Narrative Summary

[leon]

Nov 8, 2010 15:49:19 GMT -5 Velaryon said:

Using the extinct volcano of Mount Thargill as a landmark

wait. what?


THERES A VOLCANO IN TETHYR AND NO ONES THOUGHT TO MENTION THIS?!?!?!?!?!

[Velaryon]

Oh wow, I had almost forgotten about this. Yes, there totally is, although the key word there is "extinct."

It's the easternmost of the Starspire Mountains, the mountain range in northern Tethyr. You guys were told during your initial guild mission to use it as a landmark while traveling but to stay the hell away from there because it's very dangerous. I can't remember whether they told you exactly what is there.

[leon]

still, when hit with a magical drought and heatwave, the valcano should probably be the first place to look for a cause, extinct or not. ESPECIALLY if its supposed to be dangerous there.


person1: "For some reason all our rain is irradiated and its slowly killing everything!"

person2: "we need to find out why this is happening! but we can knock the old nuclear power plant off the list, its been shut down for years, also its inhabbited by dangerous irradiated wolves."

person1: "that makes perfect sense! its probably the gypsies fault!"

[Velaryon]

Irradiated wolves... I like that.

I'm going to go ahead and assume someone did tell you why Mt. Thargill should be avoided - there's known to be a very big dragon living up there. One who mostly causes no problems around the surrounding countryside. Rumors disagree about just how big the dragon is, and even what kind it is, but they do agree that a dragon has been sighted there every once in awhile.

Leon, as a well-read individual who has access to some history tomes, would also know that it's been many centuries since that volcano has erupted.

That said, it's still a lead you can check out.

[Tyrrox Zym]

I do recall hearing about the dragon, just dont remember the inactive volcano part.

[Velaryon]

I'm not sure that was ever brought up in-character. It hasn't really been relevant to anything you guys have done since the very first session, after all.

[Velaryon]

Session 37: Saturday, April 4, 2015

Tyrrox, Vanemuine, Goroc, Rynstag, and Yukimura return to Mosstone, tired, bedraggled, and injured. Tyrrox makes a report to mayor Steeleye, and explains that the disappearances were being caused by a tendriculos, which was eating people. He tells the dwarf that they have defeated the monster, but that a fey with the appearance of an elf eluded them.

The group retire to the inn for the night, and the following morning they are joined by Leon, Thallatos, and Alice, who return from Amn via a scroll of teleportation. Returning to Tethyr’s midsummer-level heat is a huge change for them, coming from the wintry conditions of Esmeltaran.

Tyrrox fills them in on the events in the forest, and they tell him what happened in Esmeltaran. Tyrrox observes that Alice remains distant from Thallatos and does not seem to fully trust him, despite agreeing to come with him. The group decides to visit the druid grove to ask for some assistance on other matters. Leon mentions a lady in a bag, and Tyrrox is confused.

Even though the hour is early, Goroc is already at the bar drinking with Yukimura and Rynstag. Vanemuine is keeping an eye on the gorillas, and is in fact currently engaged in a staring contest with Patrick. Tyrrox, Leon, and Vanemuine decide to leave them there for the moment, and the three of them plus Alice head for the druid grove.

When they reach the druid grove, the group is unable to speak with the Archdruid right away because he is occupied, but they do run into a familiar face – Nym Laertian, a young elven druid that the group met way back when Thallatos first joined them, on the mission to defeat the pirates, and again at the banquet celebration in Darromar. Nym is impressed by how far they’ve come, and glad to see them again. Leon explains that they need someone to break an enchantment on a woman they’ve got locked up, whom he describes as a sex slave. Nym is confused and more than a little alarmed at this, but explains that the needed spell is not druid magic. Leon reluctantly decides to use a scroll he was hoping to hold on to, but needs a more private area to take care of this.

Nym leads the four of them to a secluded spot near the edge of the grove, whereupon Thallatos opens the portable hole. The marilith skeleton comes out, holding a very angry-looking woman with a bottle of air stuffed in her mouth. Nym actually recognizes the skeleton for the demon it used to be. Thallatos and Leon quickly explain to the others that the lady was being held, presumably against her will since she’s under magical domination, by the same man that had Alice as an unwitting hostage and servant. The captive woman spits the bottle out of her mouth and calls them liars, saying she was abducted against her will from her husband. Nym isn’t sure who to believe, and is on the verge of calling for help when Leon pulls out his scroll and breaks the enchantment over her.

The woman’s demeanor changes, and Thallatos commands the marilith skeleton to set her down. She tells the others they can call her Lady Noh, and thanks them for freeing her from the spell she was under. Noh expresses a desire to get revenge, and Leon asks her whether she’s capable of doing so. She says that she might be able to take him by surprise, but if he survives her initial attack, she does not think she can resist his mental domination.

Lady Noh turns out to be a fountain of information on her former captor. As his “wife,” she did not know everything that was going on in his operation, but was privy to quite a lot of his business. She reveals that the path to the Underdark that Leon discovered was there because they would occasionally kidnap people (if they seemed like no one would miss them) and sell them as slaves to the drow. Sometimes, if the enchanter (she doesn’t know his true name) took a fancy to a young woman, he would keep her for himself and make her one of the restaurant’s staff. The enchanter would sometimes take these women to bed.

However, Alice was different. She was brought to Runhave’s Masks by someone else, who paid them quite a lot of money to keep the girl hidden and out of the way. She was worth so much to these people that the enchanter would not risk endangering the investment by touching her.

When Leon shows her the items he took from the enchanter’s office, she is able to tell him what most of them do. She reveals everything she knows about what kind of magic he casts, including that his enchantment powers exceed anything she has ever even heard of, but that he was completely unable to cast several other kinds of magic, including illusion, evocation, or necromancy.

Lady Noh is intent on getting revenge, and so Leon and Thallatos decide to help out a bit. They give her the enchanter’s mask, which allows her to magically disguise her appearance and improve her ability to lie. Thallatos doctors her appearance with his disguise kit, attaching prosthetic elf ears and using clothes and makeup to make her look like a male. Leon lends her his Ring of Spell Turning, telling her that if she activates it before she attacks, it should protect her from the enchanter’s domination and possibly even reverse the spell so that he falls under her control. However, he has Thallatos place Lady Noh under a magical geas to bring the ring back to Heavenforth Manor, since it’s not only extremely valuable but also Leon’s wedding ring. Lady Noh vows to return the ring and to bring the enchanter’s head with her as proof. Leon gives her his last teleportation scroll, and she is sent back to Esmeltaran to kill the man who enslaved her.

With that taken care of, the group asks Nym whether he would like to join them at Heavenforth Manor. Nym says he would love to, but that he doesn’t think the Archdruid will let him go. Leon asks if they can get an appointment with the Archdruid, and Nym, since he’s the personal secretary to the Archdruid, arranges it and takes them over to meet him.

Arkaneus Silvermane, Archdruid of Tethyr, is an old man worn down by worries and stress, who looks beaten down and weary when the group is introduced to him. In spite of that he greets them warmly, and asks them what he can do for them. The group fills in the Archdruid on their adventures in the forest, including the tendriculos and the unidentified fey creature which escaped from them. They ask to take Nym with them. Arkaneus knows that Nym wants to adventure and see the world, but says that he is needed here at the grove. He is young and has a long life ahead of him, and doesn’t need to rush off into things. However, he agrees not only to send Nym with them but also to equip him for the journey if they venture back into the forest and rid it of this malicious fey.

The group debates whether to accept this offer. Leon says that he thinks they have more important matters to attend to, including getting Alice’s memory restored to see what she knows and finding out how to stop the drought. Alice, however, says that though she does not know what memories she has lost, she believes it’s important to stop this thing before it takes more lives. Her memories can wait another day or two. The others agree, perhaps somewhat reluctantly, to take the Archdruid’s offer. Nym is excited, and Leon tells the young druid he can come with them.

Thallatos heads back to the area south of town where he left the siege crab and the twins, while the others wait for him in town. Tyrrox finds mayor Steeleye and tells him what’s going on. The dwarf is glad to hear they will be going out after the fey again.

As they rendezvous outside of town and follow the wide-open trail the tendriculos left into the forest, the group decides to try and draw out the mysterious fey. Leon remembers Tyrrox telling him that the fey was singing some kind of song, and suggests that they try singing the same song in hopes of drawing it out.

As large as it is, siege crab is able to navigate the trail left by the tendriculos, though it’s somewhat of a tight fit, especially trailing the siege carriage. It’s also a bumpy ride, but the crab’s presence allows the group to travel more quickly while also remaining fresher. Between the carriage and the crab’s interior, they are able to comfortably fit Thallatos, Leon, Tyrrox, Alice, Nym, Mizuki, Ayame, and the marilith skeleton (Thallatos replaced his umber hulk into the portable hole when he got back to the camp south of Mosstone).

In order to combat the heat, Leon decides to continuously fire his hellrime blast into the walls since siege crab is not harmed by the cold. The blast of coolness helps keep everyone’s energy level up as they keep trying to lure the fey out of hiding during the long ride.

After a few hours, the trail ends as they return to the scene of the previous day’s battle. The slain tendriculos, which was polymorphed by Rynstag into a squirrel, is still there, though something has picked the corpse clean of meat. Unfortunately, there is no sign of the fey.

Though she has no memory of the life in which she acquired her survival skills, Alice nonetheless rediscovers that she has impressive tracking skills. While everyone else stays back, she has Tyrrox guide her around the battlefield, reconstructing events by identifying the tracks of everyone involved. She is able to isolate the tracks of the fey, but since it was often making short-distance teleports rather than walking, it proves difficult to track. However, she reasons that if it can only hop short distances, they can try to determine the direction it fled by organizing a circular search pattern expanding outward from the battle site.

It takes several more hours of searching, but eventually Alice’s method proves successful and the group finds a direction. Unfortunately, without the tendriculos’s path to follow, siege crab cannot pass into the dense forest without wrecking more trees, so they leave it behind. The group follows this path for awhile longer, still trying to draw out their prey, when they hear something large approaching from another direction.

Crashing through the overgrowth, the group sees a large creature that resembles a six-legged lion, but made up primarily of brambles and thorns rather than flesh. The mysterious elf-looking fey is atop it.

Using the same magic as before, the fey takes control of Tyrrox like a puppet, and when it leaps off the briar creature’s back, Tyrrox jumps back as well. Leon fires an icy eldritch blast at the fey, but its nimble reflexes allow it to dodge. He is, however, successful at using a scroll of dimensional anchor to take away its ability to teleport, limiting the fey’s mobility. Thallatos orders his marilith to scoop up Alice and protect her (over her protests), and then he pulls a new trick out of his magical repertoire: a dense acidic fog, which settles over both the fey and his brambly minion, burning their skin and slowing their movements. However, it also blocks their sight of the fey.

The brambly creature soon emerges from the bank of acidic fog, right into a swarm of insects that Thallatos conjured to attack it. Though the fey does not exit out the front of the fog, the group is able to have some idea of what it’s doing by watching Tyrrox, who continues to mimic his movements.

