And the story continues....

"My name is Copper and I'm a spirit of Luck and Death." the coin spoke out loud in a male halfling voice that everyone could hear "And to answer your questions, I don't remember. I've been in the possession of so many people over the years that I'm not sure if I'd be telling you my life or theirs. I see through your eyes. I know what you know until I move on to another master."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:15, Fri 04 Feb 2022.

"A coin that be talkin'? What kind of witchery is this?" Vernon said as he looked at the coin Twiggy was holding "It's no ghost. I don't see nothin'"

Twiggy looked at the coin in amazement and a little concern "The spirit of luck and death? I understand luck but how does the death part work? " Twiggy glips the coin in the air and asks "Having lived in so many peoples lives what is it that you do. I am sure you have some great stories to tell of past lives."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:02, Sat 05 Feb 2022.

"It's quite simple, my friend. One day you will have terrible luck. Everyone does. Who's to say when that will be? But, when it happens, that will be your last. So, make the best of it, my friend. Your days are numbered. The most anyone has held on to me was 326 years."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:22, Sat 05 Feb 2022.

Amara chuckled again at Myarra, "We are already in the middle of searching one place. Let us put this as next on our list." She considered for a moment, "Shall we try an experiment, Myarra? Both try scrying on the same thing at the same time. Perhaps on the closest source of funds that can help us?"

"Sounds like a horrible idea," Myarra replies.  "Let's give it a try.  And I didn't mean right now.  We can finish Moradin's temple first.  I just think it's rather ... coincidental that Mystra would send me to a place like that.  I hate guessing what the gods have in mind, but it does seem suspiciously well-timed for what we're in the need of.

So, we're looking for the nearest source of funds measured in the thousands of gold pieces, not currently controlled by anyone?  It won't do us any good to get a glimpse of the Soubar Savings and Loan or my money pouch upstairs."

She waits with her hands in position so that she and Amara can begin scrying at the same time.

Twiggy gives a low whistle "326 years, must have been an elf. Us hin only live about a century but an adventuring one a whole lot less. I like to rely on luck more than skill sometimes, it has saved me more than not. So are you with me until I die or can someone take you from me?"

"I've been asked that question thousands of times. If I'm taken from you, I will be back in your possession within minutes. I've been hit with all sorts of spells and weapons. I've even had a Red Dragon breathe fire on me. No effect. I've had mages take me to another realm. I'm back with my current owner quicker than the mages traveling back. I take no joy in the fact that you're going to die, my friend. We just have to think about the fun we're going to have until then."

7804 gold, 6 silver. That's quite a bit of debt there, but your share out of the current treasure should take a big chunk out of it.

Nolan looked at twiggy talking to the coin.

I don't know what or how we'd factor the copper coin into the picture. I've never encountered something like that before. I've heard of intelligent Relics before, but I'd never thought I'd see one. So, I say that this is a special circumstance and not include it in the treasure distribution since it chose Twiggy. But, the rest of the stuff I've identified and we can look it over to see who wants to keep what. Then, we'll make a trip into town to sell it off after we return from the Moradin Temple.

Nolan tells the party what the new items do.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:43, Sat 05 Feb 2022.

Twiggy starts getting giddy thinking of the stuff he is going to try now and is completely oblivious of any other in the room "I have something I want to try with you Copper. I have a decanter of endless water and I want something to eat me whole so I can activate it inside the creature and make it blow up. I am a hin adventurer, I knew I was going to die young doing something stupid, but with us together it is going to be epic. We are preparing to battle a dracolich, you ever dealt with one of those yet? We are going to have so much fun together, I can't wait for you to meet Byron, he is the ox in metal plate. For some reason his stuff keeps ending up in my possesion, especially his food. I can't wait to drive him nuts with you. how is your singing voice?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:08, Sat 05 Feb 2022.

The scrying sisters combine their power to use the Scrying Crystal to locate lost treasure, that isn't in possession of anyone, nearest to them. The crystal has no image for several minutes and the both of you wonder if this is working? Perhaps scrying is different than fortune telling? Or maybe there isn't a vast treasure hoard waiting to be picked up. You don't know. A picture never forms up on the Crystal.

"My singing voice is quite good, actually, but I haven't sung any songs in awhile. But enough with the questions. Weren't you and your friends supposed to go to some Temple or something and then go to town to sell off unwanted treasures? Looting a Temple sounds exciting to me."

Kali is confused by the coin and it's sentience, but says nothing. She was a being of nature, and was naieve to the ways of arcane magic....she didn't know if this was normal or not.

Myarra takes her hands off the crystal and sighs.  "Maybe it's a one-woman at a time crystal.  Maybe we're confusing it or fighting it or something.  Why don't you give it a try alone?  You're the best at it anyway.  Then we can go back upstairs.  The others should be ready to head out to the temple soon."

Byron frowns at Twiggy as he stands beside Kali.

Twiggy you need to keep your hands out of my pouches and away from my food.  Maybe this coin will be able to teach you some manners.

Byron looks over at Nolan and continues in a very serious tone.

We got a lot of work to do today we should be focusing on that work not listening to Twiggy run his mouth about things that aren't important at the moment.

Twiggy shrugs "We are waiting on going to the temple of Moradin. Nolan, the grumpy wizard you talked to, is going to use a dimensional door to get us in the lower levels. The ladies are downstairs using the orb to see where we need to go. Once we get there I am of use but they get nervious when I disappear. Although there is a few places I want to check out the cult of dragon spots."

"Ooo...this is going to be very exciting. Why would a dragon have a cult? I remember desert nomads leaving offerings to a dragon in the Calim Desert, but that was to make sure the dragon didn't eat them."

Amara tries again alone, looking for a treasure hoard that belongs to nobody, is unguarded and ripe for the taking. Myarra watches but it's like last time. You all wait for several minutes, but nothing comes up.

Twiggy waits for the others while he talks to Copper "I don't know when it formed but their is this group of people that call themselves "The Cult of the Dragon". Their sole purpose is to convince dragons to become undead and a dracolich. This process is very expensive and time consuming and the one we are trying to destroy is in the final stage of transformation. The cult has undercover agents across the realm that they send information and funding through and I like to try and uncover who they are.

This dragon we are going after has a silver mine with human slaves and orcs pushing them. We scried the cult performing the rituals a few days ago. Currently we are trying to find treasure to help us against them or items to help kill the dragon and free the slaves. I am sure there will be alot of interesting things that you will love once we get to the silver mine.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll have lots of fun and excitement. When are we leaving? I've been stuck in that dark hole forever and I want to go out and see stuff again."

Twiggy goes over by Nolan "Nolan when are we heading out, Copper wants to go play."

As soon as Amara and Myarra are done scrying with the crystal. Then we'll go pick up Roenthelm from the fields. He's helping the farmers.

"Perhaps, or perhaps Mystra doesn't have her hand in this, and it is only an upwelling of your own desired.

But who knows?"

She tried scrying again, and picked up nothing. "Looks like no easy pickings," Amara sighed. "Oh well. Let us go to the others. I think that is enough for one day."

"It is always possible that this has nothing to do with fate or Goddesses. I certainly don't count myself the kind of person that great things happen to.

But I do find it rather coincidental and convenient.  It just has the feel of someone staring at maps and rolling dice to see what quests they can manipulate us into taking.  A Divine Master, or DM, if you will.

But, you are also right that we've spent enough time here.  Let's go join the others."

Allowing Amara to escort her out, with just the teeniest bit of annoyance at fate's ham-handed way of talking down to her, the two head up to the mess hall to join the others in the journey to the temple and who knows what horrors await them there.

Once Myarra rejoins the others in the kitchen, she quickly grabs a bowl of sand-spider legs  (deep fried with cheese) and a mug of papaya juice, because she wants to be able to prove to Kalli that she does eat fruit.

"Once we finish with Moradin's temple, I have another location we should check out," she tells the others.

"I'd forgotten all about it, but when we were recovering Vernon's bones, Kalli and Byron found another tower just a mile away.  And the ground was vibrating with power when we got close.

But with the work we were doing on Vernon's tower, then Roen being challenged to personal combat, and with the Cult and/or the Centauri closing in, with the obvious danger we were putting the Jameson's in, we had to leave before we got around to exploring it.

And I just think that ancient towers humming with power qualify as the kind of thing we should check out.

The problem is getting there.  We can go cross-country, use the stone near the mine, use the stone in the garden where the tear was, or Nolan can try out his teleportation spell."

Roen expected the party to have been ready quite some time ago and wondered where they were. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he walked back to the tower and walked in on the last part of the conversation where Nolan could use his teleportation spell.

"Oh boy. The last time he did that, we arrived about 20 feet off the ground. He had magical boots to stop his fall."

"I'm sure he's had time to work out the bugs.  We can go to the building where we found Lorrik.  He spent enough time there to be sufficiently familiar with it.  Vernon's tower isn't that far away.

Although, of course, we'll have to walk.  I don't see a point in making him teleport horses as well.

But if that's too difficult, we can just use the stones to go to the garden.  It would just be a day or two's journey from there.  Of course, part of that would be through the marshes, which is something I'd really like to avoid.

And, I should point out, just so that I'm being entirely honest, I'm going there anyway for my own reasons.  But I'd like to have you all along, and I really do think that tower is worth checking out."

I can attempt a Teleport to the old house. I recommend we scry the place out first to make sure nobody is already there. I'm assuming you'd like to do this after we finish at the Moradin Temple?

Really, Myarra would much prefer to go right this second, not even waiting to finish her breakfast.

"Of course. We need to finish what we started. We can look into this afterward. My business can wait a day.  There's no rush."

Like I said, we'll be done before lunch. Let's go.

Nolan got up and headed for the door.

Amara nods agreement, "Let us go." She followed Nolan.

Byron follows Nolan towards the door as he puts on the ring.

The party walks out of the tower and heads for the waystone, walking and waving to the villagers going about their business. The Golems come to attention when you reach the waystone and when you arrive at the Hub, nothing has changed except the smell of the bodies. A couple of you would have thrown up the breakfast you just ate if you didn't leave and arrive at the waystone near the Temple of Moradin.

The Owlbear bodies are still where the party placed them as you arrive at the front entrance. It hasn't been disturbed in the least, so you carefully go back inside to make sure. The place is clear. With the information gained by Amara scrying the layout of the place, it takes only minutes to search the rest of the complex. You don't find anything useful, so you head back to the big double doors or wherever Nolan wants to set up to attempt his magical transport down to the Dwarvish mines below....

Once at the spot in the temple, Nolan has Vernon ask the Dwarf what he saw last night. If there was nothing important, he gathers the men who will be going with him down below,

Ok Byron, Twiggy, Roenthelm. Ready to go? I'm going to cast the spell, then we're going to hold a hand so you all are in contact with me and you'll follow me through.

Byron nods and moves to stand next to Nolan.

I'm ready.

Roen moves and stands next to Nolan. He is ready with the bag of Krelm's bones.

Twiggy gets in line and holds their hand "Alright Copper, let's see what we can get into." Twiggy is ready to go.

