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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ancalagon" data-source="post: 7200618" data-attributes="member: 23">author's note, in reply to a comment in 2001:  I'm glad you like the story. I can say with certainty that this is the best game in which I have ever participated.Here is the next session:SESSION 4 May 15th It has been a busy (and troubling) day! We woke early and began to explore the castle, both out of curiosity, and because we hoped to find the secret entrance that would lead us to the treasure. The sub-chief has told us that if we recover the treasure, his people will again prosper. After examining it carefully, we determined that the door with the Linden tree on it was not the entrance. Blades and Torin found a secret passage from the kitchen to the throne room, but that didn't help much. We met the Baroness in the afternoon. She thanked us for rescuing her, and rewarded us with twenty gold coins each! Surely I now have enough money to send a message from Duma Faifni. I must admit that I feel slightly overpaid. We were really just lucky (or we had some divine help--in either case, we really did not do very much). I suggested that we accompany the Baroness to Duma Faifni; everyone agreed, except Vlad. Vlad said that he must return to Dun Coba to rejoin his adventuring group, the "Lords of Telgar". He set out that afternoon. After searching the castle some more, we found a stained glass window on a wall, looking onto a statue of a woman pouring water into a fountain. The window portrayed a Linden tree and the sun shining down on it. Unfortunately, the window had been bricked over on the outside, so that no sunlight could come in. After some searching and a few calculations, I decided to cast light on the bricks behind the glass. We immediately noticed that the shadow of the tree fell on the statue, and the words "press my eyes" became immediately visible on it. We pressed the eyes of the statue, and a stone panel in the floor slid open, revealing a spiral stair. After notifying the sub-chief, who provided us with a quick meal and wished us well, we lighted torches, and carefully descended. I will spare you all the details of our underground adventure and begin summarizing. At the bottom was a room whose walls were hung with ancient tapestries depicting the history of the Linden Tuatha. We solved a riddle on one, which led us to a button. A secret passage opened when we pressed it, but we found that the stairway was now blocked behind us. There was also a door in the tapestry room with a sign that said "This way to the treasure". Of course, we ignored that door. Pressing on, we went down the secret passage into a room lit by two glowing globes and filled with plants of all kinds. Several inches of water sat covered the floor. Here we were attacked by a vile Yellow Musk Creeper--a giant plant with aggressive, poisonous flowers--and its bullywug zombies. After fending off the plant for a while, Blades, Torin, and myself all fell under the plant's enchantment. Unfortunately, the plant had Blades in its clutches for several minutes before Finis and Taelsyn managed to finish off the zombies and rescue us. Blades has obviously suffered a serious head injury from the vines that burrowed into his skull; we have to speak quite slowly to make him understand simple concepts. Hopefully we can find some means to restore his mental faculties. For now, he seems as effective at combat as ever. After recovering from the battle, we found a room filled with bird cages and, of all things, a fully stocked bar. A door in that room opened onto three Needlemen (creatures used by druids to guard important things--I wish we had known that at the time). We defeated the gaunt humanoids and found a druidic staff of some kind, which Finis took. We passed through the plant room again, and entered a passage on the other side. It was lined with statues, whose faces had been, well, defaced. As we reached the end of the passage we saw ahead a large room. The entrance was blocked by two large bipedal toads, and more than a dozen bullywugs. They jumped up and down and croaked a lot, but didn't seem openly hostile. I wanted to try a way to get by them peacefully, but couldn't think of one. We thought about getting the dead flowers of the Yellow Musk Creeper, and using them to frighten off the amphibians. They jumped up and down a lot when we brought them up, but didn't seem like they were about to leave. I should have protested more, or come up with a better idea, because we then proceeded to slaughter them. Taelsyn shot an arrow at them, and they jumped down the corridor at us, dying as Torin and Blades cut them down. After killing at least a dozen of them, the remaining bullywugs ran. I admit, I was caught up in the excitement of battle, and I am ashamed at having resorted to violence after such a feeble attempt at a non-violent solution. After all, they were just defending what they had, probably for centuries, considered their home. I hope that I can atone for my error. I worry that traveling with this group is tempting me to give in to simple, darker solutions to problems. We entered the room, and saw a large crack in the wall, into which the bullywugs had escaped. A large, empty Lomcor carapace lay on the floor; apparently it had dug the passageway and died down