For More Than Glory
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Memnus
First Post
Sesion recap: 3-10 Festal
They gave the dwarves as close as they could to a formal burial; that is to say, Gadreman smashing the house in on top of them. They spent one more night in the ruined farmhouse, then decided against tracking the giants back and headed on their way. They passed more farmhouses, both ruined and intact, but didn't talk to any further dwarves for a few days until they stumbled onto the entrance to a dwarven refuge from the giants, covered with an illusion that Valdir never saw through. They didn't try to negotiate the trapped passage into the depths, but conversed with the dwarves in the foyer, exchanging information. These dwarves had been in contact with the Dumeldein Brotherhood of Alchemists, and knew that the Brotherhood was very much working to aid against the giants. The human armies were only not mobilizing because they suspected spies, and sudden movement might incite the giants. They also got intel on the best ways into Khundrun, and on how to avoid the giants' patrols, and a roof over their heads for the night.
With that intelligence, they had a calm four days' trip up to the road to the city. Dodging one patrol, they headed up, found the secret entrance hidden under a frozen stream, and headed underground yet again...
They gave the dwarves as close as they could to a formal burial; that is to say, Gadreman smashing the house in on top of them. They spent one more night in the ruined farmhouse, then decided against tracking the giants back and headed on their way. They passed more farmhouses, both ruined and intact, but didn't talk to any further dwarves for a few days until they stumbled onto the entrance to a dwarven refuge from the giants, covered with an illusion that Valdir never saw through. They didn't try to negotiate the trapped passage into the depths, but conversed with the dwarves in the foyer, exchanging information. These dwarves had been in contact with the Dumeldein Brotherhood of Alchemists, and knew that the Brotherhood was very much working to aid against the giants. The human armies were only not mobilizing because they suspected spies, and sudden movement might incite the giants. They also got intel on the best ways into Khundrun, and on how to avoid the giants' patrols, and a roof over their heads for the night.
With that intelligence, they had a calm four days' trip up to the road to the city. Dodging one patrol, they headed up, found the secret entrance hidden under a frozen stream, and headed underground yet again...
Memnus
First Post
Sessions recap: 10-16 Festal
The dwarven passage led to an underground frozen lake. It had overflowed the path in some points, and walking was treacherous. As Valdir scouted to the end of the lake, the others followed, but they were interrupted halfway up by a mysterious, haunting song. Valdir stood entranced while a great white worm burst up from the lake and sprayed the others in painful cold. That expended, however, the worm was no match in melee, but it did have one last nasty surprise. On its death, it filled the cavern with frozen shards, killing Savengriff and nearly killing Zerash, who was only saved by his healing potions breaking and leaking into his wounds.
Faced with a dead wizard, they checked their pockets for diamonds, but came up a few short. It was decided that someone should go back to the dwarves and see if there were any available to buy, and eventually stealth won over speed and Valdir went. He came back a few days later, diamonds acquired, and Savengriff was brought back on a bargain from Naeron: Send him a book from the dwarves, called the Lists of the Kings.
After Savengriff was healed and spells regained, they headed onward to Khundrun. As promised, the tunnel exited in a brewery, though this one had been picked clean and smashed like so many other buildings. The group hid there from wolf patrols, and dragons overhead, while Valdir scouted. He was located, though, by the guard of the local gnomish Refuge. The guard remained unseen while he established Valdir's trustworthyness, then invited him to bring the group there.
Once there, the Ward of the Refuge, an elderly Dreamwalker by name of Koli, filled them in on the situation in the city. There are hundreds of giants, who are not happy with the artificial cold. Most of the tunnels are blocked, but there are enough that the guard, Verrin, can guide them close to the castle. From there, there is a tunnel down to the throne room, which is likely blocked by ice.
XP: 1200 each player, for two combined sessions (Savengriff, take the xp after the level loss)
The dwarven passage led to an underground frozen lake. It had overflowed the path in some points, and walking was treacherous. As Valdir scouted to the end of the lake, the others followed, but they were interrupted halfway up by a mysterious, haunting song. Valdir stood entranced while a great white worm burst up from the lake and sprayed the others in painful cold. That expended, however, the worm was no match in melee, but it did have one last nasty surprise. On its death, it filled the cavern with frozen shards, killing Savengriff and nearly killing Zerash, who was only saved by his healing potions breaking and leaking into his wounds.
Faced with a dead wizard, they checked their pockets for diamonds, but came up a few short. It was decided that someone should go back to the dwarves and see if there were any available to buy, and eventually stealth won over speed and Valdir went. He came back a few days later, diamonds acquired, and Savengriff was brought back on a bargain from Naeron: Send him a book from the dwarves, called the Lists of the Kings.