While the girls stay behind, Nolan cast a Dimension Door spell and the guys walked through and were gone....

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

....and they arrived underground just like how Nolan saw on the scrying crystal last night. Byron is almost completely blind in the dark, except for the "Light" coming from the tomb. Those of you who can see somewhat in the dark can see for how far your vision takes you. Krelm explains that he has never seen the shaft lift going up into the Temple above before, so he's assuming that was built much later.

The cavern the men are currently in is vast, but the entrance to the Tomb is about 100 feet North away from the spot you transported to.

"Krelm say that light be the entrance to the tombs. He say to call out to whoever be in there."

"Oooooo...it's been awhile since I've been in a mine. Old man Filo in Xorhun hit it big there. What do they mine here?"

Twiggy grabs his everberning torch from his handy haversac to shed some light as he chuckled at his new friends excitement "Wisper Copper, don't want to alert everyone we are here. I am not sure what they mine here but I would guess adamantine since we found weapons and armor. There is some type of dwarf gaurd up ahead that they scried, lets go say hi.

Twiggy then eased forward checking for anythong strange as he goes.

Roen wasn't going to call out to a stranger that guarded a tomb until everyone understood what the request meant. Getting the attention of the crypt keeper meant answering a lot of questions and Roen wasn't sure what the dwarf was going to say or do.

There wasn't much Myarra could do once Nolan and the others teleported away.  She couldn't follow and it didn't look like they were likely to encounter anyone that needed killing up here.

And so she waited.

"I need a bunch of weird-ass materials for this ritual," she told the others.  "Incense, spices, a bit of mercury, stuff like that.  Since this is a ritual lots of new wizards would be performing, I'm guessing the wizard's tower has them.  I'd hate to have to detour to Soubar first.

And as for getting to the humming tower, if Nolan can take three of us with him, that's going to take a few trips.

Not including Nolan, there are seven of us, eight given the assumption that Raie would count as an individual.

I'm assuming Flicka doesn't count since familiars tend to be considered one with their wizards.  If not, that makes nine.

So, three trips from Daak to the old house, with two trips back in between.  Five trips total to bring us there, and five trips to bring us all back.  Make that seven if Shannon is added to the list to make ten on the way back."

Nolan listened and figured he'd be the one to call out, since he spoke Dwarvish,

Crypt keeper of Moradin! I have one to add to the family!

Byron moved away from Nolan, but only so far as to be able to defend himself and the others if needed.  He wasn't expecting anything resembling an attack, but was alert to such a possibility in this unusual place.

Nolan gets a response. A well armed Dwarf steps to the doorway at the top of the small set of stairs,

"You must be human. You accent is horrible." the Dwarf spoke in common "Who are you and what do you want? Humans are buried up above. Why are you down here?"

Amara wasn't offended when Nolan took most of the others with him. She and Myarra... well, they looked the least "friendly" if one only looked at skin. There was no reason to make people nervous immediately. "Well, then. Let us see what we can find here," she replied. They had promised not to loot if anyone needed the stuff - but that didn't meant they couldn't take things that weren't needed.

"We can at least see what isn't nailed down," Myarra agrees.

OOC: I know BB said we didn't find anything else useful, but that's no reason not to give the place a thorough goings over.

Nolan really didn't know what to say when it came to identifying himself, so he made up one.

My name is Nolan of the Black tower in the human village of Daak. The warrior in the plate armor is Byron, the one dressed in worn clothes is Roenthelm and the Halfling is Twiggy.

Nolan was hesitant to speak of Vernon but then thought it was best to include him,

And our ghostly friend is Vernon.

We are here to deliver Krelm's bones to the Crypt here. We opened the entrance to the Temple above and found his remains under the rubble. Our friend Vernon can see other ghosts and told us all about Krelm. I know this sounds a bit crazy, but it's the truth.

OOC: I know, but it's what Amara would likely be doing...

"One never knows what one might find."

"And remember, if you can pry it up, it isn't nailed down."

Twiggy stays quiet for the moment, he knows how much dwarves think halflings are no more than annoying children. No need to get him mad this early on.

"Then, if it's a ghost you see, how come I can't see it? I know who Krelm is and I hope you not be insulting my clan by lying about him to steal treasures from the crypt."

The party starts to hear the sounds of armored hurried movement getting closer and the Crypt Keeper doesn't look worried, so you might assume it's backup for him....

Twiggy steps forward not wanting to stay silent any more "Master Dwarf, I am Twiggy Flinch and I know you were never keen on my kind, something about annoying you. But if you would either try on a ring which allows us to see our ghost, or just ask a question that only you know that Krelm would know and you know we are telling the truth. Also I am glad to see you are all alive and not buried alive.

"I may not look like much, Master Dwarf, but I'm certainly not a thief. A thief of hearts maybe, but not treasures."

"So we're standing there, staring at each other, eye to eye, or rather eye to chest, given that he was barely four feet tall.  Several of the tavern's bouncers are closing in around us.  So I draw myself up to full height and demand in my most serious voice: Why did you shove your money pouch into my hand?  Are you trying to frame me?  How dare you, sir!"

I totally understand your skepticism, but we come here with good intentions. We will wait for your friends to arrive and we'll settle this.

Several minutes later, 14 fully armed Dwarves show up and surround the party. They have weapons out, but mostly, they have confused looks on their faces. They talk to each other asking how they got into the mine, wonder who the party is, watch your pockets from the halfling and to go after the human that looks like a wizard if he starts casting spells. A couple dwarves cast spells and tell the Crypt Keeper that nobody is invisible and that Byron, Twiggy, Roenthelm and Nolan are the only ones here. Now that he has plenty of reinforcements, the Crypt Keeper has your weapons taken away. He also looks at Twiggy after his story about the ring with confusion on his face.

"Who are you and how did you get down here?"

My name is Nolan of the Black Tower in the the village of Daak, my human friend in plate armor is Byron, the Halfling is Twiggy and the one in tattered clothes is Roenthelm. We also have a ghost, that I consider to be a friend, named Vernon. We are searching for lost treasures to fight the Cult of the Dragon. We found this old abandoned temple up above, opened up the buried doorway, found Krelm's bones, and searched the complex. Our female companions are in the temple now waiting for us to return. Krelm wanted us to put his remains in the tomb down here, so I had this area scried so I could use a Dimension Door spell to get us down here.

Twiggy's eyes get wide as they are surrounded by dwarves, but it is from excitement as begins to bounce up and down. Before he can speak Nolan does as he hands over his weapons, resisting the urge to see what is in their pockets so he waits instead bouncing with excitement.

"The Cult of the Dragon? Never heard of them. Must be a human problem. You humans are always craving power." as the Crypt Keeper looked at everyone "Who is waiting up above in the Temple of Mordin?" the Crypt Keeper asked as he walked over to Roenthelm and took the bag of bones

Twiggy chirps up still very excited to see the live dwarves "They are a human, elf, halfling , and any dwarves that live above problem. They take evil dragons, this one is a blue, and the cult turns them into an undead dracolich. This one we are fighting has lots of orcs taking human slaves and making them work in a silver mine to fund their activities. Twiggy takes another deep breath "The mines fund all kinds of orcs and goblins to raid towns, and I am sure dwarven fortresses although I know you can fight them off.  Others are not so lucky though because they have spies eberywhere. I once even encountered the cult hav8ng dealings with duegar, they don't look like you though, and these deep duegar traded them gems for the trsnsformation ritual. I bet once we clear this mine you could take it over yourselves and make lots of silver, you look very capable. So how big is this complex, can I have a tour? You have some wonderful traps above." Twiggy is bouncing on his heals with a hopeful smile on his face.

Even though the dwarves down here seem upset at the party's presence, the Crypt Keeper listens to Nolan and Twiggy without interruption.

"That is an interesting story, "Twiggy", and I will send word to warn the rest of the clan. As for a tour, that's not going to happen. Your little group is lucky not to be in chains right now. So, I ask again. Who is waiting up above in the Temple of Moradin?"

Byron speaks up.

Our friends are waiting for us to return to them.  They and us mean you no harm.  However, if the Cult of the Dragon and their allies learn of your existence here they will come and bring death and destruction with them.  We have no wish for such a fate to befall you.  Vernon, whom you cannot see and is a ghost, sees other ghosts and can communicate with them.  He can also communicate with and be seen by a very small number of people or by the one who wears the ring his wife gave him for their wedding.  Vernon wishes to be reunited with his wife.  He is helping us while we attempt to help him return to his wife.  Part of that help is his ability to communicate with other ghosts such as Krelm and find out what needs to be done so that they may rest in eternal peace.

Myarra looks under the desk in the "office" and feels around for anything that may have been stuck to the bottom.  She hopes she'll find nothing worse than some old dried-out gum.

"What is taking them so long?" she wonders.  "They just have to drop off the bag of bones and tell them, Krelm, party of one.  There's no point in making a meal out of it."

Roen didn't have anything to add to the conversation, so he remained silent. He could tell that the Crypt Keeper wanted to know who was up in the Temple, but telling him that their friends were a Drow Elf and a half-Demon woman wouldn't help their situation down here.

"That is a very interesting story, Byron was it? We would like to meet your friends. Just to make sure you're not this Cult. I'm sure you understand. We're only trying to protect ourselves. So, while we're waiting for them to arrive, I would like to see this ring that belongs to this ghost Vernon."

Running footsteps could be heard off in the distance and after a few minutes, another 10 fully armed Dwarves go to the spot under the floor and a platform sinks down for them to climb aboard. They rise up and are gone.

"You want me to go up there and warn them?" Vernon asked Byron "The dwarves will be plenty mad to see who be up there."

Twiggy shrugs and pouts a bit but is still excited "I would like to try the chains to see if I can get out. If I do will you then give me a tour, how do you get food down here? Do you make that good ale here. I met a dwarf who said he was a battlerager once. He drank stuff called rotgut but it made me gag but he loved it. So how many dwarves are here?"

Byron nods to Vernon.

We have been fighting against the Cult of the Dragon for a while.  Some longer than others.  We all have lost friends in that fight.  At the same time we have gained new friends and allies in our fight against the Cult of the Dragon.

After watching the Dwarves rise to the upper level, Nolan turned to the Crypt Keeper,

Your guardians are fine. We did not wish to fight them. Krelm mentioned that he hadn't seen them before.

Vernon materializes in front of Amara,

"Don't be alarmed, Lady, but we be talking to the Dwarves and they want to see all of you, too."

Assuming Amara spreads the word, Myarra will move away from the desk and into the center of the room.

"Well, I've no problem meeting the landlords.  Are they coming to fetch us, or are you supposed to show us the way?"

Either way, it would be best not to be found trying to nick the silver.

Byron waits for Vernon's return before speaking again.

The ring belongs to Vernon.  We have it in our possession as part of our promise to him.  If he agrees to allow it, I have no problem with letting you look at it and trying it on to communicate with him.  However, we will not take kindly to any attempt to harm the ring or him.

"They be goin' up the shaft next to the statues. 10 Dwarves and they not be very happy, so don't pull weapons. Their mood will get worse, I be sure."

