Telenet

Telenet Adventure Log

Part 4: Kingdoms and Criminals

Main - Lost Temple to Quest for the Heartstone

25. Lost Temple of Tharizdun A May-July 1989

Background and summary: while the Party was over on the island of Finnia completing the Icefield adventure, Lisse had gone to Forlinden, and knowing the Hobgoblin invasion would not be quickly stopped, she had led the Elves to a safer home, generally called "New Forest". Meanwhile, Penthesileah has become aware of a problem in the mountains in the east of her realm; unable to spare any of her troops from the war, she waits for the Party to return and then asks them to deal with it. They do their best to comply but get soundly thrashed once they reach the source of the problem. On their way back to New Forest they run into an Elf, loyal to Lisse, who has had his tongue cut off by rebels; this the first the Party knows of a possible coup against Lisse, and they race to intervene. Between her own resources and the Party's assistance, Lisse is able to keep her throne and reward those loyal to her.

Starting members (from Spire in the Icefield): Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Tabatha(NtC-5)

Mar 5 487	Someone visits Lisse at New Forest and brings her back to the Party; Lisse(F-5/MU-2) rejoins.
Mar 7	Judah, bored, carries out a "job".
Mar 10	Judah contracts with an engineer to build 6 "egg-crackers"; he would pick them up many months later. Sometime around here, Thorn(WrC-3/MU-3) joins.
Mar ?	Samantha(NtC-5/T-5) rejoins, having just handed Penthesileah an entire army. (see S-series)
Mar 16	An Assassin arrives in town and begins keeping tabs on Judah: Raynard(NrC-3/A-3) joins, after a fashion.
Mar 22	By now, Penthesileah has come up with a mission for the Party, and they finally leave town
Mar 23	Discover they're being followed by Raynard; Judah hides and lets Raynard pass, then collars him. Raynard puts up a fight once he is brought to the Party, and Judah does the honours: Raynard killed. Just to make sure he stays dead, Thorn casts Death Prayer and turns the corpse to dust; for some reason, the Party intentionally do not loot his possessions.
Mar 24	Blunder into 4 Ogres in the hills, no problem.
Mar 25	Find a few Orcs; charm one to get info, but Int. 4 limits usefulness.
Mar 26	Charmed Orc leads Party to its lair; Party wades in and takes out an Ogre, an Orc chieftain, and 111 Orcs in a series of battles.
Mar 27	3 wandering Hill Giants meet their end.
Mar 28	Mount surveillance on a trail junction to try and find out where all these creatures are coming from. A band of 6 Ogres provide a brief morning workout. 3 Elves cautiously pass; Party intercepts. On seeing Lisse, 2 flee, but one falls to its knees: Allerithe(MU-3) joins. He cannot speak, as he no longer has a tongue, but in writing tells a tale of insurrection and rebellion in New Forest, being led by those who wish to return to Forlinden and fight the Hobgoblins there. He also has some useful information about where all these Ogres and so on are coming from.
Mar 29	Find the temple via Allerithe's directions; set up surveillance, and bump off whatever passes on the trail. One of these battles, against 4 Hill Giants, goes wrong, and Samantha killed. Judah and Lorithen spend hours scrambling all the way around the temple; little to report.
Mar 30	Party tries a frontal assault on temple and gets thrashed. Lorithen killed, and Party forced to retreat.
Apr 4	Arrive at New Forest; start killing those responsible for insurrection one by one.
Apr 5	A full-blown coup attempt against Lisse is thwarted by the Party, but Judah killed.
Apr 7	Judah raised by a Cleric later to become known as "His Convenience", as that's when he did things.
Apr 8	Trial of such rebels as survived the coup attempt; ringleaders sentenced to hang, rest banished. Lisse retires to spend more time in her kingdom.
Apr 9	Samantha raised by His Convenience; Samantha retires, and rejoins the war effort. Allerithe given money for a "wish" so he and others can get their tongues back; Allerithe retires.

Surviving members: Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Tabatha(NtC-6), Thorn(WrC-4/MU-3), Samantha(NtC-5/T-5),
Lisse(F-5/MU-2), Allerithe(MU-3)
New members: Raynard, Thorn, Allerithe; Samantha(from S-series); Lisse(from Dolmen Moor)
Retirees: Allerithe; Samantha(to Wurgen Assault); Lisse(to Hill Giants of Forlinden)
Casualties: Raynard; Lorithen(revived later); (Samantha, Judah - both raised)
Continuing party(to Lost Temple of Tharizdun B): Dwalin, Judah, Tabatha, Thorn

26. Lost Temple of Tharizdun B July-November 1989

Background and summary: armed with a new collection of people, the Party returns to the Lost Temple and has another, much more successful, go at it - though they still don't finish.

Starting members(from Lost Temple of Tharizdun A): Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Tabatha(NtC-6), Thorn(WrC-4/MU-3)

