Elora Gwyre - Battledancer

[Elora]

This is the campaign journal of Elora Gwyre, and is a record of the first DnD campaign I've been in. All of the players (including myself) are completely new to roleplaying, so bear with us in our journey! Fortunately, our DM Seth has experience and is patient enough to put up with our stumblings in good temper. I'm really enjoying writing up our adventures, but again, I'm new at this, so I apologize in advance for any "newbie" mistakes I make!

Campaign – the imaginings of Seth the DM

PCs (race, sex, and class rolled randomly, except for Elora):

Elora – female human bard
Opra- female human sorceress
Ieva – female dwarf ranger
Bontas – male half-elf fighter
Punch – male gnome cleric (Kord)

[Elora]

I’ve received an interesting note from my old friend, Garnin. Cryptic, as usual for the aged wizard. He’s asked me to come back to Onarc to “meet some friends”. I have a hunch he has more in mind than a nice meal. After thinking about his request for the last day, I believe I’ll head out for Onarc tomorrow morning. I do owe my life to Garnin, and my profession since he introduced me to Tegid. I will leave a message behind in case my mentor returns from the council of bards while I am gone. Hopefully the elder bards will not give him too much grief this year for continuing to train a female in the bardic arts.

********1st meeting:

A few hours outside of town, on the road from Tragon, I ran into a young sorceress close to my age, Opra, and decided to travel on in her company. She’s a little strange, but what do you want from a sorceress? At least I didn’t have to try to make small-talk…she enjoys hearing her own voice. A short while later we joined up with another group of adventurers heading towards Onarc. They were a rather rag-tag group: Punch, a gnome cleric; Bontas, a typical out-of-control young half-elf fighter who can talk of nothing but his previous, and indubitably glorious, battles and conquests of many sorts; and Ieva, gruff, but rather companionable for a dwarf ranger. Oh yeah, and Punch the gnome happens to worship Kord – I think he might be a little obsessed, constantly trying to show off his tattoo of someone he calls “Rambo”.

It turns out we were all invited by Garnin, on various pretenses. I suspect a bit of manipulation on the part of the old wizard. I wonder what he has in store.

It turns out my suspicions were well-founded. Apparently there’s been some trouble, mysterious trouble at that, in his fair town recently. He doesn’t dare to ask too many questions, or he may jeopardize his ability to care for his orphans and refugees. So, he has asked us to try and solve the problem – of course, the real problem is finding out what that is! Regardless, our newly formed group of adventurers has agreed to help – I’m sure we all have our own reasons.

Tonight we will rest and take advantage of Garnin’s hospitality. Tomorrow we will get to the bottom of the violence and the mayor’s unexplained illness.

***********
Punch decided to go pay homage at Kord’s temple, while the rest of us split up to talk to the locals. Opra and Bontas went to check out the Mayor’s estate. Apparently our Fighter is a bit overzealous, and not so “let’s think this through”…what a surprise. Anyway, by trying to climb the wall of the estate in broad daylight next to two guards, he got both of them kicked off the grounds. Good thing Opra was able to convince the guards that Bontas’ story about trying to impress some “ladies” at a nearby building wasn’t cock-and-bull. Ieva and I browsed quietly around the market…she got a few surly comments about being a dwarf, but she shrugged them off and soon nobody paid any attention to her. We found out quite a bit, and when we met everyone else back at the town courtyard, I told them about the raids starting about 3 months ago, just 1 month after the new “assistant mayor” – a suspicious tall, lanky wizard (aren’t they all?) – showed up and about the same time as a shady casino called Zulab’s opened for business. Apparently the mayor’s illnesses always coincide with the attacks…

After checking out the northeast corner of the town, where most of the buildings had been burned and raided, we decided to dine at the Golden Dragon. Bontas ordered the most expensive food and wine on the menu, but apparently forgot to check his coin purse. I offered to sing for our meals – my efforts won some extra coin as well as our meals and drinks. I was a little nervous about performing so close to my home village, but I doubt anyone would recognize me after the past few years I’ve spent wandering in the wilderness from city to city, learning the bardic arts from Tegid. Besides, I was hardly out of childhood when I left.

Around midnight, we left for the raided section of the town again, having decided to watch through the night. We stopped at a fellow named Ottoman’s house, to see if he and his men would help scout for raiders. While he was clearly concerned about the raids, he decided to defend his own property instead of trying to take the offensive – a reasonable stance, although I would have preferred some back up. Once back at the northeastern corner, we found a hole in the wall, apparently the entrance used by the raiders. Ieva set a trap across it, and we all found hidden positions in which we could wait out the night. As the moon approached the horizon, Ieva signaled that she heard a noise. I set my spear for action, and soon we saw a half dozen kobolds pouring through the entrance. Apparently our dwarf ranger still has a few things to learn about trap-setting. Bontas, although I’m sure he was at least slightly drunk, showed his worth quickly. A flourish of his greatsword injured a kobold before it knew what hit it. Ieva followed smartly with a well-placed arrow from her perch atop a ruined building. I was soon drawn into a fight when one of the lizard-like creatures tried to skewer me with his rusty sword. My spear sent him from this world before he did any lasting damage. As I ran toward a second kobold attacking Opra, I heard Ieva curse as her bowstring snapped in half, and her deadly rain of arrows stopped. Bontas also managed to get his sword stuck trying to decapitate another foe. Punch was apparently practicing slicing air with his opponent. I doubt either of them ever actually landed a blow. In another moment, the air was quiet except for the sound of a kobold fleeing into the dark, and Bontas grunting to retrieve his sword. The rest of us quickly retrieved our weapons, and I mended Ieva’s bowstring. Then we started tracking the last kobold towards the woods. Several meters from the town wall, I motioned everyone to stop and listen. Brush crackled ahead, and a new kobold stepped out flanked by two large creatures with wolf-like features - Gnolls. I’m glad I had taken the time to pick up my spear.

The gnolls charged as soon as they saw us…I set my spear against the attack, but I missed as the first gnoll dodged past me and circled behind our group. Opra fired a well-aimed crossbow and slowed down the second gnoll. Bontas and Ieva went to work on the first one, while I ran to aid our young sorceress with the second. Punch and the kobold leader entered their own duel. We were all tired from our earlier battle, and the weariness showed when Opra, after we dispatched our foe, misfired a bolt into Bontas’ back. We quickly turned our attention on the kobold to free the cleric to heal Bontas. After he was dispatched, Punch used magic to put fear into the heart of the last gnoll, who fled into the wilderness. I aimed my last spear into the air after him, but Ieva and Opra held me back and he escaped.

After checking on Bontas, who was in our cleric’s capable (and tiny) hands, I searched the corpses and found a letter on the leader. “N” was waiting on the group to bring a prisoner, a “betrayer” to the Hollowman Oak the following night. Why were they looking for this betrayer here? And might he or she be a potential ally?

[Elora]

************* (2nd meeting)

After a good sleep-in to recover from our night’s forays, we met with Garnin to discuss our findings of the previous night. We all agreed that we should try to find the mysterious betrayer, and that we were likely to find him/her hiding in the burnt out section of town. Back in the abandoned area, Bontas heard a sound in a building we hadn’t searched yet, and quickly, idiotically, fired an arrow into it. Ieva ran up to the doorway and was rewarded with an arrow in her shoulder. We circled the building as quickly as we could, took care of our ranger’s wound, and then she crept inside carefully to find her assailant. She couldn’t find anything, except some utensils that had been used recently. Opra joined her, and together they noticed a rug that looked somewhat misplaced – a trap door. Leaving Bontas the brilliant half-elf outside to “guard” the building, the rest of us entered and tried to open the door. It wouldn’t budge. The person we pursued, that the kobolds were searching for last night, was probably below. What if there was another exit? We had to act quickly.

“Hello, down there!” I called out, lacking a better plan. No response. “Look, we know that you are in danger, and we want to take you somewhere where you’ll be safe.”….. “Safe! Is that what you call firing an arrow at me?!” Well, it didn’t look like there was second exit. I apologized for the rash behavior of our all-brawn, no-brains fighter, and mentioned that after the wound to Ieva, we were on rather even ground. “I know you don’t have a lot of reason to trust us, but we did save you last night. A group of kobolds and gnolls, with instructions to find a ‘betrayer’ and bring him to a fellow that signs his letters ‘N’, came last night – and met their end through us. We’re trying to get to the bottom of these raids, and if you can help us, I guarantee we’ll get you to a safe place.” Pause. “Besides, you don’t have many options, do you? You can stay here, starved and sleeping in soot…in which case we always have the option to break open the door. Or you can come out, have a hot meal, a bath, and protection. Your choice.” I looked around at my companions, as we waited for his answer. After a minute or so, the door creaked open and a Halfling emerged, suspiciously taking us in. “I’m Larnin. You mentioned food?”

***********

Later that afternoon, after Larnin was placed safely with Garnin, we discussed what we had learned from him. Apparently, Larnin came from a village up in the mountains – a village that had been burnt and its people enslaved to help mine for a special gem. “N”, Narnesh, was looking for the Gem of the Stone, purported to have powerful properties. Larnin escaped death by deceiving Narnesh into believing that he would lead him to the Gem, and once into the rocky mountain slopes, managed to elude his captors and came to hide in the town. Narnesh’s thugs must have tracked him to the burnt-out section, and “N” wanted revenge. And the Hollowman Oak? A local legend, a place of friendly gathering and wholesome healing – until recently. We decided to go to the great tree and find this Narnesh, hoping to unravel at least one piece of this mystery.

On the way out of town, we stopped by Ottoman’s again to give him an update on the foiled raiding party and again request his assistance. We let Opra do the talking this time, as he seemed to have an eye for her (I guess he likes women on the “healthy” side). Again he refused, but it wasn’t a total waste of time. After an exchange of banter about his “equipment”, Opra managed to get a decent spear out of him, with a nice touch of poison built into it, as well as some exploding potions. I wouldn’t have liked being referred to as a mule, but hey, some people like to juggle goslings.

