While the fighters of the group weren't having much luck with their strikes now, Elodeir's magic missiles struck perfectly from further up the stairs, slamming into the zombie, crashing into it's chest with great force.

The magical bolt hits the zombie, and the small black hole sizzles like meat on a fire, the smell coming from it truly stomach-turning.

A worse smell comes from the smoke and sparks that rise up from where Shaeria Moonshadow holds her holy suymbol firmly against the monster's grey flesh.

She is starting to sweat and she is bearing her teeth like a feral beast, but all in the room know that this one elf has done as much as any of them have to put this threat to rest for a final time.

OOC: Amy is up, and then the NPCs and the zombie act.

Amlarn knows that the giant zombie is an excellent distraction. So far it has kept Durken from focusing the majority of his attention on herself and her friends. And given the fact that the Shark has managed to keep standing this long proves he is more than a capable swordsman. Amy plans to stop him from standing very shortly. By now another dagger has appeared in the hands of Marl Shark and he flicks this one toward his brother as before. But, unlike before, Amylarn got in a hurry and threw the blade far too soon!

04:26, Today: Amylarn rolled 5 using 1d10+4. Trown dagger attack. – BOTCH!

Amy's attack goes unnoticed as her blade falls far short of her target - or anyone else in the basement.

His sword flashing out, the big Shark brother kunges for the shambling zombie.  As fast as the Shark is and as slow as the zombie is, the blonde man can still not hit the thing.

Ah, Tymora and Talona!  Why won;'t this thing fall?!?!

Mumbling the last words of the spell on his parchment scroll, Ardo's eyes start to glow and his skin takes on a goldish tint.

A second later a blinding bolt of lightning lashes out, striking the undead abomination in its back.

Bits of flesh and bone are sheared away as the hot white bolt rips through the monster.

It buckles, shakes, and then falls.

But it does not stop...

Shaeria has to move fast before she is flattened byt he falling zombie.  She makes for the stairs at the last second, safe.

She grips her glowing holy symbol close, realizing from the stain on her chest that bits of the zombie's flesh are still clinging to the holy symbol.


The zombie flails about, one of its arms hanging totally limp and unmoving, and its legs no longer under control of whatever brain activity is still in its head.

With its one good arm it lands a hard blow against Durken's legs, bringing the big man down.

Durken's chin hits the floor hard, knocking a tooth out, and the wind from the big man.

Both the thug and the zombie look weak and pathetic.

Both look near their last leg, too.

===========================

OOC:  This is it, guys and gals!

Make it good!

Weaving in and out of the creatures reach Bethany slashes forward and misses something fierce.  Cursing under her breath she reacts to how everyone else is doing with the spells and swords and damage and she tries to slash once more in a hopes to kill the creature.


==========================

FROM DM:

Summoning the grace and speed of her bloodline, Bethany finally connects blade to dead flesh and she shaves off a good half foot of grey and white flesh from the zombie's mid-section.

The thing falters for an instant, then continues to lashs out as desperpately as he can, as if he knows his time on this plane is soon at an end.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:33, Fri 08 June 2007.

Drake is quickly back and on top of the zombie. Durken doesn't look like a threat at the moment.  Drake slams his sword through the undead, but with the thing in such shambles, it's hard to tell if the strike does alot of damage or not.



=========================

FROM DM:

Following Bethany's attack by a mere second, Drake manages to slow the monster even more by hacking off a small bit of its left thigh.

The zombie reminds you of an old man, out of breath from having run or carried a heavy burden.

But why won't the damn things FALL?!?
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:38, Fri 08 June 2007.

The disguise magic Amylarn had been using finally dropped away. She decided there was no more use for it at that moment and let it go as she drew a shiny rapier from her hip. The blonde with the rather plain clothes moves to stand over Durken holding the tip of her blade near the downed man's throat. "I think this would be a fine time for you to sit still mister Shark. How does that sound to you?"

OOC: I think this action would count as an intimidation roll.
06:31, Today: Amylarn rolled 24 using 1d20+10. Intimidate Durken.