Leon flies ahead, then shouts at Thallatos to clear out the fog. He dispels the fog, then uses another dispel to clear the enchantment from Tyrrox. He orders the marilith to let go of Alice and move up to attack the briar creature. With the fog gone, Leon unleashes a powerful blast of hellfire, putting all the extra stored energy of his gloves and walking stick into it.

As the marilith gets close, the briar creature unleashes a blast of thorns at it, which rain down on the skeleton and cause a bit of damage (though not as much as it would have on any of the living beings in the fight). Tyrrox, now free of his puppet strings, scoops up his dropped lance and charges, leaping over two mounds of vegetation to strike a solid blow on the creature.

The fey attempts to cast a spell at the suddenly too-close-for-comfort centaur, and when it fails the fey dives for cover behind the embattled briar beast. From there it’s only a matter of time, as everyone closes in. Tyrrox defeats the briar beast, and Alice emerges from invisibility to blast the fey with divine energy. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the fey drops the scroll it was holding, dispels its disguising magic to reveal its true visage, and puts up its hands.

Now that it stands revealed, the creature looks less like an elf. It stands about six and a half feet tall, with golden skin, glowing green eyes, and antlers made of wood. It has a leafy mane on its head that extends down its back, giant thorny spikes protruding from its shoulders, and lichen-covered arms. Leon and Tyrrox identify this creature as a rare and powerful fey called a Verdant Prince. In addition to possessing numerous magical capabilities, they are known to be able to strike magically-binding bargains with mortals.

Keeping weapons and magic at the ready, the group questions their captive, who calls himself Tarraway, Prince of the Forest. Though Tarraway blusters that he’s hundreds of years old, his lack of knowledge about many subjects and the fact that he’s never even heard of rain betray his lie. The truth comes out that Tarraway is only a few months old; having been birthed into a diseased forest, his mental state seems less than perfectly healthy, and he’s also very naïve about some subjects.

It turns out that Tarraway does eat people, though it’s as much about hunger as the fact that he believes the humanoids of Mosstone are squatters in his kingdom. Though they recognize how highly dangerous he is, some members of the group don’t feel good about killing Tarraway since he seems to be a child despite his size and power. After his frantic attempts to trade them power, knowledge, and other things for his life, Leon agrees to make a binding Oath Bond with the Verdant Prince. However, he needs time to draw up a binding legal contract, so they make Tarraway take Thallatos’s bottle of air and go into the portable hole.

When the contract is ready, Thallatos takes Tarraway out of the portable hole and Leon reads it to him. The terms are as follows: Tarraway cannot eat people ever again, nor kill or cause them harm except in defense of his own life. In addition, he must accept one request from the Archdruid every year, as long as the request is not suicidal for him.

Tarraway agrees, creating a magical oath bond with Leon, and then puts his thumbprint on the contract, which makes it legally binding in Leon’s eyes as well. Then Tarraway demands his gear back, including the scroll he dropped, because it wasn’t part of the agreement.

The group returns to the druid grove with Tarraway in tow, and turns him over to the druids. They explain to Archdruid Silvermane the agreement they struck, and though he is alarmed at having a Verdant Prince walking more or less free, he is more than happy to have the threat taken care of. Silvermane releases Nym from his duties to travel to Heavenforth Manor with them, and gives him some gifts to keep him safe on the journey.

The group then returns to the village, where Tyrrox informs the mayor of what they’ve done. Angar “Steeleye” Axeson says that none of them will ever pay for food, drink, or rooms in Mosstone again. Tyrrox asks him to extend the same assistance to Lady Noh if she should pass through town, and describes the woman to him. Steeleye agrees.

Steeleye asks if there’s anything else he can do, and Thallatos asks if there’s anywhere he can find black onyx gems. Steeleye says that there isn’t a place in town that would sell them, but promises to see what he can find among the travelers.

Since the hour is late, the group decides to stay the night at the inn. While Tyrrox is dancing, Leon asks around for Raina Scarlett, the pirate captain he encountered here the other night. He learns that she just left town an hour before, headed north. By asking around a bit more, he learns that there’s a cove up that way not too far from the road. He gets hold of a map, learns roughly where it is, and enlists Tyrrox to help him get there quickly. Leon ties himself to Tyrrox with a long rope, and Tyrrox pulls him like a kite.

As they approach the cove, they spot a small rowboat on the shore with three figures around it, who appear to be loading supplies onto the boat. Leon asks Tyrrox to wait a distance away, then turns invisible and flies toward the boat. He confirms that Raina Scarlett is present, and that the other two are men he’s never seen before. Leon sits down in the boat then dismisses his invisibility invocation.

Raina immediately draws her cutlass and hammer, and the other two go for their blades as well a moment later. Leon assures them he is not there to fight, and instead makes the pirate an offer. He wants her to act as a privateer to protect ships carrying food to Tethyr, and pillage the pirates herself. In exchange, he offers to outfit her with a better pirate ship and pay her and her crew a regular stipend. They may keep anything they take off the pirates except food, which will be delivered to either Myratma or Zazesspur (her choice). Raina agrees, on the condition that she chooses the ship. Leon agrees, and adds one more condition of his own: he will place neutral observer on her ship to keep an eye on what she’s doing. Leon offers Raina 5,000 gold up front, in exchange for meeting in 30 days on the 8th of Hammer. She tells him to leave word at the Winsome Repose, in the Harbor District of Zazesspur.

Their arrangement concluded, Leon turns invisible, makes his way back to Tyrrox, and the two of them head back to Mosstone.

In the meantime, Thallatos has an unexpected conversation with a man that turns out to be Lord Jordy Gallum, the Count of Greenshores (though he jokes they should be called Brownshores these days). Count Gallum proves to be an unassuming man, one who can easily be mistaken for a particularly well-dressed and well-gromed commoner until he reveals his true identity.

The two get along well, and each extends open invitations to each other’s residences. Count Gallum says that his wife prefers to cook meals herself rather than have servants do it, and promises that her cooking is quite good. Jordy takes his leave, and Thallatos passes the rest of the time talking with Alice until the others return. Steeleye returns and gives Thallatos a handful of onyx gems, though he now knows what they’re used for and is visibly uncomfortable with the knowledge.

The group decides not to stay the night after all, and set off in the darkness for home. As they follow the road back into the pass through the Starspire Mountains, Thallatos stops where the bodies of the six fire giants were left the other night. He doesn’t currently have enough gems to animate any of them, but spends a few hours harvesting their bones for later reanimation (while the others wait patiently and with only mild expressions of disgust for the grisly work).

The group continues south out of the mountain pass and stops in Zazesspur. Various items of loot are sold, Thallatos cleans out several magic shops to buy enough gems to last him quite awhile, and when everyone’s ready, they head back home.

After a brief happy reunion with Helena, Leon gathers together the entire party and the others that have been traveling with them, plus Nym Eveningfall, Solius, and other important people around the manor. Leon explains the deal he struck with Raina Scarlett, including the need for an observer on the ship. The others see the sense in Leon’s plan, though Thallatos seems slightly affronted that he was in the dark about this plan. After some slight discussion, Solius is nominated as the most logical choice to join the pirate crew. He concedes the sense of it, but is reluctant to leave his children again. He makes Leon personally guarantee their safety, then agrees to take the job.

The group takes a day to recover from their travels and get things done around the manor. Thallatos reorganizes his undead legion, trying to decide what he will let go to make room for some fire giant skeletons. Leon spends the day with Helena, who is six months pregnant and happy to update him on the goings-on he has missed. For example, a man named Morris Melville had shown up at the castle the other day hoping to interview the count or the others, but after consulting Leon through the journey book, Helena told Mr. Melville that it would be several days before they returned and he would have to either wait for an interview or come back another time. Mr. Melville left contact information and request for an interview. Since then, he’s been touring the castle on his own for an article he’s writing.

The following morning, Thallatos, Leon, Tyrrox, Mizuki, Ayame, and Alice all pile in to siege crab and head for the hills north of Myratma, seeking the lair of the dragon Maegor. Of the six of them, only Tyrrox has been there before, but he remembers the lair being located in an underwater cave about 20 miles north of Myratma. It takes them awhile following the shoreline until Tyrrox finds the spot he thinks it’s located, then about 15 minutes of underwater searching (aided by a water breathing spell from Alice).

Once the entrance to the cave is located, it’s decided to send Tyrrox in alone first to demonstrate the group’s peaceful intentions and ask for leave to enter. Tyrrox enters the cave, shakes off the magical wards protecting the place, and finds a familiar-looking youth just hanging out in the cave. The youth (who of course is Maegor in his human form) takes a pencil-sized object from behind his ear and it morphs into a full-sized spear. Tyrrox quickly explains his purpose in coming, and Maegor agrees to let the others come in, without siege crab.

They all pass the wards as well, and Maegor greets them. He recognizes everyone but Thallatos and Alice from the dance contest riot, and praises their skill as well as thanking them for providing the most fun he’s had in months. Leon and Tyrrox explain that they’re trying to restore Alice’s memory and believe they need a wish spell to do so. Maegor decides to try a few things first, just in case. He directs Alice to sit up on a large, round stone platform that is enchanted with healing magic. In a show of support for her, Thallatos climbs up there as well.

He regrets that decision a moment later when the two of them are bathed in positive energy, which due to the necromancer’s tomb-tainted soul affects him as if he were an undead creature himself and thus nearly kills him. Alice is healed of all wounds, sickness, and pretty much anything else, but her memory is unaffected. Maegor then retrieves a magic rod from his stash of loot and tries to dispel the magic on her, but it also fails.

Finally, Maegor retrieves and blows a magic horn, which conjures up a heroes’ feast, a magical banquet that provides several healing benefits, and invites the lot of them to sit down to dine with him. They do so, and while they eat they discuss the problem.

Leon explains the full story of how they came to rescue Alice, and Maegor reveals that he is not able to cast the wish spell, nor does he have anything in his treasure hoard that can do so. However, when Leon produces the letter he and Thallatos found in the enchanter’s desk, Maegor recognizes the “1BA” seal on the letter. He stands up, rummages through his pile of coins, and produces a coin to show them. It’s stamped with that same seal, and the mint mark reads “First Bank of Amn.”

With that piece of information revealed, Leon starts to put some of the pieces together. The bank is apparently behind Alice’s kidnapping and the erasure of her memory. It has also been determined by now that whatever is causing the drought is either powerful epic magic, divine interference, or an artifact. A bank as rich as the First Bank of Amn would likely have the resources to procure such an artifact, if it exists. The connection between the two is not obvious, but Leon at least seems to suspect that there is such a connection.

Maegor says that if Leon’s theory is correct, the bank (likely with the backing of the Amnian government) is either waging high-level economic warfare on Tethyr, or softening them up as a prelude to invasion. Since diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained at best for the past six years, this theory seems credible.

