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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sayburr" data-source="post: 1169" data-attributes="member: 92">NeMoren VaultsJza arrived at the manor last night, was given the opportunity to sleep in a comfortable bed and then she gathered with some others in the small drawing room the next morning. Seated behind a desk in the room is a human who introduces himself as Kel Varnsen, the mayor of nearby Hollobrae. He is a rough looking gentleman with wild un-kept hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Standing behind the mayor is the half-elf who delivered the mysterious letters and who is introduced to you as Daresh. For the first time you get a very good look at this half-elf, who is not wearing traveling clothes like the last time you met. The fine black silk robes with silver trim highlights her fine of firm figure. She smiles and bows in greeting with a twinkle in her eye and a slight smile on her lips.Sitting in chairs around the room are: A male Fhokki named Rakis, A female Dejy named Amber, a female Reanaarian named Laura, a male elf named Ars, and a bronze skinned female Svimohzia named Jzashedra.After introductions are made and you've all been seated, Varnsen begins to speak:"In my hands, I hold the last will and testament of Baron Paytro NeMoren, the former lord of this region, and resident of this manor. Baron NeMoren died five years ago at the ripe old age of 102. He left two documents in my care: The first was a letter addressed to myself, outlining the Baron's final request that I find five people, identified only by the silver key that they carry, and gather them in a room for the reading of his will; the second document, unopened until today, was the will itself.I tell you, it has not been an easy task locating the members of this group. I tried on my own and even had a ranger friend of mine try but to no avail, finally Daresh came to my attention and she agreed to find you if you would agree to allow her to have a book that is in rumored to be in the vault of NeMoren. I told her that the will may not give the group access to the vault and she said that is was a risk she was willing to take. So, the only reason we are gathered her is because of Daresh's abilities so I feel like you should agree with her terms."Everyone at the table agrees with Kel even though Jza doesn’t agree, she accepts what the rest of the people at the table say, for now."Good, the book is called the 'Spells of Gadrwyn Waeth' and without further delay..."Mayor Varnsen unlocks a leather portfolio and withdraws a weathereddocument. It looks to be very old. He breaks the seal on the papers; he opens it and begins reading aloud:" 'The last Will and Testament of Paytro NeMoren, Baron of the West Wood region, heir to NeMoren Manor, and sole survivor of the respected NeMoren bloodline.Gathered to hear my final words should be five fortunate people… As the Mayor begins reading the will Jza notices the big Northman looking a little lost. She leans over and asks him in Fhokki “Do you understand what he is saying?”. The giant warrior looks a little startled but then nods his head and seems to pay closer attention. Jza shrugs inwardly but then focuses her attention back to the Mayor as well, did someone mention something about money?After the will is read, the Mayor says something about breaking down a wall and asks the witch , Daresh, if she would mind getting the hammers. The witch says she has business elsewhere and leaves in that disturbing manner that she seems to favor. Good riddance, I say. I just don’t trust that bitch. Next time I am at a guildhouse I’m going to see what anyone knows about her. We go with the Mayor down to the cellar and find the section of the wall that was mentioned—damned fine work, cleverly camouflaged. He tells us we can clear away the racks while he goes to get the sledges. Glad those two bruisers are along , this looks like sweaty work. While we are clearing the wall face everybody starts getting to know each other a little, or at least what they want the others to think they know about them. I don’t tell them much about me of course, let them wonder. I do give them my working name: if a woman wants her rep known she’s got to earn it under one name.The Northman and the woodsman beat the wall down. A short passage leads to a massive iron door that has 5 keyholes. We each put our keys in and then turn them. The mechanism opens inside the door but the door is still closed . Ars ,the woodsman, pulls against it and is rewarded as the massive thing swings open. The draft from the air being sucked into the passage beyond the door pulls at our torches. A light source far into the passage shimmers faintly, but our light only reveals rooms on either side of this corridor. Ars returns to the wall to get an impromptu stop for the door .We decide to look in the room on the left first . The bladesmen go to open the door. As the 2 other women watch them, I decide to watch our rear. The room has tapestries on all 4 walls and a pool surrounded by what look