Meet 153, Adv 13, 12/17/11

Fengarth's Tower. Even the name itself causes my group to shudder and drool. It is the defacto place that the group has had 4 partial adventures in so far to date. They have found items, run screaming, and returned time and again to this long abandoned mage's tower on the far end of the borderlands. They haven't plumbed even a fifth of the possibilities of the place and in reality have faced - TWO monsters there. Two. T'Nagrath the Forest Troll, and a tired mimic hiding in one of the bedrooms. There was a wraith/tiger but that was not a fight - only one of the party members getting the short end of the "being an ass stick".


So they went off, this time to get a copy of a spellbook they were assured was here on the 6th floor. Our party mage was suffering without and we were also hoping to bolster his skills. However it was upon arrival at the tower that the group became fearful of EVERYTHING. The wet floor, bone fragments, broken glass. There wasn't a single thing that didn't raise their hackles and make them second and triple guess their decisions.


I look forward to having them continue to mentally fuck themselves over during the tower crawl. :)


Write up follows:

On the last day in Cymbarton, Thurin organized a meeting with interested parties to swap and trade scrolls in order to further streamline his spell book. Trading got hot and heavy between him and 8 other mages but in the end, he did walk away with a series of spells he’d rather have and some names for future contacts. In addition, Draugmor also sought to trade out his own scroll of enchant and item – hoping to get something thief oriented if at all possible. At the 11th hour he did get a buyer willing to trade a set of enchanted elven chainmail for the scroll and the king’s thief took the deal.

Then it was the long trip back to Orihalcus where Thurin then spent the next serious length of time rewriting his spellbook from the spells in his memory as well as the new scrolls he acquired. Then he spent time making a copy of the maker’s potion book and sold it to One-eared Quint in Orihalcus, the journeyman apothecist thrilled to have such a tome at his availability.

Mebali and Guyus completed their training, Aleron completed the repairs on our paladin’s sword “Eagletalon”, and then it was time to discuss what our next move was. The month was drifting to an end, already the third week of Spiritmonth. The snows hadn’t come yet, but we did a few days of freezing rain and heavy frost in the early hours. We debated for a while and settled on going back to Fengarth’s tower and see about getting to the library room on the 6th floor and get a copy of Magrath’s spellbook if we could.

It was a cold 40 degrees on Spiritmonth the 23rd when we set out, arriving at the tower about 10:30. The tower stood as both Detheron and Gwyn remembered it with the single exception being the hole that had been blasted in the wall was now an obvious repaired section of stone. Mebali bound and hobbled the horses and we gave the structure a once over. There was a fetid stink there now that we did not recognize and it made the group cautious. Draugmor took point and checked out the place carefully before daring to enter.

The main room was wet and moldy, and there were hundreds of bone shards and splinters in the soiled carpets. He did look around, noting the long ago fires and obvious sacking of the place. Sure that the main floor was empty, he invited the rest of the group in and we followed with weapons out. The party had no desire to go to the lower level and wanted this excursion to take them to the 6th floor and out only. We approached the stairs.

Draugmor took point with Guyus right behind. The paladin was getting a slight headache from the constant “detecting of evil” he was doing, but his Odin blessed senses had to the point revealed nothing yet. On the landing for the 2nd floor there were two doors. Listening to them, the eastern door was heard some strange hissing and faint popping sounds while the south was nothing. We opted to go south.

The door had showed some battering in the past; the bottom hinge not actually attached the frame. Guyus lifted the door bodily off the floor and carried it on pivot into the chamber. Splinters and ruined furnishings were scattered in the corner but it was the sheen of crushed glass that dominated over 70% of the floor that gave the party pause. What was it, where did it come from? We thought about it and decided to leave it alone. There was another door in here and he checked it out before opening.

It revealed a circular hall that followed the central stairs of the tower, with 4 possible doors along the outer wall. Listening to each revealed nothing except the last door where we did catch the same hissing and popping sound we had heard earlier. We decided to open each door one at a time. The first one showed a smaller chamber with a pallet, a bureau, and a short table with a clay basin and pitcher. It was after the door was opened that the single taper on top of the bureau hissed and smoked and then lit – a taper of small flame burning with a fitting and hissing pop now and again. We gave the room a quick look, the bureau drawers were filled with old beddings and little else. What about the candle? Did it stay lit? Guyus offered to stay in the room and the door was shut.

