The Ghost Tower of Inverness (C2)

[Silver Moon]

Silver Moon: The Early Years - Module Index:

Module #1, "Search for the Rod of the Seven Parts", 41 games, 1982-1983, (Chapters 1-6 & 8-22).

Module #2, "Lair of the Dwarves", 1 game, 1982, (Chapter 7).

Module #3, "The Secret of Bone Hill", 4 games, 1983, (Chapters 23-27).

Module #4, "The Battle of Grammel", 1 game, 1983, (Chapter 23).

Module #5, "The Keep on the Borderlands", 3 games, 1983, Chapters 23-27).


Module #6, "The Caves of Thibaultia", 15 games, 1983, (Chapters 28-35).

Module #7, "The Illusionist's Study", 1 game, 1983 (Chapter 36)

Module #8, "Chagmat, 6 games, 1983-1984 (Chapters 36-40 )

Module #9, "Miscellaneous Adventures", 4 games, 1984 (Chapter 41-42)

Module #10, "Arena", 1 game, 1984 (unrelated - not logged)

Module #11, "Slave Pits of the Undercity/Secret of the Slaver's Stockade/Clearwater", 15.5 games, 1984. (Chapters 43-52)

Module #12, "The Keep on the Borderlands", 1.5 games, 1984 (Chapter 48.).

Module #13, "Interlude at Gladshiem", 1 game, 1984 (Chapter 49).

Module #14, "The Ghost Tower of Inverness", 6 games, 1984 (Chapters 53 -55).

Module #15, "Lair of the Hobgoblins", 2 games, 1984 (Chapters 53-54).

Module #16, "Oil Lords of Raylan", 9 games, 1984 (Chapters 56-58.).

Module #17, "The Hidden Castle, 1 game, 1984 (unrelated - not logged).

Module #18, "And Now for Something Completely Different", 2 games, 1984-1985 (Chapters 59 & 60).

Module #19, "Life, the Squid, and Everything", 1 game, 1985 (Chapter 61).

Module #20, "Against the Vampire", 14 games, 1985 (Chapters 61-66).

Module #21, "Journey to Zalpar", 3 games, 1985 (Chapters 66-67).

Module #22, "Strolling with Fred", 1 game, 1985 (Chapter 67).

Module #23, "A Visit with Louella", 2 games, 1985 (Chapter 68.).




Thread Introduction
I've posted "Story Hours" for several of my Sunday night gaming group's modules played between the years 2000 and 2007 (currently on Module #141 in the character year 1021). I occurred to me that I've never posted any earlier modules here, so decided to start a thread from the group's beginning. Enjoy!


Module 1: "Search for the Rod of the Seven Parts"

[DM’s Note #1: This was the initial adventure of a gaming group started in the summer of 1982. This was the summer between my sophomore and junior years of college, and one of my main purposes of the group was to keep in regular contact with friends of mine from high school.]

Silver Moon Adventurers - Year One
This adventure takes place on the Continent of Phlooredah. The government structure of Phlooredah is that of a confederacy comprised of nine autonomous lordholdings. Every fifteen years the lordholders assemble to elect a “King”, whose role is to resolve disputes between the lordholdings and to field an army (and navy) to deal with any external threats to the continent.

Chapter 1, "The Assignment"

In the spring of the year 1005 three half-elven travelers were returning to the Lordholding of Aldorn, after spending the winter in the woods of Kaloon. The first of these travelers was an attractive young woman named Serita. She was the daughter of a human druid and an elven ranger, and had just completed her initial druid training. The first of her companions was Hherrmyie, a young fighter also from Aldorn. He had accompanied her on her journey to Kaloon to see that no trouble came to her. As it turned out, they ran into an old drinking buddy of his, a charismatic but reckless fighter by the name of Narg, who proceeded to get the trio in all sorts of trouble.

The three were returning to Aldorn by boat, and were stopped in the Thenossia Lordholding's capital city of Halla, the midpoint of the group's journey. While there, Narg and Hherrmyie initiated a bar brawl, resulting in a visit to the local jailhouse. Serita was able to bail them out, but it cost the remainder of their traveling money. Narg told his comrades not to worry, because he had overheard an elf in a bar talking about an aristocrat who was hiring people to act as a scouting party traveling eastward. Since they were heading east anyway they might as well get paid for it. They went off to apply.

A human fighter named Denny, who was to be the leader of the scouting party, interviewed the three. It was obvious from his attire that he was a member of the Thenossian Army. In the same room were two other humans and three elves, which were not Thenossian soldiers. The humans were fully armored men, each well over six feet in height. The first was introduced as Timothy, a former banker, who had recently been invested as a Cleric of the YON Church. The second man introduced himself as Goodfellow. He said that he was to be inducted as a Paladin, the ceremony to take place in his own hometown of Grammel, the scouting party's destination.

The first elf to introduce himself was the one that Narg had met in the bar. He was named Draug-Carak, but told the group to just call him "D.C." He was a healer. He introduced his two companions; a fighter named Adajia, and her magic-user sister, Kharole. Denny said that the group had been waiting for two other humans, a fighter and a monk, but since they had not yet arrived in Halla the group would have to leave without them. The group left the next morning, traveling a half-mile ahead of the aristocrat's main caravan.

The group headed across the Thenossian Desert. They took a road that cut through the desert, instead of the more traveled coastal road some thirty miles to the south. The first four days were rather uneventful. On the fifth day the party was ambushed by five orcs. The orcs concentrated their attack on Denny, since he was obviously the group's leader (and the only party member higher than first level).

All five orcs were soon killed, but Denny was also dead. Goodfellow went back to the main caravan for further instructions. He returned saying that the group was to continue on to Grammel. He told them that he also identified the identity of the aristocrat, was none other than Lord Toronas, the ruler of Thenossia. Timothy and D.C. both were awed by this information, but Narg and Hherrmyie just muttered something about how someone that rich should have paid them more.

May 20th, 1005:

The group continued onward. Expecting more orcs, the fighters with bows led the way. A camp of five ogres was seen in the distance. The archers let fly their arrows, killing the ogres before any could get close enough for hand-to-hand combat. The group took their gold, and moved onward.

May 21st, 1005:

By mid-afternoon the group reached the crossroads twenty miles northeast of Grammel. Goodfellow was surprised to find thirty guards there, instead of the usual five or six. After a brief chat with the crossroad guards, the group headed onto the southern road. The group stopped for the night twelve miles later.

May 22nd, 1005:

The night's sleep was interrupted by an attack from fourteen orcs. The party members on watch managed to kill six by the time the rest of the party awoke. The other eight orcs ran away. The group went back to sleep. An hour later the eight returned, only to be killed by the group.

May 23rd, 1005:

In the morning the group moved on to Grammel. Lord Toronas's chief treasurer paid the group for their work. Goodfellow invited the others to attend his knighthood ceremony, to be held in the YON church on the following day. All of the scouting party chooses to attend. The rest of the church was crowded with family and friends of Goodfellow. The YON Cleric of Grammel led the ceremony, and Toronas did the actual investment. During his speech Toronas alluded to a mission for good that Sir Goodfellow would soon undertake. Following the ceremony all scouting party members were asked to remain behind.

Once alone, Lord Toronas announced that the "scouting party" had been a test of their abilities, for which they had passed. He explained how he needed to find comrades to accompany Sir Goodfellow on a very secretive mission. He said that if anyone had other plans for the next few months to leave now. None left, so he continued. Toronas explained how his younger brother Matthan, the Lordholder of the Cantage Lord-holding, had been elected King for a fifteen-year term starting in 1004.

