through the city before and knew its ways - in fact, he even knew the innkeeper of the Merry Minstrel, the location of the next dream victim they were to rescue. So when they got to the front of the line, Thurloe handed over his spellbook without argument and received a receipt so he could pick it up when he left the city. Zander did likewise with his arcane scrolls. The hobgoblins informed the group - as they told everyone entering the city - that unauthorized spellcasting was not allowed within the confines of the city's walls, by order of [B]Baron Korvail Devlin[/B] himself. Spellcasting could be performed under the supervision of one of the clerics of Delphyne, the Goddess of Magic, or at any of the various temples under proper observation. But any other spellcasting would have consequences, from simple fines to immediate incarceration and confiscation of all worldly goods, permanent banishment from the city, or even death. "Good to know," Thurloe observed as the group entered the city gates. Then, once they were out of earshot of the hobgoblin security forces, he asked Xandro, "What's the big fear about people casting spells?" "Nobody knows for sure," the bard replied. "Some say the Baron has had his future foretold, in which it was determined he would most likely be slain by a spell. Others claim he's plagued by recurring nightmares of someone killing him with a spell and has chosen to take matters into his own hands. But I wouldn't want to push the rule - best if we refrain from spellcasting if we can help it." "They'd seriously kill us for casting a healing spell on someone?" asked Alewyth. That made no sense to the priestess of Aerik. "Well, obviously the spell being cast would have some bearing on the punishment you receive. I imagine you wouldn't get in as much trouble for having cast a [I]cure light wounds[/I] spell on an injured orphan as you would casting a [I]fireball[/I] into a crowded marketplace." Xandro led the group through the winding streets of Baron's Haven until they reached the Merry Minstrel Inn, a large, single-story structure in the better part of the common sector of the city. There was a reliable stable next door where the group's mounts could be cared for and their wagon stored until needed. Then the heroes entered the inn and were met by the white-haired owner, [B]Jorbalee Bennicut[/B]. "Xandro Silverstrings!" she said with real delight in her voice. "As I live and breathe! It's been a while since you've been out this way! Are you up for providing some entertainment in the evenings during your stay?" Xandro agreed at once and then explained the reason for their visit. Jorbalee expressed amazement that they knew of her sleeping guest and had a means to try to wake her from her weeks-long slumber. "You're welcome to give it a shot," she told the group, "but we had a cleric of Cal in here to try to revive her and none of his spells had any effect." After entering their names into the guest book and handling over their keys, Jorbalee led them to their individual rooms to drop off their gear and then took them to where the dreamer lay. "She's a pretty well-known bard, a traveler like yourself," Jorbalee told Xandro. "Name of [B]Carmen Melodius[/B]." "I've heard of her," Xandro replied. "I've heard she's good." "Well, I couldn't say as to that," Jorbalee sighed. "I showed her to her room and then sent one of the maids to fetch her when she never showed up for her first session at evening meal. She was passed out cold on her bed and we tried everything to wake her, to no effect." She put the key into the lock of a small room, the size of the rooms each of the heroes had chosen for their own overnight dwellings: a small, square room with walls 10 feet to a side, which contained a single bed and a large chest for holding one's gear. Opening the door, the group got their first look at Carmen Melodius. She was a young woman, with chestnut brown hair that came to the middle of her back. She was human, but with delicate features hinting at the possibility of some elven ancestry somewhere in her family tree. She lay upon her back, breathing quietly. Xandro noted the lute propped up against the room's storage chest; it was nicely made, no doubt of masterwork quality. "We put her here in one of the smaller rooms once it was obvious she wasn't waking up any time soon," Jorbalee admitted. "And that was nearly a month ago." Alewyth explained the procedures the group would be using to try to revive the dreamer. "You won't be casting spells, will you?" Jorbalee asked, a note of worry in her voice. "Not at all," assured the dwarven priestess. "But we'll need a larger room for us to make our attempt, as it works best if we sit around her in a circle and this room is kind of small for that. Is there another room we could use?" Jorbalee offered up a currently vacant room some 15 by 20 feet. "That will do nicely," Alewyth agreed and Wakuren scooped the sleeping bard up in his arms to carry her to the new location. Once in the larger bedroom, Wakuren laid Carmen on the bed and then he and Thurloe pulled it into the middle of the room. Alewyth placed a leather headband around Carmen's head, in the center of which lay a dreamstone, which she positioned to sit in the middle of her forehead. Then each of the group pulled out their own headband and tied it into place. They took their places around the bed, sitting cross-legged with their backs straight in a meditation posture. "What should I do?" asked Jorbalee. "If you don't mind, you can stay here and watch over us as we sleep," Wakuren answered her. "And please feel free to wake us up in an emergency." The innkeeper agreed and watched as each of the five closed their eyes, slowed their breathing, and eventually