PC’s present: Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Soveliss
Writeup: lolvenom

Session on the 5th July where the intrepid companions beat up on some fishies get to the waters edge. Surprise big guys by throwing shurikens, then form defensive line. Misama cast by priest and then poison. Big dumb guys no match for Jonn/Joreb plus FIREBALL CRAZY mage. Smaller skinks then push joreb into water trap, get fired out and have to wade back in. Jonn/Soveliss battle on, killing off mage and one skink, other one slips past and stabs human to death, who’s then saved by an over-eager Jonn. Killed again, and eventually saved after the final skink is made into a handbag. Party then retreat to previously visited bone room and set a guard for the night before planning their next exporation session…

xp = 1450 / 3 = 414.25pp
treasure = none

Session on 21st June.

In which the intrepid heroes play with corpses, go for an odd sort of swim, and engage in chemical warfare.

Dramatis Personae
Joreb Innitu : A paladin of questionable resolve.
Naivara Immeral : A mage of questionable modesty.
Soveliss : A rogue of questionable sense.
Revenant of Ruin : Just plain questionable.

Our last installment saw our heroes preparing to cross a threshold after dispatching some ne’er do well Harpies and their Sauhuguin freinds.

After much cautious poking, prodding, and edging, the heroes valiantly crept forward, completely surprising an empty room. Well, empty for the most part. After a thorough examination of the surrounds and the two statues lining the walls, it was determined that a portion of the room contained a not so cleverly conceiled pressure plate, or something of the sort!

This lead to further discussion on the merits of corpse tossing and tight rope walking, even proceding to the point of having resident mook and alround magic missile tossing guy, human mage apprentice, be sent to retrieve a corpse from the previous room. However, it was not to be, as cooler heads prevailed and it was determined that a hasty retreat from the fearsome prospect of something happening was the best course of action.

Retracing their steps back past the scene of their entrance and to the north, a new portal (in the mundane sense) was found, just past a corridor (of which more will be mentioned at a later date). Again, a cautious approach was adopted.

Upon finding another seemingly occupied room, yet finding no method of locating its occupants nor luring them to honourable combat, the heroicly nervous party instead turned the attentions to yet another doorway. For once throwing caution, and the obvious warning sign of an outwardly bulging doorway to the wind, the party very quickly found themselves inundated in a flood of sliding bone.

As if awaiting this very signal (perish the thought!) a tide of plague rats then chose to appear, skittering, leaping and twitching their way towards our heroes, who where finding it very difficulty going, failing at such combat necessities as standing up, breathing, and keeping your blood on the inside.

But lo! A saviour appears. For the trusty (and busty) Eladrin Mage Naivara, paragon of the fair fight, virtue of the trials of ritual combat, procedures to slaughter every last one of the stinking little rodents with a thorough and liberal application of the only moderately frowned upon by the geneva conventions spell : Stinking Cloud.

Once fumigation had been completed, and the party had extricated themselves from the bony predicament, the reassembled team proceeded back down towards the previously mentioned corridor, where some skulky scouting revealed a pair of hulking reptilian monstrosities, lurking in a deep pool and perfectly placed to be part of next weeks adventure.

fin

XP : Some.
Loot : None.

This is the session which took place on the 14th June where the PCs crossed the bridge and nearly got pulled into the water by the Harpies.

Write up: gladiatorluke

This is the session that took place on the 24th and 31st May where the PCs ported into the Pyramid and fought the Ettin and the Carrion Crawlers. Stan controlled the Apprentice who appeared in the in the second session.

Adventurers Present:

Balasar the Paladin
Naivara the hot Wizard
Joreb the Paladin
And in spirit Jonn Redgar.
Also present was DC, the DM, may the light of a thousand dawns shine upon him.

The adventurers began their evening with a quick discussion on themselves, their levels and various new powers. Some new loot was also found on the bodies of the dead cultists. A beautiful golden skeletal ramhead amulet worth 250 gp was taken by Naivara to accentuate her plunging neckline and 150 gp found its way into the group’s coffers. As Naivara put on the necklace she joked with the apprentice wizard, “you played your part well, we shall return the favour some time, jokes aside, your abilities were not as bad as we jested”. Joreb cut the apprentice Tobolar Quickfoot deeply with a cutting remark, “he’s not interested… wizards don’t go in for that sort of thing because magic is so much more thrilling”

A long discussion followed with Tobolar’s master, Nimozaran. The group managed to convince the master about their worth and good intentions through the diplomatic skills of Joreb and the other party members. Joreb went into details of his understandings of the pyramid of Shadows, its energies and obvious extra-dimensional purpose. The paladin uses his insights and understandings and the elderly mage is convinced of the groups merits.

Nimozaran then slowly reveals his knowledge on the pyramid in his gravely voice…a very long winded account recorded here:
Pyramid of Shadows
“When first the pyramid appeared I stood utterly confounded, just as astounded as the rest of the town. What was this dire black pyramid floating over our small community? But instead of leaving as many have chosen to do, I decided to find out the truth to this mystery. I went into the oldest part of the Mages’ Guild’s library and started dusting of tomes I haven’t even opened before. It has taken me weeks to go through all the material, but finally I found the answer in an old tome dating back to the founding of Fallcrest three hundred years ago.
Nearly five hundred years ago, a mighty tiefling wizard named Karavakos made a fatal bargain. The twin threats of minotaurs of the wild and rebellion from within threatened his iron grip over the lands of his petty kingdom. In desperation, Karavakos summoned a demon, a servant of the mighty demon prince Orcus and asked for aid. The demon whispered dark secrets to Karavakos, guiding him into building an unholy cult of the demon prince Orcus in his kingdom. In return the demon showed him a ritual and an artifact that would create a gap between the worlds, connecting one of Orcus’s unholy Shadowfell sites to the world. Karavakos, already a skilled magician, created the Rod of Ruin and the necessary ritual to bridge the gap to the Shadowfell. Skeletons, zombies, and demons flooded through the rift into the light of day. A legion of abyssal warriors came to march under his command, and he stepped up his efforts to restore his tyranny over his domain and subjects.
The hordes of demons came at what at the time seemed to be a very reasonable price. They would fight on Karavakos behalf and obey his orders. If he ever led them to defeat, however, they would abandon him and feed on his dark soul for all eternity. All the souls of his subjects would be damned to an eternity of pain in the depths of Abyss. Only an error made by the wizard could result in the demons’ defeat—no army in the world could defeat them on the field of battle. Karavakos led his hordes on one conquest after another. His first target was the neighboring minotaur tribes, which were almost driven to extinction by Karavakos undead and demon infested hordes. One tribe took refuge in the depths below Thunderspire Mountain, where they founded the city of Saruun Khel and hid from Karavakos wrath. What had been a small kingdom ruled by Karavakos grew into a mighty nation to rival the great human empire of Nerath that held sway over much of the land at this time. With winter’s arrival, Karavakos called a halt to his campaign of expansion. He returned to his palace with the eladrin princess, Vyrellis, who was to be his bride. Together, he proclaimed, they would rule a new empire, and with spring’s dawning his armies would march into the Feywild, extending their rule across two worlds.
When spring came, the demon hordes marched through the thin border between worlds. In the Feywild, though, the demons met their match. Invincible on the battlefields of the natural world, the demons had no such protection once they stepped into the Feywild. Fey spears and arrows felled the hordes, putting an end to Karavakos’s dreams of conquest— and severing his demonic bargain. At the same time, the empire of Nerath had dispatched legionnaires to eliminate the threat of the rift to the Shadowfell. The empire’s soldiers destroyed the remaining undead, sealed the opening, and built a keep to watch over the location and contain the threat. This is the site known as the Keep on the Shadowfell.
At the same time, the empire of Nerath had dispatched legionnaires to eliminate the threat of the rift to the Shadowfell. The empire’s soldiers destroyed the remaining undead, sealed the opening, and built a keep to watch over the location and contain the threat. This is the site known as the Keep on the Shadowfell. Karavakos nation died on that day, all his subjects killed and their souls brought back to the Abyss with the returning demons. At the end of the war the greatest wizards of the Neratch Empire and the Seelie Court in the Feywild created something they referred to as ‘The Pyramid of Shadow’, its purpose lost in the sand of time. This very tower, the Septarch’s Tower was build as a foci for the ritual, as it is all made up of Feystone to make sure it would never fall. Aranda Markelhay was one of the Nerathan wizards who constructed the tower. Who was later given the task to guard the Septarch’s Tower. The Markelhay family soon established the town which later would become Fallcrest and the Moonstone Keep as their residence. Generations later I guess the knowledge of their true past has been lost and none of the Markehay family today knows anything about their grand past, except that they have inherited the governance of Fallcrest for generations.
Why the pyramid has suddenly appeared over Fallcrest again is not mentioned anywhere in the tomes, but that I want you to find out. At the top of the tower there has been a teleportation circle that has been dead as long as I can remember. Two weeks ago it started to shine as a shooting star…”
As the aged mage finishes his amazing speech the group take in their situation. Balasar openly admits to his desire to throw Merry onto it and Joreb seconds the idea, adding we should tie a rope around his foot so we can drag him back.
As the group examines their surrounding more carefully they notice strange silver symbols inscribed in the floor of the top level of the Septarch’s Tower. They seem almost alive, shining bright and flowing before your eyes. Nobody can be sure were they lead, but you have your guesses.
With this new development the group discuss their future plans. Together they agree to rest up and replenish supplies before making their valiant assault on the pyramid.
They head back into Fallcrest to visit Naerumar’s Imports, Considered the finest of Fallcrest’s retail establishments, Naerumar’s Imports deals in gemstones, jewelry, art, and magic trinkets. The owner is Orest Naerumar, a tiefling who displays impeccable manners and discretion.
6 potions of healing are purchased as emergency supplies. The adventurers share these out equally amongst those here: Balasar, Mikal, Naivara nd Joreb. Then Naivara holds the spares for her other companions. A +2 magic dagger is sold and Joreb purchases a delightful +1 cloak of walking wounded (level 4) for 840 gp and that leaves the group with 860 gp. The cloak looks good on the ruggered paladin, but not as fetching as the new Orb Naivara is now wielding.
Orb of Radiance (standard)
A pinpoint of light dances on the tip of the wand.
Human Ruffian 59: 18 vs. Fort, 5 radiant damage
Hit: If the target moves nearer to you on its next turn, it takes an extra 1d6 + Constitution modifier damage.
Not to be the only one without some new loot Balasar purchases an avalanche hammer +1, enchanted with the essence of the elemental earth, this hammer strikes foes like an avalanche, a bargain at 840 gp. The level 4 item allows him to charge an enemy and hit with a melee basic attack using this weapon, the attack deals 1W extra damage.
The adventurers take an extended rest, then watch as Joreb clicks his heels together three times…
It is now time for the daring group to enter the pyramid!
As they are magically teleported into an unknown area A stench of death and blood assails you as you appear suddenly atop a pile of bodies. Humans, dwarves, elves, halflings, and others, all apparently recently killed but all wearing clothing and armor of an earlier age. The pile of bodies seems to shift, as though something might be moving beneath it. Above you, at the top of the pit, you see a hideous, two-headed giant—he’s rubbing two blades together with an eager gleam in the eyes of both its horrifying heads.