The King from the previous fifteen years, Lord Kohlorahdooh of the Kohlorahdooh Lordholding, would not acknowledge that he was no longer Phlooredah's ruler. He refused to relinquish the title, or to give Matthan the required tithe and troops for the King's army. While most of Kohlorhadooh’s King’s Army had left when his reign officially ended, his own troops remained, and he was now building up the size of his own army to oppose that of King Matthan. Normally this would not have been a major problem, since Matthan would have a much larger army, however the situation had changed because a powerful artifact had recently appeared within the Kohlorahdooh Lordholding, the fabled Rod of the Seven Parts.

Toronas explained that the disassembled rod had randomly teleported its seven pieces throughout the Lordholding. Toronas currently had one piece, which had been found near the Thenossian/ Kohlorahdooh border. It was known that Lord Kohlorahdooh had at least one piece, and was searching for the others. Once two adjacent pieces were fastened together a power of the rod would manifest itself. When all seven pieces were together the full powers of the rod would appear, making it an incredibly destructive weapon. Toronas feared that if Kohlorahdooh managed to assemble the Rod it would give him enough strength to effectively challenge Matthan. The group's mission therefore was to find the other pieces of the Rod.

Since the former King had turned his own Lordholding into a "Police State", with guards everywhere, it was essential that all of the people Toronas hired for this mission be relatively unknown, which was the rationale in hiring "new adventurers". "OK Dogbreath," said Narg, "What's in it for us."

Momentary taken aback at the insult from the upstart half-elf fighter, Toronas soon regains his composure, and says that when they returned he would reward them substantially. Toronas then presents them with a magical shield, a map of the Lordholding, the piece of the rod (piece #2, which would lead the group to Piece #3 once they were within ten miles of it) and to each adventurer 1000 gold pieces to cover expenses. Goodfellow suggested that the group leave early the following morning, to which Narg suggested noon instead.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 2, "The Jail Break", May 27th, 1005:

Sir Goodfellow sees the mounted men charging down at them and realizes that the group is heavily outnumbered. He orders his party not to fight, and attempts to talk the group's way out of the situation, but is not very successful. It turns out that the men are not soldiers as was originally through, but are instead bandits. They blindfold the group, and march them back to the camp, getting there after dark.

The bandit camp is rather large, consisting of about twenty buildings, housing over 200 bandits. The largest stone building is the jailhouse. The party's weapons are taken away, but not their packs, as only the camp leader is allowed to search them, and he is currently asleep. The party members are each locked in a separate cell. There are eight other prisoners as well.

As it gets towards late evening the party pretends to fall asleep, and the remaining guards head outside. Kharole gets out her magic book, studies her "magic missile" spell, and uses the spells to break some of the locks. She gives the fighters daggers from her pack, which they use to pick the locks.

[DM’s Note #2: Yes, I know that allowing them to keep their packs was unrealistic, but I hadn’t expected them to actually surrender to the bandits. Given that these were all 1st level characters I needed to allow them some means to escape from this situation, otherwise the module would have come to an abrupt halt before it ever really got started.]

May 28th, 1005:

The party is soon freed. The other eight prisoners also yell to be let out. They succeed in quickly getting four of them out, but are then interrupted by the guards, who heard the yelling. Narg, Goodfellow, and Hherrmyie manage to overpower some guards and steal their swords. Three of the other prisoners also help fight, but one winds up getting killed in the process.

As the fighters cover their escape the others steal horses and ride off. The fighters then grab horses and leave. The only one who doesn't escape is Serita, who is busy looking for her dog Senenal. She finds the dog, but also finds herself surrounded by bandits. Just as the bandits move in on her Goodfellow charges back, killing three bandits, and grabbing both Serita and the dog. He rushes toward the small side wall of the camp and jumps over it, escaping into the night. The party killed a total of sixteen bandits.

Before reaching the main road several traps are stumbled into, killing three of the horses, and wounding some of the party. Some noises are heard in the distance. Narg and Hherrmyie scout out ahead, and see another group of the bandits camped out beside the road. Since only one bandit is awake on guard duty Narg kills him, as Hherrmyie steals all of their horses. The party then rides off at full gallop.

The three prisoners that the group helped free introduce themselves. All are human males from Gelorynth. One is a town guard named Silas; another, named Klaaze, is a castle guard for the town’s ruler Ki-Geloryn; the third is a coppersmith named Ardar. The group travels onward for most of the morning, stopping for a meal and nap around noon time.

While the party is resting two travelers approach them. One is a human 4th level monk named Augustine, and his companion is a 3rd level female half-elven magic-user named Nimmy. They explain that they are strangers to this land, having recently been accidentally teleported there from another world by a powerful magician who was practicing a new spell. They ask if they can travel with the group, or at least buy some of the extra horses. The group happily accepts them (especially since Nimmy is wearing a Ring of Regeneration).

[DM’s Note #3: The bandit camp scenario made it clear that this novice group needed a little help to get this adventure off the ground. A friend of the DM from college and his fiancée offered to join, and bring with them a pair of characters that they had played in his other group. The DM though this would help, but also let them know that if they decided to stay with the group, to be fair to the other players they should also soon phase these characters out and introduce 1st level characters.]

Adajia and D.C., who had become separated from the party three days earlier, arrive by boat at Gelorynth. Gelorynth is a farming and fishing community with a population of about 2,000. They are surprised to find that the others have not arrived yet.

May 29th, 1005:

The party moves further down the road, running into a crossroad guarded by eight of Lord Kohlorahdooh's soldiers. The soldiers ask for "traveling papers", which nobody has. Ardar tries to explain their escape from the bandit camp. The Sergeant says that he will have to take the group in for questioning. At that Narg, Hherrmyie attack, soon joined by Kharole and Timothy. Three of the soldiers are killed, the other five and immobilized and tied up. Klaaze, Silas and Ardar shocked at seeing their Lord's troops killed, and demand an explanation. Augustine and Nimmy also want to know exactly what is going on.

Timothy and Narg give an abbreviated version of their mission. After a long discussion the five newcomers agree not to turn the party in, but Ardar says he wants nothing to do with them once the group reaches Gelorynth. Ardar tells the group that this crossroad is well past town, so they turn back along a more southern road. Meanwhile, Sir Goodfellow and Serita wander into Gelorynth, and join up with Adajia and D.C.

By early afternoon the party rides into Gelorynth. Upon arriving at town Klaaze and Silas are told that "Ki-Geloryn has been looking for you." Since both men have been AWOL for several months now, and would be embarrassed to explain their capture by bandits, they choose to "hide out" with the party rather than report back to work at the castle.

The group obtain lodgings at a six-room boarding house. The elves and half-elves decide that they have had enough work, and it is now time for play, so Adajia and D.C. anxiously check into one room, Kharole and Hherrmyie get another, and Narg and Serita get another. This goes well until the innkeeper is seen looking through peepholes at them. Narg does not kill the man, but make some very serious threats.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 3, "The Fortress on the Hill", May 30th, 1005:

The group discreetly checks out the town until about noon when the surviving guards from the crossroad battle wander into town. These survivors head immediately for a fortress on a hill in the center of town, housing twenty of Lord Kohlorahdooh's troops. Goodfellow also notices that the rod piece is tugging toward the same fortress, indicating that the next piece of the rod is somewhere inside.

The group plans for an assault. This is also interrupted, as the innkeeper is again caught spying on them again. He is hauled into the room. He swears that he won't turn them in, and explains that he is a 1st level illusionist, who craves adventure. As a safety precaution the party keeps him in the room under close guard.

[DM’s Note #4: All twelve months in the Aldornian calendar have thirty days. The calendar had been created by the elvan Lord Aldorn, the ruler of the elvan Lordholding bearing his name. Lord Aldorn also served as the continent’s second King.]

June 1st, 1005

As the fighters plan the attack, Nimmy and Augustine work on finding transportation for the group's getaway. With the help of her "charm person" spell they manage to buy a boat for a fraction of what it is worth.

