PH Dungeon's homebrew

[P.H. Dungeon]

Unfortunately, I have not journal entries for this session. Here’s a brief synopsis: The Pcs spent the game session searching the lower level of Starke’s lair (the one they encountered him on). They found many hidden vaults and chambers where Starke stored various valuable raw materials and personal wealth, which they of course filled their bag of holding with. They encountered a number of traps and more construct guardians, including an iron golem that was guarding his main treasure vault. They were also able to find all the ritual notes Starke had written on warforged creation, which did indeed confirm that living souls had to be sacrificed and bound into each warforged to give the warforged sentience. Clearly this was why Starke had been buying up gemstones and slaves.

They also removed Starke’s custom clockwork armor and mask. Bella considered taking the mask, but decided against it when she realized that it would likely permanently fuse to her face. Beneath the armor and mask, they found that Starke was actually a tiefling. His tail had been amputated and his horns filed down, allowing him to wear the gear. They had also found Starke’s personal chapel, which was dedicated to the archdevil Dispater, indicating that Starke was secretly a devil worshipper.

Using Starke’s mask as proof of his demise, they made their way into the upper levels of the lair. With the help of the mask, the odd spell, crossbow bolt or blow from a hammer, they were able to intimidate Starke’s men with ease. Most fled or surrendered, but a few were stupid enough to fight and die swift deaths. The heroes also discovered more warforged on these levels; some had gone berserk and were slaughtering anyone in their path. These ones had to be put down. Others had gone catatonic or were writhing on the ground and insanely muttering to themselves. A rare few seemed to have retained sanity and become free willed. These ones were able to communicate with the heroes, and they demonstrated the potential to make useful allies. Unlike the warforged Karn, these modern warforged showed no particular deference towards Melek.

Victorious, the heroes reported back to Jarl Surtur. Bella remained behind to start the lengthy process of ensuring that she would be the one to fill the power vacuum that Starke’s death had created within Grimmsburg’s Underworld.

There next move is to go on a recon mission to Thunderholme abbey to see if it has in fact been sacked by giants or if there is a chance that it can still be saved.

[P.H. Dungeon]

The following sessions begin to integrate some of the story from the Revenge of the Giants adventure- with significant changes to better fit this campaign and my style of dming.

PCs
Melek: Level 12 tiefling Wizard/Warlock
Bjorn: Level 12 human cleric of Thor
Bella: Level 13 changeling Rogue/sorceress
Turok: Level 12 minotaur warden
Vesna: Level 12 human warlord

This is Melek’s next journal:

After finishing off Stark and taking over ownership of his fortress we all thought it necessary to attend to some quick personal business. I managed to pick up a couple more very useful rituals and even a minor magic item. The Jarl was quite generous in rewarding me by having the Scarlet Stone Academy further enhance my enchanted amulet. I’m quickly discovering that being a hero defending the city pays very well. And it all is presumably Odin's will. At the least, I've seen no omens suggesting that I should change course. But I must admit that the most satisfying aspect of serving the city is proving to all those bastards at the academy that I am a very powerful hero with connections to the local powers. I bet that they now wish that they hadn't expelled me on mere suspicion so that my recent glories would be better reflecting on the Academy. Hopefully I'll eventually gain enough power that I'll be able to properly avenge the dishonor they have caused me.

I joined with my companions visiting some drip or other that they'd previously adventured with. His name was Derren Androsax, a local noble of a languishing house. Apparently, his sister had also adventured with Bjorn and company, and she had been claimed by Loki’s fire shortly before I met them. They rightly felt it their duty to bring this news to the Androsax scion. We found him sparring with his brother at his family’s estate in the noble district. He took the news about as well as could be expected, though he brother was quite upset and berated Derren for entrusting the girl’s care to Bella. Fools. What did they expect would happen if they left Bella to care for a child? I can’t imagine a woman less fit to be a mother.

I also learned that Derren had married Vesna’s younger sister Briannah, the High Archavist of the Skaldsholme library, an impressive feat. One that I’m surprised this lad was able to accomplish, for he is clearly a buffoon. However, he does seem to love her. He was quite concerned for her health. Apparently, she was kidnapped by cultists last summer, and the experience was quite horrific and traumatizing for her. She has now refused to go back north with the Androsax lad, which is clearly where he wants to be, and she has shut herself in the library, devoting herself entirely to researching the foul cult that abducted her. I fear that such a path can only lead to further pain and suffering. Derren is certainly worried about her, and seems to think that Vesna might be able to help her, though I can’t see her being very good at such a delicate task.

Ideally, we would have liked to spend more time attending to personal business and resting from our recent adventures, but the threat to Thunderholme Abbey was most pressing, and the others finally agreed that the time had come to investigate, an agenda I had been pushing for days. Well, some of us agreed to this course of action. Bella was far more concerned with cementing her position as Starke’s replacement and Vesna was more interested attending to her family and preparing the city for war. No surprise there.

Thus, Bjorn, Turok and myself decided to do some reconnaissance on our own. First we used a linked portal ritual to travel to an arcane curio shop in the town of Saltmarsh, which was the closest major town to the abbey. There we met one of my former teachers- a buffoon and apparently a coward. The people of Saltmarsh were well aware of their proximity to an army of giants and were preparing for the worst. It looked like he was going to save his own loot and flee without even trying to defend the town. Oh, he may have planned on making a token appearance on the wall but he was clearly going to look after himself first.

The Jarl of the town, one Harald Bloodhair, was a very different matter. He had sent off a large expedition under his son to investigate what was happening at the Abbey and to provide support. They had not yet returned and the Jarl feared the worst. The Jarl asked us to try and recover the lad’s body and his ancestral sword. We agreed to the task, as it certainly doesn’t hurt to have more friends among the jarls of the north.

Although we had little hope at this point, we set out fairly late that afternoon on summoned spiritual giant eagles- one of the rituals I had learned. There was something incredibly exhilarating about flying through the air and seeing the world laid out below. All our petty troubles and squabbles were put into perspective. Apparently neither of my companions agreed or shared my pleasure. Minotaurs belong on the ground. You'd think a cleric of Thor would appreciate flying through the sky. You would however be wrong (admittedly there was no storm, but one can't have everything). Our flight covered about 20 miles.

We got to the Abbey and unfortunately found more or less what we expected. The Abbey had fallen. The Abbey itself sat on a narrow spit of land, sandwiched between the sea and the Dawnforge Mountains. We first flew up to the sacred cave on Stormspire Peak. The abbey was built at the base of this mountain centuries ago because the mountain was sacred to the gods and believed to be a place where one could more easily communicate with them and discern their will. The priests had for ages been making the trek up the peak along a treacherous trail to the sacred cave where they would attempt to commune with the gods. We found some foul ceremony had been performed here involving a huge pile of naked corpses and the bloody symbol of The King the Crawls painted on to the rock face. The entrance to the cave itself had been collapsed. Our small hope that there might be survivors inside was quickly squashed when Turak called upon the mountain’s spirits to carry him beneath the earth and up into the cave. He found the altar smashed and desecrated, but no survivors.

We then went down to investigate the ruins of the abbey. There was a small band of scavengers poking about the rubble- a few Orcs, together with a handful of Hill Giants led by a female Hill Giant shaman. Not surprisingly, violence ensued. Despite our numbers being low we managed to fairly efficiently defeat them. For the first time in a long time my Stinking Cloud was very useful, as were the healing prayers to Thor cast by Bjorn. By Thor, can that man keep a party alive and healthy through a battle. Praise be to the son of Odin. Of course, Turak was also the fierce killing machine one would expect. He fearlessly lunged into battle against a pair of towering hill giants, hewing and smashing with his maul and goring with his horns when the opportunity arose. Still, I'm quite certain that I did at least my share as well- the Stinking Cloud did its job wonderfully at keeping the enemies separated, blind and choking to death. We received our share of injuries, but thanks to the gods and spirits we were able win the fight and heal our wounds.

After the dust of battle settled all of the giants and orcs were dead except for two hill giant prisoners. One was the shaman, and both readily succumbed to my Arcane Mutterings.

We more or less confirmed our expectations. We learned that the giants are led by an Earth Titan called Volgrum- the same one who destroyed Turak’s home. Their army consists of several hundred giants and several hundred orcs. The giants are mostly hill giants led by the mate of our shaman captive, but there are also said to be some stone giant clans among them. They had razed and pillaged the abbey and taken several captives. It is possible that Jarl Bloodhair’s son survives, and it is all but certain that his sword is in the hands of some high-ranking giant or even Volgrum himself. It was made plain to us that their plans are to descend on Saltmarsh in a few days.

We also found out that the giants had looted some kind of magic item/relic (or part of one) from a hidden chamber underneath the Abbey. Perhaps the survivors of the Abbey will know more. We investigated the chamber, but found no real clues to tell us what had been stolen. Certainly both Bjorn and I had not known the chamber existed, but clearly the giants had been aware of it, and it may well have been one of the primary reasons they had targeted the abbey.

Being of no use to us anymore, we then separated the shaman from her head.
After that we again mounted our eagles and took to the sky. We flew north into the mountains in search of the giant army. They did not prove to be difficult to locate. Under the cover of night, we quickly scouted out their camp from the air. It occupied a high mountain valley with but a single pass leading up to it. There was a steading at the far end of the valley, which was built directly into the mountainside. We are pretty certain that it holds their leaders, and is where Volgrum will be found. The reports we had gotten from the captured shaman were true- there were hundreds of them, enough to easily crush Saltmarsh and threaten Grimmsburg.

We have since returned home and must now decide what to do. We need to find out more about the relic that was stolen if at all possible, I believe we should launch some kind of attempt to kill Volgrum. Turok is all for this idea. Alternatively, we might try and set up an ambush of the entire army, but that seems like a course of action that would result in the loss of many skanzi lives. Whatever course of action we take, we must decide on it quickly, for the giants will soon be on the move with a titan marching at the front of their army.

[P.H. Dungeon]

The Steading of the Hill Giant King

Melek's Journal:

Well, as the man who fell off the Giant Eagle said on the way to meeting the ground, "So far, so good".

I'm really not at all sure what possessed me to go along on this mission to assassinate an Earth Titan, especially given that it was surrounded by an army of Giants. I suspect that "possessed" may actually be the right term for it. Whatever fey power it was that had recently allowed me to learn rituals and gave me insight into the ways of nature may well have been behind it. Or perhaps it was my longing to prove my worth and redeem myself that was responsible. Or maybe my desire to revenge myself on the destroyers of the only home I've experienced for the last dozen years. At any rate, I really don't expect to survive this particular adventure. At least I got to say goodbye to my little sister before leaving.

We still do not know what it was that was hidden under the Abbey. Apparently the Abbey is quite ancient and built upon the ruins of buildings older still. It is interesting that the titan seemed to know of the contents. Whatever it is, I suspect it must be of significant importance.

In all Councils of War one has to pretend to pay attention to people of much less intelligence than oneself. But a council of war where almost all of the participants are hung over is definitely a joy to be experienced. This was the case at the council I attended just before we left Grimmsburg. Both Jarl Sutur and High Cannon Ericson were thoroughly hung over from the great feast that had taken place the night before- the one we had missed out on to do our scouting of the abbey. Fortunately, there was not really that much to discuss, so their condition hardly mattered. The outcome of the council was no surprise- send us off on a nearly hopeless mission to slay the Earth Titan. Presumably they're hoping that we at least do enough damage to slow thing and its army down. Or maybe the Gods will be with us and we'll manage to slay the Titan before we ourselves perish at the hands of a horde of enraged giants.

Dean Danzig's inspirational speech left little doubt that he is a Wizard and not a Bard. A very intelligent man it is true, but he clearly leads the college because of his intellect and power and not because of the force of his personality.

So it was that Bjorn, Turak and I, this time with Bella as well, used a linked portal ritual to once again travel to Saltmarsh. After informing Jarl Bloodhair that we intended to destroy the titan, we proceeded to the giants’ steading on the backs of more summoned Giant Eagles. We landed on the roof under the cover of darkness and a conjured storm. We were able to make our way through a smoke hole into the rafters of the steading with little difficulty. The giants were quite obviously very bored, and after seeing how the giants treat their goblin "allies," I've determined to not allow myself to be captured- better to die in combat than to be used as the ball in one of their crude games.

Inside the steading, the giants were very obviously not expecting much trouble, but, unfortunately, were mounting a reasonably good watch. There were well over a dozen giants in the part of the steading that was constructed outside the mountain and an unknown number within whatever chambers and tunnels they had carved into the mountain itself.

Belladonna and her familiar scouted ahead somewhat, revealing that our quarry was mostly likely somewhere within the mountain itself, though she did not explore deep enough to determine exactly where. There was only one open gate leading from the steading structure into the deeper chambers that had been cut into the mountainside. A pair of stone giants and several hill giants were in the common hall that held the gate. Fortunately, all were in a drunken sleep- all but one stone giant. Several more hill giants were lurking in nearby chambers, but they too were for the most part sleeping.

We decided upon a plan that has the small virtue of being less awful than all of the other plans we considered. Belladonna would sneak up to the door, and I would then change places with her by the magic revealed to me by my Fey mentor. Then, between that magic and some divine magic granted to Bjorn we would, with a great deal of luck, be able to silently get everybody into the hallway inside the mountain. From there we would be able to bar the gate and seal out the giants that infested the main portion of the steading.

Unfortunately, luck was not with us. I'm a Wizard and a Warlock, well known for my arcane prowess. Unfortunately, I'm less famous for my stealth. Belladonna fulfilled her role perfectly and got me to the door. But as I tried to open it I managed to make enough noise to rouse a Hill Giant. I'd had the foresight to use my Hat of Disguise to disguise myself as an Orc and that was enough to fool the idiot of a Hill Giant. Unfortunately, the Stone Giant wasn't quite so stupid as to believe that an Orc would come into the steading to empty a chamberpot. All hell broke loose.

In the ensuing fight we managed to slay a couple of giants in the steading proper and make our way into the mountain, barring the door behind us. The giants started to try to batter open the doors, but they were well constructed of heavy logs and designed to withstand their massive kind. The task was not proving easy for them and would take time.

The ruckus we had created drew the attention of several giants residing inside the mountain, and we soon found ourselves in battle with the Hill Giant Chief, a small band of his giant allies and his pet dire tiger. All the while, the giants in the steading proper continued to batter at the doors. The fight was reasonably quick. It took a little time before the Hill Giants thought that it might be better to unbar the door than to fight with us and a little longer still before they remembered that there was a second smaller but completely undefended door at the other end of the U shaped hall that would also allow their allies to enter. Though through tremendous effort on Bjorn’s part we had been able to keep them from unbarring the main door, there was nothing we were able to do to stop a pair of them from getting to the smaller door. As they were throwing off the bar to that door, and as the other giants finally battered down the main door, we finished off the Hill Giant Chief. It had taken many of our most potent spells and resources to win the fight, and we were in no condition to take on the massive force of enemies that was suddenly surging towards us. I urge my allies to rush ahead of me into a tunnel leading even deeper into the mountain. I hung back and cast a stinking cloud spell that I hoped would slow down the giants. I then fled into a tunnel, concentrating on sustaining my spell and moving it along behind me to cover our retreat. I wasn’t at all certain if it would be enough to deter our enemies, but it helped that the giants immediately discovered the body of their dead chief, for at that point a huge argument erupted among them about who would take the chief’s place. Still, I could hear several giants pursuing us into the wide tunnel, which was clearly sloping downward deep into the earth. I kept moving down the tunnel, maintaining the spell and praying to Odin for his blessing.

