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Dreams of Erthe
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 9091423" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 55: LADY OF THE WASTES</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 11</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 5</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 5/paladin 6</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 6/rogue 5</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 11</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Robin the Balladeer, human bard 3</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Scarlie Besker, half-orc commoner 5</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 29 July 2023</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>"So this is Sandhill, huh?" asked Thurloe as the group rode into the small desert town. "Not much to it - shouldn't take us long to find our dreamer." The dreamer, they knew - from peeking ahead at the dream in question, even though they weren't able to interact with it until they made contact with the dreamer's physical form - was a teenage girl. In her dream, she was hiding in an alley while a burly orc raider looked for her.</p><p></p><p>"That's assuming anybody wants to talk to us," grunted Scarlie from the front of the wagon. "I dunno if you've noticed it or not, but we're gathering a lot of surly glances."</p><p></p><p>Wakuren for one had noticed that the townspeople in Sandhill didn't seem all that friendly. Then, with a shock, he realized the frowning glares all seemed to be aimed in Scarlie's direction; the half-orc cleric/paladin of Cal had forgotten his magical robe was currently set to project an image of himself as if he were a full-blooded human, as he'd been getting tired of having everyone assume he was some sort of subhuman beast because he had orcish blood running through his veins. But as Sandhill sat at the edges of the Centralia Desert, home of numerous tribes of rampaging orcs, it made sense the inhabitants would be wary of those with orcish blood wandering their streets; Wakuren sighed and wished he had a second such cloak for Scarlie, the better for the half-orc to blend in.</p><p></p><p>Eventually, by sending Xandro inside the first tavern they saw and letting him use his natural charm on the patrons, while Scarlie and the others stayed outside by the wagon (Scarlie having pulled the hood up over his head as far as it would go, hoping to hide his orcish features in the shadows), they found what they sought in the small village. "Her name's <strong>Velma Carter</strong>," Xandro announced upon returning to the wagon. "Her parents are <strong>Marva and Steffin Carter</strong>, and she's been asleep for about two weeks now." He gave Scarlie directions on how to get to the Carter home, and the team was off.</p><p></p><p>Once at the Carter residence - a small house, as were most of the homes in the village - Wakuren gave Scarlie his magic cloak. After all, the cleric/Paladin wore armor bearing the holy symbol of Cal; he'd have a much better time being accepted by the villagers than would their half-orc wagon driver. Plus, the five of them were needed to perform the ritual, and they liked to have Robin on hand to make sure nobody messed with them while they were asleep and performing the dream-waking procedure, but by the same time it was never a good idea to leave their animals unattended. Scarlie took the cloak and his features blurred at once for a moment before taking on the aspect of Wakuren - if he'd had no orc blood in him at all. Wakuren was taken aback at the change, as he'd never had the opportunity to see for himself what he would have looked like as a pure-blooded human. It was strange, seeing yourself through such a distorted lens: gone were Wakuren's tusks, as well as his darker complexion which was closer to gray than any normal human skin tone.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth knocked upon the door and made the explanations as to why they were there. She also swore upon her standing as a priestess of Aerik that Wakuren had a good nature and was perfectly trustworthy. Marva and Steffin looked at each other, shrugged, and let the six heroes inside their small home. If these strangers could awaken their daughter, they were willing to give a half-orc bastard the benefit of the doubt.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe took charge upon entering the building, having the unconscious Velma brought out into the living area where there was more room to work with than in her cramped bedroom. Wakuren and Zander started pushing the furniture against the walls to ensure they had enough room, Alewyth passed out the dreamstone headbands and affixed one to the sleeping teenager, Zander activated his <em>jade cooshee</em> and set him on guard duty with Robin, Robin started playing a quiet lullaby on her lute to help the dreamwalkers fall to sleep, and before long the five were meeting up in the Dreamlands, being escorted by their moogle guides to the Corridor of Dreams, where Mogo hovered in waiting, his little bat wings flapping madly.</p><p></p><p>"This one ought to be pretty easy for you, kupo!" Mogo said as he opened the door to Velma's dream. Stepping inside, they found it the same as when they'd had their "sneak peek preview" the other day: they stood in the entrance to a dead-end, L-shaped alleyway, there was a burly orc raider standing just ahead with his back turned to them, and he was intently listening for the sounds of Velma's labored breathing as she tried to remain as quiet as she could, hiding behind an abandoned crate just around the corner of the "L."</p><p></p><p>Alewyth cast a <em>hold person</em> spell on the orc and was pleased to see it take effect immediately. Without wasting a moment, Zander cast a <em>lightning bolt</em> spell that went coursing right smack into the orc barbarian, and then Xandro raced forward and sent his sword <em>Deathwhisper</em> into the orc's kidney.</p><p></p><p>"You wanna cast a <em>shield</em> spell on yourself before meeting this fiend in battle?" Wakuren taunted Thurloe, knowing the spellsword's predilection for seeing to his own safety before committing to battle. Thurloe gave the half-orc a withering look, sneered "No," and stepped up, swinging his bastard sword to cleave the orc's head off in one powerful blow. And just that quickly, the dream was over, Velma no longer being menaced by an orc raider looking for a frightened human female to satisfy his lusts. The alleyway started melting all around them, indicating Velma was waking up from her dream.</p><p></p><p>"Velma - you're awake!" cried her mother as the teenager started to stir. But then the daughter caught sight of Wakuren and gave a scream of terror, cowering behind her mother. Both Marva and Steffin had to assure their daughter that everything was alright, that she was safe, and that Wakuren was not an orcish raider looking for a female victim. "He helped wake you up - you've been sleeping for two weeks!" Marva said. That was enough of a shock to distract Velma, who honestly had had no idea of the passage of time while she was stuck in her dreams. Wakuren explained about the dream comas, the Nightmare King, and how the dreamwalkers were traveling across the continent to wake up those who, like Velma, had become trapped inside their own dreamscapes.</p><p></p><p>"So," said Steffin once his daughter had been settled, "you guys are really adventurers, then? Did you come all this way to wake up our Velma, or are you here about the disappearances?"</p><p></p><p>Naturally, that required explanation. Steffin told the heroes there had been a rash of disappearances over the past month, wherein a total of four young women, each between 17 and 25 years of age, had gone missing. It was already late in the afternoon, so the heroes jointly agreed to check out the disappearances while they were in town, rather than start heading to the next dream victim when they'd just be making camp in a few hours down the road in any case. Steffin had given them a list of names and addresses, so one by one they went to go talk to the parents of the missing girls.</p><p></p><p>In each case, the girl went to bed the night before her disappearance and then was never seen again, with her bed slept in and nothing missing from her room but a single set of clothes. There had been no ransom demands from any kidnappers, nor any prior indication that the girl had any intention of just getting up and leaving the way she did. The first missing girl, <strong>Sharlene Calimper</strong>, had been practicing archery in the hope of joining the village militia, so she could help fight off orc raiders when they showed up. The second, <strong>Pearlie Baker</strong>, had a drunkard for a father (who was passed out and unable to talk to the heroes, but his neighbors were more than willing to fill them in), who apparently tried getting a little too "friendly" with his daughter when he drank; popular consensus was that she had run away just to avoid him. The third missing girl was <strong>Pam Cornswallow</strong>, a local tomboy able to outrun and outfight most young men her age. And the latest had been <strong>Jemmalee Gherkin</strong>, whose parents - if the local gossip was to be believed - weren't as poor as they claimed to be, despite the fact they'd ponied up the least amount of reward money for any information about the missing girls. Together, the reward was at 50 pieces of gold, a significant sum for a small desert village of mostly commoners.</p><p></p><p>But there was an old, grizzled man who offered up a ray of hope. "You know, these girls, they ain't the first to go missing like this. Hell, there was this one girl, <strong>Gizelle</strong> I think her name was, she just up and vanished from town one day some, lemme see, musta been some two dozen years back or thereabouts. Yep, that seems about right. But she came back less than a year later, no word of where she'd been. 'Course, she went and took off again shortly thereafter, but who knows? Maybe, if we're lucky, some of these missing girls will show up again."</p><p></p><p>Word had passed quickly throughout the town about how the five strangers had awakened Velma from her dreams, so the town insisted on allowing them to stay overnight, for free, at their one and only inn, the <em>Desert Eagle</em>. The manager balked a bit upon seeing Wakuren, but the others promised he would cause no trouble and they insisted they only needed but a single room for the seven of them. Of course, the innkeeper didn't realize only Scarlie would be taking advantage of the room's bed; the others slept, as usual, inside the extradimensional confines of <em>Hesperna's lamp</em>.