At approximately 11:00 A.M. the attack is initiated. Since Serita and Goodfellow were not at the crossroad battle, and therefore would not be recognized, they approach the fort. They tell the guards at the gate that they found some dead soldiers outside of the town. Several troops head inside to go get their captain. Serita gives a signal and Adajia, Hherrmyie, Klaaze, and Silas ride their horses up the hill at full gallop, charging the doorway. Augustine runs up the steep side of the hill, and climbs the building. The innkeeper, Vilicus, casts an illusion of a duststorm to provide cover for D.C., Kharole and Timothy to approach the fort unseen.

The paladin, druid, and four fighters make their way into the front hallway of the fort, killing many guards. Other guards fire arrows out into the courtyard at the other party members, who have to take cover to keep from being hit.

Augustine and Silas charge at a group of soldiers coming in from the barracks rooms, but are not very successful as the Captain of the troops enters the room and pulls a lever, causing ten trapdoors in the floor to open up beneath them. Augustine manages to jump away, but Silas falls down a pit, impaling his face on a bed of spikes.

Narg and Hherrmyie attack the Captain, a 4th level fighter. The man manages to wound both half-elves, but also takes a fair amount of damage himself. A magic-user wearing army colors enters the room and hits both Narg and Hherrmyie with magic-missiles. This gives the captain time to retreat.

Adajia and Hherrmyie manage to kill the last of the enemy archers, allowing the spellcasters to get in closer. The captain returns, holding a scepter, which he points at Narg and says "begone". Narg then vanishes, appearing on the northside of town. Goodfellow and Klaaze then attack the captain before he can do anymore damage, and take the scepter. While searching his body they also find the next piece of the rod.

Kharole, Serita and Timothy use up the last of their offensive spells on the remaining soldiers, only to see ten more soldiers charge into the room. The enemy magic-user returns and starts to "summon animals" as a bear appears in the room. Timothy says, “We got what we were after,” and then orders a retreat. Sir Goodfellow pulls Silas's unconscious body out the pit, and the group heads for the door, taking several arrows from behind.

They all head for the docks, except for Vilicus who had chickened out and Narg who is presumed dead by those who saw him vanish. They soon discover that the boat that Nimmy obtained is too small for all eleven of them. Fortunately another boat that has just arrived in town, and on it are the two people who Toronas had hired that had missed joining the party in Halla, who assist the party in commandeering the second boat. The two newcomers introduce themselves as Tao, a human monk, and Annie a human fighter. They are disappointed in having missed the first real battle. Both boats are quickly sailed away, as the surviving soldiers arrive at the beach. A total of thirteen soldiers were killed.

Back in Gelorynth Narg meets up with Vilicus. and the two ride out of town. They head east, the direction that the two boats were heading. They soon run into a half-elven ranger named Mark, who is traveling toward Gelorynth. He says that he is from the Aldorn Lordholding, and was sent to look for the daughter of a ranger friend of his, who is late in returning home. "She wouldn't by any chance be named Serita?" asks Narg. "Why yes," replies Mark. "Then come with us," is the response.

By evening the group stops the two boats along the beach, approximately five miles from the walls of the City of Jawltorn, the Lordholding’s Capital and home to Lord Kohlorahdooh. They are also being tugged to the next piece of the rod, apparently somewhere within the city. Klaaze is starting to find Serita's dog to be rather annoying, and buys a vial of poison from Annie to use to get rid of it. As he tries to get near the dog it growls at him, so Klaaze changes his mind.

D.C. mixes up some healing ointments to help the wounded. Silas requires a great deal of healing. D.C. does what he can for him, but the right eye appears to be permanently blind. Rather than being bothered by this Silas considers the wound to be “a badge of honor.” The rest of the party debates weather they should put the two pieces of the Rod together. They decide not to.

June 2nd , 1005:

At dawn a ship is sighted in the distance. As it nears shore four rowboats are cast off from it. The party decides to pack up. As the rowboats get closer they are seen to contain orc pirates, about twelve per boat. The group abandons their own boats, and climb the sand dunes in retreat. The orcs land their boats, and charge after them yelling "I see elves to kill."

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 4, "The First Casualty", June 2nd , 1005:

"This should do the trick" says Klaaze, as he pulls out the scepter. "Begone" he yells. This results in three orcs vanishing, only to appear twenty feet behind where they had been before. It also causes Klaaze to get a headache. He tries it again, this time teleporting all twenty-four orcs back 200 feet to the beach (similar to what happened to Narg) and doing three points of damage to himself. A third attempt causes the orcs to vanish completely as Klaaze becomes unconscious.

Based upon this the group concludes that the first time a person uses the scepter they get only a fraction of what they ask for, the second time about half, and the third time they get what is desired. Each time also causes increasing damage to the person using it. Whereas the third time causes Klaaze to become unconscious it is decided to limit its use to three times per person.

While the initial two dozen orcs are soon gone more start to come from the ship on additional boats, so the group decides to run away in the direction of the city wall. The orc pirates give chase, which lasts for several miles, before the orcs eventually give up and head back to the boats.

The group decides to avoid the well guarded city gates, and head for a distant and unguarded section of wall, where Augustine use a Rope of Climbing of his to get himself and his party over the wall. They start to mingle with the people in the city. Adajia and D.C. manage to wander off again. Silas and Hherrmyie go off to find mentors to start their apprenticeships for 2nd level. Annie, Goodfellow, Kharole, Serita, Tao, Timothy, Klaaze, Nimmy and Augustine go off in search of the next piece of the Rod.

Meanwhile, about halfway to the city Narg, Mark and Vilicus are stopped by two guards. As Vilicus casts an illusion of an owlbear, Narg draws his sword and kills them. Mark is startled by this sudden violence against the Lordholding’s soldiers. They then give Mark a brief description of the party's mission.

Annie, Goodfellow, Kharole, Serita, Tao, Timothy, Klaaze, Nimmy and Augustine travel for several miles through the huge city, eventually arriving at its northwest corner, where several clothing shops were located.

After a fine lunch, and assorted purchases, the rod piece draws them to the wagon of a leather merchant. The wagon was large, and enclosed, with one side open for business. Inside the wagon are a merchant and his twelve-year-old son, Tommy. They had for sale just about every type of leather item and garment possible. On the rear wall, hanging inside of a leather candleholder the group sees the next piece of the rod.

Three customers are gathered around the wagon: an average looking common laborer; a good looking, casually dressed man whose clothing had the distinct smell of horses (a liveryman); and an older dandyish fighter, with fancy clothing over his armor, a full cloak, much jewelry, a fancy sword, and a feathered hat.

Kharole approached the wagon and asked about the candleholder. The man showed it to her, after removing the piece of the rod. Annie inquired about the rod, and was told that it was something his boy Tommy found, and that it was not for sale. "I'll give you 200 Gold Pieces for it." yells Klaaze. The man becomes suspicious and puts it away. Klaaze refuses to take no for an answer and grabs the merchant.

At that the fop intercedes, and tells Klaaze to leave the man alone. Klaaze draws his sword, as does the fop. The liveryman tries to break up the fight, but is stopped by Timothy. As everyone is busy watching the fight, and Kharole continues to flirt with the merchant, Tao and Augustine climb up onto the wagon and head toward where the rod had been set. Tommy calls to his dad, who turns, sees the monks, and grabs a whip from the wagon wall.

The boy starts to yell for help, only to get one of Kharole's daggers thrown into his neck, killing him. Serita sends her dog Senenal to fetch the rod. Nobody else notices this though, as they are busy watching the fight between Klaaze and the fop. The fop manages to get in two easy swings, dropping Klaaze down to a single hit point. Goodfellow then jumps into the fray, hitting the fop with his sword. The crowd begins making bets on the outcome of this skirmish, while others start to notice the merchant cracking a whip at the two monks. All four of the women in the party climb up onto the wagon.

