The Realms of Enlightenment: The Grey Companions

[Hairy Minotaur]

Plus, Lela was my wife's character and at that point she'd already lost two characters during the course of the campaign.

My wife would be throwing the "Is this your way of telling me you don't want me to play" looks. Are you getting those?

 

[Jon Potter]

My wife would be throwing the "Is this your way of telling me you don't want me to play" looks. Are you getting those?

Heh heh... No, not really. But it was pretty easy for her to talk me into a rather unconventional replacement character.

Well, unconventional for our campaign, where dead usually means DEAD. But we're not talking minotaur sorcerers or anything.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #366] The Test of Earth

For a moment silence filled the cavern, then Spot sniffed the sprite's broken body and let out a pained yowl that echoed throughout the chamber.

"Damn," Huzair grimaced, turning away from the horribly damaged corpse. He turned invisible and with a condescending tone called out, "Morier, now would be a good time to buff!"

Morier's face betrayed his annoyance but he began casting Bull's Strength none the less. Huzair smiled to himself as they drifted upward. After a moment, it became clear to the wizard that, while Morier had accurately lined himself up with the edge of the bridge, Huzair had not. He found himself about fifteen feet off target as the eldritch warrior stepped easily onto the uneven surface.

The bridge was rough, and Morier could not at first pinpoint the source of the light. But he moved toward it as quickly as he could, unwilling to linger there any longer than he had to. It was slow-going, the crystalline surface making footing treacherous, and he hadn't taken more than three steps before a gaping maw of stone swelled up from the ground. The mouth snapped painfully shut on Morier's thigh sending blood spraying from the wound and a cry of pain howling from the albino's throat.

"By the eyes of Umba... Morier!!!!" Ayremac shouted as he drifted up. "Move away; we will tackle this thing together when we get up there!"

Hovering nearby, Huzair pointed his wand of Scorch and fired off a line of fire that managed to entirely miss the egg-shaped aberration even as it pulled itself free of the ground at Morier's side. He became visible at once allowing everyone who cared to look the opportunity to see the snarl of disappointment on his face.

Everyone had other things on their mind, however.



Karak, for example had discovered that, like Huzair, he had misjudged the position of the bridge when he'd started to Levitate. He wasn't nearly as far off as the mage, but he was still too distant to actually reach the span. He cursed as he saw Ayremac step neatly onto the uneven surface nearby.

"Help me, lad!" he sputtered, flailing his arms uselessly.

The holy warrior turned and extended his glowing morningstar as far as he could. It was just enough for Karak to reach out with his waraxe and hook himself. With a grunt Ayremac pulled him over to the bridge in time for the dwarf to shout, "Look out, lad!"

A second earthen maw had appeared behind him, and it bit at his left leg. The plate armor there held, however, saving him from a painful wound.



There was nothing that Morier could do but attack. He raised Ravager, channeling the energy of his only remaining second level spell slot into the blade. The weapon slashed down, but was turned aside by the thing's stoney hide, skittering down its flank without leaving so much as a scratch.

His opponent retaliated at once, snapping down on the warrior's side. Morier felt a horrible tearing sensation as something in his torso gave way, but he ignored it, devoting his attention to avoiding the flurry of taloned arms that seemed to come at him from all sides.

Huzair drifted upward toward the ceiling and once again let loose with his wand of Scorch. And once again he missed. This time at least, he only missed because he was trying to avoid hitting Morier.



Shamalin finally reached the level of the bridge and, like Huzair and Karak, she found that she'd misjudged. She was even worse off that the wizard had been, drifting some twenty feet from the edge of the bridge. She could see at once that Morier was again staring death from blood loss squarely in the face. With a resigned sigh she began to cast a Reach Cure hoping that she could get the miracle off before the eldritch warrior collapsed.