fell asleep in a sitting position. She wasn't quite sure how they accomplished it; that didn't look to be particularly comfortable and she doubted if she'd be able to sit in such a configuration herself at her age. Carmen's dream was somewhat unusual in that she didn't seem to appear in it; while this wasn't unique in the dreams of the people the five heroes had rescued thus far, in most cases they'd appeared in their own dreams. But the five stepped into the dream side by side, finding themselves in a strange jungle, with trees overhead covered in silvery-green leaves, while two suns beat down overhead in a purple sky. "Weird place," muttered Zander, looking around. A sudden crashing sound brought everyone's attention to a section of jungle up ahead and to their right. Trees were being uprooted and tossed aside, while a deep roar echoed from all directions. In a moment, a massive ape stepped into a clearing, contemptuously tossing aside a tree he'd just pulled from the ground for the crime of being in his way. Then he roared again, beating his chest with hands that were each much larger than any of the heroes. "Weaken him!" suggested Thurloe, holding up a dreamstone in his hand before him as if it could ward off the giant gorilla. The others followed suit, each doing their level best to try to weaken the dream-ape, either by shrinking him down or siphoning off some of his impressive strength. It was difficult to see whether their attempts were having any success, and then the 50-foot-tall gorilla locked eyes with Alewyth and rushed forward, running on his back legs and the knuckles of his enormous hands. He crossed the clearing before Alewyth could even bring [I]Sjondra[/I] up to try to ward him off and his closed fist came crashing down upon the dwarven priestess, crushing her flat in one blow. The others instantly panicked, dropping everything they held in their hands and fleeing at top speed as far away from the ape as they could. But he was too big, too fast - one by one, he scooped them up and crushed them in his hands or stomped them into a pile of shattered bones and torn flesh beneath his feet. In each case, they were snapped back awake as they "died" in the dream. "Is everything okay?" Jorbalee asked nervously, seeing them flutter their eyelids and snap awake (often with a gasp or a stifled scream). "It's gone better," admitted Thurloe. Looking around the room and seeing everyone was now awake, he said, "Okay, that didn't work. Let's go in again and this time we'll try to show up at different points in the jungle instead of all clumped together like we were last time." Based on their past experiences, when they went into the same dream on subsequent attempts it would have "reset" to the same point it had been at when they'd first entered. It took minutes of resettling themselves to readiness for sleep, and then one by one they each arrived back in the Dreamlands. "Didn't work out so well, huh, kupo? asked Mogo. "We have a new plan," Thurloe assured him as he stepped through the dream doorway and back into Carmen Melodius's dream. Sure enough, the jungle had been restored and the dream-ape was just now destroying the northeastern section of trees as the other dreamwalkers popped into the jungle at various different points. At least it would take longer for the ape to chase them all down this way - and now that they were prepared, Thurloe hoped they wouldn't be affected by the sudden panic the first sight of the massive ape, ten times taller than a man, had fostered in their hearts. The ape beat its chest in the clearing and roared its defiance as the five dreamwalkers each tried using their lucid dreaming training to somehow weaken the beast. The ape looked all about him, finally spotting Thurloe and racing his way. "Oh, sh--" the fighter got out before the ape's massive fist crushed him into paste. Alewyth decided to try a different tactic. Lucid dreaming wasn't always as successful in every dream, as each dreamscape seemed to have its own set of rules, its own internal logic. So she decided to treat this not as a dream to be manipulated to her own desired end state but rather to act as if it were happening in the Mortal World. Thus, she fought it here as she would have fought it there, by casting a [I]spiritual weapon[/I] spell. A dwarven warhammer formed of solid force materialized beside the startled gorilla and smashed him in the face. He roared in anger and instinctively swatted at it but it dodged in the air and avoided his grasp. Wakuren followed Alewyth's lead and a second [I]spiritual weapon[/I] took shape, this one a heavy mace, the weapon favored by Cal, God of Air and Healing. It too slammed into the giant gorilla, while Zander tossed his [I]figurine of wondrous power[/I] over by the ape. The cooshee took on full-sized elven dog form - and was crushed underfoot almost immediately by the massive simian. Then the dream-ape ran over to Alewyth, scooping her up in one hand, biting off her head, and then spinning and throwing her headless body at Zander Quilson, snapping his neck by the speed of his throw. Wakuren had activated his [I]ring of invisibility[/I] and crept up behind the ape, wondering if it might be possible to somehow crawl up his leg and back, so he could attempt a shield-strike against the back of the ape's skull. But the creature spun around and snatched up the half-orc, who apparently hadn't been as invisible to the ape's senses as he might have hoped. The cleric-paladin was crushed between the ape's hands and his crumpled body tossed to the ground, while the ape looked about until he found Xandro. "Uh oh," gulped Xandro as the ape sped in his direction. Using the training he'd received by his moogle instructors, the bard willed