[P.H. Dungeon]

The final battle with Volgrum the Titan, in which one of our most beloved heroes perishes.

Bella's journal...

Session 33: Hero is a synonym for Suicidal Idiot

My back rests against the cold stone wall of the cavern. My heart is thundering in my ears as I take deep breaths and try to calm myself. Had the giants followed us we surely would have died, however Melek’s stinking cloud spell and their natural laziness has benefited us with a brief respite. I quietly thank Odin for this blessing.

The situation is dire.

A Stone giant and his minions await us in a giant cavern below. There are no signs of any exits. There is also the added worry that the giants above, perhaps fearing later reprisals for allowing us down here, will come down to join the fight. These are only the visible threats. I have no doubt that several surprises await us in the coming fight. As long as the giants remain above we stand a chance, but I do not like the odds.

Moments ago, I had grimly suggested that we cast a link portal while we can and get out, perhaps to try again another time. I was flatly turned down and heard Melek mutter something about cowardice under his breath. The teifling believes that now is the best chance we have at accomplishing what we came to do, unfortunately the others agreed. I knew I could have run right then, started casting the ritual while they fought the enemies below. No one could have stopped me. Not being a hero, part of me wanted to leave these fools to their fate. Yet I decided to stay. Bjorn is having a negative effect on my sense of self-preservation.

The battle starts typically enough. Melek and I creep forward and survey our foes from the shadows of the tunnel we are in. The tunnel opens into a large cavern, but the ground is 30 feet below us and there is a ramp descending into the cavern along the wall to the right. The cave itself has only a couple of occupants- a stone giant and two small grey skinned humanoids. I think they may be called Norkers. I had already been watching them for a while. The giant had been hard at work chiseling a symbol of the dreaded Elemental Eye into a massive roughly “Eye” shaped stone that was resting on sturdy stone plinth. He had heard the giants shouting to Melek further up the tunnel, and when that had happened he and his two assistants had hurried to duck behind the altar. Their skins blended in well with the stone, but I had seen them and warned my companions.

There are a couple of other features in the room I should mention. One is a second altar. This one centered on a particularly ghastly looking stalagmite covered with symbols of Torog and surrounded by a pile of rotting corpses. The other thing I notice is a large pile of treasure, likely taken from the abbey, piled at the back end of the cave.

I spot an excellent place to hide behind a large stalagmite, but my concentration is broken by Turak and Bjorn giving a great battlecry and charging down the ramp. I am rendered speechless for a moment, but I quickly realize that their foolish act will not only draw our enemies to the ramp but also give me the distraction I need to reach cover.

Acting purely on instinct, I leap off the edge and use the wall to slow my fall, rolling along the ground at the bottom with only slightly less grace than I had intended. Fortunately, it is only a minor injury, and I am able to reach my cover.

To our misfortune, we discover that the Stone Giant is trained in rune magic, and he is able to cast a spell on both the cleric and the warden as they reach the bottom of the ramp. A glowing, arcane rune glides through the air, hovering over the pair, and its dark power freezes them in placer. Melek decides to remain on the ramp rather than risk the drop, this proves to be an unfortunate choice on his part, for the ground suddenly begins to quake around him and two elementals of earth and stone rise up out of the ground to surround him. From two ledges on opposite ends of the chamber strange, rock creatures reveal themselves and start throwing stone projectiles at my companions. It does not look good for us, but when does it ever look good for us?

It is both fortunate and unfortunate that the Stone Giant decides to walk forward to battle our immobilized melee fighters. If he had decided to throw stones they would have been helpless to retaliate. Moving in gives both Turak and Bjorn a chance to hurt their enemy before shrugging off the effects of the magic.

Then it happens, from the back of the cavern a section of wall shifts and walks forward. The creature is massive and looks like a walking hillside. It is Volgrum the Earth Titan. In his deep rumbling voice he starts shouting to us that he will see that we die here in glorious battle, but that our souls will not go on to Asgard. Instead, he claims that Torog will take them. I can’t help but wince when he says the name of the dark god. It is said to be very dangerous to attract his attention, for he is trapped in lightless caves and tunnels deep beneath the earth, which means that he is free to interact directly with mortals, making him that much more dangerous than most gods.

I put thoughts of Torog out of my mind and focus on the task at hand. I target my bolts upon the Stone Giant first. Luckily, he has already been wounded enough for me to able to take him out with a few shots. Melek had cursed the giant, and when he falls it enables the teifling to teleport away from the elementals. Perhaps Melek was addled by the bruises he had sustained from the elementals, for I cannot believe it when he runs up to Turak and Bjorn to engage the Earth Titan. If that be bravery I want no part of it.

From my quiet corner I rain death upon our foes. Seeing the danger in the unreachable stone men who continue to pummel my companions, I focus my fire upon them. In the center of the cavern the huge altar of the Elemental Eye provides some cover for my companions. I am able to destroy most of the Titan’s forces leaving the Titan himself our only difficulty. Turak had been holding his own against his massive foe, bravely engaging it directly with his mighty maul. Time and again the titan smashed him with his fists or sent him sprawling across the stone floor. Thanks to Bjorn’s healing powers he still managed to live, and with the help of the Thor’s blessings, the spirits of the earth and Melek’s arcane power, they had been chiseling away at the dreadful titan.

The battle is just turning in our favor when tremors start to shake the cavern. They emanate from Torog’s shrine, and I watch horrified as the floor opens up and a chasm starts snaking its way across the ground. The altar falls away as a gaping hole forms beneath it, and I watch as the hole grows wider and wider at an alarming rate. I can feel the hunger of the King that Crawls, and it seems as if he wants to devour the entire cavern.

Not wanting my escape route cut off I scurry across the battlefield to the base of the ramp. As I make my way up to the relative safety of the tunnel mouth I fire bolt after bolt at the Titan. We did not finish him however, and the chasm appears to be making its way towards him. It is as if Torog is seeking out his servant. The titan’s face is hard to read, but I can see what looks like fear on it. And when the chasm reaches him, the ground itself opens up and swallows our enemy. He manages to catch onto the edge, but Melek blasts him with a spell and forces him to lose his grip, and I watch as our mark plummets down into the darkness. It is time to get out of here. Melek appears to agree with me, for he comes running up the ramp soon after I reach the top. Bjorn and Turak however do not. They instead run to the treasure pile at the back of the cavern as I provided cover fire against the couple rockmen that remain up on their ledges. As fast as they are able, they grab what they can and start run back. I know that Bjorn was looking for that mysterious relic taken from the abbey, and Turak was looking for the tablets stolen from his labyrinth. Neither of the artifacts seem to be there, for they come back with only a belt and some chainmale.

Unfortunately for them the chasm never stops growing, and it cuts them off from escape. There is no way to reach the bottom of the ramp, so they made their way towards us. Fortunately, Melek has the presence of mind to fix a rope so that they would be able to climb up.

It was then the unthinkable happens. Bjorn slips and falls into the widening fissure. He throws his hammer and grabs onto the edge in desperation and catches himself. Hanging over certain damnation he screams at us to run. Believing that he could pull himself up and still make it to the rope we follow his command. Melek is able to recover his hammer with his mage hand spell, and Turak climbs up the rope. Just as the minotaur gets to the top, Bjorn, trying to scramble up the loose earth, loses his grip and falls.

I have a moment of shocked silence as I watch my longest and truest companion fall into the darkness. We do not have time to contemplate his fate, as the danger has not passed. The fissure is still widening and we have to get out of this cursed place.

We realize when we reach the upper level that the giants have the same idea and we are able to escape in the ensuing chaos. Melek calls the spirit eagles and I watch our fourth eagle fly into the distance bereft of its charge instead of watching the giants’ fortress sink into the earth. Torog’s wrath is terrible, for not only does he swallow up the steading, but he takes with it the entire valley and along with that they entire giant army. It is a terrible sight to behold, and I almost feel pity for the giants. We watch for several moments. and then with heavy hearts we fly back to Grimmsburg.

[P.H. Dungeon]

Melek's journal:

After getting onto the backs of the giant eagles we watched for awhile as the entire valley collapsed into earth, pulling with it the whole of the giant army. Oh, I'm sure that there will be a few survivors, but that particular threat is vanquished. One could almost feel a little bit of pity for them. Well, if they hadn't destroyed Thunderholme Abbey one could.

We proceeded from the valley back to Saltmarsh where we told the populace the "good" news- the giant threat was no more and that, unfortunately, the Jarl’s son was almost certainly dead. At least we'd managed to find the lad’s ancestral sword and return that.

There was a lot of muttering from the townspeople. Many of them don't really believe that we did what we said we did. It doesn't really help when your choice of spokesman is a Minotaur, a Tiefling or a Crime lord. And our coming back without even the body of the only person in our group that they probably trusted with an outlandish story didn’t make it any better. I'll give Jarl Bloodhair credit; at least he gave us a reasonable reward (albeit one far below the actual value, I'm sure) for the sword that we recovered.

We warned them to be very careful in visiting the valley and advised the Jarl to post some sentries there. Who knows what may come out from the pit?

We then returned to Grimmsburg with our news. I expressed to Canon Wulgrim my concern that the King that Crawls may now be in possession of Bjorn’s soul. He promised to see if he could find out if this was true, but he didn't seem particularly optimistic that he'd get a clear answer. In fact, he didn't really seem all that concerned either, although perhaps I do him an injustice by that.

In Grimmsburg we found our numbers augmented by a Priest of Odin. One that I'd never met before. His name is Corvin, and he is an Androsax. He is the brother of Deryl, the girl consumed by Loki’s fire and Derren, the man in Grimsburg that Bella treated with such contempt. It’s far too soon to know much about him, but there seems to be a certain tension between him and Bella. I think that he might blame her for the loss of his sister, since she had been in Bella’s custody at the time of her demise.

After a brief respite to recover from our injuries we decided that what we needed most was more information.

We (including Wulgrim) traveled back to the chamber under Thunderholme where the relic had been held. There I cast a ritual called Whispers of the Edifice that allowed us to question the room itself. From the room we learned that the Abbey itself had been built over the secret room, a room holding one fifth of an ancient artifact known as The Divine Engine of Odin.

At Canon Wulgrim’s request, we then proceeded to fly back to the remnants of the giant stronghold. We found a massive sinkhole where the valley had once been. It was very deep, and the bottom was covered by a thin, putrid mist. There were no signs of any portal to hell or strange creatures coming out of the ground, but I could feel the touch of a malignant god at work, and we could hear the keening calls of what may have been those suffering in his torture dens rising up out fissures at the bottom of the terrible pit.

When we got back to Grimmsburg, we decided it was time to, basically, hit the books and see if we could determine what was going on. So we went to the Skaldsholme Library where we found Briannah, the head librarian and an old associate of our group and the sister in law to our newfound ally, to be in great, great distress. Driven nearly insane by the turmoil of past abuses inflicted on her by cultists, she was totally neglecting herself in the quest for knowledge about the Cult of Elemental Eye. She claimed to be researching the cult, so that she would better know her enemy. I hope that is true. It should also be noted that she is a younger sister of Vesna and daughter of Jarl Surtur. I wonder if the jarl is aware of how bad her condition has become.

Spearheaded primarily by Corvin, we actually managed to get her into something approximating reasonable shape, while simultaneously using the library to research the Divine Engine and the tablets that had been stolen from Turak’s people. The process took many long weeks, and it reminded me of my days back at the Scarlet Stone Academy. Odin helped us with the Hand of Fate pointing to the more useful books.

There was much to be learned about Odin’s Divine Engine. We discovered that it was a powerful artifact created by the gods during the Dawn War to imprison a mighty primordial known as Y’mir. Y’mir is said to be creator of the giants and was a terrible enemy of the Aesir. They used the device to imprison Y’mir in the Elemental Chaos, and after the deed was done, Thor shattered the engine with his hammer. It broke into five pieces, and the pieces were scattered to the five planes. The one that ended up on Midgard was hidden beneath Thuderholme abbey for safe keeping. The fragment that found its way to the Astral Sea was recovered by the Aesir, and is now said to be stored in Odin’s treasure vault. We could not discover the locations of the remaining three fragments. We believe one is somewhere in the Elemental Chaos, another in the Feywild, and the final shard is in the Shadowfell. Whether that is true to this day, and where exactly they are, we don’t know.

We also learned that the King the Crawls was involved with the creation and use of the engine. In fact, during the Dawn War, he was known as the Savior, for he was a mighty god, and it was with his aid that the Aesir were able to push Y’mir’s horde of giants and titans back from the gates of Asgard and defeat Y’mir himself. According to the legends, there were several nights of great feasting after Y’mir’s defeat. During this time Odin grew jealous and angry towards the Savior, for he felt the god was flirting with his wife Friga. Odin summoned Loki the trickster, and together they concocted a plan to at the same time put the Savior to good use and rid themselves of his presence. Odin approached him with an offer. He told the Savior that he could join the ranks of the Aesir if he passed one final test. He would have to travel to the depths of Midgard and defeat the primordial known as Gargath. To aid him in this task the Odin gave him an enchanted sword that would give him the power to single handedly best this deadly foe. The Savior agreed, for he was a lonely god, his great beauty, perfect health and skill made the other gods jealous of him, and few wanted to be in his presence. He saw Odin’s offer, as a great opportunity to gain acceptance among his peers. Thus, he agreed to the quest. He confronted Gargash, and the pair battled their way through the depths of midgard. It was a long, arduous battle, and the Savior only barely bested his foe. When he drove his god forged blade into the primordial to land the killing blow, the curse Loki had hidden in the blade was triggered. It trapped the Savior in the depths of Midgard, preventing him from ever being able to return the Astral Sea. He would never have his place among the Aesir. Over the ages the Savior’s anger and bitterness at this treachery transformed him into the The King that Crawls. Clearly, he still harbors a grudge against the gods to this day.

It seems quite possible that the King that Crawls is behind these events, though we saw clear evidence that the giants were also affiliated with the Cult of the Elemental Eye. Perhaps these enemies of the gods have made some kind of an alliance. Perhaps they seek to reforge the divine engine. Perhaps they believe that by freeing Y’mir they can have their revenge against the Aesir and/or free the Elemental Eye.

We decided it would be prudent to seek out the stolen fragment. For a while the Hand of Fate told us that the piece of the artifact and the Golden Horn tablets were both somewhere north of here. But before we could organize an expedition to go north the Hand indicated that they were elsewhere. Where “elsewhere” is, we are not sure, but we suspect it is no longer on Midgard.

We have decided that for now we will try find at least one of the remaining fragments. If the King that Crawls is in fact trying acquire them so that he can reforge the Divine Engine, than ensuring that they stay out of his hands can only be a good thing. Using the Hand of Fate, we were able to determine that going to the Fey Wild is at least an option with a possibility of success. There I may be able to make contact with my fey patron, and hopefully find a means of locating a fragment of the engine.