As their surroundings dawn on the party and the battle ahead looms, the astute adventurers notice Mikal, he has undergone an interesting transformation…

This was the session on the 3/5 when the PCs were attacked by Orcus Cultists before they reached the bridge to the Septarch’s Tower.

Please add detail.

This was the session on the 20/4 when the PCs were attacked by the Shadowraven Swarm on their way to the Nentir Inn.

Please add detail.

This was the session on 12/4 when the PCs returned to Fallcrest to investigate the Pyramid and were attacked in Lowtown.

Please add details.

Characters Present:
Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Glorien Ethalron , Merry Merric , Mikal Hanre, Naivara Immeral , Balasar Torrin
Writeup: Luohghcra

To be continued

Characters Present:
Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Glorien Ethalron , Merry Merric , Mikal Hanre, Naivara Immeral , Balasar Torrin
Writeup: lolvenom

Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Glorien Ethalron , Merry Merric , Mikal Hanre, Naivara Immeral
Writeup: Luohghcra

Well met once more, dear readers! Come, join me again as we follow the tales of derring-do (but mostly don’t), of our beloved adventurers…

Recall well that the party did battle mightly against stone and narrowly avoid a watery death; watch now, as they progress through another doorway, into a shambling horde of the restless dead!

I weep with joy to inform you of the daring and dynamic way in which our heroes burst through the door, and swiftly dispatch numerous shambling corpses before they had even had time to lift a decaying limb! Glorien, for once able put arrow to bow with some efficacy, slaying two zombies; Mikal, coolly stepping forward to curse and blast a corpse into oblivion before strategically (some might say cowardly), returning to the shadows.

Merry and Jonn, eager to match the efforts of their comrades, rush forward and dispatch yet more of the walking dead. Unfortunately though, this is but a mere prelude, and the two (yes, once again…) find themselves surrounded.

Naivara, our newest recruit, steps forward with ethereal grace and stabs crackling bolt of magic towards another of the undead…
…no shambling minion, this one. As the magical missile strikes, it breifly illuminates a malevolent visage – glowing green eyes narrow, and with a spiteful hiss, the Ghoul leaps to the attack, bounding in with unnatural agility and guile.

As if this were some form of command, suddenly our hapless heroes find themselves beset from all sides! Ghouls leap in to the attack, striking with stunning ferocity. First Merry, then Glorien find themselves at the mercy of the painful claws and teeth of the evil beings.

But in all this, where is our tame paladin? Surely this is his element, fighting the cursed undead?
Ah, there he is… calling upon the power of mighty Pelor to bless his blade – and if ever a blade needed blessing!
This done, Joreb steels himself, and with a cry to Pelor, marches into the melee! With poise and righteous fury, he swings his blessed blade in a glittering arc at a ghoul attempting to gnaw at Glorien..!

A ghoul who, at the very last moment, skitters deftly aside, avoiding what would surely have been a telling blow!
Joreb, aghast at his failure to perform at a critical juncture can do little but watch as the rest of the party does what it must to survive.

Yet more of the ghoul’s fellows join him in the attack, and Glorien is forced to yeild under their onslaught, but maintains his composure (and more importantly, his accuracy.) Merry and Jonn, back to back again, bravely withstand the hordes assailing them, but are ill-prepared for a new threat. From the shadows in the farthest corner of the room appears a perplexing phenomenon – a statue of some kind, appearing to be made of clay, floating some inches above the flagstones!
There is little time to investigate however, and Jonn soon bears witness to this constructs abilities – a mental blast that sends him staggering.

On the other side of the room, Glorien is left stunned and helpless under the claws of the ferocious ghouls. Naivara steps forth, her robes already billowing out as arcane energies fill her lithe form. As the eldritch tempest reaches a crescendo, the enchantress reaches out a hand, and directs the energy through a prismatic orb in her hand – brilliant, blinding flashes of coloured energy stab out at the zombie minions, extinguishing them in violent explosions of decaying matter.

Now with some room to move, Joreb finally dispels his early failure, and wades into the thick of things, righeously smiting the ghouls when they come into range of his blade. Glorien remains helpless under the stunning attacks of the Ghouls, depite Jorebs efforts.
Mikal, stymied by the adroit reflexes of the ghouls, changes his tactics – using his fey abilities, he slips around behind the hordes, and assails the Clay construct.

Jonn and Merry, despite some near misses, are still upright (though barely), and finally depleting the horde before them.
The construct finally shatters into so much broken pottery under the dual magical assault of Mikal and Naivara, with Glorien adding a helping hand, despite his transfixed state.
Joreb, still making up for his embarrasing entrance, is able to finally come to the aid of Merry and Jonn, just in time for the last of the undead to meet its final (final) rest…

And with that, our heroes are able to breath a sigh of relief, clean their weapons, and take stock. Clearly they drew ever closer to the penultimate encounter. What can lay before them?
Stay with us, dear readers! Glorien..sorry.. GLORY, awaits!

Treasure: 176 GP, Bag of Holding.
XP: 1431@238.5 each

Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Glorien Ethalron , Merry Merric , Mikal Hanre, Balasar Torrin
Writeup: lolvenom

The brawl continued unabated, Hobgoblin and Human, Elf and Halfling, carnage abound on every side. Well aimed blows caused injuries to both parties before a deafening roar interrupted proceedings, weapons were momentarily stayed until the source of the noise could be ascertained. It didn’t take long to make itself clear; the hulking form of Balasar Torrin came charging down the corridor from the north, crashing into the nearest Hobgoblin warrior. The sight of the Dragonborn revived the spirits of the party and finally the tide was turned. Joreb and Jonn landed devastating blows, Glorien finally hit something, whilst Merry and Mikal both did their best to avoid engagement by running away.