Vernon disappears after that and then you all can hear/feel the floor move with each step of the statues. 5 fully armed Dwarves dressed in plate armor come from the East from the throne area and 5 more come out of the Double Doors and meet you at the bottom of the stairs. Two of the female party members wasn't what they were expecting and they immediately go on the defensive. They begin to yell something at you, but there are so many voices trying to tell you to do something, none of you can make any sense of it. Some are curses directed towards Amara, some at Myarra, something about a trap, something about lies, something about getting your weapons....

Amara shrugged, "With that group? No doubt they found something to talk about."

She smiled when Vernon came, taking it as good news that the others were likely coming. But then she sighed, "Thanks Vernon. Seems we'll have company soon, Myarra. I recommend you make yourself look... more presentable - to a dwarf, that is, of course."

She takes a quick moment to cast a spell on herself before the dwarves arrive.


She smiled when she saw the dwarves, "Ah, it's good to know that someone's here. We were afraid that there would be no one to put poor Krelm to rest properly according to dwarven customs.

Now certainly, you don't need weapons for a couple of women, do you? We're just waiting for our friends."

Given the warning, Myarra takes Amara's advice and changes herself into something a bit more presentable before the troops arrive.  Assuming they may be disarmed, she makes sure her weapons remain the same to avoid questions if she has to hand them over.

"Guys! Calm down! We come in peace! Was there a problem with Krelm's bones?"

She makes no move to put hands anywhere near her weapons.  In fact she holds them loosely out to the sides, palms open.

"One person, please.  What do you want us to do?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:27, Thu 24 Feb 2022.

The dwarves continue to yell orders at the women, but mainly at Amara. You have no clue which order to follow as the whole group seems to be yelling at you at the same time...
__________

Vernon gives the OK for Byron to let the Crypt Keeper touch his wedding ring. Before Byron could take it off, the Dwarf grabs Byron's hand.

"Hold still, Laddie. If it's on your finger, then I suspect no tricks."

The Crypt Keeper then lightly pinches his fingers on the ring and looks around and is surprised to see Vernon standing next to Byron, the arrows that caused his death still sticking in his back. He jumped back a bit, which alarmed the rest of the dwarves, but he waved them off as he approached again and touched the ring. He then seemed a bit suspicious,

"Quick, what's my name?"

"I don't know. I don't know ya." Vernon laughed

The Crypt Keeper let go of the ring and looked at Byron,

"Very interesting, Laddie. And very noble of you to help him out. He looks like trouble to me, but that's none of my business, but let's ask your friend something that Krelm might know. Settle all doubts right now. A spell that allows you to speak with the dead will only give your partial answers, sometimes cryptic. If your friend Vernon can truly see Krelm, then Krelm will know the answer to the question I'm about to give. Are you and your friends ready for this? Because if Vernon can't answer this, you'll all be taken prisoner. And prisoners usually have a stay of a couple decades before we remember they're there."

Byron remains still.

Vernon can see and hear you even though you are not wearing or touching the ring.  If you want to hear Vernon's answer then you will need to touch the ring again.  If you don't I will give you the answer word for word that Vernon tells me.

Myarra sighs.

"Is that a battle-axe, are you just happy to see me?" she says specifically to the closest dwarf.

There's not much she can do until they either settle down or decide to grapple with them.  And if they do, she won't resist.  Sure, she and Amara could probably kill a good chunk of them, but that wouldn't do much for interspecies diplomacy.  She can only hope that staying calm and not resisting would get them to start making some sense.

"Still waiting for who's in charge.  Is that you?"

Amara smiled slightly, "Oh? You want me to strip? Do you know that being naked is one of the ways that I worship my goddess Eilistrae? She wishes us to trust in her, not in clothing." Provocatively, she begins to remove her dress-like robe.

Myarra throws up her hands.  "Typical. The guys only want the pretty one.  Do you know how it feels to be left standing when all the girls are picked for the dance?"

Like I said, Master Dwarf, we are searching the ruins for treasures to fight the Cult of the Dragon. We found Krelm's bones when we cleared out the collapsed entrance. Vernon told us that Krelm was a guard to the temple and wished to be put into the tombs down here, so here we are. We mean you no harm. If you want your answer, touch the ring. You can see that it did nothing but show you Vernon. Speak your question and he will tell you what Krelm says.

Twiggy stands still, a little bored now, and waits for Vern9n to answer the questions.

The Crypt Keeper looks at his fellow Dwarves, who are waiting with deep anticipation at what's about to happen. Then he quickly touches the ring,

"Quick Vernon, how did Moradin come to be?"

"Moradin was held in dwarven myths to have been incarnated from rock, stone, and metal, and that his soul an ember of fire....

It was said he forged the first dwarves from metals and gems and breathed souls into them when he blew on his creations to cool them.

Krelm say that he learned that when he joined the Priesthood."

With a smile on his face, the Crypt Keeper let go of the ring and looked to his fellow Dwarves.

"Let them go, Lads. They're friends."

Looking at the party,

"I'm sorry about all of this, but I hope you understand our suspicion. It's good to see that there are good people still up there that would take the time to help the dead along."

Byron gives a smile to the Crypt Keeper.

We appreciate your willingness to let us prove our good intention to help a lost soul return home.  The other things we have said are also very true.

Twiggy chuckled "That is kinda what we do, we have a list. I know dwarves want to be buried with their clans to drink in the halls of Moradin in the afterlife. If you have a big diamond I think our cleric can bring him back if he is willing."

And to remain true to our good intensions, we have searched through the temple above for treasures, as we thought the place was abandoned. We have collected 2 swords and 2 breastplates made of Adamantium. We would return them to you as well, if you wish.

"Sorry Lad, that's not how the spell works. Krelm is way too old to be brought back to life. He wants to go to the Hall of Moradin now, I'm sure, but I was hoping to have Vernon ask him several questions first?"



"I must say it was quite a surprise to see a surface dweller come down here."



"Yes, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask for those back. We use them in ceremonies and rituals in the Temple above. But, I know we have some human sized equipment that we have no use for to compensate, to help you in the fight with this Dragon Cult. We know this Forest is still flooded with Green Dragons, but we had no clue there was a Cult dedicated to them."

Byron looks over at Vernon for an answer to the Crypt Keeper's question.

Twiggy smiled "I am sure Vernon will help you out the best he can. he is trying to make up for bad deeds in his life by doing good now. I am glad Krelm will be with the Dwarf father soon, he died an honorable death protecting the temple and deserves a seat by his family in the halls with an ever full mug of ale.

Yes, your items will be given back right now and we appreciate the items you'll be giving in return. We need all we can so we can raid a mine in the hills near the town of Triel. There is a skeletal dragon there that the Cult is influencing while they use slaves to mine the silver out of the place.

"I'm happy and relieved to see that Krelm can finally be at peace. Being stuck as a ghost under all that rubble, watching life pass him by must have been painful. His bones are in that bag. I'm sorry we didn't have anything more honorable to put him in, but that's all we had at the time when we found him."

To help things along, Vernon agrees to be the "Ghost Translator", which pleases Krelm as well, who is more than happy to help his clan before he goes on to the next life. The Crypt Keeper sends a couple dwarves off to retrieve the items while Nolan gives back the ones the party collected up in the Temple. While waiting, the Crypt Keeper notices that the dwarves who went up to get the rest of the party's group hasn't come back yet, so he sends another 5 to go up there to see what's going on.
__________

And they arrive to see Amara seductively taking her clothes off with the dwarves that were sent up here yelling at the group of Females. One dwarf, a massive being one might call a small bear, yells for everyone to shut up and that's what happens.

"I did not expect to see a Drow up here. Now we know why it took so long to get you."

That massive dwarf sends another dwarf back down to tell the Crypt Keeper their findings....

"Greetings," Myarra calls to the new arrival.

"Technically the delay was caused by these fine gentlemen yelling, screaming, carrying on cranky, and just simply not making any sense, no matter how many times we begged them to settle down and tell us what they wanted.

We're waiting for our friends down below to deliver the bones of a dwarf named Krelm for burial.  I have no idea why that should be the cause for all this commotion.

And my friend here was doing her part to help promote peace and understanding between all peoples of goodwill.

If you're in charge, perhaps you would be so good as to tell us what is happening, and what it is that you'd like us to do?"

The single dwarf comes back down the shaft and runs to the Crypt Keeper to inform him about the situation above,

"There be a Drow Female with their group, Sir. Shall we arrest her?"

The Crypt Keeper turns to the group,

"Hmmm...you didn't mention that you had a Drow among your group, Nolan. But, then I never did ask. We detected no Evil in any of you, so why is there a Drow with your party? Especially a Female? She can call upon her Spider Queen and cause all sorts of trouble here."

"Shall I arrest her, sir? The group is very upset and she's even taking her clothes off."

"Taking her clothes off? Now, that's odd. No, keep them up there and watch them. It's rare to see a Drow on the surface who's associating with others not of her kind. She might be one of those runaways."

The Dwarf salutes the Crypt Keeper and takes the shaft lift back up....

Twiggy's eyes get big "I am going with him, I want to see the strip show!!!  She is nice and abandened the underdark way but still loves to have fun and I want to go see the show, I will be right back." Twiggy tries to go get on the lift to go up.

Yes, she worships the Goddess Eilistrae, who turned from the evil ways of the drow. I've known Amara for a long time. She's the one who found this place so we could get down here to give you Krelm's bones.

Twiggy follows the Messenger Dwarf back up the lift and to where the girls are waiting, surrounded by the Dwarf guards. Unfortunately for Twiggy, the show is already over and Amara has her clothes back on.

"Sir, we are to keep these women up here while the Crypt Keeper uses the ring that can see this ghost that can see Krelm. This Halfling will also be staying up here."

"Ok ladies. Go ahead and sit down. You too, Master Halfling." the big Dwarf directs the girls and Twiggy to sit on the steps "I don't know how long this is going to take."
___________________

The Crypt Keeper motions for Byron, Roenthelm and Nolan to move to a bench near the Crypt entrance, so they can sit down.

"Yes, I have heard of this Eilistrae, but not much. Still, I would like to keep your friend up in the Temple. Perhaps someday, I will meet with her and we could talk. But for now, I would like to use Vernon's ring to talk to Krelm to see if he can answer some questions for us. It will be in front of you, of course. We just need some questions answered that he can answer, hopefully."

I don't have any problems with that. If we can help you in any way, it will be our pleasure.

Myarra takes a seat as requested.  At first there's an uncomfortable silence, which Myarra is compelled to fill in her usual manner.  She tells the dwarves a joke.

"Sir Marisha, Baroness of Mercer, was called to war by the Queen.  She gathered up her best knights and prepared to ride to battle.

But first, she summoned her life-long, dearest, and most trusted friend and ally, Lady Laura, and gave into her care the total management of the castle and lands, as well as the sole key for the chastity belt that Sir Marisha's husband, Baron Matt, would wear while she's away.

"Rule well in my stead," she told her friend.  "For there is no one in all the lands that I can trust more than you.  Guard Baron Matt well, for there are many unscrupulous women both within the castle, and without, and I do not like the way they look at him. Without your constant vigilance, any number of schemes may be launched to usurp my rule.