Apr 10 487	Party puts out a call for recruits; Jack Napier(MU-4) and Steng(F-5) join.
Apr 19	Lorithen fails resurrection, as it turns out she has already been raised in the Lost Temple. Party decides to go back and rescue her. Moth(F-3/A-3) joins, sent by the Wurgen Assassins' guild to find Judah and convince him to pay his dues.
Apr 21	Boregod Buhoffer(F-4) joins; Party leaves New Forest.
Apr 22	Pira Northwood(R-5) joins.
Apr 24	Killing 4 Hill Giants spices up an otherwise dull, wet journey.
Apr 25	Arrive at temple and reconnoiter; attempted entry gets nowhere as Party can't deal with some Giants rolling boulders down a sloping bridge; this the only way in. Retreat, and strategize.
Apr 26	A massive battle against 1 Mountain Giant, 3 Hill Giants, 4 Ogres, 2 Trolls, 14 Gnolls, and 28 Norkers in the huge entry hall of the temple: o Entire battle smothered in fog from start to finish, with patches of darkness thrown in. o Judah and 1 Gnoll spend the whole combat fighting each other in a corner; neither can hit the other; o Somehow, 3'2" Tabatha manages to stick a shortsword in the ear of a 15' Mountain Giant. ("jump" spell?) o Party emerges in surprisingly good shape, except Moth, who gets thrashed. While still recovering, Party jumped by 6 Hill Giants. Boregod killed, Moth thrashed (this would become a theme), Thorn almost killed. Start exploring; rescue a Dwarf prisoner: Teldroll Storis(F-9/T-10) joins; Party assumes him to be a simple Fighter. He provides much useful information about the complex. Find a dungeon and some captives: Lorithen rejoins, and Sir Kalvin of Hobbes(Cvr-3) joins after being ravished by Moth as he hung naked on the wall. A rescued Hobgoblin proves friendly enough and is also taken in: Norton Commando(F-2) joins. Find and defeat a shaman, then Lorithen tries to break her magic axe against a wall but hits Judah instead.
Apr 27	After resting most of the day, Party explores some more and kills a few Giants.
Apr 28	Dwalin and Judah get drunk in the morning and then lead Party exploring; perhaps fortunately, they find no significant danger.
Apr 29	For some reason, Norton and a dead Ogre end up down a pit; Norton is rescued. Party has a tough time with 3 Boggarts, but wins. Though the Party would never know it, some help was trying to come in the front door: Treya the Wanderer(R-3) and Bremock(WrC-3/MU-3) got only as far as the temple entrance before meeting 6 leftover Norkers: Treya and Bremock killed.
May 1	Start exploring again after 2 days rest and somehow stir up a Demon: Teldroll killed; Party thus unintentionally save themselves a fortune, as Teldroll was getting ready to rob them blind. Several other small battles; Moth gets thrashed again. (her "curable lid" now down to +1)
May 2	A couple of Otyugh soften the Party up. Some statues come to life and attack; Lorithen fumbles, drops her axe, and pulls out a long-forgotten flameblade. She breaks it on her first swing, and it explodes: Thorn, Pira, and Norton killed. Willow Underwood(F-4) joins, having come in a back entrance the Party missed when scouting. Party then finds a couple of Meazels; Tabatha killed. With this, and not sure if the place has been cleaned out or not, Party gives up and leaves.
May 6	Arrive at New Forest; Moth curable at last.
May 8	Arrive Wurgen and meet Khrellan and Fozzdyk, who are making a killing with the 7-DHC.
May 11	Speak With Dead on Thorn and Pira; both refuse raises, and Pira's refusal breaks Steng's heart. Steng retires.
May 14	Tabatha raised, in midst of a mass treasury-and-training break.

Surviving members: Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Tabatha(NtC-6), Jack(MU-5), Steng(F-5), Moth(F-4/A-4),
Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Kalvin(Cvr-4), Willow(F-4)
New members: Jack, Steng, Moth, Boregod, Pira, Teldroll, Kalvin, Norton, (Treya, Bremock - never met Party), Willow
Retirees: Steng(to Lemmings' World)
Casualties: Boregod, Treya, Bremock, Teldroll; Thorn(revived later), Pira(revived later), Norton; (Tabatha - raised)
Continuing party(to Wurgen Assault): Dwalin, Judah, Tabatha, Jack, Moth, Lorithen, Kalvin, Willow

27. Assault on the Wurgen Assassins' Guild November 1989

Background and summary: Judah, a member at least on paper of the Assassins' Guild at Wurgen, hasn't paid his guild dues for years. As this has now amounted to a significant debt, and reliable reports have placed Judah in the general region, several people have been sent out to find him and collect the debt. Unknown to Judah, the first of these was Raynard, who he killed several months ago. The second of these was Moth, who had managed to find him but knew she could not collect the debt alone and would probably die in any such attempt. Thus, once the Party reaches town and stays put for a while, Moth sends for help, and a band of Assassins attack the Party but are driven off. Judah, by now very suspicious, has some spells thrown and exposes Moth, but she very conveniently dies at the next opportunity. With this, Judah convinces the Party to help him take matters into his own hands, and leads an all-out (and very spectacular) attack on the guild's headquarters in central Wurgen. The building is essentially demolished, but enough Assassins escape to keep Judah nervous for quite some time.

Starting members(from Lost Temple of Tharizdun B): Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Tabatha(NtC-6), Jack(MU-5), Moth(F-4/A-4), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Kalvin(Cvr-4), Willow(F-4)

May 21 487	By this point, Moth has got word of Judah's well-defended presence to the Wurgen Assassins' Guild. Also by this point, Party has another member: Elrith Evergreen(WrC-3/F-3) joins.
May 22	A small group of Assassins attack Party and are driven off, but are able to assess Party's defenses. Judah, by now aware of why these people attacked, suspects Party has an informer; hires a Cleric to cast Detect Lie and thus exposes Moth as the informant.
May 23	Another attack, this time more serious: Moth killed, but Judah escapes. Party retaliates and kills 2 Assassins right in their own guildhouse. Various people leave to travel various places.
May 26	Willow, Tabatha, and Kalvin visit New Forest; Kalvin wakes the palace up at 6 a.m. by playing his bagpipes on the front steps, until Lisse climbs up on the roof and shoots him in the foot.
May 27	Party reconvenes at the war front, and meets Penthesileah and Samantha. Judah warns Penthesileah that he and the Party are about to make a mess of her capital city; she decidedly unimpressed but cannot leave the war to supervise, so she sends Samantha; thus Samantha(NtC-5/T-5) rejoins.
May 30	Arrive at Wurgen, march straight over to the guildhouse, and fireball it - starting a major brawl: o Kalvin takes a potion of growth, becomes 30' tall, and rips the roof off the guildhouse; o Assassins fight back, blowing up a pub (and missing Party), the place collapses but the only 2 patrons remain at their table and don't spill a drop; o Assassins then get their aim right: Elrith and Tabatha killed; o Kalvin killed, still 30' tall; his huge form collapsing just outside the burnt-out pub convinces the 2 inside they've really had enough and it's time to leave; o A running battle erupts in the surrounding streets as Party tries to catch escaping Assassins; o Samantha captured by Heimdall Clerics; rest of Party manage to avoid the city guard, who now arrive. o Guildhouse pretty much destroyed when the dust settles. Party retreats and goes into hiding.
Jun 1	Samantha released by Clerics after paying a heavy fine; Samantha retires again, this time for good.
Jun 4	After several days of waiting for a retaliatory attack that didn't come, Party risks leaving town. Fozzdyk(MU-4) joins for the trip.
Jun 5	Lorithen leaves, heading to Finnia on 7-DHC business.
Jun 7	Arrive New Forest; Assassins strike: Dwalin and Willow killed.
Jun 10	Dwalin raised; Samantha secretly donates 500 g.p. to help pay for it.
Jun 11	Willow raised; Willow retires immediately. Fozzdyk leaves again.
Jun 13	An army arrives from the north to join Penthesileah's troops; battleline immediately starts pushing south.
Jun 19	Kalvin and Tabatha raised.