Eventually the game was up for the Hobgoblins. Merry, seeing the fight was over, lept onto the table to stab the final weakened and surrounded beast in the back. Everyone paused momentarily in the silence that followed; breath was catught and weapons wiped of blood and ichor. The party then seperated in order to explore the surrounding rooms. Four bottles of red wine were found in the crates in the main room, whilst in the Warlocks quarters a chest was found to contain a stash of gold, a shortsword which looked decidedly magical, and a number of leather bound books.

After pocketing the finds and taking a rest, the party decided it was time to resume its exploration of the dungeon. Mikal however, was captivated by some of the volumes found, and promised to catch up to the rest of the explorers shortly. Now a member short the party proceded back to the previously unexplored corridor to the west, exporing down to a set of south facing double doors.

Given the blunders of previous hours it was felt that some stealth might not go amiss. A sensitive Elven ear was put to the doors to see if any noises could be heard. A small, feminie Halfling half checked the lock to ensure it was open. Having found out nothing more from their fumbling, the party assumed the position and pushed the doors open. The doors opened into pitch blackness. Even in the time it took Glorien to retrieve his sun rod from his pack the sheer space of the room could be felt. Once light was struck, the room was revealed to be just as large as it had seemed, spanning tens of meters into the air and easily twice that in diameter. However what struck the party most was not the cavernous size of the room but its contents.

In the middle stood a stone statue of a knight many times the size of a man. His pose spoke of a brave and wily fellow, honourable and loyal. Joreb, Jonn and Balasar stepped forward, eyes raised skyward to observe the glory of the statue infront of them. Without warning the heavy doors slammed shut behind them with a bang, narrowly missing Glorien and trapping Merry out in the corridor where he had tarried. A sense of alarm began to settle over the group, now minus two of their members, trapped in an uncertain situation. Joreb stepped forward to examin the statue up close when suddenly its solid looking arm articulated and swung around in an arc with blazing speed, catching him hard on the upper body and throwing him to the floor.

Wary now, Balasar advanced around the side of the statue to the east towards a smaller statue of a dragon. As he approached the statue blasted out a ball of energy, throwing the Dragonbord from his feet and into the reach of the knights blade. Glorien’s rushed to the back of the daises, where his sharp eyes had picked up the outline of a panel. Prying it open he found the mechanism that allowed the freedom of movement for the otherwise inanimate statue; however the complexity of it baffled any attempts to disable further movement. The party backed away briefly to assess the situation, whilst Jonn and Merry tried in turn to open the door.

To the far south of the room the party spotted seveal smaller statues, resembling cherubs with amphora raised above their heads, nestled back into an alcove. Balasar and Jonn began to work their way cautiously round the western side of the knight, keeping out of its range of motion. Meanwhile Glorien took a more pragmatic approach to the danger it posed and began peppering it with arrows. Balasar finally got close enough to the nearest cherub, and unable to discern a purpose for it, decided the best course of action was to smash it to bits with a mighty blow of his mace.

As this happened, Merry finally managed to slip the bolt holding the heavy doors closed and finally joined the rest of the party in the main chamber. Incensed at what he saw, and at having missed most of the action, he sped across the floor and lept onto the back of the knight, clambering high onto its shoulders to avoid the swinging of its arms. He plunged his dagger into the narrow gaps between plates of armour several times before the statue ground to a halt; apparently too damaged to continue its swing.

The party was all but ready to breathe a sigh of relief until Jonn unwittingly triggered the final trap by stepping across the threshold into the alcove. With a crackle of energy a forcefield appeared behind him, ensuring he was trapped and alone, whilst the innocent looking statues tipped their amphora over. Out gushed a continual torrent of water which began rapidly pooling around his feet. Taking his inspiration from Balasars earlier action, and under pressure to avoid a fate worse than death (that of being an even worse swimmer than Joreb), he took to each of the statues in turn with his hammer. Several heavy blows later, with the water around his knees, the final cherubic face was reduced to rubble. With a pop of inrushing air and outrushing water, the forcefield dissappeared and the party was again reunited.

XP = 1126/6 = 187.6xp each
XP part b = 500/5 = 100xp each
Treasure = 380gp, 4 bottles of red wine, magic weapon (+1 vicious shortsword @520gp)

PCs present: Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Glorien Ethalron , Mikal Hanre , Merry Merric
Writeup: Luohghcra

Greetings, fellow lovers of adventure! Prepare yourselves for another retelling of the hapless wanderings of our intrepid band. There shall be murder and mayhem aplenty, and possibly even the buckling of a swash or two…

We rejoin our heroes mere moments after they had kicked yet another hornets nest of the hobgoblin kind. Do they this a-purpose, or is it yet more evidence of careless wandering? Time will tell.

This time, the usual festering horde of minions and soldiers was joined by a dabbler in the arcane. A hobgoblin warcaster it was, steeped in the filthy secrets of the darker side of the arcane-coin. Swiftly he made his presence known; levelling a staff of power, and snarling a cantrip, he let loose with a crackling bolt, which staggered the stalwart Jonn. The remainder of the ragged lot (by this I mean the hobgoblins, children, and not our heroes – though I must admit, the distinction is fine..), bouyed by this display of might, surged forward in a motley tide, hacking and screaming in their foul gibberish. Merry was next to feel the brunt of the attack, and only his sneaking, ill-bred talents and agility kept him in the fight.

The party was ill-set, and with Glorien apparently falling afoul of the vagaries of fate (that whimsical puppet-mistress), it fell to the noble Joreb once again. Drawing himself even more uptight…ah, upright, that is… he thunderingly shouted a Name of Might! As one, the ragtag horde visibly shuddered, and as the shockwaves dissipated, many of the grunting hobgoblins fell to the floor, cranial orifices bleeding!
Not content with this display, Joreb proceeded to come to the aid of Jonn, hefting him to his feet, and sending a wave of healing through his still-tingling frame. Back to back now, the two set about them, hacking and hammering at the filthy foe.

The remainder of the party finally found their feet, and started to dismantle the hobgoblins with almost casual ease. Even Merry took a moment to stop ducking flailing flails, typically just in time to put a dagger in the back of the warcaster, who had stumbled backwards under a ringing blow from Jonn Redgar.

Without leadership, the rest of the horde quickly crumbled, like so many soggy cookies. Before they could appreciate a good simile, however, the party was off, looking for more foes to fight!

Were they in for an interesting time…

Advancing stealthily now, our band of merry men nevertheless manage to stumble into yet another den of Hobgoblins. This lot appeared more than ready for them; one of the filthy humanoids – better armed and armoured than his fellows, but possibly even smellier – stepped towards the party and called for his fellows to attempt to capture our intrepid heroes!

After getting over their shock that the Warchief could speak a civilised language, our lads piled in. Things started to look dire from the off, however, with Glorien still unable to put an arrow to good use. Worse was to come. Even though the warchief was swiftly beset, and soon bleeding from numerous wounds, his calls had brought reinforcements.

Merry was once again found to have advanced too swiftly and was soon surrounded. Jonn did his best to come to his diminutive companions aid, but it fell to Mikal, that darkly silent member of the party. Stepping from a cloud of fey mist, he unleashed a maelstrom of energy, which caught numerous foes in its eldritch wake – but also Merry! Staggering back, and almost faltering, it fell to Jonn to once again make an heroic rescue, dodging the blows of the horde and standing over the fallen form of the halfling.

Mikal, meanwhile, had left as callously and mysteriously as he had appeared, attempting to blast the Warchief in the back with arcane energy. So intent was he, however, that he didn’t notice yet more grunting hobgoblins creeping forward to surround him, and he soon had no time for the warchief…

As Jonn helped Merry back to his feet, Joreb struck another foe down, but still they seemed to come on. A dull roar seemed to echo from a distance, the clang of steel was almost drowned out by the nigh-exhausted panting of both parties, and STILL they seemed to come on!

Will our heroes survive this latest encounter?
Stay tuned, dear readers, stay tuned…

PCs present: Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Glorien Ethalron , Mikal Hanre , Merry Merric
Writeup: lolvenom

Having rested over night under Lord Padrigs care in Winterhaven, a diminished party retraced its steps towards the keep atop the hill. Merry had been left behind to nurse a hangover that felt like it had been bestowed upon him by the Asmodeus himself. The party crept carefully through the gates, down the stairs to the first level. Their caution turned out to be unfounded as it was as deserted as they had left it. A few lingering moments were spent at the top of the stairs down to level two before descending into the unknown.