[P.H. Dungeon]

We've had another new addition to the group. This character is an Elf by the name of Ardyn, who happens to be a two weapon fighting ranger.

The party currently consists of:

Bella (level 14 changeling/rogue/sorcerer)
Melek (level 14 tiefling wizard/warlock)
Corvin Androsax (level 14, human/cleric)
Turak (level 14, minotaur/warden)
Ardyn (level 14, elf/ranger)

Session 35 – Wolfsbane

I am no fool.

I know that those that I have been traveling with are involved in events that will affect the whole world. If they do not succeed it will allow chaos and darkness to swallow the land. I have seen them fight and I believe that without me, they will all die. So even though I have responsibilities here in Grimmsburg, I will join them.

Melek has proven to be resourceful in discovering a vague idea of where the fragments of the God Engine have disappeared to. It would seem that our ‘destiny’ is dragging us into the Feywild. I’m relieved for even though I have an affinity for cold I prefer a more temperate environment than the North.

It would seem I am the last of our original band, everyone else either dead or retired, but mostly dead. Corvin foolishly blames me for the loss of his sister Deryl back in the Trollhaunt, but I care little for his opinion. There was honestly nothing that could be done. He does not seem to realize that this is a dangerous path we walk, and it is being watched by the gods, not all of them the good ones. He will learn that lesson though, and probably sooner than later.

Knowing that there are paths to the Feywild in Moonstair we returned there. Someone new, an elf named Ardyn, has joined us. He had served the Jarl as a warden, and apparently spent much time hunting orc bands in the Nentir Vale. Apparently, he had heard of our deeds, and wanted a chance to join a band of adventurers foolish enough to take the fight to the Norland’s most dangerous enemies. I couldn’t help notice that he carried a weapon with a frost enchantment. With my ability to make these weapons more effective, we will fight well together.

We waited until the moon was full in the sky, then using a circle of standing stones near Moonstair we arrived in the Feywild. We sought out the place where Melek made his pact with his fey patron. Melek again made use of his Eagle’s flight ritual, allowing us to search miles and miles of Feywild swamp from the air. Eventually, we located an island in the middle of the swamp that was speckled with crumbling stone menhirs. It was here we landed, for according to the tiefling it was the spot where he had first encountered the Maiden of the Moon.

We made camp on the island, and we waited until the moon was full in the sky. At some point I fell asleep. In fact, we all did. Everything became dreamy haze. I recall seeing a woman appear to us. She was a beautiful eladrin with eyes like the moon and long flowing silver hair. She held in her hand a slender silver sword. I recall her saying to us only a single phrase: “Slay my enemies and find what you seek.”

I remember little else. When I woke up we were no longer on the island in the swamp. Instead, we were on a cold, windy mountainside overlooking a forested valley. The moon was still full and in the sky. We could hear the howl of wolves down in the valley. On the opposite side of the valley, a moonbeam shone down illuminating some sort of fortified gatehouse type structure built into the side of a mountain. A winding road led up the mountain from the forest to the gatehouse. It was pretty clear that this was our destination, though we had no idea where we were or what the place was.

We contemplated waiting until morning, but decided to press on. Thus, we entered the dark alpine forest. The trees were towering giants, and a bed of needles carpeted the forest floor, leaving little opportunity for smaller bushes and plants to grow. It made walking relatively easy. All around us we could hear the howls of the wolves. As we went the howls started to get closer. The beasts had picked up our scents, and soon we were beginning to catch glimpses of them moving among the trees. I tried to scout ahead but it proves fruitless. We are still ambushed in a clearing by the foul beasts. They came at us from all sides, hunting in a pack. Some were hulking dire wolves, others were smaller werewolves that had assumed a deadly hybrid form.

It is the first time I was able to witness Corvin in a fight. He was much different from his brother- quiet and introspective and he seems to have only some of the Androsax foolishness. He does however possess his brother’s bloodlust and he throws himself into battle. I watch as he is brought to within an inch of his life several times only to be drawn back by the will of his god. He will only have himself to blame for his death.

The elf proved to be just as effective as I though, ruthlessly cutting into foes with his twin scimitars. Working together we were able to make quick work of our enemies, for what he started I could finish.

I drew back and fired from the shadows, taking cover behind a large log. The darkness of the woods swallowing me so effectively that the wolves could not see me. They passed me for easier prey, that being the fire hurling tiefling. Melek remained in the middle of the clearing when the wolves closed in, and as a result he was savaged by them. Fortunately, Turak was his usual self. He came to Melek’s aid, crushing skulls with his mighty maul. We made quick work of them.

In the end, I was the only one who left the battle without a scratch, and the others were thankful for Corvin’s healing magics. Undaunted we continued, and now we stand at the foot of a cliff ready to enter a massive fortress. It is going to be a long night.

[P.H. Dungeon]

We've had another new addition to the group. This character is an Elf by the name of Ardyn, who happens to be a two weapon fighting ranger.

The party currently consists of:

Bella (level 14 changeling/rogue/sorcerer)
Melek (level 14 tiefling wizard/warlock)
Corvin Androsax (level 14, human/cleric)
Turak (level 14, minotaur/warden)
Ardyn (level 14, elf/ranger)

Session 35 – Wolfsbane

I am no fool.

I know that those that I have been traveling with are involved in events that will affect the whole world. If they do not succeed it will allow chaos and darkness to swallow the land. I have seen them fight and I believe that without me, they will all die. So even though I have responsibilities here in Grimmsburg, I will join them.

Melek has proven to be resourceful in discovering a vague idea of where the fragments of the God Engine have disappeared to. It would seem that our ‘destiny’ is dragging us into the Feywild. I’m relieved for even though I have an affinity for cold I prefer a more temperate environment than the North.

It would seem I am the last of our original band, everyone else either dead or retired, but mostly dead. Corvin foolishly blames me for the loss of his sister Deryl back in the Trollhaunt, but I care little for his opinion. There was honestly nothing that could be done. He does not seem to realize that this is a dangerous path we walk, and it is being watched by the gods, not all of them the good ones. He will learn that lesson though, and probably sooner than later.

Knowing that there are paths to the Feywild in Moonstair we returned there. Someone new, an elf named Ardyn, has joined us. He had served the Jarl as a warden, and apparently spent much time hunting orc bands in the Nentir Vale. Apparently, he had heard of our deeds, and wanted a chance to join a band of adventurers foolish enough to take the fight to the Norland’s most dangerous enemies. I couldn’t help notice that he carried a weapon with a frost enchantment. With my ability to make these weapons more effective, we will fight well together.

We waited until the moon was full in the sky, then using a circle of standing stones near Moonstair we arrived in the Feywild. We sought out the place where Melek made his pact with his fey patron. Melek again made use of his Eagle’s flight ritual, allowing us to search miles and miles of Feywild swamp from the air. Eventually, we located an island in the middle of the swamp that was speckled with crumbling stone menhirs. It was here we landed, for according to the tiefling it was the spot where he had first encountered the Maiden of the Moon.

We made camp on the island, and we waited until the moon was full in the sky. At some point I fell asleep. In fact, we all did. Everything became dreamy haze. I recall seeing a woman appear to us. She was a beautiful eladrin with eyes like the moon and long flowing silver hair. She held in her hand a slender silver sword. I recall her saying to us only a single phrase: “Slay my enemies and find what you seek.”

I remember little else. When I woke up we were no longer on the island in the swamp. Instead, we were on a cold, windy mountainside overlooking a forested valley. The moon was still full and in the sky. We could hear the howl of wolves down in the valley. On the opposite side of the valley, a moonbeam shone down illuminating some sort of fortified gatehouse type structure built into the side of a mountain. A winding road led up the mountain from the forest to the gatehouse. It was pretty clear that this was our destination, though we had no idea where we were or what the place was.

We contemplated waiting until morning, but decided to press on. Thus, we entered the dark alpine forest. The trees were towering giants, and a bed of needles carpeted the forest floor, leaving little opportunity for smaller bushes and plants to grow. It made walking relatively easy. All around us we could hear the howls of the wolves. As we went the howls started to get closer. The beasts had picked up our scents, and soon we were beginning to catch glimpses of them moving among the trees. I tried to scout ahead but it proves fruitless. We are still ambushed in a clearing by the foul beasts. They came at us from all sides, hunting in a pack. Some were hulking dire wolves, others were smaller werewolves that had assumed a deadly hybrid form.

It is the first time I was able to witness Corvin in a fight. He was much different from his brother- quiet and introspective and he seems to have only some of the Androsax foolishness. He does however possess his brother’s bloodlust and he throws himself into battle. I watch as he is brought to within an inch of his life several times only to be drawn back by the will of his god. He will only have himself to blame for his death.

The elf proved to be just as effective as I though, ruthlessly cutting into foes with his twin scimitars. Working together we were able to make quick work of our enemies, for what he started I could finish.

I drew back and fired from the shadows, taking cover behind a large log. The darkness of the woods swallowing me so effectively that the wolves could not see me. They passed me for easier prey, that being the fire hurling tiefling. Melek remained in the middle of the clearing when the wolves closed in, and as a result he was savaged by them. Fortunately, Turak was his usual self. He came to Melek’s aid, crushing skulls with his mighty maul. We made quick work of them.

In the end, I was the only one who left the battle without a scratch, and the others were thankful for Corvin’s healing magics. Undaunted we continued, and now we stand at the foot of a cliff ready to enter a massive fortress. It is going to be a long night.

[P.H. Dungeon]

DMs Note: My player’s journal missed one key event that I will fill in here. After being attacked by moon-frenzied werewolves in the valley, they continued on to the far side of the valley. They made their way up a steep mountain trail, and at the end of the trail, half way up the mountainside, they discovered the entrance to a stone fortress, which was carved into the mountainside. A pair of giant stone doors stood open. Beyond the doors was a large entry room guarded by hulking, armored Cyclops and a pair of fey dire wolves. On the opposite side of the room was another set of stone doors that provided the only visible means of entrance to whatever was deeper in the mountain.

The heroes quickly assessed the situation and decided to approach with violence. Without any attempts at diplomacy, they attacked the Cyclops. I believe this was done primarily because the Lady of the Moon had said to them, “Kill my enemies and find what you seek.” Clearly they had taken these words to heart. They fared well against the Cyclops, but were also fired upon by hobgoblin archers who had taken up positions behind arrow slits that were carved into the walls of the entry room. The hobgoblins fired into the room with the benefit of full cover, which made them difficult to remove and a dangerous threat to the heroes. As usual the heroes prevailed, but they had sustained a beating and retreated back out to the ledge for a short rest. By the end of the session, they had not yet made it into the fortress.

Melek’s journal:

After killing the immediate door guards and failing to win entry into the rest of the fortress, we decided to retreat a little to regroup, bringing one of the cyclops’ bodies with us for further interrogation using a Speak with Dead ritual.

After resting a little, we discussed what questions we should ask of the dead Cyclops. We eventually decided that we should ask only questions that would affect our actions. The first (and by far the most important) question was "Where is an alternative entrance?" It revealed to us that there is another, smaller, hidden and less guarded door a few dozen feet above out heads. Perhaps we should have looked further before asking the question? No, not really. It is night and we're in terra incognita. Better to use a little magic than to needlessly risk scouting.

The second question was "What are the defences that we face?" The answer was that 50 hobgoblin archers and 20 Cyclops are stationed in the gatehouse- gatehouse to what? We don't know. Nor do we know how far it is to the next set of defenders.

At any rate, somewhat restored we decided to foray into the smaller passage. We got up to the passage with no difficulty at all. Turak seems to have decided to take on the role of clown, racing a rope of climbing up the cliff side for no apparent reason. I'm starting to think that he has become quite unbalanced- still, he more than admirably fulfills his part in combat. If he is touched in the head that is probably of little import right now.

Bella scouted ahead. The passageway led into the area above the entrance chamber, the area from which archers could fire down on us through murder holes or drop rocks and the like on our heads. There were a handful of hobgoblins up here but between Bella, Arden and myself we managed to quickly and quietly slay them. We then peered down through the murder holes, and we were able to get a feel for where we were. The entire place is essentially a gatehouse, guarding a portcullis to a passageway leading deeper into the mountain. There is a side portcullis as well. The devices are worked from the second floor (the floor where we currently are).

How far it is from here to the next location is very unclear- hopefully far enough that we can deal with the remaining guards in the gatehouse before reinforcements arrive.

We decided to continue our assault and headed down a flight of stairs to a series of hallways that were located behind the arrow slits that accessed the entry gauntlet. We were within their fortress! We almost managed to take out another handful of hobgoblins quietly before raising the alarm. Suddenly horns were blowing and more hobgoblins and cyclops warriors were pouring into the halls to confront us. Luckily, the halls were fairly narrow.

At that point, a fairly long drawn out and chaotic battle ensued. We put down another squad of hobgoblin archers with little difficulty but quickly ran into some cyclops. A battle between Arden and Turak on the one side and some cyclops on the other side started at one end of the corridor while we heard reinforcements coming at us from behind. No sooner had we dealt with the Hobgoblin reinforcements coming at our rear than the door in the middle of the corridor burst open and a couple of Cyclops attempted to split our party in twain.

Turak once again showed his mettle in this combat, essentially single handedly taking on two Cyclops. Admittedly, only one at a time was able to get at him but it was still an impressive accomplishment. His actions definitely make me question his sanity, though. He seems convinced that Arden is his imaginary friend. I suppose it makes sense from one point of view. Arden is very abnormal in size and stature for an elf. Unlike the normal frail and willowy sort he is a big hulking elf. Exactly as a Minotaur WOULD imagine an elf to be.

At one point in the fight Arden was in quite significant danger, bellowing that nobody was allowed to hurt his imaginary friend, Turak charged in to save him.

The fight was hard but all of us pulled our weight. I managed to slay most of the hobgoblins in short order, their puny minds no match for the fiery little pixies I summoned to assault them. I was of some use against the cyclops as well, although the lion’s share of killing them was performed by Arden, Bella and Turak. Corvin meanwhile wielded the divine power of Odin with grace and efficiency, managing to keep us all on our feet despite the best efforts of the Cyclops. He is also a valiant and worthy fighter, holding the line against the Cyclops as a true warrior. All of us except, of course, Bella took significant
damage from the Cyclops and their Hobgoblin allies but it was nothing that we could not handle.

Eventually, we managed to clear the area of our enemies and threw up a makeshift barrier to keep out the Cyclops reinforcements who were advancing on our position. If my count is accurate we have now slain 11 Cyclops and well over 40 Hobgoblins. If we make the quite questionable assumptions that the Cyclops was speaking the truth AND that no reinforcements have yet arrived from another location that means that we still face about 9 Cyclops and perhaps a dozen or so hobgoblins to deal with.

We have retreated back upstairs for the moment. At the very least we need a short rest to recover some of our abilities. Ideally we'll have sufficient time to take a much longer rest. But whether or not we seek that luxury and whether or not we are granted it are matters to be discussed soon.

