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Menexenus's Age of Worms Campaign Journal
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<blockquote data-quote="Menexenus" data-source="post: 4162109" data-attributes="member: 8951"><p><strong>Session 57: Tenser (at last)</strong></p><p></p><p><em>12th of Fireseek</em>. The afternoon was getting late; Katawan, Killick, and Alees were growing restless. Tarric had promised that he and Alexander would return within 24 hours to recover them. With nothing else to occupy their time, all they could do was wait and wonder if their comrades would return. Because of the temple's protective properties, they were waiting just inside the temple where the statue of the otyugh, the statue of the troll, and the statue of the orc kept them silent company.</p><p> </p><p> ...</p><p> </p><p> Finally, they heard Tarric's voice outside the temple. The three ran out of the temple to confirm that Alexander had indeed been returned to flesh. Tarric dropped two empty bags of holding on the ground, and the party began the time-consuming process of filling them with gold pieces. As they did so, Tarric recounted the events of the past 24 hours to his partymates with Alexander's occasional assistance. </p><p></p><p>Souref, the couatl, had transported Tarric and Alexander's statue to some otherworldly place at the base of an impossibly tall mountain where the air was crisp, clean, and refreshing and the water tasted better than wine. Radiant winged beings flew above him in the sky. Some flew purposefully, as if on important errands, while others seemed to be flying just for fun. Souref told Tarric that spending eternity in this place would be his reward if he fulfilled his destiny and stayed on the path of righteousness. But before Tarric could take it all in, Souref asked him to repeat the name of the town that he wished to travel to as well as the name of the powerful patron who would safeguard the Eye. After he reiterated the names "Magepoint" and "Tenser," Souref left him and told him to wait near the bank of a crystal clear lake. </p><p></p><p>Tarric couldn't say how long Souref was gone. The indescribable perfection of the smallest details of existence in that place had a strange ability to fascinate him. His attention was so engrossed by these details that he couldn't reliably gauge the passing of time. Eventually Souref returned and said that he was now ready to send Tarric and Alexander to Magepoint. The couatl assured him that his allies would be waiting for them there. The couatl instructed him to lift the statue once again, which seemed much easier than it had outside the temple. As Souref touched him with his feathers once again, he said a few short words in a beautiful-sounding language that Tarric did not understand.</p><p></p><p> And then, suddenly, he was in the main square of Magepoint, in front of the Inn of the All-Seeing Eye (which the party had frequented during their long stay at Tenser's castle before deciding to recover the White Eye). Four people were standing around him. One was Celeste, but the other three were unknown to him. Celeste introduced an elven female as Cymria, the Head of the Town Council. Standing beside Cymria was a beefy male human in platemail, most likely a bodyguard of some sort. The fourth was introduced as Bourafane, one of the head clerics of the Temple of Boccob, direct subordinate of Patriarch Riggby. After the hasty introductions were complete, Bourafane led the way to the Temple of Boccob which was only about a block away. (The beefy bodyguard helped Tarric carry the statue which had returned to its original weight.) The group hustled through the main hall of the temple - which was a cavernous library - through to a small audience chamber. Breathlessly, Tarric carefully set the statue on the ground and thanked the bodyguard for his assistance. </p><p></p><p>Moments later, an austere, elderly man appeared in the doorway, wearing ornate robes indicating devotion to Boccob. Bourafane bowed to this man and introduced him to Tarric as Patriarch Riggby. Riggby's face was an emotionless mask. He walked by Tarric as if he weren't there and approached Alexander's statue. He said some words and his hands glowed with divine energy. Suddenly Alexander was lying on the floor in the flesh, disoriented. Tarric did his best to reassure the suspicious Alexander that he was indeed safe and among friends. Meanwhile, Riggby quickly exited the room. Just before he closed the door behind him, he instructed Bourafane to collect the fee. Bourafane handed Tarric a small sheet of paper which the latter quickly recognized as a bill for services rendered in the amount of 1000 gp. Although Tarric was unaccustomed to such overt venality from men of the cloth, he did not object. He reached into his bag of holding and created stacks of gold pieces on the table in the middle of the room until the price had been paid in full. </p><p></p><p> At that point, the group made their way back toward Tenser's castle. Once they reached the causeway connecting the shore of the town to the small outcropping of rock upon which Tenser's tower was built, Bourafane, Cymria, and her bodyguard bade the others farewell. Only Celeste, Tarric, and Alexander continued across the causeway to the