Mark Chance
Boingy! Boingy!
Facing Camazotz
A great deal has happened since my last entry, but, unfortunately, I was uninvolved in all of it! My new status as a divine trickster of Garl laid a demand on my time and activity, and so I entered into a solitary retreat while the rest of my companions were left to their own devices. All that I write about now I have learned from them.
First off, Daemas and Dari - the latter no longer petrified - have left us, returning to Greyhawk City, perhaps once again on some mysterious library business. Who knew librarians led lives of such intrigue and adventure? Also, our ranger Glyth has simply disappeared. We've not seen him since arriving in Safeton. The rest of the party was residing at the Surly Fop, a not-too-upscale inn on Safeton's south side. As a lad in the Sphincter, I'd often heard tales about adventurers recruited for some special mission after being summoned a local noble's castle while the adventurers were dining in an inn, but in all of the months I've been on the road, I've never seen any such thing occur.
Well, apparently the stories have some truth to them. A liveried servant of the Margrave Dryw Callani, the local high-up man, arrived at the Surly Fop with a summons to a banquent. With nothing better to do, and not wanting to give insult to the powers-that-be, the party decided to attend the dinner party. Sir Dryw is not a local. He is an agent of northern powers concerned that the disorder in the Wild Coast will encroach on their territories if left unchecked. Thus, Sir Dryw has set up shop in a ruined keep not too far out of Safeton. There sure seem to be a lot of ruined keeps in the area! Sir Dryw's men are slowly rebuilding the ruin, making in militarily serviceable again. At the same time, his soldiers drill, collect taxes (something not terribly popular with the independent-minded people of the region), and so forth. Also in attendance at the banquent were Dez, a paladin in Sir Dryw's service, the Canon Terjon, local high cleric of Saint Cuthbert, and Graybeard Gimmil, the lord mayor of Weathered Rock, a dwarven mining hamlet located in the coastal cliffs to the east. It seems as if Sir Dryw wants to make a good impression on certain peoples of influence in the region.
Over a pleasant banquent in several courses, the party answered Sir Dryw's questions about how we came to the Wild Coast, about our conflict the trolls, about events in the ruined keep, and so forth. Then, as if scripted by some idea-poor playwright, an alarm sounded and a guard burst into the banquent hall to yell that the keep was under attack!
The fight that followed was fearsome but brief. The keep was indeed under attack by five dire bats. At first, this hardly seemed cause for much alarm, but it quickly became apparent that two of these dire bats were not natural. Once, which landed near the main ingress to Sir Dryw's hall, proved nearly impervious to weapons both mundane and magical. It also evidenced resistance to fire, as became apparent when it was scarcely injured by one of Shadra's psychic flame attacks. Furthermore, the beast regenerated its wounds almost as fast as they were inflicted. Worse still, its mighty fangs inflicted horrible damage. Even our stoutest fighters, Frank and Ebon, were shaken by its attacks. Another of the dire bats likewise proved nearly impervious to even Dez's stoutest blows, but it did not seem particularly immune to Shadra psionic energy attacks nor did it regenerate. How curious!
After only a few furious seconds, two of the normal-seeming dire bats were dead, a third had fled after suffering serious injuries, and the two uncanny dire bats took wing and fled as well. Shortly thereafter, while Dez, Moonbeam, and Terjon administered healing, a soldier reported to Sir Dryw, presenting the Margrave with a scroll found atop one of the towers surrounding the inner bailey. The scroll read something to the effect of:
Back in the banquent hall, Sir Dryw explained that he feared some evil creature was mustering strength in the region. Trolls were becoming more organized. A guard escorting tax payments northward was attacked and the monies stolen. Gimmil noted that dire bats along the coast had become more aggressive lately as well. Sir Dryw explained that he'd not pay a single copper in tribute, but that he'd pay twice the amount demanded to the adventurers who could bring this Camazotz fellow to justice. The party agreed to these terms, and Dez was sent with them as well. The party left immediately in the company of Gimmil, heading toward Weathered Rock and the coast were it is known that there are dozens of dire bat caves. Also, the Dolmen, an ancient stone structure, is not far from Weathered Rock. The party figured that if they couldn't find Camazotz's lair among the dire bat caves, then they could ambush him or his agents at the Dolmen.
