Session #70: The Diamonds in their Eyes

The party did not let Ovisra get up, and continued their relentless assault. Within minutes, the great monster was dead!

The party took a moment to breath and celebrate! Azeri dispersed her magical chariot, Maak Tol turned back into a tiefling, and Tselem let the vortexes and portals he had created fade. Then they went about the business of stripping the corpse. Tselem made an earring out of one of the bones, and Taumir took some of the ribs to make arrows. Azeri and Maak Tol were less inclined to make such trophies and collected what they needed for their divine weapon.

After resting for a bit, the party took stock of their situation. They knew that the dragon's lair, which was sure to contain a massive hoard, was certainly somewhere under the swamp. They weren't sure they felt like mucking around in said swamp, but they didn't want to just leave. Tselem cast Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion and the party went in, and they spent the next several hours thinking of different plans.

Taumir, half-jokingly, suggested they drain the swamp. They all chuckled ... and then Tselem's face lit up. He realized that they could absolutely do that! By casting a magical gate at the bottom the swamp and have the other end come out on top of a linked portal, they could remove a huge portion of the water! Simple calculations of the size of the body of water told them they'd have to get over 225,000 gallons of water out. A linked portal could only be held open for 30 seconds, but they realized that Tselem and Azeri could cast consecutive portals, and that a minute was almost enough time to drain everything!

Delighted with the audacity of this strategy, they plunged ahead: where should send all this water? Someone brought up the idea of sending it to the prison Edge was in, to set him free! They worried for a second this might drown him, only to remember that, as a living construct, Edge doesn't need to breathe! They used scrying magic to find Edge, and discovered he was in prison in Greenheart, in the Eldeen Reaches, and there was a portal near him they could use! The scrying showed them their friend ironically playing the harmonica in his cell. Taumir shouted hello, but Edge couldn't see or hear them, the magic was 'one-way'. He appeared intrigued by the magic window that appeared in his cell but in true Edge fashion, he then shrugged and went back to his harmonica. The party was gladdened to see their friend still in good spirits, and were now even more resolved to spring him.

The next morning (27 Rhaan), they emerged from the Mansion and walked to the edge of the swamp. Maak Tol and Taumir handed over the gold to compensate Tselem & Azeri for the spell components they were going to be using up here, and then stepped back. They started working on their portals, and then, at the exact moment, Tselem cast the gate, and a massive flood of water poured out from the end of the gate into the portal! Maak Tol cheerily tossed in an ale bottle which the night before he'd replaced the liquid contents with a note for Edge. The bottle disappeared into the stream. Through the portals the party could hear surprised and baffled shouts as the flood poured down on the heads of the jailers in Greenheart. As soon as Tselem's portal closed, Azeri opened hers in the same spot, and the flood continued!

Once Azeri's portal closed, Tselem dispersed the gate. A final thousand gallons of water splashed onto the forest floor, and the party turned back to look at the swamp. It had indeed been drained! There was still several feet of water in the lowest section, but what had once been a dark and forbidding cesspool was now a plain, damp pit. (Tselem later estimated that they got about 65% of the total water out.)

The party made their way down the newly exposed mud cliffs to the remaining water below, as they could now clearly see the entrance to the dragon's lair just below the surface! (Maak Tol more fell down, reaching the bottom in a muddy heap.) They dove under the water, and swam a good distanc through an underwater tunnel, breaking the surface of an underground lake within a huge cavern. In the middle of this cavern was an island, and on that island, was a massive, enormous treasure hoard. Two thousand years worth of ill-gotten dragon loot glittered and gleamed before their eyes! Piles of gold a dozen feet high, armor and scrolls and weapons and diamonds and books and trinkets and even mundane items like mirrors, all piled so high and thick they couldn't begin to guess how many there were.  It was more treasure than they'd ever be able to spend in a lifetime, and it was all theirs for the taking!!

The party swam to the shore of the island, overwhelmed with how well this was paying off!!

