Session 62 (2nd half): Perspectives on the living

Party members:

Iloa the big fat guy
Horcus, the not so big and fat guy
Weasel, the not at all big and fast guy
Gaxx, the big green guy
Erolith, the annoying guy
Sadie, the short one
Marokin, the other guy...


To have time for everything… how often did I think to myself “How nice would it be to have time for everything!” pff what do you do, when everything is done? What remains?
This stupid mirror…
And Erolith… or Mindartis, or however he calls himself now… he should have known about it, he should have known and warned me…
This stupid Marokin… this curious idoit
What remains?
Not even my screams, my shouting that taunted me, the echo of the banging against this glass wall, the sounds of the bolts bouncing off of it. It fades, it diverges, it seizes.
I have recounted the events to me so many times already, what harm will do a repetition? What good will it do… Whereas first I was afraid of going mad, by now I am certain.
What date was it again? Calsar… the 8th. Calsar the 8th. Calsar the … 8th … the 8th of Calsar. The 8th.
Erolith, yes, it was Erolith, first he told me not to come, then he send to me, then he let me die, I guess. I am still not certain about this part, but I might be? Though this does not match the promises of the gods and the afterlife of legends. But well, most gods lie anyway…
This temple, fane, shack of some all high beingly being… That place he had been mumbling on about, again, and again. Where are your mumbles now? I would love to hear them, hear anything that stays, that is not my voice or my play. Come and mumble to me, stupid elf. We did not even get your goblin friend… or maybe you did, what do I know. That whole endeavour, a full blown cluster fuck.
The sword should have told us everything… There was a sword, wasn’t there? I am sure there was one. A sword in the fountain… loaded with magic… like the ones in in the ancient tomb. I wonder what happened to that place. Also there it was you, Erolith, you and your curiosity, your running into rooms without waiting, that summoned animated swords. Just like that again they came flying on us…
There was also a ghost back then… but back then I was able to heal the ones that got struck down.
“The first duty in combat is to keep your comrades alive. If one goes down, get them up!” Isn’t that right? Now then… I failed to follow that rule, and others have failed to bring me up, I assume. Well Beldak, I kept our oath, I kept the secrets until my end.
The swords and the ghost… I liked the other one better, at least this one did not complain about my pronunciation… Horcus… I can’t see him around, I wonder where he went to. Maybe this is what I get for what my ancestors did… well, screw them then… What happened to Horcus?
Right, the mirror… another me… how hilarious, how comic, it is already hard to stand one of my kind, I wonder why they didn’t just run when there were two of me… fools… I miss them, I miss the screaming...The me managed to cast on Horcus and slowly widdled away his strength. And there was this harp. It was playing on its own, it played a strange tune.
Da da taaa ta da brrrrrrrrr dum di di dum … yes… mock me echo… but I do recall it! Da da taaaaaaaaaa ta da brrrrrrrm ba pa…
Why did I touch it? Why didn’t I just cut the strings… why didn’t I … I could have gone back to the others.. yes… curiosity… curiosity kills the cockatrice …
Pff… what does it matter… it fades… I’m sure the halfling could tell a tale about that.
The ghost… such an unfriendly fellow, he did not say a single word… where as the other me just giggled… at least it said something, even though it was solely arcane words.
Maybe that is why he is not here… he must still be a shadow… Horcus the haunter… it has a ring to it.
Cain must be so pissed at us. That poor old fellow. First he looses his son, then his son in law disappears, I never could have told him of that, the old brainfart still can’t lie… and now, his friend… and then also Horcus… If only I had had a few seconds more.. 5 seconds… and I could have finished my song and restored him… 5 seconds… well
Now I have them… as many 5 seconds as I could ever want. Maybe the bloke Iloa killed me… though I am pretty sure he hit me with the blunt side. But then again, maybe he reconsidered afterwards… He seems to not be bound by what binds Cain…
Or maybe it was one of the others? I am not a shadow, right? It must have been something else then… Iloa, Sadie, Gaxx, Erolith… did you become tired of me? Managed to do your schemes and plans?
Or maybe it was the shadow… Mocsi, you would not have done it, right? No… nononono, you wouldn’t my little hairy ass monkey…
Well… it sort of was for Syvil… that piece of wood, I guess we are even now, hm? What do you say? Nothing, of course you say nothing… as always, always you say nothing… and you… you silver horned bastard, stop grinning at me… why are you grinning?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? ANSWER ME YOU FUCKING SON OF A COCKATRICE!
…
Yes, the breakfast was good. Gaxx, he will learn, not so serious, green behind your ears…
What am I writing here… the beginning has anyway faded…. What good does it do? Nothing remains…I’ll have to start over again… what a waste of time… but then again, I seem to have time. Time is all I have… all I need to waste...

To have time for everything… ho often did I he think “How nice would it be to have time for everything!” pff what do you do, when everything is done? What remains?
This stupid mirror…
And Erolith… or Mindartis, or however he calls himself now… he should have known about it, he should have known and warned me…
This stupid Marokin… this curious idoit
What remains?  

Session 63: Mushy The Goat [RIP]

party size 8;
average party lvl: 2.25

XP:

Random encounter XP: 3150 (halved since battle was avoided)
Quest encounter: 1800 XP
Knowledge XP: 100 XP for finding the settlement of the gnomes
Knowledge XP: 100 XP for learning about their culture and communication
Quest XP: 200 XP for starting trade with the gnomes, entertaining them, communicating with them.
RP: 50 xp for roleplaying (I am sure some deserve more but since I could not hear enough due to my network connection I decided to instead to give all the same... sry, I'll hopefully learn for next time)
Log XP: 50 xp for Cannonfooder for writing the log

Renown:
Everyone gets 1 renown with either the white horses or their own company. 
Lux: -1 renown with the horses for trading away their property without permission and avoiding confrontation with them afterwards.

+1 renown with the Gnomes of Medrawin's settlement
Lux +1 renown with the Gnomes for giving them the Decanter of Everwater 

Rewards:
The horses pay the promised sum of 450 gp to be split by among the party members evenly.
After talking to the gnome they realize that they were the ones watching another adventuring group and hand out an additional 10gp for each party member.

The gems:
Lux' turquise gem is worth 65gp
The blue gems are worth 30 gp
The green gems are worth 15 gp

Within one month the following Chars learn the language of Archaic Avalonian:
Lux, Von, Nyx
Kelvar will need two months 


Summary:
Mathias: 660xp, +1 renown White Horse or his company, +1 renown Medrawin's settlement, 66gp 25 Copper
Von: 660xp, +1 renown White Horse or his company, +1 renown Medrawin's settlement, 66gp 25 Copper
Sadie: 660xp, +1 renown White Horse or his company, +1 renown Medrawin's settlement, 66gp 25 Copper
Lux: 660xp, +1 renown White Horse or his company, -1 renown White Horse, +2 renown Medrawin's settlement, 66gp 25 Copper
Vox: 660xp, +1 renown White Horse or his company, +1 renown Medrawin's settlement, 66gp 25 Copper
Nyx: 660xp, +1 renown White Horse or his company, +1 renown Medrawin's settlement, 66gp 25 Copper
Kelvar: 660xp, +1 renown White Horse or his company, +1 renown Medrawin's settlement, 66gp 25 Copper
Cannon Fooder: 710xp, +1 renown White Horse or his company, +1 renown Medrawin's settlement, 66gp 25 Copper

64: The Friendly Lich on the Stony Road
Pyrrha; High Elf Wizard Lvl 1 (Justine)
Eryn; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (KaneLives)
Dark Salazar; Dark Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Witch Hunter)
Elenora; Shifter Sorcerer lvl 1 (Elee)
Mr Grimsby; Halfling Fighter lvl 1 (Lani)
Dox Gilmuth; Rock Gnome Wizard lvl 1 (Speedhawk)

I set sail from the Port of Seagarth in the realm of Neverfell on the 43 of Havis with a few other adventurers. We were aboard the ship the Venerable Terry. The captain knew that we were approaching the time that the mist tide closed but claimed that we could still make it.
On the ship with me were the adventurers;

Eryn a wood elf who was not seen very much during the trip. The only thing that we saw was his green eyes staring out from the darkness.
A Dark elf by the name of Dark Salazar was a quiet individual who did not talk very much.

The Lady Elenora was a lady with brown hair and wolfish ears. We discovered later she also could grow claws and had a tail. She also carries a ruby on her chest. The thing that I noticed is that her eyes were even redder than mine.

There was a cheerful halfling named Mr. Grimsby that seemed to love to gamble and tried numerous time to get Lady Elenora to play cards with him. She refused saying that she preferred chess.

Dox Gilmuth was a gnome who was very quiet most of the time with different colored eyes, one Cyan and the other purple and no hair. He with a tendency to pilfer magic knowledge which I can understand the temptation but it was not the right time but I will get back to that.

About 10 Days after the Venerable Terry set sail, we hit the mist tide two days after the myst tide closed due to our late departure. Dark clouds started to enclose on the ship and we were all piled into the shrine below deck. The sailors on the ship vehemently prayed that we would safely make it though the mists safely.

It seems that their prayers were answered as after two days of praying we emerged into an area where the stars poked out from among the mists. Just then there was a scraping sound on the side of the boat which brought the group onto the deck as we watched the Venerable Terry beach itself on a strange new island.

The captain saw that our group had arrived on deck. This island was small maybe a few miles long. From the beach we could see a White Spire on the far end of the Island. The captain requested us to go to the Spire to see if there was anything that would aid in the repairing of the boat. At this point Mr. Grimsby jumped right into the water and started swimming, asking the rest of us to join him. Dark Salazar tries to get the captain to send some men with us as a meat shield but Elenora says that we have that already.

After some debate we follow Mr. Grimsby along the beach-line heading to the white spire. Then he gets distracted by some crabs we see along the shoreline and starts chasing them talking about boiled crab.

We stealthily make our way inland toward the Spire, the job being much more difficult with Mr Grimsby piping along making noise. Elenora tries to silence him and just heads over to the wizards. At Dark Salazar's request Elenora is elected as party leader for our outing.
We come across a river by a hill that we are easily able to traverse and as we headed north we noticed a ruined village. based on the buildings it appears to have been a farming community. Elenora noticed that the area had been cleared at some point. As we continues we noticed a humaniod figure about 300 feet away at the top of the hill. Based on it's size it was a little over 6 foot tall.

Dark Salazar goes to approach the creature who was looking to the bush are behind us when two large flightless birds charge him. Elenora hit the closest bird with him with ray of frost which allows him to quickly return to our group. Eryn proceeds to shoot the birds doing a lot of damage. Dox seemed to have trouble hitting these birds. I was at a far range but due to my training was able to cook the bird slightly with my firebolt. With our concentrated fire we took one bird down and the other turned to flee. Me and Eryn took shots at the fleeing bird which Eryn took down as it fled our range. Dark Salazar attempted to collect some of the meat but Elenora informed him that it would just attract predators so we left the birds where they fell.

We continued our way to the Spire and explored the area before entering. Dox determined that there was an enchantment on the main door. While Elenora sent dancing lights into the arrow slots she determined that the creature we saw had returned to the spire. Our sneaky companions hid and readied attacks as Elenora took the opportunity to knock on the door with the rest of the party following in behind. As Elenora is about to knock a second time the door opens. Inside we saw an entryway and a portcullis with a skeleton on the other side. The skeleton seemed to ignore us as we followed Elenora into the entryway. A stone construct opens a door in the interior and approaches the portcullis. Elenora tries to talk to it in Low Valmari and High Valkari and the construct ignores her. I try draconic and it turns to face me. Elenora encourages me to continue talking to it. After asking it to let us in it typed out in an obscure language asking if we were guests when I asked it for aid. I agreed that we were guests and it opened the portcullis for us. The Skeleton continued to ignore us. We decide to follow the construct to its master when Mr Grimsby decides to start prying open barrels. After discovering a foul substance in the barrel after we tried to stop him from opening it he kicked it over only to have the skeleton right the barrel and the construct absorb the spilled liquid.

I ask Mr. Grimsby if this is how he would behave at his families home and he replied yes. At this point Elenora had had enough and threatened to kill him if he did anything else that could jeopardize the party. Then he argued why we are leaving the Skeleton alone as it was unnatural, the dead should stay dead. Elenora comment it has done nothing to us so leave it be. At this point Mr. Grimsby just left as we continue to ascend the Spire. I'm not sure what happened to Mr. Grimsby after that.

The 2nd floor was a kitchen and dining room. there was 2 constructs cooking dinner and a wine rack in the dining room. Looking at the dates on the wine they were from 800 years ago. We decided to content to the next as there was little else of interest on this level. The second floor was the residence living areas with individual sleeping quarters. Elenora said to pass this as we did not want disturb the residents. there was a common area with a fire that burned without fuel and some comfortable chairs lining the walls. We continue upward.

On this level we find a double door which I knock on I have taken the lead at this point as the only member who could communicate with these beings. As we think that nothing will happen, we hear the shifting and falling of a chair on the other side of the room. Inside we find I Lich. I could feel the immense power radiating from this being. The rest of the party remained in the hall as I approached the Lich. He was upset that I interrupted his studies and was too busy to offer us aid in getting off the island. Dox insisted that the master of the spire was not this being but someone higher in the spire.

We climb to the top floor to find a library and a locked room. The plate on the door read Magistar's residence and Library on the other door. As we enter the library Dox looks for magical theory books. I am fascinated by a book that he passed to me intrigued I sit down and start to read. Dark Salazar decides to pick the lock on the Magister's door. Elenora attempt to stop him and I hear complaining about losing a lock pick. This was really distracting from the fascinating theories that I was reading about. After seeing a construct coming up to fix the door lock, I realized that these constructs could aid us in repairing the ship if the lich was too busy to aid us.

Dox decided to try and steal some of these amazingly detailed and impressive books on magic theory, but tore his backpack instead which cause Elenora to distrust the gnome thinking that he would get her killed.

We returned to the lich, and stuck a bargain with him for the use of one of his constructs. Elenora offered him gold in exchange, which he refused as he had no need for it. I offered a service in exchange. One of his constructs had gone missing. If we were to recover the missing contruct Garet, Garet would aid in the repair of the ship

Eryn had manage to track the missing construct from the ruined village south to a lake there we crept up on the construct who was stuck in the mud. Eryn shot into a tree and a spider fell out with an arrow sticking out of it. I sent a fire bolt into the spider that fell as another spider threw a web over Elenora who started to shift. Her eyes grew red and claws appeared as she set the web and spider ablaze as surprisingly for someone who complained that his eyes hurt Dark Salazar hit the spider that had trapped Elenora. We quickly finished off the spiders and Elenora cleared the webs off of Garet the Construct. He quickly start off after we told him that his master sent us to find him. We follow behind.

On our way back to the Spire, we came across 2 ankheg's attacking the construct I recognized the creatures immediately, they are highly intelligent creatures.  The Ankheg fight was brutal and we only survived it due to the help of the construct and clever tactics. The construct fought the Ankheg in melee while we peppered them with our missiles and spells. Even though our party came close to complete annihilation when one of the Ankheg used a poison breath weapon on us hitting two of our group at the same time including the leader of our party Elenora. They barely survived. They only lived thanks to the fact that they managed to dodge out of the way in time and they managed to avoid the worst of the Ankheg's acid blast. Still they looked like they were mortally wounded.  Elenora managed to put one of them to sleep while Garet finished them off and proceeded to immediately continue back to the Spire. Elenora says we should not lose him and despite the injuries we continue onto the Spire.

