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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 1418987" data-attributes="member: 16069">The Wednesday KnightsSESSION XVIII.Woodnesday 24th Fibber 2000The Mansion in the woods- part 2.Dramatis PersonaeSam Fox Female Human Fighter 4 (Wayne)Whirlwind Male Human Fighter 1 (Emma)Karl Los Val Da Rama Male Gnome Priest of Pelor 1 (Kev)Flay Male Half-Orc Paladin of St. Cuthbert 1 (Tomo)The group continue their journey opening each door that they find- the mansion seems to be almost deserted except for a smattering of corpses about the place- they do however discover a fair few trinkets and baubles. They also discover some cylinders with raised surfaces- like pottery scroll cases with the writing on the outside- Karl smashes a couple to see what, if anything, is inside, later he will regret this.All in all the Knights are stumped- lovers of mysteries this lot- they have not read things and have mostly given only a cursory glance to all the clues available. They have discovered that all of the corpses have suffered violent or at least unnatural deaths- therefore a murderer is, or maybe, was on the loose. They however figure that until they discover him/her/it then they couldn’t give a toss. After beating up a few more of the wandering skeletal hands they head back to the one room that seems to be inhabited. Inside they fight more of the skeletal hands and discover the body of what looks to be a thief- he is loaded with good stuff- which they of course pocket. Then the Knights are stuck again for a bit until they discover through careful mapping that there must be a secret room in the centre of the building.Eventually they break into the room and wander into an encampment (hometown) of the skeletal hands- the fight is long and hard with many of the group taking repeated hits. The fighters are each poisoned multiple times- leading to a loss of strength and a reduction in their ability to attack and cause damage. That said the group are eventually victorious- the huge Minotaur skull with twinkly gemstone eyes, from which the skeletal hands emerge, is smashed into smithereens. By this time the group have had enough of the mystery, and after barricading themselves in the central room for a few hours (till dawn approaches), they head out of the mansion and back towards Tinkle.The above scenario entitled “Perinocles’ Manor” is from Eden Studios’, Wonders Out Of Time-, which is a fabulous collection of good ideas and scenarios-, buy it as soon as you stop reading this. In all honesty the players did not do it justice, considering dead people as offering neither threat nor interest- beyond any loot they may have.The scenario was supposed to be a sort of ancient murder mystery with a few clues to a long gone civilisation- the cack-handed players smashed some of the clues but have noted others which will obviously appear again later- probably. Woodnesday 22nd Fibber 2000The Mansion in the woods- part 2b.Dramatis PersonaeMallaria Female Half-Elven Barbarian 2. (Tomo)The last time we saw Mallaria she was deep in the woods having recently off’ed a large bear, now read on…The woods surround her still, the blood of the bear drips from her forearms and matts her hair. The lightning crashes into a tree in the distance, Mallaria dodges a huge branch and sprints off once again into the night… she something ahead… the shape off… it might be dry in there she thinks.Suddenly Mallaria wakes- bolt uprightHer eyes blink and try desperately to focus, darkness- a crack of light- a door ajar- the soft mattress beneath her she slowly relaxes, a bed’s a bed- she moves her hands about her to hold in the warmth. She feels it again and remembers suddenly what it was that woke her- there is something, a small many legged something tap-tap-tapping her leg. In an instant she is up bounding out of the bed in a room she does not recognise- a skeletal hand is attached to her leg, Mallaria kicks out and the creature goes flying. She scans the room and spies a chair, quickly she snatches it up and smashes it down on the skeletal hand, which is now perched atop a small chest. The creature tries to right itself- she strikes again and again- it is soon smashed and broken, as is the lid of the chest.Mallaria pulls the door open allowing in a curtain of light and squats down to look at what attacked her- parts of the creature have fallen down into the hole in the top of the chest, cautiously she reaches in…“Owww, Feck.”She quickly withdraws her hand- the spot of blood at the centre of her palm pearls and grows. She presses her hand to her mouth and sucks in…Her head jolts back as she feels the blue surge of power, a bolt of lightning all of her own- held inside. It stiffens her limbs in some St. Vitus dance and in a moment is gone- her head thumps with the strain of it all and strange symbols and figures clamber behind her eyes begging her to understand them.Minutes pass, Mallaria remains squatting on the floor in front of the chest rubbing her forehead and pressing her eyes shut- slowly making sense of the letters… she is learning.She opens her eyes…“Feck me.”Slowly forming in her vision is an image of her right hand- floating free in the air it hovers over the chest, cautiously she reaches out to touch it but her hand passes straight through. The symbols and letters continue to dance in her head this time in a more co-ordinated manner, a coded conga. This time with her mind she manipulates the stream- the floating hand turns over palm upwards… instantly her headache becomes bearable, she smiles… no… grins. She reaches out slowly and shakes her hand. A little latter Mallaria looks in the chest and finds the smashed remains of a ceramic scroll with a serrated edge- beneath the pottery shards another such artefact. This she carefully lifts out avoiding the razor sharp edge, she wraps it up well and places it in her backpack… for