The Log of Patrick Logopolis

[Ancalagon]

SESSION 17

July 24th

I fear for your lives, brethren, for I have had a vision. I hope that it is a sign of things to come, rather than a view of things that have actually taken place. Perhaps I can prevent the events in the vision from occuring. I must return to Ionia! With that goal in mind, I have urged the party to move through this labyrinth quickly.

As I've said before, it is difficult to keep track of time down here, but I am relatively sure that it is the 24th. Today we began the exploration of another wing of the complex. Oghma is a god of three aspects: The head, the heart, and the hands, as represented by academics, music, and physical fitness. The first wing was dedicated to the head. The next wing, the one we started today, was dedicated to the hands, and the last will probably turn out to be dedicated to the heart.

The first room we found was a gymnasium. A pair of mats lay on the floor. Blades and Corwin each stepped on one, and illusionary wrestling partners appeared. Corwin disbelieved, and was released, but Blades, stubborn as ever, insisted on fighting the illusion. He was thrown from the mat and knocked unconscious, but he soon came to.

A bath and sauna were here as well, but the mist inside was cold, and coalesced into a white cloud with three red eyes and tentacles. It attacked me, but Corwin killed it. He has been much more effective lately--that two handed sword is a dangerous weapon.

Next door to the gym was another latrine. A patch of moss (Finis called it "Memory Moss"), apparently stole magic missile from Rinver's memory. The moss attacked us, and we decided to leave it alone. Rinver, interestingly enough, seems to have forgotten everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, including the fight with the Fruk. On the bright side, he is no longer angry at Suleiman, even though we told him all that had transpired. He is a strange man.

A curious puzzle confronted us at the next door. The door had no iron straps, or hinges, or any metal of any kind. In fact, rust particles lay all around the door. I suggested that there may be one of the adventurer's most feared adversaries--a rust monster--on the other side. We decided to leave that room alone.

Corwin heard murmuring behind another door. As we approached, it sounded as if there were many, many voices behind it. Anticipating a serious fight, I prayed for Prometheus to protect us, and hinder our foes. We charged inside, only to be confronted with a hideous blob of goo, with eyes and mouths floating in its gelatinous mass: a Gibbering Mouther. Blades was terrified, and fled into the hall. Corwin simply stood there, stunned. Finis and I attacked, and it bit me several times, grabbing a hold of me. Finis struck several incredible blows on the beast, quickly killing it. However, Corwin still seemed under the sway of the beasts' confusing voices, and attacked Suleiman in a rage. Suleiman tried valiantly to parry with his little dagger, but to no avail; he took a serious blow. Corwin snapped out of it, and was of course very sorry. We took care of Suleiman's injury, and went to look for Blades.

He was soon found in the gymnasium, wandering around aimlessly. He asked us if we had "defeated the dragon". Playing along, we assured him that we had, and returned to the room it had inhabited. The room was completely bare; the gibbering mouther had eaten everything that had once occupied the room, including a chalkboard.

The hall went around a corner, and led to a room full of doors, various pieces of equipment--looms, cloth, tools, etc.--and a large basalt statue standing guard. It was quickly decided that we should leave the statue and the contents of the room alone, so we checked out another room.

This room was a bar, complete with stools, liquor, and some books on making drinks. One was entitled Bloodstone's Bartending, so we took it back to the gibbering mouther room, and prepared for a fight.

Then it happened. As I cast Arms of Flame on Corwin's sword, I saw an image forming in the fire. I saw my sister--now grown to womanhood, and she seemed angry. Then there was some other woman, and an Amazon, a tree standing on water, and Zek K'tri of the Worker Caste. What does it mean? There was also something about Ares, but I cannot remember it all; it was too brief. Could Aresopolis have betrayed the alliance? The Gods help us if their bloodthirsty troops are on the rampage! Finally, there was a terrible image, that will stay with me for all my days: I saw Demopolis burning! Can it be? I pray not, with all my heart!
Is this a sending from High Priestess Octavia? Or is it from my sister? Can it be from Prometheus Himself? The last possibility is the most exciting, but also the most frightening--the situation must be dire indeed if he is sending visions to me, a lowly Wanderer! I must pray for more insight.

The other members of the Pentachromata must have thought that there was something wrong with me; I must have stood there gazing into the flames for several minutes. I was rattled, but if I want to find out what is going on, I have to get out of here. So, we continued our plan to open the book. Once again, a plate fell out, and this time, a white lizard devil appeared. Finis struck it, and Blades killed it. Now we have the letter B.

Our next discovery was a lounge, with weapons on the walls. Corwin took a very finely crafted two-handed sword from the wall. We found yet another book with an alliterative title: Silent Solace. Blades opened it, and a black devil appeared. After two incredible blows from Blades, the creature dissipated. Strangely, no plate fell out of this book.

Moving on, we found an room used in creating musical instruments. After a thorough search, we found a basalt ring. Having no more rooms left to explore, except for the ones guarded by the statue in the equipment room, we came up with a plan to lure the rust monster to it, using pieces of ferrous metal. It then occurred to Blades that the basalt ring might control the basalt statue! Finis tested the theory, and it proved correct--he could give it simple commands, and it would obey them. We all hid in the gymnasium, and Rinver turned Finis invisible. Then Finis led the statue to the rust monster's room. He ordered the statue to bash through the door, and it did so (quite easily, I might add). The rust monster, covered with plates and with a small beak, ran into the hall. Finis ordered the statue to attack it, and it did--unfortunately, the rust monster decided to flee in the direction of the gymnasium. Alarmed, we clambered up ropes and onto cabinets, in a desperate attempt to remove ourselves (and our iron equipment) from the path of the rust monster. The statue chased the rust monster into the bath, and then killed it. I must say, that was rather clever of us (and brave of Finis), don't you think?

Very little remained in the rust monster's room. Reddish dust was all that remained of a forge and some anvils. We did find a book entitled "Hephaestus' Handbook" on a shelf. Blades found five ingots of mithril in a cabinet! Blades is truly a master armor smith; if he decides to craft a suit of armor from that metal, he will be nearly invulnerable.

Our next destination was, once again, the gibbering mouther room, where we lay the book on the floor, walked outside, and ordered the statue to open the book. The creature leaned over, and then suddenly smashed book with its heavy fist. It turned, and walked toward us. We slammed the door shut, and heard the statue's movement stop. Even after we opened the door again, the statue stood motionless. Finis hypothesized that he had lost control of the statue, and that someone else should give it a try. As Finis handed the ring to Suleiman, the statue attacked. It hit Blades, but stopped when ordered to do so by Suleiman. This time, Suleiman told it to simply pick up the book. The statue grabbed the book by the front cover, and a plate fell on the floor. A red devil appeared, and attacked the statue. The devil and the statue fought for a while, but Blades grew impatient, and rushed to the statue's aid. Blades killed the devil, but the statue turned its attention on Blades, despite Suleiman's orders. Fortunately, Blades easily dispatched the statue as well. Now we have the letter H.

Now that the statue was destroyed, we decided that it was safe to search the room it had originally guarded. We found a book entitled Goblins, Giants and Giant Kin. Following what had become standard procedure, we defeated its blue devil guardian in the gibbering mouther room, gaining the letter G.

Returning to the statue's original room, we searched some closets. I found a secret door in one, leading to a small room with a table, some chairs, and a skeleton. A bottle filled with a foul liquid sat on a shelf, along with a gold goblet and several glasses. There was also a good cloak on the wall, which we took, along with the goblet and glasses.

Having passed another busy day in a productive fashion, we are now retiring again, in the map room. I am not sure that I will be able to sleep; the sight of Demopolis burning is carved into my mind. What can it mean? Who wants me to see such a thing? How can I get home quickly? Will the rest of the Pentachromata help me, or am I on my own? I fear my shoulders are too narrow for the burden that may soon be placed upon them.

July 25th

Finis had a clever suggestion this morning: he said that he could use his stone shape ability to remove the walls around the main doors guarding the Vault of Knowledge, allowing us to simply move the doors out of the way. Blades strongly objected, and we should have listened to him. The idea worked, and with a mighty tug, Corwin pulled the doors down. With a loud crack, the seal on the doors split, and we could see inside. Stepping through, we could see rows and rows of books, and huge scroll tubes. We could also see the three stone golems charging us. One of them breathed a poison gas on us, to which Suleiman and Rinver succumbed. Their movements became sluggish and slow. Another shouted loudly, and the blast struck us painfully. We made a fighting withdrawal, and the golems stopped in the doorway. Corwin took a serious blow, but he is all right now.

The three golems apparently represent the three aspects of Oghma. One is a burly wrestler, another seems scholarly, and the third looks like an enlightened artist or musician. We decided to leave them alone, and gather the rest of the plates.

We entered the third branch of the complex, representing art and music. The first room contained two statues representing the classical archetypes of theater: comedy and tragedy. As we poked around the room, they attacked us. Unfortunately, Suleiman broke his magical dagger on one of them. The "tragedy" statue hit Corwin, and he became sullen and depressed. Fortunately, they were not very tough, and we soundly defeated them.

Suleiman summoned Tanvil again, to help us look around. He reported the smell of fresh water behind a door. We opened it, and found a curious, magical pool. Looking into it apparently showed reflections of ancestors; I recognized some of my own features in the face below the water. Strangely, Corwin's reflection looked not at all human. A nearby plaque names this the "Pool of Ages".

The next room was a dance studio, complete with wooden floor and mirrors, both of which had warped with age. We continued on, into an art gallery, where a mimic disguised itself as a vase, a pedestal, and a painting in an attempt to surprise us. It was quickly killed, and we took a look at several of the books lying around. We found Ionian Inkprints and Knights, Knaves, and Knobs.

Blades opened the first book, revealing a plate with the letter I, and another black devil. Surprisingly, Corwin killed it with a mighty blow from his newly acquired fine-quality sword.

We suspect that we must gain the letters to spell "Oghma the Binder". Therefore, we do not need a K. Nonetheless, we were curious about what might be inside, and Arms of Flame was still in effect on Corwin's blade. So, we opened Knights, Knaves, and Knobs. A glowing sphere appeared and attacked. It struck Blades with a searing beam of light, destroying his ring of strength. Corwin, in another impressive display of his incredible strength, destroyed the glowing sphere.

As we have suffered several wounds in the course of today's excitement, and because Finis and I are nearly out of spells, it is time to rest. I wish that we had not tried to sneak into the Vault of Knowledge; with the seal broken, I am not sure that gathering all the letters will still work. Still, it is worth a try; those golems are far too tough for us to face in direct combat. Perhaps we will finish our task tomorrow.

Still the image of Demopolis burning fills my thoughts. I feel so helpless. I wonder, where does Rinver want us to take him, once we have gotten what he came for? I hope it is not far off. I was interested in exploring Duncan Keep, but it looks as though that will have to wait for another time--or perhaps another man. It seems as though my destiny lies in Ionia, not in Ailech. I hear my home calling to me; I must answer.

July 26th

We now have all the letters necessary to spell "Oghma the Binder". Tonight we rest, eagerly awaiting the morning, when we will (hopefully) reach the library. Today was very productive and interesting.

After tending to our remaining wounds, we renewed our search. We found another living area, with a book entitled The Terrible Tempest. Of course, we opened the book. A red devil appeared, which Blades handily dispatched.

The next room was merely a latrine, but the room after that quite a surprise. Or rather, the person in it was a surprise. A tall, emaciated man, of the race of Githyanki, stood a room full of paintings, finishing a picture of what Suleiman tells me is Limbo. The frightening being greeted us telepathically, telling us that his name was Relmor Zenaroth, and adventurer. Apparently, he took something of value from some friends of his, and is hiding from them. We were quite leery and suspicious of him, so we explored the room beyond. Relmor told us that a living shadow lurked in the room.

As we entered, our rocks of continual light dimmed, and the shadow beast attacked. We seemed unable to harm it, so we retreated through the doorway. Suleiman pulled out the wand of illumination we found so long ago, and said "noon" in elvish, filling the room with a blazing light. The creature hid behind the bed, and we ran inside, grabbed everything that was not bolted to the floor, and ran out, shutting the door behind us. The poor creature lost almost all of his furniture in just a few seconds! We found two books: Hibernian Hymns and Revelations of Ramen-Hotep. We also found what I am calling a jar of wizard armor and a hat of difference.
The books contained the letters H and R, and of course, devils (green and red). That left us with only an O and an E to find. After explaining to Finis exactly what a Githyanki is, we took our leave of Relmor. Finis then used stone shape to block the door using the stone of the wall, in what turned out to be a futile attempt to keep Relmor inside.

Musical Instruments filled the next room. A most curious instrument, with many black and white "keys" caught my eye. It had not weathered the years well, but I tried a key. It worked, much to my surprise. Corwin tried placing his hand on it--and several strings broke. Oh well. Suleiman found a lute that had weathered the years particularly well; perhaps it is magic. A book entitled "Partok's Perfect Performance" lay on a music stand. We don't need a P, so we left it unopened.
Backtracking through the room in which the Golems of the theater were defeated, we entered an auditorium. Suleiman and I walked up on to the stage. It was filled with props, and were about to begin a thorough search when we heard footsteps from behind the stage. The continual light rock was extinguished, and I grabbed Suleiman in an attempt to run from the stage. A ghostly figure stepped onto the stage, and suddenly Blades, Corwin, Rinver, and I were compelled to walk up to the stage and begin reciting lines from some play.

The spirit let us act for a while, and then beckoned Blades towards him. Finis leaped into action, striking the Ghost soundly. Blades shook himself free from the compulsion and began his attack, while Suleiman readied a spell. The rest of us continued playing our roles.

Incredibly, Suleiman's magic missiles shimmered strangely in midair, and knocked the ghost's head right off of its shoulders! Its body searched around on the floor for a while, and Blades continued his attack. Finally, he dispatched the undead, freeing us from our theatrical enslavement.

A passage way behind the stage led down to a costume room, where we found two books: Hamlet (this was apparently the play we had been reciting), Orlem's Ovids, and Poetry of the Trees. Of course, Finis wanted the last book. Suleiman took the first, and Blades tucked Orlem's Ovids to open later. We looked around some more, finding that a trap door on the stage led to a dusty equipment room. Suleiman found a magical scarf, but we are unsure what it does. I found a magical make-up kit; I suspect it allows one to disguise oneself.

While arguing about where to go next, we noticed that Relmor sat out in the "audience", as if watching us perform. He must have escaped the stone barrier Finis placed in front of the door to his "painting room". We politely left and went to investigate the "cold room". Our curiosity had finally gotten the better of us; we had to know what was inside.