Karak's eyes grew wide with shock as a third monster swelled up from the ground at his feet. Its jaws clamped shut on the rim of his buckler, but slid off it without finding purchase. "How many of these things be there?" he grumbled as Ayremac slammed his gleaming weapon into the side of the creature that was menacing him. It lurched to the right, shrieking in pain as the Holy Warrior Smote the Evil thing. Before it could regain its balance, the dwarf stuck it twice with his waraxe, opening two rents in its pebbly hide that didn't bleed despite the fact that they clearly caused the creature pain.

It tried in vain to retaliate, but the two who faced it were heavily protected with stout armor and it could find no way through their defenses.



Morier didn't have such luck. And he knew he was probably dead if that thing landed another blow on him. He took a step toward Ayremac and Karak, Ravager weaving a defensive wall between him and the thing. The thing though came at him undaunted, stumping forward on three squat legs. Its maw closed on his forearm a moment before one of its claws slashed across the back of his hand. Both wounds conspired to wake him drop his sword and collapse unconscious to the rough ground.

"Crap!" Huzair cursed as he saw Morier go down. He'd reached the ceiling and he managed to flip himself upward so that he could walk along the ceiling with his Slippers of Spider Climbing. He activated his ring and turned invisible for good measure.



Shamalin completed her spell and sent a Cure Light Wounds spell lancing across the thirty feet separating her from Morier. The ray struck the downed warrior and she sighed with relief as she saw some of his wounds knit closed. His eyelids fluttered open and his hand groped blindly for Ravager.



"Morier's down!" Ayremac shouted to Karak. "Can you handle these two for a few seconds?" No sooner had the words left his mouth than one of the newest arrival's claws found a gap in the dwarf's platemail. Fortunately it was unable to overcome the magic of his axeblock buckler.

"Aye! Do what ye must!" Karak, growled trying unsuccessfully to slash the wounded creature's flesh again.

"Umba, with your great wisdom and fair judgement, please aid Morier... and the entire party... in our attempt to overcome these great obstacles," Ayremac prayed as he proudly displayed the holy symbol worked into his breastplate. His voice resounded due to the bizarre acoustics in the chamber. "Not unlike the Great Walk, we find ourselves traveling forward into the unknown." One of the wounded creature's claws found a way passed his armor, but the injury was minor and it didn't stop Ayremac from activating his Sacred Healing power.



The creature that had been menacing Morier sank slowly into the ground, heading toward Ayremac and Karak, but the eldritch warrior let it go, knowing that he was clinging only precariously to life and that attacking while flat on his back would do little apart from alerting the creature to the fact that he was still a threat.

"Psst!" he heard Huzair hiss somewhere overhead. "Catch." A vial appeared in the air above him and fell, lightly striking his bloodied torso before it rolled off and landed between two largish crystals. Morier began fumbling for it with his free hand.

Shamalin sent another Reach spell into the albino before she drifted up to the ceiling. Scrabbling across the cavern's roof, she realized, was the only way for her to orient herself to the bridge. And she only had left one valance of sufficient strength to cast another Reach spell of any sort but the most minor.



Karak weathered the uninjured creature's attacks without batting an eye. Its claws and fangs simply couldn't pierce his armor. He in turn was unable to land a telling blow against the one monster that he and Ayremac had previously wounded. The Holy Warrior tried to aid him by flanking the creature, but it seemed impossible; the creature's eyes and limbs were spaced equidistant around its body and it seemed to lack am exploitable blind spot.

As he concentrated on locating one, however, the creature found his and clamped its maw painfully down on his elbow. he felt the metal couter deform under the strength of the thing's bite, but the armor held.



Morier stood up and eagerly drank the contents of the healing draught Huzair had dropped to him. He felt the combination of multiple healing sources working to close his many wounds. He'd taken a single step when the creature that had been fighting him moments ago rose up and bit into Karak's flank. The dwarf roared in surprise and pain as he half-turned toward this new threat.

He was surrounded now on three sides and it was enough to distract him, allowing one of the things to strike him with two of its claws. Fortunately his buckler protected him from the slashing talons.

