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| Lindrom's Notes; He watches, listens and waits | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 22 2010, 06:31 PM (416 Views) | |
| Toast | Jan 22 2010, 06:31 PM Post #1 |
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Morkoth
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Faith without deeds is worthless. Traveled from Arabel to the Storm Horns. Encounters with goblins tribes less than satisfying due to unexpected degree of organization by humanoids. Does some force mobilize them to war? Return to Arabel made more delightful by peripheral involvement in a bar fight. Truesilver's connections turned out to be quite useful as our "slap on the wrist" ended up being a letter of marque for adventuring in Eastern Cormyr. Traveled east to the bridge before the western edge of the Hullack Forest. No caravan guard work available but a wood buyer by the name of Saran was overdue. Stuck east on the East Way through the forest, came upon the ruins of a caravan. Bodies discovered, revealed to be children of Saran. Ranger followed orc tracks north into forest, trail was lost due to inclement weather. Slight altercation with the forest's fey, conflict resolved by resident druid the Ravenmaster. Had some interesting insights to offer on nature magic. Joined forces with Ravenmaster and fey to assault orc war band. Raid was successful with minimal losses. Yellowtooth war band presumed destroyed. Saran revealed to be dead, killed by orcs. Captive Shamus, wine merchant, offers employment to escort him to Shieldmeet celebration. Acquired fire opal component for wand creation from Ravenmaster as reward, as well as his blessing to offer to other druids as proof of worth. See notes re: Druid society and infiltration. Rumors of powers at work in the east include the Flame-Fiend, a red dragon residing in the Thunder Peaks and Wolken the Storm King, a storm giant said to lair south of the Thunder Gap. |
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| Zerka Badu | Jan 25 2010, 08:24 PM Post #2 |
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Death Sladd
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(Rool and Fraj gave you the fire opal) |
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| Toast | Jan 30 2010, 01:45 PM Post #3 |
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Morkoth
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Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment. Successfully escorted Shamus the wine merchant to Battledale for the Shieldmeet festival. A stop in at the Leaves of Learning proved useful in our continuing efforts to unravel the mystery of the scroll and the shields it details. Our progress is slowed somewhat by the fact that only I am allowed full access and that Ike and Saubon only have access to the Index. Prudent to be sure, but frustrating in our case. Ike's study of history has yielded the fact that these shields were carried by a group of adventurers years past known as the Blue Shields. Perhaps fate has chosen our group to be their successors in this modern day? The prize for our little errand proved to be great, as well. We already suspected the map Shamus carried to be valuable, but Ike discovered it carried secret writing. Moon letters! The map belonged to a pirate who prowled the Dragonmere in southern Cormyr but perished in the Time of Troubles. Excited by the find, we sped off to Smuggler's Stone to examine a location there. We were not disappointed, as long buried treasure was discovered. Invigorated, we headed to a ruined floating tower, deciding to abort our investigation after Bradock suffered grievous wounds to his hands in a fall. A chance encounter with a farmer on the road led us to Kirnwood, which was bedeviled by some menace from the forest. I initially suspected some lycanthropic infestation, but my fears were unfounded on that front. Instead, a pair of foul shadow dragons were the cause of the deaths and disappearances. Luckily for us, they were mere hatchlings and not grown into a fraction of their true power. Strong hearts and sharp blades saw us through to victory, though their dying cries of vengeance from Shar were troubling. I am glad that I am the only one of my companions who understands the ancient tongue of those beasts, lest their dreams be as troubled as mine have become. |
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| Toast | Feb 8 2010, 01:36 AM Post #4 |
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Morkoth