himself awake before he got to experience "death" again at the hands of the bloodthirsty ape. "Well, that's no good," Thurloe complained when everyone was back awake. They talked it out among themselves and decided this was another dream well beyond their present ability to handle. Xandro explained their failure to Jorbalee. "We've encountered this once before," he told her. "We'll do with Carmen what we did with the other dreamer we were unable to save: leave a dreamstone in contact with her forehead so she can attune with it over time, and we'll be back later after we've had additional training. Would it be okay if she stays in that other room where her gear was placed?" Jorbalee agreed that would be fine and a dejected Wakuren picked Carmen back up in his arms and carried back to her own smaller room. That done, the heroes decided to do some shopping now that they were in a decent-sized city, for most of their travels thus far, besides an excursion into a pair of dwarven Underdark cities, had been among smaller villages. They'd each amassed a fair amount of coin and were eager to spend some of it, hopefully on magic items that would make their combats that much easier. But other than a few scant potion shops, they were disappointed to find Baron's Haven hosted no major magic shops at all. Wakuren stopped by the local Temple of Cal and spoke with the clerics there, paying them in advance to craft him a [I]wand of cure light wounds[/I]. Thurloe likewise ordered a [I]wand of magic missiles[/I] from the wizards at the Temple of Delphyne, who advised them they could craft the wand but would need to deliver it to him outside the confines of the city. In each case, it would take three days of crafting to have the wands ready. Figuring there wasn't a real rush to get to the next dream victim (and with Xandro eager to earn some extra coin playing for the guests at the Merry Minstrel Inn), they agreed to stay in town long enough to take delivery of the wands. At dinner time that night, the other four were sitting at two tables facing the corner of the dining area, where Xandro played the lute and sang on a raised stage. Jorbalee was bringing over a basket of rolls when all of a sudden she teetered, her eyes rolled up into her head, and she collapsed forward onto the floor, the dinner rolls bouncing along the floor. Zander was the first to notice and he jumped up from the bench to see to her. "She's not responding," he said when he tried waking her up by slapping her gently. Xandro announced a brief intermission and joined the others in seeing to Jorbalee's condition. It was just like all of the other dream victims they'd dealt with so far, although this was the first time they had heard of someone being affected while awake. But they got one of the servers to fetch them the key to the larger room where they'd tried waking Carmen and Wakuren placed her on the bed, which was pulled back to the middle of the room. With hungry guests to attend to, the server couldn't stick around so Zander activated his [I]figurine of wondrous power[/I] and commanded his elven dog to wake him up if there were any disturbances here in the room while the five dreamwalkers tried entering Jorbalee's dream to pull her back to wakefulness. This time the dream almost seemed familiar, for it took place in some underworld lit only by the streams and rivulets of magma - very similar to the dream of Lady Camilla Middlewich, only instead of the dream-victim being suspended in a web-cocoon and being menaced by a giant spider, Jorbalee's wrists and ankles were bound and she had been thrown over the back of an ebon-skinned horse who was rapidly carrying her away. This was no ordinary horse, though, as evidenced by the flames it had in place of a mane and those encompassing its hooves as it raced across the hellish landscape. "Weaken it!" Thurloe commanded for the second time that day, raising the dreamstone he held in his hand like a magic talisman. The others did the same, doing what they could to try to weaken the nightmare bearing Jorbalee away from them. And this time it seemed to have an effect, for the creature, who had been running through the air several feet above the surface of the magma-cracked stone beneath it, was forced back down to ground level and its speed noticeably decreased - enough so that Wakuren and Thurloe were able to chase after it, even though that meant jumping across ever-widening streams of liquid magma. Alewyth cast a [I]bless[/I] spell on the group and Xandro began his song of courageous inspiration, until the half-orc was close enough to slam his shield against the nightmare's flank, just as Thurloe cut it with his bastard sword from the other side. Zander cast a [I]ray of enfeeblement[/I] spell at the hell-beast, weakening it even further. The nightmare lashed out with his flaming hooves, but before too long the heroes had slain it. It vanished immediately upon death, leaving a bound Jorbalee to fall to the ground - but not before Wakuren could leap below her and prevent her from getting burned by the magma. She landed awkwardly upon the cleric-paladin's armored back, as his face was pushed into the burning lava... ...and then the dreamscape vanished all around them and everyone woke back up. They were back in the inn, the cooshee wagging its tail at seeing them back to full wakefulness, Wakuren instinctively feeling his face to make sure it hadn't been burned. "What happened? Why are we here?" asked the innkeeper, a puzzled frown on her face as she tried to recall the dream that was even now starting to fade now that she was back awake. She had been bringing out a basket of rolls, she remembered that.... Alewyth filled her in on what had transpired and then Jorbalee leaped