A huge, white insect creature was inside! It stood in a circle on the ground of the chamber. As we stood watching our breath, the creature asked us to free it. Blades seemed interested, especially after it promised to do him a favor if he released it. I was suspicious, so I cast detect evil. I was stunned by the incredible evil emanating from the being, and I bid everyone to leave, and quickly! Blades and Corwin were reluctant, but they were finally persuaded.

After defeating the devil in Orlem's Ovids to get the letter O, we began our search for the last book. After a great deal of arguing, we decided that Corwin should go into the "memory moss" room and have a look about. It ended up costing him two days' memories, but he handily dispatched the moss. We were thrilled to find the book Eagle Eyes in the room, near some baths.

Once again, we went to the gibbering mouther room to slay the black devil in, gaining the letter E. In an impressive display, Corwin parried two of the beast's swings, allowing Blades to dispatch it with impunity.

Back in the map room, we had something to eat, and investigated some of the items we had picked up. If you will recall, we found a cloak and a goblet in hidden room, where a skeleton was slumped on a table. The goblet appears to be a goblet of treasure finding; pouring water into it revealed the view of a treasure chest on the ocean floor. Finis drank from it, and got a sense of its direction: South. The cloak is a cloak of protection.

It has been another productive day; we now have all the letters! Tomorrow, when we are fully rested and healed, we will attempt entry to the library. I am so excited; I hope that I can sleep! Soon, I will begin my return home. I will be glad to be out of this dark pit.

 

[Ancalagon]

SESSION 18

July 27th
We are free, and eating a rabbit dinner, expertly prepared by Urym. The air is fresher than I imagined. I hope that the monastery has not caused me to develop claustrophobia!

The day started at the entrance to the library. We were somewhat surprised (but not too much) to find Relmor waiting for us there. We politely told him that he was making us uncomfortable, and he left. That creature makes me so nervous! Perhaps we've seen the last of him.

It was decided that Rinver should do the honors; he stacked the plates, placed them on the podium, and said "Oghma the Binder". Nothing seemed to happen, but Rinver assured us that we were free to enter. We did, and were pleased to find those large golems that had easily pummeled us the other day were standing, unmoving, against a wall.

The room was absolutely filled with books. Two huge scroll tubes, with mechanisms for turning them, sat near a table, at which a skeleton lay slumped over. Apparently, the priest had drunk poison. Three holy symbols lay on the table as well.

Three statues, representing the aspects of Oghma, stood on a dais in the middle of the room. When placed in the statues' hands, the holy symbols caused a shimmering triangle of light to shoot from the wall to the ceiling, briefly forming a beautiful triangular column. The light soon faded. Blades went to find out whether the fog was gone from the stairs.

Rinver has announced that he plans to claim the library as his own, and "set up shop", so to speak. I am not sure that the library is his to claim, but I will leave that up to the remaining priests of Oghma. While Suleiman, Finis, and I did research on various subjects, Corwin followed after Blades.

They came back down a while later, reporting that they had been attacked by giant rats, which they had defeated (but not without a few nasty, disease-causing bites). Strange, lifelike statues, without bases or pedastals, were scattered around the side of the above-ground monastery that we had not explored. They then heard footsteps coming toward them. Suspecting that it might be the medusa, they came back down. That was a wise decision.

After looking around some more, we decided that it was time to leave. Rinver plans to return with another adventuring party, to finish clearing the ruins. We walked up the stairs, with our eyes firmly fixed on the ground. I'd wager that nothing had come up the stairs in a long, long time. As we stepped into the cool, fresh air, we remained on our guard. Corwin kept his huge ears cocked for signs of the medusa, but she did not appear. I cannot blame her; we probably looked like seasoned adventurers.

It did not take us long to reach the hill at which we had promised to meet Urym. He came marching up, playing a stirring piece on his bagpipes. We set up camp a short distance away, and feasted on his excellent roast rabbit. It wasn't nearly enough for Corwin, but I don't think he wanted any more magically created food. It was rather dull, but I'm working on it. Suleiman presented Urym with the magic lute. He seemed interested, but I'm not sure that he knows how to play it.

We've traveled short distance toward Prolingmur this afternoon. It will be nice to sleep outside, under the stars tonight. The trials of life, such as that dank, haunted monastery, truly make one appreciate the comforts that we often take for granted. I will endeavor to pay greater attention to my blessings, from now on.

July 28th
It has been a day of uneventful, plain travel. Urym has cooked and prepared several rabbits for us; with just a little variation in their seasonings, he can dramatically change the taste. He is a skilled cook; if he would join our party, he would not go unappreciated. I believe that Finis has had further discussions with him on this subject.

July 29th
Today I tried to determine who in the party would be willing to travel with me to Ionia. Much to my surprise, the entire party agreed! I was, needless to say, quite delighted. Finis, in particular, was quite eloquent in voicing his support. Friendships like these are priceless. I wonder; would I have such friends if I had stayed in the temple, in Ionia? I do not think I would.

We near Prolingmur, and the signs of habitation grow. A few cattle and fisherman have been seen. Tomorrow, we should reach the town.

July 30th
At last, we have returned to civilization (or at least, something closely resembling it). Never did six dilapidated buildings look so urban. Rinver is jubilant, and is already making plans to hire another party, to get rid of the medusa.

Finis and Urym have decided upon terms of employment. We now have a bard as well!

Unfortunately, our joy was short-lived. While Suleiman and I were trying to find a way to open Nelbar's Spellbook (Suleiman feels that he can now return to using his skills as a thief, without detracting from his wizard training), Relmor appeared. He warned that his former companions were coming. We quickly tried to scatter, hoping that Relmor would be left to fight his foes alone (as we wanted no part of his fight).

Of course, that didn't work. Four Githyanki appeared, assumed that we were Relmor's slaves, and attacked us. While we fought them off, Relmor stood there. One of the Githyanki had a wand, and turned first Finis,and then me into tiny puppy dogs. Finis, however, waddled behind the fighting Githyanki, and (much to our amazement), turned back into himself! I was unable to do anything so dramatically effective, so I moved away from combat.

Suleiman was faced with some kind of martial artist, who gave him a severe beating. Suleiman summoned Tanvil, however, and the odds improved somewhat. Nonetheless, Corwin and Suleiman were knocked unconscious, and things looked bad.

A crowd of MacFinden clansmen gathered around, watching the fight. Somehow, Tanvil managed to kill both the martial artist and another Githyanki, while Blades dispatched the other two. However, Blades, possessed by the combat fury of his magical sword, could not stop, and struck Finis twice before managing to sheath his weapon. Finis quickly tended to some wounds, and then he and Blades turned on Relmor.

Relmor was totally taken by surprise, and was on the defensive. Suleiman, though badly wounded, managed to restore me to normal using the wand. Meanwhile, Blades and Finis had quickly defeated Relmor, with a little help from Connel MacFinden.

We consulted Nelbar's encyclopedia to find out whether Githyanki come after all items left behind, or only their weapons. Apparently, they are only interested in recovering their magical silver weapons. So, we resolved to dump them into a lake or stream, and keep whatever other items seemed interesting. That was a close fight; I am glad that we will not leave it empty-handed.

Plans must be made for our travel to Ionia. Right now, we are planning to travel south, by river, to Galway, and then on to Wicklow, on the cost. From there, we will take a ship to Alcyone, and then to Ionia. Urym warns us that there is a group of overzealous mages in Wicklow that is obsessed with "justice"; we shall have to be careful of them. Justice is good, but blind pursuit of it is dangerous.

Once again, the Pentachromata have come through victorious. Of course, there are still several hours left in the day. You never know what might happen next. I, for one, am eating lunch.
_______________________

 

[Ancalagon]

SESSION 19

We are now headed to bed, looking up at the stars. Why can we see the stars, if we're in an inn, you ask? Well, we sort of blew the roof up.

After lunch, we attended to our wounds, and then Suleiman and I attempted to open Nelbar's magically warded spell book. Finis and the others went to bury the Githyanki and their items. Suleiman successfully picked the lock, but the magical trap remained. A dispel magic was unsuccessful. So, I opened it. A huge ball of flame erupted as a powerful firetrap went off. The book was undamaged, but the thatch roof quickly caught fire. I told Suleiman to grab the book and run, before the roof collapsed. I managed to cast a create water before the roof collapsed, dowsing the flames. Although the roof was no longer on fire, it collapsed nonetheless, giving me some bumps and scratches. Of course, we compensated the innkeeper for the damage.

Suleiman tried reading the first page, and it exploded in his face, as well. This time, some of the book was damaged. I cast detect magic and carefully folded over two other magically trapped pages in the book. Suleiman now has access to several new spells.

The rest of the party soon returned, wondering what happened to our building. After explaining, the group fell into a discussion about what to do about the mithril we left in the temple of Oghma. I had considered using the candle of invocation to cast flaming pegasus, enabling me to travel there and back in one day. However, this would use thirty precious minutes of the candle, and I would have to travel there alone. Also, we would have to leave Nelbar's encyclopedia behind, in order to put the mithril in the bag of holding. Blades was very eager to get the mithril, but I'm afraid that Finis talked me out of it. Blades is understandably upset.

Tomorrow we make final preparations to leave. I cannot wait to begin traveling again; I have yet to see the sections of Connaught we will be visiting.

July 31st
We began the morning by packing some of our gear. Urym soon returned from a night visiting "friends"; I suspect that he meant "ladies". He looks exhausted.

Rinver came by, and offered us a topaz as payment for our services. It was time to say good-bye, and it was an emotional farewell. I asked if he could hold the mithril for us; he promised that we could have a whole wing of the complex if we wanted. After some hugs and handshakes, Rinver left us.

While Blades spent much of the day trying to fit the magical Githyanki splint mail to Corwin, the rest of us went to visit Torin's grave. Finis attempted to stone-shape the symbol of the Pentachromata into the obelisk Blades had constructed, but it didn't look quite right. At least it was a nice gesture. After a moment of silence and prayer, we returned to Prolingmur.

Blades had succeeded in fitting the armor to Corwin, and I asked him to try to remove the distinctive markings from the set of Githyanki splint mail I was to wear. Unfortunately, the strange metal could not stand the stress, and crumbled. We have another set of Githyanki splint; I suppose I must learn to live with the strange designs.

Meanwhile, Corwin had rounded up a rowboat--ours had been stolen, and the one Corwin found turned out to be our own. We bought our own stolen rowboat back! We spent some time reallocating our magical items, tending to our remaining wounds, and making a few last minute purchases of supplies, and we are going to bed early. Our journey begins early tomorrow.

August 1st
With Urym and Finis in a canoe, Blades in a Kayak, Suleiman, Corwin, and our chest in a rowboat, and me in canoe, we set off down river. Urym has warned that a creature known as Guulg the Devourer lives further south, in a loch. We plan to portage around the loch when the water begins to slow.

Fortunately, we don't seem to be close to him today. Our first day of travel has been quiet, with a cool breeze gently blowing. Large hills and thick woods stand on both sides of the river.

A strange thing happened tonight while we set up camp. When Suleiman approached the fire, it turned blue. We are not exactly sure what causes this, but we suspect it may be related to his problems, which I have alluded to before. I suspect that it is meant to be a reminder, but I am not certain. It is puzzling.

August 2nd
It has been another day of quiet downstream travel. I saw another one of those strange "moose" creatures today. Their incredibly oversized antlers make them look awkward. I wish that you could see the beauty of the landscape!

August 3rd
While paddling downstream today, Blades spotted a dark shape moving towards us through the water. Thinking quickly, he shouted to us to paddle to the right bank. Blades jumped into the water, his magical otter pelt turning him into an otter. It was not a moment too soon, as a huge hand reached up, pulling his entire kayak under the water.

The creature, which was, of course, Guulg, then turned his attention to Finis and Urym, who were frantically trying to reach the shore. The hand reached up, pulling Finis under. The rest of us managed to get to shore. I cast water breathing on myself and Blades, thinking that we would have to enter into combat with the beast. However, Suleiman cast levitate, floating into the air, and Corwin strode, using the ring of water walking, straight toward the spot where the beast held Finis underwater. Blades and I simply watched from the side of the river.

It suddenly seemed that Finis had disappeared; the creature then devoted its attention to Corwin. It turns out that Finis had turned into a frog, and swam away. The creature surged upward, wrapping both hands around Corwin. Incredibly, Corwin stood his ground (water?), continuing to attack Guulg with his sword. He was actually supporting the weight of this monster, by himself!

Suleiman struck it with several magic missiles, and Corwin smote it with mighty blows. It tried to flee, but I managed to hit it with sunscorch before it could get away. Dead, Guulg floated to the surface, and off downstream. It must have been nine feet tall and five feet wide; it looked like some kind of frog-lizard-fish thing.

Needless to say, Urym was impressed, as we all were with Corwen's incredible feat of strength (feet of strength?). Finis cast speak with animals, turned into an otter, and went off downstream to locate Guulg's lair. He came back a while later with a broach from an underwater cave, to which he had been (slowly) directed by a turtle. A careful search of the cave uncovered some bronze pieces and a magical spear. Upon leaving the water, the tip of the spear burst into flames. Urym was quite excited, telling us that it was a hero's spear, a weapon quite effective against the undead. Apparently, such weapons are very valuable--kings even fight over them! We must guard it carefully. After finishing our search of the cave, we returned to the river, with Blades traveling as an otter, now that his kayak lies crushed on the river bottom.

Not long ago, while encamped near the river bank, Suleiman warned us of approaching footsteps. An older man's voice called out, asking who we were. We responded, asking the same. A man calling himself Amylawd the Seer approached our camp, saying that he was out getting water, when he saw our fire. He lives nearby, so he invited us to stay with him.

We concealed our boats, and followed him to his small, sturdy cottage. On the way, he said that we have the "mark of destiny" on us; he predicts that we will accomplish great things of importance. I hope so!

Once in the cottage, he shared his soup with us, and we shared some of our stories. He offered to tell our fortunes. Blades stepped up first, throwing a handful of stones. Amylawd interprets them based on the way they land. Of Blades, he said "Attainment of one hope leads to discovery of those around you". I decided to give it a try, hoping that Prometheus would reveal something through the stones. Strangely, several of the stones began spinning on their edge. Eventually, they settled down, but it still took quite a while for Amylawd to read. They said "Forces move through you that are vast and powerful; you are an agent that must follow your own mind. You will face a danger of many faces in the near future that will help you accomplish your goal." Of Finis the stones say "Mysteries of the past must be faced to understand the puzzles of the future." Of Corwin: "The future is uncertain, but an enemy defeated may still be a friend". Finally, Suleiman cast the stones, revealing that "From shadows fled to shadows returned, the road to freedom is bound by chains."

