The Calling

Thump, thump, thump the ball went down the stairs as the two brothers stood and watched. The younger of the two, Rathnel started to head down the stairs after it only to find himself pulled back by his older brother. The words of protest where on his lips but they fell short. Both sons’ knew the rule; never go down into the cellar alone. It was the one rule that their father had given them. Most of their rules came from their mother yet this was the only rule ever given to them by their father.

“Let me go! I have to get my ball back. If ma sees it down there I am gonna get in trouble again.”

“No! We are not allowed down there without one of them. You know that Rath.” The serious young man told his little brother. “Just tell ma it was an accident, she will get it for you later.”

“I can’t do that! The same thing happened yesterday, I know she is gonna tan my hide for this. She yelled at me the whole time about trying to find a reason to sneak around down there. Will you please get it for me? Ma won’t be back from the market for a while. I can see it from right here, if I can’t get it, you do it.” The youngster said while pointing down into the dark cellar.

“No!” Zender shouted at his brother. “Now go back outside before I tan your hide. If I don’t finish these lessons I will join you on the chopping block. Just leave me alone.”

“Please Zender!” he cried, as the tears had started to run down his face. Zender shook his head at his brother as he sat back down at the kitchen table to finish his lessons. When Zender picked his writing quill up, Rath started to wail. While the math lesson was easy to him, he could not concentrate on the numbers with his brother standing five feet away, crying at the top of his lungs. After a while the young man could only sigh to himself.

“Fine, I will get it for you. You better keep your mouth shut though, if ma finds out I was down there I will know it was you.” As soon as he agreed to retrieve the ball, the tears and screaming stopped. Zender wondered if Rath had just put on a show for him. Rathnel knew how much his brother hated hearing him cry. As he put the quill down again he went to the kitchen window to look out, seeing if he could see his mother returning from the market. “You go stand outside, if you see ma, you better holler out to me. I mean it Rath, if I get caught down there.” Zender shook his fist at his younger brother. While the two loved each other, Rath did all he could to avoid his older brothers temper. This meant he did everything his brother told him to do when he was told to do it. Zender watched as he brother ran out of the house and to the road that lead to the old farm house. When he was in the middle of the dusty road, Zender waved at him and turned towards the cellar steps.

This was only the second time the young man tempted fate by coming down these stairs. Much like his younger brother, he wanted to know what was down there. From the top of the stairs you could see the dried good his mother stored down below in the cool darkness. Bags of grain and flower were stacked up next to several water barrels. Zender counted the steps as he went down, thirteen was as far as he had ever gone. When he got to thirteen he could see most of the dark room. Strange objects lined the walls and a large cloth covered table stood in the center of the room. The first time he dared to brave the steps, he saw that table and something made him turn and run back up. Something about the sight of it made him uneasy.

This time, he could not stop at thirteen. Twenty steps down he went to the cellar floor, looking around the room he saw that his father had moved the table against the far wall. As he reached down to pick up his brothers ball he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Just a subtle flash like the sun shining on the water as it rippled. Standing up straight, ball in hand he looked to see what might have caused it. Stepping into the darkness, away from the light coming from above Zender could see the various weapons lining the wall. His father had amassed a large collection of weapons over the years, most of them he took from the people he hunted. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see more and more shapes standing out to him. He could now see the shelf along the wall. As he got closer he could see all the other items laid out, daggers of different sizes and shapes. In the center of the shelf was a small chest, there was a lock hanging from the hasp in front but it was unlocked. It was then that he saw it happen again.

Zender froze as a single pulse of light escaped from the edges of the chest, even with the lid closed light managed to escape and reflect off the weapons on the wall behind it. His first thought was to run as fast as he could, yet his feet would not move. His mind was screaming for him to run as he took another step forward towards the chest. As a third pulse of light came from the chest, Zender abandoned all hope of avoiding punishment and went to the chest. Sliding the lock off the hasp, he set it on the shelf next to a pair of metal stars. As he opened the lid, he saw what looked to be a few lose gems and a ring or two. In the center of it all was a round silver medallion; on it was the image of a dragon with its wings wrapped around what looked to be the sun. As he reached for it, it let out one last small pulse of light. That light filled his day and made him forget about any trouble he might be in. It filled him with warmth and as he slipped it into his pocket, he knew it was there for him. He only had to come down and find it.

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Days went by and Zender kept the find in the cellar to himself. He knew what the symbols on the medallion were; he had seen them at the new temple in town. He just wanted to understand why? His father was away, working for a local merchant guarding his goods during transport. His mother wasn’t going to be much of a help as she did not care to discuss things of a spiritual nature with her children. Zender knew that while she was a good woman, deep inside she was bitter over the loss of her brother. He had died at a young age and then her father passed a few short months after that. Also, Zender knew better than to tell his mother that he had been in the cellar, let alone that he took something from there. He knew that there was only one place he was going to get answers to the questions he had: the temple of Solarth in Eystlundtowne.

One month after finding the medallion Zender and his family loaded up in the wagon to head into town. Zender rode in the back of the wagon, his legs hanging off the back, while his mother and brother sat together up front. He kept his hand on the medallion in the pocket of his trousers all the way to town. He held it so tight, he imagined the image of the dragon being imprinted on his palm. Not that he dared pull it out to look, he had to hold onto it until they reached town so he could go to the temple. His worst fear at that moment was his mother seeing him with it, taking it away. As the wagon came to a stop, he looked around at where they were. The two large K’s on the sign told him just where they were, Keller Kromwell’s shop. He was the merchant that Windfall was working for; part of his pay was food and seed to be given to his family for free. Zender knew he had to get away from his mother and brother. So he thought of the one thing she wouldn’t object to.

“Hey Ma! I am gonna run over to the Green’s store. Keller doesn’t carry books.” Before she could anything he was off at a run. Just before he rounded the corner of the next street he thought he heard her shout something about his father. Not that he cared about that. He had been waiting for this day ever since he came back up those twenty cellar steps. Nothing could stop him now; he swore his feet were no longer touching the ground as he sprinted through the streets. The temple was only a few more streets away; there he would find the answers he longed for. When the temple was in sight, he picked up the pace. Running through the crowded streets most people did not notice the odd looking boy, running with one hand in his pocket. Not until he ran headlong into another child with a stack of books as tall as his arms were long.

“Fool! Watch where you are going!” The man in red robes shouted at Zender. “You could have damaged my apprentice. Even worse, you could have damaged my books.” Zender kept his head down, not wanting to look into the face of the screaming man. He just scrambled to help the other child pick up the books. Zender looked at the other child as he handed him a stack of books. He was dressed in dark gray robes with a hood over his head. Darker still were the eyes that looked back at Zender. Zender felt bad and wanted to tell the boy he was sorry yet something kept him from speaking. Perhaps it was the single tear on the other child’s face but Zender couldn’t find the words. As he handed the boy the last of the books, the child in the gray robes looked down his nose and sneered as he turned away to follow after his master. After that Zender walked the rest of the way to the temple.

The temple of Solarth had only been open for a few years. While there had always been a temple of Solarth in that spot, it did not survive the fall of the order over a hundred years before. The few priest in the temple worked night and day to get the temple into living shape. Zender looked at the walls and could still see the scorch marks on the walls from when followers of Asmodeus burned it to the ground. Along with several priest that were still inside of the temple at the time. When the order first returned to claim the temple, many man hours were spent trying to restore the old building. While for the most part, it was finished yet it still needed a lot of work. The church only lacked the funds to have the work completed. As Zender entered the temple grounds he didn’t see anyone around. There were no priests working on the modest garden or white washing the walls. He just walked straight up the main path to the temple doors and let himself in.

Standing in the vestibule he looked side to side, there was still not a soul in sight. Shaking his head he moved into the main temple, he looked up at the door frame. He could see the doors that should be there in his mind but they were years from being placed. Walking down the center aisle Zender could see where the pews had once been. There were only a handful of them in the temple now. It would seem that the only thing in side of the temple that had been fully restored was the altar. Zender had his eyes locked on the altar; so much so that he never saw the robed figure that had entered the temple behind him. Zender pulled out the medallion when he reached the foot of the altar, holding it reverently in both hands as he went down to his knees. For the first time in his life, Zender opened up his heart and started to pray. With his eyes shut tight, he spoke to the good god Solarth, seeking answers to his questions.


Bishop Frost had been one of the first humans to join the Order of Solarth when it had first started to attract followers again, he was a massive man who had spent most of his life working as a mason. The leadership of the order knew this; they also knew the amount of work that would be needed to repair the temple in Eystlund. So they chose someone that at least had an idea about how to care for the building before they filled it with the faithful followers they were expecting to flock to them. While Frost believed that the temple foundation was sound, he still did not like the idea of people living in the temple yet. He was good with stone work but the walls of the temple were old, far older than he had ever seen. He had sent a dispatch to a local stone workers guild to have the walls inspected, when they could not set his mind at ease, he reached farther out to a dwarven mason he knew in Arcadia. He had been expecting him on this very day when he saw the strange young man enter the temple. While he had been witness to people coming into the temple to pray, never had he seen someone so young. What he witnessed next he never told another soul, it was something he took to his grave.


The Bishop was never a patient man before he took to the robe. He knew this deep inside and it was something he tried to work on but after close to an hour of watching the young man pray, he started to walk up the aisle. No more than three steps later he felt something pull on the back of his robe. Irritated the Bishop turned around to see who it was, yet there was no one there. It wasn’t until he turned back around did he understand why he was stalled. It was on this day, at this time that his god chose to speak to him. Gone was the boy he had seen enter the temple, in his place was a man. Armor covered this man, a robe of white covered the armor. A shield was strapped to his back and a war hammer hung from his hip. Frost could see the blood stains on the robes, some looked to be fresh, others to be very old. As the image of the man before him started to glow with a faint white light, Bishop Frost went down to one knee. His mind went back to the newly printed book he had been given only a few years before.

While Frost had never been too fond of reading, he knew the value of the book he had been given. From the time it hit his hands, he studied the volume cover to cover several times. It told of the core beliefs of their order, the story of creation and the history of the order. The teachings of their god and wisdom from the orders founding members, thousands of years before. When he came to Eystlund he had been given several copies to share with others like him. Who wanted to learn of the good god and all that he stands for. The passage that came to his mind as he saw the image before him was one he had enjoyed reading. It told of priest who had been given the right to take up arms in the name of the good god. Clerics who walked the land, fighting evil in any form it may take. Frost always wondered if he had been younger if he would have been given that privilege. Now he smiled to himself knowing that he had been chosen to guide those who had found their way to him. As the image of the armored man faded away, only the boy was left behind. As Frost got back to his feet, the boy did as well.