It soon become obvious that Goodfellow has underestimated his foe, as the man laughs off two successful sword swipes by the paladin. The fop then skewers his opponent, Goodfellow's body crashing to the ground. By this time Tao is busy in hand-to-hand combat with the merchant, who misses him Tao, but manages to hit and knock out Kharole with a missed swing. Augustine climbs up to the front of the wagon, grabs the reigns to the horses, and starts the horses galloping off.

The fop yells "Ah, now I see, you're trying to steal this man's wagon," and jumps up onto it. Timothy picks up Goodfellow's body, and he and Klaaze chase off after the wagon on foot.

Inside of the wagon the fop soon knocks out Tao. The merchant attacks Annie. She retaliates and kills him, but then gets hit by the fop for her remaining hit points. This leaves this apparently high-level fighter alone against Serita and Nimmy, who use up every offensive spell in their combined repertoire trying to take him down. This has only marginal success, as he soon reaches them and Serita is knocked unconscious, falling off of the wagon. Her dog Senenal jumps out after her.

Now out of spells, Nimmy pulls out her Wand of Wonder, and casts it at the man. This results in grass and leaves starting to grow on his armor. Up in the front of the wagon, Augustine slow it down so that Timothy and Klaaze (with Goodfellow and Serita) can climb onto the wagon. Timothy gives Klaaze some healing, but this doesn't last long, as Klaaze charges the fop and is almost immediately knocked unconscious. Augustine picks up the wagon's pace, as two dozen city guards are now seen rushing after them.

As Timothy now goes solo against the fop, Nimmy casts her the Wand at the perusing troops. This proves to be very successful, as a Slow spell hits them. She then climbs up to the front of the wagon to relieve Augustine, so that he can go back to help Timothy, who is about to fall.

The upcoming city gate, manned by a large number of guards who have heard alarms sound, is now directly ahead of them. The gate has been shut and locked. As the wagon start to close in Nimmy again tries the Wand, with continued good luck, as it shoots off a Lightning Bolt which not only blows away the gate, but about half of the guards around it. As the wagon crashes out of the city Augustine gets in the killing blow against the fop.

The group rides at rapid speed on for several miles, running into Narg, Mark and Vilicus along the way. The group decides to stop for the night, pulling the wagon well out of sight from the road, and covering their tracks. Narg and Mark guard the group as the others rest.

June 3rd , 1005:

The group awakens early. Timothy's cures and Nimmy's ring manage to get everyone semi-functioning. The group tries to use the Scepter to resurrect Goodfellow, without success. Timothy performs a burial ceremony.

[DM’s Note #5: This was a surprising turn of events, as the mission had been built around the character of Sir Goodfellow. Not only did he become the group’s first casualty, but he became seemingly lost for good due to a bad Resurrection Survival roll. Goodfellow’s Spirit would appear again in 1988 as the catalyst for Module #53 “To Resurrect the Heroes”, again in 2001 for Module #102 “Tiger by the Tail”. He will make his final appearance in the concluding module in the “Spirit of Goodfellow Trilogy”.]

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 5, "The Bugbear Camp" June 3rd , 1005:

Kharole identifies the fop's sword to be a +4, which explains why he did so well against the group. Klaaze claims the magic sword. Tao takes the man's magical cloak, and his magic rings are given to Kharole and Nimmy. The group decides to continue Goodfellow's mission. Serita and Timothy decide to sneak back into the city, as they are ready for apprenticeships. The group looks at a map, and decides that they will rendezvous in the town of Curigull in a week, along with Hherrmyie and Silas.

The party of Annie, Augustine, Kharole, Klaaze, Mark, Narg, Nimmy, Tao, and Vilicus head northward. By mid-afternoon they reach a long section of road surrounded by swamps. Augustine freaks out, and tells the party a tale of woe about how his parents were killed in a swamp.
At his insistence they travel well into the night, until they have past the swamplands.

June 4th , 1005:

The party travels northward for most of the day. By mid-afternoon they reach a fork in the road. Unfortunately there are nine of Lord Kohlorahdooh's troops standing guard at the crossroad. The party does not even attempt to talk to them, initiating an attack instead.

Each of the nine party members attacks a different guard. Nimmy and Kharole "magic missile" the two soldiers holding longbows, dropping them. Klaaze, Annie, Narg, and Mark go hand-to-hand against swordsmen, killing them within the first few rounds of battle. Augustine and Tao take on the Lieutenant and Sergeant of the troops, hoping to use their speed as an advantage. Vilicus casts an illusionary Orc at the remaining man, but the illusion is quickly dispelled, and the soldier attacks the illusionist. Nimmy comes to Vilicus's aid.

Augustine has a difficult time against the Lieutenant, who slices into the monk with a very nasty attack. Tao does much better against his foe, knocking the Sergeant unconscious. Tao then turns on the Lieutenant to help the senior monk, who is about to drop. The Lieutenant makes a sweeping blow with his sword, nicking Augustine and slicing into Tao's chest. Both monks fall.

The Lieutenant then gets hit from behind by a dagger from Annie. As he turns to face her Narg jumps in front of him. Narg gets two near perfect swings into the man before being hit for all of his hit points. At that point the others had finished with their opponents, and converge on the man, who doesn't last long.

Without any cleric along the group has to wait to let the Ring of Regeneration heal Augustine and Narg. Tao is beyond healing, as he is quite dead. Kharole uses the Scepter of Wishes to try to resurrect him, and is successful.

[DM’s Note #6: The whole party was rather relieved that this worked, since after loosing Sir Goodfellow the player had decided to play the NPC Tao as his new character. After Tao became the group’s second casualty they began to think that this player was cursed.]

Nimmy identifies the Lieutenant's sword to be a +4. Narg claims it, calling it "The Nargblade." The group decides to spend the night at the crossroad. Klaaze does not want to wait, so heads off to Curigull on his own.

June 5th , 1005:

The night is interrupted by the sound of approaching horses. The group almost attacks, but stops when Kharole recognizes one of the riders as her sister Adajia. With her are D.C., and a human fighter that they do not recognize. The fighter is then introduced, he is Alec, Klaaze's younger (and rather ugly) brother.

Before heading off to Curigull, Augustine notices that part four of the rod is tugging northward. The group leaves the road, and follows the direction of the tug. As they walk northward they see a Black Pegasus flying in the distance, near the mountains.

At midday they stumble upon five dead lions, the blood drained out of them. Around the lions are several dead fish. As the group is trying to figure this out, about 150 flying fish swarm towards them. Augustine grabs the Scepter and wishes the fish dead.

The rod tug leads the group to a large lake. At one corner of the lake is a camp of bugbears. The tug is in that direction. The group spends several hours observing the monsters. Approximately twenty male bugbears are seen, with an equal number of women and children. The camp is comprised of three wooden buildings built into the side of a hill. In front of the buildings is a beach, with a large canoe.

As the sun starts to set several of the bugbears go riding off in the canoe. Most of the others go into the buildings, leaving only three outside. Narg, Alec, and Adajia start the attack, pelting the bugbears with arrows. Vilicus, D.C., and Kharole climb from the hill onto the roofs of the buildings, and start to set them on fire. Augustine, Tao, Mark, Annie and Nimmy move up to the doors of the buildings to attack the bugbears as they move outside.

As the fires spread in a matter of rounds, total chaos erupts, with bugbears fleeing the structures. Two-dozen bugbears are soon flushed out of the caves and killed and the buildings are burnt to the ground. Several of the party are wounded in this battle, and the parts sets up siege outside of the caves. D.C. begins working on making healing ointments for Kharole, Mark, Tao, Augustine, Vilicus Annie and Nimmy.

The rod was not on any of the bugbears, apparently still somewhere in the caves along with a remaining ten bugbears, including the chief. Since Adajia, Alec and Narg are unhurt they decided to take on the remaining bugbears by themselves, and charge into the caves.

In the first large room encountered is where the remaining bugbears were waiting. After several rounds the three fighters are forced to retreat, although they killed five more bugbears.