After a few minutes of metaphorically swimming in their pile of money (and Maak Tol carving his name into some things), the party began to think about what they were going to do with all of this. At first they were inclined to just leave it here and come back when their adventures were done, but they decided to take some of it out. They decided they should pay it forward - or back, as the case may be, and give some to the various people who'd gotten wrapped up in their adventures inadvertently. So the next day (28 Rhaan), Azeri teleported the other three to Fairhaven. Tselem took a whole wheelbarrow full of gold to Miri, the professor they'd nearly gotten killed some months back. They also donated a significant sum to the University, not-so-subtly mentioning they wouldn't mind having a building or two named after them. They they spent some of their loot on ale and books, and at a pre-arranged time, Azeri teleported them back to the cave.

The next day (the first day of the month of Sypheros), they repeated this, this time going to Owl's Perch, where Akta and Reita lived. Again, a wheelbarrow of money was exchanged. Akta and Reita were a little apprehensive to see them - their visits were typically harbingers of doom after all. But after Akta and Tselem caught up, and the money was exchanged, all their fears vanished. Reita make them a wonderful home-cooked meal, and that evening they started making their way back to Azeri's pick up point.

As they walked through the streets of this town, a gang of four human thugs stepped out and drew their weapons. The party nearly doubled over with laughter.

Rewards

• 47,000 XP each!
• Well what do you know, there actually was an Iron of Spite in the dragon's hoard! (Player's Handbook p. 249)
• You also found a Rod of Forceful Invocation +6 (Player's Handbook 2 p. 205)
• 35,000 GP each!
• What happens with the rest of the hoard will be determined in the next session.

Session #16: The Bargins with Monsters

The party roused themselves, as well as Reita & Akta. While gathering some food for breakfast, Azeri and Reita chatted a little bit. As they were all about to continue on their way to Owl's Perch, a few days journey north, they saw some people coming down the road. The party and co. made themselves inconspicuous, only to realize that it was Elane and some of her guards! Taumir and Tselem were still a little apprehensive, but Azeri welcomed her with open arms, and everyone's fears were soon put to rest. Elane expressed astonishment at all that had happened, and then delivered grave news: Zelian had gone Cazhaak Draal, in the heart of Droaam. She feared he was courting the favor of Sheshka, the Queen of Stone, a wicked Medusa, in hopes of gaining dark allies. Elane revealed that she had known for some time that Zelian wants House Deneith to take over the world, and fears this is him escalating his plan.

Troubled by this new development, the party put Reita and Akta into the hands of the Church of the Silver Flame, and then headed back to Varna, along with Elane. Once there, they used Elane's money to teleport them her and themselves to Sylbaran, the last civilized city before the Droaam border. They arrived there around mid-day, and spent the next two and a half days traveling across back roads and increasingly wild territory before finally arriving at Cazhaak Draal.

Cazhaak Draal is a ruin, a crumbling fortress. By human standards it is a haunted, deserted place, but here in Droaam, such places teem with monster life. Creatures of every variety were found roaming, bartering, and fighting with each other. Given the lateness of the hour, the party decided to hole up in one of the caves outside of town, and wiled away the evening sharing stories. The next morning, on the 4th day of Dravago, they went back into 'town', asking questions of the denizens and trying to formulate a plan. They had learned from a friendly Tiefling (Tselem posed as one and won his trust) that Sheshka will tolerate human visitors if they bring her large, expensive presents. The party had been hanging onto some armor that was a little too heavy for them, and they decided to use this as a present to get in the door. They approached the castle, presented their gift, and were admitted.

As they party had discussed, when they were finally permitted to speak to the queen a few hours later, they revealed they had a vendetta against Zelian d'Deneith, and demanded the chance to face him in battle. The queen was amused, and with a wicked smile, agreed to the tournament. The party was ushered into a courtyard, but it appeared the queen had double-crossed them, as she sent two Medusas and two Snaketongue cultists to fight them instead. The cultists proved easy prey, and Tselem was even able to take a potshot at Zelian as he and Sheska watched the fight from box seats. But then the Medusas stepped up their game, and suddenly the outcome didn't seem quite so clear...