Moonface placed a piece of cheap elven costume jewelry in the bag with the tribute. Dez the paladin was given the sack, and he took up a visible position on the Dolmen, the party having arrived at that location a couple of hours before the appointed time. The rest of the party hid around the Dolmen, hunkering down in the tall grass. The idea was that Dez would hand over the tribute to who or whatever showed up to collect it. Moonface would then be able to use locate object spells to find the costume jewelry and thus the lair of the extortionists. It was a sensible plan. Unfortunately, Dez turned out to not be so sensible.
Shortly before midnight, five dire bats were seen winging in overhead. With Dez plainly visible atop the Dolmen, the monsters flew farther on, landing in the darkness. A few minutes later, a naked troll followed by three dire bats came lumbering out of the darkness toward the Dolmen. Now remember: Dez is supposed to hand over the tribute so that Moonshine can use locate object to find the extortionists' lair. So what does Dez do as soon as the troll is in sight? Yes, that's right: Dez leaps from the Dolmen and charges the troll, screaming something about how his holy smite shall rout the forces of darkness. Consequently, what should have been a simple exchange turned into a pitched brawl.
Dez, my lovely Zara, Frank, and Ebon moved to engage the troll and the dire bats. Moonhowl and Shadra stayed back near the Dolmen to provide magical and psionic support. The dire bats proved to be little match for the adventurers. The troll, however, was another matter. Shadra quickly discovered that the troll was somehow protected against fire damage. Furthermore, the sudden attack by the group's warriors triggered a remarkable change in the troll. No sooner than it had suffered significant damage, the troll transformed into a horrid dire bat. But not just any dire bat. The troll was the regenerating dire bat that attacked Borderland Keep! Shortly after it transformed, Shadra and Moonhowl were attacked from the rear flank by a spectral hand that landed a touch of idiocy on Shadra. Fortunately, she suffered only a minimal reduction in mental faculties.
The party was now engaged in a fearsome battle against two dire werebats. The troll was truly formidable. Zara's rapier was all but useless against it. The minor wounds she could inflict healed almost instantly. The troll dire werebat's bite was deadly in the extreme. Even our toughest front-line fighters - Frank and Ebon - could hardly withstand three or four such mighty bites. The other dire werebat, which remained in hybrid form, proved to be a spellcaster, probably a wizard. Somehow it was able to cast spells without verbal components, and it harrassed Moonshine and Shadra with the spectral hand until Frank broke off from the troll to destroy that pesky manifestation with a blow from his magical sword. Unfortunately, the dire werebat wizard greatly weakened Frank with a ray of enfeeblement before it closed for melee. While the wizard dire werebat did not regenerate like the troll, it proved even more resistant to injury. For a while, only Moonshine's spiritual weapon was of any real use against it.
While Moonrise and Frank dealt with the wizard, the rest of the party focused on the troll dire werebat. Slowly, bit by bit, the damage inflicted outstripped its regeneration, especially after Shadra brought her psychic lightning to bear. Sensing that the fight was going against them, the wizard dire werebat took wing and fled. The troll also attempted to fly away, but Zara stopped it dead with a clothyard shaft that pierced the back of its skull to emerge from its throat. Eschewing much needed healing, the party immediately gave chase, but couldn't keep up with the flying wizard dire werebat. Even still, they did manage to keep pursuit going long enough to narrow down the search of the coastal caves.
By dawn, the party had located the wizard's lair, but, alas, the monster had moved on. In one of the deeper caves, the party discovered a narrow crevasse through which the wizard dire werebat had somehow escaped. Apparently in its magical arsenal was some sort of size-changing spell. The group recovered some treasure raided from the surrounding area, including that shipment of taxes that Sir Dryw had mentioned.
The party now makes plans to pursue the wizard dire werebat - who, presumably, is Camazotz - leaving behind the surface world to chase it into the depths of the earth. How well this effort goes and if I shall accompany my comrades remain to be seen.