Upon closing the candle stayed alight for a few seconds and then guttered out. And when it did the chamber was not only dark, but also the temperature dropped a fast 10 degrees to around 35. A rime of frost covered the paladin’s armor and then the chamber door was reopened. The candle relit and the room warmed back up. The group was happy to see Guyus was unharmed and we went to the next chamber.

This was like the last, except the candle on the bureau did not light and the bureau was the type with two doors and a single drawer. Our lantern was taken out and the lodestone with the continual light spell was set within. Draugmor and Guyus went to the bureau and together manhandled the stuck doors opened. And there was a blast of foul smelling spores coming out. The cloud hit the two party members and Draugmor was struck hard. The paladin pulled him out to the hall and he was cleaned quickly with water. Blood was coming from his nose, eyes, and ears and his breathing was shallow and labored. Detheron cast cure disease on him and the yellow mold spores were dispatched quickly.

After a few minutes he was feeling much better and Guyus gave the room a last once over – confident there was nothing of value in the bureau (the spore not affecting him). We then went to the third door. In this one was a skeleton on the bed, his head facing the wrong way – looking at the party. We gave it a wide berth and Draugmor looked at the bureau – finding nothing. The skeleton’s skull did turn slowly on its neck bone – it could be from vibrations in the room. Maybe. We decided not to stick around and left.

This left the last door – which opened to the game room. Cabinets with puzzles, games, boards, you name it were here, half a dozen table and a dozen small stools – over 8 of the candles were in here hissing and burning. We spent twenty minutes looking the chamber over – hoping to find what Detheron and Gwyn called Magrath’s charm – a shaft of black crystal about 5” long, wrapped with a silver wire on a chain of some sort – would need it to get to the library level. The charm was destroyed with Coruth’tae almost 7 months ago and we hoped that its destruction would cause the tower to either call it back – or have another one available.

Not finding one here we decided to go up to the next floor. Third landing – two doors. We opted for south once more and with a careful push, Draugmor revealed the chamber to be the tower kitchen. Two long counters with cabinets below were on the left and a big stove was on the right. There was a larder beyond in which were bags of potatoes, onions, and other greengrocer items. Where did it come from? We did not know. While we were looking about the stove made a slow groaning noise and then lit – the coal box burning to life and the temperature in the kitchen climbed ten degrees. Norris wanted the stove but we had no idea how we would go about getting or taking such an item.

The thief then went to the cabinets and after confirming they were not locked began opening them from right to left, cognizant of potential yellow mold again. As he was opening them, they did squeak, and we also heard a giggle. Hmm. Moving slower he went to open the next when a cleaver from the counter took flight and almost killed him before burying itself in the wall. What the hell? Guyus took all the cutlery we could find as well as the chairs and moved them into the larder. Then he held his shield up while Draugmor finished his searching.

He founds pots and bowls and assorted other bits of broken kitchenware meanwhile the “whatever” then hurled the stove’s firebox across the chamber, Guyus’ blocking most of the hot coals with his shield and only getting slightly burned. Then the paladin called to Odin and attempted to “turn” whatever poltergeist was here – and it seemed to work.

It was in the last cabinet that Draugmor found a black crystal with a silver wire wrapped around it – and we were satisfied that we had uncovered the Magrath talisman. It was now 12:15 and we were talking about going right for the 6th level or making sure all the chambers between here and there were cleared when we ended it for the night.

Meet 152, Adv 13, 12/10/11

Buy, buy, buy. The party pretty much had to resupply everything for some 75% of the party - and we were talking big ticket items. Platemail, spellbooks, soup to nuts.


And I still feel dirty when we just run down the list and the group says "yes, give me 3" or "next." Certainly miss roleplaying out the shopping trips - but not with 7 players around the table.


Write up follows:

We spent the next three hours putting the long unused home back in order. Supplies were purchased for the larder, windows opened, dust cleaned out. The outhouse was in poor shape and we noticed our shovels once there were long gone. We went next door to ask to borrow a pair of them and the angry dwarf there told us to piss off which infuriated Detheron. So we tried the other neighbor, a rather slovenly 350 lb half-orcish woman named Grunhilda along with her one son, was completely helpful, appearing actually sweet on Detheron and Guyus. She lent us the shovels and offered to come back later to pick them up and bring some cookies.

