The heroes journeyed north and west, starting along the shore, but then cutting through the open sea for a shorter journey. It took three days for them to arrive in Palanthus. It was called the Jewel of Solamnia and there was a friendly rivalry between it and Kalaman. The "civilized" city in the west and the "country bumpkins" of the east.

Though how a person from Kalaman, the second largest city in Solamnia, could be called a country bumpkin even by those that came from smaller settlements in the heart of Solamnia was unclear for those from the Pearl of the East.

Palanthas was a sight to see worthy of being likened to a jewel, but pearls always beat jewels. The Tower of High Sorcery was clearly seen from the harbor even at early evening when the heroes arrived. It was a spire that towered over everything else in the city. Once a dark shard of Evil, but now in the hands of the Master of Past and Present whom they were visiting.

The city of Palanthus was designed in circles, with the Grand Palace almost at the center, just a few blocks from the tower.

As they walked off the gangway from the ship that brought them to Palanathus, Roisin took the time to stop and breathe in. Every city smelled different, and ignoring the smell of fish and the sea, she could smell the essence of Palanthas. She ignored Ochre as he sat at the edge of the dock deciding on whether or not the water was worth risking for a fish.

It was only after a few moments she turned to the others. "Well, we have much to do and little time with which to do it. Do either of you have plans? Or should we head directly to the Tower of High Sorcery? Hopefully we shall be welcomed. One might dread to consider what might be ahead should we be unwelcome."

Roisin beckoned to Utrecht to join her. It was strange, she was sure the lumbering construct almost has a personality in the time they'd known him. A gentle giant. She smiled as he rose from the hold. "I know the journey wasn't pleasant Utrecht, but we're here finally."

D'aden emerged from below decks, having waited till the last minute to resume his traveling attire. He calls back to the captain and crew, "it was good crewing for ya, cap'n. I'd almost lost my sea legs, afore this. My thanks to you all."
He makes his way to the dock with a little extra spring in his step. On his way past the construct, he responds to Roisin's statement, "ya should've spent more time on deck. The air at sea is cleaner than any you'll find ashore. It always does me good to sail a bit."
Sobering, he nods, "we probably should head to the tower right off. I would imagine they would wish to hear of our previous excursion, and wouldn't be surprised if they didn't send their own to examine the place."
D'aden turns towards the tower, and stares at it, somehow lost in the view.

Roisin raised an eyebrow "They wouldn't. It's in Master Caladan's demesne...and now my responsibility, but it is true to say that the Tower is where I have much work to do. Assuming I'm allowed entry. Still, I'd welcome a teacher from the Tower, though ultimately they may be working for the Tower rather than the Lyceum."

D'aden looks at Roisin with a tight-lipped smile. "I'm sure I wouldn't know about it, but I suspect there would be some in the tower that would be happy to assume that responsibility for you."
Shaking his head, as if to clear it of the view of the tower, he continues, "for some people, wealth is not measured in coin but in control. Like a bull that won't rest till he's in the biggest pasture, they strive to bring as much as possible under their power."

Roisin laughed "You're a man with many hidden depths, my friend." she nodded subtly "but yes, there's always risk. They would never move openly. That I am appointed mistress of the lyceum will not change. However, my staff that I am to appoint? Yes, there is where they may make their moves. I'm sure one will be forced on me, but the others? I must make them compete so that the only true winners will be those who go to the lyceum to learn."

"From what I've heard," Alvin said. "You need to be invited to enter a Tower of High Sorcery. Have we been invited? Or how do we get invited?"

"There are other ways to gain entrance, but in this case, I shall not enter uninvited. My presence in the town should be enough to gain some measure of interest from its master, but the name I will mention should be enough to draw attention. From that point on...well, we need to wait and see. Unfortunately I'm sure what we need from him will have a price."

"Almost certainly," Alvin said. "Your guardian is already drawing attention."

And he was. The people passing the heroes by were looking more at the ambulant stone statue than at the heroes themselves.

During the voyage, Olven Wolf insisted he be barricaded in his cabin. He had spent most of his time below decks, only rarely emerging for a brief respite of fresh air and the salty smell of the sea. With him were two others, a squire he had taken on named Michel and a manservant named Tomas.

Michel was a young lad, from a minor noble house, scarcely thirteen and perhaps 70 pounds soaking wet, with a wild mop of blonde hair, big green eyes, and freckles. Michel had been recommended to Wolf by the King of Kalaman, and Olven had taken to train the boy as best as he could in the proper use of an axe, spear, knife, and crossbow. However, Michel insists on wearing a longsword and training with it, and though Olven knows nothing of the weapon, he does his best to at least give the boy a training partner.

Tomas was an older man in his fifties, graying hair, and well-manicured sideburns. He often smiled and was quick to crack a joke, and Olven welcomed the levity, especially for its influence on Michel. Once Olven would have joined in with gladness, and part of him still desired to do so, but another, more powerful side of him was given to irritation and annoyance. Other than his daily training sessions with Michel, Olven left the members of his entourage to their own devices.

Now Olven stands in the street with the others. His clothes are of a finer cut than he was wont to wear in the past, his shirt fine woven, brilliant blue cotton with silk brocade and ruffles at its neck and sleeves, his trousers linen, and his boots of calf’s leather. The only weapon he wears is a long knife in a sheath inlaid of pearl. Tomas carries a bundle with Olven’s armor and weapons. Michel rounds out the ensemble with his longsword sheathed in its hilt.

”Yes, well, let’s get on with it,” the former mercenary says, shading an eye as he looks up at the Tower of Sorcery. ”The sooner we sort this business out, the sooner we can move on to meet with the Baron.”

D'aden looks at the tower, again, and mumbles "yes, let's sort this out."
With an apologetic look, he adds, "besides, I need to get back to Katie before she forgets who's in charge," and begins striding towards the tower.

Roisin raised an eyebrow "Da'den, she is in charge. The fact you even feel the need to say this implies even you know it."

D'aden smiles slightly, "yes, madam, I am aware. Still, it seems appropriate to stay as near as possible to those in charge that they not forget their charges."
Turning to Roisin and raising an eyebrow while affecting a tone of innocence, he remarks, "why else would I accompany you to the tower?"

"Because you wish test the patience of mages." Roisin said mocking him by saying it in a testing manner. She looked at the crowd as Utrecht made his way down the street next to her. "It's almost like they've never seen a construct before....and the Tower is here." she looked at Alvin "I'm mildly tempted to throw a fireball in the air...but that might draw inappropriate attention."

The heroes continued on their journey and were soon at the edge of Shoikan Grove, the grove of trees surrounding the Tower of High Sorcery. It was a high tower with two minarets, they all shared the same foundation and several of the lower levels. The marble had once been white, but since the Cataclysm it was black. And recently it had changed color once more and was now blue. The onion-like roofs were dark red, giving the heroes a feeling that they had been dipped in blood rather than the original crimson.

”A cheerful place,” Olven Wolf says, grunting, as he shades his eyes and scans the tower from base to roof. ”Looks like a good defensive position. The Tower could probably do well against a sustained siege.” He looks to Roisin. ”We’ll follow your lead, Roisin. I’m not exactly at home in a wizard tower.”

Roisin looked worried "It is said the Tower of High sorcery at Palanthas reflects the personality of its master. That it is blue is cause for hope, perhaps, that the roofs are the colour of blood, perhaps a warning." Roisin turned to the others "The Tower has its own defences in place. Even were this place to be invaded by the dragon armies, it would be inviolable. One cannot pass the Shoikan Grove without a nightjewel, and one might only obtain them from the Master of the tower or from...dubious sources that the Master might take offence at us using. We should not press on the grove." she looked at the others "All of the Towers have magical defences. This Tower is the greatest and with the strongest defence. If there is anything in the world that fills you with fear...you should stay here until our presence is acknowledged. I can but hope our presence is enough to draw curiosity, as even the strong willed in the town will not venture this far."

D'aden smiles, "do you mean we should wait here till we're noticed?"
As he continues, he fiddles with his pack and soon has his lute in hand, lackadaisically plucking the strings as if to test the tuning. "Understand that I really don't mind, but I've never been one to wait quietly. Besides, it seems a perfect opportunity to do what I like."
With a small flourish he begins playing and singing a not terribly common tavern ditty about a mismatched pair of mages, one that turned trousers to skirts and another that turned skirts to trousers.

”Anything that fills me with fear?” Olven Wolf bares his teeth in a mirthless grin. ”Plenty. Maybe I better stay here - perhaps out of earshot of D’aden - and wait for your return.”

He slides his knife out of its sheathe and inspects the edge. ”Tomas, my whetstone, please. I’ll stay here and sharpen my weapons while Roisin goes to treat with the master of the tower.”

Roisin's eyebrow raised as D'aden begun his song, but she spoke to Olven first "Oh, you should make no mistake, I may be waiting here a while, even I would not dare enter the grove. While I have may passed my Test and my soul reforged into something new, it is wise never to test the soundness of it unless you have to."

She looked towards the Tower, frowning "In case you're listening. You and I have much to discuss. I am now Mistress of the Lyceum near Kalaman, and you borrowed something which its owner is now seeking to have returned."

She looked over at D'aden rolling her eyes. "Much more of this, and I might see to it that it might be more appropriate for you to be wearing a skirt."

D'aden stops the song, and says to Roisin, "well, that wasn't much of a test. Would you prefer some other method?"
Before he receives an answer, he is gazing at the tower again. "It's so odd, it appears to be moving without moving. Is that one of its defenses?"

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary." Cocking an eyebrow and shading his eyes with one hand, Olven peers at the tower in the distance. "D'aden, I fear you've been hitting the sauce too early today."

The heroes had waited outside the Shoikan Grove for hours before a single figure approached them between the trees. The person was dressed in a blue hooded cloak, covering his head and face, over leather armor. As he came closer, they could see a brooch of black metal in the shape of an equilateral triangle, with the point upwards, circumscribed by a circle fastened to the cloak. He was armed with a long knife worn at his belt under the cloak.

"Fancy meeting you here," the man said as he lowered the hood, revealing that it was Gareth the bard. Whom you ran into on your way back to Kalaman after visiting the Lyceum.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:26, Thu 29 Nov 2018.

Roisin sighed heavily "I should have guessed." she looked at the erstwhile bard "So...do we have an invitation to enter? or should we discuss matters here?"

Sliding his knife back into its sheathe, Olven turns and greets the newcomer. ”Olven Wolf, at your service,” he says, swiftly noting the man’s armor and unusual brooch. Inclining his head in greeting, Wolf says, ”My associate, Roisin uth Bannatar, has business at the tower,” and nods toward Roisin.

OOC: Did Gareth come from the direction of the tower? Does he have any visible weapons?

D'aden facepalms. "I don't suppose I was fortunate enough for you to miss my performance of 'Bare Legged Wizards'. I must admit that it was merely to tease the young lady when I added the verse about harpy harps and flitting flutes."

"It is good to meet you my lord Wolf," Gareth said. "I have met your associates previously."

"It is our lot to entertain," he said, having turned to look at D'aden. "Come the Abyss or high water."

"About passage through the Shoikan Grove," he continued, now facing Roisin. "Why have you come here?"

[OOC: Gareth did come from the tower. He is armed with a long knife. I have added it to my previous post.]

Inclining his head in acknowledgement, Olven Wolf turns to Roisin and waits for her reply. He is eager to be done with their business at this Tower and continue on, but he does not wish to offend those whom they have traveled so far to meet.

"If I must speak plainly then I must do so. I seek an audience with the Master of the Tower. He borrowed the icon of truth for a moment of need. That moment has passed and Jason seeks its return. Secondly, I wish to enter the archives to research an affliction that requires a degree of sensitivity, I will talk to Nathan about the issue if I must, but only him. Thirdly, I owe a debt to Mistress Caladen, I have still to repay it, she seeks to possess a nightjewel for safe passage through the grove as one of those favours to be repaid. Fourthly, I have been made mistress of the Lyceum, and I'm seeking knowledgeable teachers to teach some of our youngsters in a safe environment. While there might be none here that wish to teach the young, they might know others interested in such positions." Roisin spoke plainly "I've always been curious about this Tower, and I've never been here. It might good to collaborate with some peers on some things I have in mind."

"Beautiful ladies rarely have to mince their words," Gareth said and bowed a little to Roisin.

"To respond to your issues. You would have to talk to Master Evardson about the icon and the library. The Order considers us renegades. They would not accept us as teachers. And no one outside this Tower will possess a Nightjewel permanently."

"Visitors may borrow one though." While adding this, he put a hand in a pouch that had been hidden under his cloak and revealed four brooches like the one he was wearing, but they had a black gem in the center of the triangle. He stretched forth his open hand towards Roisin with the pieces of jewelry resting upon his hand.

Roisin nodded gracefully. "I realise that as one of the order I might not be welcome, but surely the sharing of knowledge must rank amongst the highest of everyones priorities." she took the brooch pinning it to her robe. "Thank you. I shall keep it only for as long as we are welcome and return it the moment we are not."

Gareth then offered them to Alvin, D'aden, and Olven.

Alvin took one and pinned it to her outfit too.

D'aden takes the brooch from Gareth, then holds it to one side of his face and gives it a long look through his peripheral vision. Finally, he eloquently expresses his informed opinion by saying "huh" before pinning the thing to the black cloak he's wearing.
"At least the colors complement each other," he says.

Olven takes the brooch he has been given and clips it to his shirt. He turns to Tomas and Michel and says, "Wait for us here. We'll return shortly."

"Very dashing," Gareth responds to D'aden's comment.

Olven's followers acknowledged his orders and the heroes followed Gareth into the Shoikan Grove towards the tower.

As they walked, they started to hear strange and horrific noises from nearby. There was movement in other places, though they couldn't see what kind of creatures were moving behind the trees.