Surviving members: Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Tabatha(NtC-6), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Jack(MU-5), Kalvin(Cvr-4),
Willow(F-4), Samantha(NtC-5/T-5), Fozzdyk(MU-4)
New members: Elrith; Samantha(from Lost Temple A); Fozzdyk(from Icefield)
Retirees: Lorithen(to Hill Giants of Forlinden); Samantha, Fozzdyk, Willow
Casualties: Elrith; Moth(revived in Enchanted Forest); (Tabatha, Kalvin, Dwalin, Willow - all raised)
Continuing party(to Enchanted Forest): Dwalin, Judah, Tabatha, Jack, Kalvin

28. The Enchanted Forest December 1989-January 1990

Background and summary: once more the Party rounds up a bunch of new recruits and heads out for somewhere, only to be sidetracked by strange goings-on in a forest. After this, they lose themselves in 7-DHC matters for a few months.

Starting members(from Wurgen Assault): Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Tabatha(NtC-6), Jack(MU-5), Kalvin(Cvr-4)

Jun 13 487	The army from the north leaves a pair of Ranger twins with the Party: Astrid(R-4) and Aloria(R-4) join.
Jun 16	Party continues to gather recruits: Havelock of the Eclipsing Skull(Cvr-4) joins. Shortly after this, Sh'kaira Brightblade(F-4) joins, and the rivalry between these two would begin immediately.
Jun 17	Felemid mac Fal(B-4) joins
Jun 20	Tabatha casts Reflecting Pool to see how Lorithen is doing; finds her stuck down a glacial crevasse on Finnia somewhere, and sends messages that result in a rescue mission going out and getting her. The Havelock-Sh'kaira rivalry escalates; they duel (and Judah cleans up on the bets), Havelock wins easily.
Jun 21	Party leaves town with no real idea where they're going.
Jun 22	Meanwhile, back in Wurgen, Moth resurrected. On learning she owes the city a fine of 6000 g.p. she flees, and goes into hiding; spends the next few months searching (successfully) for her long-lost son. Party clobbers some Ogres in forest; Astrid killed.
Jun 23	Strange things start happening in forest; Party attacked by 5 animated (but empty) cloaks, trace source to a powerful and rather demented Druid. At some point during this, Party gets chased into quicksand; Dwalin downs a potion of Growth and survives by becoming taller than the quicksand is deep. Attack and kill the Druid. Sh'kaira almost killed.
Jun 24	Rescue and cure up an Ent the Druid had been torturing, then resume travel, reaching Wurgen on Jun 26.

Surviving members: Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Tabatha(NtC-6), Jack(MU-5), Kalvin(Cvr-5), Aloria(R-4),
Havelock(Cvr-4), Sh'kaira(F-4), Felemid(B-4)
New members: Astrid, Aloria, Havelock, Sh'kaira, Felemid
Retirees: none
Casualties: Astrid
Continuing party(to Hill Giants of Forlinden): Dwalin, Judah, Tabatha, Jack, Kalvin, Aloria, Havelock, Sh'kaira, Felemid

Meanwhile, the war front is moving south fast enough that Lisse can start thinking about moving her people back to their homeland, and on Jun 13 they leave New Forest, joining into the war effort on Jun 19 and helping recapture Forlinden by Jun 28. Lisse bumps to F-6/MU-2 in the process.

A long and eventful break follows:

Jun 30	Judah, Tabatha, Dwalin, Aloria, and Jack leave for Fjellmar
Jul 3	Arrive Fjellmar, meet a rather sheepish Lorithen, embarrassed over having to be rescued off the glacier.
Jul 4	Khrellan leaves for the mainland to secure buyers for the almost-hatched dragon eggs.
Jul 9	Havelock returns from an expedition to find his warhorse; sets about equipping it, slowly realizes the horse is almost as intelligent as he is. (Hav. 7, horse 6)
Jul 13	Khrellan, Felemid, and 7 potential clients leave for Fjellmar.
Jul 14	Kalvin returns from his own warhorse-finding foray.
Jul 17	Everyone in Fjellmar now except Kalvin.
Jul 18	7-DHC becomes rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams by selling 9 dragon eggs; still have 2; 3 given to locals on Finnia, and 1 failed to survive.
Jul 19	Fozzdyk, the new egg-owners, and all the Party except Tabatha and Aloria leave for Wurgen.
Jul 22	Arrive Wurgen. Fozzdyk's share in the 7-DHC bought out by Felemid, and Fozzdyk retires completely.
Jul 29	Khrellan buys a 15-room inn with pub, in Wurgen, for Party and 7-DHC use. By now, the eggs have all hatched.
Aug 5	Retrieve and sell the last 2 baby dragons; Tabatha and Aloria return to mainland.
Aug 6	Party leaves for Forlinden; Khrellan stays behind to run 7-DHC.
Aug 12	Arrive Forlinden and meet Lisse; she proclaims the following day a holiday.
Aug 13	Start of Lisse's "grand tournament", in the works since the recapture of Forlinden. Kalvin and Havelock both enter, and meet each other in the second round; Kalvin wins, but loses next round. Sh'kaira also enters, losing to the same person who later beat Kalvin.
Aug 14	Banquet at end of tournament; much drinking; Tabatha still chasing Lorithen; Lisse beds Felemid and soon wonders why she bothered.
Aug 15	Everyone to war front except Lisse and Lorithen; Lorithen leaves, spends 12000 g.p. to re-equip Forlinden.
Aug 16	Meet Penthesileah at front, and take part in a battle; Penthesileah sends Party right back to Lisse.
Aug 18	Arrive Forlinden, where the next adventure presents itself...

32. Hill Giants of Forlinden February-May 1990

Background and summary: during the war, a colony of Giants near southwest Forlinden suddenly became much more aggressive, and expanded well into the Elvish forest. Now, the Elves want their land back, so the Party is sent to dispose of the Giants. It takes several tries, and many casualties, but the Giants are eventually forced out.

