Telenet

Telenet Adventure Log

Part 8: To Break An Egg Softly

Main - The Book of Gant to The End

55. The Book of Gant September 1992-November 1993

Background and summary: as first noted in the Ruins of Andante adventure, a meteor strike in a remote land had some few centuries ago introduced a trace element to the planet, the result of which was the gradual worldwide destabilization of almost all magic. As Telenet was a magic-rich world, this posed a serious problem in the long term as spells slowly became less and less reliable, items became ever more prone to spectacular releases of raw magical energy when broken or damaged, and magic-based creatures such as Elves, Dragons, Unicorns and the like found the planet a less and less healthy place to live as the years and decades passed.

Compounding the planet's problems was the fact that - as a magic-rich environment being forced further and further into natural chaos by its own physics - the world had become an absolute magnet for intelligent beings of chaos, and their deities. Prime among these was the goddess Llolth and her Drow; She coveted this world for her own, and had long ago quietly set things in motion so Her Drow servants could take it over and present it to Her. All was going as planned, until the Hobgoblin invasion of 486. Though it was beaten back and eventually snuffed out (with the help of the Drow, behind the scenes), this invasion from off-world caused Llolth to accelerate Her plans greatly, and things originally intended to be done over decades were now to be done in but a few years. As a result, Drow began popping up and wreaking havoc everywhere, adding greatly to the already-chaotic nature of the world but at the same time announcing their presence and general intentions earlier than perhaps Llolth would have originally liked.

While many other gods, goddesses, and assorted Powers took note of these developments, only two really bothered to respond to them. One was the Elvish god Corellon Larethian; He recognized early on that one way or another this planet would soon not be a good place for Elves to live and prosper, and so he sent His minion to call them home to His realm where He knew they would at least be safe. This minion was The Piper, and he did his work well; within just a few short years, he led well over half the world's Elves to a better place. [see write-up at end of Quest for the Heartstone for more about Forshaw, The Piper]

The other deity that took an active hand was Mimosa of the Hobbits. She also recognized early on that between all the various factors, Llolth could realistically not be stopped if the world remained as it was; the deteriorating stability of magic, along with the sheer amount of it, represented a source of chaos none could overcome. So, She sought another way around the problem - and came up with an answer Llolth just did not expect: between a device already on the planet, and a simple (albeit powerful) party of adventurers, She conspired to end all magic on the world, thus making it equally inaccessible to all the gods yet remaining a safe place for non-magical life to flourish.

The group of adventurers She chose to carry out this enormous task was the Party whose story is told here. Ever since its creation, Mimosa had maintained at least one agent in this Party - first Samantha, then Tabatha, then Donnamira and Kalvin - and thus She knew them well, and knew their capabilities. The last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place in the adventure Jeremiah's Hideaway, when Party bad-boy Judah had proven that he too could be relied on to act for the greater good, even at cost of personal sacrifice, and so (though none involved knew it yet) the Party found itself set on a course that would eventually end its own existence, as well as that of magic as a fact of Telenet life.

That course would begin with the search for the Book of Gant. This legendary tome, thought to be nothing more than the ramblings of a relatively obscure philosopher in its day, has been lost for centuries but has now become essential to Mimosa's workings, as it in fact contains the instructions for what must be done to achieve Her aims. So, through her Cleric Deirdre, and knowing nothing more than it has recently fallen into the possession of a high-level Assassin named Min, She asks the Party to go and find it. When asked (by both Deirdre and the Party, at different times) why She could not simply go and get it Herself, She stuns them by saying that such is beyond Her powers, and that only mortals could complete this task.

Armed with this knowledge, and a vague idea of who and where this Min might be (he at one time trained Judah), the Party sets off, and after much trial and trouble they catch up to Min and kill him. This is not the end of the mission, however; one of Min's underlings manages to take captive a couple of Party members while arranging to bring Min back from the dead. Once back, Min cuts a deal with the Party to exchange treasure for captives and the Book; at the same time, Min works behind the scenes to kidnap Lisse's newborn baby and thus generate even more ransom - and more headaches for the Party. Finally, both baby and Book are in the Party's hands, but it then takes months to get everyone back in one place.

Starting members (from Jeremiah's Hideaway): Judah(A-10), Jack(MU-8), Felemid(B-9), Miriel(NrC-7), Aldea(NtC-7)
                           (from Lemmings' World): Monach(MU-7/I-7), Asha(R-7), Steng(F-7), Darth-Kull(F-6)
                           (from Forlinden Valley 4): Donnamira(NtC-7)
                           (from Forlinden Valley 3): Sh'kaira(F-7)
                           (from Telenosti Civil War): Thorn(WrC-6/MU-6)