**********
The Hollowman Oak

We made it to the Hollowman Oak without too much incident. There was some wolf trouble along the way, and I had to invoke my ability to sense direction on more than one occasion, but we made it well before the appointed time for the “betrayer” to be delivered to Narnesh. Ieva scouted ahead with Punch, and saw a well-patrolled camp of kobolds and orcs. She hid up in a tree to keep an eye on things, and Punch reported back to us. We carefully approached the clearing and hid amongst the trees lining the edge. After a whispered conversation, we decided to try to take the sentries out one at a time, until they became aware of us. Then Plan B would go into action. Ieva, Bontas, and Opra went to work with their arrows and bolts. I dispatched one sentry with my sword and moved in closer to the camp, hiding behind a boulder. Punch waited. It wasn’t long before a group of enemies by a campfire heard some noise and came running in our direction. I quickly hid the bodies from our initial efforts, and then we all froze and waited to see if they would spot us. They started to turn back after a few moments, but a small branch broke in the tree Ieva was hiding in, and as they investigated they saw Bontas hiding below. He ran for it, to draw them away from the rest of us, who were still hiding. A few enemies followed, and as the rest of the group came running towards the edge of the clearing, Punch launched an explosive concoction (a gift from Ottoman) at them and killed the majority. Now we were in for it.

A long and bloody battle ensued, and every fighting skill instilled in me by Tegid was used, and strained. But we stood victorious. And then we heard an explosion in the woods behind us. I looked at our cleric, and then we both raced towards the sound. As I arrived at a singed section of forest, I tripped over the bodies of foes Bontas had slain, and looked up to see a flaming orc raising it’s sword to finish off our best warrior. I launched my spear at it and watched it fall. Punch came panting up behind me and ran to tend to Bontas. I sat against a tree to catch my breath. After a few minutes, Bontas stood up almost as good as new, thanks to the cleric of Kord.

We ran into the rest of our group on the way back to the clearing. A thorough search of the clearing didn’t lead to a whole lot of loot, and we knew the time for Narnesh to come was approaching, so we hid around the base of the giant oak. Soon we heard a high-pitched, whiny voice coming closer through the forest. A skinny, short man with a battleaxe came striding into the meadow followed by two gnoll guards. When he saw the destruction in the camp, he started cursing about his inept forces. Opra called out, attempting to bluff him into thinking we had a mighty force with us. She needs to work on that. Several hundred people would be a bit much to believe for a job like this. So the fighting began again, but we made short work of his guards, and surrounded Narnesh. I convinced him, without too much trouble, that it was in his best interest to cooperate with us. Men like him tend not to value loyalty above their own skin. Then we stripped him of his weapons, and his valuables. I stayed outside to guard him while everyone else investigated the magical properties of the Tree. Opra found an inscription signed by Garnin from many years past, and then Punch realized the Tree had healed them all. I went in seeking some of the healing power of the Tree as well, as I had picked up a few scrapes throughout the night. Then I interrogated the prisoner, who was not extremely helpful. However, we did learn that he worked for a tall, thin wizard, and was charged with finding the Gem of the Stone…beyond that, he didn’t even know if his boss was the wizard causing trouble in Onarc. I believe he was telling us the truth.

We’ll sleep in the meadow tonight, with a sentry set on the prisoner and the perimeter.

************ (morning)

Today we trekked back to Onarc and delivered the prisoner Narnesh to Garnin. We were careful going through town to hide the identity of our prisoner, and used the raiding hole to prevent being stopped by the guards at the gate. Why haven’t they fixed the bloody wall? Anyway, Garnin agreed to hold Narnesh, although he isn’t really set up to keep captives. Larnin seems to be recovering from his fugitive status well. We took the day to rest, and listen to the talk around town. Tomorrow, I imagine, will bring our next plan.

[Elora]

**********3rd meeting

Larnin has found some courage. He claims that while he doesn’t know exactly where the Gem is, he can lead us to the right cave entrance. We believe the illness in the Hollowman Oak that we discovered might be related to Narnesh and his search for the Gem. So, we’re going after it. I’m still not sure what we’re supposed to do with it when and if we find it, but I’m willing to go along.

I pointed out that it probably won’t be long before the real villain realizes his middle-man has been kidnapped or killed, so we decided to leave immediately. Larnin will guide us into the mountains, and he says we should make it before nightfall. I don’t see any reason not to trust him.

*********** (morning)

The Ettin in the Caves

We made it to the cave entrance last night, and made camp to rest before going in. There are signs that the caves are already host to our enemies. Surprisingly, Larnin decided to enter the caves with us. I’m not sure if he’ll be of any help once we enter, but his crossbow might be welcome.

Ieva used her dwarven knowledge of caverns to guide us, and we explored most of the southern branch of the cave system. On our way down one branch that led to a large cavern, we were unfortunate enough to encounter a giant two-headed monster that smelled of waste and argued with itself. We quickly backtracked to the previous cave junction, but apparently we weren’t fast enough. As we regrouped, the Ettin came into the junction. I must have really impressed everyone with my diplomacy skills before, because they brilliantly suggested that I talk to him (them?). Personally, I was really impressed with how quickly two gigantic clubs knocked me out…but not until a good while later, when I had a chance to gain some perspective on the situation. When I did recover, the Ettin was still fighting, although he was a little ticked off at his injuries. I formed my fury into a song to help sustain the courage I saw in my companions, and miraculously the Ettin finally succumbed to our numerous attacks. Bleeding and bruised, we dragged ourselves down to the cave the giant slavering monster must have bedded down in, and I used the last of my energy to set up an alarm across the entrance so we could all catch a few hours of sleep.

****** 4th meeting

Between Punch’s ministrations and a few well-used healing potions, we’re all put back together again. However, I’m a bit annoyed that nobody has apologized for suggesting that I try to discuss options with an Ettin. We explored the rest of this section of the caves, and Punch managed to sneak through a room of orcs and steal some nice items from a few chests. We’re not sure what the magical arrows do yet, but I’m sure we’ll get a chance to try them out soon. In one cave, we did have to take out several orcs. Larnin and his crossbow did a whole lot of good – I really enjoy having a bolt sticking out of my back.

After recovering from that escapade, we carefully made our way back to the original junction, and started exploring the northern set of caves. Down in the deepest tunnel, Punch found another Ettin – this time guarding a large door. The cleric came coughing back to us, tears burning from being too close when the giant relieved himself. This time I took charge of the strategy. I carefully made my way to the entrance, and bracing myself against the smell, sang a lullaby and watched the Ettin begin to doze. My companions carefully positioned themselves to take aim at the monster, and began quietly firing arrows and spells at him. He became annoyed, but couldn’t find the source of his troubles. Punch darted out to deliver a touch spell he had prepared earlier, but failed…fortunately, he’s so tiny that the Ettin still didn’t see him. After we had nearly depleted our arrows and cross bolts firing on the Ettin, he stumbled and we knew the end was close. Bontas darted out of his hiding spot, drawing his greatsword. I yelled at him to get back and stick with the plan, but he ran screaming, flushed with battle heat, at the creature. We very nearly lost our fighter then. An Ettin full of arrows that can’t figure out where they’re coming from…well, he’s not too happy. That anger was channeled right into both clubs that came crashing down on the half-elf Bontas. I thought for sure he was dead, but warned the others to keep firing and stay hidden. The Ettin fell before he could completely bash Bontas to pieces, and Punch darted in and saved our foolish companion.

After the battle, we scouted the area and found that the carefully guarded door represented some kind of puzzle. Great. Let’s sleep on it.

********* (morning)

We took turns sleeping and working on the puzzle. Ieva and Punch seemed to have a knack for the mind game, and Ieva figured out the underlying riddle. Bored, I decided to join them. Opra and Bontas rested in the corner, keeping an eye out for approaching enemies. After a long, arduous day (night?) we solved the puzzle and placed the last numbered stone in the appropriate slot. Immediately, the door groaned open…revealing a Drow and 12 orcs. “I knew there must be enemies about…my Ettin could never have solved the door. Attack!”

[Elora]

********* 5th meeting

With sudden inspiration, I turned to Bontas and asked if he could take the Drow. Without hesitation, he said he could… so I gave him the means to get to the sorcerer, weaving a song of air and wind about him, and he vanished. As I looked back toward the charging enemies, I saw the drow throw something invisible at me, and fell as a spell hit me. I then made myself invisible and moved to the edge of the group, where I could sing courage and strength into the hearts of my allies, upholding them in battle. Ieva and Opra both injured an orc, and Ieva had landed an arrow square in the Drow…and then the world went completely black. Mentally cursing our evil foe, I struggled to the edge of the blackness. I arrived just in time to see Bontas cleave the Drow in half. Realizing his spell would only stay in effect for a short amount of time, I listened for Opra and thanked whatever powers are good that I could hear her just inside the edge of the darkness. I ran to her voice and whispered a plan in her ear.

“You imbeciles! You can’t even kill a rag-tag group of yokels! Bloody orcs – I will end you…” The raging voice of the Drow, and his running footsteps, could be heard coming rapidly closer. Then the orcs could be heard fleeing down the dark hall, leaving the cavern as quickly as they could.

Opra with her viper familiar could soon be seen laughing amidst a cloud of darkness that was breaking up. After a moment, I sat down on the cavern floor and we all laughed in sweet relief. 12 orcs! And one sorceress good at telling lies.

An inspection of the Drow revealed a magical cloak, which was quickly given to Opra for her part in the battle. Some weapons, gold, and gems were also collected. It was agreed that when we get back to Onarc I will sell them and distribute the goods. Punch and Opra both claimed some bows, as neither had any ranged weapons. Then we decided to see what the Drow had been working on. We quickly realized that the far wall of the cavern was actually made of huge roots, very brittle and sickly. Punch pointed out that they must be ancient roots of the Hollowman Oak, and they were being poisoned. Ieva tried to stop the poison with her recently discovered ranger magic, but it didn’t appear to do any good. Then we realized that deep within the roots was a glow…the Gem of the Stone. That must be how the tree has special powers. Afraid of damaging the roots further, we weren’t sure who to send in. Larnin volunteered, and Punch decided to go with him in case anything should happen. The rest of us waited, listening, outside the roots. After several minutes, we heard an indistinguishable shout. Then the shout was clearer – Larnin was attacking Punch! Bontas, Ieva, and Opra all rushed in after them, stumbling and scrambling through the roots. I waited to guard their backs from unexpected attacks, and again brought forth the power of my songcraft to help them navigate the treacherous root system. They all broke some of the roots, and only Ieva’s ability to stop poison kept them going as they each became infected by whatever was killing the tree. Just as they reached the center, by the Gem, Punch delivered a killing blow to the traitor Larnin. As I carefully made my way through the roots, arriving at the scene, it seemed like a lot more damage had been done to the area than to either of two combatants. If Larnin hadn’t already been injured, it could have ended very badly. Punch needs to focus on dealing damage with spells rather than his mace. When I looked up, Punch was reaching out to touch the stone…I was going to warn him against it, but it was too late.

