We just started a new game a few eeks ago and I have been trying to keep an incharacter journal to help the whole group keep track of what we have done. The group is composed of the following:
Female Human Fighter - Babbette
Female Human Brass Dragon Shaman - Lexi
Male Dwarven Artificier - Luddock
Male Whisper Gnome Rogue - Finn
Male Human Cloistered Cleric - Kalivak (me)
Here is what I have so far:
11/14/08
Day 1
I entered the town of Churro per “his” request. It’s a small town Northeast of Bladeblue Lake and not much different than any other of these dirty little towns. “It” whispered to me that it has problems that I might be interested in. Possibly others from “home” have made their way to this town. The town wasn’t very friendly but what little I could get from the people in town, apparently maggot like worms the size of house cats creep into town and attack the villagers. Those unfortunate enough to succumb to these worms rise again as an undead abomination. “His” guidance alone will not be enough to resolve this issue and find these things, I will need help.
Day 2
I tried to contact that council but the concerns of one of his “chosen” do not carry much weight in this town. Trying to get the members of Pelor, St. Cuthbert, Heironiuos, Obdahi and Jovanist (one I have not heard of before) proved a task beyond “our” capabilities. “We” decided to find help on our own. Maybe others would be willing to help if there was the prospect of fame and fortune. I asked around and left notice at every tavern on town. I hope “his” luck looks down upon me.
Day 3
“He” has chosen to look favorably upon me. Others have started to heed my request although they all seem to be new to the area as well and just as out of place as “we” are. A dwarven gent named Luddock offered to help. He seemed more concerned about finding if maybe magic was causing this issue. There is something different about him as if he is out of synch with this realm. Maybe he has been touched by “home” as well. I was approached by two human females both bearing an array of weapons. The first, Babbette, seemed carry hers as if they were an extension of her body. The help of someone who wields an axe and a punch dagger will definitely be useful to keep these worms off me if I find them. The other, Lexi, while a striking woman seemed to handle her weapons with less familiarity but she had a feeling about her that reminded me of dragon kin. The last to appear was a gnome. Finn lacked the usual jovial nature of kin but I have never seen one of his kind that moved with such stillness about him. “We” think that five of us should be enough for a few little worms. Lexi was able to determine that many believe the worms originate from another small town three days travel northeast of here.
Day 4
Travel goes well with very little trouble. I believe I will be safe with those that have agreed to help use.
Day 5
The land is starting to show signs of conquest. It appears that many a battles have been fought around this parts and that they have taken a toll on the land itself. If memory serves a pair of Barons make it an annual thing to fight over the Barrow Down plains. The toils of battle can be seen in every direction. It is becoming more barren with each step we take.
Day 6
We have finally reached the town. There is little left of it with its most prominent feature a large well. A stone orifice some twenty feet in diameter with the smell of an open grave. Approaching slowly, we could tell that it must have something to do with it all the strangeness. The walls of the well were coated with some kind of slime and the bottom was beyond Luddock’s special vision. While Babbette anchored the rope to herself, Lexi lowered Finn into the well to investigate. This yielded little information before things with went bad. The water is some seventy-five feet down with a fissure just about gnome size some ten feet above the water level. We would have determined more but a worm secreted itself from the wall above Finn and attached itself to him. Finn’s body went limp as the woman yanked him back up out of the well. Luddock used his crossbow to attack the worm on Finn but missed. Four more of these worms crawled from the well approaching Luddock and me. I reached into the beyond and pulled forth a fiendish rat to help. Babbette hacked the worm off Finn but he remained motionless. Lexi stepped up to help Luddock and I could feel a shift in her aura that made my body feel invigorated. Babbette kills two more worms and Luddock smashed one with his morning star. My rat failed to do anything before returning to where I had pulled it from. I will look for a better specimen next time. The last worm was finished off and we assessed Finn’s condition. Finn’s condition was bad and we decided to rest for the night hoping his condition would improve by tomorrow. “We” used our sight to sense magic at the bottom of the well. Maybe it’s the source of the worms. We retreated a mile or so back to sleep the night.
Night 6
We were woken up by a call for help from Lexi. Two villagers that had been turned by the worms shuffled their way into camp. The woman made relatively quick work of the zombies after I cowered them with the awe of his “his” presence. They seemed to be filled with several smaller worms, perhaps baby worms.
Day 7
We returned to the well with a plan to remove whatever was at the bottom of the well. Lexi and Babbette flanked me to protect me from worms while Luddock took up a cover position with is crossbow. We left Finn still weak away from the well out of danger. Luddock had imbued the armor of both woman with magic to protect them from any potential danger. I reach into the beyond a pulled fourth a fiendish octopus commanding it to retrieve the item at the bottom of the well. I then reached once again to pull fourth a fiendish hawk to grab what the octopus found and carry up to us. It dropped it to the ground before returning to where it came from. The item appeared to be a dagger with a jagged blade. Luddock held the dagger for several seconds and determined that it was magical. Its appearance gave no indication of it origin but once again Luddock after a few moments of concentration learned how to activate the daggers power. He determined it was capable of injecting a deadly poison into its victim on command once a day. Lexi chose to carry it instead of her normal dagger. Our only choice now was to attempt to enter the fissure in the well. We decided to rest again hoping that the next day Finn would feel well enough to lead the way into the fissure.