The scene that greeted the party at the bottom of the stairwell was not what they expected. The stairwell had lead them into a large square room with a deep pit in the center, two hobgolblin guards standing infront of it. Two more Hobgoblins were positioned near the entrance to a hallway behind them, talking distractedly in their gutteral dialect. The two nearest the well snapped to attention at the arrival of the party, eyeing them with mistrust. The left most Hobgoblin took a half step forward, snarling out a comment in Common. Joreb replied in turn, answering their mistrustful stares with the pass phrase they required and eloquent explanation their purpose in the dungeon. Eventually one of the pair departed to confirm details of the yarn that had been strung.

After a few minutes had passed the party tired of the charade and, convinced that all would not end well, decided that words would not be enough to win the day alone. With a cry weapons were drawn and they barreled into the room, cutting down the first startled Hobgoblin before he could reciprocate. Alerted to the commotion, a door to the left of the party crashed open and admitted several more beasts. In the midst of the fray Glorien noticed several Hobgoblins making for the passageway towards the rear of the room, intent on unchaining some iron bars, behind which he could make out the hulking form of a giant spider. With slow yet impeccable accuracy he pincushioned one after another, until even his great talent couldn’t quell the weight of numbers and finally the lock was sprung.

With a deft movement the spider lept forward, seeking to sink its fangs into any member of the party rash enough to get close. Some quick action by the adventurers deflected its attention until they could deploy their decoy, Merry, who’s bleary eye’d enterance caused a commotion. However, even in his disoriented state, he managed to avoid the angry fangs, using his speed to unbalance the spider and push it into the well.

The fight up top continued with relentless intensity, Hobgoblin corpses forming a thick carpet across the stone floor. Before Merry could join the clean up he was met with the uncomfortable sight of his nemesis, the spider, using its mighty legs to propel itself back out of the hole and into his path. With his companions still occupied by the Hobgoblins and unable to come to his aid, he was ravaged relentlessly until he collapsed to the floor.

Seeing the sight of his fallen companion, Jonn roared in dismay and leapt forward to lay a healing hand on Merry’s small shoulder. With a last thrust of his dagger, Marry put paid to any further thoughts the spider might have of harming him, jamming it hard into the glistening cluster of eyes. As one the fighting across the floor subsided. Wounds and egos were attended to and the area was searched, revealing a smattering of coins.

Once done, they set off further into the darkness, searching once again for Kal Arel(?). They followed the corridors through several twists and turns until encountering a set of doors. The party gathered in formation, and with a gentle shove, opened to the sight of another Hobgoblin. For a breathless moment looks were exchanged before a shrill shreik eminated from the monsters mouth…

“We’re under attack!”

XP = 1091/5 = 218.2xp each
Treasure = 10gp 27sp

PCs present: Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Glorien Ethalron , Merry Merric , Mikal Hanre

Writeup: Luohghcra

After a quick conference, and recognising the wearied and battered state of some of the party, it was decided to make the quick trip back into town, to restock, reinvigorate, and re-evaluate.
Winterhaven, though, had other ideas. Presented with closed gates, and a couple of worried looking militia manning the walls, the party was given the grim news by Lord Padraig: The town was now under threat from a horde of the restless dead, with several villagers already falling victim to the revenants…

No rest for the wicked then.

Joreb, loquacious as ever, asked Lord Padraig’s permission to at least restock the party’s supplies. The good Lord gracelessly acquiesced, whereupon the Paladin spent what appeared to be the entirety of the group’s hard-earned loot on a spiffing new set of armour for himself. Luckily Merry was absent at the time, seemingly distracted by the food stalls (and the buxom wench manning..er, womanning, the stall)…

With determination and will, and some fancy new plate armour, the group marched themselves down to the cemetery.

From the gates, all looked calm: the graves undisturbed, the late afternoon sun dappling through the autumnal leaves of the few withered-looking trees amongst the worn gravestones.
Merry, avid as ever to throw himself into the action, slunk forward and nimbly made his way into a scouting perch in a nearby tree. Glorien, elf-silent and with drawn bow, followed close by. The two scouts spotted the eldritch glow emanating from a circle of arcane runes further into the graveyard.
In a potentially foolhardy move, Glorien loosed a flurry of arrows at the circle. Luckily, nothing untoward appeared to happen, and the scouts motioned for the rest of the party to advance.
Advance they did, with only Mikal – still bearing the mental scars of having already being ambushed once in his short adventuring life – wisely hanging back and gravitating towards the shadows in the lee of a tomb, keeping a wary eye on the nearby graves.
Advance they did – straight into an undead ambush!

As the skeletal horde clawed its way out of the dry ground, another surprise met the adventurers, as a bewitchingly beautiful elf maiden stepped forward from a tomb to the north. Glorien and Joreb gasped, recognising her as Ninaran, the elf who had sent them on one of their first quests. Before he could open his mouth to call a greeting, however, Ninaran drew her bow, notched and loosed an arrow in one smooth motion – only his elfin reflexes saving him from a skewering strike. Engraged, Glorien raced forward to engage in a duel of arrows, as the undead minions closed in…

Merry, furthest into the graveyard, was the first to feel the bite of (admittedly rusty) steel after being mobbed by the ambulatory bones. Desperately trying to avoid the blows raining down, Merry was unable to defend himself, as with an unearthly howl, a Grave Hound bounded its way down the steps of the mausoleum, and launched itself at Merry, who was knocked prone by the vicious bite of the hellish canine.

The rest of the party drew close, Jonn Redgar exhorting his companions to strike true; Joreb, new armour shining brightly in the afternoon sun, smiting virtuously at the undead menace; Glorien, ignoring the clumsy strikes of the minions to send arrow after arrow at the elf Ninaran; Mikal, drawing the shadows close as he marched forth to curse and blast corpse after corpse…

But still they came on! More howls from the mausoleum, as two more Hounds bounded into the fray, striking at Joreb and Jonn. Beset, the two strongarms of the party could do little but struggle under the onslaught, landing blows where they could, and exerting themselves mightily to aid the smallest party member, Merry. Merry himself, though now able to dodge the attacks of the clumsy skeletons, could seemingly do little about the snapping jaws of the hounds, and he felt himself weakening, necrotic energies coursing through his diminutive frame.
Words of encouragement from Jonn urged Joreb to greater feats, and he managed to free himself long enough to call on the favour of Pelor, creating a circle of sanctuary for the party.
Mikal, seemingly encouraged, drew upon his arcane knowledge: A sneering curse on his lips, he stepped shoulder-to-shoulder with Joreb, and directed a wave of thunderous energy at the crowding undead, searing the rotting fur of a hound, and blasting some corpses; then, with a malicious glint in his eye, he called forth a maelstrom of fey energies with which to assail the other hounds. Joreb, so close to the warlock, was unlucky enough to be caught up in the arcane burst, but thankfully escaped unscathed…

Elsewhere, Glorien managed to render Ninaran unconscious, but found himself beset with yet more undead, and left to fend for himself – the rest of the party still tangling with undead menaces of their own. An elf is never defenceless however; though he took many blows, Glorien was able to use his elven agility to break free and send his foes back to the realms of the quietly dead.

By the time he turned to see how the rest of the party was faring, it was all over bar the shouting. Mikal danced across the battlefield, drawing fey mists and shadows around his figure, only to appear behind his foes and blast them with eldritch power. Jonn and Joreb had teamed up to smite the remaining cursed and weakened hounds, whilst Merry dispatched the last of the skeletal minions with typical brashness.

Breathing heavily, and wiping their weapons clean of necrotic ichor, the party looked around, taking stock. Whilst Merry and Mikal rifled the long dead corpses, Joreb marched over to their unconcious captive, tying her securely with ropes. Turning his attention to the circle of runes, Joreb aided Mikal in the cleansing of the circle, thus ensuring no further abominations would rise.

Ninaran was searched, and a piece of parchment (along with a small sum of gold), was found in her pocket. The letter revealed that she was in league with Kal Arel(?); it also revealed a password to be used somewhere on the second level of the keep. She was summarily slapped out of her unconscious state, and brusquely questioned. Intimidated, and realising it was best to be truthful in such a situtation, she quickly revealed all – how she had worked with Kal Arel(?) to divert the heroes on at least one occasion, and how she had reported to Kal Arel(?) on the actions of the group. Babbling on, and fearing for her life, she also revealed a genuine nugget of information – the passphrase in the letter was a ruse, and the real one was thus: “And life fails in the dark”.