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Faith is the sturdiest armor, hatred the surest weapon. Recovered from our harrowing experience with the dragons that bedeviled Kirnwood, we turned north to return to the Hullock Forest. Once again, fate intervened by placing Berthelio (sp?) Redbeard and his bodyguard in our path. Redbeard's sister had been kidnapped and he was on the way to pay ransom. Of course Truesilver pledged us to their cause, mostly out of his code of honor; I agreed because I thought the kidnappers should receive the wages truly due to them: death. Young Redbeard was familiar with the exchange meeting place and a battle plan was formed. As Truesilver is so fond of saying, no plan survives first contact and we forced into pursuit. A pitched battle in the forest undergrowth yielded victory for us and shallow graves for our foes, against my urging. As it turns out, my instincts were wrong and the shallow graves served as proof of our deeds to the Purple Dragon Knights once we journeyed to Wheloon with our allies. Berthelio introduced us to his father who richly rewarded us with land on an island off of Dawngleam. On route to inspect our new prize, I stopped in Kirnwood to plant the seeds for a future endeavor. See notes on trade, customs and typical guard behavior. I think our prize holds the greatest value to me. Growing up in the deep forests, I've never had a chance to see so many ships except in books. Now, here on our island vantage point, I'll have the perfect opportunity to sketch all the ships coming and going from the harbor. I hope to satisfy my keen interest in all things naval. I'm sure my childish hobby will lead me to talk to the sailors on these vessels, to learn of the sea and their travels, the cargo they carry, what ports they've stopped in and plan to sail to... oh, my love for all things nautical knows no bounds! See notes for surveillance data organization. The island itself still needs some work, as our quarters are filthy and dangerous vegetation in the orchard almost claimed Sebastian. Perhaps Alice will be helpful in rooting out any other unnatural denizens on the island. |
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| Toast | Feb 13 2010, 02:35 PM Post #5 |
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Morkoth
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The wage of negligence is utter destruction. The Island of Ches holds more dangers than hostile plant life. After further exploration of the farm area above the manor we discovered an undead creature that was quite difficult to defeat. The true threat that lurked on the island was not revealed until that night when the presence of at least two malign spirits in the manor itself. In retrospect, this is not too surprising considering that we had found a concealed shrine to Cyric underneath the manor. Our encounter with the spirits left me scarred by the taint of unlife, unnaturally aged before my time. Our trip back to Dawngleam the next day for answers only raised more questions, as it was revealed that the boatman Sendril is also a spirit of some kind. Bradock and I were able to resist his supernatural powers and his spirit form was disrupted for a time, but I know it will only reform unless we manage to put it to rest. How to do so? The facts of the matter are surprisingly hard to come by. People of the town seem unaware and incurious of what happened on Ches Island. As it turns out, the head of the Barwells somehow survived the massacre and lives in town a broken man. Our attempts to gain any information from him have met with frustration so far. Or perhaps my own frustration is increasing as I reflect on my condition. Dawngleam is plagued by undead that come forth from the sea periodically. Perhaps this is related to the events at the manor. Everyone we've spoken to about it says that is what happened, but the only eyewitness is being less than cooperative. I suspect his deteriorated condition is the result of GUILT not grief, because he was somehow to blame. Apparently there is a sea elf that lives in the area and claims to represent Umberlee. I plan to make further contact with her and see if she can shed any light on the events in question. Even if all she yields are demented ramblings, that's more than we have to go on now. |
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| Toast | Mar 1 2010, 09:47 PM Post #6 |
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Morkoth
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A suspicious mind is a healthy mind. At long last, answers to the mystery here in Dawngleam. My theories thwarted at every step by conflicting and confusing developments, it seemed impossible to unravel the truth of things in Dawngleam. Only Alice'a keen elven eyes and Ike's insistence on digging up the graves finally set us on the path towards truth. Underneath the graveyard was a tunnel complex that extended throughout the town. In its depths we discovered the true villain, a doppelganger named Fabricus. We slew him and his foul brain-in-a-jar after a tough fight. He carried a terrible blasphemous artifact of Cyric, a prototype of the Cyrinishad. Its power was upon me before I realized what I was reading, but I was luckily able to resist its malign influence. It must be destroyed! I never thought that I could say such of any book, but I am sure that the knowledge there must never spread. I will speak to Father Danali of this. Hopefully we will be able to set the spirits of those slain by Fabricus to rest and fully settle in our new home. A full accounting of the harm he has done to Dawngleam must also take place, so healing can finally begin and trust can replace the fear and suspicion that have taken root here. |