May 5 490	By now, a large number of characters have gathered in and around Erelond; Deirdre summons some of them (including Kalvin, Jack, Lisse, and Donnamira among others), tells them of the Book of Gant, and asks them could they please go find it.
May 6	Much discussion among Party as to who will go; for some reason, both Kalvin and Havelock elect to remain behind. (to guard Lisse?) Felemid and Donnamira also announce they are staying behind, but secretly make plans to follow Party as a hidden reserve.
May 7	As Min was known to be involved with the Wurgen Assassins' Guild (before the Party blew it up), the Party heads there to begin the hunt.
May 13	Arrive Wurgen; check up on 7-DHC affairs, find it now owns nearly the whole country.
May 15	Dinner with Penthesileah.
May 16	Felemid reveals his presence to Monach; he and Monach have both spent days chasing rumours about Min.
May 17	Miriel runs out of patience and throws a Commune; learns the trail leads beyond the Curaig mountains to the northwest.
May 19	After inexplicably waiting a few more days, Party leaves Wurgen.
May 21	Back in Erelond (and unknown to Party) Kalvin is directed by Deirdre to join them on their mission; he and Havelock get on their horses and ride like hell for days.
May 25	Arrive Hasa.
May 30	Arrive Curaig; Judah sees his homeland for the first time in years.
Jun 2	Meet Maglia, a contact in the local Assassins' Guild, and are told Min has become a free agent with a hideout far to the north.
Jun 2	Joshua(R-5) joins as a local guide, and Party leaves Curaig.
Jun 3	A gang of 11 Trolls attack in the mountains; Party barely works up a sweat in defeating them.
Jun 3	About a hundred bandits try to hold the Party up later in the day, but end up as mere target practice.
Jun 4	With their horses dying under them, Kalvin(Cvr-8:P-6) and Havelock(Cvr-8) join after a 13-day gallop to catch up to Party.
Jun 10	A mixed band of Verbeeg and Ogres attack along the road, achieving nothing.
	Felemid and Donnamira reveal their presence to the whole Party sometime around now.
	Stop for the night in a small cottage far away from anywhere; cottage dwellers Meg and Roy turn out to be Vampires and are exposed by Miriel's Detect Evil. Both flee down a hidden tunnel before Party can react, and the tunnel collapses behind them; Party somehow then figures out their goal lies through that tunnel.
Jun 11	Monach polymorphs himself into an Umber Hulk and digs out the tunnel, but a major ambush awaits at the other end once the Party gets through: o Meg, Roy, and a band of Verbeeg and Giants attack without warning; o Jack charms one of the Verbeeg but cannot talk to it, so it keeps on fighting; o Jack in turn becomes charmed to one of the Vampires but fortunately for the Party is told to do nothing; o A couple of passing Blue Dragons join the fun, making it a 3-way combat; o Donnamira and Sh'kaira killed; Party wins, but gets clobbered in the process.
	A short while later, Aldea in fox form stumbles onto a well-hidden Dwarf who is busy watching proceedings; it tries to flee but gets caught and - after Party determines it to be very evil - slain.
	4 Medusae wander into the Party's camp that night; Felemid, Monach, Judah, and Aldea take care of them without problem.
Jun 12	Party carries on along what is a clearly-defined trail beyond the tunnel; eventually reach a structure of some sort with a huge pair of doors.
	An Iron Golem attacks once Party gets through doors; somehow, Asha gains control of it and stops it.
	A couple of stone columns animate and attack; Asha stops those too.
	Party tries to make camp in this odd building but assorted undead keep interrupting; when Judah loses a level to a Wraith, Miriel's patience runs out once more, and she throws another Commune only to find out she (and Party) are on the right track.
Jun 13	Continue along trail after a really bad night's sleep, having explored only a tiny portion of the building (and thus missing some valuable clues).
Jun 14	Trail leads into another structure; Party explores and gets caught in a deadly trap: Kalvin and Monach killed, Judah saved by divine intervention from Tharizdun (at cost of a very expensive sword), and Aldea separated from Party.
Jun 14	Party retreats and sacks out, Aldea carries on by herself. [see below]

Party

Jun 15	Party has had enough, walks to the nearest place they can find where magic reliably works, and plane-shifts to Terrance.
Jun 20	Monach, Donnamira, Sh'kaira and Kalvin all revived via "wish"; for some reason, Kalvin shows up late.
Jun 21	Knowing Aldea is still alive, Party tries to return: some fly, others plane-shift but have to walk some distance as magic doesn't work very well in the area Aldea was last seen.
Jun 24	Those who plane-shifted are attacked by bandits but easily prevail.
Jun 24	Joshua retires, having taken the Party as far as he's willing to go.
Jun 26	Those flying north meet someone else in the air; all land, and Sevinal(MU-7) joins. (this is Valsein in disguise, not seen since Beacon Hill). She makes careful note of everything she can about the Party, and flies off:Sevinal leaves.
Jun 27	Flyers and "walkers" meet, and all soon find Aldea.

Aldea

Jun 15	The only one to get past the trap, Aldea carries on alone; badly hurt, she finds a safe place to rest.
Jun 16	In much better health, she manages to figure out how to operate an elevator that gets her to the upper level of this structure, and then outside. (but she leaves the elevator up, so the Party couldn't have followed her even if they had stayed around to try)
Jun 17	Aldea continues along trail, by now an underground passage half the time as it cuts through mountains.
Jun 17	Attacked by Shinsaxxatan the Blue Dragon while crossing a bridge; Aldea forced to flee back into tunnel (where Dragon will not fit) once again badly hurt.
Jun 24	Having spent a week trying to sneak past Shinsaxxatan with no result, Aldea finally decides to fight the beast, and begins hit-and-run forays against him.
Jun 24	By now, she has also figured out where magic will work (underground) and won't work (on the surface).
Jun 25	Shinsaxxatan killed in a huge upset; Aldea spends the rest of the day in bird form searching for his lair, and feels rather ill on returning to the tunnel.
Jun 25	By now aware (via psyonics) the Party is returning, Aldea heads back to the elevator building.
Jun 26	Cautiously re-enters elevator building, takes out 7 Ghouls and a Ghast, decides it's safer to wait outside.
Jun 27	Meets Party outside (and past) elevator building.