After Savengriff was healed and spells regained, they headed onward to Khundrun. As promised, the tunnel exited in a brewery, though this one had been picked clean and smashed like so many other buildings. The group hid there from wolf patrols, and dragons overhead, while Valdir scouted. He was located, though, by the guard of the local gnomish Refuge. The guard remained unseen while he established Valdir's trustworthyness, then invited him to bring the group there.
Once there, the Ward of the Refuge, an elderly Dreamwalker by name of Koli, filled them in on the situation in the city. There are hundreds of giants, who are not happy with the artificial cold. Most of the tunnels are blocked, but there are enough that the guard, Verrin, can guide them close to the castle. From there, there is a tunnel down to the throne room, which is likely blocked by ice.
XP: 1200 each player, for two combined sessions (Savengriff, take the xp after the level loss)
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evandariel
First Post
"So." He says to Savengriff. "Prepare something to get through the cold. Fire, or just some destructive spell. Ice walls will not impede us greatly, but it may be necessary. Oh, and Zerash, if you have spells to protect us from fire, that would be helpful." He waits for the expected quizzical looks before explaining, "Why fire? Because it'd be much more fun for Drack and I to be toe to toe with the giants when Savengriff fires a few of those balls of fire up their asses."
Memnus
First Post
Session recap: 16-17 Festal
After resting to change spells, the gnome guard led the way through tunnels, including a few shadowy portals, to just beneath the royal stables. Valdir went up to scout, located the well, as well as the castle's two guards, in a heated debate with a third giant. As Valdir retrieved Drack to search the well, the third went into the castle; while Drack was searching, a dozen giants, along with dragons, went out at a fast march. A convenient bang from the city got the guards' attention, along with a few snakes generously provided by Naeron, and the group headed into the secret passage,
avoiding the trapped stair that Drack discovered.
The passage ended in a wall of ice. Savengriff drilled a hole in it, then dropped a Fireball into the wall, melting much of it. Their feet soaked, the group proceeded into the dwarven throne room, into an eerie blue glow and a huge hydra, apparently made of ice and stone. Savengriff finally got its attention with a failed Disintegrate and it charged, straight into melee. Surrounded by Drack, Gadreman, and a fully-powered Zerash, and taking arrows from Valdir, it didn't last long. Now Savengriff is trying to find a way through the ice to the totem before the giants burst in.
(OOC: Savengriff, you coming back? If not, I'll have Naeron let Zerash off the hook for your resurrection quest, as you die in a blaze of glory destroying the totem...)
After resting to change spells, the gnome guard led the way through tunnels, including a few shadowy portals, to just beneath the royal stables. Valdir went up to scout, located the well, as well as the castle's two guards, in a heated debate with a third giant. As Valdir retrieved Drack to search the well, the third went into the castle; while Drack was searching, a dozen giants, along with dragons, went out at a fast march. A convenient bang from the city got the guards' attention, along with a few snakes generously provided by Naeron, and the group headed into the secret passage,
avoiding the trapped stair that Drack discovered.
The passage ended in a wall of ice. Savengriff drilled a hole in it, then dropped a Fireball into the wall, melting much of it. Their feet soaked, the group proceeded into the dwarven throne room, into an eerie blue glow and a huge hydra, apparently made of ice and stone. Savengriff finally got its attention with a failed Disintegrate and it charged, straight into melee. Surrounded by Drack, Gadreman, and a fully-powered Zerash, and taking arrows from Valdir, it didn't last long. Now Savengriff is trying to find a way through the ice to the totem before the giants burst in.
(OOC: Savengriff, you coming back? If not, I'll have Naeron let Zerash off the hook for your resurrection quest, as you die in a blaze of glory destroying the totem...)
Memnus
First Post
Session recap: 17-? Festal
Savengriff opened the floor to the totem, and busied himself with working. Valdir went to scout for approaching giants, only to be greeted by a dragon coming down. The retreat was sounded, and everyone braced for the attack. This was the largest squad yet faced - six giants, two of whom were in full plate mail and casting spells, and two dragons. One dragon was pinned by a tanglefoot bag, and Gadreman, Drack, and Zerash held the door long enough to kill it and two giants before the others retreated. A Wall of Air rendered Valdir's assistance useless, so he took off through winding passages looking for a way around. The giants covered their retreat by icing the stairs. Finally, Gadreman got the idea of blocking off the door with the hydra corpse. Not a moment too soon, either - the giants had thrown a Frost Worm down to deal with them.