There once again I communicate with the Lich who followed his end of the bargain and after fixing Garet, had him follow under my direction. As it was night at this time I asked if we could spend the night and leave in the morning. The lich agreed as long as we did not disturb his studies. I went to get the book on gaining power from stars to read and joined the party in the Dorms. Elenora seeing skeletons in the beds did not want to remain in the tower for the night despite protest from the party. We took a short rest with me spending as much time as I could looking over the tome of knowledge. I tried to get the party to stay for longer as the knowledge to be found here was impressive. Elenora insisted that we leave the safety of the Spire and it's friendly and helpful lich in favor of the dangerous jungle. We should have stayed in the tower.

We travel for about a half an hour and then set up camp with Elenora taking first watch and I took 2nd watch. Nothing happened during the 1st watch but i noticed some small creature approaching the Camp. I send a Message into each of the minds of the sleeping companions in turn to quietly wake them up and inform them of the danger. We stealthily take up positions around the camp.

3 cockatrice's appear from the shadows, 2 of them surrounding Dark Salazar who was up this entire time and attacking him. one of the cockatrices came after me and another after Elenora. Eryn and Elenora and Dox focusing on the ones that were closest to Elenora and Dark Salazar while I put the one next to me to sleep and turned to face the other 2 only to see Dark Salazar turn to stone. but we could not focus on that as there were still 2 cockatrice's left. We managed to take out the other 2 before they could petrify anyone else. We then surrounded the final sleeping cockatrice and beat the crap out of it at the same time. We turned to look at Dark Salazar who was stone, yet Dox remembered that the cockatrice's poison only lasts 24 hour. The remainder of the night was uneventful and in the morning we could move ourselves and Dark Salazar back to the Venerable Terry.

Garet looks at the ship without moving for a long time then goes and helps the sailors make the neccesary repairs to the ship. It took 2 days for repairs to be completed and then we were back on our way to Haven. 3 Weeks later we arrive and my only regret was that we did not spend more time perusing the lich's library.

Pyrrha Hleghymn

told you we should've stole one or two of his books * the gnome groans*

Session 64: The Friendly Lich on the Stony Road

Present:
Pyrrha; High Elf Wizard Lvl 1 (Justine)
Eryn; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (KaneLives)
Dark Salazar; Dark Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Witch Hunter)
Elenora; Shifter Sorcerer lvl 1 (Elee)
Mr Grimsby; Halfling Fighter lvl 1 (Lani)
Dox Gilmuth; Rock Gnome Wizard lvl 1 (Speedhawk)


Dearest father,

This will hopefully be the first letter of many as I embark on my grand quest for the greater glory of the Faun'loup house. It would seem already that the strings of destiny's harp have come to play their tune in honor of my arrival. Shortly after leaving the Port of Seagarth our ship, the Venerable Terry, become enraptured by the horrid storms of the sea. As if out of an old wives' tale we sailed for days on end through this terrible tide, but made it out to the other end in spite of it. At first everyone seemed to take a sigh of relief, only to feel a large thumping sound. We had beached.

Looking around I noticed that the island itself seemed rather small. Even from the boat we were able to see almost the entire place, including a tall white spire on the opposite end. The captain of the boat was a bit rude, but he asked me to gather a group of the other passengers, and go to the white tower to ask for help. Seeing as I had no intention of being trapped on that island, I brought together the other passengers, and lead a party out on a mission to the other side.

Most of the journey to the tower was gratefully uneventful. Most of the wildlife seemed to avoid us, but we did pass an abandoned village on our way over. Unfortunately not far off from the tower our group was attacked by two large axe beaked birds. They viciously tried to murder us, but our group prevailed in the end thanks to magic. Once again, it seemed my blessings were of great use. Shortly after that, we came to glance upon the rather baroque white tower.

It was a rather large building, about 100 ft. in diameter, and at least five stories tall. At the top of it sat a blue dome with some sort of spyglass looking thing peaking through. Even more impressive was a series of well constructed glass windows near the top. Around the bottom though was a series of murder holes which brought a shiver down my spine. Regardless we continued on inside to find the creators of this wondrous architecture. It was here that we would meet the first of the skeletons.

Behind the double doors at the entrance was a large "welcoming hall" similar to that in our home. Just the thought of that made me quite nervous, but my courage stood strong in spite of my memories. Through the arrow slits I could see a large number of skeletons, along with an oil hole on the ceiling of the room. Cautiously we proceeded forward, and were greeted by an animated statue behind an iron portcullis. One of my companions named Pyrrha was able to speak its language, and we managed to negotiate entry into the building.

Before long we met the owner of the establishment, and quite surprisingly he was some sort of liche. I had heard the stories of such creatures, but luckily it had no interest in us. Rather it appeared to be more focus on aiming its humongous spyglass into the sky. Somehow my companion managed to negotiate with the foul creature, and we were able to receive assistance in exchange for recovering one of its stone servants. The liche informed us it was to the south.

With that in mind we set off looking for it on the southern part of the island. Thankfully it was not too hard to find, and we approached it cautiously seeing as the area was covered in spider webs. Just as we got close two treacherous giant spiders as big as men leaped out and began to attack us. I skillfully avoided one of the spider's blows and brought it down single handily with my arcane fire, and then the rest of my allies managed to kill the other. With that our mission was almost complete.

We quickly went about returning the construct to its master only to end up fighting off a group of ankhegs that attacked us as well. We again handled them flawlessly thanks to my cunning mind, and magical blessings. After that there isn't much to say, but that we successfully acquired one of the constructs to help with the repairs. Oh, and a pair of cockatrices attacked us on the way back, but I handled both of them without any issues. So now I sit writing you this letter with memories of home deep in my mind.

As you can see I have developed my skills, and am already in the process of bringing great fame and renown to our family. I hope one day that will be enough to satisfy you and the other elders so that I may claim my rightful position as your heiress. Until then I shall continue on this quest without a second thought, or complaint.


Your daughter,

Elenora Le'Sarade Faun'loup

Session 65: The Fane of Arsha, Pt. 7 (face-to-face)

Present:
Ffiona; lvl 4 Human Ranger (Seraphina)
Archer; lvl 3 Half-Elf Ranger (Daniel B)
Desna; lvl 3 Elf Druidess (Pippa B)
Notable NPC's:
Colodus; Our Paladin benefactor
Trarbon; lvl 2 Dwarf Cleric NPC


Dear Linny,

We moved up the stairs to find a darkened room. We lit up the room to find in the center of the room a statue of a woolly mammoth. Me and Colodus inspected the statue, which Colodus claimed must have been made by means magical. While we were inspecting the statue; Archer, Desna and Trarbon watched out for trouble, which Trarbon complained about incessantly. Me and Colodus discovered on the belly that there was a bronze marking that looked like it could be rotated. I asked Colodus to give me a lift. While lifting me he commented on my being very light, and that I should get some meat on my bones. Not sure how to react to that. I Turned the bronze marking and the belly opened up. I climbed in then sent down a rope for Colodus to climb up as well. 

We searched the inside of the statue; inside where the head of the mammoth was, was what Colodus called a speaking trumpet. At the back were three levers, which we concluded probably opened where we needed to go. But which one? Colodus said that to the Ashanna, three was a lucky number, and that the Ashanna read from right to left. So, at first we thought the one on the left was the one we had to pull. But then,we found the two outer levers were both connected to something underneath, but the one in the middle was not. After much debating what we should do, I pulled both the outer levers down at the same time. Outside the statue, we heard the others say a secret door had opened. We got out of the statue, and went towards the secret door. Inside was another staircase going up. Desna and Archer informed us someone/thing was coming, so I quickly dispelled my light arrows in the room, leaving it dark again, and we rushed into the secret room, pushing the door shut behind us. I don't think whatever it was noticed the party, luckily.

We walked up the stairs to find a room with what was clearly daylight pouring into it from two sources. At the back of the room was another statue of a woolly mammoth. Filling the room were two rows of pillars, with one pillar right in front us, that looked out of place compared to the other pillars, with what I could only describe as a skeletal Wurm, wrapped around it. The Wurm didn't move at first, but as we approached, it awoke. The Wurm approached and spoke to us, saying that the fane had rejected us, and that we must leave immediately, or be slain. Colodus was indignant at this, and refused to stand down. He went in to attack the Wurm, and the rest of the party followed. 

After fighting the Wurm for a while, the Wurm having weakened us, began putting the members of the party to sleep with a spell, one after another, until only I was still conscious. I quickly darted behind a pillar so it couldn't attack me. It demanded I come out and surrender, or it would rend my friends. I tried to delay as long as I could, hoping my friends would wake, and aid me finishing it off. While trying to delay, I asked it why it was here. It said it was sent by its master, specifically, to prevent Colodus from getting the answer to his question. The Wurm caught on that I was stalling, and started towards Colodus. I quickly stepped out. The Wurm smiled (I think), and said, "fool." I quickly fired my bow, with the Wurm firing four rays of fire at me. The arrow pierced the skull of the Wurm. The fire, meanwhile, hurled towards me, then instead of hitting me, span around me and then fired back at the Wurm, eviscerating it.

Yeah, I forgot magic doesn't really work on me... I know. I'm a dummy.

My companions all awoke from their slumber once the Wurm was slain. I was kinda glad they were asleep while I made such a mistake. I noticed there were some shiny things over by the pillar the Wurm was wrapped around, which we didn't inspect until later. (I know, it's almost as if we're not typical adventurers.) Colodus awoke, surprised we had slain the monster. I told Colodus about why the Wurm was here, to which Colodus was not surprised, considering what he was trying to find out. Colodus immediately started towards the statue of the mammoth, uttering the name "Mamouta" under his breath. The statue became flesh, and stood before us. Here was the reason we were here. The one who would answer whatever Colodus' question was. Or questions. Mamouta praised us for slaying the Wurm, and that we had cleansed his Fane, we had earned his answer to our questions. Colodus stepped forward and asked Mamouta, "Is there a Titan-Drake on Maladon?"

...

Linny. Mamouta said yes.

Myst help us.

Mamouta went on to say that the Titan-Drake is called Sklar, and is the son of Skarn. Apparently Sklar has not fully grown, as Mamouta referred to him as a lesser Titan-Drake. So that's something. I guess. Colodus then asked Mamouta where Sklar was. Mamouta stated that Sklar was sleeping in the roots of the one tree, located in the forest of shadows, in the center of Maladon. I knew there was something really wrong with that forest, I've felt it since arriving in Maladon. Colodus then asked Mamouta if Sklar was the reason why Arawn; The Horned King, came to Maladon. Mamouta confirmed this to be true, saying that Arawn came here to awake Sklar, but that the Sithi stopped him. Colodus had finished asking his questions, and thanked Mamouta and bowed. Mamouta returned to his frozen form, and the party went towards the shiny things. Typical adventurers we are.

In the pillar, we found a bow, a quiver of arrows, a staff, two daggers, and a wooden box with a lid. I looked at the quiver of arrows, and immediately recognised them as arrows of my people. Yay! Having used the last of my Lykeri arrows on that vampire, I've finally found some more. Yay! I think the party were okay with me having them, I was so excited I didn't notice. We inspected the bow, discovering it to be a bow of illusion magic. I tried testing it out, but no illusion formed. Archer gave it a go, and it worked. It created an illusion that Archer could then control at will. Glad it worked for him. Apparently the bow talks to Archer. Hmmm. We all figured the staff was best suited for Desna, which could spawn swarms. That was nice. We were about to inspect the two daggers and the wooden box, when we suddenly came to our senses and realised we'd been standing around for too long, and had to leave.

So, yeah, I can understand why Colodus never told us before what he wanted to ask. I hope word gets out after he returns though. People need to know this. He'll tell The Knights of Calenn, and no doubt such news will reach all the companies on the grapevine. Maladon needs to prepare for something big. I only hope we can face the threat if it comes.

Well, we are to finally leave this Fane. The moment I leave here, I swear, the outside air will never again be as fresh.

Love, Ffiona xx

Session 62; The End of the Beginning

Present:
Iloa. Cleric-Prince of Kameha.
Horcus, Cain's friend
Sadie, small, old but deadly
Gaxx, large, young not as deadly
Weasel, a fresh off the boater
Kelver, another fresh de-boated
Marokin, a devil-folk clown close to Mindartis.

Monster XP: 2300 and 1700 XP for the two halves of the combat
Quest XP: 300 XP for achieving the quest aim of consulting the oracle
Knowledge XP: 100 XP for discovering the Oracle of Blood, 200 XP for discovering the thieves ring operating in Gatesgarth
Roleplaying XP: Horcus and Sadie 100 XP; Gaxx, Iloa, and Marokin 75 XP; 50 XP Weasel and Kelver
Log XP: 100 XP to Iloa and Marokin for their excellent logs.

Totals
Iloa. 1444 XP
Horcus. 1370 XP
Sadie. 1370 XP
Gaxx. 1345 XP
Weasel. 580 XP
Kelver 580 XP
Marokin. 1435 XP

Session 62 addendum

+ 400 XP to Sadie, Gaxx and Iloa for getting information from the Oracle that is directly linked to their personal quests.

Session 64: The 'Friendly' Lich

Characters Present
Pyrrha; High Elf Wizard Lvl 1 (Justine)
Eryn; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (KaneLives)
Dark Salazar; Dark Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Witch Hunter)
Elenora; Shifter Sorcerer lvl 1 (Elee)
Mr Grimsby; Halfling Fighter lvl 1 (Lani)
Dox Gilmuth; Rock Gnome Wizard lvl 1 (Speedhawk)

Monster XP: 2 Axebeaks(50/6), 2 Giant Spiders(200/5), 2 Ankhegs(450/6), 3 Cockatrice (150/5)
Quest XP: 150xp for brining aid to the Venerable Terry
Knowledge XP: 50 XP for finding the 'lich-lord' of Mystpoint
Roleplaying XP: 75 XP to Elenora, Pyrrha, 50 XP to  everyone else
Log XP: 100 XP to Pyrrha and Elenora for their lovely log entries

Treasure: The city of Haven dispenses a 30 gold reward to each member of the party for their service (except Mr. Grimsby who only gets 10 since he left early), Eryn made off with a set of engraved 8-sided bone dice worth 25gp.

Totals;
Pyrrha; 528 XP, 30 Gold, +1 Renown with the company of their choice when they join
Eryn; 403 XP, 30 Gold, +1 Renown with the company of their choice when they join
Salazar; 403 XP, 30 Gold, +1 Renown with the company of their choice when they join
Elenora; 528 XP, 30 Gold, +1 Renown with the company of their choice when they join
Mr Grimsby; 258 XP, 10 Gold
Dox Gilmuth; 403 XP, 30 Gold, +1 Renown with the company of their choice when they join

Session 65: Fane of Arsha Pt 7

Present:
Ffiona; lvl 4 Human Ranger (Seraphina)
Archer; lvl 3 Half-Elf Ranger (Daniel B)
Desna; lvl 3 Elf Druidess (Pippa B)

Monster XP: 4000/4 XP (because of the NPCs) for the Bone Naga
Quest XP: 300 XP for achieving the Quest and discovering the Lore about Sklar.
Knowledge XP: 100 XP
Roleplaying XP: 100 XP to Ffiona, Archer and Desna
Log XP: 100 XP to Ffiona

Totals
Ffiona; 1600 XP and +2 Renown with the Red Dragons and the Circle (Colodus is using the Journey-book to report progress back to Haven)
Archer; 1500 XP and +2 Renown with the Red Dragons and the Circle (Colodus is using the Journey-book to report progress back to Haven)
Desna; 1500 XP and +2 Renown with the Red Dragons and the Circle (Colodus is using the Journey-book to report progress back to Haven)

400 gp each plus the magic items found in the Fane

Session 66: You Are On Fire!