Rewards

• (As the fight is not yet finished, no XP rewards just yet. Great role-playing though!)
• You have found an Elemental Twist Dagger (level 10 magic item, Player's Handbook 2, p. 204).
• You have found 1,400 GP (to split amongst yourselves).

Session #15: The Sins of the Innocent

The party approached the house with trepidation, and their worse fears were quickly confirmed - Reita had found Akta dead in her bed that morning. The party, conscious of the rarity of raising someone from the dead, asked if they could go and see what state her body was in. They discovered a priest of the Silver Flame performing ceremonies for the dead over Akta. The party asked for some time alone, and ejected the priest, much to his protests and consternation. The party then brooked the question of whether Reita would like Akta resurrected. Despite the conflict of faith this should have presented for her, she readily agreed.

Casting the ritual took Azeri almost the entire day. That evening Akta finally stirred, and looked around in surprise at the people in her room. She knew nothing had even taken place - aside from the soreness where she had been stabbed, she felt no different than if she'd had a long night's sleep. Apparently she had been murdered while she slept. Reita of course fell on her daughter's neck and wept with joy, which unnerved Akta a bit.

As everyone was re-grouping, Tselem let slip that Zelian was Akta's father. Akta was stunned, and Reita was furious - apparently she had never wanted Akta to know. With this Reita decided to abandon this home and go stay with some family in the city of Owl's Perch, a few days journey to the north. She was so angry that she almost refused the party's help, but they were able to persuade her that she and her daughter didn't stand much of a chance without them.

As the tieflings frantically packed, Azeri decided to go into town and contact the Church of the Silver Flame to try and get a message to Elane. Reita had a message cube specifically for contacting Elane, but it wasn't working, which made the party extremely suspicious. They even started to wonder if maybe they were being double-crossed, or dismissed as collateral damage.

Azeri found a church, and was able to persuade the acolytes there to raise the vicar from his sleep. The vicar was a little put out by her request, but eventually agreed to send a message along.

When Azeri returned to the house, a plan was formulated. Tselem transformed to look like Akta, Azeri and Edge placed "her" in a coffin (not a cheap affair!), and then set off very publicly for a graveyard, staging a funeral procession. With the show distracting everyone else, Taumir took Reita and Akta and headed up the road (somewhat disgruntledly).

The funeral lasted till late at night. Once it was over, the three party members discreetly made their way out of town. They were just about clear when a passing dwarf lady stopped them to talk to Edge. She asked if he was the Edge who had served in the 31st Regiment. He confirmed he was, and she attempted to arrest him for murder! Three other dwarf females came to join in the arrest attempt. Edge and the party resisted for a moment, but then Edge decided to try a different tactic and surrendered to their authority. (These warriors were enforcers of the druidic cabal that tries to keep order in the Reaches; this cabal operates like a national government, but has very little actually power outside the cities that border Lake Galifar.)

Tselem and Azeri ducked into an alley and quickly made a plan. Tselem transformed himself into a nondescript human, and Azeri conjured her phantom steeds to ride with all haste to catch up to Taumir.

Edge's captors brought him to a House Orien teleportation station, and informed him he was being taken to a judge in Greenheart, the capital of the Reaches, some days away. At this Edge decided to drop the ruse and broke his bands. He and Tselem made off into the night, and after a long chase were able to elude the dwarves.

Azeri found Taumir and the tielfings, and after a heated discussion, it was agreed that Azeri would stay with them and camp for the night, waiting for the rest to join up with them again. Taumir rode the phantom steeds back to Varna, and after some searching found Edge and Tselem. The three of them fled town and rendezvoused with Azeri and the sleeping tielflings. Edge confessed that he was more or less guilty of the accusation - he had allowed his terrible, brutal captain to be killed during the war.

By this time it was the dead of night, almost getting into the wee hours of the morning. The party elected to sleep till they woke up, and it was mid-morning on the first day of Dravago before they roused once more.

Rewards

• 1,200 XP each.
• You've found some Hydra Armor (Level 13, Player's Handbook, p. 230).
• You've found a scroll with the ritual "Reversed Portal" (Player's Handbook 2, p. 216).
• You managed to loot 2,400 GP total.

