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Ghourmand Vale (3.5 campaign)
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8993193" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 21: HAVEN</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 7</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 12 April 2023</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>The adventurers were traveling by horseback, returning to Ghourmand Vale. The eight-day trek was at about the halfway mark, with the group having already passed by the Gnarley Forest and making their way north of the Welkwood. They had all spent quite a bit of coin before departing Greyhawk City; Chaevaris had picked up a pair of <em>gloves of Dexterity</em>, an <em>amulet of health</em>, and a <em>Heward's handy haversack</em>, providing enough extradimensional storage that Alistair begged the elven archer to allow him to swing by his family home and collect his entire "Elfy Danger Silverleaf" series of children's books to store in her new haversack until they got back to Ghourmand Vale. (Knowing she'd probably regret it, she begrudgingly agreed, feeling the 19-year-old sorcerer was in any case just a child, after all.) Alistair had used all of his collected cash from his adventuring career to upgrade his <em>ring of protection</em>, increasing the level of deflection it provided him against incoming attacks. (He actually found himself just short of the total cost, so he sold his masterwork rapier to make up the difference, feeling his magical rapier was weapon enough for him.) Harlan purchased a <em>cloak of Charisma</em> which enhanced the amount of healing energy he could provide each day with his laying on of hands. And Ageratum made two purchases: the first bothered Alistair more than he cared to admit, for she added a <em>human bane</em> dweomer to her magic short sword (he vowed not to get on her bad side any time soon); the second was a <em>cloak of arachnida</em>, which granted her the ability to <em>spider climb</em>, gave her limited resistance against spider venom, and not only allowed her to pass through spider webs but also cast a <em>web</em> spell once per day. All in all, the four were pleased with their purchases and were also looking forward to getting back to Ghourmand Vale and seeing what had transpired there in their absence. (Besides that, Alistair would be glad to meet up with the bard Holyrood Carp, a potential source of additional cash if the sorcerer could come up with any new songs in the meantime.)</p><p></p><p>But as they rode across the plains, they saw a trio of mounted riders heading their way - quite deliberately, for they altered course slightly to intercept the four heroes. "Elves," announced Harlan, squinting at the newcomers from his customary position in the front of the heroes' formation. Chaevaris gave a brief curse in her native tongue, forgetting each of the others in her group also spoke Elven.</p><p></p><p>"Problem?" Ageratum asked from the back of her pony, Munson. She dropped her hand to the short sword belted at her hip, wondering if these elves meant them ill will.</p><p></p><p>"Possibly," replied Chaevaris. "It's my parents, and my older sister." Sure enough, as the trio approached, the family resemblance was quite evident, although Chaevaris's older sister had quite a few more feminine curves than her tomboy sibling. "Hopefully this isn't about the arranged marriage they cooked up with Captain Oakcrown, because that is <em>not</em> going to happen."</p><p></p><p>Introductions were made as the Noarunal family got within range; Chaevaris's father was <strong>Waesven</strong>, her mother was <strong>Venvyre</strong>, and her quite lovely sister was <strong>Ennala</strong>. They smiled and nodded politely as Chaevaris introduced her three adventuring partners, although they no doubt were a bit puzzled about what their daughter could possibly have in common with these strange people. But Waesven Noarunal got straight to the point. "We have just had a rather interesting proposal, which we were forced to turn down. But it is one that might be of interest to you and your...compatriots."</p><p></p><p>"Oh?" Chaevaris asked, clearly wondering where this was going.</p><p></p><p>"There are a pair of married druids living just south of here. They craft <em>bespoke armor</em>, woven from leaves, vines, and grasses and then magically treated to become as hard a metal. They have been there for many decades, but recently a chimera has moved into the area and has been causing quite a disturbance, killing off much of the game and digging countless holes in the forest floor, for some reason. They wished us to hunt it down for them."</p><p></p><p>"And you turned them down?" asked Chaevaris.</p><p></p><p>Waesven tilted his head in puzzlement, as if unsure why his youngest daughter wouldn't have instantly realized why this wouldn't be a hunt in which they'd have been interested. "You know our ways," he declared. "We use every piece of the creatures we slay. We have no desire for chimera meat, nor can we use the mismatched hide of such a creature. However, knowing your views on our ways, and our <em>traditions</em>" - and here Chaevaris noted a potential dig about her rejecting the arranged marriage her parents had set up for her - "we thought it worth mentioning to you and your friends, once we recognized you riding by."</p><p></p><p>"I say!" piped up Alistair. "That's quite a coincidence, running into you all the way out here from Greyhawk City!"</p><p></p><p>Now it was Chaevaris's mother's turn to look puzzled. "Why ever would you think so?" asked Venvyre. "This is the area in which we live. We are not from Greyhawk City." That only made Alistair look puzzled, as they had first met up with the elven archer in Greyhawk City and he'd thus assumed she was a local. "Ah, uh," he stuttered, before finding a reasonable topic over which to turn the conversation. "Would you happen to know what color dragon the chimera's body contained?"