Present:
Tek
Rurik
Aseir
Mr. Grimbsy
Weary
Malagven
Tanin

Notable NPC's: 
Aorta, the Green Shackles

Rain battered the window and lightning lit the sky. Tek remained in his room, against his will of course. He preferred the open skies and was really growing accustomed to the new sensation of the salty air of Haven. He would rather be anywhere else right now, but he was here, and decided to use the time to take care of an unfinished task. He sat at his desk, lamp lit and quill in hand. In front of him lie his last remaining parchment. The rest, crumpled in a pile at his feet. With a sigh he grit his teeth in determination and began to write.

My dearest Elizabeth,

It has been so long since I have written, I know. For this I sincerely apologize. You would be glad however, to know that I have been very busy of late. I know how you always worried about me when I grew bored, scared that I would find my way into trouble. Although I can say that I am safe and sound currently, unfortunately the same is not true of all of my companions. It seems death follows me wherever I go.

The day began at the Tipsy Mermaid. After finally feeling at peace with my last adventure, I had decided to venture forth once more. It didn't take long to find a group of ready and willing adventurers like myself. After a brief exchange of pleasantries and coming to an agreement on a job, we made our way to the docks. We greeted the captain and soon after set sail for the island of Ocus Vividus. We were tasked with the exploration of the northern isle and to investigate a sighting of a lady in green at the tower. The captain advised us of a previous groups misfortune and we disembarked.

After a days travel we came upon the cave that the previous group had stayed in. There seemed to be some sort of cave in blocking the path leading further into the ground. We believed this to be a suitable protective barrier for our needs however, and made camp for the night. Not long into our rest, we were disturbed. Some creatures known as mud mephits attacked our camp. Although it looked rather dire at first, we managed to dispatch the creatures without too much trouble. After resecuring the camp, I layed back down to rest. Almost as soon as I had fell into sleep it seemed, I was awakened once more. Before I could even figure out what had disturbed me, I witnessed a stranger stroll right into our camp. I could not believe the incompetence of the man on watch. Fortunately the stranger was no foe, and came only to greet and to inform. Come to find out, this man was a friend of the lady in green that we sought. His name was Eirtu, and he warned us that we were welcome only if we meant no harm to the "shackles". We assured him that we were here only to scout the area and he gave us his blessing to make our way to the northern island. He said the lady in green would be waiting.

At daybreak, we set off, making our way to the northern coast of the isle. Once there, we searched the waters for some sort of boat or ferry that could allow us travel across to the northern isle, but we found none. After a bit of searching, we noticed a large obelisk. Somehow, a comrade had managed to talk to the stone with telepathy. Can you believe that? Talking to a stone with his mind. There are some strange ones out in the world i tell you. Anyway, the stone agreed to let us pass, and opened a portal for us to use. After crossing, it didn't take us long to find our way. The tower was very evident against the blue sky. We made our way towards it and found a small village at it's base. There were about a dozen or so people carrying out their tasks. Our cleric Tannin was able to cure a few sickly ones that we discovered. After the short delay we made our way to a circle of stones, where we found our lady in green.

After introducing ourselves she explained herself to be Aorta, the green shackles. She was the keeper of the earth elementals. She went on to give a brief history of the isles, explaining that there was a keeper for each type of elemental. Their task was to keep the balance between the elementals. She informed us that all of the shackles had been slaughtered, save her and one other. She requested that we help her restore the balance. After agreeing to this task, she advised us to travel back to the southern isle and meet with the other surviving shackle and seek counsel. We said our goodbyes and headed off back to the sourthern isle.

The first day we travelled we came to a large pool of lava down in a pit. It is here that we were set upon by a huge fire elemental named Fenix. At first we tried to run, Malagven being the only one to successfully escape. Fenix called out to the rest of us as we attempted to flee, threatening to destroy us if we tried. Using our better judgement, we heeded his warning and approached him. He requested that we serve him and bring the fire elementals to the seat of power. He stated that the shackles were too weak to rule and that the fire elementals were the only ones strong enough to do so. After trying to find an excuse for him to allow us to leave, he realized that we would not side with him, and he attacked. I had no idea how disastrous this fight would turn out to be. We held our own at first, delivering some hefty blows the to the creature. Just as it seemed we had the upper hand, Fenix delved back into the pit of lava and healed back to his full power. Suddenly everything seemed lost. We all scattered, most of us running just far enough away to still attack from a safe range. Fenix was a very powerful being and managed to knock three of my companions out.
All that remained was the little halfling and I. For being only half a man, that halfling was by far the most courageous man I have ever seen. He danced around Fenix just long enough for me to finally get a few good shots in. After what seemed like an eternity the creature was finally defeated. I ran immediately to my downed comrades to see if they were still breathing. It turned out Rurik and Aseir had already passed on. We were able to bring Tanin back to consciousness however. His god must really see something in him. We carried the other two back to the anchored ship and set sail for Haven.

I find it hard to gather my courage now, dear. I feel like this curse has followed me all the way here. I was hoping for a new start, but it seems like the only thing that has changed is my location. I pray that I will be able to gather the strength I need to continue this pursuit of mine.

Eternally Yours,
Tek

Session 67: Exploring Makra

Cress; lvl 1 Human Wizard (Ernie)
Genyaris; lvl 1 Human Wizard(Nuclear Jesus)
Nozan; lvl 1 Dwarf Fighter (Mem)
Ildra; lvl 1 Human Ranger (Clarence)
Ilmrith: lvl 1 Dark-Elf Bard (Hairy Otter)
Malagven; lvl 2 Dark Elf Warlock/Sorcerer (Niko)
Sadie; lvl 3 Halfling Rogue (Seraphina)

"Damn, I'm gonna be late".

Not one hour after having arrived to the isle, I was offered a job in an exploring expedition. They must have impressed with my looks and professional demeanor! However, their impressions might change when they see how late I am!

Apparently I must still be dazed from my boat journey, because I got the hour wrong and now I'm rushing to the meeting point. I finally step through the portal that will take me to the meeting point in Makra. A tingling sensation runs through my body and suddenly I'm on the other side. A wave of intense heat almost knocks me down on my feet. It's darn hot in here!

What I see is an area surrounded by floating magma and arid rock. In front of me, a group of adventurers are talking among themselves. I apologize for my late arrival and introduce myself. Suddenly a shrilling laugh sends shivers down my spine. I notice they are coming from the halfling woman; I should probably keep an eye on her.

The group has been waiting for me, yet it seems I'm right on time because they are still discussing preparations. Specifically, water supplies. We briefly consider returning to town to refill our water skins, but fortunately the person in charge of the expedition is able to lend us a ring that is somehow able to generate water. These works of engineering never cease to amaze me! How they are able to fit all that water inside a tiny ring is beyond my understanding.

We finally enter the caves, which are even hotter than the outside! We decide to head northeast. As the only ranger in the group, I am put in charge of choosing the way. How different these caves are from my natal land! How cold and barren these stones are compared to the lush and verdant colors of my forest. I quickly change my mind, though, when we go a bit deeper. The number of variegated and various-colored fungi is now so great that we can hardly take a step without touching one. Despite the harshness of this environment, it's clear that living things can grow and even thrive here.

Despite my unfamiliarity with this terrain, I am able to more or less guide the group in what I think is a straight line toward the northeast.
After a few hours, we enter an area where the heat starts to reach unbearable levels. Led by our trusty dwarf fighter Nozan, we advance until suddenly an unnatural beast emerges from the shadows! I recognize it from the picture books Mr. Rugarth used to show me: "Exotic and Amazing Beasts of the World Vol. II". It's the mighty basilisk, a creature so dangerous that with one gaze of its malevolent eyes it could turn you into stone!

We engage the creature in epic battle, unloading our arsenal on it. Despite its attempts to petrify several of us, we were fortunately left unscathed, and were able to defeat it! Its friend joins it, attracted by the sounds of battle, but, disheartened by the demise of its companion, fights only half-heartedly and we are also able to bring it down without much effort.

One of the adventurers suggest the idea of gathering the beasts' skins. Despite only having skinned deer and bears before, I am able to perform the grisly task and I even get to keep some of the fleshy cuts for myself.

We decide to explore a previously skipped room. We enter the cavern whereupon we are ambushed by giant fiery snakes! Their surprise attack instantly brings down Ilmrith. Nozan, in a legendary feat of strength, is able to grab the unconscious body of our bard and carry it back toward safety. However, the dwarf's retreat meant that I was now exposed to the beasts attacks myself. I did the best to keep them at bay while the rest of the group had a chance to approach. However, I too succumbed to the creature's bites and fell unconscious

The next thing I felt was the trickling of a liquid down my throat. The old halfling woman with the screeching voice was forcing a bottle of some liquid down my throat! For a moment I resist, flailing my arms, but then I realize that it must be one of those healing potions my mentor Maya told me about. I don't know what it could be in it, but I feel much better after drinking the whole thing! Luckily, we were able to revive Imrith as well. This was too close to death for my taste. In the future I will be more careful of my position in the party.

Even thought we are deep underground, we all feel like it must be evening in the outside world. This is made obvious by the fact that we are all tired. We briefly consider setting up camp in this area, but I suggest we move on, for the smell of the rotting carcasses of the basilisks could attract more monsters.

So I find us a good spot to rest, and while the rest of the party is discussing who will keep watch, I fall into a deep sleep. I confess, the tribulations of the day as well as the new experiences were a bit too exciting for me to stay awake any longer!

Morning comes, or whatever passes for morning here in the underground. We decide to explore further, for we still have enough supplies. We head west this time, and proceed through the twisting and curving tunnels until we reach an open area. We decide to slow down and prepare ourselves in case of an unexpected encounter.

After passing through a narrow corridor, Nozan steps on a particularly bright mushroom. The mushroom suddenly sprouts up from the earth and attacks our warrior! The attack clearly takes him by surprise, and he suffers a particularly nasty wound because of that. Despite the creature's wicked assault, it barely takes a couple of attacks for us to take it down.

Upon killing it, we start hearing some strange noises from the front and as well as from the back! Not wanting to get caught in a weak position, we quickly retreat back right into an incoming group of vicious-looking wolves. How can wolves live in this environment? I wonder if they eat the mushrooms. I make a mental note to learn more about this.

The hungry-looking wolves glare at us and charge! But without having to worry about covering our back, we are able to concentrate our efforts and work together to bring the beasts down without anyone getting hurt. Yet again, it falls on me to skin the creatures. I do my best, but the long stay under the ground is starting to affect me, so, even with the help of the dwarf, and even though there are 4 wolves (of which one has two heads!) I am only able to retrieve one good skin. 

Having fought wolves, basilisks, fiery snakes and facing the possibility of even more enemies, we decided to retreat back to the surface. To be fair, we did complete the job we were sent here to do, which was exploring new areas of the cave system.

The lady in charge rewards us in a quite generous way, and after I say my goodbyes I step through the portal, wondering if my next time adventuring will be as exciting as my first.

Session 66: You are on fire!

Players:
Tek; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Chris)
Rurik; Hill Dwarf Cleric lvl 4 (Derek B)
Aseir; Human Wizard lvl 1 (Sam)
Mr. Grimbsy; Halfling Fighter lvl 1 (Lani)
Weary; Tiefling Warlock lvl 1 (Verhey)
Malagven; Dark Elf Warlock/Sorcerer lvl 2 (Niko S)
Tanin; Human Clreic lvl 1 (Marco M)

Monster XP: 250/6 XP for the Mud Mephits; 1800/6 XP for Fenix, the Fire Elemental
Quest XP: 150 XP for meeting Aorta
Knowledge XP: 75 XP for learning about the tale of the shackles
RP XP: 25 XP to Weary and Tanin, 50 XP to Tek, Malagven and Mr. Grimbsy, 75 XP to Rurik and Aseir
Log XP: 80 XP for Tek for a well written log

Totals:
Tek; 697 XP, +1 Renown with either the Iron Fists or your current company, 150 gp
Rurik; 642 XP
Aseir; 642 XP
Mr. Grimbsy; 575 XP, +1 Renown with your current company, 150 gp
Weary; 67 XP, 25 gp
Malagven; 617 XP, +1 Renown with either the Iron Fists or your current company, 150 gp
Tanin; 592 XP, +1 Renown with either the Iron Fists or your current company, 150 gp

Original post from Elee
https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/3676029/keeping-track-of-the-tier-list

Elee M. said:
I have made a sheet to help keep track of the tier list. After each game it should be edited to include the PLAYER NAMES of those who played (not their characters' names). This will be important to help keep track of tiers. With this page established players should have no excuse for not knowing their tier when they sign up for games as well.

The link is here.

On another note from now please try to include a proper format for your list of players in your log. This list should be constructed at the beginning of the session to avoid confusion. This will save allot of time your DM's as we have to look up this information to calculate XP. The format should look like this:

Present:
Character name; Race Class Lvl # (Player Name)
Character name; Race Class Lvl # (Player Name)
Character name; Race Class Lvl # (Player Name)
Character name; Race Class Lvl # (Player Name)
Character name; Race Class Lvl # (Player Name)
Character name; Race Class Lvl # (Player Name)

For Example:
Yuuki; Human Barbarian Lvl 3 (Elee)

Session 67: Exploring Makra

Cress; lvl 1 Human Wizard (Ernie)
Genyaris; lvl 1 Human Wizard(Nuclear Jesus)
Nozan; lvl 1 Dwarf Fighter (Mem)
Ildra; lvl 1 Human Ranger (Clarence)
Ilmrith: lvl 1 Dark-Elf Bard (Hairy Otter)
Malagven; lvl 2 Dark Elf Warlock/Sorcerer (Niko)
Sadie; lvl 3 Halfling Rogue (Seraphina)

Monster XP: 2200
Knowledge XP: 150 for discovering a save resting place and  a (somewhat) save connection from the camp to towards the settlement
Knowledge XP: 50 for finding out more about the flora and fauna of the area close to the camp.
RP: 50XP for everyone except Sadie, Nozzan and Ildra 75XP
75XP to Ildra for the log.

The Horses pay everyone who participated 50gp and leave them their spoils (2 basilisk eyes, 1 basilisk hide, 1 wolf pelt, 2 wolf heads) 

Cress :435XP,   50gp, +1 renown with the white horses
Genyaris: 435XP, 50gp, +1 renown with the white horses
Nozan: 460XP, 50gp, +1 renown with the white horses
Ildra: 460XP, 50gp, +1 renown with the white horses
Ilmrith: 435XP, 50gp, +1 renown with the white horses
Malagven: 435XP, 50gp, +1 renown with the white horses
Sadie: 435XP, 50gp, +1 renown with the white horses

Session 68: The Darkling Wood

Weary started his day off inside the Blue inn, his task for the day was to welcome people getting off the boat and spot some talent to join the guild, After gathering a few recruits. After leading the the new recruits to the tavern and starts to enjoy a fine ale but is promptly interrupted by a member of the unicorn guild searching for people to help form a search party for 10 missing adventurers. Weary accepts the contract for 50gp and some supplies and then gathers at noon with some of the new people off the boat and some of the recruiters.