We're all (well, except for Bella) coming fairly near to the end of our rope. Certainly both Arden and I are quite wounded right now , although we're still in fighting fettle. Some of our powers have been expended but we still retain many more of them. I'm sure that we can still succeed IF all that we face are the original inhabitants of this guardhouse. The alternative of trying to rest for long carries the huge risk that reinforcements will arrive. But it might still be the wiser plan.

[P.H. Dungeon]

Bella's journal

Session 36: The Easy Way

We bypassed the stronghold with all of our usual diplomacy. Melech’s fey patron, the Maiden of the Moon, had guided us to this fortress, telling us to eliminate her enemies. We attacked immediately and started a siege. It has been difficult and only now cowering in a narrow passage with the stench of minotaur burning my nose do I think about how easy it could have been.

Once again I remind myself that Stark is dead and there is nothing threatening me anymore. Keeping my true nature as a changeling a secret is starting to hurt me. How much easier would this siege have been if I had been able to approach this fortress as one of their own? If we could have worked together to invent some story and just walked in?

Of course that is not what happened. Instead we opened with a warning shot, and had the door slammed in our face. We overcame the fortress the hard way, the six of us against an army. Outnumbered but fortunately not out classed.

After we cleared out the first room we needed a new plan. I used a speak with dead ritual to interrogate one of our fallen enemies. He directed us to a narrow passage built into the walls, perhaps used to look down at enemies. Climbing up we discovered that it was just big enough for a goblin but not the giant Cyclops. Quietly skulking forward we found our enemy waiting for us to try another frontal assault. Quickly and quietly both the elf and I eliminated them. Carefully exploring I discover we had taken this entire level and not alerted any of those waiting for us to try coming through the front door again.

Overconfident, we decide to try and take one side of the first level, and that is when the inevitable happened. In the first level were the archers, lined up along a hallway at murder holes. When we started our attack the rest of the fortress was alerted. Suddenly we were facing the entire garrison.

Cyclops and goblins poured from every direction and for every one that dropped two more would take their place. As the battle dragged on we started using the bodies of our fallen enemies as cover. Finally, after a long battle, things quieted down. We looked at each other. Everyone else but me was broken, bleeding and spent. There was only one thing we could do, we retreated to the small passage to catch our breath. All of us knew that this siege was far from over.

[P.H. Dungeon]

Session #37, Melek’s journal:

After managing to defeat about half the Cyclops we decided that it was time to retreat from the remaining half and regroup a little, so we headed back upstairs and holed up in the small cave above the main entrance where the Cyclops would find it difficult to come and get us

After we'd gathered our breath a little, Ardyn revealed that he could bring us some help. Apparently he has a magical horn that can be used to summon an ally, even across the planar barrier. I wonder where he got something that interesting and powerful. I wonder if he realizes quite how powerful such an item could be.

I expressed some concerns about grabbing somebody from his nice safe location and dropping him into an unknown place in the Feywild to fight a large number of giants for no better reason than that they were in our way and we were told to kill the enemies of my patron. But apparently the ally won't mind being summoned and also will have no trouble killing random strangers because Ardyn wants him to. I'm not sure if I should be reassured or panicked by that. Probably both.

Still, we're hardly in a position to refuse any aid at this point and Ardyn seems determined so I decline to press the matter.

Ardyn blows a horn and pretty much instantaneously a wild apparition appears. He reminds me greatly of that character called Gollum that I saw in the Noh plays in the south, complete with the fish in his mouth.

That partly facetious remark aside, this new companion of ours is called S’mar and would appear to be a shifter, which, I admit, is a step up from being a full blooded werewolf. He's savage and, even by our standards, quite peculiar. All he wants to know is who to kill. He doesn't really care one whit for why. Fortunately, he doesn't seem to know of the Lady of The Moon. I'm not entirely certain, but I strongly suspect that she would hate him only marginally less than she hates the werewolves in the valley.

To give him credit, he seems to have no difficulties allying with a Minotaur and a Tiefling.

At about this point, one of the Cyclops calls out to us. They've come upstairs and want to negotiate. All of the following is done through Ardyn (he speaks Elven), so I might be missing some nuances, but the gist of it is that they want us to surrender (no doubt so that they can instantly kill us), and we want them to surrender (doubtless so that we can instantly kill them). Not surprisingly, both sides decline the opportunity to commit suicide. They bluster a little about having sent for help and that if we flee they'll track us down with their werewolf allies. Nice to know that they ARE allies of the werewolves. I admit that I'd been a touch concerned that they were actually enemies and that the gate was primarily to keep them out.

We at least gain a little information in the exchange. The gatehouse guards the entrance to Harrowthane, a city ruled by a fomorian. That little fact also means that we pretty much don't have to worry about where we need to go next. Doubtless the piece of the Engine is either held in the vault of the fomorian or he holds the next piece of the puzzle leading us to it.

Given the unfortunately quite plausible threat of reinforcements we decide that we should attack now. While that was doubtless their objective in sharing the information we really have little choice.

S’mar has access to some useful primal magic and manages to conceal our exit from the alcove with at little bit of mist. Not that the cyclops are unaware of our presence or anything but it does make it harder to hit us.

A large combat then ensues between the remaining cyclops with their hobgoblin support and ourselves. My Wall of Fire spell is quite efficacious in allowing us to deal with the giants in a somewhat piecemeal fashion as opposed to all at once. Not to mention considerably singeing several of them in the process. S’mar fights about the way one would expect, brutally but effectively with a pair of battleaxes. The rest of us conform to our usual tactics.

The giants seem to take it personally when Ardyn kills their leader while (I presume) taunting them, and they concentrate a lot of their efforts on him. We manage to keep him alive, but it’s a fairly close contest since he is almost completely exhausted and on his last legs [Out of healing surges in game terms]. I'm also reeling and am almost knocked unconscious at one point but manage to keep going.

It is a hard fought fight, especially when the Cyclops try to pour burning oil on us, but we manage to prevail without taking any casualties.

We then quite quickly ransack the place. We obtain 1,000 gold which at least means that we'll have some of the local currency if we make it to the city. No maps or information is to be found, unfortunately.

We head down the major tunnel towards the city, which we believe is located in the Feydark. We hope to find a side passage before meeting the promised reinforcements. We succeed, albeit barely. As we come to a narrow stream coming out of a wall we meet up with a large force of reinforcements, far too many for us to currently fight.

We flee into the passage cut by the stream. S’mar was attempting to talk with the Dire Wolf hounds of the giants (it’s hardly the animals fault that we want to kill their masters), but his attempts went for naught when Belladonna decided to shoot them. I'm not at all sure why she did this as we were all fleeing anyway and even she wasn't going to be able to kill them quickly enough to do any good.

At any rate, we fled up the passage unpursued. It was too narrow for the cyclops and the wolves, and the hobgoblins were hardly going to come on their own.

After not too long a while, we came out into a cave where we could get some well deserved sleep. I admit to wondering if S’mar understood more than I thought abut my connections to the Maiden of the Moon and if I'd wake up dead. I suppose that I could have tried to stay awake but the truth of the matter is that I was exhausted and, if he and Ardwyn want me dead then one way or the other I'm sure that they'll succeed.

To my pleasant relief I instead woke up quite refreshed and rearing to continue on. I cast a ritual and we talked to some rats. They weren't a huge amount of help but basically told us that one of the 2 other passages out of this cave would lead us to the large worms and the other wouldn't. Both would eventually end up at the city (all passageways seemingly lead to Harrowthane)

We then spent the best part of day wandering through caverns both wonderous and magnificent and deadly and exhausting. I'd like to come back here some time when I have a lot more time and leisure to really experience their true beauty.

Of note was a cavern filled with mushrooms, mushrooms that send deadly spores if disturbed. Using our various means we all managed to get through more or less unscathed.

We eventually came to a large cliff face that we had to climb. Once again my wonderful physical abilities came to the front as, just inches from the top, I managed to lose my grip and plummet to the bottom. Fortunately I was able to Fey Step at the last second and so avoid a nearly certain death. The second time I climbed I managed to succeed in making the climb.

From the cliff top we can see an incredible large cavern with a small village nearby and a city in the distance. In the city are various people wandering about including eladrin, shifters, hobgoblins and cyclops. We start to consider the possibility of disguising ourselves. One Hat of Disguise will only go so far, especially since I don't speak elven.

At this point Belladonna speaks up and reveals a secret. She is actually not human but is really a Changeling. Well, that certainly has the potential of helping us. And it explains some things about her. It’s interesting that Corvin seems completely unsurprised by this new development.

It’s nice to know now that as a tiefling I'm actually one of the more respectable races in this party.

We then start to discuss tactics. If we are to have any chance of sneaking into the city we're going to have to disguise Turak. It’s not at all clear if we can convince him to use the Hat of Disguise. Even if we can, at best we'll not be obvious from a distance. Close up the fact that few of us speak elven is likely to become obvious.

[P.H. Dungeon]

This is my first journal from Smar, the shifter ranger. It is also regarding game session 37.

I remember when Ardyn first taught me letters. I wouldn’t be able to write this without those lessons. I had not seen Ardyn in many a moon, until earlier today. Finally, Ardyn has called upon his turn to blow the Bloodbrother’s Horn. I was eating fish, freshly caught from a brook in the Winterbole, one moment; the next I was standing in a small cave looking out over the edge of a mountain. From deeper in the cave I heard a booming voice call out demanding surrender. Ardyn stood next to me, horn in hand. He and his companions were covered in bruises, cuts, and gashes. They looked tired, and desperate. It felt just like the good old days!

The fight was quick, but brutal. Ardyn’s companions are an impressive bunch: a human woman with a keen eye and a crossbow with which to use it—I saw her fell more than one of the brutes with a quarrel in the eye, magical frost spreading away from the wound. There is a large bull-headed man who seems to be able to speak with the spirits of the land much as I do—indeed, I saw him call upon a great swarm of spirits to hold two of the one eyed brutes in place. Then there is a man-demon capable of calling up flame—at one point in time he called upon a great wall of it in order to stop our foes from falling upon us in numbers. Finally, there is skanzi priest of Odin—he certainly bears the favour of his god, at least enough to close freshly opened wounds within minutes of suffering injury. I allowed the wolf in my veins to feast. Whoever the giant one eyed men my friend was fighting with were, they died quickly. I fell upon their leader, and Ardyn finished him off. Just like old times!

But two of Ardyn’s companions worry me. Odin’s people have not been kind to me in the past, nor I to them. It was not for nothing that the men of Nenlaslt called me Nenlasltagandr or Nenlasltahræzla. To them, I was the monster and the terror; they earned my brutality with this mistreatment of my people, of me. Meanwhile, I heard the man-demon say that he worships The Lady of the Moon. I have heard many of my people call her our enemy in the past. But Ardyn assures me that this Odin worshiper saved his life twice, and the man-demon tells me that they seek pieces of something called the “God Engine” to stop primordials from walking the Nentir Vally again. The spirits bear no love for the primordials. So, stuck in the Feywild as I now am, it seems me and my blood-brother will travel side by side again.
After fighting the one eyed giants we entered the caverns they were guarding. One of the one eyed warriors told us that these caverns lead to a great underground city. Then Ardyn’s companions killed him. Personally, I would have let him live. His people were fools for not surrendering when we first gave them a chance, after me and Ardyn felled their leader, but my bloodlust was sated; I saw no reason to kill this lone survivor after he dropped his weapons, he had done me no great harm. Still, it is too late to worry about it now. It was the bull-headed man that crushed his skull, and I trust that he did as the spirits bid him.

In the caverns we eventually came upon an underground waterfall created by a river that poured out of a smaller cave whose mouth was located on a ledge above us. Just as we did a massive patrol of reinforcements were heard rounding the bend. They were lead by a pack of wolves tracking for them. Me, Ardyn, and his companions, managed to scramble up ledge before the giants or goblins saw us. I saw many one eyed giants and hobgoblins entering the cavern bellow the ledge. However, the massive wolves that tracked for them caught our scent. They did something I have never seen another wolf do; they teleported up to the top of the ledge! I wanted to try and convince them that we were not their enemy, should not be their prey, but the woman shot quarrels at them. It is hard to convince a wolf that you are not its enemy when those you travel with attack it. At least we did not kill any of them. We left them at the mouth of the cave as we ran up the river. This passage was too small, too tight of a fit, for the wolves or giants to follow.

Currently we rest in a cave by the side of an underground spring. Soon we will rise, and then we will try and find a way through these winding caves towards this underground city. I wonder if a “city” will be anything like the town of Nenlaslt. If these strange giants and goblins are Ardyn’s enemies, I imagine that it might…

[P.H. Dungeon]

This is Melek's journal for session #38 I believe.

Currently the party consists of:

Bella (changeling rogue with a touch of sorcerer, level 15)
Melek (tiefling, warlock/wizard, level 15)
Corvin (human, cleric of Odin 14)
Turak (minotaur, warden 14)
Smar (shifter, ranger (hunter) 14)
Arden (elf, ranger 14)

Most of us waited back at the entrance to the secluded cavern while Bella, Smar and Ardyn decided to scout out the Feydark city that sprawled out before us. They were all chosen for their linguistic abilities and not particularly for their diplomatic prowess.

They fairly quickly determined that we were in one ward of a larger city called Harrowthane. The ward filled the massive cavern it was constructed in, and it seemed that there were other wards in their own caverns, connected by well guarded tunnels. The ward was clearly one of the low rent districts, many of the inhabltants being obvious slaves. There was a mix of races, mainly goblinoids and shifters but a smattering of eladrin and even a human or two (albeit unarmed and unarmoured). What there was not were minotaurs and tiefilngs. Or anybody except hobgoblins and cyclops who sported a 10th the weaponry and armour that we carry. It didn’t seem like many Cyclops lived in this ward, and the ones that were seen looked primarily like guards who were there to keep the masses in line.

Our scouts managed to pick up a surprising amount by eavesdropping on the inhabitants. Not at all surprisingly, the news of the day was ourselves and our taking of the gatehouse. If nothing else, we have disturbed the peace and sleep of the fomorian King. Unfortunately, he has increased the guard around him and has put the city onto an alert status. While this is also not a surprise, it will make our mission harder.

The city of Harrowthane has two very obvious and significant opponents. The Fomorian king is named Bronnor. He also has some kind of sorcerous ally who obviously inspires great fear and terror in the populace. Her name is Kaleestra. Who or what she really is isn't yet known but she apparently raised the captain of the guard of the gatehouse as an undead monstrostiy as a means of getting information about us and as a punishment for his failures. Unfortunately, they now seem to know a great deal about us.

The King’s chief hunter Krevan and his warwolves have been dispatched to look for us. Everybody knows that they'll find us soon and tear us to bits since they never fail. Let’s hope that by the time they’ve gotten close to finding us we'll have managed to get out of here. I'm not an expert on these things but hopefully they'll also have trouble following our tracks through the city. Hmm. Sometimes I wish that Turak bathed more.

The city has one obvious gate leading towards a richer part of the city, known as the King’s Ward. Clearly, what we are looking for is going to be in that district. The issue is going to be in how to get through that gate. It is my understanding that most Cyclops can see invisible, and that some of them can even see through illusions, which will make sneaking by the guards much tougher. Not to mention, that even getting to the gate is going to be rather problematic.