None of us are sure what any of the statements mean; perhaps they will be revealed in time. We thanked Amylawd, and prepared for bed. Urym is entertaining us with his bagpipes. My eyes grow heavy, and this bundle of straw is so comfortable. I must put down my quill before my handwriting deteriorates further.

August 4th
We took our leave of Amylawd this morning, after I placed a blessing on his household. It was another beautiful day of peaceful travel, until late in the afternoon, when we saw a flashing light coming from some standing stones, several miles away from the river's edge. We stashed the boats and went to investigate. Finis transformed into a hawk, and went to take a closer look. He said that there were no creatures there, and that the light was emanating from a stone in the center.

By the time we reached the stone, the sun had set. The air thickened oppressively near the stone circle. As we approached, a brown-skinned man came toward us, asking us what we wanted. Finis was strangely silent; as this was an area of concentrated natural power, I expected him to take charge. Blades, however, stepped up, and said that he wanted "power". The brown-skinned man asked him to elaborate, and Blades said that he wanted power over Jarvos Ironforge (apparently the person who stole his armor). The man walked off, then came back with a black arrow, saying that it would give him that power.

Since Finis was still silent, I asked the man who he was. He replied that he was Imal Trevarin, a "dow". According to him, the druids placed the circle here to control the dow, but apparently it no longer did so. He turned around, walked away, and disappeared.

Suddenly the center stone cracked, collapsing into dust and rubble, and an earth elemental arose. Between Finis, Corwin, Blades, and Arms of Flame, the creature was soon dispatched. The oppressive feeling in the air left, and we were left wondering just what had taken place. We returned to the camp, traveled a bit downstream, and are now encamped once again.

I suspect that we will never know exactly what happened at the stone circle tonight. Then again, Prometheus has ways of revealing things to those who are willing to look and listen.

August 5th
As we travel, I've noticed that the leaves on the trees are starting to change colors from their full summer green to the oranges, browns, and golds of autumn. This is only the second real autumn I've ever seen; our Ionian fall and winter is so mild by comparison.

Not long after we set out, Corwin spotted a large shape moving parallel to us, through the forest. We soon ascertained that it was a Fomorian, with a huge ball and chain. At first, we planned to fight it, as we were afraid that it might lob boulders or trees at us. However, Urym has informed us that Fomorians cannot throw. So, much to Blades' disappointment, we left it behind--it eventually spotted us, and stood on the river bank, shaking its fist at us.

As we journey southward, I've been attempting to teach Ionian to the party members that are interested. They seem to be catching on quickly, especially Suleiman, who has heard it before. The bright and sunny weather has kept everyone's spirits up, and kept them alert, despite the tedium of the lessons. This afternoon, however, clouds started rolling in, and it quickly became overcast.

Our evening became even more miserable when a group of winged humanoids--huge gargoyles, in fact--attacked our camp. I was badly beaten, but the party quickly came to my aid, and we prevailed. Urym says that these gargoyles are servants of a black dragon named Seguvox, who lives a quite a distance away. It's not clear what the gargoyles are doing in this part of the country. Three possibilities spring to mind: 1) Seguvox is expanding his territory. 2) These gargoyles were sent specifically for us. Neither of these are especially comforting. 3) Seguvox has been defeated, his forces scattered. I hope it is the third one.

With our wounds mostly healed, we once again retire for the night.

August 6th
This afternoon we began to see signs of civilization. People were traveling a road next to the river, south toward Galway. In large carts they took the last of the summer's harvest of wheat to town. We soon pulled into the somewhat dilapidated docks, tied our boats, and began our search for an inn.

Galway is a sizable town, of around 3,000 people. Most of the homes are of clay and stone, with thatch roofs. The populace is busy collecting, storing, and selling the harvest. We soon located an inn called The Dryad, which seems nice and cozy. In exchange for Urym performing tonight, the innkeeper offered us one of the rooms for free.

Conversation with the innkeeper revealed some interesting information. The King is having a fall festival of some sort, to celebrate the last harvest. Also, someone called "Gutatar the Firelord" is attacking the kingdom with firedrakes. This is fascinating, but we must be on to Ionia!

Suleiman, Finis, and I went out to see the town. Finis' hero's spear attracted a lot of attention, and we were sure to advertise Urym's performance. Suleiman found an herbalist, and picked up a few odds and ends. The shopkeeper turned out to be a wizard of some ability, and traded spells with Suleiman. Now Suleiman can cast invisibility! Also, the shopkeeper agreed to identify some of our items for us. We will pick them up in the morning.

Urym's performance was excellent, although I feel a little embarrassed, as I am a part of some of the stories he told. I was amazed at the number of people that showed up to listen to Urym. The inn was packed! I have retired a little early, although the performance continues. I am more than a little tired.

August 7th
The first thing we did today was go to get our items from the wizard. He could not identify the magic ring, but he said that the scarf allows the wearer to charm people, as well as improving singing and speaking ability (I think Finis should get the scarf, as he mumbles most of the time). The arrow that the dow gave Blades is an arrow of fighter slaying.

Soon it was time to resume our journey to Wicklow. We saw people traveling upstream to Galway until the afternoon. Other than the occasional friendly greeting, our travel has been quiet.

August 8th
While packing to leave camp this morning, we saw a man on the other side of the river, who was standing by a cart full of apples, cursing. We paddled our boats to his side of the river, and offered to help. Apparently, one of the wheels of the cart had broken. So, Suleiman and Corwin lifted the heavy cart, much to the man's amazement, and the man replaced the wheel. As a reward, he let us partake of some of his delicious apples.

As we ate, an elderly woman came down the road toward us, carrying a cage with a bird in it. We talked to her for a while, and quickly discovered that each of us saw a different kind of bird in the cage. She said that her name was Taleri, and that she had tried to kill herself over fifty years ago, when the Taygete League invaded her land and killed her family. But a druid intervened, giving her a cage, and saying that she must bear it until she finds someone who sees the same thing in it that she sees. However, she cannot tell anyone what she sees. When she finds that person, he or she will give her what she needs.

We were intrigued by this puzzle, but unable to do anything to assist her. So, we offered to accompany her to Wicklow. She has traveled with us today, during another peaceful voyage. I continue to teach Ionian to those who are interested.

August 9th
Once again, we were interrupted in the morning while packing our belongings. Two large, flying creatures, resembling manticores, but with reptilian faces, approached and attacked.

They threw their tail spikes at Suleiman, almost knocking him unconscious. We scrambled for cover, and they spat streams of vile acid on us. Finis harassed one with a cloud of insects, while I managed to blind one with a sunscorch, forcing it to land. Corwin charged and killed it. Suleiman tried to cast a spell, but instead of the intended effect, darkness 15' radius appeared. That was okay; it provided some protection from the tail spikes. He and I hid inside it, until I had healed the damage caused by the acid and spikes. I then ran to Corwen's aid.

He was under attack by the other creature. As it flew in, Finis cast a spell, exploding a nearby pine tree. The needles flew out, striking the creature. It landed and blasted Corwin with acid, then flung him around with its mouth, badly mauling him. Blades and Finis finished the creature, and we saved Corwin from the brink of death. He has an incredible scar on his chest now. On a strange looking man like Corwin, it is barely noticeable.

We went through the familiar procedure of tending to wounds, and returned to the river. As we stop now for dinner, I can smell the sea air ahead, and we have spotted a few sea gulls in the distance. The roar of the sea can faintly be heard; I think that it is a little disconcerting for those in the party who have never been to the ocean. In a few more hours, we will be in Wicklow. I can barely contain my excitement. From there, we should be able to catch a ship to Alcyone, and then to Anarchopolis. If all goes well, I will be home in less than two months! May Prometheus continue to guide us swiftly to Ionia!

 

[Ancalagon]

Ooh, the plot really thickens now!

SESSION 20

We continued toward Wicklow after dinner. More conversations with the elderly woman, Taleri, yielded no more clues. The river soon split, heading into a lake crowded with recently-cut logs, with a large lumber mill, on the right, and continuing to Wicklow on the left. We took the left branch, and after passing under some bridges emerged into the harbor.

Several ships lay in port, including some Ionian galleys, and we passed a large, impressive one called the Wraith, which had its own special dock. We tied our boats up, and I marked them with a continual flame rock.

After passing up two inns (the Three Old Kegs and the Bronze Cup), we settled on the Blushing Mermaid. Because it is harvest time, the room rates are somewhat high. While we went to our room and took inventory of all of our magical items, Urym went down to the bar to collect some information about the town and its inhabitants.

After deciding on an arrangement of equipment, we joined Urym downstairs, and had the displeasure of watching a raw oyster eating contest. The unfortunate loser regurgitated all that he had worked so hard to eat. I asked some sailors about ships going to Ionia. They mentioned that one called the Gift was going straight to Urbs Deorum. I will try to speak to the Gift's captain, Xallicles, tomorrow.

As we prepared for bed, Urym told us what he had found. There is a new king, Colin O'Shea. His father was killed fighting the Fomorians. The Children of the Light are a group of wizards that enforce their own version of justice, and the king favors them. There were also some seemingly irrelevant bits of information: Nightstalker is a famous local thief, there is a ghost at some place called Blackwell Manor, and another adventuring band, the Loremasters, are in town. The Loremasters seem to be local heroes.

Tomorrow will be a busy day; we must get some rest.

August 10
Poor Suleiman couldn't sleep over all the noise in the bar last night. Fortunately, I grabbed the magical pillow, so I will still be able to cast spells today.

After a hearty breakfast, Blades, Suleiman, and I headed out to pick up some new clothes. However, we did not immediately don our new clothes; instead, we went to the baths, where we all had a badly needed cleaning-up. I had a haircut, and shaved off my beard. Blades has braided his beard--it makes him look quite distinguished. Suleiman, on the other hand, has shaved all the hair off of his head, except for a goatee. He looks even more intimidating than before. We have all moved our Pentachromata patches onto our new clothes (and burnt our old clothes).

After that, I went to find the Gift, while Blades and Suleiman went in search of spells and armor. Suleiman later told me that while they were passing down an empty street, he heard a woman's voice call out his name, and he looked up in time to catch a falling rose. He caught it, and it wilted in his hand. They investigated the building from which the rose seemed to fall, only to find that it was basically empty. I suspect this was meant to be a warning, but I cannot elaborate on this further until Suleiman feels that it acceptable to make his secret known.

I found the Gift without too much trouble. It is a one-mast galley. I sneaked under the dock to cast detect evil, in order to survey the captain and crew. A helpful crewman, Cyriscos, went to get captain Xallicles. He informed me that the boat was leaving on the 13th, and that they could carry us. I told them that I would let them know if we decided to book passage.

According to the harbormaster, three boats are headed towards Alcyone. The soonest, the Foam Spray, is supposedly very fast. The first mate says that they will leave on the 12th, and I suspect that they use magic--some kind of wind spell, I think--to power the boat. This ship has promise.

Suleiman and Blades managed to find me, and we went to a store called the Time and Tide, so that Suleiman could inquire about gaining some spells. After some serious bartering, they struck upon a possible bargain. Suleiman wanted to discuss it with the group first, so we returned to the inn.

Once there, we decided to relocate to the Lighthouse, a much finer inn, in which we would be assured of a peaceful night's sleep. We picked up our belongings and started up the hill toward the inn.

Along the way, a beggar stopped, asking us for money. I gave him several bronze, and he was thankful. Finis, on a whim, asked him what he saw in Taleri's cage. The beggar became agitated, refusing to answer the question. As he ranted louder and louder, it became clear that something strange was happening. Suddenly, the man's flesh contorted, and he changed into a terrible wereboar.

I quickly read off my scroll of protection from lycanthropes. Much to my surprise, Finis and Urym were flung away from me as the sphere of protection appeared. Apparently, the magic does not distinguish between lycanthropes and shape-changers. Still, that does not explain why Urym was thrown--does he have lycanthropy?

Regretfully, we had to kill the man in self-defense. Finis was gored by his tusks, and we were concerned that he might have contracted lycanthropy. We had little time to ponder this, however, as several town guards ran up to us, led by a man carrying a staff with a lantern on its end. At this point, I noticed that Suleiman had slinked off somewhere.

The man with the staff, apparently a wizard who introduced himself as Shepherd Karl, wanted Finis to go to their tower to be treated for Lycanthropy. They said that it would take a month to treat him, if he had it. We were reluctant to waste that much time here, but we eventually decided that it was a good idea to find out if Finis had lycanthropy. Blades, Urym, and Corwin went with him.

Suleiman reemerged from the shadows after they had gone, and we walked to the Lighthouse. Along the way, Suleiman told me that he could see lines of magical power emanating from Shepherd Karl's lantern. One of them strayed close to Suleiman, and changed color. Suspecting that he was being tracked somehow, he hid. I suspect that, once again, his secret is causing him trouble. Apparently, in addition to turning fires blue, he now radiates evil. I know that he is not evil; I have checked myself on prior occasions. This is most puzzling.

After signing our names to the register at the Lighthouse, we went to our rooms to discuss matters further. Meanwhile, Finis had been given a clean bill of health, and allowed to leave the tower. As they made their way up the hill to the inn, they were stopped at a bridge by a mighty bearman, or Angentyr, who wanted to fight Corwin.

Corwin obliged him, and although I hear that he put up a good fight, he lost. The large man nonetheless invited Corwin to go drinking with him at the Bronze Cup. He has yet to return; I hope that he is all right.

I can happily report that Finis has freed Taleri from her fifty year old curse. He tried to imagine a horrible catastrophe, such as the entire party being slaughtered. Opening his eyes, he gazed into the cage, and saw absolutely nothing. Apparently, Taleri saw the same thing, but did not know what it meant. Finis told her that it meant that her life was devoid of purpose--and that she must find a purpose to make life worth living again. He suggested caring for children, perhaps in an orphanage, as she apparently cared a great deal for her family in Alcyone. She didn't seem to like this idea, as she suddenly turned into a young warrior woman. She explained that she would have revenge on the Taygete League, thanked him, and left. Finis seems to have learned a great deal from the experience.

August 11th
I do not know if you will believe the tale I am about to relate. I also do not know if you will consider me worthy of our order, once you hear what grievous sins I have committed. I can only hope to one day atone for my evil actions.

The day started innocently enough. Corwin returned, slightly hung over, from his night of revelry. We got up, ate breakfast, and went to the Time and Tide, where Suleiman and the owner (a gnomish wizard) began copying spells from each other. The rest of us went to the Foam Spray, and booked passage. The captain wanted each of us to surrender a weapon as a sign of good faith before boarding. We agreed, but as we still had things to do in town, we kept our weapons with us.