later. The floating hand has long since faded but the spell that summons it lodges now, deep, inside her head.After a brief mosey around the ancient but still intact Mansion she heads back to the sleepy hollow that is Tinkle. Chewsday 21st Fibber 2000 Dark Delights.Dramatis PersonaeEndrin Male Bard 3 (Wayne)The journey through the woods is fairly uneventful- Endrin remembers well the path they took to the Dark Tower and quickly covers the distance, it takes him six hours straight without a break. The forest is silent- at rest, as if it were waiting for something to happen.Once at the tower Endrin clasps the magical dagger, Goblin-friend- he stole yesterday from Karl’s pack, and using the blades magical Darkvision searches the structure again. Cautiously, carefully he creeps about in the half-dark and shadow, but nothing alive or indeed undead remains.And so Endrin’s sojourn begins- unhappy in his present profession he feels the flow of magic much stronger within him these days, not the word and song of his Bardic magic- put raw magic, raw power.The Dark Tower seems to amplify the sensation; he felt it the first time he stepped inside the building. After a nights rest in the big bed that covers the trapdoor Endrin sets about making the place his home (some throw cushions, curtains and fresh flowers), if only for a short while.After the creature comforts are in place the grand search begins, every cupboard is turned out, scraps of parchment read and mentally inventoried. Three days pass and at the end he feels he knows the place and is afraid of nothing here- there are no darkened corners, no hidden places where danger lurks. At the end of the fourth day he ferries the last of his findings down into the cellar and shuts the door- he has food for nearly ten days.He works hard, harder than he has ever worked- searching the spaces in his mind in the same way as he searched the tower, discovering for the first time the limitations of his inner vision. With the spell book, stolen again- this time from Liandri’s possessions, he begins to fill up the once dark spaces of his mind.Time passes, Endrin’s mind storms and rages- the cold cellar drips and sighs, the tower stands silently while outside the rain and lightning dance.Two days after the food has gone Endrin notices and wearily climbs the stair- he also notices how tired he is, having to crawl out from under the bed, unable to lift it more than half-way up.The thought of food is banished however as the sight of the bed hoves into view and he slips within the sheets and for the first time, it seems for twelve long days, he falls asleep.Outside the storm comes again, the lightening circles the tower looking for an opening to reach within. The rain hammers down against the stones and soaks the ground, the thunder rolls…It rolls a six. (Thanks to Terry Pratchett)A puddle quickly forms as the outer door stands open- a small robed figure slips inside and heads silently to the door to the bedroom, behind which Endrin stirs in his sleep. The outer door is slowly and silently shut- a key turns, and the room is returned to darkness.The inner door opens and the robed figure steps inside the bedroom and moves silently to the bed, watching Endrin’s flickering eyes- deep in dreams. A small pale, almost white hand reaches down and gently caress’ his forehead, moving his hair aside- the effect is electric, Endrin’s eyes snap open. His mind accelerates, his mouth already forming words- the small pale hand moves swiftly down and covers his mouth- Endrin’s mind catches up- he kisses the palm. Another pale hand appears from within the folds of the cloak and briefly fiddles with the clasp- the cloak falls to the floor. Endrin shows surprise for a second, and then moves towards the centre of the bed and pulls the covers back, the dark mistress of the tower slips in.The lightening flashes again illuminating the room for a second showing the two figures moving slowly together and the Zombie in the doorway looking on. Much later…Endrin wakes to find himself alone in the bed… he slowly pulls the covers down and is momentarily startled to see the Zombie standing at the end of the bed staring intently at him, pinned to the creature is a piece of paper etched with gothic script. Cautiously he leans forward- the Zombies eyes follow his hand as it reaches out to grab the paper which is held in place with a hatpin firmly stuck into the creatures body- he removes it slowly, carefully- the creature merely watches. The paper says “Hello, my name is Jeff, how can I be of service.” Endrin grins, then giggles, until he begins to laugh aloud- a fiendish almost diabolical sound.Later he will remember the cold words that she spoke to him about a man called Sir Bradford, a Paladin of some ridiculous god she said. He will also take the wand that she has left for him on the table next to the bed, and eventually remember the command word to activate the device, “Mordus”. But now, in this instant, all he feels is the yearning, the craving- an emptiness inside… Hunger.DM’s note- Endrin has multi-classed to become Bard 3 Sorcerer 1. Chewsday 21st Fibber 2000Out and about with BobDramatis PersonaeBob Male Human Ranger 2 (Emma)Bob follows Endrin at a distance to the tower, he watches him for three days there, never entering the building, Endrin never leaving the building- except to gather wood for the fire. After three days his curiosity has gone and he feels too embarrassed to approach the tower and reveal himself to Endrin, there would be too much to explain. Instead he heads back to Tinkle ashamed of himself and his actions- Endrin is a friend to him, he must learn to trust.Nearly two weeks later Endrin too returns to the village, looking… well… strangely rested and yet in some ways more withdrawn. And so endeth the session that is numbered 18.Next week… Gone fishin’.</blockquote>

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