A strange glow came over the cleric as he touched the Gem of the Stone, and when he stepped back he had a knowing look in his eyes that had not been there previously, as if he had suddenly become wiser than his years. He was also healed of his battle wounds. The rest of us eagerly touched the Gem, but we were only healed. Nobody else received a special gift.

*****

After making our way back through the caves yesterday, we realized all the guardians had either been killed or fled at the death of the Drow. We finished looting the chests that had been left behind, and made our way back to Onarc. Making camp just outside town, we arrived at Garnin’s this morning. Bloody Bontas had cut off Larnin’s head to present to Garnin, angry over the betrayal. The old wizard decided to teach the fighter a lesson when Bontas threatened him, and “suggested” that the half-elf not speak for a day, and follow his commands. I’m worried that if Bontas does not learn to control his anger, and think before he acts, he may be our downfall. Hopefully we will finish this quest before that happens, and I can return to searching for information about my history…and my future. Of course, the alternative might be better – if I’m dead, the prophecies cannot come to pass.

After that was out of the way, we were able to update Garnin, and reassured him that nobody could get back to the Gem. We had pulled out enough of the stones of the puzzle door to make it impossible to solve if you didn’t already know the answer, and brought one stone with us.

After a brief meal together, we all went our separate ways for the rest of the day. I took responsibility for selling the loot we had gathered, and went to Dirty Hari’s on the recommendation of some locals. I managed to negotiate great prices for the gems we had obtained, after realizing that the best way to relate to the Hari was to act as if everything in the world was bull-dung, especially the gems. Hari then suggested that I try The Sassy Lady to sell the jewelry. Coughing from the heavy smoke, I exited the shop and headed across town. On the way, I ran into Opra and Punch, who wanted to investigate the mayor’s offices again. I agreed to use my magic to make them invisible so they could gain entry. Ieva, Bontas, and I waited in the town square for their return. Just as we began to worry, they returned. After bluffing the suspicious guards into thinking the wind had somehow opened the door, they had scouted out the upper floors. They barely escaped the notice of an evil-looking priest, and they could not discern exactly what the mayor’s illness was, although it appeared to be a poison. Attempts to wake him failed, and he appeared very weak. Opra did manage to steal a book on dragon lore, and a staff that belonged to the wizard.

Returning to Garnin’s, we discussed the findings, and the items stolen. Furious about the staff, Garnin demanded that the evil item be removed from his home and destroyed. However, it turns out that the book on dragon lore may be quite useful, as the wizard has discovered that the poison afflicting the Hollowman Oak can only be cured by a potion including the blood of a Silver dragon. Fortunately, there are rumors of a great silver dragon within a week’s travel of Onarc, in the mountains by the aptly named Dragon Lake. Tomorrow we will set off to find the dragon. This afternoon we will prepare supplies and perhaps spend some time with a different kind of dragon – The Gold Dragon Inn.

We all decided to go to the Sassy Lady, so I could sell the jewelry we had obtained, and then split the loot evenly before the evening. While there, I decided to invest in a new dress to perform in. Leather armor and battle-worn leggings aren’t exactly appropriate, and my older clothes were not keeping up with my body’s changes into full womanhood. I chose a deep purple with green checks woven throughout – tight fitting with a low cut bosom, but not scandalous. When I find another good tailor, or perhaps when we return to Onarc, I think I’ll buy a new cloak as well, since the dress does not completely cover the silvery scars on my shoulder. The sassy lady herself was rather bewildered that I would not buy a necklace to go with my new dress. I chose not to enlighten her about my reasons for wearing a cloth-wrapped pendant on a leather cord. I believe the rumors have died out sufficiently, but there is no point in drawing attention to myself.

At the armory, I decided to invest in some smaller weapons that could be easily hidden on my body. A group of 5 poison tipped throwing knives should do nicely. After agreeing to sacrifice Opra’s innocence, Ieva and Bontas managed to reach a great deal on a greatsword and a better bow – in exchange for a date between the young smithy and our sorceress. I’m really not sure how they talked her into it.

Finally, we ended the day at the Gold Dragon Inn. Ieva managed to upset the mistress of the inn by trying to use their kitchen facilities to help with the meal. Fortunately, the plump woman recognized me from our previous visit and requested that I perform again. Opra was off by herself with the smithy, looking reluctantly starry-eyed. Everyone else enjoyed a meal in exchange for my songs, and we were also welcomed to a night’s stay. A profitable evening in all…I doubled my financial standing, and enjoyed the chance to practice my art before an appreciative crowd.

[Elora]

********** 6th Meeting

This morning we set out for Saflim, for a kindly old man in the street informed us that our best chance to get to Dragon Lake quickly was to hire a boat from there. He also warned us of wolves and brigands rumored to be plaguing the Black Forest Road between Onarc and the small mining town. We will have to keep a watchful eye. Horses, unfortunately, are quite out of our price range. A smaller group than usual walked the Black Forest Road…Punch was required by his god elsewhere but has promised to catch us as soon as he is free to do so. Hopefully we will not regret the lack of his remarkable healing abilities on this journey.

Before we left, Opra told us she had attempted a risky plan yesterday on her own, and had not fared well. Thinking to bluff the evil priest at the mayor’s offices, she had returned his staff along with a story about how she had found it and realized it must have been stolen from him, and wanted to return it in exchange for apprenticing to him. He realized however, that she was of a good alignment and she barely escaped. I hope the staff does not come back to haunt us.

The first half of our journey went by uneventfully. A warm spring day was welcome after our recent harrowing adventures. After a quick break for a mid-day meal, however, I noticed the smell of a dead animal from further up the road. Two half-eaten horses lay just off the road around the next corner. Cautiously, we slowed down and looked keenly into the woods. A flash of gray fur and red eyes through the bushes, and rustling on both sides decided us to take refuge in the treetops. Ieva got off a pre-emptive shot at one of the creatures, but lost her chance to climb to safety. What followed was the near destruction of our party.

At first, it looked as if we would easily claim victory, raining arrows and spells down on our attackers, which turned out to be a pack of wolves led by two dire wolves. However, Ieva went down after bravely holding off two wolves and a dire wolf on her own, and every time she regained her footing, another wolf would knock her legs out from under her. Seeing the dwarf’s predicament, Opra courageously left her safe perch and leapt to the ground to draw off Ieva’s attackers to give her a chance to regain her feet. I decided to continue attacking from my tree, waiting to leave its relative safety only as a last resort. A poisoned throwing knife I had earlier thrown at the dire wolf by Ieva was doing its work splendidly, and the creature was beginning to retch and lose focus.

Opra never made it to Ieva’s side, as she was also knocked down by a pair of wolves, and drew the attention of the other dire wolf, which began heading her way. Taking a deep breath, I leapt from my tree to engage the dire wolf and give my companions a chance to rise. After struggling with my foes, I realized that I was overmatched and a quick glance through my sweat and blood let me know that both the ranger and the sorceress were still down, and the sorceress wasn’t moving. Desperate, I made a decision to help Opra, praying that the gritty ranger would be able to help herself. I closed my eyes and thought only of the forest around us, willing myself to become one with it, as my mentor Tegid had taught me. After I disappeared, the vile creatures could not find me and I quickly ran to Opra’s side and pulled out my healing kit to bind her wounds and stop the flow of blood, seeming to come from everywhere on her battered body. Fortunately, Bontas succeeded in killing the last wolf that had been attacking her just as I arrived. By that time Ieva had also regained the upper hand in her battle, as my poisoned dagger had finished off the worst of the creatures facing her. The battle turned quickly in our favor then, and we soon finished off all but two of the wolves, who ran off into the woods once the dire wolves were killed. I collapsed then, leaning on the tree by Opra, and Dochas came winging down from the safety I had sent him to, his fierce eyes seeming to reproach me over my wounds. Although his presence was unasked for, I have come to appreciate the raven’s constant presence in the past years we have traveled together.

Bontas and Ieva came over, both breathing heavily, the ranger covered in multiple wounds but appearing strong. Bontas had only a few minor claw marks, having had the sense enough (this time) to stay in his tree until the very end. Weary and bloodied, we ate from our small supply of food and accepted the half-elf’s offer to keep a watch while we rested. Mid-way through the night, I rose to check Opra’s wounds, hoping our cleric would catch up soon. Ieva took the next watch, and I gratefully returned to my blanket for a few more hours of sleep before taking the dawn watch.

[Elora]

******** 7th meeting

I write this with shame and disgust for my blindness. I know we all had a chance to see through the charade that nearly ended our journey, but being trained in sensing true motives, I bear the greatest responsibility.

After we all rose again the morning after our encounter with the wolves, I checked through Opra’s bags to see if she had any water I might be able to get her to drink. I found two healing potions. I can’t believe we didn’t think to check for them before; she has been suffering, unconscious, through the night needlessly. That was quickly remedied. After breaking our fast, relieved that all of our companions were able to fend for themselves again, I went for a walk in the forest. Hearing an odd-sounding crow call, I caught Opra’s attention and she caught up with me in the woods. Now we heard the sound from two different directions. I went towards the call on my left, while Opra went towards the call heading further from our camp. I sent Dochas ahead, hoping to get a sense of what I might find, but I felt nothing unusual through our empathic link. Moving ahead, I caught sight of a small bearded humanoid attempting to hide in some bushes, and doing a poor job of it. As I came closer, I recognized the symbol of Kord, and realized it was our friend Punch. Heaven knows what he was doing out here, instead of coming by the road. Calling out to him, he came out of the bush, somewhat red in the face. As we walked back towards camp, he related how he had been attacked by two wolves in the vicinity. I filled him in on our previous day’s adventure, and we realized the last of the wolves that had attacked us were probably no longer in this world, as the cleric had surprisingly been able to dispatch them.