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| Toast | Mar 6 2010, 07:09 PM Post #7 |
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Morkoth
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That which is unknown and unseen always commands the greatest fear. After our battle with the doppleganger Fabricus for the fate of Dawngleam, peace entered our lives for a few weeks. The respite allowed us to gather our breath and plan our next move as licensed adventurers in Cormyr. I was able to research some new spells which should be quite useful in the future. The thickest armor and even walls will offer no cover from Oghma's justice for my enemies. The druid of Kirnwood was most helpful to my research. I also journeyed to Marsember to obtain a wand of potent healing magic for the party. I was impressed by the City of Spices, though the smell from the myriad canals was as bad as I had been told. Scent aside, Marsember is an impressive port city and the imperial presence is especially strong here, with a naval force consisting of easily a dozen ships and Purple Dragons aplenty. Evidently during my absence the King himself made an appearance in Dawngleam and the rest of the party was allowed to meet and greet him. Perhaps it's best I wasn't there. We in the Dales are wary of those who smile wide and extend a grasping hand in "everyone's best interests." I was allowed to partake in the royal reward for our deeds, for which I was grateful. Once again fate seemed to have taken a hand and we received a mysterious message from a cleric of Mystra concerning a riddle in Wheloon. The cleric, a T.D., was concerned by the appearance of a new temple of Mystra there and thought it might be staffed by blasphemers and heretics. Somewhat skeptical of his claims, the party and I agreed to look into this matter. As it turns out his fantastic claims had merit, but I had no way of knowing then, but if I had I would have just burned the place to the ground. We went into the temple to investigate and our initial impression was that nothing seemed amiss. Still, the party except for Truesilver agreed to take part in a 3-day ritual to gain secret knowledge of Mystra. Truesilver declined due to his bond with his heirloom, which I can understand, but I wish he would realize that the mind that holds the blade is the true weapon. The ritual was boring but nothing compared to organizing trade compacts between the different Dales in the Leaves of Learning. The use of metaphor was heavy-handed and over-complicated things, I think. Ike never detected any signs of treachery or heresy and even Bradock's snooping about invisible yielded no evidence. Only at the end of the ritual did any treachery appear. The head priest wielded a magic globe that attempted to exert control over our minds, but we resisted and pressed to the attack, even as we were unarmed. Bradock disarmed an unwary guard and flung his sword to Alice, who began to mercilessly down our foes. The shadowy temple was filled with her elven war cry as she showed the skill with the long sword elves are so famous for. It... it was terrible to behold; my fingers tremble now even writing this and thinking of it. Truesilver arrived to reinforce us and the head priest was forced to flee into the depths of the temple. Taking the opportunity to arm and armor ourselves, we pursued and found ourselves in a truly deadly fight with more shadow guards, the head priest and eventually Lady Arthas herself, the architect of this false temple. The guards and the priest were slain almost out of hand, but the true battle was with Lady Arthas and the displacer snakes she had as allies. I had read of how to fight these beasts in an old adventurer's journal, so I relayed my knowledge to my allies. It truly was a team effort to fell our foe: Sebastian disarming her and suffering the brunt of her foul magics, Ike and I providing healing and tactical aid, Alice continuing to unleash her apparently limitless fury, Saubon lending his sword and Bradock his spear to a wall of pitiless steel. |
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| Toast | Mar 12 2010, 09:35 PM Post #8 |
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Morkoth