Ayremac tried to distract the injured monster, but his morningstar failed to further damage its armored hide. Likewise Karak wasn't able to land a blow.

The monster seemed to suffer no such problems striking Ayremac, however. Two of its three claws found his flesh, drawing lines of blood across his cheek and the back of his weapon hand.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #366a] The Test of Earth, part II

They were getting overrun, Morier thought grimly to himself. And this was only the first of four tests of strength they'd need to complete in order to get the keys they needed. Gritting his teeth, he hefted Ravager and continued forward. Ayremac glanced up from within the melee, catching the eldritch warrior's eye.

"Morier, take a moment to heal," he suggested before turning his attention fully to the creatures before him. It was too little too late, however. One of the things unleashed a full attack on him and although he turned aside its snapping jaws with a sweep of his shield, two sets of claws found gaps in his armor and tore mercilessly at his flesh. The Holy Warrior staggered, on the verge of collapse.

Beside him Karak weathered a similar assault without injury, but he could plainly see the state that Ayremac was in.

"Oi, these beasties are like dwarven steam tanks," he grumbled. "The wee one never stood a chance, Shaharizod bless her. We need to peel off the bridge an regroup. Follow me." And saying thus he stepped off the edge and began levitating downward.

Grimacing in pain, Ayremac lurched to the edge and dove after him leaving their three opponents with no one to attack. Alone on the bridge, Morier watched the three creatures sink down into the stone and a pit of anxiety settled into his gut. He stumbled across the uneven surface of the bridge and dove off the edge.



Above, on the ceiling of the chamber, Shamalin paused, seeing that the others were heading back down to the bottom. Using her hands, she'd maneuvered herself over the center of the bridge and now she reversed directions and began heading slowly for the edge. She couldn't see Huzair, but she could hear him casting spells nearby.

"Huzair, the others are retreating," she called without bothering to look around for the invisible mage.

"Go one without me," the wizard hissed from somewhere nearby. "I've got a plan."

"Huzair..." Shamalin paused, a note of worry creeping into her voice. She half-turned, but of course she could see no sign of her companion.

"Go on!" the wizard hissed. "I will not hesitate to retreat if things get at all rough."
The cleric sighed and began to levitate downward.



Huzair had not wasted his time while the others dealt with the bizarre earth creatures. He'd started by casting Detect Magic, using the power of the spell to study the diffuse light that was radiating from the center of the bridge. Using the additional input he'd narrowed his search to the small recess that Lela had spotted earlier. But he couldn't see inside from his current position...

Still invisible, he reached into the large pouch at his hip and drew Sparky forth. The wizard knew that his familiar shared his own ability to Detect Magic so long as Huzair continued to concentrate on it, was both small enough and agile enough to examine the small recess, and was easily as smart as the dwarf. Smiling, he released the bird and Sparky tumbled in the air for a moment until he righted himself and then he flickered up to hover in front of Huzair's inverted face.

"Go down and check out the source of all that magic," the wizard instructed. "We're looking for-"

"The elemental earth key," Sparky finished, his tone snarky. "Yeah. I know. Sheesh! Did you think I wasn't paying attention all this time?" Huzair smirked.

"Pinpoint it and-" he started, but again Sparky cut him off.

"You'll have your Unseen Servant pick it up," the bird twittered. "I'm right there with you, boss." He started to dart away, but Huzair called him back.

"And stay safe, little buddy," he reminded. The bird winked once before fluttering away.

"Always do, boss," he said as he dropped down toward the bridge.



On the way down, Ayremac's Sacred Healing continued to work its curative magic on their wounds. The Holy Warrior used his Cure Light Wounds wand to further heal himself as he descended and by the time he landed, he'd brought himself back to full health.

"Does anyone else need any healing?" he asked, holding up the wand, but both Morier and Karak were nearly cured of all their injuries and both shook their heads. Above them, Shamalin descended slowly. As they watched her drift down, Karak began to go over battle plans.