As Punch and I approached the camp, we heard the sounds of a wagon rolling down the Black Forest Road. Curious, I stepped out into the open, where I found Ieva and Bontas organizing their packs and looking up the road towards the sounds. Around the corner came a canvas-covered wagon, arrows sticking into the wooden sides, and two women driving the oxen with whips. We waved them down to ask what was going on. As they were explaining that they had been attacked by bandits, who were presumably chasing them, Opra came running out of the woods with a story of an unseen foe firing arrows at her. Realizing these were probably the same bandits, and cursing this stretch of the road, we offered to aid the women in exchange for a ride to Saflim. They agreed, but convinced us it would be safest to wait in ambush for the bandits, and finish the fight before heading on. So we waited. And waited. Out of curiosity, and boredom, I decided to test my ability to detect the foremost thoughts of the two women. Normally, I view the mind as a place of privacy that shouldn’t be violated, but something about this situation was beginning to bother me and I hoped to find out something useful. When we had asked what was under the cover in the wagon, they had evasively mentioned something about sacred artifacts. Opra had apprised me, however, that she did not sense any magic from the wagon. My efforts were pointless, however. The most I got from the women was that they were hungry, and one of them had some thoughts about the gnome cleric that made me blush. I quickly ended my search through their minds and focused on the road about us. Finally, fed up with the women’s lack of cooperation (they refused to let us ride in the wagon until we took care of the bandits), I gave it up as a bad job and tried to rally the others to leave the wagon and continue our journey on foot. Punch quickly agreed, but Bontas and the others appeared undecided. Losing control of my temper, I threw up my hands and began stalking off – if they wanted to stay here and lose another day, that was up to them. Punch followed, and after a moment, the others came as well. Then the arrows began to come.

Dropping to the ground, I looked out into the woods to try to see our attackers, for there were definitely at least two. Punch, Ieva, and Bontas ran for cover in the trees, and Opra took a stand behind the wagon. I carefully crawled to the edge of the woods, and found a good hiding spot. After a few more volleys of arrows in our direction, I managed to spot one of the attackers, up in a fir tree to my right. I carefully pointed him out to Ieva, who passed on the information to everyone else. I began slowly making my way around to the back of the attacker, and then Ieva pointed out a second archer just as one of his arrows thudded into a tree behind me. Ducking down again, I ran behind another tree out of their lines of sight. Opra was using her crossbow, saving her spells until they were truly needed. I could not see what the others were doing anymore, but an occasional grunt from the archers let me know that my allies were still at work. As I was flanking the attackers, and threw a poisoned knife at one of them, a third man dropped out of a tree behind me. Realizing my precarious situation, I thought perhaps I could dissuade him from attacking us, and perhaps even get him to help us. I quickly used all of my charms to bring him to our side, but he laughed at me as he knocked me across the face, leaving a stinging bruise. Then we entered into a deadly battle. I could not gain the upper hand, so I decided to run and regroup. Monsters and vile creatures I do not mind killing, but I had not taken a human life before, even in defense. Nor did I want to. It seemed an irrevocable step down a road I have been trying to avoid my entire life.

As my opponent reached me again, I turned to face him. By that time the two other archers were lifeless, fallen to my allies. I tried one more time to convince my foe that his efforts were futile, as we now outnumbered him five to one. Strangely, he still seemed convinced of our defeat. Then Opra cried out in warning as the two women on the wagon began to attack our group from behind, and then three men, one of them of giant proportions and scanty clothing, came leaping out of the covered wagon. Sacred artifacts my foot! Bontas and Ieva ran to engage this new source of danger, and I knew with a sickening of my soul that I must take the last archer myself. Once I accepted what had to be done, resolve hardened by my will to live, I renewed my attack with a vengeance. Sounding a battle cry, I came at my foe with spear, scoring a wound deep in his side. Surprised, I found myself standing over the dead archer after only a few more blows had passed. Turning to see how my friends were faring, I saw Punch attacking the women who had set up our ambush, spells flying furiously from his hands as he dodged their blows. Electricity flew from Opra into the giant, scorching him. He raged in pain as the sorceress ran for cover. A strange feeling began burning inside of me as I saw my allies fighting desperately against our betrayal. A sound erupted from me, high and sharp-edged, and I sent it flying toward the three men who had jumped from the wagon. Blood sprang from their ears, including the giant. The other two fell to the ground, clasping their hands to their head, dazed. For a moment I stood in stunned disbelief, but then I pushed it back to be pondered later. I joined my allies at the forefront of the battle, just as Bontas raised his greatsword, Bright Nail, and cleaved the giant in two. The two stunned men beside him quickly fell as Ieva and I joined with a swords (apparently Ieva’s bowstring had broken, and she had abandoned her favored weapon). Punch had finished off one of the women, and the last was on the ground. We quickly bound her, hoping to find out why we had been attacked. Clearly, this was not a simple matter of bandits seeking gold from unwary travelers.

As Opra started to question the captive, the woman began twitching violently. A strange look came into her eyes, and I feared something horrible was going to happen. I yelled out for everyone to run, and we fled from the woman in all directions. Punch, being slower to react, ended up with blood and gore on the back of his jacket when she exploded. I turned to lose my breakfast beside the road.

After we recovered, we searched the bodies. Ieva collected arrows from the slain “bandits” and distributed them amongst the members of our group that could use them. Opra, with a look of disgust, found a note upon the giant. It contained instructions for “Mahngle to find a group of five travelers headed towards Saflim, capture them, and bring them for payment of 5,000 gold pieces. Two ‘subdued citizens’ would aid him and his associates. – Signed, ‘P’”. Mother of pearl…we must have caused more trouble that I had anticipated. That was quite a price on our heads.

Searching the wagon, we found 1,000 gold pieces, presumably the down payment on our capture. Shrugging, I split it up evenly amongst the group. Then we commandeered the wagon and headed to Saflim, arriving safely before dark. Punch patched up our wounds on the way, and we entered the city nearly as good as new, although I’m sure we were quite a site with out torn and bloodied clothes. It will be nice to bathe and change clothes tonight. Tomorrow we will search out a boat and a guide for our travel up to Dragon Lake; I garnered a recommendation for a guide from a townsperson on our way to the inn. I imagine we can fetch a good price for the oxen and wagon to cover a large portion of our fees for the boat.

[Elora]

**********8th meeting
Last night was not as peaceful as I had hoped. We decided to sell the oxen and wagon before finding an inn, so we wouldn’t have to pay for their stabling. After haggling with Un, who owns the only stable in this miserable town, we decided to decline his offer and ask around for any other potential buyers. We found out that our only other option would be the Black Mountains Mining Company, but that they routinely work their animals to death. I would have nothing to do with that, so I waited in the town square, listening to the pulse of the locals. Opra and the others led the oxen off to the mining compound; and shortly returned with the oxen, but minus a wagon. Opra was giving Bontas black looks for some inane comments he had made during the bartering to sell the wagon, confirming my belief that I’m not the only person who likes the brash half-elf better when he can’t talk. After returning to Un’s Stables, and hearing a lovely story about why the burly man is called “Un” (if I wanted to know the state of his manly affairs, I would have invited him for a drink!), I advised him to watch out for oxen in the future or he might become “Nun”, and we parted with heavier coin purses. If only we had found a decent inn and turned in for the night…
But no. Ieva and I went to the local smithy to find some new armor, as Ieva’s leather armor was looking the worse for the wear after the wolf attacks. She found a decent chain mail shirt, and we then meandered towards the Arena, where we were to meet the rest of our party. On our way there, we heard a commotion in a tavern and arrived just in time to see Bontas getting tossed into the street. When he charged back in, we followed him and saw him pawing at a busty young woman, with Punch and Opra egging him on. A scarred man, with oily hair and a large gold medallion about his neck, stepped in front of Bontas, to which the half-elf responded, “Hey, hey…one woman at a time!”. Punches began to fly. It didn’t take long for the guards to come in, and they were both promptly hauled off to jail to be held until they could settle their issues in the Arena. Opra and Punch seemed glad! I politely asked what joy they could find in this matter, and found out that they had hatched an elaborate scheme to get Bontas into the Arena so they could make some money by spreading rumors of his lack of fighting skills and then betting on him. I have a suspicion that our little gnome friend has an addiction to gambling; whatever floats your boat, but he didn’t need to risk our best fighter and the success of our mission! Opra’s motivations elude me entirely, as particularly evidenced by the next events of this never-ending day.
As we were walking towards the Arena, we ran into a couple of men standing out on the street drinking beer and leering at women. Punch called out that they could spend an hour with Opra for a mere 20 sovereigns. I thought he was joking, but then the men offered 25 gold when they saw Opra try to hit Punch, and he accepted the coins and pushed her toward them. Aghast, I ran up to hit the man that was tying her up, as she was kicking out at them. After Ieva joined in, we managed to free our companion and forced Punch to return the money to avoid a serious fight. Once freed, the young sorceress walked up to the gnome, slapped him resoundingly across the face, and started talking about their gambling scheme again. When I later asked her about it, she replied without hesitation – “Oh, that? That was just business.”

At the Arena, we watched a short and brutal fight, Punch and Opra lost a bunch of money, and I was robbed by the bartender, who gave me swill for the price of mead. The sweat and stench of the crowds cheering on the fight made me wonder if I should bathe after all – I surely wouldn’t fit in. After the fight, we found rooms for the night at a nice, quiet inn with a roaring Lion painted on the shingle. But before we could settle in, Opra told us that a note had been slipped into her pocket earlier in the evening, informing her to meet some unknown messenger at the docks at midnight. Suspecting an ambush, I reluctantly rubbed the sleep from my eyes and agreed to go with the group. So we went to a rough little tavern down by the docks, drank some more of the nasty brew that passes for ale here, and then found good hiding places at the dock and settled in waiting for someone to come. Shortly, we heard footsteps coming, and I reached over and included Ieva in my spell of invisibility, becoming one with the night. Opra was peering out into the dark, and after a moment I could see her whisper and wave her hands about, and then a light shone out from her ring. Does this girl know anything about night-vision?! Any enemies could definitely see her, but she wouldn’t be able to see them coming out of the dark. Anyway, three men approached, and one motioned the others to stay behind. Carefully, the ranger and I positioned ourselves close to the men and listened intently. The leader, and he was easy to pick out by his stance and clothing, was a rather attractive looking man who clearly knew what he was about, with a slight hint of danger about him – he might be interesting to get to know. He appeared surprised that Opra was the only member of our party present, and asked where the rest of us were. I couldn’t hear her response, but I’m sure her tendency for deceit came into play – I could see her viper familiar entwined about her wrist. It seems Garnin either forgot to mention his friend Landu, or Landu knows more than he should about what we’re about. Either way, he wanted us to take down the brute of a man running the Mining Company, and the town. In exchange, he offered some rather vague “help” in our quest. The encounter ended as the men faded back into the darkness towards town, and we headed back to the inn for, finally, a good night’s rest in a decent bed. As much as I enjoy the stars and the sounds of the wild, a clean mattress was definitely in order. Punch and Opra went off to the jail to begin making a plan to ensure the half-elf’s victory; good luck to them.

