Sessions 28-29

RUINS OF TANNOCH

Sunstrong 13, 4433

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 3
Robert the Impetuous, fighter 4
Salzige Brauen, necromancer 2
Eric Withakay, cleric of Solaris 5
Young Joe Spruce, druid 2
+ Lauriel, paladin of Solaris 2 (NPC)

The Crypts

Wraiths of long-interred sorcerors emerged from their funeral urns amongst an unearthly howling. Battle was joined and the group desperately attempted to hold their own against silver blades and magic. Lauriel the shade was brought low by a scimitar, dissolving into the shadowy substance of her world. Coughing from a stinking cloud spell, the group fled back up the stairs into the tower.

With Daqqa-Jin's sneaking and some tricky tactics, the party managed to not only retrieve the sword Dawnbearer but evade the rest of the wraiths and defeat two wandering, dog-faced gargoyles that had come to investigate the noise.

With these foes dispatched, a friend was revealed - Marta, the last member of the Order of Tannoch. The sharp-tongued nun insisted the group destroy the remaining monsters infesting the crypts beneath, else they would be deemed looters & bandits. Reluctantly the group agreed.

At the same time, another wanderer arrived: a robed Orichalan named Salzige Brauen, an explorer who got lost inside the Night Wolf Inn and found himself on the fog lake! He swiftly joined the crew and put his magical powers to use. 

Searching for the remaining enemies, the group explored the tombs beneath Tannoch island. An assortment of funeral goods were scooped up, including a nice red & white cross medal, which Gorr jauntily pinned on.

Parts of the dungeon were suffused with a distant, warbling song, though its origins were unclear. Many passageways were blocked with rusted iron bars, and sometimes Daqqa-Jin would use his barbaric strength to bend these out of the way with a metallic screech for the group to continue on.

DM: *in a falsetto* "The bars bend with a creeeeeak!"
Player: *laughs* "Please do that sound again!"

The group discovered the tomb of Raeldus I, the old king who had built many of the structures throughout the land. They didn't disturb it, perhaps thinking of the many other undead they've found in tombs in the past.

Various crypts were littered with the bodies of intruders and dead adventurers. Some were old skeletons, (each missing a hand) while others were newer and still carried some equipment. From these latter bodies the group took some scattered notes, a crude map of the forest, and a silver & jade key carved into a skull motif.

The tomb of Raeldus II was found, past a hallway filled with displayed armour. This tomb was already looted, and graffiti of every kind splashed about with paint or scrawled into the stonework.

Past a broken mist-filled room and an old knocked-down wall, the group found a strange statue or shrine: a faintly glowing red cross held up by winged snakes. It didn't seem to do anything, but more one-handed skeletons were found nearby. Through another set of bars, Salzige Brauen found an ugly stone idol, depicting a humanoid with wings and monkey's paws. It felt uncanny in his hands, but he liked it and took it with him.

They found a domed room decorated with a celestial motif of sun, moon & stars. The words "chant the song of the cosmos" were carved on the wall. Daqqa-Jin climbed up to touch one of the sparkling stars on the ceiling, and they came to life as sparkling motes of energy that zapped him with electricity, so the group fled!

Recovery & Success

The twinkling stars and a few more encounters with magic-wielding wraiths had put the group in rough shape. They rested up above in the ruined tower, asking Rauffe the lake-bandit to return for them with his boat in a few days' time.

They kept exploring the tombs, fighting a group of fiery bats in a cave, and exploring the mist-filled tunnels beneath the island. Salzige's help proved invaluable when his skeletal servitor fell into a crevasse to the bottom of the lake bed!

Returning to the dome of animated stars, Eric sang a hymn to Solaris while the rest of the group watched nervously. A distant grinding sound could be heard, and the mysterious music heard earlier was now louder. Wandering through the halls, the group found a secret door had now opened. Inside was a shield decorated with knights, resting inside a magic circle. It was definitely the source of the eerie melodies. When Robert brought it out of the circle, the song became more coherent - it was clearly many voices chanting in unison, and as he held it the music slowly faded away.

Player: "Yeah that was in the back of the hymn book, under one-hit wonders!"

Returning to Marta the nun, she confirmed that all the monsters in the dungeons had been eliminated. She offered one more challenge: if the group could bring new recruits to the Order of Tannoch so the order could perpetuate itself, she would offer them an oracle from the magical Oak of Cicollus. The yellow-leafed tree on the island was magical, and once every seven years it was able to answer one question with all the gods' knowledge.

Rauffe ferried the group back to shore and said they were always welcome as rebels against the Mad King. He pointed out another location to the east, past the lake: a ruined city beside a Moonlit Zone that might be interesting to the group.

Monsters Defeated:

2 gargoyles (1000 xp)
5 wraiths (875 xp)
10 firebats (380 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

25 gold (already distributed)
9 pieces of jewelry, some very nice
4 silver scimitars
grotesque idol
singing shield
various notes, a map & a key from dead adventurers

Session 27

LONG-DELAYED RETURN

12-13 Sunstrong, 4433
6 subjective days passed in the room wilds

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 3
Robert the Swift, fighter 4
Eric Withakay, cleric 5
Young Joe Spruce, druid 2
Lauriel, paladin 2 (NPC)

Old Friends

Eric Withakay had recovered from his brush with death. With a few days of casting spells he was able to cure Robert the Swift's (multiple) curses and heal the group's injuries, bringing the team back up to full strength!