Session #14: The Pursuit of Madness

About halfway through the battle with the golems, the party seemed to find their stride, and hit back against their enemies, eventually polishing them off. Knowing that Zelian had probably teleported somewhere close, they left the house in hurry, slipping past the guards once again, and headed back into Atur. They were able to use the info from Elane to find a House Deneith teleportation 'station' hidden in the back of a shop. Tselem disguised herself as a Deneith official and was able to fool the guard into telling her that Zelian had been there recently, and had teleported back to Korth. The guard got a little suspicious when he saw her then go and talk to the party, so they made haste back to Korth, using phantom steeds to make the trip in about half the time.

By this time it was evening, and the party decided to pack it in for the evening. They found an out-of-the-way inn and settled in. Edge did a little scouting around, and ended up running into Elfrich, the old friend of Taumir who had helped them out before. He said he'd be able to help them again, so Edge arranged a time for them to meet the next day.

The party found Elfrich's turning up right now a little suspicious, so they decided to take a very cautious approach the next morning (which was 28 Eyre). Half the party remained hidden while the other half prepared to meet up. At first it looked like the old spy was going to be a no-show, but then they spotted him hiding somewhere else nearby. Elfrich acted very evasive, telling them Zelian had departed for Varna, and he eventually offered them a teleportation talisman. The party was wary, but accepted, and he invited them back to his apartment to use it. Upon arriving though, the party's magic users realized the talisman was not intended for teleportation, and Edge pinned Elfrich to the wall and demanded some answers. Elrich insisted he was being honest, and offered to use the talisman himself. They agreed, and he did, at which point the talisman exploded!

When the smoke and debris of Elfrich's apartment settled, Elfrich was dead, and the party was injured, but not particularly slowed down. Disgusted, the party stuffed his corpse into their bag of holding so they could question him later, and then headed to a House Orien public teleportation circle. From there they transported directly to Varna - it cost a fortune for each party member, but at least the waiting was over.

Once in Varna, they made a beeline for Reita & Akta's home. As they drew near, they saw a crowd gathered and Reita sobbing, and their hearts sank.

Rewards

• 3,000 XP each! Time to level up!

Session #13: The Luck of the Informed

The party took a deep breath as the last of the snake people dropped dead, and realized they were now alone on a boat a good bit off-shore, in a boat they weren't exactly sure they knew what to do with. They debated swimming, but decided to try sailing it up to Korth themselves. It took some doing, and some false starts, but within an hour, they made a safe (though perhaps clumsy) landing at the docks of the city. They were even able to arrange to sell this boat to a gnome named Veric, scoring 6,000 GP (1,500 GP apiece) for it!  These activities raised the suspicion of the dockmaster, but they got away without any incident.

As evening was now drawing on, the party decided to rent rooms in an inn and rest up for the night. They knew that Zelian had a mansion here in town, and a cabin out in the Karrnwood, but weren't sure which place he would be. Azeri decided to go up to the guards at the mansion and pretend to be a groupie; the guards were friendly, and maybe even a bit smitten, but weren't willing to let her in. They did however mention that there was a festival in about a week that Zelian would be attending. With this, Azeri went back to the inn and got some sleep herself.

The next morning, the 27th day of Eyre, the party woke up, rented some horses, and headed out towards the Karrnwood. They stopped for lunch in the city of Atur, and early in the afternoon found themselves outside Zelian's cabin, hidden in the bushes. Two guards were maintaining a watch, and the party debated for some time what to do. Tselem went invisible, then snuck upstairs and confirmed that Zelian actually was there (and what room he was in). The party debated further, then snuck past the guards and entered the room together.

Zelian was of course surprised to see three strangers and Akta (whom Tselem was currently impersonating) enter his home unannounced. The party kept a close and wary eye on him, mindful that he had kept their friend locked up for years, and had killed all of Taumir's people. They demanded answers, primarily "Akta." Zelian claimed he had kept her locked up for her own good, because her dragonmarked status put her at great risk. When challenged further, he let it slip out that Akta was in fact his daughter!