Showing typical mercy and justice, the Paladin agreed to speak in defence of Ninaran. Merry, though clearly dumbstruck, held his tongue and the party returned to town, whereupon they recounted the afternoons adventure to Lord Padraig. With Ninaran safely locked up, Joreb then wheedled some cash out of the clearly destitute Lord, and the crew took the chance for a hearty meal and a good nights sleep…

Loot: 139 GP
XP: 1075/5 = 215XP each

PCs present: Jonn Redgar , Joreb Innitu , Glorien Ethalron , Merry Merric , Mikal Hanre
Writeup: lolvenom

The snapping shut of the sarcophagi doors brought the adventurers to the startling reality that they’d walked into yet another trap. Sweaty palms and racing hearts lasted barely a moment as bows, spears and swords sprang to hand in a series of well practiced motions. This was what each and every one of them lived for. Sharp ears picked up a scurrying noise from back the way they had come, but thankfully for everyone it was only the Gnome Halfling, Merry.

What followed was nothing short of heroic. Joreb, exhorted to new feats by Jonn’s encouragement, cut a swathe through papery flesh and brittle bones. Glorian’s bow sung out loud and clear, piercing the magic that held the restless dead together. Splug’s spear and Merry’s dagger both drove deep into what had once been living flesh, shattering the animation that kept these corpses moving. Despite this, time and again they came. More shambling apparitions appeared around the far corners, animated in the glowing starlight. The lids of numerous sarcophagi re-opened for a second and third time, disgorging more abominations into the fray. One by one they all met the same fate.

With the final cleaving blow of Joreb’s sword, silence descended. Across the floor lay nothing but rags and bone, the ancient magic that animated them gone. With little more than a nod weapons were sheathed and soft footfalls took the band of adventurers towards the light at the end of the corridor. As the walls widened out into a chamber the party spied waist high stone alters at either end, adorned with burnt out candles. The walls behind each altar were festooned with inscriptions which described it as a holy place, a tomb of Bahumut. A brief search gave rise to a secret chamber containing five silver dragons, which Joreb recognised as being idols of the very same God. The only area left to explore was a set of double doors waiting tantalisingly between the altars.

With a shove the doors banged open. Joreb and Jonn stood poised, expecting the worst. Inside the scene was serene, a small room with a raised dasis at the far end. Surmounting that lay what appeared to be the tomb of a mighty warrior, the relief adoring the lid that of a Knight with arms crossed over his chest. The intrepid adventurers advanced warily, flanking the sarcophagi and investigating every nook and cranny.

Finally the decision was made to open the stone coffin by pushing the lid off. Just as Joreb’s hands reached out to shunt it off, a lound noise rang around the room and the beautifully engraved top exploded in a cloud. Through dust clogged eyes the party spied a humanoid form clad in arcane armour. This turned out to be none other than Sir (Kevin) Keegan, a long dead Knight of Bahumut who was sworn to protect against the coming of evil. As the dust settled he started quizing the party to ascertain their intentions, trying to find out if they were working for the forces of good or not. At first it went well for the party, their words greeted with nods of agreement. However as the conversation progressed the outlook became progressively gloomier, Sir Keegan gesticulating angrily at some of the groups words. Finally with a defiant cry he drew his sword and the adventurers were cast into a pitched battle they’d not anticipated.

Blows were exchanged between Joreb, Jonn and Sir Keegan before a bolt of sizzling energy lept past, engulfing the long dead Knight. In the fever of pitched battle no one had noticed the Warlock, Mikal, enter the room. The battle raged on for a while longer, Sir Keegan nearly felling several of the party before he was eventually overpowered by the combined arms of the party.

Exhausted, shoulders slumped and weapons were sheathed. A search of the tomb revealed nothing of value and the team were left facing the decision of how to proceed, should they heed Sir Keegans words and continue their quest with haste, or should they return to the town to rest?

XP = 1350/4 = 337.5XP each
XP part b = 875/5 = 175XP each

PCs present: Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu, Jonn Redgar
Writeup: Faulcon

Only one path from the original stairs remained uninvestigated, it was time to move down the southern corridor. The first few rooms were still devoid of life, the goblins who had originally been there having been previously killed when the ruins were first entered. The corridor twisted onwards when around the corner shambled some denizens of the night, bits of rotted flesh barely clinging to yellowed bones.

Joreb charged forward blocking up the passageway and obliterating a lumbering corpse with a quick swing of his blade. With Jonn encouraging him, Joreb swung again light flashing from his blade as the zombie ignited in holy fire. Glorien stood behind peppering the undead with arrows while Splug threw his javelins and stabbed the occasional zombie with his spear. Before you could blink the corpses were all down and behaving like properly dead creatures, stationary on the ground.

Moving north the sharp eyed Glorien spotted some strange rune like markings on the ground. It was quickly apparent these were some kind of trap but there was no way around them so Glorien used an arrow in an attempt to trigger the marking from a distance. His attempt was successful, the trap making a terrifying screech that sent all bar Joreb fleeing for their lives and sanity and waking the shuffling hordes that had been dozing beyond the trap.

A host of zombies began advancing towards the valiant crew and once again Joreb led the charge, blocking off a large part of the corridor. The undead simply could not bear to touch his dazzling armour while his blazing sword scythed through their ranks.

Glorien was almost caught out as the zombies split and sought to find a way around the paladin, Splug and Jonn moved to intercept the new threat while GLorian rained his shafts in both directions. Despite their vast numbers and weight of mass the zombies simply could not find any gap in the defences presented and when the last zombie fell there was hardly a scratch left to show they had even attacked.

Glorien suggested using the zombie corpses to build a path over the trapping runes as they had passed without any difficulties so several of the bodies were dragged over and laid on the passage forming a crude cadaver crossing. With this method the traps were successfully circumvented and the area thoroughly explored. No more zombies were found so they returned south to where some skeletons had been previously detected.

Upon reaching the area where the skeletons had been there was no movement, only the presence of several standing crypts. Moving into position to open one of the stone sarcophagi Joreb set off a new trap that awoke the residents of all 10 tombs leaving the group surrounded but ready to leap into action…

PCs present: Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric, Jonn Redgar
Writeup: Barre

With the room cleared the party decided to secure the area before moving on. To the south Merry and Glorien found a corridor of sorts which they decided to check out. Moving forward they discovered an exposed pit trap, at the bottom of qhich lay a strange insectoid type creature which had fallen on a goblin. Not wanted to risk anything of value they sent Splug down to check it out. The creature appeared lifeless and some minor treasure was found.

Before they got far though they were alarmed by some scurrying activity ahead, with torches ablaze it was revealed that this creature was not a loner, and his mates did not want us there. Wary for more traps the party took up positions and pressed into battle. With the experience of previous adventures forging them into an efficient machine they were quickly able to lethally subdue the creatures, whom appeared to be from some kind of nest, a nest perhaps containing treasure, on that thought Merry quickly dissappeared and as the rest caught up they found he had indeed found some coins.

Otherwise, this proved to be a dead end so the group ventured back to the rat room, where a foreboding set of double doors were waiting to be opened, in fact the sign reading, “Do not enter.. REALLY!”, just could not be resisted, by anyone!

Having taken all challenges in their stride thus far the party were sure this would be another jaunt with high reward, so opened the doors were cast and with the swagger of confidence they strode… to an empty room with a dark pool.

Not detered the group took to arms preparing for any number of ghastly foe to spring forth, but when none came it was only head louse that need fear as the group collectively scratched their heads. Glorien with his years of training fell back to his comfort zone buy attempting to shoot the pool.. no result. Merry also searching for a confort zone pulled off a spinning leap onto a tiny island in the center of the pool, skillful it was, but still nothing. The ever practical Jonn simply walked to the waters edge to take a closer look, at this point the water began to move and a mass of slime emerged spitting noxious fumes into the room, causing Jonn and Merry to gag.

Joreb, inspired by Merry’s classical leap, attemped the same in an effort to close with the slime, however he found it much harder to perform the full pirouette in his armour, and went splashing into the water. Glorien stepped forth and peppered the slime with arrows, causing some damage, as were Jon and Merry in their state if disgust, Jonn recovered first however only in time to see the slime lashing out with appendages which also caught Glorien, the strike left behind a corrosive goo which Glorien managaed to avoid.

Merry continued to strike away in between wretching, however he was unable to dislodge the smell from his system. The slime struck out again, this time both appendages landed on Jonn who took the full brunt and fell, more goo splashed about his body and began eating into his skin, he was in dire condition.