OOC:

Replies in posts above.

Durken, used to action and not words, starts to rise, but when he hears that subtle growl in Amy's voice and feels the cold tip of her blade against his hot skin, he swallows hard and sits down.

I could do that thing in, I think.  Looks like it is on its last leg.

The big man turns and looks up at Amylarn, a strange look, a pleading look of contrition is in his blazing blue eyes.

That thing is not at all what Constance planned it to be.  It was supposed to be a thing of power, yes, but not grotesque.  And it was to be under her control, to do her bidding, not like this mindless freak of thing.

========================

OOC: We are SO CLOSE to the thing "dying", and I do not want an NPC to be the one to fell the thing, so anyone can post an action after my next post.

The thing gets one last chance to whack at someone, though.

Well, so much for that.

------------------

Lifting one of its ham-like fists high, the zombie tries to pound Bethany, but she is much too agile for it, and she easily moves aside.

The zombie's attack makes it over-step and it falls to one knee, its head lolling to the left, then the right, as if its neck has gone so weak that it can not support the weight of the skull within the head.

A wheezing, almost breathe-like sound leaves the thing.  To Amylarn it sounds almost like laughter, but to Drake it sounds a bit like pleading.  To Bethany it sounds like a feeble attempt at speech, and Shearia swears she hears it as crying.

Seeing the beast fall to its knee Bethany smiles at its haphazard attack and lashes out towards the creatures neck, head or shoulders.  She connects well and drives her blade in.  Twisting the fine steel and then slashing out away towards the air she does her best to harm the creature to the best of her ability.

WOOOT I hit!!!

Drake thinks the beast is pleading, but the only way he can help it is to end it's time here.  The thing continues to flail around, making a good hit hard. Drake swings down upon it again, as Bethany makes her strike

Amylarn kept cold eyes focused on Durken as if she could hold him down with nothing more than a stare. The point of her rapier made it easier of course. "My companions are perfectly capable of handling that abomination without your interference mister Shark." She resisted the urge to look over and see if they were really doing all right or not. If she broke eye contact, Durken might try to get away. "And as for Ilithrane, I could not care less what your black magic woman had planned. The results are what matters. Now close your mouth and still your tongue, else I cut it out!"

Bethany feels her attack hit home and the zombie - now the size of a slender human male, though its features are still twisted and contorted - falls face-down to the blood-coated sooty floor of the slaughter house.

One loud moan leaves its slack mouth and a single heave is seen leaving its shattered chest.

Then a thick black substance akin to tar and smelling of sulfur and rot dribbles out of the many open wounds on the thing's body.

Ardo comes to stand near Durken, whose mouth is agape.

The older man stands silent, surveying the basement.

The tall Shark brother, heedless of Amy's threat, can not stop talking.  It is clear something in his mind has snapped.

Never meant to be like this...Constance...she said it would be a thing of beauty!  That we...that we could control it!

Yes, and it would do our bidding and it would ... it would help us rule this place, and then we could amass power and wealth...

Yes, and then ove on to bigger cities up and down the coast...


Seeing Ardo, Durken rises and grasps at the mage's robe.

Tell them!  Tell themt he glory that would be ours!!

Ardo shakes his head in resignation and pity.

He looks to you all and speaks quietly.

It is as Durken says.  Constance said we could control the creature, that it would be a powerful thrall that we could make do our bidding.

I know not if it is your fault for coming here and killing Constance as she was about to finish the ceremony of rising or if her magicks were flawed.  It makes little difference now.

Her notes and items are over there in a chest.  Take them if you would.  We can not stop you.

Durken looks about with wild wide eyes.

Marl!  He...he was just here!  He was a traitor!  Him!  It is his fault!  He...he was always the weakest one!

Like a mad bull, Durken breaks away from Amylarn and he charges this was and that in the basement looking for his brother - the one Amylarn immitated so well a few minutes ago.

===============================

Finally calming Durken down or subduing him, all that is left to do is look through the chest Ardo points out, and then alert the town's authorities about what went on in the Shark Brothers' slaughterhouse and tannery.