Maegor agrees to help, to do his best to locate a wish spell so that Alice’s memory can be restored. Suddenly it’s not just about curing her – she could have secrets of national importance locked up in her brain. However, he still wants fair value for his service. The group describes for him the armor they saw the dragon Meranoth wearing, and offers to have a similar set of mithral plate armor crafted to fit Maegor’s draconic form. The bronze dragon considers this a fair trade, and transforms to his true form so that they can measure his size. Maegor is also invited to Heavenforth Manor either to visit or to stay. He promises to bring the wishes to the manor if he obtains them, but states that he is much more comfortable in aquatic environments and isn’t sure whether he could be comfortable there for too long. However, he does like the prospect of getting some more excitement in his life, so Leon settles in to tell him about some of their adventures…

XP Awarded: enough to get everyone to level 15

[Velaryon]

Session 38: Saturday, September 17, 2016

On the way back to Heavenforth Manor, the group discusses what their next move should be. Trusting the dragon Maegor to find a wish for them, the group’s primary concern right now is replenishing their funds, which are being spent at a very quick rate. Eventually, it’s decided that they will head eastward to further investigate the undead city of Iltkazar, and hopefully find some more things there they can use to offset their expenses.

When they reach the castle, the group meets with Red, who informs them of an idea one of his dwarven crew has suggested: to tunnel down underground in hopes of finding an underground lake from which they can pump water. The group quickly decides that the potential benefit is not worth the risk of stumbling on something dangerous in the Underdark. Afterward, each of them goes their own ways to get a few things done and prepare for the journey eastward.

Leon finds his wife Helena, who immediately asks what happened to his wedding ring. Put on the defensive, Leon explains about the enchanter he and Thallatos encountered in Esmeltaran, why he lent the ring to Lady Noh, and how she is under a geas to return it. He pulls in Thallatos to corroborate the story. Though Helena is very much not happy with the idea of Leon lending his ring to another woman, she cannot fault his reasoning and agrees that it was the right thing to do. She also informs him about a news reporter who has been coming around the manor hoping to interview Count Thallatos. She has sent him away several times, but he keeps coming back, and may still be hanging around somewhere.

Leon thinks about perhaps granting the reporter an interview himself, but decides that it will have to wait. First, he settles in to draft a tax policy for County Bardshyr, which he will present to Thallatos when it’s complete.

Goroc receives a message from the druid grove at Mosstone, which informs him that they may have a lead on where his father is. Since Goroc has been searching for his father for a long time, he cannot let this lead go cold. However, he also does not want to abandon his friends. He ponders what to do for a while, then reaches a conclusion and begins casting a spell, which takes him many hours and goes right through the night.

Thallatos takes Alice on a tour of the manor, showing her where he lives and how they’ve been renovating and upgrading the formerly abandoned castle. He also tells her about the journey they are planning to take, and together they decide that she should remain behind. While Elysa’s abilities would make her very useful in a place like Iltkazar, she is still not herself, and the knowledge that may be locked up in her head is too valuable to risk.

As they continue their walk, Thallatos and Alice encounter Nym Laertian, the druid. He is extremely excited, and shows Thallatos a ring that was given to him by the Archdruid before they left Mosstone. The young druid shows off a variety of elemental magic that the ring makes him capable of, and also shows that the wooden ring is stylized like the symbol of his deity The Ragma. Thallatos also shows Nym his own ring, which grants him many earth-based powers of his own.

Tyrrox decides to send a letter to Queen Zaranda regarding an idea he is proposing. He wants to create an elite task force based at the castle, which can be called upon in times of need to carry out important missions for the Queen. He dictates the message and gives it to a courier, who will set off in the morning aboard one of the castle’s griffons.

The next morning, Leon presents his tax policy draft to Thallatos, who looks it over and signs it. He also speaks to Solius, informs him of the bargain he struck with the pirate Raina Scarlett, and asks Solius to go aboard her ship as his eyes and ears to make sure she keeps to the privateer agreement.

As the others are assembling and preparing to leave, Goroc and Patrick come running up. Goroc explains about the message he received regarding his father, and also reveals his compromise solution. He has awakened Patrick, granting the gorilla sentience and the ability to speak. Patrick vows to fulfill his friend’s role in the party, so that Goroc may seek out his father.

Before the surprised group can leave, Garm approaches to speak with Leon, carrying a burlap sack over one shoulder. The half-orc explains that he heard from Helena where they were going, and that he wants to contribute what he can to their journey, as a peace offering between the two. Garm hands over the sack, in which bottles can be heard clinking together. He reveals that the bottles are holy water, which he has recently learned to create. Garm explains that he has been spending a lot of time with Nym Eveningfall, and together they have discovered that Garm can tap into some divine powers granted by their deity Ilmater.

Finally, the group sets out on the road. Thallatos has chosen to leave his undead behind, except for what he can carry in his portable hole. Four days of uneventful travel brings the group to Darromar, but they decide to push onward because the Omlarandin Mountains (where the entrance to Iltkazar is located) are another seven days to the east at their current pace.

Not long after passing Darromar, Tyrrox spots a half-orc walking up the road toward them, with a warhammer slung over his shoulder. He recognizes the half-orc as Morg, someone whom the group had tracked down many months ago as part of a Silver Shield guild mission. When last they saw Morg, the group had turned him over to the elves of the Wealdath for imprisonment, and confiscated his gear to sell. It seems that Morg has found himself a new hammer, which he brandishes with a shout of fury when he recognizes the people heading toward him.

Morg pulls a war horn from his belt which he blows. Four human barbarians appear, having been summoned by the horn, and they move forward to engage, then Morg grabs his hammer and wades into battle.

The battle is brief but bloody. Tyrrox lands several direct blows on Morg with his lance, including a couple that should have killed him, but the half-orc seems to keep his feet by pure force of anger alone. Leon conjures forth chains of hellfire that erupt from the ground, ensnaring Morg and locking him in place while the others deal with the four summoned barbarians. Though Morg takes an incredible amount of punishment and loses several limbs and incredible amounts of blood before going down, the fight is extremely one-sided and over quickly.

The next seven days are uneventful, as the group follows the road east. Eventually they come to the walled city of Saradush. Though one of the larger cities in eastern Tethyr, Saradush seems like a small frontier town compared to the larger cities to the west like Myratma and Zazesspur. Though the city gates are not open when they get there, the group is let in when Thallatos presents his credentials. The group stops for a brief rest and meal before heading toward the mountains.

As they head into the mountains, Thallatos finds that the force drawing his undead toward the city seems to be gone. Since they were relying on this to help them find the cave containing the tunnel that leads underground, it presents a problem. It takes the group several hours of searching, but eventually they find what Leon and Thallatos think is the right cave, and they follow a tunnel into the mountains.

It’s pitch dark in the tunnels, but the group does not want to carry a light source since they are aiming to be stealthy. Unfortunately, that means Mizuki and Ayame cannot see, and so they are reluctantly forced to stay behind with the horses. Leon, Thallatos, and Tyrrox are able to handle the darkness, but Patrick is going in blind.

As they head toward Iltkazar, Thallatos recognizes a disturbing feeling of rightness sneak up on him, as if the place is welcoming him specifically and making him feel at home. He remembers this feeling from last time he was here, and knows that they are on the right track. Thallatos uses his magic to make the group invisible to the sight of undead, or at least the mindless ones.

There’s just one problem: the massive mithril gate at the entrance of the city has been shut. The group thinks about trying to force it open, but decides that would risk drawing attention to them. Instead, Thallatos uses his ring of elemental command to create a tunnel through the stone wall next to the gate for them.

Once into the city, the group keep their eyes open for any undead that might be intelligent and therefore might be able to see them. They spot some wights off in the distance, but thankfully the wights are headed away from them. Leon uses a wand to make the others fly so that they can pass through the city without the risk of their footfalls being heard, especially Tyrrox with his metal-shod hooves.

The group heads toward the keep, because Leon wants to return to the archive and recover more of the history tomes there. However, as they get nearer they see a flicker of light through the windows, and Patrick and Tyrrox can hear some noises from inside. Leon investigates and discovers that there is a massive forge inside the keep, and it is lit and in use. Undead dwarves are apparently forging weapons. Leon returns to the others to report his findings, and for they start to realize that this city full of undead may potentially be an imminent threat to the outside world. They renew their magical protections and head into the keep, avoiding the forge for now. As they start to head in, Leon and Tyrrox see some ghostly ravens fly into the area where the others were waiting before. The ravens don’t seem to react to their presence, so they quietly move away.

Inside, Leon leads the group toward the archives. They pass the skeletal dwarf that is mimicking a shushing motion, holding a bony finger up to lips long rotted away, which Leon remembers from his first time in here.

The archives are packed rather densely with undead, far more than were here before (though this is true of the entire city). To his surprise, Leon recognizes a particular being that he’s seen before, the warlock Aginor, formerly associated with the Bone Claws gang in Myratma. Aginor is seated at a table reading a tome. Whispering to the others to wait behind, Leon moves toward the table and stealthily greets his fellow warlock.

If Aginor is surprised to hear Leon’s voice, he covers it well. He raises no alarm, and indeed speaks to Leon almost amicably. Through their conversation, Leon is able to learn several interesting and important things. Aginor does not know what caused everything in the city to die and animate as undead, or what is controlling the effect, but he says it’s on a level of power that Leon cannot comprehend. The undead dragon that Leon saw before is definitely not the being in charge, as Aginor confirms it is mindless. He extends an offer for Leon to “join the winning side,” and advises him that the living should not be here. Leon declines, and Aginor replies that he’s sure that the two of them will be on the same side eventually, one way or another.

After taking his leave of the other warlock, Leon is able to fill his bag with some more of the city’s histories. The group decides to leave the keep and search for a bank or something, reasoning that it might be fairly unprotected and probably not looted. Though they would like to investigate further and find out what’s behind this massive gathering of undead, they decide it’s too dangerous, and to instead do some quick looting and get out.

The party quickly locates a bank. They see some mindless undead shuffling around, along with more of the ghostly ravens that they saw before, which seem to be flying out from an area in the back, looking around for a few moments, and then flying back in.

Leon decides to write a brief description of what they’ve learned into his journey book, so that Helena knows what they’re up against in case something goes wrong. Helena replies telling him to get out of there as quickly as he can. She also mentions that his ring has been returned, along with some man’s head (presumably that of the enchanter who had enslaved Lady Noh and Alice).

They head in, and discover that the ravens seem to be coming from a creature that, while it holds a humanoid shape, seems to be made entirely of eyes. The eye creature is in the room with the vault door, so the group decides to come at it from another direction.

Doubling back outside, the group finds that the second floor of the building with the bank is a tavern named Bankers & Tankards. There are some undead in the tavern as well, but Thallatos destroys them all with a quick spell. Thallatos then uses his ring to move the stone floor, exposing the vault’ metal lining. Leon spends several minutes burning though the metal with is eldritch blasts, until he creates a hole large enough for even Tyrrox to fit through, and they descend (with their renewed magical flight from Leon’s wand) into the vault.

Inside the vault they find no undead, so they loot all the coins they can find as well as other valuable objects, including two magic rings, an ioun stone, and a rod. They gather up all this treasure to further examine later, then renew their magical protections and prepare to leave the city.

The group reaches the front gates of Iltkazar unmolested, and they start heading back out through the tunnel. However, as Leon is nearing the far end he sees a massive black, shadowy shape step into view and block his exit – an enormous undead creature called a Nightwalker. Meanwhile Thallatos, who is bringing up the rear, sees more of the spectral ravens fly out to land on the mithril gate of the city, whereupon they fix their ghostly eyes directly on him. A bunch of bloated, zombielike creatures shamble out from around a corner to block the group’s retreat, effectively trapping most of them in the tunnel.