But, if I do not return within a year and a day, that can only mean I have fallen to the enemy.  In this case, I bequeath to you my title as well, and everything that is mine will be yours."

Lady Laura swore an oath of loyalty and the two hugged each other goodbye, certain that all was well.

Sir Marisha and her knights then rode forth.

But an outrider called to her before the force had even reached the outskirts of the village and told her that there was a messenger from the castle riding full tilt to reach them.  Sir Marisha called for a halt and awaited the messenger, who turned out to be none other than her friend, Lady Laura.

"My dearest friend," she exclaims when Lady Laura was brought before her.  "What is the matter?  I've barely been gone twenty minutes."

Lady Laura knelt before her friend, clearly distressed by some great upheaval.

"You gave me the wrong key."

Byron takes a seat.  Seeing no need to stir up trouble with the Dwarves, who are only interested in ensuring the safety of their domain.

Twiggy laughs at Myarra then adds to it trying to get the dwarves to laugh, if not he will at least, as he starts giving out one liners

 "What does an orc and a baby have in common? They both smell like poo.

How many halflings does it take to hang a lamp. Five, one to hang it and to stand on four others shoulders.

Why did the dwarf put his bed in the fireplace, he wanted to sleep like a log.

I saw my halfling neighbor outside the carriage house the other day.
"Jump in," I said. "I'll give you a lift home."
"[Screw] off," he shouted back.
"What an ungrateful bastard," I thought as I buttoned up my backpack and continued my walk.

The Crypt Keeper and a couple other Sages gather around Byron and for the next hour, there are many questions asked pertaining to the History of the Temple. Apparently, when the Forest fell to the Green Dragons, nobody went outside at this location, so there were many blanks of History that needed to be filled in. But, after the Crypt Keeper and the Sages were content with their new answers, several items are placed at your feet in exchange for the items found in the Temple.

"I thank you Vernon, Nolan, Byron and Roenthelm. I'm Reddar the Crypt Keeper. I hope to see you again to hear about your tales of fighting this Dragon Cult. If we hear anything about them or encounter them, we know where the Black Tower is."

With that said, Reddar shakes your hands then takes Krelm's bones into the Crypt.
_____________

The dwarves do have a sense of humor and a couple laughed at the jokes, only to be given stern looks by the Big Dwarf. You only wait about an hour before Nolan, Byron and Roenthelm return, carrying various bits of equipment and then hand over the Adamantite equipment the party "found" in the temple. You are then escorted outside and it's a beautiful early afternoon. Myarra frowns a bit because Nolan promised this mission would be done right after breakfast.

The dwarves start collecting the boulders the party moved and begin filling the entrance back up. You all wave good bye to the Dwarves and take the Waystone back to the Hub...

The Hub looks and smells really bad.

"You'd think scavengers could do a better job." Myarra opines, holding her nose theatrically the smell.  "I guess even they can't stomach ogre."

She looks over at Nolan.  "So, can you tell us what things the dwarves gave us?  Or do you need to study them?

Can we get started with the teleporting today, or do you need to wait until tomorrow?

Yes, I do want to get going as quickly as possible, but I'm not asking anyone to rush."

Amara found the wait nearly unbearable. She didn't overly like dwarves in general. Stodgy and trusting only in their armor and weapons - nothing in their gods and wits.

"Alright, if you aren't going to let us go, and you aren't going to talk to us - then we'll just have to do the talking.

So, I'll tell you about Eilistrae." And so she did.

***

When they got back, she stated, "So what did the dwarves say? Ours were most dour and had no interest in talking."

"The group we were with were just as dour as yours, I'm sure. The crypt keeper Reddar did most of the talking and was very suspicious of us, which was to be expected. It took a bit of explaining and the use of Vernon's ring, but after that, he became rather pleasant. We were with him for a bit because he wanted to ask Krelm questions before he took him into the tomb."

Looking around at the mess and covering his nose from the smell, Roen started moving bodies into a pile.

"OK, we're here. We've been talking about this for several days now. Let's just do it and be over with it. Who has oil to burn these bodies?"

Nolan started moving bodies into a pile. He agreed with Roen that they needed to be gotten rid of.

I have no clue how they got a pair of magical horse shoes, but they make the horse move faster. I've also seen pictures of Rhinoceros before, but I don't know why somebody would make armor out of it's hide. It might be commonplace for their land, I don't know. The Greatsword is magical and extra sharp and I saw Byron eyeing that. The Bow is magical and shoots arrows further than normal. I can see Aliana using that. Nothing for us spell-users, of course.

"Or me. The greatsword would be useful, but it really isn't any better than what I have.  The rest is just weird."

"Or Twiggy. I'd like to see my friend live awhile, not die in some random skirmish. Sorry I was silent, by the way. The last thing we needed to deal with was trying to explain a talking coin to the dwarves."

Aliana nodded in agreement with Nolan, though blinked in surprise at the voice coming from Twiggy

Kali sat quietly at Byrons' side, her feet twitching as she looked around, clearly nervous about where she was.  Her eyes darted all over, biting her lip as she rasped her own hands.

Raieylan, however, was more at ease, lying at her feet almost snoozing

Twiggy giggled at Copper "I am going to make a sock puppet or better yet get a copper toned lifelike puppet to use and talk. I am not worried about the items, I know how to stay away from death situation. Unless I am causing them doing something fun."

OK, let's just get this mess cleaned up and put the bodies into a pile for now, out of the way so we're not stepping on them every time we use the Waystone. When we come back exploring Myarra's trip, we can light them up. I don't want to do it now because the fire will be left unattended. The quicker we do this, the quicker we get out of here.

With all the bodies stiff from Rigor Mortis, they are easy to move into a big pile away from the Hub. It takes about an hour, but the area can be walked around now without tripping over dead bodies. With the season being summer, there is plenty of kindling lying around for you to start the fire when you wish to do so. You wash your hands with the magical Decanter and then transport back to the village of Daak.

It's around 2pm-ish.

"OK, where we be goin' now? Do we have enough to go to the mines?"

Twiggy looks at Myarra "Do we go to that tower that was buzzing."

"Well, that's my preference.

Is everyone ready to go, or do you need to wait until tomorrow?  Nolan, do you have any teleport spells ready?"

Yes, I have only two, though, and I can only take three of us with me. That would be me, you and two others. I'm thinking Aliana since she can heal us if we get into a fight and I'm open for the last volunteer. I'm thinking Byron will want some alone time with Kali, Roen will go and help the farmers with their crops, Twiggy will take advantage of the food dispenser, so I'm thinking Amara.

"That makes sense.  I was going to suggest Byron and Kalli, but you make a good point.

So, if Aliana and Amara are agreeable, we can head out.  We'll check out the area and make sure it's safe.  Other than that, we'll wait until morning when you can bring whomever else is coming along.

And if the place is crawling with bad guys, we just come back and try a new plan."

Aliana smiled at her friends
"You know me, I'm always ready for a road trip"

"I am ready," Amara agreed.

"Great!  Just one more thing.  Nolan, can I pick up a couple of things in the tower?"

Kali blushes at the suggestion of alone time with byron, but had a slight smile. "if you need my skills, i will come"

Twiggy frowns at not being asked to come but he is hungry and Nolan is right about the food maker. "Have fun with the vibrating fort. I am goimg to explore the tower."

"I completely understand, Nolan. Have a safe trip and I'll see you when you get back."

Roen smiles and walks off to help the farmers.

"Don't pout, Twiggy, it doesn't become the companion of a copper coin.

Besides, we're not going to the humming tower yet.  We're just going to that ruined building where we found Lorrik.

It's going to take Nolan a couple of trips to get us all there, or at least everyone that wants to go.  Then we'll head for the tower."

Twiggy grins "That's ok. Copper and I are going to try to get by some of the towers magical defences. I need to practice up on my magical traps and devices.

I do want to go to the humming tower. I know there has to be something good there to do that."

Byron tries hard to suppress a smile as Nolan's suggestion but fails and also blushes.

If Kali goes with you guys, I'll go with her.

Byron turns to Nolan.

The Horseshoes might be a good idea for Charger or for anyone else who has a war horse.  However, I'm still not sure how useful they would be under the circumstances.

"What is a humming tower?" Copper asked Twiggy "A place to learn songs?"

"Aliana and Amara have already agreed to come.  So let's go with them for this first trip and the two of you can come in the first batch in the morning."

After getting the supplies Myarra needed from the tower, Nolan commented,

I was thinking of giving the others a day off to do what they wanted because I'm still having problems teleporting. That's why I have the levitation boots. When I picked up Roen from Soubar a few days back, he fell almost 30 feet. You can fly, Amara and I can levitate and Aliana can either hold on to you, or use her fly spell. I recognize these components and I saw that Lynx in the crystal. You're summoning a familiar. It would be easier if we just went there and teleported back when you were ready.

"I haven't made any attempt to hide the fact.  But I didn't want to inconvenience everyone else because of my needs.

Clearing the mines is a priority, and to do that we need to search that tower.  I figured this was a good way to speed up our overall quest, as well as allow me to attend to a small personal matter.

If you feel you need a day or two to make sure you can teleport everyone safely, I completely understand.  Again, I don't want to put anyone in needless danger.

But I'm willing to take the chance personally to get things started.  Anyone that does want to come with would be welcome.  But if you want, you can just send me.  I'll fly over to the tower, perform my ritual, and then wait for the rest of you to catch up when you're ready."

"I will go," Amara said simply. "We don't want anyone to be daydreaming about other things."

Twiggy lets the others go as he starts going through the tower to the area with the wards only for wizards. "No copper it isn't a musical tower, well at least I don't think so. Awhile back Myarra found it in the woods when we was excavating Vernon's tower to get his bones. It hums with a magical energy but we still don't know what it is. That is why I am going to the areas in this tower that are supposed to be off limits because of wards. I need to learn more about magical traps and protective wards if I am ever to get better. I hope you can't feel my pain because I am sure this is about to hurt." Twiggy then begins to go to the higher levels to see what is there.

This trip shouldn't take long. I'm sure they'll understand that I have limitations with my spell casting. We should be back before it gets dark tonight. I can teleport us back from where you meet your familiar.

The consensus of the group is for everyone to be in the forest for Myarra's trip. Myarra has gathered the supplies she needed for the ritual she needs to perform and is ready to leave. It's currently 3pm-ish as Nolan takes Myarra, Aliana and Amara outside with their supplies packed to spend the night in the forest near the broken bridge. Nolan casts the Teleport spell and they're gone in a blink of an eye.

The villagers who witnessed it are surprised because they've never seen that before. Kalliyan and Byron wander around the village for their "alone time" while Twiggy wanders into the tower to train in the basement, talking to Copper along the way. Roenthelm is seen out in the fields helping the farmers with their work.
__________

The 4 arrive at the broken bridge and Amara had to quickly Levitate to keep herself from falling down into the creek bed below, which was a good 20 feet. From the bridge to the tower is a couple miles. You check out the tower here and it looks undisturbed. With some effort, you could set up the scaffolding again, if you wished.