here. There was one door in the room, and we solved the riddle on it, pronouncing the word "tree". The door opened onto an incredible horde of treasure. We looked it over, and some of us took things. This upset me somewhat; after all, none of this was ours. If we were to have a reward, it would be given by the laird, not ourselves. I said something to this effect, suggesting that we should leave it here, or at least give it back as soon as we got out of here. Their reaction shocked me; several of them said that if we never told the laird what we found, he would never miss the things we took. They were suggesting that we steal! Deeply offended, I said "You will have to kill me to keep me from telling the sub-chief what we have found, and what you have taken." I was even more shocked when they looked at each other thoughtfully, as if they were actually considering how much trouble it would be to kill me! I could not believe it. Do they see me as nothing more than a dispenser of healing magic? Have they no sense of right or wrong? This deeply troubles me; I cannot continue traveling with a group that sees me as a tool to be cast aside when it becomes too inconvenient to deal with. Blades, however, cannot be held responsible for his actions, considering his current condition. I will have to think and pray further on this subject. We returned to the tapestry room, and tried pressing the button again. Fortunately, the secret passage closed and the stairway was again passable. The sub-chief and his men came charging down the stairs, thinking that we might need rescuing. He was elated to see us, and we told him of the treasure. I told him of the items that had been taken. He said that we would arrange our reward later. The doorway labeled "this way to the treasure" turned out to lead to a chest of poisoned, gold-plated (basically worthless) coins and a skeleton. The sub-chief insisted that we stay until the laird of the keep returns in four days. We agreed, although I regret being unable to accompany the Baroness to Duma Faifni. Finis gave what is, in my opinion, the most important part of the treasure to the sub-chief: a bag full of Linden tree seeds. This small tribe will surely return to greatness now. Our wounds were tended, and we returned to our room for rest. I could not sleep, and have spent much of the night traveling the grounds in thought and prayer. I will now try to get at least a little sleep. I have much thinking to do tomorrow. May 16th and 17th I have spent the past two days alone in quiet reflection. I am still unsure of what to do. I do not think the others have noticed my absence yet. I wish that I had another follower of the flame to speak with. Nothing of note has happened. May 18th I have come to the following conclusion: Tomorrow, I will pack my things, prepare to leave, sanctify a small room of the castle, and spend the day in prayer. By the end of the day, I will try to determine the will of Prometheus with an augury spell. I intend to ask "will I do well if I leave this group to travel alone to Duma Faifni?" The vague wording required by the spell means that a "Yes" answer could mean many things--it could mean that I will succeed in getting to Duma Faifni, or that I will make a lot of money along the way. Unfortunately, neither of those necessarily implies that I am pleasing Prometheus. On the other hand, a "No" answer suggests to me a clearer answer: stick with this group. Ultimately, the spell cannot decide for me; the decision is mine alone. Prometheus grant me the wisdom to make the correct decision. May 19th Laird Dolfdin arrived today, with his escort and a powerful wizard. The wizard identified our various magical items for us. Then, much to the pleasure of the others in our group, Laird Dolfdin offered us each a magical item from the treasure. He let Finis keep the druid staff, as Dolfdin would have no use for it (the druids are almost completely gone from these parts) and have another pick of the treasure as well. He also allowed Taelsyn to keep a spellbook that I found in a pool of water by the treasure room, as well as have another choice. I chose a candle that increases the amount of divine power that I can channel. I may use it later today when I cast the augury spell (it is only large enough to burn for about two hours, so I may want to conserve it for emergencies). However, in order to have our pick of the items, we agreed to carry a chest of the treasure to the keep (apparently the Linden Tuatha had been guarding this other tribe's treasure for them) of Kraty's Freehold. If I decide to leave the group, I will simply return the candle to Dolfdin and be on my way. I return now to my prayers. I will write more later today, after I have made my decision. It is now evening. I received no response to the augury. I considered leaving, but when we all realized that Vlad hadn't returned to say goodbye (he left days ago to sell the horses, saying he would immediately return), I decided that I should at least try to find out what happened to him. And if I'm going to go that far, I may as well stay with the group--for now. We left the keep in the early evening, going into the small town nearby. We've found out that Vlad was here, with someone. We'll look into it more in the morning. Tonight, we stay in an inn.</blockquote>

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