“Oh! I am sorry, I didn’t know anyone was here.” Zender said to him.

“That is quite alright young man. I am Bishop Frost, how may I help you?” He said as he started to walk forward.

“My name is Zender. I found this, well it kinda found me I guess.” He said as he held out the old medallion. The Bishop looked down at the medallion, then looked down at his own that was resting on his chest. His was only the blazing sun, it covered most of his holy symbol. The one the boy was holding out to him was quite different, it also looked to be much older. Frost knew of the significance of the silver dragon but the heads of the order did not want to promote that image. Yet it was still there in the text, things they dared not to change, only ignored.

“Where did you find this master Zender?” He asked.

“Well…” the child paused to look around, making sure they were alone. “I found it down in my root cellar. My father keeps a lot of stuff down there. Dangerous stuff that we are not supposed to go near. He just doesn’t want us to get hurt or anything.”

“How old are you boy?”

“I will be fourteen on the first day of Quintalas.”

“Tell me Zender, what do you think of the temple?”

“It will get better. I think… I think I am supposed to help you or something. I was up there a long time and I started to feel something. It felt like I belong here. Does that make any sense to you?”

“Yes Zender, it does. Come with me young man.” The Bishop turned on his heel and walked out of the main temple turning right once he was past where the doors should be. Zender had to run just to catch up with the Bishop. Zender followed him down a long hallway that seemed to slope down the farther it went. It emptied out into a large room. “This will be the temples dining room and kitchen when it is finished. There are only five of us here right now so there isn’t a need for it right away. The food we grow outside goes to the local families that cannot pay for what they need. It isn’t much but it is a start.” The Bishop then continued to walk through the large room and down a second hallway. Zender then saw what looked to be the only room inside the temple with a door on it. The Bishop opened the door and waved him in.

“This is my humble quarters. It is totally underground but it is away from the main walls of the temple. I can sleep here on the nights I work too late and not worry about the temple crashing down on top of me.” Zender watched the older man move around the room. First pulling a single book down from the only bookcase in the room. Next he opened a small chest, much like the one Zender found his medallion in. From it he pulled out a length of leather cord. “Hold the book and hand me the medallion you found.” Zender hesitated at first but did not feel any ill will from the man so he handed it over. Zender watched as he attached the leather cord to the medallion. “I do not know why it came to you today. I have always known that there was something missing from my life. I didn’t know what it was until a few years ago. Yet I see you, so young and bright, so I ask myself what could be missing from his life? Is that what made you come here, you found this trinket and knew you had to come?”

“Yes. I didn’t know where else to go with it. I didn’t know what it meant until I was at the altar. I couldn’t talk to my parents about it, they wouldn’t understand.”

“Some of the more romantic members of my order call what happened to you the Calling. When the good god first reached out and touched your soul, letting you know that you had a higher purpose in life. While I won’t argue against it, I am a simple man and I don’t think it is as complicated as all of that. Ahhh, there we go.” The Bishop held up the medallion by the leather cord for him to see. As he handed it back to Zender he said “Hang that around your neck, let it rest against your heart under your shirt. Keep it with you always. The book is the prayer book of Solarth. Some of it will be beyond your understanding but study it still. The god has something in mind for you young man. I am not sure what it is but there is no doubting it. Now, would you like me to come with you to speak with your parents? They might need some help in understanding this.”

Zender looked long and hard at Bishop Frost and nodded his head yes. As they were leaving the temple together the young man asked him a question. “Do you know how to defend yourself?” While the Bishop thought it was a funny question, when his laughter died down, he did start to worry. Later that night when he returned to his bed, just before sun up he was rather pleased with himself. It had gone better than he expected.

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The booming knock at his door told Zender who it was on the other side. So hard was the knocking Zender thought the door was going to come off the hinges. “Just a moment, Windfall.” He called out as he set down his book. Zender took a moment to straighten his robes. He looked around his modest cell wishing he had time to get away or at least a window he could crawl out of. The visits Windfall made were never pleasant, he still did not understand why Zender had been living in the temple for the last two years. Zender did not understand why his father could not see that he was a man now. He didn’t know anyone that was eighteen years old and still living at home. As he opened the door to his cell he saw that his father was dressed in his night-blue armor and armed to the teeth. He also had a large bag slung over his shoulder. “You know the Bishop doesn’t like it when you come in here like that.”

“Son, Solarth won’t mind. Trust me on this. I don’t think that new Bishop of yours likes anything, I miss Frost.” Windfall swept into the room, setting the large bag on Zender’s bed. He could hear the sound of metal clashing around inside of it. Not that he was paying attention to it, he had not thought of his mentor in months. He tried not to think of him, it was the only way to keep his pain at bay. As Zender closed the door, he waited for the usual speech. “I have to leave.” This was new, he had never come to tell him this before. Zender was almost shocked. “I am taking your brother with me, it is time for him to learn. I want you to check in on your mother now and then. Something doesn’t feel right and I don’t like her being all alone out in that farm house.”

“What do you mean?” he asked his father. While he expected something like this, he knew something was wrong.

“Just promise me you will go visit her every couple of weeks? I might have to move her into the city.”

“Windfall, just tell me what it is!”

“I saw a man in full plate armor north of the city. It was black armor, something about him bothered me but I can’t put my finger on it. I have a lead on the one who did all those murders on Noroku so I really can’t follow up on it right now.”

“Father, this is the capital of Eystlund, you can’t throw a stick without hitting some fool in plate armor like we are about to go to war. Odds are he is here for the games next month. What is the in the bag father?”

“It is time for you to live up to your end of the deal. You made me a promise, you know what I am talking about. I let Solarth have you, now it is your turn.”

“Fine, tell me why first. I know about what grandfather did to you, I know why you have to hunt. Why put that on me though, I need to understand?”

“Zender, it isn’t about hunting. It is about doing something more with your life than sitting in this dark room, reading that book. I know you are meant for something more, I can feel it in my bones. So just try it, put on the armor. Take a walk about town, tell the sheriff you are my son and want to help. You are stronger than you look and I know I didn’t waste my time teaching you how to fight. Get out of the temple, do something worthwhile.”

“Father!” Zender could see the passion on his father’s face. He believed everything he was saying. “They need me here. There is still a lot of work to do on the temple. I should be here where I can do the most good.”

“Fine! Just make sure you check in on your mother. I hope one day you see what I am talking about Zender. The world is leaving you behind while you hide in these walls.” Zender tried to speak but the words failed him. He could only watch as his father opened the cell door and left the room. Part of him knew his father was right but he had to follow the direction of his leaders. Looking down at the bed he started to reach for the burlap bag just as the bells were ringing. It was time to start afternoon prayers. He had to make it there today, Bishop Drent liked to punish people who missed prayer sessions.

Zender did not like Bishop Drent, there was something about the man that set him on edge. While he had no proof, he thought the Bishop was dealing with some shady folks from outside of the city. He was always meeting people outside the temple grounds at all hours of the night. Zender didn’t like it at all. Yet the Bishop kept them busy enough that he did not have time to question anyone about it.

Two weeks after the visit by his father, Zender could not sleep. It was strangely warm that night and nothing he did helped. As he left his room he thought to spend the night in the stables. It was the one guilty pleasure the young cleric still treasured from his childhood. Only he never got that far. The sound of a woman crying drew his attention to the temple area. As he pulled the new doors open, that he had helped carve, he could see her in the first pew. Her entire body was shaking as she sobbed. He quickly moved down the aisle and kneeled down beside her. “My lady, what is wrong, how can I help you?” The woman looked over at him, her face streaked with tears.

“My children…” and the tears started anew. Zender pushed his body into the pew next to her, putting an arm around her seeking to give her comfort. While it took most of the night to get the words from her, he at last understood. Two days before the woman’s two children had gone missing. She went to the sheriff for help, he told her that they had children come up missing every day for a week, he couldn’t help her. She then came to the temple, seeking the guidance of Solarth in the form of Bishop Drent. He told her in no short order that her children were gone and she needed to move on. As the woman spoke and sobbed, Zender felt something break inside. He did not know if it was his heart or his mind but looking at the altar as she spoke, he knew what he had to do. He told the woman she was welcome to stay in the temple as long as she needed; giving her his minor blessing before he turned to go. He returned to his room and reached under his bed pulling out the large burlap bag his father had left behind.

A Curse; Return From the Dead; Dragon Hunt

Recap of recorded session# 5

The following recap comes courtesy of Lord Darmot Kromwell


This session begins as the last one ended. Ademar, letting his curiosity get the best of him decides to explore a cave on his own. Ignoring the dead ogres, that his party had nothing to do with, he drives deeper into the cave. Only to find himself face to face with a Remorhaz. It rears his head up and before the poor elf has a chance to react the creature bites at Ademar. Biting deep in to his chest, the Remorhaz lifts its head up high. While Ademar puts up a valiant struggle, he could do nothing to stop the beast from swallowing him whole. With one large gulp, the Remorhaz took the elf down where he died in the belly of the beast.


Back in the frost giant’s lair, the rest of the group is looking over their spoils and looking to take a rest. Gareth, stripping down his armor laid out a bedroll. Raell, determined to make Black Rhett sick, was cutting the head off the frost giant who was stealing the ale shipments. Cor’Nal, looking around the room, asked where Ademar was. When Gareth asked why he only said, I thought I heard something. While this behavior was normal for Ademar, Cor’Nal did not relax and wished to go find the missing elf. While Gareth protested having to put his armor back on, the group went to check for the missing elf. With Gareth leading the way, the group went to looking for Ademar.


The group headed down the only opening they had not explored. When the group came to the new cave, outside of dead ogres, the group saw nothing but a ridge where the floor sloped down out of sight. Leuthar, hears something ‘big’ that madkes him uncomfortable and the group decides to fall back so the casters can rest. Returning to the room with the decapitated frost giant, the group takes a rest. The night passes without incident and the group gets up to find out the fate of Ademar. Cor’Nal returns to the rope bridge and uses his stone shape power to create a bridge over the chasm so he may once again summon his wolf companion who could not cross the rope bridge. Once that was completed, the group returned to the cave where they believed Ademar was last know to be.