like metal trees. I feel drawn to look behind the tapestries as the others look upon them as if children at story time. Bah, I came here for treasure not history lessons. Behind the western tapestry I find an alcove with a statue and a plaque. The priestess, Amber, casts some spell or prayer and looks the room over . After a short time she tells us that the trees and the pool and the plaque are magical.The pool has an inscription in Kalamarian around its lip that reads “All true life comes from 2 components-light and water.” For some reason , the woodsman puts his torch out in the pool and then throws in a gold coin. Odd fellow, this one. I would have thought the Northman to be the superstitious one.We move to the room on the right. It seemed like it might have been a bunkhouse at one time but was trashed now. The room held little of interest but 3 giant centipedes and a note that mentioned no treasure so we moved on. The next room was a burial chamber of sorts with an upper and lower level.. While the others were talking about maybe doing something sometime ,I made my way to the first of the tombs that had had it’s door torn open. I could hear the Fhokki, Rakis, follow me. As I peered into the room, a filthy undead creature stepped from its hiding place and struck me in the throat. Surprised and bloody , I slipped away from it into the room and left it to face the ax weilding giant behind me. That is when they seemed to come out of the stonework. We were facing a platoon of undead. Things looked pretty grim but then the bard,Laura, started singing a battle hymn and the priestess stepped in and cowed the horrors with a show of power from her diety’s symbol. Raggedly and choking on my own blood I shot one of the fleshy creatures and then jumped down into the pit to finish off 2 of the skeletal creatures to help the bladesmen finish off the foes. Our search of this area was fruitless as well. Some treasure vaults these were turning out to be. This hardly seems the reward NeMoren was making it out to be.We went up and down some stairs to find the shimmering light and with it another massive door of iron.I searched for opening mechanismsbut found none. None until I touched the globe of light that is. It increased it’s glow and the door rose. I took the globe with me since it shone brighter than my torch in its invigorated state. The other side smelled dank and wet compared to the dry dusty state of the side we had entered thru. We found a mud room to the east where the men dispatched a giant frog. We moved on to a passageway that seems to have been not of the original design. We maneuvered thru its tight twists and turns only to find more skeletons . The confines were working against us until the priestess stepped forward and de-animated them with the power from her holy symbol. We followed it until it came out in a cavern with a river running thru it and some humanoids around a fire on the other side of it. We decided to turn back from here and look thru the other part of the designed vaults first to find that bitch her book of all things . Here adventure stares us in the face and they want to play fetch for that witch instead. We backtracked and moved on to the north until the corridor was blocked by a pit. Once again they had to have a caucus even tho I told them I could surely leap it. After I had had enuf of their banter I just backed up and ran and jumped it while they watched. I think they may all be politicians secretly except for the bearded giant and the priestess. The woodsman must have been shamed into trying the jump after seeing me do it. He backed up, ran and jumped and then started screaming as soon as he realized he was going to fall short.And fall short ,he did. The pit was only about 2 feet deep. Some enchantments must have been keeping it dark and stopping sound from escaping it. The reward for getting past this “danger” was a ransacked store room and a dead end of rubble.After some discussion, we considered the inscription around the pool and decided to try the light globe in the pool. The metal leaves seemed to sway under a breeze when we entered with the light. I put the globe in the depression in the pool and we all watched in amazement as the brackish water cleared and the pool filled up magically. I washed my near mortal wound with these waters and felt some relief from the pain and fatigue. We all took some of the waters to soothe our wounds and put the rest into the priestess’s emptied waterskin. We took about 4 hours searching the corridors for secret doors and the like. During this searching , Ars heard something behind one of the walls and put his ear on it to hear better. A massive burrowing monster collapsed the wall on him as it exited the stone right where he was standing. I sent a bolt deep into its chest for its trouble and the rest of our party responded with force as well to persuade it to retreat and find easier prey. We figured this to be enuf for one day and returned to the manor and locked the vault.The second day, we returned to the underground river and the humanoid forms beyond