Reunited

Jun 28	Now reunited, Party re-enters elevator building from the top and wades through it, finding all sorts of undead a few at a time.
	Asha loses a level to a Wight.
	For some reason, Felemid somehow performs an exorcism on something.
Jun 29	Meet a band of 12 Hill Giants just outside the building while preparing to leave; for a rarity, the Party doesn't attack, and Felemid and Monach open discussions with them. They are a family, simply travelling from one place to another; after sharing breakfast, the Giants depart in peace.
	A group of 3 Mudmen cause the Party a surprising amount of trouble.
	An underground part of the trail branches out into a built complex of halls and rooms at one point; Felemid goes exploring, and finds himself in a room that turns out to be its own miniature world - he shrinks to suit, has a look around, and returns to Party no worse for wear.
	The whole Party wants a look, so back they go; somehow half the Party gets "slowed", but everyone soon recovers except Havelock.
	After returning to normal size, Party explores rest of complex (bashing a few undead on the way), then leaves with a new toy: a laser cannon!
Jun 30	Outside again, Donnamira scouting in eagle form finds a battle going on between Giants and some unknown opponents; Party tries to avoid this, and does - for a while.
	Party runs into a dozen or more Drow; these had been the Giants' opponents earlier. Major brawl ensues; Monach and Aldea killed almost before the battle starts. (though the Party never knew it, these Drow had been sent here by Llolth specifically to find them and prevent them from reaching their goal; that they first ran into the Giants was a stroke of luck for the Party, as it weakened the Drow to the point where the Party could handle them)
	Retreat to some nearby caves to rest.
Jul 1	The caves' regular occupants (the rest of the Giants) arrive a few at a time and are slain by Party; Darth-Kull and Steng killed in one of these fights.
Jul 2	Darth-Kull and Steng raised by Miriel (using a candle?).
Jul 3	Another battle with Giants pretty much ends that threat.
	A small group of very lost Hobgoblins come across the Party; one seems decent enough to keep, so Zad(F-6) joins.
	Trail leads into a large underground complex with lots of mostly-Human occupants; Party quickly gets itself involved in some sort of civil war among these people, and are briefly thrown in jail.
Jul 4	Having chosen a side in the war, Party helps set up a raid - their side wins, so Party is allowed to leave. They make friends with a local prince first; this would soon come in handy.
Jul 5	A couple of Golems do their best to prevent Party from getting outdoors, but fail.
Jul 6	For some reason, Asha decides to go wandering across a rocky plain; she falls through a thin shell into a cave below, and is slain by a pair of Ghouls before anyone can reach her: Asha killed.
Jul 6	Kalvin, Thorn, and Felemid figure out how to operate the laser cannon.
Jul 7	Finally reach what is assumed to be Min's hideout; a stockaded village in the middle of nowhere.
	Brief discussion with Treguna, a Min lieutenant, soon goes wrong; Party comes under ballista and trebuchet fire from stockade.
	More discussion - Party actually manages to talk their way inside the stockade - until Jack runs out of patience and fireballs the neighbourhood, starting a huge battle: o Darth-Kull killed either by initial fireball or immediate enemy response; o Party get lured deeper into the complex; underground, magic works much better, and Min uses this to great advantage; o Felemid fumbles 4 times and runs himself out of weapons; ends up fighting with his fists; o Min slain but at great cost: Havelock, Sh'kaira, Miriel, Steng, Donnamira, and Zad all killed; o Sh'kaira's death is one for the ages: knowing she is about to die, she charges the main enemy concentration, and ties up their entire front line long enough for the Party to turn the tide; o Dee, an underling of Min, grabs his body, along with Donnamira's, and flees; o A spell failure turns Felemid bald. DM's note: this battle (above) took at least 3 sessions to play.
Jul 8	Sporadic fighting continues all night; Thorn killed in one of the last skirmishes. (by now WrC-7/MU-6)
	The Party, now consisting only of Judah, Jack, Kalvin, and Felemid, retreat back to their friend the prince, and hide in his realm.
	Sh'kaira and Miriel raised here by the locals.
Jul 9	Felemid throws a wish to get the Party's dead back; Steng and Havelock revived, but for some reason Zad and Thorn remain dead. Donnamira also revived, though far away and in Min's hands.
Jul 10	Jack and Felemid return to the stockade only to get shot, poisoned, and captured!
Jul 11	Some Dwarves arrive with an offer for the Party; it seems Min is alive again, and is willing to make a deal.
Jul 12	A deal is struck: Min gets the Party's treasury (now up to about 300,000 g.p.!) and Judah's and Felemid's shares of the 7-DHC; the Party gets Felemid, Donnamira, and the Book of Gant. Min keeps Jack, however.
	This deal done, the Party leaves - and behind them the stockade explodes into battle again as Deirdre and Balin attack it out of the blue.
	Once the Book is in their hands, Party teleports to Turaig.
Jul 13	Kalvin, Havelock, and Miriel take a cart from Turaig and head back to Meg and Roy's, to recover a large stash of treasure buried near there.
	Everyone else hires a stagecoach and starts heading southeast.
	Sometime around now, Lisse gets captured from Erelond by Min's agents, and winds up with Jack in a dark dungeon cell far to the south.
Jul 20	Cart reaches Meg and Roy's; treasure recovered, turn around and head back.
Jul 24	Monach resurrected somehow, far to the south in Alcavern.
Jul 27	Lisse released in Blackhampton with a ransom note regarding Jack. Her unborn child has been somehow meddled with in the meantime. She starts heading for Erelond any way she can, but very slowly.
Aug 7	Stagecoach pulls into Erelond with a 20-man honour guard; Penthesileah here waiting for them.
Aug 7	Meanwhile, Monach has made it to Kerratrim and somehow manages to get captured there by slavers.
Aug 13	Judah, Felemid, Sh'kaira, Steng, and Donnamira somehow manage to contact Lisse and find out where she is.
Aug 15	Kalvin, Havelock, and Miriel finally make it to Erelond with the treasure.
	Judah, Felemid, and Donnamira find Lisse in Widdershyn.
	Monach arrives in Bryll, not by his own choice.
Aug 16	Monach sold into slavery.
	Sh'kaira, Steng, and 10 soldiers arrive at Widdershyn to escort Lisse back to Erelond.
Aug 19	Felemid, Donnamira, and Miriel leave Widdershyn; eventually to Driessa.
Aug 21	Sh'kaira, Steng, and Lisse arrive at Erelond - and not a moment too soon!
Aug 22	Lisse gives birth to Aranath II.
Aug 23	A second ransom note arrives for Lisse; the ransom for Jack is the baby.
Aug 28	Felemid throws a wish in Driessa attempting to recover the treasure given to Min; he gets back some of it, but not all.
Sep 3	Kalvin, Havelock, Steng, and Lisse leave Erelond for Widdershyn.
Sep 9	Child (and some other ransom) given to the Morrigan temple in Widdershyn; they are acting as go-between.
Sep 14	Jack released in Blackhampton; takes a few days to recover his wits.
Sep 14	Lisse, Havelock, and Steng arrive at Erelond.
Sep 15	Lisse and Steng start trying to track down the baby; eventually learn it is with a Gray Elf named Trefetoria.
Sep 18	Lisse and Steng leave Erelond searching for Trefetoria, or any info about Gray Elves.
Sep 19	Jack arrives in Erelond; starts his own quest to find the baby.
Sep 24	Judah and Donnamira finish reading the Book of Gant.
Sep 27	Judah, Donnamira, and Miriel attacked by bandits intent on stealing the Book.
Sep 28	Monach finally contacts Felemid, tells of his capture; Monach retires for the time being.
Sep 29	Bandits defeated after a 3-day running battle.
Sep 29	Felemid, having commisioned the construction of a series of magic devices, meets Sh'kaira in Terrance.
Oct 1	Judah, Donnamira, Miriel, Felemid, and Sh'kaira all meet at somewhere called Three-Tree Hill, near Driessa.
Oct 2	The Three-Tree group starts flying south.
Oct 4	Jack gives up and returns to Erelond; stays put and awaits developments.
Oct 7	Kalvin begins putting his own party together; they roam the northlands for a few months; Kalvin retires.
Oct 13	Havelock gets his level restored in Ballydoon.
Oct 14	The Three-Tree group arrives at Kerratrim; keeps going.
Oct 27	Now on a ship of the Irdanian navy, Three-Tree group get involved in a naval battle.
Oct 28	Three-Tree group arrives at Sernitol, starts making inquiries.
Oct 29	Lisse and Steng arrive at Driessa after taking the long way to get there; begin research.
	Havelock arrives in Erelond.
	Three-Tree group meet Que'feredhry the Gray Elf on Sernitol and explain the situation.
Nov 5	Lisse learns she can find answers on Sernitol; she and Steng buy a teleport.
Nov 6	Felemid and Balin go to Ballydoon, for some reason.
Nov 6	Morton arrives in Erelond, takes Jack as far as Widdershyn. (and Valanyr goes into hiding!)
Nov 9	Jack arrives at Sernitol.
Nov 10	Felemid returns to Sernitol.
Nov 11	Lisse arrives at Sernitol by herself; Steng has gone to Erelond.
Nov 11	Que'feredhry, after much behind-the-scenes work, produces the baby and gives him back to Lisse.
Nov 12	Jack leaves; spends a week teleporting all over the continent, winds up in Erelond on Nov 20.
Nov 13	Aldea resurrected, somehow.
Nov 14	A Dryad is resurrected - by mistake?
Nov 20	By now, just about everyone has made it back to Erelond. Lisse retires; various others prepare to go off and follow the instructions given in the Book of Gant.