tower. As before, Celeste disarmed various traps along the way without revealing their secrets. When they were safely inside the walls of Tenser's sanctum, Celeste revealed that Tenser had still not returned, but that he had sent word ahead informing her of Tarric's impending arrival. She said that Tenser had instructed her to have clerics ready and to treat securing something in his possession with the highest priority. She now asked what it was that she was supposed to secure. Alexander replied the party had recovered the White Eye, the key piece of an artifact that was reputed to have the ability to break the barriers preventing Kyuss's return to Oerth. Alexander admitted that it was due to his own folly that the other two pieces of the artifact were already in the enemy's hands, and he felt personally responsible to ensure that this last piece remained safe. Celeste reassured him that there was no safer place on Oerth than in Tenser's vaults. She said that she had the key to one such vault and would gladly secure it there for him until Tenser's return. Alexander agreed.</p><p></p><p> After watching Celeste place the Eye in a vault in one of the tower's basement levels, he retired to his bed chamber. He was exhausted. After he awoke late the next day, Tarric insisted that they return as soon as possible to recover their partymates. Alexander memorized the necessary spells, and then they returned to recover their partymates. It took multiple teleports for Alexander to get the entire party (as well as Grimlock's statue) back to Magepoint. But they made it back successfully and again began waiting for Tenser's return. </p><p> </p><p><em>13th - 26th of Fireseek</em>. The party buys and sells some items and has other items commissioned by the remarkably adept mastercraftsmen in this unusual town. Alexander used Tenser's laboratory to begin work upgrading his Headband of Intellect. </p><p> </p><p><em>27th of Fireseek</em>. Before Alexander was done crafting, Celeste excitedly informed the party that Tenser had finally returned and would see them in his office in two hours. The party prepared for the long-awaited meeting. At the appointed time, Celeste ushered them to a large room on one of the tower's upper levels. The walls of the tall room were covered in paintings large and small. At the far end of the room, in front of an ornate fireplace sat an enormous wooden desk piled high with papers and scrolls. Near the desk was a dragonchess board with pieces arrayed in positions indicating an unfinished game. Tenser stood up from behind the desk to greet them. He was a thin, energetic man with short brown hair. He wore a deep blue tunic made of some unrecognizable fabric and carried a golden goblet filled with wine. The encroaching lines on his face and the gray at his temples were the only indications of his advancing age. He welcomed the party, whose names he already knew. He invited them to sit and made sure they were comfortable with drinks of their own before getting down to business.</p><p></p><p> Tenser told the party that he had heard much about them from his agent, Eligos. He asked about some of the details of the Worm's Rampage. Then he thanked the party for its efforts and its sacrifices, which had certainly averted a much greater disaster. He also inquired about the party's other run-ins with the minions of Kyuss. The party mentioned the black dragon Ilthane that they had killed in Diamond Lake. They mentioned that it had told them that its master was a dragon known as Dragotha. Tenser seemed to recognize this name. He informed them that Dragotha was an ancient dracolich - an undead dragon. This information gave the party pause. Tenser then asked the party about the difficulties they had encountered on the way to Magepoint. The party described their discovery of a fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts as well as its loss during an ambush by fiends on the way to Magepoint. Tenser informed them that the fiends had been servants of a powerful pit fiend named Visciannix. Tenser estimated that Visciannix was now in possession of 4 fragments of the Rod. Tenser would now have to devote a large amount of his time and energy to frustrating whatever plans Visciannix had for the Rod. As a side note, he thanked the party for rescuing Allustan from the trap in Icosiol's Tomb. He revealed that Allustan had once been an apprentice of Tenser's and indicated that they had not parted on the best of terms. Nevertheless, he was relieved to learn that Allustan was well.