Realizing the danger they are all in, Leon unloads everything he has into one of the most powerful eldritch blasts he has ever conjured, blasting the Nightwalker for everything he’s worth. Though the creature is injured, it remains a threat. Something causes Tyrrox to become paralyzed with magical fear, and a spell that the Nightwalker uses causes Patrick to become confused, lashing out at nearby targets (meaning his friends).

Nonetheless, Thallatos uses his ring to block off the tunnel behind them, causing the monsters still in Iltkazar to be left behind and leaving them with only the Nightwalker to deal with. Leon continues blasting it, and endures several return attacks from the massive undead. Thallatos tries to seize control of the creature, but to no avail. Thankfully, Leon is able to finally destroy the creature, leaving the four of them apparently alone in the dark tunnels outside Iltkazar. A confused Patrick continues thrashing around, but eventually the effect wears off and the group collectively catches their breaths, out of danger for the moment.


XP Awarded: 2,200

[Velaryon]

Session 39: Saturday, January 21, 2017

After catching their collective breath after their harrowing escape from Iltkazar, the group prepares to brave the lightless tunnels once more on their way back to the surface. First though, Thallatos uses the power of his ring to soften the rock above the mithral gates to the city, causing it to sag and block the gates long enough to delay pursuit. Then they quickly retrace their steps back through the tunnels and out through the cave, rejoin the twins, and make their way out of the mountains.

They ride the siege carriage back toward the walled city of Saradush, though they leave the carriage behind a short distance outside the city to avoid scaring people with the gigantic undead crab pulling it. Name-dropping Count Thallatos to get into the city, the group also tells the city watchmen that they need to speak to whoever’s in charge right away, despite the late hour. They are brought before the city’s mayor, a man named Tanithe Beyross. They quickly explain to Beyross what they found in the city of Iltkazar. They explain that they were discovered on the way out, and believe that they may have alerted the undead horde there, which may soon come out of the city. As the closest city to the mountains, Saradush needs to prepare for possible invasion.

Mayor Beyross decides to dispatch messengers northward to the city of Riatavin, and also to Chevangard, the headquarters of the Champions Vigilant, asking for reinforcements. In the meantime, he suggests that they tell their story to Count Oon Santele, if he’s currently in residence in the city.

Beyross leads them to the estate of Count Santele, who is roused from sleep and a bit grumpy when they meet him. However, the Count’s no-nonsense attitude and gruff but respectful approach to his fellow Count and his other guests impresses the group, and they quickly tell him the same events. Since the city watch of Saradush only has 200 soldiers, they will not be able to hold out against a force the size of what the group saw in Iltkazar. However, Santele confirms Mayor Beyross’s decision to send messengers northward. Leon promises that the group will return to lend their own strength to the defense as soon as they can. Before departing, they extend an invitation to Count Santele to visit Heavenforth Manor sometime.

Since the siege crab can pull the carriage all night without stopping, they set out immediately rather than waiting for daylight. Shortly after leaving, Leon receives a note inside his journey book from Helena. She says that she passed on their findings to the Queen, and that the Queen wants them to come to Darromar when they can for a more detailed report.

As they continue westward along the Ithal Road, the party encounters a force of soldiers marching eastward. The soldiers stop and line up in formation while confronted with the siege crab. Though the soldiers are wary, Thallatos and Leon emerge from the crab and speak to the commander, a man named Rikos Dughol, who is also Count of Hazamarch, the county immediately northwest of Saradush. They brief Rikos on what he’s walking into, and then continue on their way westward.

Five more days of travel gets the group to Darromar. The group splits up, with Tyrrox and Patrick heading into town while Leon and Thallatos report to the palace, accompanied by the twins Mizuki and Ayame.

Despite their fearsome and non-humanoid appearances, Patrick and Tyrrox are able to go about their business in town without too much difficulty thanks to the word of their deeds, especially Tyrrox. They head to Lance’s, where the proprietor greets them with his usual mix of enthusiasm for their business and suspicion that they might have something to do with his rival Vance. They get the magical loot from the bank vaults in Iltkazar identified and end up selling most of it, except for a Rod of Withering and Ring of Evasion. They also commission the custom suit of dragon armor for Maegor, and make arrangements so that either Tyrrox or Maegor may pick it up when it’s ready. Crafting time is estimated at 90 days, so it is promised by the end of Ches, the third month of the next year.

Meanwhile, Thallatos and Leon are immediately escorted to the Queen’s throne room when they arrive at the palace. Flanked as usual by her bodyguard, the deep orc named Shield of Innocence, Queen Zaranda is in a meeting with her chief ambassador, who also happens to be Marilyn Haresdown, the Duchess of the Purple Marches (and Thallatos’s superior).

Thallatos and Leon explain the dangers they saw in Iltkazar to the Queen and the Duchess, and how it was changed since their previous exploration because there seemed to be more intelligent undead there rather than mindless beings like they initially encountered. Thallatos and Leon both express their intent to gather their strength and then return to Saradush to help defend it against any undead that may come out of Iltkazar.

In addition, Duchess Haresdown mentions that she has heard tale of an incident in the Amnian city of Esmeltaran, wherein two unidentified men attacked a local restaurant. She asks whether the two of them have any knowledge of these events, but they both plead ignorance, saying that they were busy helping deal with the rogue fey plaguing Mosstone at that time.

The Queen mentions that Tyrrox had contacted her to propose some kind of adventurer’s guild, and she asks Leon and Thallatos to carry a message back to their friend that she is interested in discussing the idea further. They agree to pass that on to Tyrrox.

Despite staying the night in town, Tyrrox is able to catch up to the others on the road back to Heavenforth Manor. However, he continues on ahead since he is heading to Myratma to look for the dragon Maegor.

The others reach Heavenforth Manor and discover that the new year’s celebration happened while they were on the road. It is now 1376, the Year of the Bent Blade. They also note that construction and repairs have made some more progress since they were last here. Now the outer wall is fully repaired, and the construction crews are working on the guard towers on the wall. Leon and Thallatos fill in Helena, Alyce, and the two Nyms on what they discovered in Iltkazar, and put forth the theory that the undead might be somehow connected to the drought, and also that it might be the precursor to an invasion. Helena also informs them that a newspaper reporter has been hanging around the manor, hoping for a chance to interview one of them, but nobody feels like talking to him at the moment.

Meanwhile, Patrick decides to explore the castle, since he has not had much time to spend here since being awakened to full sentience.

That night, Leon reaches a decision. He believes that dark times are ahead, and that he lacks the power and ability to protect the people he cares about (including his unborn child) from harm. He believes that if he had chosen differently earlier in life, focusing on accumulating magical knowledge and power rather than his career as a lawyer, that he could have made more of a difference. And so he now has a plan to acquire that power, in whatever way he can.

Leon persuades Thallatos to stay by his door and keep others out while he makes his necessary preparations. Thallatos is reluctant, sensing that something is up, but agrees to help. Once locked inside, Leon attempts to contact the being that resurrected him and Tyrrox months ago, which he believes to be his fiendish ancestor. He offers to make a trade for power, and offers up more of himself than before.

Once more, Leon finds himself transported to the dark hallway, which pulses as if with the beat of a heart. Once again, he comes to the room at the end which contains a giant gold-trimmed hourglass, filled with blood. Some blood is already in the top chamber, but not running out. He negotiates with the fiend, insisting that his friends, family, and loved ones not be harmed in any way in this exchange. The terms are accepted, so Leon turns over the hourglass once more, and all of the blood flows to the bottom. Suddenly, he is struck with horrible pain in his head, the worst he has ever felt, as visions of magic and faraway places. Eventually everything fades out in a haze of darkness and pain.

When it is complete, Leon finds himself back in his room. His mind is a blur of images, thoughts, and memories, some familiar and some not. It’s horribly confusing and difficult to sort out, but he senses that he now has magical knowledge and abilities that he never possessed before. Leon opens the door to let Thallatos know that the process is complete, and that he has succeeded. Finally, they both retire for the evening.

Meanwhile, Tyrrox makes it all the way to Myratma, and heads to the nearby coast where he previously found the underwater lair of Maegor. Tyrrox manages to swim underwater to reach the cave, only to find that no one is there. He notices that several of Maegor’s treasures are also missing, and reasons that the dragon must be out somewhere. Tyrrox decides to wait for him to return. He stays the night, but when Maegor still does not return, Tyrrox leaves him a note to inform him about the armor that was commissioned for the dragon, then leaves to return to the Manor.

Tyrrox reaches Heavenforth Manor in the late morning, and he informs the others about where he went. Leon and Thallatos talk of what they did in Darromar, though Leon decides not to tell the others about the deal he struck with his fiendish ancestor.

Their discussion is interrupted by castle guards, who inform Tyrrox that a large flying creature has been seen heading toward the manor. The air defenses are mobilized, but Tyrrox quickly recognizes the approaching creature as Maegor, and instructs them to let him land.

Maegor informs the group that he got a lead about where he could find a Luck Blade, a sword that allows its wielder to make wishes. However, before he could obtain it, the sword was stolen by cultists. Maegor tracked them to a mansion in the mountains called Tresper Keep, but asks if the group would be willing to help him go in and retrieve the weapon. The group decides to follow Maegor’s information and try to retrieve the Luck Blade.

Leon is able to prepare spells from the spellbook of the enchanter that he and Thallatos defeated to rescue Alyce. Unfortunately though, it seems that whatever source of wizardly knowledge was infused into him leaves Leon unable to use certain schools of magic, including enchantment, so the number of spells he can use from this spellbook is relatively little.

The group sets out for Zazesspur, where Leon purchases some new equipment, including a blank spellbook, an Eternal Wand of darkvision, and a new hat that enhances his intelligence, among other things. Thus armed, the group heads up into the mountains. Nym the druid travels with the group for awhile, but continues north toward Mosstone when the group turns east toward Tresper Keep.

Tresper Keep, the mansion being used by the cultists, belongs to Inselm Hhune, Duke of Kamlann. However, the Duke rarely visits this keep, instead preferring his manor south of Zazesspur, so it’s entirely possible that the cult is here without his knowledge or permission.

It’s well past midnight by the time the group finishes climbing the foothills to reach Tresper Keep, hampered as they are by bringing Siege Crab into the mountains. They decide to camp for the night and approach the keep in the morning. The following morning, they bring the crab right up to the gates of the manor, deciding on a show of force to try and frighten the cultists into surrendering the blade.

The intimidation doesn’t work; the cultists are frightened and run back into the manor, with some armed cultists coming out to confront them. The group tries to persuade the cultists to give up without a fight, but it doesn’t work, so they force their way in. Tyrrox smashes through the floor to reach the basement, where the cultists are engaged in some sort of ritual. One of them throws a fireball spell his way, so Tyrrox knows that some of them are capable of using magic.

With the combined power of Leon, Thallatos, Tyrrox, Patrick, Maegor, and Thallatos’s most powerful undead, the garden variety cultists are little more than a minor obstruction. However, they manage to delay the group long enough for the other cultists in the basement to complete their ritual, using one of the Luck Blade’s wishes to summon the powerful demon that they worship: a balor named Azothragal.