The group proceeded into Room I - The Forest of Dreams, intending to track down the bandit group that might lead them to Reymund the Pale [Session 6 downtime]. They proceeded to the Forgotten Village where Eric was able to make his tithes to Solaris, burning a few bricks of incense and the three candles looted from a flying demon on the Sacred Mountain [Session 17]. As the candles burned down, bright greenish gems were revealed inside before being consumed in a holy light.

Eric felt as if the celestial displeasure he'd been feeling for a while was greatly reduced, although not eliminated. Perhaps Istus the Colorless was still bent out of shape at the cleric's defection to another religion? 

John: "Oh yeah, you just go out for 'a few adventures with the boys' and then what happens?"

As a reward for his devotion, Eric was granted some one-use spells and a vision of two ruined shrines that Solaris wished restored: one in Eralion's keep, now cleared of monsters; the other further away in the ruins of another town. In addition, Shandril's young protegé Lauriel was now a crusading warrior and insisted on accompanying the group on their quest.

The party ventured towards into new territory in search of the bandits. Following a trail of golden bell flowers, they came to the shore of a vast grey lake of fog.

The Witch

They found a group of shades lairing in the ruins of a fishing village with a crooked stone dock. These were the "bandits" they'd heard so much about, who turned out to be rebels against King Wakelinus. Their leader Rauffe became quite friendly once he heard Gorr speak a curse on all kings, reasoning that none of the Mad King's servants would do that.

They spoke on many topics with Rauffe and learned that he couldn't take his boat out on the lake anymore due to the depredations of a "witch" - the party agreed to try and defeat her.

Searching for this witch took a few hours of walking along the shoreline. The party spotted a golden light dancing & bobbing in the "water" - calling out revealed it to be a maiden wearing a shimmering white robe, with sparkling golden hair. A strange oddity.

She introduced herself as Damascena and all the adventurers who looked upon her were enraptured by her beauty. Only Lauriel was immune, and disgusted by the situation to boot!

Damascena seemed to take a liking to Eric right away. When she learned the group had defeated two of the land's shadow demons [Session 12 and 14], she gave them a magical sword called Dawn Bearer as a reward! They enjoined her to leave Rauffe and his men alone, and she agreed to do so in exchange for Eric promising to visit her again.

On the way back to Rauffe the party spotted a group of eight noble-looking beasts - unicorns! It is known that they are wild creatures of the Moon and will only suffer the touch of the virtuous. At Gorr's suggestion, Lauriel approached and the paladin was accepted near them without complaint. After a few peaceful moments, they heard a distant sound and ran off.

[Lauriel has gained +1 morale for this experience - good thinking!]

Rauffe was pleased to hear that the threat of the "witch" was gone. He explained much about the legendary Moonlit Zones where he thought his men (including Reymund) were imprisoned, and their terrible guardians.

He and his men planned to row out onto the lake to Tannoch Rest-of-Kings, an island of tombs tended by an order of nuns since the days of the Old Kingdom. They hadn't been heard from since the great calamity befell the land and anything could have happened in that time!

The Island

The small rock jutting out from the fog was surmounted by a crumbling, ruined tower. An ancient oak tree with yellow leaves (exceptional here in this drab land) was the only other landmark.

After calling out and almost being hit by a projectile from an unknown assailant, the group decided on a stealthy approach, circling around the other side of the island. Gorr threw up a rope and the group ascended, checking out the tree and tower. Both Gorr and Joe got strange impressions from the tree - as if it were not evil, but surrounded by it, bent under its weight.

Daqqa-Jin climbed up the tower with a rope in his hand for his friends, and got into a fight at the top. A 9' tall, bloated, corpulent humanoid shade, its only weapons were iron nails in its fingers! A good shot from Robert and the barbarian's own axe sorted it out. The group spotted another of the beasts attempting to flee inside the tower but Robert and Gorr brought it down in a hail of missiles.

Three small birds alighted on the tower when the fighting was done, and spoke to the group. They knew much of the history of the place, but were easily frightened by any action.

Progressing down inside the tower, most of it was ruined. The group found the corpses of the poor nuns and recovered some silver treasure [helpfully detected by Dawn Bearer].

Progressing downwards into the catacombs beneath the tower, the party entered a room lined with burial niches where broken pottery crunched underfoot. They were ambushed by four more of the ogrish shades right at the entrance, and the battle got intense. Daqqa-Jin pulled out his Horn of Blasting to dispatch the creatures, but with great collateral damage. The entire back wall of the mausoleum was smashed, showering shards of pottery, grave goods and the ashes of the dead around the room - and releasing the spirits of the dead within, who emerged with a sepulchral howling!