Day 8
We lowered Luddock into the well to open the fissure large enough for us all to enter. After several minutes he was able to bash the opening large enough for us to fit. It took us several minutes but we were able to get everyone into the fissure which had a small passage way on the other side. With Finn leading the passageway opened into a large natural cave. We found six more villagers in small alcoves covered in slime. As we entered the room, three of them came to un-life and attacked. Lexi, Babbette and Luddock set up a front line against the attack. I once again cowered them with “his” presence and Lexi and Babbette made short work of the zombie. We burned them all. It appears that the worms use the bodies to incubate their young. Luddock fell through the floor while walking the room’s perimeter uncovering an additional passage leading off from the room……..
11/21/08
Day 7 (rewind)
While “we” prepared to reach into the beyond for the appropriate creatures to retrieve the item at the bottom of the well, Luddock set himself up a make-shift desk of wood and stone. He spends several hours working with herbs, crushing semi-precious gems and some powders that he had on hand to form some kind of a liquid or ink. He then spent another hour carefully penning a scroll, a skill I didn’t know he had. He is a very surprising individual that “we” will watch carefully. When he is done he then hands the scroll to me and I realize what he has done. He had penned a scroll that when read by someone of the clergy it allows them to partially returns the recipients stolen abilities (oddly enough a power Mak has not seen fit to teach me yet). I use the scroll to return some of Finn’s health to him so that he is mostly back to normal.
Day 8 (con’t)
….Luddock inspects his knew surrounds obviously spending too much time as a faint skittering sound tells him that he is unwelcome in this new area. Two spiders that size of small dogs attack Luddock while he is trapped below. I was able to skewer one with my crossbow while Babbette pulled Luddock back up to the rest of us. That left the remaining spider to flee but before it could get away I pinned it to the ground with a crossbow bolt.
We spend several minutes searching the upper level and burning the bodies such that more worms would have no food. While the bodies burned Finn quickly snatched something off one of them only to revel a small pouch hold several coins and a precious gem.
Finn then dropped down into the newly uncovered area to inspect what Luddock had uncovered. This area appeared quite different. The walls looked like they were deliberately lined with bones, armor and weapons. Upon closer inspection we even found a standard. The standard appears to be that of the Breakers. The Breakers were a group of dwarves that some 20 years ago tried to stop the war over this land between the two barons only to be completely slaughtered. We followed Finn’s lead done the new corridor until he dropped out of sight through the floor.
Finn found himself in a decent sized room with three large pits being maintained by a couple of these worm zombies. They were stirring the pits and with every stir you could see several small worms float to the surface. The zombies began to make their way towards Finn but before they could reach them Babbette pulled him back up to us and we quickly passed by the hole in the floor.
The passage way ended in a what looked to be a 20 x 30 foot room. Finn wisely stopped at the room entrance and inspected the doorway. He found two things of interest; first was a portcullis above the door entrance and secondly a level which appeared to lock the portcullis in place. Not the most ingenious of traps but without Finn’s keen eye sight we would have fallen for it. Finn locked the portcullis into the open position and waited for the rest of us to join him. Upon entering the room we found the other half of the trap. A worm zombie was chained to the walled presumably to be released as the portcullis came down. It proved little effort for Babbette to put it out of its misery while it was still chained to the wall.
The room itself was filled with old rotten supplies. The crates and barrels bared the mark of The Breakers as well; presumably they used this area as a base of operations. Searching the supplies found little of use expect for maybe some wine, now turned to vinegar. We had no choice but to return to the pits. We spent several minutes as Luddock used his special skills to enchant both Lexi’s and Babbette’s armor and to enchant his crossbow such that it was a bane to any undead creature. We returned to the opening to the pits with a plan. Lexi and Babbette dropped down to form a human walk while Luddock dropped down behind them with his new magic crossbow. I followed preparing to reach into the beyond for assistance. Luddock’s aim was not as true as before but the Fiendish Badger that that heeded my call torn one of the zombie to shreds while Babbette cut the remaining zombie to pieces.
We tried pouring the wine/vinegar into the pools to kill the worms but to little avail. In the end we decided to systematically pick one pool at a time and with our ranges weapons we each choose a target and fired. Within very little time we were able to destroy the worms in each of the pools. We then shift our focus to the passage that leaves the room….
11/28/08
Day 8 (con’t)
Finn led the way out of the room following another natural passageway. It leads to a fairly large room with a demonic base relief dominating one wall. The demon’s mouth was open and periodically one of the worms would slide out of the mouth and fall into a pool of blood at its base. There were also valuable offerings next to the relief. Finn spotted two zombies and a strange dark skinned dwarf on an adjacent ledge before the dwarf fired off a crossbow bolt at him. Finn returned to us to determine a plan. Lexi got impatient and entered the room to face the zombies that were now on the floor waiting at the entrance. Lexi and Babbette dealt with the zombies while Luddock and I fired crossbows at the dwarf. The dwarf fled and the zombies dropped quickly.