Joreb, after failing to swim to the island, started to sink into the strangely deep pool, he struggled just to keep his head above water, and after an axious moment began to climb out of the pool again, in time to see Jonn fall, he rushed immediately to his aid. The slime was growing weaker now as damage from Glorien, Splug, and Merry began to pile on, however it did manage one last lash which took Joreb and Jonn again, although this time they were able to meet the blow and remained standing.

Splug, sensing his time to shine had arrived, stepped forth and buryied his spear into the side of the slime, which quivered sharply and remained still. After a short recovery, which may take a while longer for Jonn judging by the burn scars, the party searched the area and found a parchment case, containing a map to the hold and a note from a mysterious third party pledging assistance to Karalell.

PCs present: Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric
Writeup: Barre

With the goblin leader journal awaiting peer review it was time to move on. Doubling back the group cleared the guard rooms and a storage room before reaching the entrance, heading in a different direction this time it was not long before they came apon some squabbling golbins.

It seems they have been digging up a room in the search for treasure which they believe is not there at all. Taking the advantage of distraction the group pounced, however not everyone in the room where surprised to see us. A pair of guard drakes picked up their scent straight away and attacked.

With 3 goblin bombadieres scrambling around the drakes were the only threat. Glorien and Splug went to work on the goblins while Merry and Joreb took on the drakes. After a few bites out of Joreb and a classic plank walk from splug the party prevailed. (Treasure?)

The room was otherwise a dead-end and so again the group doubled back to a stairwell they had passed earlier. At the bottom of the stairs the group was set apon by giant rats, Merry quickly overcame his initial fear to run into the fray, much to the rats’ delight. They swarmed Merry and began nibbling away at his furry feet, just as thoughts of rescue hit the other party members a new threat emerged from the darkness.

An oozing mass slide forth and began throwing it’s weight around, launching itself at joreb slamming him into the ground. As the rat numbers where reduced the ooze took a beating, as things looked to be easing up another shock as the ooze split into two. In it’s beaten up state however it was no match for the party and the battle was quickly won.

There was no treasure to be found in the cavern, however a small hidden room was found with some supplies.

Treasure: to come

XP = 1250/3 = 416XP each

PCs present: Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric, Jonn Redgar, Mikal Hanre
Writeup: Barre

With the torturer disposed of the crew continued to explore the keep, after a few moments it became apparent it was infested with goblins. They doubled back through a door which they had past earlier, with Merry and Glorien scouting ahead they discovered a guard post with 2 goblins, alarm bell within easy reach, not easy enough though and the masters of shadow, Merry and Glorien, struck with venom and fury, before their eyes had time to widen they were destroyed, one by dagger the other by arrow.

Having avoided the alarm the party congregated and inspected the room and what lay beyond. A curtain seperated the guards from a divided corridor with doors on either side, eager to push on they ignored the side doors to approach the more promising double doors at the end of the corridor.

As any budding adventurer knows, there is always trouble behind double doors, this lesson proved correct again as when the doors were opened they were faced with goblin warriors who were guarding the fattest goblin they’d seen, clearly this was a globin of value, perhaps he needs to be studied for scientific purposes only, and we all know scientists can only study things via disection.

The battle was joined with the party pressing the small room for a quick finale. However, passing the doors in the corridor proved a costly oversight, as Mikal at the rear of the party, soon found out. Warriors and minions streamed from the rooms and very quickly went to work on Mikal unprepared he was unable to use his elusiveness effectively and was in dire trouble.

With the party’s attentions split the battle was turning to be more problematic, however as with prior encounters all problems have solutions, and Joreb with his shiny plate armour proved the difference, holding most of the goblins at the double doorway he allowed Mikal the chance to flee into the room to safety and gave Glorien the cover to pepper them with arrows, between them they held the door long enough for the others to deal with the primary targets.

With Splug valiently at the fore, supported by Jonn, Merry, and later a beaten up Mikal the guards were systematically dispatched, after which the Green Minke was hard pressed, this situation was unfamiliar for him and he was quickly overwhelmed.

With the golbins defeated the party searched the room and found a chest and 2 keys, along with an assortment of treasure.

Treasure: to come

XP = 1475/5 = 295XP each

After defeating the kobolds on the road the brave adventurers ventured into the Keep down a dark staircase. At the bottom of the stairs was Mikal Hanre, a warlock venturing into the keep of his own accord for unknown reasons. After realising that we would be best served as a team Merry, Gloria and Joreb joined Mikal and ventured forth to find the cultists and stop the ritual.

Merry and Gloria were the first into the keep and noticed a goblin warrior unaware of their presence. When Merry tried to sneak forward and launch a surprise attack he was surprised himself by a trap that opened to a pit containing a pack of rats. Then the fighting began. Gloria was able to lay out some damage to the warrior and Merry managed to climb out of the pit and finish off the first of the goblins. However, it became clear immediately there were more to deal with. In total 4 more warriors and 2 bowmen emerged to begin shooting at Merry Merric as Joreb and Mikal began handing out some damage themselves. The goblins struggled in their attempt to bullrush the adventurers into the pit containing the rats and finally managed it when there were only 2 bowmen left, sending Joreb into the pit. Luckily he managed to just climb out before the rats could do too much damage. Meanwhile, the other adventurers dispatched of the final two goblin archers.

The adventurers then explored the northwest of the dungeon discovering a corridoor that lead to three seperate rooms. After hearing noises coming from the northernmost room, the adventurers opened the door and attempted to barge in (with little success thanks to Joreb’s lack of stealth). Inside it was obvious that the room was intended as a torture chamber with a Goblin Torturer, 3 bowmen, 1 warrior, a prisoner inside a cell and various devices. Joreb and Merry managed to quickly dispatch the goblin torturer after he had a few unsuccessful swings with a burning rod. After opening a hole, Mikal and Glorien burst into the room and dealt significant damage to the goblins. Then it was just a matter of finishing them off as they took the odd shot at the adventurers.

After dispatching of the goblin scum, the adventurers were called over to the prisoners cell where they met Splug a goblin who had been captured because apparently the others did not like him. Splug offered to help the adventurers with his knowledge of the keep in return for freedom from the cell. After some debate the adventurers cautiously set Splug free and armed him with a spear. Whether or not he can be trusted will surely be seen in the next adventure. The heroes must be careful to dispatch of the goblins at a steady rate without taking too much damage in order to conserve their surges for the innevitable confrontation with the goblin’s leader.

Party members present: Glorien Ethlaron, Jonn Redgar, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric
Writeup: Faulcon

One could be forgiven having the feeling that Winterhaven has a small kobold bandit problem. Setting out on their usual mission to smite evil and bring goodness and light to all the world, our intrepid trio was joined by a greenhorn would be war leader. He had been so taken with Merry’s tales of derring do, Joreb’s dedication and purity, and Glorien’s… uh Glorien’s… fluttering eyelashes maybe? that he leapt at the chance to accompany them on their day’s venture.

The freshly formed fearsome foursome however was interrupted short of their destination with destiny at the keep of shadowfell by kobold bandits! Of all things to meet on a winterhaven road, kobold bandits were certainly, well number 1 on the list actually. A winterhaven road without its kobold bandit group just wasn’t deserving of the title ‘Road’.

Rushing out from cover the kobolds managed to catch Joreb and Jonn Redgar off guard but Merry and Glorien were awake to the danger. Skirmishers and Dragonshields raced in to harry the hardy adventurers who were pressed back before suddenly a wyrmpriest ducked out of cover to bless all of his pitspawn comrades.

It was apparent that this was no ordinary group of mere bandits. A wyrmpriest where minions usually appeared? Surely there had to be a reason for such a well equipped squad of the scaled vermin to be defending the road to Shadowfell Keep when even their own lair was not so well covered. A future concern that. In more immediate matters Glorien darted out of the general melee to start feathering the wyrmpriest while Jonn swung his warhammer wildly, as often as not nearly connecting with Joreb as a kobold. First combat jitters hopefully and not an indication of some long term deficiency. Still his shouting remained inspiring to the others even if his attacking prowess was somewhat lacking on the day.

Assistance from Merry dropped the wyrmpriest with a dagger through the belly followed by a crippling slash to his legs, a skirmisher who had tried to rescue the kobold cleric quickly following as he was cut off from his other scaled kin. Joreb and Jonn were still holding strong against the remaining kobolds trading blow for blow (or in Jonn’s case, blow for wild airswing) allowing the other two the freedom to choose their targets.