Starting members(from Enchanted Forest): Dwalin(WrC-6/F-6), Judah(A-7), Tabatha(NtC-6), Jack(MU-5), Kalvin(Cvr-5),
Aloria(R-4), Havelock(Cvr-4), Sh'kaira(F-4), Felemid(B-4), Lisse(F-6/MU-2)

Aug 18 487	Aware now of a problem with Giants in southwest Forlinden, Lisse asks Party for help, and agrees to go along; Party leaves Erelond.
Aug 19	Party reaches an abandoned temple after clobbering some Giants and Bugbears on the way.
Aug 20	2 Ghosts found and slain in the temple; temple becomes Party's base of operations.
Aug 21	13 Ogres present little trouble.
Aug 22	7 Hill Giants, 15 Ogres, and some Orcs present a bit more trouble; Party wins, and reaches Giant steading. Meet another band of Ogres backed by 2 Hill Giants; Lisse thumped. A Cloud Giant comes out to investigate; Party slays it with surprising ease. (Sh'kaira doing 80 points damage in one swing helps)
Aug 23	Tabatha, Kalvin, and Sh'kaira take out a Black Dragon by themselves; Party realizes temple attracts nasties so base moved to a nearby cave.
Aug 25	Major battle vs. 1 Cloud Giant, 3 Hill Giants, and 3 very tough Ogres. Havelock and Aloria killed; Sh'kaira, Kalvin, and Lisse all badly thrashed.
Aug 28	Jack, Sh'kaira, and Felemid return to town with corpses, and start training (J. to M-6, S. to F-5, F. to B-5) Havelock raised; starts training to Cvr-5.
Aug 30	Party left in field (now down to Dwalin, Judah, Tabatha, Kalvin and Lisse) takes out a Blue Dragon.
Sep 1	Another major fight with Giants sends rest of Party back to town to train (K. to Cvr-6, J. to A-8, T. to NtC-7.)
Sep 9	Sh'kaira, finished training, departs for the battleline; Sh'kaira leaves.
Sep 11	Lorithen re-joins, having finished a tour of the northlands. Monach Silvereyes(MU-3/I-3) joins.
Sep 13	Elwin Erissea(NtC-3/T-3) joins, and Party regathers (except Felemid and Judah, still training) and heads back to steading.
Sep 15	Slowly battle their way back to previous point of furthest advance.
Sep 16	A series of tough battles leads to a showdown with the Giant chieftain: Monach and Dwalin killed, Dwalin finished at -50. Party then can't get out of complex and have to hide inside.
Sep 18	Judah returns from training; Party escapes steading but get in a fight on the way; Lorithen killed. Kalvin and Havelock stay near steading, rest of Party heads back to town.
Sep 19	Arrive at Erelond. For some reason, Tabatha flees in fear and is gone for days.
Sep 20	Monach raised. Meanwhile, Kalvin and Havelock get in over their heads: Havelock killed again, and Kalvin heads back with the body.
Sep 21	Kalvin arrives at Erelond, turns around and sets off with Monach looking for Tabatha.
Sep 22	Lorithen fails raise; His Convenience, being kept very busy by this Party, determines failure caused by temporary interference.
Sep 23	Havelock raised. Kalvin and Monach find Tabatha and convince her to return to town.
Sep 24	Back to steading yet again; wipe out last remaining Giants (but don't realize it).
Sep 25	Somehow, Moth(F-4/A-4) rejoins, having tracked the Party from Erelond. Tabatha charms a wolf.
Sep 26	Party realizes there's other things here besides Giants; fight 4 Manticores and a few dozen Bugbears: Moth killed against the Bugbears.
Sep 27	Party takes the day off so Lisse can celebrate her birthday.
Sep 28	A Dwarf is found in the steading's basement: Thoriband Hammerhelm(F-8) joins, just in time to help defeat a powerful Demon.
Sep 29	Battle vs. 33 Troglodytes to rescue another prisoner: Johanna Featherstone(I-4) joins. Party finds some sort of temple in the steading and manage to set off a Scarab of Insanity: Tabatha, Elwin, and Johanna killed in the resulting mess.
Oct 2	Party returns to Erelond to find it devastated by something; various people travel to various places.
Oct 3	Elwin raised.
Oct 4	Hoping to find someone who can cast a wish, Elwin and Havelock leave for Trikka, on the island of Finnia.
Oct 15	Elwin and Havelock meet the legendary Morton(MU-25+?) and somehow convince him to go to Wurgen.
Oct 24	By now, pretty much everyone is in Wurgen when Morton arrives.
Oct 25	Dwalin and Tabatha wished back to life; Lorithen resurrected conventionally, as interference now gone. Training and treasury goes on for a few weeks; somehow, Monach manages to get trained by Valanyr.

Surviving members: Dwalin(F-6/WrC-6), Judah(A-8), Tabatha(NtC-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Lisse(F-6/MU-3), Jack(MU-6),
Kalvin(Cvr-6), Sh'kaira(F-5), Felemid(B-5), Elwin(NtC-3/T-4), Monach(MU-4/I-4), Havelock(Cvr-6), Thoriband(F-8)
New members: Monach, Elwin; Moth(from Wurgen Assault); Thoriband, Johanna
Retirees: Sh'kaira(to Forlinden Valley 2)
Casualties: Aloria, Moth, Johanna; (Havelock[twice], Lorithen, Monach, Dwalin, Tabatha, Elwin - all revived)
Continuing party(to Lost Temple C): Dwalin, Judah, Tabatha, Lorithen, Lisse, Jack, Kalvin, Elwin, Monach, Havelock, Thoriband

35. Lost Temple of Tharizdun C June 1990

Background and summary: over the last few months, it has slowly come to people's attention that the Lost Temple is still active, despite the Party's best attempts on its previous two visits. So, off they go yet again, and this time they find a previously-unnoticed third level. Once down here, they make a rather large mistake and awaken the god Tharizdun by so doing; this requires the intervention of Isis to put Him back to sleep: allowing Him to remain awake would not be at all desirable. 6 characters die in the process, their souls absorbed by Tharizdun; Isis has the power to save all of them, but chooses to save only the females, leaving the males permanently dead.

Once back in Erelond, 2 events occur that would leave a lasting mark on the game: Jack and Lisse become engaged, and Judah assassinates a visiting diplomat.