</p><p></p><p>But as it turned out, it was a good thing the heroes had stayed in the village overnight, for the next morning the news was being spread far and wide: there had been another disappearance, this time a half-elven girl named <strong>Elyndria Huckins</strong>. And this time there was actually a witness: a drunken dwarf named <strong>Borrin Turnbuckle</strong>, who claimed to have seen the girl walk straight out into the desert, shortly before the sun had even come up.</p><p></p><p>The heroes wasted no time in interviewing Borrin. It turned out he was a failed miner, kicked out of his dwarven clan as a result of a gambling problem, and now worked at odd jobs as a general handyman in the village - earning enough money to keep him supplied with the booze that was his only hobby and true love. But he swore up and down he wasn't drunk when he saw Elyndria take off into the desert, walking at a brisk pace but not at all in a furtive fashion - rather nonchalantly, as a matter of fact.</p><p></p><p>"Did she say anything?" Alewyth asked.</p><p></p><p>"I dinnae think she even saw me!" muttered Borrin. "Her eyes were all glassy, like she'd had a bit too much t' drink or sumpin'." A quick discussion with the half-elf's parents, <strong>Zeke</strong> and <strong>Caladrianna Huckins</strong>, revealed that their daughter did not and never had consumed alcohol. Like the other missing girls, she'd slept in her own bed the night before and all that was missing from her room was one set of clothes. Zeke, wringing his hands, offered to match the 50 gold piece reward if the heroes could bring their daughter back alive to them.</p><p></p><p>"We'll see what we can do," Wakuren promised them.</p><p></p><p>They then went back to have Borrin show them exactly where Elyndria had entered the desert; with an embarrassed look, the dwarf agreed to show them "for the price of a drink, an' a blessin' from th' Little Sister." By this latter he meant Alewyth, who was more than happy to pray to Aerik on Borrin's behalf, and she even fronted him the price of a drink from her own purse. "But you think long and hard on if ye want to spend this money on a drink," she advised, "or if you want to let it be the beginning of a fund that will see you back in your dwarven homelands, restoring your family honor. Aerik's blessing be upon you, but let Him protect ye from yer own weaknesses." Shame-faced, Borrin took them to the place where Elyndria's footprints could still be seen in the sand - tracking her would not be the least bit difficult, as long as the lack of wind continued.</p><p></p><p>"Thank ye," Borrin said. "I'll think long an' hard on yer words, like ye said," he told Alewyth. Then he wished them the best of luck - and headed for the nearest tavern, where a thirsty dwarf could get an ale, even this early in the morning, so long as he had the coin to pay for it.</p><p></p><p>"I hate to mention this," pointed out Scarlie, "but the wagon's not going to make very good time over this loose sand." Talking it over, the group decided to leave Scarlie behind with the animals and follow Elyndria's path on foot. "After all," Xandro pointed out, "we're hearty adventurers and she's just a kid. And she's only got a few hours' head start on us - we should be able to catch up to her in no time." Wakuren gave Scarlie his magical cloak for good measure, knowing if they were going to leave their half-orc wagon driver behind it might be best if he could pass himself off as a human.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren cast an <em>endure elements</em> spell before they began; Thurloe ditched his metal armor, figuring he could make do with a <em>mage armor</em> spell to protect himself nearly as well. Zander followed suit with a <em>mage armor</em> spell of his own, confident that the spell would last for hours - hopefully long after they'd overtaken Elyndria and taken her home to her worried parents. He also activated his <em>jade cooshee</em>, figuring its tracking skills might come in handy if they somehow lost the trail. And then they started trudging their way into the desert, following the girl's tracks.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren was the first to decide there was a better way ahead than continuing on foot and he summoned his air element heavy warhorse, Nimbus, climbing up onto the beast's broad back. Every once in a while, he'd have the cloud-horse take to the air to see if they could spot Elyndria, but it was two hours into their trek before they finally found her. Rising up over a small dune, they saw what could only be the missing half-elf, standing before a small rise in the desert sands ahead, around which there were scattered clumps of saguaro cacti. She casually reached over a shoulder and pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back, placing it into her longbow and then aiming it at one of the cactus clumps. Only Wakuren realized she was actually aiming at an orc guard hiding among the cacti. From his higher perch, he could see another orc guard behind a cactus clump off to the right, near which stood a long, canvas tent with no side walls - basically a roof held in place by long poles - which provided shade for a half-dozen horses. He also spotted another orc guard in the clump of cacti off to the left; Elyndria - assuming that was indeed her, although the tracks they'd been following led directly to her - was aiming for the orc guard in the middle clump of desert growth.</p><p></p><p>"Borrin didn't say anything about Elyndria being armed," Alewyth pointed out.</p><p></p><p>"Probably too drunk to notice," scoffed Thurloe, before calling out, "Hey, Elyndria! Time to head back home - your folks are worried!"</p><p></p><p>Elyndria didn't even look back at the spellsword, oblivious to all but the target before her. She drew back her right arm and released the arrow, which flew across the distance to plant itself in the orc's shoulder just as he threw a javelin her way.</p><p></p><p>"Looks like it's on," commented Xandro, stepping up to Thurloe and casting a <em>heroism</em> spell on the spellsword. Zander followed almost immediately with a <em>haste</em> spell cast upon the entire group - but not on Elyndria, who was too far away for the spell to reach her. Alewyth activated her <em>butterfly brooch</em> and took to the skies, fluttering erratically but gaining enough altitude that the three orc guards were visible - as were the cave openings leading down into the ground near each clump of cacti; this was apparently a desert orc raider lair the foolish half-elf was starting a fight with. But having hit her first target, Elyndria casually started walking forward, placing another arrow into her bow as she did so and once again taking careful aim.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren urged Nimbus forward towards the rightmost orc guard, casting a <em>shield of faith</em> spell upon himself as he did so. Behind him, he could hear Robin beginning her song of inspirational courage for the benefit of the heroes.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe raced forward, continuing to call Elyndria's name while she continued to ignore him. But a streak of motion caught his eye and, looking up at the skies to his left, he saw an enormous desert vulture starting a dive towards the oblivious half-elf archer. He interposed himself between the vulture and its intended target, raising <em>Spellslicer</em> in a defensive posture. The vulture didn't bother altering its trajectory, talons out to claw at Thurloe, while Elyndria shot at the central orc guard again.</p><p></p><p>All three orc guards threw their javelins as one, each one targeting Elyndria; of the three, only one hit its target. But the half-elf hardly seemed to notice, casually plucking the offending weapon from the side of her torso where it had hit, hopefully snagging on her clothes instead of penetrating too far into her flesh. She let it drop to the desert sand, nocking another arrow into place.</p><p></p><p>Xandro ran up beside Thurloe and stabbed at the swooping vulture as it got into range. From that distance, he could hear Orcish yelling, as the wounded guard called back into the cave dwelling. The sounds of booted feet running on a stone surface from inside the subterranean cave entrance told him reinforcements would be arriving soon, and that the first wave would be coming from the central entrance, just ahead and behind the camouflaging cacti.</p><p></p><p>Zander cast a <em>summon swarm</em> spell, sending a flock of bats rushing the central orc, who was already pretty wounded from Elyndria's remarkable shooting skills. The flying mammals bit at him with their tiny but sharp teeth, covering his exposed flesh with dozens of bleeding wounds in the span of a heartbeat. Beside the elven sorcerer, the cooshee raced ahead, leaping into the fray with the vulture. He caught a flapping wing in his jaws and wrestled the bird to the ground, holding it in place with a paw on its avian chest. It tried pulling itself free with no success.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth flew over to the left entrance, casting a <em>spike stones</em> spell all around the orc guard stationed there, the spell's effects advancing a bit into the stone floor of the tunnel just beyond the cave opening he guarded. And Elyndria shifted targets over to the guard at the far right, as the central guard was covered in a swarm of bats that made targeting him somewhat difficult. Her arrow splattered through a cactus before embedding itself into the orc guard hiding behind it.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren had Nimbus land near to the right-most entry cave and he leapt off onto the desert sands, determining with his special paladin senses that the orcs were, as expected, all of an evil nature. However, he was also getting a "ping" of evil from the general direction of Elyndria, and he was fairly certain after talking to her parents that the girl was not normally of such an evil bent. But as a few of the fighters had advanced out of the central cave and were in more or less a straight line with the bat-plagued orc guard, Wakuren took the opportunity to throw a <em>javelin of lightning</em> - summoned from his <em>gauntlet of Cal</em> - through the lot of them. Just that quickly, all four of his orc targets were dead and the bats brought down to few enough in number that the remaining ones flew off.