After Cor’Nal casts various spells on the party members, the group followed Gareth into the room. Using a club they found in the frost giant room, Gareth threw it over the ridge to see if they could draw out anything that might be on the other side. When the club landed, it landed on the beast below, making the Remorhaz rear up and show itself. Not wanting to waste any time Gareth charges at the beast while Cor’Nal and Leuthar launch magical attacks. The Remorhaz slithers forward and bites at the charging Gareth. While the fighter is hurt, he manages to avoid being trapped in the creature’s maw. Lashing out at the creature Gareth notices that his blade got hot when it came in contact with the creature. After taking a magical blast from Cor’Nal, the creature once again turned to Gareth. Biting deep into his chest, Gareth is now trapped in the jaws of the Remorhaz. Leuthar, using a scorching ray damaged the creature but it was still trying to eat Gareth. It was then that Raell killed the creature with an arrow to its face. Gareth was then released from the creature’s jaws as it collapsed back down into the ravine from which it came.

Wanting to find some sign of their missing Ademar, Cor’Nal approached the dead creature’s body but found it was putting out a tremendous amount of heat. So much so that Cor’Nal and Raell were burned. After a bit of healing was given to Gareth and Raell, Cor’Nal went in search of the stolen shipment of ale. Finding one full cask, Cor’Nal rolled it back into the room with the dead, hot, Remorhaz. Smashing the cask into the creature cooled it off enough so Raell could cut the beast open. With the belly of the beast wide open, the first thing to fall out was half of a large skeleton. Assuming it was an ogre, the ranger and druid continued with their grim task. Next they were able to find a smaller whole skeleton of what seemed to be an elf. As Est'Perolyne was also in the belly of the beast, the companions knew they had found their friend Ademar.


There was a large pile of gems with the body, Cor’Nal took the body of his friend and the pile of gems and stuffed them in a large sack with Est'Perolyne. Cor’Nal explained that he had a way to bring the elf back to life. While Cor’Nal collected all that remained of Ademar’s remains, Raell started to cut out a large patch of the creature’s skin. Hoping that when Ademar did return, Raell would have armor made of the creature’s skin for him. With that task completed, the group collected their loot and started to leave the cave. All the while, Leuthar remained silent in his discomfort. Believing that he had taken ill while sleeping, Leuthar asked if they could rest before leaving the caves. With the exit in sight, the group decided to rest in the rust monster cave yet again. The night passes without incident yet Leuthar is even worse when he awakes in the morning. Cor’Nal attempts to cure the Halfling's illness but it has no affect.


Unsure of what is causing the illness, Leuthar took a broach off that he had found a few days prior and tossed it at the druid. Assuming this is what caused his problem, he told the druid to take the beetle shaped item. Cor’Nal thinking nothing of it just dropped it in a bag with other items the group had found along the way. As the group started to leave the cave, Cor’Nal announced that he was leaving on his own and that his companion Besali would follow the orders of Leuthar until he returned. Cor’Nal then changed shape into a Dire Hawk and flew away to a mine near Snoam-Schlabach. Raell turning to Gareth told him that he was now a free man. He invited him to return to Henutsen with the group or he was free to go as he pleased. Gareth, deciding to press his luck said he would stay with the group.


Gareth, Leuthar and Raell with Besali in tow set out for Henutsen. Driving the wagon the group had brought with them. When the group first sets out, they have a solid canopy of trees over head, as they get closer to the main trail the cover lessens and they notice a strange shape circling over head. As they stop to look, it is plain to see it is the white dragon high over head. Leuthar looks to Raell and suggest they find a forest trail to follow back to Henutsen. After some discussion, they decide to leave the empty wagon behind and just ride the horses. The group sticks to the edge of the forest as best they can to avoid catching the eye of the dragon. In the process, the trails they take make the trip back twice as long as it needed to be. In the end it all turned out to be for naught. As the group comes to a clearing they see the white dragon soaring over the trees towards them. Madly kicking their mounts, the group dashes for the nearest tree line hoping to avoid the giant beast and its frosty breath before it is too late.

As the group crashes into the tree line, the dragon is coming in for a landing. Massive gusts of wind slam into the trees as the dragon’s wings beat the air. Now deep into the trees, the group cannot see their mounts or the dragon. Yet they know it is out there, somewhere.


Elsewhere Cor’Nal flies to The Olde Snoam Mine. Still in the form of a bird the druid hops into the mine. Cor’Nal then finds a small room where he can work. After changing back into his elven form, Cor’Nal lays out the remains of Ademar, saying a prayer over them to Kutenai. After this was completed, he uses a rod of resurrection on the remains of the elf. A great light fills the room and fills the druid with a profound amount of joy and peace. As the light clears the room, the body of Ademar fully formed again and alive. Ademar, naked as the day he was born looks around in confusion. Unsure of where he is. When he sees his druid friend, he questions where they are. As soon as the druid sees his friend he casts a spell on him to help him resist the bitter cold of the mine. After which he gave the elf a spare set of clothes. After being told where he was and how he was brought back to life, Ademar had one question.


“Where is all my gold?”


Cor’Nal returned the few items that survived being eaten. It was then that Cor’Nal asked his friend for one thing. That Ademar was not to venture off on his own anymore and that they needed to work as a team from then on. Still having the bitter taste of death in his mouth, the thief was quick to agree. Then the druid extended his hand to the thief, expressing his joy at seeing Ademar returned to life. What started as a simple hand shake, ended in a gentle embrace between two kindred spirits. Once the two parted, Cor’Nal put a question to Ademar. Asking him if he wanted to continue on with the druid or if he wanted to go off on his own. “I can take you anywhere you want to go!” the druid told him. While Ademar pondered the question, he got himself dressed. In the end, Ademar could not give up on the druid and agreed to continue on with the group. As the pair started to leave the cave, Ademar picked up the expended rod of resurrection and tucked it into his pants.


Farther away, the trio of Gareth, Leuthar and Raell huddle in the tree line, still looking out for the white dragon. While Raell is trying to get the group to move on, Gareth refuses to leave without his items. Pointing out that all he took with him into the tree line was his weapon. Everything else he owned was in his bag on the back of a horse. Raell feeling bad agrees to try to find his mount. Moving slowly, the pair looks and listens for the dragon. They cannot see or hear anything yet, as they look around the clearing they can only see one horse of the three they were riding. Gareth went back into the tree line then to retrieve Leuthar who had buried himself in a pile of snow with Besali. Gareth kicked at the snow pile hoping to draw the halfling out, yet he refused to move or even speak. Raell, growing tired of being out in the open starts yelling at the halfling, telling him that if he doesn’t get moving, he will climb in the snow pile and pull him out. While he is reluctant, he agrees to go with them. Sticking to the edge of the tree line, the group makes its way towards the lone horse they can still see.


As luck would have it, the horse they could see was the one that carried Gareth’s gear. Raell let out a whistle and the animal came over to the group. Gareth mounts up on the horse while Raell runs alongside of them. Leuthar however decides that he will just ride on Cor’Nal’s companion Besali. While the wolf doesn’t seem to care for the halfling, he allows him to ride on his back. While the group continues to head back to town, they keep a sharp eye out for the dragon. Thankful that they do not see it, the group finds its way back to the town of Henutsen. Just outside of the city gates Raell turns to Gareth and warns him about the town. Stating that the town is filled with the worst of humanity and that he should be careful as to what he talks about. After a quick stop at the Tread Light Inn, Raell and Gareth head to the other side of town to see Black Rhett at the Longest Mile. Just before leaving the halfling behind, Gareth asked Leuthar if he was feeling well. The halfling had grown pale and was looking worse than at any time before.

As Gareth and Raell left the halfling behind, Raell suggested that he see a cleric.


Elsewhere, Cor’Nal and Ademar exit the mine where the thief was brought back to life. Looking at the vast amounts of snow, Ademar continued to lament the loss of his magical boots. He then questioned how the druid was going to get him back to Henutsen. Using a length of hemp rope, the druid tied a loop and put it around Ademar. It was then that he transformed into a dire bat and flew away clutching the rope, taking Ademar with him. Flying back the same way he came, Cor’Nal saw a pair of horses in a clearing near the road to Henutsen. It was then that they saw the wagon that had been left behind. While he saw no signs of his companions, he thought it best to land, gather the horses and salvage what they could from the wagon. With a giant sack of goods, Ademar mounts one of the horses while Cor’Nal flies over head. While the pair were making good time, still ten miles away from Henutsen they are ambushed by a trio of Gricks. The creatures lash out with tentacles at Ademar, drawing fresh blood. In a panic, Ademar lets go of the one horse he was leading and tried to flee. Cor’Nal in a rage blasted the trio of beast with a flame strike, killing them all. As the flames from his spell fade, there is nothing left of the creatures but ash and bone. So great was the gout of flame, it also killed the horse Ademar left behind when attacked. With Ademar unwilling to slow his pace anymore after the attack, the pair was able to make it back to Henutsen without any more problems. After getting back to the Tread Light Inn, Cor’Nal and Ademar return to their rooms to rest for the night. Not knowing that Leuthar was just down the hall from them, putting study time into a book of necromancy.


On the other side of town, Raell and Gareth walk into The Longest Mile. Seeing Flanders behind the bar, Raell asked if Black Rhett was in. When he said he was, Raell then told Flanders that Gareth would need a room for the night. The ranger offered to pay for his room and anything else he wanted. Anything he wanted at all. Gareth thanked the ranger and went about seeing what The Longest Mile had to offer. After a bit of posturing by Flanders, Raell was escorted in to see Black Rhett. On this evening, Rhett was not alone. He was in the company of two of his employees, Marcus Two Blades and Keelhaul Thom. Pulling a bloody sack from his shoulder, Raell held it up for Black Rhett to see. Raell watched with a grim bit of pleasure as his eyes got larger in his fat head. “Please do not do what you did before.” He asked the ranger.


Raell smiled as he set the bloody sack on the floor and explained to him who had stolen all of the missing ale shipments. When Raell told him of the giant, he seemed to question him. Raell, happy to show Black Rhett the proof, opened the bag on the floor and pulled out the frost giant head. Rhett looked at Thom and asked him to look at the contents of the bag. Thom sticks his hand deep into the bag of ears and eyeballs and starts looking over the contents. Rhett seemed satisfied with that and discussed payment, trying to low-ball the ranger. Raell reminded him what the agreed upon payment was and waited. While the coin was counted out by Marcus, Rhett offered Raell the use of the ‘finest whore’ in the house on him. Raell wanting to continue on the MacBrady line agreed.


