Day One: I made a decision tonight at the beginning of my watch. I’ve been using this journal to document the variety of phenomena, creatures and items I have come across in my journeys across Ansalon. I have had hopes of one day having copies placed in the Library at Palanthas, or for young journeyman mages to whisper about my deeds while practicing their cantrips under the watchful eyes of their tutors.
Instead, I will now chronicle our discoveries and actions in the hope that someone will be able to stop the draconian scourge when we do not emerge from Pax Tharkas alive.
I was recruited by the Legion of Steel to assist in unearthing the ruins of Pax Tharkas and assisting in making it a defensible fortress again. My companions in this are Matthias, a secretive man who was far more capable than he let on, Jane, a gnome whose penchant for creating devices that work is only exceeded by her bloodthirsty tendencies, and Merrick, a human scout who has a decided dislike for authority.
The four of us were trapped in a side tunnel – my intial thoughts were that it was a vent for the dwarven forges that are rumored to have existed in the lower levels – when the draconians struck. Scores of the reptiles descended on the Legion, aided by what appeared to be stunted black dragons. The wyrms could not have been very old, as the largest was no bigger than a horse. I did not witness the sight myself, as Jane had moved ahead of the group to keep the route back to the surface clear of the goblins we had encountered.
After a brief conference, the four of us returned into the depths of Pax Tharkas, hoping to find an alternate route to the surface. In the course of day, we had slain a young black dragon and defeated a score of goblins and hobgoblins. Understandably alarmed by the presence of the dragon – and severely wounded by it – we had ascended to the camp to alert the Legion of its presence when the disaster befell the ragtag band of Legionnaires.
We stockpiled what provisions we could from the goblins’ stores and cached them in the dragon’s lair. With Jane in the front, we went farther into the ruins. A pair of hobgoblins – a larger, more aggressive breed than their cousins – guarded a thick wooden door. The damage from the historic destruction of Pax Tharkas was not so great here, and we were able to defeat the sentries with little trouble.
In this antechamber was a pair of pits that opened to a vast cavern, the limits of which we could only determine by the small fires that dotted the floor. I fear that there is a large community of creatures lurking in the ruins – I had been led to believe by all of my research that it had been abandoned when the dragon that had laired here was defeated.
The double doors opened into a room dominated by a trio of long, wooden tables. Obviously a kitchen and meal-room of some sort, everything was of dwarven-make although the years (and users) had taken their respective toll on the area.
A side note on the occupants: why does it seem that every ruin in Krynn is filled near to bursting with gully dwarves? It seems to me that there is a communication network that runs through this breed, alerting their families and clans of new territory that has been abandoned. They disgust me with their filthy habits and their tendency to destroy the value of any area they inhabit – untold years of research have been obliterated within a fortnight of these creatures staking a claim to a locale.
Between Jane’s diplomacy and a few minor cantrips of my own, the dwarves were convinced that we were no match for them. I locked them in their makeshift kitchen while Jane and Merrick searched the nearby rooms – a tactic that allowed us to discover a squad of hobgoblins nearby before they were alerted to our presence.
A fearsome battle ensued, with the goblinoids dueling over possession of a doorway with Jane, Merrick and Matthias. I must say at this point that, while Merrick does not often impress me with his discipline or intelligence, his ability to kill is quite awe-inspiring. Two hobgoblins were dispatched quickly, but the remaining pair utilized oil and torches in keeping the group from rushing them. I was able to enter through a side door that Jane had unlocked and quietly approach the pair, and my telekinetic cantrip ably dropped the strange magical stone that we found in the dragon’s lair between the two hobgoblins.
I must research this stone’s dweomer at a later date; it is oddly cool to the touch, but when placed upon a firm surface, it explodes into an enormous bonfire. The amount of control required to manipulate the pyretic element in such a way must be astounding!
I do not know if it is a matter of their diet or some internal fluid that goblinoids possess, but I must say that burnt hobgoblin has the most disgusting smell.