</p><p></p><p> Tenser returned to business and informed the party why he wanted their help. He confided that he had been aware of the Age of Worms prophecy for some time but had never given it much credence. He was even more dubious of the claims of the Ebon Triad cult. However, his mentor Bucknard, one of the original members of the Citadel of Eight (precursor of the Circle of Eight) had felt differently. Researching the Age of Worms had been a hobby of Bucknard's, bordering on obsession. Bucknard had believed that Tenser was wrong not to take it seriously. He had taken a trip to the ruins of an ancient city in the Amedio Jungle known as Kuluth-Mar, where Kyuss allegedly accomplished his ascension to godhood. Unfortunately, Tenser had been busy on Circle business when Bucknard had returned. Bucknard had left behind some scraps of paper briefly journaling his visit to Kuluth-Mar before leaving to investigate another lead. Sadly, Tenser never saw him again. Bucknard had disappeared without a trace approximately 20 years ago. Tenser had confirmed via divinations that Bucknard had been killed on his final trip. </p><p></p><p>Now that the Age of Worms prophecies seemed to be coming true and the Cult of Kyuss seemed to be growing in strength, Tenser expressed the hope that the party would be willing to retrace Bucknard's steps and try to recover whatever information Bucknard had found. When the party seemed agreeable to this idea, Tenser suggested that they start by exploring Kuluth-Mar. Maybe there was some key piece of information that had been left behind at the site of Kyuss's apotheosis that might help the forces of Good prevent the Age of Worms. Alexander asked if they party could delay their departure for a few days so that he could finish upgrading his Headband. Tenser agreed. </p><p></p><p> As the party was leaving, Tenser asked Alexander to remain for a moment. Killick also hung back for a private word. Killick informed Tenser that he had become a Wormhunter, following in the footsteps of druids of the Order of the Storm whose primary for centuries mission had been the defeat of Kyuss and the containment of his minions. However, the key to becoming a Wormhunter was the consumption of a living Kyuss worm. Killick explained that by doing so, he was able to use Kyuss's own energy to combat the Age of Worms. He wanted to make sure that Tenser was aware that a living Kyuss worm resided in his head, but only for the purpose of helping him to hunt down and destroy the minions of Kyuss. Although Tenser clearly found the transformation that Killick was undergoing distasteful, he thanked Killick for sharing the information and for risking his own well-being to become a more perfect weapon in the fight against the Age of Worms. After Killick departed, Tenser led Alexander to one of the deepest sublevels of his tower. There he welcomed Alexander him into the fold and inducted him as an agent in the clandestine network, sharing its secrets and capabilities with him.</p><p> </p><p> <em>28th of Fireseek - 3rd of Readying</em>. Alexander continues work on his Headband.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4th of Readying</em>. Alexander completed his Headband and announced that he planned to take a trip to Greyhawk to recruit a new cleric from the Church of St. Cuthbert there. Alees asked for permission to tag along. Alexander consented. They returned later the same day with a cleric that Alexander introduced as Jamlammen, or 'Jam' for short. Alexander informed the party that Jam had come highly recommended by Matriarch Eritai herself. Without bragging, Jam admitted that he had seen a significant amount of action in the Vesve Forrest along the northern frontier of Furyondy, fighting alongside the people of Highfolk against incursions by Iuz's orcs. He assured the party that he would serve them faithfully in their mission and could be relied upon to pull his own weight. The party members welcomed him into their ranks but told him that they would hold him to his pledge. They made sure he was aware that they were certain to face horrors the likes of which he had probably never seen. He said that he understood the importance of his mission and was honored that the Matriarch had chosen him for it. He would not let her, the church, or his god down. And if the Matriarch had assigned him to this party, then ministering to the party's physical and spiritual needs was tantamount to serving his church, as far as he was concerned. He could no more abandon them than he could abandon his own faith. This satisfied the party members and they prepared to depart.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5th of Readying</em>. The party assembled in Tenser's office prior to departure. Tenser pointed out a painting on the wall that supposedly represented Kuluth-Mar, but he informed Alexander that this town was almost 2000 miles away. Alexander admitted that he could not teleport that far. He would need to find a stopover point somewhere between Magepoint and their final destination. Tenser suggested that they use a small town on the coast in the Kingdom of Keoland named Saltmarsh. He reminisced that early in his adventuring career he had once uncovered a sinister secret there. Once he became a powerful mage, he had commissioned a portrait of the town as it had existed then. He pointed Alexander to one of the multitude of extraordinarily detailed and life-like paintings on his walls. Alexander studied it in silence for a while. Then he turned to the painting of Kuluth-Mar and did the same. At long last, he said he thought he would be able to get the party there. Tenser suggested an inn to stay at in Saltmarsh while they were there. He couldn't be sure that it would still be there, but he was willing to bet that it was. He asked the party to mention him to the proprietor and report on how he was doing. They agreed.