They party had come to this cabin to question Zelian as to his motives and plans, and were not mollified by his words. They decided to continue with their mission of assassination, and Taumir let an arrow fly. He struck true, but in that moment, Zelian dropped his pleasant pretense and disappeared. In his place appeared two flesh golems! The party founded themselves in a desperate fight in a close space, and one of their tried-and-true attacks, Tselem's stinking cloud, actually did more harm than good.

The battle raged on...

Rewards

• 1,000 XP each (XP for the golem fight hasn't been awarded yet; we'll have to see how that plays out first)
• 6,000 GP (1,500 GP each) [in-game, already awarded]

Session #8: The Escape To Hell

The party headed up the stairs with Akta in tow. At the next floor, they found another long corridor with lots of cells. Azeri briefly checked one or two, but found nothing of interest. They did however run into two more guards, having failed to be particularly stealthy. The guards proved little challenge, though, and the party quickly made their way up to the next floor. From here they could see the exit to the prison, guarded by another human male. They failed to sneak up on this one as well, but he proved no more difficult than the rest of them. (In a particularly epic moment during the fight, the guard shot at Azeri with his crossbow, and both Edge and Taumir used shield effects to turn the attack back on him, killing him with his own attack!)

Exiting the prison, Tselem disguised himself as Regdar, and bluffed the gatekeeper that they were transferring the prisoner to a different location. They made their exit and snuck into the city of Korth. Akta expressed the desire to contact her family, whom she hadn't seen in 15 years. Wary of the House Deneith mercenaries who were surely about to be pursuing them, Taumir suggested they find someplace to hide, then worry about stuff like that. Someone he once knew from his time as a spy lived here in town, a half-elf named Elfrich, so they set out to find him.

Finding Elfrich took some time, but they eventually found his clock shop. He was very surprised to see Taumir, but agreed to help him. He closed the shop, and they all went up into his apartment above it. After some discussion, they asked Elfrich to go and buy them passage on a caravan while they laid low. He agreed, collected 5 GP from each of them, and left. While he was gone, the party and Akta caught up on what she had been doing the last 15 years (not much besides languishing in a dungeon) and how they had come to know she was there. Akta said she didn't really know what Zelian wanted, but had a good idea of what this was about. She pulls up the long sleeve of her dress to reveal that she has a dragonmark! No tiefling has ever, in the entire history of the world, developed a dragonmark, least of all the Mark of Sentinel!

The party was stunned by this development, and realized the danger that this posed. Tselem hit on the idea of hiding the mark using the Conceal Dragonmark ritual. They needed some spell components for it though, so Tselem transformed himself into a nondescript human, went out, bought them, and sent a message that Akta had written down for him. Returning, they performed the ritual, effectively wiping away the dragonmark from her arm. Akta was so relived that she wept.

A few minutes later, Elfrich returned with the tickets, and said they should probably be going now. They snuck out the back of the shop, and found a human guard waiting for them. He was way out of his depth though, and the party eliminated him with a single strike. They quietly but quickly made their way to the caravan office, and within a few minutes boarded the coach that would take them to Varna.

They were able to leave town without further incident, and traveled to a fort across the river (a few hours away). There the caravan camped for the night, and the party was finally able to rest after this exhausting day!

The next morning, the 16th day of Eyre, dawned, and the party roused themselves for breakfast, finally refreshed. As they were about to depart, however, a horrible sound rent the morning air, and a portal opened up in the field nearby them. Out of it spilled three demons and two gnolls. These infernal creatures rushed the party immediately, bent on the their destruction. The party fought responded forcefully, and stood their ground against the beasts. Tselem was particularly effective with a zone of poisonous gas. Before long the abominations had been destroyed. As the dust settled, they realized the other coaches and their passengers had fled, including their own driver, leaving them with a coach but otherwise alone.

Rewards

• 1,750 XP each! Time to level up!
• Edge got 3 GP off that guard.