Starting members(from Hill Giants of Forlinden): Dwalin(F-6/WrC-6), Judah(A-8), Tabatha(NtC-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Lisse(F-6/MU-3), Jack(MU-6), Kalvin(Cvr-6), Elwin(NtC-3/T-4), Monach(MU-4/I-4), Havelock(Cvr-6), Thoriband(F-8)

Nov 4 487	Party has picked up recruits during the break: Scruffy(NrC-3/T-3) and Fazel Greybeard(NrC-3/F-3) join.
Nov 5	By now, word has reached Party in Wurgen that the Lost Temple is still active; Party leaves town, except Lisse, Kalvin, and Jack who were off elsewhere.
Nov 8	A couple of Frost Giants break the monotony of the journey.
Nov 11	Arrive at temple, reconnoiter.
Nov 12	Lisse, Kalvin, and Jack catch up and join the group.
Nov 13	Re-enter temple; find and explore a previously-unnoticed shaft, defeat a Shadow Demon down there, retreat.
Nov 14	Back down shaft, having taken precautions against extreme cold. A couple of trees bearing odd fruit provide some interest (and a point of Dex. to Judah). Judah disturbs a sarcophagus and awakens the god Tharizdun! He and Judah have a pleasant conversation while He merrily eats the souls of half the Party: Tabatha, Dwalin, Fazel, Lisse, Scruffy, and Elwin killed; everyone else flees screaming. A minion of Isis appears and starts battling Tharizdun; minions of other deities arrive, Judah flees. Party waits outside while deities brawl within; to their surprise, Lisse, Tabatha, and Elwin are revived and appear in their midst. Isis then appears, explains what the Party had done (and asks them to kindly not do it again), explains why only the females were revived, and then proceeds to lay complete waste to the temple. Having had more than enough of this, Party heads back to town.
Nov 17	Arrive Erelond, Felemid(B-5) joins. Jack and Lisse become engaged, wedding to be next month.
Nov 19	For some reason, wedding delayed until next summer. Emotional funeral service for Dwalin, and Thoriband retires.
Nov 21	Lisse's assistant Sirranon suddenly quits, and wanders aimlessly off into the forest.
Nov 22	Most of Party leaves on an expedition to find Sirranon. A Dwarven diplomat arrives in town looking first for Lisse, then to join Party: Durin Wiseone(F-4) joins, or tries to.
Nov 23	Judah, who did not go out after Sirranon, follows Durin into the forest and assassinates him; Durin killed.
Nov 24	Sirranon found hiding in a tree; Lorithen brings him down the hard way, with an illusionary lightning bolt. Durin's mule finds its way back to Erelond without him, raising some eyebrows.
Nov 26	Most of Party, with Sirranon, returns to Erelond.
Nov 27	While everyone else gathers info about the next adventure, Tabatha (on request of the local Elves) has a chat with Durin's mule to find out what happened to Durin; she learns much, but tells little for now. [see end of Quest for the Heartstone for continuation of this story]

Surviving members: Judah(A-8), Tabatha(NtC-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Lisse(F-6/MU-2), Jack(MU-6), Kalvin(Cvr-6),
Elwin(NtC-3/T-4), Monach(MU-4/I-4), Havelock(Cvr-6), Felemid(B-5)
New members: Scruffy, Fazel, Durin
Retirees: Thoriband
Casualties: Dwalin, Scruffy, Fazel; Durin(revived later); (Tabatha, Lisse, Elwin - all revived by Isis)
Continuing party(to Hammer of St. Nicholas): Judah, Tabatha, Lorithen, Lisse, Jack, Kalvin, Elwin, Monach, Havelock, Felemid

36. Hammer of St. Nicholas July-August 1990

Background and summary: the legendary Hammer of St. Nicholas has been lost for centuries, but if found it could prove highly useful in the war effort. So, the Party decide to search for it, and head off into the wilderness without much idea where they're going. After a long journey and fruitless search (though coming much closer than they realized) they return to civilization without the Hammer.

Starting members(from Lost Temple of Tharizdun C): Judah(A-8), Tabatha(NtC-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Lisse(F-6/MU-2),
Jack(MU-6), Kalvin(Cvr-6), Elwin(NtC-3/T-4), Monach(MU-4/I-4), Havelock(Cvr-6), Felemid(B-5)

Nov 27 487	Rupert Mark III(B-4) joins.
Nov 28	Decide to find Hammer; leave town, following Sirranon's trail for a few days to see what he was up to.
Dec 4	A few Gnolls liven things up. Also, by now, Tabatha has confronted Judah over the death of Durin; Judah confesses, but Tabatha never passes this information on to anyone who could make use of it.
Dec 6	A Green Dragon attacks; Elwin killed.
Dec 11	Party reaches a snowy lake that matches such few clues as they have, start searching for Hammer.
Dec 14	Several days of searching have produced nothing. A local Ranger, Rianne of Windy Grove(R-4) joins, but can offer little help.
Dec 15	Back to the lake, find another local Ranger: Jack de Shields(R-4) joins, and is no more help than Rianne. (a small island in the lake held the start of the path to the Hammer, but for some reason the Party never went there, and the real adventure never took place) A Red Dragon proves to be little challenge.
Dec 16	Cold and frustrated, the Party gives up and leaves.
Dec 25	Arrive Widdershyn after a journey slowed by snowstorms.
Dec 27	Only now does the Party decide to ask for information about the Hammer; Bertram the Sage tells them how far adrift they were, also tells of a much more attainable prize to the southeast.

Surviving members: Judah(A-8), Tabatha(NtC-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Lisse(F-6/MU-2), Jack(MU-6), Kalvin(Cvr-6),
Monach(MU-4/I-4), Havelock(Cvr-6), Felemid(B-5), Rupert(B-4), Rianne(R-4), Jack de S(R-4)
New members: Rupert, Rianne, Jack de S
Retirees: none
Casualties: Elwin
Continuing party (to Gyl Erid Castle): Judah, Tabatha, Lorithen, Lisse, Jack, Kalvin, Monach, Havelock, Felemid, Rupert, Rianne,
Jack de S.