to her feet and rushed back to see to her guests, embarrassed to have fallen asleep on the job as she had. Thurloe and Wakuren pushed the bed back up against the wall while Xandro went back to finish his musical set back in the dining area. The others followed and the rest of the evening was uneventful. And Jorbalee returned the fees for the rooms overnight, furthermore insisting that their dinners were on the house. It was the next morning, with the group at one of the dining tables eating a decent breakfast, when the next bit of excitement made itself known. Thurloe was devouring his fourth piece of thick bacon when he heard a commotion just outside the inn. There was a crashing sound, the unmistakable sound of horses crying out in fear, and a roar of anger and pain that sounded very much like that of the dream-ape they'd fought - twice - to no avail in the dreamscape of Carmen Melodius. Thurloe leaped up from the bench and ran to the inn's front door, standing on the porch and looking to see what was going on. There, on the street in front of the inn was an overturned wagon, with the enormous wooden crate that had been lashed to it laying in the street with a good chunk of the back side smashed open along the top. The four horses that had been pulling the wagon were in distress, the rear two struggling to get back up onto their legs after the wagon - which looked to have overturned after one wheel hit a rut in the road - had pulled them over as it spilled on its side. The wagon's driver had been thrown some distance and was holding his head in one hand as he struggled to stand up without falling over. And running up from behind the wagon were two men and a mastiff dog. The smaller of the two men was completely bald, carried a wooden staff, and wore a green hooded robe and laced sandals. But he was by no means a small man, only seeming so in contrast to the hulking brute who came up behind him with his mastiff dog, for this hairy peasant looked to be nearly seven feet tall, with thick sideburns. The bald man ran up to the crate making soothing noises while the large peasant approached the inn, where the other heroes had joined Thurloe to see what was up. "Everything's okay," boomed the peasant. "Sorry for any disturbance, but everything's under control now. Please go back inside - there's nothing to see here." That seemed particularly fishy to Zander, for everything did not seem to be under control: whatever was inside the wooden crate was still roaring and trying to pound its way out and the horses were still succumbing to panic. On a hunch, the elf activated the [i]true seeing[/i] aspect of his [i]scout’s headband[/i]. And what he saw surprised him beyond all belief, for under the effects of the headband the elf saw not a towering peasant but a massive gorilla, and not a mastiff dog but a baboon. Both wore collars and the gorilla was still talking, trying to convince everyone that there was no need for anyone to render any assistance. Wakuren stood right behind Zander and he was using his paladin training to try to detect any evil in the area. Sure enough, he was able to sense a source of evil, and while it would take him a moment's concentration to determine its exact location he was pretty sure it was going to be focused on the bald man over by the crate, who wasn't the least bit concerned by the cries of the horses or the bleeding head of the driver but was instead focused on the creature trying to break out of the crate - and just about succeeding, by this time. Xandro pulled his lute from his back and began a tune quite different from the ones he usually played in combat; rather than inspiring courage in his friends, the better to aim their strikes with weapons and spells, he played a tune designed to fascinate those who might otherwise wish to do him or his friends harm. And the tune worked, almost instantly, for the large peasant stopped talking and the mastiff sat down on his haunches, mesmerized by the bard's tune. "That big guy's a gorilla," Zander whispered to the others. "And that dog's a baboon." "I'm going to go check on the driver," Thurloe announced, heading towards the horses, all four of which were now back up on their feet. The driver was on the other side of them, so the fighter was going to have to skirt around them. "Bald guy's evil!" Wakuren announced, having by this time discerned that he was indeed the source of the emanations of evil he'd been picking up. He wound his way around the [I]fascinated[/I] apes in the collars that cloaked them in illusions so they could fit in among the people in a large city without drawing any attention to themselves. The half-orc still wasn't sure what [I]that[/I] was all about, but he was more interested in confronting the bald man at this point. As Wakuren approached, Zander stepped down off the porch and threw a thunderstone at the bald man, having assumed he was a spellcaster and hoping to mess up his ability to cast spells by deafening him. The stone exploded in a cacophony of noise but it failed to deafen the bald man, who merely looked annoyed at the attempt. He moved his hands and spoke something that Wakuren, who was fast approaching him at this point, could tell was some sort of spellcasting, although he couldn't determine the exact spell being cast. It wasn't directed at him, in any case, rather at the creature inside the crate. Only the creature wasn't inside the crate for very much longer. With a final punch, the crate's side gave way and out stepped a dire ape - not as big as the dream-ape in Carmen Melodius's dream, but standing a good nine feet tall. The bald man pointed at Wakuren and the dire ape obliged, smashing a simian fist into the half-orc's face and sending him reeling back. Alewyth