Kharole finds a hidden entrance in the side of the hill. Narg, Augustine, and Tao headed into this new tunnel, winding up in the bugbears treasure room. Buried within a chest of coins is the next piece of the rod. Unfortunately the remaining bugbears hear them, and charge into the room. As Narg fights the bugbear chief Tao and Augustine find the rod piece and retreat. Narg is forced to withdraw, without getting to take very many of the bugbear's coins.

The group has an argument about whether they should try to kill the remaining bugbears and take their treasure. D.C. and Augustine argue that the group is in no shape to fight again, and since they have the rod they should leave. The argument ends when the bugbears in the canoe are seen returning, and not even Narg wants to try to fight some fresh foes that will want revenge for the invasion of their home. The group makes a very fast retreat, heading off further to the north.

Once well away from the bugbear camp the group argues about where to go next. Augustine and Narg want to head for Kommerken, the nearest town according to the map. Kharole insists on heading for Curigull, to rendezvous with those left in Kohlorahdooh City. No agreement is reached, so Kharole, D.C., Adajia and Vilicus head off east for Curigull, while Narg, Augustine, Nimmy, Tao, Alec, Mark and Annie continue to the north.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 6, "Aimless Wanderings", June 6th , 1005:

The main group, heading north, stops at an isolated village of human tribesmen (resembling Native Americans). They are made guests, and spend the day relaxing. The tribal shaman warns of impending evil and disaster.

Meanwhile, halfway to Curigull Klaaze wanders onto a bridge guarded by eight men. He is questioned by the leader, a Sergeant. He tells the leader that he is Klaaze, a Sergeant of Ki-Geloryn, from Gelorynth. The Sergeant says that he will have to wait a few days, and sends a private off to Gelorynth (on the only horse) to confirm Klaaze's story. The men are friendly and trusting of Klaaze. He spends several hours talking with them, playing cards, and joining them for supper. After the meal Klaaze pull out his +4 longsword and kills all seven. He then takes their money, and proceeds on to Curigull.

June 7th , 1005:

Adajia, Kharole, D.C., and Vilicus cross a bridge, and find the bodies of the soldiers. They conclude that "Klaaze has been here", and hide the bodies before anyone else stumbles upon them.

Silas, Hherrmyie, Timothy and Serita complete their apprentice-ships. The cleric and both fighters set off for Curigull. Serita decides to spend another week with the Druids, and says that she will meet them later.

Klaaze takes a wrong turn on the road, and heads off northwestward, away from Curigull.

The other seven are enjoying another relaxing day as guests of the tribesmen, up until an earthquake occurs that which levels the village and kill about a third of the villagers. They spend the rest of the day helping to rescue survivors of the quake.

June 8th , 1005:

The group leaves the tribal camp in the morning. By mid-day they are hiking around the mountains. Six Peryton (heads of deer, bodies of eagles) attack, and put up a hectic battle before being killed. By nightfall the group reaches the edge of the Thenossian desert.

June 9th ,1005:

Deciding that they missed Kommerken the group heads for the closest mountain, running into a group of dwarves who give them directions. The group backtracks, waits until nightfall to cross the desert, and then travels ten miles westward reaching the town by mid-night.

June 10th , 1005:

The group discovers that the rather isolated town of Kommerken (surrounded by desert to the north and west and mountains to the east and south) is not in the Kohlorahdooh Lordholding, but is actually in the Thenossia Lordholding. They also find out that the townspeople are very superstitious and consider all non-clerical spellcasters to be witches.

While in town Kharole casts an identify. One of the townspeople, an extremely attractive woman named Natasha, sees Kharole cast this spell and threatens to turn her in. Natasha's price for keeping secret is to be allowed to join the party. The group leaves Kommerken, traveling northeastward. They travel for twenty miles, finally head south, off of the road, when they realize that they are heading too far away from the Kohlorahdooh Lordholding.

[DM’s Note #7: This was rather frustrating as I had assumed they would head southeast back into the Kohlorahdooh Lordholding. Only the Lordholding for the module had been mapped in detail. Since the party was now “off the map” I had to improvise for the rest of the night.]

D.C., Adajia, Kharole and Vilicus find Klaaze's tracks, heading away from Curigull, and decide to follow them before he gets into any more trouble.

Klaaze runs into a sixth level fighter who agrees grant him an apprenticeship for third level in exchange for 2,000 gold pieces. Klaaze agrees to this, even through he only has about 50.

June 11th , 1005:

The party reaches a gap between two large mountains, and cross it. This brings them beside a mile-high wall made of Hematite. They travel east beside the wall for six miles, until they reach a road. At mid-day a griffin decides to attack them, but is warded off by Alec and Narg's arrows. The group travels on the road toward the Wall. The road ends in a doorway on the wall. As the group approaches several high-pitched voices tell them to "Go Away! Go Away!" About fifty Sprites start pelting tiny arrows at them, and the group runs away.

They head eastward, on a road going around the mountains. By evening they run into Kharole, Silas, D.C., and Vilicus, coming from the opposite direction on the same road.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 7, "The Caves," June 12th , 1005:

After five miles of traveling down the road they run into Timothy, Silas, Hherrmyie, and an unknown human fighter. Timothy says that they met the man near Curigull, and have traveled west with him to aid him on a rescue mission. The man introduces himself as Phuddipeduzh. He tells the party how barbaric killer rabbitmen recently raided the homes of people living outside the city walls of Curigull. His wife Beulla and infant daughter Janet, were among the dozens of people kidnapped by the monsters.

Since the attack occurred outside of the city limits the Curigull City Lords would not give any assistance, nor would Lord Kohlorahdooh's troops stationed at Curigull. Phuddipeduzh, and six other fighters, had tracked them to their lair, a cave in a small mountain west of Curigull, and about three miles from where the party now was. His party had fought their way past human and dwarven guards, but were then attacked by the Rabbitmen. Due to his exceptional strength Phuddi alone managed to escape.

The sixteen adventurers argued about whether they should assist in the rescue mission or continue on the quest for the rod. They decided to split up and do both. Adajia, Augustine, Kharole, Nimmy, Tao and Vilicus headed on to Curigull, for either apprenticeships or supplies. They arrive by nightfall.

Alec, Annie, D.C., Hherrmyie, Mark, Narg, Natasha, Phuddipeduzh, Silas and Timothy head off for the mountain. The enter the cave entrance, fighting and killing five men and a female magic-user who are guarding it.

They travel for several hours through winding corridors, finally running into a barracks of dwarven fighters. The dwarves are all sleeping, so the party quietly sneaks past them. The group stops in the dwarves' kitchen, and stock up on food. Narg eats some spoiled food, and gets very sick. They run into three dwarves on guard at the other end of the tunnel, and kill them before they can sound an alert.

June 13th, 1005:

The group continues on, stumbling onto the remains of the Phuddi's previous party. After fighting off the giant rats and fire beetles around the bodies, the group takes their magic, then Timothy performs a proper funeral. Phuddi comments that two thieves of that group are not among the bodies, and concludes that they must have been captured.

[DM’s Note #8: The above two paragraphs comprise the entirety of Module #2 “Lair of the Dwarves” by the player of Augustine and Natasha. Basically, I was getting burnt-out, so the player offered to give me a break by running a one-night interlude.]


The group runs into a tunnel running on for several miles. After a few miles they stop to rest for the remainder of the day.

The other six reach Curigull, a small city with a reputation for its craft guilds and magic-users. Very severe thunderstorms force them to find lodgings for the day. Not much else is accomplished.

June 14th, 1005:

The group sets off early, soon running into the two thieves that Phuddi had spoken of. One is a handsome human male named Brugatch'll. The other is a mischievous female gnome named Trimble Redwood. It is obvious that being lost in the tunnels together for a week has caused them to become rather irritable with each other.