</p><p></p><p>"You would have to ask the druids; they shared no such information with us."</p><p></p><p>"We will do just that," said Harlan, looking back towards his friends, his demeanor stating quite perfectly clearly that he had no intentions of allowing an evil chimera to run rampant through the forest if he was there to put a stop to its rampages. "Thank you for the information, and it was nice to meet Chaevaris's family." Then, kicking Law into action, he turned his white horse and headed south. The other three heroes followed on their own mounts, and the Noarunal family went their own way, bows over their shoulders until they caught sight of game they were willing to slay for food.</p><p></p><p>It wasn't difficult finding the home of the druids they sought, for a large structure rose up from the ground in a forest clearing, the walls clearly having been grown together rather than assembled from chopped-down trees. Chaevaris considered the dwelling to look rather like <em>wall of thorn</em> spells had been used in its construction, although the leafy walls seemed to have more vines than thorns among them, and the wooden front door was traditional in build. The single word "Haven" was carved in the top of the door, apparently the name the druids chose for their home and place of business. But standing just outside their tall home - for the walls rose up to a full 25 feet or so - were an elven couple wearing the traditional druidic robes over what looked to be a suit of well-fitted leaves and vines. They were tending to a bunch of local plants just outside their home, alongside an oak tree that towered some 60 feet in height.</p><p></p><p>The pair looked up at the approach of the four strangers. "May we help you?" asked the male.</p><p></p><p>"It is possible we might be able to help you," Harlan replied. "We have come to hear details of this chimera menacing the area." At that, both druids smiled warmly. "It showed up fairly recently, and it has been quite the menace, slaying wildlife not just for food but also, seemingly, just for the fun of it. And it's been digging holes in the area for some reason."</p><p></p><p>"That's weird," Ageratum agreed. "Chimeras don't normally dig holes, do they?"</p><p></p><p>"Not that I'm aware of," admitted Chaevaris.</p><p></p><p>"We would gladly provide each of you a suit of <em>bespoke armor</em> if you were able to slay this foul beast," the male druid declared.</p><p></p><p>Alistair frowned in irritation. "You mean those...leaf things you're wearing?"</p><p></p><p>"It provides the comforts and flexibility of clothing, while likewise being magically treated to be as hard as iron." Seeing the human sorcerer didn't seem to be impressed, he added, "The flexibility ensures it will not hamper your ability to cast spells. Imagine: it would be like being able to wear a suit of full plate mail, like your paladin friend here, and still cast your spells as freely as you do now!"</p><p></p><p><em>While looking like I'm wearing a bush</em>, Alistair thought to himself with distaste. As far as he was concerned, wearing <em>bespoke armor</em> was a mere step up from wearing a barrel; surely only the poor would stoop to wearing leaves and grasses as clothing! He changed the subject slightly, asking, "If someone were to purchase a suit of this armor, would they pay you in coins and gems?"</p><p></p><p>"Often, yes," agreed the female druid. "We occasionally take payment in barter, as well."</p><p></p><p>"Ah, well then!" exclaimed Alistair. "When we slay this chimera for you, I will take my payment in coins and gems, then, if you please!" Harlan voiced his own preference to be paid in the same manner, not wanting to replace his trusted full plate armor with the shining sun holy symbol of Pelor engraved upon it, for a suit of grasses, leaves, and vines, which would make him look like a worshiper of Ehlonna or Obad-hai. The two women, however, seemed to like the concept, Ageratum because of the extra protection it would provide her while still allowing her to move silently, and Chaevaris because it would help her blend into a forest environment, hiding her from view of those she targeted with her bow.</p><p></p><p>That settled, Alistair had two final questions for the druidic couple: what color the dragon part of the chimera might be, and where it was last seen. To the first, its mismatched body was partially composed of a white dragon's head, wings, and tail; to the second, it had last been sighted some three miles or so to the east. Harlan thanked the pair and promised to see what they could do about slaying the chimera. "Shall we bring you back its heads?"</p><p></p><p>"No need for proof," scoffed the male druid. "I will gladly take the word of a paladin that the deed was done. We will see you when you return here for your payments, and for us to take the measurements of the two of you willing to be fitted for <em>bespoke armor</em>." He went on to explain that unlike normal magical armor, <em>bespoke armor</em> had to be fitted to size for the wearer; it did not magically alter its dimensions to each new wearer. Much like regular armor, <em>bespoke armor</em> had to be tailor-made to each user. As if to reinforce this point, as the four heroes remounted their horses, a lone elven woman approached the dwelling, for a fitting of her own. She smiled at the heroes as they passed, then went to talk to the druids.</p><p></p><p>Alistair gathered Chaevaris and Harlan together, and they each held out their quiver of arrows so the sorcerer could cast a <em>flame arrow</em> spell upon them. Then, heading east, the heroes soon found themselves in a large clearing between clumps of trees, and it was there that the chimera they were hunting found them. It dropped from the skies and landed at one end of the clearing, just as Harlan was entering from the other side, with the other three mounted heroes just behind him. Chaevaris immediately brought up her bow, arrow already placed for firing, and got a bead on her prey. She took a few moments to focus her aim, so she could place her arrow just where she wanted it to go.