Finn grabbed the gems and coins at the relief as well as three potions that Luddock determined were curing. Babbette and Luddock each drank one since they were still wounded from before. Lexi, Babbette and I worked to move a large boulder that was concealing a secret passage. After much work we moved it releasing a half a dozen feral elves that pounced on Babbette. The elves dropped quickly and Finn led us into the new passageway. The passage was a network of natural passageways and alcoves with a large underground pool of water with cave fish. At the far end of the cavern Finn found an old rusted portcullis with lock. Finn quickly undid the lock and entered a very large room. He quickly spotted a large worm at the far end of the room roughly the size of a large farm pig. The dwarf was also here and must have heard us because ran across the room and behind a large curtain. Babbette and Finn focused of getting to the dwarf who had released a large ogre zombie whose head was barely attached and had legs that were chopped at the knees. Lexi moved to kill the worm. After Finn activated his natural silence the dwarf moved to protect the worm. The group killed the worm and then the dwarf. We then avoided the slow moving zombie until Luddock could kill it with his enchanted crossbow.
Search of the room found a little treasure including a golden idol of a cult of dwarfs who learned to fight drunk. The ogre’s body appeared stuffed and upon opening we find a partially digested elf body. The body has some valuables which include a spell book and a ring that Luddock determines is magic. We decided to leave feeling that the worm problem has been destroyed.
Day 9
Travel back to Churro goes well. I have determined that the ring found radiates faint abjuration magic so we give it to Babbette to protect her better.
Day 11
We finally return to Churro and explain what the problem was and that it was resolved.
Day 13
Luddock and I have spent the last two days penning curing magic to scrolls for later use. This should help us to not have to rely on my daily curing so much.
Day 14
Verditus the Druid calls us before the council to tell us about a theft. A prayer rug, stone idol and a golden censer were all stolen and when the thieves dug in to steal the items the collapse kills many of the guards. They believe the theft to be the work of The Broken Knives. A group of thieves composed mostly of kobold and trogs that make the Churro castle ruins their home. Corporal Cale and Private Ovirt offer to come along to help us in hopes of getting some revenge on the thieves.
We head to Churro castle ruins and find the entrance covered with a strange mist. The castle is rumored to be haunted but this is most likely tricks of the thieves. Finn descends the stairs and is attacked by a friendish raven that he quickly kills with his rapier. The stairs end at a door which after a little inspection Fin opens the door. It opens to a large room with many statues that magically babble. Some of the phrases spoken are:
“Someone what’s its skull back, don’t hurt it”
“The earth under the water is unstable.”
“Beyond the prisoner you will travel.”
“The couch is hungry.”
“The spiders worship the idol.”
“What you can’t see is the key.”
The room had two exits, a wooden door on our right and a stone door directly across from us. The stone door has a statue guarding it on either side. We wait out of the room while Finn inspects the doors. Lexi goes in to talk to the statues and gets confused. She runs for a bit then tries to attack Babbette and a few other strange things. We wait for her to regain her senses before Finn opens the wooden door.
The door opens to a room with a fountain producing water that changes color. Near the pool is a kobold with multiple cages of rats. Finn sidesteps the door and by the time we get to the room the kobold is gone. We inspect the fountain for a bit testing the magically properties of the water at various colors based on notes from the kobold. Finn finds a secret door leading out of the room. It enters a passageway that ends in another secret door. The door opens into a room with two sleeping trogs. We try to talk to them but they attack. The room has areas of slowed time and sped up time which makes combat difficult. Four kobolds and a kobold priest join the fight making things difficult. We finally kill the trogs and the four kobolds while the priest runs off again.
We exit the room following Finn’s led again. The wide passage ends at an octagonal room where there are areas that crush you to the ground and areas that crush you to the ceiling. Finn confirms that one door led’s back to the statue room before we go across the room to the passage on the other side. This passage has three doors with one of them being open. The open door reveals a lushly decorated room. The run reaches out a tentacle to grab Finn and drag him into the room to a mouth in the floor. We fight it for a bit but then just shut the door and move to one of the other doors.
The next door opens to a long room that is sunk 10 feet below the door. The room has a lot of little holes in the walls and several small spiders are running around. The walls appear slick. We grab a ladder we saw in the octagonal room and Lexi goes in to search the holes. Finn joins her and they find the stone idol in one of the holes.
The remaining door had one of the city guards in it working. He seemed to be under some kind of charm. Corporal Cale commanded him to return to the city guard and we led him out. Back in the room, half of the room had a shimmer to it and when you stuck something into the shimmer it tried to pull it in. We tied the ladder to the spider room door with some rope and threw the ladder into the shimmer. The ladder, rope and door all disappeared. We decided to leave the room alone and go back to the living room.
After a combination of ranged fire and Lexi and Babbette attacking the tentacles we kill the room. There was another door at the other end of the room that opened into a room while a vortex of air and debris. Finn spotted a chest in the vortex and after tying a rope to him he entered the room and grabbed the chest after a couple of tries. The chest was crushed but Luddock figured out how to get it open to reveal some notes of some events that led to Churro’s death. It also had a key. Finn enters the vortex again to find a door on the other side of the room. Using the key he finds a closet with a dead kobold. The kobold clutches a gold cow idol and a spell book. The idol is the mascot to a magic university and the spell book has every basic arcane spell in it for a beginning wizard.
We returned to the octagonal room to descend the stairs….
