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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Forrester's Against the Elves Campaign
- Thread starter Morrow
- Start date
Against the Elves Session 2
Session 2
1st of Charder (the month of servitude).
A day after passing the final toll booth, Thar and Rhunn entered Freetown. They entered the cavern system invisibly and quickly discovered several dead kobalds being feasted on by strange, fast moving creatures who appeared to be kobalds with rat-like snouts and sharp claws. The goblins, disconcerted by these fast moving predators, snuck past them and moved deeper into Freetown.
At nearly the same time Atarax, Krikara, and their companions, including the pair of cat-demons, Solon and Curuscan, were approaching Freetown from another direction. Krikara ,who was scouting well ahead of the others, heard an approaching goblin patrol. She silently moved back to warn the others. In the blink of an eye the cat-demons turned into a pair of fiendish looking bugbears. The patrol of four goblins quickly came within sight of the party.
“Halt!” cried one of the goblins.
“Halt!” cried Atarax. He hoped for peaceful meeting with the goblins, but his companions weren’t so sure. Krikara had already disappeared somewhere and Kriggle loudly began casting a spell.
“Identify yourself,” demanded the goblins.
The ‘bugbears’ weren’t about to let a group of goblins delay them. “Out of our way, food!” cried one. They then looked expectantly at their new lackeys to resolve the situation.
Atarax attempted to smooth things over with the goblin patrol, “I am Atarax, a traveling minstrel.”
The goblins demanded to know who the others were, and Foleful, who had spent time in Freetown before, demanded to know when they had started sending out patrols. Again Atarax attempted to answer the patrols questions, but it was not to be. Everyone was taking at once when Krikara had decided to take matters into her own hands. An arrow sailed out of the darkness, grazing the first goblin. Artax, apparently giving up on negotiation, attempted to cast a spell, but was hampered by his armor.
The goblin patrol turned to run, and the party followed. Krikara, aided by her slippers of spider climb scampered along the wall of the tunnel.
Foleful cast a spell, summoning solid fog around the patrol. The thick magical cloud slowed the goblins run to a crawl. Kriggle attempted to fire an arrow at the goblin patrol, but it stopped and hung suspended a few inches into the cloud’s surface. Foleful continued to cast spells, summoning one and then another water elemental dire wolf into the cloud, in front of the patrol.
The party could see nothing through the cloud, but could here the wet snarls of the wolves. Atarax cast another spell to create a web further down the tunnel beyond the fog. Foleful sent his familiar, a small air elemental to scout inside the cloud. Through his connection with the elemental Foleful watched the last goblin fighting a rearguard action against the two summoned wolves, and eventually tear through the web and escape. The party waited dejectedly for the fog to disperse under the disapproving gaze of their cat-demon ‘companions.’
Session 2
1st of Charder (the month of servitude).
A day after passing the final toll booth, Thar and Rhunn entered Freetown. They entered the cavern system invisibly and quickly discovered several dead kobalds being feasted on by strange, fast moving creatures who appeared to be kobalds with rat-like snouts and sharp claws. The goblins, disconcerted by these fast moving predators, snuck past them and moved deeper into Freetown.
At nearly the same time Atarax, Krikara, and their companions, including the pair of cat-demons, Solon and Curuscan, were approaching Freetown from another direction. Krikara ,who was scouting well ahead of the others, heard an approaching goblin patrol. She silently moved back to warn the others. In the blink of an eye the cat-demons turned into a pair of fiendish looking bugbears. The patrol of four goblins quickly came within sight of the party.
“Halt!” cried one of the goblins.
“Halt!” cried Atarax. He hoped for peaceful meeting with the goblins, but his companions weren’t so sure. Krikara had already disappeared somewhere and Kriggle loudly began casting a spell.
“Identify yourself,” demanded the goblins.
The ‘bugbears’ weren’t about to let a group of goblins delay them. “Out of our way, food!” cried one. They then looked expectantly at their new lackeys to resolve the situation.
Atarax attempted to smooth things over with the goblin patrol, “I am Atarax, a traveling minstrel.”
The goblins demanded to know who the others were, and Foleful, who had spent time in Freetown before, demanded to know when they had started sending out patrols. Again Atarax attempted to answer the patrols questions, but it was not to be. Everyone was taking at once when Krikara had decided to take matters into her own hands. An arrow sailed out of the darkness, grazing the first goblin. Artax, apparently giving up on negotiation, attempted to cast a spell, but was hampered by his armor.
The goblin patrol turned to run, and the party followed. Krikara, aided by her slippers of spider climb scampered along the wall of the tunnel.
Foleful cast a spell, summoning solid fog around the patrol. The thick magical cloud slowed the goblins run to a crawl. Kriggle attempted to fire an arrow at the goblin patrol, but it stopped and hung suspended a few inches into the cloud’s surface. Foleful continued to cast spells, summoning one and then another water elemental dire wolf into the cloud, in front of the patrol.
The party could see nothing through the cloud, but could here the wet snarls of the wolves. Atarax cast another spell to create a web further down the tunnel beyond the fog. Foleful sent his familiar, a small air elemental to scout inside the cloud. Through his connection with the elemental Foleful watched the last goblin fighting a rearguard action against the two summoned wolves, and eventually tear through the web and escape. The party waited dejectedly for the fog to disperse under the disapproving gaze of their cat-demon ‘companions.’