After the place was cleaned and Norris had whipped up a stew in the enchanted cauldron, we shared storied with Grunhilda along with her shortbread cookies, learning that she had left her husband (a brutish figure we were told) and was working at the Copperworks as a refuse collector, sweeping up the dung from the sturdy mules and ponies that drove the bellows and other machinery. She was honest and funny and when she left we felt better about her as a neighbor.

When it was getting time to sleep though we noted that the mattresses were infested with lice and ticks. So Detheron called upon Frey to help him to repel vermin, then he walked the entirety of the house, forcing the hundreds, even thousands, of bugs and lice outside. And then in a fit of pettiness, he forced the swarm of lice at and then into the house of the angry dwarf that lived next door until the last of them had sieved their way through the slats and holes and disappeared into the house.

The next day Guyus and Mebali went with Gwyn to see Sir Walter and learn about possible training here in Orihalcus as well as places to have it done. The long unused Guildhalls were in use now and we were happy to be a part of the growing maturation of our first home. We paid the fees as necessary, getting a break on Mebali since Gwyn would be handling part of the Wheelwright’s training in the fighting arts. As for the rest of the party they had planned a major trip to Cymbarton and was hoping to leave the next day or so. An aviary was sent there as well as to Eider on behalf of Norris to Guildmaster Rigil Blackshadow explaining what had happened to him. Aleron had rented some time at the local forge and was able to do some work on Guyus’ sword, Eagletalon, fixing some of the damage that the sword had suffered through to date.

During dinner that night (stew again) Detheron and Thurin talked long about the mage’s actions during the rescue as it was explained to the leader by the paladin. They went back and forth for some time and Thurin eventually made noises that he understood Detheron’s points and would make some changes should those situations came up again. Mollified, the party leader accepted the mage’s words and the two of them returned to dinner.

On the next day, the 20^th, Aleron’s skill with the forge was lacking as he not only failed to make any further headway with Eagletalon, but actually reversed part of his efforts from the prior day due to his assistant’s inattentiveness. The party was putting together their plans for the trip the next day and made arrangements at the stablery to rent a wagon and have two of their steeds readied as well. Everyone slept, after eating more of Norris’s stew (the group getting a bit tired of stew by this time).

The next day was windy, terribly windy, steady wind speeds over 25 mph and gusts as high as 50. The group still mustered out, bidding farewell to Gwyn, Aleron, and Guyus. However, less than an hour outside of town with the wagon blowing all over the road and a mishap with a busted trace and one of the horses hurting it’s leg, Detheron turned the wagon around and headed back to Orihalcus, hoping to go the following day if the weather improved.

During the evening, the angry dwarf from next door came over to complain to Detheron that he might have given him the evil eye since the party had come back his house had been under the cruel effects of bedbugs, lice, and ticks. Detheron did his best to calm the dwarf down and offered to help clean up the lice (since it was his own fault) for a price. The dwarf and he settled on a jack of homemade beer and 4 crowns. The dwarf’s home was cleansed and the two of them settled up better with one another.

The next morn was much better and the party set off, eventually arriving in Cymbarton during the afternoon of the 27^th. According to Count Cedric Sedaris, we were still under watch since our problems before, but would be allowed to spend 3 days in town to take care of business and then would have to leave.

During the day there Draugmore had gone to Count Cedric and formally reported to the nobleman what was going on and what was to continue. Meanwhile Aleron Greystone had gone to his family holdings and met with his uncle Rorick and explained what had befallen him. He was given two horses to replace the steed he had lost as well as a family gift of 250 crowns. As for patents of mobility, he was instead given a signet ring of the Greystone family and told to take better care of himself in the future. And finally Norris had gone to the seer and the adventuring guild where he learned that the body he was now in belonged to a bard known as Santiri Radcliffe.

From here it was visiting one location after another buying armor, getting it sized, weaponry, equipment, spell components, scroll making and bookmaking supplies, and just about everything else the party needed to reoutfit itself before coming to the end of our time in the county capital and expecting to return to Orihalcus.