</p><p></p><p>Robin continued her song of inspirational courage, walking slowly forward as her friends were starting to bring the fight to the orcs in their three lair openings. Thurloe headed over to the west entrance by Wakuren, casting a <em>shield</em> spell upon himself from his wand as he did so. He could see shadowy figures coming down a tunnel just ahead, half a dozen orcs or more, it seemed. On the other side of the lair, an equal number of orc rangers came spilling down the corridor, the first one hitting the <em>spike stones</em> and coming to an abrupt and painful stop, holding up the progress of those behind him.</p><p></p><p>Xandro pulled out his <em>Dardolian Lute</em> and strummed his special tune with his <em>dire elk pick</em>, summoning forth a megaloceros over by the pinned vulture. The great-antlered beast stomped down at the thrashing vulture, but its hoof missed by a fraction of an inch. But then the cooshee ripped the bird's throat out, ending that particular menace once and for all.</p><p></p><p>Zander observed the main entrance cave seemed to have a wider cavern right behind it, whereas the two side caverns had narrow tunnels providing single-file entry and exit only. As he was over towards the middle and he could see a bunch of orc fighters advancing into the main cavern, he cast an <em>Elobar's black tentacles</em> spell that covered the entire main entryway with writhing, ebon appendages that wrapped around the startled orcs and began constricting the life out of them. They screamed, first in rage and shock and soon in pain as they tried and failed to extricate themselves from the ever-tightening tentacles.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth cast a summoning spell and sent a celestial eagle flying to attack the original orc guard now standing in the middle of a field of sharp spikes, while she erratically flew in that direction on her butterfly wings. And Elyndria hadn't stopped her focused attacks on the orcs, although the closest target at the moment was Wakuren - but that didn't matter, as she sent a shaft piercing him in the back, right between the shoulder blades. She continued striding forward in her measured steps, pulling another arrow from her quiver and fitting it to her bow as she did so. But by then, Wakuren had put the pieces together in his mind and come up with a logical explanation for the half-orc's sudden determination to wipe out this nest of orcs: she was being possessed by some evil entity that wanted these orcs dead.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe had put the facts together in his mind as well, as he saw her shoot Wakuren in the back. "She's been possessed by the bow!" he reasoned aloud.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren did his best to ignore the pain and cast an <em>air walk</em> spell, running up into the air over the cacti and lowering himself back down to the ground, hoping the cacti would block him from Elyndria's view and stop her from shooting at him for a bit, in any case. "I think she's possessed, but not by the bow!" argued Wakuren. "I think it's a ghost, likely of a ranger with a hatred of these orcs, or maybe just all orcs in general!" Nimbus ran around the cacti to stick close to his master.</p><p></p><p>"I'm telling you, it's the bow!" argued Thurloe, before casting a <em>protection from evil</em> spell upon himself. "It makes sense!"</p><p></p><p>A sudden bolt of lightning came crashing down out of the sky, striking the celestial eagle and slaying it instantly. Alewyth saw her summoned companion die, its body returning to the Celestial Realms from which it had been brought, and realized there was a divine spellcaster in the area - perhaps this desert orc tribe had a shaman or druid? She didn't see anybody down the entry tunnel, but the way was currently blocked by a gaggle of orc rangers. The two furthest back turned and tried to get out via the central tunnel, but that was somehow blocked by a bunch of rubbery tentacles rising up from the stone floor, squeezing the life out of the orc fighters they had caught up in their powerful grasp. In fact, it looked like many of the fighters were already dead - and neither of the orc rangers wished to join them.</p><p></p><p>Xandro, seeing the other two entry points blocked, ran over towards the western entrance by Wakuren and Thurloe. Since his lute was already out, he started playing the song of inspirational courage, adding his strings to those of Robin, joining into the song in a seamless fashion. The dire elk went the other way, advancing over by Alewyth but stopping sport of the <em>spike stones</em>.</p><p></p><p>Zander cast a <em>magic missile</em> spell at an orc fighter trying to pull himself free of the tentacles. The orc collapsed, dead, his corpse still being gripped by a rubbery appendage or two. The elf sorcerer felt his cooshee amble up next to him, tail wagging at what a good boy he was for slaying the vulture.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth dropped down to the edge of the <em>stone spikes</em> and with her innate dwarven darkvision saw the orc rangers huddled there in the narrow tunnel. A quick <em>flame strike</em> spell took out three of them at once, and causing the others to retreat around a bend, out of view of the dwarven priestess of Aerik. Wakuren threw another <em>javelin of lightning</em> down the other tunnel, striking five orc barbarians all in a line, but these five were pumped up for battle and none of them fell from the onslaught. But Thurloe stood right behind him, ready to follow up with a <em>lightning bolt</em> spell of his own, if only the half-orc would get out of the way. Unnoticed by either hero, Elyndria was walking around the cactus field by this time, aiming another arrow the half-orc's way. Also unnoticed by either hero, the orc leader, a burly barbarian named <strong>Grunk</strong> with muscles bulging seemingly to their limits, lined up behind his barbarian troops, ready to dish out damage with his massive greataxe to anyone foolish enough to try to ambush their lair.</p><p></p><p>Robin moved toward the central cave opening, where the tentacles were now all holding slain orc fighters. Xandro pushed past Elyndria and stepped right behind Thurloe, swinging his lute onto his back and pulling out his short sword, <em>Deathwhisper</em>. The half-elf held her shot, not currently able to see Wakuren because he had advanced into the tunnel, where the first barbarian in line tried to cut him down with his greataxe, but the half-orc dodged to the side in time. Zander dismissed his <em>Elobar's black tentacles</em> spell, dropping the dead fighters to the ground and making way for him to then cast a <em>fireball</em> spell through the main entrance. It exploded in the back of the chamber, killing the two orc rangers who had tried exiting the lair from that direction and also singeing Gronk, even though Zander hadn't even been able to see him from his vantage point.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth suddenly found herself covered in spiders of all sizes, biting her through the gaps in her armor. She also saw the person responsible; an orc female with war paint covering her face, no doubt he divine spellcaster the priestess had surmised was about here somewhere. Fortunately, the numerous spider-bites did not much more than irritate the sturdy dwarf, and she brushed them off herself in disdain and then took to the skies, courtesy of an <em>air walk</em> spell of her own. The spiders rushed forth below her, but they couldn't reach her as she was 20 feet above the surface of the ground. However, at their sizes, they had no trouble swarming around the individual spikes rising up from the ground. The dire elk just grunted, not able to reach them and not willing to enter the spike field himself.</p><p></p><p>But in backing off to stay out of Alewyth's view, the druidess, <strong>B'Norka</strong>, exposed herself to the cooshee's view, and he dashed forward to attack her. When he leapt at her, he not only grabbed her arm between his teeth but used his inherent "spellfetching" ability to wrest the spell energy from one of her most powerful spells from her mind, absorbing it into himself for eventual transfer to his master.</p><p></p><p>Over at the western entrance, the multiple figures moved about, trying to get in an attack against the other, and Elyndria merely bided her time until Wakuren's exposed back was once more in view. Just that quickly, she released her arrow, to have it fly past the heads of Xandro and Thurloe to embed itself in the half-orc's meaty shoulder. Wakuren leaped far to the side, giving Thurloe the opening for which he'd been waiting: a <em>lightning bolt</em> spell went crashing through five orc barbarian bodies, killing them all. Wakuren staggered forward, throwing his last <em>javelin of lightning</em> into the three orc barbarians who stepped forward to fill in the ranks of their fallen brethren. Then Thurloe stepped forward, casting a <em>magic missile</em> from his wand at the first barbarian in line, and also doing his best to block Wakuren from the crazy half-elf who the spellsword was still convinced had been possessed by a magic longbow. At least he hoped she wouldn't shoot him to get to Wakuren; thus far she'd focused all of her shots on those with orcish blood running through their veins. The orc barbarian he shot tried counterattacking against Wakuren, but his greataxe swung and missed.</p><p></p><p>Now all of the heroes, from each of the three entrances to the desert orc lair, could hear the clomping of many feet coming from further back in the subterranean lair. These were all mere warriors, the weakest of the orcs, armed only with daggers, but in the tribe everyone pulled their own weight, even the brood-mothers and children. Gronk roared for the other barbarians to get out of his way so he could slay the interlopers, but he did so in his own guttural language, which none of the heroes understood.</p><p></p><p>B'Norka stepped fully into the central chamber and sent a bolt of lightning from her <em>call lightning</em> spell to come crashing down on Zander, still just outside the cave. Zander retaliated by casting another <em>summon swarm</em> spell, sending a cloud of bats deeper into the cave network to take out the approaching orc warriors. The cries coming from deep within the caverns told of their success in taking out the approaching orcs.