”Interesting security system you have here,” Olven remarks dryly as he follows behind Gareth. The former mercenary stays alert for trouble, but the brooches should protect the group from whatever lurks beyond the trees. His knife, the lone weapon he wears, will provide little protection against horrific monsters, but he trusts he will not need to use it.

D'aden begins to whistle, then hum, then quietly sing. It is quickly apparent he's composing on the spot, probably to help with his nerves.
"There’s no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
Is it raining, is it snowing
Is a hurricane a-blowing
Not a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
For the path just keeps on going
And there aren't any signs showing
no, no, that's not right
Neither town nor inn is showing"

"There's nothing to fear but fear itself," Gareth said. "Fear keeps the locals out. Fear of this grove. No one can pass through the grove without permission. Not even the fearless kender."

”Fear, eh?” Olven Wolf looks toward the trees and listens to the hideous sounds that come from the grove’s depths. ”Doesn’t seem like much of a deterrent without something real to back it up.” He imagines the path ahead and behind consumed in fire, the flames licking at his hands and feet, the heat melting his face and turning his hair to ash. He growls and shakes his head. ”Let’s just keep moving,” he says gruffly.

Roisin glowered at Olven "Fear? Fear is the only thing that makes the stalwart crumble. Even bravery, idiocy and determination crumble in its face. Fear can make someone betray all of their ideals in a heartbeat. What greater defence could there be?" she looked around her. "This place has remained inviolate throughout time. Other towers have been destroyed or fallen into ruin. This one remains. A testament to fear. I know my limits. I reached beyond them during my Test, yet I would not dare set one foot in the grove without permission. Be afraid, be very afraid. In the grove...no-one can hear you scream."

"Fear has always been interesting, to me. I can recall my tenth season party, we'd had a good harvest and the entire stead was celebrating. But, the night before I'd been in the south pasture and had to fend off a pack of dogs that came after the sheep. After the dogs had gone I was sweaty and shaking, expecting some sort of disaster."
"The next morning, I felt the same way. Sweaty and shaking, anticipating something big. Only I wasn't afraid, just anticipating the celebration. Made me wonder, just how real is fear if it makes you feel the same as anger, or joy, or the beginning tremors of love?"
D'aden continues to hum, and occasional test out phrases on his pan flute (some of which sound suspiciously similar to a ballad about brave draconians that was becoming a minor hit on the tavern circuit).

Olven snorts and shakes his head in disbelief. “There we disagree, Roisin. If a man crumbles in fear, I’d call him craven, not stalwart. I’m not denying the power of fear, but cold steel, a monster’s venom, a spell’s paralyzing touch - these things can hurt and kill, have decimated nations and peoples. Dying of fright - I guess that can happen, but I’d say it’s pretty low on the list of things that can do you in.”

”All of that - “ He waves a hand toward the grove, the horrors it promises, the terrors unseen. “If it were merely fears… Now, fear made flesh — that would be terrifying. All your deepest fears, coalescing into material form — that would be enough to drive one mad. All men have fears. To face one’s fears, to look them in the face and see them for what they are — that reveals who a person truly is, defines us.”

Again he imagines the grove ungulfed in flame. That would drive him mad, he knows this. But kill him? Never. He grits his teeth. ”I would never, under the pain of death, betray what I believe and hold dear. Fear as a defense will ultimately fail once it meets one who will not crumble in the face of it. It only protects as long as it holds power over those it would cower. Once fear is faced and overcome, it is toothless.”

At D’aden’s words, Olven Wolf cocks an eyebrow. The man continues to surprise.

"You wouldn't want to experience what it is like to enter the grove without the protection of a nightjewel," Gareth said. "It is not pleasant." A strange expression crossed the bard's face; as if he had personal experience in making such an attempt. "Fear doesn't need flesh, exactly, to push you away from its domain. It is difficult to explain to those that haven't experienced it."

Nodding his head in agreement, Olven Wolf smiles wryly. "I believe you," he says simply. "I'm sure I can survive whatever fears, either real or imagined, lurk within those woods, but I'd rather not have to test myself."

The sounds and movements continued at the edge of perception as the heroes past through the grove. The tower was surrounded by another safeguard, a black fence more than 15 feet high. It seemed to have been by the same material used for the pin Gareth was wearing.

He unlocked the gate with a movement of his hand and a couple of command words in the language of magic. In the center of the tower was a shaft leading up further than the heroes could see in the darkness. And the staircase that hugged the wall of that cylinder was narrow and without a railing. Meeting anyone on the stairs would be perilous.


[OOC: There are a number of images of the tower on the internet. My description was made from something like the image at http://dlnexus.com/fan/art/10734.aspx, but I like the image at https://thousand-years-of-slee...s/tower-of-palanthas more. Even though it doesn't show the domed roofs. The text on the second page talks about how the tower was moved to Nightlund. Which of course didn't happen in this timeline.]

D'aden cranes his head back and squints up the stairs, "I wonder if it's possible to gather the energy humans use to climb stairs for the purposes of casting spells. Just a fraction from each foot everywhere within the horizon, depending on the number of people, could be phenomenal."

"From miles in every direction? That kind of force could power practically anything." Olven Wolf peers up at the curving staircase that winds its way around the tower. "I'll go first," he offers, and begins to ascend the stairs.

The heroes went up the stairs several levels before Gareth instructed them to enter a corridor. It ended in a 3-way intersection with a door in the intersection. The two other corridors were curved.

Gareth knocked on the door and they were invited inside. Gareth opened the door for them and gave a short introduction. "Some visitors are here to see you Master." Before he closed the door.

Inside, Nathan Evardson, the Master of Past and Present, was seated in a nice and comfortable chair behind a desk with a stack of books.

Nodding in thanks as Gareth shows them in, Olven Wolf walks through the door and takes up a position on the left. He gives a short bow. "Olven Wolf, sir," he says simply, leaving the others to introduce themselves.

Mirroring Olven, D'aden steps through the door and bows before taking a position on the right. But he adds to the introduction with a gesture towards Roisin, "I'm known as D'aden Tor, we've accompanied Roisin Uth Bannator who wishes to speak to you."

"I see," the blue-robed man said. "What can I help you with?"

Olven waits for Roisin to speak, but when she does not, he clears his throat. "You currently have in your possession the icon of truth, my lord, and its owner has asked it to be returned," Olven says. "We also ask leave to do some research in your library for information on an affliction we wish to heal. In addition, we have come to ask for a nightjewel to repay a debt that Roisin owes to Mistress Caladen in Kalaman. Gareth tells us that none outside the Tower may keep a nightjewel in their possession, but perhaps an exception could be made in this case."

OOC: Olven wants to let Roisin take the lead here, but I'd like to keep the story moving forward. He will defer to her during this visit.

"There is nothing under the heavens that will convince me to give Caladen a nightjewel to do with as she pleases," Master Evardson said. "But anyone who is willing to read the Icon of Truth and pledge their allegiance to the High God can study here as much as they like." He looked at Roisin and Alvin. "And to let you return it to its owner, I need you, all of you, to do me a favor of my choosing."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:14, Thu 03 Jan 2019.

"Who is this High God," Alvin asked.

"Read and find out," the Master of the Tower said.

Astonished, D'aden asks, "just read the icon and pledge allegiance? I was told there was more."
"If one were to study here, would they be allowed to leave in pursuit other interests? I'm always interested in learning, but I have obligations to others that I do not wish to fail. Besides, I've heard little music in the tower and can't imagine a life without song."

When the Master of the Tower rejects their request for a nightjewel, Olven lifts an eyebrow and looks at Roisin. Well, his companion can sort this out if there's any way around this prohibition. "I'll read the Icon of Truth," Olven says matter-of-factly. "I follow Kiri-Jolith myself, but if I can serve both him and the High God, I'm willing to do so. And we seem to be accumulating quite a list of favors, but I'm willing to do perform one for you so we can fulfil our mission."

"This is our center of power," the Master said. "And you have just arrived. Gareth, the man who brought you here, loves song just as much as you do. And I wouldn't be surprised if the two of you have much in common. And you are free to come and go as much as a wizard or cleric beholden to whichever god they serve are free to come and go from their places of power."

"As for you sir Wolf, your allegiance is for one god and one god only. And from what I can see, you have not tied yourself to the arcane or the divine like your companions have. But we can teach you such things. And I can promise you that allegiance to the High God will give you more than you can imagine."

Olven Wolf ponders the situation carefully, weighing the delay while they study and his own lack of any kind of arcane aptitude against the benefits to the group, including the return of the Icon of Truth. He’s not entirely sure what the Icon is or why Mistress Caladan has need of a nightjewel, but Olven is not one to need a reason to complete a task he is charged with. It doesn’t take the former mercenary long to make up his mind. ”I’m game,” he says. ”I’ll study the Icon of Truth, learn about the High God, and then decide if I will serve him. We have one other task the King of Kalaman has given us to accomplish, but I think we can afford to stay on here for a couple of weeks. I’ll need to send word to my squire and my housecarl.” Of course, being cooped up in this tower for a couple of weeks could lead to dire consequences if Olven is not restrained, but the group should have no problem dealing with his condition.

He turns to his companions. ”As long as there aren’t any objections, that is.” Of course, being cooped up in this tower for a couple of weeks could lead to dire consequences if Olven is not restrained, but he’s confident the group can deal with his condition.

"Of course," Master Evardson said. "Write a note and I will have it sent to them." Suddenly there was a box of writing utensils on his desk, where there previously had been nothing. Inlcuding pens, ink pots, jars of sand, paper, envelopes, and wax candles.

"Would that I could sing as well as Gareth."
"It would be wrong to have a chance at knowing what the High God has for me and being unwilling to expend anything towards learning that. I think I would study this Icon of Truth and learn what is there to learn."

When the writing paraphernalia appears, Olven Wolf inclines and says, ”Thank you, sir.” He selects a sheet of paper, dips a pin in an ink pot, and writes a few lines to Tomas.

Tomas,

I will be staying at the Tower for some time while we study some of the texts here.  Take a room at one of the inns close by, and send word to me here regarding which inn you have chosen. See that Michel stays in practice while I am away.

Olven Wolf, Baron of March Crossing

His letter completed, Olven examines it and then folds it and slips it inside an envelope. He removes a gold ring embossed with a wolf’s head from his right ring finger, seals the letter with wax, and presses the ring into the wax, leaving the indentation of a wolf. ”Master Evardson, could you see that this is delivered to my men? They should be waiting just outside the grove.”

OOC: I have take some liberties with the name of the barony and Olven’s ring. If these are out of line, please let me know, and I will amend my post.

"I would also be interested in finding out more about this High God of yours," Alvin said.

"Of course," the Master of Past and Present said.

The audience was quickly over. Gareth was assigned as the heroes' liaison. Olven's letter was delivered and a reply was returned. They were given quarters, though they were small and not equal to Olven's new station.

The week passed quickly.


[OOC: As Roisin still seems to be away, let's let Olven, D'aden, and Alvin study the Icon of Truth the first week. It never brings up if the High God is male or female, so in the following paragraph, I'm using "he" and "him" for the sake of simplicity.

The Icon of Truth teaches the following: The High God is the god of Order and Creation, as opposed by Chaos. He created the other gods of Krynn. He is not Good, Evil, or Neutral. And generally speaking, has left Krynn to these "lesser" gods. But he is there and willing to grant powers to those that follow him. He is disappointed with the choices of the Evil gods, but "allows" them to make those choices for the sake of Balance. He also determined the Progression of Souls, or in other words that people are born, live, die, and that their souls move on to some higher plane.

Among these "lesser" gods, only three are allowed to grant arcane powers. The rest grant divine powers. But Takhisis, the leader of Evil, who is a law unto herself, has broken that rule and grant divine power to her clerics and arcane power to the "wizards" among the Knights of Takhisis.]

Two weeks had past and all four of the heroes had read the Icon of Truth and accepted the High God as their god. All four had been given a brooch of black metal in the shape of an equilateral triangle, with the point upwards, circumscribed by a circle, like the one Gareth and everyone else in the tower was wearing. And had been told to wear it at all times.

Alvin now wore the blue robe as the servants of the High God did.


[OOC: So what is the plan? Study in the library? Go on the quest The Master of Past and Present has set before you? Go on the quest the King has placed before you? Something else?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:27, Fri 01 Feb 2019.

Despite the time he spends diligently studying the new visas opened to him, D'aden contrives to see his companions regularly. But it is to Gareth that he directs most of his questions, and to the woods outside the tower that he directs his feet, most of all.
Just as the families back home hoarded anything remotely useful, D'aden wouldn't allow any of his skills to atrophy. In addition to mending his own leathers, he took upon himself the task of caring for any other that was brought to him. No matter what he learns, he's determined his body not forget the feel of the bow in his hand, the shock of a staff impacting an immovable object, or the balance of a sword.
It was, therefore, only natural that he begin to ask his companions when they would be on the road, again. "I think it would be best if we did the Master his favor and then took the icon with us, it might be useful."

Not being much of a scholar, Olven Wolf finds the time spent in the Tower mildly irritating. True, he has pledged himself to follow the High God and accepted that he wear the brooch as a badge of his devotion, but he finds the walls of the Tower confining and longs to escape to wander in the outdoors. Every night, he has someone barricade Olven within his quarters, and he marvels that Master Evardson has accepted him to stay here for so long.

Olven finds himself changing in subtle ways, his flashes of anger farther apart, his ravenous appetite lessening somewhat. He still prefers the company of his own thoughts to the presence of his comrades, but their presence now is more bearable. Nightmares still stalk him, dreams of hot blood and gleaming fangs, but these, too, have grown less frequent.

”Your new robes suit you, Alvin,” he says when he sees the elf in the attire of the High God’s servants. When D’aden asks when they will be leaving, Olven growls in frustration. What D’aden asks is more than reasonable, but still Olven snaps at his friend. ”Gods, man, why are you so impatient? If you’re so ready to leave, why don’t you? The library here might have information I need, and I’m not leaving until I’ve had a chance to peruse its books.”