12/5/08
Day 14 con’t
We descended the stairs into an area of unnatural darkness. Finn led the way having to stay closed to the group to use what little light our light source provided. The stairs ended at a four way intersection and Finn’s keen eyes could barely make out a room to our left. It was just a short distance away and was once a crypt as best as we could tell. There were cubbies in the walls but after a thorough search we found that they were all empty.
We returned to the bottom of the stairs and went right to a door that caught our attention. Finn made sure it was safe before Lexi and Babbette opened it. Inside we found a spectral form sitting on a throne its feet propped up on a sarcophagus. There were arcane runes everywhere. The spirit introduced itself as Thulso the Thoughtful. He was the great-great grandson of Churro and was trapped in the room. Apparently the trogs and kobolds came in and took a few things including Thulso’s animated skull. He offered us a reward if we would return his head. We agreed and set off don the last corridor to find it. We didn’t have to go far as we found the skull banging around just down the next hallway. After a couple of attempts Lexi was able to capture it in a sack.
We returned to Thulso with the skull and once we entered the room the skull hopped back to the rest of the body. Thulso gave us a magic key as payment that helps with picking locks and it can magically cast a Knock spell as a wand. With that we continued down the corridor that we found the skull in to another four-way intersection. There were doors in all directions and we chose to go left to the first door. Inside we find a trog meditating on an elaborate rug. Luddock tried to talk to him but the trog attacked us instead. Lexi and Babbette held the line while Finn tumbled past all of them to get behind the trog. My god sent me the aid of a war worm after I requested help. It was a hard fought battle but we defeated him. He had some treasure and the rug was worth something but the most interesting item was a contract. Kethos, leader of the Jovians, had contracted the Broken Knives to steal the items. We took everything and moved onto the next room.
As soon a Babbette opened the door we were all shed in a blue light and sucked into the room. Once we got our bearings again we found ourselves in an octagonal room dominated but two tall statues. They were both 18 feet tall with one hand upheld. One statue was the god of knowledge and the other the god of magic. Scrawled in Draconic on the wall was the phrase, “Of the mind is the key that you can’t see but can find in your hand.” Finn climbs up and finds and invisible key in the god of knowledge’s hand and Luddock finds a trapdoor in the floor. The key opens the trapdoor and we descend into the room below.
This room has another sarcophagus and a skeleton haphazardly tossed on the floor alongside it. Inside the sarcophagus we found the rug and censor we were looking for. We took the items and returned the skeleton. There was a ladder out that led us to the hallway just outside the door that sucked us in. We had everything we were looking for but we decided to check the last door before leaving.
The last door opened into a small room that had a wall dug out. The dug tunnel looked fresh and led away for a bit. Based on the location and the amount of water dripping from above the tunnel it’s possible that they were digging under the druid temple. We followed Finn down it for a bit until he stopped us having found more trouble. There were four kobolds and a trog around the next corner. Lexi and Babbette charge in and confront the group. Luddock and I provide cover fire while Finn dives through the group although he ended up on his back. Babbette and Lexi made quick work of the group. This seemed to be the last of the ruins so we returned to the council.
The council was happy to have the items returned, but was upset with Kethos’ actions. He was oddly not there when we returned. With that we decided to rest for the night and work on getting more provisions the next day.
Day 15
I spent some time with the elixir we found and through magic was able to discern that it was an elixir of swimming which we gave to Luddock in case he ever found himself trapped in water. While searching for better weapons and armor Babbette was attacked by magic from the shadows. Yelling wildly Kethos attacked us. He was no match for us and went down quickly. I stabilized him and we took all his equipment. We returned him to the council so that they could punish him as they saw fit.
12/26/08
Day 17
The council called us in to help them once again. They apparently they received a carrier pigeon saying that XXXXX was in trouble. A druid by the name of Thistle lived there and was the keeper of a powerful magic gem called the Eye of Night. It is believed that bandits of some sort are after the gem. The council gave us horses so as to make the travel faster but the town is still some distance away.
Day 31
We finally arrive after many days of travel to find the small druid community in shambles. Many of the crops are destroyed and some of the structures broken and burned. We found bodies of many of the town people and a few of the raiders dressed in red and black armor. We found one particularly large barn with several bodies in from of it. Inside at the far back corner we found a large hole in the ground with a very steep slope. We tied a rope around Finn and he climbed down to investigate the hole. Shortly after he left our sight there was a hard tug on the rope. We quickly pulled him back up and he explained that the short passage led to a dirt room with several rats, some of them quite large. We found some rope in the barn and picked a strong beam to tie it to. I cast Light onto Babbette’s axe and she and Lexi lead the way down into the whole. The two of them made quick work of the rats and Finn searched the bodies that the rats were feasting on. One of the bodies had a scimitar forged from cold-iron and a pouch with a small vial labeled silver-sheen on it. I fear that we may be dealing with lycanthropes somewhere down here.