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After some searching Thar and Rhunn found the cave of Doon, the troll sculptor. They had just reached to door when a figure came up behind them in the darkness. It was Krikara.
“Krikara!” cried Thar, “I thought you were dead.” The rest of the party, hearing the joyful reunion came forward.
Thar greeted Atarax warmly, and was taken aback to discover that the party was traveling with bugbears. He was even more surprised when the pair shifted back to their natural form: regal looking humanoid tigers with backward facing palms, wearing fine clothing. Thar quickly looked for an escape route, but with the cat-demons in front of him and a troll cave behind him, he was forced to stand his ground.
Thar and Rhuun were then introduced to Kriggle, Foleful, and Plikt. “A pleasure meeting you,” Thar said, then paused for a moment to examine the Xvart, somewhat taken aback. “Pleased.”
“I am Kriggle of Kurtlmak. Do you know of my tribe?” asked the kobald. Thar explained that Kriggle was the first kobald he had encountered since leaving Blarkarg Camp, with the exception of several dead kobalds being eaten by rat-creatures on the outskirts of Freetown. Kriggle was in favor of investigating immediately and Atarax was particularly interested in Thar’s report of the rat-creatures’ speed.
“How fast were they?” asked Atarax.
“Fast enough to run me down and tear my throat out,” replied Thar sardonically.
The topic quickly shifted to why Thar had contacted Atarax. He began to explain about his vision from Maglibuyet, and then remembered that he was speaking in front of the cat-demons. When Solon and Curuscan pressed him for details, he played down the importance of the vision and turned the conversation toward Doon, the troll sculptor.
Foleful took the initiative and knocked on the great stone door. A tall well-built troll wearing a smock soon emerged. Doon greeted Foleful warmly. It was impossible to miss the glint of intelligence in the troll’s eye. Introductions were barely complete when Solon and Curuscan pushed past Doon, down a long tunnel and into a large cave with a stream running through one end. They claimed airily that they were there to view his sculpture. Doon was flattered by their inquiries and explained that he did, “Occasionally put chisel to stone.”
Over a dozen sculptures were dotted around the room, in various stages of completion, were scattered around the cavern. As the troll lead them from one work to another everyone was amazed by his skill. Coming from any other sculptor the pieces would be considered excellent, but for a troll they were fantastic.
“I call this one Black Pudding Eating a Kitten. And this one is Claw, Claw, Rend.” Doon smirked at his own cleverness as he displayed I Left My Heart in South Sivenni, but Then I Grew a New One.
Doon agreed to let the party stay for the night. However, being something of a hermit, he could not recommend a suitable place for the Solon and Curuscan to stay in Freetown. The glances he threw Foleful's way made it quite clear he was not happy to have such dangerous and unpredictable creatures in his home.
The party shared a meal of bugbear stew, and Atarax entertained the group with a story. Thar had never heard the tale of the party’s mad dash across Ghenna in search of sulfur for spell components, and both he and the cat-demons were surprised both by Atarax’s storytelling abilities, and by the great deeds that he described.
During the evening Thar was able to learn more about the group’s relationship with Solon and Curuscan, and was distressed but not at all surprised to discover that the creatures intended to force the party to serve them while they set-up a suitable residence in Freetown. Thar cringed at the passing mention of foot massages
The party still set watches during the night, and Thar was distressed to discover that one of the cat-demons was always awake, quashing his hopes for escape.
“Krikara!” cried Thar, “I thought you were dead.” The rest of the party, hearing the joyful reunion came forward.
Thar greeted Atarax warmly, and was taken aback to discover that the party was traveling with bugbears. He was even more surprised when the pair shifted back to their natural form: regal looking humanoid tigers with backward facing palms, wearing fine clothing. Thar quickly looked for an escape route, but with the cat-demons in front of him and a troll cave behind him, he was forced to stand his ground.
Thar and Rhuun were then introduced to Kriggle, Foleful, and Plikt. “A pleasure meeting you,” Thar said, then paused for a moment to examine the Xvart, somewhat taken aback. “Pleased.”
“I am Kriggle of Kurtlmak. Do you know of my tribe?” asked the kobald. Thar explained that Kriggle was the first kobald he had encountered since leaving Blarkarg Camp, with the exception of several dead kobalds being eaten by rat-creatures on the outskirts of Freetown. Kriggle was in favor of investigating immediately and Atarax was particularly interested in Thar’s report of the rat-creatures’ speed.
“How fast were they?” asked Atarax.
“Fast enough to run me down and tear my throat out,” replied Thar sardonically.
The topic quickly shifted to why Thar had contacted Atarax. He began to explain about his vision from Maglibuyet, and then remembered that he was speaking in front of the cat-demons. When Solon and Curuscan pressed him for details, he played down the importance of the vision and turned the conversation toward Doon, the troll sculptor.