Surviving members: Judah(A-10), Jack(MU-8), Kalvin(Cvr-8:P-7), Felemid(B-9), Monach(MU-7/I-7), Lisse(F-8/MU-4),
Miriel(NrC-8), Aldea(NtC-7), Donnamira(NtC-7), Havelock(Cvr-8), Steng(F-8), Sh'kaira(F-8), Joshua(R-6)
New members: Joshua, Zad
Retirees: Joshua, Lisse, Kalvin, Monach, Havelock
Casualties: Asha, Zad; Thorn(revived later), Darth-Kull(twice, raised once); (Donnamira[twice], Sh'kaira[twice], Kalvin,
Monach[twice], Aldea, Steng[twice], Havelock, Miriel - all revived by wish or raise each time)
Continuing party(to Myth Drannor): Judah, Jack, Felemid, Miriel, Donnamira, Aldea, Sh'kaira, Steng

57. Explorations in Myth Drannor December 1993-March 1994

Background and summary: between Judah and Donnamira's best efforts at deciphering the Book of Gant and various clues gleaned elsewhere, the Party had come to realize their next mission would be to recover something called the Druid's Egg from the ancient ruined Elvish city of Myth Drannor. They gather and head off, and manage to at least find Myth Drannor, but have barely begun to explore it when Felemid and Sevinal somehow lose their souls. The Party then has to take a side trip to recover these.

Starting members(from Book of Gant): Judah(A-10), Jack(MU-8), Felemid(B-9), Miriel(NrC-8), Aldea(NtC-7),
Donnamira(NtC-7), Steng(F-8), Sh'kaira(F-8)