Tyrrox and Patrick battle the balor up close, with Patrick actually managing to get it into a grapple and try to knock it out. However, the mighty demon continues battling even as Patrick holds on and pummels it

Leon and Thallatos (who has encased himself inside the marilith skeleton) then wade into the battle, just as the balor summons a second of its kind from the infinite layers of the Abyss. Tyrrox is able to kill the second balor, but the ensuing explosion when that demon dies ends up killing Thallatos.

Patrick, who has kept the first balor occupied by grappling with it, manages to put the demon in a leg lock and immobilize it. Once the second balor is defeated, Tyrrox and Maegor help Patrick keep the first one trapped until he can kill it with his finishing move. Unfortunately, the ensuing explosion causes the building to come down on Patrick. However, he is able to get a hold of the Luck Blade, and isn’t too badly hurt thanks to the magical buffs placed on him before the battle. Ayame is able to play her Lyre of Building to repair the structural damage to the mansion and unbury Patrick.

Thallatos finds his spirit separated from his body. However, Alyce can still see him, and she talks to him as Leon pulls out a scroll and uses it to quickly return Thallatos to life.

Now that everyone is okay, Thallatos uses the Luck Blade to wish for Alyce’s memories to be restored (ending that identity and making her Elysa once more). Elysa is bathed in a white glow of energy for a moment, and then immediately her facial expression changes. She bursts into tears, throwing herself into Thallatos’s arms and weeping.

It takes considerable effort, but Thallatos is able to comfort her enough that Elysa can explain what happened. It seems that her totem spirit, a woman named Abby, deceived her. It was “Abby” who persuaded her to take on the quest from which she never returned. The spirit woman managed to deceive her into participating in a magical ritual involving a powerful magical bowl. She was told that this ritual was necessary to save everyone, but in reality it was that very ritual that created the magical drought that has been plaguing Tethyr for all these months!

Elysa’s stunning revelations continue, as she reveals that “Abby” wasn’t real at all, but was actually the spirit of a man that managed to disguise himself. “Abby” had been with her for years, gaining her trust and helping her develop her spirit shaman powers, apparently all the while working toward the goal of getting her to use this bowl. Once the ritual was completed, Elysa’s memories were wiped and she was brought to the Runhave’s Masks restaurant in Esmeltaran, to be kept there for safekeeping in case “Abby” and whoever he is working with wanted to use the bowl again.

Fortunately however, the ritual requires both a spirit shaman and a spirit in order to work. So at least whoever “Abby” is, he can make no further use of the bowl without her. Elysa also confirms that the First Bank of Amn was involved, as that’s where she was taken on her ill-fated mission that led to her capture.

XP Awarded: 7,000

[Velaryon]

Session 40: Saturday, December 16, 2017

As the group reels from Elysa’s stunning revelations, they decide that they need to split up and try to accomplish several things at once. Leon has appointments to keep, and Tyrrox hopes to convince his father to bring their tribe north to Tethyr to lend their aid, so Leon teleports the two of them directly back to Heavenforth Manor. The rest are going to take the road back to the Manor, and from there Thallatos hopes to head back east to help defend against the undead hordes of Iltkazar.

When they arrive, Leon goes to find Helena immediately and tells her of what happened with the Luck Blade and about Elysa’s information. After she gets over her surprise, Helena updates Leon on the goings-on of the castle, and also lets him know that a reporter has been hanging around the grounds, hoping to interview one of the party members. Leon decides to go ahead and grant the man an interview. Leon meets Morris Melville, lead reporter for the Tethyrian Monthly Inquirer newspaper, who asks him a series of questions about the castle, the group, and their adventures.

Meanwhile, Tyrrox meets with Red for an update on the castle defenses, and then speaks to Nym Eveningfall to see how things are going with him.

Once they have finished their preparations, Leon teleports them both to Darromar, where the two of them go their separate ways. Leon heads into the city, while Tyrrox starts south toward the Forest of Mir and his tribe.

Back at Tresper Keep in the mountains, the others start heading west back to the main road. Maegor, once more in his humanoid form, listens to Thallatos explain about the necropolis in Iltkazar. Elysa and the twins follow along in silence, while Patrick dozes in the carriage.

As they reach the main road heading through the mountain passes, they spot smoke rising from the north, in the direction of Mosstone and the druid grove… and also where Nym Laertian was headed when he separated from them. The group starts heading north to see what’s going on. Maegor shifts into his dragon form and takes to the sky to get an aerial view.

Nym the druid soon bursts from the brush nearby, exclaiming that the town has been attacked. It seems that a horde of monsters, including many giants, overran the town and set fire to it. They attacked the druid grove as well. In his agitation, he seems to be talking to or arguing with someone who isn’t there.

Maegor returns and confirms that the column of smoke is coming from the druid grove, which has been burnt. The town seems to be overrun with monsters, including giants as well as smaller monsters riding dinosaur mounts. There is also siege equipment parked in the town as well.

The group decides they must act, so they make a few magical preparations and then head north. Maegor hands Patrick a ring of invisibility so that he can head into the grove and look for survivors, while he comes in from above and the others take the siege carriage straight in toward the town. The twins prepare the ballista on the carriage, while Thallatos, Elysa, and Nym remain in the crab.

A defensive wall has been built at the south end of town, made from planks and stone and bricks taken from buildings in the town. Thallatos takes the siege crab right up to it and starts ripping his way through. The attack draws lots of attention, including some ogres who attack but cannot get past the crab.

Thallatos launches a cloudkill spell into the town to kill a bunch of monsters. Maegor drops from the sky, frightening even more monsters into the cloud.

The commotion soon draws the attention of something more dangerous. From a large and important-looking tent emerges something that looks like a blue ogre, but much larger and with more impressive-looking curved horns. It clearly has magical abilities as well, as it flies up into the air. The ogre mage brandishes a wicked-looking battleaxe that it clenches it one hand. It hurls the axe at Maegor, and moments after leaving his hand it splits into three identical axes. They narrowly miss the dragon, who spits his lightning breath before backing away from this new foe. Upon striking the ground, the axes merge back into a single blade, which vanishes and reappears in its owner’s hand.

Meanwhile, Patrick has infiltrated the remains of the town and taken down several ogres stealthily. He finds one wearing what seems to be a large gold championship belt, and decides to challenge this one to combat. Patrick defeats this ogre and claims his prize, then meets up with Maegor and leaps onto his back to rejoin the others.

Meanwhile, the ogre mage makes his way to the front and hurls his axe at the siege crab. It opens up massive gashes in the undead crustacean’s carapace, and it is all Thallatos can do to keep his massive servant from being destroyed entirely. The twins continue firing the ballista until something on the apparatus breaks. At that point, they retreat into the crab with Thallatos and the others.

Maegor and Patrick reach the crab, at which point the ogre mage hurls his axe at the dragon again. This time he strikes true, and though the wound is not life-threatening, it’s still serious enough to make him roar with pain.

Now everyone concentrates their attention on this ogre mage, with Thallatos hurling magic at it while Maegor tries to gain height and position Patrick to leap onto it and lock down the dangerous enemy. Though Patrick is successful in grabbing on, he is not able to subdue the ogre mage, and its resistance to magic means that Thallatos’s spells do not subdue it either.

Meanwhile, a troll emerges from the cloud of death, which is still blanketing much of the ruined town. Maegor drops from the sky and pounces on the troll, pinning it to the ground before trying to force it back into the cloud.
The gorilla and the ogre mage continue grappling in the sky, while Thallatos tries and fails repeatedly to weaken it via magic enough for Patrick to choke the ogre mage out. The ogre mage fails to muscle its way out of Patrick’s grip entirely, but eventually manages to get enough wiggle room to mutter an incantation, at which point its body turns to mist and the hapless gorilla falls down into the cloudkill spell.

Eventually the cloudkill disperses and the troll has definitely died. The ogre mage, however, is nowhere to be seen.

Back in Darromar, Leon visits his old home, which hasn’t been occupied in many months. He then heads to Vance’s magic emporium to identify and sell off much of the treasure the group had acquired from their recent battles in Iltkazar and Tresper Keep, before heading over to Lance’s shop (invisibly so as to avoid letting either shopkeeper know that he patronized both stores).

Tyrrox reaches the Forest of Mir, and finds that the northern part of the forest (which is within Tethyr) is in really rough shape. Plants are withered, trees are dying or dead, and there is little animal life present. He pushes on southward, and eventually finds the part of the forest that is still healthy. The transition is quite sudden, confirming what they already knew about the magical drought focusing specifically on Tethyr but including none of the surrounding lands. Tyrrox keeps up his hurried pace, but it still takes him several days to find signs of his tribe’s passage. He follows the signs and eventually is able to reunite with them.

Tyrrox visits with many, including his father Kezzryn, his cousin Timoth, the scout Tanis, and other family members. Tyrrox makes the case to all of them to come to Tethyr and join those living at Heavenforth Manor and trying to end the drought upon the land. Though opinions are sharply divided among the tribe and many oppose the idea, Tyrrox is able to convince enough (including his father) that they decide to come with him. None want to split the tribe, so even those who are not in favor of coming to Tethyr decide to come along. Somewhere along the line, Tyrrox even exchanges a kiss with Tanis, whose fierce pride and distrust from outsiders is tempered by her respect for the warrior that Tyrrox has grown into.

Back at the ruins of Mosstone, the group has the ability to move about the town and druid grove to search for survivors. It turns out that many in town were killed, including mayor Steeleye. Among the druids, many more are dead, including the Archdruid. It seems that he challenged the ogre battle to single combat in an attempt to save the town, but was defeated. Thallatos invites the survivors to come to the castle. The druids debate among themselves for awhile, and eventually it’d decided that of the 40 survivors, 21 will come to the castle and the rest will head into the Wealdath and contact the elves.

Back in Darromar, Leon heads to the palace and requests an audience with Queen Zaranda. He is granted one and meets with her. Leon fills the Queen in on the information they have learned about the drought, explaining what Elysa revealed about the ritual. He stresses that she was manipulated and controlled by magic to perform the ritual, and that it was not her choice or her fault. He also avoids mentioning that she is connected to Thallatos or that she is staying with the group. Leon also discusses the advancements he has made in his pursuit of arcane power, and reveals his plan to hire privateers to protect the coast from pirates. The Queen approves of the privateer measure and is intrigued by his magical insights. Eventually the meeting concludes and Leon departs.

XP Awarded: let’s say 3,000

[Velaryon]

Hey, I found notes for the Lost Session! Here they are:

Session 41: Sunday, May 27, 2018

Thallatos and Patrick decide to take the survivors of Mosstone back to Heavenforth Manor with them, at least those who are willing. Since they are limited to the speed at which the wounded can travel, the trip takes several days.

Meanwhile, Leon returns to the manor, speaks to Helena and stays the night. The next day he tells Solius that it’s time to head to Zazesspur and meet with the pirates. Solius is still willing to be Leon’s eyes and ears aboard the pirate crew, as long as Leon personally promises to do his best to protect Terinor and Tamuril.