</p><p></p><p> After Alexander cast his spell, the party appeared on the docks of a thriving fishing village which was much larger than the town that had been depicted in the painting. They sought out the inn and it was indeed still there. And when Tenser's name was mentioned to the proprietor, the party received nothing but the finest treatment for the remainder of their short overnight stay.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Menexenus, post: 4162109, member: 8951"] [b]Session 57: Tenser (at last)[/b] [I]12th of Fireseek[/I]. The afternoon was getting late; Katawan, Killick, and Alees were growing restless. Tarric had promised that he and Alexander would return within 24 hours to recover them. With nothing else to occupy their time, all they could do was wait and wonder if their comrades would return. Because of the temple's protective properties, they were waiting just inside the temple where the statue of the otyugh, the statue of the troll, and the statue of the orc kept them silent company. ... Finally, they heard Tarric's voice outside the temple. The three ran out of the temple to confirm that Alexander had indeed been returned to flesh. Tarric dropped two empty bags of holding on the ground, and the party began the time-consuming process of filling them with gold pieces. As they did so, Tarric recounted the events of the past 24 hours to his partymates with Alexander's occasional assistance. Souref, the couatl, had transported Tarric and Alexander's statue to some otherworldly place at the base of an impossibly tall mountain where the air was crisp, clean, and refreshing and the water tasted better than wine. Radiant winged beings flew above him in the sky. Some flew purposefully, as if on important errands, while others seemed to be flying just for fun. Souref told Tarric that spending eternity in this place would be his reward if he fulfilled his destiny and stayed on the path of righteousness. But before Tarric could take it all in, Souref asked him to repeat the name of the town that he wished to travel to as well as the name of the powerful patron who would safeguard the Eye. After he reiterated the names "Magepoint" and "Tenser," Souref left him and told him to wait near the bank of a crystal clear lake. Tarric couldn't say how long Souref was gone. The indescribable perfection of the smallest details of existence in that place had a strange ability to fascinate him. His attention was so engrossed by these details that he couldn't reliably gauge the passing of time. Eventually Souref returned and said that he was now ready to send Tarric and Alexander to Magepoint. The couatl assured him that his allies would be waiting for them there. The couatl instructed him to lift the statue once again, which seemed much easier than it had outside the temple. As Souref touched him with his feathers once again, he said a few short words in a beautiful-sounding language that Tarric did not understand. And then, suddenly, he was in the main square of Magepoint, in front of the Inn of the All-Seeing Eye (which the party had frequented during their long stay at Tenser's castle before deciding to recover the White Eye). Four people were standing around him. One was Celeste, but the other three were unknown to him. Celeste introduced an elven female as Cymria, the Head of the Town Council. Standing beside Cymria was a beefy male human in platemail, most likely a bodyguard of some sort. The fourth was introduced as Bourafane, one of the head clerics of the Temple of Boccob, direct subordinate of Patriarch Riggby. After the hasty introductions were complete, Bourafane led the way to the Temple of Boccob which was only about a block away. (The beefy bodyguard helped Tarric carry the statue which had returned to its original weight.) The group hustled through the main hall of the temple - which was a cavernous library - through to a small audience chamber. Breathlessly, Tarric carefully set the statue on the ground and thanked the bodyguard for his assistance. Moments later, an austere, elderly man appeared in the doorway, wearing ornate robes indicating devotion to Boccob. Bourafane bowed to this man and introduced him to Tarric as Patriarch Riggby. Riggby's face was an emotionless mask. He walked by Tarric as if he weren't there and approached Alexander's statue. He said some words and his hands glowed with divine energy. Suddenly Alexander was lying on the floor in the flesh, disoriented. Tarric did his best to reassure the suspicious Alexander that he was indeed safe and among friends. Meanwhile, Riggby quickly exited the room. Just before he closed the door behind him, he instructed Bourafane to collect the fee. Bourafane handed Tarric a small sheet of paper which the latter quickly recognized as a bill for services rendered in the amount of 1000 gp. Although Tarric was unaccustomed to such overt venality from men of the cloth, he did not object. He reached into his bag of holding and created stacks of gold pieces on the table in the middle of the room until the price had been paid in full. At that point, the group made their way back toward Tenser's castle. Once they reached the causeway connecting the shore of the town to the small outcropping of rock upon which Tenser's tower was built, Bourafane, Cymria, and her bodyguard bade the others farewell. Only Celeste, Tarric, and Alexander continued across the causeway to the tower. As before, Celeste disarmed various traps along