Eventually all the evil creatures had been delivered back to their vile creator and the group took the chance for a closer look at their departed foes before setting up camp to recuperate. Suspicions were somewhat confirmed by the amulet the wyrmpriest carried. A thing of evil, it linked him quite closely with the dastardly forces at work ahead in the keep.

Rested and recovered, journey was resumed towards the keep with the adventurers arriving just as dusk was falling.

A truly ominous appearing structure of crumbling ruins and some recent repairs, the stairway down into the bowels of this ancient fort beckoned…

danielcollins: 950XP
danielcollins: 238 each
faulcon: 5 gp, 23 sp (hardly seems worth recording…)

PCs present: Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric
Writeup: Barre

Glorien and Joreb were enjoying the benefits of their decision to spend the night in town by sleeping soundly in their cots when they were awoken by Merry, he had news of evil doings at the Grand Shoppe and presented the letter he’d discovered to the pair. All thoughts of Merry’s transgressions were forgotten, this was a red hot lead on the cultists.

Quickly the group gathered their gear and proceeded to shop for a polite discussion with Bairwin, or so that what Joreb thought. Allowing Merry and Glorien to sneak into the shop while he stood watch out front served more purposes than he knew. Merry and Glorien moved silently into the shop and skillfully bound Barwain without him so much as stirring. After waking him, the pair “urged” him to speak silently as he answered their questions, after failing to cooperate the captors applied some persuasion but with little effect.

To their surprise Barwain let off a fell attack blinding both, a melee ensued, with Glorien quick to recover firing blindly yet unerringly, Jorreb hearing the attack quickly joined the fray and with Barwain still restrained the scuffle was quickly resolved with a blow to head head knocking him unconscious.

The group restrained him further before reviving him. This time Barwain was more forthcoming having been bested so easily, he informed the party that the ruined keep mentioned by Valthuran, was an fact the fort which he was supplying and the fort was built above a rift to the Shadowfell.

The cultists are in fact followers of Orcus, and are led by a man or creature named Karellel. They have been working on a ritual of an unknown purpose which is due to complete in the next few days.

We have also found out that Irontooth is in fact a Goblin who also follows Orcus and is based in the Lair we ventured to the previous day, another visit is in order.

Having found out as much as they could the group sent for Lord Padraig to inform him of the threat in his town. Joreb sped away to fetch him, after a considerable delay he returned mumbling something about wolves and a slain boy. Lord Padraig followed and seemed oblivious to the accusations until it was eventually spelt out for him, Barwain was a cultist of Orcus! After showing him the proof below the shoppe he had no choice but to hold Barwain for a suitable punishment.

Having ensured the cultist arrived to the keep the party set about making plans for the road ahead, things seem to be moving faster than they’d like and they are seemingly forced to deal with the threat at the keep.

The first port of call was to visit Valthrun with the information they’d recieved on the keep and the visit turned out most beneficial.

Valthrun when questioned further revealed the following information:
“The Keep was built as an outpost of the Empire of Nerath, most likely to guard against the giant tribes living in the northern reaches of the Stonemarch. Many such outpost survived the fall of the empire, but not the Keep: Only two short decades after the empire withdrew its influence from this part of the world, the commander of the garrison – a man by the name of Sir Keegan – began to systematically slaughter every resident of the keep, starting with his own wife and daughter. Some versions of the tale say that Sir Keegan succeeded – that everyone in the keep was slaughtered. Many such tales claim that this was a sacrifice to a dark god, and that Sir Keegan now lives in a sickly paradise within another world – a reward for his bloody gift of tribute.
But since there is, in fact, a story to be told, I suspect the other version of the tale is probably true: Sir Keegan was too skilled for any single soldier to defeat, but eventually the remaining garrison rallied an organized defense. Although many brave soldiers died, Sir Keegan was slain before his dark work could be completed. Following Sir Keegan’s death, the keep became notorious and the tales grew in the telling. The surviving guards scattered, and with the empire gone there was no one to put the keep back into service. So it was abandoned, feared for a time, and – eventually – more or less forgotten. At some point during the last century, an earthquake reportedly collapsed the upper towers and walls.
Rumors persist of great treasures buried beneath the keep, yet there are few tales of anyone daring to explore the ruins. A popular tale in the area was that old Sir Keegan’s ghost still roamed the corridors beneath the keep, wailing his grief and rage. But even this tale has faded with time, and the story of the wailing ghost is used to frighten children. Although the keep is still considered bad luck by most people in these parts, it has largely been forgotten.”

150 GP
200 SP

Potions: Clear, Reddish, Urine
2 Diamonds
+1 Leather Armour

XP = 300/3 = 100XP each

PCs present: Merry Merric
Writeup: Tomay

Merry Merric decided that he would be pro-active and do some late night investigating of the Grande Shoppe to see what was going on. After waiting for a quiet time during the evening he scouted out the shop to find the back entrance and ensure no one was watching.

Merry managed to pick the lock to the shop with ease. Inside it became clear that the shop had been mostly packed up compared to the other day when the adventurers had visited. The owner of the shop (forgot his name and theres no links from this page) was asleep in his bed, which meant Merric had to be especially quiet.

After finding nothing, Merry stumbled upon a trapdoor and picked the lock to enter down a staircase, shutting the door behind him quietly.

Downstairs it didn’t take long for the real hero of the group to discover a dungeon of horrors. Within the basement were many torturing devices and cages. Most shockingly was a large number of human skeletal remains piled up in two different rooms. Unlike the more morally correct (and therefore stupid) members of the group, Merry realised that this was certainly linked to the rumours of the cultists. Trying to find some suitable evidence to convince his useless team members, Merry grabbed a letter that highlighted a business deal between the shop owner and a local cultist dealing in the dead and wares.

Upon sneaking upstairs Merry was faced with three choices: to kill the shopkeeper in his sleep, to hogtie him and capture him as prisoner or to consult his weakling team members for help should they run into trouble.

It just goes to show that fortune favors the brave, and no one should listen to faulcon.

XP = 200XP

PCs present: Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric
Writeup: Faulcon

After a night spent in Winterhaven, Joreb, Gloria, and Merry decided to make their way towards the kobold lair marked by Lord Padraig. A brisk morning stroll and a little light exercise dispatching justice to some vile minor dragon kin sounded like just the treat and possibly a picnic for lunch afterwards.

Reaching the edge of their destination the adventurers started moving more stealthily, at least the halfling and elf did. Joreb didn’t bother trying and just stood waiting for the action to start. Glorien flitted through some trees and then backed out carefully to report nearly a dozen kobolds in sight and probably more besides.

Having scouted the terrain, the group decided that a flanking maneouver might be on and swung up above the vermin, intending to drive in on them and hammer them only to surprise two slyblades.

Merry and Glorien swiftly dispatched the first of the two slyblades but reinforcements arrived to assist the second and the 3 brave warriors were forced back by sheer weight of numbers. Kobolds dropped like… kobolds… yet there was seemingly always another 2 running forwards with javelin or shortsword poised to stab. Matters were looking somewhat dire when Merry finally dropped the second slyblade with support from Joreb. Glorien was keeping the eastern flank as clear as he could manage but matters were still touch and go.

Minions however numerous were in the end no match for the trio and after Joreb finished the Dragonshield with a radiant blast Merry closed in on the slinger and drove his dagger into the final kobold over and over until it dropped. A near run matter but not enough to bring an end to the gallant adventurers.

Still, this was just the welcoming committee, who could say what danger lurked beyond the waterfall? Joreb at least was not keen to find out so soon after barely surviving the ragged group waiting outside and after the others started suggesting a quick look inside was heard to exclaim in disbelief, “It’s a freaking lair!”. After which he murmured a quick repentance for approaching vulgarity like that.

Convincing the others it was not wise and that if they took the rest they needed they wouldn’t be entering the caves until dark they made their way back towards Winterhaven, one victory enough for the day.

Ensconced once again in the barroom Merry began regaling the patrons with tales of his personal prowess until Thair Coalstriker was impressed enough to pull him aside and see if he was interested in a minor commission. With all three gathered he told a tail of woe about how Bairwin was making a fortune without buying any of his produce to sell, without having any custom at all really. The dwarf believed there had to be something suspicious happening here and despite his obvious bias the adventurers were inclined to agree. Especially with the disappearance of old Sara added to the mix.

Some discreet enquiries to Bairwin who had closed his shop early to come for a drink left them with the opportunity to visit the shop first thing the next morning. He was doing well enough that not even the possibility of a sizeable sale could tempt him to reopen the store.

