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Background and Summary: The Party learns of a powerful artifact
that may help them rescue Fundin.
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Dafan time:
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162 Tuilë 10-22 (April 10-22) |
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Real time:
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2011 January - March (sessions 190-198) |
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Starting members:
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Vishu
(Mk7), Aknot (F8), X
(MU7), Artemisia (B7),
Taro (F6/T7), Karg
(WrC7), Ciaran (NrC6/R6),
Feratta (NrC10) |
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(Session 190)
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| Tuilë 10 |
The next morning, still in Sidheag, the
Party again regroups in their inn's hall. Many are still upset with
Ciaran. In walks a nattily dressed human walks in, glares at the non-Party
members in the hall (making them hastily grab their meals and drinks
and leave). Uninvited, he sits down with the Party, introduces himself
as Onchu of Elias, and -- after glancing around to ensure that
no one else is present -- states that they have set the clock ticking.
In response to their blank stares, he chides them for having talked
to so many sages about the demon Maoleonan, explaining that at least
one of them has revealed their questions to others, and thus word
of their interest is spreading. He also states that he knows they
want to retrieve an Hobbit (he saw the demon carrying one), and that
to do so they will most likely have to enter Maoleonan's realm which
is not of this world. With time not on their side, and difficulties
ahead, are they prepared to use evil to fight Evil? If so, Onchu can
help them; for he is a trader of information, and he knows that there
is a device that offers planar travel of a userful sort just a couple
of days travel from Sidheag. |
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A necklace containing a type of Amulet
of the Planes in the form of an ebony crystal - the Ebon Stone
- is guarded in a secret monastery. It is an evil item; it destroys
magic and seeks to control whomever touches it; and to use it's power,
one must wear it. The monks do not know exactly what it is they are
guarding, or for whom; but they know it is powerful and are likely
trying to learn its secrets. Normally, Onchu would charge to reveal
the location of this place and the details of the necklace - information
is his trade, after all. But as luck would have it, he happens to
wish all the monks be killed ("Why? You cannot afford the price
for that information."). So if the Party agrees to kill
as many monks as possible en route to obtaining the necklace, that
will be quite sufficient payment. |
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The Party agrees to these terms, and decides
to head there immediately. |
| Tuilë 11 |
Despite Taro's hangover, most of the Party
packs up and leaves town the next morning. Mei-Peng, Vragg and Jett
remain to compete their training. |
| Tuilë 15 |
In the afternoon, they arrive at the monastery.
While observing from a discrete distance, a purple haze suddenly descends
upon the Party. Two extra people appear in their midst, looking very
confused. X quickly goes invisible and flies up; she discovers that
the haze is invisible from outside, and conceals all that are within;
thus it appears safe to talk with these newcomers where they are.
The learn that Rainbow
Moonbeam Tuesday (NtC5) and Joa
Silverbeard (F5) come from some country/world of which they've
never heard named Decast, and that they have no idea where they are
or why. Being enthusiastic, however, they quickly agree to join the
Party and attack the monk guards. |
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X summons some little Demons and sends them
to attack the monks; one monk immediately runs into the building.