Foleful took the initiative and knocked on the great stone door. A tall well-built troll wearing a smock soon emerged. Doon greeted Foleful warmly. It was impossible to miss the glint of intelligence in the troll’s eye. Introductions were barely complete when Solon and Curuscan pushed past Doon, down a long tunnel and into a large cave with a stream running through one end. They claimed airily that they were there to view his sculpture. Doon was flattered by their inquiries and explained that he did, “Occasionally put chisel to stone.”
Over a dozen sculptures were dotted around the room, in various stages of completion, were scattered around the cavern. As the troll lead them from one work to another everyone was amazed by his skill. Coming from any other sculptor the pieces would be considered excellent, but for a troll they were fantastic.
“I call this one Black Pudding Eating a Kitten. And this one is Claw, Claw, Rend.” Doon smirked at his own cleverness as he displayed I Left My Heart in South Sivenni, but Then I Grew a New One.
Doon agreed to let the party stay for the night. However, being something of a hermit, he could not recommend a suitable place for the Solon and Curuscan to stay in Freetown. The glances he threw Foleful's way made it quite clear he was not happy to have such dangerous and unpredictable creatures in his home.
The party shared a meal of bugbear stew, and Atarax entertained the group with a story. Thar had never heard the tale of the party’s mad dash across Ghenna in search of sulfur for spell components, and both he and the cat-demons were surprised both by Atarax’s storytelling abilities, and by the great deeds that he described.
During the evening Thar was able to learn more about the group’s relationship with Solon and Curuscan, and was distressed but not at all surprised to discover that the creatures intended to force the party to serve them while they set-up a suitable residence in Freetown. Thar cringed at the passing mention of foot massages
The party still set watches during the night, and Thar was distressed to discover that one of the cat-demons was always awake, quashing his hopes for escape.
2nd of Charder (the month of servitude)
The next morning the group shared another meal of stew, and Doon began to usher them toward the door. The cat-demons wanted to stay and look at the sculpture, letting the party go on ahead. Thar supported the idea enthusiastically, seeing a means to escape the clutches of the demons. “Sounds great, let’s go,” he exclaimed and allowed Solon usher him down the tunnel and toward the door beside the other humanoids.
Atarax, however, was more perceptive. He whispered to Thar, “They’re going to kill him.”
Thar shrugged as Atarax asked Solon, “Why don’t you come with us and look at some of the available residences.” As Solon explained his intention to stay the group could hear Doon telling the other cat-demon, Curuscan that he would have to leave.
The group had reached the door, and Thar thought his escape was at hand when Atarax cast a spell.
"I suggest you don't hurt the troll."
Even before Atarax realized his spell had failed Kriggle and Foleful began casting spells of their own. Kriggle’s bless weapon was successful, but Foleful’s summoning failed. Kriggle, spurred Mighty Steed into a charge, smiting Solon. The newnewly blessed lance sank deep into the creature’s side and brutally ripped free.
The rest of the party sprang into action. Thar cast a spell on Kriggle, increasing his strength considerable. Krikara, hidden somewhere in the shadows, fired an arrow at Solon with minimal effect. Atarax unlimbered his horn of good and blew it, creating an enchanted area which protected the party from the creatures like the cat-demons, but also hampered Foleful’s attempts to summon creatures. Solon turned and fled down the tunnel, back toward the cave.
Thar immediately advocated fleeing. “Can anyone magically lock this door?”
“But they’ll kill Doon,” objected Atarax.
“Oh, the troll. I keep thinking about me.”
Kriggle decided the issue by spuring Mighty Steed into action, charging down the tunnel and skewering the fleeing Solon on his lance. The cat-demon's lifeless body dropped to the ground as Kriggle continued on into the cave. Thar sighed and called out aprayer to Maglibuyet, increasing his companions’ battle prowess.
Thar heard Foleful casting somewhere off to his right as he moved back into Doon’s cave. He saw Curuscan flying into the air, sailing out of Doon's reach. “Kriggle, get over here!”
Thar cast a spell on Mighty Steed, explaining that it would allow the steed to walk on air. Kriggle grinned and directed the lizard to climb into empty air above Thar’s head.
Krikara entered the cave, scampering halfway up the wall. A sphere of darkness bloomed, hiding the darkcreeper. Atarax ran into the cave with Plikt at his heels. "I suggest you come down here."
Curuscan responded by calling up a great ball of fire around Atarax and Kriggle. Thar and Foleful were able to escape the full brunt of the blast, but Plikt was not so lucky. Thar saw the kobald laying very still on the cavern floor.
Foleful was able to maintain concentration on his latest spell in spite of the fireball. Five earth elemental stirges popped into existence around Curuscan and began pecking ineffectually at the cat-demon’s skin.
Curuscan called forth glitterdust around Kriggle, who was able to escape being blinded by the clinging, glittering cloud. Atarax cast another spell to create confusion in the cat-demon’s mind, but the spell only succeeded in driving the stirges into a frenzy. They ignored the cat-demon and tore each other to pieces.
Curuscan called up more glitterdust around Kriggle, which the kobald again resisted. “Oh excrement,” his squeaky voice echoed forth, “I hate it when they do this.”
Kriggle attempted to charge, but the faster moving cat-demon merely flew beneath Mighty Steed, forcing lizard and rider to laboriously climb down through the air attempting to once more line themselves up to charge.