Before departing, Leon speaks to Garm and asks for his help. He persuades the half-orc to begin training the guards and civilians to fight, using a large shipment of spears that Leon had shipped to the castle from Lance’s store in Darromar. Garm agrees to run them through conditioning, toughen them up some, and try to get them into something resembling fighting shape.

Next, Leon teleports himself and Solius to Zazesspur. They stay a few nights in an inn (not the Winsome Repose, where he will be meeting Raina Scarlett) and spends the time scribing spells into his spellbook, using scrolls he purchased from Vance’s shop.

Tyrrox begins leading his centaur tribe out of the forest and north toward Tethyr. He quickly realizes though that they cannot match his rapid pace of travel, and will take eight to twelve days. That’s a long time to be away from his friends, particularly given the difficult challenges they face these days. With apologies to his father, Tyrrox says that he wants to go on ahead. Kezzryn is pretty sure he can lead the tribe to their destination with the directions his son gives, so Tyrrox heads home.

On the evening of his appointment with Raina Scarlett, Leon uses his planar binding magic to call her ally Nausicaa back to the material plane, as part of his arrangement with the pirate captain. Nausicaa is disoriented and initially distrustful, but when Raina shows up everything is cleared up.

Leon, Raina, Solius, and Nausicaa head outside to the harbor, where Raina points out the ship she wants. It’s a ship called the Griffon’s Bite, clearly the finest and sleekest ship in the harbor. Leon boards the ship to meet with the captain, and ends up buying the ship and its full load of cargo (including furniture, wine, jewels, and the statue of a small elven child) for 100,000 gold. He tells Raina to have the cargo delivered to the castle, except for the statue which he takes because it sounded from the captain like it might be a real elf boy. Leon returns to the castle with the statue, and Raina tells Solius to get some paint in town so they can change the name of the ship.

Thallatos and Patrick bring the survivors of Mosstone to the manor, and Thallatos tells the druids their assistance will be needed in creating water for the castle tower. This in turn will free up Nym Eveningfall to create more food for people.

The next day, everyone shares the information they know. Leon, who is clearly acting sleep-deprived and is beginning to show signs of stress and worry getting to him, nonetheless still quickly deduces that it must have been no ordinary ogre mage, because his friends should be able to deal with one of those with little difficulty.

[leon]

Nice!

...elf child statue...?

[Velaryon]

Yeah, I have no memory of that part.

[Velaryon]

Session 42: Saturday, January 25, 2020

Thallatos receives a sending spell from King Haedrak summoning him to a council meeting at the royal palace in Darromar. He decides to bring Elysa and the twins, and packs his marilith skeleton into his portable hole just in case. About an hour later, an old man identifying himself as Gamalon Idogyr, Count of Spellshire and Court Sage of the queen. After resting a moment and exchanging pleasantries, Gamalon teleports Thallatos and his entourage to the palace in Darromar.

Before entering the palace, Thallatos and his people are all required to store their weapons in magical lockers (except for his Ring of Elemental Command, after Gamalon persuades the guards to let him keep it). The guards are thorough – even the old man is not allowed to bring his staff into the palace, though he is given a substitute walking stick to aid him. Gamalon explains that security precautions at the palace have been significantly tightened recently, and that the entire palace has been warded against teleportation which is why they have to go through this process.

Thallatos also notices that despite it being theoretically the middle of winter, people in town and at the palace are dressed in lighter clothing suitable for warm weather. Even the guards are dressed in lighter uniforms to help them cope with the sweltering heat.

Thallatos is led through the palace and several more security checkpoints to a meeting room that has a dispel ward on the doorway and has been shielded against scrying. Many of the other meeting participants are already present, and a few minutes later the King and Queen arrive.

Mostly for Thallatos’s benefit, all the other council participants are introduced. In addition to Queen Zaranda and King Haedrak there is Gamalon Idogyr, the royal sage; Vajra Valmeyjar, a duchess and the Royal Warlord (the queen’s top general); Holver Roaringhorn (a goliath who is a count and the army’s Siegelord); Kyrin Hawkwinter (a countess and the Royal Horselord, meaning the cavalry commander); and Inselm Hhune (a duke and the Royal Spymaster). Everyone except for Gamalon seems to have a few attendants with them, so the fact that Thallatos brought Elysa and the twins is not seen as remarkable.

The meeting begins with Gamalon casting a few more spells to protect against divination, in addition to the existing wards. There are reports regarding troop movements. The forces that were sent east to Saradush at the party’s request are still there, but as of yet there has been no report of an attack by the undead from Iltkazar, nor have any undead been spotted by their scouting patrols.

Thallatos gives a report about his experiences in the undead necropolis, including the first time he and Leon ended up there and his later return with the rest of the group. The others present ask him questions about the place, and Gamalon relates that he has attempted to scry the city but has been unable to do so. Eventually the Queen decides to send a division of soldiers into the foothills to locate the entrance to the tunnels and set up a guard post so that they can have early warning if anything comes out.

It turns out that the other council members already know that Mosstone has been attacked, though Thallatos is still able to provide many details of which the others were not aware. They are dismayed to learn of Archdruid Silvermane’s death, and nobody knows what became of Count Jordy Gallum or Mayor Steeleye.

Thallatos also learns some background on this foe. Sothillis first popped up on Tethyr’s radar about five and a half years before, when he and another ogre mage named Cyrvisnea suddenly led a horde of monsters down out of the mountains into Amn and seized control of the port city of Murann. It’s unknown what led them to attack that city, but it’s one of the reasons Amn never seriously contested when some of their southeastern cities seceded and joined Tethyr. The ogre mages’ army has held control of that city ever since, with Amn making periodic attempts to retake the city but with no success. It’s unknown what could have caused Sothillis to come south into Tethyr, or why now.

Thallatos is roundly congratulated for driving Sothillis back in their initial clash, but is informed that he moved north to regroup with more of his forces. Apparently those that he brought into Mosstone were nothing more than an expeditionary force. It’s believed that Sothillis has a larger force encamped on the Trade Way, and that he may be moving west to attack settlements on Cape Velen.

Duke Hhune also mentions that he has lost contact with his servants at his keep Tresper Hall up in the mountains, and says he’s concerned that the keep may have fallen to the monsters as well. Thallatos refrains from mentioning that he and his own party are responsible for what happened to Tresper Hall.

Queen Zaranda orders Thallatos to raise an army (of actual living people) and go after Sothillis. She tells him it’s up to him whether to lead the forces himself or appoint a commander, but as a Count whose territory is nearby and who has previously clashed with the ogre mage, he is needed for this. Zaranda also informs him that she will order the neighboring county of Vintor to send forces to aid him, and that she will also call upon Arvoreen’s Marchers, an order of mostly halfling knights based in the hills on the west coast south of Zazesspur. She also says she will reach out to the elves of the Wealdath for aid, but based on the exasperated tone of her voice, Thallatos suspects that she is not expecting much help from them.

King Haedrak announces that Admiral Leighton will send ships carrying supplies and reinforcements to Velen, the town at the western end of the peninsula where the monsters are believed to be located.

After the military matters are discussed, Queen Zaranda wants to hear absolutely everything about what happened with Elysa, including her rescue from Amn and her connection to the Bowl of the Winds. Thallatos realizes that the Queen seems to know a lot more about those events than previously thought. Finally, she reveals that they suspect the timing of the monsters’ invasion is not coincidental, and that she believes Amn has been preparing for aggression along their borders. Eventually the meeting ends, and Gamalon brings Thallatos and his retainers back to the castle.

Back at Heavenforth Manor, Leon uses a wish from the Luck Blade to make the Manor’s water tower permanently full of water, which has a bit of extra magic that nourishes those who drink it. After that, he persuades Nym Eveningfall to take a break from helping feed the castle’s population in order to help them chase down and defeat Sothillis the ogre mage. Between the newly limitless water supply and the arrival of druid refugees from Mosstone, Nym decides that he can be spared from his current duties and agrees to help. Tyrrox’s tribe of centaurs is also expected, but they have a long way to travel yet and will probably be at least another week.

Next, Leon teleports to the ruins of Mosstone to search for the body of the slain Archdruid. He finds the body and cuts off one hand, intending to give it to Nym to try and resurrect the Archdruid. He also flies north to try and find the ogre mage’s trail, but is unsuccessful. However, after several hours of searching he does locate Tarraway, the juvenile Verdant Prince whom the group forced into a magical contract recently. After a bit of banter, Leon gets the fey to promise to lead them to the enemy camp in exchange for a living shark. Leon teleports back to the Manor to round up the others.

Meanwhile, Maegor briefs Tyrrox on the details of their last battle with the ogre mage’s forces. Once Leon is back and has spoken with Helena, the group teleports to the coast so that Maegor can catch a live shark for Tarraway. The young druid Nym Laertian, who has been brought along on this trip as well, casts a spell that allows the shark to survive by breathing air… at least until it’s given over to the fey, who eats it alive.

The bargain thus fulfilled, Tarraway leads the group to the ogre mage’s encampment, which turns out to be much larger than expected. Rather than a small war band, it seems that Sothillis is at the head of a full-fledged army. Leon scouts the camp a bit invisibly, then reports back to his friends. He also sends a message to Queen Zaranda via a sending spell. The queen replies that she is aware of the threat but glad for the extra details, and advises Leon that backup is coming by both land and sea.

Armed with this knowledge, the group decides to wait for the reinforcements before engaging the enemy. Tyrrox is dispatched to the nearby fortified town of Tulmene to warn the local Count, Tanar Keelson, who turns out to actually be a teenage girl. She is absolutely star-struck by the powerful (and famous) centaur’s sudden appearance, but pledges to send out what forces she can. In the end, she ends up sending 25 soldiers by boat, led by a dwarf named Frumpy Bumgar.

As Tyrrox heads toward Tulmene, Leon sees a patrol of redcaps, who are acting as scouts for the monsters’ army. Though the redcaps have not yet spotted them, the patrol path will take them right through the party’s encampment. The camp is evacuated, but the redcaps do find it and become alerted, so Leon kills them using a new spell he has created called hellfire sphere.

The next day, Tyrrox returns to camp, and Thallatos arrives as well, having come as quickly as possible after the council in Darromar. After a quick discussion and another sending spell to the Queen (in which it’s revealed that there’s been another attack of some kind in the northeast), the group decides to go ahead and attack since their reinforcements are still at least a day behind them. They quickly devise a strategy and attack.

At first things go well, and it seems the enemy forces did not see them coming. Sothillis soon takes the field, and ends up squaring off against Tyrrox. The centaur is protected by a spell from Leon that makes it so that most weapons cannot harm him, which causes Sothillis great frustration. However, the wily ogre mage also manages to elude Tyrrox’s lance and the two are mostly at a stalemate until Sothillis turns to gaseous form to retreat. However, the second ogre mage Cyrvisnea also shows up. Her first attempt to ambush Leon goes badly and she is forced to retreat, but she returns soon afterward, seemingly healed up, and attacks again. They duel with magic, and Cyrvisnea hits Leon with a spell that kills him instantly.