The heroes spent another month at the tower, mostly in the library. Though D'aden spent his time with songs, and hunting, and fishing, and getting to know the people in the tower. The other heroes started building relationships with some of the people in the tower too, but not to the level of the bard.

They discovered an item that could cure Olven's condition in the possession of someone referred to as the Dragon King, but none of the landmarks or locations connected to that individual made any sense.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:08, Fri 01 Mar 2019.

Roisin spent her month digging into the archives, lost in research on Olven, constructs and her newfound religion. She spent time trying to learn the history of the High God. If the others asked why she left the white robes,her only response would be "Blue suits me better"

For the fifth time, Olven puzzles over a text referring to the enigmatic figure known as the Dragon King. Ultimately, he pounds his fist with frustration. This is getting us nowhere he thinks. Whoever or whatever the Dragon King is, Olven cannot see any way to track the being down.

Finally, he decides to approach Master Evardson. ”I’ve read about a person named the Dragon King who may have something that can cure me, but I have no idea where to find this person. Do you know where the Dragon King can be found?”

"I do," Master Evardson said. "This is very fortuitous. He just happens to have something I want too. As a matter of fact, the very thing I wanted brought to me to allow you to return the Icon of Truth to the Lyceum. We should talk more about this with your friends."


Later, as the heroes were together in Master Evardson's office, he told them about the favor he wanted them to do for him.

"I have heard that you have found the Dragon King in your research. So have I. Let me tell you some of what I've read. I know that the names and places won't make sense to you, but I know how to get you there and back again."

"Long ago, after Malthas split the Lightbringers into a hundred factions with heresy and before the mandarins of Shansin built their five-sided towers, two dragons came out of the jungles of Padan and passed the mountains of the Echo Wall. Ataban the Sharp was her name; Vestitius Longtail was her sibling. They burned all defenders and, brother and sister, ruled the land. Lizardmen rose up from the swamps to be their closest servants and officials. For three generations of humans, no one could stand against them. They had great caverns dug for themselves in the dragonish fashion on opposite sides of a hill and they had a palace raised above it from which they ruled. The dragon king had his seat in the east part of the palace, and the queen in the west."

"But they could not keep peace between themselves forever. Each of them, brother and sister, plotted against the other over years, keeping secrets even from the lizard retainers who worshiped them. Each drew together mystical reserves to unleash when the other least expected an attack. One struck first, and in dying, the other struck back. The battle was brief but fierce. They toppled the walls of the castle, and many in residence there died beneath its stones. The dragon monarchs were entombed in the collapsed tunnels underneath."

"That, of course, is centuries past. The ruins of the palace were considered cursed for many years. With the death of the dragons, their kingdom fell almost instantly, and their remaining followers were scattered to the four winds. In time, the region was abandoned to monsters."

"The dragon king had in his throne room an item of great power. The gods granted the Cowl of Ahten-Ahten to a noted priest who used it for remarkable healing rituals. It passed through many hands until it came into the dragon king’s hoard, where it was not used but only, as with many other treasures, jealously kept. But there the trail ends. None of the dragon king’s treasures have been seen since."

"This cowl is what I want you to bring to me as the favor I mentioned earlier. And in return, you can have the Icon of Truth. It is a heavy leather hood that reaches the wearer's shoulders and partially covers their face. The face mask, coated with silver leaf scales, is hardened into a long beak with exaggerated scales around the eyes. The remainder has shapes of feathers stamped into it and painted in red, green, and gold."


[None of the names, or places, or events, or buildings sound familiar to you.]

D'aden nods, "that sounds to be some distance away. We should retrieve our mounts and ride. My father always told me the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man."

"You are correct," The Master of Past and Present said. "But it's too far for horses. I will get you there and this will get you home." He placed a strange and old looking gold coin on his desk. "Drop this coin on the ground, gather around it, forcefully step on it, and it will take you and everything within one yard of it back here."

D'aden sighs, "I guess I just miss my horse."

Roisin frowned "And why do you need the Cowl? What purpose will it serve in your ownership?"

"It is an artifact of healing," the Master said. "It can be quite useful."

When they were done, the Master of Past and Present lead the heroes down to the basement. One of the basements really, as they stopped on the third subterranean level and the stairs continued further down.

The room was quite large, maybe a quarter of the level and about 25 feet to the ceiling or so. There was no furniture, but there were braziers filled with coal that gave off both light and heat.

The heroes and Roisin's guardian were all standing together in the center of the room with their stuff. They had informed their travel companions to remain in the city and take care of things until they returned.

Master Evardson started a complex ritual with moves and words and powders for several minutes. And then, suddenly, the heroes were on a road leading into a small, sprawling, ramshackle town occupying a shallow sloped section of the foot of one of the mountains in the area.

A natural stone jetty projected a bit into the broad curve of the river, perpendicular to the current. Several short wooden piers projected from it. Buildings that looked like warehouses and residences for the owners of those, or for wealthier merchants, predominated the lowest tiers of the town. Above that were inns and shops, more homes, fancier with each level, and a few temples.

The unpaved streets meandered through the town, though the ground was more rock than dirt, which probably was a good thing in bad weather.

The fallen remains of a low wall stretched around the settlement about 300 yards up the slope, with a ditch beyond that, but both ended where the slope became clifflike.

It was an isolated and defensible place, but not what they had expected from what Evardson had told them. Perhaps what they were looking for was nearby?

Both Solinari and Lunitari were in last quarter, but the stars were different. The constellations had been replaced by new and different constellations. And even though it was five days before Yule, this place was pleasantly warm.

D'aden looks around, considering. "I can't decide whether it would be good or bad to meet any people here. Until we do, we should be cautious. Such a defensible place suggests whoever is there wouldn't be all that welcoming."

OOC: D'aden wonders if anyone is working the land around here, if there's any fish in the river, whether he recognizes any of the flora and fauna nearby, whether any humans are about, and how difficult it would be to live if they're stuck there

16:20, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 15,12,7,16,8 using 3d6,3d6,3d6,3d6,3d6.  farming (-13), fishing (-15), naturalist (-13), observation (-13), survival (-14).

There is a forest some distance away.

Roisin nodded "It is wise to be cautious, but fortune favours the bold. I suspect that all of us together could fend off large numbers. Still, seeking answers of those nearby is probably a quicker way to our destination, than remaining silent."

"Well, if they're skulking about to ambush us as we approach there's nothing we can do about it while we're standing here. Let's just walk in and say 'hello'."
D'aden makes the statement, then waits to see if anyone reacts to it.

The heroes entered the town. No one seemed to pay them any attention. They saw mostly humans, with a minority of elves and dwarves. But there was also an Aurak draconian, which everyone else was avoiding, making sure they didn't get too close to him.

D'aden turns and says, "remind me to be circumspect in my choice of song. We ARE looking for a 'dragon king' and that means any number of draconians could fill roles in the king's court."

Roisin looked awkward as she looked at the Draconian, embarrassed at getting caught before turning her gaze towards D'aden and Olven. "Uh, if it helps, I can speak almost any language. And when I say almost, I mean every language except Draconic. That's not going to help much in this situation. Yes, I know there are some close relatives, but it's not quite the same. I've wanted to learn it, but you know...other things got in the way."

You have heard the Aurak draconians, the rarest of them all, described as the only wingless draconians. They have golden scales and have a sulphuric stench.

The draconic turned onto a side street and you could see that it didn't have a tail. None of the descriptions say that it's the only tailless draconian too. You didn't smell any sulphur from it, but it might be too far away for that, it turned before emptiness space around him reached you.

D'aden pulls his mandolin and begins plunking a tune. "Music is universal, maybe we'll get some information this way."
Avoiding songs about draconians, he starts walking after the possible draconian while singing a tavern ditty.

There's just one way out lady, your lord won't let me out the door
There's just one way out lady, and I just can't go out the door
'Cause there's a man down there, might be a man at arms I don't know
You got me trapped here woman, up on the second floor
If I get by this time I won't be trapped no more
So where's an arrow loop, I can ease out soft and slow
The guards won’t see me, no they won't be
Talking stuff that they don't know
There's just one way out lady, your lord won't let me out the door
There's just one way out lady, and I just can't go out the door
There's just one way out lady, your lord won't let me out the door
There's just one way out lady, and I just can't go out the door

D'aden followed the draconian while performing. Making sure to get closer to him.

This draconian was dressed in a dark green, hoodless robe, gray tunic, brown under tunic, brown pants, and black boots. He seemed to be unarmed. Town's people continued to stay away from him.

Some of the town's people stopped and stepped aside, looking at D'aden and enjoying this unexpected entertainment.

When D'aden was within arms reach of the draconian, the gold scale turned around and looked at D'aden. It was only for a moment and then he continued on.

Roisin looked around before finally accepting that she would be the one that would have to talk to the draconian. She tried saying "hello, do you understand me" in a few of the regional dialects to help narrow down a language that they might share in common.

D'aden says, to his companions, "apparently he's not a fan of the mandolin. I really don't want to annoy him, after all, we'll be asking for his help. Does someone else know something that might break the ice?"

Roisin started talking to the draconian, speaking in a number of different languages. Until the draconian stopped, turned around, interrupted her, and spoke in a language she hadn't tried yet.

[Language unknown: "St sefoho wipo onlat sswehe," int rebeofhe mo.]

Roisin nodded at the draconians suggestion [Language unknown: "Siteas ev n andho. Miec mo ecio? E iouineast wil olofmail n prwesa?"]

The draconian scanned the crowd, looking for something, or someone. After letting his eyes run past the rest of you and take in the entire crowd. His eyes soon returned to you. And stayed there.

Roisin nodded [Language unknown: "Ithvorersenc ing thohiswitwer wil trmo il aciest one. M ilncte hi ec olle nd wil taeeou arai hechwait tebeet eepr icaoerman ess, fileac strresall e thu lietul onmais ar ore."] Roisin motioned to the others to join her.

Roisin and the draconian returned to the rest of you and as a group you went towards a nearby inn. But they were stopped by some merchant. He was a little overweight, but he dressed stylishly and his goatee was well groomed. You didn't understand a word he said, but Roisin translated for you.

"I heard you sing before," he said looking at D'aden "I know where you can make some money doing that."

D'aden beams, his pleasure at being recognized for his talent is apparent. However, what he says is, "oh, that would be nice. But if the meaning in the words I sing isn't captured by the audience, then the songs would have no meaning. Without meaning, the songs would be worthless. I couldn't possibly take money for a worthless performance."
"Perhaps, after I learned the language, I could return to regale the people with the unbridled passion of my melodies, the warm and dulcet tones of my voice, and the incomparable brilliance of my wit."
"That's what a good sea chantey is for, anyway."

"That is not a problem at all," the man objects. "Listening to music in a language they don't understand is the current rage. So that's exactly what they want."

"It does sound like something I want to do, but I'll have to defer to my friends until I've learned enough of the language to get by. At this point, we're engaged with another party. Is there someplace I could find you after we finish this?"

"You can find me at the Silver Pipe Inn," the man said. "And I am Rufus, by the way. What is your name?"

"My name is D'aden, but you can just call me 'the piper', which would make a lot more sense if I had a flute." D'aden shrugs and continues, "pickers can't be choosers."

"Looking forward to it," Rufus said. "But this, too, may fade. So don't wait too long." The man then walked away and the draconian led you into an inn, above the door to which was the image of a green griffin.

It wasn't the best inn you've ever seen. But food and ale were plentiful from what you could see in front of patrons. The inn was about half-full and a pretty lass was singing in a corner.

The smells of food and spices wafted from the kitchen and the nearby tables. A small fire burned in one of the fireplaces and few well-placed candles lit up the place.

Most of the tables were rectangular, but there were some that were round too and at one of these, three men were dicing around their tankards.

The draconian sat down at one of the tables, away from other guests. "So what can I help you with," he whispered.

Roisin looked puzzled as she stroked Ochre's snout "No, I can't beleive it either, but a charlatan and minstrel needs to make money however he can." she turned to the draconian "Its unusual to see one of your ilk. I have many questions should you have the time. What can I offer you in way of refreshment as part payment for your time? To start with, if I might be blunt, normally your particular race is how to put it politely...in charge of others and in service to one of a dark nature. Is this still the case for you? Forgive my curiosity, but I was cursed with an inquisitive nature."

"Dark natured? Hanna? What have you heard about Hanna the Huntress?" He waved to get the attention of a maid. The one who came to serve you was maybe 16 years old, an auburn-haired girl with hazel eyes, slight of frame, and swift of foot. He ordered a tankard of ale from her.

[OOC: None of you have heard of Hanna the Huntress.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:14, Tue 16 Apr 2019.

Taking a seat and leaning back in his chair, Olven beckons to the serving wench and says, ”Four chickens and a pint of ale.” He gives her an extra gold for her trouble, and then casually glances around the room, identifying the tavern’s occupants and assessing threats.

Turning to the draconian, Olven says, ”Never heard of her. We’re looking for the ruins of the dragon monarchs’ palace. We were told they were located somewhere around here.”

The maid looked at the coins Olven had given her. And dropped them back on the table. "What do you think this is," she asked looking expectantly at Olven. "You need to pay with real coins."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:01, Thu 18 Apr 2019.

Olven cocks an eyebrow at the serving maid. ”Yes, I know. I’ve eaten in a tavern before,” he says, frowning, irritation in his voice. ”These are the coins of my country. Is there somewhere I can go to have them exchanged for the local currency?”

Muttering to D’aden, Olven says, ”A performance to earn some coin is starting to sound like a great idea.”