Thar, tired of waiting for Kriggle to move into position, cast a dispel magic on the cat-demon, and watched the creature drop thirty feet to the cavern floor. Rhuun was ready, stabbing at Curuscan as he lept to his feet, but her blades could not pierce his natural protection. Doon attempted to grapple the cat-demon, but was unable to maintain a hold as Curuscan once more flew into the air, positioning himself beneath Kriggle and Mighty Steed.
Atarax takes a moment to cast cure light wounds on himself, and Thar does the same for Plikt, bringing the kobald back to consciousness. At the same time Foleful summoned a cloud of solid fog into being, filling the entire upper half of the cave, from the roof to just above Kriggle’s head.
Kriggle managed to maneuver himself into position to attack. Curuscan cast another glitterdust on the kobald paladin, who resisted the spell and charged the cat-demon, sorely wounding him.
As Thar watched the confrontation between the demon and the paladin, a sly smile creeps across his face. He had no more spells that could turn the tide of the battle, but had one more card to play. He kneeled over the Solon's body slipped a small black gem between the cat-demon's already cooling lips, and intoned a spell. In mere moments the cat-demon’s body twitched, and it laboriously lifted itself to its feet.
Curuscan, caught between the enchanted fog above, and the claws of the troll below finally decided that discretion was the better part of valor. He turned to fly out of the cavern and down the tunnel toward the exit from Doon’s home.
Thar watched Curuscan fly toward him, and saw the cat-demon’s eyes go wide as it saw Solon's body, turned into a shambling zombie. Thar’s smile grew wider as he spoke to the zombie, more than loud enough for Curuscan to hear.
“I’d like a foot massage.”
Curuscan's expression promised death as he lpassed over Thar's head, flying down the tunnel toward the still-open door of Doon’s cave. Then his form was obscured by the cloud of solid fog that Foleful summoned around him.
Even as Foleful began to summon a fire elemental dire bat to pursue the cat-demon, Thar turned and healed the xvarts injuries with a cure moderate wounds spell. The spells were hardly complete when another fireball exploded around them. Thar fell, his skin blistering and clothing smoking. He looked over to see the still, unmoving bodies of Plikt and the recently created zombie.
Thar shakily climbed to his feet as Kriggle charged through the air and disappeared into the fog, closely followed by Krikara. The rest of the group waited a few moments, but still hearing the sounds of combat, they all charged into the cloud, leaving Thar alone.
Thar could hear the sound of Kriggle’s battle cries, and the trollish snarls as Doon ripped himself through the fog. He listened to the battle beyond the fog as he examined Plikt’s body, confirming that the loyal kobald was dead. Then he turned to the body of the cat-demon, and after a quick spell began stripping the body of valuables and magical objects.
By the time the fog dissipated and his companions returned, reporting Curuscan's escape, Thar was sitting with his back to one of Doon’s sculptures, contemplating what the cat-demon would do to him given the opportunity.
The next morning the group shared another meal of stew, and Doon began to usher them toward the door. The cat-demons wanted to stay and look at the sculpture, letting the party go on ahead. Thar supported the idea enthusiastically, seeing a means to escape the clutches of the demons. “Sounds great, let’s go,” he exclaimed and allowed Solon usher him down the tunnel and toward the door beside the other humanoids.
Atarax, however, was more perceptive. He whispered to Thar, “They’re going to kill him.”
Thar shrugged as Atarax asked Solon, “Why don’t you come with us and look at some of the available residences.” As Solon explained his intention to stay the group could hear Doon telling the other cat-demon, Curuscan that he would have to leave.
The group had reached the door, and Thar thought his escape was at hand when Atarax cast a spell.
"I suggest you don't hurt the troll."
Even before Atarax realized his spell had failed Kriggle and Foleful began casting spells of their own. Kriggle’s bless weapon was successful, but Foleful’s summoning failed. Kriggle, spurred Mighty Steed into a charge, smiting Solon. The newnewly blessed lance sank deep into the creature’s side and brutally ripped free.
The rest of the party sprang into action. Thar cast a spell on Kriggle, increasing his strength considerable. Krikara, hidden somewhere in the shadows, fired an arrow at Solon with minimal effect. Atarax unlimbered his horn of good and blew it, creating an enchanted area which protected the party from the creatures like the cat-demons, but also hampered Foleful’s attempts to summon creatures. Solon turned and fled down the tunnel, back toward the cave.
Thar immediately advocated fleeing. “Can anyone magically lock this door?”
“But they’ll kill Doon,” objected Atarax.
“Oh, the troll. I keep thinking about me.”
Kriggle decided the issue by spuring Mighty Steed into action, charging down the tunnel and skewering the fleeing Solon on his lance. The cat-demon's lifeless body dropped to the ground as Kriggle continued on into the cave. Thar sighed and called out aprayer to Maglibuyet, increasing his companions’ battle prowess.
Thar heard Foleful casting somewhere off to his right as he moved back into Doon’s cave. He saw Curuscan flying into the air, sailing out of Doon's reach. “Kriggle, get over here!”
Thar cast a spell on Mighty Steed, explaining that it would allow the steed to walk on air. Kriggle grinned and directed the lizard to climb into empty air above Thar’s head.