Session #7: The Dungeon & The Dragon

The party breathed a sigh of relief that they were no longer under attack, but were a little concerned that they were trapped. They tied up the unconscious Regdar, and took a short rest. They then revived the back-stabber and demanded he tell them where Akta was and how to get out of here. He responded by activating another trap. The floor underneath them disintegrated, tossing them into an icy subterranean lake below. As the party surfaced, they realized they were in a huge underground cavern that the prison had been built on top of.

The party was relatively unharmed from the fall, having landed in the water, but Regdar had the wind knocked out of him by landing on the beach. And yet he still tried to wriggle out of his ropes to attack the party as they tried to question him! They were able to intimidate him into not trying to run away, but by this point they realized he was never going to stop resisting them. So they cut him down one last time and left his corpse on the cavern floor.

The party rested for a minute, then began to explore the cavern. They made their way down a long, dark tunnel. At the end of it there was a large room, and although a torch lit their way they were unable to make out much. They loitered cautiously at the entrance, try to determine if there was anything lurking. They realized that there was, but they couldn't figure out what it was. They managed to distract it momentarily, but before they could slip on by, a large skeletal dragon emerged from the shadows and attacked them! The party knew they were up against a dracolich. The beast fought viciously, but the party's weapons, especially Tselem's and Azeri's radiant damage, brought it down. As the final blow shattered its phylactery and blew its bones to ash, they heard it whisper a thanks for ending it's horrible, abominable existence.

During this dungeon crawl, the party found a scroll for the Brew Potion ritual. They weren't so inclined to use that at this time, but they did decide to use Tselem's ability to cast Hand of Fate to let them know where to go next. Leading out of the room they were in was a smaller tunnel, but in front of them was a stone wall, clearly man-made, with a small locked door. Tselem cast Hand of Fate and they inquired of it where they should go to find Akta and get out. The Hand unambiguously pointed to the door every time. Edge, tired of the long fights and mazes, bashed in the door, revealing a very narrow staircase, only wide enough for them to go single file. The party steeled themselves and headed up.

At the top of the staircase, the party found themselves looking down an equally narrow corridor. They were able to sneak down it without being detected, and peered around the corner to find that it opened in a long hallway with only two human guards standing in front of a large door. Azeri tried to sneak out and bluff them into letting her pass, but was unable to extract herself from the narrow passage, and the whole party tumbled out. The guards rushed at them. A short but intense battle followed in which the guards were dispatched.

The party picked the lock on the door and went in. To their surprise, them found themselves in a large and luxurious room. Sitting in a chair in this room was a tiefling female. She arose as they entered, stared, and then said, "Tselem?" It was Akta, at last!

Everyone was bursting with questions. Tselem asked Akta what happened all those years, the night she disappeared. Akta says a wizard came and killed everyone, and since that time he's kept her prisoner here. She reveals that this person was none other than Zelian d'Deneith, the current head of House Deneith! This of course just raised more questions, but Taumir pointed out that they're still in the process of breaking out of this prison, and maybe the reunion should wait till they're someplace safe! The party agreed. Akta dashed into another room and grabbed a bag with some belongings, and then they all left the room. Out in the hall, they stepped over the bodies of the guards and made their way up the stairs at the other end.

Rewards

• 1,100 XP each.

Session #6: The Ally You Don't Know

As the party stood on the platform waiting for the lightning rail to come, a vast crowd of people was walking by. One person in this crowd was a tall human male. He glanced casually at the party as he walked past - and then he did a double-take and stopped in his tracks. His mouth fell open in shock as he stared at Akta. He then drew his sword, shouting, "How the hell did you get out of there?!" and attacked!

The party moved quickly to defend their wizard. Edge bellowed a challenge, and the man practically skidded to halt. His attacks went wildly off course as he tried to avoid the warforged. The party pummeled the man to the platform, while the people around them fled, giving the fight a wide berth. Within seconds the man had been rendered unconscious. The party tied him up and then revived him. He was so thoroughly beaten, physically and mentally, that everything just tumbled out of him. He said he is a prison guard, and his prisoner, for nearly a decade, has been Akta! He says he departed the prison just that morning, and Akta was in her cell! The party was stunned to hear this news, and Akta was initially quite defensive. Everyone demanded some answers.