stepped down from the inn's porch and almost cast a spell to aid her friend, but looked around warily and saw a number of bystanders accumulating in the area (although one look at the loose dire ape in the city generally spun them about and had them fleeing at top speed). She didn't dare risk it. Instead, grumbling to herself, she fished her old sling from a belt pouch and started making her way towards the brawl. Thurloe had gone around the horses and was now approaching the bald man from the west. He pulled the composite bow from his back and readied an arrow as he moved forward. Xandro continued his song, knowing full well his power to keep the two apes [I]fascinated[/I] would only continue to work for so long - still, it was a way to keep them out of the fight for a bit, so he was determined to make it last as long as he could. With a look of irritation, the bald druid cast another spell, not in the least bit concerned about who might see him do so. Immediately, thick briars rose up from the ground, forming a full [I]wall of thorns[/I] in the street blocking the overturned wagon from the inn. Wakuren was already on the inner side of the curved wall and Thurloe was approaching from the west, but it would keep the others at bay, for it stood 5 feet tall and was twice that in thickness. Alewyth, her path blocked by the thorny barrier, started heading east to go around it. She loaded a thunderstone into her sling instead of a normal sling bullet. Then the dire ape stood to his full height and Alewyth had a perfect shot lined up even despite the [I]wall of thorns[/I] between her and her target, who was pulling the bald druid up onto his shoulder. She wound up and released her thunderstone, which struck the ape's back and exploded in sound, but likewise failed to deafen either the ape or the druid. Still, it had been worth the attempt. Wakuren, anger stoked, cast a [I]spiritual weapon[/I] spell, not caring if anybody saw him do so - this was obviously in the best interests of the city at large and he was sure he could talk his way out of any kind of penalty if it came to that. A heavy mace of solid force manifested by the dire ape's back and the half-orc caused it to go slamming towards the bald spellcaster who was obviously behind this whole situation somehow. But [B]Manu the Awakener[/B] dodged the incoming blow and looked contemptuously down at the half-orc. "Do not waste time trying to stop me!" he yelled down to Wakuren at a volume much louder than needed; perhaps the thunderstones had had some sort of an effect after all. The dire ape roared in pain as it moved away from the overturned wagon, taking a moment to pull out the arrow Thurloe had just sent streaking into his side. Then a cooshee suddenly sprang into being at the dire ape's feet; Zander having just thrown the [I]figurine of wondrous power[/I] over the [I]wall of thorns[/I]. The elven dog barked furiously at the dire ape, stopping only long enough to bite at a hairy ankle. But then Manu cast another spell and suddenly there was an entire swarm of spiders crawling all around - and over - both the cooshee and Wakuren. Both felt the pinpricks of innumerable bites on their flesh as spider venom started coursing its way through their veins. But by now Alewyth had reached the eastern end of the [I]wall of thorns[/I] and had pulled a tanglefoot bag from her pack. Winding up for a good throw, she hurled it at the dire ape's foot and it exploded in a puff of dust that quickly hardened in the air, adhering the ape's foot and leg to the cobblestone street. With a grunt of surprise and dismay, the dire ape realized he was stuck in place! Manu looked down to see what was preventing his [I]dominated[/I] riding mount from making any progress and in doing so got clobbered by Wakuren's [I]spiritual heavy mace[/I]. The half-orc had been chasing after the retreating dire ape, swatting away stray spiders and he ran, and had caught up to him now that the simian's forward progress had been halted. Thurloe shot another arrow at the ape, causing it to roar in fury. By then, Xandro's song had run its course and the two apes who had been [I]fascinated[/I] by it snapped out of their lethargy and looked about them at the chaos that had arisen while they hadn't been paying attention. The gorilla - to all but Zander, a large, heavyset peasant - spun about and chased after Wakuren slamming him in the back of his head with a massive fist. Zander chased off after Alewyth, heading for the eastern edge of the [I]wall of thorns[/I]. The cooshee exited the pile of spiders, took a moment to shake off most of the ones crawling in and on his fur, and then bounded after the stuck dire ape, snapping at his other leg as the giant simian broke free of the hardened goo by a massive effort. And it was at this point the four hobgoblins showed up. "What's going on?" one demanded as he approached Xandro, who was still over on the front porch of the inn where he'd been playing his lute. "Who's responsible for these thorn bushes?" Another approached Alewyth, stopping her from advancing past the [I]wall of thorns[/I] and demanding answers to the same question. Both the bard and the priestess of Aerik gave the same answer, pointing at the bald druid riding on the shoulder of a dire ape - and then, as if to prove his own guilt, he blatantly cast another spell: an [I]animal growth[/I] spell that caused the dire ape to expand to twice his already considerable height. With longer legs and a longer stride, it continued its flight from the others and had soon scrambled out of view, taking a corner onto a side street. Looking back and seeing the hobgoblin guards, Wakuren quietly dismissed his [I]spiritual weapon[/I] spell, hoping it hadn't been noticed, and