Monsters Defeated:

6 shadowy ogres (312 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

silver plate set [3 items]
Dawn Bearer

Treasure Cashed In:

3 greenish candles from the Sacred Mountain
[These were just monster trophies of an unknown value when they were tithed by Eric. Since the gems inside were discovered in the process, it's only fair that everyone gets a share of treasure XP for them.]

Session 7

THE FOREST OF DREAMS 3

15th Meadowlark

About eight days

Characters:

Robert the Swift, Fighter 1 (Steve)

Suba-Jin, Cleric 1 (John)

Gorr, Barbarian 2 (Chris)

Lothos the Undesirable, Elf 2 (Mike)

Eric Withakay, Cleric 3 (Justin)

Meep, Dwarf 2 (Spencer)

*****

Return to the Inn

While the group rested up in the Forgotten Village, people were getting hungry. Robert went out hunting and got lost. He avoided a group of large, floating, glowing jellyfish, almost starved, shot a huge chromatic peacock with sparkling feathers and found his way back to the village after three days.

The group prepared to return to the Inn furniture with all their loot. Lauriel (one of the more lucid town guards) agreed to be their guide back to the Grandfather Tree in exchange for the group's promise to bring back more metal weapons & equipment for the village. A few initial gifts cemented the promise, and they headed back, only deviating once to avoid another pack of 12 floating jellyfish. Robert left small stone trail markers along the way, hoping these would help them find their way back later.

Returning to the Grandfather Tree, the group listened to it ramble for a while:

"A lion & a white hart roam the woods, escaped from the Mad King's preserve. One is evil, one good, but nobody is sure which."

"Many great knights were in the Mad King’s retinue. Alart The Handsome was the greatest of them all, but I have not seen him in many years. Please say hello if you see him."

Gorr asked Grandfather Tree to create a 'perfect branch' for him to make a bow with, if he would plant its seeds in far-off places. The old tree agreed to this and some acorns clattered to the ground. It said it would take some time to grow such a branch, though.

Back at the Inn, James Everbleed told the group that only one day had passed since they entered the Forest of Dreams!

He helped the group buy some more equipment, which they picked up at the carriage house from Garden - a hulking man of few words with a hat obscuring his face, who didn't think much of the group's look. They donated Philotheos Sten's stolen harp to the inn, and James was happy to take it, but seemed to see through the group's attempt to hide their gains in a safe place. They asked him about Gordzu-Kor (the name printed on the coins they found), and he said it was the home of some of the Inn's patrons, including a member named Habakkuk.

Meep the Dwarf decided to become a member of the Night Wolf Inn Excursionist's Guild (a happier tattooing event than last time), and a small celebration was had in the tavern. Three pale, heavily-armed and tattooed warrior women were drinking heavily, singing songs about fighting wolves & beheading men. Gorr attempted to hang out with them, and could follow along with their music with a bit of effort. 

Forest of Dreams

The group managed to follow Robert's trail of small stone structures to the Forgotten Village. Shandril wasn't around, and Baran (missing his right hand, he is the head of the guards) said he couldn't spare anyone to guide them to see the Sage of Lune, and anyway it was too dangerous to go, it wasn't worth it. He was willing to draw them a crude map in charcoal of the local region, though.

Black areas are Moonlit Zones.

Grey area is the river.

The crescent is the Temple of Lune.

The group ventured out into the forest, guided only by this map. They got lost at first, ending up at the great crevasse looking over the ruined coliseum. Reorienting themselves after a few days, they came to a square structure on a hill.

[sorry about the fog of war, the picture has a cutaway view of stuff inside. You'll have to discover it yourselves!]

Venturing inside, vision and hearing were reduced to 20' by thick clouds of heliotrope incense. The smell of melons and summer rain induced a tranquil calm.

The group investigated some strange wooden boards that had been set into the wall for unknown purposes, and a fat yellow candle resting on a stone sphere. In the third room they were ambushed by two groups of shadowy humanoids: four feet high, unarmed, with the heads of dogs. Pinned in a narrow corridor, the group used flaming oil to good effect to keep the pressure off. Eventually the beasts broke and ran, but not before Eric was bitten several times. The party backed into a previous room and regrouped. 

Treasure:

none

Monsters Defeated:

9 shadowy dog-men - 90 xp

TOTAL

15 experience each

Note - For those new to the system. Observe how a life-or-death struggle against triple your numbers still gives a paltry sum of xp. Combat can sometimes be a bad idea, and the world is dangerous. For characters to advance, they must obtain treasure and bring it back home.

Players To-Do:

-Send me your character's alignment (needed from Viegar, Aladar IX, Tullius Jr), race including human subtype (Aladar IX, Tullius Jr), religion if applicable for any non-clerics, and stats (Viegar, Aladar IX, Tullius Jr please).

-Send me your character's AGE if I don't already have it. I have only Viegar, Gorr and Suba-Jin's right now. There are tables in the book HERE (page 23), you can pick something in an acceptable range, or I can roll for you.

-The first 3 people to message me with the phrase "Blue Rose" get 200 xp. [This offer is expired]