Finally, Savengriff got the totem opened. It turned out to have extraplanar connections - it tore a hole in the floor to some strange realm of stars. The opening had the unfortunate effect of killing the wizard, but it left his spellpool focus, tied to something beneath by a yellow strand. Zerash siezed it and heard the wizard's voice, instructing him to go in and sever the ties. Skeptical, he jumped, and was eventually followed by the others.
They found themselves standing on a writhing blue ribbon, feeling like standing on stretched cloth. Two silver streamers stretched from there back up the way they came. In one direction, the ribbon went off toward more silver streamers; in the other direction, it fell away sharply toward a cloud of swirling colors. Guessing at Savengriff's instructions, Zerash instructed the swordsmen to cut the streamers.
As the streamers were slashed, the blue ribbon suddenly fell away beneath their feet, and they fell after it. Time and distance were strange in this place, though, and as it settled they landed softly on it, and if felt softer to stand on than before. Tied to each other with the rope, they proceeded back up the ribbon to the next silver streamers, and cut those too - four more sets in all. Finally, they inspected their work. The blue ribbon lay peacefully, stretching from the cloud on one end to infinity at the other, and now felt more like standing in a warm stream of water than a stretched cloth.
Finally, to make their way out, they turned to Savengriff's spellpool focus. A plain silver brooch, it was tied with a yellow strand to some point in the distance. It was a thing that could only be tied to Mittendien, though, and standing on that strand was nearly like standing on the blue one. Following it to its end, they found that it terminated in a square portal just wide enough to step through, and as they did, they found themselves in a small office, with a carving of the royal crest of Mittendien hanging on the wall...
XP: 800 each
((The next several sessions will be rather a lot of roleplay, with less beating stuff up.))
Savengriff opened the floor to the totem, and busied himself with working. Valdir went to scout for approaching giants, only to be greeted by a dragon coming down. The retreat was sounded, and everyone braced for the attack. This was the largest squad yet faced - six giants, two of whom were in full plate mail and casting spells, and two dragons. One dragon was pinned by a tanglefoot bag, and Gadreman, Drack, and Zerash held the door long enough to kill it and two giants before the others retreated. A Wall of Air rendered Valdir's assistance useless, so he took off through winding passages looking for a way around. The giants covered their retreat by icing the stairs. Finally, Gadreman got the idea of blocking off the door with the hydra corpse. Not a moment too soon, either - the giants had thrown a Frost Worm down to deal with them.
Finally, Savengriff got the totem opened. It turned out to have extraplanar connections - it tore a hole in the floor to some strange realm of stars. The opening had the unfortunate effect of killing the wizard, but it left his spellpool focus, tied to something beneath by a yellow strand. Zerash siezed it and heard the wizard's voice, instructing him to go in and sever the ties. Skeptical, he jumped, and was eventually followed by the others.
They found themselves standing on a writhing blue ribbon, feeling like standing on stretched cloth. Two silver streamers stretched from there back up the way they came. In one direction, the ribbon went off toward more silver streamers; in the other direction, it fell away sharply toward a cloud of swirling colors. Guessing at Savengriff's instructions, Zerash instructed the swordsmen to cut the streamers.
As the streamers were slashed, the blue ribbon suddenly fell away beneath their feet, and they fell after it. Time and distance were strange in this place, though, and as it settled they landed softly on it, and if felt softer to stand on than before. Tied to each other with the rope, they proceeded back up the ribbon to the next silver streamers, and cut those too - four more sets in all. Finally, they inspected their work. The blue ribbon lay peacefully, stretching from the cloud on one end to infinity at the other, and now felt more like standing in a warm stream of water than a stretched cloth.
Finally, to make their way out, they turned to Savengriff's spellpool focus. A plain silver brooch, it was tied with a yellow strand to some point in the distance. It was a thing that could only be tied to Mittendien, though, and standing on that strand was nearly like standing on the blue one. Following it to its end, they found that it terminated in a square portal just wide enough to step through, and as they did, they found themselves in a small office, with a carving of the royal crest of Mittendien hanging on the wall...
XP: 800 each
((The next several sessions will be rather a lot of roleplay, with less beating stuff up.))
firehorse
First Post
Valdir shakes his head to relieve it of the disorientation. "I'd really rather prefer we stick to the forests in the future. Realms like that are hard on the sanity."