"Phew, those earth elementals be tough. I think we are gonna need a plan here," he grumbled, drawing a gauntleted fist across his sweating brow. He looked up at the bridge far overhead. "Me thinks Lela should fly up and spread that confusion dust o' hers. Meanwhile we need to be buffed up before combat. And let's try some ways to focus our energies on that bridge. Maybe if'n me take 'er down the elementals will nae get up."

"Uh, Karak," Ayremac interrupted. When the dwarf turned, the holy warrior pointed at the broken tangle of limbs that had been Lela. Karak's face fell as he was reminded of the sprite's fate.

"Oh, aye," he muttered into his beard. "Let's jus' move back a bit, establish a watch order and get some rest so's we can get the spellcasters up to speed."

Shamalin landed a moment later and she bent at once to Lela's body. Spot yowled threateningly at the cleric, its hackles raised, but it did not attack her as she carefully straightened the faen's corpse into a more dignified position. "It is not for me to comprehend what the gods do and do not allow. Perhaps Lela was beyond our mortal ability to heal and Flor, in her infinite wisdom, sped her release," she said as she worked on the sprite's corpse. When that was done, she looked up at the others before continuing, "Or maybe it was simply a careless mistake. We so carefully agreed not to divide when the question of our loyalty was put to the test. We cannot afford to split up again. It was foolish of us to let her go ahead."

She stood then and looked at Morier. "We will end up paying the price of these keys with our lives," she told him, her tone not angry or accusatory, but it was grimly resigned.



"I found it, boss," Sparky twittered and Huzair grinned. "At least I think so. It's not a key, but it is sending off a lot of magic."

"What does it look like?" the wizard asked, concerned that perhaps this wasn't the key after all and his cunning stratagem would fail.

"Just a rock, really. It's got carvings all over it, though," Sparky told him. "And there's a lot of other stuff too. Diamonds, a knife, some jewelry. Some of that stuff is magical too."

"Right," the wizard nodded. "Go back down and I'll send the Servant to collect things."

"I did good, right, boss?" the hummingbird asked and Huzair smiled.

"You did good, little buddy," the mage told him as he began to cast."Invisus apparitor!" he commanded and the air shimmered in front of him as the Servant coalesced Unseen from the ether. Huzair pointed to the bridge below. "Go and gather the items that the bird indicates. Bring them to me."

The Servant dropped downward without hesitation.



"Shamalin, we all knew-" Morier started to say, but he stopped as an earthen maw opened beside the cleric, snapping down on her left leg at the knee. She cried out in pain as the teeth pierced her flesh and blood began to flow.

Without hesitation Ayremac stepped forward and swung his morningstar at the thing, but the glowing weapon merely slid off the creature's stoney hide.

Karak took a step and drove his waraxe into the thing twice, opening the same bloodless gashes that he'd inflicted on one of the others. In fact that same wounded thing rose up at that moment seeking the dwarf's armored torso, but its jaws closed on empty air.

Morier took a moment to cast true strike while a third of the things came up and sank its fangs into Ayremac, undoing in one strike most of the healing that the holy warrior had applied to himself.

Shamalin's eyes went wide as a fourth creature - one that they had as yet not seen - rose up from the earth behind her and snapped its maw shut around her right leg. Her grieve kept her from losing the limb, but the wound was never the less a critical one and her face showed shock before her eyes rolled up in her head and she pitched forward with a clatter.

"Shamalin!" Ayremac cried, activating his Sacred Healing again in the hopes of keeping her from bleeding to death at his feet. One of the things turned on him and tried in vain to pierce his armor.

Karak sank two more solid blows into the creature he'd already wounded. The damage was clearly adding up, but not as quickly as the dwarf reckoned it should. "We need our weapons aligned!" he cursed. "They're shrugging off our attacks!" His curse became a cry of pain as one of the things reached up and clamped its jaws down on his left arm as if trying to swallow his buckler and the arm it was attached to.