21. Forest Ruins March-May 1989

Background and summary: fresh out of 1st-level training, a pair of Magic-Users get a new party together and set off to investigate some ruins in a nearby forest. These ruins prove just a little too tough, however, and the Party gets thrashed; with both its founders killed, it breaks apart and leaves the mission for others to complete.

Starting members: Nadia Vladinovsky(MU-1), Ileana Celtina(MU-1)

Oct 15 486	Nadia and Ileana do some recruiting; Fernando(NrC-1/T-1) and Junior(F-2) join. Party hears of ruins in forest and heads out to investigate; Fernando gets mugged by 4 Goblins. A nearby logging camp provides a base of operations.
Oct 16	Find ruins; Nadia falls down a pit and almost dies. Retreat.
Oct 17	Richard(R-1) joins, here doing the same thing the Party is.
Oct 18	Return to ruins, gain entry, battle a few occupants, mostly Orcs. All defeated foes thrown down Nadia's pit. Return to logging camp, Party's total h.p. at +9, and no cures left.
Oct 20	Return to ruins once more; a single combat against 5 Goblins and an Orc is enough for the day: retreat.
Oct 22	Another foray moves point of furthest advance ahead a little more. Battle Kobolds this time, and take one captive; Nerg would provide enough juicy information to tempt the Party to carry on and overextend. Richard killed by the next batch of Kobolds; Party now trapped in ruins, and hides.
Oct 25	Nadia and Ileana killed. (by what?) Junior and Fernando carry on, but can do little by themselves.
Dec 31	By now, they've given up; Junior retires, Fernando continues, eventually winding up in Gyl Erid Castle.

Surviving members: Fernando(NrC-1/T-2), Junior(F-2)
New members: all
Retirees: Junior
Casualties: Richard, Ileana, Nadia
Continuing party: Fernando(to Gyl Erid Castle, eventually)

37. Gyl Erid Castle August-September 1990

Background and summary: the Party looks for adventure and finds it, along with a great deal of loot.

Starting members (from Hammer of St. Nicholas): Judah(A-8), Tabatha(NtC-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Lisse(F-6/MU-2), Jack(MU-6), Kalvin(Cvr-6), Monach(MU-4/I-4), Havelock(Cvr-6), Felemid(B-5), Rupert(B-4), Rianne(R-4), Jack de S(R-4)
(from Forest Ruins) Fernando(NrC-3/T-3)

Jan 5 488	Arrive at Ballydoon, by now know they're seeking something called the Crown of Sorona.
Jan 10	Arrive Cohena, realize their goal lies much farther southeast, pick up a guide: Fernando joins.
Jan 17	Finally find the adventure. Kill a lake monster similar to a huge sea serpent; the bloated corpse floats around the lake until Jack puts a fireball into it, blowing it up with a boom heard for miles. Frontal assault on a castle near the lake; Lorithen thumped by Ogres, and 3 Clerics cause great difficulties: Rupert killed. Somehow, Tabatha gets taken to Mimosa, and Lorithen gets a Commune: Tabatha leaves, but not for long.
Jan 18	Huge battle against a mass of Clerics; Party wins but Jack killed. Lorithen becomes weakly psyonic sometime around now. (because she bumped?) Mimosa appears and returns what she had borrowed: Tabatha rejoins.
Jan 19	A couple of Minotaur statues animate and are quickly dealt with. A roomful of undead present a problem: Kalvin loses 4 levels, Felemid loses 2; Lorithen and Monach both get their ages changed (Monach becomes 10 years old!), but nobody dies. Party carries on and defeats some more statues and an Earth Elemental; the Elemental finishes at -51 h.p.
Jan 20	Judah, Kalvin, and Monach defeat a Clay Golem by themselves, having somehow become isolated from the Party. Rest of Party finds the Crown (and a great deal of other booty), and everyone retreats. Felemid becomes chaotic-neutral via curse, but nobody notices.
Jan 21	After a good night's rest, leave for civilization.
Jan 26	Arrive Cohena, and start a treasury-and-training break (and realize they're all stinking rich!).
Jan 28	Jack raised.
Feb 2	Kalvin and Felemid get their lost levels restored; somehow, Kalvin gets an extra one thrown in!
Feb 5	Lorithen and Monach get back to their proper ages, via "wish".

Surviving members: Judah(A-8), Tabatha(NtC-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-6), Lisse(F-7/MU-2), Jack(MU-6), Kalvin(Cvr-7),
Monach(MU-4/I-4), Havelock(Cvr-6), Felemid(B-5), Rianne(R-5), Jack de S(R-5), Fernando(NrC-4/T-4)
New members: none
Retirees: none
Casualties: Rupert; (Jack - raised)
Continuing party(to Quest for the Heartstone): Judah, Tabatha, Lorithen, Lisse, Jack, Kalvin, Monach, Havelock, Felemid, Rianne,
Jack de S, Fernando

38. Quest for the Heartstone (includes Durin-Judah Trial, Wedding, and Fall of Forlinden) September-December 1990

Background and summary: having decided there's good money to be made in the item-recovery business, the Party seeks and finds another such mission, this time looking for something called a Heartstone. They find it, along with yet another hoard of goodies, but this time suffer significant casualties; enough to convince them there might be more to life than greed and adventure. So they return to Erelond intending to take an extended break, but a nasty surprise awaits them when they get there as Judah's assassination of Durin last fall comes back to haunt them in a big way. A long and very messy trial eventually sorts this out to nobody's satisfaction, after which the Party do get their break: Jack and Lisse finally get married, Jack and others begin gathering resources and personnel for a college of learning...and then it all comes crashing down when Forlinden ceases to exist late in the summer of 488.