Game Map 1 is still the same.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:40, Fri 11 Mar 2022.

"The spot I need to go to is just off the same path that leads to the tower. I'm going to start hiking up that way and get my ritual started. Once I'm finished, which should be about this same time tomorrow, I'll join you all at the tower."

If anyone wants to come with, they're welcome to, but otherwise, Myarra double checks her equipment and hurries up the path, the location of the stream and the nearby den fixed in her mind.

Aliana casts a flying spell, and followed Myarra, in case there's trouble.

OK, I'll hang around here for awhile to get more familiar with this place, so I can improve my teleports. Just be careful tonight. Don't attract anything by having a fire and I'll see you all in the morning.

Amara nodded to Nolan, "Agreed. Be safe, Nolan."

She followed Myarra.

Myarra, Aliana and Amara head upstream to the humming tower. It's about 3+ miles and it takes awhile to get there with the soft dirt in the stream, big rocks and fallen trees and the overall non-usage of the area, so all 3 of you get your cardio in for the day. The weather is absolutely beautiful, the birds are chirping and you can hear the roar of a Green Dragon miles and miles away, which is common in the Forest of Wyrms.

When you see the tower off in the distance, Amara and Aliana stand back while Myarra approaches. The Lynx probably heard, saw and smelled all 3 of you a mile ago, but Myarra needs to start her Ritual so the 2 of them can bond. So, Aliana and Amara go find a suitable spot to make camp for the night.
__________

Nolan wanders around the tower and studies the area for over an hour before getting bored and Teleporting back to Daak for the day. He sees Roen off with the farmers working in their fields, Byron and Kalliyan sitting in the grass off in the distance and finds Twiggy busy training in the basement to better his skills, while talking to a copper coin.

Using her extensive knowledge of outdoor survival (mostly from books, though she'd certainly gotten plenty of experience with her Traveling Companions since she joined them), Aliana made a good and defensible campsite,  hidden from casual view if possible
(Will Take 10 is appropriate)

Myarra trusts that Amara and Aliana will have her back if anything dangerous comes calling.  Not that she couldn't defend herself, but she has no intention of stopping the ritual for anything so stupid as a predator that lacks basic survival instincts.

Setting up on the bank of the stream a few hundred feet from Shannon's den, she spreads out the components of the ritual and begins, chanting softly to gain her familiar-to-be's attention and carefully weave the binding that will join them together.

Amara looked around the area for a nice cave where they could spend the night, having a preference for them versus any other kind of shelter.

After setting up camp, Aliana sets up a position where she can keep an eye out for Myarra, and gets out some travel games, if Amara was interested.

Amara doesn't find any caves in this area, so she settles for the little branch fort that Aliana has built for shelter. Then she's stuck playing the little travel games Aliana brought along for the trip. Time passes slowly....

Myarra starts her Summon Familiar ritual.
__________

The next day, Nolan teleports back to the broken bridge with Twiggy and Roenthelm and Vernon. Nolan is carrying his ring for now so Byron and Kalliyan could be more "private" without a ghost watching them. :)

30 yards downstream, the 3 of you can see a big Brown Bear drinking water from the stream.

"You know, I've never seen a bear in the wild before. Beautiful creatures. I can't tell if it's a momma bear or not. I don't see any cubs. I've heard that if you see cubs, you should immediately move in the opposite direction!" Roen laughed "But anyway, since we're here and we'll be waiting on Myarra to do what she's doing, how about we dig more in this tower?"

If that's what you wish to do with your time. I saw the wood contraption you all built and I can have the water elemental set it upright again for you to climb on.

Nolan pulls out his special bowl and fills it up with water and speaks the command word. A large Water Elemental comes forth from the bowl.

Twiggy rubs his hands together "Time to get dirty and find some goodies. Let me get inside and cast detect magic. We may be close enough to the bottom to break a hole and use the decanter to wash everything out."

Amara isn't terribly familiar with surface dweller games. Games are learned mostly by children. Flicka seems much more interested, darting out of the pocket she usually rested in and seeming to want to play on her own.

"A large animal is unusual for a familiar," Amara commented about Myarra's ritual.

Nolan summons the Water Elemental who uses its watery "arms" to lift the scaffold upright again. The digging tools and sifter were left inside the tower, so you all have everything you need to start up your excavations again. The last time you were here, you cleared out a bunch of branches and grass and when you finally found Vernon's bones, you were about 1/2 way down the 30 foot tower. Now it's just dirt. It will take quite some time to dig to the bottom. At least a week with the use of the decanter if you're sifting through the dirt for valuables. You don't want to make the tower a sink hole. Using the Water Elemental to wash the inside of the structure might collapse it, so Nolan sends the creature back home.

Bucket by bucket, the dirt is brought up and then lowered down to the grass so it could be sifted through. Hours go by...
________________

Myarra spotted the Lynx she's calling "Shannon" all through the night. She can feel the raw magic flowing out during her ritual and it's something she never understood before. She now understands why some Wizards can get drunk on power. The ritual lasts through the night and into the next day and it creeps Myarra a bit to temporarily see through the Lynx's eyes and the heightened sense of smell and hearing. When the ritual is over in the early afternoon, Myarra is tired, but Shannon trots on over to her purring....

Aliana starts clapping with joy when she is introduced to Shannon and Amara is thankful for the change, as she was getting tired of the silly games Aliana brought along, even though she was good at them.

But, where were the guys? They were supposed to meet the girls at this humming tower to explore why it was humming...

In reply to Amara (msg # 155):

Aliana smiled and nodded to Amara.
"Unusual, unless the mage is powerful or casts a powerful version of the spell.  I'm not well acquainted with the ritual, but I've heard stories of arch wizards who have huge familiars they can ride upon."

She looked at Amara with an expression of sympathy.
"My apologies, my friend, if these games aren't to your liking.  They are meant not as a sophisticated challenge by themselves, but as an easy way to pass time, and, perhaps, promote conversation.  We can just talk, if you'd like, or we can sit quietly, if you'd prefer. "

While Byron and Kali are in Daak, Byron makes sure to check in with Rufus and Lorrik to see how they are doing.  He will practice with them if they want as well as play with the kids when there is some free time to do so.  The rest of the time he spends with Kali.

Myarra is ecstatic as the bond with Shannon takes hold.  An empty space inside her that she didn't even know existed is suddenly full.  It's not the same relationship as she once had with Sule, but then every cat is a unique individual.  Shannon isn't a replacement for Sule, she's her own person.

After greeting the lynx properly, with lots of petting, scritching, and light head-butts, Myarra introduces her new companion to her two old companions, letting Shannon know that these are friends and that they can be trusted not to harm her.

She's especially careful with Flika, making absolutely sure that Shannon understands that the hummingbird is friend, not food, and that there had better not be any accidents.

Once they've packed up and returned to the tower, she's surprised to find the place deserted.  She suggests returning to the bridge to find out what's happened to the rest of the group, only to find them hard at work excavating Vernon's tower.  Which isn't humming at all.

"Guys?" she calls. "Why are you here instead of at the tower?"

The tone of her voice suggests that there is no correct answer.  She stands patiently, with one hand stroking the head of the large lynx that sits at her side.

All Myarra hears from the inside of the tower is an echoing voice of Twiggy "Because you get angry when we do things without you and the humming tower was your idea so we are killing time until you are done. There are still a few items in here but we can go now if you are ready."

"Please, my dearest Twiggy, when have I ever gotten angry?  That is a very unkind and hurtful statement to make to a gentle soul such as myself."

Just in case it's not obvious, she's not angry or upset.  In fact, the most accurate terms would be amused and/or smug.  After all, she's just had a very good day.

You can hear Twiggy laughing "Well I think you would get angry, but even I am not brave enough to test you. I am coming out." Twiggy pulls himself out of the tower and climbs down and washes himself ogg with the decaunter before reslly seeing the lynx "Well hello, who is your new friend?"

I will admit that time escaped us. Sifting through the dirt is a bit hypnotic and a tad exciting when you find something interesting. I just wish we found more than a farmer's hoard.

"And I have to declare that I was abducted and forced to dig up this treasure." Roen laughed "And we have a long way to go if we're going to get to the bottom."

"I swear," Myarra says with a laugh.  "We leave you men unsupervised for one day.

Well, you may have forgotten what you were supposed to be doing, but my side quest has quite exceeded my expectations.

May I introduce Shannon, a small piece of my soul now made flesh.  Go say hello now,"

She waves her hand at the three men and Shannon gets up and strolls over, allowing each of the men to offer their hand, if they wish to do so.

Whether or not she's allowed a polite sniff, she stares each man in the eye, which those of you who know cats find strange.  Cats normally only do that to establish dominance.  Apparently she has accepted you as servants of her mistress, but still one step below herself in the hierarchy.

She then slowly strolls around each, casually rubbing up against any leg that doesn't get out of the way, before heading back to sit by Myarra again.

"So, if Twiggy is finished playing in the mud, shall we go plunder an ancient magical tower?"

Twiggy lets Shannon sniff his hand and if she lets him he scratches her behind her ears. He gives a big smile as she stares into his eyes "I like her, she is you in cat form." Twiggy laughs as he shakes off the last of the water.

He picks up his gear "And I like playing in the mud. Hopefully this new tower isn't full of dirt."

Nolan crouches down and lets Shannon smell his hand before petting the Lynx. He was a cat person. Most men liked dogs, but not Nolan. Cats rubbing up against you means they're rubbing their scent on you, but Nolan didn't mind. Ashara was mad at him anyways.

OK, let's go check out this other tower.

Sister Aliana was overjoyed to see the big cat
So fuzzy!!! "
She patiently waits her turn to hug the adorable kitty

Rufus and Lorrik are nowhere to be found. The farmers haven't seen them in a couple days. Rufus is a Ranger, so he's probably out in the forest somewhere teaching Lorrik the trade. Oona, Khayyim Vedim and Kalur Blackleaf wander around town as guards and help unload supplies from Soubar, but they say things are going OK. So, Byron and Kalliyan have to wait for Nolan to return, but even then, he will have to rest to get his spells back.
____________

The rest of the party wanders back upstream the 3+ miles to where Myarra finished her ritual to summon Shannon. Aliana's little branch fort has enough room if additions wanted to be added. From across the stream, the party can see the ruined tower. The tower near the trail looks to be in better condition than this one, but as the party approaches the structure, they can start to hear the humming.

Main Game Map has been updated
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:44, Wed 16 Mar 2022.

"Okay, you know me.  My way of investigating is to look under rocks and hit anything that moves until it stops.  This is way out of my league.

Can anybody tell what's humming and why it's doing it?

I'm happy to go searching for whatever, but I thought getting that question out first might be a good idea."

Aliana listened carefully; her elven ears perked up almost visibly.  She narrowed her eyes in thought, trying to pinpoint what the sound could mean.

OOC:
23:00, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 25 using 1d20+5.  listen.

22:59, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 19 using 1d20+5.  knowledge engineering.

22:59, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  knowledge arcana

It's magic out of alignment. This sound reminds me of the wrecked ship and it's similar to the stones of balance. If things are out of alignment, the magic doesn't work properly. That's why I tend to stay away from augment crystals.