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Success is measured in blood; yours or your enemy´s. Blood still spilled from Lady Arthas' body as we collected ourselves and began to truly examine the chamber the battle had ranged through. It was even more chilling than I realized, as I had thought many of the trappings to be illusions like the great black disk that masked the entrance. Sadly, the pile of corpses and shadowgate were not mere glamers meant to impress but grisly evidence of the cult's depravity. The shadowgate gave Ike and myself pause, as it appeared to be a dimensional portal to the very Plane of Shadow, a dread place from all the tomes I've perused. We continued on to find a subterranean dock/dungeon area and fought against more shadowguards and an otyugh that thought us easy prey. The filthy beast put up quite a fight and I thought it almost had me, but luckily the swords of my friends were there also and I was saved. Exploration of this area yielded hidden treasures and a map that indicated the destination, if not the final fate, of previous converts to the "secret mysteries of Mystra." Resolving to follow this map to seek out the source of these heretics, we set out to the Vast Swamp. On the way we met two smugglers who had ran afoul of bandits who had chosen to inhabit the location they used for their smuggling cache. We dealt with the bandits easily enough, paying them the wage all bandits deserve: sword points and arrow shafts. We and the smugglers parted ways easily enough, Truesilver being unaware of their nature, so that discussion was avoided. I care not if the crown of Cormyr sees a few less gold on a bottle of wine. Besides, I can always use them for a "character reference" later on... See notes on "Matchless" Malone, cider merchant and gossip extraordinaire, a man with a loose tongue and a love of cheerfully losing his profits from the day in a dice game. |
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| Toast | Mar 28 2010, 01:24 PM Post #9 |
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Morkoth
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Inspiration grows from the tip of a sword. We continued our way into the Vast Swamp, seeking the nest of heretic Mystran priests. At the Skull Staff waypoint indicated on our map, we were waylaid by a band of lizardfolk. Things could have gotten out of hand quickly, but luckily Alice and I were able to reason with them and realize that we have common cause. We were taken back to their camp, and after a brief parley with their warband leader, the camp fell under attack by our mutual foe. A grell and twisted lizardfolk attacked and we managed to repel them. I took particular pleasure in slaying the grell myself. After the attack we---- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------With only a moment to catch our breath, more shadowscales emerged from within the keep and the battle was renewed. A false priestess and several worshipers of "Mystra" aided them. A fierce battle ensued, with spells flying all over and Sebastian nearly being lost to the priestess. Again Alice flew into her elvish fury and no foe could stand against her. Ike was stricken by a fell curse, however, and we were forced to retreat into the guardhouse to rest so that he could free himself. We rested for the night surprisingly unmolested and re-entered the complex in the morning. Our foes were ready and waiting: more shadar-kai, the priestess, more shadowscales and a shadowscale half-dragon all stood ready. An orb floated in the middle of the chamber we entered, casting shadows everywhere, aiding our foes by hindering our attacks. Bradock took the initiative, showing tremedously non-linear thinking by taking to the walls of the chamber and peppering our foes with his deadly arrows. The rest of us were confined to battling on more traditional horizontal surfaces and engaged our foes. Ike, Alice, Sebastian and I fell upon the shadow fey while Saubon moved to strike the shadowscales. We four slowly but surely wore down our foes and granted them the sweet release of Death, which must have seemed like the Seven Heavens considering how Alice and Sebatian's blades ripped into them again and again. I need to remind myself that beneath that foppish facade is a killer. "Beware gifts from Sembia," indeed. I used Oghma's blessings along with Ike's healing magics to keep our allies in the fight and I was amazed to see the spiritual manifestations of Mystra and Shar's weapons fly about the room. Ike was much more proficient than the priestess and forced her retreat through the orb. Saubon seemed to have difficulty against the shadowscales, but then proved his worth as he dispatched the half-dragon in two mighty blows. The shadar-kai sorcerer was the last to fall, cut down by own blade as I delivered Oghma's justice to him. |
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| Toast | Apr 19 2010, 10:53 PM Post #10 |
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Morkoth