Starting members(from Gyl Erid Castle): Judah(A-8), Tabatha(NtC-7), Lorithen(R-5/I-6), Lisse(F-7/MU-2), Monach(MU-4/I-4), Kalvin(Cvr-7), Jack(MU-6), Havelock(Cvr-6), Felemid(B-5), Rianne(R-5), Jack de S(R-5), Fernando(NrC-4/T-4)

Feb 16 488	By now, Party is on the move again, with a new member: Jessica Tremayne(WrC-3) joins. The mission, probably given to the Party by someone in Cohena, is to recover a Heartstone (a legendary gem of unknown properties) from wherever it has ended up. Party does enough research to figure out where to start.
Feb 20	Ghouls and Troglodytes attack Party, thus indicating they're getting close to something significant.
Feb 21	Passing along the shore of a lake, Party is attacked by some sort of Water Elemental; Tabatha and Lorithen crash-land a Broom of Flying during this battle: Lorithen killed. Lorithen fails raise attempted in field; Tabatha broken-hearted. That night, a Wraith proves but a trivial challenge.
Feb 22	Party is sidetracked for a few hours, destroying a band of Hobgoblins - probably deserters from the war. Lorithen's body left in their cave. 3 Trolls attack on a narrow trail; Havelock charges on horseback and spits 2 of them on his lance, hitting the third as well: 101 points damage total. A small flock of hungry Griffons try to make dinner of the Party's horses, and fail. A cabin provides a safe place to spend the night once the occupant Basilisks have been cleared out.
Feb 23	Path through thick fog leads to base of a cliff riddled with caves. One of these caves leads into a series of worked passages and rooms; in the first of these, some large statues animate and attack: Jessica killed.
Feb 24	Party learns about a previously unknown creature called a Hook Horror by killing 48 of them in several fights. Retreat after this and try a different cave: Judah, Kalvin, and Tabatha take on a pair of Chimerae by themselves, and Tabatha killed.
Feb 25	Most of Party rests; Kalvin and Felemid go exploring and find a couple of Manticores: Felemid killed.
Feb 26	Felemid raised; a Cleric named Corribhan shows up (by being summoned?) for just long enough to do so. Jessica raised by Fernando. (via scroll?)
Feb 27	Party tries the Hook Horror caves again, slaying another 17 of them.
Feb 28	A wizard living in the complex tries the diplomatic approach and soon regrets it. Party finds a bunch of varied Golems. Judah takes out a Wood Golem by himself, while 4 Amber Golems cause more trouble. At one point, Kalvin and one of these Golems score simultaneous 4x critical hits on each other; amazingly, both survive to continue the combat. Jack and Monach take target practice on a group of Wood and Bone Golems. A couple of Dragonnes (Dragon variants) attack, along with something or someone called "Molliver": Jack de S. killed.
Feb 29	Somehow, Havelock killed. Judah makes a holy symbol for Jessica, and annoys Tharizdun in the process. A Djinni is freed from captivity in a bottle when Felemid somehow manages to get in the bottle in its place. Party are given many expensive rewards by the grateful Djinni, including a magical deck of cards. Fernando loses mind permanently due to trying out one of these. Lisse killed, possibly by another.
Feb 30	Experiments with Fernando prove he really is mindless. The now-rather-depleted Party defeats a pair of powerful Bronze Golems, then each remaining character is faced with having to fight their own clone; amazingly, all the clones lose. Jessica manages to free Felemid from the bottle - by replacing him with herself! A massive treasury is discovered, along with the Heartstone; the delighted Party scoops it all up and leaves.
Mar 12	Arrive back at Cohena, and deliver the Heartstone; Party is never told what it is to be used for, and never asks. As it turns out, however, its purpose is harmless enough: it plays a role in selecting the next King of the local realm.
Mar 13	Havelock raised. Also, somewhere around now a much-changed Jessica somehow escapes the djinni bottle.
Mar 14	Lisse raised. Party spends a few months training in and around Corkess. Fernando is left in a temple here, where he would survive for many years but never really know about it.

So that's the "field" adventure...but what all happens next?

Apr 15	By this point, Jessica has finished training to WrC-4, but finds she can no longer continue as a Cleric as she has had a change of heart. So, she becomes a pure Fighter. Jessica retires; her travels would ultimately take her to the far north, where she would hear of the legendary Myth Drannor, go off with a party to find it, and there get slaughtered.
Apr 23	Sometime around now, Kalvin gets a Commune with Mimosa, and swears service to Her; at this point, he also makes it his life's quest to become a Paladin to Her.
May 11	Training done, Party leaves Cohena.
May 17	Arrive Ballydoon, find a new Cleric (to Mimosa, at Kalvin's insistence): Donnamira Lightfoot(NtC-4) joins.
May 25	Some very foolish bandits attack as Party passes through the mountains near Beacon Hill; Lisse, Monach, Jack, and Donnamira don't even break a sweat in defeating them.
Jun 2	Arrive at Widdershyn, a city by now somewhat recovered from the war.

"The" Trial:

Jun 6	Sometime prior to this, Durin(F-4) raised by His Convenience in Erelond, and between he and the Elves, wheels are set in motion to attempt to bring Judah and his accomplices to justice for his death.
Jun 7	Judah and Lisse arrested as they enter Forlinden; Kalvin, Havelock, Jack, and Monach remain free but may not leave. Durin re-joins, in an odd sort of way. Preliminary hearing takes place almost immediately; trial set for following day.
Jun 8	Trial begins; adjourned to Jun 10 after bogging down. The biggest problem is that the primary source of direct evidence (Tabatha, via her conversation with Durin's mule) is now dead.
Jun 10	Trial reconvenes, and quickly degenerates into an all-out brawl as a number of locals disrupt it, probably trying to discredit Lisse. They accomplish the opposite; she is cleared of any wrongdoing. First reports of sightings of The Piper begin to trickle in; no sooner does this news arrive than The Piper appears in town, setting everyone on edge. [see below for significance of this]. Overall result is that the Elves mostly lose interest in a legal argument between two Dwarves; most believe Judah to be guilty, but there's no direct proof, and bigger things soon take precedence.
Jun 14	Days of heated arguing ends with a trial by combat between Judah and Durin. Judah narrowly wins (and thus keeps his head), but is still heavily fined. Durin is quested to leave Forlinden and never return: Durin leaves. (and there is much rejoicing among the locals)
Jun 15	A second trial occurs, of those who disrupted the first one. 2 Elves executed, 2 more fined heavily.