In response, Akta changed shape. It was instantly clear that Akta is not in fact a tielfing woman, but a changeling male! He revealed that his name is Tselem. He grew up on the streets of Varna in the Eldeen Reaches, using his shape-changing abilities to help him rob unwary people. The only person who knew of his true identity was Akta, a young tiefling woman who worked at a local inn; she sometimes let him sleep (hidden) in the kitchen and gave him food. The two struck up a wary friendship. One night a mysterious wizard came to the inn; the next morning, most of the occupants were dead (clearly killed by magic), and the rest (including Akta) had disappeared. Since that time, he's worn Akta's form and gone by her name.

The attacker, who revealed his name to be Regdar, was exasperated and suspicious. Taumir was surprised and unhappy by this turn of events. Azeri felt betrayed. Edge wasn't sure he could actually tell the difference.

Tselem said they had to rescue the real Akta. Taumir said he would rather keep going on to the Whisper Woods, but his curiosity was piqued enough to help out. Azeri and Edge agreed to help out too. They all dragged Regdar into an alley to avoid the Sentinel Marshalls that had come to investigate the fight, and initially planned to have Tselem pretend to be Regdar to get them into the prison at Korth where Akta was being kept. Regdar was actually pretty cooperative, and said a number of times that it would be easier to just let him take care of things. The party eventually decided to try a different feint - Tselem (posing as Akta once more) would pretend to be captured, while the rest kept a close eye on Regdar (Edge bluffed him into thinking they don't trust Tselem anymore).

Regdar came to Korrenberg in an airship, so the group made their way to the airship port across town, where they boarded a House Deneith vessel. The captain and Regdar appeared to know each other well, and the captain was surprised to see him back from his R&R after only an hour. Regdar said he found an escaped prisoner that he has to bring back. He asked the captain if they can get going back to Korth right away, and the captain agreed. The party and Regdar then retired to some cabins. The party had healed Regdar to make him think they're on his side, but they all needed rest, so they all fell into bed almost as soon as the ship lifted off about an hour later.

In the wee hours of the morning on 15th Eyre, Regdar emerged from his room. Edge had been resting in the hall, and when he saw Regdar going up on deck, he and Azeri followed. (Azeri did not like being up so high, and was more than a little airsick.) Regdar approached the captain and told him to take "the faster route," meaning over the Mournland. The captain said that's crazy; Regdar said it was worth the risk. The airship changed course, and an hour or so later, an ominous looking light could be seen in the distance. (By this point Tselem and Taumir had awakened and come up on deck.) The captain said that it is the light of the Glowing Chasm. He seemed both furious and terrified that they were going anywhere near it.

Thankfully, after a few hours, the Glowing Chasm began to fade behind them, and in the pre-dawn light they passed over a river and began their final approach into Korth. Regdar then took them to a camp of some sort outside of town. They asked what they were doing there, and he said the prison is under the training camp. They descended a long flight of stairs into a chamber.

By this point the party was growing suspicious, so Edge and Taumir elected to stay put and guard the exit while Tselem and Azeri took Regdar to get Akta. Regdar led them into another chamber about 30 feet away, at which point they were attacked by two fire bats while two burning skeletons attacked Edge and Taumir! The men struggled to face the onslaught, while Azeri wailed on Regdar, causing him to actually flee into the midst of the meele. Taumir and Edge dispatched one of the skeletons, then rushed to help their friends, leaving the other skeleton shambling behind them. At this point, Regdar activated a hidden trap, and the entrances crumbled in, trapping all of them in one chamber (with the remaining skeleton outside). The party knocked Regdar unconscious and killed the two bats.