After our usual amount of dithering and discourse we decided that the best plan was to head into the city in a couple of groups, disguised as well as possible. Turak would wear the hat of disguise pretending to be a hulking hobgoblin while I'd do what I could with a hood to hide my nature. Once we got close to the gate our cunning plan was to have Bella cause a distraction while I opened a Arcane gate between us and a distance down the tunnel. Hopefully they wouldn't notice us getting through and Bella would be able to follow later.

However, events occurred to alter that plan. It’s certainly unusual when that happens.

As we headed towards the gate, disguised to the extent possible, we were accosted by a gnome called Neblin. Apparently we had caught his attention, and he had managed to figure out who we were. He offered to help us for a price. Since none of us were particularly enamoured with our previous plan, and since we thought that we'd likely be able to kill him if he betrayed us, we decided to follow him.

He took us into the basement below a bar. The basement was not empty, in addition to some hobgoblin thugs playing cards, there was a huge bear resting in a corner, some wolves gnawing on bones and even some tiny pixies flying about and giggling with sing song laughter.

Neblin then informed us that he could get us into the inner city in exchange for a sufficient sum. Once we agreed he told us that he'd put us in touch with a friend of his, Sethrax by name, who could arrange for us to get into King Bronnor’s chambers. Sethrax is the apparently a member of the King’s inner circle of advisors.

However, Sethrax really, really likes people to be polite, and in order for us to even discuss things with Sethrax we were advised to give him a great many gifts of great value. We pooled what little resources that we had and came up with a smattering of reasonably valuable items, including my Fey Leaf sandles, a gorgeously crafted, crossbow from Bella, 500 slightly blood stained local gold pieces and some other miscellany.

While Neblin went off to arrange things we got a little bit of a rest in the tavern’s basement. Smar tried to befriend the wolves but didn't seem to have much success. They didn't eat him or anything, but they definitely didn't seem ready to adopt him into their pack. The rest of us ate and rested awhile.

Some time later Neblin came back. After altering our appearances with the aid of some ritual magic that he knew he led us off through some alleyways into an underground passage that led us eventually to the home of Sethrax. There he pointed the way and told us to enter. We stepped into a huge audience hall. Many Cyclops guards were waiting for us. None of them seemed bothered by our presence. When we asked how we'd recognize Sethrax, Neblin just laughed and said that we would. He then left us, informing that he'd meet back up with us at the bar. Thus, we waited until Sethrak deigned to show up.

Neblin was right, we recognized who Sethrak was when an elder green dragon descended to the balcony. We all decided that being polite was a good idea, although I think that Smar overdid things when he rolled over onto his back and exposed his belly (jest).

Sethrax took our tribute and deemed it acceptable. He then proceeded to talk to us in Giant (a language that ironically his cyclops guards do not understand). He wants the King dead so that he can replace him, and he is quite willing to provide us with the means of getting to the King if we agree to kill him. In exchange, he'll allow us to have any item in the king’s treasury. And he'll arrange things so we can safely leave Harrowthane. The details of that last point are rather sketchy. He doesn’t give us more than a moment to discuss matters, but we know that turning the offer down at this point would seem to be rather foolish so we all agree to his plan.

We then leave the presence and return back towards the bar. However, just as we are making our way through the alley towards the door that leads into the bar’s basement, we are ambushed by Krevan and his associates. Fortunately for all of us, we have some very perceptive party members, and our enemies fail to achieve surprise as they leap down from the rooftops into the alley.

As is so often the case, battle ensues. I manage to use my new spell Plague of Frogs to some effect. To my considerable surprise the most effective opponents are not the werewolves, vicious and powerful though they are, but a set of 3 pixies that are intelligent enough to fight from a long distance and to constantly go invisible. I've never encountered them before but either the stories of them being quite fragile are false or they are much tougher here in the feywild than are their counterparts back in the real world. The little creatures use tiny bows and arrows, and they fire with deadly accuracy. Their arrows are laced with an equally deadly poison. Despite the concentrated efforts of Bella, all three of the pixies survive the fight.

I spend a significant portion of the battle just trying to keep my comrades alive, probably saving both Ardyn and Bella at various points by pouring healing potions down their dying throats. I barely keep myself alive as the damned pixies frequently concentrate their fire upon me.

Smar was conversing with one of the werewolves at one point but whatever diplomacy he was trying failed. Which seemed to irk him somewhat judging by the ferocity with which he proceeded to attack them. Turak was put in a particularly tough position, as he spent the entire battle engaged with Krevan himself. Krevan was a giant werewolf that stood well over ten feet tall and could have easily torn anyone of us to shreds, anyone of us but Turak. With the help of Ardyn and Smar, the mighty minotaur was able to bring him down.

In the end, we manage to prevail over our enemies, although it is definitely close at a couple of points. All of our enemies, but the pixies are slain. Under cover of under cover of a primal mist summoned by Smar, we head to the entrance to the bar, intending to try and sneak inside. Alas, when we open the door to the bar we find that all the inhabitants, including the animals, had been slain. Unfortunately, our enemies clearly knew that we were here and our mist is unlikely to fool the pixies, who likely suspect we will take refuge here. They may be going to fetch help or are waiting to ambush us when we leave.

Having little other choice and desperately requiring a little rest to lick our wounds, we head into the basement anyway and shut and bar the door.

[P.H. Dungeon]

This is Smar's journal, also regarding game session #38

Spirits, is this truly what you sent me here to do? Last I spoke to you I spoke through writing. Now, I silently whisper to you as I rest after fighting against my own kind again. I whisper, and I pray for a response.

Spirits, you sent me to Ardyn. You told me where to travel after slaying the Jarl of Nenlaslt. There I found my blood-brother. Together we found the horn. I heard your praise when my blood mixed with his. I felt your favour. When he called to me with the horn, when he told me that we must stop the primordials from walking the Winterbole woods again, from wrecking havoc on the land, I knew that this was what you wanted of me.

But then I learned that one of my companions was a priest of Odin, and another a servant of the Lady of the Moon. Are these truly the companions you wish me to fight beside? But my blood-brother is here, so it must be so. We left the cavern with the spring and made our way through winding tunnels. We crossed giant caverns of poisonous mushroom spores, scaled steep cliffs, and found our way to the city of these one eyed giants. There, the woman with the sharp eye turned out to be a… a shapeshifting thing. I know not what to call it. It took my shape. It took the shape of hobgoblin. It shifted between man and woman. It is a strange creature indeed. Still, its ability to leap from disguise to disguise has proven useful in this underground city. Who am I to begrudge someone the ability to shift between shapes?

And now I have seen my first city! I have tried not to let my awe shame me, but these are not the log longhouses of Nenlaslt. Here, the buildings are made of the same stone as the caverns. It is like nothing I have seen before. But however amazing the craftsmanship, this place is broken, dirty, and wrong. The buildings look like they are falling to pieces. Are all cities so broken down? The people who populate its streets seem little better. Their spirits are trampled. I have seen the look in their eyes before. I have seen that look when a collar yet rested around my neck, and I stared at my reflection in still pools of water. Shifters walk these streets branded like dogs. I bear such a brand. I know how it chafes the soul. I wish the person who put that brand upon their skin dead.

We were going to try and sneak into another part of the city, but a creature that my companions called a “gnome” stopped us. It was short thing with pitch black eyes, pointed ears, and a long nose. It told us that it could help us, for a price. Ardyn seemed to think that accepting its offer was wise. It took us to the basement of an inn. There, three wolves rested with no collars about their necks. I spent some time getting to know them. They seemed quite happy. They seemed free. I think Ardyn made the right choice. In this den the gnome told us that it knew of “someone” that could help us, an “ally” of the king who dislikes its allegiance. This “someone” turned out to be a dragon. We met with it in a great cavern of shaped stone. I did not think stone could be so smooth. And the dragon, its head is almost as large as I am! It told us that it will give us the item we seek, if we kill the king of these lands.

Now, if this king is the one responsible for the brands on the skin of my pack-brothers, surly he deserves to die. But, something weighed heavy on my heart; when the shapeshifter and I traveled through the city we heard rumors that the king had sent his war-wolves to hunt us. Were these wolves free? If so, why did they hunt for someone willing to allow the primordials to destroy the land? Were they slaves? If so, how could I survive them without harming them? How could I free them? I did not come here to kill my own kin. I had thought I left that behind me long ago.

And then they attacked. They attacked us returning to the gnome’s den after speaking to the dragon. They were not just wolves, they were werewolves. They were like my father. They were direct blood-kin. I called to them. I told them we had no quarrel with them. But, they would not listen. They would not stop. They attacked us like we were prey. They called us their query. They were intent to kill me, and my blood brother. Indeed, my blood-brother nearly died. I wanted to make my way to him, to aid him, but I could not; I was trapped in melee with a werewolf unlike any I have seen before. He stood over ten feet tall. He seemed to be like a lord among my kin. Thankfully, the demon devotee of the Lady of the Moon managed to make his way to Ardyn and stop his bleeding. I know not what herbs he administered, but soon Ardyn was standing, on shaky legs, again. I do not know if these werewolves were slaves. I had no time to check if they had brands on their skin. I could find no way to survive them without harming them. At least two died under my axes. The lord may have fallen to the shapeshifters icy quarrel, but its flesh tasted deeply of my weapons before it fell. Is this what you sent me here to do? To kill my own kind? To become the Úlfrhundr again?

Now we rest. We have been chased into the gnomes den by tiny winged archers capable of hiding in empty air. They have not followed us into the building. It seems the werewolves killed everyone in the den, before attacking us in the alley, including the three wolves that lived here. How could they respect life so little that they felt free to mutilate our wolf-kin? Perhaps they were beaten, broken, forced into the service of this land’s king until they knew no better, like I was once forced to kill for the Jarl of Nenlaslt? Spirits, take their souls, put those souls to rest. May they find peace from the rage that boils in all our blood. Spirits, tell me what to do next. Spirits, show me the way to this land’s king that I may do to him as I did to the Jarl of Nenlaslt. I will show him just how much I appreciate being forced to kill my own kind again. I will make him pay for the lives of the wolves in this den, and the lives of each werewolf we were forced to slay, with his own flesh.

[P.H. Dungeon]

Session #39

Party:

Bella, changeling rogue 16
Melek, tiefling wizard/warlock 16
Turak, minotaur warden 16
Smar, shifter ranger 16
Ardyn, elf ranger 16
Corvin, human cleric 16

Melek's journal:

After a brief rest and much divine healing from Corvin, we start to discuss our options. Clearly holing up here in the basement of this tavern isn’t much of a choice. Fleeing the city seems like the only practical alternative to me, but I'm having a little difficulty in convincing my companions of this. And even that alternative has issues with it.

We more or less have to assume that pixies will be watching our every move when we leave. Damned invisible little pests! I'm going to have to learn a way to deal with that issue.

As we are arguing, the door leading from the inn upstairs into the basement opens. Standing in the entrance is another gnome who immediately rushes over to the corpse of the bear and starts weeping into its fur, getting blood all over his face. His two hobgoblin guards watch on in bemusement, and are obviously fervently hoping that we don't decide to kill them all. I do feel sympathy for the poor little man, though. To lose a loved one always hurts. I remember that when I lost my pet cathshee I cried for days. Cathshee? When did I ever have any pet at all let alone something exotic like that?

This new gnome turns out to be Waylan, the owner of the bar and the brother of Neblin. Not at all unreasonably, Waylan is extremely upset at Neblin for bringing all of this trouble to his doorstep. It is a case of one sibling taking the aid and help of the other for granted and abusing the situation, just like occurs in so many of the best romances. I admit that I have some misgivings that I've been doing something similar with my sister Kallista. I've pressured her into accepting a role as the leader of the tiefling enclave that she may well be uncomfortable with, a role that could easily lead her into conflict with the Jarl that she would otherwise have escaped. I can tell myself that I'm doing it for the greater good and not just for personal gain. But while that is definitely true is it sufficient justification? Perhaps Neblin is also acting in what he thinks is the correct way for the long term. As virtually a slave here perhaps his mercenary ways are all that is keeping his family alive and well.

I think that I'll need to have a long talk with Kali when I get back. At any rate, I'll put aside the personal soul searching for now.

Waylan turns to us and tells us that he'll be able to hide us from the guards who are to be expected at any moment. While this seems doubtful to us, it’s definitely at least as good an option as any other we have. If it fails then we can start killing Cyclops at that point. If nothing else, hopefully the guard will be split up and we'll be able to deal with them a few at a time while fleeing the city. Thus, we follow Waylan up into the tavern’s kitchen area, and we are introduced to his absolutely terrified family. Terrified of us, terrified of turning us in, terrified of not turning us in. You've got to feel for the poor things.

It is then that we hear some Cyclopian guards coming into the common room demanding to see Waylan. Fortunately for us, the captain was either a complete moron or somebody who arrogantly believed that Waylan wouldn't dare to lie to him and conceal anybody. Maybe he got his position not for his merits but because he is somebody’s son. The captain was basically more or less believing Waylan as he professed total innocence and ignorance to any knowledge of the outlanders that had just slain Kregan in the alley beside his establishment. He stated that he knew nothing about the dead bodies in his basement (which the guards had presumably just discovered), and that he hadn't even been in the basement. The captain didn't even particularly mind all that much when Waylan changed his story given the bloody evidence on his face that he had actually been in the basement.

With everything that happened later I admit that some of the details are now getting blurred. I'm finding it hard to differentiate between what I dreamed and what actually happened. I believe that the captain and his troops then left and Waylan sent a runner to contact his brother. I'm almost certain that the fairly clear memory that I have of Waylan mooning the captain on the way out didn't really occur.

Before Neblin could return the captain came back and started to again interrogate Waylan. It seems he wasn’t fully satisfied with Waylan’s previous answers. This time the Cyclops used techniques that would surely quickly either cause Waylan to reveal our presence or to die (stepping on his head for example). Belladonna came to the rescue. She turned into a lowlife hobgoblin servant and left the inn under the noses of the guards placed outside the backdoor. She then went around to the front, disguising herself as a hobgoblin guard along the way. In the guise of a warrior, Bella then claimed that we'd been sighted at the far end of the festering cesspool that is this ward of the city and that he'd been sent to fetch reinforcements.

This subterfuge was successful and the guards all hastened off to find us. I'm sure Belladonna later somewhat exaggerated her story of how brilliant an actor she was (who wouldn't?) but the basic details of her leading them away and then separating from them were doubtless true. Full marks to her for her ingenuity

Meanwhile, back at the inn, we waited for Neblin. He arrived in short order and said that we should all go to another safe house that he has, the home of a former girl friend. I admit that Neblin doesn't strike one as the sort who would have ex amours who would think highly of him, but perhaps gnomes have different standards and attitudes in such things than do Tieflings. We all head off with the gnome, including Waylan and his family. I've advised them all to leave the city at once since not even the dumbest Cyclops is going to remain fooled forever and eventually they're going to bring them all in and torture and kill them on general principles if for no other reason.

We hasten off to his ex’s house and, amazingly, she does indeed let us in, admittedly after Neblin wheedles her a little and bribes her a little with gold. We relax, hoping that we'll be able to spend some considerable time here. Meanwhile, Neblin leaves us again to go attempt to secure a means for us to leave this part of the city.