</p><p></p><p>But before she could fire, Ageratum rode her pony Munson off to the side of Harlan and fired off a <em>web</em> spell, using the power of her new magic cloak for the first time. A mass of sticky webs went flying from her outstretched hand, to completely encompass the chimera, with strands reaching out to anchor themselves between the ground and the overhanging limbs of the trees alongside the chimera. It roared its displeasure with three different throats, but the jaws of each head's mouth were webbed up so the vocalizations were not as loud as they might have normally been. It struggled to free itself, to no avail - the most it could manage was to move a few feet closer to the group it had planned to attack, entangled as it was in the thick webbing.</p><p></p><p>Alistair cast a <em>magic missile</em> spell at the beast, sending four blasts from his fingertips to strike unerringly at the creature's chest. Harlan cast a <em>bless</em> spell over the group, while Ambrose flew from Alistair's shoulder over to perch in a tree some distance away, well out of the range of a breath weapon should the dragon's head of the chimera somehow get free. Chaevaris released her arrow and it caught fire during its brief journey into the chimera's breast, while Ageratum sent Munson on a wide arc through the trees, angling to sneak up behind the wounded beast.</p><p></p><p>The chimera continued trying to wriggle free from the webs, but once again only managed to take a few hobbled steps closer to Harlan, still astride his white horse Law. While Alistair cast another <em>magic missile</em> spell at the three-headed creature, his familiar turned his head sideways, for off in the distance he heard something large crashing its way through the trees - whatever it was, it seemed the chimera was not the only monster about in this area! The grackle took wing once again, flying to his master's shoulder, to inform him of what he'd heard.</p><p></p><p>"Something big's headed this way!" Alistair called out to the others, pointing in the direction from which Ambrose had heard the noisy approach. "Here's hoping this chimera isn't just a baby, and its mother's on the way to come deal with us!" <em>That</em> was certainly an unpleasant thought!</p><p></p><p>Harlan wasn't planning on having to deal with two threats at once; leaping from Law's saddle, he charged the entangled chimera, bringing his <em>flaming burst longsword</em> coming in an overhead arc to slice deep down between two of the creature's heads, causing a spurt of blood to spray up from the wound. Chaevaris shot another arrow over the paladin's head to strike the lion's head right between the eyes, and just like that the chimera was down - at least unconscious and stabilized, thanks to the presence of the <em>Blood Mirror</em> Harlan kept upon his person at all times. But the archer sent another arrow striking deep into the creature's body, right between the area where the dragon-wings attached to the leonine body. Seeing the creature down, Ageratum altered Munson's course immediately, riding the pony up to the fallen chimera so she could leap down from the saddle and slit the thing's throats, letting the pools of blood accumulate upon the ground and ensure the beast's demise. The little halfling was sure the <em>Blood Mirror</em> wouldn't be able to stabilize <em>that</em> much of her handiwork!</p><p></p><p>By now, the heroes could hear the approach of the oncoming second monster on their own. Alistair cast an <em>unseen servant</em> spell and passed over two of his pouches of magically-shrunken boulders, now all the size of a pebble - or a sling stone. Ageratum had two such pouches herself, for each night, in camp, Alistair reapplied the <em>shrink item</em> spells to the pouch of "pebboulders" whose magic was about to run out. Harlan stood in a readied stance, shield held out before him and flaming blade ready to strike at whatever monster might approach within range. Chaevaris readied another arrow to her bow and sighted down the length of the shaft, seeking to find whatever it was that was crashing its way through the forest. Ageratum, her bloody work with the chimera finished, remounted Munson's saddle and backed away from the bleeding corpse before her, back towards the relative safety of Alistair and Zephyr's side. Alistair sent Ambrose to the air, to circle the clearing and try to get a good look at what might be approaching. He cast a <em>shield</em> spell upon himself while they waited.</p><p></p><p>And then, all at once, the group got a look at the approaching beast. It was armored, like a turtle, but with a sleeker build; its head came to a point, and it had a rather sharklike fin rising up from the back of its dorsal plates. "A bulette," Chaevaris announced, focusing her arrow to try to strike one of its eyes. Ageratum reached down and fetched one of the kobold shortspears she had strapped to the side of her saddle, readying it to throw once it came within range. Harlan, seeing how far away the bulette still was, jumped back up into his saddle to close the distance between them, but Alistair was able to target it with a <em>magic missile</em> spell just fine - all he needed was a good look at the beast for his four missiles to find their way unerringly to its body, where they exploded in a burst of energy.</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris released her flaming arrow as the bulette continued its charge through the forest, knocking over saplings in its way. Her arrow struck true, right through one of the creature's eyes, and it roared in pain as it seemed to cry tears of blood from that eye. But just that quickly, the elven archer had another arrow in place and was focusing her aim to best advantage.