--------------------

Contents of the chest:   (Gamespeak is in yellow below.)

The sturdy chest has ornate carvings in the wood that depict hands, both make and female, clutching at chains, locks, and skulls.

The iron bands around the chest have runes etched into them, but Ardo assures you that none have magical meaning.

Trusting him, you see him reach into Constance's robe and pull out a stout iron key.

He opens the chest and stands back from it.

Inside you see the following:

A velvet sack about the size of a big man's fist. Inside are several jewels and gems worth a total of 1,000 GPs.  There are also gold pieces (250) and several pieces of jewelry (a necklace worth 50 GPs, a ring with a ruby in it worth 100 GPs, and 2 bracelets worth 30 GPs each - nothing in this sack is magical).

There is a small wooden box with a stylized puff of smoke carved into the top of it.  There is a tiny clasp that holds the lid on the box, but no lock.  The box contains 4 uses of Dust of Appearance.

A slender rod made of some hard wood is in the chest.  Carved into the dark rod are bees - hundreds of bees.  This is a rod of my own creation.  It summons a swarm of bees that fills a 20' by 20' square for 10 rounds.  There are 8 uses in the rod.  There is no command word.   You just point and wish the bees to appear as a standard action.

Inside a padded black sack are four glass vials.  Each has a metal and wire stopper.  Potions: Cure Serious Wounds, Delay Poison, Remove Disease, Neutralize Poison.

Three stones are in a small black bag.  When removed from the bag, eachs tone lights up an area like a torch would.  They have Continual Light cast on them.



More to come.

Once Durken Shark is brought to justice and the plot to bring the Silent Killer back to "life" as some new and powerful form of undead is uncovered, the town of Iliptur rewards you with items from Durken's possessions, as is the law in their town.

+ 2 longsword, MW short shord, MW light crossbow with 20 bolts, oil of Barkskin, +2, and 500 GPs.

You are also called Heroes of the Town and as such, food and lodging are free for you for a month.

You rest and recuperate for part of that month, but something Ardo told you when last you saw him (I leave it up to you to decide his fate) haunts you:

Constance Illithane had powerful forces working with her, maybe even commanding her.  These forces are centered in and around Waterdeep, far to the north and west.  Mages and clerics in the City of Splendors helped her in casting the powerful ritual spell to bring forth possibly devilish or demonic powers in the undead she was creating from  the body of the dread Silent Killer.

A clay token is found on the bottom of the chest.  Ardo thinks it will teleport someone and any who touch the person to Waterdeep.  He overheard Constance and Durken talk about such a token, and none was found on her body or in her home.

Her family is so disgraced that they take the majority of their possessions and flee Iliptur in the deepest part of the night, leaving for parts unknown.

The estate is soon ransacked and ruined.

The Shark Brothers who were found innocent of all knowledge of the small cult and its activities have a hard time attracting business to their blighted slaughterhouse and tannery.

And you are left to wonder what your next adventure will be...
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:09, Tue 12 June 2007.

After the loot had been divided between everyone Bethany sat down in hopes that others will come and talk of the adventures they plan on now.  Friendships had been forged and friendship were hard to make in these day and ages.  When everyone had shown up she greeted each in respect and pointed to her gear that was packed.  Friends, it was a honor to fight next to you and to vanquished all that evil that plagued the city.  Perhaps one day in the future we will fight side by side once more.  Taking a drink and holding it for a moment as if to taste all the sweetness of the wine that the city had given them in the last few weeks she goes back to her talking.  I will be leaving this city and though the evil seems to draw back to Waterdeep, the city is not for me and I plan on traveling far to the north.  I have heard rumors of something that peeks my interest in Icewind Dale.  So at the end of the month I will bid you all farewell.  Sitting down she ponders information she had gathered over the last few weeks.  And when everyone else had said what they wanted she tapped on the table to get the attention and spoke again.  I have talked with the city as well about the ransacked house and would like to purchase the place for my future to retire with.  I am just a bit short on how much is needed and would like to know if any of you would perhaps go in on buying the place and getting it livable once again.  If you do agree to assist me in that aspect I would double your contribution in the near future and buy your share eventually.  I just wanted you all to know what I had found out.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:50, Tue 12 June 2007.