While we try to rest, we learn that his ex is a pastry chef of some repute. Turak finds her blueberry pies the best thing that he has ever tasted. I admit that they're not at all bad, quite superior to the normal dreck that humans make, but they're still not a patch on the wonderful Mangosteen tortes that I had in Mithrendain.

While we wait for Neblin’s return Belladonna shows up, having been directed here by an associate of Neblin’s. Neblin also returns soon after, informing us that he is making arrangements for us to go to the house of one Dregas, an ally of Sethrak who lives in the high class part of the city.

However, our rest is interrupted by the sounding of a proclamation from out in the street. Everybody is to return to their homes as a house to house search is being instigated for Ours Truly. We clearly have to leave right away. Neblin tells us that if we go into the aquifer tunnels beneath the quarter we'll be able to make it to the house of Dregas. Of course, we'll have to face the hordes of undead down there since we don't have time to make it to the "safe route". Apparently the undead have been placed there by King Bronnor’s advisor Kaleestra, as a means of deterring smugglers from using the tunnels.

We head down into the depths below the city. We are harassed by small clumps of ghouls and the like, but they're really not a significant threat. Well, not at first. Just before we make it out of the dangerous area of the tunnels we emerge into a huge cavern with some fascinating symbols enscribed on the floor. They are runes that act to keep Purple Worms at bay. We really should remember to destroy them on the way out.

However, at this point a large force of ghouls attacks us. They'd been gradually amassing themselves in the darkness. What feels like hundreds of them but were more likely only dozens hurls themselves at us from the multitude of passages leading into the cavern. I retreat behind a swift flowing stream and barely manage to leap across the stream successfully. As has occurred so often recently, my tendency to avoid physical pursuits has nearly been my downfall. Unfortunately, before my companions can join me, they are beset by the ghouls, and several of our number are paralyzed. Once again I find myself acting as a hero, and I use my arcane prowess to switch places with Ardyn as he is being grappled by a Cyclopean ghoul and only inches from going unconscious. There seems something ironic about the lowly wizard stepping in to save the mighty ranger.

While most of my companions are adept at taking out large number of enemies it is my spells that are largely responsible for sweeping the battlefield clear of the riff raff so that we can concentrate on the several Cyclopean undead. Strangely, some of the undead actually have a sense of self-preservation and flee into the tunnels rather then being completely destroyed by us. The hardest part of the fight is probably keeping Neblin alive.

After the battle we conversed amongst ourselves in Giantish as to what to do. I'm sure that I'm misremembering that I was so incredibly stupid as to mention in the hearing of Neblin that we should wait for the morning before trying to cast a Hand of Fate ritual to see if Sethrak is intending to betray us.

There was a barred iron gate that sealed the ghoul tunnels from the tunnels beneath the King’s Ward. Bella used her ability to alter her form to contort herself enough that she could slip through the bars of the gate Bella and then pick the massive padlock hanging off of it. Neblin led us through the safer tunnels beneath the King’s Ward, until we were beneath Drega’s villa. We thought about camping down below, but it was decided that even the safe areas had their dangers and it would be better to avail ourselves to the help of Dregas. Nobody seemed overwhelmingly surprised to see us emerging from the well in the middle of Drega’s villa, and we were soon in the hall of Dregas.

Dregas turns out to be, even by Cyclopean standards, a fairly foul and odious piece of work. He is a mercenary slaver, a traitor to his king, and not above trying to wrest a few gold pieces from us despite the fact that we are working for an ally of his and presumably his position will increase greatly should Sethrak succeed in his plot.

In exchange for some money, Dregas revealed that a group of Drow elves had recently arrived at the city and were negotiating with King Bronnor to purchase an item that we guess to be the part of the Divine Engine that we're seeking. My visceral reaction to the fact that Dregas had sold them some eladrin as playthings surprised me. While any decent person would not like this it felt more like my own kindred had been betrayed. Dregas also told us where the drow were staying within the city.

Finally, we retired for the night and for what should have been a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, my sleep was anything but calm. Quite honestly, I think that I may be going totally insane.

In retrospect, I think that all of my dreams since we came to the Feywild have been disturbed and similar to last night’s. It is just that last night’s was the first one that I remember. Not completely nor vividly, but I've definitely got impressions. Impressions and memories as if seen through a fog.

I was dreaming the life of somebody else. I am sure that I was an Eladrin or maybe a half eladrin. Do such things even exist here in the Feywild? It seems likely that they do. If elves and humans can breed true, I see little reason that Eladrin and humans cannot.

Can Tieflings interbreed with Eladrin? Perhaps I'm accessing the memory of an ancestor. Or, if what the southerners believe is correct, perhaps one has been reincarnated as me. Or maybe it is some gift of the Maiden of the Moon. Or perhaps my travails have finally caught up with me and I'm just going mad. It’s exceedingly scary that the last alternative is almost the most attractive.

At any rate, I was leading a very different life. I think that I was a bard. A sword wielding bard- a great hero, a great adventurer, but one with a certain joie de vivre that I admit that I've been lacking. I greatly envy that bard of my dreams. He was sure of his place in the world, happy in what he was doing. He knew that he was leading a very dangerous life, but he didn't care because he knew that he was making a difference in this life and would be rewarded in the next. And not rewarded by an eternal life of battle and the hollow joys of wenching and endless mead and beer. His life was so much richer than mine in so many ways. He was good at so many disparate things- mental, physical, and social. While perhaps not a master at all of them he was certainly well above journeyman in all.

After I woke up I felt strangely different. I almost feel like I can access some of the memories and some of his skills.

But my own memories have also become blurry. At the moment I can't always tell which are my real memories and which are the memories from my dreams.

And there is another side to this. In the morning, as planned I cast a Hand of Fate ritual in order to determine what we should do. Although it succeeded it felt a lot harder to get an answer than it normally does. And I somehow sensed disappointment on the other side.

One thing that is unequivocably true is that the Maiden of the Moon granted me a boon in my sleep. I remember her appearing to me in my dreams just before waking, and giving me a kiss on the forehead. I can still feel the power from her kiss, and I believe it may stay with me. Even more interesting is the fact that Odin did not grant me such a boon but instead chose to grant a boon to Bella of all people.

I don't understand it at all but I'm absolutely certain that very soon I am going to have to make a major personal decision, one that will affect my very soul.

After waking up, I cast a divination ritual, and I learned that the dragon is planning to betray us after we slay the King. More importantly, I discovered that the drow elves have the fragment of the Divine Engine. And they have already left the city.

We take our leave of Dregas and descend back into the depths. There we put our sword to Neblin's throat and tell him that he has one chance to live. If he helps us and does not attempt to betray us in any way we will let him live. He can choose to accompany us when we leave the city or stay here. Since his desire to live outweighs his desire to serve Sethrak, he quickly agrees to our terms. He proceeds to again cast his disguising ritual on us and we then head into the city to where the Drow were staying. Perhaps there we can find some clue as to where they came from.

It is both hilarious and disturbing to see Turak, in the illusionary guise of a teenage Cyclops girl, petting Neblin who appears to be a dog. Poor Neblin doesn't seem too impressed but he isn't complaining.

We quickly and quietly arrive at the stone guest house that had been housing the drow entourage. We find it to be guarded by a couple of Cyclops guards. Heading around the back we see a Cyclops maid disposing of an eladrin body as if it were garbage. After she steps back inside, Smar sneaks up to retrieve the body and overhears a conversation through the partially open door. We learn that there is an eladrin inside that is still clinging to life.

I voice the opinion that we have to save that Eladrin since she might have valuable information, and that rationale carries the day. In actuality my primary goal is merely to save her if she can indeed be saved. After all, she is my distant kin.

Smar proceeds to brutally dispatch the maid. I can't say that I disapprove of the action in any way. As far as I'm concerned all the inhabitants of this city deserve to die. Well, all of those who more or less voluntarily live here anyway. We very quickly dispatch the two Cyclops guards inside, and then we rapidly bar the doors to keep any remaining Cyclops at bay. Inside we find the evidence of a linked portal ritual having been used in one room, presumably by the drow to leave the city, but Bella is not able to recreate the destination.

Corvin heals the Eladrin survivor. She is a noble from the city of Celduloin, fortunately she knows enough to inform Bella how to scribe a portal to the teleportation gate there. Bella quickly scribes the portal with my assistance. Before we leave, we leave a couple of letters addressed to King Bronor informing him how Sethrak had plotted his demise with the aid of Dregas. We provide enough details to be moderately convincing. Hopefully the fact that we got as far as we could and knew as much about his defences as we did will lend credence to our story. I doubt that we'll actually manage to start a civil war but perhaps we'll be lucky.

We managed to open the portal before enough guards arrived to give us difficulty, and we left Harrowthane behind. It seems that this mission has been a failure, for our enemies have claimed another piece of the divine engine. Hopefully, this eladrin maiden we have rescued will be able to tell us something useful about the drow.

[P.H. Dungeon]

Session #40

PCs

Melek (level 16,Tiefling, hybrid warlock/wizard)
Bella (level 17, Changeling rogue with a touch of sorcerer)
Turak (level 16, Minotaur, Warden)
Ardyn (level 16, Elf, Ranger)
Smar (level 16, Shifter, Ranger)
Corvin (level 16, Human, Cleric) this session Corvin is retired to be replaced with:
Harbek (level 16, Dwarf, Runepriest)

Melek's Journal:

We arrive more or less where we expected, in a teleportation circle in Celduloin, the Eladrin city near to where we first entered the Fey Wild.

It turns out the circle is in the garden of the Eladrin noble family that Malena belongs to. While the situation is slightly tense at first things quickly calm down as they realize that we are not responsible for Malena’s condition but in fact have rescued her from a foul fate.

We are led to Lady Arethmere, the matriarch of the family. I'm quickly reminded how much I despise some of our aristocratic families for their boundless arrogance and their conviction that they are better than anybody else. Wait, what am I saying? I'm NOT an Eladrin. I don't even speak their language. I'm a tiefling.

The oh so elegant Lady Arethmere almost chokes on the thanks that she, perforce, has to give us as she extends the poorest possible hospitality consistent with her honour. Or lack thereof. To add insult to injury she even explicitly orders us to remain in her house. As if we didn't already get the hint. Well, all of us except possibly Turak and Smar and maybe Ardyn. Ok, maybe the explicit statement was justified after all.

At least she seems an equal opportunity bigot. She doesn't even take to Ardyn, and he’s an elf. She insists that I clean up despite the fact that my clothes and body is spotless due to my magics. And she has nothing but contempt for Turak and Smar.

The hospitality so begrudgingly given was at least adequate. But they were definitely giving us their poor vintages at dinner, a dinner that we ate alone.

Later in that evening, after she has recovered somewhat from her ordeal, we talk to Malena. She can give us only a little bit of information. The female leader of the Drow is called Xune, her second in command is a male called Elkantar. Apparently they work for a Lord and not the expected female leader. Furthermore, Malena overheard a comment to the effect of, "We have to remember to follow our instructions to inscribe the symbol of the King Who Crawls on their chests", referring to the symbols of Torog we found carved into the flesh of the eldarin captives, including Melana. While certainly not conclusive that would seem to imply that the inscription was intended as a ruse to misdirect us (or others).

But other than that we have nothing to go on. We do not know where the drow are to be found.

That night the dreams again come to me. In one of them, the Maiden appears to me. She promises to protect and to help me if I serve her above all others. I don't remember making any agreements but I do remember her kissing me on the forehead and my feeling a massive surge of fey power in me. I'm not sure what was going to happen because suddenly I am wakened by the sound of crashing coming from Bella’s room. Most of us go to investigate and find that Bella seems to be having some form of fit. She is crying out and saying something about a dream. Perhaps I'm not the only one who is being driven insane by the Feywild. If that is, indeed, what is happening to me.

She insists that we go conduct an experiment our on the grounds even though it is the middle of the night. This is much to the displeasure of the household guards, but they don’t interfere. She asks Ardyn to leap as high as he can. Ardyn obliges her, and at the same time, Bella’s makes a motion with one hand and mutters a few arcane words. He soars far into the air; much farther than he could jump on his own. Being the athletic sort that he is he takes no damage from the sudden fall. As Ardyn lands, Corvin mutters, "That is what you get for trusting a thief".

It would appear that Bella has a newfound power. Interesting. I wonder if she also had a visitation in the night. Or if it is something rather more mundane and she has just advanced in power in the usual way.

In the morning, I cast Hand of Fate to try and determine where best to go next, but I get a very, very strange response. No information at all is revealed. I feel that I managed to contact Odin, but he just didn't want to respond. I wonder if that has anything to do with how quiet and peevish Corvin has been. He is obviously displeased with what we have managed to accomplish, but I get the impression that there is more to it than that.

Exceedingly eager to get rid of us, Lady Arethmere has managed to obtain a Scroll of Planar Portal, and she "subtly" indicates that she thinks that we should leave. Now. Or spend a month in the swamp waiting for the moon gate to open. We decide that it is time to return home so we use the scroll to portal back to Grimmsburg.

Back in Grimmsburg things are more or less as we left them except for a massive rainstorm. It looks like Odin (or perhaps Thor) is rather upset.

The news is fairly dire. Apparently Cannon Wulgrin has had a visitation from Odin and the fragment of the Divine Engine that was kept in Odin’s vault in Valhalla has also been stolen, hence the storm outside. I think it is safe to assume that our enemies are now in possession of three of the five pieces of the divine engine.

We fill in the Jarl and his inner council on what has occurred. Although it isn't likely to lead anywhere in particular various scribes start searching for the names of the drow in the records. Perhaps we'll get lucky. There is also ongoing research being conducted by Dean Danzig of the Scarlet Stone Academy that may possibly be lead somewhere. Apparently he’s close to discovering the location of one of the fragments, the one said to be located in the Shadowfell. The hope is that there will be more information in the library at Hammerfest.

We then all go our own ways for a couple of weeks. I head off to my village only to discover that the people in Grimmsburg refer to it as “Deviltown.” I admit that I kind of like that name. It has a certain ring to it.

Unfortunately, I also get disturbing news there. My sister Kallista is very unhappy with her position in charge there. She doesn't want the responsibility. She is a bard and being stuck in one place administering a fledgling settlement does not suite her. Also, as a human in whom the curse has never revealed itself she is resented by many of the tieflings there.

I'm honestly not sure how I'd have reacted even a few days ago, but now my response is immediate and crystal clear. I release her from her promise. I had no right to put her into that position.

The other news is also somewhat disturbing, as is my incredibly strong reaction to it. My father Ammon and my brother Leucis have been over at the village and are trying to get the inhabitants to start following their foolish dream to raise the fallen empire of Bhal Turath. I can't allow that. The goal of the village is to transform the tieflings both spiritually and physically. Oh, that goal is as distant and difficult as is the rebirth of Bhal Turath. But, if it is to have any chance at all, they must distance themselves from the dreams of the glory of yesteryear. They must look forward and not backwards.

I have to confront my father. I have to force him to leave my village alone. But how can I do that? Since my earliest days it has been drilled into me that I am of House Zolfura and that I must obey the head of the House (my father). To openly oppose my father is to give up my heritage, to disinherit myself. And it is a heritage that I have been proud of. Certainly my ancestors have done many awful things, but they have also done many things to be proud of, and they are my blood.