</p><p></p><p>Alistair cast a <em>scorching ray</em> spell, and by this time in his adventuring career he'd advanced enough to send two separate blasts of flame roaring at the oncoming beast. Both blasts struck true, burning the bulette's right side. It staggered and seemed ready to fall, and Chaevaris's second flaming arrow took it completely out of the fight, the landshark collapsing in a heap where it had stood. Smiling, Ageratum rode Munson over to this second corpse and slew it where it lay, bleeding but stable - until the halfling's blade made it stable no more.</p><p></p><p>"Alistair, you feel like shrinking the two corpses, so we can show them to the druids?" Chaevaris asked. "I know they said they'd just take Harlan's word for it, but I wouldn't mind having proof of our deeds." Alistair dismounted from Zephyr and hurried to comply, using the variant of the <em>shrink item</em> spell that not only shrunk the corpses to one-sixteenth their original size, but also gave them the consistency of a piece of cloth. Alistair rolled up the two silken corpses and slid them into a scroll tube for easy storage.</p><p></p><p>Returning to Haven, Chaevaris's keen elven hearing picked up somebody saying, "That's too tight!" in a deep, masculine - almost guttural - voice. Recalling the young female elf who had gone into the building with the druids and realizing the voice could not possibly have come from her, the archer signaled to her friends for silence as they dismounted from their horses and crept quietly towards the door. Harlan cast forth with his paladin senses, and sure enough, there was the presence of evil on the other side of the wooden door. He indicated as much to his friends, and Chaevaris moved off to the side of the building to climb her way up the 60-foot oak tree, high enough for her to peer over the 25-foot hedge wall and see who it was the druids were measuring for a suit of <em>bespoke armor</em>. Alistair sent Ambrose flying above Haven to do the same, reporting back to his master that the two elves were measuring a blue-skinned ogre with ivory horns rising up from his brow. "An ogre mage!" whispered Harlan, although the term meant nothing to either Ageratum or Alistair.</p><p></p><p>Still, certain that the ogre mage had somehow <em>charmed</em> the druids into serving him, Harlan pointed to the door and Ageratum silently checked it out for traps. Seeing none, she motioned to the paladin, he nodded in return, and she pulled the door open wide and stepped aside. Harlan went through the open doorway, to be faced with the back of an ogre mage wearing nothing but a breechcloth, his chain armor and greatsword laying upon the floor beside him. Alistair fired off a <em>magic missile</em> spell at the ogre mage's broad back, but while it struck the horned giant his innate resistance to spells allowed the spell to fizzle out upon impact. But that was all right, for by then the blade of Harlan's <em>flaming burst longsword</em> came stabbing into his lower back, while from above a flaming arrow came shooting down from the depths of the oak tree. The ogre mage collapsed where he stood, while the druids scattered to either side of him.</p><p></p><p>The giant wasn't out for long, though, for as Harlan watched his wounds healed over, the ogre mage's regenerative powers kicking in immediately. But as the paladin was standing over the ogre mage, it was simplicity itself to bring another couple of sword-strikes crashing down upon the nearly-naked foe, driving him deep into unconsciousness from which it would take a few moments to regenerate. And those were moments Ageratum - and the gleaming blade of her short sword - were determined the ogre mage would not have.</p><p></p><p>The battle done - the third one this morning without any blood spilled on the part of any of the heroes - Alistair unrolled his shrunken corpses of the chimera and bulette and showed them to the druids, who confirmed the "elf girl" who had shown up as the heroes were departing was in fact an ogre mage, magically transformed into a less frightful form so he could get the jump on the druids. They thanked the heroes profusely, offering them the ogre mage's gear - the armor and greatsword, plus a leather sack containing a pair of onyxes - as well as the payment to which they'd already agreed. Chaevaris stuffed the items into her new haversack, figuring they might be able to sell them once they got back to Ghourmand Vale, while the druid woman went in the back to fetch the payment for Harlan and Alistair - gemstones valued at 500 pieces of gold each, the sorcerer noted with approval. Then he and Harlan stepped outside with the horses while Ageratum and Chaevaris removed their current armor so they could be measured for <em>bespoke armor</em>.</p><p></p><p>Nearly an hour later, the two women stepped back outside, back in their original garb. "What happened?" Alistair asked them. "I thought you had decided to wear leaves and vines and such."</p><p></p><p>"It'll take weeks to craft," Ageratum answered him. "Once they're ready, the druids will send them to us in Ghourmand Vale."</p><p></p><p>"And you believed them?" the young sorcerer scoffed. "Elfy, really? You're very likely getting ripped off!"</p><p></p><p>"These are <em>elves</em>," Chaevaris informed him, as if this made all the difference in the world. "I trust them to keep their word."</p><p></p><p>"And if they don't," replied Ageratum, "we know where they live." And she patted the hilt of the sword with which she'd cut five throats that very morning. Giving Alistair a wide grin, she climbed back into the saddle on Munson's back. "Coming?" she asked sweetly.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed," replied Alistair, once again realizing what a bad idea it was to get on the little halfling's bad side.