*********

As if yesterday’s adventures weren’t enough, I woke sweaty and disturbed after a night filled with dreams haunted by the man I had killed – over and over, I saw his life passing from his eyes as my spear stole it from him. Tired and confused, I had a hot bath drawn and spent a good part of the morning hoping to let my problems soak away with the grime, and blood, of the road. Not surprisingly, my soul did not feel as clean as my body when I was finished. After a quick meal of bread and cheese, I scribbled a note for the rest of my party and left the noise of the town behind to spend the rest of the morning in a quiet grove outside the city walls. I had chosen a life of seeking Truth, and now more than ever I needed to find some truth about myself. I cannot afford to hold on to the innocence of youth.

As I meditated in the grove, as my mentor had instructed me, I heard a whispering voice as if on the wind. Why are you here, daughter? Strangely, I was neither startled nor afraid of this voice, as if something about it was familiar. I do not worship any god, as I find them petty and alien, many of the stories I sing full of their fickleness and falsehoods. Was this perhaps one of the Ancient Ones? I did not have an answer, and the whisper faded away. I considered the question for some time, and I have made a decision. I do not know the answer to the question spoken into my heart, but I know that it is not enough for me to simply sing tales of greatness and remain apart from the world. Life is precious, and I hope never to enjoy taking it away, but it is naïve to think that I will never have to do so if I want to help that which is good in this world. Perhaps in a different age, but this is one of blood, strength, and tears. If a man chooses to do evil, he has chosen his path and its consequences. But I will hold onto the pain that comes from killing, because if I don’t let it do its work I will become that which we are trying to destroy. And hopefully I can keep Punch’s greediness from denying Bontas his life.

Hurrying back to town, I first went around to several of the nicer taverns to offer entertainment for the evening, and accepted the offer at the Pike’s Inn. I needed the chance to find out how and when the prisoners are transported to the Arena, and where they kept. Then I found the rest of my party, some of them only now waking. Punch and Opra (is it really safe to let them go out alone together?) hadn’t had any success getting in to see Bontas last night, but they were gloating about how they had the town convinced that the half-elf was bound to lose. I can imagine that wouldn’t be too hard to do, since the guy he was going up against had won 31 consecutive fights in the Arena, apparently with the “aid” of his henchmen, as he was head of a prostitution ring in town. We also found out that no armor was allowed in the ring, and weapons would be strewn about the enclosure. Also, and this posed the biggest problem, mages were posted at intervals to detect any magic aid to the fighters.

To set up the first part of our increasingly desperate plan, I tried to get into the jail to see my beloved “husband”, weeping about his foolishness (that part wasn’t too hard to fake). The warden wouldn’t let me by, but I had convinced everyone there of my undying love for Bontas. After performing tales of tragic fights and lost loves for the rest of the evening, I went to the holding cells at the Arena and convinced the guards to let me spend a few last moments with Bontas. Once again, the brainless muscle-bound twit almost blew it, when the guard asked him about a weeping lady outside and he said it must be his half-sister, Elora. After a really disturbing lie, I convinced him we were from a backwater town and we were both telling the truth. After gaining entry, I told Bontas what we had learned of his opponent, warning him to stay away from the edge of the Arena, where he would be drawn in order to be stabbed by his foe’s underlings. I also told him that if he found himself too close to death’s edge to maneuver towards the gnome cleric, who would be posted at the edge and in direst circumstances would prevent the fighter’s death. Then I instructed him to request a moment with “a cleric of his god, Kord”. As the guard came back to the cell, I dazed the guard and quickly slipped up to the cell of the man Bontas was to face. I threw back my traveling cloak and under my breath sang the words of power to convince the man I was his dearest friend. Of course, I had never quite succeeded at this, but I was growing more powerful…Smiling, I spoke his name and tried to persuade him that the only way to prove his affection for me was to win the fight without cheating, which clearly such a large and powerful man was capable of doing. Judging by his unkind words, I still need more practice…

As I left, I heard Bontas yelling for a guard. Outside, Punch was exhorting the masses to follow Kord. Shortly, a guard came out and asked for Punch, a loyal servant of Kord. At least the second part of our plan seemed to be working (even though Bontas had been unable to remember the name of his god, except that it began with “K”). Punch returned in a glower, however, as a mage had accompanied him into the cell, ruining his attempt to strengthen our fighter.

As we truly began to despair, the bell rang out to signal that the fight was near. Opra and Punch ran up to place bets, having succeeded at setting high odds against Bontas. Then we quickly placed ourselves at various points around the metal cage encasing the Arena. As Bontas ran to grab a greatsword from the Arena floor, I managed to detect a few of the underlings by reading their surface thoughts, but I had to be careful, as a mage in flowing robes looked at me suspiciously. I managed to point out several suspects before the mage caught on and escorted me out. Just before the doors closed, I turned invisible and re-entered the arena. Bontas was doing better than expected – in his element, I have to admit he is a beauty to behold. And few men are better with a greatsword, as his opponent was quickly finding out. Unfortunately, his foe seemed to be made of strong mettle, as he withstood blow after blow. Slowly, they were moving towards the edge, near Opra’s post. As they pressed up against the cage, a small man in a dark cloak started to reach in, but Opra brashly interfered with her spear! The man cried out, drawing several guards…as they closed on the pair, Opra kicked out and hit the man, knocking the item out of his hand. The fighters in the Arena moved off, and Opra was taken into custody. One more time the fighters moved back towards the wall, this time towards Punch. Still invisible, I ran towards the cleric, sensing he would soon be in trouble. After healing our fighter, who could not have taken much more, mages started moving in toward Punch. Just before they reached him, I managed to aid his escape by making him disappear as well. And then, we turned as there was a cry from the crowd. Bontas had taken down his opponent, and without hesitation, brought the greatsword swiftly down on the man’s head. No mercy from that fellow. We met our missing comrade back outside the Arena, where Bontas picked up his gear and that of his fallen opponent. I went to the Jail and talked the Warden into releasing Opra; after telling him she had merely been trying to prevent cheating, he whispered to a young boy who went running off. As we arrived back at the Arena where our schemers were picking up their winnings, the boy came back out, followed by the rest of our group. Punch and Opra were furious, as just before we arrived the gamblers had shut down the collection of winnings, declaring all bets invalid due to cheating. How was I supposed to know they would care about the loser cheating?? I am not displeased that they failed to profit from their scheme, but I doubt they will learn anything from it. And Bontas the Brilliant is even more convinced that he’s immortal. And I’m wondering who my companions really are, and why they were chosen by Garnin for this quest.

[Elora]

********** (9th session) Day 13

I don’t have much to add to the record of my recent adventures today… We spent much of the morning arguing about the best way to defeat the brute that Mavster uses as his vicarious body to control Saflim, and then we each followed our separate plans. After Opra and I arranged transport upriver with the famed pilot Nah Olos, and I left most of my gold behind, I tried to gain an audience with Landu at his estate. I wanted to find out if his “help” was going to be worth all the trouble we were going through to do him a favor. To maintain the discreet nature of our interactions with Landu, I presented myself only as an entertainer offering my services for private audiences. The guards, however, informed me that Landu the Lazy was still abed, and they would not allow me entrance. I returned after the mid-day meal, and again I was turned back. This time, I found an inconspicuous spot and sat down in the shade of a tree where I could keep an eye on entrances to the estate, waiting for someone to leave the grounds. As a precaution, in light of the ambush on the road from Onarc, I sent Dochas out to wing around the town and requested that the raven return to me if he found any commotion.

Listening to the talk of passers-by, I found out that Bontas had landed himself in jail again (the tip from the barkeep at Valkers concerning the job opening at the Mining Company must have been good), and was set to enter the Arena against Gavster this very night. I guess Opra won’t need to hunt down any poison for her “great dire dog problem, two towns over” after all. Just as I was discussing the results of the afternoon archery competition, which unsurprisingly Ieva won with a series of stunning bulls-eyes, I sensed unease through my empathic link with Dochas, and looked up awaiting his return. After a few moments, he arrived and conveyed that Punch and his new lady friend, Pingpong, had been ambushed. Quickly, I sent out a message to the rest of the group to beware of trouble. Abandoning my post outside Landu’s, I ran off after the raven and arrived just in time to see the well-toned monk, her feet and hands wreathed in fire, and the little gnome finishing off their last attacker. Five men, with a note including detailed drawings of the five adventurers in our group (clearly the artist was male, as certain features of our young sorceress were accentuated beyond their norm), lay on the ground. Looking up to thank the monk Punch had befriended earlier at the Temple, Punch and I were amazed to find that she was gone, leaving behind only a puff of smoke.

Ieva and Opra arrived, out of breath as well, and I showed them the note. Opra was much more excited about her huge winnings from betting on Ieva than she was about the ambush. She also thought the drawing was quite accurate. Right. I don’t even think she’s had a bath in the past week. I really don’t see what men get excited about around her. She’s conniving, smutty, loud…Ah, anyway, perhaps I’m being uncharitable – I have seen her valor in battle, and will gladly stand at her side again.

I write this as I sit once more under my tree overlooking Landu’s estate. If I do not see him soon, I’ll have to wait until after the fight tonight.

[Elora]

*******(10th session)(Day 13 continued)

I gave up on meeting with Landu when crowds began to gather along the main street of the city, and I saw that the guards were preparing to parade the two fighters before taking them to the Arena. As I made my way through the crowds to get to the Arena, I ran into Ieva and Punch, who were doing an admirable job talking people into supporting Bontas in the fight. I found Opra just as she came down from the betting office (a big surprise), and we began brainstorming ways we could ensure the proper outcome for the fight. My attempts to discover information about any weaknesses Gavster might have had been unsuccessful. Regardless, we decided that we had to somehow place someone in the ring in case things went poorly. My invisibility spell would not last nearly long enough, so we settled on Opra using a spell to create an extradimensional space she could climb into. Unfortunately, the gates were locked, with two guards. I cast a charm spell on one of the guards, and assuming my best impression of a flirty and brainless young woman, I struck up a conversation with him (interspersed with many giggles). I had a very difficult time not laughing at his predictable responses, although I felt a little guilty trying to take advantage of him. He clearly wanted to take me for a stroll in the Arena, but would not risk getting into serious trouble with the Groundskeeper, who was currently in the Arena preparing the weapons and such. He did introduce me to the Groundskeeper, but I could not convince the grumpy old codger to let me in so close to a big fight. Fortunately, I was able to cast Invisibility on Opra just as they opened the gates to let the grounds men out, and she was able to sneak in and set her plan into action. Strangely, when the Groundskeeper blew a whistle to recall the workers, I heard screaming and a commotion from the area by Bontas and Gavster, seeming to come from the carts they were being carried in. I wasn’t able to discern the source of this commotion, as I was distracted with getting Opra into the Arena.