turned to face the peasant who was hitting him in the back. The half-orc knew Zander had said this was really a gorilla, but if it was the illusion was very well crafted, for Wakuren would never have guessed he was fighting off anybody other than a very large human. He brought his shield smashing into the ape's side, and then the baboon - still to all appearances a large mastiff dog - raced up and started biting Wakuren as well. Thurloe had continued his advance and even though the dire ape and the bald spellcaster had gotten away, he now had two other targets within range. Firing an arrow at the mastiff, he got it in the throat and it fell over, dead. Even in death, though, it retained the illusion of being a large dog. "[B]Bongo[/B]!" cried the "peasant," enraged at the death of his companion. Thurloe was still too far away to punish, but the half-orc was right here so [B]Ngoto[/B] continued pummeling Wakuren with his gorilla fists. "Those two are really apes," Zander explained to one of the hobgoblins, and when the guard looked skeptical the elf took off his magical headband and handed it over. "See for yourself," he offered. The hobgoblin put it on and cried out a crude exclamation of surprise. "He's right!" he called to his three companions as the cooshee helped Wakuren fight off the gorilla as best he could, even though it meant being one of the closest targets to the swarm of spiders, which quickly encompassed the elven dog, Wakuren, and the gorilla - the spiders gave no preferential treatment to the allies of the man who had summoned them here. That was enough for the gorilla, who decided it was time to high-tail it out of here and try to catch back up with Manu; unfortunately, to do so he ran close enough to Thurloe to give him time to pull the bastard sword from his back and bring it swinging down upon the "peasant's" head. He fell to the ground, dead from the fighter's blow - and the illusion-dampening powers of the sword caused it to be revealed as the simian creature it really was. After that, the hobgoblins started taking statements from the eyewitnesses. Fortunately, nobody had seen any of the heroes casting spells, although there were plenty of eyewitnesses to Manu having done so. Thurloe bent over the body of the "mastiff" and removed its collar, revealing its true baboon form. Once the hobgoblins were satisfied they had enough information, they offered up a reward of 50 gold pieces for slaying the dire ape and 100 pieces of gold for bringing in the bald druid, dead or alive. "We're on it!" answered Thurloe, eager for a second chance of taking the bald guy down. The heroes headed out in the direction the dire ape had last been seen, picking up sightings by eyewitnesses who eventually led then to the edge of the city, where a bystander had said the ape climbed right over the city walls and was heading into the Darkwood Forest. "We've likely lost them, then," lamented Alewyth. "Not necessarily," remarked Zander. "Cooshees are excellent trackers." That certainly ended up being the case. The group headed back to the city gate by which they had entered the previous day and Thurloe and Zander retrieved their spellbook and scrolls, respectively. Then they walked along the outside of the city wall until the cooshee picked up the dire ape's scent - and then he was off like a shot, with the others racing to catch up with him. The ape wasn't particularly difficult to track, either, for his greater weight meant he left quite deep footprints in the dirt and had left a distinctive trail of broken branches and pushed-aside smaller trees in his wake. Eventually, they tracked the dire ape into a clearing after a mere 20 minutes or so of following the trial through the forest. Zander grabbed his cooshee and held him at bay so the elven dog wouldn't go rushing right up to the bald druid before the others had had time to prepare for combat. But in the meantime, they were puzzling over what he was doing, for the dire ape - now at its original size, a still-respectable nine feet tall - was stretched out on his back upon the forest floor and the druid was in the process of attaching heavy manacles to each limb. The chains connected to the manacles had been fastened to the trunks of sturdy trees. "This is necessary," the druid told his compliant dire ape (for the [I]dominate animal[/I] spell he'd cast upon the simian earlier was still in effect), "for the spell I must cast upon you to awaken you to your full intellect takes a full 24 hours. But then you will have gained your full birthright and will join your brothers as one of us." He snapped the third manacle in place around the dire ape's right wrist and moved over to do the same with the creature's other hand. The heroes, watching silently at the edge of the clearing, decided not to do anything until the dire ape had been fully restrained. Alewyth scanned the area for any other potential allies the bald druid might have hanging around but saw none. There was a simple tent over by a clump of trees, small enough it would only hold the druid and no others. She spotted a few nests on the ground, one large enough for the gorilla and a smaller one likely belonging to the baboon, but they had both been slain in the city and the lack of any other such nests bode well that there weren't any other [I]awakened[/I] apes in the vicinity. Over on the other side of the clearing was a mound of dirt with a flat rock somewhat askew at the top of it, but no indications of anyone but the druid that they'd be facing. In the meantime, Thurloe quietly cast a [I]shield[/I] spell upon himself, since he'd left his buckler back in the inn. Then, once the dire ape had been fully chained in place, the fighter gave a nod to Zander and he cast the