Meanwhile Ciaran, Karg, and Feratta close the distance so as to cast
spells on the monks, and the rest join the attack. Taro, however,
sneaks to the front door, just in time to be webbed by X. The three
remaining monks are dispatched quickly, whereupon Rainbow and Joa
vanish to whence they came. |
| (S191) |
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The Party enters the monastery. Ciaran is
nearly ripped apart by 2 giant lizards; but otherwise they have little
difficulty, even when 6 more Monks surprise them from behind. Vishu
is caught in a blast of Fear from Artemisia, and runs away
... she finally stops 3 kilometers back the way they came (the one
problem with having a high movement rate). The resident Monks are
skilled in combat but are less than intimidating in their preppie
outfits (complete with little crocodile emblems); Ogrillons, on the
other hand, prove to be trivial foes (except for X who gets her clocked
cleaned) but have spiffy black leather jackets with a cool motto ("Mess
with the Best, Die with the Rest"); Aknot and Karg both take
one for themselves. A captive Ogrillon proves to be co-operative,
once bribed: Brunhilde
(F2) joins. A captive Monk, Wolfgang of Bergen, is
successfully charmed by X and reveals some puzzling information; for
he was expecting invaders to be Vampires. The Party begins to question
the nature and motives of Onchu, and whether assaulting a monastery
that was minding its own business in the middle of nowhere was really
a good idea. |
| (S192) |
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The Party realises that their presence must
be known, but they aren't sure if they should push on or fall back
and rest. They wait guardedly ... but no sound is heard beyond their
beachhead. So Artemisia takes matters into her own mouth. From Wolfgang
she has learned that the head of the monastery is Master Po, who once
spent years living in Hestia; so she composes some stanzas in formal
Hestian style extolling the wisdom of the master and bellows them
out as incentive to parley. But still no reaction. |
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Suddenly a door explodes inwards and many
Orcs charge in ... who prove to be no match whatsoever, and silence
again descends on the monastery. Ciaran and Feratta decide to deal
with the occupant of a neighbouring room whose sign says "Efficiency
Expert". He proves to be an enormous Ogre wearing an executioner's
hood, who despite the recent racket of combat nearby was busy enjoying
a good game of solitaire. As those three slug it out, another assault
arrives: 9 monks and 2 tigers. Some of the monks prove to be quite
skilled, especially one old fellow with a cane who gives Karg a hard
time. One tiger nearly kills X. Wolfgang at first fights to save X
(his "best friend"); then suddenly the charm breaks and
he turns on the Party and is soon killed. |
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When the tide turns against the monks, the
old one turns and flees at high speed - the Party now suspects that
he is Master Po. Taro stays to guard the recovering X, while the rest
head after Po. Quick searches of various rooms prove fruitless, until
they run into a fighter named Skrunge and his two sneaky buddies.
While the sneaks backstrike a few, Skrunge hacks Feratta down with
ease in a couple of rounds - Feratta dies. Ultimately the Party
is victorious. Brunhilde is impressed with Aknot's fighting prowess;
Aknot is not impressed by her attention. Ciaran feels obliged to raise
Feratta; this proves costly as he hasn't enough spell points and takes
damage to make up the difference. Even worse, Feratta fails to be
raised. |
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Searching, they find a secret room filled
with thousands of nearly identical ebony orbs. Odd; but loot is loot;
all are taken. Battered, the Party regroups and camps out in a small
monk dormitory. At one point during the night, they hear quiet footsteps
in the main hallway, but see no-one; otherwise, there is no sound
nor activity in the monastery. |
| (S193) |
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| Tuilë 16 |
Ciaran finds that he cannot pray for spells
in the morning. Many in the Party volunteer the opinion that this
is punishment for killing Elena prior to the start of this adventure.
He makes a special sacrifice of half his coin and gemstones; in response,
he feels he will have better luck the next morning. |
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Meanwhile, the Party resumes exploring.
They find a broom closet, with an nasty enchanted broom that pokes
several characters in the eye; eventually they throw it back into
the closet. They then explore a temple to Watt, apparently an obscure
aspect of Marduk, a nasty god of the Babylonian empire of thousands
of years ago. When X casts Detect Magic in the temple, several
of the ebony orbs found the day before fly out of backpacks and whack
her in the head. Another casting draws yet more out, whacking her
some more. |
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They then find a well-locked door with "Danger"
written on it. Of course they enter, and are attacked by two Grells.
Aknot is quickly paralysed, X is mauled, and Artemisia is walloped
by Karg by mistake, but the Party kill the beasts quickly. |
| (S194) |
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After searching the remaining rooms on ground level (finding recently
abandoned comfy chairs, stale cheezies, a bugbear pin-up calendar
and a cleaned-out office) the Party heads down a staircase previous
found. Taro notes that the door frame at the top of the stairs is
trapped, but cannot determine how; so they spike the door open.
X then summons 6 Giant Rats to explore downstairs, with instructions
to attack whatever they meet; they soon hear sounds of rats dining
on unwilling victims. Descending to investigate, Aknot sets off
a trap and the stairs turn into a ramp that ends in a wall of spikes;
besides hitting the spikes, Aknot is crushed by those who were on
the stairs behind him: Karg, Brunhilde, and then Ciaran. Ciaran
recovers quickly and rushes to the rescue of two prisoners in cells
being attacked by the rats. Karg senses an enemy at the top of the
stairs; X flies up to investigate, is attacked by Master Po, and
quickly retreats. She casts a Web at the top of the stairs,
while Taro figures out how to reset the staircase and prevent the
trap from triggering again. Karg then returns and explores in the
webbing, as he has a Ring of Free Action; but Po is not found.