the way without revealing their secrets. When they were safely inside the walls of Tenser's sanctum, Celeste revealed that Tenser had still not returned, but that he had sent word ahead informing her of Tarric's impending arrival. She said that Tenser had instructed her to have clerics ready and to treat securing something in his possession with the highest priority. She now asked what it was that she was supposed to secure. Alexander replied the party had recovered the White Eye, the key piece of an artifact that was reputed to have the ability to break the barriers preventing Kyuss's return to Oerth. Alexander admitted that it was due to his own folly that the other two pieces of the artifact were already in the enemy's hands, and he felt personally responsible to ensure that this last piece remained safe. Celeste reassured him that there was no safer place on Oerth than in Tenser's vaults. She said that she had the key to one such vault and would gladly secure it there for him until Tenser's return. Alexander agreed. After watching Celeste place the Eye in a vault in one of the tower's basement levels, he retired to his bed chamber. He was exhausted. After he awoke late the next day, Tarric insisted that they return as soon as possible to recover their partymates. Alexander memorized the necessary spells, and then they returned to recover their partymates. It took multiple teleports for Alexander to get the entire party (as well as Grimlock's statue) back to Magepoint. But they made it back successfully and again began waiting for Tenser's return. [I]13th - 26th of Fireseek[/I]. The party buys and sells some items and has other items commissioned by the remarkably adept mastercraftsmen in this unusual town. Alexander used Tenser's laboratory to begin work upgrading his Headband of Intellect. [I]27th of Fireseek[/I]. Before Alexander was done crafting, Celeste excitedly informed the party that Tenser had finally returned and would see them in his office in two hours. The party prepared for the long-awaited meeting. At the appointed time, Celeste ushered them to a large room on one of the tower's upper levels. The walls of the tall room were covered in paintings large and small. At the far end of the room, in front of an ornate fireplace sat an enormous wooden desk piled high with papers and scrolls. Near the desk was a dragonchess board with pieces arrayed in positions indicating an unfinished game. Tenser stood up from behind the desk to greet them. He was a thin, energetic man with short brown hair. He wore a deep blue tunic made of some unrecognizable fabric and carried a golden goblet filled with wine. The encroaching lines on his face and the gray at his temples were the only indications of his advancing age. He welcomed the party, whose names he already knew. He invited them to sit and made sure they were comfortable with drinks of their own before getting down to business. Tenser told the party that he had heard much about them from his agent, Eligos. He asked about some of the details of the Worm's Rampage. Then he thanked the party for its efforts and its sacrifices, which had certainly averted a much greater disaster. He also inquired about the party's other run-ins with the minions of Kyuss. The party mentioned the black dragon Ilthane that they had killed in Diamond Lake. They mentioned that it had told them that its master was a dragon known as Dragotha. Tenser seemed to recognize this name. He informed them that Dragotha was an ancient dracolich - an undead dragon. This information gave the party pause. Tenser then asked the party about the difficulties they had encountered on the way to Magepoint. The party described their discovery of a fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts as well as its loss during an ambush by fiends on the way to Magepoint. Tenser informed them that the fiends had been servants of a powerful pit fiend named Visciannix. Tenser estimated that Visciannix was now in possession of 4 fragments of the Rod. Tenser would now have to devote a large amount of his time and energy to frustrating whatever plans Visciannix had for the Rod. As a side note, he thanked the party for rescuing Allustan from the trap in Icosiol's Tomb. He revealed that Allustan had once been an apprentice of Tenser's and indicated that they had not parted on the best of terms. Nevertheless, he was relieved to learn that Allustan was well. Tenser returned to business and informed the party why he wanted their help. He confided that he had been aware of the Age of Worms prophecy for some time but had never given it much credence. He was even more dubious of the claims of the Ebon Triad cult. However, his mentor Bucknard, one of the original members of the Citadel of Eight (precursor of the Circle of Eight) had felt differently. Researching the Age of Worms had been a hobby of Bucknard's, bordering on obsession. Bucknard had believed that Tenser was wrong not to take it seriously. He had taken a trip to the ruins of an ancient city in the Amedio Jungle known as Kuluth-Mar, where Kyuss allegedly accomplished his ascension to godhood. Unfortunately, Tenser had been busy on Circle business when Bucknard had returned. Bucknard had left behind some scraps of paper briefly journaling his visit to Kuluth-Mar