D'aden looks at the coins on the table, looks at the maid, then nods. "Perhaps I should have listened to Rufus; he did suggest they would pay to hear me at the Silver Pipe. Tell me, miss, do you think I could glean a coin or two with a song here?"
Rather than wait for an answer, D'aden releases his mandolin from its exile in his pack, and plucked a quick arpeggio as he tuned the strings. While he waited, expectantly, for the serving lass to answer he plucked a vague, desultory accompaniment to the lass singing in the corner.

Roisin continued to translate for the others.

"I know that there is an establishment of Stizzas somewhere in town," she responded to Olven's question about exchanging money. "I don't really know where it is though."

"You'd have to talk to Runris about that," she responded to D'aden's question about playing in the inn.

[OOC: You have no information on who or what Stizzas is.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:02, Thu 18 Apr 2019.

"Stizzas. Got it." Olven nods his head, filing away the information for later. He begins searching through his pockets, hoping to find something he could use to pay for their food. Having some gems on hand would be helpful in situations like these. "What kinds of coins do you use locally?"

The maid made a basic explanation of the local coins with Roisin's interpretation.

[OOC: Basically there are gold, silver, and copper coins. But they don't look like the ones you have.]

Olven growls with irritation. "You'd think Master Evardson would have warned us of something like this," he says. "We could try to earn some coin by gambling with those three over there, or track down whatever or whoever Stizzas is." He shrugs. "Or just go directly to the ruins of the dragons' palace."

"How much money will we need to finish our mission," Alvin asked. "If we are paying for this meal, it's going to be more than none."

Roisin shrugged "There are many things that might be done to obtain local currency....but in any case, I am more interested in what our friend has to say. How do we address you? What can you tell us of the Huntress?" Roisin looked at the coins offered before turning to the waitress "Even if you're unwilling to accept them as coins, the metal contained in the coins is valuable. It might be possible to come to an equitable agreement."

"You'd have to talk to the clerics about that," the barmaid said. "We only take coin."

"My name is Tiichi," the draconian said. "And you are?" After you have introduced yourselves, he continued. "Hanna is the goddess I serve. What would you like to know about her?"

"And I have coin, you uneducated, provincial serving wench," Olven Wolf says, growling. "Is this the way you treat all your out-of-town patrons? If I wished to be insulted, I'd hire a knave to follow me around and pelt me with piss balloons." Standing up, he throws his hands in the air. "I've heard of poor service, but your bloody oafishness really takes the sweetbread, cupcake."

"If you need me, I'll be outside." Glowering, Olven stamps out of the tavern.

D'aden half stands and watches Olven go through the door, then sits and looks quizzically at Roisin. "I guess that's ok. How much trouble could he get into, after all."
Even so, D'aden puts his instrument away and sits looking between Roisin, her guardian, and the door. One of his hands fumbles at his belt pouch for a bit, then he puts a gold piece on the table and tells Roisin, "you've got someone to watch your back, and I've got a feeling Olven may need the same. I'll try to get him to the Silver Pipe, maybe I can earn a meal there."
Standing, D'aden follows Olven out the door.

D’aden finds Olven Wolf outside, the Baron still angry and ill at ease.  With his mail, shield, knife, axe, and spear, Wolf presents a rather warlike appearance.

”D’aden,” Olven says, grunting. He leans on his spear and watches the people pass by. ”We must be far from Kalaman for that girl to not recognize our coins,” he says. ”Shall we do something about this? We can track down whoever or whatever Stizzas is. We’ll need Roisin, though, unless you can speak the language. I certainly can’t.”

D'aden smiles, "I had an idea about that. If we find the Silver Pipe, this Rufus fellow says they will pay, in the local coin, to hear singing in foreign tongues. Perhaps we'll be luck enough to hear someone using a familiar tongue who could assist with the language while gaining a bit of the local coin. Two hares with one snare, so to speak."
"But I wasn't comfortable with trying to do this by myself. Roisin has a 'guardian', so I believe she will be safe enough; I told her we would meet at the place. So what say you to investigating this new land we've been dropped in?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:19, Sun 28 Apr 2019.

”And Alvin, too,” Olven points out. Although they have no idea what land they have found themselves in, Olven knows that Roisin is more than capable of taking care of herself, even in the company of a draconian. Wolf shrugs. ”I’m game to try the Silver Pipe. We do need money, and perhaps we can be pointed in the direction of Stizzas there, too.”

D'aden raises his eyebrows, and pulls out his mandolin. Pointing, he says, "I think Rufus went this way, I'll sing us along the way. I'm sure no one will mind."
D'aden begins to pluck the strings, and after a quick intro, sings as he walks along,
Now and then you see me falling, way behind the things I need to do
Don't you believe I've missed my calling, I'm just the one to play the fool
Out on the run, out on the run, I'm down and crawlin' like I've never done
Out on the run, out on the run, standing in my own way, blinded by the sun

Waited so long it felt like a lifetime and looking up just seemed so far away
Between these hills I live out my daily grind, just enough to get me through the day
Out on the run, out on the run, I'm down and crawlin' like I've never done
Out on the run, out on the run, standing in my own way, blinded by the sun


OOC: His overconfidence may be less noticeable as he lucked into a fairly good performance
14:09, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 13,8,9 using 3d6,3d6,3d6.  singing(-14), playing(-12), performance(-13).

Cradling his spear against his shoulder, tip pointed back, Olven casually prowls along beside D'aden. The former mercenary turned nobleman warily scans the crowd for any sign of trouble. So far, the only difficulties had arisen because he doesn't know the language or have any recognized coinage. He hasn't seen anything like soldiers or guardsmen yet, but he knows that he cannot assume the laws are the same here as in Kalaman.

Roisin closed her eyes as the others left "Men" she whispered under her breath. She motioned to the draconian "I think we're moving to a different place. I'd like to hear anything and everything you might wish to tell us about Hannah."

She glowered at Olven as they left the inn. "And what precisely was wrong about that place. We've stayed in poorer accommodation. Are you so highly ennobled that such a place is now beneath you?"

Olven’s anger had subsided at D’aden’s song as the former merc has found himself humming along to the tune. Perhaps music really does soothe the savage beast. But when Roisin catches up to them and confronts them about leaving, Olven’s temper flares right back up.

”And just how were you intending to pay for anything, O Mistress of the Lyceum?” he growls over his shoulder, glowering. ”In case you haven’t noticed, we have no money they accept, unless you were planning on pulling coins out of thin air. We’re going to be hunting game and sleeping in a culvert if we don’t get our hands on some of the local currency!” Women!

”D’aden got an offer to perform at another establishment, but I doubt his pay will be enough to cover accommodations for the four of us. The girl in the inn mentioned Stizzas. Perhaps they are the local moneychanger. We find Stizzas, change our money, and then we can sleep indoors instead of out in the elements. Unless you prefer to rough it tonight?”

Wolf looks up at the sky. ”Or we just find the palace of the dragons and make camp there. I have trail rations, but you heard the serving girl. They only take coin in that inn.”

D'aden grins back, between tunes, and continues to play as he offers another take on the situation. "We could sleep outside of town, there looked to be places nearby that wouldn't be too conspicuous. We might lose a little time in traveling to and from the camp, but it should otherwise be fine."
"Besides, I have a feeling we should move quickly. I would say another ten minutes before word of the armed foreigners wandering around the village gets to the mayor-baron-overlord-what have you. Consider that, and tell me what you would do if you heard of such a thing."
"My lady, would you be so kind as to ask directions to the Silver Pipe for me. Whatever they think about my playing, it appears the townsfolk are as critical of my voice as others have been, and will not listen to me."

The barmaid, stunned by Olven's tantrum, followed him with her eyes as he left the inn and as the rest of them followed.

As they were looking for the Silver Pipe, D'aden performed on the street. Well enough for him to gain a couple of followers.

Tiichi told Roisin about Hanna and though the rest of the group wasn't his target audience, they could still hear what he was saying.




[OOC: Hanna is sort of like Artemis from the ancient Greek pantheon. There are differences obviously, but it works as a quick comparison.]

Roisin sighed "I know magic and languages, there's just about exactly nowhere on Krynn that doesn't need some magic working done...and Utrecht and Ochre are both interesting enough that some inns would be more than happy to provide us accommodation in return for them just being inside the door to draw onlookers."

Roisin Sighed as she drew a coin from her pocket "And as for making local coin appear?" she made a series of magical gestures over the coin "Okay, no I don't quite know how to do that, but I'm sure many a farmer might wager in a contest of strength against utrecht."

"Looks like you have some fans, D'aden," Wolf says dryly, casually glancing at the people who have stopped to listen to the minstrel. "Fine Roisin, I'll leave the talking to you. I'm mainly good at hitting things until they stop moving, but I don't mind rolling up my sleeves and getting my hands dirty in exchange for a meal or two."

Roisin translated D'aden's request to find out where the Silver Pipe was and Tiichi led them there. And inside it was obvious that it catered to a completely different clientele. High-end furnishings, porcelain plates, silver cutlery and cups, some even drinking from what looked like exquisitely crafted, leaf-thin, elven glassware.

There was a trio of entertainers on a stage, two of them playing instruments you hadn't seen ever before. But your attention was drawn to the dancing female. It seemed like she was wearing nothing but scarfs layered over each other. A single scarf was too thin and fine to be modest. But with layers, she only showed what she wanted to. And as the scarfs were of different colors, it was a spectacle to see.

And she was dancing in a way none of you had seen before. Moving more like a snake on her feet then you had thought was humanly possible.

"A belly dancer," Alvin said questioningly. "I did not expect that."

Roisin frowned "She must be cold, poor thing. We should buy her a blanket or some warm clothing to keep from freezing."

D'aden watches the dancer a moment, "I suspect that would take years to learn; I'm not sure my legs are attached in that fashion."
He listens a bit, and plunks a quiet chord or two in accompaniment to the music. [Language unknown: Sonri p ng wasoveenc Ate pr po erawhifor, ol mo u eauastort lere?]

”I can see why this place is popular,” Olven says, leaning on his spear and enjoying watching the woman dance. Her graceful steps fascinate Wolf. ”Buy her a blanket and you’d ruin the view, Roisin. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Belly dancing, you say, Alvin? That seems to be a very appropriate name for it. She seems very good.”

He glances around the room, the silver, the rich furnishings. ”No, I liked the other place better, other than the dancer here. This place feels too rich for my tastes. Give me an honest tankard of ale and a rare mutton chop over this hoity-toity display any day of the week.” He shakes his head. ”Let’s not linger here long.”

"Yes, belly dancing," Alvin said. "Khurish entertainment. And she is very good. I spent some time there, but I'm only a pale imitation compared to her. Probably good enough to earn us some money at the other place, but I'm a better singer. Though not as good as D'aden."

Her beautiful and melodious voice was a sign that she very well could be telling the truth about that, if she had enough training.

Rufus burst out from the kitchen and hurried towards you, while still trying to avoid stepping between his guests and the entertainment.

"You changed your mind," Rufus said and Roisin translated. It wasn't a question. "Excellent. How long will you be staying?"

D'aden shrugs. As he continues to desultorily plunk out an uneven accompaniment to the music, he says, "we are free as the wind, clear as the fog, and not liable to change our mind till we've, at least, made it up... once or twice. But while we are here it only seems appropriate to pull our own weight, even if we pull by plucking."

"Good, Good," Rufus said. "Can you have something prepared for when she takes her break and entertain our guests for an hour or two?"

D'aden nods, "[Language unknown: An taeeei wastinwhi thoectesteveoun o ardsomate tictinati?]... um.. yes, I can be ready."
"Could you assist my friends for me? They don't have the local currency but could use something to wash the road dust from their throats."
Stepping quietly to one side, he begins to tune his instrument. Occasionally he glances at the dancer, but his only interest appears to be deciding when she's finished.

"Of course, of course," Rufus said, gave them a table, and sent a barmaid to get their orders. A petite female in her early 20s with long, luxurious, raven black hair.

Olven takes a seat and lounges back, casually watching the rest of the room. ”We’re wasting our time,” he grumbles. ”We should be heading out to the palace, or at least look for it, instead of lollygagging in taverns. At least the view is good.” He continues to watch the dancer with interest.

When the lass with the lovely tresses comes to take their order, Olven requests a glass of wine.

You get what you ordered and soon the dancer comes to a break in her routine. The crowd applauded and some of them threw coins up on the stage, which the troop quickly picked up. When they had cleared the area, Rufus steps up.

"It is now our honor to witness a unique performance of the Foreign Virtuoso," Rufus said. Looking straight at D'aden and applauding, joined by applauds from the crowd.

D'aden smiles, and steps to the stage area. As he begins to pluck a familiar tune from his instrument, he says, "I think it's great that we can enjoy the world's diversity without condemnation."
Then he begins to sing:
[Language unknown: Tochon oubut whunasosil cepo iemi pre hoinst koret
Si lltha ineau ouroerver a ev, Io commenred hadito'laol
Oun adnc tho i are astvorthi wh t menardnte m enthoupro ssit,
Trniek, ssstha, linstrhas, maesic nteastionionrea
Vennt oul ove pr ou ounortich om loeeme a t ratmancom prowa m ati,
E u oul iocawi weome neomek unich, whur noeril essortant maneauare
Be men arddayera terhouearlin entoveear, ted arelinsta chnt ilweal i toevwh
Red comsetman fourek ave roiois tra hernde'oustic, astratons wieeat'erne!
Onsamewit andoerine sanwilsta il tofi rethpe lopoei io is
Miitei anwhpr maural rom whonno illiurho thlana
Dinoernde elsa dileat asil ulntss tho ing
Ersratort beprndev hatardwit der ugheenrutsti
Ndeaveall, rearedset, setmanear, tedsheiou icatedverentthu.]

Although it wasn't maginificent, it WAS a fairly competent performance.
OOC: 13:26, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 8,12,15,13 using 3d6,3d6,3d6,3d6.  Musical Composition 12, Mandolin 12, Singing 15, Performance 13.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:31, Sat 18 May 2019.