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>This was an odd little adventure, in that none of the PCs took so much as a single point of damage. Of course, when designing it, Dan had had no idea his wife was going to purchase a <em>cloak of arachnida</em> for her halfling PC, nor that the chimera would roll so poorly when trying to break free of the <em>web</em> spell she used upon first seeing it. But that's the way it goes, sometimes; the DM just sets up the encounter and then the dice do what dice do best: cause all kinds of chaos when least expected!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8993193, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 21: HAVEN[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 7[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 12 April 2023 - - - The adventurers were traveling by horseback, returning to Ghourmand Vale. The eight-day trek was at about the halfway mark, with the group having already passed by the Gnarley Forest and making their way north of the Welkwood. They had all spent quite a bit of coin before departing Greyhawk City; Chaevaris had picked up a pair of [I]gloves of Dexterity[/I], an [I]amulet of health[/I], and a [I]Heward's handy haversack[/I], providing enough extradimensional storage that Alistair begged the elven archer to allow him to swing by his family home and collect his entire "Elfy Danger Silverleaf" series of children's books to store in her new haversack until they got back to Ghourmand Vale. (Knowing she'd probably regret it, she begrudgingly agreed, feeling the 19-year-old sorcerer was in any case just a child, after all.) Alistair had used all of his collected cash from his adventuring career to upgrade his [I]ring of protection[/I], increasing the level of deflection it provided him against incoming attacks. (He actually found himself just short of the total cost, so he sold his masterwork rapier to make up the difference, feeling his magical rapier was weapon enough for him.) Harlan purchased a [I]cloak of Charisma[/I] which enhanced the amount of healing energy he could provide each day with his laying on of hands. And Ageratum made two purchases: the first bothered Alistair more than he cared to admit, for she added a [I]human bane[/I] dweomer to her magic short sword (he vowed not to get on her bad side any time soon); the second was a [I]cloak of arachnida[/I], which granted her the ability to [I]spider climb[/I], gave her limited resistance against spider venom, and not only allowed her to pass through spider webs but also cast a [I]web[/I] spell once per day. All in all, the four were pleased with their purchases and were also looking forward to getting back to Ghourmand Vale and seeing what had transpired there in their absence. (Besides that, Alistair would be glad to meet up with the bard Holyrood Carp, a potential source of additional cash if the sorcerer could come up with any new songs in the meantime.) But as they rode across the plains, they saw a trio of mounted riders heading their way - quite deliberately, for they altered course slightly to intercept the four heroes. "Elves," announced Harlan, squinting at the newcomers from his customary position in the front of the heroes' formation. Chaevaris gave a brief curse in her native tongue, forgetting each of the others in her group also spoke Elven. "Problem?" Ageratum asked from the back of her pony, Munson. She dropped her hand to the short sword belted at her hip, wondering if these elves meant them ill will. "Possibly," replied Chaevaris. "It's my parents, and my older sister." Sure enough, as the trio approached, the family resemblance was quite evident, although Chaevaris's older sister had quite a few more feminine curves than her tomboy sibling. "Hopefully this isn't about the arranged marriage they cooked up with Captain Oakcrown, because that is [I]not[/I] going to happen." Introductions were made as the Noarunal family got within range; Chaevaris's father was [B]Waesven[/B], her mother was [B]Venvyre[/B], and her quite lovely sister was [B]Ennala[/B]. They smiled and nodded politely as Chaevaris introduced her three adventuring partners, although they no doubt were a bit puzzled about what their daughter could possibly have in common with these strange people. But Waesven Noarunal got straight to the point. "We have just had a rather interesting proposal, which we were forced to turn down. But it is one that might be of interest to you and your...compatriots." "Oh?" Chaevaris asked, clearly wondering where this was going. "There are a pair of married druids living just south of here. They craft [I]bespoke armor[/I], woven from leaves, vines, and grasses and then magically treated to become as hard a metal. They have been there for many decades, but recently a chimera has moved into the area and has been causing quite a disturbance, killing off much of the game and digging countless holes in the forest floor, for some reason. They wished us to hunt it down for them." "And you turned them down?" asked Chaevaris. Waesven tilted his head in puzzlement, as if unsure why his youngest daughter wouldn't have instantly realized why this wouldn't be a hunt in which they'd have been interested. "You know our ways," he declared. "We use every piece of the creatures we slay. We have no desire for chimera meat, nor can we use the mismatched hide of such a creature. However, knowing your views on our ways, and our [I]traditions[/I]" - and here Chaevaris noted a potential dig about her rejecting the arranged marriage her parents had set up for her - "we thought it worth mentioning to you and your friends, once we recognized you riding by." "I say!" piped up Alistair. "That's quite a coincidence, running into you all the way out here from Greyhawk City!" Now it was Chaevaris's mother's turn to look puzzled. "Why ever would you think so?" asked Venvyre. "This is the area in which we live. We are not from Greyhawk City." That only made Alistair look puzzled, as they had first met up with the elven archer in Greyhawk City and he'd thus assumed she was a local. "Ah, uh," he