</p><p></p><p>Xandro, unable to do much with his sword in these cramped quarters, switched back to his <em>Dardolian Lute</em> and used it to send a <em>sound burst</em> spell blasting at the lead orc barbarian. At the other end of the lair, Alewyth <em>air walked</em> over the spiders and spikes and cautiously entered the narrow tunnel, <em>Sjondra</em> in hand. Elyndria took another shot at Wakuren, who by this time was bleeding rather heavily and was going to need some healing soon if her was planning to remain standing upright. But for now he dealt with the problem at hand, shield bashing the orc in front of him and killing him after all of the other damage he'd been dealt. But then Thurloe pushed past the weary half-orc and brought <em>Spellslicer</em> down on the next orc barbarian in line, his sword automatically releasing the <em>vampiric touch</em> spell he'd loaded into it days earlier. The orc died, but the next in line stepped up and tried separating Thurloe's head from his body; fortunately, the spellsword was able to duck in time and the blow missed.</p><p></p><p>As the frantic orc warriors found out their daggers were all but useless against the bat swarm, B'Norka saw Alewyth's stealthy approach and pointed a finger at her, causing a bolt of lightning to come streaking in from the side entrance and blast her in the back. The spiders, by this time, had discovered the dire elk and went to attack him, but by the time they reached him he was gone, having reached the limit of his summoning, and he returned back to the wild lands from which he'd been brought forth for a limited time.</p><p></p><p>Another <em>sound burst</em> from Xandro's lute took out the remaining orc barbarian, and then Gronk finally got his wish of being able to take on the intruders himself. There was a scream from just behind but he gave it no notice; it had been B'Norka's final cry as Zander took her out with a <em>lightning bolt</em> spell. With the druidess dead, Alewyth took a moment to cast a <em>protection from evil</em> spell upon herself - better late than never!</p><p></p><p>Elyndria shot Wakuren again, but the half-orc finished the spell he was casting rather than try to defend himself. Gronk was dumbfounded when he tried to attack Wakuren and found his muscles refusing to reply, not from a simple <em>hold person</em> spell but because of the specific <em>bestow curse</em> spell Wakuren had cast. From now on, there would only be a 50-50 chance of Gronk being able to perform any particular action he might care to try.</p><p></p><p>As it happened, that didn't even seem to have been necessary, for Thurloe stepped up and, activating his <em>torc of the titans</em>, carved Gronk up with swing after swing of his bastard sword. The massive barbarian fell in a heap onto the cavern floor, and Thurloe, suspicious of the orc's bulging muscles, kept a sharp eye out at the back of the barbarian's neck. Sure enough, after a moment or two, a strange-looking slug-thing phased out of the back of Gronk's neck and started crawling Thurloe's way; the spellsword allowed it to get completely on the stone floor before cutting it into two with one swing of his blade.</p><p></p><p>The orc warriors below continued advancing to protect their lair, running into the bat swarm and one by one being taken out by the hungry flying rodents. Zander finally dismissed the swarm once there seemed to be no further orcs upon which they might feed, and they flapped away, each returning from wherever it was they had come from.</p><p></p><p>Xandro finally spun about in place and tried dealing with Elyndria. He called to her by name, but she barely seemed to notice - although he blocked access to Wakuren long enough for Thurloe to be able to pull the arrows from the half-orc's back so Wakuren could cast a much-needed <em>cure serious wounds</em> spell upon himself. "It's the bow!" Thurloe reiterated, sure of his theory. "Get the bow from her!"</p><p></p><p>But before Xandro could try to comply, Elyndria lowered the bow of her own accord and stared at Wakuren as he stepped forward, out of the cave tunnel and back into the light. The half-elf frowned in puzzlement upon seeing his face for the first time. "You...look strangely familiar," she said, the first words she'd uttered since the heroes had caught up with her. She looked down at the holy symbol of Cal he wore on his armor and on his shield, then back up to his face. She touched the side of his cheek as if feeling to make sure he was real, and then asked, "You weren't born in Port Duralia by any chance, were you?"</p><p></p><p>"I was," Wakuren, wondering where this was leading but eager to let the situation play out.</p><p></p><p>And play out it did. Elyndria dropped her bow from numbed fingers, and it disappeared before hitting the floor. The quiver likewise faded away from her back, as she broke into her story.</p><p></p><p>"My name is Gizelle," she said. "I was part of a group of rangers from Sandhill who dedicated themselves to fighting off the desert raiders who attacked the towns and villages in the area. We eventually decided to go on the offensive and try to take out the orcs from their home lairs and wipe them all out at once. Unfortunately, we were outnumbered, and the orcs overtook us. The men were put to death - they got off easy. I was the only woman surviving the battle, and I was taken alive." The heroes, who had all gathered around Elyndria to hear her tale, could see to look of fury in the teenage half-elf's eyes, as she told a story that was obviously not hers.</p><p></p><p>"I spent months as their captive slave, but eventually I managed to escape. But I soon found out I was pregnant. Not wanting to bear a half-orc bastard on my own, I made my way to Port Duralia, where I had a cousin willing to take me in. She convinced me to bring the baby to term, and rather than kill it, she took it from me and left it at the Temple of Cal to be raised. Her husband had no more desire to raise a half-breed mongrel than I did." Wakuren's face may as well have been carved from stone, as the implications of her tale sank in.</p><p></p><p>"I was weak from giving birth," Elyndria - or more properly, Gizelle - continued. "It took many months of recuperation before I was my old self again. So I determined to finish what I had started: I gathered up a new band of rangers and we started taking out orc raiders in their lairs. But when we got to this one, we found they had replenished their numbers by merging with another tribe, and we were once again overtaken. The male rangers were killed, the women used as slave-chattel...and this time, there was no escape for me. I died there, but so great was my rage, I rose as a ghost.</p><p></p><p>"As a ghost, I was able to take over the bodies of others and continue my fight. And if they killed me and my host body? I just remanifested days later, and found a new one. I continued my quest for vengeance, and I certainly brought fear into the hearts of these savages: they began to fear the 'Lady of the Wastes' who kept attacking them, week after week after week." A wicked smile crossed her face at the thought of the death she had brought to the tribe that had so wronged her in life.</p><p></p><p>"But you can't keep doing that," argued Alewyth. "You're getting young girls killed in your bloody quest for vengeance!" Gizelle waved Elyndria's hand at the dwarven priestess in a "it doesn't matter" gesture.</p><p></p><p>"I'm done," Gizelle answered. "See how my bow and arrows have disappeared? My quest is over - the tribe that wronged me has been slain, down to the last wretched orc. I'll leave this body, and I won't need to come back." She looked over at Wakuren. "You're really a cleric?" she asked. "You're not just some raider wearing armor stolen from one of your victims?"</p><p></p><p>"I am a cleric of Cal and a paladin of the same order," Wakuren replied gently. "But...Mother--"</p><p></p><p>"Don't call me that!" Gizelle snapped at him. "I was never a mother to you, never in your life - I don't deserve the title. But I'm glad to see at least one orc bastard has managed to make something of himself besides a savage, bloodthirsty raider. You stay on the good path, kid."</p><p></p><p>Wakuren swallowed. "My name--" he began, but was again cut off.</p><p></p><p>"Doesn't matter," Gizelle said. "I'm done." And with that, her eyes rolled up under her eyelids and she fell forward. Wakuren caught her before she could fall all the way to the floor, holding her up by her shoulders. Her eyelids fluttered, she opened them and saw Wakuren's face staring worriedly at her, and she screamed for all she was worth. "AAAAAAH! Mom! Dad! Help!" She struggled to free herself and Wakuren let her go, watching sadly as she plopped butt-first onto the stone floor of the exit tunnel. He turned his back and allowed the others - particularly Xandro, who was so good with people - explain to the half-elf girl that she was all right, Wakuren was a <em>nice </em>orc, and that her parents had sent them to see that she was safely brought home. Elyndria was confused, not having any memories between going to bed in her own room the night before and waking up just now with a half-orc man-handling her out in the desert.</p><p></p><p>"We'd uh, best check out the rest of the lair, just to be safe," suggested Zander. The orcs within were indeed all dead, but there was a pool of clear water in one of the lower chambers, filled with several creatures that the elf at first took to be little fish, until he saw the powerslug queen at the back of the cavern. He took her out with a barrage of <em>magic missiles</em>, then used the same spell to take out each of the immature powerslugs swimming in the pool, waiting to grow large enough to merge with an orc host.</p><p></p><p>They also found a smattering of treasure, stuff no doubt raided from nearby towns and villages, including a few rings and bracelets on B'Norka's body that had likely been originally worn by Gizelle's previous hosts. But the worst find - which they thankfully were able to shield from the puzzled half-elf teenager - was the drying rack topside behind the slight rise of the lair, where human jerky was all that remained of Gizelle's former hosts once they'd been overpowered by the tribe of raiders.</p><p></p><p>"Ugh," groaned Alewyth. "We can't possibly return that to the poor families."</p><p></p><p>"No," agreed Wakuren. "We'll burn them here on a pyre. That way we can tell them we...took care of their remains."</p><p></p><p>It was a sad and slow trek back to the village of Sandhill, although the heroes took the orcs' horses with them, so they all got to ride. (Wakuren allowed Elyndria to ride on Nimbus, while he kept to the back on an orc raider's horse, out of view of the skittish teenager.) The Huckins were overjoyed at the safe return of their daughter; the other families, less so upon hearing their daughters were dead and buried out in the desert sands. But Xandro insisted upon telling them about Gizelle, although by silent agreement they decided not to mention Wakuren was her son; she had been a part of their small village, whereas he was not and had never been.