spell he'd been waiting to use. Instantly, the [I]scorching ray[/I] leaped from his fingertips to strike Manu the Awakener, who cried out in pain and surprise at the unexpected attack. Seeing that battle was now on, the cooshee darted forward and bit at Manu's leg. Then, sensing uncast spells in the druid's prepared repertoire, the dog snatched one of them up and ripped it from Manu's inventory. The latent spell energy, he knew, could be converted to be used by his sorcerer master. Xandro had unpacked his lute during the wait for combat to begin and now he started strumming the chords to his most commonly-used tune, the one inspiring his friends to greater heights of courage. Thurloe had his composite bow out and sent an arrow flying over to strike the druid before he could retaliate with a spell. So far, the three attacks - Zander's spell, the cooshee's spell-ripping bite, and Thurloe's arrow - had all happened in a matter of mere seconds, before the druid had even realized the danger he was in. But now a flash of movement caught Thurloe's eye. Off to the right, a pair of burly figures stepped into view. The fighter recognized them as bugbears right away, for they'd tangled with one of them back at the old abandoned silver mine where he had ended up taking his bastard sword [I]Spellslicer[/I] from the hands of its previous owner, who'd been transformed into a yellow musk zombie. This pair had solemn faces that turned to anger as they looked down at the pile of dirt and the misplaced stone at their feet. Then they stepped forward and each let a javelin fly, one aimed at Thurloe and the other at Zander. Whatever had angered them, they had apparently decided the five heroes were a part of it. Alewyth cast a [I]bless[/I] spell on the group, glad to no longer be under the ridiculous restrictions of Baron's Haven. Wakuren cast a [I]spiritual weapon[/I] and sent it hurtling at Manu's head, then activated his [I]ring of invisibility[/I] and faded from view. The heavy mace struck the druid on the side of the head, causing him to topple over on his side, unconscious, with his life's blood dripping onto the leaves of the forest floor below him. Behind him, the dire ape struggled against his bonds, but the manacles and chains had been made thick enough to keep him bound. He roared in fury, struggling to free himself to no avail. But even though Manu, the man they'd been sent to take down, was out of the fight it looked like the two bugbears had stepped up to take his place. Zander, not liking having been targeted by a bugbear javelin (even if it had just barely missed him), cast another [I]scorching ray[/I] spell, this time targeted against the one who had thrown his javelin at the elven sorcerer. The bugbear erupted in flame for a brief moment, but luckily for him it hadn't lasted long enough to start his fur blazing. The cooshee ran up and almost tackled his master in his exuberance, tail wagging furiously as he transferred the spell energy into Zander's frame. The elf knew instinctively that he now had more spell energy than he'd had a moment before, and also how powerful a spell it would allow him to cast. He smiled at the thought that he could now cast one more [I]scorching ray[/I] than he'd have been able to cast normally. "Good dog!" he called down to his canine companion. Xandro was continuing his lute playing when all of a sudden he was attacked from an unexpected direction: a small monkey dropped down from the branches overhead and started clawing at the young bard's face. "Hurt master!" the monkey snarled. Alewyth and Thurloe found themselves in the same predicament, with a snarling, shrieking monkey dropping on their heads and scrambling all around their shoulders and backs, pulling on their hair and scratching them with their claws. Thurloe's adversary bent over and bit him on the ear. Thurloe wasn't having any of that! Realizing it was a dangerous maneuver and one likely to cause him a rather embarrassing self-inflicted wound if he missed, he dropped his bow at his feet and brought his bastard sword out of the sheath on his back. Then he brought the sharp side of the blade up against the monkey, with enough force to poke into its furry body but not enough power behind it to continue on into the side of his own head. It was, he thought to himself, somewhat like shaving, only he was trying to scrape off a deranged monkey from his face instead of several days' worth of whiskers. Sadly, the monkey was too nimble to have been brushed away with such a slow attack and he perched himself on the top of the fighter's head, one hand pulling on the ear he'd bitten. Alewyth, with [I]Sjondra[/I] in hand, wasn't foolish enough to use it to try to strike the monkey plaguing her - she knew she'd likely only bonk herself in the head in the process. She instead tried grabbing the monkey with her free hand, but it was able to scramble out of the way, scampering across her back and ending up on the other shoulder. It howled profanities in her face, something the dwarven priestess had never before in her life experienced. Wakuren redirected his still-active [I]spiritual weapon[/I] at the bugbear Zander had fried with his spell, and the heavy mace bashed in the side of the creature's skull, slaying him instantly. Zander cast another [I]scorching ray[/I] at the other bugbear, but unfortunately for the elf his target managed to duck under the fiery blast at the last moment. But the cooshee snapped his jaws at the bugbear's leg, getting a good grip on his left leg. He tried toppling the bugbear onto his back, but the foe had too stable of a footing for that to occur. Instead, he brought his morningstar crashing down on top of the cooshee's head, causing him to howl in pain and instantly