Nov 21 490	Thalira(R-6/T-7) joins in Erelond.
Nov 22	Party teleports to Meg and Roy's cottage, this being the farthest-north point they can reliably get to using magic.
Nov 25	A band of Yeti provide a brief workout; for some inexplicable reason, Party turns around at this point and heads south.
Dec 1	Plane-shift to Ballydoon. (why?)
Dec 3	Plane-shift back to Turaig, then leave going north again.
Dec 5	Enter a large cold swamp north of Turaig; battle a 10-headed Hydra.
	During this battle, Aldea notices someone is shadowing the Party but does nothing about it, and doesn't tell anyone; this would prove costly later.
	A huge skeletal snake (Bone Naga) is next to fall, then 2 Demons arrive and attack; Felemid feebleminded.
	Miriel plane-shifts to Rillifane's plane, gets Felemid restored, and returns; joins Party at edge of city ruins.
	Another Bone Naga tries to interfere, along with other local wildlife; these battles warn Party that magic is even less reliable here than usual.
	Meanwhile, Sevinal has been shadowing the Party (this the person Aldea noticed earlier) and at this point she strikes, charming Felemid and turning him against the Party: o Felemid sneaks off, ostensibly to scout, and picks off Party members one by one as they explore the city; his tactic is to call a particular character over to point out something he's found, then attack without warning; o Jack killed; then Aldea killed; Donnamira stumbles on to this fight in progress, so Donnamira killed; o Party finally realize something fishy is going on and turns against Felemid; Steng killed in the resulting battle, and Felemid otherwise winning(!); o Attracted by the fighting, a band of flying snakes and some sort of mutant Giant arrive and join in the fun; o Felemid forced to fight the new arrivals instead of Party, Party glad of the break; o Creatures don't last long; Felemid resumes stalking Party; o Sevinal swoops in on her broom and takes out Felemid in a surprise attack: Felemid killed, and Sevinal(MU-8) joins in the guise of a saviour!
	Not long after the dust settles from this, a band of Drow show up and attack; by the time this battle is won, the total Party hit points add to 30, with no curing left.
	Quetzaltoc(F-6/I-6) joins, a rescued prisoner of the Drow???
Dec 6	Steng, Jack, and Felemid all raised by Miriel. Donnamira raised, somehow, as well.
	A Purple Worm attacks from beneath Party but doesn't last very long.
	The Party finally meets something they cannot defeat: a 186-hit-point Demon sends the Party fleeing for its life, but not before somehow stealing the souls of both Felemid and Sevinal while leaving their bodies alive.
	Sevinal's body left behind; big debate as to whether to rescue her, ends when Judah, Sh'kaira, and Steng mount a late-night rescue mission and bring her body back.
	Somewhere around here, Judah discovers he is psyonic, probably due to something he is carrying.
Dec 7	Party spends the day holed up in a building for some reason, wiping out minor irritants.
	Aldea raised by Miriel, realizes she is about 50 years older than she should be.
	Party finds a Human who has somehow got stuck here; not so easy to find out her story as she is mute, but Party takes her in: Jyak'ta(I-13) joins.
Dec 8	A small but very powerful group of Hobgoblins, along with some lizard companions, pose a stiff challenge but are defeated; their possessions are worth a fortune.
Dec 9	Miriel throws a Commune to try and find out what happened to Felemid and Sevinal; learns their spirits are trapped on a desolate plane, gets permission to plane-shift there, gets the Party together, and goes.

Surviving members: Judah(A-9), Jack(MU-8), Felemid(B-9), Miriel(NrC-8), Aldea(NtC-7), Donnamira(NtC-7),
Sh'kaira(F-8), Steng(F-8), Thalira(R-6/T-8), Quetzaltoc(F-6/I-6), Sevinal(MU-8), Jyak'ta(I-13)
New members: Sevinal(from Beacon Hill B); Thalira, Quetzaltoc, Jyak'ta
Retirees: none
Casualties: (Jack, Aldea, Steng, Donnamira, Felemid - all raised)
Continuing party(to Greyworld): Judah, Jack, Miriel, Aldea, Donnamira, Sh'kaira, Steng, Thalira, Quetzaltoc, Jyak'ta,
(Felemid, Sevinal - sort of)

58. Greyworld March-April 1994

Background and summary: during the Myth Drannor exploration, Felemid and Sevinal managed to get their souls banished to a dry, desolate, barren place that quickly became known as Greyworld - mainly because everything there had been turned grey by a coating of fine dust. The Party goes there to reclaim the souls of their companions, and much to their surprise manage to find some other lost ex-companions while they're at it. Some inter-planar travel then gets everyone safely back to Telenet, far south of where they were, and a long break follows.

Starting members(from Explorations In Myth Drannor): Judah(A-9), Jack(MU-8), Felemid(B-9), Miriel(NrC-8), Aldea(NtC-7),
Donnamira(NtC-7), Sh'kaira(F-8), Steng(F-8), Thalira(R-6/T-8), Quetzaltoc(F-6/I-6), Sevinal(MU-8), Jyak'ta(I-13)

Dec 9 490	Miriel plane-shifts Party to a dry, dusty half-ruined city; they begin exploring.
Dec 9 490	A dozen Fire Demons are the only sign of "life", and the Party easily takes care of that.
Dec 10	One building shows a few signs of habitation; Party explores and finds a half-insane Human sitting next to a bed, on which lies the body of another.
	Judah recognizes both: the insane one is Drustan(F-5), not seen since Penthesileah's wedding just after Spire in the Icefield, and the dead one is Bitch; Bitch killed somewhere along the line, but Drustan is convinced she is "just sleeping".
	Long attempts to find out from Drustan what happened lead nowhere; Party eventually realizes Bitch is lying on an amulet, and Judah recognizes it as an Amulet of the Planes found by the Party years ago.
	Meanwhile, Steng and Sh'kaira are patrolling the city; they stumble across first Felemid, then Sevinal, both wandering aimlessly, and bring them back to the Party.
Dec 11	Drustan has by now told Party enough for them to realize he's been here for years.
Dec 11	Patrols start finding evidence of yet more life in the city, but cannot find anything actually alive.
Dec 12	Drustan regaining strength but not lucidity; keeps talking about a Dwarf he saw in the street, Party begin to wonder if the Dwarf is real, and is leaving the signs they're finding.
Dec 13	Judah, Felemid, and Donnamira start flying over the city and surrounds; find an obvious marker just outside town pointing at some distant mountains, and fly that way.
Dec 14	J, F, and D reach mountains, find a Dwarf in a cave and recognize it: Ur-Khor(WrC-6/A-8) rejoins; having been stuck on this world a while ago by some sort of magic failure.
Dec 18	Judah, Felemid, Donnamira, and Ur-Khor make it back to the city on foot; everyone else gets bored waiting.
Dec 19	Miriel realizes her plane-shifts aren't very reliable here; tries anyway, and winds up on the Elven home plane of Greenworld. Several spells later, the whole Party is there.
Dec 19	Sometime around now, Drustan finally accepts that Bitch is dead, instead of asleep.
Dec 22	After a few days of rest and healing, return to Telenet, and wind up in Ballydoon.
Jan 2 491	Miriel throws a Commune to ask what to do next; gets little of use in response.
Jan 3	Suddenly, Drustan gets his brains back, thanks the Party for finding him, and leaves: Drustan retires.
Jan 4	Miriel, Aldea, Felemid, and Jyak'ta plane-shift to Gaia for some reason; Jyak'ta retires and stays there when the others return to Telenet.
Jan 4	Sometime around now, Ur-Khor retires.
Jan 6	Felemid leaves for extended training break.