The Party spends a bit more time trying to find Po, then decides
to ignore him.
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By this point the prisoners in the cells
have been fed and watered but are not set free, pending decisions
about their motives. One is a monk who is quite disrepectful of Master
Po. Exploring elsewhere, the Party finds a brightly lit room (a magical
ceiling, they presume) in which is growing some huge yellow and purple
flowers on vines. Ciaran goes in to explore, and finds the flowers
twist towards him and puff a polen-like substance; he is compelled
to go and sit at the far end of the room, and roots start reaching
up to his head. Taro rushes in to try and rescue him, but Ciaran fights
back. X creates a Flaming Sphere that she rolls around the
room, burning all the flowers (and singeing Ciaran); Karg then immobilises
Ciaran with his trusty Iron Bands of Bolero. Taro, Vishu, and
Aknot rip Ciaran out of the roots and pull him out of the room. Ciaran
soon regains his senses, or at least most of them; his intelligence
is drastically reduced. Battered, the Party returns to the foot of
the stairs and rests. Meanwhile, Artemisia puts the finishing touches
to her contribution to the events of the room: The
Ballad of Ciaran Pansy-Bait. |
| (S195) |
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| Tuilë 17 |
Ciaran is relieved to find that he can obtain
some spells this morning. X checks on the garden room and finds that
the flowers have regrown - they puff at her, and almost get her to
walk in. She burns them all down again. Artemisia tries to pull up
the roots of one of the burned vines, but finds it too securely embedded
in the ground. They ask the monk in the cell about the flowers, and
he says they are a type of undead, likely the remains of 6 disobedient
Orcs, and that they offer some sort of protection against Vampires.
X then casts a Locate Object on a big black stone, and -- besides
the thousands located in various Party member's backpacks, found the
day before -- she gets one pull. Opening a hefty and air-tight door
in the rough direction indicated, the Party is confronted with a room
containing a large iron statue and a large stone box. Unable to resist
combat, the Party shoots various things at the statue; and not too
surprisingly it reveals itself to be an Iron Golem weilding a huge
sword. Combat ensues; Vishu is breathed upon, inhales a lethal dose
of poison, and crumples; Karg casts Beserksgang upon Aknot,
making him nearly invulnerable to the sword blows, and X casts Haste
upon Aknot and Brunhilde; with 4 attacks per round, Aknot fairly rapidly
chops the Golem down without taking much damage, impressing Brunhilde
very much. Karg revives Vishu. |
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The room has tapestries depicting a stern-looking
man, capable of flying, and a distinctive castle overlooking a gloomy
river valley. Artemisia deduces that he is an ancient, brutal Anglian
warlord named Vlad the Impaler; not a pleasant chap. For some reason,
some characters suspect he's a Vampire and don't want to touch the
stone box in the middle of the room. Exploring the walls, Taro finds
the entrance to a hand-sized shaft behind one tapestry; he plugs it
with cloth and wax. They then return again to the foot of the stairs
and rest for the remainder of the day. |
| Tuilë 18 |
Ciaran finds that his intelligence is slowly
returning. |
| (S196) |
The Party returns to the presumed tomb and
opens the coffin-like stone box. Out jump 20 Crawling Claws,
animated severed hands. Three latch onto X's neck and nearly kill
her; but otherwise the Party destroys them with ease. Another Locate
Object from X confirms that the Ebon Stone is likely down the
shaft in the wall; and so casting Fly and Polymorph Self,
she becomes a flying snake (i.e. a flugormr). Flying down the
shaft, she finds a small chamber with another ebon stone - presumably
the Ebon Stone - and some coins. She gathers up the goods,
but before she can return the shaft suddenly fills with a foam-like
material that quickly hardens; X is trapped. |
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While X spends 2 hours memorising spells
that will allow her to escape, the Party decides to explore behind
one last imposing door. They enter an odd white chamber with a large
table; at the table sits a huge human figure in full-length black
plate armour, with a shiny black helm and a black cloak - no doubt
the ominous 'D.V.' to whom some documents previously found refer.