D'aden performed for about an hour and a half or so. The guests obviously liked his performance, which they indicated with cheers and applauds. And at the end of his performance, with coins thrown up on the platform. Without knowing how much the coins were worth, it was difficult to determine how much he had made, but it seemed to be more than a competent performance would normally have made him. And Rufus had promised dinner, breakfast, and lodgings for the group on top of that.

Roisin grimaced as D'aden rejoined them at the table. "I mean....honestly, I think I might have done a little better. By your standards that was...perfectly mediocre."

D'aden squints at Roisin, "now that's just not true. I think I would have known if either of my parents had any ogre blood, and especially if they had a medium amount."
"Still, we have some coins, now. Where should we look, next.?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:09, Tue 18 June 2019.

Roisin raised an eyebrow "Why, I think it might be perfectly obvious to all where you're looking." she said as Ochre shifted on her shoulder to look at the dancer. She sniggered "Yes, I agree"

"Unless Tiichi knows," Alvin started. "I would agree that the dancer would likely be our best option to find out where we need to go."

D'aden nods, somewhat thoughtfully. "Then I suppose the first issue will be to discover some way to communicate with her. To be honest, I hope it involves speaking. I've been considering it and I'm quite certain my legs aren't attached to the rest of me in a way that would permit moving in that fashion."
"I know they say dancing is a language all its own, but I'm definitely not fluent."

Roisin rolled her eyes. "I find it rather droll that for you being an entertainer and one that needs to communicate to have your message be passed on, you have a poor understanding of modern languages." She looked towards the dancer. "I'm pretty sure the application of currency might resolve any issues you may have in translation"

With a half smile, D'aden merely says, "[Language unknown: lihefo ceceivle rommenard at eve elwiou i tares ratncente tio]."
"Besides, we've no idea what languages are known by those we wish to communicate with. That just makes it a bit more... touchy, and takes a bit more effort."
"Some of us don't have the even features and alluring smile that persuades others to efforts at understanding us; we have to work at it from the other side of the coin. But I would be terribly surprised to hear that you know what that's like."

Olven snorts in derision and stands up. ”I’ll be honest, I’d be more than happy to stay in this tavern and watch each and every performance that lovely dancer puts on, but we need to get a move on.” He smoothes down his shirt and adjusts his ruffles. ”Allow me.”

Walking over to the dancer, Olven bows with his hand at his heart and says, ”Madam, your dancing was simply divine. Would you do my friends and me the honor of your presence at our table?”

16:07, Today: Secret Roll: Olven Wolf rolled 7 using 3d6.  Savior-faire nobility + all Wolf’s +/- modifiers.

Roisin translated for Olven and the dancer joined the heroes at their table.

"Thank you," she said to Olven's praise. She then praised D'aden in return.

As Olven Wolf takes a seat at the table, he grins at the praise the dancer gives to D’aden. ”D’aden, looks like your art is appreciated here. Music is a universal language, apparently.

Turning to the dancer, Wolf says, “My friends and I are travelers, and we’ve heard of the ruins of a palace of dragon monarchs. Are you familiar with it? We’d like to visit it.”

"It's about 20 miles away," she said and pointed. "In that direction. There are a number of monster groups in the mountains and there is movement and conflict among them right now."

D'aden looks thoughtful, and asks, "in what way are these groups monstrous? Would they be an edible form of monster?"

Olven Wolf cocks an eyebrow. ”Conflict, eh? We might be able to use that to our advantage.” Olven’s nascent strategic mind goes into gear.

He grunts at D’aden’a question. ”What, like lions and tigers and bears? Somehow I doubt it.” To the dancer, he asks, ”Which groups do you know of? Do you know approximately how many of each there are?” Perhaps they could pit one group against another, make allies, bring some order to the strife.

"Oh my," the dancer exclaimed. "Nothing simple like that." She looked at Tiichi out of the corner of her eye. "There are ogres, minotaurs, bear folk," looking at Tiichi again out of the corner of her eye, "lizard folk, Teremere, wights, corpse-eaters, and a few trolls." She shivered. When I think about them, I hear lofty pines on Misty Mountain."

Nodding, D'aden remarks, "I have always wondered about minotaurs. Would the tongue be considered beef, or not?"

Grunting, Olven twitches his mouth in mirth. The thought of chowing down on a minotaur’s tongue both revulses and intrigues him. He imagines the taste to be akin to rotten beef jerky. ”I don’t know about that, D’aden, but they’d gladly toss you in their stewpot if they could get their hands on you. But small chance of that happening. They’d have to overcome our weapons and spells, and that would take more than a few minotaurs and trolls.”

Turning to the dancer, Wolf asks, ”It sounds like you know quite a bit about this area. Would you be interested in joining our group when we travel to the palace? You’d be eligible for a full share in whatever treasure we discover, or you could ask for a flat fee to cover your risk. My friends and I are formidable adventurers, and we have great experience in dealing with all manner of threats, both natural and supernatural.”

Frowning, he considers the matter of currency. They have money, but their gold is of little value here. ”And do you know where we can convert our money to the local currency? Our coins are apparently not accepted here.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:32, Tue 20 Aug 2019.

"I am a dancer," she said. "Not an adventurer. If I am with you out there, come the night my dreams are shattered by a string nameless fears. But I do know where you can find a Clerk of Stizzas for your money trouble."

Ah, the Stizzas again. A pity the dancer wouldn’t be accompanying them on their journey, but traveling with Olven could prove highly dangerous to whomever accompanied him. Wolf nods his head. ”Yes, the Stizzas are exactly who we need to talk to. I’m sorry to hear you won’t be joining us. I’m sure we won’t get lost out in the wilderness, but just in case, where could we go to get precise directions to the royal dragons’ palace?”

"The Adventurer's Guild," Tiichi said. They will know how to get there and they will fight for a portion of the treasure too."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:20, Wed 21 Aug 2019.

”The Adventurers’ Guild? Perfect.” Olven smiles. Everything seems to going swimmingly. ”You’ve been very kind.”

OOC: Okay, let’s hit up the Stizzas and then the Adventurers’ Guild tomorrow. For tonight, can we barricade a door to keep Olven from injuring anyone while we sleep?”

The heroes spent the night, making sure to keep Olven safe. Or perhaps keeping people safe from Olven. It was an uneventful night.

The next morning dawns, and Olven Wolf didn’t kill anyone while he slept. As he washes his face in the morning, he briefly considers the weird path his life has taken. The sooner he finds a cure for his condition, the sooner he can start actually enjoying a night’s sleep again. For now, each evening is a fresh terror, even with companions to keep him from brutally murdering innocents.

His morning ablations complete, he joins his comrades for breakfast. ”Okay, first the Stizzas, and then the Adventurers’ Guild, yeah?” he says gruffly, wolfing down a piece of rare steak and chasing it down with ale.

OOC: Okay, first go to the Stizzas to change some money, and then go to the Adventurers’ Guild to hire a guide.

With some directions from the locals, the heroes soon arrived at the Tabernacle of Stizzas. In one of the side buildings, there were a few people of various races on this side. And on the other side of the metal bars were two humans, likely the clerks mentioned yesterday. And there seemed to be some bartering going on.

As you waited for the other clients to get their turn, it was maybe an hour later when one of the recently available clerks looked at you. "Yes. Step right up. Welcome to the Tabernacle of Stizzas. The one place for quick cash for any of the things you no longer need. Or for the rare opportunity to find that one thing you cannot find anywhere else. How can I help you?"

Looking at the others, Olven Wolf steps up to the bars and clears his throat. ”Yes, we were told we could exchange our money here. We are travelers from afar, and our money seems to be quite different.”

Olven withdraws three dragons and lays them down on the counter. ”Are you able to exchange this money?”

OOC: If there is no counter, Olven will simply hand the coins over. If they can exchange the money, great. If not, perhaps we’ll need to rely on D’aden for petty cash for now.

Olven placed the three steel coins in the hollowed-out section of the counter and the clerk slid one of them to his side of the bars. The distance between the bars was less than the width of a hand.

He picked up the coin and looked at it. He knocked on the counter with it and looked at it again.

"You have strange coins were you are from," the clerk said as he weighed them individually.

He then produced a stack of six copper coins and placed them on the counter.

"Steel isn't very valuable. And these are quite small amounts of it. But the craftsmanship is good and interesting. But they are also identical. So I can only offer 2 copper pieces each. If you have gold or silver artwork of the same quality, you can make more money for sure."

”I see. I’ll keep my steel coins, then.” Olven takes out the other coins in his coin purse: five silver crowns, a gold penny, and four copper pennies. ”How much are these worth?”

The clerk examined each of the coins separately in the same manner as he had done before. He then placed one gold coin, a stack of five silver coins, and a stack of four copper coins on the counter, on his side of the bars.

"I can give you an equal number of our coins for yours," he said.

Nodding, Olven says, "That's fine with me. I  just need money for my basic expenses while in town." Turning to his companions, he says, "Anyone else?"

OOC: Olven will take the offered coins in exchange.

"Excellent," the clerk said, made the exchange, and looked at the rest of the heroes.

D'aden, after watching the proceedings, quietly lays two gold coins and five copper coins out for exchange. "I've not a lot of use for coins, anyway. There's sure to be a promising bit of water, nearby, and why buy food when you can catch it?"

The clerk went through a similar procedure with D'aden's coins as he had done with Olven's coins and offered two gold coins and five coppers in exchange. "There you go," he said and moved the offered coins to D'aden's side of the bars.

Olven waits quietly, and once the others have finished their moneychanging, he says, ”Off to the Adventurers’ Guild now? A pity the dancer from yesterday isn’t joining us.”

OOC: Once the others have finished, Olven will head for the Adventurers’ Guild.

D'aden smiles, "I'm certain there are sights yet to see just as gracile, your lordship. Though they be less skilled in the dance, many who adventure are quite comely."

You left the building and asked people how to get to the Adventurers' Guild. And you soon found your way to a manor sized building with gargoyles on the roof, that had been identified as the guild.

”No need to be so formal, D’aden,” Wolf says, half-growling. ”You could easily been made a lord by the king instead of me.”

When the group arrives at the Adventurers’ Guild, Olven takes a moment to size up the defensible position the guild occupies. ”Okay, let’s see if we can hire a guide here,” he says, and enters the guildhall.

D'aden continues to smile as he replies "of course, my lord. As your lordship commands I'll avoid calling you my lord, your lordship."
"Oh, hey, I was wondering if your court needed a minstrel, or maybe a jester, and what it would pay."
D'aden is clearly enjoying this a bit more than he should.

Olven grunts and the edge of his lip twitches. ”Well, I am responsible for a village now, and every village needs an idiot.” He looks sidewise at D’aden. ”There’s a river, too, with lots and lots of fish. Who knows? Maybe you could found the first ever guild of Fools and Fishermen.”

D'aden continues to smile as he responds, "you and I both know it couldn't possibly be the first."

You opened the door and stepped inside. The inside looked much like the outside. Fancy enough for any lord to call his home. Perhaps the guildhall even got its start that way. Two humans were nearby. A male behind a counter close to the door and a female walking across the large room with twice the normal height to the ceiling.

There were corridors to the left, the right, and further inside the building. There were also two curved staircases going upstairs. There was a geometrical pattern in the marble floor between them.

Being raised to a baron unfortunately came with no instructions on how to act more lordly, and though Olven Wolf accepted the king’s choice, Wolf still finds the condition uncomfortable, like walking around in another person’s clothing. Raising an eyebrow, Olven says, ”D’aden, if I didn’t know you better, I’d suspect you were making a joke at my expense.” He smiles wolfishly. ”What would you name our group, if we had a name?”

Olven surveys the hallways. ”Now where do we go to find a guide?” Spying the man behind the counter, Olven Wolf saunters over.

”Excuse me, sir. My companions and I are looking to hire a local guide. Who should we talk to?”

"[Language unknown: Er presut ceaiic aiai oul derom reakorthe mimochwe, E verthoany.]"
"Considering our situation, we might be better off bartering the guides services. They help us to where we need to go, we help them to whatever it is they're trying to get done. Let's be flexible, like that elvish dancer we saw last night."

"There are many members of the guild who know these parts well enough," the man said. "Is there anything, in particular, you are looking for?"

To D’aden, Olven Wolf says, ”Exactly. Or we could offer whoever is available an equal share in whatever we find. But your meaning continues to go right over my head, D’aden. If we are to be as flexible as that wonderful dancer last night, I’m going to need her to give me some more lessons.”

Turning back to the representative of the Guild, Olven says, “We want to explore the ruins of the palace of the Dragon regents. We’ll need someone who can handle themselves in dangerous situations. For payment, we can offer a share of what we recover, or, as my friend here says, we can help our guide with a problem of their choosing.”

D'aden smiles, and says "we have traveled far to get here, please correct us if we say something that isn't true. I'm mentioning this because if there are multiple places called 'palace of the dragon regents' and only certain ones are ruined, we might not be correct in assuming the one in ruin is the one we want."

"Yes, yes of course," the man said. "There are two of our members here, in particular, that could help you with that."

"Hey," he called out to a nearby halfling and she turned to look at him. "Get Aerynn and Nassrin." She nodded and hurried away. Soon she returned with an elf and a dwarf.

Aerynn entered along with the halfling and dwarf, looking around to the group that was gathered there before finally speaking up, "Good day. I was told there was something that could potentially use some assistance...?" he remarks, glancing to the halfling who had fetched him before looking back.

D'aden decides to speak up, "[Language unknown: Ev tratrakor les U hisateard os anyandpre urme notoneenc ul aril teinca e ho Olivto rilari. Ichingartichrutiou, al alwer astsanectare evwiev ce teta prni manerever e sheth wercomven.] We were hoping to find guides to get us there, who would accept a share of whatever we find as recompense."