Finn led the way out of the room down the left passage way. It narrows to the point where all but Finn had to squeeze before it widened again. The passage forked and we once again go left so that we do not get lost. The passage ends in a room with a large number of shelves carved into its walls and more rat sized holes than I could count. Rats were everywhere but what was concerning were the two farm pig sized rats in the center of the room with several rats suckling on them. This was some kind of breeding ground for the rats and we felt it was best to end it here. We took a moment to allow Luddock to temporarily imbue Lexi and Babbette’s armor with magic protection then Finn fired from the shadows while Lexi and Babbette waded in and took care of the two mother rats. We quickly back tracked and went down the right passage while our magic still held out to find another breeding room. The rats in that room were easily dispatched. We now had time to search the bodies in each of the rooms and found an old bone scroll case a humanoid body in the room. It took me a little time to make out the symbols on the scroll inside but I figured out that it contained druid spells. I gave it to Luddock figuring that he could use the magic contained within the scroll.
We returned to where we originally entered and had Finn lead the way down the right side passage. There was a side room off this passage that was filled with crates and barrels of supplies. They were most likely stolen from the villagers and stored here. The moister underground was unkind to the supplier as most of them were severely covered in mold. Finn spotted feet sticking out from behind some of the crates and heard what sounded like claws clacking against armor. He crept around from one side while Lexi and Babbette approached the legs from the front. Just as they were about to get close to the body when a centipede the size of a warhorse rouse up from behind the crates and attacked them. They took minor damage destroying the oversized vermin and Finn was even lucky enough to get in an attack from behind. Finn started to search the bodies but they were too bloated and decayed to move enough to search adequately. Luddock said something about looking for his “Ogre donor card” which I didn’t quite understand but then again the dwarf makes a lot of comments I don’t get.
The passage continued on and ended in what I can only call a mud maze. There were mounds of mud some that went all the way to the ceiling that divided up what must have been a huge natural cavern. We stayed to the left so not to get lost and quickly found our way through to a sink hole. The sinkhole was fairly deep and had stagnant slimy water at the bottom and very narrow ledges that led around it. We were just deciding how to get around the sinkhole when rats the size of a dog bites me from the maze behind. Lexi came to my side to help as I quickly retreated to the back of the group. The rats were not natural and had the taint of one of the lower planes. Lexi, Babbette and Luddock took care of the rats while I gave further inspection to the sinkhole. I noticed that the surface would move ever so slightly every once in a while and its coloration seemed a bit off. It had to be an ooze of some sort most likely of the gray variety. Knowing that I would most likely slip and fall into the pit while trying to get around it and that the ooze dissolves flesh, we shot it with crossbows until we no longer saw it move.
Finn, Lexi and I attempted to go around the pit and of course I fell into the slimy remains of the ooze which seemed to now be inert with its death. Lexi helped haul me out and the three of us proceeded while Babbette and Luddock waited. Finn quickly stopped us as the passage opened into a room. He indicated for us to back up so we returned to the pit and the rest of the group so he could explain what he found. He said that the passage opened into a room with a pit in one corner. The pit appeared to spew forth an endless supply of rats. Also in the room were five dire rats and they were taking direction from humanoid that was half man and half rat. Luddock once again enchanted the armor of Lexi and Babbette while we applied a vial of the silver-sheen to Finn’s rapier. Babbette took out the silvered long sword she had been for occasions like this. Luddock dug out the few silver tip crossbow bolts he had and I blessed the group with bit of my god’s essence. Now prepared, we advanced on the room quickly so that they would have less time to respond.
Finn fired off a shot from his bow dropping one of the rats right away as Lexi and Babbette shot past him to confront the were rat. The battle was pitched against us for some time with my magical confusion failing to pierce its magical resistance and Lexi and Babbette having trouble connecting a solid hit on the were rat. I had to use the scrolls of healing on Lexi on more than one occasion so that she could keep up here aura of protection. Finn was able to tumble past the rats and were rat to flank the were rat. The tide started to change and we finally dropped them all.
Once the dust settled we decided to investigate the pit first determined to figure out where the rats were coming from. Finn spotted a rope holding a humanoid figure and a bag that the rats seemed coming out of. We pulled up the figure while Finn closed the bag. The figure was Thistle who seemed to be made of vines and leaves and was badly wounded. With the rats no longer gnawing on him his body began to regenerate itself. He told us that the raider had attacked and then this were rat showed up and killed all the raiders and took him down here. He had been torturing him with the rats to get the gem which Thistle pulled from inside his body as he told the story. He explained that he was no longer capable of protecting it and entrusted us with the gem. He said he knew not why they wanted gem but that it would produce light to varying degrees. He also offered up one of his personal magical items to us as thanks which we accepted his cloak and gave it to Luddock to wear. He left us to begin working on rebuilding the community and we left to head for the nearest city so that we could peruse what we had found and decide where to go from here.
1/2/08
Day 34
We have spent the last few days in the city of Arvale. Luddock has locked himself in a room apparently working on an item that will allow him to identify other magic items. He did ask for my help towards the end so he could scribe a few scrolls to remove fear which always comes in handy. Lexi, Babbette and Finn spent the time listening to rumors around town and also find a place to swap the magic ring that we found that protects against sonic damage for a wand of curing. They find out that the town of Blessings Be has had some strange happening going on as of late. The town is formed near the tomb of Arden Brightheart a paladin of Heironeous who in an epic battle gave his life destroying a lich called the Dreadwatcher with his weapon dubbed the Sword of Conviction. The town holds ceremonies to Brightheart and reveres him as a hero. The party wants to investigate since we have no other ideas as to what to do next.