The twelve adventurers move on, soon being ambushed by ten rabbitmen. The rabbitmen are fierce fighters, moving at incredible speed. It takes several rounds for the party to kill five of them, the other five kidnapping Phuddipeduzh. The group reaches the inner caves. They find several unused rooms, and fight some insects and small mammals living there. A chasm is soon found, which takes some time to cross. They eventually reach a room with a ladder, climbing up and through a trap door leading into a storeroom filled with food.

On the other side of the storeroom is a large hall, with dozens of rabbitmen as well as a tied and gagged Phuddipeduzh. The rabbitman leader taunts his prisoner, telling him that Phuddi's daughter Janet was the main course of the previous night's dinner. Phuddi becomes enraged, breaks the ropes holding him, and attacks the leader. The party takes this as their cue to attack.

A massive battle then follows, after about three dozen rabbitmen are killed the group chooses to retreat. They pull back into an armory, and do some healing. They then realize that the only other exit to the room also leads back to the dining hall, so have to fight their way out.

The next hour is filled with the group fighting their way from room to room, killing every rabbitman they see. After building up a body count of seventy-seven the group, now all barely conscious, finds their way through a secret door, leading into some rooms that appear to have been unoccupied for several years. The group stops to rest for the night. Natasha and Hherrmyie go off to a private room to fool around. After Hherrmyie is asleep Natasha steals all of his money and gems. Back in the main room Trimble steals Brugatch'll's money and thieving tools.

Meanwhile, Klaaze finishes his apprenticeship period. When the other fighter demands payment Klaaze says "I have it right here, how would you like this very magical Longsword that improves your fighting ability by twenty percent (+4)." The man says "That seems fair." Klaaze then give it to him, blade first.

Klaaze's magic sword and exceptional strength give him the advantage in the fight that then transpires, but his opponents superior level and higher hit points keep him going. Since both men have spent four days working together they both know what to expect from their opponent. After about fifteen round of battle both men are reduced to about three hit points. Klaaze gets lucky, and gets in the final blow. He then heads off in the direction of Curigull.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 8, "The Killer Bunnies", June 15th, 1005:

Narg finds another secret door leading into a room full of treasure and rusty suits of dwarven-sized armor. The group splits up the loot. Trimble gets caught trying to pick Hherrmyie's pocket. Hherrmyie notices that his money is missing. Nobody will believe Trimble when she insists that she does not have it. Brugatch'll then notices that his thieving tools are missing, and orders Trimble to "Give them back." Trimble says that she doesn't have them either. A duel breaks out, with Brugatch'll hitting Trimble with his short-sword for half her remaining hit points. She throws three darts into him, and he falls to the floor dead.

[DM’s Note #9: This came as a total shock. By that, I don't mean that anyone was shocked that this player's character wound up dead (he had also played both Goodfellow and Tao) as we were used to that by now. What was shocking was that it was caused by another playing character. After this, Trimble was pretty much rejected by the party. This particular player was also not part of our old high school crowd, but rather the current tag-along girlfriend of one, and the two left the group about a month later.]

The group leaves their hiding place, heading back into the main lair. Several more rabbitmen are fought. At one point the groups finds itself cornered in a room with rabbitmen coming from both directions. Alec, Mark, Silas and Narg attack the flank, and order the others to make a get-away. The party charges into the next room, which contains about twenty human prisoners shackled to the walls, and ten rabbitmen guards.

The four fighters successfully fight off what appears to be an endless onslaught of rabbitmen. Young Alec gets hit by three at once, and falls dead. Back in the other room Phuddi tries to break his wife Beulla free. Natasha and Trimble work to undo the locks holding the other prisoners. Hherrmyie, Timothy, and Annie have their work cut out for them taking on the ten other rabbitman.

D.C. yells "Damn It! I'm sick of being a useless healer, it's time that I tried being a fighter!" He picks up the sword from a fallen foe and attacks the nearest rabbitman, only to find out that he should have stuck with healing. The rabbitman successfully hits the elf four times, killing him.

The three surviving fighters are pushed back into the room with the prisoners. The leader of the rabbitmen attacks Narg, cutting off the half-elf's right arm with a magic sword. Timothy hits Narg with a cure to keep him from blacking out, as the other fighter's converge on the critter. The rabbitman is killed, but about twenty more rabbitmen have entered the room as well. Timothy orders a retreat.

The group, along with Phuddi's wife and four other freed prisoners, fight their way out from the room, having to leave the bodies of their comrades behind. With four casualties, and almost no remaining hit points, the group makes their way to the nearest exit from the caves.

June 16th, 1005:

The group travels through another cave, reaching the outside by dawn. They spend the morning walking to Curigull. Trimble refuses to enter the town, saying that she is wanted by the authorities (which comes as no surprise to anyone). Tao and Silas decide to remain outside as well to keep an eye on the gnome.

The others go to the home of Phuddi's uncle, where they rest and rejoin the other's of their party. It is decided to spend the next several days here until the entire group has recovered.

Narg takes to drinking heavily, feeling that a fighter without a right arm is rather useless. Even through he is given the Ring of Regeneration, it will take at least six months for the arm to grow back. Somewhere during the third consecutive keg, he is visited by his Pooka friend Monty. Monty says that he can take Narg to any Place or Time that he wants, for as long as he wants, and bring him back to the same place and time that they left. Narg says "Great", and off the two go.

[DM’s Note #10: Narg's player came up with the above plan to get Narg back to normal by the next game night. The DM said O.K., partially because Narg having a Pooka to pop him in and out would fit well for the next half-year, when the player would miss several games due to his college schedule. To be fair, however, the DM decided to make him work for it. Several players were told to each develop different scenarios that they could DM Narg through. The remaining two hours of the night were then spent on this.]

Narg was first taken to a setting that resembled a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western (Silas's player as DM). Narg witnessed a mysterious stranger killing dozens of Mexicans with a shotgun. The man then noticed Narg, and started shooting at him. After taking a bullet in the shoulder Monty popped them both out.....

......and into a luxury liner sailing on the ocean (Kharole's player as DM). Narg had the bullet removed by the ship's physician. He then spent the next few days walking around the deck and getting to know the other passengers. Just when he was starting to enjoy things the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat, and sunk. As it was almost beneath the waves Monty popped them both out......

......and onto a rocky plateau with a red-colored sky (Natasha & Augustus's player as DM). He was soon approached by three men, two humans and a tall elf, which seemed surprised to see him. "Spock, I thought you said this would was uninhabited," said one of the humans. "Indeed Captain," replied the elf, "I find this most peculiar. In spite of the ears he does not appear to be either Romulan or Vulcan." "Of course not," replied the fighter, "I'm Narg."

They were then interrupted by a beeping noise, and the one called "Captain" spoke into a box on his belt. The four then disappeared, only to reappear on a platform within a room filled with men in red shirts. "What kind of Teleport Spell was that?" asked Narg. "To the Bridge," announced the Captain, "Security detail, bring this man along." The red-shirted men then surrounded Narg. Narg drew his sword. The tall elf moved in behind him, touched Narg's neck, and he fell unconscious.

Narg woke up in a room filled with people. In front of him was a large screen, showing the night sky. In the center of the screen was a large white object unknown to Narg. On the bottom of the object was the painting of a large bird. "He's coming out of it," said the other human that Narg had seen on before, "and his readings are definitely not those of a Romulan." "Thanks Bones," said the Captain, "He may not be, but his friends out there definitely are. Alright mister, would you mind telling us what this is all about?" "Beat's me," said Narg, "But I could sure use a beer."

Before anything else was said a red circle appeared in the middle of the thing on the screen. It quickly grew until it filled the whole screen, and the room shook, and people fell out of their chairs. Narg saw where his sword had been placed, and grabbed it, yelling "MONTY, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Narg then vanished......