So how did Bitch and Drustan end up on Greyworld?

After plane-hopping around for several months (see end of Diancecht's Revenge), their random travels brought them to the stark desolation of Greyworld. After spending some time exploring here (and Bitch became B-5 during this), they received a rude shock on finding their Amulet didn't work any more - it was out of charges. Within weeks, their food had run out, and Bitch eventually starved to death. Drustan, who had acquired a Ring of Sustenance in his travels, survived, and was able to find a tiny water supply beneath the city to keep himself going. However, distraught over the death of Bitch, and unable to get to anywhere useful, he slowly lost his sanity. When the Party found him, he was doing what he had been doing for months: sitting at Bitch's side, holding her mummified hand and carrying on an incoherent one-way conversation with her.

Surviving members: Judah(A-9), Jack(MU-8), Felemid(B-10), Miriel(NrC-8), Aldea(NtC-8), Donnamira(NtC-8), Sh'kaira(F-9),
Steng(F-8), Thalira(R-6/T-8), Quetzaltoc(F-6/I-6), Sevinal(M-8), Jyak'ta(I-13), Ur-Khor(WrC-6/A-8), Drustan(F-5)
New members: Drustan(from Diancecht's Revenge); Ur-Khor(from Lemmings' World); Bitch[as corpse]
Retirees: Drustan, Jyak'ta, Ur-Khor(dies later); Felemid(to Druid's Egg, later on)
Casualties: Bitch
Continuing party(to Druid's Egg): Judah, Jack, Miriel, Aldea, Donnamira, Sh'kaira, Steng, Thalira, Quetzaltoc, Sevinal

59. The Druid's Egg (a.k.a. Myth Drannor 2) April-November 1994

Background and summary: after regathering themselves and taking something of a break, the Party head back to Myth Drannor once more, to find first a series of pieces of armour that would allow the wearer to carry the Druid's Egg, and then the Egg itself. The city throws every possible kind of obstacle in the Party's path, but they prevail in the end, and emerge with the Egg.

Starting members: Judah(A-9), Jack(MU-8), Felemid(B-10), Miriel(NrC-9), Aldea(NtC-8), Donnamira(NtC-8),
Sh'kaira(F-9), Steng(F-8), Thalira(R-6/T-8), Quetzaltoc(F-6/I-6), Sevinal(M-8)

Jan 21 491	Most of Party arrive in Erelond, and Kalvin(Cvr-8:P-7) rejoins.
Jan 21 491	Steng buys a pub in Erelond; Party members (or ex-members) now own just about every pub in town!
Jan 28	Sevinal and Sh'kaira return, and everyone sets off for the north.
Jan 29	A couple of Mind Flayers and assorted "friends" make life difficult.
Jan 29	Donnamira gets captured by Arctic Elves; Aldea follows, in fox form.
Feb 1	Miriel does some fast talking to convince Elves to give back Donnamira, then convinces Elves to get off the world for their own safety; most do.
Feb 2	One renegade Elf attacks Party with a large number of Ogres as backup; Sevinal fireballs most, Party mops up the rest.
Feb 2	Arrive Myth Drannor.
Feb 3	Miriel loses a level against vampiric spiders.
	Party finds a wandering Gnome and takes him in; Gnifferin Haraldson(B-6) joins, and almost immediately changes his name to Tomte.
	Another adventuring party is seen exploring town and "encouraged" to leave.
Feb 4	Party attracts the attention of an extremely powerful Feng Dragon, spend the day absorbing its hit-and-run attacks, in between dealing with other opponents.
	A mad Hobbit also starts becoming a nuisance; Party can't figure out why other city occupants leave him alone, and (erroneously) begin to think he runs the place.
	After about 8 encounters with it, the Feng Dragon is finally defeated.
	First encounter with a very powerful and nasty individual called Daern; Party thinks they kill him.
	A band of a couple of dozen Trolls pass on the street beneath the Party's upper-floor hideaway; when they begin investigating the same manhole the Party is trying to reach, they get blown away by Party's fireballs, except one who actually climbs into the hole for cover and ends up ultimately causing a great deal of difficulty to the enemy below.
	A group of very tough Ogres, attracted by the commotion, attack and are slain.
	Somehow, Aldea loses a point of Dex. during all this.
Feb 8	Days of rest are interrupted by a gang of nearly 100 Ogres who swarm the Party's building; this battle undoes most of the benefits of the resting, but everyone lives.
Feb 9	Second go-round with Daern (much to Party's surprise); he announces his arrival by hitting Party with a Chain Lightning, but again gets killed - or so they think.
	Party finally goes down the manhole, and meets a bizarre creature called a Behir; considerably weakened by the one Troll that had climbed down here days ago but could not then get out, this thing was easy pickings for the Party.
	Daern shows up yet again, as well as the mad Hobbit; Sh'kaira killed, and Steng somehow loses a level.
Feb 10	Battered Party leaves the city with a few rescued Elves, and teleports to Ballydoon.
Feb 12	Miriel and Steng get their levels restored. (M. to NrC-9, S. to F-8)
Feb 15	Sh'kaira raised (by Miriel?)
Feb 22	Party returns to Myth Drannor and are almost immediately confronted by Daern (again!) along with a number of Vampires and Wraiths: o Daern lures Party into a castle, where the undead can function; o Judah generates darkness over the entire combat, then flies into the middle of the Wraiths; amazingly, he only loses one level - even more amazingly, he had just bumped, so he essentially remains at A-9; o Everyone else stays clear, and mop up with fireballs once Judah gets out; o Daern flees while Party spend hours dealing with small bands of leftover Wraiths.
	Trying to track the Wraiths back to their source, Party loses Miriel (paralyzed) and Sevinal (captured) to traps.
	Trail ends in a room containing a Lich and 2 Vampires; Party takes these out with ease.
	Perhaps overconfident, Party fights 4 more Vampires and loses 12 levels! (Judah to A-3, Sh'kaira to F-7, Thalira to R-6/T-6, Donnamira to NtC-6)
	Party at last tracks down Daern, and kills him - this time for good - while amassing a huge hoard of treasure in the process; Sevinal killed while in captivity, and Party find her corpse here as well.
	Sh'kaira somehow gets separated from Party and almost dies before someone finds her hours later.
	Meanwhile, Aldea and Quetzaltoc take out 3 Wraiths on their own; not to be outdone, Kalvin and Donnamira take out 4 shortly after.
Feb 23	Sevinal raised by Miriel.
	Most of Party teleports out, leaving only Miriel, Kalvin, Aldea, Quetzaltoc, and Tomte in Myth Drannor.
	Somehow, lots of people get lots of levels restored - wish?
Feb 24	Myth Drannor types attacked by several Ogre Magi and a Mind Flayer; Aldea polymorphed into a rat and then turned to stone: Aldea petrified.
Feb 27	Miriel plane-shifts to Driessa with a stone rat.
Feb 27	Quetzaltoc casts Find Familiar in Myth Drannor; it works, and he gets a mutant hawk.
Feb 28	Aldea restored to a flesh rat, then changed back to an Elf; she and Miriel return to Myth Drannor, and then immediately leave again for some unknown reason.
Mar 2	Far to the south, Monach(MU-7/I-7) joins.
	Miriel goes south and picks up Aldea, Monach, and Steng; Thalira leaves for training.
	Somehow, Sh'kaira ends up on the wrong world; neither she nor Party have a clue where she is.
Mar 4	After a Miriel Commune, a wish gets Sh'kaira back to Party; everyone now in Myth Drannor.
Mar 5	Several pieces of the required armour are found with little problem; Kalvin puts it all together and tries it on, and soon figures out some of the many powers it has.
	Party enters a building, pulled by the armour Kalvin is now wearing, and descends via elevator to a level far below; a gang of Demons await but are soon taken care of, though Jack and Miriel killed in the process.
	Elevator disappears; Party finds a statue of Loki while exploring large cave complex.
	One by one, characters enter a spiral maze and find themselves compelled to enter; it becomes a slide, and teleports them to a small room with 2 exits; on the back wall is a riddle:

Runes cast and bones roll   chance runs as fate will
Choose a hand, pay the toll   pass or be forever still
One god hid, one god made   what the world should never see
Yet enchanted price unpaid   I stand waiting gleefully.

	By each exit is a small shelf; placing a magic item on one opens a passage for that character, thus each has a choice to make.
	Sh'kaira, Tomte, Monach, Donnamira(now NtC-9) and Steng all killed by going the wrong way and walking into Loki's realm with no immediate way of returning; somehow, Tomte gains a level along the way.
	Rest of Party go the right way, find the Druid's Egg almost immediately, but lose over a year in time before returning to the surface.
Mar 6	Somewhere along here, Sevinal turns on the Party and tries to steal the Druid's Egg; she fails, and Sevinal killed.
Dec 27	Sh'kaira and Steng revived somehow, wind up at Sernitol.
Apr 1 492	Monach has a bad dream that is in fact the Tenth Anniversary Game, but he remembers none of it.
Apr 6	Remains of Party returns to surface in Myth Drannor and promptly teleports itself to Driessa.
Apr 7	Miriel resurrected.
Apr 8	Jack resurrected.
Apr 9	Quetzaltoc retires.

Surviving members: Judah(A-10), Jack(MU-10), Miriel(NrC-9), Aldea(NtC-9), Thalira(R-7/T-8), Kalvin(Cvr-8:P-8),
Quetzaltoc(F-7/I-7), Sh'kaira(F-10), Steng(F-9)
New members: Gnifferin-Tomte; Kalvin, Monach(both from Book of Gant)
Retirees: Thalira, Quetzaltoc
Casualties: (Sh'kaira[twice], Miriel, Jack, Steng - all revived), (Aldea[petrified] - revived), Donnamira, Monach, Tomte;
Sevinal(twice - revived once)
Continuing party(to The End): Judah, Jack, Miriel, Aldea, Thalira, Kalvin, Sh'kaira, Steng

60. Tenth Anniversary Game (T-10) July 1994

Background and summary: a fabulous but insane Gnome known in this world as Cybal Flumph has, at some point, been taken to another world before finishing her duties in this one. Once there, she has met with considerable misadventure, and - though not killed - her spirit and body have become somewhat separated; and while others elsewhere have found and recovered her spirit, her body is still missing. So, a small band of characters are summoned to an unknown place as a form of divine intervention, with the mission of finding and recovering her body. In this, the rag-tag Party is successful, though none ever know it, and Cybal's spirit and body (which has been hidden inside a statue) reunite just in time to fulfill her final duty.