I decided to follow up a hunch, and summoned a whistle. A real plan began to form when I saw the results of sounding the whistle – Gavster, the giant, tough, feared fighter, could not stand the sound! He hunched over, crying out and covering his ears (at least, I’m pretty sure he was covering his ears – he was wearing a full metal helm). Before the mages arrived to begin scanning for magic use, I called Dochas to me and sent him with the whistle, invisible, to Opra. I also sent a magical message to Bontas, quickly explaining the weakness in his foe and telling him to look for help if needed. Then the fighters were led into the ring, and I fell back into the crowd, hoping Opra would understand the significance of the whistle. I looked again for Landu, sure he would be here to see the fight he had so carefully engineered. He had not arrived yet, but I recognized some of his entourage in a prime viewing position, and moved close to watch for his arrival.

The fight was long and brutal. To please the crowd and add some “interest” (watching two men fight to the death isn’t interesting enough, I guess), the weapons consisted of evenly spaced daggers buried to their hilts in the sand. Bontas was lucky. The first dagger he picked up was not enchanted, and he managed to use that weapon most of the fight (although he occasionally had to pull it out of himself). Gavster was repeatedly fireballed as he tried to pick up daggers. A few of the daggers he threw at Bontas were clearly enchanted to deal great damage, as they flew past the half-elf into the crowd – some melted the chest of the bystanders they struck! I could barely hear, above the roar of the crowd, the sound of a whistle. Opra had figured out what to do, and her help gave Bontas the edge he needed to take down this fearsome enemy. At the end, Bontas stood over the fallen Gavster, his enemy helpless. I held my breath as he began to walk away, relieved that he had chosen the better path. Then a voice boomed out over the Arena, and Landu made his presence apparent. He warned Bontas that killing Gavster was part of the deal…and Bontas shrugged his shoulders, walked back, and killed his helpless opponent. In all reality, while it was brutal, I understand why it had to be done. A few healing spells, and Landu’s troubles would be even worse than they had been (as would Saflim’s). Still, it was not something I enjoyed watching. Still less did I enjoy the sight of the gnome Mavster running into the Arena, crying. Or the sight of my friend ruthlessly stabbing the gnome and then walking away as the gnome threw a knife at him and sobbed over the body bleeding on the Arena sand.

Breathless with relief that the fight was over, although slightly worried over the ruthlessness just demonstrated by Bontas, I forgot to watch for Landu leaving the Arena and missed his exit. I searched the crowds, but couldn’t find him. I decided to follow along in the excited mob to find out what was happening. In the center of the town square, Landu was just beginning a speech. He spoke passionately and simply of the future of the new Saflim, now that they were free of the oppression they had been under…this was greeted with great exuberance, and the crowd broke out in celebration. He held them easily with his words, reinforcing my impression that he was a strong and clever leader, although dangerous perhaps to oppose. Dancing and drumbeats soon filled the streets, but I ignored the pressing crowd and ran to catch the swiftly retreating man and his entourage. I caught him after a moment, and asked, politely but boldly (I think), about his end of our deal. He paused, and then asked me to follow him back to his estate to receive the aid he had promised. After entering his house, he bade me follow him into a small, private chamber – comfortably furnished, with candlelight softening the contours of the room, and a few doors leading off. Landu asked what our next quest might be, and I told him freely of our proposed voyage to Dragon Lake. After he considered my response, he opened a cabinet and pulled out a drawer containing several flasks. “You will most likely encounter Frost Giants on your journey – and you know what they dislike….” Clearly, fire. He told me what kind of fire damage to expect from the twelve flasks, and I carefully stowed them in my bag.

Thanking him for his help, I started to leave. Even now, I’m not really sure what stopped me, but on a whim I turned back and asked if he would care to join me in celebration at a nearby tavern. Perhaps I was just yearning for intelligent conversation, but I will admit I was intrigued by the man and would not turn down an opportunity to learn more about him. To my surprise, he pulled out a bottle of red wine and a pair of glasses from another cupboard, and said, “Of course – but why not celebrate here? My wine is assuredly better than any you would find at the tavern.” I agreed, having tasted some of the town’s fare. We spent the next few hours drinking wine and talking. The warmth of the wine enveloped me, and I began to relax for the first time after my recent harrowing adventures. Yes, we had troubles ahead, but the future could not touch this night. And yes, the wine tasted a bit odd, but it was surely just an unusual vintage. After the third glass (how did he get me to agree to so many?), I became vaguely aware that I was becoming lightheaded. I decided it was time to draw the evening to a close, and graciously thanked my host and left for the Inn.

Well, not really. What really happened is (and this need never leave these pages), I graciously thanked Landu for a lovely evening, managed to turn down another drink, and then got lost in the little sitting room and opened the door into his bedroom rather than the hallway. As heat crept up my face and turned my cheeks several shades more pink than usual, I turned around and saw a slightly bemused Landu. He was holding out another glass of wine, and commented on the oddness of choosing to enter his bedroom if I was really intent on leaving. Blushing even more fiercely, I said something about becoming disoriented, and made for a door across the room. Which led into a closet with chests and clothes, a handsome cloak hanging off a hook on the door. This time I didn’t even bother blushing. I asked if perhaps I could borrow a cloak for the walk through town, as I had left mine at the Inn and had not expected to be out so late. He lowered the two glasses of wine, and came over and pulled the cloak off of the hook, lowering it around my shoulders. “Here – you can keep this. It will keep you safe from enemies.” I don’t know if the heat I felt then was from a blush, effects of the wine, or his nearness. Again he tried to persuade me to stay. I made up excuses about needing to check on my friends, but I had to cede his point that they could probably look after themselves for the night – especially considering what they had accomplished at the Arena. Finally I agreed to stay at his estate, if he would be so generous as to let me use a guest room. I do not think it would have been easy or safe to try making it back to the Inn the state I was in. His adroit response was that his bed was by far the softest in the house. However, I had found my way with words again – “Ah, well…after so many nights sleeping on the ground, even the meanest of beds would be a great comfort. And, I fear, sleeping in a bed too soft will make the road that much harder…” Then, words abandoned my lips as he kissed me and ---- lets say that I do not think I will need a written record to remember that kiss.

After my heart regained a normal pace, and a normal position in my chest, Landu showed me into this guest room down the hall, and gave me the key to lock it. I have attempted to cast an alarm spell on the room’s perimeter, but I’m afraid I failed horribly. Instead, I’ll ask Dochas to watch over my sleep…

[Elora]

**** Day 15

Wonder of wonders! I have come into the presence of a mighty creature of astounding beauty! The Silver Dragon above the lake is a creature worthy of a thousand songs and to have been welcomed into his presence is something I will never forget. But I get ahead of myself.

We left Nah, Abachu, and the Falcon at the edge of Dragon Lake by a small mining outpost. He has agreed to wait for three days before returning to Saflim. Hopefully that is all we will need, although at our current rate of travel, I’m not sure we’ll make the timeline. Unfortunately, our ranger has shown as much aptitude for finding trails as she has for cooking. (But she is fantastic with her bow!). After several hours of walking in circles, we finally found the dragon’s lair. Punch, Blue Arrow, and Dochas found some back entrances through a small hole in the mountain. We managed to find the main entrance from the outside, and I entered with some trepidation but great excitement. What I found was a magnificent Silver Dragon surrounded by treasures uncountable. Compared to the dragon, however, the treasures were hardly worth glancing at (although I had better keep a sharp eye on our new associate in here!). Clearly, he was expecting us. I find it quite fortunate that he did not expect us as enemies. The dragon welcomed us all into his cavern, and provided a feast and a safe place to rest for the night. I considered playing a song for our host after the meal, to show our gratitude, but I fear that the talents I have to offer will appear meager compared to what this dragon has seen and heard. If, someday, my music can earn the approval of such a one as this, I will consider myself a true bard and be pleased indeed.

[Elora]

******(12 session) Day 16 - Goats to the Rescue!

I find myself writing this in a crowded extradimensional space containing myself, two gnomes, a dwarf, a half-elf, Opra-who-refuses-to-bathe, and two mountain goats. Never could I have imagined such a scenario. It begins to rival that last experience with the Ettin. Ugh. So how did I get here?

We woke in the dragon’s lair this morning, and as I was mentally rehearsing my carefully chosen words to request some blood from the great Silver Dragon, I realized that the dragon was no longer present. Instead, a cleric of Kord greeted us. He was recognized by the rest of the group to be the cleric from Saflim that had given the quest of atonement for Bontas. After explaining that his friend (the Dragon) wished to know why we had come, I filled him in on why we needed dragon blood. Of course, the cleric insinuated we would need to accomplish a great Deed in order to request such a thing. Fortunately, I pointed out, we were already working on a great deed – killing the Lich for Bontas’ atonement. It was agreed that this act would suffice to fulfill both requirements. I have my doubts, however, as to our ability to accomplish this. We have overcome great odds in the past few weeks, but an undead sorcerer with untold years to perfect his power may be more than we are prepared for. Regardless, we must make our best attempt. There is no one else to do it.

While the cleric gave us fairly detailed directions to get to the old Dwarven cave complex that is the current residence of the Lich, the trail often faded out and Ieva had a hard time keeping us on it. The cleric was surprised to see us back at the dragon’s cave so quickly. And I think I have the lower sections of the trail memorized. That is, if the Frost Giants didn’t knock the memory from me with their rocks…

The trip to the cave was treacherous, and a worthy adventure in itself, in my opinion. These details tend to be left out of the great stories – nobody wants to hear how Llew the Amazing kept falling off the trail, or how the Great Ranger had to depend on goats to find the trail. This is one of the reasons I chose to come on this quest in the first place…how can I sing songs about great adventures if I don’t even know what one feels like? My respect for adventurers grows every day…

So, yes, I fell off the trail. So did Bontas, but he landed on a lower ledge and we were able to pull him back up without too much trouble. If Opra hadn’t been quick with her rope and some spell-work, I would have seen the bottom of the mountain a bit more quickly than is generally considered healthy. I tried grabbing on to the rocks around me, but nothing held – until I saw a rope snaking down beside me and desperately threw my hands around it. I was just beginning to catch my breath after climbing back up to the main ledge when a small boulder plummeted out of the sky and nearly sent me back over the edge. This rock was followed quickly by a much larger boulder, which resulted in our newest recruit, “Blue Arrow”, taking a serious blow to the head. Looking up, I saw the reason for the sudden rain of stone…several frost giants had apparently heard our inept scramble up the mountain and decided to see if they could add some more meat to their stew for the evening. Opra was firing off spells, Ieva was fiercely sending a rain of arrows back at our foes, and Bontas and Punch were doing the best they could without being able to engage the giants directly. Blue Arrow won my respect for continuing to fight after her head was nearly bashed in. By the time I was re-oriented, everyone was on the run – Bontas even carrying the gnomes on his back. All I could manage to do was utter the words to turn myself invisible, and dive behind some boulders as the giants climbed down to give chase. After several minutes, I watched the giants return and climb back up to the ridge above the trail. It didn’t take long to catch up with the rest of the group after that.