Krikara entered the cave, scampering halfway up the wall. A sphere of darkness bloomed, hiding the darkcreeper. Atarax ran into the cave with Plikt at his heels. "I suggest you come down here."
Curuscan responded by calling up a great ball of fire around Atarax and Kriggle. Thar and Foleful were able to escape the full brunt of the blast, but Plikt was not so lucky. Thar saw the kobald laying very still on the cavern floor.
Foleful was able to maintain concentration on his latest spell in spite of the fireball. Five earth elemental stirges popped into existence around Curuscan and began pecking ineffectually at the cat-demon’s skin.
Curuscan called forth glitterdust around Kriggle, who was able to escape being blinded by the clinging, glittering cloud. Atarax cast another spell to create confusion in the cat-demon’s mind, but the spell only succeeded in driving the stirges into a frenzy. They ignored the cat-demon and tore each other to pieces.
Curuscan called up more glitterdust around Kriggle, which the kobald again resisted. “Oh excrement,” his squeaky voice echoed forth, “I hate it when they do this.”
Kriggle attempted to charge, but the faster moving cat-demon merely flew beneath Mighty Steed, forcing lizard and rider to laboriously climb down through the air attempting to once more line themselves up to charge.
Thar, tired of waiting for Kriggle to move into position, cast a dispel magic on the cat-demon, and watched the creature drop thirty feet to the cavern floor. Rhuun was ready, stabbing at Curuscan as he lept to his feet, but her blades could not pierce his natural protection. Doon attempted to grapple the cat-demon, but was unable to maintain a hold as Curuscan once more flew into the air, positioning himself beneath Kriggle and Mighty Steed.
Atarax takes a moment to cast cure light wounds on himself, and Thar does the same for Plikt, bringing the kobald back to consciousness. At the same time Foleful summoned a cloud of solid fog into being, filling the entire upper half of the cave, from the roof to just above Kriggle’s head.
Kriggle managed to maneuver himself into position to attack. Curuscan cast another glitterdust on the kobald paladin, who resisted the spell and charged the cat-demon, sorely wounding him.
As Thar watched the confrontation between the demon and the paladin, a sly smile creeps across his face. He had no more spells that could turn the tide of the battle, but had one more card to play. He kneeled over the Solon's body slipped a small black gem between the cat-demon's already cooling lips, and intoned a spell. In mere moments the cat-demon’s body twitched, and it laboriously lifted itself to its feet.
Curuscan, caught between the enchanted fog above, and the claws of the troll below finally decided that discretion was the better part of valor. He turned to fly out of the cavern and down the tunnel toward the exit from Doon’s home.
Thar watched Curuscan fly toward him, and saw the cat-demon’s eyes go wide as it saw Solon's body, turned into a shambling zombie. Thar’s smile grew wider as he spoke to the zombie, more than loud enough for Curuscan to hear.
“I’d like a foot massage.”
Curuscan's expression promised death as he lpassed over Thar's head, flying down the tunnel toward the still-open door of Doon’s cave. Then his form was obscured by the cloud of solid fog that Foleful summoned around him.
Even as Foleful began to summon a fire elemental dire bat to pursue the cat-demon, Thar turned and healed the xvarts injuries with a cure moderate wounds spell. The spells were hardly complete when another fireball exploded around them. Thar fell, his skin blistering and clothing smoking. He looked over to see the still, unmoving bodies of Plikt and the recently created zombie.
Thar shakily climbed to his feet as Kriggle charged through the air and disappeared into the fog, closely followed by Krikara. The rest of the group waited a few moments, but still hearing the sounds of combat, they all charged into the cloud, leaving Thar alone.
Thar could hear the sound of Kriggle’s battle cries, and the trollish snarls as Doon ripped himself through the fog. He listened to the battle beyond the fog as he examined Plikt’s body, confirming that the loyal kobald was dead. Then he turned to the body of the cat-demon, and after a quick spell began stripping the body of valuables and magical objects.
By the time the fog dissipated and his companions returned, reporting Curuscan's escape, Thar was sitting with his back to one of Doon’s sculptures, contemplating what the cat-demon would do to him given the opportunity.
I look over this and realize that some characters didn't get much 'screen time' this week. In particular, I didn't manage to work in a single quote from Krikara. Admitedly, she spent most of the session sneaking around and shooting things from the shadows, (or really from the globes of darkness) but its still a shame. Oh well, its something to work on for next time.
Morrow
Morrow
Against the Elves session 3
It had been a long day. The party had attempted to rest after their battle with the cat-demons, but they were in constant fear that Curuscan would return. It had taken considerable magical power to heal all of their wounds and they were all exhausted. Foleful and Atarax had spent much of the day attempting to identify magical objects taken from the body of Solon, the dead cat-demon. Thar had cast a divination to determine the location of the young goblin he had been sent to find, but strangely received no answer at all.
It was the second watch of the night. Krikara and Rhuun kept watch over their sleeping companions. They had started to become confident that Curuscan would not return when the peace of the night was shattered. With a grinding of stone against stone a pit opened up beneath Krikara. She fell down, twisting her body to land safely in a large cavern below.