The Wedding, and Fall of Forlinden

Jun 16	Various people leave for various places: Kalvin, Havelock, and Donnamira to Widdershyn; Monach, Judah, and Felemid to the Giant lair cleaned out in Hill Giants of Forlinden; Lisse starts a tour of Forlinden. Jack starts work on his college. Rianne buys a house; hires a rather untrustworthy house-sitter to look after it.
Jun 28	Everyone back in Erelond; Kalvin starts recruiting more Clerics for the Party.
Jul 8	Aldea Greenleaf(NtC-4) and Miriel(NrC-4) join.
Jul 13	Penthesileah and an army of 3000 pull in, on their way home from the war.
Jul 15	Sightings of The Piper have trickled to nothing; Felemid heads out to try and find him.
Jul 21	Felemid returns; he now knows who and what The Piper is but will not (or cannot) tell anyone.
Jul 26	The best spells His Convenience can throw still can't get any answers out of Felemid.
Aug 2	Sightings of The Piper become dramatically more frequent.
Aug 7	Jack and Lisse are married, with much ceremony and a great big party. Their honeymoon takes them to Driessa, a large Elven land to the west, and to the edge of the Elven "otherworld" there.
Aug 8	Valanyr arrives in Erelond, well knowing about The Piper and what he represents, but Lisse has just left and nobody else will listen, thus there is no warning given of what is to come.
Aug 14	Tournament: Havelock and Sh'kaira both lose in first round; Penthesileah lasts a bit longer; Kalvin wins. Penthesileah leaves; having seen her old Party doing so well, she becomes re-enthused about adventuring; see below.
Aug 17	The Piper sounds his call in the very early hours of the morning, summoning the Elves to the otherworld; Forlinden loses 2/3 of its population in one night and essentially ceases to exist as a sovereign land. Those who remain congregate in Erelond.
Aug 26	Forlinden Elves pass very close to Jack and Lisse's honeymoon hideaway as they cross over; Lisse gains an inkling of what has happened, cuts honeymoon short and buys a teleport back to Erelond.
Aug 28	Jack and Lisse arrive at Erelond; immediately call a council involving them, the Party, and various significant locals in an attempt to save what's left of the nation. Usually-shy Valanyr even takes part. Results: a small shire of Hobbits to the south is invited to move into the forest, and Lisse begins a census of what is left; this takes most of September to complete: Lisse retires, Jack retires. Party gets ready for another adventure.

Surviving members: Judah(A-9), Lisse(F-7/MU-2), Jack(MU-7), Kalvin(Cvr-7), Monach(MU-5/I-5), Havelock(Cvr-6), Felemid(B-6),
Rianne(R-6), Jessica([WrC-4]/F-3), Fernando(--); Donnamira(NtC-4), Aldea(NtC-4), Miriel(NrC-4), Durin(F-4)
New members: Jessica; Durin, Donnamira, Aldea, Miriel
Retirees: Fernando, Jessica(dies later); Durin(to Temple of Evil 2); Lisse, Jack(both to Forlinden Valley 1)
Casualties: Lorithen, Tabatha, Jack de S.; (Jessica, Felemid, Havelock, Lisse - all raised)
Continuing party(to Icefield B): Judah, Jack, Kalvin, Monach, Havelock, Felemid, Rianne; Donnamira, Aldea, Miriel

So who and what is The Piper?

Even this early in proceedings, it is becoming clear to at least some of the gods that, one way or another, Telenet will not survive much longer as a viable world for non-Humans to live in. While a few gods - most notably Mimosa - try to delay the inevitable, Corellon Larethian realizes the best thing He can do for His beloved Elves is to get as many of them off the world as possible, and soon. He accomplishes this by sending one of his primary minions to the world, to lead the Elves away - and this is The Piper. This individual spends several years flitting from one Elvish homeland to the next, calling the occupants home to "Greenworld", the Elvish otherworld known elsewhere as Westernesse. (see introduction to The Book of Gant for more background on all this)

The Piper, or a variant of him, is known to all Elves as a figure out of legend, myth, and bedside stories told to children. "One day The Piper will come," the tales go, "and take us away, for our time here will be done." Most adult Elves ignore such fancies - a fact not lost on Corellon, who instructed His servant to let himself be seen by many in any land he was about to call to, to establish that yes, he was real, and yes, his call would soon come.

Forlinden, as one of the Elvish homelands furthest removed from a direct link to Greenworld, would in fact be one of the first Elvish lands to hear his call. That it had so recently been invaded, overrun, and even abandoned for a time also played a part; the Elves here were beginning to lose touch with the magic that made them what they were, and The Piper knew that the longer he waited, the fewer of these Elves would follow when he called. Even as fast as he was, only about 2/3 of the Forlinden Elves followed him; the average in other realms would be closer to 90%.

Those Elves that remained did so for a number of reasons. Some simply did not hear the call. Others were chosen to remain - "His Convenience" being one example - to assist others who stayed. And some simply fought the pull of the call, thinking (sometimes correctly) they could ultimately do more Good by remaining on Telenet until the end. Some fortunate few of these managed to find a different way of getting off the world before it became uninhabitable to them. And as the Party was even now beginning to weave the threads that would ultimately tie their fate to that of the world, their Elves were made immune to The Piper's call.

Very few if any Elves ever dared to approach The Piper; of those who did, only one - the Bard Felemid mac Fal - is known to have been able to actually speak with him, and he has yet to repeat a word of that conversation.

PE-Series (minis) July 1991

Starting member(from Wurgen Assault): Penthesileah(F-7)

Background and summary: re-energized after her meeting with her old mates at Jack and Lisse's wedding, Penthesileah abandons her throne for a short round of field adventuring that lasts through the winter. After this she retires, this time for good.

Aug 31 488	Arrives at Wurgen, disbands her army, starts rounding up a Party.
Sep 6	Start PE-1, a very small adventure (or failed attempt?) that proves quite lucrative.
Sep 11	End PE-1
Sep 20	Start PE-2, a somewhat more productive adventure.
Oct 4	End PE-2; gains Boots of Speed from the treasury, but Party abandons her after this as they don't wish to be held responsible for endangering their Queen. Somewhere around now, Penthesileah spends a few months becoming a WrC-0.
Jan 1 489	Start PE-3 (after recruiting a new Party).
Jan 18	Penthesileah killed.
Jan 25	End PE-3; Penthesileah raised, having earned most of a level's worth of experience in one adventure.
Jan 31	Start PE-4.
Feb 12	A failed spell gives her 7 bonus hit points, permanently.
Feb 15	End PE-4, return to Wurgen for training.
Feb 27	Training done, Penthesileah retires.

Surviving members: Penthesileah(F-8/WrC-1)
New members: none
Retirees: Penthesileah
Casualties: (Penthesileah - raised)
Continuing party: none