Our next goal was to find the dwarf armorer who works for the king. Blades is in need of better armor, although I fear that heavier armor would only slow him down further.

We never got even got close to the dwarf. As we walked into town, we were stopped by Shepherd Karl and several guards. Karl demanded to know who and where Suleiman was. I'm not sure how he found out about Suleiman, but I suspect that they may have looked at the register at the inn, or perhaps they heard one of Urym's tales from someone.

I was determined not to hand Suleiman over to them--they planned to keep Finis a month for lycanthropy, so there was no telling how long they would have kept Suleiman to deal with his problems. Actually, I do not trust their idea of justice, and I suspect that a fate much worse than treatment would await Suleiman.

Finis, who did not know of Suleiman's secret, nonetheless seemed to have similar feelings on the matter. We both refused to turn him over without some kind of proof of wrongdoing, or some kind of formal charge. Karl refused present either, simply stating that he represented justice, so we must do whatever he said to do.

The conversation escalated into an argument. We continued to refuse to cooperate without some justification, and Karl continued not to provide any. Finally, he insulted both Prometheus (calling him a false god!), and Druidism, and that was the last straw. We turned to walk off, and Karl directed his men to attack. A verbis ad verbera!

Chaos ensued. Karl used some kind of spell or magic item to blind many of us. Prometheus restored my sight with cure blindness, and I reentered the fray. Corwin and Blades were soon caught by a hold person and knocked out by the guards, and then Karl caught Finis in a magical lasso. I thought for a moment that we were doomed, but Finis turned into a hawk and escaped from the lasso. I read a scroll with hold person on it, freezing Shepherd Karl where he stood. While I dispatched several guards with sunscorch, I shouted to Finis, asking him to take Karl out of commission somehow.

Finis responded by pecking out Shepherd Karl's eyes. As shocking as this was, it was strangely fitting. Karl's distorted view of justice had blinded him figuratively; now it had blinded him literally, and I felt only a little remorse at this. A guard frantically waved Finis away from Karl, and they began to carry him, still frozen by hold person, away from the fight. Finis returned to human form, and we woke Corwin and Blades from unconsciousness.

We gathered our wits, and some town guardsmen down the street blew some horns and charged toward us. Realizing that the entire city would soon be mobilized against us, we made for the nearest gate, which lay along the Northeast portion of the wall. Finis turned into a bat to scout ahead, and Urym, Corwin, and I picked up Blades in order to move faster.

As we ran, I heard spell casting begin behind us, and Corwin was suddenly polymorphed into a large bison. He apparently kept his wits about him, and we ducked behind a building to avoid further spells. While we were putting Blades on Corwen's shaggy back, several guards rounded the corner. We held them off for a moment, and then resumed our mad dash for the gate. Several guards tried to block our way, but Corwin plowed through them. They managed to hit Urym as we ran past, and he slowed for a moment. Nonetheless, we had made it outside the city.

Now we had to find Suleiman and get as far away from the town as possible. He was near the docks, to the south, in a poorer district of town that lay outside the city walls (still copying spells from the gnome's spellbook). We ran through the fields to the east of Wicklow, maintaining a safe distance from the wall.

Many guards and a few adventurers were giving chase behind us. At this point I began to realize that many of these men were innocently doing their job. Nonetheless, there was not much time to ponder this.

Finis appeared, in human form, some distance in front of us, and cast spike growth on the ground in front of our pursuers. This certainly slowed our pursuers down, and even brought low several guards. This was disturbing to me as well--the death toll was getting high. Still, the fate of Demopolis may hinge on our escape! Our pursuers were joined by a flying wizard.

Finis joined us again, and I ran ahead of the group to check out the next gate. Several guards stood blocking it, although they were looking inward. They had not yet heard that we had made it out of the walls, and were expecting us to try to break out. I decided to try to attract their attention--once I was in range, I cast a sunscorch on a wooden building inside the walls. The guards shouted in surprise and abandoned their post to douse the flames and determine their cause.

This seemed to be a clever idea. Still, I wish I had not done it, or that I would have been more careful. The flames apparently spread quickly among the wooden hovels of this impoverished section of town. How many lives have I ruined? How many innocents lost their lives as a result of my selfish action? If I had been just a little more thoughtful, I would have set a cart or other object ablaze. It would have been just as effective, and less innocents would have been endangered. Worse still, I doubt that I will ever be able to return to Wicklow to compensate those injured for their losses--I would surely be killed on sight.

But there was no time to consider this at the moment. We continued our sprint toward the Time and Tide, with Blades bouncing along on Corwen's back. Urym took a few arrows, and was badly injured, but he managed to keep up. We rushed into the slums, interrupting Suleiman just as he finished copying fireball into his spellbook. Alas, he did not have time to copy the other spells he wanted, but fireball is quite satisfactory.

We had a moment's respite from our pursuers, which we used to heal Urym. Urym concealed the area behind us with a wall of fog. We told Suleiman to begin using his wand of polymorph, which we had captured from the Githyanki in Prolingmur, to turn us into seagulls, so that we could fly away. As Suleiman turned Urym into a bird, the flying wizard, from some concealed location, dispelled the wall of fog (and, inadvertently, returned Corwin to his normal shape), and two adventurers charged into combat with us. Blades and Corwin took care of them, and I helped out with a sunscorch. Another guard rushed up, and tried to blow a horn, but Finis struck him, and entreated him to flee for his life. Sadly, he did not listen.

After I knocked one of the adventurers unconscious with another sunscorch, Suleiman turned me into a seagull as well. Corwin and Blades took care of the last adventurer, and the guard with the horn. Urym, flying overhead, had located the wizard. He was summoning an earth elemental. Finis read his scroll of protection from elementals, and tried to get to the wizard. Urym fluttered around in the wizard's face, and managed to disrupt his concentration.

The Earth Elemental sank back into the earth, and the wizard attempted to escape. Suleiman tried to polymorph him with the wand, but he dodged the magical beam. Corwin managed to nick him with his mighty sword, but he escaped. Suleiman polymorphed Blades, while Finis healed some of the wounds of the unconscious adventurer (his companion was dead), and apologized for things turning out the way that they did.

From our vantage point in the sky, Blades, Suleiman and I could see that the Riders of the Mark, the local cavalry, were assembling in the fields to the east of Wicklow. Also, the flames from the sunscorch that I had used to distract the guardsmen at the gate had spread to several more buildings, but it seemed that the flames were, for the moment, contained. Finis cast speak with animals, summoned a flock of seagulls with his linden staff, and Suleiman turned him into a seagull as well. Several guardsmen were charging towards Suleiman and Corwin (the only ones left unchanged), but Finis led a flock of seagulls toward the guards, causing them to stop and frantically slap at the birds.

This provided enough time for Suleiman to change Corwin and himself. Fortunately, Suleiman had the foresight to give each of us a unique mark--a streak of color on our wings, which allowed us to identify each other. Finis asked the birds about places the gulls meet in the ocean, and they led us to an island rock, standing alone in the harbor.

Once there, we found some rocks with lichen on them, and scratched messages in them with our beaks to communicate (a tedious process). It was agreed that we would head Northwest, toward the shore, and then follow it west until the spell wore off.

After what must have been a couple of hours of flying, the spell wore off, dropping first Urym, and then the rest of us to the ground. We left the shore for the concealment of the nearby forest. I can hardly believe that we are still alive! Unfortunately, our gain was possible only because of the terrible losses of many innocent people. Although I am relieved to be safe, I am struck by grief--how could I have allowed this to happen? I am a servant of Prometheus, not Epimetheus! I stepped out of the forest, and into the surf, to pray for forgiveness.

Of course, we were all tired and hungry, so I decided that trying to cast a spell would be a good way to determine whether Prometheus still thought me worthy of his gifts. Much to my relief, create food and water worked; however the food had an ashen taste to it. Prometheus, in His wisdom, has decided that I have done wrong, but I am not yet lost. I must strive to regain his trust; I will begin by starting the Sacred Mystery of Purification immediately.

Suleiman is clearly upset by the whole ordeal. He is honored that we would go to such lengths to protect him, but feels (not without justification) that it is his fault that we are in this mess. So, he decided that it was time to explain why all these odd things had been happening to him. If Suleiman is comfortable letting the group know his secret, then I feel comfortable writing it in this log. I am sorry that I have kept this from you for so long.

More than a month ago, when we were in Tesplyn's Grove, Suleiman went for a walk at night while we rested. He heard a commotion, and came upon a dwarf killing a man. The dwarf said he was a king, and that the man was an assassin, or something like that. The dwarf left, and as Suleiman watched him go, he was approached by a tall man who spoke Hejazian. He explained that he was called Utgard Loki, Puck, and several other names, and that the man the dwarf had killed was one of his greatest servants. He knew that Suleiman wanted to become a wizard, but was unwilling to spend the years of training that Rinver said it would require. Suleiman had been a slave for eight years of his youth, and two years of magical training, serving a master as an apprentice, seemed too much like more slavery. Serving the somewhat scatterbrained Rinver, of all possible masters, for two years seemed even worse (he might get his eye poked out by Rinver's eternally emphasizing index finger)! Still, he badly wanted to learn the magical arts.

Utgard Loki offered Suleiman a deal: He would grant spells to Suleiman, in exchange for Suleiman completing two tasks. First, he must destroy the Torc of the Bull in Ailech (a gift from Dagda to his followers). Second, he must locate the Mantle of Twilight (a magical item helpful to assassins). At the time, Suleiman did not know what these objects were, and he agreed to the deal, signing a contract. Utgard Loki said that failure to satisfy the terms of the contract would result in the taking of one year of Suleiman's life.

We all pondered this for a while, and in an emotional moment, the group forgave him. Suleiman was much relieved, and I told everyone that I intended to see what our church could do for him--perhaps offer him some kind of protection. Perhaps I can find a lawyer in Anarchopolis that could find a loophole in the contract.

Our next course of action is uncertain. Blades has come up with a very clever idea: We could use the wand of polymorph to change Blades or Corwin into a Dragonne (Screech was a Dragonne, if you will recall), build a riding harness from rope and wood, and fly west to Alcyone. However, there is some uncertainty about whether even Corwin would be strong enough to carry all of us--after all, he would only be polymorphed into Dragonne form; he would not be a real Dragonne.

This seems rather trivial to me. We have our freedom, although at a terrible cost. Urym tried to console me by saying that there is no dishonor in fighting valiantly; I pointed out that this was true, so long as innocents were not injured. He quickly went back to learning to play the lute. Prometheus willing, I may find another member of our church in Alcyone who can cast atonement for me. For now, meditation on my sins and the Purification will have to suffice. Pray for me, brethren, and forgive me my transgressions.

 

[UtilityMaximizer]

I'm so glad you're still posting this! Thanks for doing that.

My actual-play D&D 5e podcast is finally posting episodes. You can find us here: http://tftggw.libsyn.com/
You can also listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play.

 

[Ancalagon]

I'm so glad you're still posting this! Thanks for doing that.

My actual-play D&D 5e podcast is finally posting episodes. You can find us here: http://tftggw.libsyn.com/
You can also listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play.

Well I sort of stopped for the holidays and then I forgot :/

Sorry everyone, I will resume this promptly, I apologize for the delay!

I look forward to seeing your podcast.

 

[Ancalagon]

SESSION 21

Once again, we have lost a member of the Pentachromata, although this parting was not so sad, as it was voluntary. I have just bade farewell to Blades, and my heart is heavy. But I will return to this in a moment.

Although we are now far from Wicklow (at least 30 miles, possibly much more), we are still not safe. Our progress is being tracked by magical devices, and it is possible that more mundane forces are following us.

The rest of the afternoon was spent constructing a pair of harnesses, following Suleiman's careful instructions. Suleiman polymorphed both Corwin and himself into small Dragonnes, and a few test flights suggested that the harnesses would work. Finis turned into a snake, and curled about Blades to reduce Suleiman's load, while Urym and I rode on Corwin.

Although Corwin and Suleiman are quite strong, they were not strong enough to fly at full speed with so much weight on their backs. We flew for several hours, and landed in the dark.

Our camp seemed safe and comfortable enough, but several of the party members spotted a hazy ball of light floating above us. I could not see it, but Suleiman, Blades, and Urym assured me that it was there. I quickly surmised that it was a scrying device, and cast dispel magic in the area. I am told that it disappeared quickly, but I suspect that they saw us.

So, we are being tracked, by a very reliable means. I am not sure if there is anything we can do, except hope that we travel faster than our pursuers.

Blades and I shared a watch tonight. I soon noticed that Blades seemed uncomfortable, and he asked me to walk a short distance from camp with him. I did so, and once we were out of earshot, Blades quietly asked me to release him from his vow to assist me in Ionia.

I was stunned and confused, and Blades took advantage of my silence to explain. He said that he felt as though he was becoming more distant from the party. Suleiman always addressed him in a patronizing tone as "Dwarf", never by his real name. Corwin constantly mocked his abilities, and while Finis was never rude to him, he rarely listened, either. Also, he felt that he was straying too far from his mission, which was to recover his family armor.

I, of course, said that he must choose his own path, and that I understood his decision. His immediate plans are to return to the temple of Oghma (now Rinver's library), restore the forge to working order, and make something out of the mithril ingots. After that, he will resume tracking down Jarvos Ironforge.

He gave me his ring of protection, saying that it rarely worked anyway, and the magical ring which we have yet to identify. I gave him a rock of continual light, a rock of continual flame in a flask, my rations, and the blessings of Prometheus. Also, I cast dispel fatigue upon him so that he could travel through the night.

I encouraged him to wear the patch with the Pentachromata symbol on it, when he felt it was safe again, as he will always, in my mind, be a part of the group. After a sad, fond farewell, I pointed him north, and wished him good luck. Perhaps we will meet again some day.

Although Blades is a mighty warrior, he has little in the way of survival skills, and I fear for his safety. He has only a few days of rations, and he does not know how to hunt. With his heavy armor, he moves very slowly (although if he can find a river, his otter pelt will allow him to move more quickly). He also has no map, and no clear idea of what direction he needs to go. Perhaps fortune will smile upon him, and take him safely to his goal. I will pray for him.

August 12th
This morning, as Finis was clearing his throat to sing to the sun (and wake us all up), he was attacked by an invisible entity. I suspect that it was sent by the Children of Light, guided by scrying devices. It badly mauled Finis, and attempted to pull him into the air and carry him away.