Day 36
We get to the town of Blessing Be and replenish our supplies. The town seems quiet but there is a strange calm in town that shows that something is amiss. We decide the best place to start is the tomb of Brightheart. The entrance way was easy to find and the hall shows just how revered he was. Multiple alcoves line the wall with statues of Brightheart in various poses in each alcove. Finn can see with his vision that at the far in of the hall a natural passage leads off to the right and a carved passage leads to the left. We wait near the entrance while Finn inspects the statues and makes sure that all is safe. When he gets to the last statue he calls to us saying that he has found something. Not only has the statue been rigged to fall but its golden plaque has been defaced. It now reads, “Turn back or be claimed by darkness, like Arden Darkheart.” Just as we get to Finn the room gets unnaturally dark. I can hear Finn cry out as I retrieve the Eye of Night from my bag. Its light reveals that three Darkmantles have attacked from above. Two of them have attached themselves to Finn while the other hovers next to him. Lexi and Babbette step up to attack just as Finn frees himself and tumbles back to me. I use the new wand to heal Finn while Lexi and Babbette kill one of the Darkmantles. Finn moves back into the battle and tumbles just past the trapped statue causing it to collapse on one of the Darkmantles killing it leaving the last one to be easily killed by Lexi and Babbette.
Finn starts down the left passage and immediately finds a door on his left and right directly across from one another. The door on the right is barred from our side and spiked shut. Finn says he can hear something large stomping about inside and after much debate we decide to leave the door for now. The opposite door sounds like it has several creatures moving about in it so after getting Finn’s ok that the door is clear we open it. Half a dozen or so town folks are in a medium sized room working on a mural. They pay no attention to us and seem focused on changing the image in a mural to something new. It looks like that they are trying to change a mural of Brightheart into a dark twisted reflection of the original with Darkheart being the main focus. They ignore most of our pleas to stop and only until Lexi intimidates them do they agree to leave and return to the town.
At this point we assume that the room across the hall has a large animal of some sort trapped in it. We figure the best way to deal with it is to make a trail of food from the door to the exit. We remove the spikes and all but Babbette stand ready in the room across the hall. We have a rope around Babbette so we can pull her from danger. She removes the last bar and yanks the door open. We pull her back and shut our door. Listening there is brief moment of quiet followed by a deep squawking sound of pain and heavy foot steps leading away. A quick peek out the door reveals an Owlbear fleeing the tomb following our trail of food.
Finn enters the room only to be assaulted by acid as he passes the door. After the burning stops he inspects the door to find magically trap triggered by the area directly inside the room in front of the door. Avoiding that area, the rest of the group was able to enter the room. The room was a small chapel to Heironeous and in searching it we found a golden holy symbol and a ring. Finn found a sliding panel while searching near the back wall and it opened into a very dusty unused natural passage way. Lexi inspected the ground in the passageway and noticed that the only usage was by small rodents and large insects. It was a narrow passage so to be safe I decided to send in a summoned creature to investigate first. I called fourth to my god to send me a broodling kython. Using the language of demons I explained to it to stalk down the passageway and kill any vermin in its path. We waited close to a minute to see it return dragging the carcass of a dog sized spider. I sent it away and Finn lead the way down the tunnel. We did find five more spider bodies on the way and had to cut our way through webbing at the end. Luddock found the release for the secret door at the end and when Babbette opened it she was greeted by five ghouls and two ghasts.
Babbette held to doorway while I cowered all the ghouls to the back of the room. Between Babbette’s attacks and my magic we were able to drop one of the ghasts so that Lexi could squeeze into the room. I healed Babbette with the wand while she and Lexi worked on the remaining ghast. The last ghast dropped burned up in Lexi’s fire aura that she gave all of us but not before paralyzing Babbette. While I removed the paralysis on Babbette, Luddock enchanted his crossbow and Babbette’s axe to be a bane to undead. They then moved in to destroy the cowered ghouls. The room was a burial chamber and high up on one of the shelves we found what we thought was the Sword of Conviction.
The door exiting the room entered into a very large throne room. Sitting upon the throne was a figure that looked like Brightheart. Luddock moved to the figure offering up his sword and holy symbol to him only to be rewarded with an attack from the imposter. Four statues from the other end of the room came to life and joined the battle. The lich evoked some kind of fear and Finn, Lexi and Babbette attempted to flee the room. I was able to remove the fear from Babbette in time but Finn and Lexi left the room before I could get to them. The fight was hard pressed with Luddock attacking the statues and Babbette focusing on the lich. I summoned another kython to help Luddock with the statues before turning my magic on the lich. That was until he used his own magic to hold me. I was forced to watch helplessly as Luddock and Babbette fought for their lives. I finally broke free on his hold just in time to remove paralysis from Babbette. We finally prevailed after Lexi and Finn returned.
We paused to heal and get ourselves prepared to move on. We move on to the door opposite the one we came in to another burial chamber. Brightheart’s body lay piled on the floor and upon searching we found a crystal dagger that seemed to almost pulse with energy. Luddock and I determined that it must be the phylacraty of the lich and we quickly crushed it using its own magic mace. We returned Brightheart’s body to his throne and gave him back his holy symbol and sword.