it. The Fhokki and I crept across the shadowy cavern nearly silently. I moved into position behind the sentry. I stabbed as hard as I could . The blade slid in between his ribs and upward to deflate his lungs so that he couldn’t even warn his companions. I lowered him to the ground and motioned for the Northman to be ready. I moved next to a barrier to surprise the second of what I recognized now as hobgoblins. Since I couldn’t get behind him, when my opportunity came, I stepped out and ran my blade up under his chin into his skull and let him ease down against the wall as I pressed my advantage to strike down the third by the camp fire. By this time the big axman had rush in as well and slew the last of them as quietly as I had the others. We arranged the bodies using their own spears on them in case some one came to check on them and took the other weapons across the river. There were 2 ways out of this side of the cavern and one looked to be a guardedEntrance , so we took the other, the one to the north. Northward we came across a scene straight out of a charnel house . Blood and guts and rotted remains were the main decorations here instead of tapestries and finery. The priestess said that if any of this water seeping thru this room was making its way into the local water supply , that might be the “curse” or “sickness” we had heard so much about. Pressing onward, we find 30 ‘ section of one corridor to be made of glass with a rushing river under it. We decide to come back to that later. We find a door with no handle or lock. There is a sign or plaque on it only. The others puzzle over this while I watch the corridor. We hear bone on stone and I look down the passageway to see skeletons advancing on us. “We have visitors,” I tell them. Rakis steps out into the corridor and I charge them. I get in only one blow tho because Amber de-animates them brandishing her holy symbol with pride. Rakis returns to help Laura with the puzzle and the door is opened magicaly. At last! Finally some treasure in these treasure vaults! We discover some diamond earrings, a ruby ring, and some other goodies in a jewelry box. As the others look over the rest of the room’s contents I discover a secret compartment in the bottom of the box and pocket the potion hidden there.A few rooms later we hear noise behind a door. We burst in ! The stench is awful. Two decaying creatures with terrible claws that look good for rending flesh but bad for us advance on us. The bladesmen clash with them. Something is wrong with the Northman. He is still standing but no longer attacking . No longer moving in any way for that matter. I try to help them with my bolts but the priestess proves her value again by cowing these monsters and sends them running. Laura and Amber with him, I think the Fhokki will be safe enough so I decide to press our advantage and fire at the retreating undead and give chase. The woodsman must have had the same idea for he matches me step for step. We make them look like pincushions as they have retreated to a hallway with a locked door. I listen at the door and break out my tools to pick the lock when we hear Amber shouting for us to come back. Maybe he wasn’t as safe as I thought. Ars and I hustle back to them. She found a note! I could be on the other side of that door I curse just under my breath. After a time Rakis regains control of his limbs. We go to the door and move the ghouls out of the way.I pick it and we enter a study perhaps . There is a large circle burned into one wall and the floor as well as cloven hoofprints . We start to look around the room but an archway to the south seems to call to me. I rush thru it and the others must sense my urgency since they are right on my heels. We enter a room with four statues , one in each corner, and another charred looking circle on the floor.One of the statues begins to speak . A terrible form begins to take shape in the circle. Lisette returns to the living but only to proclaim her hunger for it. A terrible battle follows. I am forced to drink the potion I found earlier and feeling its magical power coursing thru my body leap into the melee. We are barely able to come out with our lives. Behind her is a hallway with openings for our keys. At last, our rewards! We enter and begin to go thru our booty. I see a sarcophagus and want to add its contents to our pile so I go over and open it. Immediately I feel weak and my senses are befuddled. I close it and back away fearing poison gas of some sort. We all think it would be a good time to leave since I was not the only one affected by opening the sarcophagus and our battle wounds. We close the vault up and lock it back. On the way out though, the Note Amber found mentioned a glass prison and I want to get a better look at the floor that we saw earlier. I check out the floor for flaws and for traps and then test it with my own weight. I walk across to the other side and tell the others there are some short passages ahead. I ask if they want me to look ahead . Ars and Laura say they will come with me . I don’t think he trusts me. May be