As The group of adventurers board the boat we meet a small old man who does a gamble if we were to return alive, Weary thinking that no point in holding onto gold if he dies so wagers the man 18g that he will return alive.
After the group departs from the boat they enter the dark forest. As we are tracking into the forest we arrive at a camp and find it empty, most of the stuff undisturbed. While investigating the trap Weary found some goblin tracks leading into the forest so we decided to track them, but we lost the track for a while and found them at a nearby location but we were beset upon by wolves, the battle was fierce and quick as weary quickly dispatched 3 of the wolves but did not notice one of the party members had their throats ripped out in the confusion. We said a brief message and said the bard was holding on to my rapier so weary managed to gain rapier and he was happy but was unable to obtain the dead mans coin purse :(
Shortly after the fight we strung up the dead person and continued to follow the tracks and it lead us towards a frenzied bear which attacked us as we tracked the tracks and it frenzidly charged the party. after wearing the bear down Weary finishes it by piercing it with a flaming Rapier and as we travel further we notice 3 dead goblins and a dead unicorn member, we decide we better hurry before they all end up dead.

After a brief time of tracking we find what we assumed was the cave of the goblin and as a party member investigates he found a small trap at the entrance that would of alerted the presence of intruders. After a brief discussion we decided to press on and enter the cave. Before we realised it the light gave out position away and the goblins started to attack, and after a few back and forth ranged attacks the goblins decided to charge and took down Kilborn and as we fought them at a choke point we were losing people but we managed to turn it around and claim the victory as we killed their leader. We quickly scurried to save the survivors and not realising our cleric was bleeding out. We found 3 survivors and as we freed them we heard a howling echo through the tunnels so we started to flee with those that could move, leaving the corpses of our allies behind.
As we fled as fast as we could the goblins were hot on our heels as they shot arrows at weary as he flew valiantly through the sky, They grew tired and stop their persuit and the group and as we followed the coast we came across some red halfdragon guards who lent us their mounts in order to return to haven as they have never encountered survivors from the dark forest, on the ferry the survivors collected on their bets to survive the event earning a whopping 36 gold!!!!!

When the group arrived back in haven Weary Leucis made sure the survivors were alright and then took them to the respective leaders and gave a report, the leader of the unicorns was so happy he gave a bonus 50g ontop of the 50g payment, he then proceed to return the loaned items and thank them for the help and items they provided and then started to go shopping buying some nice studded armor and searched for a healing potion. With some of the left over gold since his coin purse was quite heavy he decided to help out the poor and buy them food and drink to ease their pain and hunger and to celebrate living another day. :D

Rewards 50g from quest, 50g bonus for rescuing people, Money gambled with Boat Cpt

Ilmrith; Moredhel Bard Lvl 1 (Hairy0tter)
Weary Leucis; Teifling Warlock Lvl 1 (Verhey)
Tanin Dawnlight; Human Cleric Lvl 2 (Marco M.)
Kilborn; Dragonborn Sorceror Lv 1 (Daniel)
Kratior Monsterswallow; Human Wizard Lvl 1 (Mem)
Mathias; Half-elf, Cleric Lvl 2 (Speedhawk)

Session 68: The Darkling Wood

Present:
Ilmrith; Moredhel Bard Lvl 1 (Hairy0tter)
Weary Leucis; Teifling Warlock Lvl 1 (Verhey)
Tanin Dawnlight; Human Cleric Lvl 2 (Marco M.)
Kilborn; Dragonborn Sorceror Lv 1 (Daniel)
Kratior Monsterswallow; Human Wizard Lvl 1 (Mem)
Mathias; Half-elf, Cleric Lvl 2 (Speedhawk)

Monster XP: 1200/6 (monster XP is halved in Maladon).
Quest XP: 300 XP for rescuing 3 captives (Quest XP is not divided by the number of PCs; each person gets it).
Knowledge XP: 150 XP for discovery of the Caves of Goros (knowledge XP is not divided by the number of PCs each person gets it).
RP XP: 150 XP to all players; I was particularly impressed by the party's joint desire to push on and save the captives. So swift was your pursuit that you rescued 3 captives. The chances of achieving this were virtually zero and this marks a major achievement. +25 extra RP XP for Weary, Tanin and Kraitor for excellent banter and characterization.
Log XP: 75 XP to Verhey for a well written log

Ilmrith; 665 XP (available for your next character)
Weary Leucis; 765 XP and +1 Renown with each of the following Companies (Rising Suns & Unicorns) and +2 Blue Sashes
Tanin Dawnlight; 665 XP and +1 Renown with each of the following Companies (Blue Sashes & Unicorns) and +2 (Rising Suns)
Kilborn; 665 XP (available for your next character)
Kratior Monsterswallow; 690 XP and +1 Renown (Blue Sashes & Unicorns & Rising Suns) and +1 White Horses
Mathias; 665 XP (available for your next character)

Gold: 100 gp each; Weary gains 15 gp from fallen comrades; plus winnings from Eadric the Ferryman.

Session 69: The Bigsies' bad wolves.

The job started out like so many others do, in the Tipsy Mermaid. The job was primarily taken up by new members of the guild. After hearing that another member of the guild had sent word that the deep gnomes were offering a decent amount of money in exchange for help protecting their flock of mushroom goats,  Lldra, Azriel and Lara set out the white horses to get the info and items required to go through the gate. Upon entering the full group came together and after the people at the white horses talked to us and told us what was expected of us, we then set out for the deep gnomes' camp and soon after that we set out for the job. In the beginning it was nothing to complicated. We followed around the mushroom goats as they munched on bugs. After travelling deeper into the feeding grounds we began to think this would be a very easy job, no sooner were the words out of our mouths did we begin to hear some strange noises coming from deeper in the cavern. We prepared ourselves and got ready for a fight, it seemed at first it would just be a couple of half ogres but then from out of nowhere a pack of wolves ran out and began to surround me and my companions. We managed to make it through without anyone dying, a young man named Kheel did get knocked down a couple times but he got back up each time with a little help from the party. We did lose one goat and we almost lost one of the gnomes but with the help of one of the other gnomes he was saved too.

The gnomes wore a bit skittish after that and wanted us to take them to a different feeding ground. We agreed and then began to scout ahead. I myself am not entirely sure of what Kheel saw... he said something about a huge floating eye. This is the second time I have heard of such things being in these caves. it is my understanding that if it is the same thing it is likely mounted to a half ogre or an ogre's armour. It may also be related to a creature called a spectator or a maybe a Beholder but without seeing it myself I cannot say much more.

Shortly after Kheel saw this thing the group decided to go the other way however it seems as though something inside Kheel snapped and he began running deeper into the caves yelling and screaming something I do not know myself. Lux made an attempt to bring him back but Kheel would not allow this and after a pack of wolves began their approach and finding herself alone she was forced to retreat. I myself made a similar attempt but faced with a pack of wolves and a monster I believe to be a some kind of ogre or monster, if it was not an ogre I do not know what it was... its face was like nothing I had seen before, but I suppose that’s beside the point... whatever it was, facing it alone was not something I believed I could do and I too was forced back. I found myself being chased by wolves who were catching up at every second and I was soon forced to fight them making short work of them with a few swings of my hammer but they in turn gave me a few new scars. In the end all but one of the wolves died, the last I scared away. As for the monster chasing me: it seems that it got stuck in one of the narrow section of the tunnels and myself and Nyx managed to get away and made our way back to the gnome camp.

In the end all the gnomes made it back as well as all but one of their mushrooms goats, however it does sadden me to say that some day’s later Lux, myself, Nyx and the gnomes found what we believe to have been the remains of Kheel but we were unable to find Lldras body.

(ooc: i fell like i forgot something) 
(Edit gm: You could not have found much of Kheel except maybe pieces of his clothes. The wolves tore him apart...)
 

Ildra; Human Ranger lvl 2 (Clarence) - MIA/Dead
Kheel; Highelf Wizard lvl 1(Verhey) - MIA/Dead
Azriel; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Adam V)
Lara Faen; Half-Elf Sorcerer lvl 2 (Alice B)
Von; Tiefling Fighter lvl 5 (ilikestuff)
Nyx; Forest Gnome Ranger lvl 2 (Justine)
Lux; Human Rogue lvl 4 (Taleek) 

Session 69: The Bigsies' bad wolves.

Ildra; Human Ranger lvl 2 (Clarence) - MIA/Dead
Kheel; Highelf Wizard lvl 1(Verhey) - MIA/Dead
Azriel; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Adam V)
Lara Faen; Half-Elf Sorcerer lvl 2 (Alice B)
Von; Tiefling Fighter lvl 5 (ilikestuff)
Nyx; Forest Gnome Ranger lvl 2 (Justine)
Lux; Human Rogue lvl 4 (Taleek)

Monster XP:
First encounter:
(50*8+4*200)/2 = 600 (Monster XP is halved in Maladon)
Second encounter:
50*7/2 + 0*450+ 2*450/4 = 512.5 (Monsters undefeated yield 0 to a quater of their XP)

-> 170xp per character

Quest XP: 
Only part of the Quest was fulfilled and and one Onero was lost.
50 xp per character

Knowledge XP
The group learned about the location of one feeding ground and gained minimal knowledge into the ogre's keeping wolves and the mentioned eye creature.
100 xp per character 

RP: 75 XP for Lara Faen and Nyx for playing their characters intentions. 60 XP for Lux' attempt to deter the Ogre's. 50 XP for Kheel, Ildra and Von.
Kheel: -20 xp penalty for endangering his party members

Log xp: 40 xp for Von for the log (I had to correct multiple parts of the log and parts of it are/were inaccurate or incomplete)

Gold:
As the Oneros could not complete their feeding and one was lost and one of the gnomes almost killed the Gnomes, considering that yet the party protected the majority of them in the first Encounter but seemed to be completely unorganised when the 2nd pack of wolves attacked, they are willing to pay out half the reward originally agreed upon.
The white horses deduct 50 gold for the loss of two of their artefacts and the party not recovering them.

250gp in total  are being shared.

For each of the four survivors this means

Ildra: deceased, 370xp to be used with Clarance's next character
Kheel: deceased, 350xp to be used with Verhey's next character
Azriel: WE, Rogue, 50xp for willingly giving up his spot due to technical issues
Lara Faen: HE, Sorc,395xp, 62.5 gp, 0 renown
Von, T, Fighter, 390xp, 62.5 gp, -2 renown with the blue sashes
Nyx, FG, ranger, 395xp, 62.5 gp, 0 renown
Lux, H Rogue, 380xp, 62.5 gp, -1 renown with the blue sashes.

The horses will pay for 2gp for each half ogre head handed in.

Comments:
The party did not attempt to secure the area where the feeding round was. The area had two entrances that could easily be blocked off. The party did not focus on protecting the gnomes or the oneros on the feeding ground. There was a long time to prepare the place and there were no attempt made regarding that. 
In the 2nd encounter the party split up and the gnomes + oneros were for the majority of the time unprotected and thus saw themselves forced to flee.

Session 70: The killer octopus

Present:
Dark Salazar, Moredhel - (Dark Elf), Rogue level 1 (Witch Hunter)
Kroasi - Half-Elf - Druid level 4 (peter)
Vander Grim - Human, Fighter level 1 (Chris)
Ferhem - Human, Fighter level 1 (Clarence)
Gabriella Greatoven - Halfling - Monk Level 4 (Taleek)
Sabaufein - Dark Elf - Paladin Level 4 (Niko)

The Blind Date is the ship that took us from Have on the 5th day of the month of Calsar. Obviously someone felt this was a good way to name a ship but it didn't seem like a proper ship name to me personally. Indefatigable, Sovereign of the Seas, Iron Duke, Resolution, Valiant, Vanguard, Warspite. Now these are proper ship names. The sort of names, that are worthy of a great warship.  Alas our ship was not like that it was most unremarkable, I have to say it was probably a merchant vessel, not even a warship which was really sad.
  
During the trip a completly different group arrived. They came on the same ship as us. Another group, and they say they were the ones going on the diplomatic mission to the pixies. Commoners dressed in noble's clothing. Ambassadors to the faerie folk. They will surely die as I said on the ship and many times since. It is  clear that the empire sent new expendable folk. This mission was worth 900 gold total so they will die 100% for sure, sometimes I have a feeling that employers would not offer so much gold if the mission was easy. Rather they offer a lot of gold when they are quite sure that the people on the mission will all die and they will not have to pay any of the gold out.
 
We however are going to the sewers, a mission that only pays out a total of 150 gold. Nice and easy they said. There is no chance any of us will die they said. Even though a previous group went down to the seweres, they were 2 half orcs and an elf went down there and died. They all had darkvision too, which half of our group well, did not.
 
(((( I suggested that we should at least consider the fate of the pixies. And have some consideration for them so the pixies can avoid certain death. I figured out what was going on, the empire was sending useless ambassadors, so they can have a pretext to attack the pixies when an incident is created. But alas the others were content in leaving the pixies to die and they didn't want to even consider saving the pixies life. I suspect some in my party may be evil, the way they were talking about the poor pixes and letting them die without a second thought. Even if we can't do anything for the poor pixies, we shouldn't be so dismissive with regards to their well being. ))))

Then we all went on a night watch. Someone said "Why are we going on a watch, we are in a camp that is guarded anyway"? Boy were they wrong.  I went on the second watch with Gabbi to bond with her. Much of the watch was spent uneventfully but I knew Gabbi was someone I considered a friend. Towards the end of the watch both me and Gabbi heard of a huge noise. A type of screeching noise ... a very unsettling noise. The noise came from a Stone grate, which was the only entrance to the sewers. This was what the captain of the camp said.

The captain of the camp only knows a single entrance to the sewers this is very suspicious indeed. Are they sending us to our deaths on purpose? Like that other group?  I studied the captain of the camp extensively but it turned out he was honest. The camp captain he wasn't lying about knowing only one entrance he was just extremely dumb. I mean they had this camp over this sewer for quite a while now and they have issues with it, yet they only know a single entrance? If it really was only one entrance on the other hand they should have just built a large house over it with a strong foundation or something.   

We finally entered the sewers. Most of the sewers were flooded with water with only small pieces of ground on which to move on and it was hard to see. Mostly only people with darkvision could see, but no magical light spells worked. Initially we had light from torches and lamps but more on this later. The first thing we were faced with was a large amount of green water (could have been green goo too, turned out it was just water), which covered most of the area of the sewers. I had a great idea that we should investigate the green water more closely:

Me, the Moredhel named Dark Salazar said someone should go into the water and I said one of the bearers should volunteer, (since the party was paying the exorbitant amounts of gold for no use at all so far at that point in time.)

This was actually a very clever plan for the following reason: at this point we didn't know what the green goo (green water) did, we didn't even know it was water. Did it slow us? Did it try to drawn us, did it have some creatures in it? Did it cause some other effect? No idea. So the party decided to not find out... and instead trying to find vital information only later.  When we were already in battle. We would have learned much and also some things that seem obvious: It would have showed that people in heavy armor will drown (and potentially die without help) in the water since the water was eight (8) feet deep. Enough to drown. Instead of investigating the water immediately, the party wanted to ignore Dark Salazar's wise advice to find out everything about the water before moving further into the dungeon (we were still near the entrance at this point).