Acting on information gleaned from our newfound gully dwarf allies, we were able to slay several more of the hobgoblins whilst they slept in their barracks. A large hole in the floor of one of the rooms elicited nervous concern, with both Jane and Merrick convinced that a larger dragon must live at the bottom of it. We found stairs leading upwards, but they were blocked by rubble and ruined stonework.
After clearing the barracks of hobgoblins, we found one room remaining to be explored. Merrick, Matthias and Jane posited that the leader of the hobgoblin band – the “bigger boss” hinted at by the gully dwarves – must reside within. They prepared for combat while I maneuvered to another room, where I believed a door to lead into the same room. No tactician I, nonetheless I felt that a two-front engagement would be most beneficial. As I had exhausted all but a few minor cantrips and my last attack spell, I thought it best to assist in any way possible.
From the other room, I heard a roar of anger that was decidedly reptilian in nature. I began fumbling at the door but found to my horror that it was barred from the other side. Jane appeared and began working on the door, attempting to lift the latch with one of her innumerable daggers. The sound of combat grew louder, and Merrick’s warning cry indicated that Matthias had fallen to the foul creature’s sword.
The draconian rushed past Merrick and, from the open door we could tell that it was making its way to the hole that we had left unexplored. Desperate, I called upon the last of my arcane energies and hurled a bolt of pure energy into the creature. As with the rest of its vile race, it hardened into a granite-like statue before crumbling to dust.
I ran to Matthias’ body and poured one of the precious vials of healing that the Legionnaires had provided us down his throat. While he began regaining consciousness, Jane and Merrick ‘took issue’ with the draconian’s effects, rifling the room and cracking open a stout wooden chest. As we collected the arms and equipment from the fallen goblinoids, I called upon my ability to perceive magical effects. Quite a few of the items were ensorcelled, and I must say that much of Matthias’ gear was similarly enchanted.
We divided up the equipment, the most exciting of which was a mummified hand that held some small power within it. I translated a document we found in the chest that indicated that Thak – the draconian had been named, at the very least – was to guard this area with the hobgoblins, lest the Legion discover the presence of the forces beneath them.
The four of us were united in our determination to find an alternate route out of the ruins as well as find why these creatures had attacked our employer. Matthias and I secured rope that Jane found to one of the doors near the hole, and Merrick slowly descended into the pit.
Some two-hundred feet below, he reached bottom. It was a small storage room, filled with what Jane would later discover to be beakers of an organic acid. Merrick quickly began to secure the rope, only to be surprised by another draconian entering the room. He fought the vicious creature, defeating it easily, although I am sure that Jane (who was at the time descending the rope) would have preferred if he had finished tying off the rope before engaging the creature in combat.
As an aside, I must say that Jane is very much an oddity. By gnomish standards, she is laconic; by humans, she is a quiet one. All other gnomes I have met have names that stretch into infinity; Jane merely goes by a human name. She is deadly with her daggers and her logic far surpasses that of any other gnome I have ever met. She keeps muttering something about being a “scary gnome,” but Merrick trusts her. I don’t know that I would want her angry with me, as I have gathered from our conversations that both she and Merrick were employed by the Legion on a non-voluntary basis in an attempt to atone for some crime that they committed.
While exploring this lower level, we discovered numerous pens that look to have held the dragons that Jane witnessed in the assault upon the Steel Legion. We also found a pit where two older black dragons were imprisoned, their wings removed at the joint and their acid sacs surgically removed. They were a pitiful remnant of what would be a fearsome creature in the wild. They were resigned to their lives as breeding stock and wished only for death.
While Merrick parlayed with the dragons – a task I would have preferred to take on, as I am more knowledgeable in such things than he – I returned to the storage room and discovered our “allies” clambering down the rope to follow us. I secured the rope to one of the cabinets, thinking to prevent them from damaging it in such a way as to prevent our returning to the level above – a decision that would have tragic consequences.