We search one last room on the way back to the main passage. It had ten villagers in it and before we could convince them to leave a wraith commanded them to attack. Babbette and Lexi focused on the wraith while Luddock worked on getting the villagers to leave. The battle went fairly well with their weapons being enchanted against undead. A few villagers burned themselves up on our fiery auras but Luddock was able to get a few to leave. In the end the only real issues were that the wraith’s touch had drained Lexi of some of her health. We will need to find someone with magic’s greater than my own to fix it.
We returned to the main hall and headed down the natural passage to find a large pool of water. In the pool was another statue of Brightheart and before Finn could go out to inspect it, two ghasts reached out from the water and tried to grab Finn. He was able to leap out of the way so that Lexi and Babbette could take care of them. Once they were taken care of, Finn inspected the statue and found that it was able to rotate. When he rotated it a hidden door opened at the back of the chamber. It revealed a small study that he went to search. An apparition appeared and told us to stop defiling the tomb. We explained that we had defeated the lich and restored Brightheart to his throne. The apparition offered us all the magic he had in the room as a thank you and with that we returned to Blessed Be.
We traded the magic prayer beads that the apparition had given us in exchange for a priest to restore Lexi’s health. We also got more supplies for Luddock who said he had something else to construct. That dwarf is always building something.
1/23/09
Day 41
We have spent the last few days in town. Luddock has spent most his time on his newest creation. He has crafted himself a pet. It’s a large chest with legs and arms that follows him around and carries equipment for him and seems to know what he needs next, handing it to him before he even asks for it. I spent some time reading the book of arcane knowledge we found in one of the countless dungeons we have searched. It spoke of a Keep that an un-named wizard had owned that still held a number of powerful magic items. The tower itself has been protected by a powerful force field for centuries which is why the rumors say the magic is still there untouched. I talked with the others and since it is only about a day and a half of travel from here we are going to check it out.
Day 42
Well the book and the rumors were right. The keep still stood protected by a force field. Even as we approached we could see that it looked unaffected but time unlike the other crumbled and ruined structures that surrounded it. I cast the message spell so that Finn could scout the perimeter to find the best way to enter the surrounding grounds. Before Finn could begin his search large beetles the size live stock came flying at us. A few shots from our crossbows defeated two of them and sent the remaining one fleeing. Now that we felt everything was safe, Finn took off to the right around the outer ruins. It wasn’t long before he magically whispered back to us that he found a sink hole at one of the corners. With his gnomish sight he could tell it was almost sixty feet deep and that there was some kind of metal rods floating in the shaft. We all joined him at the sink hole and decided to lower Luddock down to inspect what must be magical rods. His inspection determined that the rods we indeed magical and meant to stay magically held in space. He could also tell that if we moved them they would probably never work again. Luddock climbed down the series of magical rods until ended up in and underground cavern filled with a fungal forest. We told Luddock to come back up so that we could finish inspecting the surface grounds.
Continuing around the outer grounds Finn spots another beetle this one the size of a warhorse that has dug itself into the rubble of one of the outer towers. We decide to avoid it and enter the inner grounds surrounding the keep. The first building we inspect appears to have once been the captain’s quarters. It had two rooms plus a closet. The building was ransacked years ago but we did find a trap door in the closet that led down into some man-made tunnels. We once again passed on going down until we inspected the other buildings.
In the remains of the stable we found a large ten foot hole that had all kinds of claw marks on it. Based on the type of claw marks and their size I figure it must be owlbears making their home underground. We avoided it as well. The rest of the inner grounds had nothing of interest. The keep itself had a shimmery force field around it maybe six inches from its surface. As we got close to it a spirit behind the field fixed its gaze upon us and followed us as we headed back to the captain’s quarters (it was unsettling for the others). We took the trapdoor down into the dungeon. Finn leading the way took us to an old jail room long since empty of guests. Finn spotted a shape at the far end of the round and took a single shot before retreating behind Lexi and Babbette. The otyugh that attacked was fascinating to watch. It’s an aberration I had only heard about so watching it fight Lexi and Babbette was a good learning experience. They took care of it relatively easily with some wounds that I was able to fix with the wand of curing. The room beyond that had natural tunnels dug through it presumably by the owlbears. Finn investigated both side of the tunnel to find an old owlbear sleeping down one side and two mature adult owlbears down the other. We decided to leave them be and only disturb them if we found no other way into the keep elsewhere. Further inspection of the room revealed a secret door the lead to a long forgotten torture room.
Heading back the other direction we go down a long passageway with two intriguing arches. It ends in a room with a statue in the middle and a coffin leaned against each corner. Next to each coffin is a skeleton on the ground each in a different robe. Inspection of the statue revealed that it of the god Meacore. If the whispers are correct he was the god of humility and the common man who has long been forgotten. As we begin to enter the room the four coffins move to block the two exits. From one of the passageways we can see ten skeletons coming our way. I call upon the strength of my god and command four of the skeletons to destroy the others. Lexi and Babbette work on destroying the coffins. The battle goes quickly with little damage taken on our part. We find that each of the skeletons has one finger that is a key and there is a sack of coins where each of the coffins once stood.