Also after the bearers so arrogantly refused,no adventurer wanted to go into the water as well, my plan was completely ruined. But at that point nobody knew if the water was dangerous or not. It is almost as if the bearers knew somehow through some sort of sixth sense that the water was dangerous. I would say there were more like cunning adventurers to be able to just refuse like that. And also very brave. I didn't want to abuse or insult the bearers on the contrary, I wanted for them to contribute something to the party success to learn about the nature of the water so they can feel nice about themselves. When I suggested they go in I thought the water will possibly slow them or something. In any case we should have known all about the water BEFORE battle starts. I also gave a lot of respect to the bearers and I insisted that they have names. I learned that one of them was Paul, and the other bearer was called Tim. Nobody else cared enough to learn their names, they kept calling them Bearer1, Bearer2, someone even called them "mule". So disrespectful. I would never do such a thing to them. 

After all this took place I explained it to the bearers as well that I didn't mean to harm them but it was important that we had a volunteer. I think if some of them volunteered we could have avoided any deaths and be a lot more prepared to what took place later.

Since I was ignored, nobody went into the water and nobody knew what effects it had. This led to the following: The party started using rope and grappling hook to try to avoid the water completely. Even though the water itself was relatively safe, it only had a few agressive fish but if they came out near the entrance we could have quickly killed them all with our weapons. Instead we used the rope and the grappling hook. Even as such almost everyone made it through but then one of us, a fighter named Vander fell into the water in full gear and heavy armor. The poor guy could barely move as is and he was encumbered so I was sure he was going to die. At the same time a phase spider came out as if he was trying to ambush us together with some fish in the water. So we had to fight both fish and spider this way, if we went into the water near the entrance we would have only had to fight the fish. So anyway our group managed to fish out our fighter from the water who was attacked by a huge fish. Me as someone coming from the Veteran Mercenary background immediately knew that the fish was strong enough to kill our fighter completely with just one hit (if it was a bit lucky).

If we sent a volunteer into the water earlier we could have sent someone who was a lot stronger than Vander. Some in our party were extremely strong. Even so somehow we managed to avoid an instant death but just barely. The spider was very strong and even so we defeated it, the creature killed one of our bearers, Paul. But we managed to kill the spider. I managed to shoot the swarm of fish with my crossbow but before we could fully kill it the fish disappeared. At this point Gabbi suggested we leave and report our success to the captain. As it turned out later, this was a very wise plan and we could have ended our quest at this point, since the camp only wanted to stop the weird noise (made by the phase spider). Kroeasi was against this course of action. Very much so and stopped the party from going back to report our success. Due to his intervention we had to continue deeper into the sewers later.

Even still we needed to bury Paul properly and give him respect and we also had to rest so we went back to the entrance. At this point our other helper Tim left, there was no convincing or stopping him. After all this, I had the idea to get planks from the camp so we can walk over the water without having to use all our agility and concentration not to fall in. I also bought 3 pieces of meat to draw out the fish back to the party. I asked Gabbi to pay for the meat which cost 3 silver but I don't know if she ultimately wanted to or not, it wasn't a big amount of money even for me who is very poor so I just paid for it myself. The party didn't want to draw the fish out with the meat so we ultimately just left it at the entrance. We at least used the planks which I also got as a loan from the camp so we could walk over the water a little more easily. We didn't get another bearer. Or Gabbi paid for the planks? Might be that was the case as Gabbi is very rich, I don't really remember. 

I had the good idea to get planks from the camp so we can get across without risking death as the party did before with a grappling hook and using rope to climb across..

After a bit of exploring we found a big waterfall the druid went through but we didn't hear anything for a while. The waterfall was too loud. I placed a plank so we can cross the water safely but it took up a lot of time to do it. Because I noticed all of our party was crowding up on the right side of the sewer in a single line.  After a while someone said something was wrong so I tried to get to the other side of the waterfall. It took a long time because I had to take out my shield. Turns out taking out my shield took so much time that other ppl could move 30 feet during this same time. I've seen people trying to move around but the waterfall was not very good for their torches. When they realized there is no light on the other side of the waterfall they came back and move forward again. When I got through the waterfall I saw a huge octopus and I threw a dagger at it, and it was mortally wounded. Then I took out another dagger and just waited. Saubefein fell into the water when someone bumped into him. I only was told about this later though. First I just didn't see Saubefein anywhere and I asked what happened to him. They told me an octopus grappled him.   For a moment they both surfaced and I threw another dagger at the octopus wounding him. He was uninfured before this so my dagger started bleeding the octopus. Nobody else was ready for this so noone else made an attack but me. I hoped the agressive fish in the water will attack and kill the octopus after this but I am not sure this happened. We never found Saubefein's body, only his bow floated to the surface and Ferhem immadiately took it. After this we went back to haven and I suggested we have a memorial for our fallen comrade but not many people were interested. As we didn't have the body we couldn't give him a proper burial. 

Dark Salazar

OOC Comments inside (((( type brackets were part of the first draft but weren't included in the final log, so no ingame creature or characther is able to see them. The first draft was subsequently burned. 

Session 70: My grave mistake

Dark Salazar, Moradhel; Dark Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Witch Hunter)
Kroasi; Half-Elf Druid lvl 4 (Peter)
Vander Grim; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Chris)
Ferhem; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Clarence)
Gabriella Greatoven; Halfling Monk lvl 4 (Taleek)
Sabaufein; Dark Elf Paladin lvl 4 (Niko)

Dear Thalidd!                                                                                                                    

Session 70: Fishy Business

Dark Salazar, Moradhel; Dark Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Witch Hunter)
Kroasi; Half-Elf Druid lvl 4 (Peter)
Vander Grim; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Chris)
Ferhem; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Clarence)
Gabriella Greatoven; Halfling Monk lvl 4 (Taleek)
Sabaufein; Dark Elf Paladin lvl 4 (Niko)

---


As Ferhem walked on the cobbles of the oft-trodden city streets, he suddenly heard a noise coming from an alley. As he entered the narrow passage, he saw something that might have horrified others, but that for him was fascinating. A cat was tearing into the insides of a rat, guts being thrown around like a macabre rain of flesh. Eager to take a closer look at the carnage, Ferhem sliced the cat's neck off with his sword and got closer. To his surprise, the animals' entrails started moving on their own in a grotesque pantomime of a dance, and arranged themselves orderly, forming a message written in a language that Ferhem was surprised to realize he understood: Infernal, the tongue of demons and fiends. At once Ferhem knew it must be a message from his mysterious patron, and after wondering if the theatrics were really needed, proceeded to read it.

The fiend congratulated him on a first task well done and gave him new directions. It asked him to join an upcoming expedition heading to the Fey Islands. There, he would be in a situation where he wouldn’t be able to see, which would be a crucial step in his path toward becoming a warlock.

Ferhem wasn’t sure what being in the dark had to do with casting spells, but he nonetheless carefully followed the instructions left by his patron and joined the expedition.

On the boat that would take them to the islands, he briefly met his companions:
Dark Salazar, a sneaky character; Vander, a fellow fighter; Sabaufein, a strong-looking fellow; Gabriella, admittedly he didn't pay her much attention; and Kroasi, the strange-looking druid, who first raised his suspicions when she offered him some strange berry, saying that it would make him feel good. Was she trying to drug him? Why would she willingly give away her food to aid others, instead of keeping it to herself? Ferhem, deprived of the warm love of family and friends when growing up, couldn't understand a simple act of kindness.

After some time, they arrived at the island. The place was for the most part a military camp. The flickering flames of the numerous campfires as well as the buzzing of the soldiers as they went about their business gave the place an aura of activity which Ferhem, to his surprise, recognized with a bit of fondness from his days fighting as a grunt in the wars.

The party made some inquiries regarding the mission. Apparently, there had been loud screeching noises coming from the sewers at night, and they needed them to investigate. While Ferhem's companions set up camp, he went looking for gambling soldiers and tried to see if any of them would be interested in joining the party. However, he wasn't able to find among them one who was willing to overcome their fear. It seemed like everyone was scared witless of whatever could be down there.

During the night, a couple of the adventurers had the chance to hear the noise. In the morning, they all discussed what it could be, but none of them had any idea. So the group got ready, and along with the two bearers carrying their possessions, headed down the main entrance to the sewers.

They were well prepared to face any monsters that they might encounter, but they weren't ready for the wave of nauseating stench that assaulted their nostrils. Ferhem, in particular, seemed specially afflicted by it, and even though he used some of his clothing as a makeshift scarf, he wasn't able to shake the debilitating feeling that permeated his whole body. The party briefly discussed the possibility of taking a closer look at the sewage, and for some reason Ferhem’s suggestion that they use one of the bearers for this purpose wasn’t taken well by the party. The bearers almost escaped right then and there, but the rest of the party were able to reassure them.

After they did their best to deal with the smell, they took a look around and saw a 15-foot wide canal filled with a foul and viscous liquid. To the sides of the canal were two very narrow ledges. Unfortunately, this meant that the party was only able to go one at a time along the canals. They advanced to the north until they reached a dead end. Some of the party suggested to try crossing to the other side of the canal, as it seemed there was more to explore in that direction. So by using a grappling hook to shoot a rope to the other side they were able to create a way of crossing.

Ferhem had some difficulties and he almost fell into the revolting sewage. However, with the help of the others, he was able to make it across. He shrugged it off as if it was not a big deal, but he was secretly grateful for the help.

The last one to try to make it across was Vander. He enthusiastically grabbed on to the rope and tried to swing across to the other side. However, the heavy armor he was wearing proved to be too much of an impediment, and with a big splash he fell into the gooey sludge.

As soon as Vander fell into the canal, two things happened:

First, the party heard a blood curling screech. Suddenly, a gigantic white spider seemed to appear from within the walls and started attacking! At the same time, from within the depths of the canal a swarm of what I can only describe as carnivorous fish surfaced and started biting Vander.

Faced with this unexpected aggression, the party reacted quickly. Sabaufein, confirming Ferhem's first impressions of him, displayed extraordinary grace and dealt a great wound to the creature. The rest of the party quickly took advantage of the beast's distracted state to drag Vander out of the canal.

The battle was over, and the creature was slain. The only casualty had been one of the bearers, and the party brought him outside of the sewers to be brought back to his family in Maladon.

At this point, a heated discussion took place between Kroasi and Gabriella. The former was convinced that their mission was not just to slay whatever was making the noises during the night, but also to discover the source of what was making magical light useless in the sewers. Gabriella, on the other hand, said that their mission was simply to defeat the beast, and that they should leave at once. Kroasi prevailed, however, and that triggered the series of events that eventually led to the demise of one of the party. But everything in its proper time...

The party rested for a short while outside the sewers, and then went back in. This time around, however, to avoid previous experiences, they borrowed some wooden planks that they used to great effect to cross from one side of the canals to the other.

So they continued and eventually, Sabaufein, who was leading in the front, spotted a strange waterfall from which fish were falling down. The whole party approached until they were all able to see. They could barely see that the ledge continued through the waterfall, so they decided to simply go through it. Their lack of preparedness was to be their downfall. Kroasi crossed the water first, only to be assaulted by two giant octopi! Their slippery tentacles immobilized her, preventing her from going back and warning the party. Her screams were unheard through the deafening roar of the waterfall. Sabaufein went next, and upon seeing her comrade immobilized so, attacked the beast and dealt a heavy wound to it. The next to go through, Ferhem,unfortunately didn't have enough space to settle in the narrow ledge, which led to him pushing Sabaufein, who hadn't moved forward after going through the waterfall, into the canal. Torn between helping Kroasi or making a desperate grab for Sabaufein who had managed to grab on to the ledge, Ferhem decided that the best course of action would be to help the druid, for if he tried to help the paladin, both of them might be vulnerable to the beasts' attacks, and pulling him back on the ledge would be difficult considering its narrowness. So Ferhem swung his sword at the beast, and went back through the waterfall to give space to Sabaufein and to inform the others.

The memories of the adventurers I questioned are a bit contradictory when I ask them about this battle. But what seems clear is that at one point, one of the octopi grabbed Sabaufein with its tentacles, pulled him down under the fetid waters and managed to escape. The party barely managed to kill the other beast, but most of them were obviously distressed and saddened by the lost of their comrade. Ferhem, sensing an opportunity, tried to make a grab for Sabaufein’s bow as it surfaced from the depths, but unfortunately he wasn't able to keep it, as one of the others claimed it for themselves, saying they would bring it to Sabaufein’s friends.

The party continued exploring for a few hours, perhaps in a desperate attempt by some to find their missing comrade, but to no avail. During this time, Ferhem was able to take a sample of the canals' waters, in case that might be a hint as to the puzzle of the ineffective magical lights. After some time without finding anything they finally emerge from the dark and quickly gather their gear and go back to the boat to head back to Maladon.

The very same day they depart, while reflecting on the new experiences in his cabin, Ferhem is visited by his fiendish patron, who appears as himself this time. The fiend is satisfied with Ferhem's performance, and is willing to start steering him toward the arcane path of the warlock during his trip back to the island. Ferhem is only glad to finally get started.

After 19 days of travel, the party finally arrives, and while the rest of the adventurers discuss what kind of memorial they could make for the fallen paladin, Ferhem bids them farewell with his earnings and the new knowledge from his patron.

He hopes that the next adventure will as much fun as this one was.

Session 70: Fishy Business

Present:
Dark Salazar, Moradhel; Dark Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Witch Hunter)
Kroasi; Half-Elf Druid lvl 4 (Peter)
Vander Grim; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Chris)
Ferhem; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Clarence)
Gabriella Greatoven; Halfling Monk lvl 4 (Taleek)
Sabaufein; Dark Elf Paladin lvl 4 (Niko)


Monster XP: 500 XP for the monsters split six ways for 84 XP a person
Quest XP: 150 XP for stopping the noises coming from the sewers.
Roleplaying XP: 100 XP to Sabaufein, 50 XP to Dark Salazar, Kroasi, Gabriella, Ferhem 25 XP to Vander
Log XP: 50 XP to Dark Salazar, Kroasi, and Ferhem for writing excellent logs.


Treasure: The party receives 150gp as a reward for stopping the screeching coming from the sewers. 25gp is given to every member of the group. Sabaufein's reward is passed on to his family, or relatives.

All party members gain +1 renown with the Company of the Iron Fist

Totals:

Dark Salazar, Moradhel; Dark Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Witch Hunter) 334 XP; 25gp; +4 Infamy
Kroasi; Half-Elf Druid lvl 4 (Peter) 334 XP; 25gp; +1 Infamy
Vander Grim; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Chris) 259 XP; 25gp; +2 Infamy
Ferhem; Human Fighter lvl 1 (Clarence) 334 XP; 25gp; +5 Infamy
Gabriella Greatoven; Halfling Monk lvl 4 (Taleek) 284 XP; 25gp; +3 Infamy
Sabaufein; Dark Elf Paladin lvl 4 (Niko) 334 XP; 25gp; +2 Infamy

Session 71: Da frogse leggin' it

Present:
Zeech; Aarakockra Monk lvl 2 (Sam)
Kasper Valeri; Myst Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Sam D S)
Eryn; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (kanelives)
Sadie; Halfling Rogue lvl 3 (Seraphina)
Gaxx; Half-Orc Barbarian/Rogue lvl 3 (Niko)
Argus; Half Orc Cleric lvl 3 (Peter)
Halaur Kuld; Dworn Barbarian lvl 1 (Ernie S.)