Something else attacks from beneath the ground, blasting holes in the earth. Thallatos is able to plug many of the holes with the spells from his ring of elemental command, though not before monsters climb up from beneath the ground to attack. Many of them seem to be strange creatures that look humanoid in shape but covered in shat seem to be shards of reflective glass. They emit a droning, songlike noise that seems to interfere with Thallatos’s undead minions, making them sluggish or sometimes unable to respond to commands. Whatever was blasting the holes in the ground never emerges though, and seems to eventually cease its efforts to reach the surface.

Patrick is able to retrieve Leon’s body from where it falls on the battlefield, and briefly considers going back into battle while carrying the corpse before thinking better of it. Instead he retreats to regroup with the others as they figure out what to do next.


XP Awarded: I don't remember

[Velaryon]

Session 43: Sunday, September 25, 2022

Patrick puts Leon’s corpse on Tyrrox’s back, and the group beats a hasty retreat, accompanied by the surviving soldiers from the local Countess. Frumpy Bumgar has lost seven of his 25 soldiers, and several more are hurt. He suggests that the group retreat behind the wall at Countess Keelson’s keep. The group agrees, and after swinging by their campsite to retrieve anyone left behind, they head for the castle, which is known as Monguldarath. Before they enter, Frumpy warns the group that the keep is haunted, but says that the ghosts are harmless and don’t really bother anyone.

The rest of the group meets Tanar Keelson, the young Countess of Fyraven who is nearly as impressed by everyone else as she was with Tyrrox on his earlier visit. She happily provides them the hospitality of her castle.

Nym Eveningfall doesn’t have a resurrection spell prepared, so they have to wait until the following morning before he can try to bring Leon back. The group passes a restless night, taking turns watching from the walls for any sign of pursuit or enemy activity. In the morning, Maegor leaves early so that he can fly over the enemy army and see what they’re doing.

Leon finds himself back in the familiar dark hallway he has been in twice before: once when he died previously and again when he made the deal that granted him wizardly powers at the cost of some memories. He looks for other places to go, but there’s only the one destination at the far end of the hall. As he approaches, the hallway seems to thrum and pulse, like a beating heart.

When he reaches the end of the hall, Leon opens the door and goes through. Floating in the air in the center of the small room is the large, gold-trimmed hourglass that Leon has turned twice before. However, the hourglass has been badly cracked, and much of the blood-like fluid inside has leaked out onto the floor. The hourglass hangs askew in the air, and some of the liquid remains pooled in the bottom. Next to it is a new, smaller hourglass, this one trimmed in silver and studded with red gemstones.
The disembodied voice that Leon can only assume is his fiendish ancestor speaks in his mind. It informs him that after their last deal, he cannot use the hourglass. However, if he would like to turn the smaller hourglass, he can not only be restored to life, but can be given new knowledge and power. Leon believes that the smaller hourglass represents his unborn child, and angrily tells the voice that the child was not to be harmed, as part of the deal. The voice replied “and so they have not been.” Leon categorically refuses to make a deal using the smaller hourglass, especially since he expects his friends to get him resurrected soon.

However, when Leon feels the resurrection spell calling for him to return, the voice informs him that his soul is no longer his own and he cannot answer the resurrection spell without paying an additional price. The voice says that when Leon takes revenge on the one that sent him here, he must take her sword and deliver it to someone who will come on the voice’s behalf to take it. Leon reluctantly agrees, and then he is able to accept the resurrection spell from Nym and return to life.

As soon as he is back alive, Leon tells the others that he cannot afford to die again, because of the additional price he will have to pay from now on. Now that they are out of diamonds though, they need to buy some more. Countess Keelson (after introducing herself to Leon) tells them that Tulmene is nearby if they’d like to try the shops there, but it’s a smaller town and may not have what they need. Leon decides to teleport to Darromar instead, heading for Vance’s shop.

After the usual assuring Vance that he hasn’t been to Lance’s shop, Leon explains that he needs diamonds as well as a large quality of healing potions. When he says the fate of the kingdom depends on it, Vance offers him a special “30% fate of the kingdom discount” if he buys a gross of potions… so he does, along with a few other things, including a Heward’s Handy Haversack to carry the potions. However, Leon only had one teleport spell prepared, so after completing his purchases he heads to the Moneybags Inn and rents a room to wait for the next morning. To pass the time, he begins scribing a scroll he purchased into his spellbook.

Meanwhile back at Monguldarath, Maegor returns with news of the enemy army’s movement. It seems that the enemy army sent some scout patrons to make sure they weren’t coming out from behind Monguldarath’s wall, and then the army started moving southward. If no action is taken, the monster forces will continue south along the Trade Way, back toward the ruins of Mosstone and beyond. Maegor also says he made contact with Arvoreen’s Marchers, a group of mostly halflings, who are traveling north to reinforce the group. However, the monster army is between Arvoreen’s Marchers and the keep where the group is staying now. The group quickly realizes that the Marchers are headed for a slaughter if they encounter the full force of the enemy army. They throw together a quick plan to send out a quick diversionary attack, attempting to draw the monsters to attack Monguldarath and away from the Marchers.

Tyrrox and Thallatos head out, accompanied by Thallatos’s bodyguard Mizuki, to stage a quick hit-and-run attack. From atop the centaur’s back, Thallatos drops a cloudkill spell onto a flank of the army. As Tyrrox turns around to begin retreating, Mizuki stands up on his back, turns around, and fires poisoned arrows into enemy giants in order to provoke them further. Their surprise attack successful, the group beats a hasty retreat back to the keep to see if they have managed to draw the enemy back toward them.

Later that day, Thallatos receives a sending spell from the palace at Darromar: “Invasion from Amn in the east. Not the undead from underground. Still ongoing, but looking grim. What’s your status in the west?”

To which Thallatos replies: “First assault on forces. We killed many soldiers, but not generals yet. We attack again tomorrow. Should kill generals and break army. You need us?”

Meanwhile, Ayame stayed behind at Monguldarath, where she uses her Lyre of Building to help reshape the area in front of the keep to make it more defensible. With assistance from Frumpy Bumgar’s soldiers and some laborers from the castle, they slope the ground leading up to the castle to slow the enemy’s advance, then create a pit in front of the wall and fill it with sharpened stakes.

When Leon returns, he casts a sending spell directed at Cyrvisnea, the ogre mage who killed him, taunting her that he’s alive and offering to meet and talk things out. After a moment, Cyrvisnea’s reply comes back: “Next time I kill you, I’ll make sure it sticks. Your attack failed, we don’t fear you, and your land belongs to us now. Bitch.”

As they prepare the final defenses of Monguldarath, Thallatos receives a sending from the leader of Arvoreen’s Marchers, Estemal Talltankard, apprising them of his situation:
“Talltankard here. Encountered monsters at dusk about six miles south of keep. Will ened to engage or attempt getting around. Your status and orders?”

Thallatos sends back: “We’re holed up at the nearby keep. Fifty foot deep chasm around all sides. We welcome your help, but cannot come out. Tyrrox will, though.”
Finally, the monsters’ attack comes. The steep hill created in front of the wall helps to slow the advance of the enemy soldiers, many of whom are giants. However, there is also an enormous creature that looks like a big chunk of red ooze, from which gouts of flame blast out every now and then.

At first, the battle goes well for the heroes. Frumpy Bumgar directs a group of the Countess’s archers as they rain down fire on the attacking enemies. Maegor flies over the battlefield, breathing down lightning to devastate the attacking giants. Tyrrox and Leon launch attacks from the top of the wall, while Countess Keelson plays an inspiring song on her lyre from a safe place behind the wall (at the insistence of Frumpy, who would not allow her up on the battlements).

However, the tide begins to shift when Cyrvisnea appears atop the battlements, having flown there invisibly. Leon and Thallatos attempt to subdue her with magic, but Cyrvisnea’s inherent magic resistance allows her to shake off their attempts. They are joined by Tyrrox and one of the twins, but things shift again when a beholder appears in the air behind the battlement. This beholder seems unlike others of its kind – its large central eye has been plucked out, and a ball of glowing red energy occupies the empty eye socket. Furthermore, it seems able to cast spells like a wizard, only it can fire off several of them at a time, in addition to still retaining some of its inherent beholder magic. The battle rages fiercely, and as the session ends, things are going poorly for the heroes…

XP Awarded: nothing yet

[leon]

Dec 28, 2022 23:49:54 GMT -5 Velaryon said:

Session 43: Sunday, September 25, 2022


However, the tide begins to shift when Cyrvisnea appears atop the battlements, having flown there invisibly.

did she fly there invisably or did she teleport?

cuz leon has 24/7 see invisibility.

[Velaryon]

She's capable of either, so I'll assume I misremembered and she teleported.

[Velaryon]

Session 44: Saturday, December 31, 2022

The battle atop the walls of Monguldarath’s outer wall continues. Tyrrox returns from fighting further out in the field to help his companions, but Cyrvisnea the ogre mage traps him inside a force cage spell. Leon drops his magical disguise, reactivates the spell turning effect from his ring, flies up into the air, and calls out the ogre mage. He fires an eldritch blast at her as well, but it misses.

Meanwhile, Patrick has experienced a revelation inside the castle. He has been hearing the voice of an entity called the Nature Boy, and finally it reveals itself to be the nature deity known as The Ragma. Patrick is blessed with a unique artifact created especially for him, a championship belt known as the Gift of the Gods. Patrick learns that if he is able to defeat other champions holding belts, he can convert their championships into medallions to attach to his Gift of the Gods championship, each of which will make him more powerful. The ogre championship he has already won becomes his first medallion, and it increases his strength.
His spiritual experience now over, Patrick turns his attention to helping his friends. He activates the ring of invisibility he borrowed from Maegor and heads outside. He quickly makes his way over to the outer wall and begins climbing up.

The beholder mage enters the fray, firing spells and magical rays in several directions. Surprisingly, Frumpy Bumgar moves to confront the beholder, and though he takes several magic rays to the chest, he remains on his feet and roars his defiance back at the giant ball of eyes. Finally, the beholder lashes out in frustration, using its telekinetic ability to throw Frumpy off the far side of the wall, into the spiked trench below.

Cyrvisnea launches a disintegrate spell at Leon, but his ring reflects it back at her. While Leon’s and Thallatos’s own magics had difficulty piercing her magic resistance, her own spell breaks through it just fine. Just after that, Patrick leaps from the top of the forcecage, landing legs first on the ogre mage’s shoulders. He continues his momentum into a hurricanrana, which he is able to aim directly at the beholder mage. The two monstrous mages collide in midair, and the weight of the ogress is enough to send them both crashing to the ground below. Leon blasts them with a ball of hellfire, but only the beholder is affected.

Thallatos makes his way over to the forcecage and is able to dispel it, freeing Tyrrox to rejoin the battle. Then he issues mental orders to his undead siege crab, which remained waiting below in the castle courtyard. It skitters forward, clobbering the stunned Cyrvisnea in the head with its massive claws until the ogre mage stops moving. Tyrrox charges through the air and strikes down the beholder mage. Patrick then pins the eye tyrant down, finishing it off while Tyrrox jabs at the fallen ogre mage. Finally, Leon finishes off Cyrvisnea by summoning his chains of hellfire, burning her corpse until its flesh is nearly gone entirely, stopping only when it begins to reach the bone. With the monster forces leaderless, the group makes quick work of the leftovers, primarily through Leon and Thallatos’s spells decimating the area.