......this time appearing in a castle, in a place that looked like the world he was used to (Klaaze's player as DM). He watched as a small-furry humanoid creature with a big nose and longsword walked to an entrance at the far wall. Narg witnessed as the creature engaged in a verbal argument with the man guarding the door. A fight followed, with the little guy insulting the big guard's King, Kingdom, and family. Totally enraged, the big guard got sloppy, and was gutted.

The creature then moved to where Narg was standing. "So," the little guy said "Cerebus has fought the Globes of Fire, past through the mazes of might, and defeated the Guardian of the Palace. Only you stand in the way of me and my destination.” Narg stepped aside, gestured to the door, and said "Go right ahead, I won't stop you." The creature left. Narg then checked out the Castle, found the wine cellar, and got very drunk.

He spent the next several days searching the castle. He finally left, only to see hundreds of bodies around the castle, apparently poisoned. Narg continued on for a few weeks, eventually being joined by Monty again. When Monty told him that this was not the same world as where his friends were Narg said "We'll let's get out of here then." As soon as they vanished Narg's mind told him he might regret that decision.....

.....as turned out to be the case when he wound up in ancient Egypt (Hherrmyie's player as DM). In a matter of hours Narg wound up insulting some rather important people, and would up in a prison (having concealed the ring to keep from having it taken). He was left in the prison for four months, by which time his arm had grown back. This turned out to be unfortunate, as this made him physically fit enough to help build pyramids. After two weeks of this hard labor he and the other prisoners were given some strong refreshment. Once drunk, Monty reappeared. The two then paid a visit to the Pharaoh's treasure room to retrieve Narg's other possessions, and about ten pounds of the Pharaoh's gold and jewelry, and then off they were.....

......reappearing in Curigull about an hour after Narg had first departed.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 9, "Trouble in Curigull, June 16th, 1005:

Meanwhile, back in Curigull, Silas had gone to the larger of Lord Kohlorahdooh's two fortresses within the town. Once there, he asked to speak to the Captain. He was soon brought before a man named Bennett. Silas explained how he was a fighter, formerly of the Gelorynth Town Guard, who was now in ready for third level.

Bennett agreed to apprentice Silas in exchange for most of the treasure that Silas had acquired from the rabbitmen. The Captain appointed his Lieutenant in charge for the next week, and traveled off into the woods with his new apprentice.

This turned out to be good timing on Silas's part, because two hours after they left three soldiers arrived on horseback with an urgent message from Lord Kohlorahdooh. The Lordholder had now received reports of his troops being massacred in Gelorynth, Kohlorahdooh City, and at three crossroads. Since the bridge (June 5) was the site of the last attack, the Lord had concluded that the attackers were now at either Curigull or Nottingham, the towns in the northeast part of the Lordholding. The message said that additional troops were on their way to both towns.

The message also named Klaaze and Silas as members of the group, as they were recognized in Gelorynth (and Klaaze had given his name at the bridge, where the one guard had been allowed to leave). Since the Lieutenant did not know where his Captain and Silas had gone he felt it best to wait until they returned, or until the additional troops arrived, before taking any action. He did tell his twenty-one men to be on alert.

Unknown to the Lieutenant, one of his men was a member of the Thief and Assassins Guild of the Lordholding. The man, Mickey, went to report this to his Guildmaster. She then called a meeting of the Guild. The Guildmaster was an 8th level human thief named Ruth, who posed as the Librarian for Curigull's library. The other members were a 4th level dwarf assassin named Korthe, posing as a soldier for the Curigull Town Lords; a 3rd level dwarf thief named Imok, posing as a leather tanner; a 3rd level human assassin named Shilara, posing as a weapon crafter; a 1st level human thief named Eyvonne, posing as a Clerical Aide at the YON Church; a 1st level elf thief named Belegurth, posing as a carpenter; and the 1st level human thief Mickey.

After Mickey relayed the message from Lord Kohlorahdooh, Ruth explained how the Senior Guildmaster in Kohlorahdooh City had contacted her as well. The Guild wanted to find out exactly what was going on, in order to either sell the information to Lord Kohlorahdooh, or to get personally involved, whichever was the most profitable. She told the six guild members to try to get close to any newcomers in town. If it appeared that any newcomers were part of Klaaze and Silas's team, then the Guild would then kidnap them, and torture them for information.

After the meeting ended she spoke privately to Belegurth. She told him that two visitors to town, a thief and an assassin, has each sought her out for apprenticeships. She said that a plan was in the works to use them to get Belegurth accepted as a trusted member of their party, from which to get the full inside story, and for him to await further instructions.

[DM’s Note #11: The above subplot was actually develped by one of the players, who wanted to introduce a thief into the party who would actually be working against them. We both felt that the party had been bringing too much attention to themselves by now to not become the targets of either a local thieves’ guild or local militia.]

June 17th, 1005:

The group decided to stay in town for the next week. Phuddipeduzh, Mark, Annie, Timothy, and Natasha all went off to start their apprenticeships for their next level. Beulla and Adajia were both grieving over their lost loved ones (Janet and D.C., respectively). Augustine and Hherrmyie were doing their best to try to console them when Klaaze arrived in town. After a brief debate as to "Who's going to tell him," Hherrmyie was drafted into telling him about Alec.

Hherrmyie spent about fifteen minutes avoiding the issue when Augustine finally got impatient and told him "Klaaze, your brother Alec is dead." Klaaze gasped, and exclaimed "ALEC...dead........DID HE LEAVE ME ANYTHING?" "Well, no." answered Hherrmyie. "Figures," said Klaaze, and off he went to a bar.

Meanwhile, Vilicus was off looking for some "action" of the female variety. He found that luck was with him for a change, since his first pick-up line worked like a charm. He was invited back to the home of an attractive weapon crafter named Shilara. During dinner he started shooting his mouth off about his recent adventures. She then drugged his drink, and carted her unconscious prisoner over to the Thief and Assassins Guild.

June 18th, 1005:

Nimmy and Kharole both finish their apprenticeships. Kharole had undergone her apprenticeship from a 6th level female human magician named Aurora. Aurora had studied under the Sage of the Mountains, and claimed to have knowledge about artifacts. Because of this Kharole brought her back to help the party find out about the Rod.

Augustine, Nimmy, Hherrmyie, Beulla, Klaaze and Kharole showed Aurora the three rod pieces. She told them the history of the rod: that it was first created by the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, for use in the great battle of Pesh between Chaos and Good. She said that whenever the fully assembled rod's prime powers is used there is a 5% chance that it will disassemble and teleport way, which is apparently how it wound up in the lordholding in the first place. What she did not tell them was that she had found the first piece of the Rod, which had led her to Kharole and Augustine when they first arrived in town. She was very disturbed that this inexperienced group was considering toying around with such a powerful artifact. She was equally disturbed that they were planning to give it Toronas, a self-centered monarch, rather then a magician or sage who would use it responsibly.

Aurora said that putting the individual pieces together would only cause minor powers, the specific ones she did not know. Augustine put the four pieces together. Two differences were immediately apparent- his vision was now improved (ultravision), and his had would not release the rod, being fastened to it. Aurora did not expect that to happen, and suggested that they pay a visit to the Sage to try to get it off.

June 19th, 1005:

It rains all day long, so everybody spends the day indoors. Kharole goes off to buy a mule or pony to help carry the group's packs up the mountains. She comes back with a camel instead, because "I've always wanted to own a camel." Her sister Adajia decides that she has spent enough time mourning her last boyfriend, and goes off to find a new one. She meets a handsome fighter in a bar, a soldier by the name of Mickey.

Vilicus is interrogated by Ruth and Shilara. He decides that his big mouth had already gotten him into enough trouble, so he refuses to talk.

Silas finishes his apprenticeship period. On the way back to town they run into twenty-five other soldiers marching toward Curigull. As soon as the other Captain begins explaining to Bennett why they are there, Silas realizes that he has overstayed his welcome, and quietly sneaks off into the woods.