‘et me start off by sayin’ that I ‘ave rarely eva felt so ashamed for a group I was fightin’ with. We met at da docks and I brought two mules dat I had freshly bought to transport some of ma stuff and da other one I had bought, cos I was sure dat de others would be too much of a miser to spend money on something carryin stuff. Dey’d prefer to slow us down.
We made it on board and since it was an exploration I also got some gear that seemed useful. Well, whateva, we arrived and it turns out dat some of de people do not have considered to ‘ave more dan one waterskin, cos why would one need water in de wild, right?
Anyway, I bought 6 water skins for da party members who had not prepared and dey still owe me each 8 silver. But, yeah, whateva. Da captain informed us about some areas of da map which dey ‘ad explored already and which dey ‘adn’t explored. He also warned us to stay away from da waters since dat is supposedly where da monstrous bears ‘ave deir territory. I would not ‘ave minded chasing bears, but it was not our mission. So… Whateva….
We spent da night, some of da group keeping watch although we were in a camp. Da next morning we threw our stuff onto da two mules and started ‘eading out. It was a rather peaceful walk, yet I was surprised at all da stuff people threw on da beasts of burden. Dat Gaxx fella even ‘ad his plate on dere, sayin’ he was tough enough without it. Oh, and dere was birdman, neva seen dat before… did want to ask dat fella what he is and where he came from, but dat birdman didn’t talk dat much.
We ate, walked and talked and den we made camp. I tried to secure da camp by puttin’ spikes around it and Gaxx and me threw some caltrops on da floor. And I put ma lantern out so dat da Gitse dat cannot see in da dark could see somethin’… Did ma watch, went to bed and then got woken up by da elf gal. Sayin’ somethin’ of a ogre. Well, da ogre was tryin’ to hida next to a tree, stupid fuck, so we started shootin’ bows and throwin javalins at it. Dat dwoorf fella might ‘ave short legs, but was quicka den I thought. He ran and chopped into da legs of da ogre. Da ogre wanted to leg it, but dey hit him and he fell down onto da bed of da birdman, I think.
Gaxx and me dragged da ogre off and den da dwooorf chopped off da ‘ead of da ogre. I looked at it and it did ‘ave a moon crescent on its ‘ead. Know dat some cults do ‘ave dat symbol, neva ‘eard of ogres ‘avin’ dat symbol…
Anyway, da Iron Fist should consida dat de ogress dey’ve been talkin’ about might be close to dat area. We later found some maps which we can start copyin’ in ‘aven and mark da places on dem. We discussed in da morning whether we wanted to go after da ogress but thought dat it might be betta to go on explorin’. Would ‘ave brought all dat explore stuff for nothin, right?
We went anotha day south along da road and nothin happened and at a split off da road we decided to go right, dat means west. Although da dwarf said we should always continue to go south. He said dat dis is a dwooorven tradition, dat one always just goes on in da same direction, til one arrives. Stoopid dwooorf.
Anotha day passed and eventually we arrived some sort of building or ruin. It is marked on da map for da captain. We went in and looked around and den dere was some frog creatures, like da one I brought back with me to da camp. Dey asked us to leave and da birdman (Leech? Zeech? Screech?) could apparently speak deir language. I put a candle and some coin in to show ‘em dat we did not mean to disrespect ‘em.
Dey were pleased by dat and asked us in and we followed, but den I got da feelin’ dat dey just wanted to get our gold. So we ended up in da entrance hall of deir buildin’ and some of us were still out in da courtyard. Suddenly da git dat I brought back makes a noise and dey all start runnin’ out at us. Deir spears pointed at us. Dey start pokin’ deir spears at da dwooorf and da leech fella.
Dey were all around us and I start prayin’ to ma god, for he is da eye, and we are da storm. And storm did I bring upon dem. Graspin’ ma holy symbol I blew half a dozen of dem away and dey immediately dropped deir weapon and started bowing and beggin’ for deir lives, I assume. Da birdman didn’t translate anything properly anymore, I got da feelin’.
And dat was when I stopped fightin’ dem. Dere is no honor in fighin’ somone dat is beggin’ for da life and not ‘avin any weapon in deir hand or not even tryin’ to give ya a good smack. But first da Gaxx fella started smashin’ one of dem and den da dwarf, though one of da frogses put his spear into him. Den an arrow flew in at one of dem and all of dem started slaughterin’ dem.
It was horrible, I hardly eva seen people dat blood thirsty when dey were not even in a propa battle. I know one can get carried away, and da eye knows dat I often did not stop when I could ‘ave, but we ‘ad barely fought. Dey ‘ad already surrendered, but ma party continue slaughterin’ dem. Dat skreech tried to kill deir leada, which I thought was gutless, honourless and brainless. Dat gitse know da area betta dan we do, yet dey wanted to murder dem all.
So I used ma powa to save da leada of da frog gitse. Took me a lot of ma strength to do so and even though I told dem a thousand times dat what dey did ‘ad no honour and dat dey should not kill dem and keep dem alive dey did not stop, only in da end when I tied up da frogse leada dey did not kill him.
We explored da area and found dat everythin’ was designed for someone much bigga den us. Da Gaxx fella ‘ad been chasin’ afta one of da frogse for a while and den brought back a trophy to proof dat he killed da frogse dat ‘ad surrendered to him. Great trophy bro… da dwooorf at least took da ogre ‘ead dat ‘ad at least fought back a bit.
Da tables were huge and da elf Eryn ‘ad found a chest dat was ramblin’. While da elf tried ta shoot da chest and missed, and we always were told dat da elf gits were so good with da bow, I went on ta poke da chest with a piece of wood. Nothin’ ‘appened and so I went ta open da chest. Da elf came with me and we saw a lot of coins and another of da frogse.
Should stop callin’ dem frogse, de captain later said dat da frogse are called bullywugs. Anyway, da Sadie lady came in and we tied up da bully and den I went back ta get da people ta share da gold. Da elf claimed it was now much less money dere. Da dwoorf said often dat he is not da smartes fella, and neither am I, but I ‘ave seen what I ‘ave seen and I was sure dat da was moar gold in da box when we ‘ad opened it.
Eventually da elf admitted and though I am sure da elfling didn’t give us all da money it was good enough for me. I took da leada with me ta look for da other places and left da other bully with da Sadie. Da Siege bird fella ‘ad gone in da cella and told us dat da was a lot of wine. So we brought up a barrel ta bring it to da camp. Also we found a room with an amboss on some kinda altar. It looked strainge ta me and it ‘adn’t rusted. We were pondarin’ a bit about it and da elf gal ‘ad found a book somewhere dere.
Da book was containin’ a map of da area and apparently also information on da area, exactly da kinda stuff we ‘ad set out ta find. But we discovered dat later. I was still standin at da anvil and thought to maself: Well dat thing ‘asn’t rusted but ‘as a lot of da dust on it. What does one normally do with da anvils? Smack ‘em with da hamma. So I took ma hamma and gave it a smack. Ma hamma started glowin’ strangely and I felt some divine dwemmor going through it. Unfortunately da anvil den started rustin’. I think I must ‘ave broken it, smacked to ‘ard or somethin’.
We rested in a room and da beds and tables were huge. Da mules were able to stand unda da tables and da chair was at least as high as da tables dat we ‘ave are. In da beds was enough space for 3 of us, but I decided ta sleep on da floor like I always do. Da bully dat I had saved was right next ta me and I went ta sleep after da first watch.
I woke up when da bully was screemin’ and started hidin’ behind me and I saw da elf gal with a knife drawn comin’ at it. I asked da stoopid elf what da fuck it was doin’ and everyone elf started wakin’ up. Da frog started beggin for ‘is life again and da elf said dat we won’t need da frog anymore.
Stoopid elf, da book is good but noone knows if da book is too old. Also da bullygit might know otha things dat are not in da book. In da end I managed ta get da elf and da others to not kill it and da bird leech again started translatin’ but what he said just made no sense at all, da frog thing was basically holdin onto me and hidin’ behind me and da bird leech said dat da frogse wanted ta stay here. Did not believe dat bird fella and won’t believe it eva again.
Next mornin’ we filled some of da waterskins with da wine and brought a barrel along with us and then we went back to da camp. Nothin’ else happened on our way. Turns out dat one of da maps was sayin’ dat if we ‘ad listened to da dwooorf we would ‘ave run in da forest of spiders. Stooopid dwooorf.
Da captain should know dat da book was writin’, or at least dats what da others say, in draconic. Don’t know which creatures dat are big enough ta ‘ave a table 3 times our size speak dat language but might be worth askin’ da white horse fellas. Also, if anotha group is goin’ around in da area and dey run into da bullywugses dey should appear strong in da beginnin’ and blast a couple of dem as I did, might be dat dey will surrenda as well.
We didn’t ‘ave a nature person with us and so we didn’t find out if any of da things we saw were edible. I also ‘ad forgotten dat I can sense da poison in food. So if I go there again I ‘ave to let da captain know what plants we can eat out dere.
At the end I ‘ave ta say dat the only one I did not see killin’ da bullies after dey ‘ad surrendered were da Kaspar fella and da Eryn elf gal. But as said, she den tried later ta kill da leader frogse. Da Sadie Lady at least was willin’ to talk in da end.
I hope da Iron Fist could get some help or news from da frog git we brought with us. Dat way at least dey will see dat it was a good idea not ta just kill everyone. Whateva, now I ‘ave two donkeys dat I need to find a place for, might ‘ave to join one of dose companies in da end. Also Echidna tried one of da wine waterskins and she loved it, stoopid drunk.

71 The Fried Froglegs

Present:
Zeech; Aarakockra Monk lvl 2 (Sam)
Kasper Valeri; Myst Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Sam D S)
Eryn; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (kanelives)
Sadie; Halfling Rogue lvl 3 (Seraphina)
Gaxx; Half-Orc Barbarian/Rogue lvl 3 (Niko)
Argus; Half Orc Cleric lvl 3 (Peter)
Halaur Kuld; Dworn Barbarian lvl 1 (Ernie S.)

Hey Elucis! Please read this to Salv since he refuses to read his letters. I know you asked me to wait in the Tipsy Mermaid but it's really boring here so I went out for a little while. I went on a scouting mission on the Fey Isles. And I thought I should tell you guys what happened. The party I joined consisted of a half-orc named Argus, a half-orc named Gaxx, a wood elf named Eryn, a halfling named Sadie, a Dworn by the name of Halaur, and a Myst elf named Kasper. I don't trust anyone of them at all but it was too late to leave by the time I realized that.

Sadie is a old hag who refuses to shut up, and she just nags and nags all the time. Don't get me wrong though she's hilarious, but I trust her the least with good reason. Eryn doesn't care what happens as long as she gets her gold, I guess that is good since she doesn't seem like a assassin who would kill anyone for gold, but she doesn't have an issue with taking all the gold she can find and not share. Kasper was just like me very silent and mostly kept to himself, it was perfect for me never had to say a word to him. Gaxx is a half-orc and a barbarian so you can guess what he's like, he didn't trouble me and I didn't trouble him. But I stayed close to him mostly, if we get attacked I'd rather him get hit than me. Which I latter learned was the right way to go about it. Halaur was just like Gaxx reliable and a useful shield, he seemed more like the lawful type though, maybe, so if he is it would be best for us to stay away from him. Now Argus, boy was he hard to deal with, he nearly got me killed! We probably want to do something about him, he did save the day but that was before totally turning on us and trying to attack me. He even bought me two waterskins since I was dumb and forgot to buy my own, now I owe him and I know what you say about being in debt. I'll pay him back as fast as possible. But like I said, I don't trust any of them. I tried to not draw attention to myself, just wanting to get the job done and get out of there.

We asked the camp leader what areas had already been explored so we don't explore the same place twice. He told us that mostly areas around the camp had been explored, I think, I didn't really listen. I was too busy observing the other party members. This is probably why I should always have a partner with me on missions like you thought me. The evening quickly turned to night and we stayed in camp for the night. I stayed up for a while to keep an eye out for anything and to get some time to think.

When morning came we set out south along the road. Argus bought two mules too. One of which he allowed the party to use so I put my rope and water on it not wanting to push the poor animal too much. Apparently Gaxx wasn't as considerate and put a tent and his armor on the mule pushing it to it's limit.

We walked the whole day trying to be as silent as possible but not succeeding that much. When day turned to evening we set up camp in the forest to the west of the road. I took this opportunity to sleep the whole night letting the party members who actually could see in the dark keep watch. Hallway through the night I was awoken to an Elf waking me up and pointing into the darkness. I of course couldn't see shit, but I could hear something big moving. An ogre was trying to sneak up on us but luckily he wasn't that good at the whole, sneaking thing.

In order to see, I lit a torch and just like that the ogre attacked. He had it out for me for some reason and threw his javelin at me. It hurt like hell but I didn't shout in anguish like some other people. Yes I'm talking about you Salv it was a fish hook for crying out loud, not something worth crying about. Anyway where was I? Oh yeah ogre who hated me, well like you also thought me "Living is better than dying" I ran and tried to hide. Luckily my party members didn't leave me to die. Halaur and Gaxx quickly ran at the ogre and killed him with ease. Argus was helpful and removed the giant spear stuck in me. The others had the ogre beheaded to bring back to the Iron Fist whilst I went to sleep. We found an amulet with a crescent moon on it but no one knew what it meant. The next morning we kept on going by the road. When we reached a fork in the road some in the party insisted that we kept on going south through the forest but we finally decided to go west. We later found out that we made the right choice. The rest of the day was rather dull. Nothing special happened and we didn't encounter anything that night either.

The morning after we kept on following the road and found ruins of a castle and left the road to scout out the castle. Once we got close to the castle we started making a plan to keep our mules safe and explore the castle. We started with me flying above checking for any danger. I couldn't see anything there so I reunited with the party and told them of my lack of findings. While discussing our next move Gaxx lost his patients and went into the courtyard of the castle. I followed him and we all forgot about the plan quite quickly. The courtyard was empty but we heard a lot of frog sounds. One of them started speaking but I couldn't see it the one of them who started speaking, spoke in High Valkari. It surprised me to say the least. Luckily you thought me that Elucis, I didn't think it would ever come in handy here. I was the only party member speaking it so I had to translate all the time. The frog asked us to leave and Argus convinced us to walk away for a minute. He then left some gold on the ground and came with us. The frogs changed their minds and wanted us to come back and give them more gold. We went back. Argus thought they wanted to trade and so I had to come with him to translate. I didn't like it one bit, every part of my body told me not to enter, but I did anyway. Me and Argus entered the castle. Halaur came with us and stood in the back. Gaxx stood by the door waiting for any sketchy action.