With the battle concluded, Leon claims the wicked sword that Cyrvisnea had drawn but not had a chance to wield, knowing that his deal for his resurrection requires him to hand it over to whoever the fiend sends to collect it. Thallatos reanimates the skeletons of both Cyrvisnea and the beholder to join his undead horde.
Frumpy Bumgar turns out to have survived his fall, though he has some significant injuries. A warrior named Stash, whose visage Leon had taken at the beginning of the battle to hide from Cyrvisnea, ends up helping Frumpy to climb out of the trench and back behind the safety of the castle wall.

Countess Keelson, who had been supporting the warriors with her bardic music from behind the gate, had an up close view of the deaths of the two monster leaders. Between that close call and witnessing Thallatos’s necromancy up close, the teenage countess begins to freak out. Tyrrox decides to do his best to calm her down by taking her out of the castle for a flight over the countryside, also allowing him to scout and see what the rest of the monstrous army was up to.

While out on his flight, Tyrrox spots a group of halflings riding hard on dogs and ponies, fleeing in the direction of the castle. They are pursued by a force of giants, but they seem to be outrunning their pursuers. Eventually Tyrrox is able to land and greet them, and finds that they are the promised reinforcements, a group of knights known as Arvoreen’s Marchers. The leader, Estemal Talltankard, thanks Tyrrox for the assist and follows the centaur back to Monguldarath, where he presents himself to Thallatos, under whose command he has been placed. Talltankard quickly briefs Thallatos and Leon on the contents of his forces and the details of their journey. He also lets them know that he has used his remaining Sending spell for the day to send warning south to Zazesspur that the monster army is still headed their way.

Thallatos receives another Sending spell from the Queen, telling him the following: “Reinforcements by sea were attacked, nearly all lost. Your privateer picked up survivors, brought to Velen. What’s your status, and do you need more reinforcements?” Thallatos replies back with a status update, and a pledge to go after the other ogre mage the next day.
That night, Leon is woken from his single hour of sleep by a presence in his sleeping chamber. Though the figure doesn’t identify himself, he says that he was sent by Leon’s “benefactor” to retrieve the sword Marrowdrinker. Leon tries to ask questions and discover the name of the devil he’s working for, or some clue as to his identity, but all he gets from the mysterious figure is that he’s “happy to stay as long as needed, it’s a reprieve from the cold.” When Leon realizes he’s not going to get any more information, he picks up Marrowdrinker and hands the sword to the figure.

However, before this mysterious figure can take his leave, Leon tells him “Here’s the thing, your boss screwed me over. And he only said I needed to hand it to you.” Then Leon blasts the figure with the most powerful eldritch blast he can muster, and the being is slain… or at least sent back to whatever Hell he came from. As the body crumbles into dust and disappears, Leon retrieves Marrowdrinker from the ground, dispels the enchantments in the blade temporarily with his magic, and shatters the evil sword against the wall. Then he lays back down and goes back to sleep.

The following morning, Thallatos and Leon talk strategy with Estemal. They decide that a quick strike at the monster army would be most effective in a small, mobile group, so Thallatos decides not to take Arvoreen’s Marchers along. Since there are survivors in Velen from the fleet attack but no communication from them, they decide to dispatch Estemal and the Marchers to investigate. Countess Keelson offers to send Stash, who is her best scout and woodsman, to guide the Marchers there. However, even pushing their mounts every day, the Marchers will still take several days to reach Velen. Maegor also decides to head in that direction, since he can cover the distance more quickly in the air, and can perhaps investigate what happened to the reinforcement fleet.

At Thallatos's request, Leon sends a message to Helena with his journey book, asking her to have some of the undead locked in the castle basement destroyed. Thallatos feels that he is nearing the limit of the undead he can control, and anticipates upgrading to some more powerful minions, so he wants a few of the lesser ones removed so that they can pose no threat to his allies back home.

Before they set out, Leon casts a Sending spell to Sothillis, telling him “We offered peace, you refused, now your mate and beholder are dead. Turn back now. Amn is not your ally.” Sothillis replies, “When your lands burn, your people bleed, and your children starve, know that it was me who caused your suffering. Come and get me.”
And that’s exactly what the party does. After making a few last minute plans and preparations, the group sets off with the Siege Carriage. Since both of Thallatos’s new undead can fly, they are tied by ropes and flown from the back of the carriage like kites.

Nym Laertian the druid is left behind to stay with Countess Keelson and advise her, with Leon speaking some favorable words about him to help him impress the young Countess, whom Nym clearly has a crush on.

The group rides right up to the rear of the enemy army and begins their attack. As waves of hobgoblins, dinosaur-riding orcs, hill giants, and even a group of rust monsters attack them, the group lets loose with the full force of their might.

Nym Eveningfall casts a blade barrier spell to split up the enemy forces and slow down reinforcements. Thallatos conjures a cloudkill spell and sends it drifting into the enemy lines, an acid fog spell to further inhibit reinforcements, and sends his undead forward to attack. Tyrrox charges into the fray and begins slaughtering every enemy that comes near. Patrick blows his Horn of Valhalla, summoning a group of rowdy barbarians to help him fight, but then the gorilla jumps past them and finds a giant to wrestle. Ayame and Mizuki load and fire the ballista from the Siege Carriage, but dismount to fight some large scorpion-like creatures that burrow underneath the carriage and attack from underground. Leon rains down fire and eldritch blasts, helping his allies where needed.

A group of purple-skinned eldritch giants teleport past the barrier of blades and attack the group. The first couple mostly move in to fight in close, but the next pair are smarter, dispelling some of the magics enchanting Tyrrox and Leon, causing them both to plummet to the ground and have to fight on land. However, eventually the giants fall to Leon’s magic and Tyrrox’s lance.

Eventually, their attack draws the attention of the ogre mage Sothillis, who contents himself with watching their battle at first but eventually moves up to battle them. However, this legendary ogre mage has learned not to take the group too lightly and approaches more cautiously. In fact, he brings a hostage. It takes a moment, but eventually the group recognizes the hostage as Jordy Gallum, the Count of Greenshores whom the group had met a month prior in Mosstone. Tyrrox, who had been preparing to charge Sothillis as soon as he had a clear lane, hesitates for a moment.

Displaying abilities he hadn’t revealed before, Sothillis lays a curse on Patrick, who happens to be closest to him. He then summons a shadowy wolflike creature that proceeds to stalk the gorilla. Though it’s obviously not a real being, the shadowy creature nonetheless proves an unsettling distraction that will prevent Patrick from fighting at his full effectiveness.

Nym and the twins finish off the scorpion-like creatures, and then Nym turns his attention to helping clear out the eldritch giants, who are battling Thallatos’s undead. By now, the others have a clear line of sight to the ogre mage. Leon makes a difficult decision, and chooses to blast Sothillis with a sphere of hellfire, accepting the collateral damage as Jordy Gallum is slain and almost instantly burned beyond recognition.

With the ogre mage’s human shield no longer a concern, Tyrrox charges in to strike a powerful blow to the ogre mage. Patrick is about to jump in to help when he hears a “WOO!” call off in the distance. Looking for the source of the noise, Patrick sees off in the distance one more eldritch giant… but this one is wearing a championship belt. The gorilla calls out a “WOO!” of his own, and immediately charges off to face this new challenger.

Having learned from their previous encounters, Sothillis displays a bit more cunning this time. The enormous ogre mage closes the distance to Tyrrox, not granting the centaur the space he needs to ready another charge. He also fights more cautiously and intelligently than before – first laying a curse on Tyrrox and then making probing swings with his wicked axe. When he discovers that Tyrrox is once more immune to the blade of his axe, he shifts his grip and changes the way he throws. Instead of an end-over-end whirling throw, he throws the axe straight on, allowing the wooden haft of the weapon to strike the centaur after the axe head passes harmlessly through him (except for the flames wreathing the weapon). Sothillis also lays a curse on Tyrrox, just as he did Patrick.

After the remaining monsters in the vicinity are defeated, Thallatos moves to assist Tyrrox, readying a powerful spell to attack the ogre mage. However, something stays his hand, an indescribable sense that he must allow his friend to win this fight on his own. Reluctantly, Thallatos waits and watches.

This brutal battle is the stuff of legend, with both the massive centaur and the hulking ogre mage trading earth-shaking blows that would easily fell lesser creatures. Just as he thinks he can take no more and that he is about to die, Tyrrox sees one last chance and rams his lance into the very heart of Sothillis, finally slaying this legendary ogre mage.

Meanwhile, Patrick has reached the champion eldritch giant, who towers over the gorilla but is nearly evenly matched in strength. After exchanging another round of “WOO!”s the two combatants begin to circle one another, testing each other’s defenses. No pure wrestling match, the giant at first wields a large sword until it slips from his grasp during a grapple. Patrick scoops up the massive giant and slams him to the ground, applying a sleeper hold, but the giant is able to shake him off. The back-and-forth continues for some time, with the giant muscling his way out of numerous attempts to pin him down and knock him out. Eventually, Patrick’s allies catch up to him and lend some assistance, some of it more effective than others. The twins try throwing powder in the giant’s face and blinding it with an orb that generates a burst of light. Nym removes the curse weakening Patrick, while Thallatos taps into his necromantic magic numerous times to drain the strength and fighting spirit from the giant. Finally, Patrick is able to lock in his move, snaps the giant’s neck, and stands victorious. The giant’s championship belt transforms in his hands, becoming a medallion that fits neatly onto his Gift of the Gods Championship. As it attaches, Patrick feels the magic of his first medallion increase, and his muscles become even stronger.

Meanwhile, something unusual is happening to Tyrrox. While the others see only a column of golden light bathing the centaur, Tyrrox himself beholds a figure, humanoid but equal in stature to himself, dressed in what seems to be bronze armor and a Grecian-style helm with a horsehair plume. The being congratulates Tyrrox on his hard-fought victory, and informs him that he has every right to claim the spoils of his victory. However, the figure continues and says that if Tyrrox would prefer, he can drain the magic from Sothillis’s items and use it to transfer the ogre mage’s true power to Tyrrox instead.

Tyrrox agrees, and as he looks on the figure disappears, becoming a golden light that settles over the fallen body of Sothillis. The ogre mage’s gear glows a bright gold, which soon turns red and burns so brightly that the centaur can barely stand to look at it. Then the glow turns black and fades, and the blackness fades into the corpse. Nothing happens for a moment, and then a column of rainbow light bursts forth from the ogre mage’s mouth, enveloping Tyrrox’s entire body, which rises into the air. He feels a rush of incredible energy passing through him, seeming to infuse and invigorate him.

When the light show ends, Tyrrox stands in front of his friends, still the same centaur they have journeyed with this past year, but somehow… more. He is somewhat larger in statue, but his eyes have taken on an azure glow, and he moves with a supernatural grace and a majesty that he did not possess before. The fallen ogre mage’s body remains behind, and though it is the same size as before, it seems somehow diminished. His gear remains behind, but all of it, even the once-mighty wicked battle axe, is now entirely mundane.

XP Awarded: 12,000