Finis caught hold of a tree, and the rest of us took to pummeling the invisible creature. Corwin struck a mighty blow against it, but it continued to pull on Finis. Finis changed into a rattlesnake, and wrapped himself around a tree trunk, but the creature persisted. Finally, Urym surprised us with an amazing swing--it sounded as though he cut the thing in half.

For a moment, we simply stood, stunned at the force of Urym's swing, but we soon congratulated him and prepared to leave. Of course, everyone wanted to know where Blades was, and I explained. Some seemed genuinely sad and concerned, but others were angry. Finis seemed to suspect some kind of foul play, and questioned me to make sure that I was the real Patrick. It was more than a little strange.

There was little time to ponder Blades' departure, as we were now more keenly aware of our pursuit. Suleiman changed us all into Hibernian Geese, and we flew west as fast as we could.

After flying for while, we spotted some huge birds to the north. We flew lower, in case we needed to take to the ground quickly, but they ignored us. Resuming our flight, we passed over a loch with a giant turtle lounging casually in it.

The spell wore off around lunch time; we are getting better at estimating how long the spell has left, so we did not waste much time on the ground waiting for it to expire. I tried to go through my prayers while they ate, but I must admit, the smell of the food was tempting. Nonetheless, I can make do with water.

We took off again after lunch, once again as geese. I wonder how many charges the wand has left. Anyway, we passed over a large gray winged reptile, lounging on some rocks by the sea. It appeared to be sunning itself, and it looked at us, as though curious. We sped past, and it left us alone.

The sky began to grow dark, and a light rain began to fall. Toward evening, just before landing, I noticed a fireball go off, in the woods to the north. We landed, except for Finis, who flew to the area (still as a goose) to check it out. The rest of us approached on foot, slowly and cautiously.
Finis soon returned, reporting that a wizard had killed a large bear with the spell, and was cutting off pieces of the bear. The wizard appeared to have ridden in on a magical horse. Suleiman volunteered to go ahead with Tanvil, and they disappeared into the deepening dark. We continued to approach slowly.

By this time, the rain was absolutely torrential, and we were without shelter, except for the trees. Suleiman and Tanvil returned to report that the clearing made by the fireball was empty. We proceeded to the clearing and examined the bear's remains. It seems that the wizard removed its tongue, one eye, some teeth, and the left forepaw, most likely for spell components (perhaps for some sort of strength spell).

It was dark and miserably wet, so we tried to locate a drier spot to camp. We were unsuccessful, and lay on the wet ground, next to a pile of rocks of continual flame. They have allowed me to use the magic pillow, as I had some spells to recover. Still, I do not think even I will sleep comfortably tonight. Perhaps we should procure some tents for future travels.

August 13th
Our clothes were soggy and uncomfortable, and we felt stiff and tired, but we decided to begin walking today. Corwin is a remarkable woodsman, and leaves almost no trail to follow, despite his size. We move much faster than we used to, as we do not have Blades slowing us down.

The morning march was uneventful. No sooner had we stopped for lunch than Suleiman heard branches breaking, as someone approached the party. We hid behind trees, and soon saw two Fomorians walk toward us. One of them noticed Corwen's sword, and started to point to it, but the other (apparently a female) slapped him and they continued forward. Suleiman attempted to sneak up behind them, but one had an extra nose on its hip, and smelled him as he approached.

The giant wheeled about, smacking Suleiman to the ground in one blow. Finis and I scrambled to heal him, while Corwin charged into the melee. After Suleiman's condition had stabilized, I tried to strike a Fomorian with a sunscorch, but the spell would not come to me. I am not sure if Prometheus has forbidden me to cast that spell because of the evil deeds I have done with it, or if he has forbidden me to cast all offensive spells. I accepted his decision and concentrated on healing the wounded.

Corwin managed to kill one of the giants, but his mate knocked Corwin unconscious with a heavy fist. Finis and I brought him back from the brink of death again, and prepared to face the giant's onslaught. We were surprised to see that the female giant had decided prudence was the better part of valor, and she backed away from the group carefully. Of course, we let her go, and continued to mend our wounds. Corwin now has a noticeable limp, as his leg seems not to have healed properly.

We searched the male Fomorian, finding two gemstones, a battered bronze cup, and a finely carved box. The cup clearly worthless, and there was nothing special about the gems, but the box (which was empty) seemed interesting. The carvings on it depicted ocean scenes, including a boat. It seemed to be made of wood panels laid over each other, so I suggested that it might be a magic box that unfolds into a boat.

They jeered me! They thought that was a ridiculous idea. I placed it in a puddle, thinking water might trigger it, but nothing happened. So, I began to say some nautical phrases, like "anchors away!", and "ahoy!", and such. Corwin said "Hoist the mainsail", and suddenly the box exploded into a twenty-four foot, one-sailed boat! I had to dive out of the way to avoid being crushed by it. Unfortunately, we activated the box in the dense forest, and it expanded into several trees, damaging a section the hull, and damaging the riggings. "Raise the anchor" caused it to fold up again.

After some discussion, we took it to a cove on the shore, and tried again. The boat again expanded, but the damage remained, and it was taking on water. While I bailed, Finis tried to mend some of the broken boards with shape wood. It helped, but there is still work left to do. Although it is not a large boat, it is striking, with a carved wooden dragon on the front, clutching a shield.

As our wounded members are in no condition to travel, we have decided to stay here for the night. I have tried to untangle some of the riggings, and Urym used mend to repair some ripped sections of sail. If Finis continues to work on a few boards every day, we should have it seaworthy in a couple weeks. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to stay here and repair the boat. Tomorrow we will resume our travels, on foot.

August 14th
After folding the boat back into a box, we continued westward, through the woods. Our march was peaceful, and the weather has been clearer.
Our lunch was interrupted by the sound of footsteps running towards us. Once again, we hid behind trees, and waited to see what was coming. What appeared to be a lone elf was running in the general direction of our camp. Corwin stepped onto the trail, totally surprising the elf, and asked him where he was going.

The elf introduced himself as Kellindel Falconhands, and pleaded for our assistance. We asked him what he needed, and he said that he had a friend, a dryad, who was in mortal peril. He offered to explain more on the way.

Cautiously, we followed him, with Suleiman (who had remained hidden the whole time) following a distance behind. Kellindel explained that his mentor was killed by a wizard who is trying to take over this forest (what would a wizard want with a forest?). He has taken up the fight against the wizard, but he feels that he is too inexperienced to be effective against the threat. We surmised that he was a ranger, and he looks to be a capable one. He wears leather armor, a bow across his back, and has two swords at his hips.

We picked up our pace and reached the dryad quickly. She appeared to be a strikingly beautiful woman, and was bleeding profusely. Cure moderate wounds did not seem to have much effect; she explained that her tree had been cut down, and pulled an acorn from the trunk, saying that she needed a new tree. She then collapsed. Finis planted the acorn in the ground and cast plant growth upon it. A sapling sprung from the earth, and the dryad's body disappeared.

A moment later, she stepped out of the sapling (a strange sight to behold!), and introduced herself as Mistle. She thanked us for our efforts, and she had a reward as well. The leaves of her old tree would heal our wounds, she said, and there were stones hidden beneath her old stump.
The leaves were not pleasing to eat, but they did magically cure our injuries, so we managed to ingest as many as necessary (I was not injured at the time, and I did not break my fast). We also found the magical stones she referred to. Suleiman said that one would call woodland beings, and the other was a powerful animal summoning spell; apparently he had seen druids use these before.

We talked with Kellindel for a while. He seems interested in joining us, as he has much to learn before he confronts the wizard threatening his forest. Also, he said that he is an elf (there was some confusion over whether or not he might be a half-elf), and a follower of Meilikki (a nature goddess). A town named Earmark's Haven is only two day's travel to the west, and Suleiman has suggested that we allow Kellindel to guide us at least that far.

I was about to tell Kellindel that we were being pursued, and that we were a dangerous group with which to travel, when I was (ironically) interrupted by the appearance of another scrying "window". Once again, Finis was attacked by an invisible creature. Corwin managed to kill it, and Kellindel cast cure light wounds on Finis, revealing that he was in fact a ranger and a priest--or at least, he has some priestly abilities.
Kellindel proved to be a good guide, and we have traveled swiftly. We set up camp at dark. Kellindel and I have just finished our watch, and it was an exciting one. We heard the sound of voices speaking orcish approach, and much to my surprise, Kellindel translated what they were saying. They were apparently looking for a patrol. We noted that there were two ogres with the orcs, and quickly woke everyone up.

Then our attack began. Kellindel rained arrows down upon them, while Finis caught most of the orcs in an entangle. A faerie fire made the unentangled ones easy targets; I even struck one with my staff sling.

The pair of ogres and thirteen orcs didn't stand a chance. A search revealed only that they were wearing surprisingly well-maintained chainmail, and that their symbol was an evil looking man/tree combination.

We cut off the orcs' ears, hoping that we might be able to redeem them for coin in a city, and returned to bed.

August 15th
Once again, we have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat! The Pentachromata (or what is left of them, anyway) have truly triumphed today. I did not believe that we could be so effective!

It was a quiet day of marching, and we made good time with Kellindel leading the way. By the afternoon we had reached a river, which Kellindel says leads straight to Earmark's Haven. As we proceeded, Corwin began to hear a growling, roaring noise downstream. We could not hear it, but he said that it sounded like something talking, pausing, and talking again. He could not understand what it was saying.

While the rest of us proceeded ahead slowly, Finis shape-shifted into a squirrel and scampered through the trees toward the noise. Corwin spotted a frog-like creature--I believe they are called bullywogs--keeping watch over the path, blended into the forest. Kellindel pulled out his bow and killed it with a single arrow. He believes that it was a scout or guard; the whistle around its neck supported his theory.

Finis returned, changed back into human form, and explained that a large group of bullywogs were assembled, and one of them was negotiating with a monstrous lizard beast. The creature was obviously huge, even though much of it lay beneath the river's surface. Kellindel informed us that bullywogs like these are probably servants of the wizard trying to take control of the forest. He and Finis quickly decided that, no matter what this deal was about, it could not be allowed to go through.

A plan of attack was laid out; Suleiman was to approach them from the river bank and kill as many as possible with a fireball. The rest of us would loop around and attack from the opposite direction, from the woods. Kellindel would hide in a tree and shoot arrows at them from a safe distance.

It was a good plan, but it did not work as planned. Our survival is proof that our abilities as individuals and as a team have improved. As Kellindel approached a suitable tree, another sentry, hidden in the woods, blew his whistle and attacked Kellindel.

Chaos erupted. Suleiman's fireball went off, killing at least twenty bullywogs, instantly. The bullywug that spotted Kellindel hit him, but Kellindel struck back, killing the beast. He then clambered up the tree.

The rest of us charged into melee with the remaining bullywugs. Unbeknownst to us, they had two large reptile riding beasts (nowhere near as large as the huge creature lounging in the water), which they mounted and directed to attack us.

Meanwhile, the huge creature (which I believe was a Behir, although I have never heard of one so huge!) reared back and breathed a stream of lightning into Suleiman. Suleiman managed to stay on his feet, but when the monster came at him again, he used the wand to polymorph into a sparrow and fly to the other side of the river.

One of the bullywogs was a spellcaster, and began interrupting our casting with magic missiles from a wand and other annoyances. However, Suleiman took care of him with two barrages of very large, deadly magic missiles. With the spellcaster down, I was able to cast some healing spells, although Finis was getting hit too often by the bullywugs in melee to cast many spells of his own.

Urym was severely injured several times during the fight, but Finis and I barely managed to keep him alive. At first, we were surrounded by bullywugs, but we (especially Corwin, who killed one of the lizard mounts) slowly wittled their numbers down. One of the lizard mounts, with bullywugs on its back, slithered into the water and disappeared.

Then the fight really became difficult. While we were still fighting bullywugs, the behir had turned its attention on us, and struck some of us with another jolt of lightning. We stayed on our feet, and Corwin strode forward to do battle with it.

The fight was incredible to behold. Corwin, remarkably agile for a man his size, and still limping slightly, jumped nimbly aside as the behir's jaws snapped just inches away from him. It also tried to encircle him in its massive coils, either to crush him or kick him with one of its six legs. Similarly, the creature dodged many of Corwen's mighty swings--but not all of them. Corwin was aided by a rain of arrows, shot by Suleiman and Kellindel, which slowly weakened the beast.

The rest of us continued to fight off the Bullywugs, and tried to protect Urym as he stumbled and crawled away. I cast an occasional healing spell on Corwin and Urym, and then rejoined the fight against the remaining frog-beasts. Then we heard a mighty crash, as the Behir fell to the ground, brought low by a final swing from Corwin. Only a few bullywugs remained, and we finished them quickly.

We stopped, exhausted, clutching our wounds, and surveyed the battlefield. It was amazing. We had killed over forty bullywugs and a Behir, as well as the spellcaster, which now appeared to be a lizardman (we surmised that his bullywug guise was magical). Kellindel and Suleiman rejoined the party, and we began to search the area.

Two huge chests, each carrying what I estimate to be 40,000 bronze pieces, sat on the river's edge. The lizardman had a sheet of paper, the writing on which we could not read. It had a symbol at the bottom, with a "Z" in it--probably a mage's insignia. He had a wand of magic missiles, which we do not know how to activate, a necklace of ESP, and a helmet which blocks ESP, and probably many other mind-affecting spells.
It was unclear what we should do with all the bronze. After all, the chests must weigh at least a ton each; we could not possibly carry it all. I picked up enough bronze to buy a night's rest and a few meals, but most of the rest of the party loaded themselves down with as much as they could carry. We are not pressed for money; I do not see why we must encumber ourselves further. Still, I suppose it might prove useful.

We continued onward, and later this evening, I ended my three day fast by eating some of the magical leaves from Mistle's tree. I was happy to find that my wounds healed quickly. I expect that the leaves will only last another day or so; it would be best to make use of them while we can.

I am exhausted from today's exertions; it is time for bed. Today was exciting, even exhilarating. Such a victory does wonders for one's
confidence; Prometheus has granted us the tools we need to succeed. Nonetheless, I hope that the rest of our journey is uneventful. We should reach Earmark's Haven sometime tomorrow.

 

[Ancalagon]

SESSION 22

August 16th
We are in Earmark's Haven, or rather, we are just outside it. The smell of smoke heralded its presence as we approached. It looks to be a pirate town, or at least a town of thugs. It was decided that Corwin, Suleiman, and Urym should go into this dilapidated, run down, smoke-filled hole-in-the-wall and inquire about inns and ships. The rest of us waited outside of town. Kellindel made it clear that he did not like the looks of the town. While we waited, Finis and Kellindel discussed the ranger's plans and goals, as well as his falcon. Did I not mention he has a trained falcon? It has only shown up recently; apparently they have some kind of bond.