</p><p></p><p>"Let's go," said Wakuren, eager to leave Sandhill behind.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>We had the players level their PCs up to 12th level at the completion of this adventure, and in 3.5 level 12 is the sweet spot where you get a new feat and an ability score increase.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>T-shirt worn: I have a "Hanes-Moore Family Reunion" T-shirt (from my wife's side of the family) which bears a silhouette of a large tree. Given that this adventure is where we learned a bit more about Wakuren's family tree, it seemed appropriate.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 9091423, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 55: LADY OF THE WASTES[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 11[/INDENT] [INDENT] Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 5[/INDENT] [INDENT] Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 5/paladin 6[/INDENT] [INDENT] Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 6/rogue 5[/INDENT] [INDENT] Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 11[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Robin the Balladeer, human bard 3[/INDENT] [INDENT] Scarlie Besker, half-orc commoner 5[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 29 July 2023 - - - "So this is Sandhill, huh?" asked Thurloe as the group rode into the small desert town. "Not much to it - shouldn't take us long to find our dreamer." The dreamer, they knew - from peeking ahead at the dream in question, even though they weren't able to interact with it until they made contact with the dreamer's physical form - was a teenage girl. In her dream, she was hiding in an alley while a burly orc raider looked for her. "That's assuming anybody wants to talk to us," grunted Scarlie from the front of the wagon. "I dunno if you've noticed it or not, but we're gathering a lot of surly glances." Wakuren for one had noticed that the townspeople in Sandhill didn't seem all that friendly. Then, with a shock, he realized the frowning glares all seemed to be aimed in Scarlie's direction; the half-orc cleric/paladin of Cal had forgotten his magical robe was currently set to project an image of himself as if he were a full-blooded human, as he'd been getting tired of having everyone assume he was some sort of subhuman beast because he had orcish blood running through his veins. But as Sandhill sat at the edges of the Centralia Desert, home of numerous tribes of rampaging orcs, it made sense the inhabitants would be wary of those with orcish blood wandering their streets; Wakuren sighed and wished he had a second such cloak for Scarlie, the better for the half-orc to blend in. Eventually, by sending Xandro inside the first tavern they saw and letting him use his natural charm on the patrons, while Scarlie and the others stayed outside by the wagon (Scarlie having pulled the hood up over his head as far as it would go, hoping to hide his orcish features in the shadows), they found what they sought in the small village. "Her name's [B]Velma Carter[/B]," Xandro announced upon returning to the wagon. "Her parents are [B]Marva and Steffin Carter[/B], and she's been asleep for about two weeks now." He gave Scarlie directions on how to get to the Carter home, and the team was off. Once at the Carter residence - a small house, as were most of the homes in the village - Wakuren gave Scarlie his magic cloak. After all, the cleric/Paladin wore armor bearing the holy symbol of Cal; he'd have a much better time being accepted by the villagers than would their half-orc wagon driver. Plus, the five of them were needed to perform the ritual, and they liked to have Robin on hand to make sure nobody messed with them while they were asleep and performing the dream-waking procedure, but by the same time it was never a good idea to leave their animals unattended. Scarlie took the cloak and his features blurred at once for a moment before taking on the aspect of Wakuren - if he'd had no orc blood in him at all. Wakuren was taken aback at the change, as he'd never had the opportunity to see for himself what he would have looked like as a pure-blooded human. It was strange, seeing yourself through such a distorted lens: gone were Wakuren's tusks, as well as his darker complexion which was closer to gray than any normal human skin tone. Alewyth knocked upon the door and made the explanations as to why they were there. She also swore upon her standing as a priestess of Aerik that Wakuren had a good nature and was perfectly trustworthy. Marva and Steffin looked at each other, shrugged, and let the six heroes inside their small home. If these strangers could awaken their daughter, they were willing to give a half-orc bastard the benefit of the doubt. Thurloe took charge upon entering the building, having the unconscious Velma brought out into the living area where there was more room to work with than in her cramped bedroom. Wakuren and Zander started pushing the furniture against the walls to ensure they had enough room, Alewyth passed out the dreamstone headbands and affixed one to the sleeping teenager, Zander activated his [I]jade cooshee[/I] and set him on guard duty with Robin, Robin started playing a quiet lullaby on her lute to help the dreamwalkers fall to sleep, and before long the five were meeting up in the Dreamlands, being escorted by their moogle guides to the Corridor of Dreams, where Mogo hovered in waiting, his little bat wings flapping madly. "This one ought to be pretty easy for you, kupo!" Mogo said as he opened the door to Velma's dream. Stepping inside, they found it the same as when they'd had their "sneak peek preview" the other day: they stood in the entrance to a dead-end, L-shaped alleyway, there was a burly orc raider standing just ahead with his back turned to them, and he was intently listening for the sounds of Velma's labored breathing as she tried to remain as quiet as she could, hiding behind an abandoned crate just around the corner of the "L." Alewyth cast a [I]hold person[/I] spell on the orc and was pleased to see it take effect immediately. Without wasting a moment, Zander cast a [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell that went coursing right smack into the orc barbarian, and then Xandro raced forward and sent his sword [I]Deathwhisper[/I] into the orc's kidney. "You wanna cast a [I]shield[/I] spell on yourself before meeting this fiend in battle?" Wakuren taunted Thurloe, knowing the spellsword's predilection for seeing to his own safety before committing to battle. Thurloe gave the half-orc a withering look, sneered "No," and stepped up, swinging his bastard sword to cleave the orc's head off in one powerful blow. And just that quickly, the dream was over, Velma no longer being menaced by an orc raider looking for a frightened human female to satisfy his lusts. The alleyway started melting all around them, indicating Velma was waking up from her dream. "Velma - you're awake!" cried her mother as the teenager started to stir. But then the daughter caught sight of Wakuren and gave a scream of terror, cowering behind her mother. Both Marva and Steffin had to assure their daughter that everything was alright, that she was safe, and that Wakuren was not an orcish raider looking for a female victim. "He helped wake you up - you've been sleeping for two weeks!" Marva said. That was enough of a shock to distract Velma, who honestly had had no idea of the passage of time while she was stuck in her dreams. Wakuren explained about the dream comas, the Nightmare King, and how the dreamwalkers were traveling across the continent to wake up those who, like Velma, had become trapped inside their own dreamscapes. "So," said Steffin once his daughter had been settled, "you guys are really adventurers, then? Did you come all this way to wake up our Velma, or are you here about the disappearances?" Naturally, that required explanation. Steffin told the heroes there had been a rash of disappearances over the past month, wherein a total of four young women, each between 17 and 25 years of age, had gone missing. It was already late in the afternoon, so the heroes jointly agreed to check out the disappearances while they were in town, rather than start heading to the next dream victim when they'd just be making camp in a few hours down the road in any case. Steffin had given them a list of names and addresses, so one by one they went to go talk to the parents of the missing girls. In each case, the girl went to bed the night before her disappearance and then was never seen again, with her bed slept in and nothing missing from her room but a single set of clothes. There had been no ransom demands from any kidnappers, nor any prior indication that the girl had any intention of just getting up and leaving the way she did. The first missing girl, [B]Sharlene Calimper[/B], had been practicing archery in the hope of joining the village militia, so she could help fight off orc raiders when they showed up. The second, [B]Pearlie Baker[/B], had a drunkard for a father (who was passed out and unable to talk to the heroes, but his neighbors were more than willing to fill them in), who apparently tried getting a little too "friendly" with his daughter when he drank; popular consensus was that she had run away just to avoid him. The third missing girl was [B]Pam Cornswallow[/B], a local tomboy able to outrun and outfight most young men her age. And the latest had been [B]Jemmalee Gherkin[/B], whose parents - if the local gossip was to be believed - weren't as poor as they claimed to be, despite the fact they'd ponied up the least amount of reward money for any information about the missing girls. Together, the reward was at 50 pieces of gold, a significant sum for a small desert village of mostly commoners. But there was an old, grizzled man who offered up a ray of hope. "You know, these girls, they ain't the first to go missing like this. Hell, there was this one girl, [B]Gizelle[/B] I think her name was, she just up and vanished from town one day some, lemme see, musta been some two dozen years back or thereabouts. Yep, that seems about right. But she came back less than a year later, no word of where she'd been. 