Morier stepped forward and brought Ravager down in a massive downward stroke that drove the blade half a foot into the nearest of the monstrosities. It let out a pain-filled cry and twitched as the eldritch warrior drew out the saw-toothed blade. A torrent of sandy soil poured from the rent in its body, but it did not fall. Instead it turned and lashed out at him angrily. He managed to avoid its jaws, but its claws lashed him unrepentantly, slicing through his magical leather armor like it was paper.

Ayremac stepped toward the eldritch warrior, ignoring the attacks that rained down on his back as he went. "Of all the gods, you Umba, have the true sight that lets you tell right from wrong, justice from injustice, good from evil...I ask that you grant your protection to my ally and keep him from harm!!" Ayremac cried out as he moved. Laying a hand on Morier's shoulder, he imbued him with a ward to Protect him from Evil.

Karak traded blows with two of the things, but none of the combatants managed to land a telling blow on their opponent.

Morier attempted to cast another True Strike, but couldn't maintain his concentration while trying to avoid the blows of the monster in front of him. The air flickered as he lost the spell, but there was no other obvious effect. He cursed; he could only cast that spell twice more before his reserves were spent. As he mused over this, the creature that stood between himself and Ayremac bit into his arm and slashed once at his chest.

The one on the holy warrior's far side bit into his weapon arm, almost causing him to drop his morningstar. He heard something crunch inside his armor, but he maintained his grip both on his weapon and on consciousness. The latter was a near thing, however. He staggered backward, withdrawing from the combat even as he withdrew his wand from its hiding place.

Karak saw the holy warrior pulling back, blood staining his green plate mail a sick brownish black and he understood that they were surely done for. With Shamalin down, there was little hope of keeping the warriors on their feet long enough to slay these things. He roared once in anger and slammed the blade of his waraxe against the body of the thing he'd been fighting so intently. A sizable chunk of its armor sloughed off, but in all it was like trying to fight a boulder with teeth!

Morier took a step back and tried again to cast True Strike and this time he succeeded. "Now", he thought as he watched the nearest creature approach, "If I can just live long enough to make use of the magic." He avoided the clamping jaws, and one of the claws, but the other two scored his flesh again, bringing him inexorably closer to death.

One of the creatures broke off to follow Ayremac. The holy warrior was able to fend off its attack with his shield, but if was clear that he wasn't going to get the peace he'd need to use his wand.

"Flor have mercy," Shamalin groaned as Ayremac's Sacred Healing finally brought her back to consciousness. She rolled awkwardly to the side, bringing her shield up between herself and the nearest of the things long enough to invoke a Sanctuary spell that she hoped would give her time to heal herself and anyone else who needed it. The creature turned and went to slash her but then at the last minute it paused, unable to resist her protective ward.

Ayremac stepped back again and used his wand, closing some of his wounds, but leaving many, many others open and bleeding.

Karak saw that Shamalin was awake and he drove his axe into the thing that was menacing her. The blade severed one of its spindly arms and split the thing nearly in half. The dwarf's mighty blow cleaved then into the body of the other creature that was attacking him. The follow-up blow sank deep, but failed to drop the thing entirely. Still, it looked very near to falling.

"So ye foul things can die after all, eh?" Karak growled, a dark light shining in his eyes as he devoted his full attention to the last beast within reach.

On the other side of the crater, Ravager hungrily split another of the things. Raw earth exploded from the wound and it seemed almost to deflate as it collapsed in a pile at the albino's feet.

As Ayremac defended himself against the only unwounded monster, Shamalin scrambled awkwardly to her feet and channelled a Cure Moderate Wounds spell into herself.

Karak's blade dropped his opponent and he eyed the one menacing Ayremac. Morier moved forward and cast his last True Strike. Ayremac kept on the defensive, stepping away to use his wand until Morier was close enough to hit it. Ravager opened a horrible wound in its side and a moment later, Karak's axe did the same, but it was a pair of Magic Missiles that finally made the thing drop.