before leaving to investigate another lead. Sadly, Tenser never saw him again. Bucknard had disappeared without a trace approximately 20 years ago. Tenser had confirmed via divinations that Bucknard had been killed on his final trip. Now that the Age of Worms prophecies seemed to be coming true and the Cult of Kyuss seemed to be growing in strength, Tenser expressed the hope that the party would be willing to retrace Bucknard's steps and try to recover whatever information Bucknard had found. When the party seemed agreeable to this idea, Tenser suggested that they start by exploring Kuluth-Mar. Maybe there was some key piece of information that had been left behind at the site of Kyuss's apotheosis that might help the forces of Good prevent the Age of Worms. Alexander asked if they party could delay their departure for a few days so that he could finish upgrading his Headband. Tenser agreed. As the party was leaving, Tenser asked Alexander to remain for a moment. Killick also hung back for a private word. Killick informed Tenser that he had become a Wormhunter, following in the footsteps of druids of the Order of the Storm whose primary for centuries mission had been the defeat of Kyuss and the containment of his minions. However, the key to becoming a Wormhunter was the consumption of a living Kyuss worm. Killick explained that by doing so, he was able to use Kyuss's own energy to combat the Age of Worms. He wanted to make sure that Tenser was aware that a living Kyuss worm resided in his head, but only for the purpose of helping him to hunt down and destroy the minions of Kyuss. Although Tenser clearly found the transformation that Killick was undergoing distasteful, he thanked Killick for sharing the information and for risking his own well-being to become a more perfect weapon in the fight against the Age of Worms. After Killick departed, Tenser led Alexander to one of the deepest sublevels of his tower. There he welcomed Alexander him into the fold and inducted him as an agent in the clandestine network, sharing its secrets and capabilities with him. [I]28th of Fireseek - 3rd of Readying[/I]. Alexander continues work on his Headband. [I]4th of Readying[/I]. Alexander completed his Headband and announced that he planned to take a trip to Greyhawk to recruit a new cleric from the Church of St. Cuthbert there. Alees asked for permission to tag along. Alexander consented. They returned later the same day with a cleric that Alexander introduced as Jamlammen, or 'Jam' for short. Alexander informed the party that Jam had come highly recommended by Matriarch Eritai herself. Without bragging, Jam admitted that he had seen a significant amount of action in the Vesve Forrest along the northern frontier of Furyondy, fighting alongside the people of Highfolk against incursions by Iuz's orcs. He assured the party that he would serve them faithfully in their mission and could be relied upon to pull his own weight. The party members welcomed him into their ranks but told him that they would hold him to his pledge. They made sure he was aware that they were certain to face horrors the likes of which he had probably never seen. He said that he understood the importance of his mission and was honored that the Matriarch had chosen him for it. He would not let her, the church, or his god down. And if the Matriarch had assigned him to this party, then ministering to the party's physical and spiritual needs was tantamount to serving his church, as far as he was concerned. He could no more abandon them than he could abandon his own faith. This satisfied the party members and they prepared to depart. [I]5th of Readying[/I]. The party assembled in Tenser's office prior to departure. Tenser pointed out a painting on the wall that supposedly represented Kuluth-Mar, but he informed Alexander that this town was almost 2000 miles away. Alexander admitted that he could not teleport that far. He would need to find a stopover point somewhere between Magepoint and their final destination. Tenser suggested that they use a small town on the coast in the Kingdom of Keoland named Saltmarsh. He reminisced that early in his adventuring career he had once uncovered a sinister secret there. Once he became a powerful mage, he had commissioned a portrait of the town as it had existed then. He pointed Alexander to one of the multitude of extraordinarily detailed and life-like paintings on his walls. Alexander studied it in silence for a while. Then he turned to the painting of Kuluth-Mar and did the same. At long last, he said he thought he would be able to get the party there. Tenser suggested an inn to stay at in Saltmarsh while they were there. He couldn't be sure that it would still be there, but he was willing to bet that it was. He asked the party to mention him to the proprietor and report on how he was doing. They agreed. After Alexander cast his spell, the party appeared on the docks of a thriving fishing village which was much larger than the town that had been depicted in the painting. They sought out the inn and it was indeed still there. And when Tenser's name was mentioned to the proprietor, the party received nothing but the finest treatment for the remainder of their short overnight stay. [/QUOTE]
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