As they enter, D.V. sits calmly and remains silent except for the
sound of heavy, filtered breathing. Suspicious, Ciaran offers to cast
a cure to help with the asthma, but D.V. says nothing. Ciaran then
discovers that the suit of armour is in fact empty other than numerous
levers and cables; it is just the helmet that is making the breathing
sound. |
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Exploring the room, Ciaran finds that one
wall is an illusion. Behind is a comfy small room with a passed out
Hobbit surrounded by empty wine bottles. The occupant, Ricky, is violent
when awoken; Artemisia almost kills him before Karg pacifies him with
Demoralise. Ricky claims to be a cobbler, kidnapped by the
monks several days ago. Interestingly enough, he appears to be about
the right size to fit inside the armour of D.V. ... |
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The Party returns to the room with the flowers.
While others try some things, Vishu walks in hoping that holy water
will protect her. It does not, and after a few puffs from the flowers,
Vishu is overcome and lets the roots start to grow over and into her
head. Karg, Taro, and Ciaran haul Vishu out quickly; she has suffered
some brain damage, but not as much as did Ciaran. |
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Concluding that they have explored everything
in the monastery, the Party exits and awaits X. An hour later, X Teleports
out; they regroup and head back to Sidheag. |
| (S197) |
Before they go very far, the Party meets
someone on the path: a messenger with an official scroll for Ciaran.
After reading it, Ciaran announces that he must travel north to Tallinn,
the southernmost city of Glantri. The Party wants to return to Sidheag
to the south, if for no other reason to pick up Mei-Peng, Jett, and
Vragg who are presumed to be waiting there; some suspect that Ciaran
wishes to avoid returning to Sidheag on account of the killing of
Elena (see The Fell Pass).
So Ciaran heads on his own (he is a Ranger, after all), taking a route
that would avoid the Vampire-infested lands, while the rest of the
Party heads south. X agrees to Teleport to Tallinn later with
Ciaran's share of the treasury, and (presumably?) to retrieve Ciaran
if he is ready to return to the Party. |
| Tuilë 22 |
Party arrives at Sidheag; Mei-Peng, Jett,
and Vragg rejoin. |
| Tuilë 27 |
While determining what various treasury
items do, X casts Identify upon a faintly magical tapestry
they took from the tomb and she vanishes. Mei-Peng contacts her via
their Rings of Telepathy; X explains that she is in some large,
dark barn-like room; then X says that trouble is coming and the contact
ends. Various Party members hastily try various things with the tapestry
to trigger the same teleporting effect. Nothing happens until, based
on the supposition that the main figure in the tapestry is a Vampire,
Karg tries to Turn the image and then vanishes. Vragg does
the same, as does Mei-Peng and Aknot. |
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Meanwhile, X has troubling company. While
trying to leave the "barn" (actually, a dusty grand hall),
she runs into a Spectre. She summons some Goblins to keep it at bay.
These buy her a few rounds during which time she casts several sets
of Magic Missiles (not having prepared for the day anything
more potent); but they also feed the Spectre, turning it into a much
more powerful monster. Karg arrives shortly after the Spectre has
killed all the Goblins, and he and X destroy it. |
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Vragg, Mei-Peng and Aknot then arrive. They
exit the hall, see that it is part of a richly decorate but seemingly
abandoned small castle, and find themselves in a deadly quiet village.