An odd-looking dwarf strolls over with elf and halfling, eyeing the crowd a little doubtfully. She carries a large mug of ale she clearly did not want to leave behind. "I am Nassrin, the Silver Lion. I hear you need someone with my talents." Her clothing prominently displaying her more-than-ample bosom suggests she is more of a tavern wench than an adventurer, but she does look quite strong and fit.

”Greetings,” Olven Wolf says, inclining his head. Wolf is youngish, brown-haired, above average in height, muscular and lithe. ”I am Baron Olven Wolf. As my friend here D’aden might have said if I could understand your language, we seek the ruins of the dragon monarchs. We are strangers here, which is why we need your assistance.” He looks sideways at D’aden and raises an eyebrow. ”Or did I completely miss that part of the conversation?”

With raised eyebrows, D'aden replies to Olven, "that would have been too serious. I'm trying out the whole 'jester' thing to see if I like it. I'm also trying to be sure any problems with communication pop up before we're facing something life threatening."
[Language unknown: Ingthiart, O hoove n ectntistr eve no urwielne dialai nc cail vir setiounde m ou ca ngutpo osous e ivmoan, nane. K mivir rom li al hoomol mi ho unatsa ticastestate thest ncle n st alrea me.]
This message was last edited by the player at 05:13, Mon 28 Oct 2019.

Aerynn looks between the individuals gathered, a puzzled look showing on his face at the dialogue going on in a language he doesn't quite understand it seems - at least based on the look on his face.

"Going to the ruins might find some interesting things, but it could also be trouble that is found. That place has claimed more than a few over the years," he remarks, looking to Nassrin also and then back to the group  "It might be interesting to see the place, however, as long as everyone went prepared. Is there something specific you are looking for there or is this just a.. resource gathering trip?"

D'aden nodded. "That would be a long tale, and I've not finished setting it to music yet. Would an excursion to these ruins be lucrative if there was some singular item required by some members of the expedition?"

The dwarf has been sipping on her ale while listening and visually sizing up the others in the group. "That is just the sort of place I would enjoy exploring. And getting my share of what could be lucrative treasures sounds just right... As for communication, all this translating will become problematic at times. We'll have to explore each other's tongues... And I would be interested to hear your long tale, especially set to music. Do you play an instrument? I have been known to sing a good tune, myself." She follows that with a large swallow of her ale.

Olven Wolf grunts and shoots a glance at D’aden. ”You and your jokes. I can’t take you anywhere, D’aden.”

He grins slightly and turns back to their new acquaintances. Without a trace of irony, Wolf says, ”Indeed, I welcome the opportunity to understand your tongue better. As for our reasons for undertaking this journey, as my friend said, we seek two things. One is a cowl that we’ve been asked to retrieve. Another is an item that may cure a condition of mine. I’m under a curse, you see, and the Dragon King once possessed something that may be able to cure me. Unfortunately, we do not know what this item is. Perhaps it is the same thing as the cowl, and perhaps not.”

Olven glances at his comrades and turns back to the newcomers. Has he been too stilted, too wooden? He is the same Olven that he was before, before the King of Kalaman made him a baron, before that frightening attack that night that forever changed him. Calmly yet seriously, he says, ”As a servant of the High God, I need to tell you that my curse is dangerous. Olven and Roisin lock me up at night, and Roisin’s golem restrains me. This arrangement has worked well so far, but I am still a danger, and it’s only fair that you know before signing on.”

”We four have already successfully explored one ancient ruin and dealt with the inhabitants we found there. You can have full confidence in our group, and I welcome your help in this endeavor.”

D'aden nodded, replying, "I don't go anywhere without my mandolin."
Looking towards Roisin and laying it on thick with a grimace, D'aden goes on, "To my chagrin, there are those that find my own singing somewhat less than desirable. Oh, woe is me I can't hit that C!"
"I suspect they would welcome a change."

"Curses do not scare me, but prudence is wise. What exactly happens at night?" Nassrin locks her eyes on Olven Wolf and drinks more, looking far more interested than worried.

In reply to D'aden she says, "Then we will have to perform together, at least once we know a common song." She does have a melodious voice, suggesting her singing would be welcome.

Shaking his head, Olven says, ”Roisin may not appreciate D’aden’s performance, but in truth, he’s not half-bad. It’s true that he’s a better fighter than a singer, but he could make a living as a performer.”

Olven Wolf grimaces a bit and lowers his voice so that only those present can hear. ”I can go into detail about my affliction later, but for now, suffice it to say that I am transformed when I sleep and lose control of myself.  It is a grievous curse, and were it not for my friends, I do not know what I would do. Their support has helped me survive, and I am forever in their debt. I am confined every evening, and by morning, I am once more in control of myself.”

Baron Olven looks troubled. ”I may have said too much, but I want you to be forewarned, and therefore forearmed.”

Aerynn nodded as he listened on, thoughtful it appeared before he added, "I'm sure you know the source of the affliction at least, but as you say, something that can be discussed at a later time. I've studied a bit about the old dragon kings' holdings, though haven't strictly visited any of them of course. All things considered, it could certainly be a beneficial visit," he agrees, thinking about it for a moment longer himself before he finally nods.


"I'd be willing to go along as well. At the least, seeing how the ruins have held up over the years and what - if anything - has taken up residence there could be useful information."

Soberly, D'aden repeats an old saying, "[Language unknown: Pe caar eauughere ad ce entntinotthu llntma, o ectsomshe ecwe evres icarutill aleliv.]"
"We'll take care of the curse together, friend Olven, evil shared is evil divided."

"Sounds like we're in agreement, then, and a new company is formed. Shall we drink to the success of our new venture?" Nassrin downs what remains of her mug of ale. "I'll need a refill first. Anyone else need more?"

”I’ll gladly share a drink with you any time,” Olven Wolf says to the strangely pretty dwarf. He finds his natural disinclination to spending time with other falling away in the face of Nassrin’s conviviality. ”I rarely turn down the invitation to a drink, especially from such good company. But we do have a job to do, and I’d like to get on the road. Perhaps if there’s a tavern between here and the dragon monarch’s palace, or otherwise, after our mission’s successfully completed.”

Having found some local talents to help you, the new and larger group left town. You hiked for two days without incident through the forest leading you to the Dragon King's Court. A fragment of a thick-walled keep seems to be all that remains. It's now covered in vines, but still taller than the surrounding trees.

Within the crumpled stump of a keep, the floor was made of flagstones, cracked by age. Though someone has recently cleared away obvious rubble to the edges. A significant amount of vegetation has recently been cut away, leaving cut branches on the surviving shrubs and trees.

A set of bronze gates, twice as high as you are tall and even wider, stood at one end of the interior. They are battered and corroded with age. But the hinges of the locked door have been recently oiled.

"Lovely."
D'aden begins to look around for suggestions that traffic has gone somewhere other than through the gates. As he does so, he says to Olven, "Isn't this the point where someone asks if we should knock or just barge in while someone else does one or the other?"

OOC: 01:31, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 13 using 3d6.  tracking -13.

As the group walks along, everyone quickly realizes Nassrin couldn't sneak up on a corpse. Her plate armor alone makes plenty of noise. So does her mail. The combination is that much worse. But she can keep pace pretty well even though she's carrying probably over a hundred pounds of equipment, either on her backpack or worn as armor.

After seeing the site she says, "Why would anyone take the time to clean up around here? Maybe they were searching for something? Still, it seems odd. At very least, it means others have been here recently so we should not assume we're alone."

Olven eyes the doorway in askance. Armored in a combination of mail and leather, with an axe hanging from a sheath, a knife strapped to his leg, and a spear and shield in his hands, the former mercenary is ready for battle, but he wasn't expecting to find someone here already.

"Remember the draconions at the Lyceum," he says. "Not to mention the dragon and the dragon lord. Be ready for anything." He steps forward and pushes one of the bronze gates open to look inside.

D'aden nods, pulls out his bow and nocks an arrow. "Considering our goal, if it has scales shouldn't we attempt to reason with it, first? If only to discover whether or not it knows the whereabouts of our target?"

As Olven pushed one of the doors, it didn't move. Apparently it was locked.

Nassrin draws her swords to be ready. When the doors don't budge she says, "I have no skill at picking locks, and it could be barred from the other side. I might consider trying to break down a door, but these are metal doors."

"Hnh. Curious." Olven Wolf had not expected the gates to be locked. "Well, we can try scaling the walls, I suppose," he says, taking a step back and sizing up the walls."Or, as you said, D'aden, we can just knock. And yes, we should try diplomacy first."

With this, Olven raps on the gates with the hilt of his spear.

OOC: Knock on the door. If there's no answer, look for a place to climb over the walls.

Nothing happened when Olven knocked on the door. Checking around the ruins, whatever room this door led to was small enough to fit inside this ruined wall. It was two yards thick, a little over five yards tall, and about seven yards wide. There was no other way inside than through the door.

"Can any of you pick locks? If not, let's find something we can use as a battering ram."

”We could use D’aden’s head, perhaps,” Olven Wolf muses. ”It’s certainly hard enough.” Leaning on his staff, Olven looks for any weaknesses in the wall, but it seems to be impregnable. He also looks for a place to secure a rope to scale the wall.

Looking over to Roisin, Wolf says, ”What do you think, Roisin? Do you have any magic that could get us through this?”

Roisin cast a spell and the lock was unlocked.

Inside, you could see a broad spiral staircase descending into darkness.

After a quick look through the door, D'aden begins to search the area for something to burn. "You know, for years I've been carrying a lantern from just such an occasion."
"It's in my saddlebags, on my horse. Could someone run and fetch it? No?"
"Guess we'll have to make do."
As he strips the extra bark from a handy branch, he sings, repeatedly,
"Searching through an old mine,
Turning down, down,
Searching through an old mine,
Don't nobody slip, now."

Olven Wolf shakes his head in wonder at Roisin's magical display. "You never cease to amaze me with what you can accomplish," he says.

Looking at D'aden's improvised torch, Olven raises an eyebrow. "I have a few torches in my backpack, too. Thanks for being the torchbearer."

He steps forward to peer into the darkness. "I'll take point," he says, and prepares to advance forward.

"Looks like Roisin's head works a lot better than D'aden's. Glad to have someone with those talents here."

Once the door is open Nassrin looks inside while remaining outside with the others, just keeping an eye out. When Olven mentions point she says, "If you'd like, I can take point, I can see in the darkness quite well."

In reply to Olven Wolf (msg # 219):

D'aden steps to Olven, and shakes his head, "you shouldn't. I may make light of your title, but title it is. Presumably, there are people you've never met whose lives wax and wane with your success or failure. When I was a lad, if the sheriff went on an extended hunt, everyone was nervous till he returned. If he hadn't returned, things would have been worse."
"I know you're used to being the vanguard, but you will need to show at least enough restraint to not be alone on point, from now on."

Olven Wolf almost angrily retorts when D’aden reminds him of his responsibilities, but his friend’s words calm him to a great extent. ”The king could have easily given the title to you or Roisin,” he says quietly. ”I only have it because the two of you recommended it. And we’re all coming back from this expedition. I’ll not leave any of you behind.”

To the dwarf, he says, ”Very well, Nassrin. Lead the way, and I’ll be right behind you.”

D'aden nods to Olven, then smiles, "besides, that way you might not kill whatever's out there before I get to put a shaft in it. I wouldn't want to lose my edge, you know."
D'aden holds his bow in his left hand, and his makeshift torch in his right, as he follows behind Nassrin and Olven.

You headed downwards with Nassrin at point, followed by Olven, D'aden, the elves, and Roisin in the back.

The staircase was very long. It took you a couple of minutes to circle all the way down to the bottom. There were no light sources and obviously no windows. The flagstone walls were all different, but also all the same.

The room at the bottom of the stairs was large. The ceiling so far away it was obstructed by darkness. As you looked around, you discovered three bronze doors in one of the walls of the same size as the one above that had let you inside.

"This is a big chamber. I wonder if that is because of the dragons, but I doubt dragons would have used an entrance of the sort we took." Nassrin doesn't bother to talk quietly. Her armor has either scared off whatever would have been scared away or alerted anyone else nearby, so speaking quietly seems wasteful.

"Those doors certainly aren't big enough for dragons, that's for sure," Olven says, looking around the room. He notes the ceiling, far above the range of D'aden's makeshift torch, and the three doors. He examines each closely. "Let's see what's behind door number one," he says at last.

OOC: Check each door for anything unusual, and then, if the first door looks okay, open the right-most door.

There seemed to be nothing wrong with the doors and you opened the rightmost door. You stepped out into an even larger room where the walls and the ceiling were hidden beyond darkness. The floor was made of glazed tiles in shades of red and orange. And to your left, you could see the other two doors entering this room too.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:46, Sat 16 Nov 2019.

D'aden nods, "unless the dragons were brought in as eggs, and raised in captivity to be displayed to curious onlookers. If that were done here, I bet you could charge a pretty penny for admission."
He looks around, and whistles as he watches the surfaces he can see. Then he busies himself scanning the floor.

OOC: looking for bats and wondering how often animals trek through the region

15:41, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 6,15 using 3d6,3d6.  Observation -13.

00:31, Fri 01 Nov: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 13 using 3d6.  tracking -13.

Nassrin looks into the new room, hoping her eyesight will help her see further than the torches allow.

GM passing a message

Nassrin turns to her companions. "Now this might be a room a dragon would have used. All those doors to the left and right are far, far bigger than a person could ever need. I wonder what the tile pattern is indicative of. Blue and green tiles, wave-like shapes. I don't know. It's just decorated much more, and sometimes decorations have meanings. From a defensive perspective, so many doors into this one room makes it hard to watch our backs."

"Blue and green, you say? And red and orange on the floor. Very decorative." Olven scans the room. "Such a giant room. Where are the doors, Nassrin? Feel free to pick a door for us to check out."

OOC: Do we have someone making a map? If not, could we have someone start mapping this place?