In the time after their adventure had ended, Elodeir proved to be reclusive and silent, though at times, he would speak of terrible nightmares which had haunted his nights ever since they defeated the necromancer and her creature.  What he did not tell, however, was that in the middle of the nightmares, there was something else - whispers of power, power he would only have to reach out in order to seize.  Power which knew no limits.  And, most importantly, power which was his, simply for being who he was - but, Elodeir wondered, if that was true, then just who was he?

He did not care too much about who Constance had been working with, though, but he did make it clear that he intended to travel to Waterdeep using the clay token - he needed to get away, he said, and it seemed like as good a way to do so as any.

Drake is glad for the bonds he formed on the Dragon Coast, but he feels his future calling him onward. He is somewhat upset that Bethany, has chose to go North and he almost offers to join the women, but he holds his desires.

"I have been in this place too long and have fought too much, for too little. My greatest reward are the friends I have gained." because like Bethany, Drake knows that it is a rarity to have done so.

"I will go to Waterdeep, to continue to chase my future." the fighter offers. He does not know or expect if others will go, but if they do, they will have a friend with them.

Shaeria made her desires to go to Waterdeep known and then told the others where she could be found when they were ready to make the trip.  She spent her time alone, besieged by nightmares of the horrid creature, nightmares which she prayed would cease quickly.  She found solace in Corellon's love and patience, but the nightmares did not yet cease.  Perhaps they stayed to remind her what she fought for in Corellon's name.

Amylarn had been hard pressed to keep her blade off of Durken Shark’s tongue that day. She had intended to follow through on her threat. But she had reigned in her darker nature and simply watched the crazed man race about the basement of the tannery searching for his brother. She smiled to herself at a bit of irony. Amy had warned Marl that Durken would probably turn against him. However she had not planned to cause the betrayal herself.

---

After things have calmed down and the various legal issues resolved, Amylarn seeks out Ardo. She thinks he got off light and doesn't hesitate telling him so. The young woman explains to Ardo that she is content to leave him alone since he did help the adventurers and did not put up any real resistance to them. But Amylarn adds a condition to his freedom. Some day someone will come to Ardo and demand his help. They will remind him that he owes a debt Amylarn and her friends. When that happens, Ardo is to help the individual, no questions asked. There was an unspoken threat in Amy's words. She did not tell him specifically what would happen if he refused to help. To her mind, anything that Ardo could imagine would probably be worse than an actual threat she held over him.

---

Amylarn was already a resident in Iliptur and had no need for the free lodging offered by the city. However she found herself spending more and more time with her new friends and less at the dress shop where she worked. Soon Seewick Bendor, her mentor, sat her down for a talk. He was already aware of everything that had happened to Amy so there was only to decide how to handle her immediate future. After apologizing for being absent from the shop so much, Amylarn admitted she wanted to go to Waterdeep. Most of the adventurers were going there and she had always wanted to see the City of Splendors.

Seewick accepted her apology and told her he was not surprised. Obviously he could not stop her from leaving, so Seewick decided to make use of the situation. He asked Amylarn to take some samples and drawings with her and try to find some of Bendor's old contacts. Perhaps she could establish a trade agreement for a shop in Waterdeep to sell Bedor's dresses there. Perhaps those contacts would have other needs that Amylarn could help them with and vice versa.

Things were looking up for the blonde tailor's assistant. She ate well and slept better and even felt generous enough to loan Bethany some funds toward her real estate purchase
This message was last edited by the player at 19:46, Sun 17 June 2007.

OOC:

Looks like we can soon close this thread down and move on to Waterdeep (RoA Adventures 1, Group 1).

Do you buy he estate, Bethany?

Everyone except Bethany is moving on to Waterdeep?