Much, much later, Suleiman, Urym, and Corwin returned. Upon entering the town, they had immediately noticed a statue of a 14' tall man, with a surprised look on his face--it was obviously some kind of giant that had been turned to stone. The entire town had a smoky smell to it, and the first tavern they passed had almost been destroyed by fire, forcing it to shut down.

They entered the second tavern, the Last Tooth, finding ogres and men inside. They talked to a man named Sebastian, who told them that "The Boss" had created the statue. The man was Iago, the former head of the town, and The Boss did not like the way the town was run. We all agreed that, based on Sebastian's comments, The Boss was a beholder! While Suleiman talked to Sebastian, Urym walked around the tavern trying to gather information.

Sebastian pointed them to some sailors working on the Siren's Song, the only fully functional ship in town (Sebastian's ship had been destroyed as a result of a "misunderstanding" between The Boss and the captain).

Suleiman and Corwin began talking to crew of the Siren's Song, when Urym's backpack was cut open, spilling its contents onto the floor. There was a mad dash for the coins that fell out, but Suleiman leaped onto a table and announced the location of the two chests full of bronze that we left up the river. This instantly emptied the room, as men made a mad dash to be the first to find it. He also explained that we had defeated the minions of a wizard bent on taking over the forest, and possibly the town, which attracted the attention of two ogres that worked for The Boss. They told him that they were going to tell The Boss, and that he had better not leave town, in case The Boss had questions.

The crew informed Suleiman that the Siren's Song was headed straight for Anarchopolis, so they went to arrange passage with the captain. The captain, who insists on being called Duke Northton in his native tongue of Pembrook, is from Leinster. He's something of a fop, but he sounds as though he must be competent. After some haggling, they agreed on the outrageous price of 200 gold for our entire party. The ship leaves at dusk tomorrow.

When they returned to our rendezvous point outside of town, we discussed our plans for the night. It was decided that we ought not to stay in the town's inn, the Flying Pig, as the town looked like trouble. Also, Kellindel does not enjoy cities, and Finis would like to take this last chance to stay in a "normal" forest.

As we prepared our camp, and Kellindel went about catching mice to feed his falcon on our long trip, Suleiman suddenly stood up straight and looked around. He said that there were lines of force emanating from the woods, and that they seemed be trying to locate Finis. He followed the lines and spotted a pair of eyes in the dark. We soon saw them as well, and sprung into action.

Unfortunately, we should have coordinated our actions more carefully. Finis attempted to entangle, it while I, assuming that it was some kind of magical creature sent by the Children of Light, cast dispel magic. Of course, I ended up dispelling the entangle, and it tried to fly away. Fortunately, Suleiman struck it with a magic missile, bringing it crashing to the ground. We ran up to it, finding a small, winged creature with needle-sharp teeth and black eyes, melting into a pool of slime. Uncertain of what we had just done, we returned to our camp.

Once camp was set up, the original members of the Pentachromata (Suleiman, Finis, and myself) had a discussion about what to do with Kellindel. He is interested in traveling with us, to learn from us and to gain allies in his fight against the wizard threatening his forest. We decided that he is a "trial member" of the Pentachromata; he will be inducted as a full member once he proves himself.

The food from create food and water tastes a little better tonight; I will take that as a good sign. Kellindel and I are keeping~~~

Excuse me! Kellindel was about to tell me something, when suddenly our camp was charged by a giant creature with the body of a bear and the head of an owl--an owlbear! I tried and failed to blind it with a light spell, but Corwin stepped up and struck it soundly. Unfortunately, it wrapped him in its powerful arms and began to squeeze. We managed to kill it before it crushed Corwin. We will track it in the morning, in hopes of finding its lair.

Now, back to my watch. Let us hope the rest of the night is peaceful.

August 17th
Our day started with a long trek, following the swath left by the owlbear. In the afternoon we found bloody scraps of cloth on the trail, and continued on. We were just considering turning back when we came upon a clearing created by combat, with the grisly remains of four men scattered around. Strangely, one seemed to be burned, although none of the ground or plants around are burned. We hypothesized that they may have run into a wizard, then the owlbear. Or perhaps the wizard killed them, and the owlbear just toyed with their remains.

There was no time to investigate further, so we returned to town. We decided to skirt the edge of town, in an effort to avoid all the ogres and other unsavory characters in it. We passed the town dumping ground, and were attacked by an otyugh, but Finis wisely advised that we leave it alone. It is probably The Boss' waste disposal system. We retreated, and after several cure disease spells, we continued on our way to the Siren's Song.

The first mate, Isaac, let us aboard, and I tended to some wounds he said he had received while being robbed. We paid the captain, and Suleiman left with Finis to get some bow-making equipment for Kellindel, as well as some barrels into which he will put the mice he has caught thus far.

While they looked for barrels, two ogres came up and told them to go with them to see The Boss. I overheard this, and followed behind them. I caught up to them as the reached The Boss' headquarters, and two more ogres joined us. Finis used his magical scarf to suggest that The Boss didn't need to question us. One of them apparently found this persuasive, and walked off. One of the ogres, confused by his departure, dispatched another ogre to chase down the one that left, leaving us, once again, with two ogres. They took us into a room that strongly resembled a cell (complete with bars on the window), and we began to wait.

We waited for what seemed a very long while, and finally became concerned that the ship might leave without us. Suleiman used the wand of polymorph to change us into seagulls, and we flew out the window, and back to the docks. Suleiman quickly purchased a barrel, and we clambered aboard.

Our timing was excellent. No sooner were we aboard than the boat shoved off. We are sailing towards the moon Faeros, straight out to sea. Kellindel has been training his bird to become accustomed to the sea--in fact, all of us are trying to get used to the shifting deck. Suleiman and I are experienced in sea travel, but the others, especially Corwin, haven't got their sea legs yet.

Corwin has been working below decks, the part of the ship that moves the least, helping with the cargo. Not long after leaving Earmark's haven there was a commotion from below, and soon Corwin emerged with a large, squirming sack, tied at the top. I went to get the captain, and with the crew gathered around, Corwin pulled back the sack.

A bizarre creature was revealed. It had a horse's body, a hawk's head, wings, talons on its fore legs, and hooves on its hind legs. Our encyclopedia says that it is a hippogriff, and that such creatures are quite valuable. This one must be young indeed.

After much negotiation, Captain Northton agreed to allow us to keep it (he wanted to toss it overboard) for sixty gold, and a share of the price it fetches in Anarchopolis, if we can sell it. We took it below, to our cabin, and tried feeding it. It nibbled at an apple, but seems to like mice and fish very much.

Now we have two creatures to feed: the falcon and the hippogriff. Finis and I have busied ourselves catching fish. The falcon doesn't seem to care for fish very much, but we are trying to convince it to eat them, if only to extend our supply of mice.

It is nice to end the day out at sea; I think that I can confidently say that this will be an interesting voyage.

August 18th
The hippogriff seems to have taken a liking to Corwin, probably because he is the one that feeds it. He and Suleiman are the only ones strong enough to handle it if it gets out of control.

Unfortunately, Corwin is still very seasick, and is unable to bring the creature up to the deck for exercise. Urym is also feeling very queasy, although he did manage to sing a song for us on his magical lute. Much to our surprise (and Urym's, as well), the lute caused him to begin levitating, and he hovered over the deck as the ship passed below him. Luckily, he slammed into a mast--otherwise we may have left him floating over the ocean, behind us.

Like my voyage to Aragon, this trip is fairly uneventful. Those of us who can stand and move about are trying to help with the ship's operations. I will simply skip days which are uneventful enough not to warrant a log entry.

August 19th
Suleiman has begun tanning, his skin turning an even darker, brownish color. Poor Urym and Finis, both whom are fair-skinned, are burning rather badly. Still, I think they are getting more used to the rocking of the boat.

The hippogriff has taken to sleeping next to Corwin on the floor (he is too large to fit into hammocks, like the rest of us). Perhaps it will become some kind of unusual pet.

August 20th

My skin has begun returning to its normal, darker Ionian tint. Corwin, who has ventured on deck a few times, has begun taking on a bizarre, mottled appearance, as some parts of his skin tan and others burn.

Finis has been teaching me about fishing (although he admits that he has no experience with salt-water fishing), and I've been continuing my lessons in Ionian. I think that they should all be ready by the time we reach Anarchopolis.

August 21st
Uneventful.
August 22nd
Uneventful.
August 23rd
Uneventful.
August 24th
Uneventful.

August 25th
My eyelids are heavy, and this hammock is so comfortable, but I will not shirk from my duties. Here is my account of this day.

Land was sighted this afternoon. We have arrived at the island of Asturi. Asturi is a small island, with a farming village consisting of thirty or forty buildings. The entire island is perhaps twenty square miles in area.

We ventured ashore as the crew restocked the ship's provisions, and went out to stretch their legs. News soon reached our ears of a massive creature that had been terrorizing the town. It is apparently some kind of giant multi-headed reptile, which attacks from the other side of a hill behind the town.

The captain has offered us until noon tomorrow to kill the beast, and the townspeople have offered us fifty gold if we kill it. These poor villagers don't stand a chance against such a beast; we resolved to do our best.

Our best barely turned out to be enough. We locked the Hippogriff in the cabin (it squawked sadly as Corwin shut the door), and set out on the creatures trail. Finis says he can sense that nature is badly out of balance here.

Soon we heard the creature bellowing. I started a prayer to Prometheus, and Urym sang an inspiring song to urge us on. It came roaring at us, and it was apparent that the beast was indeed a hydra. Suleiman struck it with a fireball, but the fireball did not seem very effective. In fact, nothing seemed very effective. We tried cutting heads off, but two grew back for every one we cut. The main body of the beast seemed impervious to our blows. Too late, we realized that we should cut off its heads and cauterize the stumps with fire.

We decided to flee. I covered our flight with a darkness spell, and we barely escaped alive. The hydra could run only very slowly, so we gained ground on it easily.

What had been a ten-headed hydra now had twelve heads. Suleiman was nowhere to be seen, but he suddenly reappeared in our midst. We laid out another plan of attack, equipping ourselves with torches, and turned to face the monster.

It charged us mercilessly, and once again, we found that we were not very effective. We were too badly wounded to stand against it for long, and we were forced to retreat once more. Suleiman, once again, was nowhere to be seen.

Kellindel and Corwin were badly wounded and barely able to walk, so Finis cast an entangle on the hydra to slow it down, while we gained ground and cast healing spells. We resumed our flight from the hydra, and it eventually gave up the chase.

Soon, Suleiman appeared in the form of a raven, and returned to human form clutching a shield and a staff. He said that he and Tanvil had located the creature's lair, in a cave, and retrieved a few items. Unfortunately, he had used the last of wand of polymorph's charges in his escape from the hydra. Finis took the staff, and it vibrated, coursing with magical power.

Finis, Kellindel and I used the last of our healing magic, and we planned again. I cast Forethought, and Prometheus (or his servants) advised us that items from the hydra's cave would be useful against it, in the right hands. It was decided that I would use my candle of invocation, granting me the ability to cast more powerful spells against the beast. Corwin took the shield and Finis' hero's spear (which, you will recall, has a flaming tip), and we marched up to the beast's cave.

This time, we were victorious. As I ended a prayer, Suleiman and Kellindel fired arrows into the beast, luring it toward us. Corwin prepared to stop its charge, and I cast produce fire on it, burning it badly. We stabbed at it viciously with our torches and weapons--Finis discovered that the magical staff is a staff of striking--and, soon had it down to only a few heads. For the first time, I felt holy rage swelling inside me, and the Fury of Prometheus unleashed itself upon the beast. With a few more blows, the creature was no more.

Or so we thought. Although all the heads had been cut off, and the creature's body lay unmoving, one head continued to writhe. Any injury we did to the head was instantly healed. Amazingly, we seem to have defeated a Lyrnian hydra--they are, in a way, immortal.

I was aware that the blood of such a creature can have magical properties, so Suleiman poured some into a wineskin. We are concerned that the beast might be able to grow a new body, so Finis cleverly used stone shape to encase the head in a large rock, which we will cast into the ocean.

Although we were growing very tired by this time, we nonetheless searched the hydra's cave. Three eggs lay inside, and we destroyed them, lest the island be terrorized by more hydras. We were much more excited by the trove of items we found inside--there was no coin of any kind, but the cave was filled with magic. In addition to the staff and shield Suleiman had shown us, he had found a magical wand which casts various fire spells. Also in the cave were magic incense, a magic longsword, a potion of sweetwater, a potion of delusion (which Urym thought made him a giant), a potion of heroism, a scroll of protection from demons, and various spell components. Finally, twenty-two ivory plaques lay, face-down, on the floor--the dreaded Deck of Many Things.

We stumbled back into town, exhausted. The townspeople were ecstatic, and went about collecting our reward. They made a great show of scraping to find fifty gold, so we let them keep their money. Upon returning to the boat, we found that the hippogriff had broken into the barrel and eaten all the mice. Kellindel will have to catch some more on the island tomorrow.

So, we have returned to the ship, victorious and devoid of any energy. The people of this town will not soon forget the Pentachromata, I am sure. I am curious; who will be the first to draw from the deck of many things? I am not sure that I want to take the risk. What shall we name the hippogriff? What dangers await us in Anarchopolis? I am too tired to ponder these questions; I cannot keep my eyes open. I will stop now before my handwriting becomes illegible.

 

[Ancalagon]

SESSION 23

August 26th
Once again, we have lost a member of the Pentachromata. Mighty Corwin fell to death's blade. This is quite a serious blow to the party; not only was I especially fond of Corwin, but we also lost our most powerful fighting force. Now the Pentachromata is reduced to three members: Finis Conwell, Suleiman, and myself (Corwin was not an official member, but had been accepted as such for all practical purposes). Kellindel shows promise, but we have not yet decided to officially induct him into the Pentachromata. I am getting ahead of myself; let me start at the beginning of the day.

We arose early, as we still had things left to do before the ship set sail. Kellindel and Suleiman started to go get some arrows and catch some mice for Kellindel's falcon, but instead we all began discussing the deck of many things. Kellindel was determined to draw from it. No one else seemed especially interested, but Kellindel was so adamant that we agreed to go to an isolated beach and those who wished to do so could draw.