Now that a map is being drawn, Nassrin goes about leading the way again. "Well, random is random. Let's try this one." She starts walking toward the first door on her left. She makes sure everyone is ready before trying it.

The Silver Lion led the group to the left along the wall. About a yard from the wall was a bronze door and about two yards beyond that was a gate that would be 15-20 feet high decorated with a pair of clasped hands in brass as large as the gate itself.

But the door is locked. Roisin cast her spell and unlocked this door too.

You opened the door to a squarish room of about 5 by 5 yards. To the right, there's an arrow slit, but more importantly, there were seven sleeping lizard folk in the room.

[What do you do?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:38, Mon 25 Nov 2019.

Having had one sword sheathed to push the door open, Nassrin draws it so she has one in each hand.

Raising his spear, Olven nods at the others. Though he takes no pleasure in the idea of killing lizardmen in their sleep. He looks at the others to give them a moment to get ready.

OOC: Wait for each person to get into position, and then attack the nearest sleeping lizardman.

There was one more lizardman than there were heroes and the heroes failed in remaining stealthy as they ended the lives of most of the lizards.

The only remaining among them rose to its feet.

[What do you do?]

Certain he can take the scaly creature, D'aden launches himself at the lizardman. He runs toward the scaley fiend and launches himself into the air, feet first, at what he has been told is evil on a draconian scale.

OOC: Move and attack to attempt drop kick (Brawling-1, or -13)
14:26, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 14 using 3d6.  drop kick lizardman.

Stepping forward, Olven moves to support D'aden's daring yet somewhat unorthodox attack with a spear attack of his own.

OOC: Attack the lizard!

Plot twist - The lizardmen are pacifists and we're now mass murderers.

D'aden misses with his, but Olven's spear thrust impales the lizardman straight through.

From under her helm you can hear some distaste from Nassrin. "These were only beasts, so there was no lack of honor in cleansing the vermin this way. But there was also no glory in it."

Picking himself up from the floor, D'aden nods to Nassrin "that's what I was thinking, but then I got the notion to try to kick the thing in the head. In my thoughts, it was much easier than it turned out to be."

”Glory, eh?” Olven turns to look at the Silver Lion. ”If it’s glory you’re after, I’m sure you’ll find some in the place, but I’m more interested in completing our objective and everyone making it out alive.”

The mercenary turned noble takes a minute or so to search the room for anything of value before moving on.

OOC: Search the room. Then move to the outer room and inspect the gate next to this room.

You searched the room and the dead guards.

You opened the door on the other side of the room. More darkness.

[OOC: There was an additional door in this room that I missed including in the post of you entering. So I'm assuming you want to go in that direction.]

"Next time we explore some ruins, remind me to choose some above ground," Olven says, grunting. "Bring that torch over here, D'aden, and let's see what's in the next room."

OOC: Step to the next door and look through.

Is the door on the far side of the room, on the left, or on the right?

Map: https://docs.google.com/spread...MFAHUFmgM/edit#gid=0

D'aden brings his torch over, and thrusts the torch through the door. Shrugging, he tells Olven, "can't be too careful."

In response to D'aden Nassrin says, "It's a corridor. It looks like all the doors from the last room open into this corridor. We should probably check each of them in case there are more lizards like there were here. It wouldn't be good to walk past them and get attacked from behind."

You are at the end of a corridor. All doors from the previous room should end up in this corridor, perhaps after going through a room like the one you've just been in. And further down there are two corridors to the left, heading away from the previous room.

"Good idea, Nassrin," Olven Wolf says, nodding his head. "Let's try the room next to the lizard folk's sleeping area first."

OOC: Pile the maces in a corner in the lizard room. Then check out the bronze gate with the praying hands.

Map: https://docs.google.com/spread...MFAHUFmgM/edit#gid=0

You returned to the large room and the large doors were unlocked, but they required all of you to work together to push them open. Opening the doors was slow and they made a loud squealing noise. Fortunately, you entered the other room first, for the arrow faced this room and the guards would have been awoken by the noise.

This room is only about two yards before another door of the same size barred their progress and it was more than five yards and less than ten yards wide. The room is empty, with the exception of signs for how long this place has been out of use.

"Seeing where the guards were, we should make sure we try other doors in the same order we tried these. It's likely the rooms are guarded similarly, whether there are lizards in any of them or not."

Olven noted the arrow slit between the two rooms. If they had entered here first, the lizardmen would have made pincushions of them.

"I agree," Olven says, nodding his head, "But let's try the door here to see if there's another room between this one and the corridor."

OOC: Check the door in this room and then try to open it.

Map: https://docs.google.com/spread...MFAHUFmgM/edit#gid=0

The other door is equally difficult and noisy to open and it led to the corridor too.


[OOC: Yes, the corridor is wider here.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:41, Sat 07 Dec 2019.

"Just the corridor, eh?" Olven Wolf looks around the large corridor for a bit. "This seems large enough for a dragon, at least this section," he says. Then, he turns around and walks back toward the large room. "Okay, let's investigate the doors on the other side now."

OOC: Check the door on the far end of the room closest to the "north" wall first.

https://docs.google.com/spread...MFAHUFmgM/edit#gid=0

Nassrin says, "The other side of this corridor first, right? I do think the whole thing will be symmetric. I figure we made the most noise at this end, so we should continue at this end."

OOC: For clarity, Nassrin wants to go to the door around AJ32.

D'aden looks pensive, "You could wait here while I walk by the doors making sounds as if a group walked by. When anyone interested came out to sneak up behind me, we would have them surrounded."

Olven Wolf grins at D’aden’s plan. “And then we’d fall on them and cut them to pieces! I like it!” he says. “But let’s keep things simple. The six of us can handle anything we find in these ruins. Lead on, Nassrin!”

OOC: Is there a door at AJ32? I’m using a double line to indicate doors and a dotted line to represent area unknown past that point, and I’m sure my map is different from the actual map. Nassrin, feel free to correct the map based on what you see. Let’s check out the door at AJ32, then.

OOC: There should be more, but I'm getting a little confused. Nassrin had seen that "The left and right walls all have three sets of huge double doors, much larger than the ones you've used already. With normal sized doors in between them." But I'm confused on where exactly all those doors are now. :(

About ten yards past the large gateway, there's another door and beyond it another large gate. It's about 20 feet high, higher than the previous gate. This one is unadorned. But the stone frame has carvings of boats and serpentine monsters traveling along a river.

Perhaps halfway there, a long line of columns, over a yard in diameter, led away from the wall and into darkness. There was perhaps five yards between two adjacent pillars.

"Let's go, then," Olven says, nodding, and heads toward the door below the gate with the praying hands. He checks the door for traps and waits for everyone to get ready, and then he opens the door.

OOC: Check out the door after the first game.

"Yes, let's." Nassrin moves with Olven, and waits for him to check the door, waiting to lead the way with two swords in hand when they open the door.

You checked the door and it was locked.

Roisin cast a spell to unlock it.

As you looked inside, the room was empty, other than the signs of longtime disuse. Otherwise, it looked exactly like the room in which you had found the sleeping lizardfolk.

Including an arrowslit to the room behind the large gate. Which also was empty.

"Well that's a good sign. I was worried we would end up dispatching sleeping lizards in every one of these rooms. Shall we check the adjacent room?"

"I wonder. If the lizard men came inside as far as they dared, what are we heading towards? Does anyone know what might cow a lizard man?"

"Good thought. Of course, it could be that they just feel quite safe here and that's why they were all willing to go to sleep without posting a guard.."

"No doubt an even bigger lizard," Olven says dryly. "Those lizards seemed to be guards of some kind, and if they were asleep, there are no doubt others around that are not. Let's keep our guard up."

Olven walks past the second gate to the third door Nassrin sees and checks it. If it seems safe, he opens it.

OOC: Go past the gate to the third door, and if it seems okay, open it.

https://docs.google.com/spread...MFAHUFmgM/edit#gid=0

Nassrin takes up the same position, ready at point with two swords out to blunt any enemy's attack.

About 20 yards further down from the door, was another door. And just before it another line of columns.

The walls before the first line of columns were decorated with glazed tiles in shades of red and orange. The walls between the two lines of columns used stone tiles in shades of blue and green in wave-like patterns. And beyond the second column line, was only bare stone with the odd shred of rotted fabric.

The bronze gate beyond this door is twice as high as the previous gates and substantially wider too. It was embossed with spiky geometric motifs resembling flames, but it was also dented and bent in several places. And a couple of yards beyond it, this large room ended in another wall.

Alvin checked the door for traps and found one. She attempted to disarm it, but failed and a lot of debris fell down, making a lot of noise when the door was opened. The room beyond the door was like the two previous rooms, including an arrow slit to the empty room between the large gates. These gates were thicker too so there was less room for space between the two gates.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:52, Sat 14 Dec 2019.

When the debris falls, Olven dives out of the way. "More noise," he says, grunting. "But whoever's garrisoning this place hasn't run out to see what's making all the racket."

He notes the third arrow slit and looks up at the gates again. Then he says, "Okay, let's work our way through the other side of the room, shall we?"

OOC: I'm traveling this weekend, so I don't have time to update the map. I'll do so when I get back home.

So that's the final door on this side of the massive chamber? Let's go check the other side now. We can start at the left side of the room and work our way up.

You exited the small room into the large room and followed the line of pillars to the other side of the room, perhaps 50 yards away.

The gate and the door were the same sizes as the gate and door on the other side of the room and they were placed in the same place as they had been on the other side. Before you had the chance to investigate either, four lizardfolk and a robed draconian. Two of the lizardfolk were wielding hatchets and two of them were wielding knobbed clubs. The draconian was wielding a staff.

[What do you do?]

D'aden assumes the draconian is similar to those he was previously acquainted with, so he drops his torch, and nocks an arrow. He comments, "is it wrong for me to wish that guy was wearing a crown of some sort?"

Nassrin has her two swords at the ready, but she does not advance forward on her own. She waits at point for the others to be ready so she can advance in formation with them, hoping they remember what she said about protecting them.

"A crown?" Olven asks, puzzled, but chalks it up to one more of D'aden's often obscure references. "The drac looks like a wizard. Let's take him out first." Olven advances, spear and shield in hand.

OOC: Spear in my right hand, shield in my left. Move forward to engage the draconian.

https://docs.google.com/spread...MFAHUFmgM/edit#gid=0

Where are the drac and lizardfolk? Did we see them come out of one of the doors?
This message was last edited by the player at 23:18, Mon 16 Dec 2019.

Nassrin advances to stay beside Olven as he advances.

Olven moved to the attackers and stabbed at the draconian with his spear, but it avoided the first one. While the second found its way home.

Nassrin stayed beside Olven and was too far away to attack anyone.

The draconian breathed fire at Olven that he wasn't able to avoid, but his armor protected him fully.

The lizardfolk advanced, two of them attacked Olven, but he used his shield to stop the hatched and he avoided the club.

The other two attacked Nassrin, but she avoided both swings.

[Olven vs. hatchet and club
Nassrin vs. hatchet and club
Draconian at range]

[OOC They came from behind. You didn't note them until now.]

"Fire-breathing. That's new," Olven says as he jabs out with his spear again. The previous draconians in the Lyceum didn't have breath attacks, but they weren't magic users, either.

OOC: Attack!

D'aden focuses on the draconian, ensuring his aim is true. He mumbles, "[Language unknown: Conbe on herughwer ver theoertin.]" for reasons that even D'aden couldn't articulate, breathes, and looses his arrow.

OOC: at least one aim maneuver before a determined attempt to skewer the draconian with an arrow (skill 16, aim maneuver one turn adding 3 for ACC of weapon, then all-out attack adding 1 for maneuver), strike by 9 (00:44, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 11 using 3d6.  shoot draconian with arrow.) which would hit a human-sized target at 70 yds.
He may do some damage (01:01, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 3 using 1d6+2.  impaling damage).
Why am I not surprised?

The draconian expertly avoided Olven's first thrust. And he tried to parry the second, but his staff barely missed the spear, and instead, he ended up skewered. And slid down to the ground unmoving.

D'aden aimed his bow at the hatchet-wielding lizardfolk attacking Nassrin.

Olven blocked the hatchet swung at him and stepped away and out of the swing of the club.

Both lizardfolk attacking Nassrin missed with their attacks.

The draconian falls, and Olven feels a sense of relief that the creature had fallen so easily. Its fire attack had unnerved the baron, but fortunately, that was no longer an issue.

Smoothly, he shifts his attention to the lizardfolk attack him, once again jabbing out with his spear.

OOC: Attack the closest lizardfolk.

Roisin walked forward, with the lumbering form of Utrecht following behind her. Smudge was standing on her shoulder back arched, very alert at the presence of the draconians.
"No...absolutely not. I forbid it. Go hide somewhere. You won't be any use when I melt their faces off." she mentioned to the world at large as smudge jumped lithely to the floor.

Roisin tilted her head to one side. "Hmm draconians. Direct magic not so good." She shrugged her shoulders, as she moved forwards into the fray. "Can we not all be reasonable? You'll die rapidly unless you put your weapons down." She asked herself rhetorically as she sent a lightning bolt towards a draconian.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:29, Wed 08 Jan 2020.

After shifting his aim to the lizardfolk, D'aden looses the arrow without fully drawing a bead on their scaly adversary.

OOC: using the same 'determined attack' as before (and the same roll)

Olven thrusted his spear at one of the hatchet-wielding draconians and it failed to parry before the spear ran it through and brought it to the ground.

The second draconian was able to parry Olven's thrust.

Roisin unleashed a bolt of lightning on the club-wielding lizardfolk near Nassrin which hit it straight in the torso. And it started shaking involuntarily.

D'aden fired his arrow at the hatchet-wielding lizardfolk and it penetrated its torso.

The club-wielding lizardfolk near Olven swung at him, but the baron interposed his shield.