Back at the Tread Light, Leuthar hears a knock at his door while trying to study his book of necromancy. Digger Menthic yells at him through the door, asking to see him. Leuthar invites him in when Digger tells him they have another job offer for him and when he is ready to head down stairs. Leuthar thinks about it for a moment, prepares his spells for the day and heads down to the meeting with Kayzen. Once face to face with Kayzen, the halfling is warned that a wand was found near the body of Deacon Jones, which was the last job Leuthar did for the Black Glove XIII. They told him that the Baron’s men had the wand and were looking into the murder. Leuthar assured Kayzen that he wouldn’t have been so sloppy as to leave behind anything like that. Kayzen then offered Leuthar another job, the murder of Will Wilson, also known as Cam Crowley. Kayzen told Leuthar of all the murders this man had committed and said they could not abide by his type any longer. After he was told some basic facts, Leuthar only wanted to know how much the job paid. Kayzen then told him how much and that if he did the job well, there may be a spot in the Black Glove XIII for him.


After Cor’Nal deposits Ademar in his room, he leaves the inn behind and goes off in search of a still body of water in the forest. Once he finds that he takes out a coin he took from the dragon horde and cast a scrying spell to spy on the dragon. After more than an hour, he fails in his attempt to scry the dragon. Cursing at his failure, Cor’Nal returns to the Tread Light Inn to rest for the remainder of the night.


After dark, Leuthar not wanting to waste any time on his new assignment heads to the other side of town. First he secures himself a room at the Longest Mile. From there he goes to look for the house of Will Wilson. After looking around the house he decides that the best way to enter the house is through the upper floor window. Using a potion of levitation he scales his way up the side of the house. Looking in the first window he comes to, he sees an older man, about to turn in for the night. After inspecting the rest of the house he comes back to the bedroom window and forces the lock open. Knowing he could open the window, Leuthar changes his shape to that of a troglodyte. With that completed, he opens the window and floats inside. Wilson, feeling the chilly draft sits up demanding to know who was there. Leuthar pulls out a weapon and launches himself forward to attack the defenseless man in his night clothes.


While he took a nasty hit, Wilson was able to roll off the bed and grab one of his nearby weapons. In the end it did him no good. When the fighting was done, Wilson was dead along with two of his personal guard. One was half hanging out of a now broken window; the other was dead in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. The upper floors of the home were bathed in the blood of Wilson and his men. Leaving nothing behind but the tracks of a troglodyte on the blood splattered floors the halfling searched the house after he pulled the guard back in the window. Leuthar took his time searching first the bedroom of Wilson and then the rest of the house. He first found a large stash of coins in a chest in the bedroom and a memoir of Wilson’s life. Leuthar, flipping through the book, turned to the last pages that were written. In it Wilson commiserates about himself and his one sided relationship to the Baron. Leuthar tosses the book aside and takes a set of fine clothes that were also in the chest. In another room Leuthar finds a statue of Geedes, along with various other items and religious books on the god. Leuthar looking about the room was stricken with a moment of inspiration. Using the body and blood of Will Wilson, Leuthar desecrates the statue of Geedes. Finding little else of value in the home Leuthar looks to leave the house, only to notice one of the town guards outside.


Rushing up the stairs Leuthar watched the guard outside of the house while trying to plot his escape. Unknown to him, the guard that had crashed through the window, bled down the side of the house. While the sight of the broken window drew the guard’s attention, the sight of blood made him reach for a whistle. Soon the night air was filled with the piercing sound of the guard’s whistle. Leuthar looked out the other windows of the upper floor saw no easy way to escape without being seen. Reaching into his bag of scrolls, Leuthar looked for help in the form of magic. Momentarily lamenting the loss of the scroll, Leuthar summoned an Unseen Servant. First sending the invisible creature out the window, Leuthar willed it to go around the house and make noise to distract the guard. While the guard went to look for the source of the noise, he did not stop blowing the whistle. Leuthar then had the Unseen Servant attack the guard, making him retreat to the road and then down the road in a panic. As soon as the guard was gone, Leuthar jumped out the window. While he hurt himself jumping out of the second floor window, he was able to limp away. Having to avoid the arrival of more guards along the way, the halfling was able to make it back to his room at the Longest Mile.



First thing the following morning, Raell told the whore he was with the night before that if she was with child, he would pay her two hundred gold pieces to keep the baby. Raell then went about the task of replacing his armor that was eaten by the Rust Monsters. From there he went to find a tannery to have Masterwork Studded Leather armor made from the skin of the Remorhaz for Ademar. Along the way to Tread Light, Raell finds Ademar in the street on his way to the blacksmith’s shop. The two traveled together to the shop, Ademar was checking on the status of two blades he had commissioned. At long last, the weapons Ademar had made were completed. Two beautiful gleaming blades, crafted by a master smith. The two then went together to resupply their depleted quivers. Once their shopping was completed Raell went to see Cor’Nal. He told him that he was going to spend the rest of the day in the wild to replace his lost animal companion. The two agreed to meet the following day to discuss the location of Farkas Windsow. Once the ranger was gone, the druid changed himself into a bird and once again set off to find the white dragon.

Back at The Longest Mile, Leuthar comes down from his night of rest into the common room. He sees Gareth having breakfast. He also sees a pair of the town guards speaking with Flanders behind the bar. While he attempted to scoot out of the inn without being noticed, Gareth spotted the halfling and invited him to have breakfast with him. Leuthar agreed to stay only after making sure the human warrior would foot the bill. Once the town guards left the inn, Gareth called over Flanders to order the halfling a meal. While the two ate, Gareth questioned Leuthar about the group, trying to find if they were trustworthy. Wondering if he really had a future with the group and where they were going next. Leuthar did his best to assure the human that they were traveling with good people but did not know where they were going next. Once the meal was completed, Leuthar left the Longest Mile and returned to the Tread Light Inn.


Far from the city, Cor’Nal is still flying about, searching for the dragon. North West of the city he sees a commotion in the trees, as he flies closer he can hear something pounding its way through the forest. As he darts down under the canopy of trees, he finds the source of the noise. A large white yeti is making its way through the forest. The druid stares ahead in shock, knowing this was the same creature he had seen before. Determined to know more about the creature, he begins to follow it. The druid watched as it stalked through the forest and into a clearing where it found a herd of deer. The druid did nothing but watch as it killed a deer and ate it. For more than an hour the druid followed the yeti until it came to its nest on the side of a hill. Taking a look around, taking a note of his location the druid took flight once again, in search of the white dragon. He continued to search for the rest of the day, without a single sighting of the great white beast.


Back in Henutsen, Leuthar returns to the Tread Light Inn. While he sees one of the Black Glove XII members behind the bar, he only returns to his room to work on creating scrolls. As he works, he can’t help but notice, he is feeling worse than the day before. Whatever illness he is afflicted with seems to be getting stronger. At the end of his rope, the halfling goes in search of someone to help him. Unsure of where to go and unwilling to pay the bridge tax again, Leuthar goes to the temple of Geedes. While they let the halfling in, he is told that he came at a bad time but they will do what they can for him for a price of one hundred and fifty gold. Leuthar claims to not have that much money and leaves the temple. In the end he had to pay the bridge tax while on his way to the temple of Myrrdin. While at the temple of Myrrdin, Leuthar discusses what he is feeling with one of the priest. As Leuthar told him that he may be cursed, he was told he would find no help in the temple and that he needed to seek out a sage. With nowhere else to turn, the halfling goes to see Gaen Baliol. After some small talk, Leuthar tells Gaen that he believes that he is cursed.


Gaen tells Leuthar that he should go to the temple of Geedes. As Deacon Jones was quiet skilled in dealing with such problems (Hmm, a bit of karma? -E). Leuthar tells Gaen that it could be caused by an item that he has. The sage, desperate to see all that Leuthar has in his bag of tricks, tells him to lay out everything he has. After looking over the items Gaen picks up a bag of dust that Leuthar found in the dragon’s horde. After casting a spell on the bag he tells Leuthar that it is called dust of appearance. It is used for making the invisible, visible. It was also the cursed item that was causing his illness. He then offered to dispose of the dust for the halfling. Leuthar left Gaen’s shop, lighter in the coin pouch but free of the curse. Much the same way Cor’Nal did later that day when he had a few items identified by the old mage.


Mid afternoon Raell returned to Henutsen with his new companion Xander. A great eagle that lived in the peaks around the mountain city. Once he entered the gates, he went to the Tread Light Inn to find Cor’Nal, Ademar and Leuthar. The four companions went together to the pool of water in the forest where Cor’Nal cast the scry spell before. Only this time, they were looking for something else. Using the toenail clippings Cor’Nal recovered days before he cast his spell to find Farkas Windsow. As the image began to form, the druid described what he could see. The image of the dwarf first appeared, he was sitting on a bed in a large room. As Cor’Nal shifted his focus around the room and then out they could tell where the dwarf slaver was. In the guest room of the Baron's palace.


(This is the end of the recorded session. I will let the DM and Cor’Nal write about the solo dragon fight.)

Derek Steadyfingers

Derek Steadyfingers (born Dereque Kel’Nestessir) held the last of the highwaymen who attempted to accost him by his shirt collar with the fist of his left hand. He lifted the beaten, bleeding man from the dirt of the dusty road just enough so that his back no longer touched the ground. The man remained motionless as Derek stood, straddling his torso, though he was clearly still alive. His eyes lolled in his head like marbles in a child’s palm. The broken flesh of his lips told the tale of the encounter they had with Derek’s right fist. A tale that was not yet finished being told. 

Thunk! The sound of Derek’s right fist upon the highwayman’s mouth again. His head snapped back for a moment before returning to its original position. More blood upon his lips to wet the crust that had dried there in the moments leading to this latest blow.

“Who sent you?” Derek screamed. Uncontrollable anger was not usually part of Derek Steadyfinger’s emotional repertoire but the elf was finding it extremely difficult after this most recent attack. He knew he was being followed, sensed it days ago, but could not understand who or why at this time. He was a rogue after all, it could be anybody, but Derek was the most careful of his kind, and in over a hundred and fifty years, had never been captured or arrested. Barely a housemaiden had been awakened from slumber during his tenure as a common house-burglar and since he had gotten himself in the jewel trade, well, let’s just say perfect might seem like hubris, but what of hubris if such brash sensibilities about oneself turned out to be true?

Yes, Derek would consider himself the perfect thief, if he considered himself a thief at all. Instead, Derek liked the word rogue and considered himself a freelance procurer of all things shiny and pretty. Offering those things procured back at a considerable markdown from their original prices, and oftentimes even to their original owner. Derek wasn’t particular about such things, and always liked to see a happy customer after all.

“Piss… off…” Was the whispered, blood mist response from the road agent.