As we were dealing with the dragons, the gully dwarves continued to descend. From the screams of pain, we can only infer that their weight pulled the cabinet away from the wall, toppling its contents all over the dwarves. Regrettably, several perished and all but one was severely injured in the accident. Matthias came to my rescue as I tried to assist the remaining dwarves, and he induced them to remain behind us while we dealt with the dragons.
The dragons informed us of a secured passage on their level that the draconians used to harvest their eggs. We began searching for the passageway leading to their lair, when Merrick found a trio of defenders that revealed even more of this dark plan.
I heard from the other room the sound of chanting, and I recognized a spell designed to charm the target into friendship with the caster. As I dashed into the room, I saw Merrick firing arrow after arrow at a grey-robed figure that he claimed to be a Knight of Neraka. Jane was battling with a large, chain-clad human in the corner and Matthias was standing on a long table, simultaneously distracting another draconian while striking at the knight.
I have heard tales of these Knights of Neraka, and I believe that they have an order of sorcerors among them. Could this be one of them?
I hurled my spear at the sorcerer and the two groups mingled in bloody combat. The spellcaster was the first to fall, and the draconian and the human hastily retreated through one of the doors, which they summarily barred. We arrayed ourselves around the door and waited for the two to emerge. I took a position atop a crate of wheat, while Jane strung her tiny bow and Matthias prepared to hurl daggers from atop the table. Merrick shattered one of the vials of acid and backed away, his own bow ready to fire.
The acid slowly began to eat away at the door, helped by a few sharp raps by my spear. When the door finally gave way, chaos ensued. Arrows and daggers filled the air as we slew the fighter, but not before he let fly a vial of gnomish fire that engulfed the table on which Matthias was standing. Matthias fell to the table, his clothes scorched and skin burning as the draconian followed with a vial of a strange alchemical concoction that sucked the heat from the flames and ended Matthias’ life.
The draconian then stepped through the wreckage of the door and sliced my stomach upon with a mighty axe. I can only recount the remainder of the combat from what Merrick and Jane have told me: the draconian moved past Jane, hitting her so hard that she nearly fell to the ground as he moved to confront Merrick. The two of warriors exchanged blows, the draconian’s greataxe carving through Merrick’s leather cuirass while Merrick defiantly parried and backed away. Finally, Merrick’s falchion found the reptile’s flesh and the creature petrified.
I regained consciousness as I felt one of the Legion’s healing cordials course through my body. The three of us gathered up the remains of Matthias and placed him in a side room – none of us knew his religon, and none of us were in any shape to perform any kind of ceremony. He apportioned his gear, as well as what we gleaned from the trio that had finally brought one of our group down. Healing vials were found on the sorcerer and were promptly passed around. We gathered the rest of their belongings and began making camp in the room that the warrior and the draconian had barricaded, which we discovered was an armory of sorts.
The gully dwarves reappeared at this time, and we set them the task of guarding the room in which the combat had taken place. Jane and Merrick moved the wreckage of the room to block the two unexplored exits to the main room. We agreed to rest for the evening and take stock, and it was agreed that my divinatory spells would assist in identifying any magic amongst the gear as well as allow the group to take on any foes that we encountered in the next day.
While rummaging through the wreckage, I came across a hidden compartment in the ruins of the table. Inside I found a wand and several pieces of parchment. One sheet in particular, indicated that the dragons used in the attack numbered almost a full score, and that an enormous amount of steel and weapons had been salvaged from the attack. Clearly, this was something more than a handful of savages – they were breeding docile dragons, they had planned a coordinated attack on a military encampment and they were working with these Knights of Neraka.
This is why I am keeping this journal. Someone has to warn the surrounding peoples that a war is brewing.
I was recruited by the Legion of Steel to assist in unearthing the ruins of Pax Tharkas and assisting in making it a defensible fortress again. My companions in this are Matthias, a secretive man who was far more capable than he let on, Jane, a gnome whose penchant for creating devices that work is only exceeded by her bloodthirsty tendencies, and Merrick, a human scout who has a decided dislike for authority.
Excellent account...keep it up!
Stillfoxx
"Live or die, you decide..."