The frogs for some reason thought that we wanted to give them all our gold. When they realized we weren't going to give them our gold the leader, the croaker, signaled them to attack. They all quickly surrounded me, Argus and Halaur. I managed to avoid their attacks for a while but I couldn't avoid forever. They got a couple hits in on me and I wasn't doing good. Then Argus said some odd words I have no idea what they meant but he then called down lightning and killed more than half of the frogs frying them all. I have to say they seemed awfully tasty. They all immediately threw their weapons on the ground and bowed down to Argus calling him god. But it was too late for giving up they attacked and I'm not letting them get away with that. It seemed like most of the party agreed, but Argus did not. I tried to attack the croaker but Argus ran after me and tried to hit me. I attempted to grapple him but he escaped. I decided to instead run after the other frogs. Argus made a big cloud hiding himself and the croaker. He then apparently grabbed it ran away and healed it. The others had joined us by this point and they followed Argus and the croaker. Halaus managed to kill one of the frogs in the hallway we where in and I didn't want to split the party so I followed the sound of combat. In an attempt to run through the cloud I threw my backpack on the floor to run faster and then ran as fast as I could straight through. I ran by a door and had to stop in order to not hit it. I then managed to catch up to everyone and saw something that can never be unseen. I will spare you guys but I will say it had to do with a old hag with nosebleed whilst she was watching with excitement as two warriors where grappling each other. We kept on chasing and Argus kept on healing. Sadie desperately tried to stop the party from all turning on each other with Argus' sudden change of heart.

Sadie agreed to tie the croaker up to calm down Argus, Eryn didn't care as long she got her gold. And it seemed like the others just decided that it would be easier to agree. I was not convinced and would have killed both the croaker and Argus if I got a chance, but "Living is better than dying". I wasn't in good shape and killing him would risk me dying. So I let it be. We explored the castle and found some gold, wine and another frog. Sadie was left with the frog and later it was found dead. She said it attacked her and that she defended herself. We found a big room styled like a church with an anvil where the altar would be. We found a book inside of the anvil. Kasper could read it luckily, he said it was written in Draconic, he also told us it was a map of the nearby area, the south forest where some in the party wanted to go was apparently filled with spiders. I was tired after the fight and then left for bed. I slept in one of the giant beds I found. Later the party joined me in the room and Sadie for some reason decided to share bed with me even though there was another one right next to us.

We woke up to Argus shouting at Eryn. Apparently Eryn tried to attack the croaker but she didn't get a chance to kill it before it alerted Argus. Sadie defused the situation while I was talking to the croaker. Argus asked me to translate. The croaker knelt to Argus and told me it wanted to serve Argus. I didn't want it with us so I told Argus he wanted to be left alone. Argus was not convinced. We later left to return to the camp. Argus brought the croaker with him.

We returned without incident and now I'm sitting in the Tipsy Mermaid drinking alone, and you are still not back from your mission. Argus and I have unfinished business but I will give it time. If I get a chance I will take it but I will not go looking for trouble. I have been given a contract so I'm going to have to disappear for a short while. I'm paying someone to hand this to you if you return while I'm gone. If you leave again before I'm back we'll have to see each other later. Bye - Zeech

Session 71: The Fried Frog Legs

Present:
Zeech; Aarakockra Monk lvl 2 (Sam)
Kasper Valeri; Myst Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Sam D S)
Eryn; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (kanelives)
Sadie; Halfling Rogue lvl 3 (Seraphina)
Gaxx; Half-Orc Barbarian/Rogue lvl 3 (Niko)
Argus; Half Orc Cleric lvl 3 (Peter)
Halaur Kuld; Dworn Barbarian lvl 1 (Ernie S.)


Monster XP: 600 XP from the monsters for 86 XP per person
Quest XP: 150 XP for successfully gathering more information on the Fey Isles.
Knowledge XP: 100 XP for recovering the book explaining the history of the Fey Isles.
Roleplaying XP: 100 XP to Sadie, Argus, 75 XP to Zeech, Gaxx, Halaur, 50 XP to Kasper, Eryn
Log XP: 50 XP to Zeech, Argus


Treasure: The party receives 105gp for bringing back valuable scouting information for the empire. This gold is included below. The party found 184gp which has already been split. The party found 3 barrels of exotic wine worth 50gp each. I will allow the party to chose what to do with them. The party also found a book with valuable information pertaining to the Fey Isles. I will make another post with this information later.

All party members gain +1 renown with the Company of the Iron Fist

Totals:

Zeech; Aarakockra Monk lvl 2 (Sam) 461 XP; 15gp
Kasper Valeri; Myst Elf Rogue lvl 1 (Sam D S) 386 XP; 15gp
Eryn; Wood Elf Rogue lvl 1 (kanelives) 386 XP; 15gp
Sadie; Halfling Rogue lvl 3 (Seraphina) 436 XP; 15gp
Gaxx; Half-Orc Barbarian/Rogue lvl 3 (Niko) 411 XP; 15gp
Argus; Half Orc Cleric lvl 3 (Peter); 486 XP; 15gp
Halaur Kuld; Dworn Barbarian lvl 1 (Ernie S.) 411 XP; 15gp

Session 72: Seeing Red

Present:
Mindartis; Sithi-Elf, Warlock/Fighter/Rogue lvl 5, (joshua)
Jon Heron; Human Fighter lvl 4 (Seraphina)
Horcus; Human Fighter lvl 4 (Slothslow)
Sharleen; Human Barbariance lvl 5 (Taleek)
Ezekiel Boone; Human Ranger/fighter lvl 3 (Zilarrezko)
Reskin; Half-Elf Warlock lvl 4 (Ernie S)
Marokin; Tiefling Bard lvl 4 (P.K.)
Kaar; Dragonborn Paladin lvl4 (Thai)
-[In the halls of the Talidd, a private meeting with the Steward of the Vale]-

"Milord, Talidd. I bring ye sad news. You'll remember before last winter yer servant Syvil Dernnson were captured by the Imperial Guard tryin' ter 'unt down the traitor drueth. Couple of days ago I were part of an, well, let's say unusual group, who got into the lair of the Red Hand. The assassins that stained yer 'all with blood, they'd bin 'oldin him. I'm not often one to like violence but I'll not lie, I was satisfied putting arrows into them bastards let me tell you. We found Master Dernnson, and by the gods they'd mutilated him terribly, I won't describe the 'orror unless you command it. Mistress Sharleen, she picked 'im up, what were left of him, and tried to bring him safe.

Bloody Mindartis 'owever stood in 'er way, she got past the snake though and managed to get through our means of transport. The Red Hand and their grand master were closing in on us that were left, I'd already taken a bolt in the back and was worried I'd not seen the light of day again, when she returned to try and save us. That's when things got strange, I kind of remember being realy cold, absolutely chilled to the bone, then sick as if I were moving right fast. Then we woke up on an 'ill north of Haven. Mindartis was gone, Syvil was dead, stabbed through over and over. The Empire may have mutilated 'im but it were Mindartis that murdered 'im! The poor bloke became a threat to the snake and he went and killed 'im for it, the damned monster! I told the fucker he would become no better than what he opposed! *ahem* Forgive me milord, give me a moment...

Ok. Right. Well after we confirmed there was naught to do for him, I took his body and brought it 'ere in the Vale. To the Greendelve he tried to have a life in. Kaar detected a dweomer that tracked him but it were diminishing, so we made sure to take a circuitous route before-hand, milord. Oh and poor, Viola! When she made herself look at his mortal remnants... she's left to be with 'er father I think, can't blame 'er, and gave over the place to Sharleen. I buried the body among the trees in a nice spot, I think 'e'd have liked that more than a stone casket in a drafty hall of Sol, but Cain may disagree and come for his bones. I don't know.

It's been a terrible few days milord, and I havent even told all of it. Before all this even started we were dragged to a place on the coast near that hill, here I'll point it out on the map. There. Somewhere around there, a tower just off the shore, others that was like growen out of the stone. It cast a baleful blue light it did, and were was pulled like moths to the flame, to even look away was to make yer sick to yer stomach. A pilot-less boat came to us in. Us bein' me, Kaar and Sharleen at the time. Inside is where we found Mindartis. There was this wizard called Malachus fella and his, I dunno, apprentices I guess. Kane and Mordecai if I rememer right. He told us that night were a fulcrum on which the fate of the Empire and Maladon turned or something. There was something about Norns and Dagerii too, he 'ad a device, fateskein I think he called it, that 'ad determined it would be us to do this thing. Then the bloke and his two suspiciously dedicated boys enacted some bizarre ritual, and stepped into, like it weren't solid a great big mirror. In their wake came out bloomin ghosts, milord! Jon Heron, you remember. There was that 'orrible Reskin too, and 'orcus - Cain's companion who'd died following Mindartis a couple months ago.

I wasn't pleased that the spirits of the dead 'ad been pulled back into the world, and Kaar nearly blew 'is top at them, but they weren't actually evil so we went with it. Well, Reskin may have been evil, but he weren't a life draining undead atleast. Anyway, Marokin too turned up. Last I 'eard he'd dissapeared after an encounter with a magic mirror, in the same company as 'orcus 'e'd bin but he showed up for this. Not sure what he actually did though, I know 'e 'elped Kaar at some point who'd been knocked down by the assassins after setting fire to their library, so it was atleast something. Jon Heron an 'orcus' shaded 'elped a lot though. Buying time for us, I even felt the blessing of Elisvara lookin' out for us. Reskin was a mixed one, like Mindartis he tried to murder Syvil and dint care about putting the rest of in greater danger for it, but 'e also took down some of the Red Hand.

Oh! I cant believe I almost forgot! Jon Heron's shade became real again! I don't know quite how but it seems the bloke likes again, true flesh and blood. I guess it's just beyond me to handle right now so I keep not realising but back from the dead! That's something indeed...

Well. I think that's about everything I can remember, milord. If you'll allow I'm gonna rest for a couple of days and then make me way back to Haven so's I can continue me work there, so many need help and so few are willing to provide it. Suppose I'll also 'ave to tell Adolpho of what happened, he's an odd man, but at heart a good one I think. Til next time, milord."

Session 72: Seeing Red; or The Beginning of the End

Present:
Mindartis; Sithi-Elf, Warlock/Fighter/Rogue lvl 5, (joshua)
Jon Heron; Human Fighter lvl 4 (Seraphina)
Horcus; Human Fighter lvl 4 (Slothslow)
Sharleen; Human Barbariance lvl 5 (Taleek)
Ezekiel Boone; Human Ranger/fighter lvl 3 (Zilarrezko)
Reskin; Half-Elf Warlock lvl 4 (Ernie S)
Marokin; Tiefling Bard lvl 4 (P.K.)
Kaar; Dragonborn Paladin lvl4 (Thai)

Monster XP:  7200 XP from the monsters or 900 XP per person
Quest XP: 300 XP for rescuing or slaying Syvil Dernsson
Knowledge XP: 300 XP for recovery of notes and two books from the Monastery of the Red Hand.
Roleplaying XP: 120 XP to Sharleen, Mindartis, 100 XP to Kaar, Reskin, Boone Marokin, Horcus, & Jon Heron
Log XP: 75 P to Boone for an excellent log

Mindartis; 1620 XP and +2 Renown with the Blue Sashes
Jon Heron; 1600 XP and +3 Renown with the Blue Sashes
Horcus; 1600 XP; available for any character Sloth
Sharleen; 1620 XP and +1 Renown with the Blue Sashes and +1 Renown with the Vale
Ezekiel Boone; 1675 XP and +1 Renown with the Blue Sashes and +1 Renown with the Vale
Reskin; 1600 XP; available for any character Ernie
Marokin; 1600 XP and +2 Renown with the Blue Sashes
Kaar; 1600 XP and +2 Renown with the Blue Sashes

Session 73: The Dog Days are Ogre

Present:
Kratior Monsterswallow Human Wizard Lvl 2 (Mem)
Mileena Dileena; Wood Elf Rogue Level 1 (Justine)
Ironside the Elf, Wood elf Fighter, lvl 2 (Witch Hunter)
Tanin Dawnlight, Human, Cleric , lvl 3, (Marco m)
Kasper Valeri, Myst Elf Rogue level 1 (Sam D S)
Vander Human Fighter Level 1 (Chris)
Finn Human Druid Level 1 (Mark)

The day began with a quiet gathering in the Unicorn Inn.  Well, mostly quiet, Mileena was getting pleasantly drunk at the bar when the White Horse Wizard Kratior Monsterswallow shows up at the door.  He is hiring adventurers on behalf of his company.  The White Horses have found some ogre corpses on the Makra side of the portal and is offering 120 gold to anyone willing to investigate.  They would like to know who or what is killing the ogres.  Additionally, we have been tasked with finding out if the ones responsible for the ogre slayings are a threat to the Empire or potential allies.  Before setting out, the party purchases extra supplies in preparation for the harsh conditions that lie on the other side of the portal.  Kratior hires Carver the bearer and re-titles him Carver the mighty.  Ironside purchases a mule to carry a small barrel of water.

Report to the White Horses

Day 1:

We arrive at the White Horse encampment on the Maladonian side of the portal.  On our way there, the boatman bets 2 gold pieces that two members of the party will perish.  Vander accepts the wager.  We arrive at the portal to Makra.  There are a number of company staff in the camp. We speak to a Madame Rochart.  Kasper the rogue addresses her as a "portal secretary".  He flinches and continues to speak with her in a more respectful manner.  We are all issued gatestones by the White Horses, even the mule.  As we pass through the portal, some party members inhale, others choose to exhale.  I do not know the significance of their actions.  

On the other side, we are greeted by a dry, oppressive heat.  We venture forth into what appears to be a vast network of caves.  Marching orders are set and lights are conjured by those who are capable of doing so.  The elves are, as always, unfazed by the darkness.  The first day of walking ends uneventfully.  We have passed pools of lava and mushrooms of unknown origin but no sign of the ogres or what is killing them.  The party grows weary.  We take refuge in a previously discovered resting spot nestled inside a dead end.  The wizard seems to be preparing some kind of trap.  Mileena and Vander volunteer to take the first watch.  I am thankful it is not me.  The climate in these caves is nearly intolerable.

Barely an hour has passed when our rest is interrupted by a pair of ogres, one darker than the other.  Vander is already at the entrance of the alcove.  He adopts a defensive posture and prepares to halt their advance. Ironside, Kasper, and Mileena back up and pelt the first ogre with projectile attacks.  They are, for the most part, effective.  The closest ogre aims a vicious blow at Vander.  I am surprised to see him throw up a magical barrier which deflects the attack.  The second ogre nearly throws a javelin straight through Kratior.  I repair the hole as best I can while he wonders why I am touching him again.  Tanin moves up beside Vander and summons a glowing blue hammer that requires no hand or arm to wield it, yet is somehow able to strike at the ogres.  Kraitor conjures a cone of flame that somehow avoids burning Vander and Tanin while still injuring the first ogre.  

The fight continues.  Ironside attempts a net toss but it is swatted aside by the ogre's large hands.  Vander avoids being grabbed while the arrows, daggers, and the odd magic rock continue to fly at both enemies.  Not long after, the battle is over.  Tanin tends to the wounded.  Kraitor has sprouted another javelin from his chest.  I will never understand wizards.  We can finally rest.