stuttered, before finding a reasonable topic over which to turn the conversation. "Would you happen to know what color dragon the chimera's body contained?" "You would have to ask the druids; they shared no such information with us." "We will do just that," said Harlan, looking back towards his friends, his demeanor stating quite perfectly clearly that he had no intentions of allowing an evil chimera to run rampant through the forest if he was there to put a stop to its rampages. "Thank you for the information, and it was nice to meet Chaevaris's family." Then, kicking Law into action, he turned his white horse and headed south. The other three heroes followed on their own mounts, and the Noarunal family went their own way, bows over their shoulders until they caught sight of game they were willing to slay for food. It wasn't difficult finding the home of the druids they sought, for a large structure rose up from the ground in a forest clearing, the walls clearly having been grown together rather than assembled from chopped-down trees. Chaevaris considered the dwelling to look rather like [I]wall of thorn[/I] spells had been used in its construction, although the leafy walls seemed to have more vines than thorns among them, and the wooden front door was traditional in build. The single word "Haven" was carved in the top of the door, apparently the name the druids chose for their home and place of business. But standing just outside their tall home - for the walls rose up to a full 25 feet or so - were an elven couple wearing the traditional druidic robes over what looked to be a suit of well-fitted leaves and vines. They were tending to a bunch of local plants just outside their home, alongside an oak tree that towered some 60 feet in height. The pair looked up at the approach of the four strangers. "May we help you?" asked the male. "It is possible we might be able to help you," Harlan replied. "We have come to hear details of this chimera menacing the area." At that, both druids smiled warmly. "It showed up fairly recently, and it has been quite the menace, slaying wildlife not just for food but also, seemingly, just for the fun of it. And it's been digging holes in the area for some reason." "That's weird," Ageratum agreed. "Chimeras don't normally dig holes, do they?" "Not that I'm aware of," admitted Chaevaris. "We would gladly provide each of you a suit of [I]bespoke armor[/I] if you were able to slay this foul beast," the male druid declared. Alistair frowned in irritation. "You mean those...leaf things you're wearing?" "It provides the comforts and flexibility of clothing, while likewise being magically treated to be as hard as iron." Seeing the human sorcerer didn't seem to be impressed, he added, "The flexibility ensures it will not hamper your ability to cast spells. Imagine: it would be like being able to wear a suit of full plate mail, like your paladin friend here, and still cast your spells as freely as you do now!" [I]While looking like I'm wearing a bush[/I], Alistair thought to himself with distaste. As far as he was concerned, wearing [I]bespoke armor[/I] was a mere step up from wearing a barrel; surely only the poor would stoop to wearing leaves and grasses as clothing! He changed the subject slightly, asking, "If someone were to purchase a suit of this armor, would they pay you in coins and gems?" "Often, yes," agreed the female druid. "We occasionally take payment in barter, as well." "Ah, well then!" exclaimed Alistair. "When we slay this chimera for you, I will take my payment in coins and gems, then, if you please!" Harlan voiced his own preference to be paid in the same manner, not wanting to replace his trusted full plate armor with the shining sun holy symbol of Pelor engraved upon it, for a suit of grasses, leaves, and vines, which would make him look like a worshiper of Ehlonna or Obad-hai. The two women, however, seemed to like the concept, Ageratum because of the extra protection it would provide her while still allowing her to move silently, and Chaevaris because it would help her blend into a forest environment, hiding her from view of those she targeted with her bow. That settled, Alistair had two final questions for the druidic couple: what color the dragon part of the chimera might be, and where it was last seen. To the first, its mismatched body was partially composed of a white dragon's head, wings, and tail; to the second, it had last been sighted some three miles or so to the east. Harlan thanked the pair and promised to see what they could do about slaying the chimera. "Shall we bring you back its heads?" "No need for proof," scoffed the male druid. "I will gladly take the word of a paladin that the deed was done. We will see you when you return here for your payments, and for us to take the measurements of the two of you willing to be fitted for [I]bespoke armor[/I]." He went on to explain that unlike normal magical armor, [I]bespoke armor[/I] had to be fitted to size for the wearer; it did not magically alter its dimensions to each new wearer. Much like regular armor, [I]bespoke armor[/I] had to be tailor-made to each user. As if to reinforce this point, as the four heroes remounted their horses, a lone elven woman approached the dwelling, for a fitting of her own. She smiled at the heroes as they passed, then went to talk to the druids. Alistair gathered Chaevaris and Harlan together, and they each held out their quiver of arrows so the sorcerer could cast a [I]flame arrow[/I] spell upon them. Then, heading east, the heroes soon found themselves in a large clearing between clumps of trees, and it was there that the chimera they were hunting found them. It dropped from the skies and landed at one end of the clearing, just as Harlan was entering from the other side, with the other three mounted heroes just behind him. Chaevaris immediately brought up her bow, arrow already placed for firing, and got a bead on her prey. She took a few moments to focus