Kellindel decided to take a huge risk and draw five cards; he made out quite well. As soon as he drew the first card a magical sword appeared at his side, and a map appeared in his hand. The map apparently indicates some place in Hejaz. As soon as he drew the second card, his newly gained magical sword disappeared, along with all the other magic he was carrying (which was very little). Nothing seemed to happen after he drew the third card, except that he seemed to stand a little taller and more confidently. After drawing the fourth card a pile a jewels and interesting works of art appeared on the beach before him. Finally, the fifth card granted him five arrows, which, when put together, formed another map. This one's location was not immediately obvious.

Corwin was amazed at all the things the deck had given Kellindel, and decided to draw three cards. This was not a wise idea; Kellindel had just been extraordinarily lucky. Unfortunately, Corwin was not known for his wisdom.

His first draw didn't appear to do anything at all. We asked him what happened, and he just turned around and smiled, saying "nothing". I could swear there was a look of malice in his eyes, but I might be wrong. He made his second draw, and suddenly a silent, cloaked figure wielding a scythe appeared and struck him. Corwin seemed unable to hit the terrible spirit; even a potion of heroism did him no good. He was practically helpless, and death slew him quickly.

As soon as he hit the ground, the deck and the phantom disappeared. Stunned, we gathered Corwen's body and carried him to a cliff which looked north to the sea. Finis stone shaped a tomb for him, and I cast continual flame on a small stone pillar. His tombstone is visible from the sea, and it says "Here lies Corwin, slayer of the Lyrnian Hydra". After saying a few words over his grave, Finis and I sanctified the area, and I performed the farewell ritual. Corwen's poor hippogriff seems just as upset as the rest of us.

There was little time to ponder Corwen's fate, as the ship was about to shove off. None of the sailors seemed to notice Corwen's absence, but the captain eventually asked, and we told him what happened. He expressed sympathy, and left us to our sorrow. We have split up care of the hippogriff between us. Suleiman is the only one strong enough to handle it, should it get out of control.

The rest of the day was far too dull; we have had nothing to think about but our loss. If we should ever come upon the opportunity to use another wish, I would like to restore Corwin to life.

August 27th
Our misery and boredom was relieved today by a group of whales, which came to the surface for air. I'm told that a group of whales is sometimes called a "pod". These creatures are truly gigantic; I am glad that they are harmless.

August 28th
Uneventful.

August 29th
I have been reading the Book of Animate Thyngs for quite some time now, and I now feel that I am comfortable enough with the spells and materials to create a rag golem. I have begun to gather rags from around the ship; perhaps I can try it in a few days.

August 30th
This day was unusual only in that we were treated with a beautiful display of falling stars tonight. I have never seen such a constant, extended shower of stars before. Could it be an omen of some sort?

September 1st
September already! Has it been so long since I left home? I have learned so much in such a short time--we all have, for that matter. I hope that the information I have gathered proves useful to my fellow Ionians.

I successfully created a rog golem today; I have named it Little Corwin. The unusual creature seems to be quite intelligent, and bewildered by its surroundings. At first, it was curious, asking what its purpose was, and following me around. It still follows me around, but it now seems content to simply follow my instructions. It is a little unusual, but I am sure that Little Corwin will prove useful. I have imbued him with the knowledge of healing, herbs, and the ability to speak Ionian.

Unfortunately, the hippogriff seems to be fond of playing with rags, much as a dog would, so we must be careful to keep the golem away from it.

September 2nd
The hippogriff has taken to sleeping next to Suleiman; I am glad that someone has recovered from the loss of Corwin. The rag golem continues to follow me around, and simply sits or stands contentedly while we sleep. It is a little strange.

September 3rd
Nothing exciting happened today, but the weather has become warmer. Clouds rolled in during the day, and we had some rain tonight. I hope that we get to Ionia soon; I do not want to experience a storm at sea.

September 4th
Finally, we have seen some sign that we are nearing Ionia. We passed several of the Ionian Islands to the north of the continent. We gave them a fairly wide berth, out of fear that they might be inhabited by minotaurs or other beasts. I have also warned the rest of the Pentachromata about the lost continent of Minetia, and the tendency of small pieces of it to resurface at inopportune times. So far, there have been no signs of that ancient world.

September 5th
A Leinstern Cog passed us today, probably also on its way to Anarchopolis. Our lookout kept an eye on it, just in case it was crewed by pirates. In any case, it has pulled far ahead of us by now.

September 6th
A strange vessel appeared on the sea today; I believe the captain said it was a "junk", a ship from Chi-ung. It has a strange square sail, that looks as though it might be made of paper. It seems to be keeping pace with us, but I don't believe it presents a threat.

September 7th
Finally, I am home! I have been away for so long that I felt as though I were in a strange land at first. However, I quickly became comfortable, and I now feel at home. We stand on a balcony of our temporary residence, in the district of Anarchopolis known as The Syrinx.

I suppose that, because I am home, I do not need to continue this log. Still, trouble has a way of following us around, so I think that I should continue writing, in case anything exciting happens. Besides, this has become a sort of habit.

The Siren's Song pulled into the dock just before the sun was setting. The sun still reflected off the white marble and red tile roofs. All around our ship were dozens of vessels from around the world, including the massive quadreme under construction for the Emathian navy (I have heard that plans for a quinquereme are being drawn), and the multitude of languages spoken was stunning. We gathered our possessions and thanked Duke Northton. He let us know that the ship would be here for two weeks, if we needed passage back to Connaught. I don't think that will be necessary.

Immediately after disembarking I called for a protection agency, and two Ionians emerged from the crowd in answer. One wore a sash, saying he represented the Paraplus Metic. The other, whose name was Dimitri, wore a disc around his neck, and said he represented the Obol protection agency. We decided to accept Dimitri's offer, as the Obol agency specializes in helping foreigners, and will provide us with lodging.

He escorted us to the Syrinx district, and showed us around our very comfortable villa. The building is made of white marble, and well furnished. There are even potted plants inside, and a fountain in the courtyard! Finis and Kellindel seem puzzled by the concept of putting a plant in a pot; they discussed it for quite some time. In fact, Kellindel looks positively uncomfortable; he is not used to large cities and large numbers of people.

For ten gold coins a week we get the house and a servant, and for an extra one gold a week per person, we are represented by the Obol agency (we wear discs around our neck to signify that they are our protectors). Our servant, an older man named Kyros, showed up not long after our arrival. He began to cook a goat for us, while Suleiman attempted to appraise the large stock of jewelry the deck of many things had given to Kellindel.

The goat was excellent; our villa is excellent; it is excellent to be home! The hippogriff enjoyed dining on the goat's entrails; it is probably a refreshing change from all the fish it ate on the voyage. We are all making changes to adapt to this continent; I have returned to simply wearing a chiton and sandals; I suspect that the others will do likewise as they realize how uncomfortable humidity can be.

We took advantage of this peaceful evening to reflect quietly on the events of the past several months, looking out at the city from our balcony. Kellindel has decided to sleep in the courtyard, under a potted tree. Praise to the great teacher, we are finally here!

September 8th
Breakfast today consisted of a wide variety of fruits, the likes of which I have not tasted for a long, long time. The others seemed to enjoy them a great deal, especially Kellindel. We changed our attire to be more in keeping with the temperature, and headed out into the city.

We waded through the crowd, with Suleiman using his considerable strength to clear a path. A Demopol stood on a street corner, speaking about the innate goodness of man, but the citizens of Anarchopolis were too busy to pay him any heed. We continued on, headed toward the temple of Prometheus and the Academic Campus. As we neared the temple, I caught sight of an acquaintance, Leander of Terapolis. He did not recognize me at first, but when he did, he was delighted to see me. In fact, he recognized Suleiman and Finis--apparently, the log I sent off from Duma Faifni made it all the way back to Demopolis! Bless Glaucon's soul, he was true to his word!

I asked to speak to head priest Ator, so that I could discuss my vision with him. Leander explained that Ator was busy until the afternoon, but that he (Leander) and some other priests would like to take us to eat at a Hejazian restaurant. We agreed to meet at the cedar grove around noon.

Kyros led us through the marketplace, where we procured some supplies. Suleiman and Kellindel were both short on arrows. Some singers were performing, and we stopped briefly to listen. Urym put his ear to the ground and heard that Cyrus, the son of Apollo, has slain the warlock Farmia. Kyros tells us that a new philosophy, called sophism, has become popular, and that an Isutian Prince (with an elephant caravan, no less!) is in town.

When noon came we met with Leander and a few other priests at the cedar grove. As we walked to the restaurant, they barraged us with questions about our travels. We were nearing the Hejazian district when we heard a commotion, and the crowd of people seemed to form a wall. Suleiman started to force his way through, and once the people noticed him, they got out of his way quickly.

We emerged from the crowd to find a combat in progress. Three humans in strange armor squared off against what seemed to be orcs. Two more humans lay dead on the ground, and the orcs, who numbered ten, clearly held the upper hand. We were unsure of who to assist--things are not always what they seem in Anarchopolis, but Kellindel did not hesitate. He jumped in to help the humans, while Finis cast know alignment. He determined that the orcs were evil, and we joined the fight against them.

The orcs proved to be surprisingly tough; they killed yet another one of the strangely armored humans, and one of them survived a Fury of Prometheus before they were finally defeated. Kellindel used hold person twice during the fight, to great effect. I can see that such a spell will prove useful. Strangely, the last orc slit his own throat.

Our attempts to communicate with the human warriors were useless at first. Apparently they are from Nobunaga, and do not speak Ionian. Fortunately, one of my fellow priests could speak Nobunagan. Apparently one of the two surviving men is a noble of some sort, named Hadoshi Tokeda. He said that the orcs are from his land, and have enmity against his family. Hadoshi then ordered the other human, a samurai named Daito Tokeda, to accompany us, apparently both to repay us for saving them, and to show us that warriors of his family are not incompetent. As we are much weakened by the loss of Corwin, we agreed. He has been ordered to accompany us for one month.

Hadoshi Tokeda walked off, and we resumed our walk to the Hejazian restaurant. I cast Teaching and Learning on Daito, so that he might temporarily gain my knowledge of Ionian. He thanked us for helping his lord, but said little else. His armor is most unusual; it seems to be made of wicker and bamboo.

We reached the Hejazian Merchant Exchange, and Suleiman seemed a little stunned. I have been told that the district looks like a small sample of Hejaz; apparently it is true. The food was delicious indeed; we ate sheep and drank tea, coffee, and lhassi. They don't seem to use any kind of utensils in Hejaz, so we ate with our hands (except for Daito, who used two pieces of bamboo from his armor to make chopsticks). The conversation was pleasant and relaxed. It feels so strange to go from life devoid of comforts to such luxury.

Kyros led us on a brief tour of the Hejazian district before we returned to the temple to meet with High Priest Ator. He was very pleased to see us, and invited us to sit and talk with him. The others seemed uncomfortable inside our temple at first, but Ator's kind manner soon calmed them. I explained everything that had happened up until my vision in Oghma's Monastery. While Ator could not explain the meaning of the vision, he did tell me some things that might be helpful. First, forces of the Taygete League are secretly gathering near the border of the Magic Lands--forces composed of living men, not undead. Second, he said that he can sense Prometheus' anger--He is very displeased about something.

It occurred to me that Prometheus might be angry with me, so I began to tell Ator what had happened after I had the vision. I must have sounded like a babbling fool when I came to the events of Wicklow. Ator gently calmed me, and suggested an atonement. I heartily agreed, and it was decided that the ceremony would take place tonight. Ator also agreed to ask around about my sister, Damara, from whom I have not heard for several years. I tithed an amber gem, as part of my share of the party treasure, and we returned to the villa.

I felt a great sense of relief, having voiced all my concerns to Ator, and dinner seemed more enjoyable because of it. After resting and bathing, we returned to the academy for the ceremony. Urym decided to look around the libraries, and Kellindel went to talk to a priest about the map on his arrows (it turned out to be a lake in southeast Aragon). Suleiman, Finis, and Daito waited quietly for the ceremony to end.

The ceremony was simple and elegant, and everything went as planned, until the end. As soon as Ator was finished casting the spell, I was suddenly frozen in place and my sight was replaced by another vision. I saw a burning boat, a tree standing on water, and a man, garbed in the vestments of Ares, attacking. I had seen all three in my vision before, but I had forgotten about the burning boat, and the first vision was too brief for me to remember exactly what Ares had to do with it.
I grabbed Ator; he seemed to think that I was embracing him, and tried to embrace me, but I shook him and told him what I had seen. He did not know what to make of it, but he did say that a trireme, named the Hammer, had mysteriously caught fire and sank in the harbor the other day.

Despite the disconcerting vision, I feel much better now that Prometheus has forgiven me. We found Urym and Kellindel, and decided to investigate the Hammer's demise by visiting a harbormaster. It was beginning to get dark outside, but Anarchopolis, of course, was still busy. We saw a group of men riding ornthas, carrying green banners with a silver trireme on them. I am not sure what the banner means.

The young harbormaster was very helpful; he said that the ship caught fire just as it reached the dock. Apparently, it was coming from Urbs Deorum, and its cargo consisted only of a group of priests of Hephaestus. They were led by Corax, a powerful clergyman. The harbormaster also mentioned that an Amazon, named Narissa, had inquired about the boat earlier today.

It was becoming very dark by then, so we went on one last errand before returning to the villa. Suleiman wanted to send a letter home to Hejaz. He offered to pay a sailor to do it, but the man seemed reluctant. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but the man asked Suleiman a question, and when Suleiman answered, the man got down and prostrated himself before Suleiman! Suleiman encouraged the sailor to stand, and he took Suleiman's letter, holding it closely as he clambered back aboard his ship. It seems that there are still many things about Suleiman that we do not know.

Once again, we are relaxing in the incredible comfort of our villa. I hope that this easy living is not making us soft. I fear that we will need to be in prime condition soon.

September 9th
Our work never seems to be done. We are all exhausted after another day of walking around the city (among other things). After another excellent breakfast, we set out in search of the site of the Hammer's sinking. On the way to the docks, we passed a group of young men, all following another man who was obviously in excellent physical condition. Apparently the leader is the town's champion runner, Xemon.

We eventually reached the waterfront, and the Hammer's dock. The water was smooth and calm, with no sign of the terrible fire that sank the ship. I tossed in a continual light rock, and it sank, and sank, and sank some more--the harbor must be fifty or sixty feet deep!

Finis jumped into the water, transforming into a dolphin. We all thought it would be an excellent way to explore the wreck; it was, in fact, a disastrous idea. Finis swam to the bottom, and was surprised by a group of three sea trolls--scrags--which nearly tore him to pieces. He swam for the surface and changed into a small frog (healing some of his wounds in the transformation). The scrags were close behind, and Urym plucked him from the water just in time.