 

[Silver Moon]

Chapter 10, "Off to See The Sage", June 20th, 1005:

Mark finishes his apprenticeship, and joins Augustine, Hherrmyie, Klaaze, Nimmy, Kharole, and Aurora as they head off to see the Sage. Aurora is recognized by the guards at the gate, and lets the group pass by. They tell Tao that they will be back in a few days, and to wait around until the others finish their apprenticeships.

As they head off down the road a large egg-shaped object off in the distance. Aurora says not to disturb it, as it is a Fuzzy nest. Klaaze goes over and disturbs it, and it begins to hatch. A large blue blob hatches out. As it's fur dries (and it is almost all fur) it enlarges to about eight-foot in diameter, with two eyes, two antennae, and two huge feet. Klaaze is the first thing that it sees, and it thinks that he is its mother, an idea that Klaaze seems to enjoy. He gives it the name "Buzz", and it joins them on their hike.

[DM’s Note #12: The above silly encounter resulted from the DM finding one of those little desk trinkets that was popular back in 1982. It looked like a miniature tribble with a pair of felt feet and two stick-on eyes. I threw it in just for laughs, figuring it would provide an interesting role playing opportunity for one of the female characters to have some maternal instincts, and didn’t anticipate for one of the macho fighters to adopt it.]

In town, Adajia wakes up around noon. Instead of being in Mickey's house, she finds herself tied and gagged in a room beside Vilicus. When Ruth questions her she also decides not to talk.

Getting nowhere with her two prisoners Ruth decides to start dealing with her two apprentices. The thief Natasha reveals false information to her instructor Imok. The assassin Annie also gives misinformation to her instructor Korthe. Ruth detects the lies, and decides to teach the two a lesson. For their final test each is sent into the City Lord's castle to steal something. Inside the castle, Korthe makes arrangements for them both to get caught. Natasha fall right into the trap, but Annie does not since she does not go where she is supposed to. Rather than steal what the guild instructed her to, Annie heads off to the City Lords' bedchambers, to try to assassinate Lord Kohlorahdooh's brother, Sir Phillip (Lord Toronas had hired her to do this).

[DM’s Note #13: Yet another subplot. Before the group had ever started one potential player had rolled up the Assassin Annie, who was to pretend to be a fighter and act as a spy and assassin for Lord Toronas. That player never showed up, but the character was still put into the mix. This was the first chance I had for her to go after one of her targets.

Annie is unsuccessful in killing him, but does manage to wound him. She manages to escape from the castle, killing four guards in the process. Natasha is blamed for these deaths, and is thrown into the castle dungeon. Later that night the Thieves Guild kills and hides the bodies of ten of Bennett's men, to further complicate matters.

June 21st, 1005:

Shortly after breakfast Tao and Trimble are joined by Silas and Serita. She had been traveling to Curigull, and was seen by Silas, who warned her that extra troops were in the area. The four are soon joined by Timothy, who has finished his apprenticeship. They tell Timothy that the others will be back in a few days, so he decides to go back to the church until then.

An hour later the four are approached by a cloaked elf (Belegurth), calling himself Leaflock. He says that they had better leave the area, and rather quickly, as the previous night's Town Patrol had disappeared and that all visitors were being questioned. Trimble scales the wall, and verifies his story. They thank the elf, and head off after the others.

Back with the other group, after killing some giant frogs the main group starts to climb the mountains. They are later attacked by a pair of pink winged gorillas. The two gorillas are killed. The group next runs into a swarm of forty killer flying fish, who attack Kharole's camel. The party kills them all, but the camel also dies.

The morning is then interrupted by an earthquake. During the quake the ground opens up and swallows Mark, Kharole, Nimmy, Hherrmyie, and Aurora, who manage to climb back up after only minimal damage. They also notice that the streams running down from the mountain have turned black.

Elsewhere, the same thing occurs to the others, Tao and Silas falling into a thirty foot crevice that appears beneath them. They notice that the river has turned from blue to black, and decide to wait until they find a bridge to cross it. They head up the mountain in the direction of the Sage's home.

[DM’s Note #14: The above paragraphs are a result of a god-war that is simultaneously taking place between Lawful Good and Lawful Evil deities. Before the module began certain pre-determined things would occur at specific times and places, regardless of where the characters were and what they would be doing. Sufficient clues were provided for the party to try to determine why these things were happening, but nobody ever bothered to find out.]

In Curigull, Timothy undergoes his Priesthood ceremony, officially making him a 4th level cleric. After the ceremony he gets backstabbed by Eyvonne, and carted off to the Thief and Assassins Guild. Ruth finds him to be less talkative that Vilicus and Adajia.

By evening the first group reaches the Sage's home. Aurora explains what they are doing. The Sage agrees to assist them, and gives them lodgings for the night.

June 22nd, 1005:

The Sage spends the day listening to the party's story. The other four arrive at the Sage's home. The Sage recognizes Silas's beer mug (found in the Rabbitman cave) to be magical, and shows him how to make it work. Those that had fallen into the ground the day before suddenly feel much better, and all "black" waters change back again.

Phuddi and Beulla notice that the other's have all left town. They assume that the group was scared off by all of the extra soldiers running around town. Annie spends the day hiding out.

June 23rd, 1005:

The Sage spends the entire day researching about the Rod.

June 24th, 1005:

The Sage announces that he has found a way to get the Rod off of Augustine's hand. Augustine, Hherrmyie, Nimmy, Mark, Kharole, Trimble, Klaaze, Silas, Aurora and the Sage gather in the Sage's library. The Sage explains that it will remain attached to his hand until the rod is fully assembled, or until he dies. The Sage says that he will cast a "Feign Death" spell on Augustine, followed by a "Dispel Magic," which should cause the rod to fall off.

He casts these spells, and the rod falls off. As soon as it falls to the floor Aurora decides that now is the time to get the Rod away from the group. She casts a ventriloquism spell outside the window, and yells for "Help" in Serita's voice. The Sage, Kharole, and Nimmy rush out of the room. Aurora then casts a "wizard lock" on the door to keep them out.

Mark reaches for the rod, but she casts a "push" spell, rolling it to the opposite wall. Klaaze rushes over to it, so she casts a "levitate", bringing it up to the ceiling. Klaaze climbs onto a chair, and jumps up, grabbing it. It sticks to his hand, with the "levitate" causing him to hang from the ceiling. By this point Mark, Hherrmyie, and Silas have drawn their swords. Tao starts to try to knock down the locked door from the outside.

Aurora realizes that her plan to grab the rod, turn invisible, and then run off, has gone sour. She tells them "Don't move, or I'll fireball you." This stops the three fighters, who are on the opposite side of the room. Silas notices that Trimble is only ten feet from Aurora, and yells "Jump her Trimble, you're too close for her to blast you." Trimble starts to rush forward. Aurora reaches for a dagger, during which the three fighters starts to rush across the room. As Aurora turns in their direction Trimble lets fly three darts, all of which hit. Silas dives at the magic-user, finishing her off with one sword swipe. The "levitate" ceases, and Klaaze falls to the ground.

Tao breaks down the door, and the other's enter the room. The Sage is heartbroken by the death of his former pupil. He tells the group that she was of good alignment, and that her threat to Fireball them was only a bluff. As the Sage gets her body ready for burial the first piece of the Rod is found. He says that he will keep it.

June 25th, 1005:

The group sets up camp beside the Sage's home. They decide that it is best for them to leave him alone for the day, but they do not want to leave the mountain without the other piece of the Rod.

June 26th, 1005:

The Sage approaches the party in the morning. He says that, although they were justified in their actions, he would rather not have such brutal people in his home and asks them to leave. As they start to climb down the mountain, Augustine and Tao discuss way's to get the Rod piece back from him. Trimble takes the rod piece out of her pack, having gone in and stolen it the night before. Klaaze fastens it onto the rest of the Rod, but doesn't notice anything different.