Myarra wanders up closer to the wall and starts looking for signs of anything of interest, careful not to actually touch anything.

Unfortunately, a few seconds later, she notices Shannon forcibly sticking her head under Nolan's hand in a blatant attempt to curry favor and get head scritches.

So instead of searching the ruins, Myarra's forced to spend some time trying to get Shannon to understand the concept of personal boundaries.


OOC:
Worthless son of a dice roller!
11:56, Today: Myarra rolled 0 using 1d20-1.  Shannon Search Check.
11:56, Today: Myarra rolled 3 using 1d20+1.  Search Check.

Twiggy wanders around the tower trying to see if he notices anything

12:07, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 28,18 using 1d20+17,1d20+17.  Search.

Aliana stops and stares at the ruined tower and thinks about what could make something hum like that and comes to the same conclusion as Nolan. Something's not right about the magic, which tells her that there's magic here. But, she has no clue what it might be. Twiggy walks up some old stone steps, followed by Myarra and Shannon. Twiggy searches around and can tell that this place collapsed and the humming is coming from under ground. Shannon searches around and is sniffing animal poop Myarra trips on some loose stone trying to figure out what this place could be. The rest of you look around in wonder.

Spot Checks please. DC 20

While wandering around the village talking, Byron and Kalliyan spot 3 riders coming into the village. They stop at one of the local farmers off in the distance, then continue on, talking to farmers along the way until one of the farmers points at Byron. The 3 riders then ride straight to you. They look like Ruffians and are armed to the teeth. They don't look very threatening right now, but by the looks of them, they've seen fights before. All 3 of them are dressed in leathers, have longswords and daggers and Longbows. All 3 look like they've been on the road for a bit. None of them go for their weapons, but Byron and Kalliyan could have theirs out in a heart beat if these men mean trouble. They stop their horses a good 30 feet from you and the leader speaks,

"The farmer said to look for Brian. You Brian?"

The man probably misunderstood how to say your name?

Byron looks them over carefully.

I'm Byron.  What do you want?

The man slowly pulls out a rolled parchment and unrolls it for Byron and Kalliyan to see. It is a wanted poster of Amara.

"I'm looking for a Female Drow named Amara. I tracked her down to Soubar, which led me here. The Farmers have said a Drow lives here in this Black Tower. She is a wanted criminal and I'm here to bring her back. I was told you know this Amara."

The drawing on the wanted poster looks exactly like Amara and the bounty is 250 gold pieces.

Kali, walking by Byrons side quietly, relished in the quiet time. Raieylan, padding beside them was a common sight in Daak now, and no one feared the panther - though no one (other than children) openly approached him either.

When the men came over, the three stopped. She let Byron speak, but when she spoke of Amara being a wanted criminal, she frowned. As if sensing her shift in mood, Raieylan's tail moved as if stalking, looking at the man.

Kali held her hand out, but looked at the man. "What crime is she being accused of?"

In reply to Big Boss (msg # 175):

Aliana, her eyes caught up in details like they'd been regularly in her librarian days,  scanned everything carefully

OOC: 20:18, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 24 using 1d20+5.  Spot

Byron tried very hard to hide the irritation in his voice and keep the amusement out of his eyes and mostly succeeded in doing so.  At the same time he sized up the idiots in front of them.

I guess for some it is a crime to be a better citizen for all of the world than to stay what one was born into.  I seriously hope you are not looking for her on the word of Pervis the pervert Centauri or even more stupidly on the word of Nelson the useless Centauri.

Nolan didn't notice anything as he was talking to Vernon.

Why don't you have a look to see what's under all this rubble?

Twiggy can't seem to find much but keeps walking around.

11:50, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 24,25 using 1d20+12,1d20+12.  Spot check.

"I have heard of these men, but have no dealings with them."

The man looked at the parchment and tried to read it,

"On mul..ti..pule cou..nts of De..ser..tion and Trea..son, Amara Stru..thio of House Druu Dru...." the man tried to pronounce
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:24, Sat 19 Mar 2022.

With a smile, Vernon disappears into the ground....

"This place is ruined just like the one you found me in. I wonder what they were for and why is it humming? What does it mean that the magic is out of alignment?" Copper asked

Myarra waits for Vernon to return with, hopefully, useful information.  Although she'd never admit out loud that ghosts were good for anything but scaring little (and not so little) children.

In the meantime, she works with Shannon, trying to get a better handle on the empathic link that binds them.  Clearly just trying to search the ground isn't going to get them anywhere.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:55, Sat 19 Mar 2022.

Twiggy thought on what Copper asked and really doesn't know all about magical things except what he has seen "I am really not sure of all of the magical details but some things we have been locating has been old, very old. The magic they used seems to be a mix of druidic and arcane. It relies on multiple singular magic items that on their own do very little, but when you put them together they become extremly powerful forces working together. However, they have to be placed in perfect harmony and if they are not regularly, and routinly maintained they become off balance and jammed, and could hum. Imagine throwing a piece of iron into a clocks gears. All of the gears are still there, the pressure of it wanting to work is still there, but something is stopping it from working together. This tower is humming because the power is still there, but something is jamming the gears. 

Byron replies in a reasonable voice.  He stresses the word I each time he speaks it so that Kali realizes he is deliberately misleading the group of idiots while at the same time telling the truth.

Well Amara is not here at the moment.  I do not know when or if she will return and if I did, I certainly wouldn't tell someone who cannot pronounce her name correctly.  A word of wisdom to you all.  Do not seek Amara out.  She will have no problem with both deciding to and actually killing you.  Another word of wisdom stay away from the Centauri's.  They will turn on you faster than you can draw and fire an arrow.

Getting scritches and compliments is all well and good.  But being cute takes a lot of energy and Shannon feels like she needs a little something to tide her over.

With her new mistress' permission, she slinks off into the nearby woods in search of a rabbit, maybe a groundhog, if she's lucky.

She'll stay nearby, easily within range of her mistress' call, but hanging around a bunch of rocks while silly bipeds stand there making weird noises isn't something she finds interesting.

Kali listened to Byron's veiled warning and grimaced. While he technically told the truth, he also purposfully left details out. He also threatened men who were working for a living, who clearly had no idea of what they were part of.

She placed a comforting hand on Byron's hand. "Byron dear, their just doing there jobs." She looked at them with a smile, though her tone left no doubt that even though she sympathized with them, that they followed this course, it would be bad for them. "I don't know who issued this, but if you can tell me who, i will see to higher authorities as to the reasons for this to sort this out."

"That is a very good description and I think I understand it. I just wonder what the towers do now?"

"There is nothing to sort out, Ma'am. Drow Elves are mean as they come and I find it strange that you and your man would protect one. We will be leaving your village now."

With that said, the man puts the wanted poster back in his pocket and puts his hand in the air and motions a "Move out" signal and whistles as he turns his horse around and starts to move away. Hidden in the ruins of buildings and the tall grasses, at least 8 more men rise and follow.

While looking around the ruins of this tower, Twiggy and Aliana spot another tower upstream a couple of miles. They turn around and they can clearly see the tower the party has been excavating downstream...

Then Vernon pops out of the ground.

"Aye. This tower be the same as the one I be dumped into. There be a raised platform and another Sapphire gem on the ground maybe 5 feet down."

The party looks at the ruins mixed with big rocks and you would guesstimate it would take several days to clear up the rubble.

I'm at a loss for what this building is for. You ask me about various herbs and plants and I'm your man. But, aren't sapphire gems worth some good coin? That would help the party with the equipment needed to defeat the skeletal dragon.

Upon hearing that there is another tower off in the distance, Roen climbed on the ruins of the current tower to get a better look.

"While money would help, I'm still interested in learning why a single gem-stone would cause this unbalanced magic effect.  Is the magic centered on the gem? Why is it unbalanced?  What effect was it supposed to have?

Is the next tower the same?  I don't remember there being a mention of a gem in Vernon's tower, although I may have just missed it."

"Aye, there be a gem there as well. But that be much longer to dig out."

Another tower? We can go explore that when Byron and Kalliyan are here tomorrow. I can summon the water elemental to wash these rocks which would make them easier to move. I don't want to ruin the landscape. These towers were put here for a reason, a reason I don't know yet. I think when I go back to town, I'll take Byron and Kalliyan with me and visit Hanns. He'll know what this place is and I'll have an answer for us in the morning, along with a bunch of food. Stay safe and I'll see you in the morning.

Nolan stands off to the side and prepares to Teleport.

Byron watches them leave making a careful note of their numbers.  Once they are out of sight Byron replies to Kali.

I have a feeling we will be seeing them again.  We better let Rufus Oona and the others know about them.  We will tell Amara about them as soon as we see her again.  They must also be as bad at math as they are at reading.  That bounty is basically 20 gold per person in that group assuming the so called leader can be trusted to share it properly.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:10, Sun 20 Mar 2022.

OK, Nolan Teleports back to Daak while the rest of you explore the ruins and make Aliana's camp a bit bigger. Shannon wanders around and hunts down a ground squirrel and makes a meal of the rodent.
______________

By the time Byron and Kalliyan see Nolan again, the Bounty Hunters have been gone for a couple hours. Nolan informs the both of you that he wishes to visit Hanns the Librarian to find out if the broken towers had a special purpose.

Shannon returns from her hunting trip, feeling a bit better with a full stomach.  As a sign of respect, she spits out the squirrel's tail at Myarra's feet.  Well, half of it.  She really was quite hungry.

"So, what are we going to do while we wait?" Myarra asks the others, giving her new best friend cheek scritches to show her appreciation.

"Shall we head up the stream and see if there are even more towers?  Go back to Vernon's tower and dig?  Or just hang out and do our own things?"

"Well, you all need more treasure to get better equipment to fight the skeletal dragon in the mines, so I'm thinking that Vernon's tower would be the best way to go. The place is already set up."

Twiggy is up for more digging and think8ng of the large gem "We can dig a bit more. Can you just fly up and see if you see any other towers above the trees."

Amara was glad when Myarra's ritual was done.

She listened intently to the humming, trying to understand it better.

Kali watches as the men left, a frown on her face, and simply nods at Byron's suggestion. "Maybe it's something more personal. Such a large group for one woman is unusual, but they must know she has allies."

When Nolan returned, Kali filled him in on the visitors, and when he voiced wanting to speak to hans, she nodded. "Maybe we should accompany him byron."

Byron agrees with Kali both with her assessment of the bounty hunters and accompanying Nolan to see Hans first.

They are not the brightest people I've encountered.   Although I have encountered others who were even dumber than this group.  We will let Amara know about the bounty on her after seeing Hans.

Byron makes sure that others in Daak are aware of the bounty on Amara and that it is more garbage just as the bounties on Lorrik and myself.

250 gold pieces might not be much to us, but what could your father do with that kind of coin on his farm, Byron? Buy more cattle, pigs, chickens, tools, stuff to fix things around the house, cloth to make new clothes for everyone. 250 gold pieces to a farmer is a fortune, even if it is divided up between the lot of them.