Day 2:

We venture deeper into the cave.  So far, the only thing killing ogres is us.  Vander has managed to capture a trio of badgers to eat.  He prepares his meal by utilizing the lava pit.  Mileena decides to join him.  We have found another relatively safe spot to camp for the night.  Kraitor names it Carver's Cave, after the bearer under his employ.  We set watches and settle in for the night.  Again, our rest is interrupted.  This time, it is squeaking noises as a horde of rats descend upon us.  Kasper is overwhelmed and struck down almost immediately.  Vander does not have time to don his armor and wades into battle with naught but his shield and sword.  The fight is going poorly.  Fortunately, I speak rat.  I find out that the beasts are merely hungry and will leave us be if they are not attacked.  I inform the party.  They do their best to burn every last rodent to the ground.  The rats are momentarily distracted by my rations but quickly resume fighting.  Slowly the rats are whittled away until all of them are slain.

The battle is won but at great cost.  Vander bears a horrible scar on his head from his brush with death.  Tanin performs last rites as Kasper is given a lava burial.  The corpse toss could have been better but in the end, one body, not three, end up in the pit.  Kraitor is attempting to draw milk from his mule.  Wizards. We return to our slumber.
Day 3:

We have found ogre and canine tracks along with drag marks.  Mileena is scouting ahead.  She returns to the party after discovering an ogre's corpse.  It is covered in bite marks that have been cauterized.  We press onward.  The cave splits, canine tracks to the north, ogre tracks to the west.  We choose north.  Mileena has been gone for a while, and Kraitor has mistakenly ended up ahead of the group.

The first thing we hear is shrieking, then howling, then Mileena screaming, and finally silence.  Ironside takes off toward the south.  Vander expertly slices a mushroom in two.  It was not the shrieking one.  Tanin and I see Kraitor come running from the north.  He does not stop.  He is screaming at us to run.  Vander drops his pack.  We begin to flee the area.  My suspicions were confirmed.  Hell hounds.  It was hell hounds that slew the dead ogre.  After Vander and Tanin pass, Kraitor and I prepare a trap of entangling vines and caltrops.  It is not enough.  They move too fast.  I prepare a second round of vines.  Kraitor is bitten, knocked down, and nearly slain but manages to keep running.  Vander turns to face the hounds and shouts for the rest of us to run.  Both he and the smaller hound are entangled.  One giant wave of hellfire and Vander was gone.  Didn't even scream.  The larger one is too strong.  We continue dashing toward the exit but the hounds are relentless.  This time it is Kraitor who sacrifices himself to delay the hounds.  Tanin and I are only a couple rooms from the exit.  The two of us come across an abandoned mule.  I guide it to the exit.  The hounds seem to have given up pursuit.  We begin the long journey back to the portal.

The White Horses ask about the gatestones but the we can only return the ones we were given. The rest lie with the dead.

Session 73: The Dog Days are Ogre

Kratior Monsterswallow Human Wizard Lvl 2 (Mem)
Mileena Dileena; Wood Elf Rogue Level 1 (Justine)
Ironside the Elf, Wood elf Fighter, lvl 2 (Witch Hunter)
Tanin Dawnlight, Human, Cleric , lvl 3, (Marco m)
Kasper Valeri, Myst Elf Rogue level 1 (Sam D S)
Vander Human Fighter Level 1 (Chris)
Finn Human Druid Level 1 (Mark)




Monster XP
Random encounters: 2*25,4*50, 200+450 = 900
QE: 1400 (half bc monsters undefeated)
Monster xp is halved in maladon -> 800xp

Quest XP:
Find out what killed the Ogre. 50% accomplished -> 300 XP per character
Knowledge XP 100 XP for discovery of locations and enemies in the area. 

RP:
75 xp for Vander, 50XP for everyone else.

Log XP
75 xp for Mark K 

XP per character/player

Kratior Monsterswallow  - 565 XP  to be used with the next new character (if the character starts at level 2 it will start with 100gp)
Mileena Dileena - 565 XP to be used with the next new character (if the character starts at level 2 it will start with 100gp)
Ironside the Elf - 565 XP - 120gp, +1 renown with the White Horse company
Tanin Dawnlight - 565 XP - 120gp, +1 renown with the White Horse company
Kasper Valeri - 565 XP to be used with the next character (if the character starts at level 2 it will start with 100gp)
Vander - 590 XP to be used with the next new character (if the character starts at level 2 it will start with 100gp)
Finn - 640 XP - 120gp, +1 renown with the White Horse company

Session 75: Four Heads are Better than One 

Present:
Elenora Le'Sarade Faun'loup; Shifter Sorcereress Lvl 2 (Elee)
Eriko Brienne; Water Genasi Cleric lvl 2 (Justine)
Pestilence; Human Wizard lvl 1 (Sam)
Sliske Arkentu; Human Warlock 2/Fighter 1 (Ernie S.)
Bort; Goliath Fighter 2 (Hairy0tter)
Onyx; Earth Genasi Paladin lvl 1 (ilikestuff)

Affidavit #123,388
Case #16,423
Witness: Elenora Le'Sarade Faun'loup
Presider: XXXXXX XXXXXXX

The following document is a written transcript of Elenora Le'Sarade Faun'loup's verbal recounting of the events pertinent to case #16,423.

This whole affair started when I took up some work for the South Maladon Trading Company. They were having a problem with some monsters infecting one of the caves on Khulican. I decided to take the job not for the money, but rather for the greater glory of the Faun'loup family. Exterminating monsters seemed to be something that could add to one's status, and my magic was perfectly suited for the job. On the day of the work I went to the Trader's Rest Inn, and it was here I met my future assailants.

They were a group of four people all drinking together in the bar. Eriko the blue skinned worshiper of a water god, Pest the man wearing a creepy crow mask, Sliske the dark robed quiet one, and Onyx an earthen toned warrior. They first approached me after I bought a round for everyone currently drinking at the bar. I guess they were at least a little pleased with my humble generosity, and before long I found out they were the ones joining me on this endeavor to clear out the mine.

Shortly after that we all boarded our ship, the Big Issac, and made our way over to Khulican. The journey itself was uneventful to say the least, though I think it is worth mentioning that The South Maladon Trading Company treated me quite respectfully during the journey. Once we arrived at the mine our caravan waited outside for us to return after clearing out the monsters. This is where things got rather interesting.

We were attacked by a creature that I would later be told is called a darkmantle. It flew off the ceiling of the cave, and began to assault our group. Immediately after that it created a zone of darkness that seemed magical in nature. Unlike normal darkness I could not see through it, and I quickly backed up to get out of its zone of influence. Looking back at the darkness I saw it quickly take chase after me, and thought the creature was after my life.

I again attempted to backtrack out of the dweamor's reach, but alas was blocked by one of my companions. Thinking that no one else was closely behind me when the creature began to give chase I let out a burst of fire magic hoping to either kill or chase off my pursuer. It was after this that I finally realized the full situation. I had managed to eliminate the monster, but alas Eriko had been caught in my flames.

I immediately ran up to her in an attempt to help. I first pulled the dark mantle off of her face. It had apparently been in the act of suffocating her, and very well may have done so if I did not destroy it with my flames. After that I pulled out my medical supplies, and quickly stabilized her condition. Relieved that she was safe I looked over at the rest of the battle only to see some of the others in combat with a creature that would later be identified as a grell.

It was then that the creature flew forward, and took advantage of my fallen comrade's vulnerable position. Almost immediately after I had stabilized her Eriko was pulled into the creature's tentacles and dragged further down into the cave. We all gave pursuit, but alas were not able to help the poor girl. As the creature was harmed it dropped her down into the murky waters below, and fled once more to the upper levels. It was here I got vengeance for our fallen comrade by putting the monster to sleep with my magic.

Unfortunately Eriko's friends did not take so kindly to the situation. Her friend Pest was quite upset with me even after I explained to him that I had saved her life not once, but twice. He refused to listen to reasoning, and started casting spells in an attempt to take my life. I of course fled the situation, and called out for help as loud as I could. His companions ignored my cries for help, and instead stood silently with rather curious and happy expressions on their face. Even knowing a noble of the Valmar Empire was being assaulted by their companion they made no attempt to prevent him verbally, or physically from attacking me.

In fact as I looked back I noticed our other companion Bort also attempting to flee the scene. It was then I saw Onyx block his path of escape, forcing him to maneuver around the tight corridors of the cave. Eventually the officials from The South Maladon Trading Company arrived to provide aid. Had they not been there I would have been murdered in cold blood by Pest while Sliske, and Onyx watched from the sidelines doing nothing to prevent the situation. Yet even with the Khuli guards there to prevent further conflict they simply changed their strategy in their attempt to take my life.

Pest and Onyx began falsely accusing me of murder, and telling other lies to the officials. At that point it was clear to me that they would do anything they could just to find an excuse to kill me. Even worse they lied by saying that the mines were clear of monsters, and that it was safe for the others to go in to retrieve Eriko's corpse. Luckily their deceit was seen right through, but it was again another act that could have led to the deaths of more innocents. Thankfully it was agreed that we would return to Maladon for trial after that.

This affidavit was written under a zone of truth. Additionally after its completion Elenora Le'Sarade Faun'loup was asked if everything written in the document was true to the best of her knowledge. She answered yes to this question.

Signature of Witness     Elenora Le'Sarade Faun'loup
Signature of Presider     XXXXXX XXXXXXX

They did WHAT!! They endangered the Dwarves by lying that the tunnels were clear??? Oh I missed that part.........this trial is now going to be very interesting!

Session 75: Four Heads are Better than One

Present:
Bort; Goliath Fighter 2 (Hairy0tter)
Elenora Le'Sarade Faun'loup; Shifter Sorcereress Lvl 2 (Elee)
Eriko Brienne; Water Genasi Cleric lvl 2 (Justine)
Onyx; Earth Genasi Paladin lvl 1 (ilikestuff)
Pestilence; Human Wizard lvl 1 (Sam)
Sliske Arkentu; Human Warlock 2/Fighter 1 (Ernie S.)

Monster XP: 540xp between 6 party members; 90xp each
Quest XP: 100xp for defeating the Grell of the Depths
Knowledge XP: 0xp
Roleplaying XP: 100xp to Elenora; 75xp to Pestilience, Bort and Onyx; 50xp to Eriko and Sliske
Log XP: 75xp to Elenora for a nice addition to the case-file.

Totals
Bort Recieves;
265xp
0 gold pieces
-2 Renown with the South Maladon Company

Elenora Recieves;
365xp
0 gold pieces

Eriko Recieves;
240xp - to be used for her next character.
40 Imperial Gold Pieces for an honorable death in the company's service, to be given to the stated next of kin; one 'Ferhem of Binner Street'

Onyx Recieves;
265xp
0 Gold Pieces and the horse left in care of the company is seized.
-2 Renown with the South Maladon Company

Pestilence Recieves;
265xp
0 Gold Pieces and the horse left in care of the company is seized.
-3 Renown with the South Maladon Company

Sliske Recieves;
240xp
0 Gold Pieces, -1 gold piece for horsecare
-2 Renown with the South Maladon Company

Session 76: Should have known

Present:
Malagven, Dark Elf Warlock/Sorcerer - lvl 3 (Niko)
Ferhem, Fighter/Warlock - lvl 3 (Clarence)
Zeech, Aarakocra Monk - lvl 2 (Sam)
Pyrrha, High Elf Wizard - lvl 2 (Justine)
Sharleen as Ira, "Human" Barbarian - lvl 5 (Taleek)
Tarvok, Dwarf Cleric - lvl 1 (Luchie)

To my brethren of the White Horse Brigade.

Despite the chilly weather I found myself joining another adventuring party, this time on an expedition to Borian. Partly forced by the fact keeping gold from escaping my pockets is tougher than ever during winter. The group came together like many before under the roof of the Tipsy Mermaid. Besides Tarvok everyone seemed to be in some ways experienced at the job. Our mission was to seek out Acidosis of whom a previous band, which I had been part of, had heard to be another one of the two remaining Shackles still binding elementals. The man was supposedly able to advice us in fighting the raging void elementals if that is something the companies were to pursue. We received brief and clear direction to the island in the south and were shortly on our way.
Although Ira's lead in the wilds proved an invaluable asset and whose skills provided the group a tastier alternative to rations in the form of hunted game, we found ourselves having to deal with more than the fatigue of overland travel. During the first night our camp which we had set up on top of a meager hill was assaulted by what we after the fact ascertained to be blood elementals, appearing into the world from floating pockets of magic. They copied our appearances; however their guise was but a joke as their deeply crimson tint revealed their heinous nature in seconds time. In few short moments we had them beat and returned to our slumber. The following day we traveled even further south reaching an obelisk similar to the one guarding the portal to the Green Shackles' island. The living construct warned us to keep our distance and avoid contact and so conflict with the now mad Acidosis. According to the creature the Shackles had been in his demented state more than two decades. As for the cause of this; a mage proficient with blood magic. We were quite taken back by this; the obelisk explained the reason for our misinformation about the man had been simply the fact that Aorta, now the only remaining Shackles, hadn't been able to leave her island for many years to gather information about the isle's state. We couldn't make any more progress that day and so camped a short walking distance away.
By this time we had realized our grandest mistake on this trip, not paying attention to the aura which had sneakily risen to five. It was no natural shift however; I could sense and make out that fell blood magic had been conjured to bring the prevailing aura to existence. All we could hope then was to hold out against the savagery of the night. And indeed savage it was. Just before the night begun turning to dawn a monster composed of bone and blood stormed our camp. It managed to shred our dwarven companion to pieces with its relentless flurry of strikes before succumbing under our pressure. For the record, Tarvok's demise was mainly due to his own foolhardiness. Even after being repeatedly told to stay away from the still full-strength creature he failed to keep himself beyond its reach. We buried him not far away from the field of battle.
Luck was on our side after that as we made the trek back without incident. The party mood lightened more than a smidgen after learning that we had slain an elemental for the kind of which there had been placed a special bounty; enough to allow one to live comfortably well into next year.

Signed, Malagven Baenrae of the White Horses

Session 76: Should have known

Present:
Malagven, Dark Elf Warlock/Sorcerer - lvl 3 (Niko)
Ferhem, Fighter/Warlock - lvl 3 (Clarence)
Zeech, Aarakocra Monk - lvl 2 (Sam)
Pyrrha, High Elf Wizard - lvl 2 (Justine)
Sharleen as Ira, "Human" Barbarian - lvl 5 (Taleek)
Tarvok, Dwarf Cleric - lvl 1 (Luchie)

Monster XP: For the Duplicates, I award 300/6 (Or 50)xp. For the Blood Construct, I award 1,150/6 (Or 192)xp.
Quest XP: 150xp for the slaying on a higher tier elemental, though they never completed their actual mission.
Knowledge XP: 200xp for the discovering that the Crimson Shackle, Acidosis, has gone insane.
Roleplay XP: 25xp to Zeech, Tarvok and Ferhem, 50xp to Pyrrha and Malagven, 75xp to Sharleen/Ira.
Log XP: 50xp to Malagven.

Reward: Each player gains 200gp for the slaying of a higher tier elemental. Also, each player gains 60gp for the blood dagger.

Totals:

Malagven: 692xp, 200gp, and +1 Renown with the White Horses
Zeech: 617xp, 200gp, and +1 Renown with the Iron Fists or your current Company
Pyrrha: 642xp, 200gp, and +1 Renown with the White Horses
Sharleen/Ira: 667xp, 200gp, and +1 Renown with the Iron Fists under the guise of Ira
Tarvok: 617xp to be used on your next character
Ferhem: 617xp, 200gp and +1 Renown with the White Horses or your current company