“Wrong answer.” Another punch from Derek’s calloused right fist. The highwayman’s lower lip split almost completely to the upper part of his beard. More blood, far more than before and the eye lolling had gotten worse as well. Derek didn’t have much time.

“Now, I’m going to ask you again, and if you don’t tell me what I want to hear I’m going to have to punch you again.” His voice was calmer, more reasonable than before. More, Derek.

The raider closed his eyes slowly; the lids were as horizontal stage curtains at the close of a romantic tragedy. He wasn’t going to live much longer.

Derek reached for one of the arrows he had fired into the highwayman’s thigh, an admittedly errant shot that should have been fatal, and would have been, had Derek not been outnumbered and been forced to fire so quickly and so often. He twisted the arrow as he grasped it. The effect it had was exactly as desired as the highwayman’s eyes snapped back open, a quick scream emanated from his bleeding mouth and he inhaled sharply, presumably to scream again but Derek muffled whatever would have come next with an open palm.

“Shh, tell me friend… and I will ease your suffering.” His voice was gentle, a soft whisper on the summer breeze.

The road agent’s breath slowed, became raspy as death approached. His eyes remained open through some miracle, the color had run completely from his lips and sweating face as more blood drained from the wounds he had received. Wishing the pain to end, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Drahg… drago…” His whisper was barely audible though Derek’s face was only inches away.

“Dragons?” Derek shook the dying man at his collar. “What of ‘dragons’? I know of no dragons! I’ve never been within miles of one that I know of.”

The man’s eyes began to close again, the death-sleep had begun to overtake him, he would be dead in moments.

“No, no! Not yet.” Derek shook him again and reached for the arrow shaft once more, though he thought it would do little good this time. As if the highwayman could sense the motion and direction of Steadyfinger’s hand his eyes snapped open once more before Derek’s hand made contact. The elf stayed his palm just short of contact and leaned closer for what he expected to be the man’s last words.

“Drahgov… Drahgov… vin.” The word must have been a name, or perhaps it was nonsense. Either way Derek Steadyfinger’s, an elf nearly two-hundred and twenty five years old, had never heard it before.

“Drahguvvin.” Softly, Derek repeated the word to himself.

The man’s chest rattled and he coughed a spot of dark-red blood that spilled over the corners of his mouth and further stained his road-filthy shirt, a portion of it pooled in the split of his lip that Steadyfinger’s fist had made. He wheezed again as his chest rattled for the last time. His body become limp, moreso than before to Derek’s amazement. When the wheeze stopped, Derek let go of the highwayman’s collar nonchalantly and his torso fell to the ground, his neck whipped back as his lifeless skull cracked heavily upon the gravel road.

The elf stood, believing himself no closer to realizing who wanted him dead than before. He set about reclaiming what he could from the wreckage of battle; his rapier, his longbow, a dagger and any spent arrows that could possibly be loosed again. Once he had gathered all of his own belongings he dared enough time to loot the corpses of the dead, four in all, for any clue to what had brought on this disorganized ambush. He found nothing of a clue, but the 37 pieces of gold and near one hundred silver pieces he did find seemed a pittance for the work he’d done here today. He checked the saddlebags of the horses they had rode in on, pilfered what food he found agreeable as well as their waterskins and, after seriously considering taking the horses and selling them in Goodale, the small city that this road he was traveling on led to, he opted for speed instead and besides; why risk adding Horse Thievery to the list of things that could be attributed the elf if one were ever fortunate enough to take him into custody?

Instead he slapped the three surviving horses each on their rears and sent them in opposite directions, hoping to confuse any who still followed him. He then dragged the corpses of his attackers to the side of the road, propped all four dead men against the underside of the dead horse who lay there along its left flank. As he stood back to admire his work, Steadyfingers found that they comically resembled drunken companions awaiting a chartered wagon. Derek expected whoever hired these sloppy highwaymen to come through this area soon enough and he hoped the discovery of this display would have one of two desired effects: It would either discourage this “Drahguvvin” from pursuing him further or it would convince him to employ higher caliber, better equipped agents. Derek hoped for the former, but the latter would provide him with better equipment to loot, as well as more coin to take from their corpses once he bested them.

Derek always tried to find the silver lining in every cloud.

Once finished with admiring his handiwork the young elf took to the saddle of his own horse, a four year old reddish-brown stallion he called Lightpurse. He gave the steed a gentle urging with his spurs and slapped the reigns as he spoke in elven, directing the horse back toward the South. Dust swirled up behind mount and rider as they trailed away from the mess that Derek left behind; a mess that would intrigue more than anger the man responsible for the attack. As intriguing as he found Steadyfingers’ methods in dispatching his hired men, or the bravado in which he displayed their corpses once dispatched, he would do neither of the things Derek had expected. Instead he would continue as planned. He would have Faramin, his Goodale puppet, make certain to select the elf when choosing the next raiding party just as he had arranged all the others to be selected to this point. If the road agents couldn’t kill him, then Raylock the mage would.

Raylock had been wildly successful up to this point and the mage was turning out to be more efficient than he’d ever expected, lasting much longer and ending the careers of far more ”heroes” than he ever expected his gold to pay for. Yes, if Raylock was expected to live much longer, Dragoven might find a place for him in his new kingdom. But alas, he was not, so he would not.

Lightpurse made the distance between the site of Derek’s ambush and the town of Goodale with little discernible effort. He negotiated the rolling hills and Once again, Derek found reason to be proud of his companion and even prouder of himself for having the good sense to procure him when he did. He saw potential in the steed at the time, despite having little actual equine experience or knowledge, and leapt at the chance to take him when the opportunity presented itself.

Coming into town, a smallish, though busy village of mostly human population, Derek inhaled the robust aroma of the malted hops and barley for which the town of Goodale was famous for. Unlike many elves, Derek enjoyed the odd pint of stout here and there and looked forward to enjoying one before the business at hand was to begin. Unfortunately, that pint wouldn’t be had today as Faramin’s lineup, for which he was expected at Highsun, would be taking place only moments from now and Derek needed to find a place to hitch Lightpurse. He grimaced as he dismounted, looking to the sky before leading his mount to a fairly clean-looking stable. The clouds were growing thicker and darker, and Derek thanked Sanastarus, a deity whom he usually had little to say to these last hundred and fifty years, for holding off on the coming storm until now. Not wanting to believe that the bandits he overcame just hours ago would have had any more success under the cover of cloud and rain, but grateful not to have had to find out, regardless.

After hitching Lightpurse at the stable, the name of which was already escaping him, he set out to the town square six silver pieces lighter, an expensive sum even for a large city. Derek made a mental note to visit the stablebuck later in order to recoup his lost coin, but now wasn’t the time to risk being caught.

“Not that I’ve anything to fear in that regard.” Derek, smiling, whispered to himself.

Moving deftly through the bustling streets Derek saw the town square, an ornate, heavily flowered area, several hundred feet ahead of him. He eyed who he believed to be Lord Faramin, a man of average stature with short brown hair graying at the ears flanked by two uniformed guards. Near them, a young brightly silver-haired elf stood in front of a dozen or so armored warriors, mostly human. A second, red-haired elf stood a step and a half behind him, occasionally offering counsel, his arms folded across his narrow chest as he leaned in to whisper his advice or observations.

I’m late. Derek thought to himself as he absently put a finger to his split lower lip. Though I do have a good excuse if they decide to inquire.

He frowned at this though internally he was grateful that an elf (or pair of elves) seemingly held some sway in choosing the next group to deal with Faramin’s great matter. Breaking through the line of onlookers now Derek moved to join the lineup, he looked up in time to see a red-headed dwarf, one who apparently already dipped into a fair share of ale this morning, waddle his way to the opposite end of the line that he was about to bookend.

No way that one gets picked. Derek Steadyfingers thought to himself. The silver-haired elf glanced at the dwarf and frowned noticeably in response to his tardiness and apparent lack of sobriety. He seemed not to notice Derek, or if he did, didn’t seem to care. This was a double-standard that Steadyfingers could certainly support and, not surprisingly, he felt no sympathy for the dwarf.

The silver-haired elf opened his mouth to speak.

It was then that the rain came.

Cor'Nals journal

As I sit in my room awaiting the events that are about to unfold I wonder if this is truly the path that Kutenai has in store for me. My path has lead me into the wilds on plenty occasions but more and more time seems to be in the civilized areas. I miss the ground under my back while I lay on the ground to look upon the sky or the smell of the air while the rain is beating down upon me. I grow wearier by the day of these places and wish to stretch my legs and run in the wild once again beside Basali. And poor Basali he has been my faithful companion for some time now and always answered my call no matter what type of threat there was but does he not deserve better? I have not watched him and listen to what it is that he is wanting. Would he like to be set free down south around Goodale where we had met so he might live the remainder of his life in the peace of the forest and possibly find a mate? Or does he truly wish to stay by my side and continue to adventure and fight my enemies? I believe that he will continue to fight with me until the end of his days if I ask him to but I do not wish to keep a most loyal creature such as him from truly living a free life. After we deal with the Baron I am going to head to the forest and watch and listen to Basali to see if he wishes to continue on the path with me or return to the area in which he became my friend.
But what will I do without the one creature that has been with me through so much and put his own life before my own on more than one occasion? Perhaps Kutenai will guide my thoughts to another of his creatures that will wish to become my friend and ally once more. Maybe he will bestow a great blessing upon me and allow me to befriend the great yeti that I had went and seen just a few days past? A creature such as that would be a great honor indeed and to think of the great things that we could achieve if we were together. I will have to pray very hard to the great Kutenai indeed in order to receive a blessing such as that then we might be able to rival even some of the greatest blights that cause nature harm. Whatever the gods decide I will continue to be grateful for and continue on my quest for greatness.

I am unsure of the new companions that myself and Adamar have allowed to join with us. Raell even though he seems to have some sort of connection with the wild seems a better fit for a Kingdom than the forest but he has been there when things were tough. Gareth seems like a noble person that had just received a run of bad luck when we found him. Since then I have spoke with him on several occasions and he seems very trustworthy and good willed. Luether on the other hand I feel is as evil as they come. I have been putting together the deaths that have occurred around the town and now he is in league with the Black Glove XIII who is supposed to be a guild that is trying to help the town but I’m afraid to think that they are just as evil as the rest. I can’t wait to leave this place even though they say that the people are here to make a new start for themselves I really have my doubts.
One question that keeps bothering me is what will Adamar do if we dispose of the baron? Will he continue on with me and allow me to aid him in the search for the person that did him such harm and when we find him will we bring him to answer for his crimes or is Adamar going to be the judging hand for him? I believe that the turmoil for him is great but what does that say for after he has been found and brought to justice? Will he continue to stand by our sides into battle or will he return to the great forest that we hail from? I hope that he continues with us because I think that he will be an even greater asset once his mind is free of this burden.