A great deal has happened since my last entry, but, unfortunately, I was uninvolved in all of it! My new status as a divine trickster of Garl laid a demand on my time and activity, and so I entered into a solitary retreat while the rest of my companions were left to their own devices. All that I write about now I have learned from them.
First off, Daemas and Dari - the latter no longer petrified - have left us, returning to Greyhawk City, perhaps once again on some mysterious library business. Who knew librarians led lives of such intrigue and adventure? Also, our ranger Glyth has simply disappeared. We've not seen him since arriving in Safeton. The rest of the party was residing at the Surly Fop, a not-too-upscale inn on Safeton's south side. As a lad in the Sphincter, I'd often heard tales about adventurers recruited for some special mission after being summoned a local noble's castle while the adventurers were dining in an inn, but in all of the months I've been on the road, I've never seen any such thing occur.
Well, apparently the stories have some truth to them. A liveried servant of the Margrave Dryw Callani, the local high-up man, arrived at the Surly Fop with a summons to a banquent. With nothing better to do, and not wanting to give insult to the powers-that-be, the party decided to attend the dinner party. Sir Dryw is not a local. He is an agent of northern powers concerned that the disorder in the Wild Coast will encroach on their territories if left unchecked. Thus, Sir Dryw has set up shop in a ruined keep not too far out of Safeton. There sure seem to be a lot of ruined keeps in the area! Sir Dryw's men are slowly rebuilding the ruin, making in militarily serviceable again. At the same time, his soldiers drill, collect taxes (something not terribly popular with the independent-minded people of the region), and so forth. Also in attendance at the banquent were Dez, a paladin in Sir Dryw's service, the Canon Terjon, local high cleric of Saint Cuthbert, and Graybeard Gimmil, the lord mayor of Weathered Rock, a dwarven mining hamlet located in the coastal cliffs to the east. It seems as if Sir Dryw wants to make a good impression on certain peoples of influence in the region.
Over a pleasant banquent in several courses, the party answered Sir Dryw's questions about how we came to the Wild Coast, about our conflict the trolls, about events in the ruined keep, and so forth. Then, as if scripted by some idea-poor playwright, an alarm sounded and a guard burst into the banquent hall to yell that the keep was under attack!
The fight that followed was fearsome but brief. The keep was indeed under attack by five dire bats. At first, this hardly seemed cause for much alarm, but it quickly became apparent that two of these dire bats were not natural. Once, which landed near the main ingress to Sir Dryw's hall, proved nearly impervious to weapons both mundane and magical. It also evidenced resistance to fire, as became apparent when it was scarcely injured by one of Shadra's psychic flame attacks. Furthermore, the beast regenerated its wounds almost as fast as they were inflicted. Worse still, its mighty fangs inflicted horrible damage. Even our stoutest fighters, Frank and Ebon, were shaken by its attacks. Another of the dire bats likewise proved nearly impervious to even Dez's stoutest blows, but it did not seem particularly immune to Shadra psionic energy attacks nor did it regenerate. How curious!
After only a few furious seconds, two of the normal-seeming dire bats were dead, a third had fled after suffering serious injuries, and the two uncanny dire bats took wing and fled as well. Shortly thereafter, while Dez, Moonbeam, and Terjon administered healing, a soldier reported to Sir Dryw, presenting the Margrave with a scroll found atop one of the towers surrounding the inner bailey. The scroll read something to the effect of:
By midnight the day after tomorrow, deliver one thousand pieces of gold to the Dolmen as tribute or else this attack on your fortress will be but a foretaste of the terrors I shall inflict.
This threatening message was signed: Camazotz.Back in the banquent hall, Sir Dryw explained that he feared some evil creature was mustering strength in the region. Trolls were becoming more organized. A guard escorting tax payments northward was attacked and the monies stolen. Gimmil noted that dire bats along the coast had become more aggressive lately as well. Sir Dryw explained that he'd not pay a single copper in tribute, but that he'd pay twice the amount demanded to the adventurers who could bring this Camazotz fellow to justice. The party agreed to these terms, and Dez was sent with them as well. The party left immediately in the company of Gimmil, heading toward Weathered Rock and the coast were it is known that there are dozens of dire bat caves. Also, the Dolmen, an ancient stone structure, is not far from Weathered Rock. The party figured that if they couldn't find Camazotz's lair among the dire bat caves, then they could ambush him or his agents at the Dolmen.