Everyone turned to see Huzair slowly descending from above. He blew across his outstretched fingertip and grinned. As he neared the ground, the runes around the perimeter of the crater lit up and pulsed in time to the glowing thing that the mage clutched in his other hand.

"Anybody want to get out of here?" he asked as his feet touched down outside the circle.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

Reading Huzair's interaction with his familiar reminds me of an old Sylvester the cat cartoon. The bulldog and the little excitable runt dog, the little dog would bounce all around the bulldog suggestion different things they could do always seeking acceptance from the bulldog. "You want I should beat up the cat for ya Mike?"

 

[Jon Potter]

Reading Huzair's interaction with his familiar reminds me of an old Sylvester the cat cartoon. The bulldog and the little excitable runt dog, the little dog would bounce all around the bulldog suggestion different things they could do always seeking acceptance from the bulldog. "You want I should beat up the cat for ya Mike?"

I know the one.

This is the first time that Sparky got any real personality and I wanted to make him a real personality. Much of his demeanor stems from in-jokes at Huzair's player. For instance, he's always the one asking "So, why are we here, again?" so I had to make Sparky hyper attentive to the goings on, etc. etc.

I'm one of those DMs who think a familiar is a good chance to offer up some roleplay opportunities. As opposed to those DMs who think they're a good chance to hamstring the player by targetting them in combat.

Not that I'm above targetting them in combat, of course.

 

[Jon Potter]

[Realms #368] Honor Among Thieves

Morier smiled at the wizard as he sheathed Ravager. "Huzair, that was a masterful plan," he cheered. Winking at Karak he added, "And we said he was useless." The dwarf snorted laughter and Huzair glared indignantly.

"Maybe next time you guys will stay focused and not get distracted by the opportunity to kill something," he snapped.

"Huzair, I appreciate your quick return to the battle," Ayremac added as he limped back toward the crater which was now filled with a diffuse glow. "Your last minute contribution made the difference."

"Pressing on to look for the key really was a fantastic idea that I, for one, didn't pay enough attention to," Shamalin added quietly. She cast her eyes downward meekly. "Well done." Huzair shrugged with fake modestly.

"Morier, it brought me back to my youth in Farmin," he said with a nostalgic grin. "Just like a bar fight in the Silent Siren. When the fists started flying it meant to fill your pockets. That was the time to do the looting." He winked.

"Lets see what you have there," Ayremac suggested, angling to look at the glowing object the wizard was keeping half-hidden in his left hand.

"I cannot impress upon you enough, Huzair, how important it is that you show us everything you picked up in that alcove," Morier said, stepping close to the mage, his eyes fixed on Huzair's hand.

"Here is the entire haul Sparky and I retrieved from the lair," he said, handing Morier the glowing stone and then reaching into his haversack for some other treasures. He pulled out a wavy-bladded dagger, a small buckler with a stylized lightning bolt enamelled on it, a ring set all around with tiny, bright blue polished stones, an amulet of red gold carved with a pattern of overlapping scales, and a plain silver circlet. He then reached back in and pulled out a double handful of glittering cut diamonds. Morier looked at him stone-faced.

"Everything, Huzair," he said flatly. The wizard huffed in response.

"I said the entire haul, Morier!" he snapped, crossing his arms defiantly. "Don't look at me like that."

"We don't know exactly what the 'key' is, so it could be anything," Morier argued. "Show us what you have found."

"What? The big glowy rock carved with the earth rune that activates the portal we entered the earth test by doesn't seem like the key to you?" Huzair snarked, pointing to the glowing rock in the albino's hands and then the ring of runes on the floor of the cavern.

"Isn't the pull in your head telling you anything?" Shamalin asked and Morier shook his head. Karak harrumphed.

"It'll do ye nae good to hide anythin' from us, wizard!" the dwarf threatened, wagging his waraxe at the mage. "We live or die together! Now hand it over!"

"Kiss my ass, you greedy dwarf," Huzair shouted. "Garan Zak always said people see what they don't like about themselves in people that are different and they are jealous of. You may be strong in body, but I am strong in mind." He waved his hand and nodded at the dwarf. "Nice job killing those elementals by the way."