Of Giants and Dragons

Recap of recorded session# 4

The following recap comes courtesy of Lord Darmot Kromwell.


This session finds our heroes in the midst of exploring an ogre cave. Sent here by Black Rhrett to find several missing ale shipments. At the start of the session, Raell is picking himself up off the floor after being shoved off of a steep incline by an ogre. Said ogre stood at the top of the incline long enough to take an arrow to the chest from Ademar before running off into the dark unknown. After some debate over how to proceed, Cor’Nal used his abilities to reshape the stone slope into a very nice set of stairs.



After a quick climb up the new stairs the group went off to find the ogre. As the group marveled over the clean and smooth cave floors they continued onward to find not only the ogre they had seen at the slope but three more of his ogre friends. As a javelin sailed over the head of Cor’Nal, battle began. With a mix of steel and magic the group cut down the ogres until the final two fled. Not wanting any of the creatures to get away the group gave chase. Around a bend and down a long dark hall the group continued to chase the creatures. The ogres lead the heroes down a series of passages only to lead them back to the cave entrance. It was there that the ogres made a serious mistake and went outside, into the druid’s element. Fire rained down from the sky to obliterate the running pair.



Still inside the cave, the half blind ranger stopped near an opening to adjust his equipment so he could carry his own light. While standing there unaware of any danger, the group aroused a nest of rust monsters. Thrusting his weapon away and drawing his bow the ranger screamed like a little girl, trying to avoid the creatures that were attracted by the scent of his armor. As the creatures moved past the group, they took swipes at others but could not resist the draw of the ranger’s armor. While the group did the best it could to quickly take down the savage rust monsters, nothing they did could prevent the destruction of Raell’s armor. Even with Cor’Nal’s faithful companion chewing up the creatures, Raell was left without any armor. As he stood by silently, crying over the loss of his breastplate, Leuthar removed the glands from the rust monsters hoping they would sell in town.



With the dreaded rust monsters destroyed, the group moved on. Checking the bodies of the first dead ogres, the group watched as Raell lopped off the ears of the dead beast. Ademar found one of the bodies contained a belt of healing potions. With the looting of the dead completed they continued deeper into the cave. The group passed into what appeared to be a staging area, where they could readily ambush unsuspecting adventurers. As they looked around at the filth and refuse they found something that shocked them all. A living and breathing human male, bound by rope. Badly beaten and out cold the human appeared to be a prisoner of the ogres. While the group was willing to spend a little healing to bring the man into talking condition, the untrusting bastards did not want to untie the poor soul until they had a chance to talk to him.



While the man seemed to improve after a very small healing spell by Cor’Nal he did not awaken. Taking a more direct approach Raell smacked the bound human to wake him up. Once the human was awake he was attacked with questions from the untrusting group. He stated his name as Gareth Denton from North Hembers in Arcadia. He told a tale of woe of his adventuring party being ambushed by ogres. While he was captured the rest of his party was slain. He also told the group that he was being kept alive to be fed to something called Frosty. After Raell untied Gareth, he tried to talk Gareth into leaving the caves. Asking only for a weapon and a chance at revenge for his fallen companions Gareth pleaded with the group to stay with them. They were reluctant to agree but in the end he was allowed to join the group. If for no other reason than to keep an eye on the human. Raell gave Gareth a hammer to use for a weapon but that did not solve the problem of a lack of armor for the warrior. From there the group pressed on, continuing to explore the caves.



Finding a fork in the path the group pressed on down the right hand path. Finding a large empty room, they continued to press on to the south, deeper into the caves. As the group continued on Ademar signaled to the companions to stop, warning that he could hear something from the room ahead. Raell growing impatient with being blind tossed his light into the center of the next room. As light filled the once dark room, it showed three ogres waiting for them. Not waiting for a hail storm of javelins to come their way, the heroes were quick to launch an attack. Gareth, with no armor and just a small hammer in hand runs into the room screaming for revenge, quickly stopping short when he saw the three creatures in front of him. Gareth watched the battle rage around him, feeling his confidence grow he moved into the battle himself. One by one the ogres fell to the group, who completed the battle with little to no harm done to their selves. As the group started to search the room and the bodies of the ogres, Raell went from body to body removing the ears from each creature. Ademar finding a discarded Rapier he offered it to Gareth so he may have a proper weapon, after some convincing.



After the battle, Raell told Gareth to stay back during the battle as he did not have any armor. Not liking the rangers tone he started to demand payment for his services if he was going to follow orders. Looking around the room at the group, he demanded one fifth of the party’s findings. This only drew more outrage from the companions, as Raell tried to remind Gareth that he was only alive to due to their kindness. In the end he agreed to a lesser share, if he could stay with the group. His only desire being revenge for his fallen friends. As the group moved on they found a second staging area where the ogres had stored the gear they had taken from Gareth and his friends. Gareth was pleased at finding his armor and other minor items he had lost to the ogres. Once again Gareth was properly armored and ready to fight.



As the party pressed on, the group found what appeared to be a room where the ogres rested and took their meals. Finding nothing of interest beyond minor pilfered goods, the party pressed on. Not long after they came to another small room where Cor’Nal spotted some kind of creature hanging from the ceiling of the cave. He called out to the group that it was a Choker. Caught by surprise, the druid stood by helpless as the creature lashed out at him, wrapping him in his tentacles. As the group attacked the creature, Cor’Nal was able to break free. Raell, using his bow was able to kill the creature in the end. As the searched the room they found a strange belt with seven flask of acid. After waiting for the druid to heal himself the group pressed on. As they pressed on the sound of rushing water filled the cave again. Finding a second rope bridge, they stalled discussing how to get over to the other side. After much debate, the turned away from the rope bridge, hoping to explore other areas of the cave before trying to cross the rope bridge.



Deeper and deeper the group went into the caves. As Raell and Ademar discussed wine and rocking chairs Cor’Nal called for the group to halt. Soon all the companions could hear the deep breathing sound coming from up ahead. The farther they went, the louder the sound grew. Soon all the companions could feel what was ahead of them, the air so thick with frost and fear it became clear just what kind of creature was ahead of us and who it was that the ogres called Frosty. Not wanting to rush headlong into a fight with a dragon unprepared, the group fell back trying to find a safe spot to rest.


The group wanting to find a safe place to rest, fall back to the area where they first fought the rust monsters. Using the nesting area, the group set up a watch rotation and starts to rest in order to prepare to fight the dragon. While resting Raell continues to question Gareth about his past and where he had been. Gareth tells Raell about his part in the Arcadian Civil War. Stating that he had fought in the war under Arturo’s command. Raell fishing for information on his distant relation asked Gareth what he thinks about his half brother.

After a night of rest, the group plans on how to attack the dragon. After a quick plan is hammered out, protective spells are cast on the party by Leuthar and Cor’Nal. Cor’Nal, obsessed with wanting to kill the beast reaches down deep within and uses dark magic, forbidden by the gods. As the group travels down the passage, Gareth complains of an arctic cold breeze coming from ahead. When they get to the end of the passage they find a massive cavern that opens to the sky. They also find a large sleeping white dragon. Next to the dragon is a human with long white hair in white robes. He sees the group come into the room and jumps up to wake the dragon. The dragon, not liking that he was awoke from his nap sits up and chomps down on the old human. He gives the human a little shake in his mouth and whips him across the cavern, crushing him on the wall. The human in white, lay dead in a bloody mess.

Gareth, marching forward to attack the beast falters a step as dragon fear washes over the room. All but the druid are affected, who seems immune. Ademar launches a pair of shots at the beast but they fly wide. The dragon turns to look towards the group, taking a deep breath say’s that he has smelled them before. Cor’Nal not caring to chat with the beast launches his first magical attack at the beast. Flames fill the air and explode around the creature. Leuthar summons a flaming sphere and launches it at the dragon. Not wanting to wait for the small creatures to overwhelm it on the ground the dragon launches into the air. Raell fires a shot at the creature while hiding behind the druid and curses as he watches his arrow deflect off the scales of the beast.

The magical assault continues from both the druid and Leuthar as the creature stays in flight. Drawing a deep breath, the dragon unleashes its breath weapon at the druid. Cor’Nal laughs a deep and hearty laugh as his sphere of protection prevents the breath from doing any damage to the companions around the druid. Gareth holding his weapon overhead wanders around looking at the flying creature with a hopeless look on his face. Flames once again fill the air, striking the creature with a massive explosion. The once pristine white scales, scorched and smoking the dragon drops down to directly attack the druid. Repelled by the druids forbidden spell, the frustration continues to build for the dragon.

Gareth seeing the creature fly down, rushes forward to attack the dragon only to get whipped by the creatures tail. Raell and Ademar unleash a worthless barrage of arrows that fly past the dragon without hitting him. The druid’s faithful companion charges and lunges at the creature biting deep into the dragons flank. After a third massive flame strike from the druid the dragon takes flight, leaving the cave. Cor’Nal not wanting to let the creature live changes into a bird and takes off after the beast. So swift is the flight of the dragon, the druid only catches a minor glimpse of the creature as it escapes off into the distance. The companions look around at each other, stunned at the fact that the dragon fled, they then look towards the massive pile of treasure that the beast left behind. Gareth begins to salivate over a beautiful set of full plate in the pile of coins. All the while Ademar begins to collect a massive pile of gems, inspecting each with a careful eye. The group overjoyed at their victory, fail to notice the frustration on the face of the druid who is angry at himself for letting the dragon escape.

Leuthar using his magic powers begins to scan the horde. He finds a small scarab, a bag of dust and a container full of scrolls. He tucks away the bag of dust and the scarab while looking at the scrolls, the rest of the group is oblivious to his actions as they are standing about trying to figure out what to do with the large pile of coins and the plate armor. While Raell and Gareth haggle over the armor Ademar walks over to the body of the human that is lying dead on the floor. Pale white skin and white hair with pink tinted eyes. The group assumed he was some kind of albino. They then saw a medallion around the man’s neck with CoW in elven scrip and the image of a white dragon etched into it. The group studied the medallion but where clueless over what it was for, the only thing they cared about is how much they could sell it for. After dividing up the dragon’s horde of coins so the group could carry it out of the cave, they started to explore the rest of the cave.