Krikara was horrified to realize that she had fallen on a massive pile of rats. In fact the entire cavern was full of rats squeaking, and crawling over each other. Krikara ducked and weaved as the rats snapped at her with their tiny teeth.
Across the cavern Foleful, who had been awake but lying silently on the stone floor, suddenly felt himself slipping into the stone, as if into a sinkhole. He began to thrash about attempting to gain purchase on the stangely sinking stone. He called out for his familiar, the small air elemental which often carried him about, even holding his body in lifting air currents as he slept. “Elemental where are you?”
“I’m right here, boss,” said Elemental’s voice in his mind. Foleful looked around, but everything was going dim around him and his darkvision was unable to penetrate the gloom.
Rhuun was completely mystified. She had been keeping watch next to Krikara when the darkcreeper suddenly sprang to her feet, cried out in alarm, and began jumping and tumbling wildly. At the same time Foleful, the strange xvart sorcerer, had began crying out and thrashing about atop his strange elemental companion who carried him even while he slept.
Rhuun sprung aside and cried out, waking the others, as Krikara slashed wildly at her with her sword. Krikara, thinking she was striking a rat, was in fact attempting to kill her goblin companion. Rhuun snatched up the rapier that Thar had claimed for her from the body of the cat-demon, and wielding it in both hands, tried to run Krikara through. However, the agile darkcreeper avoided her blow.
Thar sat up and saw the strange behavior of his companions. He attempted to calm Doon, who angered at being woken up, stormed out of the small side cavern where he slept and began threatening to expel the companions from his cave then and there. Thar then instructed Rhuun to leave Krikara and check the door to see if anyone had gotten in during the night.
Atarax began to sing, attempting to inspire confidence in his deluded companions and help them shake off whatever was influencing their mind. When his singing failed to have any effect Atarax, in exasperation, threw a rope toward Krikara, who has jumping up and yelling for a rope to pull her out of the cavern full of rats. Atarax’s throw went wide, and Krikara did not even acknowledge it.
Casting about for a solution, Thar cast remove fear on Krikara and Foleful. When that had no apparent effect, he ran up to Foleful and started shaking him, “You’re hallucinating!”
“What are you talking about?” replied the xvart. “Are you charmed?” From his perspective Thar was repeatedly pulling him out of the hole, then pushing him back in.
“No, you’re hallucinating. Can’t you see Krikara?” Thar pointed to where Krikara was lying on her back, pumping her legs as if attempting to run up a wall that wasn’t there. Foleful claimed he could barely see Thar. All attempts to talk sense into him were fruitless as he began raving about Thar and his evil cleric allies tampering with his mind.
At that moment Thar looked toward the other end of the cave and noticed a small, glittering object, spinning in mid-air. He pointed to it, “Look everybody!” and seeing Rhuun return from checking the door, “Rhuun, get that thing!”
Rhuun saw the object, but could not reach it before Atarax summoned a cloud of glitterdust around the area. However, the spell revealed no invisible enemies, and hid the object in a cloud of glittering motes.
At the same time Krikara and Foleful finally succeeded in throwing off the effects of the hallucinations that plagued them. The party approached the object, and Atarax and Foleful examined it, offering their opinion that it was not an object at all, but a small portal to another plane of existence. They were so excited by their theory that they barely noticed when the portal winked out. Atarax theorized that if the portal lead to a plane of chaos, its very presence could explain the confusion that Foleful and Thar had suffered.
While the others asked Doon if he had observed such a phenomenon before, Foleful was being soundly chastised by Elemental. “What’s going on boss? I was right here. I carry you around all day and you were yelling at me!”
Doon explained that he suffered similar confusion once. He had been nearby, gathering some special mushrooms, when he had become very interested in his shin. He had stood there examining his shin for quite some time. Doon, proudly pointed the companions toward the sculpture, “Musings on My Shin,” which had been the result of the study. Doon assured the group that his sudden interest in his shin could have only come from a similar phenomenon to what they had just witnessed, and there was no chance whatsoever that it had been caused by the influence of his special mushrooms.
No one noticed that Krikara had silently slipped away. Somewhere out of earshot she huddled on the ground, crying quietly.
It had been a long day. The party had attempted to rest after their battle with the cat-demons, but they were in constant fear that Curuscan would return. It had taken considerable magical power to heal all of their wounds and they were all exhausted. Foleful and Atarax had spent much of the day attempting to identify magical objects taken from the body of Solon, the dead cat-demon. Thar had cast a divination to determine the location of the young goblin he had been sent to find, but strangely received no answer at all.
It was the second watch of the night. Krikara and Rhuun kept watch over their sleeping companions. They had started to become confident that Curuscan would not return when the peace of the night was shattered. With a grinding of stone against stone a pit opened up beneath Krikara. She fell down, twisting her body to land safely in a large cavern below.
Krikara was horrified to realize that she had fallen on a massive pile of rats. In fact the entire cavern was full of rats squeaking, and crawling over each other. Krikara ducked and weaved as the rats snapped at her with their tiny teeth.