'Course, she went and took off again shortly thereafter, but who knows? Maybe, if we're lucky, some of these missing girls will show up again." Word had passed quickly throughout the town about how the five strangers had awakened Velma from her dreams, so the town insisted on allowing them to stay overnight, for free, at their one and only inn, the [I]Desert Eagle[/I]. The manager balked a bit upon seeing Wakuren, but the others promised he would cause no trouble and they insisted they only needed but a single room for the seven of them. Of course, the innkeeper didn't realize only Scarlie would be taking advantage of the room's bed; the others slept, as usual, inside the extradimensional confines of [I]Hesperna's lamp[/I]. But as it turned out, it was a good thing the heroes had stayed in the village overnight, for the next morning the news was being spread far and wide: there had been another disappearance, this time a half-elven girl named [B]Elyndria Huckins[/B]. And this time there was actually a witness: a drunken dwarf named [B]Borrin Turnbuckle[/B], who claimed to have seen the girl walk straight out into the desert, shortly before the sun had even come up. The heroes wasted no time in interviewing Borrin. It turned out he was a failed miner, kicked out of his dwarven clan as a result of a gambling problem, and now worked at odd jobs as a general handyman in the village - earning enough money to keep him supplied with the booze that was his only hobby and true love. But he swore up and down he wasn't drunk when he saw Elyndria take off into the desert, walking at a brisk pace but not at all in a furtive fashion - rather nonchalantly, as a matter of fact. "Did she say anything?" Alewyth asked. "I dinnae think she even saw me!" muttered Borrin. "Her eyes were all glassy, like she'd had a bit too much t' drink or sumpin'." A quick discussion with the half-elf's parents, [B]Zeke[/B] and [B]Caladrianna Huckins[/B], revealed that their daughter did not and never had consumed alcohol. Like the other missing girls, she'd slept in her own bed the night before and all that was missing from her room was one set of clothes. Zeke, wringing his hands, offered to match the 50 gold piece reward if the heroes could bring their daughter back alive to them. "We'll see what we can do," Wakuren promised them. They then went back to have Borrin show them exactly where Elyndria had entered the desert; with an embarrassed look, the dwarf agreed to show them "for the price of a drink, an' a blessin' from th' Little Sister." By this latter he meant Alewyth, who was more than happy to pray to Aerik on Borrin's behalf, and she even fronted him the price of a drink from her own purse. "But you think long and hard on if ye want to spend this money on a drink," she advised, "or if you want to let it be the beginning of a fund that will see you back in your dwarven homelands, restoring your family honor. Aerik's blessing be upon you, but let Him protect ye from yer own weaknesses." Shame-faced, Borrin took them to the place where Elyndria's footprints could still be seen in the sand - tracking her would not be the least bit difficult, as long as the lack of wind continued. "Thank ye," Borrin said. "I'll think long an' hard on yer words, like ye said," he told Alewyth. Then he wished them the best of luck - and headed for the nearest tavern, where a thirsty dwarf could get an ale, even this early in the morning, so long as he had the coin to pay for it. "I hate to mention this," pointed out Scarlie, "but the wagon's not going to make very good time over this loose sand." Talking it over, the group decided to leave Scarlie behind with the animals and follow Elyndria's path on foot. "After all," Xandro pointed out, "we're hearty adventurers and she's just a kid. And she's only got a few hours' head start on us - we should be able to catch up to her in no time." Wakuren gave Scarlie his magical cloak for good measure, knowing if they were going to leave their half-orc wagon driver behind it might be best if he could pass himself off as a human. Wakuren cast an [I]endure elements[/I] spell before they began; Thurloe ditched his metal armor, figuring he could make do with a [I]mage armor[/I] spell to protect himself nearly as well. Zander followed suit with a [I]mage armor[/I] spell of his own, confident that the spell would last for hours - hopefully long after they'd overtaken Elyndria and taken her home to her worried parents. He also activated his [I]jade cooshee[/I], figuring its tracking skills might come in handy if they somehow lost the trail. And then they started trudging their way into the desert, following the girl's tracks. Wakuren was the first to decide there was a better way ahead than continuing on foot and he summoned his air element heavy warhorse, Nimbus, climbing up onto the beast's broad back. Every once in a while, he'd have the cloud-horse take to the air to see if they could spot Elyndria, but it was two hours into their trek before they finally found her. Rising up over a small dune, they saw what could only be the missing half-elf, standing before a small rise in the desert sands ahead, around which there were scattered clumps of saguaro cacti. She casually reached over a shoulder and pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back, placing it into her longbow and then aiming it at one of the cactus clumps. Only Wakuren realized she was actually aiming at an orc guard hiding among the cacti. From his higher perch, he could see another orc guard behind a cactus clump off to the right, near which stood a long, canvas tent with no side walls - basically a roof held in place by long poles - which provided shade for a half-dozen horses. He also spotted another orc guard in the clump of cacti off to the left; Elyndria - assuming that was indeed her, although the tracks they'd been following led directly to her - was aiming for the orc guard in the middle clump of desert growth. "Borrin didn't say anything about Elyndria being armed," Alewyth pointed out. "Probably too drunk to notice," scoffed Thurloe, before calling out, "Hey, Elyndria! Time to head back home - your folks are worried!" Elyndria didn't even look back at the spellsword, oblivious to all but the target before her. She drew back her right arm and released the arrow, which flew across the distance to plant itself in the orc's shoulder just as he threw a javelin her way. "Looks like it's on," commented Xandro, stepping up to Thurloe and casting a [I]heroism[/I] spell on the spellsword. Zander followed almost immediately with a [I]haste[/I] spell cast upon the entire group - but not on Elyndria, who was too far away for the spell to reach her. Alewyth activated her [I]butterfly brooch[/I] and took to the skies, fluttering erratically but gaining enough altitude that the three orc guards were visible - as were the cave openings leading down into the ground near each clump of cacti; this was apparently a desert orc raider lair the foolish half-elf was starting a fight with. But having hit her first target, Elyndria casually started walking forward, placing another arrow into her bow as she did so and once again taking careful aim. Wakuren urged Nimbus forward towards the rightmost orc guard, casting a [I]shield of faith[/I] spell upon himself as he did so. Behind him, he could hear Robin beginning her song of inspirational courage for the benefit of the heroes. Thurloe raced forward, continuing to call Elyndria's name while she continued to ignore him. But a streak of motion caught his eye and, looking up at the skies to his left, he saw an enormous desert vulture starting a dive towards the oblivious half-elf archer. He interposed himself between the vulture and its intended target, raising [I]Spellslicer[/I] in a defensive posture. The vulture didn't bother altering its trajectory, talons out to claw at Thurloe, while Elyndria shot at the central orc guard again. All three orc guards threw their javelins as one, each one targeting Elyndria; of the three, only one hit its target. But the half-elf hardly seemed to notice, casually plucking the offending weapon from the side of her torso where it had hit, hopefully snagging on her clothes instead of penetrating too far into her flesh. She let it drop to the desert sand, nocking another arrow into place. Xandro ran up beside Thurloe and stabbed at the swooping vulture as it got into range. From that distance, he could hear Orcish yelling, as the wounded guard called back into the cave dwelling. The sounds of booted feet running on a stone surface from inside the subterranean cave entrance told him reinforcements would be arriving soon, and that the first wave would be coming from the central entrance, just ahead and behind the camouflaging cacti. Zander cast a [I]summon swarm[/I] spell, sending a flock of bats rushing the central orc, who was already pretty wounded from Elyndria's remarkable shooting skills. The flying mammals bit at him with their tiny but sharp teeth, covering his exposed flesh with dozens of bleeding wounds in the span of a heartbeat. Beside the elven sorcerer, the cooshee raced ahead, leaping into the fray with the vulture. He caught a flapping wing in his jaws and wrestled the bird to the ground, holding it in place with a paw on its avian chest. It tried pulling itself free with no success. Alewyth flew over to the left entrance, casting a [I]spike stones[/I] spell all around the orc guard stationed there, the spell's effects advancing a bit into the stone floor of the tunnel just beyond the cave opening he guarded. And Elyndria shifted targets over to the guard at the far right, as the central guard was covered in a swarm of bats that made targeting him somewhat difficult. Her arrow splattered through a cactus before embedding itself into the orc guard hiding behind it. Wakuren had Nimbus land near to the right-most entry cave and he leapt off onto the desert sands, determining with his special paladin senses that the orcs were, as expected, all of an evil nature. However, he was also getting a "ping" of evil from the general direction of Elyndria, and he was fairly certain after talking to her parents that the girl was not normally of such an evil bent. But as a few of the fighters had advanced out of the central cave and were in more or less a straight line with the bat-plagued orc guard, Wakuren took the opportunity to throw a [I]javelin of lightning[/I] - summoned from his [I]gauntlet of Cal[/I] - through the lot of them. Just that quickly, all four of his orc targets were dead and the bats brought down to few enough in number that the remaining ones flew off. Robin continued her song of inspirational courage, walking slowly forward as her friends were starting to bring the fight to the orcs in their three lair openings. Thurloe