As they traverse the cave they once again come to a rope bridge. While the group was hesitant to cross the bridge they knew in order to find the stolen goods Black Rhett wanted, they would have to cross. Cor’Nal changed shape into a Dire Hawk and carried some of the group across the gaping chasm. Gareth was far too heavy to carry across so he had to risk the bridge. Once the entire party was across they pressed on, even deeper into the cave. They find a large open area with the bodies of two dead ogres. Raell not wanting to pass up extra body parts cuts off the ears of the creatures. Leuthar points out that one of the bodies appears to have been chewed on. Not finding anything else in the room, they press on. The next open area they come to the party finds the room full of ale cask, most of them smashed or empty. Now knowing the fate of Black Rhett’s stolen ale shipments they press on to search the rest of the cave network. The next room they come to they find more than a dozen ale cask, being guarded by a trio of female ogres. Ogres who are also keeping company with a Frost Giant.

The group quickly launches at attack against the creatures. As Raell and Ademar fire arrows, Gareth charges forward to attack. Scoring a wicked slashing blow against the first of the ogres. As it stumbled back from the attack, it lived long enough to die in a magical assault by Leuthar. The enraged frost giant, screaming at the group reaches down and picks up a bolder to throw at Cor’Nal when it see’s the bird shaped druid summons a pair of wolves. Boulders fly across the room, striking both the druid and Ademar as Gareth cuts down a second ogre. Raell seeing Ademar hurt joins him in launching arrows at the giant. As the fight rages on, boulders continue to fly at the archers. Raell seeing Ademar struck by the boulder fires a nearly lethal arrow at the giant hitting him in his open mouth. As Gareth cuts down the third of the ogres, the entire group turns its attention to the giant who was trying to drink a potion with an arrow stuck in the back of its mouth. With the entire group attacking the giant, it was only a matter of time. While the giant was able to put up a fight, it fell to the bite of one of the druids summoned wolves.

Raell wanting to see the look on Black Rhett’s face went about the grim task of cutting the head off of the frost giant as the others searched the area. After all the treasure was discovered, the group set about to rest before trying to leave the cave. As the others laid down to rest Ademar decided to explore another area of the cave. Finding a large open area, Ademar looked around, seeing the body of a dead ogre that had been mangled. Ademar moved deeper into the room, seeing that the floor dropped off into a lower area. Unable to resist the lure of the unknown he moved closer to the ledge in the center of the room. As he neared the ledge, something rose up out of the hidden area. Ademar was now face to face with a Remorhaz and very much alone.

Raells' return

Recap of recorded session #3-

This recap begins with our companions standing just outside of the cave they were previously exploring. Raell and Salem are both deceased while the remaining party members are all in poor health especially Luethar and Cor’Nal who are both badly wounded and completely out of magic. Devoid of healing potions also, the party finds that the now dark and cold wood they came through to reach the cave presents a very real threat to them on their return. After a short debate on whether to re-enter the cave and rest for a while or push on back to town before they can be attacked by the cave denizens again, the group opts for the latter choice and makes haste for they nearest path back to civilization.

Luckily the group manages to return to Tread Light and the safety of their rooms without incident. Knowing that at this late hour (around midnight) there is no hope of finding anybody to help resurrect Raell, the remains of the ranger are hidden in the wagon along with the owl bear heads and the group retires to their respective rooms to rest.

The following morning in a role reversal it is Ademar not Cor’Nal who awakes first and immediately begins corralling his companions to begin the day. Luethar grumbles about the early hour and declares that the meeting is “not necessary”. Despite the halflings indifference, Ademar pushes forward with questions about what to do about Raell and the options available if they can not resurrect him (remember that all but Raell are unwelcome in Black Rhett’s company). After few resolutions are made the elves head downstairs for a light morning meal while Luethar remains in his room, still not wanting to show any association with the often troublesome elves.

With breakfast out of the way the pair head out to the Temple of Myrrdin to see if the priests there will be able to bring Raell back to life. Once across the bridge they find themselves in front of the temple where they request to see an acolyte with knowledge of the deal made with Raell over resurrecting Ryan MacBrady. Before long they are shown inside where they speak with the priest in charge of the resurrection. He leads the elves into a chamber where they see an altar and the residual items from a ritual along with the, now living, Ryan MacBrady, sitting in a chair off to the side. He seems somewhat confused, as if the ritual was just completed only minutes ago. When Ademar hails him the look of confusion on Ryan’s face only deepens. The priest interjects attempting to explain that Ryan refused to return to his body but, during the ritual they found the bodiless soul of Raell who they brought back in place of the soul of Ryan. The world seems to come back into focus and the man who was once Ryan and now contains the soul of Raell speaks. He talks about how he was tricked by the priests into coming back by not mentioning that he would inhabit a body other than his own. Truly disgusted by his current state, Raell wishes only to gather his items and those of Ryan and be gone from the temple.

During this time Luethar goes to see Gaen Baliol in an attempt to identify a pair of bracers and perhaps buy some scrolls and other magic. Gaen welcomes the halfling in eager to see more coins in his purse. Luethar enters and states his business which gets the old man scurrying about gathering up spell components and, as a token of good intent, a dusty goblet which he half heartedly blows off and pours wine into. The halfling wrinkles his nose at it and leaves it sitting on the table. The bracers turn out to be Bracers of Armor +2. Just before leaving the tower, Luethar asks that if any elves should happen to come by looking to have an item identified that he charge 100 gold rather than 50. The mage agrees to this arrangement but in the future Luethar will pay 75 gold instead of 50.

After leaving the Temple of Myrrdin, Ademar goes to purchase arrows while Cor’Nal and Raell head off to take the half-elf corpse and that of Salem out to burn on a pyre. In doing this, Raell cuts off the hand of his previous body and has it preserved in a block of wax in the hopes that some day he will be able to return to his true form. The druid asks about Farkas Winslow and Raell tells him that he needs to be taken alive back to Eystlund although he would much rather kill the slaver than allow him to live. Cor’Nal shows Raell some toenail clippings he found and says that they are the key to finding the elusive dwarf with a scrying spell. The ranger is noticeably more upbeat after hearing the news and happy to hear that the elves will give him their full support. Cor’Nal states that he will attempt to scry the slaver the following morning.

Ademar makes his way to Gaen Baliols’ home in search of information on his bow. Gaen is caught off guard by seeing an elf so soon after his conversation with the halfling yet offers him some wine which so happens to be poured already. Gaen states that he is aware of this particular bow, it is called Est’Perolyne which means “Flame String”, it is of elven make and is very old, probably older than Ademars’ father. More than that is withheld as the old mage states that additional information is 50, errr, 100 gold. After some grumbling the rogue produces two gems and the mage continues. The bow has magic about it which increases damage dealt. Legend also has it that Est’Perolynes’ powers grow as those of its wielder grow, it’s presence can increase the users dexterity, increased accuracy, and faster rates of fire. The sage believes that many of these legends are just that. As Ademar is leaving Gaen nearly ruins his arrangement with the halfling by blurting out “Say hello to Luethar for me.” But, he recovers with a cleaver cover which deflects the elfs’ suspicion to some degree.

Once the corpses of the fallen are ash Cor’Nal returns to his room at Tread Light while Raell takes up the owlbear heads in a sack and makes his way to see Black Rhett. Once he arrives at The Longest Mile the ranger takes the opportunity to get himself cleaned up by purchasing a room and requesting a bath. While he’s at it, Raell also decides to make an attempt at spreading Ryan MacBradys’ seed as he believes Ryan was the last of his line, so he buys the services of one of Rhetts’ ladies also. This is all done on Ryans’ coin of course! Once he is feeling a bit cleaner and a little more civilized the ranger makes his way downstairs to find Flanders. Black Rhett is thoroughly disgusted by the leaking, stinking bag which Raell dumps on his desk (much to Raells’ delight). Raell proceeds to tell his tale including the circumstances of his unconventional resurrection. The old sailor finds the rangers’ story beyond believable and tells him that he will get his gold in five days time if no more livestock are lost (he has to be sure that the creatures killed were the creatures responsible), in the mean-time he may have another job for Raell and Rhett suggests that he remain available.

The following day, (day 8 in Henutsen) Luethar meets with Tink Beldin who says that he has some work for the halfling. A meeting is arranged between Tinks’ employer Kayzen Griggs and Luethar. Griggs gives the halfling a rundown of The Black Glove XIII which he makes out to be a sort of vigilante group who oppose The Old Salt and Baron Von Strom both. Kayzen tells Luethar of a woman who has come to the group looking for help. She says that her young boy has been molested by the Deccan of the church of Geedes and she has been ignored by the Sheriff and has no money to hire Rhett. Kayzen states that this Deccan, by the name of Jones needs to be dealt with and he will pay 750 gold for the job with 100 of that paid up front. Luethar is appalled by the story (quite a feat for the evil bastard) and quickly accepts the job.

Soon after, a chance meeting with Sherriff Throad occurs wherein he ‘reminds’ Ademar and Raell that everyone pays tithing’s to the Baron and they should report to the Baron when they get an opportunity. After Throad leaves, Ademar and Raell go to the temple of Myrrdin to speak to the Vicar about what he owes the church in exchange for his return to life. The Vicar tells Raell of a war brewing between the gods in which Myrrdin may see to unseat Oark as the high god of neutrality. If this comes to bear, the ranger may be needed by the church in their crusade against the followers of Oark. Raell states that he may be leaving the area soon to which the Vicar assures him that they will find him when the need arises, no matter where he may be.

While on the east side of town, Raell stops in to see Rhett and asks if he has any work. Rhett mentions that recent ale shipments to the town have been ambushed and it is hurting his business. He believes that a band of ogres are responsible. The fat bastard offers 200 gold up front and 250 upon completion. Raell takes the job and he and Ademar leave The Longest Mile. As the pair cross over to the west side of town the old man from Low Skye that Raell had paid for information on Farkas Winslow hails them. In hushed tones he tells Ademar that Farkas had left town for a time yet, he has returned and is now seeking information about those who are looking for him.

This day passes without further event. As dusk falls Luethar and Ademar slip out of the inn and make their way to the Temple of Geedes to complete the task put before the mage by Kayzen Griggs. Using his magic, Luethar alters his image to become a half-elven boy and takes on the name Oliver. Pretending to be a homeless child he attempts to befriend some of the children cleaning outside. After many attempts to gain admittance to the temple fail he is ultimately chased off by one of the acolytes. Luethar lingers near the church waiting until darkness falls and the children go home to their families. An unknown priest comes out to the street seeming to make sure all is in order for the night. Knowing that this will likely be his last chance to gain entry into the building, Luethar approaches the priest, and gives a grand, sobbing performance. After a minute of thought and a zone of truth spell, the priest (who reveals himself as Deccan Jones) admits the ‘boy’ through the front door and into the foyer. Through all of this, Ademar watches quietly from the shadows across the street.