Only two of the scrags pursued Finis, and they attacked us soon as they surfaced. Their attack was vicious; One of them wrapped its claws around Kellindel and was about to pull him under, but I wrenched him from the fiend's grip with a watery fist.

They submerged and escaped--I grabbed one of them with the watery fist, but it easily broke my hold and disappeared into the depths. By this time, a crowd had gathered, and several sailors told us that they were indeed scrags, and that the nasty creatures quickly heal their wounds when submerged in saltwater. Also, we found out that the Liberty Bank (the five-story high structure in the middle of town) owned the docks.

After pondering what to do about the scrags, we decided to eat lunch, and then go to the temple of Hephaestus. Lunch consisted of some hearty flaffel.

We were greeted at the temple by a priest named Gorca. He asked us to wait for high priest Hassad. I was slightly worried that the old discomfort between my priesthood and theirs might cause problems, but it did not. Hassad and Gorca were both very hospitable, in their own gruff manner.

I explained why we were interested in the wreck, and told them of my visions. He did not know what they meant, but he did ask us to help them recover the priests' bodies, and the holy items they brought with them. To aid us, he presented us with a pair of magical gauntlets which greatly enhance their wearer's strength, as well as the assistance of Gorca. Apparently, the temple of Hephaestus already hired an group of adventurers to explore the ship, but they never returned.

We decided that we would attack the trolls tomorrow morning, when we were fully recovered. Gorca accompanied us back to the Syrinx, where we found that a beggar named Avel had invoked the Right of Hospitality. Of course, we allowed him in. Gorca and Urym enjoyed casting their bad luck onto him, but the rest of us refrained. Avel said a prayer to Zeus, blessing us, and joined us in our meal.

After dinner I went to the temple of Prometheus with Suleiman, Gorca, and Finis. Urym headed off to the Symposium, and I'm sure he's still there, in a drunken stupor. On the way to the temple Suleiman informed us that he had named the hippogriff Kwame MacBennan. Kwame was apparently the name of a slave that once took care of him, and MacBennan was, of course, Corwen's last name.

Leander approached us as we entered the temple, and took me aside. He had heard some news about my sister, Damara, through his contacts with the Synod, a shady protection agency--more of a thieves' guild, really. Apparently she has thrown in with them. This does not bode well. I related this to Finis and Suleiman, who were unsure of what to make of it.

The reason we had travelled to the temple was to fill in the gaps in my log, and to relate what had occurred since I last sent the log, from Duma Faifni. Finis, Suleiman, and I all took turns speaking in front of the rather large audience that had assembled in the auditorium. No less than four scribes wrote down every word we said! Curiously, a centaur was in the audience as well.

Fortunately, we all spoke very well, and answered all questions to the best of our abilities. Suleiman was asked to return and speak on the subject of Planar Travel, and Finis was asked to speak about druids. They both seemed delighted, and we agreed to return tomorrow. Brother Prebis hinted to me that there might be a position available at the new temple in Libertopolis. I will have to consider the offer at length.

By the time we finished, it was quite late, so we returned to our villa. Gorca seemed to have enjoyed the whole thing immensely. It is very strange, having all these people, whom I formerly was far below, looking up to me! I hope that I am worthy of their esteem.

It is time for bed; we have an appointment with some scrags in the morning.
------------------

 

[Ancalagon]

only a few more sessions to go!

SESSION 24

September 10th
Something strange is afoot. The trolls have been slain, and the priests' items have been returned, but the mystery only deepens.

I presented Kellindel with the elven chain mail before leaving in the morning; he seemed quite excited about it. We tried to persuade Daito Tokedo to put on our extra suit of Githyanki splint mail, but he was either unwilling or didn't understand. Urym returned shortly afterward, looking totally exhausted. It seems that he spent most of the night in revelry (again). As you shall see, this causes us a great deal of trouble later on.

On the way to the docks we discussed several different plans. Our first idea was "fishing for scrags": we filled a large fish with wyvern poison, tied a line onto it, and hoped they would eat it and die.

As we reached the docks, we found a large group of beggars leaving. Apparently they spent the night there. We stopped one beggar and, after lubricating his memory with coin, he told us that he saw the Hammer burn! He claims to have seen a large man walk to the dock as the boat approached and leap fifty feet onto the boat. Fire shot from his hands onto the deck and rigging, and some sort of gas sank into the deck. The sailors below deck shouted at first, but soon became silent. He then jumped back onto the dock and walked off as the Hammer sank. According to the beggar, he was dressed like an aristocrat. Suleiman have surmised that the magics he used were burning hands and cloud kill, but the beggar says that he did not use any verbal or somatic components. It is puzzling indeed.

We began our first attempt to kill the trolls, using the fish and wyvern poison. Finis turned into a sea otter and followed the fish down to check on the results. It seems that the poison worked, but the troll that ate it recovered relatively quickly. Just to experiment, we tried it again with another fish. This time, they tugged on the rope, pulling Suleiman into the water. We quickly pulled him out, and the trolls briefly surfaced after seeing him splashing around.

This prompted us to try our second idea. Suleiman cast levitate on himself, tied a rope around his waist and around the dock, and pushed off, floating just above the water. Finis returned to his human form and joined us on the dock, as I prayed for blessings from Prometheus. We handed Daito a net, hoping that he would use it to pull dead trolls from the water, and Suleiman lowered himself into the water, flailing with his feet and making a great deal of commotion.

The scrags wasted no time coming after him. They shot toward the surface, and Suleiman floated out of the water just in time. Only two of the trolls came to the surface at first, and Kellindel, his strength greatly increased by the magical gauntlets of Hephaestus, gave them a good work-out. He poured the potion of sweetwater into the water by the dock, making them unable to regenerate, and cut one of the scrags down quickly (although it savaged him badly in return). Daito, unfortunately, tried to use the net on the other scrag. The scrag promptly shredded the net and tore into Daito. Little Corwin the rag golem was on hand to quickly bind his wounds.

Suleiman tried to cast levitate on the other troll, but his spell seemed to go awry; the levitate worked on the troll, but he and the troll switched bodies, leaving him looking up, from the troll's body, at his own form, flailing and screaming in mid-air. He took advantage of the opportunity to swim to the bottom of the harbor and investigate the wreck.

Two more trolls surfaced and attacked, and Kellindel killed yet another one. I had been using a watery fist to attack, but I abandoned it in order to heal the grievous wounds Kellindel had received. Finally, I cast Fury of Prometheus, and Daito finished the troll off with an arrow from his enormous bow. That left only the troll that had switched bodies with Suleiman (who was just now emerging from the water, in the scrag's body, with a huge chest from the wreck).

Several men had offered to pull the dead scrags from the water for a few bronze, and we burnt the trolls bodies immediately. The stench was foul indeed. We did not have enough bronze coin on us to pay the men, so we dispatched Urym and Daito to our villa in the Syrinx, to retrieve some coin.

Suleiman and the troll were still in each others' bodies, but they switched back suddenly, leaving the troll, in its own body, standing on the dock, and Suleiman floating in the air. Enraged, the troll attacked us. Finis smote it mightily with his staff of striking, but that appeared to exhaust the staff's charges, as it shattered on impact. The troll, realizing that it was outnumbered, turned to jump off the dock. Unfortunately for the scrag, the levitate was still in effect (naturally Suleiman had been able to control it while in the troll's body), and it simply hovered there, caught in midair, above the water. We dispatched it easily.

I cast water breathing on Finis, Kellindel, and Gorca, and they went down to investigate the wreck further. They soon returned, bearing the bodies of the priests, and many magical hammers and suits of armor. In addition, they recovered the bodies of the first group of adventurers to explore the wreck. Gorca said that he would take care of their burial arrangements, and that we may collect whatever items from them that we found useful.

It turns out that they had a great many useful items. After careful examination, we found that they had a magical shield of Ionian design (which I have claimed), boots of speed, a ring of fire resistance, and two strange stones. Urym says they are called ioun stones; when tossed into the air by the user, they circle around the user's head. After a short period of time, they begin to bestow magical enhancements to the users abilities. It seems that one increases the user's strength, while the other improves the user's abilities in general. Oddly, there is an extra magical right boot. We are considering looking around the wreck further, in hopes that its left foot mate will turn up.

After we had finally finished hauling everything to the surface, a representative of the Obol protection agency came up to us and said that we had been robbed. Urym and Daito seem to have come upon two of the thieves, and dispatched them. The rest got away with a great deal of gold and jewelry (most of which Kellindel had gained from the deck of many things).

We made our way to the Syrinx, and found that Kyros had been badly wounded, and Kwame the hippogriff had been slightly injured. I could do nothing for the creature, as it is supernatural in nature; my spells work only on natural creatures. The bag of holding, containing Nelbar's encyclopedia, had also been stolen but they had left the bronze and some other coins in the chest.

I cast locate object, and Urym pointed me in the direction that he believed the thieves had gone. We soon found the bag of holding (with encyclopedia intact) in an alley, with a pile of jewelry. Unfortunately, all the gems had been removed from the jewelry. The thieves must have anticipated that we would be able to magically locate anything as unique as a piece of jewelry, but not a plain gem.

I am not too concerned with this; it is only money. There was one piece, however, that it is sad too see ruined: a platinum globe, representing the whole of Ermoon, with gems signifying the continents. It was a stunning piece of work, but it is much less valuable without the gems. Kellindel was planning to use the wealth to raise an army, and use the army to defeat the wizard threatening his forest in Aragon. Now he must find another way.

We returned to the Syrinx, where we informed Dimitri that we had recovered the jewels, but not the gems. He seems genuinely concerned that this could break the Obol agency; they cannot afford to insure us for the loss of all the gems. Apparently they forgot to ask us in advance exactly for what they were providing insurance. I do not think that Kellindel will require them to pay the entire sum back; he does not want to ruin their company. Still, we will make sure that they try their best to recover at least some of the gems.

Some of the members of the group grumbled about how stupid the private law enforcement system is. They were especially upset that the Obol might not be able to repay us the entire value of Kellindel's stolen gems. This strikes me as a strange complaint--in what government-run law enforcement system does the government offer any insurance if it fails in its duty to protect? Since it costs the government little to fail, why should it try as hard as these agencies do? The continued profitablity (and therefore, existence) of these agencies depends on protecting their customers, and compensating customers when they fail! I do not think they have thought about the issue clearly.

Urym believes that he recognizes one of the two thieves he and Daito caught. Apparently, Urym told him (and many other people) of how fabulously wealthy and successful the Pentachromata are while he was out reveling. He seems to be somewhat embarrassed and ashamed, and rightfully so. In an attempt to make up for it, he tried to identify some of the magic we recovered from the other adventuring party; I have related to you the results of his attempts earlier.

We then traveled to the temple of Hephaestus to meet with high priest Hassad, and tell him what happened at the docks. Gorca had already told him about the fight and about the robbery. He expressed his sympathy, and told us that he had grave news, acquired by casting speak with dead on the deceased priests.

It seems that the Hammer of Hephaestus (the importance of which to Hephaestus' priests I do not need to tell you) has been stolen from their temple in Urbs Deorum, by a red-headed Ionian--could it be my sister? If so, she brings shame upon my whole family. After the theft, the priests of Hephaestus came to Anarchopolis to speak to the priests of Prometheus, but their ship was sunk just as it arrived. He cannot tell why they would want to talk to the priests of Prometheus, but he is sure that it is very serious. Something seems to have partially obstructed his communication with the dead priests, so he had no more information (yet).

It was beginning to get late. We headed to the temple of Prometheus to tell the brothers there what had occurred. Leander met us at the door, saying that he had heard more news about my sister. She left on a ship called the Arboria the same day that the Hammer burned. It occurred to both Suleiman and I that the Arboria was the ship on the water! But what does the attacking priest of Ares mean? My vision's meaning is not yet clear.

In order to gain more information, we asked Leander to arrange another meeting with his contacts, so that Suleiman might use his Helm of ESP to read their minds. Perhaps there is something they are not telling Leander. Leander said that he would try to make the meeting in the morning.

Our next destination was the harbormaster. We were hoping that we might discover some more information about the Arboria and her cargo. On the way we heard a young boy calling out our names. He said that we were wanted at the temple of Hephaestus. We thanked him and quickly made our way to the temple, where Hassad awaited us.

He had more information for us, as well as a mission. We are to go to Urbs Deorum, where some kind of sacrilege has offended Prometheus. I am uncertain what could have happened, as He has neither a temple nor a shrine there (as we all know, Prometheus rarely gets along with the misguided, amoral Olympians). We are to discover the cause of Prometheus' anger; it is somehow tied to the theft of the Hammer of Hephaestus, and perhaps other strange occurrences. To aid us, Hessad is allowing us to keep the Gauntlets of Hephaestus, and sending Gorca with us. We are to contact high priest Actinos once we arrive. We left the temple with the blessings of Hephaestus; could this joint effort lead to the healing of the rift that has long existed between our two gods and churches?

It was late indeed when we left the temple, but we made our way to the harbormaster nonetheless. While we asked about the Arboria, Gorca went to secure passage on a ship to Urbs Deorum.

I asked the young man at the counter about the Arboria, and he said that he would have to look in a book. Suleiman, using the Helm of ESP, read the clerk's mind; he was wondering why a priest of Prometheus was asking about a Synod ship. Suleiman decided that it should not be known that we are looking for a ship owned by a criminal organization. He made up the name of another ship (which, of course, the clerk could not find in his register). We left the poor clerk somewhat confused. Hopefully, the Synod does not know that we are investigating them.

We waited for Gorca to return. He had arranged for the ship to leave early in the morning. We arranged for the ship, the Kozimo, to leave in the afternoon instead, as we have several things left to do tomorrow. Suleiman must give a talk at the temple on planar travel (and I will endeavor to assist him), and we must eavesdrop on Leander's meeting with his Synod contacts. Also, it would be a good idea to let Dimitri and the Obol protection agency know that, although we will be gone, they had better find some of our gems. Urym and Daito did not kill the two thieves they discovered in the villa; they were merely knocked unconscious. We may interrogate them tomorrow. Perhaps I should send this log on to Demopolis as well.

Finally, we returned to the Syrinx to get some rest. There was one magical item, a helm, which we could not identify. Daito tried it on, and suddenly found that he could understand all of us (although we still could not understand him). He has learned a little Ionian, but his accent is far too thick for anyone to understand him. The helm of comprehend languages will be useful.

Obol has posted two guards outside of our villa. I do not think that anyone would be so stupid as to attempt another robbery, but it is comforting to know the guards are there. I had better get some sleep; tomorrow will be yet another busy day.