headed over to the west entrance by Wakuren, casting a [I]shield[/I] spell upon himself from his wand as he did so. He could see shadowy figures coming down a tunnel just ahead, half a dozen orcs or more, it seemed. On the other side of the lair, an equal number of orc rangers came spilling down the corridor, the first one hitting the [I]spike stones[/I] and coming to an abrupt and painful stop, holding up the progress of those behind him. Xandro pulled out his [I]Dardolian Lute[/I] and strummed his special tune with his [I]dire elk pick[/I], summoning forth a megaloceros over by the pinned vulture. The great-antlered beast stomped down at the thrashing vulture, but its hoof missed by a fraction of an inch. But then the cooshee ripped the bird's throat out, ending that particular menace once and for all. Zander observed the main entrance cave seemed to have a wider cavern right behind it, whereas the two side caverns had narrow tunnels providing single-file entry and exit only. As he was over towards the middle and he could see a bunch of orc fighters advancing into the main cavern, he cast an [I]Elobar's black tentacles[/I] spell that covered the entire main entryway with writhing, ebon appendages that wrapped around the startled orcs and began constricting the life out of them. They screamed, first in rage and shock and soon in pain as they tried and failed to extricate themselves from the ever-tightening tentacles. Alewyth cast a summoning spell and sent a celestial eagle flying to attack the original orc guard now standing in the middle of a field of sharp spikes, while she erratically flew in that direction on her butterfly wings. And Elyndria hadn't stopped her focused attacks on the orcs, although the closest target at the moment was Wakuren - but that didn't matter, as she sent a shaft piercing him in the back, right between the shoulder blades. She continued striding forward in her measured steps, pulling another arrow from her quiver and fitting it to her bow as she did so. But by then, Wakuren had put the pieces together in his mind and come up with a logical explanation for the half-orc's sudden determination to wipe out this nest of orcs: she was being possessed by some evil entity that wanted these orcs dead. Thurloe had put the facts together in his mind as well, as he saw her shoot Wakuren in the back. "She's been possessed by the bow!" he reasoned aloud. Wakuren did his best to ignore the pain and cast an [I]air walk[/I] spell, running up into the air over the cacti and lowering himself back down to the ground, hoping the cacti would block him from Elyndria's view and stop her from shooting at him for a bit, in any case. "I think she's possessed, but not by the bow!" argued Wakuren. "I think it's a ghost, likely of a ranger with a hatred of these orcs, or maybe just all orcs in general!" Nimbus ran around the cacti to stick close to his master. "I'm telling you, it's the bow!" argued Thurloe, before casting a [I]protection from evil[/I] spell upon himself. "It makes sense!" A sudden bolt of lightning came crashing down out of the sky, striking the celestial eagle and slaying it instantly. Alewyth saw her summoned companion die, its body returning to the Celestial Realms from which it had been brought, and realized there was a divine spellcaster in the area - perhaps this desert orc tribe had a shaman or druid? She didn't see anybody down the entry tunnel, but the way was currently blocked by a gaggle of orc rangers. The two furthest back turned and tried to get out via the central tunnel, but that was somehow blocked by a bunch of rubbery tentacles rising up from the stone floor, squeezing the life out of the orc fighters they had caught up in their powerful grasp. In fact, it looked like many of the fighters were already dead - and neither of the orc rangers wished to join them. Xandro, seeing the other two entry points blocked, ran over towards the western entrance by Wakuren and Thurloe. Since his lute was already out, he started playing the song of inspirational courage, adding his strings to those of Robin, joining into the song in a seamless fashion. The dire elk went the other way, advancing over by Alewyth but stopping sport of the [I]spike stones[/I]. Zander cast a [I]magic missile[/I] spell at an orc fighter trying to pull himself free of the tentacles. The orc collapsed, dead, his corpse still being gripped by a rubbery appendage or two. The elf sorcerer felt his cooshee amble up next to him, tail wagging at what a good boy he was for slaying the vulture. Alewyth dropped down to the edge of the [I]stone spikes[/I] and with her innate dwarven darkvision saw the orc rangers huddled there in the narrow tunnel. A quick [I]flame strike[/I] spell took out three of them at once, and causing the others to retreat around a bend, out of view of the dwarven priestess of Aerik. Wakuren threw another [I]javelin of lightning[/I] down the other tunnel, striking five orc barbarians all in a line, but these five were pumped up for battle and none of them fell from the onslaught. But Thurloe stood right behind him, ready to follow up with a [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell of his own, if only the half-orc would get out of the way. Unnoticed by either hero, Elyndria was walking around the cactus field by this time, aiming another arrow the half-orc's way. Also unnoticed by either hero, the orc leader, a burly barbarian named [B]Grunk[/B] with muscles bulging seemingly to their limits, lined up behind his barbarian troops, ready to dish out damage with his massive greataxe to anyone foolish enough to try to ambush their lair. Robin moved toward the central cave opening, where the tentacles were now all holding slain orc fighters. Xandro pushed past Elyndria and stepped right behind Thurloe, swinging his lute onto his back and pulling out his short sword, [I]Deathwhisper[/I]. The half-elf held her shot, not currently able to see Wakuren because he had advanced into the tunnel, where the first barbarian in line tried to cut him down with his greataxe, but the half-orc dodged to the side in time. Zander dismissed his [I]Elobar's black tentacles[/I] spell, dropping the dead fighters to the ground and making way for him to then cast a [I]fireball[/I] spell through the main entrance. It exploded in the back of the chamber, killing the two orc rangers who had tried exiting the lair from that direction and also singeing Gronk, even though Zander hadn't even been able to see him from his vantage point. Alewyth suddenly found herself covered in spiders of all sizes, biting her through the gaps in her armor. She also saw the person responsible; an orc female with war paint covering her face, no doubt he divine spellcaster the priestess had surmised was about here somewhere. Fortunately, the numerous spider-bites did not much more than irritate the sturdy dwarf, and she brushed them off herself in disdain and then took to the skies, courtesy of an [I]air walk[/I] spell of her own. The spiders rushed forth below her, but they couldn't reach her as she was 20 feet above the surface of the ground. However, at their sizes, they had no trouble swarming around the individual spikes rising up from the ground. The dire elk just grunted, not able to reach them and not willing to enter the spike field himself. But in backing off to stay out of Alewyth's view, the druidess, [B]B'Norka[/B], exposed herself to the cooshee's view, and he dashed forward to attack her. When he leapt at her, he not only grabbed her arm between his teeth but used his inherent "spellfetching" ability to wrest the spell energy from one of her most powerful spells from her mind, absorbing it into himself for eventual transfer to his master. Over at the western entrance, the multiple figures moved about, trying to get in an attack against the other, and Elyndria merely bided her time until Wakuren's exposed back was once more in view. Just that quickly, she released her arrow, to have it fly past the heads of Xandro and Thurloe to embed itself in the half-orc's meaty shoulder. Wakuren leaped far to the side, giving Thurloe the opening for which he'd been waiting: a [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell went crashing through five orc barbarian bodies, killing them all. Wakuren staggered forward, throwing his last [I]javelin of lightning[/I] into the three orc barbarians who stepped forward to fill in the ranks of their fallen brethren. Then Thurloe stepped forward, casting a [I]magic missile[/I] from his wand at the first barbarian in line, and also doing his best to block Wakuren from the crazy half-elf who the spellsword was still convinced had been possessed by a magic longbow. At least he hoped she wouldn't shoot him to get to Wakuren; thus far she'd focused all of her shots on those with orcish blood running through their veins. The orc barbarian he shot tried counterattacking against Wakuren, but his greataxe swung and missed. Now all of the heroes, from each of the three entrances to the desert orc lair, could hear the clomping of many feet coming from further back in the subterranean lair. These were all mere warriors, the weakest of the orcs, armed only with daggers, but in the tribe everyone pulled their own weight, even the brood-mothers and children. Gronk roared for the other barbarians to get out of his way so he could slay the interlopers, but he did so in his own guttural language, which none of the heroes understood. B'Norka stepped fully into the central chamber and sent a bolt of lightning from her [I]call lightning[/I] spell to come crashing down on Zander, still just outside the cave. Zander retaliated by casting another [I]summon swarm[/I] spell, sending a cloud of bats deeper into the cave network to take out the approaching orc warriors. The cries coming from deep within the caverns told of their success in taking out the approaching orcs. Xandro, unable to do much with his sword in these cramped quarters, switched back to his [I]Dardolian Lute[/I] and used it to send a [I]sound burst[/I] spell blasting at the lead orc barbarian. At the other end of the lair, Alewyth [I]air walked[/I] over the spiders and spikes and cautiously entered the narrow tunnel, [I]Sjondra[/I] in hand. Elyndria took another shot at Wakuren, who by this time was bleeding rather heavily and was going to need some healing soon if her was planning to remain standing upright. But for now he dealt with the problem at hand, shield bashing the orc in front of him and killing him after all of the other damage he'd been dealt. But then Thurloe pushed past the weary half-orc and brought [I]Spellslicer[/I] down on