Across the cavern Foleful, who had been awake but lying silently on the stone floor, suddenly felt himself slipping into the stone, as if into a sinkhole. He began to thrash about attempting to gain purchase on the stangely sinking stone. He called out for his familiar, the small air elemental which often carried him about, even holding his body in lifting air currents as he slept. “Elemental where are you?”
“I’m right here, boss,” said Elemental’s voice in his mind. Foleful looked around, but everything was going dim around him and his darkvision was unable to penetrate the gloom.
Rhuun was completely mystified. She had been keeping watch next to Krikara when the darkcreeper suddenly sprang to her feet, cried out in alarm, and began jumping and tumbling wildly. At the same time Foleful, the strange xvart sorcerer, had began crying out and thrashing about atop his strange elemental companion who carried him even while he slept.
Rhuun sprung aside and cried out, waking the others, as Krikara slashed wildly at her with her sword. Krikara, thinking she was striking a rat, was in fact attempting to kill her goblin companion. Rhuun snatched up the rapier that Thar had claimed for her from the body of the cat-demon, and wielding it in both hands, tried to run Krikara through. However, the agile darkcreeper avoided her blow.
Thar sat up and saw the strange behavior of his companions. He attempted to calm Doon, who angered at being woken up, stormed out of the small side cavern where he slept and began threatening to expel the companions from his cave then and there. Thar then instructed Rhuun to leave Krikara and check the door to see if anyone had gotten in during the night.
Atarax began to sing, attempting to inspire confidence in his deluded companions and help them shake off whatever was influencing their mind. When his singing failed to have any effect Atarax, in exasperation, threw a rope toward Krikara, who has jumping up and yelling for a rope to pull her out of the cavern full of rats. Atarax’s throw went wide, and Krikara did not even acknowledge it.
Casting about for a solution, Thar cast remove fear on Krikara and Foleful. When that had no apparent effect, he ran up to Foleful and started shaking him, “You’re hallucinating!”
“What are you talking about?” replied the xvart. “Are you charmed?” From his perspective Thar was repeatedly pulling him out of the hole, then pushing him back in.
“No, you’re hallucinating. Can’t you see Krikara?” Thar pointed to where Krikara was lying on her back, pumping her legs as if attempting to run up a wall that wasn’t there. Foleful claimed he could barely see Thar. All attempts to talk sense into him were fruitless as he began raving about Thar and his evil cleric allies tampering with his mind.
At that moment Thar looked toward the other end of the cave and noticed a small, glittering object, spinning in mid-air. He pointed to it, “Look everybody!” and seeing Rhuun return from checking the door, “Rhuun, get that thing!”
Rhuun saw the object, but could not reach it before Atarax summoned a cloud of glitterdust around the area. However, the spell revealed no invisible enemies, and hid the object in a cloud of glittering motes.
At the same time Krikara and Foleful finally succeeded in throwing off the effects of the hallucinations that plagued them. The party approached the object, and Atarax and Foleful examined it, offering their opinion that it was not an object at all, but a small portal to another plane of existence. They were so excited by their theory that they barely noticed when the portal winked out. Atarax theorized that if the portal lead to a plane of chaos, its very presence could explain the confusion that Foleful and Thar had suffered.
While the others asked Doon if he had observed such a phenomenon before, Foleful was being soundly chastised by Elemental. “What’s going on boss? I was right here. I carry you around all day and you were yelling at me!”
Doon explained that he suffered similar confusion once. He had been nearby, gathering some special mushrooms, when he had become very interested in his shin. He had stood there examining his shin for quite some time. Doon, proudly pointed the companions toward the sculpture, “Musings on My Shin,” which had been the result of the study. Doon assured the group that his sudden interest in his shin could have only come from a similar phenomenon to what they had just witnessed, and there was no chance whatsoever that it had been caused by the influence of his special mushrooms.
No one noticed that Krikara had silently slipped away. Somewhere out of earshot she huddled on the ground, crying quietly.
Bit of dialogue Morrow left out
Conversation between Krikara and Foleful, just before first watch. Started out with Thar and Foleful asking Krikara where she'd been and what she'd been doing, and Krikara dodging the question by talking about her quest to find a shiny buckler and sacrifice it. Which caused Thar to wander off, shaking his goblin head, while Foleful pursued this "quest" of hers.
Krikara explained that hers was a holy calling: to honor the Great Darkness by sacrificing magic items.
Foleful had heard Krikara's bizarre monotheism before, with its notion that Kurtulmak and Grummsh and Kaldecki and all were nothing more than masks worn by the Great Darkness. He inquired further -- why sacrifice?
Krikara explained that In The Beginning, there had been the Great Darkness. Alone, in the dark. Not much fun. So the Great Darkness invented stealth. Which was easy, since all there was, was the Great Darkness. So then the Great Darkness created the universe, and all its peoples, so there would be people to be stealthy and something to be stealthy in. And it was good.
Was it? mused Foleful, quietly to himself. More loudly, he agreed that someone had to create the universe. The xvart Secular Humanoidists call the god who did so Eoer-Stepper, Xvartish for "He Who is Tall Enough to Stand on the Universe." They don't worship Eoer-Stepper though; what would be the point? What has he done for us lately?