Karak just harrumphed in replied and Huzair turned to Morier. "Great combination of magic and fighting... just like Brynn-Toth from the texts I read," he said clapping the albino once on the arm. "I will have to get True Strike from you some time. Uncle Appie would be proud!" He smiled, but Morier wasn't letting the conversation turn so easily.

"Huzair..." he threatened and the mage huffed, reaching into The Valiant Vessel bag at his hip.

"Oh wait," he said as if he'd just remembered something. "I picked up a pair of these!" He turned, pulling both his hands out of the bag and showing them both to Morier and Kark. The middle fingers of both were extended obscenely.

Sparky twittered merrily in Huzair's ear. "Good one, boss. You got three birds!"

"Huzair, my faith in you grows each day," Ayremac said patiently as he stepped forward. "As I said, I appreciate your efforts in saving my neck moments ago..."

"Then just take my word for it and it won't become an issue. You saw everything in the bag," he said, backing up a step and angling his haversack so that Ayremac could see inside. "Sparky, are you holding out on me?"

The hummingbird twittered back at him and Huzair laughed. "He thinks you guys are funny. He has more sense of humor than all of you put together," the wizard quipped.

Undaunted, Ayremac stepped closer again. "Huzair, this is important," he told him, his voice low, but menacing. "Look me in the eye and tell me you have revealed everything!"

"Fine!" the wizard snapped. "Come on, Ayremac. Stare me down and see if I am lying... I am not! I'm damned tired of being accused, though! You all think I am a halfling or something.."

Ayremac studied the dark-skinned mage, his eyes narrowed as he appraised Huzair. There was a long, pregnant pause during which no one spoke and then Ayremac stepped back.

"He's telling the truth," the holy warrior admitted to the others.

"There seems to be more concern for the contents of Huzair's sack than for Lela," Shamalin said, gesturing sadly toward the faen's splintered body. "Let's not let the discovery of any key overshadow the loss of another life... no matter how small. Wouldn't you agree, Huzair?" The mage shrugged.

"Hey, I did not start it. This interrogation wasn't my idea," he snapped, examining his cigar as he spoke and waving dismissively at Morier, Ayremac and Kark. "Talk to these three."

Morier set his mouth in a thin line, saying nothing, but Ayremac sighed and looked ashamed. "I apologize, Shamalin. You are of course correct."

"Yeah, it's too bad Lela is gone," Huzair agreed. "She was good at detecting magic." Karak glowered at the mage and shouldered passed him to approach the faen's corpse. As he came, Spot yowled menacingly, its hackles bristling as it slunk backward reluctantly.

"And what do we do with kitty over here when he gets hungry?" the wizard asked aloud as he sized the animal up thinking perhaps that its skin would make a nice jacket. The dwarf, however, held out the back of his fist for Spot to sniff.

"Do any of ye have any skill with handlin' animals?" the dwarf asked, without taking his eyes off the cheetah.

"Not formal training," Shamalin said. "But I've been told I have a way with animals." She looked at Ayremac, wondering if he would comment or even remember the trouble she used to have with the market butchers. He did not look at her, however.

"I have a bit of experience," the holy warrior admitted instead. "Mostly with regard to horses, though. But the basics should be the same, I would think." Karak tried to pat the cheetah, but it slapped angrily at his hand, hissing.

"There there, Spot. I know it must hurt ye to lose her. I miss her too," the dwarf said, his voice heavy with emotion. Tears welled up in his eyes and he brushed them away with a guantleted hand. "She was a good sprite. A good wee lass. I'm going to miss her riding on me armor. May Shaharizod guide her soul."

"Shall I say a few words?" Ayremac asked, removing his helmet. His voice was reassuring and as soft as velvet. He looked at Morier and then Huzair, who just shrugged and puffed on his cigar. Shamalin nodded stiffly and produced her own holy symbol.