her aim, so she could place her arrow just where she wanted it to go. But before she could fire, Ageratum rode her pony Munson off to the side of Harlan and fired off a [I]web[/I] spell, using the power of her new magic cloak for the first time. A mass of sticky webs went flying from her outstretched hand, to completely encompass the chimera, with strands reaching out to anchor themselves between the ground and the overhanging limbs of the trees alongside the chimera. It roared its displeasure with three different throats, but the jaws of each head's mouth were webbed up so the vocalizations were not as loud as they might have normally been. It struggled to free itself, to no avail - the most it could manage was to move a few feet closer to the group it had planned to attack, entangled as it was in the thick webbing. Alistair cast a [I]magic missile[/I] spell at the beast, sending four blasts from his fingertips to strike unerringly at the creature's chest. Harlan cast a [I]bless[/I] spell over the group, while Ambrose flew from Alistair's shoulder over to perch in a tree some distance away, well out of the range of a breath weapon should the dragon's head of the chimera somehow get free. Chaevaris released her arrow and it caught fire during its brief journey into the chimera's breast, while Ageratum sent Munson on a wide arc through the trees, angling to sneak up behind the wounded beast. The chimera continued trying to wriggle free from the webs, but once again only managed to take a few hobbled steps closer to Harlan, still astride his white horse Law. While Alistair cast another [I]magic missile[/I] spell at the three-headed creature, his familiar turned his head sideways, for off in the distance he heard something large crashing its way through the trees - whatever it was, it seemed the chimera was not the only monster about in this area! The grackle took wing once again, flying to his master's shoulder, to inform him of what he'd heard. "Something big's headed this way!" Alistair called out to the others, pointing in the direction from which Ambrose had heard the noisy approach. "Here's hoping this chimera isn't just a baby, and its mother's on the way to come deal with us!" [I]That[/I] was certainly an unpleasant thought! Harlan wasn't planning on having to deal with two threats at once; leaping from Law's saddle, he charged the entangled chimera, bringing his [I]flaming burst longsword[/I] coming in an overhead arc to slice deep down between two of the creature's heads, causing a spurt of blood to spray up from the wound. Chaevaris shot another arrow over the paladin's head to strike the lion's head right between the eyes, and just like that the chimera was down - at least unconscious and stabilized, thanks to the presence of the [I]Blood Mirror[/I] Harlan kept upon his person at all times. But the archer sent another arrow striking deep into the creature's body, right between the area where the dragon-wings attached to the leonine body. Seeing the creature down, Ageratum altered Munson's course immediately, riding the pony up to the fallen chimera so she could leap down from the saddle and slit the thing's throats, letting the pools of blood accumulate upon the ground and ensure the beast's demise. The little halfling was sure the [I]Blood Mirror[/I] wouldn't be able to stabilize [I]that[/I] much of her handiwork! By now, the heroes could hear the approach of the oncoming second monster on their own. Alistair cast an [I]unseen servant[/I] spell and passed over two of his pouches of magically-shrunken boulders, now all the size of a pebble - or a sling stone. Ageratum had two such pouches herself, for each night, in camp, Alistair reapplied the [I]shrink item[/I] spells to the pouch of "pebboulders" whose magic was about to run out. Harlan stood in a readied stance, shield held out before him and flaming blade ready to strike at whatever monster might approach within range. Chaevaris readied another arrow to her bow and sighted down the length of the shaft, seeking to find whatever it was that was crashing its way through the forest. Ageratum, her bloody work with the chimera finished, remounted Munson's saddle and backed away from the bleeding corpse before her, back towards the relative safety of Alistair and Zephyr's side. Alistair sent Ambrose to the air, to circle the clearing and try to get a good look at what might be approaching. He cast a [I]shield[/I] spell upon himself while they waited. And then, all at once, the group got a look at the approaching beast. It was armored, like a turtle, but with a sleeker build; its head came to a point, and it had a rather sharklike fin rising up from the back of its dorsal plates. "A bulette," Chaevaris announced, focusing her arrow to try to strike one of its eyes. Ageratum reached down and fetched one of the kobold shortspears she had strapped to the side of her saddle, readying it to throw once it came within range. Harlan, seeing how far away the bulette still was, jumped back up into his saddle to close the distance between them, but Alistair was able to target it with a [I]magic missile[/I] spell just fine - all he needed was a good look at the beast for his four missiles to find their way unerringly to its body, where they exploded in a burst of energy. Chaevaris released her flaming arrow as the bulette continued its charge through the forest, knocking over saplings in its way. Her arrow struck true, right through one of the creature's eyes, and it roared in pain as it seemed to cry tears of blood from that eye. But just that quickly, the elven archer had another arrow in place and was focusing her aim to best advantage. Alistair cast a [I]scorching ray[/I] spell, and by this time in his adventuring career he'd advanced enough to send two separate blasts of flame roaring at the oncoming beast. Both blasts struck true, burning the bulette's right side. It staggered and seemed ready to fall, and Chaevaris's second flaming