But then, Krikara continued as if no one had interrupted her, someone developed magic, and it was supercool. Everybody started wandering around casting spells and making magic items. And then someone -- some elf, probably, interjected Thar, who had heard this story before -- then someone invented the most powerful and horrible magic item of all: the sun.
The sun displeased the Great Darkness, and the Great Darkness cursed all the peoples by making them small and inoffensive and helpless (like dark creepers and goblins and kobolds and xvarts and so forth) and life generally sucked. Plus there's all the sunlight on the surface now, which makes stealth all the harder.
Ever since then, dark creepers have honored the Great Darkness by chucking magic items down deep holes, at the bottom of which (according to Dark Creeper Lore) the Great Darkness consumes them.
Thar recounted a few stories of Krikara throwing magic items down holes.
But, asked Foleful, even accepting that the Great Darkness and Eoer-Stepper are one and the same, why honor the creator? Why would the Great Darkness, if It is as great as you say, care?
The Great Darkness is deep, Krikara responded. It is good to honor the Great Darkness, and such action pleases It.
But is it good because God is pleased, or is God pleased because it's good? pursued Foleful, little realizing he was setting his feet down the path of Socratic reasoning, which would eventually change Secular Humanoidism forever. Sadly, no one except Foleful thought it was a question worth answering.
Conversation between Krikara and Foleful, just before first watch. Started out with Thar and Foleful asking Krikara where she'd been and what she'd been doing, and Krikara dodging the question by talking about her quest to find a shiny buckler and sacrifice it. Which caused Thar to wander off, shaking his goblin head, while Foleful pursued this "quest" of hers.
Krikara explained that hers was a holy calling: to honor the Great Darkness by sacrificing magic items.
Foleful had heard Krikara's bizarre monotheism before, with its notion that Kurtulmak and Grummsh and Kaldecki and all were nothing more than masks worn by the Great Darkness. He inquired further -- why sacrifice?
Krikara explained that In The Beginning, there had been the Great Darkness. Alone, in the dark. Not much fun. So the Great Darkness invented stealth. Which was easy, since all there was, was the Great Darkness. So then the Great Darkness created the universe, and all its peoples, so there would be people to be stealthy and something to be stealthy in. And it was good.
Was it? mused Foleful, quietly to himself. More loudly, he agreed that someone had to create the universe. The xvart Secular Humanoidists call the god who did so Eoer-Stepper, Xvartish for "He Who is Tall Enough to Stand on the Universe." They don't worship Eoer-Stepper though; what would be the point? What has he done for us lately?
But then, Krikara continued as if no one had interrupted her, someone developed magic, and it was supercool. Everybody started wandering around casting spells and making magic items. And then someone -- some elf, probably, interjected Thar, who had heard this story before -- then someone invented the most powerful and horrible magic item of all: the sun.
The sun displeased the Great Darkness, and the Great Darkness cursed all the peoples by making them small and inoffensive and helpless (like dark creepers and goblins and kobolds and xvarts and so forth) and life generally sucked. Plus there's all the sunlight on the surface now, which makes stealth all the harder.
Ever since then, dark creepers have honored the Great Darkness by chucking magic items down deep holes, at the bottom of which (according to Dark Creeper Lore) the Great Darkness consumes them.
Thar recounted a few stories of Krikara throwing magic items down holes.
But, asked Foleful, even accepting that the Great Darkness and Eoer-Stepper are one and the same, why honor the creator? Why would the Great Darkness, if It is as great as you say, care?
The Great Darkness is deep, Krikara responded. It is good to honor the Great Darkness, and such action pleases It.
But is it good because God is pleased, or is God pleased because it's good? pursued Foleful, little realizing he was setting his feet down the path of Socratic reasoning, which would eventually change Secular Humanoidism forever. Sadly, no one except Foleful thought it was a question worth answering.
Gez
First Post
Morrow said:
Don't worry too much about that typo. It used to upset me, but I'm more tolerant to it now that I know...
*drum roll*
... the secret origin of the word "kobold"!!!
Actually, I don't know precisely what it is, but that roughly means something about the fact mythological kobolds are the Keepers of the Burried Treasures. You know, they were those sprites who would leave clues to vein of rich ore if the miners were friendly to them (i.e., leaving them offerings), but that would provoke cave-ins and firedamps otherwise.
And this name has the same origin as an eerie, strange metal found underground, a blue metal; the cobalt.
That's right, kobolds and cobalts are linguistically brothers. This would give credency to the dragonblood theory, kobolds descending from cobalt dragons.
Edit
PS: Forrester, here's a thread for you !
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Teaser . . .
What do you get when you cross suspicious tainted mind-altering mushrooms, Zorn worship, an aerial boarclops, and a full frontal assault on an insanely skilled bugbear slaver Master of Chains?
You get yesterday's session, that's what you get.
I might give this one a shot at a write-up . . . but Morrow is going to have to post the rest of last session first
.
What do you get when you cross suspicious tainted mind-altering mushrooms, Zorn worship, an aerial boarclops, and a full frontal assault on an insanely skilled bugbear slaver Master of Chains?
You get yesterday's session, that's what you get.
I might give this one a shot at a write-up . . . but Morrow is going to have to post the rest of last session first
.