The hatchet-wielding lizardfolk moves around Nassrin and continues towards the ranged attackers.

[What do you do?]

[OOC
Olven vs club
Hatchet. Injured. He is close to D'aden and Roisin and will be close enough to attack next turn.
Nassrin vs. club. Stunned and injured.

]

"Nice work!" Olven Wolf calls out as he shifts his attention to the last lizardman attacking him. Attempting to pierce the lizard's defenses, Wolf stabs out again with his spear.

OOC: Attack!

D'aden doesn't like the lizard coming towards them, so he steps forward and sticks a boot onto the critter To shove him away.

OOC: move and attack, push kick skill 11 rolled 10, rolled two for damage so knockback as if four damage but no damage done

Olven pierced the lizardfolk wielding the club twice and brought him to the ground.

D'aden push kicked the lizardfolk, but not hard enough to actually move him.

The lizardfolk swung it hatchet at D'aden in return, but D'aden stepped out of the way.

The stunned lizardfolk recovered and swung his club at Olven, but Olven knocked it away with his shield.


[What do you do?]

[OOC
Hatchet. Injured. He is close to D'aden and Roisin and will be close enough to attack next turn.
Olven vs. club. injured.

]
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:37, Fri 17 Jan 2020.

Roisin didn't really want to get close enough to the draconian to get hurt. She thought she might try to make it easier for Olven to finish it off and took a swing at it as it moved, looking to try to catch it off guard and draw its attention.

OOC: Feint

23:33, Today: Roisin uth Bannatar rolled 5 using 3d6.  Staff target of 12

D'aden whips out his sword and swings it at the lizardman with the hatchet.

OOC:
06:02, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 7,14 using 3d6,3d6.  fast draw (sword) -15, small sword (-14).

Roisin moved closer to the lizardfolk near Olven and swung her staff at it, but it moved out of its path.

D'aden thrusted his smallsword at the other and pierced through the chest and it slid of the sword and down to the floor.

The only remaining lizardfolk turned to Roisin, swung his club, but Roisin avoided the hit.


[What do you do?]

[OOC
Olven and Roisin vs. club. Injured.

]

Striking out again, Olven aims to kill the last lizardman with well-aimed strikes.

OOC: Attack!

Both of Olven's attacks hit and he brought the final lizardfolk to the ground.

As the last lizardman falls, D'aden moves forward to examine the draconian corpse, and possibly to be between it and Olven. "This doesn't seem right, Baron. Shouldn't that corpse be bursting into flame or unleashing a blast that incinerates everyone near it?"
Apparently, D'aden is not above using Olven's title to insure Olven hears him.

GM passing a message.

Roisin shrugged "Some explode, some burst into acid, some turn to stone. Maybe these ones just die to lull you into a flase sense of security around the others...or they're illusions? Or maybe only our draconians are cursed as they born using evil magic and these ones are natural?" Roisin frowned "Sadly, there are too many possibilities. We need to learn more"

Cocking an eyebrow at D'aden and grimacing slightly, Olven Wolf nods his head. "Right, the draconians we fought in the Lyceum all turned to stone." He looks at this new one suspiciously. "Perhaps this one isn't dead, eh?" He steps forward, spear at the ready, to check for signs of life from the draconian.

OOC: Approach the draconian warily. Look for signs of life.

Rushing over to the draconian corpse, D'aden mouths, "oh for the love of temple wenches, try to take a hint, willya? You have a title, you have numerous people depending on your survival. Poking possibly dangerous dead draconic detritus is something you leave to those without titles."
D'aden proceeds to prod the draconian with his sword. "Just stay dead, ya stupid corpse, my blade's seen blood enow."

GM passing a message.

"Well, it's definitely dead," Olven Wolf says wryly. "And thanks for your concern, D'aden, but we both know it could just as easily have been you or Roisin who received the title. The king simply needed a Baron, any Baron, to negotiate." He grimaces. "Anyway, let's continue on."

He looks across the room. "Shall we check the second door from the left first?"

OOC: Walk to the second door from the left and check it for traps.

GM passing a message.

Roisin raised an eyebrow "I don't think he knows that we used to be mages. There's no way we'd ever be given a title. People are scared of mages...only sometimes it is for good reason." she looked at the corpse "Given that every draconian I know is cursed. I guess that whatever happened to this after death...you just haven't felt the consequences for touching it yet."

Alvin picked the lock to the small door. Beyond it was a three by three yard room. With another door on the other side and arrow slits to the space between the two larger gates next to it.

The larger gate has about a yard between the two doors. They don't seem to have been opened for a very long time.

"I suppose these large gates are how the dragon regents were able to move around this place," Olven Wolf muses. "Or perhaps this was an arena of some kind, and monsters were released through these gates." He looks at the others. "Shall we continue?" he says, and starts walking toward the next small door.

OOC: Go "north" in the large room to the next small door. Check it for traps (at default), and then try to open it.

Current map: https://docs.google.com/spread...mgM/edit?usp=sharing

You moved to the next door.


Alvin tried to unlock the door, but she failed.

"I suppose we could try battering the door down," Olven muses, rubbing his chin. "But if not, shall we continue to the next door?"

OOC: Wait a moment to see if anyone has anything else they'd like to try, and if not, go to the top door on the left in this room.

Roisin cast a spell that unlocks the door.

Roisin waved towards the door, looking rather haggard. "It's open now. Just take your time. I won't be able to do anything more for a while. Things were easier when I was a white robe."

Nodding his head, Olven moves to the now unlocked door and opens it. "We should find a place to rest so you can regain your energy, Roisin. Perhaps one of these rooms would be safe enough."

You open the door to a room that is about 5 by 5 yards in size. With eight giant rats inside. They are not happy to see you.


[What do you do?]

D'aden decides to use his staff in an effort to keep the rats a distance from him, and readies it as he remarks "is it true these things taste like chicken?"

Grimacing, Olven says, ”Giant rats. Why am I not surprised?” Readying his spear, he steps forward, ready to engage in pest control.

OOC: Attack!

D'aden readied his staff.

Olven stabbed one of the rats twice and brought it to the ground.

Alvin attacked another rat with her staff, but missed.

Two rats tried to bite Olven, but he slammed the face aside of the first with his shield and stepped aside from so that the other missed too.

Two rats tried to bite D'aden, trying to parry or dodge them failed.

Two rats tried to bite Alvin, she parried the first with her staff and dodged the other.

The final rat tried to bite Roisin and she failed to dodge.


[OOC Fortunately, I rolled low, so for both attacks, D'aden only takes 1 hp of damage. And Roisin lost 1hp]

What do you do?

Roisin felt tired from all the magic she'd been using and then a horde of rats appeared and her movements to defend herself with her staff just weren't good enough. She felt the pain lancing through her body as a rat took a liking to her thigh taking a large bite into it. Clearing her head from the pain Roisin tried to hit it with her staff, wishing more than once to herself that she took up the sword as a child.

OOC:
OMG, I hit...with a melee weapon!
I feel vulgar somehow.
21:39, Today: Roisin uth Bannatar rolled 11 using 3d6.  Staff.
Given my melee damage is 1d-2
Staff is swing +2
21:43, Today: Roisin uth Bannatar rolled 6 using 1d6.  daMAGE.

D'aden takes a swing at a rat.
OOC:
16:34, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 15,11 using 3d6,2d6+2.  whack a rat (-14), damage?

"Filthy vermin," Olven growls, and he stabs out again with his spear for his closest victim.

OOC: Attack!

Roisin swung her staff at the rat attacking her, but it moved out of her way.

D'aden swung his staff at one of the rats attacking him and brought it to the ground.

Olven thrust his spear at one of the rats attacking him, but it avoided both thrusts.

Alvin swung her staff at one of the rats attacking her and hurt it badly.

One rat attacked Roisin and she failed to avoid its bite.

One rat attacked D'aden, but he avoided it.

Two rats attacked Olven and again he thwarted one with his shield and stepped away from the other.

Alvin was attacked by two rats failed to avoid the first and because of the skill of the second she didn't have the chance to even try.

[* Roisin took another 1hp injury. She is at 6/8hp. She also failed at HT roll and has contracted a disease. You don't feel a 100%, but you don't look worse.

* Alvin took 1hp + 4hp (crit). She is at 7/12hp.


1 rat vs Roisin
1 rat vs D'aden
2 rats vs Olven
2 rats vs Alvin, one of them is hurt]

[What do you do?]

"These creatures are tenacious!" Olven attacks again, seeking to kill the unusually sized rodents.

OOC: Deceptive Attack: -2/-1.

Roisin was beginning to think she should just give up. Even her best efforts were not rewarded in trying to fend off the rat scourge. "Utrecht, Ochre...can you help me please?" she asked as she tried another swipe.


19:59, Today: Roisin uth Bannatar rolled 12 using 3d6.  kill the wabbit, I mean wat.
Hit

20:00, Today: Roisin uth Bannatar rolled 6 using 1d6.  damage.

Noting Alvin having some trouble, D'aden tries to lift some of the burden by distracting one of the rats attacking her. His intention is obviously more than distraction as he whacks the ground near the rat with a fair amount of force.

OOC: Move and attack (-4 to hit) failing success roll so missing rat, dodge is the only defense allowed (dodge at 9 due to light encumbrance)
23:54, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 13,10 using 3d6,2d6+2.  to hit rat (-10), damage.

Being more deceptive in his movements and attacks, Olven targeted one of the rats, but it avoided his first stab. It was unable to avoid the second one and it was badly injured.

Roisin ordered her two companions to enter the fray and knocked the rat facing her to the ground.

Her Guardian knocked one of the rats facing Alvin to the ground and missed the other. While her pet dragon breathed a cloud of gas on the other, but the rat only shook it off.

D'aden clubbed the rat facing him to the ground.

And Alvin downed the rat she had hurt previously.


The two rats facing Olven both tried to bite him and Olven blocked the first with his shield, but failed to avoid the second. Fortunately, his armor protected him from most of the attack.


[As Alvin was aided by Roisin's companions, I'll let D'aden focus on the rat facing him.]

[
* Roisin took another 1hp injury. She is at 6/8hp. She also failed at HT roll and has contracted a disease. You don't feel a 100%, but you don't look worse.
* Olven has lost 1hp in injury. He's at 17/18hp.


* Alvin took 1hp + 4hp (crit). She is at 7/12hp.


2 rats vs Olven, one of them is very injured.
]

[What do you do?]

Olven jabs out angrily again with his spear, targeting the wounded rat with two more aggressive attacks.

OOC: Kill! Kill! Kiiiiiiill!

Roisin always felt the construct understood her and felt more like a companion than an object "My thanks" she said to both Ochre and Utrecht as she felt the need to sit down. She felt she might get in the way of the two. "If you could please assist the others?"

OOC:I'm in no real shape to fight any more. I might need to buy some more HP or energy...!

D'aden lunges over to bat at one of the rats targeting Olven.

OOC: move and attack
22:06, Today: D'aden Tor VIII rolled 11,9 using 3d6,2d6+2.  to hit rat (-10 due to move and attack), damage.

Olven skewered the injured rat, but the other one avoided his spear.

D'aden closed with the only remaining rat and swung his staff, but missed.

Both the Guardian and the pet dragon missed the rat too.

Alvin swung her staff too and brought the last rat to the ground.





[
* Roisin is at 6/8hp. She also has contracted a disease. You don't feel a 100%, but you don't look worse.
* Olven is at 17/18hp.
* Alvin is at 7/12hp.

]

[What do you do?]

Olven jabs his spear once more at the fallen rat to make sure it is dead, and then he turns and looks at the others. "How are all of you?" he asks. "Do we need to rest, or do you feel well enough to continue?"

OOC: Let's rest in one of the guard rooms, at least until Roisin is okay with continuing. Rest an hour, maybe?

You rested for two hours.


[OOC: All of you are back to full hp, fp, and er.]

Once everyone has had a chance to rest, Olven says, "All right. Everyone ready? Let's keep exploring this place."

His spear in his right hand, his shield in his left, Olven heads south to check out the large gate at the bottom.

OOC: I'm using south as down on the map. I know it's probably not south. Check the gate for traps, and if Olven finds none, open it. Spear in right hand, shield in left.

Map for reference: https://docs.google.com/spread...MFAHUFmgM/edit#gid=0

You continued on to the next set of portals, one large and one small, and were almost back at the first line of columns.




[OOC: We're already at the bottom left of the map, so I'm assuming you want to go up.]

Roisin felt a let better after the rest. It may have only been two hours, but it was enough to revitalise her. She pointed to Olven to lead the way "Please be my guest. I'll follow"

D'aden starts to says something, then shrugs, limbers his bow and nocks an arrow. "I'll be ready to shoot past you if something nasty is on the other side of the door."

The door was locked, but Alvin picked it. Opening the door, eight large rats rushed you from the inside.

[What do you do?]

True to his word, D'aden looses his arrow at the lead rat.

OOC: bow -16. rolled 10, 2d6+2 impaling damage rolled 7)

Roisin frowned unsure as to how to approach the new threat. The last time only a few rats had managed to all but overwhelm the group. "Utrecht, Ochre, please do what you can to help" Taking into account the close quarters Roisin decided to let loose with a lightning bolt as she thought it was too dangerous to use a fireball.

D'aden fired his bow and downed one of the rats.

Roisin urged her allies to assist and cast a spell. The lightning arced from her fingers to her chosen giant rat and the bolt slammed it to the ground. Leaving the particular scent that lightning strikes bring with it in the air.

Ochre, the pseudodragon, breathed on one of the giant rats and it feel to the ground asleep.

The guardian clobbered another rat into the wall and it slid down to the ground with a squelching sound.

The remaining four rats looked at each other and focused on D'aden. The first two both bit him, but he was able to dodge the other two.

[OOC: D'aden suffers a total of 10 hp loss. Leaving him with 4 hp.]