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A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords at dawn. Through the orb we went, hot in pursuit of the priestess, but she managed to elude us. We returned to the Material Plane and finished exploring the ruined keep, fighting a deadly kumat to free the captive lizardfolk being held there. After returning the lizardfolk captives to their grateful fellows we resolved to see this matter through to the end, journeying to the Plane of Shadow. Ike even convinced a lizardfolk to join us, against my protest. I was immediately proven right as our new companion was slain outright by the first creature we encountered in the shadow version of the Lost Refuge. A terrible six-armed demon with a panther's head slew him in a most vicious way by impaling him on a hook. We finally slew the beast, but could only offer a few muttered prayers to our fallen comrade. Further exploration of the shadow keep revealed a dock with a boat crewed by skeletons. We took command of the Necrem from the fool set to guard it and set out through the shadowy mirror of the Vast Swamp. Our journey was uneventful except for an encounter with a zombie dragon turtle. We followed a trail of lanterns to the Monastery of the Ebon Dome. Inside the Monastery, we found a gloom golem, a deadly construct designed to sap our sense of self. It was a tough battle, but we all teamed up to allow Truesilver to land crushing blow after crushing blow upon it with his mighty Crimson Fate. After that, the mere human foes we faced throughout the rest of the structure were as nothing. True, they had hellhounds to back them up, but their reinforcements were not enough. From atop the Monastery we could see a great inky rift of darkness that the priestess had said we must not make it to. We headed off toward it, having learned something of the purpose of the presence here of cultists of Shar and Cyric, working together. Apparently they plan to turn the Vast Swamp into a dead-magic zone, which must be prevented at all costs. Evidently Despayr the black dragon also lairs in the rift. Alice yearns for the chance to bathe her blades in his reptilian ichor, while Ike and I have already had our chance to spill the blood of our sworn foes, but we won't rest until all of these heretics are slain. The rift itself was strange and bizarre, full of odd-shaped structures that were constructed of pure shadowstuff. Unholy angles that hurt the eyes and blasphemous geometries that made my soul ache were the norm and I cannot bear to describe them more even now. We encountered and fell more foes, a blackguard and a gorgon among them. Sebastian and Bradock proven key to slaying these foes, striking them again and again in vital areas, sapping their strength until the final blow fell. We even encountered Despayr, but he fell back before the fearsome blows landed by Alice. Fearless, she charged up after he had assaulted us with his corrupted breath weapon and opened a deep rent in his breast. The rest of us charged in, heartened by the seeming ease with which this beast could be harmed. Moments later he was airborne, flying back to his lair. We plan to track him back there and end him and his scheme once and for all. |
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| Toast | May 27 2010, 11:18 PM Post #11 |
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Morkoth
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Swords and warriors are useful but it is our indomitable will that promises the ultimate victory. At long last we tracked Dyspyr to his lair after fighting through the last of his minions. He sought to sacrifice his captives to bolster his strength against us but their deaths availed him not. Again and again we rained righteous blows down upon him: I, armed with Oghma's Singing Sword humming the dragon's death knell and a cloud of deadly daggers; Sebastian flitting about, stabbing with his rapier and main-gauche; Braddock skittering about the walls and ceiling, taking advantage of every opening with a cruel jab of his spear; Truesilver wading in with his Crimson Fate, combining his arcane skill and raw power into something truly dreadful to our foe; Ike, joining me with a barrage of spell-knives and healing; lastly, Alice once more unleashed her fury upon the dragon, generations of hatred channeled into a flurry of blows that laid the fell wyrm low. Sadly, not all of the captives survived, but we rescued those we could. Ike and I managed to close the tear in the Weave that was being created and we returned back to the Material Plane, our mission complete and the broken bodies of our foes on the Plane of Shadow standing as a monument to our might and determination. |
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| Toast | May 28 2010, 12:45 AM Post #12 |
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Morkoth