arrow took it completely out of the fight, the landshark collapsing in a heap where it had stood. Smiling, Ageratum rode Munson over to this second corpse and slew it where it lay, bleeding but stable - until the halfling's blade made it stable no more. "Alistair, you feel like shrinking the two corpses, so we can show them to the druids?" Chaevaris asked. "I know they said they'd just take Harlan's word for it, but I wouldn't mind having proof of our deeds." Alistair dismounted from Zephyr and hurried to comply, using the variant of the [I]shrink item[/I] spell that not only shrunk the corpses to one-sixteenth their original size, but also gave them the consistency of a piece of cloth. Alistair rolled up the two silken corpses and slid them into a scroll tube for easy storage. Returning to Haven, Chaevaris's keen elven hearing picked up somebody saying, "That's too tight!" in a deep, masculine - almost guttural - voice. Recalling the young female elf who had gone into the building with the druids and realizing the voice could not possibly have come from her, the archer signaled to her friends for silence as they dismounted from their horses and crept quietly towards the door. Harlan cast forth with his paladin senses, and sure enough, there was the presence of evil on the other side of the wooden door. He indicated as much to his friends, and Chaevaris moved off to the side of the building to climb her way up the 60-foot oak tree, high enough for her to peer over the 25-foot hedge wall and see who it was the druids were measuring for a suit of [I]bespoke armor[/I]. Alistair sent Ambrose flying above Haven to do the same, reporting back to his master that the two elves were measuring a blue-skinned ogre with ivory horns rising up from his brow. "An ogre mage!" whispered Harlan, although the term meant nothing to either Ageratum or Alistair. Still, certain that the ogre mage had somehow [I]charmed[/I] the druids into serving him, Harlan pointed to the door and Ageratum silently checked it out for traps. Seeing none, she motioned to the paladin, he nodded in return, and she pulled the door open wide and stepped aside. Harlan went through the open doorway, to be faced with the back of an ogre mage wearing nothing but a breechcloth, his chain armor and greatsword laying upon the floor beside him. Alistair fired off a [I]magic missile[/I] spell at the ogre mage's broad back, but while it struck the horned giant his innate resistance to spells allowed the spell to fizzle out upon impact. But that was all right, for by then the blade of Harlan's [I]flaming burst longsword[/I] came stabbing into his lower back, while from above a flaming arrow came shooting down from the depths of the oak tree. The ogre mage collapsed where he stood, while the druids scattered to either side of him. The giant wasn't out for long, though, for as Harlan watched his wounds healed over, the ogre mage's regenerative powers kicking in immediately. But as the paladin was standing over the ogre mage, it was simplicity itself to bring another couple of sword-strikes crashing down upon the nearly-naked foe, driving him deep into unconsciousness from which it would take a few moments to regenerate. And those were moments Ageratum - and the gleaming blade of her short sword - were determined the ogre mage would not have. The battle done - the third one this morning without any blood spilled on the part of any of the heroes - Alistair unrolled his shrunken corpses of the chimera and bulette and showed them to the druids, who confirmed the "elf girl" who had shown up as the heroes were departing was in fact an ogre mage, magically transformed into a less frightful form so he could get the jump on the druids. They thanked the heroes profusely, offering them the ogre mage's gear - the armor and greatsword, plus a leather sack containing a pair of onyxes - as well as the payment to which they'd already agreed. Chaevaris stuffed the items into her new haversack, figuring they might be able to sell them once they got back to Ghourmand Vale, while the druid woman went in the back to fetch the payment for Harlan and Alistair - gemstones valued at 500 pieces of gold each, the sorcerer noted with approval. Then he and Harlan stepped outside with the horses while Ageratum and Chaevaris removed their current armor so they could be measured for [I]bespoke armor[/I]. Nearly an hour later, the two women stepped back outside, back in their original garb. "What happened?" Alistair asked them. "I thought you had decided to wear leaves and vines and such." "It'll take weeks to craft," Ageratum answered him. "Once they're ready, the druids will send them to us in Ghourmand Vale." "And you believed them?" the young sorcerer scoffed. "Elfy, really? You're very likely getting ripped off!" "These are [I]elves[/I]," Chaevaris informed him, as if this made all the difference in the world. "I trust them to keep their word." "And if they don't," replied Ageratum, "we know where they live." And she patted the hilt of the sword with which she'd cut five throats that very morning. Giving Alistair a wide grin, she climbed back into the saddle on Munson's back. "Coming?" she asked sweetly. "Indeed," replied Alistair, once again realizing what a bad idea it was to get on the little halfling's bad side. - - - This was an odd little adventure, in that none of the PCs took so much as a single point of damage. Of course, when designing it, Dan had had no idea his wife was going to purchase a [I]cloak of arachnida[/I] for her halfling PC, nor that the chimera would roll so poorly when trying to break free of the [I]web[/I] spell she used upon first seeing it. But that's the way it goes, sometimes; the DM just sets up the encounter and then the dice do what dice do best: cause all kinds of chaos when least expected! [/QUOTE]
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Ghourmand Vale (3.5 campaign)
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