The architecture suggests Anglia or Brunland. Mei-Peng notices signs
of recent and repeated disturbances in burial grounds, and quickly
concludes that undead may be about. Vragg puts his newly acquired
high levels to use and casts Plane Shift, allowing them to
leave the dismal village. |
| (S198) |
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| Tuilë 29 |
With the treasury sorted out, X teleports
to Tallinn. She finds Ciaran, gives him his share, and offers to take
him back to the Party, which she says is in the field en route to
the next adventure (to find Fundin) and are waiting for them. Ciaran
states that he still has diplomatic business to conclude and cannot
leave for another day. X contacts the Party via telepathy ring and
"gets their begrudging approval to delay a day". |
| Tuilë 30 |
That evening, X teleports with Ciaran to
the Party. The moment they arrive, X says "I am sorry" (for
she has misled him); and Ciaran finds himself not in wilderness but
in Sidheag, surrounded by soldiers and the Party (well, all but Brunhilde,
whom the rest deemed ill-suited for this event). Before he can react,
Ciaran is grabbed by two soldiers. Ciaran demands to be taken to the
mayor, and is informed that is indeed where he to be taken. |
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The Mayor of Sidheag presides over the
case concerning the death of Elena Grey Vokorovitch. The Mayor
quickly makes it clear that legal finangling will not be tolerated.
Charges have been laid against Ciaran by two local guilds: the Friends
of Arawn (Necromancers) and the Long Knife (Assassins), in both of
which Elena was a member of good standing. While these guilds are
not favoured by many in town, the Friends in particular are law-abiding
and very respected for their decades-long defence of the northern
borders of ArDan against the Vampires of Rikkisuo. It is soon confirmed
that Ciaran killed Elena -- several party members such as X testify
to that. X takes it upon herself to offer some mitigating factors,
in particular that Elena had stolen a valuable mace from Vragg (promptly
replaced). However, Vragg in no way wished Elena killed over that,
and in fact the Party was in the process of imposing its own penalty
upon Elena when she was killed. Ciaran points out that Elena was an
Evil Necromancer and Assassin, and had hidden these professions from
the Party. Several Party members indicated that this was of no great
concern, stating that it already had an obvious Necromancer in their
midst (Mei-Peng). The Mayor also stated that these professions are
begrudgingly accepted in the land; and that to state that people of
those professions be killed on principle is an affront to the two
guilds pressing the charges. |
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The Mayor thus rules that Ciaran is guilty
of murdering Elena. A person of lesser status would likey be executed
(with the body going to the Friends of Arawn for their own purposes).
However, Ciaran's status as an ambassador means that the penalty shall
be less severe -- merely the paying of Elena's return to life. The
mayor is informed that a Raise Dead spell had been attempted,
but failed. Vragg gets his mentor (Bieran de Eis Kühler) to explain
the event; in Bieran's opinion, the raise failed because Elena's body
was too frail, and thus a Resurrection or Reincarnation
may be possible. A Speak with Dead is cast, and Elena replies
that she does wish to come back to life but does not wish to be reincarnated.
Thus the Mayor rules that Elena is to be resurrected, for which Ciaran
will pay 13,000 s.p. (less than expected, because Elena is somewhat
favoured by Arawn). |
| Tuilë 32 |
Two days later, a powerful cleric to Arawn
(Lord of the Dead) arrives. He casts Resurrection and it succeeds
(barely). The Mayor asks Elena if being brought back to life is sufficient
penalty to her killer, as he would at least consider requests for
further punishment (for example, exile). Elena asks if she could be
the one to inflict further penalty, but it is not allowed. She then
states that she does not wish Ciaran to be exiled, as she wants him
to remain where she can find him; but promises not to do anything
to him that causes death, pain, or suffering, merely annoyance. |
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Elena and the Friends of Arawn are satisfied
with the events. One or two citizens present during the proceedings,
whom Taro figures may belong to the Long Knife, look less than satisfied.
The Party and Ciaran debate if they wish to stay together or go their
separate ways; ultimately, Ciaran retires. |
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Surviving members:
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Vishu
(Mk7), Aknot (F8), X
(MU7), Artemisia (B7),
Taro (F6/T7), Karg
(WrC7), Ciaran (NrC6/R6),
Brunhilde (F2) |
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New members:
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(Rainbow, Joa), Brunhilde |
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Returning members:
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Mei-Peng, Jett, Vragg, Elena (revived) |
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Casualties:
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Feratta (fails to be revived) |
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Retirees:
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(Rainbow, Joa), Ciaran |
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Continuing party:
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Mei-Peng (N7), Vishu
(Mk7), Aknot (F8), X
(MU7), Jett (NtC7/F5),
Artemisia
(B7), Taro (F6/T7), Karg
(WrC7), Vragg (NtC9),
Elena
(N5/A3), Brunhilde
(F2)
|
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