release his grip upon the goblinoid's leg. Xandro dropped his lute to the ground and tried grabbing the monkey biting his face. He was unable to catch the nimble foe and reached to his belt for the dagger he wore there in a sheath, at this point willing to risk a self-inflicted wound if it would get the hairy enemy to leave him alone. Thurloe was able to catch his monkey with the blade of his sword, causing it to howl in pain. Alewyth had likewise managed to clock her monkey a good one with a dwarven fist, then grabbed an arm and got a good grip on it. But the monkey similarly had a good grip on her hair and wasn't about to be pulled off his victim that easily. Wakuren had by this time positioned himself behind the remaining bugbear, noticing absently there were words carved into the lopsided stone on the raised pile of dirt. He slammed his shield into the unsuspecting bugbear's back, popping back into visibility as he did so. Zander, deciding the bugbear was likely being sufficiently taken care of by Wakuren and his own elven dog, decided to help the others who were being savaged by the little monkeys. A [I]magic missile[/I] spell had three missiles streaking from the elf's fingertips, two of them hitting the monkey on Thurloe's head and killing it outright, the other one hitting the monkey on Xandro, causing it to squeal in outrage and hold still long enough for the bard to get a good grip on it and fling it away. He then pulled the light crossbow from his back and - tempting as it was to target the little tormentor-monkey - sent a bolt crashing into the remaining bugbear. Heavily wounded, the loyal cooshee snapped at the bugbear again, receiving for his efforts another blow from the bloody morningstar that almost killed him outright. Xandro shot the bugbear again and Thurloe ran up to him and sent a powerful swing of his bastard sword slicing into the goblinoid's side. This was enough to finally kill him; blood spilled from his lips along with some incomprehensible curse in the Goblin tongue. Zander took care of the remaining two monkeys with another [I]magic missile[/I] spell. [I]Scorching ray[/I] was a nice spell to have added to his repertoire but sometimes it was best to stick with the classics. A quick check of the bugbears' bodies revealed they carried nothing on them but their own weapons and armor. However, curiosity compelled Thurloe to pull the flat stone with the writing on it - the characters were in the Goblin tongue, although he couldn't read what it said - and saw a short, vertical shaft leading down to a small chamber where the bandaged body of another bugbear-sized figure had been laid to rest. However, the wrappings had been cut away at the corpse's neck, no doubt to have gained the tomb desecrator access to whatever amulet or necklace had been buried with the body. "What's that all about?" Alewyth asked. "I got a feeling our bald guy there's been robbing bugbear tombs," Thurloe answered. "These two have probably been tracking him and just assumed we were in with him when they showed up and found us here with him." He dropped the heavy stone back into place at the top of the vertical shaft, sealing up the burial site of the bugbear entombed below. Xandro had been checking out the body of Manu and found the key to the manacles on a thin chain around the druid's neck. Thurloe investigated the druid's tent and found a bunch of fruit, which he carefully fed to the bound dire ape - who was hungry enough to be fed by a stranger. Then, having established he was a friend - or at least not an enemy - Thurloe took the key and unlocked the manacles around the dire ape's ankles. "There's a 50-gold-piece bounty on the big guy," Zander pointed out. "Yeah, but he's just a dumb animal," Thurloe countered. "He wouldn't have fought us in the city like he did if baldy here hadn't made him." He released one of the dire ape's wrists from the manacle, ready to jump back out of range if the simian took advantage of his near-freedom to attack the fighter. But when he failed to do so, merely held out his manacled other hand, Thurloe approached, unlocked it, and stepped away. The dire ape got on all fours, rubbed each wrist in turn, and then knuckle-walked away. "And it's not like we're in desperate need of the 50 gold, either," Thurloe observed. "We're already getting 100 pieces for the druid." "We should probably heal him," Wakuren offered. "Nope," Thurloe insisted. "He brought all of this on himself. And since he's a druid, we'll let nature decide if he lives or dies." He scooped up the unconscious figure and transferred him to one shoulder. "You guys lead on: I'll take the rear. I don't want any of you healing him when I'm not looking." And thus, half an hour later, the five heroes returned to Baron's Haven with the corpse of Manu the Awakener. - - - This was a rather lengthy session, going almost five hours. I used a King Kong figure I picked up recently (when [I]Godzilla vs. Kong[/I] was in the theaters) for the dream ape in Carmen Melodius's dream. And the second dream caused Joe (Zander's player) to speculate that if there was a Queen of Dreams, there might also be a King of Nightmares as well. (An interesting premise, even more interesting in that I already have a "King of Nightmares" initiative card in my inventory for use in an upcoming adventure....) And I had a blast with those awakened monkeys at the end, doing my best howler monkey imitation at full volume to those whose PCs had been targeted by them. - - - T-shirt worn: Lacking any shirts with monkeys on them, I wore a "Spider-Man" T-shirt to represent the spider swarm Manu the Awakener cast inside the city to help try to escape his attackers. [/QUOTE]
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