Moonface placed a piece of cheap elven costume jewelry in the bag with the tribute. Dez the paladin was given the sack, and he took up a visible position on the Dolmen, the party having arrived at that location a couple of hours before the appointed time. The rest of the party hid around the Dolmen, hunkering down in the tall grass. The idea was that Dez would hand over the tribute to who or whatever showed up to collect it. Moonface would then be able to use locate object spells to find the costume jewelry and thus the lair of the extortionists. It was a sensible plan. Unfortunately, Dez turned out to not be so sensible.
Shortly before midnight, five dire bats were seen winging in overhead. With Dez plainly visible atop the Dolmen, the monsters flew farther on, landing in the darkness. A few minutes later, a naked troll followed by three dire bats came lumbering out of the darkness toward the Dolmen. Now remember: Dez is supposed to hand over the tribute so that Moonshine can use locate object to find the extortionists' lair. So what does Dez do as soon as the troll is in sight? Yes, that's right: Dez leaps from the Dolmen and charges the troll, screaming something about how his holy smite shall rout the forces of darkness. Consequently, what should have been a simple exchange turned into a pitched brawl.
Dez, my lovely Zara, Frank, and Ebon moved to engage the troll and the dire bats. Moonhowl and Shadra stayed back near the Dolmen to provide magical and psionic support. The dire bats proved to be little match for the adventurers. The troll, however, was another matter. Shadra quickly discovered that the troll was somehow protected against fire damage. Furthermore, the sudden attack by the group's warriors triggered a remarkable change in the troll. No sooner than it had suffered significant damage, the troll transformed into a horrid dire bat. But not just any dire bat. The troll was the regenerating dire bat that attacked Borderland Keep! Shortly after it transformed, Shadra and Moonhowl were attacked from the rear flank by a spectral hand that landed a touch of idiocy on Shadra. Fortunately, she suffered only a minimal reduction in mental faculties.
The party was now engaged in a fearsome battle against two dire werebats. The troll was truly formidable. Zara's rapier was all but useless against it. The minor wounds she could inflict healed almost instantly. The troll dire werebat's bite was deadly in the extreme. Even our toughest front-line fighters - Frank and Ebon - could hardly withstand three or four such mighty bites. The other dire werebat, which remained in hybrid form, proved to be a spellcaster, probably a wizard. Somehow it was able to cast spells without verbal components, and it harrassed Moonshine and Shadra with the spectral hand until Frank broke off from the troll to destroy that pesky manifestation with a blow from his magical sword. Unfortunately, the dire werebat wizard greatly weakened Frank with a ray of enfeeblement before it closed for melee. While the wizard dire werebat did not regenerate like the troll, it proved even more resistant to injury. For a while, only Moonshine's spiritual weapon was of any real use against it.
While Moonrise and Frank dealt with the wizard, the rest of the party focused on the troll dire werebat. Slowly, bit by bit, the damage inflicted outstripped its regeneration, especially after Shadra brought her psychic lightning to bear. Sensing that the fight was going against them, the wizard dire werebat took wing and fled. The troll also attempted to fly away, but Zara stopped it dead with a clothyard shaft that pierced the back of its skull to emerge from its throat. Eschewing much needed healing, the party immediately gave chase, but couldn't keep up with the flying wizard dire werebat. Even still, they did manage to keep pursuit going long enough to narrow down the search of the coastal caves.
By dawn, the party had located the wizard's lair, but, alas, the monster had moved on. In one of the deeper caves, the party discovered a narrow crevasse through which the wizard dire werebat had somehow escaped. Apparently in its magical arsenal was some sort of size-changing spell. The group recovered some treasure raided from the surrounding area, including that shipment of taxes that Sir Dryw had mentioned.
The party now makes plans to pursue the wizard dire werebat - who, presumably, is Camazotz - leaving behind the surface world to chase it into the depths of the earth. How well this effort goes and if I shall accompany my comrades remain to be seen.