the next orc barbarian in line, his sword automatically releasing the [I]vampiric touch[/I] spell he'd loaded into it days earlier. The orc died, but the next in line stepped up and tried separating Thurloe's head from his body; fortunately, the spellsword was able to duck in time and the blow missed. As the frantic orc warriors found out their daggers were all but useless against the bat swarm, B'Norka saw Alewyth's stealthy approach and pointed a finger at her, causing a bolt of lightning to come streaking in from the side entrance and blast her in the back. The spiders, by this time, had discovered the dire elk and went to attack him, but by the time they reached him he was gone, having reached the limit of his summoning, and he returned back to the wild lands from which he'd been brought forth for a limited time. Another [I]sound burst[/I] from Xandro's lute took out the remaining orc barbarian, and then Gronk finally got his wish of being able to take on the intruders himself. There was a scream from just behind but he gave it no notice; it had been B'Norka's final cry as Zander took her out with a [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell. With the druidess dead, Alewyth took a moment to cast a [I]protection from evil[/I] spell upon herself - better late than never! Elyndria shot Wakuren again, but the half-orc finished the spell he was casting rather than try to defend himself. Gronk was dumbfounded when he tried to attack Wakuren and found his muscles refusing to reply, not from a simple [I]hold person[/I] spell but because of the specific [I]bestow curse[/I] spell Wakuren had cast. From now on, there would only be a 50-50 chance of Gronk being able to perform any particular action he might care to try. As it happened, that didn't even seem to have been necessary, for Thurloe stepped up and, activating his [I]torc of the titans[/I], carved Gronk up with swing after swing of his bastard sword. The massive barbarian fell in a heap onto the cavern floor, and Thurloe, suspicious of the orc's bulging muscles, kept a sharp eye out at the back of the barbarian's neck. Sure enough, after a moment or two, a strange-looking slug-thing phased out of the back of Gronk's neck and started crawling Thurloe's way; the spellsword allowed it to get completely on the stone floor before cutting it into two with one swing of his blade. The orc warriors below continued advancing to protect their lair, running into the bat swarm and one by one being taken out by the hungry flying rodents. Zander finally dismissed the swarm once there seemed to be no further orcs upon which they might feed, and they flapped away, each returning from wherever it was they had come from. Xandro finally spun about in place and tried dealing with Elyndria. He called to her by name, but she barely seemed to notice - although he blocked access to Wakuren long enough for Thurloe to be able to pull the arrows from the half-orc's back so Wakuren could cast a much-needed [I]cure serious wounds[/I] spell upon himself. "It's the bow!" Thurloe reiterated, sure of his theory. "Get the bow from her!" But before Xandro could try to comply, Elyndria lowered the bow of her own accord and stared at Wakuren as he stepped forward, out of the cave tunnel and back into the light. The half-elf frowned in puzzlement upon seeing his face for the first time. "You...look strangely familiar," she said, the first words she'd uttered since the heroes had caught up with her. She looked down at the holy symbol of Cal he wore on his armor and on his shield, then back up to his face. She touched the side of his cheek as if feeling to make sure he was real, and then asked, "You weren't born in Port Duralia by any chance, were you?" "I was," Wakuren, wondering where this was leading but eager to let the situation play out. And play out it did. Elyndria dropped her bow from numbed fingers, and it disappeared before hitting the floor. The quiver likewise faded away from her back, as she broke into her story. "My name is Gizelle," she said. "I was part of a group of rangers from Sandhill who dedicated themselves to fighting off the desert raiders who attacked the towns and villages in the area. We eventually decided to go on the offensive and try to take out the orcs from their home lairs and wipe them all out at once. Unfortunately, we were outnumbered, and the orcs overtook us. The men were put to death - they got off easy. I was the only woman surviving the battle, and I was taken alive." The heroes, who had all gathered around Elyndria to hear her tale, could see to look of fury in the teenage half-elf's eyes, as she told a story that was obviously not hers. "I spent months as their captive slave, but eventually I managed to escape. But I soon found out I was pregnant. Not wanting to bear a half-orc bastard on my own, I made my way to Port Duralia, where I had a cousin willing to take me in. She convinced me to bring the baby to term, and rather than kill it, she took it from me and left it at the Temple of Cal to be raised. Her husband had no more desire to raise a half-breed mongrel than I did." Wakuren's face may as well have been carved from stone, as the implications of her tale sank in. "I was weak from giving birth," Elyndria - or more properly, Gizelle - continued. "It took many months of recuperation before I was my old self again. So I determined to finish what I had started: I gathered up a new band of rangers and we started taking out orc raiders in their lairs. But when we got to this one, we found they had replenished their numbers by merging with another tribe, and we were once again overtaken. The male rangers were killed, the women used as slave-chattel...and this time, there was no escape for me. I died there, but so great was my rage, I rose as a ghost. "As a ghost, I was able to take over the bodies of others and continue my fight. And if they killed me and my host body? I just remanifested days later, and found a new one. I continued my quest for vengeance, and I certainly brought fear into the hearts of these savages: they began to fear the 'Lady of the Wastes' who kept attacking them, week after week after week." A wicked smile crossed her face at the thought of the death she had brought to the tribe that had so wronged her in life. "But you can't keep doing that," argued Alewyth. "You're getting young girls killed in your bloody quest for vengeance!" Gizelle waved Elyndria's hand at the dwarven priestess in a "it doesn't matter" gesture. "I'm done," Gizelle answered. "See how my bow and arrows have disappeared? My quest is over - the tribe that wronged me has been slain, down to the last wretched orc. I'll leave this body, and I won't need to come back." She looked over at Wakuren. "You're really a cleric?" she asked. "You're not just some raider wearing armor stolen from one of your victims?" "I am a cleric of Cal and a paladin of the same order," Wakuren replied gently. "But...Mother--" "Don't call me that!" Gizelle snapped at him. "I was never a mother to you, never in your life - I don't deserve the title. But I'm glad to see at least one orc bastard has managed to make something of himself besides a savage, bloodthirsty raider. You stay on the good path, kid." Wakuren swallowed. "My name--" he began, but was again cut off. "Doesn't matter," Gizelle said. "I'm done." And with that, her eyes rolled up under her eyelids and she fell forward. Wakuren caught her before she could fall all the way to the floor, holding her up by her shoulders. Her eyelids fluttered, she opened them and saw Wakuren's face staring worriedly at her, and she screamed for all she was worth. "AAAAAAH! Mom! Dad! Help!" She struggled to free herself and Wakuren let her go, watching sadly as she plopped butt-first onto the stone floor of the exit tunnel. He turned his back and allowed the others - particularly Xandro, who was so good with people - explain to the half-elf girl that she was all right, Wakuren was a [I]nice [/I]orc, and that her parents had sent them to see that she was safely brought home. Elyndria was confused, not having any memories between going to bed in her own room the night before and waking up just now with a half-orc man-handling her out in the desert. "We'd uh, best check out the rest of the lair, just to be safe," suggested Zander. The orcs within were indeed all dead, but there was a pool of clear water in one of the lower chambers, filled with several creatures that the elf at first took to be little fish, until he saw the powerslug queen at the back of the cavern. He took her out with a barrage of [I]magic missiles[/I], then used the same spell to take out each of the immature powerslugs swimming in the pool, waiting to grow large enough to merge with an orc host. They also found a smattering of treasure, stuff no doubt raided from nearby towns and villages, including a few rings and bracelets on B'Norka's body that had likely been originally worn by Gizelle's previous hosts. But the worst find - which they thankfully were able to shield from the puzzled half-elf teenager - was the drying rack topside behind the slight rise of the lair, where human jerky was all that remained of Gizelle's former hosts once they'd been overpowered by the tribe of raiders. "Ugh," groaned Alewyth. "We can't possibly return that to the poor families." "No," agreed Wakuren. "We'll burn them here on a pyre. That way we can tell them we...took care of their remains." It was a sad and slow trek back to the village of Sandhill, although the heroes took the orcs' horses with them, so they all got to ride. (Wakuren allowed Elyndria to ride on Nimbus, while he kept to the back on an orc raider's horse, out of view of the skittish teenager.) The Huckins were overjoyed at the safe return of their daughter; the other families, less so upon hearing their daughters were dead and buried out in the desert sands. But Xandro insisted upon telling them about Gizelle, although by silent agreement they decided not to mention Wakuren was her son; she had been a part of their small village, whereas he was not and had never been. "Let's go," said Wakuren, eager to leave Sandhill behind. - - - We had the players level their PCs up to 12th level at the completion of this adventure, and in 3.5 level 12 is the sweet spot where you get a new feat and an ability score increase. - - - T-shirt worn: I have a "Hanes-Moore Family Reunion" T-shirt (from my wife's side of the family) which bears a silhouette of a large tree. Given that this adventure is where we learned a bit more about Wakuren's family tree, it seemed appropriate. [/QUOTE]
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