the only smart one of the bunch. Nah, probably just paranoid. As they cross, large cracks appear, threatening to drop them into the fast moving water but they leap to safety on my side just in time. We find a lab of some sort for our trouble.I have Rakis and Amber set a grappling hook at the corner and tie the end of that knotted rope around my waist. I take a deep breath and jump as far as I can and start hand over handing it as I sink into the cold fast waters.Rakis and Amber help drag me onto the floor on the other side finally. As I lay gasping for air I can hear gasps and yells and manage to look up only to see Rakis, Amber and Laura staring at the waters surface where it goes under the wall. Not good, I think to myself since I don’t have the breath to say it, we locked the vault back and it takes all five keys. Laura learns from Ars’ mistake and fixes a better rig for herself. Definitely time to go now.On our way out We hear Ars’ hoarse voice yelling. We ran toward it The Fhokki leaving us in his dustAs his powerful long strides ate up the distance. Ars ran past him and just as he did we saw what caused him to yell so frantically. Rakis runs face to face with the burrowing beast we faced yesterday. In spite of or perhaps because of the close passageway all we could do was fire our crossbows around him as the bard sang. Amber did happen to hit the axman but didn’t stop firing and managed to bring the beast down as we both filled it with bolts. Rakis went down under the beast’s onslaught. We drag him with us back to the manor. From DM’s Log to help make rest of story make sense:The party came up from the vaults weak, bloodied, and in one case, comatose. The Mayor of Hollobrae looked and acted quite concerned. “What the hell happened to you all? Come, lets get you all to a healer. There is one in Hollobrae.” Hollobrae is two days ride to the north. The party decides to wait until Rakis is well enough to travel so they leave two days later. Upon arriving in Hollobrae, Kel says, “Thank the Raiser, it sure is good to be home!” He takes the party directly to the temple. The priest examines each of the cursed characters and says that he is sorry that he is not yet powerful enough to help but that he expects a bishop to arrive any day to check on the church and he may be.So, the Mayor directs they to the Fiery Dragon Inn in the center of the town where they stay the night. The next day the mayor comes and asks them to his office where they meet Lord Llewiston a representative of the Emperor of Kalamar along with eight of the Kings Guards. Llewiston asks if they found anything interesting about Amelia for he is there to appoint another Baron of the area but before that can be done the whereabouts of Amelia’s body needs to be found. The party said they found nothing except for a note saying she was in a glass prison. “hmmmp” came the reply, “I am also here to collect two additional things, one is back taxes owed by the Heirs of the Westwood Barony and the five keys to the vault which is actually a part of the Manor and thus property of the Emperor. Please hand over the keys now.” The party angrily handed over the keys. [DM Note: Jza tells Llewiston that she lost her key.] “Thank you, anything you have already gotten out I consider yours for the keeping. Anything remaining I claim for the Emperor.” [DM Note: Later Llewiston finds out they didn’t get anything out of the vaults so he tells them they may go back in to claim their inherentance, but portions of it will be taken as taxes.]A knock comes at the door. Kel goes and opens the door and finds a cleric there who informs him that the Bishop Anelstol arrived last night and would like to see the infected people. The party, the Mayor, and Llewiston go there and meet with the Bishop who says that yes, he can help them but they must do something for the church or the area first. “Ahem” coughs Llewiston, “may I speak with you a moment” and he and the Bishop disappear for a moment and return. “Since three cures must be given three quests must be made. First is to find out what happened to Amelia. Second is to find out what the curse of the Weston area is and find out what is stalking and kidnapping locals. Lastly a parishioner wants help locating her father. He has been missing for almost two months and everyone she has paid money to has run off with the money, so I ask you to go to a small town in the Reanaarian Bay Area called Haanex where he was last seen and try to find him. I will cure one person after each quest is completed but will cure the last person before you journey to Reanaarian bay. Time is wasting for I will not stay here long, let us travel to Weston and begin our adventures, we will begin our travels tomorrow. I must also ask you to take this mage with you, for she has requested something from us also and if she helps you with the three quests she may return here and receive what she asked for. If you do not what to take her do it as a favor from me.”The mage is a female Reanaarian named Pandora</blockquote>

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