***See bottom of this post for XP and GOLD info. YOU MAY NOT LEVEL MORE THAN ONCE PER ADVENTURE. *** The group began their adventure by paying off their weekly maintenance costs for their warehouses, and by visiting Grom and the Apothecary to ask a few questions. The Apothecary, Brother Zandicar was asked if he could cure Borbo of his lycanthropy , but was unable to even determine whether Borbo had lycanthropy. Brother Zandicar mentioned that the major temple in Strongmoor would be able to provide a treatment for lycanthropy; the patient would have to undergo intense prayer and drink from a silver chalice a tincture made of holy water and wolfsbane and belladonna twice a day for a period of about a month. The treatment would not be cheap. As the group was leaving, Brother Zandicar also mentioned that lycanthropy can be cured by immediately consuming a leaf of belladonna within the first hour of being bitten by a werewolf; however the afflicted must survive the deadly poison, since a leaf is enough to kill a man outright. Grom was asked what he knew of the strange tentacle-faced wizard that resides in the Palace. Grom said that the wizard was known as Xylarthen , and is a being of immense power that usually resided deep within the Palace. Grom said his adventuring companions had come across the twisted experiments of Xylarthen from time to time, and that his one encounter with the wizard ended badly. He also said Xylarthen and Nekros resided in the Palace before...and when further questioned, Grom was tight-lipped and clenched his fists, his face filled with shame and grief. The group then asked a different question about the bas-relief wall of Anubis , and Grom replied that it used to be much deeper in the Palace; not at the entrance. Anubis was both a blessing and a curse, his group grew over-reliant on the god and his aid and eventually not even Anubis could bring them back from the grave. Grom also mentioned that at one time the mirror in the hallway revealed one of the magic-user companions he was with, who was enchanted by invisibility. Finally the group departed from Stilt Town, stopping at the dwarven colony to purchase silver-gilded weapons. Their goal was to locate the treasure indicated on a treasure map that had been found in the Palace before. The map showed a route from a cove represented by a pirate ship, with a dotted line that led to the Palace, into one of the rooms within. No immediate resistance was encountered when they first entered the Palace, and they proceeded eastward down the main hallway, passing the portrait of Lord Virez, the mirror, and an intersection, where they stopped to inspect a pair of swords hanging from the wall. When Ka'Gron attempted to take one off the wall, they both lept from the wall and attacked him furiously. Ka'Gron, an experienced veteran by this point, was able to parry them away, while the rest of his group dispatched the swords which fell lifelessly to the floor. The group picked them both up and discovered they were the magic chaotic swords, Ex Morticus and Ex Malignant. The group proceeded further east down the hallway, and discovered a large ancient mural that spanned the southern wall, with a giant glowing gem set into the center. Several group members took turns touching it; some shrank in size, some felt as if they were filled with more knowledge and experience, others were weakened and became frail, and one in particular found himself naked without a single possession (or hair). The light of the gem dimmed, and the group finally noticed another hallway branching towards the north, but realized they had followed the treasure map wrong. They backtracked and went northward from the intersection and through a door to the east. In that room the group encountered 6 skeletons digging mindlessly in deep trenches, Two pirate looking men and a zombie sat in the center of the room, slowly being buried by excavated dirt. The group dispatched the skeletons, and followed the map to a place underneath a bed. They tore up the flagstones in the area and began digging down until a large chest was uncovered. Within the chest was a magical lawful sword, which Borbo eventually took possession of after Thea was nearly overcome by the spirit of the sword. Also within the chest were a hoard of gems of jewelry. While they were digging, the group eventually fought off another pair of skeletons attracted by all the noise. After finishing with the room full of skeletons and holes, the group was about to head back to town when they decided instead to investigate one of the doors to the north in the main hallway. They entered and found an old audience chamber, which they searched but found nothing. While they were searching, 5 skeletons lead by a zombie clacked down the hallway and entered the room where they awaited. The group dispatched of them, and found that the zombie was wearing a scrying amulet, that allowed the holder/wearer to hear the voice of Nekros and see his face within the amulet's small mirror. The adventurers, exhausted by this point, tried to depart the castle but first encountered a strange thick green puddle, that sat unreacting within the center of the hallway. They dispatched this, and proceeded further, only to have a wet grey shape plop onto one of the thieves, immediately dissolving his leather armor. The quick thinking magic-user immediately flung a magic missile which disintegrated the ooze, but not before the thief took a small amount of damage from the hungry creature. The group exited the Palace, camping at the bottom of the mountains well after nightfall, in the pitch black moonless/foggy night among the trees of the forest. During the second watch, 12 werewolves obliviously walked into the camp, their noses failing them due to a lucky breeze that carried the party's scent away from them. Thea loosed a stone at one of the werewolves, discovering their nature, and woke everyone with a cry to arms. Ka'Gron lit a lantern, and the sight of the werewolves spooked the party, who took advantage of the werewolves' indecisiveness to grab their bags and a weapon, before fleeing; leaving all other equipment and armor behind. The group eventually camped for the night without interruption, and discovered that they were in-fact lost. They spent the morning and part of the afternoon trying to find a familiar landmark, and finally came across the road and were able to get their bearings. The party returned to Stilt Town without further incident. ------------------------------------------------------- Total Monster XP: 2,650 Total Gold XP: 59,130 (the 2 chaotic swords are not counted due to receiving xp for defeating them, no xp will be awarded) Total Gold: 53,610 (assuming the broken amulet was sold for 4 gold, and that the personal loot below has not been sold) Personal Loot: Ex Morticus (6,000gp) (+1 chaotic sword, 1 ability: dancing, Int: 7, Ego: 3, communicates via empathy, Purpose: To slay lawful clerics (disintegrates on strike)) Ex Malignant (2,500gp) (+1 chaotic sword, 1 ability: dancing, Int: 7, Ego: 2, communicates via empathy) Borblade (5,500) (+1 lawful sword, 3 abilities: detect shifting walls, detect sloping passage, detect traps; Int: 11, Ego: 8, communicates via speech, reads magic, knows languages: common, dragon, goblin, gnome, ???) Scrying Amulet (20gp) (Magical amulet with a mirror that when held allows you to hear the thoughts of Nekros and see his face in the small mirror. Not worth much to most shopkeepers due to only very little gold-work on the amulet) The following players earned 7,391xp and 6,701 gold and 3 silver from last session: Ka'Gron Thea Durus Lucien Gorg Kaizer Ondraedon Vesryn Each hireling (cooks, porters, torch bearers) that accompanied you will take 134 gold from their employer's share of the loot. Each level 0 mercenary will take 670 gold from their employer's share of the loot. Each level 1 or higher henchman will take 3,350 gold from their employer's share of the loot; and you may allocate any amount of your xp to them. Each companion will take 3,350 gold from their controlling player's share of the loot, and you must share 3,695 of the earned xp with them as well.