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A fortress circumvented ceases to be an obstacle. A fortress destroyed ceases to be a threat. Do not forget the difference. We returned to Wheloon from the Vast Swamp to a hero's welcome. The Crown rewarded us richly for our efforts and made our lease on Ches Isle permanent. From there, we went our separate ways. I left Cormyr and returned to the Dales, feeling no need to embroil myself in the approaching war. V nz rkpvgrq ol gur Oyhr Fuvryqf naq fcrag n ybg bs rssbeg vagb yrneavat nobhg gurz. Orvat ng gur Yrnirf bs Yrneavat unf nyybjrq zr nyfb gb yrnea ubj gb hfr gur ebor bs znal fvtvyf gung Sngure Qnanyv nyfb cbffrffrf. Yrneavat gb jrnir nyfb cebivqrf n cresrpg rkphfr sbe zr gb geniry gb Funqbjqnyr gb ncceragvpr haqre Ghyon gur Jrnire, jub V unir yrnearq sebz gur Unecref vf na ntrag sbe Nza. V xrcg na rlr ba uvz naq nyfb unq gur punapr gb crgvgvba Ryzvafgre jubfr erfvqrapr jnf pbairavragyl evtug arneol. V qvqa'g obgure uvz jvgu gur Fuvryqf, ohg unq dhrfgvbaf nobhg gur Funqbj Jrnir naq gur grne gung gur Funenaf jrer gelvat gb perngr. Nyfb va Funqbjqnyr vf gur Qehvq'f Tebir, n zrrgvat cynpr sbe tbbq/arhgeny qehvqf naq enatref jurer jnf noyr gb chepunfr/yrnea gur fcryyf V jnf vagrerfgrq va. V nyfb znxrq n cbvag gb fgbc ol Uneebjqnyr va zl geniryf gb ivfvg vgf grzcyr bs Btuzn. V nyfb gbbx frrqf naq tensgf sebz gur snzbhf bepuneqf gurer gb gnxr onpx gb gur jvqbj'f bepuneq va Xvevajbbq. Qnttreqnyr vf haqre fvrtr, bpphcvrq ol gur Muragnevz naq V jrag gurer gb uryc gur crbcyr. Boivbhfyl V'z abg n bar zna nezl naq pbhyqa'g yvsg gur bpphcngvba zlfrys, ohg V geniryrq gb gur bhgylvat unzyrgf, pnfgvat cynag tebjgu gb uryc gurve pebcf, cebivqvat urnyvat naq urycvat gurz sraq bss nal Murag envqref be onaqvgf. V nyfb nvqrq Enaqny Zbea va svtugvat gur Muragf nf orfg V pbhyq, cebivqvat urnyvat naq gnpgvpny fhccbeg. Fpnefqnyr vf nyfb bpphcvrq, ohg ol n pbnyvgvba sbepr. Urer V fbhtug gb znvagnva gur gragngvir onynapr, ohg jrnxravat gur Muragnevz nf orfg nf V pbhyq fb gung gurl unir gb pbzzvg zber erfbheprf. Creuncf guvf jnf n zvfgnxr. Gur Pbezle qryrtngvba yrsg gb erghea sbe gur jne; guvf vf jung nyfb pnhfrq zr gb erghea gb Pbezle, va nqqvgvba gb pbaprea sbe Gehrfvyire. I returned in time to aid Truesilver, and if not save his life, at least make things easier for him and his comrades. We returned at last to Ches Isle to reunite with our comrades and we decided to seek the Blue Shields. The shield of Thorik is the first we'll search for, in the Troll Run Mountains, after we stop in some ancient giant ruins for Truesilver on the way. |
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| Toast | Jun 21 2010, 07:55 PM Post #13 |
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Morkoth
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Never ask a question of the elves, for they will return with three answers, each true and terrifying. The ruins Truesilver sought lay deep in the mountains south of the Dragon Coast. Our travel there was uneventful except for an encounter with thri-kreen and the ankegs that served them. Once we arrived at the ruins, things became exciting rather quickly. We met up with another group of adventurers led by our old acquaintance Shamus the Wine Merchant. They had been hired by a rival of Truesilver to help him acquire more of the rare starmetal they both seem to need. We forged an uneasy alliance and explored the ruins together. It's lucky both parties were there, as an eldritch giant had a lair there. During the fight Horus teleported away with the starmetal we had found, but it turns out the giant was wearing armor made of the material as well. Truesilver was glad it wasn't a total loss, but swore a terrible oath of vengeance on Horus. Turning west, we trekked across the plains to the Troll Run Mountains and poked around a dwarven mining town. We weren't able to find out too much about Deep Shanatar, as they seemed to resent us even hinting at digging around in their ancestors' ruins. However, once we set out, a path became clear to us. We traveled up a long canyon which would have been quite challenging without our magic gear and flying carpet. Following the trail obviously left by Thorik, we found a hidden door and gained entrance to the forgotten dwarven ruins where he chose to hide his shield. A series of passageways and traps awaited us and Bradock had his hands full, but we managed to negotiate our way to our goal and claimed the Blue Shield of Thorik for ourselves. Or Mardoc, more correctly. On the return to Ches Isle, we took a detour to explore one of the sites on the pirate map we have. I'd managed to decode the symbols around the island on the map which was located in the southwestern part of the Dragonmere. Named the Fang, the island held a clue that was able to point us in the right direction. We sailed to the revealed spot and rowed into a hidden sea cave. Inside we fought a multitude of undead and faced traps left behind by the pirates who left their treasure here. To claim it, we faced off against the spirit of the famous pirate Black Dog himself. We originally left Sebastian to face him, but needed to aid him as the spirit pressed the attack. The substantial amount of treasure we found was an ample reward for the effort. In secret, I gave part of my share to the boatmen we had hired and who piloted our craft so well. The party didn't trust them, but I knew better. A strong wind at your backs and full holds, Brothers... |