"Those who wish to may join me in a moment of prayer," the holy warrior suggested as he placed his weapons of war to the side and knelt at Lela's body.

"Umba, it is with great sadness that I call to you today," Ayremac intoned, his arms spread wide. "Although her small form may be misleading, I trust that your great wisdom will see truly that she is a great warrior. She joined this quest - as did we all - with much taken on faith. It is a quest passed from one warrior to another, unsure of the source or of the possible outcomes. She died trying to protect the rest of us, and although evil has taken greatly from us this day, I trust in you Umba, that her sacrifice will be repaid in blood and the victory of this party."

"It is now that I ask a great favor Umba, please fix your watchful eye upon this little sprite. Make her journey easy, carry her when her little wings are not strong enough to continue. I would gladly walk her one hundred days, Great Umba, if it were possible," he finished by bowing his head and saying, "With great praise."

Ayremac remained kneeling silently, for a few moments, allowing the others a chance to say their own prayers. He did not rise until after Karak got to his own feet saying, "Bye Lassie. You put up a good fight against Chaos. Your faen people would be proud."

"Would she want to be returned home?" Ayremac asked softly and Huzair rolled his eyes.

"Carry a rotting corpse around with us?" the mage asked, his lip curling in disgust. "You've got to be joking!"

"There is magic that can preserve her body," the holy warrior explained. "The Justiciars of Umba were capable of casting it. I believe that it is within Shamalin's power as well."

"You're talking about Gentle Repose?" she asked and the Officer nodded. "I can do it if we rest and allow me time to pray and prepare."

"I don't think that's necessary," Morier said. "She followed The Green. She would want to be returned to the earth... or burned. Not artificially preserved."

"Looks like some good came of you wasting all that time with druids and rangers instead of doing your studies, Morier," Huzair quipped, glad of a reason to not carry around a corpse.

"I know this sounds callous, but we should take her belongings to both remember her by and to not let her magic gear fall into enemy hands," Karak said reluctantly. "What does she have that be the right size for all of us?"

DAY TWO IN THE ELEMENTAL NODES​

They dealt with their fallen comrade's body, divided up her enchanted gear, and spent the night in the soft glow of the crater. When they awoke, Shamalin and Huzair prepared their spells, and they stepped into the crater as one. The light flared and they found themselves once more in the pentagonal hub. Everything was as they'd last seen it except that the indentation in the center of the room marked with the Earth rune was glowing softly, pulsing in time with the glow if the cube of stone that Morier held in his hands.

 

[Hairy Minotaur]

"Not formal training," Shamalin said. "But I've been told I have a way with animals." She looked at Ayremac, wondering if he would comment or even remember the trouble she used to have with the market butchers. He did not look at her, however.

"I have a bit of experience," the holy warrior admitted instead. "Mostly with regard to horses, though. But the basics should be the same, I would think." Karak tried to pat the cheetah, but it slapped angrily at his hand, hissing.

A cat whisperer and a horse whisperer? And Karak can listen to the rocks, so really you've got a party of psychics and you're hiding it from us. All they're missing now is a Huzair whisperer and they'll be all set.

 

[Jon Potter]

All they're missing now is a Huzair whisperer and they'll be all set.

Yeah, I don't think that such a thing exists! Huzair's untameable.

I must say that his double middle finger bit followed by Sparky's "three birds" comment had me rolling on the floor. That was vintage Huzair there!

 

[Neurotic]

eh, i caught up with the updates.

I hate when that happens, now I have to wait for new ones.

You're doing good job in describing events at your table. Good DM and good players and non-std FR, you make me disregard my work and read, read, read...keep it up !

'nuff praise Here be questions:

Do you kill so many PCs on purpose so you can try another one (since you mentioned this is kind of testing adventure) or is it just sub-optimal PCs vs. some hard modules?

What races are faens? Where can one find the description of pixie (and the rest) as a player race? Or you just put some classes on monster manual desc?

Tnx