Even as little as a fortnight ago I'm not sure that I'd have had the strength to turn my back on my heritage. But I find, to my considerable surprise, that the decision is now an easy one.

I'm not really sure what has changed. Perhaps it is just my adventures. But I think that it is mostly the dreams. More and more of his life is coming through. I now have a name. Allain. And he was a half elf. Well, half eladrin I suppose.

He was a commoner, an outcast from eladrin society. And he transcended that. He took up service with the Maiden of the Moon. He lived a full and happy life. And he also accomplished great things. He knew what was important, and it certainly wasn't social posturing.

Perhaps it was Lady Arethmere that also helped to open my eyes. She is so like my father in so many ways. So like the way that I used to be. More concerned with power, reputation and family than anything else.

I go and lay down the law to my father. He and Leucis are to stay away from Deviltown, they are to leave the inhabitants alone. If they do not, then I will inform the Jarl about their illicit business dealings. If they try and have me killed or assassinated I will take whatever measures I need to in order to protect myself.

By these actions I have forfeited my right to be heir to House Zolfura. I am no longer of high birth. I am now a nobody, of no family and so much the better for it.

As if one crisis of the soul was insufficient, I have two more. I go to Canon Wulgrim to discuss how my connection to Odin seems weaker than it was, how the Hand of Fate ritual is now difficult to cast and far less revealing. He explains to me that what I've been fearing is, in fact, true. Since my trip to the Feywild, the Maiden of the Moon has altered my very soul. She has put a claim upon my soul, and this is greatly interfering with the fragment of Odin that I somehow obtained during my days at Thunderholme Abbey.

I cannot serve two masters. It is not clear whether I even have a choice in the matter. But, if I do have a choice, I realize that I'd choose the Maiden. The life that she has shown me (assuming that I'm not just going crazy) is better than the one that I had. I've never been completely happy with the Skanzi goal of going to Valhalla for an eternity of endless fornication and cheap mead. And the one thing that I desperately want to lose, that I need to lose, is the constant sense of anger, the constant bloodlust. Odin inspires one to anger and to bloodlust; he doesn't help one to counter that. I still worship and serve Odin, but I no longer possess a piece of his divine energy.

Since I made that decision I've found that my anger is slowly decreasing. Not, at least yet, hugely. But it is diminishing. And since I've made my decision I've noticed my connection to the Feywild has been strengthening. I can almost shift through it, as does an eladrin. Not quite, but it’s close.

I've chosen to fully adopt the way of the Skald. Between what I can gather from dreams and what I can learn from Kali, I've managed to pick up a whole smattering of knowledge, including a few new Rituals. I've been training constantly these last few weeks. I was always reasonably good with the flute but now I've learned how to sing at least a little and gained the basics of various other instruments.

I've been practicing my physical skills as well. It’s amazing how quickly and easily I've been picking up things. It’s as if I'm remembering things as opposed to learning them for the first time.

And so several weeks passed. I've managed to replace Kali with a new tiefling mayor, Kairon by name. He isn't the most charming of people but he is a hard worker and a good administrator and is more than capable of knocking some heads together when required since he has seen considerable service as a mercenary. At least as importantly, he is a man of no pretensions and he shares my dream of a community where tieflings can grow up amongst their own kind.

Over the past several days, I've heard from Corvin that he is most unhappy with our lack of progress, and that he plans to pursue his own interests and no longer quest with us for the Divine Engine.

Finally after about three weeks of much needed downtime, we were called to a meeting with the Jarl. Harbek, a dwarven emissary from Hammerfest had come to Grimmsburg with bad news, especially for Turak. Recently there have been many raids on caravans going to or from Hammerfest, and it would appear that the Golden Horn Clan is responsible for the attacks. Harbeck had been sent to ask the Jarl for help investigating what has transpired that would cause the formerly peaceful minotaurs to turn to evil and lawlessness.

Turak is, of course, flabbergasted by this and wants to find out what is happening. The rest of us (well, except for Corvin) agree to accompany him.

________________________________________________________________

We head off by portal to Nimorzan’s Tower in Fallcrest where we have a rather amusing interlude with his apprentice Lazlo, a quite foolish Halfling wizard who has finally mastered the magic missile spell. He insists on demonstrating his skills, and takes us to the top of the tower. By this time night has fallen, and the little Halfling proceeds to shoot several magic missiles off into the darkness. I do the obvious, and I use my Ghost Sound cantrip to start having the darkness scream in agony as the missiles attack it. Yes, I'm certainly getting a lot more enjoyment out of life than I used to.

The next day we ascend to the skies on the backs of Giant Eagles. As always, Turak thoroughly hates the entire process while I am still exhilarated by the whole thing. We are following the caravan route to Hammerfest when we spy below us what appears to be the ruins of a caravan with several minotaurs looting it.

We land to investigate.

There are only a handful of Minotaurs and Turak definitely recognizes them as embers of his clan. But accompanying the minotaurs are several demons. Some appear to be similar to orcs and I recognize them as Tanaruk, several are nasty little carnage demons, and their leader is a large demonic minotaur with blazing red eyes and steam blasting from his nostrils. It’s not a minotaur that Turak recognizes.

Turak attempts to reason with the minotaurs but, judging from the fact that the demons all charge us, I think that we have to consider this attempt at diplomacy a failure.

Harbek, a RunePriest of Odin, is quite a competent fighter. He uses Runes to create magical effects. The most interesting by far is an effect that stops enemies dead in their tracks as they get close to the source of the blazing rune. It only affects the enemies when they first enter into the zone. But when that is combined with a hypnotic pattern drawing the enemies back out of the zone the effect is considerable, and quite amusing to boot.

At least partially because I couldn't resist showing off, I summoned a plague of carnivorous hopping frogs to great effect. Admittedly, given that most of the demons were unable to move, it was hardly sporting. But I can control the frogs and stop them from actually killing anybody that I didn't want dead.

So, the net result was a fairly short and one-sided fight, that resulted in lots of dead demons and several unconscious but basically unharmed minotaurs. Well, unharmed until Turak got through with them, as the rest of us agreed with my suggestion to allow him to decide what to do with the prisoners.

He first questioned his kin, determining the obvious. The Minotaurs have turned away from the spirits and are now worshipping Baphomet. We also find out that the instigator of this was the shaman of the clan, somebody who Turak knew and used to respect. After first humiliating the prisoners by showing that he is far stronger and more powerful than any of them, he then decides that a fitting punishment would be to remove one horn from each of them. Apparently for Minotaurs this is a massive disgrace, and I expect quite painful too.

We then release the minotaurs and remount the eagles to head off to his clan’s labyrinth. While the Minotaurs will doubtless also head back to the clan, we'll be there long before them and so will be able to attack with the advantage of surprise.

[P.H. Dungeon]

Bella's journal

Session 40: I’m just a Girl

The tunnel shakes, collapsing around us as we run hand in hand for our lives. The cleric runs with easy strides that I am envious of him as he pulls me ahead and away from danger. The hand that grips mine is strong, and he does not look at me while he runs, always looking ahead with grim determination and never giving up. He is a far more noble soul then I could ever hope to be and looking at him now in this dire situation I find hope where I normally would see none. If I were alone, as I normally would be, I would just give up and die but with Bjorn at my side I feel that he will somehow find a way to save us, as he always has.

The ground heaves suddenly beneath our feet and Bjorn falls to the ground as I am thrown forward. Looking back I see him sliding into the dark recess of the tunnel as if being pulled by some unseen force. His fingers dig into the dirt and he screams my name desperately. I can hear whispers in the dark, malicious and horrible, barely understood but clear in intent. They laugh gleefully and lament on the tortures they will visit upon their victim as he is dragged nearer and nearer. If the clerics body reaches the dark abyss he will suffer for all eternity and never return.

I stand and take a step forward toward my friend when the ground yawns open at my feet and I am separated from Bjorn by a huge chasm. The smell of the grave rises up from the inky void and I am terrified knowing I am incapable of such a leap. I look out across the pit and see Bjorn’s legs being pulled into the shadow at the back of the tunnel and I hear the voices trill in triumph. His eyes are wide with terror and I hear the sound of claws rending clothing and then flesh. His scream of torment rings in my ears and reaches into my soul. His tear filled gaze meets mine, pleading with me to save him.

Steeling myself and seeing no other choice I leap from the precipice with all my meager strength into the air….

And hit the wall.

Ouch.

I feel a cold floor underneath me and have a sharp pain along the length of my body that brings me quickly to my senses. I raise my sweat-covered head and look around. My memories are slow in arriving, but as my nightmare retreats from my conscious mind I can recall my surroundings and I pull myself up. I am in one of the guest quarters of an Eladrin noble family’s household.

Unconsciously my armor had reverted to its true form instead of the nightgown I make it become when sleeping. Thankfully the leather had absorbed the brunt of the impact when I hit the wall. I look over my shoulder and find my bed several feet away.

Now how did that happen?

I step back to my bed across the room. I hear Melech and Ardyn come to my door to see if I’m all right. Apparently I had screamed upon waking. I frown and chastise myself for being careless. A changeling’s safety lies in….

I stop, realizing that I had just taken a single step to cross my room.

Turning to the door I lift off the ground and glide gracefully to it, silver winds manifesting around me and lifting me into the air. Unlocking my chamber I walk into the hallway.

“Sorry, Ardyn. Melech. I just had a bad dream, nothing to worry about.”

Both my companions regard me with concern, not for my well being I realize, but for my sanity. They had heard my body strike the wall and knowing I was alone can only guess what I was up to.

I can feel the Mark filling my head with the knowledge of how to use my new ability, the information settles in until it is indistinguishable from my own memories. I now know how to use my new ability as if I had always known. The power is one of my sorceress abilities and is not from the Mark like my command of languages and rituals. The Mark however contains much arcane knowledge and can teach me things in moments what most people take years to learn. As time passes and it becomes more powerful it is getting increasingly difficult to tell which knowledge is mine and which is the Marks. I clutch my head in a fleeting concern over the loss of my sense of self.

Taking a deep breath I look into my friends eyes and am brought back to the present.

“Actually, I could use your help Ardyn. It seems I have acquired a new ability and I think it can benefit more than just me. I would have preferred Turak’s help but you cannot wake up that cow until he’s ready to wake up. If you want to assist follow me outside.”

The elf and teifling are suspicious but follow me outside anyway. I lead Ardyn to the center of a small courtyard under the stars while Melech leans against a wall and watches.

I step back and focus my mind, I feel the silver wind surround me blowing at my hair and whispering in my ears like half forgotten demons. I send it forward and it surrounds the elf. He stands there, uncertain what to do.

“Jump as high as you can”, I command.

To his credit he does not hesitate and is carried by the wind about forty feet into the air. To be honest he could have guided his flight. When I share this ability it is the other persons will that commands the winds not mine. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour or the elf trusted me so much that he did not think. The magic wears off and he falls. Being an elf, however, he gracefully lands on the ground.

“That’s what you get for trusting her,” Corvin brazenly whispers and returns inside.

“Sorry”, I apologize, “New ability. Thank-you.”

The elf neither looks offended or impressed. We return to our rooms shortly after.

Afterwards the heroes return to Grimsburg and Bella is able to work in her workshop on a couple of new magic items.

Completing the enchantment over the gloves I watch with a smile of satisfaction as the arcane aura that surrounds them fades to nothing. My breath is quick not just with excitement but also from exertion. My arcane powers have never come easily to me but they have increased. I have decided that it was time to re-cast the aura mask on my equipment, but I can only do one piece of equipment a day. As such, a process that would have been a trifle for Melech and taken an afternoon, I have needed a week and exhausted myself after each casting.

My work now complete I take my trusty Endless Quiver and my precious crossbow from my workbench and within seconds they disappear from my hands. I can still feel them at the tip of my fingers ready to be called back at my whim. I examine my hands critically, using my arcane sight. I fail to see a magical aura. It worked. I release a breath I didn’t realized I was holding.

Standing I walk over to my full-length mirror willing my armor to change from normal clothes to a ball gown. The white gloves are made with a sturdy but luxurious material that matches the gown beautifully. With a deft hand I begin putting up my hair and look at myself critically in the mirror. Again I focus my arcane sight. The dress, though enchanting, does not appear enchanted. I focus on my neck. I had been able apply the magic for a cloak of distortion onto a lovely silver necklace that shimmers with precious stones. I am pleased to note that it also appears mundane. Raising my sleeve I subjected the decorative metal armband I find there to the same inspection and with the same result.

I see myself looking smug in the mirror. I appear to be some rich tart ready to go to the ball and snag some handsome prince. Someone that anyone would look at, and if they didn’t know me, would think the most dangerous thing I could do is break hearts. Smiling to myself in the mirror I unleash the enchantment of my items and in seconds I am in my armor with my quiver over my shoulder and my bow ready. Belladonna Nightshade is my chosen name. It is a lovely and innocent looking flower that can be made into deadly poison. With every passing day it is becoming more appropriate.

[P.H. Dungeon]

Here are two journals from Smar's POV regarding the last couple of sessions.

The spirits weave strange wills. I once told myself that I could control my bloodlust. I once told myself that I would never hurt an innocent. I am not sure if I followed those rules today. My pack’s plan was good. We would head to the house where the drow had stayed, find out where they went, track them down, and retrieve the magic item that could stop the end of the natural world. The spirits should have been proud. Like most hunts, this one turned to chaos the moment our paws took us in the direction of our query.

A one eyed giant exited the building right as I picked up an elf’s body out of the trash. I don’t think I ever expected to find myself in that situation, but one of my pack can speak with the dead. The plan made sense at the time. I tried to pretend to be a beggar; a dog looking for scraps to eat. I don’t make a good dog anymore. The maid saw my fangs, my axes, and started to back away. If she raised an alarm my pack would have become the hunted. She was helping clear a house of a brutal murder, a brutal murder that her people condoned. I had no time to think. I acted. My axe sprung to my hands and cut her throat before I had time to consider the full ramifications of my actions. Was this my bloodlust coming to the surface? She had no weapons. Can I honestly say that she was any guiltier of brutality than me? But it was too late.

When my pack heard the voice of a living elf in the house we sprang to action again. I allowed the wolf to take my flesh. I became the spirit of the hunter. In the house my teeth, my axes, were a blur. The warriors died well. But, another maid ran to open the front door. This would have allowed more guards to pour into the house. It was too late again. I climbed up her back from behind, using one axe to hoist myself up the flesh of her back, and the other to open her jugular. Who was the monster in this story, the one eyed giants, or me?

In any case, we saved the elf. She knew the pattern for a teleportation circle. My shape shifting pack mate used it to take us into the halls of the Eladrin. Eladrin who worshiped the Lady of the Moon. The very same Lady of the Moon responsible for the butchery of my people. If the spirits considered my actions in this city under the earth to be reprehensible, I was about to give them the chance to see to my execution.