We then pass through a room with two rows of statues of crones. At the far end is an alcove with a statue of Meacore. Finn finds a pressure plate in front of the statue and disarms in. Luddock inspects the statue and trap again and realizes that the trap is a rouse. You must set off the trap by kneeing on the pressure plate which he does. An axe sails over his head followed by the statue sinking into the floor. Finn searches the area behind the statue and finds yet another secret door. When we open the door we are immediately attacked by a wight. Lexi and Babbette hold it off while strike it down with the magical vengeance of my god. The fight was tense but we manage to destroy it. In the room we find a magic wooden sword which means the wight must have once been a follower of Meacore.
Since we found no way into the keep we decide to go back and deal with the owlbears. Luddock magically enchants Lexi and Babbette’s weapons and armor against magical beasts and I bless everyone. The fight goes in our favor and we are able to proceed down the owlbear’s tunnel. Finn finds an owlbear female protecting two small owlbear cubs but goes around them to find that the force field for the keep extends underground. We decide to return to the torture room to hold up for the night and try the fungal forest in the morning.
Day 43
We were woken during the night by the earth shaking like I have never felt before. It seemed to stop as quickly as it started and after a quick review of the room we went back to sleep. In the morning Finn notice a crack in the wall that he had not noticed the previous day. Upon further inspect he found that the slit shift of the room from the night before revealed a secret door that he had previously missed. Behind the secret door was a spiral staircase that led down into darkness.
We followed the staircase door for what must have been 80 feet before it came to a stop in a small passage. The passage was brief and opened into a small room divided into thirds by two simmering force fields much like the one that surrounded the keep above. There was a lever on the wall in each section of the room. We figured it must be some kind of puzzle or trap. I summoned a Goblin Snake to help us test the traps. We pulled the lever on our side of the first force field and it disappeared. I asked the snake to move to the second switch and pull it. The first force field went back up and the area between the two force fields began to fill with acid. We pulled our lever again and the field dropped and the acid splashed onto us. Finn quickly drank a potion of spider climb and started to inspect the walls finding a hidden latch opposite the second lever. Releasing the latch caused the last field to disappear and the acid drained down the corridor at the opposite end of the room.
Once the acid had drained completely Finn led the way down the new corridor. We found ourselves in another small room with the only exit being a corridor blocked by a force field. Finn searched the room and found four key holes in the center of the room. Upon further inspection Finn determines that the four finger keys that we found previously must be inserted and turned at the same time. Finn keeps an eye on the force field while the rest of us turn the keys. It worked as Finn suspected and leads the way once again down the newly opened passage. The passage ends in an intersection with a choice to go left or right. We go left first and end at a wooden door bound in iron. After Finn’s close inspection we open it to reveal a long passage way. We realize that it goes for some way so we go back to the intersection and go the other way which leads to an iron door. Finn’s inspection of the iron door shows that there is a hidden portcullis above it that we jam open using pitons. The passage behind it ends in a room with a large mouth carved in the wall. This must have been another trap and we turn back to return to the wooden door.
Following the long passageway Finn finds a pit trap part way down it. We avoid it with Babbette going first only to find another pit trap on the other side which she falls in. Once we get Babbette out of the pit we realize that the passage must have several pit traps down its length. We tie everyone together with rope and Lexi slowly leads us down the corridor. We set off several other pit traps with little difficulty and end in a large oval room. In the center of the seemingly empty room is a single iron chest. I cast a spell to allow me to perceive magic and realize that there is some kind of magic trap on the chest. Luddock enchanted Finn’s armor to resistant to magic and he opens the chest. There is a flare of fire as he lifts the lid and we watch as it splashes harmlessly on Finn’s armor. In the chest is a single magic iron key which we assume goes to the door at the other end of the room. It opens but I can sense that it has teleportation magic on it. We all hold on to each other as we pass through and find ourselves in a passageway at another force field with a lever next to it. We pull the lever and the force field disappears. Passing through the opening we find ourselves in a large 70 foot diameter room. There are books and scrolls everywhere. This must have been the wizard’s study. We head up the stairs and find ourselves in another circular room. There are three force cages in the room with a beautiful woman in two of the three of them. Both women plea to be released claiming that the other is a quasit. We question them both until we are convinced which one is the quasit and release the other. She promises to return with a reward and then disappears. The remaining woman reveals herself to be a quasit. We leave her/it in the force cage and head up to the next room. This room has several doors in the middle of the room and also several force cages in odd location. We assumed most of them must be traps so Finn searches the room. He soon finds a secret door that opens to a room filled with gold and treasures. Watching over the treasure is a janni who warns us that he must protect the wizards treasure for another 300 years. After much discussion we determine that we must either fight him or find the wizards ghost (which we apparently released) and convince it to release the janni from its contract. We don’t want to leave the treasure so we go back down to study and think on it and sleep the night.
Day 44
My god spoke to me last night imparting even more knowledge in the ways of magic. I use my new found understanding to summon back the wizard’s spirit and have him release the janni from his service. With the Janni gone we review all the treasure he was guarding. Luddock tells us that he thinks that will all the treasure we found and a few of the magic furniture in the study he could enchant several items for us. We all agree to stay here for the next couple of weeks so that Luddock can use the study and laboratory to craft us the magic he promised.