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| Toast | Jul 3 2010, 11:25 AM Post #14 |
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Morkoth
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Only the dead have seen the end of war. Flush with treasure from the western Dragonmere, we set off to Procampur to search for the Blue Shield of Jalor. After examining the great lighthouse Diogenes, we were led to a rocky spit on the shore beneath it. There we found a message from Jalor, saying that he never retired and hid his Blue Shield. A disappointing result, to say the least. We did receive a map to the Pirate Isles that I'll be making a copy of and sending to Father Danali. Perhaps we can use the map to try to track down Jalor's final resting place. From Procampur we traveled up the coast to Raven's Bluff and tracked down the address Truesilver had decoded from the Blue Shield of Math Mannaman. The address led us to a small house occupied by a mysterious fellow called Faradayne. He allowed us access to the residence and we found a well-stocked alchemist's lab. Truesilver began to concoct the recipe on our scroll and spent many long hours toiling away until he was successful. I was impressed at his focus and skill. We all quaffed the prepared potion, including Faradayne, and were transported to the Astral Plane. Whatever method of Astral travel Math Mannaman has discovered, it works like nothing I've ever read about. We proceeded up a vast staircase with many doors and arrived on the Astral Plane. Fixing our goal in mind, we let our thoughts guide us to our destination. Math Mannaman had built a vast refuge on the Astral Plane and it was there we found him. Faradayne was revealed to be his gihzerai apprentice and Math led us to the test we would take to prove our worth to wield his shield. Math's test was formidable indeed: a gigantic multi-level maze filled with traps and summoned creatures, among which numbered a behir and a trio of slaad. It was the slaad who proved most deadly, slaying Sebastian to our horror. We channeled our grief into determination and soldiered on, and the Blue Shield of Math Mannaman was ours. Our victory was short-lived as an astral marauder arrived and immediately assaulted Math's fortress and we were forced to flee with his familiar, Koi. Koi fled with us to the Elemental Plane of Water and gifted us with a powerful magic item: a ring with a marid bound into to it to grant wishes. I immediately used one to bring Sebastian back to life and used my magic to return us to the Material Plane, albeit a bit off target. Such is the nature of planar travel, but my companions and I had a long hike back to civilization. |
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| Toast | Dec 7 2010, 12:05 AM Post #15 |
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Morkoth
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My armor is contempt, my shield is disgust, my sword is hatred: in Oghma's name, let no foe survive. Having successfully traded the Wave Crown to Vulgrom the Mighty for the third Blue Shield, our business in the Pirate Isles was concluded. It also ended most profitably for Truesilver, who obtained more of the precious starmetal to continue his transformation. As we made our way through the maze of reefs a foolish party of sahuagin sought to raid our vessel. Much to their surprise, we were not easy prey and claimed several of their number before they swam off in defeat. I was swept overboard for a few moments, but Oghma has well prepared me to slay my foes no matter if they lurk above or below the waves. Indeed, the new heights of power that he allows me access to proved most useful as I use my new-found mastery of the weather to ease our escape. Upon our return to Che Isle we found an ambush prepared by servants of Shar: shadows and a foul construct. It was a tough battle, but my ability to channel positive energy and direct my allies to strike our enemies at their weakest points helped carry the day. Little do my foes know that they reveal all their weaknesses to me as they attack, allowing me to add them to the pages of my Libris Exterminatus and end their stories in pain and blood and terror. Their only chance for salvation is to never stand in the way of Oghma's divine will, but by the time they seek us out in combat they have already written the sad end to their own tale. It only falls to our party to draw a curtain on their existence. |
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7:44 AM Jul 11