Then, looking around, he recognizes the crest and starts to guess at their surroundings. "Well, we are back in Mittendien I'm guessing, probably in Savengriff's office. We'd better come up with an explaination as to what we are doing here, how we got past all the guards likely around, and why Savengriff is dead again. Zerash, now would be the perfect time for diplomacy." Looking hard at Gadreman he adds, "And for few words from those without it..."
Then, looking around, he recognizes the crest and starts to guess at their surroundings. "Well, we are back in Mittendien I'm guessing, probably in Savengriff's office. We'd better come up with an explaination as to what we are doing here, how we got past all the guards likely around, and why Savengriff is dead again. Zerash, now would be the perfect time for diplomacy." Looking hard at Gadreman he adds, "And for few words from those without it..."
Memnus
First Post
Session recap: 19 Festal to 5 Vanander
Suddenly in the headquarters of the Dumeldein Brotherhood of Alchemists, the group managed to get introduced to Karl Eigenereich, head of the Kaiser's Spellguard. He took their recommendations for fighting the giants, said he'd pass that on to the Kaiser, and negotiated payment. After Savengriff's state funeral (a hideously dry and stuffy affair, except for Zerash, who enjoyed it thoroughly), they headed off to find Valdorane again, sans Gadreman, who made his exit, probably to wander Thoradur picking fights while giants are still around.
After four days by road and five by ship, they took the Bottle of Air and dived for Valdorane's cave. Once their, they headed down a passage that hadn't been there before, spiraling down to another deep chamber. There they found Valdorane locked in combat with a hideous black devil, frozen, as shards of magic floated in the air. An armored figure stood in the middle of it all, studying it. He did not ingratiate himself to the party, especially after Valdir realized he was part orc, and weapons were drawn. He pinned Zerash in a bubble of force, and proved quite skilled with the flail. The fight was not going well, until the dragon and devil came free and resumed their own fray. The devil was nearly bested and only managed to escape thanks to a stumble on Valdorane's part; seeing himself outnumbered, the orc also disappeared via a teleport from someone unseen.
Valdorane was grateful to see the party, and explained everything. Back in the Age of Gods, he'd summoned devils to question them, until one he summoned turned out to be a posessor and was not properly contained. Carver, as he is known, took hold in the dragon's mind, but could do litle beyond influencing him to withdraw from the mortal world - until the ley line was weakened. More recently, he'd controlled Valdorane into occasionally terrorizing the lands above. With the ley line now freed, Valdorane was also free, and is set to atone for this by managing negotiations between Mittendien and Thoradur. He shifted to dwarf form, set to follow the party back to the lands above.
When we resume, Valdir, Drack, Zerash, and Valdorane will disembark from the ship in Solinburg, then set off to gather people for some hideously boring negotiations.
XP: 600 each present
Suddenly in the headquarters of the Dumeldein Brotherhood of Alchemists, the group managed to get introduced to Karl Eigenereich, head of the Kaiser's Spellguard. He took their recommendations for fighting the giants, said he'd pass that on to the Kaiser, and negotiated payment. After Savengriff's state funeral (a hideously dry and stuffy affair, except for Zerash, who enjoyed it thoroughly), they headed off to find Valdorane again, sans Gadreman, who made his exit, probably to wander Thoradur picking fights while giants are still around.
After four days by road and five by ship, they took the Bottle of Air and dived for Valdorane's cave. Once their, they headed down a passage that hadn't been there before, spiraling down to another deep chamber. There they found Valdorane locked in combat with a hideous black devil, frozen, as shards of magic floated in the air. An armored figure stood in the middle of it all, studying it. He did not ingratiate himself to the party, especially after Valdir realized he was part orc, and weapons were drawn. He pinned Zerash in a bubble of force, and proved quite skilled with the flail. The fight was not going well, until the dragon and devil came free and resumed their own fray. The devil was nearly bested and only managed to escape thanks to a stumble on Valdorane's part; seeing himself outnumbered, the orc also disappeared via a teleport from someone unseen.
Valdorane was grateful to see the party, and explained everything. Back in the Age of Gods, he'd summoned devils to question them, until one he summoned turned out to be a posessor and was not properly contained. Carver, as he is known, took hold in the dragon's mind, but could do litle beyond influencing him to withdraw from the mortal world - until the ley line was weakened. More recently, he'd controlled Valdorane into occasionally terrorizing the lands above. With the ley line now freed, Valdorane was also free, and is set to atone for this by managing negotiations between Mittendien and Thoradur. He shifted to dwarf form, set to follow the party back to the lands above.
When we resume, Valdir, Drack, Zerash, and Valdorane will disembark from the ship in Solinburg, then set off to gather people for some hideously boring negotiations.
XP: 600 each present
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