Blue Arrow had another chance to shine (after Punch called upon Kord to heal her poor head!). I wasn’t sure how useful she would be when I suggested she join us, but she has shown her capabilities time and again. She explored the cave the four giants lived in, and even managed to hide from them when they caught her unawares. Opra’s viper familiar, “Jo”, nearly scared her out of her hiding place when sent to investigate…but it all turned out well. She managed to sneak out after Opra created a distraction that sent the giants back down the mountain. The sorceress then left Jo to further investigate the cave as we traveled on. Sort of. For a ranger, Ieva really doesn’t seem very skilled at finding trails. Opra left us, cleaned out a chest back in the cave, rescued two mountain goats from becoming dinnner, and returned just as we circled back again. All praises to whomever sent us the gift of the goats! Ieva talked the goats into letting the gnomes ride them, and they helped her find the trail to the dwarven caves! It was very strange listening to goat-like sounds come from our dwarf ranger, but it was a beautiful sight when we sighted the cave at last.

Two incredible stone dwarven defenders flanked the entrance to the cavern. Cautious, Opra sent Jo ahead to scout. He quickly ran into a great door. We then faced three consecutive doors, each with a different puzzle. The first puzzle I was able to decipher after thinking back to the tales of this land, and realizing that the Great King Seth had created these caverns. At the second door, Opra quickly figured out the password that had to be spoken. The third door also opened after I deduced the meaning of the riddle from an old song I had learned of Seth’s exploits. We had arrived. Only darkness and stone caverns lay ahead.

Oh. And three undead minotaurs, a fork in the path, several traps, dozens of skeletal warriors who don’t like snakes…Blue Arrow got us past most of the traps safely, although there was some excitement when she fell into a cleverly concealed pit. Again, Opra’s quick rope work saved the day. I’m glad she is carrying it within easy reach. Punch was eager to bring the powers of his god to bear against the undead sentries, but I cautioned that we should reserve our resources and the element of surprise until we faced the Lich himself (or at least got closer). For the same reason, I chose not to use the flasks of fire I have been carrying since Saflim. Instead, Bontas stripped off his armor, pulled out his shortbow, and ran screaming at the minotaurs. He led them off down the path that ended at the room of skeletons, taking a nasty blow on his way past them. As soon as the monsters ambled out of sight after him, the rest of us ran for the other tunnel. Dochas had gone with Bontas in order to deliver my invisibility spell to him when the time came. After several long minutes, our brave fighter returned in triumph. The minotaurs had resumed their posts, but we were already past them. We decided to rest and heal.

And now here I am. Thinking fondly of fresh air and baths. Did I mention I’m next to Opra? And Bontas is naked? And there are goats??

[Elora]

After a horrid night sleeping in the “haven” created by Opra’s spell, I woke and practically dove out of the stench for the ground. Even had an army of undead monsters been awaiting me, I believe I would have preferred their company to one more moment in that cramped space. My fondness for the goats is decreasing rapidly. Ah, well...I will try to avoid pondering that experience any further.

Once I finished my rather futile attempt at morning ablutions, I braced myself to re-ascend the rope to wake the others. Opra didn’t wake easily, so I was.... forced... to waste some of my water to get her going. It didn’t take long for everyone to stumble down and we were shortly on our way once again, the long dark tunnel dropping away before us. After a brief (but fiery) discussion, we decided to leave Blue Arrow and the goats while the rest of us went in pursuit of the lich. It didn’t take much effort on my part to persuade the little gnome that she would be serving us well to keep watch and stay behind. I find myself feeling responsible for her safety. I must remember that she is not a child, even if she looks like one. She reminds me of my sister...

At the bottom of a stone stairway, another puzzle awaited us. This Great King Seth fellow must have loved these things (as well as himself, I’m thinking). Strangely, it felt almost as if he was perversely delaying us so that our foe might further prepare for our assault. Perhaps we offended his lingering spirit somehow. An agonizing age later, Ieva slid the final stone into place and the door grated against the cave wall, allowing us entrance. Three minotaurs, flesh dropping away in lurid chunks, weapons raised, came stumbling toward us as we passed through the archway to the top of another drop of stairs. We quickly gathered around Punch, and he drew upon the power of Kord to wrap us in a cloak of protection. Punch warned that should we touch or attack one of the undead minions, they would be able to see all of us once more. His bag of divine tricks is becoming increasingly useful! The minotaur problem fixed, at least for a time, we slowly descended into a vast underground city. I began to wonder again at our ability to complete this quest, as I saw the incredible numbers of undead creatures milling about. Our foe appeared to be powerful indeed. Punch and I formulated a battle plan while we wandered through the city.

We had a scare when our bumbling cleric turned a corner and walked right into a zombie, dispelling the magic which hid us. Before any of the undead could attack us, however, he called down the blessing of Kord once again and we were hidden from sight. The city was huge! Rows of dwellings, what looked like an armory, a throne room, kitchens…but no undead sorcerers lurking about. Everyone was getting agitated, and Opra and I had a few disagreements about the best plan of action. I know my focus can get a little narrow at times, but time was running short – Punch couldn’t keep up our protection forever, and our only chance at surviving against such large numbers of undead was to find the head -- and cut it off!

Unfortunately (to say the least), the “head” found us a bit more quickly than I would have liked. We stumbled into a great hall and must have set off some kind of magical alarm, as the lich immediately pointed in our direction and began a monologue on his greatness, laughing in a dry, rasping voice as he dispelled our protection. I immediately muttered an oath, along with a spell to turn myself invisible. I then turned Punch invisible and urged him to stick with the plan. I was pleased to hear his voice chanting from behind Bontas shortly after that, and watched with anticipation as the half-elf grew in size and strength, and then took off toward the lich, carrying an area of magical silence with him. Bet he didn’t expect that!!

So, everything was going as well as could be expected…I was safely invisible, Bontas was ready to unleash his killing instincts, Opra was beginning to roast the lich with her arcane power…except, she too raced to the lich! Is she completely deaf (I told everyone to stay out of his reach!!), or does she have a death wish?? I watched in horror as she reached out to touch the creature, energy crackling around her hands. The lich merely laughed again, and promised that she would be the first to die and would then become his most prized zombie. Well, she deserves it. Mostly. At least he’s used to the smell…
If Bontas hadn’t become such an immediate nuisance to the lich, clobbering him with a greatsword and negating his ability to cast spells due to magical silence, he would have fulfilled his promise very quickly. As it was, a minotaur came at Opra from behind and very nearly took her out of the picture. A searing light that came from Punch’s symbol of Kord took care of that threat. That was incredible! Too bad he could only do that a couple of times… I lost track of Ieva for a while, as I circled around the lich and watched for weaknesses, but I know she was battling a couple of minotaurs on her own.

As I retreated from the fight to avoid discovery, I found myself in one of the alcoves to the side of the room. Seeing a tomb with the lid cracked, I peeked inside. I couldn’t see anything, so I pushed the lid over further. So now I know what it feels like to have a fireball explode in your face. Not pleasant. The smell of your own burning flesh? Really not pleasant. But I did find some potions of healing. I immediately drank one myself, and then headed back towards the fray – just in time. Ieva had been cornered by one of the minotaurs just outside the alcove and was laying on the ground at an unnatural angle, blood pooling under her armor. I used another potion on her, and was instantly relieved to see her eyes open once more, her wounds beginning to close. I saw that the lich was still intently pursuing Opra around the hall, and Bontas was sticking to the lich like a bur on lambswool. So I explored the next alcove to see if anything else of use could be found. This time I used the butt of my spear to remove the lid of the coffin, but nothing happened. Looking in, a sword glowing with an extraordinary blue light lay on the bones of an ancient dwarven skeleton. Offering thanks to the dead warrior, I took the weapon in hand. I’m sure we need it now more than he does.

Exiting the second alcove, I froze in fear as I saw our plans going awry once more. The lich had somehow escaped Bontas’ area of silence, and he disappeared – only to reappear within striking distance of Opra. Lightning flew from his pale, withered fingertips as the sorceress crumpled to the floor. Without pause, I ran for her body, hoping it wasn’t too late. I managed to coax my last healing potion down her throat just as Bontas came roaring across the room to resume his assault on the undead sorcerer. Still invisible, I turned to take a stand between the recovering sorceress and the oncoming sorcerer, shining sword held in front of me. With bated breath, I watched as the towering Bontas brought his greatsword down once more…and the lich’s body was no more.

I dissipated my invisibility spell just as Opra sat up. The ungrateful wretch asked (in somewhat less polite words) where I had been the whole fight. Oh. Merely saving your life. And Ieva’s. And getting ready to risk my life to protect yours, again. That’s all. What I said, however, was that I was working on a nice eulogy for her, and wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any of the gory details of how she got turned into a zombie. Honestly though, if everyone was going to die, wouldn’t it be better for me to survive and spread the epic tale of their valiance than to die with them?? How would that help anyone?

It turned out that our lich friend had some interesting possessions, including the “second scepter of Kord” we’d heard about. I stowed everything in my bag to hand out later, and checked the last alcove, where I found some powerful healing scrolls. I made sure to put them where I could quickly access them. Then we decided we had better find the phylactery the Silver Dragon had sent us for. Exiting the great Hall, we realized that all of the undead minions had also fallen…I didn’t realize that would happen, but it was a nice surprise! We checked out the giant statue of King Seth, and realized one of his arms had a joint that looked like it would move. I was beginning to wish Blue Arrow had come with us after all. I have no idea how to recognize traps. So I just pulled the arm. And I was rewarded with some very shiny diamonds. This day was getting better and better…

Back in the throne room we had found earlier, I stepped up to examine the throne and found that there were four levers that could be pulled. Still feeling lucky, I began pulling them. I noticed that a grinding sound came from behind the throne when I pulled a couple of them, and working off of some insights from Ieva and Punch, I deciphered their riddle and managed to raise a small chamber from within the stone. Within lay a glistening, black obsidian stone that fairly pulsed with magic. The phylactery! Feeling sure that this was trapped, I again lamented the lack of Blue Arrow’s skills…and warning everyone to stay back, I reached out and took the stone. I don’t know what spell hit us, but it knocked Opra unconscious again and made the rest of us wince. This incident did not help my relations with our resident sorceress. Nor did it help that a few moments later a familiar, dry, rasping voice sounded behind us.