But anyways, let's go see Hanns, then we'll come back and put a couple baskets of food together for tomorrow. I think the plan is to dig in Vernon's tower for treasures.

Nolan walks out of the village to the waystone.

In reply to Nolan (msg # 208):

Byron follows Nolan to the waystone.

True, but being in the business they are or the business I am in requires a lot of upkeep.  One you are always travelling to find work, two certain activities are likely to see someone wear out their welcome in a given area.

Kalliyan, Byron, Nolan and Vernon use the Waystone to teleport to the Hub. Nothing has changed here. The pile of bodies is off to the side waiting to be burned and you scare off wild animals chewing on the flesh. You all look around, see no danger, and then Teleport to the Library of Hanns.

The Ghost appears in front of you, making Rae hiss and growl. He seems a bit surprised at the sight of Vernon,

"Nolan, do you know you have a ghost following you?"

"Aye, I be their friend. Name's Vernon. How can everyone see you, but not me?"

Myarra, who brought up the suggestion of possibly traveling upstream to see if there were any other towers, shrugs and takes to the air, making sure no Dragons were flying around. She clears the tree tops and goes higher until she spots the new tower Twiggy and Aliana spotted several miles away. Then she looks further and she can make out more towers. They crisscross across the stream, but with her vantage point, she thinks the stream might have been much more than just a stream. Besides the tower Twiggy and Aliana spotted, Myarra spots 2 more beyond that.

Amara listens to the humming of the magic and it reminds her of Dwarven Magics. The Dwarves liked to use stones in their magical constructions and the more she thinks on it, the more she is convinced.

"I think that humming is Dwarven Magic," Amara tells the others with her.

Though not sure if she was wasting her time, Alaina nodded to Amara when she spoke her conclusion, and cast a couple of spells.
Casting Comprehend Languages and Detect Magic, she analyzed the humming, trying to listen more carefully.

OOC:  20:47, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 24 using 1d20+17.  Knowledge Arcana .
20:47, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 14 using 1d20+5.  Listen.
20:46, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 17 using 1d20+5.  History .
20:46, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 18 using 1d20+6.  Knowledge engineering

It's been a bit since the last time we saw you. We lost some companions and gained some.

Nolan then spends a couple minutes explaining to Hanns about Vernon before asking him about the towers.

The first two towers have a sapphire gem in the bottom, but the towers are filled with dirt and debris.

And Nolan spends the next few minutes explaining the situation the group is in with the digging.

"Interesting, very interesting. Let's go over to the Engineering section and take a look. Pull out the Index guide and look for Engineering Towers and see if there's anything there?"

The 4 of you wander over in that direction and over the next few hours, you dig through various books about Towers in Myth Jannath, each of you reading passages about anything that describes a tower that has Sapphire gems as some sort of magical component to the tower's function. Byron finds a passage about it and a Dwarf named Brigham Stormhammer, an Engineer for the mines, created a way to drain the mines of the water that came from an underground river.

So, you cross reference Brigham Stormhammer and find his Engineering works and you find the towers listed as Mine Draining and Irrigation Dam Towers. Apparently, each tower would raise and lower a dam wall along the river and allow the water that was drained from the mines to flow and irrigate various parts of the forest along it's path.

The passages go on to explain the function of the towers, but not how they were created. The use of the Sapphires (Water) placed into the mechanism would either raise or lower the dam. Modern Engineering techniques now have made these towers "Old Technology".

Now you know why the area North of "Home Base" has become a Swampy area....

After learning that the magic might be Dwarvish, Aliana does some magical experiments, but only concludes that the magic might be old Dwarvish, along with the construction of the towers. She does find it interesting that there's 5 towers and they're placed alongside the riverbed.

In reply to Big Boss (msg # 217):

Interesting how?

Interesting that if the towers are the same, they each might have a Sapphire in them? Or, why would somebody bother to put Dwarven Stone towers next to a river bed?

Roen is ready to leave and starts back to Vernon's tower to continue with the digging.

I'm assuming something this important would need quick access, so I'm wondering if there is a Waystone around there somewhere? Also, if the towers were fixed and the water was released, what would that do to the surrounding area? Also, do you know of any place that might hold treasures that could destroy undead?

"I've been a ghost for a couple hundred years, Vernon. I'm sure if you're still around long enough, you'll be able to manifest yourself so others can see you. If that's what you want to do, of course."



"Let's go look at the map and see if Brigham had a Waystone. I would think so with the towers being so important for draining the mines. But, to answer your question, I have no clue what a flood of water would do. I haven't seen that area in ages. But, I'd guess that it would be bad if you just let it all out at once. Any treasures that could destroy undead? Well, the only thing I know was Sir Percival's Holy Avenger, but that was buried with him long ago in the Cemetery. Who knows if it's still there?"

You pull out the map of the forest and look up Brigham Stormhammer and he indeed does have a Waystone, but unfortunately, it's North of the 5 towers and probably in the swamp.

Forest Way-stone list has been updated as well as Game Map T
This message was last edited by the player at 00:18, Fri 25 Mar 2022.

"Nay. Me friends here be helpin' me get a reserekshen so I can be with me wife again. That be why I'm travelin' with them. I do me part to help them out with scoutin' and stuff."

Resurrection, Vernon.

Nolan copied down the information on the map.

Possibly in the middle of the swamp? That means Trolls, snakes, undead and more Dragons. But, that would still save us several days of me trying to teleport everyone. And if Brigham's place is still standing, we'd have a secret place to stay at as well. We could go through the waystone and Kalliyan could turn into a bird and inform the party waiting at the tower.

After hearing that there was a Holy Avenger sword buried in the cemetery,

I don't think that would be an option at all. We went to the cemetery for a quick look and the place looks bad. His tomb was probably spoiled long ago, but even then, I'm not going to steal his sword just so we can kill something with it. We've been trying to collect treasures to sell so I can make stuff to kill an undead dragon in the Trielta mines.

Byron does his best to study and memorize the information provided by Hanns and the books in question. Byron suspects that no one in the party including himself would not be able to use the Holy Avenger.

Hanns, could these stones have been positioned in such a way to form an underground lake, but still allow water to run freely without creating a marsh above ground at one time in the past?  My suspicion is that someone moved the last stone in the series to seal off that path for the water to run freely allowing the lake to rise higher and create the marsh now there.  I don't think any human alive would be able to remember a time where that marsh wasn't there.

"I have no clue, Byron. Your guess is just as good as mine. Releasing the water down the riverbed would make a mess, though. The path of those towers probably haven't seen a steady flow of water for a long time, by the sound of your stories."

When he, and whomever was following him back to the tower get there, Roen goes back to digging up treasures. He likes doing this. It's not harming anyone and the party isn't killing anyone to gain them. He doesn't want the treasures for himself. He has no use for it, but his friends do and he wants to do his best to help out his friends. They need it as well as the prisoners in the mine.

Kali sat in silence, listening to the"Perhaps the stones caused the flooding, but perhaps something else caused it. Either way, i am a druid of the land - given time i can explore underwater in a inconspicuous way and solve the mystery. I can even control land and water - i may be able to help with that too so as to protect the land." men (and ghosts) talk, something in her mind ticking over. Finally she spoke.

"That place be swamp fer as long as I remember, so I think we should get the stones before somebody else does. It's pretty rare to see something like that just lying around. Those stone be worth a fortune."

So, with no further questions to ask Hanns, Nolan, Byron, Kalliyan and Vernon head back to Daak. The Hub area looks the same as before with the pile of dead bodies that need to be burned and the Iron Golems are waiting for you when you return to the Black Tower. Byron and Kalliyan then wander off to do their thing before resting for the night. Nolan goes back into the Tower to prepare for tomorrow. He gathers up a bunch of food from the magical dispenser and then heads on up to the 2nd floor to check up on his various experiments.
______________

Myarra, Amara, Aliana, Roenthelm and Twiggy make it back to Vernon's tower around 5pm and dig until dark (another 3 hours). The rest of the day and night are uneventful, but you do hear Dragon roars well off into the distance, which is a common thing in the Forest of Wyrms.
______________

Early the next morning, Nolan Teleports to the broken bridge and Raieylan lost his balance and had to jump down to the sandy bottom of the stream below, while Kalliyan held on to Byron for support. The Panther was not happy about that at all, and anybody at the tower that was still sleeping is awake now....

The arrival of the teleporting crew wakes Myarra, who peers out of the tree she and Shannon picked to sleep in.

"Morning already?" she inquires of her familiar, who just stares back at her.  First of all, because it's an incredibly stupid statement.  And second, because Shannon can't talk.

"Come on, there's someone I want you to meet.  He's really cool, really handsome, and one of the most incredible allies I've made in years.  Plus, his mistress and this guy call Byron are here too."

With that she leaps from the tree, using her wings to glide down to the ground while Shannon picks her way down the trunk the old-fashioned way.

Once together on the ground they quickly make their way over to the others.

"I'm going to get you this neat magic pocket to ride around in.  But it's kind of expensive, so I might need to talk to your uncle Nolan and see if he can make one.

Hey, Kalli! It's good to see you." she calls cheerfully.

Morning comes too early.  Far too early.  Certainly too early to have to put up with her mistress's sense of humor, if one can call it that.

She'd rather stay curled up between the branches, but her mistress's voice and all that nonsense.

She rises and quickly scales down the trunk, her claws making look almost like she's just taking a stroll.

Her mistress blathers on some more, but it's not important and she finds it easy to ignore.

She's more interested in the newcomers.  Two of them, male and female humanoids can also safely be ignored.  She does stop for a second and wonders when she started thinking of humans and their related kin as safe to ignore.  She's going to have to give that some more thought.

But the third is special.  He's sleek and black and, as her mistress has said, rather handsome, if you like that type.

Moving to within about 20' she greets him in the traditional manner of their people, ears laid back, half-crouched, and hissing.

Kali pops back to the tower, and almost falls...would have had her arms not circled byron. She looked on as Raieylan dropped down, padding and staring up, a low growl coming from his chest.

Kali looked up at Byron and blushed a little. "Ahhh....sorry." She let go of him and made her way down to the panther.

Raieylan came to the tower and with the little room, bounded down to the sand. The panther snorted indigniantly as he looked up at Kali.

...her arms around that human.

The panther narrowed his eyes and growled from his chest as he looked at the two. He had some satisfaction as she let go and came down towards him. he however, continued to look at the man

Byron carefully lets Kali go once he is sure she has solid footing and then looks at Raieylan with his friendly smile and says quietly to him.

Sorry big guy.  I didn't know that was going to happen.

Byron sees the new big cat half crouched down and its ears laid back while it hisses. Byron gives the new cat a friendly smile but doesn't move toward it as he knows it will come to him if or when it wants to.

Hey, Myarra.  How is it going?

Roen was digging and sifting as soon as the sun came up that morning. It reminded him of farming, where the progress was slow, but very rewarding to him. He'd find a little bit of treasure here and there, a couple bones and stones and the occasional valuable gem.

When he heard the commotion outside, he climbed to the top of the tower to see what it was.