Rewards

• 1,800 XP. You're up to Level 5!
• found a Shield of Defiance (Level 8) (p. 245 PHB)
• found a Belt of Sacrifice (p. 252 PHB)
• looted 470 GP

Session #3: The Opinions of Others

The party moved to cluster around Paik's fallen body. They tied him up and revived him. He was as mean and confrontational now as he had been placid before. At first he swore and spat at them, saying he would kill them, that they were thieves and murderers. Some words from Azeri calmed him down, but only to the point that he was barking at them to leave "his" fort. He said the only thing he knew of elves were the ones he had killed. They showed him the scroll they had gotten from the elves in Passage; he couldn't read Elvish, so they read it to him, to no avail. He didn't know, and he didn't care.

The party elected not to kill him, but Paik showed no gratitude, and began to gnaw through the rope with his wererat teeth. The party took a minute to look around, and did find a treasure stash, with 100 GP! They then discovered a crawlspace underneath the northeast turret of the fort. Akta and Taumir crawled out that way, getting a little stuck in the process, but making it. Edge and Azeri elected to walk up the steps out of the basement door, bashing some rocks and rubble out of their way. They all then made their way back to town. (They untied Paik, retrieving their rope, and left before he could retaliate in his weakened state.)

It was late in the day, but they were not ready to rest yet - the filth fever that Paik had infected Taumir with was concerning them. They asked around for a doctor, and were directed to a Dr. Moran. Moran was skeptical that Taumir could actually have been bitten by a wererat, but became alarmed when he learned they'd been up to the fort. Once he realized they were telling him the truth, he offered his services at a discount rate, but the ritual to cure disease was still a lot more expensive than they could manage. The doctor did a little research, and told Taumir that the disease should go away on its own in a few days. The party was nonplussed, and the doctor dismissed them not un-politely. Azeri felt obliged to pay the man 10 GP for his help; she did so out of the stash they had gotten at the fort.

Azeri (who was holding on the money) then divided up the fort loot among the party. Because Edge had gotten the magical sword, she wasn't going to divide him any, but Akta elected to share her portion with him. So Edge got 10, Taumir got 33, and Akta and Azeri got 23 GP each. They all then retired to the inn, ending the 9th day of Eyre.

The next morning, Taumir was feeling better. The filth fever was not all the way gone, but he was in much better shape. The party took stock of their situation and decided that there was probably nothing further to be gained in this one-horse town. Despite the cost and time involved, they decided to keep heading for Korrenberg. The cost to each party member for tickets the rest of the way was 15 GP (plus the remaining won rail ticket got used up).

They boarded the train, and found themselves in a car with about a half-dozen other travelers, most of whom seemed bland and non-threatening. The next stop on their way was to be Hatheril, a village about four hours journey south. At first, the trip there was uneventful - Edge even spent his time working on making a harmonica. Three and a half hours into the trip though, the rail car was attacked by four human men! These bandits demanded everyone's money. The party lept into action, at which point all the civilians dived under their seats. The battle that followed ended with the bandits plastered against the walls.

When it was over, the rest of the passengers warily made their way back up onto their seats. As the dust settled, however, the party realized that one person had remained seated the whole time: a tall human sitting at the back. He congratulated them on their victory, and introduced himself as Zaigot. From the Mark of Sentinel on his arm, they could tell he was of House Deneith, the martial house. Zaigot actually offered to make them house mercenaries, and to give them some incentives to do so. Edge shunned Zaigot entirely, not even listening to his offer. Taumir seemed interested, but Akta was not so kindly disposed towards House Deneith, having had bad experiences with Sentinel Marshalls in Varna in her youth. Azeri was cautious, and privately voiced a lack of interest.

Zaigot said the offer stood until they reached Hatheril, then he would have to be on his way. If they accepted, he would take them straight to the training camp outside Korth.

Rewards

• You have all gained another 1,000 XP and will advance another level! (Please take care of that before next time.)
• From the bandits you loot:
• A set of Darkleaf Armor (p. 228 in the Player's Handbook)
• A holy symbol, the Symbol of hope (p. 237 Player's Handbook)
• 290 GP
• Once all was said and done, from Paik's stash:
• Azeri gained 8 GP
• Taumir gained 18 GP
• Akta gained 9 GP (this includes the extra 1 GP she found on the ground)
• Edge had to spend 5 GP