We turned as one to see the lich watching us with his eerie, gleaming eyes. I knew that liches could regenerate their bodies if their phylactery wasn’t destroyed, but I had no idea they could come back so quickly. This was not a good surprise. In fact, I would say it put quite a damper on my otherwise rapidly improving day. I only had one more invisibility spell left, so I decided not to use it immediately. I thought I’d wait until, you know, the situation was dire. In retrospect, I’m not sure how I thought the situation could get any worse…

Knowing that Opra was still far from being recovered, I decided that something had to be done to keep the lich’s attention from centering on her once more. At last check, he still seemed intent on fulfilling his promise to her. Smiling, I waved his phylactery at him, asked if he was looking for something, and tucked it safely in a pouch at my waist. I then casually began donning his robe, his bracers, and so forth…making sure to keep the rest of the party between him and me. In a rage, he came forward (perhaps unwisely) and was promptly engaged in combat by Bontas, Ieva, and Punch. I finished dressing myself in his gear, and tossed the scepter of Kord to Punch. This act saved us all, as the lich fell again at the hands of a true cleric of Kord wielding a weapon of Kord. Trembling, I suggested that perhaps we should hasten to the dragon and destroy the evil soul hidden in the stone I carried. Everyone concurred, and we made a mad dash back up to the tunnels that brought us to this cursed dwarven city.

Picking up Blue Arrow and the goats on the way out of the mountain, we made a swift retreat back down towards the lake, this time avoiding the Frost Giants. Arriving back at the Dragon’s lair, I was disappointed to see that the priest was still present, but no dragon. And I began to wonder. The priest asked after the results of our quest, and I held out the black stone…but on a whim I said I would only entrust it to the Silver Dragon himself. “Very well,” he said, and then another wondrous event unfolded before us. Or, I should say, the priest unfolded before us and in his place stood the shimmering Dragon. I knew it!

Punch solemnly (for him) gave over the second scepter of Kord. The Dragon took the scepter in one great, clawed hand, and the phylactery in the other. With a mighty stroke, he used the scepter to crush the stone, leaving nothing but glittering black shards. Then he turned his great wise eyes to Bontas. “You have achieved the quest I set you and your companions. Come, and receive your atonement.” Then my day really got better…as the Dragon took up the cocky fighter in the same claws that had recently had the phylactery, and used the same scepter to spank him as a mother does to a child. Really, the whole quest was worth that moment. I think I’d face the lich alone. Just for the look on the half-elf’s face. I must write a song about this moment, and keep it in reserve to hold over Bontas. Priceless.

But not nearly so priceless as what the Dragon offered next. Fulfilling his part of our bargain, he sliced open his own skin with a claw and filled a bottle with his blood. In awe, I came forward to accept his generous gift (for even though we had “earned” it, it was still a gift!) and carefully stowed it away. As we rest this night once again in his lair, I will try to think of a way to properly honor this magnificent creature.

[Elora]

******** Day 18 (Session 14)

This was not my best day ever. I’m still covered in some horrid mixture of my own blood, zombie goo, goat-smell, Opra-smell, and more zombie goo. I was practically cleaved in two. And, I just realized a few moments ago that we forgot something important…you know, that little guy that follows us around – the one that worships Kord? Yeah…he’s still back in the dragon’s lair. Oops. I believe the string of curses I released upon this realization made even Abachu’s orc-ears turn red. Not my best day ever. But I guess I should write it down. In case tomorrow is even worse…

The day started out normal enough (by “normal” I mean, relative to the last week or so). Waking in the dragon’s lair, we discussed the possible courses of actions that lay before us. I was pushing for a quick return to Onarc (with perhaps a short stop in Saflim on the way), fearful that we would be too late to save the Hollowman Oak if we dawdled. Opra wanted to go back and check the dwarven city for any treasures we missed when we fled with the phylactery. So I sent Dochas down to The Falcon with a message for our captain, letting him know he could expect us before nightfall. And off we went, back up the mountain. Punch stayed with the Dragon, discussing religion and such. Our benefactor had graciously gifted the gnome cleric with the Second Scepter of Kord once the phylactery was destroyed. The Dragon had also helped me in identifying the treasure we had taken from the lich, so I could properly distribute it. I kept only a finely crafted longsword and an enchanted ring that improves my armor while I wear it. I almost wish I had kept the bracers, which were much more powerful than the ring…but I guess they didn’t do Bontas that much good either.

The trip back to the city was, thankfully, uneventful. We started out in the side cavern that the skeletons had been holding, and found some useful scrolls and potions. As we passed the dead (again) minotaurs, Bontas felt the need to stab one…hence the “more” zombie goo adding to the layer of ick covering me. By this time, it barely bothered me. That’s frightening…

Looting the dwarven ruins, I found many more scrolls and potions. Ieva and I also found a room with an old library. Only a few books had survived the ages…there was one on healing with nature’s remedies, I gave that to Ieva. A book containing maps of the region went into my bag. A third book (whose title makes me blush) I almost left behind without reading…but I went back for it out of sheer curiosity. I’ve already learned many, ah, interesting things from it…things not generally taught to bards, seeing as how they are normally men. But useful, I believe, in the finer arts of diplomacy as practiced by a woman.

So, I guess things were actually going fairly well up to this point. As we were wrapping up the search, Ieva and I heard yelling and scuffling down the tunnel that our companions had gone down earlier. As we rounded the last corner in the mine shaft, I saw Oprah and Bontas kicking and flailing at each other. I managed to get between them, but they were still hitting at each other around me. Ieva grabbed Bontas from behind, and the fight began to go out of the two imbeciles. It took me a while to get an explanation out of them, as they kept trying to shout each other down. Opra looked ridiculous, her hair singed from an earlier trap she set off, the lich’s rusty crown sitting askew on top of it all. It was all over some stupid diamond they had pried out of the wall at the end of the mining tunnel. Just as we settled that dispute, things started to go downhill, as they say. A rumbling in the rocks could be heard. I darted back out of the tunnel, afraid it might collapse. I didn’t see the others behind me, but I admit I only had eyes for the six towering frost giants that were straightening up at the main entrance to the underground city. I immediately cast a spell to become invisible and moved closer to see what was going on. I managed to catch some of the guttural conversation they were having. One of them, who seemed familiar, had recognized the voices echoing from the tunnel shaft.

I tried to climb on top of one of the buildings to establish a safe base of defense, but the stones broke away beneath my hands and I fell. The sound drew all of the giants towards my location, so I circled all the way around the building until I was behind them. Then, I saw Opra and the others emerging from the tunnel. She moved through the ruins until she was a few hundred feet from the cluster of giants, and then let loose with a spell more powerful by far than I had yet seen her cast. A blaze of fire exploded in the middle of the giants, erupting all about them. I joined in with one of the fire-flasks from Landu, and the giants screamed out in anger and pain. Why had they come hunting us?? Taking cover behind a nearby building, I lobbed another flask and watched in awe as Opra released yet another fireball in their midst. Foolishly, I began to think that this would a quick fight.

Before the giants could reorganize against us, Ieva and Bontas began firing a multitude of arrows from a safe distance. Blue Arrow, however, went sneaking in behind the largest of the giants (clearly the leader) with the lich’s enchanted quarterstaff. If she could have gotten a blow in with that, the fight may have gone better for all of use. Instead, she slipped on the rough stones just as she made her attack, the staff flying through the air to fall far from her grasp, and a gash appearing on her forehead. Even from where I stood, I could see the look of terror in her eyes as she looked up from the feet of the giant. With one step, he could probably squish her like a bug!

Bontas sprang in, greatsword swinging, and gave Blue Arrow a chance to get away. Opra continued blasting away from afar, as did Ieva with her arrows. I spent the next few minutes lifting my voice in battlesong and repeatedly healing Bontas as he and the leader wailed away on each other. Blue Arrow disappeared in the rubble, nursing her wounds. Then came a moment when I knew that, even with the healing I had managed to give him, one more blow could down our brave fighter. Reaching inside for courage I wasn’t sure I had, I stood my ground and began hurling insults at the giant. I paid the price courage often requires…a massive axe blow nearly bore me to the ground. The pain was…immense. But I was still on my feet. Four of the giants had been sent from their mortal forms. Bontas was still worse off than I was. Blue Arrow had rejoined the fight, by sending a poorly aimed crossbow bolt into Bontas. Glancing down at another scroll of healing, I realized I could use it for myself and run, or give the half-elf the chance he would need to take down the leader. Desperately hoping the giant would not follow me, I cast the spell on Bontas and ran as far as I could. My taunts must have been effective. It was not far enough.

As I felt the giant’s axe slice through me again, I remember looking down and being vaguely surprised at how much blood was on the stones at my feet. It felt like my back was on fire, and warmth was seeping out of me…then I fell forward, and knew nothing else in this world.

I’m told that I was only unconscious for a short time. I remember dreaming so many things in that time, it hardly seems possible that it was less than an eternity. Were they dreams? And the music I heard…if only I could remember the melody – the beauty, even in my shadowed remembrance, brings a joy and fire to my heart.

I woke, still in agony from my wounds, to Blue Arrow forcing a potion down my throat. Someone had finished off the leader that had taken me down, but as I stood I saw that one last giant was making a break for the door. He did not survive to make it to the stairway – the last fire-flask at my waist saw to that.

In the aftermath of our battle with the frost giants, I downed a couple more healing potions from my pack and felt the worst of my wounds knitting back together. Opra found a rather singed letter on the leader’s body. Our still unnamed enemy had discerned our location and sent these brutes to end the “nuisance” we troublemakers were causing. I hope to end all of his problems very soon…

We half-heartedly searched a couple more buildings on our way of the city, but we didn’t find anything of interest. We stumbled more than walked back down the mountain, heading straight for the ship awaiting us at Dragon Lake. Opra paid off the rest of our fare with a diamond – that put a gleam in the captain’s eye. And then, as we cast off, I remembered that we had forgotten that little thing…er, person. As soon as we get our stuff together again, I’m afraid we’ll have to trek back up to the lair above the Lake. At least we’ll get to see the Silver Dragon again.