Once the door closes behind the Luethar and the Deccan the rogue moves up close to the building concealing him-self in the shadows of a statue of Geedes. As soon as they are inside, Deccan Jones states that they need to get the young ‘lad’ out of those clothes. Luethar wastes no time, launching into a spell intended to charm the priest. The Deccan is unaffected by the spell and is immediately alerted that something is amiss. The halfling wins initiative (by 1) and hurls a color spray spell at his adversary. Again unaffected by Luethars’ magic the Deccan kicks out at him and catches only air as the halfling steps back. The mage counters by conjuring a scorching ray which hits the cleric full force. Robes scorched and smoking, the Geedes disciple calls upon his deity, healing his wounds in a red-grey glow. Another scorching ray is sent into Deccan Jones before Luethar steps back and draws his dagger. A few more quick exchanges take place, none of which do any damage before the Deccan lands an inflict critical wounds attack on Luethar which drains the halfling completely and leaves him laying unconscious on the foyer floor. Just as Luethar hits the floor, Ademar opens the door, sword drawn, to find his companion down and the Deccans’ back to him. Not wasting a perfect opportunity the rogue strikes with his blade in an upward jab which pushes his blade in the priests’ lower back and out of Jones’ chest. Wounded deeply but not yet dead, the holy man turns to this new aggressor and initiative is won by the rogue (by 1 again!) who gets off a full attack taking off Deccan Jones’ arm at the elbow and slashing his throat open with another swipe of his blade. The Deccan of the Church of Geedes falls into a pool of his own blood and dies while Ademar drags the halfling out of the building and administers a healing potion in hopes that he is not yet dead. Luethar comes to and both of them flee the scene leaving one of the halflings’ daggers and a wand of magic missiles behind. The town is soon in an uproar as the priests of the temple comb the area looking for a dirty half-elf boy. They never do find him.

The evening passes uneventfully and morning sees the entire group (a refreshing change after so many individual endeavors, and deaths) heading out to discover the source of Rhetts missing ale. After traveling most of the day down and away from the mountain, the company finds itself in front of a huge cave guarded by two ogres. These sentries are defeated after a short battle after which the companions conceal themselves outside the cave fearing that reinforcements may be on their way from inside. As if on cue two hill giants emerge from the cave, which are also defeated.

Still feeling pretty cock-sure the group loots their opponents and enters the cave. They begin to explore the complex which contains only empty chambers and dead ends, at first…

Holy Shit its the recap

Session starts out with Raell leaving the market place and heading for tread light inn after buying some arrows. Once at tread light he enters and ignores stuck pigs greeting and heads straight to Cor’Nal’s room where they discuss that no business had gone on at the barons estate over the previous night and Luthor's previous assassination of Will Wilson by someone in the form of a troglodyte so by Raell’s reasoning it could have been Luthor because its unlikely that one would naturally be in town. Cor’Nal suggests that we get everyone together and speak of the previous nights and what the actions of the group should be. Raell goes and retrieves Luthor while Cor’Nal goes to retrieve Ademar and hands him the necklace of protection +1 that he had identified the night before. So everyone is brought into a meeting in Cor’Nal’s room where everyone is informed by Cor’Nal that he has information that shows the dwarf they are looking for is in the baron’s estate. Ademar quickly says no to Raell’s suggestions of asking the baron or paying the baron for the dwarf because he feels that both of those options would prove useless. Luthor then speaks up with another option of working with the black glove 13 and in exchange for the assassination of Black Rhett they will help take out the baron. Raell quickly wastes no time in accusing Luthor of the killing of Will Wilson where Luthor defends his status of being innocent. Raell then suggests that before he is willing to go along with the black glove 13 he wishes to speak with them in person and Ademar quickly agrees with that motion. Cor’Nal then starts asking about how Luthor knows of the black glove 13 where Luthor starts supplying the group with a few shady answers to shift the focus of the discussion. Cor’Nal then says that if things are going to continue that we are going to have to be completely honest with each other and not hold secrets and work as a group which everyone agrees to. The group also discuses what is to be done with Gareth and should they include him on everything or should he be left out should he be a spy for someone. The group agrees that they will finish the preparations for tonight’s doings and then judge his reaction to try to figure out if he is in league with anyone or not. Cor’Nal then ask that Gareth accompany him for the day so he can not only keep on eye on him but judge his character and before leaving the room turns to Luthor and pulls out the amulet of golem bane and says that it wasn’t the cause of the curse and that he try not to pawn things off on him that he senses as a threat Luthor accepts the amulet but after a few thoughts hands it back saying that he would rather someone in the front line hold on to it. Luthor then leaves and goes to try to set up a meeting with the black glove 13. He goes and speaks with Tink letting him know that his group is interested in doing the job but they would like to speak with BG13 before accepting it Tink says that he will see what he can do to arrange a meeting with Kazen. He meets with Kazen and explains the situation with him where Luthor is informed that he will not meet with them in person but he will send Tink, Kazen, Digger and a couple others to speak with the group on Boss Kasey’s behalf at 30 minutes after closing downstairs.
Cor’Nal and Gareth leave for the market place, Raell and Ademar stay in the inn for the day and speak with Stuck Pig. While eating breakfast Ademar strikes up a conversation with Stuck Pig about his life and the things that go on around the town. Raell then after hearing some stories slides Stuck Pig 20g and tells him not to tell anyone and to have fun in the market place. After Stuck Pig leaves them Raell asks if Ademar knows anything about the dealings that Luthor is into in the town. Ademar responds and says that he only knows of one that involved a holy man and that he urged him not to continue them on his own but feels that he would not listen.
While in the market place Cor’Nal sells a few of the items that they have received (most likely for a loss) and happens to pick up 2 diamonds worth 300gp each and 1 diamond worth 150gp a ring of white yellow and rose gold in the shape of leaves going around it with a faint glow of evocation and then finds a man selling wands but the man has no clue as to what any of them do and is charging 50g for each of them. So he decides to just buy all 7 of them and give them to Luthor to use and while he is at it he picks up 20 master worked arrows for Ademar. While on his was out of the market place Cor’Nal spots the Baron and Throd at a clothier and he looks them over for any magic affects and finds that the baron carries none but Throd carries many. Cor’Nal speaks to Gareth and finds that he has never been this far north before and hails from North Hembers where he was an enlisted man and after his service was up he joined a mercenary group and then left that to venture north because he has heard that it is more lawless and that there was gold to be made. They leave the market place selling everything but the goblet and the choker.
The rest of the day goes smoothly and the group meets up and spends the day in Tread Light where they discuss previous adventures and speak to Gareth where they learn a little more of him and judge his character while Ademar fights with his lack of tolerance with wine. After closing the group meets down stairs in the tavern as planned and speaks with BG13 about what they plan to do after Black Rhett is eliminated. Raell gets into a heated debate with BG13 over the topic of Farcus Winslow. BG13 says that they have no concern over the dwarf and they have no intention of a counter negotiation with them the group either accepts the offer or doesn’t but there will be no countering. Ademar is concerned that the BG13 has acted out and taken care of things in the same manner as does Black Rhett and they assure him that they are just the voice behind what is done they are not the hammer that carries it out. Raell then brings up the fact that Widow Monterey was not dead or killed by Black Rhett’s doing and that we were involved but did not kill her that she was already dead and that we had to go in to retrieve Luthor at one point for he was in there and dead and that we had went in to retrieve him and bring him back from the dead. This brings the BG13 group to an uneasy stance and they then ask if we are in league with Black Rhett and that they are altruistic and that they don’t want to be taxed any more. They just want the group to break the spokes of the wheel that support the baron in hopes that the baron will fall after words on his own. They want to see the town prosper because it is made up of people that did wrongs and came there to get away and start new but they cannot do it while under the baron's rule and they look to change that. The BG13 states that they are not fond of Raell and that they tire of his talk about the baron the group either takes the offer or not but they will discuss it no longer. The group agrees to take the job and Luthor says the group will do it for 200g per head which Ademar does not seem to be happy with since it’s a job that they have not been able to complete themselves. The group is then given information pertaining to where the people of Black Rhett’s group are and that they are to eliminate only Black Rhett, Marcus Two Blades, Cypher and Keel-hull Tom.
So with some discussion the group heads over to the east side of town where they check out Marcus Two Blades house where there is no smoke coming out of the chimney and the windows are black so after scouting the house the group heads over to The Longest Mile where they get a table and have a drink and Raell decides to get an audience with Black Rhett. Raell speaks with Rhett about any jobs that he might have for him and comes out with nothing more than the information that Rhett’s whole group is in the room with him. For the rest of the night the group sits and watches the inn and as the last of the people leave Keel-hull Tom comes out to throw out a couple of stubborn drunk patrons and gets into an argument with Cor’Nal that got heated but didn’t go any further. The group leaves with the exception of Raell and Gareth who have rooms in the inn and retire to them. Once in their room they lower down a rope and the rest of the group climbs up into their rooms unnoticed. A plan is then devised for Ademar to hide behind the door in Gareth’s room and for Raell to go down and get Flanders to bring up something to fix a supposed leaking roof. The plan goes off without a hitch with Ademar not only hitting him but criting him he is then left in the room and the door is locked behind the group as they go downstairs. Once downstairs Gareth and Ademar take up spots in the stairs Luthor takes up a spot in one of the booths by the front door and Cor’Nal brings in Basali through the back of the kitchen. Raell then goes and pounds on the door where Black Rhett is and telling him that he has seen some people in the stables who he assumes is with the BG13 because they only have one black glove on. Rhett sends out Cypher through a secret door to check after closing the door on Raell. Raell tries to force the door back open and manages to push Keel Hull Tom out of the way and enters yelling they’re here while Keel-hull Tom pulls out a great sword and pushes the door closed again. Cypher then comes back in saying that there wasn’t anyone out there and then they bring Raell into the room and the fight starts with Cor’Nal casting shape wood and takes away 10’ of the wall exposing the still living Raell and the whole group and the fight ensues. Black Rhett and his group is slain with Raell almost dying. After healing Raell the group brings the bodies of the dead inside the tavern and covers up the sight of the battle. Luthor searches the room Rhett was in and finds a secret trap door where he finds Fangis and leaves him for Cor’Nal to retrieve and he heads out of the room for the room Flanders was left in and that’s where the session ends.