The spirits were not offended enough to call for my life. The Eladrin were rude. Of course, I expected no better from a follower of the Lady of the Moon (odd to think that one such has become a packmate—ah well, I suppose necessity makes strange burrow mates). Then again, these Eladrin treated Melek little better, despite their common patron. It seems that they mistreat everyone who is not Eladrin. Still, they gave us a place to stay, and the means by which to return to the forests, hills, and plains, that me and my pack calls home. If they tore up our means of returning to their ‘fair’ city, what is it to me? I would never willingly return to this cesspit of meat, unfit even to be prey, anyways.

In Grimmsburg luck favoured my pack. The Odin worshiper who kept calling me ‘dog’ left. I cannot be more thankful. I was starting to consider killing him in his sleep. If I did it during my watch, I might have been able to eat the body before my companions awoke. I jest, of course. But his choice to leave us has left me howling at the moon in glee. Of course, it would be nice if we were not promptly joined by another of his Aesir worshiping kin, but at least this one is not a Skanzi. A dwarf rune priest of Odin has taken the Skanzi’s place. Hopefully this one will not show quite as much disdain for my brethren. Hopefully I will be able to avoid showing this one quite as much disdain for his choice of pantheon.

Soon enough my pack hears of another track in our hunt. It seems that the tribe of man-bulls from which Turak hails has been attacking the dwarfs of Hammerfast. Our pack quickly jumped onto eagles called forth by Melek and went to investigate. I feel for Turak. A brief encounter with a group of his tribe made it quite clear that they have been corrupted. I know what it is like to lose one’s people to their bloodlust. Killing my kin in the city of the one eyed giants felt like I was cutting my own flesh. Still, they were lost to their own insanity. They left me no choice. Now, it seems, Turak’s people are leaving him as few options.

[P.H. Dungeon]

Session #41

DMs Note: This was by far the most deadly session we've had thus far in the campaign. The session consisted of three character deaths and one petrification. Nasty.

PCs
Melek (level 16,Tiefling, hybrid warlock/wizard)
Bella (level 17, Changeling rogue with a touch of sorcerer)
Turak (level 16, Minotaur, Warden)
Ardyn (level 16, Elf, Ranger)
Smar (level 16, Shifter, Ranger)
Harbek (level 16, Dwarf, Runepriest)

Melek's Journal:

As we fly towards the minotaur home we discuss our options. According to Turak there are 2 entrances into the inner sanctum of the labyrinth where he expects Oostarix the shaman will likely be found. One of them is the main entrance and is well guarded by warriors. The other is a secret entrance that leads to the cow chambers and hence to the sanctum. Although not guarded by warriors it is well guarded by traps.

Having perhaps grown a little wiser since our frontal assault on Harrowthane we decide that we should take the unguarded route. We land outside the doorway without incident.

As Smar, Bella and Ardyn argue over who is the best at detecting and disarming traps and hence should have the honour of leading our foray, Turak gets even more impatient than is his norm and pushes his way past the three of them and strides boldly into the Labyrinth. The rest of us follow, Ardyn kindly agreeing to be the rearguard.

As we enter we are all assaulted by a psychic impression of pure and unadulterated evil. We all get even more testy than usual. The rage that I had thought was almost under control is seething within me. I thrust it down but really, really hope that it will not rise up and consume me.

We proceed quickly into the maze. Turak never hesitates at any junction but just strides forward. Either he was extremely promiscuous as a wee lad or something is giving him more information than he should have. As he rounds one corner he suddenly gives a bellow of rage and charges. Smar then heads up to the corner and also quickly rushes down the corridor, as does Harbek. Bella is a little more cautious and she just peeks around the corner but is also affected. I am the only one who uses a modicum of intelligence, and I put a mirror out into the corridor with a mage hand and study the scene through its image.

The corridor goes a few dozen feet. At the end is some foul altar constructed of various animal carcasses. As I watch, Turak charges to the altar, barely avoiding falling into a pit trap in the process. He then smacks at it, damaging it slightly. Bella shoots Turak in the back. Smar races forward as does Harbek. All is confusion and noise. I'm not actually sure who did what but suddenly there was a loud explosion as the altar blew up. In the aftermath, with my ears ringing, all that I could hear was Smar telling Turak to NOT attack altars and Bella muttering something about "But I had to shoot Turak, it was the only way to slow him down".

Turak is very eager to move forward. Very, very eager. He is obviously being even more influenced by this foul place than are the rest of us. I am able to use my arcane magics to somewhat reduce the vile influence on him while Bella manages to convince him that a short rest would be best for all of us. While he is nearly pawing the ground in his frustration and annoyance he concedes the point and lets us rest a few minutes to regain our strength.

A close examination of the remnants of the altar revealed that it had parts of various animals, including a Unicorn. It looks very much like a foul ritual had been performed here, a ritual that takes the still beating heart of a magical animal and imbues the eater of the heart with supernatural abilities related to the slain creature. The horn has doubtless become some form of magical weapon.

We then proceed deeper into the fortress. As before, Turak is in the lead almost running in his impatience to arrive at our destination. We enter a huge chamber. It consists of a chasm hundreds of feet across, too far for even my Arcane Gate to reach to the other side of. We are about a hundred feet above the floor. Stretching ahead of us are a few platforms separated by distances too large for at least some of us to jump. The bridges that usually span the chamber are inconveniently (albeit expectedly) absent. We have two alternative means to traverse the chamber. We could descend to the floor and ascend the other side. Alternatively we could try and make it from column top to column top.

Bella squeals excitedly that she can get us across with her new found wind power. I've seen children at the winter solstice who are less excited to use their new toys than Bella is to use hers. I'm doing her a disservice by that. Her powers are incredibly useful, and we all take a perfectly legitimate pleasure and pride in using our abilities. Actually, it is quite a refreshing change to see her enjoy herself like she does. Perhaps I'm not the only one altered by the Feywild.

At any rate, she and Harbek proceed across the chamber. Unfortunately, they do not make it all the way, for suddenly an enormous Behir reveals itself from behind one of the stone columns and attacks them.

The rock pillar on which Harbek and the beast stands IS reachable with my Arcane Gate, so I rapidly open one, and most of our party charges through to engage the beast in hand to hand combat. I ask Bella to use her sorcerous winds to fly me over to the top of a different column, one where I will be in range of the Behir but hopefully out of its grasp.

A fierce combat then ensues. The Behir is a devastatingly powerful opponent, crackling with lightning. Anybody standing within several yards of it is hit by lightning constantly. It moves insanely quickly for an animal of its size and gets many devastating attacks with mouth and claws in a short space of time.

I wish that I could laud my role in this battle. But I find that the evil miasma of this place is very severely affecting my concentration. Or, at least, that is what I wish to blame for my complete failure to even hit the animal, let alone teleport it into the air, as was my goal. All of the half dozen spells that I sent at it missed it completely, not even getting close enough to bounce of its hide. Perhaps it is the will of Odin. The master of the lightning bolt and a creature of lightning? Or maybe I have just completely lost my touch.

Both the Behir and ourselves realize that a fine tactic is to toss somebody off the edge of the pillar. Initially, Bella’s and my attempts to make the creature lose its grip on the rock with well placed spells and bolts are unsuccessful, as are its attempt to toss any of our companions into the chasm. Our warriors engage it in hand to hand combat, I snipe ineffectually from my rock, and Bella first finds a safe place on the other side of the chamber and then joins into combat.

We are substantially damaging it when the first of what would appear to be a disaster occurs. A swipe from the monster sends Ardyn plummeting off the column they are on, to what I had foolishly assumed would be his doom. But he manages to slow his descent by grabbing onto an occasional handhold and then does an amazing acrobatic roll at the end. Not only is he not slain, he even lands on his feet.

But it does take him out of the fight for awhile. Not very long, mind you, as he is an incredibly skilled climber and quickly scales the column in a matter of a few seconds with the help of his trusty magical Rope of Climbing.

The battle continues above with the Behir taking the worst of it. But then disaster truly does strike. The Behir manages to concentrate its attacks on Turak and knocks him unconscious and then hurls the unconscious body off the rock. While this isn't enough to kill Turak, he expires before any of us can manage to descend down to aid him. Bella in particular tries to get down there but fails to arrive in time.

Fortunately, Turak’s death is the last triumph for the Behir, and as it tries to scuttle off to devour its prey, we manage to dispatch it, sending its body plummeting to the ground.

We then make use of the scroll of Raise Dead that we had been carrying these many weeks. It appears Turak feels that his mission on this world is not complete since his soul agrees to return. Not even death removes the effect upon Turak since he immediately wants to resume our journey onwards.

We fairly quickly arrived at the outer sanctum. There were several chambers, the innermost of which contains the doorway to the Inner Sanctum. Acting as a moat to that sanctum, complete with poisoned stakes, was a pit at the far end of the chamber crossed by a single bridge.

The chamber had two inhabitants. A huge demon vaguely resembling a minotaur held within a summoning circle inscribed on the floor, and a minotaur much larger than usual who Turak recognized. While the beast had always been a formidable fighter he was not previously of his current stature.

We approached the chamber. Bella was, quite reasonably, afraid to shoot the Minotaur since her shot would cross the circle. Unfortunately, it turns out that she should have taken her shot since a moment later a single word from the minotaur unleashed the demon anyway.

Our warriors rushed forward while Bella and I stayed at the rear. As they confronted the demon, Bella shot the minotaur, and the bolt causes It to stagger backwards and fall into the pit. Judging from the screams and curses that then came from the pit, it apparently had failed to miss all of the spikes.

Then another minotaur suddenly appeared out of thin air attacking Bella from behind. It was wielding a unicorn horn as a weapon and apparently had some ability to go invisible. And, also at the rear, a savage, demonic minotaur charged out of a side passage and tried to impale me on its horns, thankfully missing. Fortunately, I was able to blast the demon minotaur with eldritch power and, using the boon granted me by the Maiden, cause it to briefly enter the Feywild and reappear 20 feet away in the room with the other raging demon where it could be dispatched by our warriors.

Between Harbek, Bella and myself we quickly dispatched the minotaur with the unicorn horn. The fight between the other two demons and our three mighty warriors was a little longer lived but never really in issue. Smar is quite arrogant and quite foolish. While demanding healing from Harbek he flagrantly shows contempt for both the dwarf and his God, the great Odin. Harbek is, for the moment, letting his tactical wisdom and feeling of loyalty to one’s comrades overcome this and is providing the healing. But I'm not at all sure how long he will continue to do so if Smar doesn't mend his ways.

Meanwhile, from the pit behind us we heard various noises. At one point the large minotaur almost made it out before slipping and falling back. It was not until the two demons had been dispatched that the battered beast finally managed to emerge to attack us.

It would seem that the spirit of whimsy was high in all of us since we seemed more eager to push him back into the pit than to just kill him. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible and we were forced to the more mundane solution of slaying him outright.

Again it was all that we could do to dissuade Turak from charging forward, but with difficulty, we managed to convince him to let us rest a little.

After flying over the bridge we smashed open the doors to the Inner Sanctum.

The doors opened to reveal an appalling stench and an even worse sight. In the centre of a large chamber was a large rectangular pool filled with body parts, foul, bubbling sludge, and demons slowly swimming up to the surface. At the far end of the chamber on a raised dais was an altar behind which a minotaur shaman incanted a ritual. Affixed to his head was the iron, horned crown that had been described to us by our minotaur prisoners back on the road. In the chamber itself were perhaps a dozen or two demons, both the kinds that we had previously fought on the road and two minotaur guards.

Turak gave a bellow and charged through the room towards the altar. Fairly quietly at first but louder and louder as the battle raged he kept muttering the words "Beat him down, take the Crown". While it rhymes it is clearly not up to the high standards that I've come to expect. Still, it is minotaur magic and so I suppose one shouldn't expect too much.

The rest of us also entered the chamber and battle was joined.

In the first few seconds a few extremely unpleasant facts were established. Demons were coming out of the pool at an alarming rate. Unless something could be done, we'd be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

I used the fey powers granted to me to teleport one of the demons into the pool. Unfortunately, the pool caused it no harm. I've read about such pools in my studies and realized that it would be possible for me to at least temporarily suppress the pool by manipulating the magic energies being transferred to it from the demon altar and the shaman. The pool is not a pool so much as a gate to the foul home of the Demons- a portal to the realm of Baphomet.

Unfortunately, to do so was going to be about all that I could do for most of the fight.

But I had little choice if we were to prevail.

The combat broke down into several separate but related fights. Ardyn was fighting one larger demon and some minor ones, Harbek and Smar some others, Turak charged up to fight Oostarix the shaman at the altar, I was focusing my efforts on dealing with the pool, and Bella was flitting about being unusually ineffective as she couldn't really decide what she wanted to accomplish. She first headed over to the altar but didn't get involved in that fight and instead sniped at various enemies on our side of the battle.

Our forces were quite spread out and we were greatly outnumbered. Although we managed to put down several demons quite quickly we were soon in danger of being overwhelmed. The crucial juncture arrived when Harbek fell to axe wielding Tanaruk. Although controlling the pool was taking up nearly all of my energies I managed to call up sufficient reserves to launch a Prismatic Burst, buying us a little time. Unfortunately, the edge of it clipped Harbek as well which may have contributed to his eventual fate. While I deeply regret the decision that I had to make I think that I'd make the same decision again. By hitting Harbek I also manage to hit an additional enemy and that was probably essential.

At one point my control of the pool nearly slipped. Although I managed to get the control back the effort cost me dearly.

I note that two foul minotaurs in the midst of the main melee, have partaken of a blasphemous ritual with the heart of a gorgon since they are both able to breath some form of gas capable of turning one to stone. Fortunately, I was able to quickly knock aside the gas with my magic. Smar was also caught in the gas, I hope that he too has some means of overcoming it.

I called out to Bella to get over and help keep us alive. Without somebody to distract our enemies we'd all soon fall. To my surprise, she started to make her way over. She is obviously braver than I'd given her credit for.

For a little bit of time my various defensive abilities kept me up through the assaults. I stayed up long enough to actually shut down the gate at the bottom of the pool but, before I could exalt in my triumph, I was knocked senseless.

I came too to find the battle still raging. Smar had obviously succumbed to the gas, as he was now a stone statue. I was in the concealment granted by a primal fog that Smar can summon. A very battered Ardyn was giving me first aid. Bella was also in the mist, looking the worse for wear and sniping away at the demons. Turak had managed to beat down the shaman but was resisting the call of the Horned Crown. In fact, as I awoke he was tossing the crown across the room.

With the death of the shaman the demons seemed to become even less controlled than usual, and fortunately two of them attacked the remaining minotaur guard, dispatching him fairly quickly but getting damaged in the process.

One of the remaining demons struck Ardyn unconscious. Bella and I withdrew, hoping to draw the demons with us and away from the bodies of our fallen comrades. Alas, it wasn't to be and one of them hacked the unconscious Ardyn to pieces.

Fortunately for all of us, the demons were also on their last legs and at least as interested in killing Turak as in killing us. We managed to slay all of the demons without further casualties.

As the battle ended, we looked for the crown but it was missing. While Bella started a ritual to open a portal back to Grimmsburg, I quickly searched the area, finding some magic items, some scrolls describing the foul magical rituals that these scum were using, and some useful magical components amongst the detritus that nobody of good conscience would use. We then returned to Grimmsburg, bringing with us the bodies of our two dead companions and the statue of our third.