Meet 151, Adv 12, 12/3/11

That's it, adventure 12 is over and in the can. This centered around our wrapping up the situation in Flatrock and the "how or can we ever raise Norris from the dead" issue. The player of our growing and maturing bard had been on a holding pattern for some time since he did not know IF he was playing his character again or IF we could possibly raise him from the dead. He actually had another character planned and partially rolled out when the logistics of it came together and we were able to get Norris brought back.


I have had a love/hate relationship with dead characters coming back to life over time and to this day don't know if I will ever sit comfortably with "yes they come back" or "no, they are dead - move on".


Point of note - travel time from the start of the night to the end of the night was 12 days travel in game. Sucks not having cars, planes, or teleportation spells.


Write up follows:

The party discussed options, settling on the fact that Norris was our prime responsibility. Leaving him as a bound up undead figure was not an option and we had learned from Ludwig before his passing that through a speak with dead, Norris had interest in coming back to the world of the living. What to do? We had mostly no money, as well as little gear (or clothes). Gwyn and Guyus went with Thurin to acquire some clothes and then went to speak to Sir Bork directly.

They exchanged some information back and forth but ultimately Gwyn did ask the nobleman if he could lend the group what funds were needed to raise Norris as we did have such resources but they were currently in Orihalcus. Sir Bork did offer to help but we did not know what the costs would be. As for who could help, there was a Deathspeaker, a Priest of Hel, named Ladrius that had recently come to town and was working currently in the cemetery. He directed us to talk to her and then find out what we would need and if he could help, he would do so.

We went to the cemetery, met with the Deathspeaker, explained our situation (she was not the nicest person) and escorted her back to the Sundered Chains Hotel on Dog Street where she could examine Norris’s undead body. We learned swiftly that in his current condition he was not able to be raised. Too many broken bones, too much of his internal organs were either destroyed or unusable. If we were able to raise him, he would die almost immediately. What were our options? We could magic jar his spirit from the current body into another one – but it would have to be a body that was pretty much an empty husk.

We went with her back to the cemetery where we had learned that Karis had come back to town two days ago and dropped off three bodies. One was missing a right arm, one was the victim of burns (most likely the will o the wisp) and the last had some cold damage. We assumed the last was a victim of wraiths. It was this one the Deathspeaker Ladrius said would be the proper receptacle for Norris. It was going to be a three person ritual, and would require a chalice the facilitate the transference – costing about 2500 crowns.

We went back to Sir Bork and Gwyn asked him for a loan. The nobleman really thought about it and agreed with the following deal. It would be a letter of credit to be drawn with Lord Vergadain in Dragonhole (where the ritual would take place) and would be due in 3 months at a repayment of 2,750 crowns. We agreed.

The next day we travelled first to Dilabria where Gwyn and Detheron stayed and then on the rest of the way to Dragon Hole. We presented the letter to Lord Vergadain Exchequer who verified the amount and seals and presented us with 250 platinum bars. We then went to the Order of Grey Maiden where Ladrius and her two sisters performed the ritual on Norris, bringing his soul from his shattered undead body into the new (human) form. As for his broken body, it was left with the Order who was going to harvest it for reagents for further potential necromantic rituals and experimentation.

From there we traveled back to Dilabria and on Earthmonth the 12th at 8 AM we began the long ride back through numerous towns towards Orihalcus, the place we wanted to use as our home. On the way we stopped at Cymbarton where Gwyn withdrew enough funds to cover the loan we took out from Sir Bork as well as gold to pay a courier and insure the delivery of the letter of credit back up to Flatrock. We continued our trek until eventually coming around the last bend of the western reaches of the Dusty Mountains and arrived at Orihalcus.

We left our tired steeds at the stablery and went to Sheriff Kalarig. He gave us a copy of the key to our home where we went in and opened the shutters, letting fresh air in. We would need to stock the larder and pantry, look into getting some help, and eventually go and see Sir Walter Slaine. But for now we were happy to lower our packs, kick off our shoes, and take stock of the numerous items we had still left here during our many forays out of town. As we sat, the last 12 days of hard travel fading from us, we decided that a short rest wouldn’t hurt first before doing anything else.