Valruthrun the Prescient wandered over to speak as well, the gregarious old fellow happy to chat about all manner of happenings, also talking about a nearby keep that had shown recent signs of reoccupation. This was of a lot of interest to the group as it finally looked like a lead towards the cultists they had come to Winterhaven seeking.

Valthrun the Prescient: “The keep was built during the height of the old empire. Some sort of watchtower. I can’t recall what for. Some think it was to guard against gnoll marauders, but I don’t think that’s right. Whatever, the keep outlived its usefulness. It’s been a ruin since before I was born. Probably a goblin lair by this time. But you’ve whetted my curiosity. When I return to my tower, I’ll look through my library. The next time you see me here, I will know more.”

XP = 800/3 = 267 each
4 gold, 17 silver.

PCs present: Balasar Torrin, Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu
Write up: almi85

After the action in the local tavern and their talk with “the one” our adventurers decided to make the long trip to Winterhaven to investigate mysterious cult that had begun abducting people in the area.

Leaving the hapless dwarf and halfling to take their time on the rode Balasar, Glorien and Joreb forged ahead on the road to Winterhaven eager to take a look around and try to put an end to the abduction of innocent villagers.

Unfortunately their haste on the road walked them directly into an ambush set by some kobold raiders.

However the trio made short work of the kobold raiders with Glorien even managing to hit a few of the scaly blighters with some arrows (not bad for an elf) after running back behind the statuesque fighter and paladin, who were beset on all sides by minions and dragonshields.

After dealing with the kobolds and investigating the local area the graves of three other travellers were found on the roadside. After reading the names all three adventurers agreed that they were of no importance and were likely just fellow travellers that had failed to repel the kobold ambush and without Merry there to suggest some gravedigging the holy influence of the paladin left the trio with no option but to continue onto Winterhaven.

Upoon arriving at Winterhaven the adventurers visited the local tavern to try and find the Lord of Winterhaven but were informed he would arrive shortly so set about talking to some of the locals. However after talking to them all it seemed as if something was amiss as none of them knew anything about abductions or cults but were instead all focussed on those dastardly kobolds.

Upon arrival the Lord of Winterhaven also seemed to know nothing of the abduction of various villagers but was instead completely focussed on the perceived kobold threat. After listening to his obnoxious yammering long enough the adventurers finally relented and agreed to look into the “kobold threat” while investigating the disappearance of the local villagers.

After speaking to the lord the adventurers decided to have a quick chat with an elf ranger who was skulking in the corner and looked out of place with the rest of the townfolk. The discussion here was quite a bit more interesting with the elf advising that the entire town seemed to be either in on the abductions or completely oblivious to them. so with a bit more caution the adventurers bid the elf farewell and began mingling with the locals until the rest of the merry band would turn up.

GM EDIT:

Salvana Wrafton: A man by the name of Douven Staul arrived here from Fallcrest months ago. He had a room here for a time. He had some business with Eilian. Funny thing is he disappeared one day and never returned. I never did find out what happened to him.
Kobolds! Those buggers are getting braver all the time! They aren’t talking about it, but people are worried that things are about to get a lot worse. Farmers from the southern farms haven’t been coming to market. She denies that there are any real problems… but there’s a worried look in her eye and a nervous glance towards her pantry. Lord Padraig would probably be interested in hearing your story. He’s been trying to get the militia to clear out those vermin for the last few months with no success.

Eilian the Old: You knew Douven? I always wondered what happened to him! He had questions about the old burial site southwest of the village. Thought a dragon might be buried there! I told him it was probably just an old trash heap, but he wouldn’t hear of it, no sir! Well, of course I gave him directions to the place. I am something of a historian of the area, you know! Oh yes, Douven! Well, he took my directions, and we haven’t seen him since. I do hope the poor man is all right!” Eilian pens a small map showing the way to the burial site. He knows nothing else of Douven’s fate, or the nature of the site itself – Eilian never visited the location, he just knows of it from old hunters’ tales. The map Eilian provides is sufficient to find the burial site.
Little red and brown bandits on the road? The old King’s Road? Really? I hadn’t heard. Could be redcaps. They slip out of the Feywild every so often to cause mischief, but I haven’t heard about any . . . well, I’ve never heard about them around here. Are you sure it was redcaps?

Thair Coalstriker: So, you had a run in with the kobold brigands? Yeah, kobolds. Annoying little dragon droppings! We’ve always had a few in the area, but they’ve really been growing more bold in recent months. Some of the traders who visited us on a regular basis have stopped making the trip, and I’m afraid more will follow if something isn’t done to drive off the foul creatures.

Lord Padraig: You’ve encountered the kobolds that have turned the old King’s Road and our outlying farms into their personal hunting grounds? Those beasts vex me sorely. Yet the villagers refuse to recognize the seriousness of the problem. Attacks along the road have grown more frequent over the last few months. Something’s stirring the kobolds up. I don’t suppose you would be interested in taking a commission from me? I promise you, I can pay well for your services.
He pulls out a map that indicates the location of the kobold lair to the east and south of the village. He says that a group of stalwart adventurers who confront the kobolds has a reasonable chance of dispatching the creatures. Padraig indicates they are free to keep whatever loot they find in the kobold lair, even if it is the former property of Winterhaven’s villagers. He also agrees to pay them 100 gp.

Skill Challenge (The Mystery of Old Sara) will run across several sessions. Requires 6 successes before 3 failures:
1st success: PCs learn that an old woman called Old Sara has disappeared from her small home in Winterhaven. No one seems to know what has happened to her.
2nd success: PCs learn from Delphina Moongem at the market that she saw old Sara entering Bairwin’s shop that fatal day she disappeared, as she usually did on her morning walk. “Like to see that Bairwin took care of her old store”, as she used to say, but then she never came over to the market.

PCs present: Banford Coltrane, Glorien Ethlaron, Hazkal, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric.
Write up: Faulcon

Having cleared matters with Lord Markelhay the group set about taking stock of their current situation and the first order of business was turning random assets into hard cash. Disposing of the various gems that had been collected during their travels to date netted an extra 260 gold coins which Joreb as keeper of the purse added to their funds. Merry was agitating about a new dagger and given the risk of him sourcing one through ‘alternate avenues’, House Azaer was the next stop, Merry shortly the owner of a chilly new Frost Dagger with 600 gold pieces remaining in the kitty.

The halfling satisfied and the rest of the party ready to relax they hit up one of the local pubs recommended by Merry, the Blue Moon Alehouse. Business was extremely slow, in fact their seemed to be only one other customer, though he was shortly joined by 3, well call them acquaintances perhaps? Never one to miss out on a social event, Hazkal drunkenly stumbled over to join the conversation in fulsome manner. Perhaps being short is somewhat of a disadvantage when trying to disuade people from violence though because the man who led the others to the stranger’s table declared him to be ‘the one’ and went for his sword.

As is the way with Barroom Brawls, things quickly descended into a variation of chaos. Hazkal barged the stranger into the corner taking a couple of lumps intended originally for the other while Joreb, Merry, Glorien, and the recently arrived Banford raced in. Adding another layer of confusion, 4 brutish looking henchmen charged in from where they’d been loitering round the doors.

Glorien was in fine form (there’s a first time for everything after all), his arrows driving deep into the brigand leader while Joreb ran past to assist Hazkal who was beset by the two chief underlings. Combat swirled around the two areas of the Alehouse, the petty thugs dropping fast while Merry finished off their leader. With matters looking desperate the last surviving underling tried to run for the door but was cut down well short (though not permanently) by Merry’s sharp new dagger.

The band of ruffians dispatched our intrepid Fortune seekers recovered their drinks then set about learning why such a pitiable looking wretch had drawn the attention of a large and well equipped group of crooks. As it happened – and they were fairly certain he was honest in his gushing gratitude – the man was an acolyte from some distant land following a God of Goodness and Stuff (it may have lost a little in the translation) beset by foes most vile along with many others. He alone had managed to escape the fiends and was attempting to find assistance for those left behind somewhere around Winterhaven. The surviving bandit seemed ill inclined to add any meaningful information to Gervais’ tale but neither did he dispute it, so they hauled his worthless self off to the local militia and set a course for Winterhaven.

~
Current wealth, 615gp
+1 battleforged armour (dorf size, left with teldorthan)
Thunderstone
2 healing pots
crossbow, 20 bolts, longsword, chainmail, 2 daggers (with bluemoon alehouse barkeep)

XP = 500/5 members = 100 XP each

(Teldorthan offers you 700 GP for the armour…he says it will make an excellent birthday present for his eldest son)