Starting members(from all over the universe): Franz(F-4), Drustan(F-4), Hans(MU-5), Ancelyn(F-5), Dwalin(WrC-5/F-5),
Lorithen(R-5/I-5), Monach(MU-5/I-5), Tabatha(NtC-5)

Apr 1 492	Characters appear in a small cottage, without any equipment and having no idea where they are.
	Some of them recognize each other; introductions all round, and mass scrounging of equipment from what is hanging on the walls.
	Ancelyn (of all people!) figures out that the phrases running through everyone's head, when put together, add up to the goal of the mission.
	Party sets off along a well-marked path; little of note except a few bizarre things (longboat, semi-trailer) half-buried in the hilltops. Party spends some time investigating these, but come up empty.
	Pass by a pub; sack out here.
Apr 2	Eventually make it to a second cottage. Behind cottage is an enchanted garden with a pond, and behind this pond are a series of terraces; on the 8th of these stands a statue of a Gnome, which the Party takes.
Apr 3	Party gets back to pub and have a beer; while drinking, the pub becomes an empty room.
Apr 3	Leaving pub finds Party in an underground complex with a constant rumbling in the distance; soon find a room with an old man, who takes the statue and sends the characters back to wherever they came from.

Surviving members: Franz(F-4), Drustan(F-4), Hans(MU-5), Ancelyn(F-5), Dwalin(WrC-5/F-5), Lorithen(R-5/I-5),
Monach(MU-5/I-5), Tabatha(NtC-5)
New members: none
Retirees: all
Casualties: none
Continuing party: none

61. The End November-December 1994

Background and summary: during the year the Party has been lost in the Druid's Egg cavern, the world has not stood still – though many would wish it had. In June 491, the Drow began their invasion by arising in northern Corkess, and had wiped out Erelond by mid-August. Also in June, the Drow arose in various other places, and by August much of the continent was either at war or on fire, as mammoth forest fires raged across the land. Meanwhile, the Hobgoblins were hanging on, until Jan 492 when some high-level Elves unwittingly helped the Drow by closing the inter-planar gate in Rima. By March 492, it was known to some that Driessa was the last remaining Elven land, and known to many more that the world hovered on the edge of complete disaster.

When the Party finally appear with the Druid's Egg, they are summoned to Sernitol where a number of powerful people have established a safe enclave, and then sent to a barren part of the world with a horrifying mission: to use the Egg to destroy all magic on the planet. They encounter some opposition along the way, but (unknown to them) are in fact being shielded by Mimosa, thus most of the truly awe-inspiring foes that would try to stop such a mission are unaware of it until too late. Eventually, the Party reach their goal, and after Mimosa shows up and tells them what they're doing and why, the Egg is thrown into the crater. Mimosa sees to it that the characters all get clear, and Telenet changes forever.

Starting members (from The Druid's Egg): Judah(A-10), Jack(MU-10), Miriel(NrC-9), Aldea(NtC-9), Thalira(R-7/T-8),
Kalvin(Cvr-8:P-8), Sh'kaira(F-10), Steng(F-9)
(from Greyworld): Felemid(B-10)

Apr 9 492	Judah somehow contacts someone (Sh'kaira?) on Sernitol; learns of world events, and Party teleports to Sernitol posthaste.
	Felemid awaits them here, along with Sh'kaira and Steng - and Min(!), who also opposes the Drow.
	A council of high-level people has formed, including Deirdre, Setem, Morton and others, and these people (with much divine guidance) have decided what must be done with the Druid's Egg, and in a major meeting they ask the Party to take it to a desloate place called Cipemet, find there a deep crater in the ground, and throw the Druid's Egg into it.
	Party agrees, not yet knowing what this would mean to them or the world.
Apr 10	Sail on the good ship "Omigawd" to get outside anti-magic area surrounding Sernitol.
Apr 12	Ship teleports to a dark underground lake, Party goes ashore.
Apr 13	Explore a huge underground complex, but find nothing except a few minor undead.
	Finally arrive at a room with light; meet "The Recorder", who has been here since the dawn of time recording the history of the world.
	Recorder introduces a guide to the Party: Cybal(NrC-8) joins, having been here a few days finding out what must be done, and where.
	Led by Cybal, the Party makes their way to the surface, find themselves in a ruined city remarkably similar to the one on Greyworld, though certainly not the same.
	A powerful group of Drow (along with a Drider) attack; Party wins, but realizes these attacks could become more frequent if they don't move fast.
Apr 14	Party leaves the ruins and heads north, knowing now that magic simply does not work here.
Apr 17	By now, Elves and Gnomes in the Party are feeling decidedly unwell; pace picks up.
Apr 18	A few minor undead barely slow the Party's pell-mell progress across the bleak plain.
Apr 19	A group of riders appear in the distance behind the Party; Party now runs northward flat-out, knowing they are in a race they must win.
	Riders close in as Party dashes the last few yards to the crater's edge; inexplicably, the riders then rise and thunder by above the Party's heads and keep going into the distance.
	Mimosa appears, with Tabatha; spends a few hours explaining all kinds of things to the characters, and tells them what effects throwing the Egg into the crater will have - and asks where the characters would like to go to spend the rest of their lives.
	Mimosa is clearly using nearly all of Her power just to remain here.
	Cybal takes the Egg and tries to jump into the crater with it; Mimosa brings her back.
	Kalvin then throws the Egg into the crater; Mimosa immediately teleports everyone to where they wanted to go, as a devastating explosion behind them effectively ends magic on Telenet.
Apr 21	Kalvin and Sh'kaira begin helping sort out the remaining mess; the Drow fade quickly, the Hobgoblins don't last much longer, but the anarchy that follows takes most of the summer to bring under control.
Jul 14	Kalvin and Sh'kaira, having done enough, retire to a farm belonging to Kalvin's uncle, and are last seen on the front porch, drinking moonshine and watching the sunset.

Surviving members: Judah(A-10), Jack(MU-10), Miriel(NrC-9), Aldea(NtC-9), Thalira(R-7/T-8), Kalvin(Cvr-8:P-8),
Sh'kaira(F-10), Steng(F-9), Felemid(B-10), Cybal(NrC-8)
New members: Cybal(from Temple of Elemental Evil 3, via Mudra and Dafan)
Retirees: all
Casualties: none
Continuing party: none.

And thus ends the tale of Telenet.