Myarra shook her head as Kalli and Raie descended into the riverbed.  Well, technically Raie jumped down first, with Kalli following.

"Hey Byron!" she called.  "Good to see you.  We have a lot to tell you, and I'm hoping you have the same."

She and Shannon both reached him at about the same time, but the cat seemed more concerned with the riverbed and continued to glare down over the edge, the fur on her hackles still raised.

"She seems a bit put out at the moment," Myarra explained.  "But I'm sure she'll settle down.  We can do the formal introductions when she's in a less hand-biting mood, but this is my familiar, Shannon."

"So, Nolan, did you manage to learn anything about the towers.  And, by the way, we found two more towers further upstream.  Any reason why the other tower is humming, but this one isn't?"

"Oh boy. Reminds me of the time some cannibal tribesman in Chult had me. He lost to a big cat like hers."

Twiggy chuckled at Copper "That's Rai, she likes beef jerky snacks and to mess with Byron like I do. They all like familiars and companions to keep them company. Now I guess it is you and me Copper. It will be very interesting if I ever get an intelligent weapon. A whole lot of voices going off from lil ol me. Let's go find some trasure." Twiggy gets up and eats a bit before seeing what Nolan has planned for the day.

Yes, there are 5 towers and they are used to pump water out of the mines and to irrigate the surrounding countryside. They were built by a Dwarven Engineer named Brigham Stormhammer.

We didn't figure out how the towers are supposed to work, but I'm figuring each tower raises or lowers a dam for the water. You can see there used to be a river here, but only a stream runs through it now.

The water is trapped to the North in the swamps. Hanns said Brigham's place is there with a Waystone.

We also discussed what releasing the water would do to this area. It would probably drain the swamp, but flood everything down here.

As to why the second tower is humming is probably because of the Sapphire gems. They are the keys to the tower. They probably hum when they're functioning properly?

"Then I suppose we need to go upstream and check the other towers and see if they're humming or not.

I hate to say it, but perhaps it would be good to turn some of the gems on.  Maybe you could figure out how to slowly drain the swamp.  Clearly that's what the dwarves intended with these towers.  Flash flooding everything downstream would be a bad idea, but maybe we don't have to do it all at once.  Or do you think the towers are too badly damaged?"

I honestly don't know. We'd have to uncover all 5 and look at the damage and see if all 5 stones are even there. Then we'd have to figure out how the contraptions even work. So, let's get packed up and ready for travel. We got a busy day ahead of us with a waystone at the end to take us back to the tower tonight.

Roen climbed out and down to the ground and was ready to leave.

"The swamps always have rare herbs that are sometimes hard to find, not because they're not growing, but because most people fear the snakes and hate the mosquitoes."

"Sounds like you found out quite a bit. Myarra found her companion, but that is all." Amara briefly informed the others.

Kali looked at Twiggy with a smile. "I wouldn't call Raie a she....because he will bite your manhood off. He's a bit touchy that way."

She then came to Amara and looked serious. "We need to talk, and soon. There were some bounty hunters at Daak looking for you. Serious group."

Twiggy chuckles "I don't think he cares as long as he gets jerky treats Kali. I think we should explore the other towers too. If they are all broke down then we can take the gems. If they can help the area we should get them working again."

OK, let's head out. We can talk while we're walking. Each tower is a bit more than 3 miles from each other, so I'm guessing about 13 miles until we reach the last one. We already know what's in the first 2, so we can skip the next one and go straight to the 3rd. That will save us some daylight.

Aliana nodded, and prepared to go.

The party heads upstream to locate tower #3. When Myarra saw it from when she was flying in the sky, it looked to be whole, but she couldn't tell which side of the riverbed it was on. When the riverbed is easy to travel on, the party makes some decent time and you pass up Tower #4 (Assuming Vernon's tower is #5). When the riverbed gets too rocky, the party climbs up the bank and moves through the forest when they can. When they can't, it's because the brush is too thick. You eventually make it to tower #3 on the West Bank....or what's left of it, about 3 hours later.

It's currently 8:15am-ish

Main Game Map has been updated.

Roen looked at the broken tower with wonder and touched one of the broken blocks,

"Wow, look at this. I wonder what broke it? Green Dragons?"

OK folks, let's give this place a quick look to make sure nothing is here or trying to kill us. Vernon, can you do your thing and see what's below?

Nolan will listen to see if he can hear the humming sounds.

Twiggy stealthly searches the surrounding area to make sure nothing will ambish them.

Vernon disappears under the ground....

But, now that the party is here, you don't hear the humming noise.

Amara raised an eyebrow, "More people who think that killing a drow is a good thing, regardless of the drow?"

Yes, and they are not very intelligent, but they smart enough to have a good number of morons for trying to hurt someone.

It was bound to happen. We're heroes to some and villains to others. We'll just have to deal with it. From now on, we don't wander around alone.

Nolan touched one of the broken rocks of the tower as well,

Dragons, demons, and powerful people did this. Myth Jannath was a beautiful city built in the image of Myth Drannor. Now it's just ruins with treasure hunters trying to seek riches. Such a shame.

Vernon pops out of the ground to give his report.

"There be a blue sapphire stone there as well on the ground next to the pedestal like in me tower. I don't hear the hummin' though."

The party searches the area for trouble, but finds nothing dangerous. It's actually quite peaceful around here and the tower would be a good shelter if it wasn't all broken up.

"Looks like there's nothing we can do here right now. Head on to the next tower?" Roen asked "This is kind of exciting. It reminds me of those archeologists digging stuff up in the fields going to Soubar."

Twiggy thinks of the sappire " I wonder how long it would take to dig out the gems? "

The journey to the tower had been a long one, mostly because she couldn't just fly over the obstacles and leave Shannon alone with the rest of the groundies.  Technically, she could, but with her familiar sticking to her legs and making annoyed huffing sounds whenever Raie got too close, she didn't think it would be a good idea.

"Weeks, most likely," Myarra tells Twiggy.  "Unless the magic folk can find a way to speed up the process.

And we need to make sure that taking the gems isn't going to cause a massive flood.  Tower 5 and 3 aren't humming.  Tower 4 is.  It might be that a humming tower is capable of holding back the water and 5 and 3 have become broken.  Which makes towers 1 and 2 all the more important.  If one of them is humming and the water is backed up behind it, we'll know."

On the subject of the bounty hunters, her opinion is clear, extremely profane, contains images of graphic violence not suitable for children, and covers the material in the OOC thread.

"I just find it strange that the gems are still here after all this time. Why weren't they taken? They must be worth a small fortune."

From the information Vernon has given us, the sapphire in tower 5 is on the ground, tower 4 is in a pedestal and tower 3 is on the ground. I'm assuming here that there is a special slot to place the gem in to make the magic of the tower function. When it is functioning, the tower gives off that humming noise. I'm only guessing here, so let's head out to tower 2 to see if the assumption is correct.

Nolan starts walking.

"I agree with Myarra, my little friend. Unless you hired some workers experienced in mining or rock moving. The slaves of Calimport were very good at moving stones when they were building tombs; not that I condone slavery."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:53, Sun 03 Apr 2022.

It takes a couple hours traveling upstream to get to the tower that the party is calling Tower #2. When they finally get there, the tower is in ruins and you don't hear the humming noise like in Tower #4. The party searches around the area for danger and it looks like there was a fight here between some giant spiders living in the tower. Whoever fought the spiders had large, booted feet? And they were riding a horse or a bull? The area is still wet and the place is covered in melted snow? There are at least a dozen spider bodies about the size of Twiggy's riding dog Fritz. You search around for more spiders, but find nothing.

You also find an old road that parallels the tower. It's more like a game trail now though, with all the overgrown grass and brush, but with Aliana using her Tracking skills, she finds tracks of Large humanoids going to the North. The tracks appeared to originally have come from the South along this "old road". The tracks are fresh. A day at the most.

Vernon searches underground and finds a Blue Sapphire gem on the ground next to a buried pedestal like Towers 5 and 3. It would take at least a week to clear out the rubble of the tower to get to the gem.

Main Game Map and Game Map 1 have been updated.

"This is strange. Snow in the middle of summer?" Roen said as he scooped up some in his hand "Perhaps some powerful spell or an Ice Elemental? Is there such a creature?"

Roen scooped up some snow and made a snow ball and playfully threw it at Myarra.

"May just have been magic," Amara commented.

Intrigued by Roenthelm's words, Aliana started examining the area, thinking about what she knew about magic, natural occurrences, and how things settled in place during a battle.

OOC:  18:43, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 23 using 1d20+15.  Tracking .
18:43, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 21 using 1d20+5.  Knowledge nature .
18:42, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 22 using 1d20+10.  Knowledge Arcana

"Hmm, giants or ogres?" Myarra asks. "The road looks easier to travel on, but I'm not sure we want to meet whoever owns these boots.  I'm guessing that, lacking an elder like Vernon, nobody knows about the gems, which explains why they're still there.

There was a Tharian opera I saw once that features an ogre capable of using magic.  She threw around lots of ice magic.  Or rather, silver streamers that were supposed to represent ice magic.  Finally got taken down by a damn paladin that lied to her and convinced her that she could turn to the side of good and be welcome.  Then he and his asshole friends ambushed and killed her.  And they had the nerve to get drunk after and lament how it, quote, had to be, unquote.  First time I ever demanded my money back.  Didn't get it, but still."

A snowball impacted her shoulder and she turned to stare at Roen.

"Of course you realize, this means war!"  Scooping up a handful of snow, she hurled it back at the monk.  "Flank right! she called to her familiar even as she scooped up a second ball and sent it on its way.

Picking up on her mistress' good mood, Shannon bounds towards Roen, although there's as much vertical jumping as horizontal pouncing, and tries to get behind the monk so that she can bump into his knees and trip him.  Against a monk, probably not the best strategy, but it's what she knows.

It might have been an Icestorm spell or maybe a Cone of cold, but the snow would have melted by now. A large humanoid with a cold spell? I'm wondering if what Myarra said about her play could be what we're up against? An Ogre mage? I think I would rather go up against an Ice Elemental. Either way, let's rest here for a bit and eat lunch.

Twiggy explores the general area before settling down and asks Vernon "How much do you think each gem is worth? " After eating a bit "So what is the plan Nolan? Continue on to the swamp waystone or go kill so.e ogres or whatever did this."

"A Sapphire the size of a plum? At least 5,000 gold, me friend. Maybe more. But, this be soundin' like a trip fer you and me to spy on who be up the road, aye?"

Not so fast guys.  We may not want to or be able to take those gems.  Moving or taking those gems may have an effect on the landscape above ground here as well as in Triel.  While I don't care for the Centauris.  However, we don't want to disrupt things for the citizens of Triel with unintended consequences of taking these gems.

The group can tell Byron's been giving some thought to what they discovered while talking with Hanns and the research done at the library.

Agreed. We're not taking anything yet. I don't want to ruin the forest with a flash flood, just so we can get some riches. We're going to move on after lunch and Twiggy and Vernon can scout ahead.

Twiggy starts chuckling "I get Vernon's ring... This will be enjoyable talking to him and Copper."

After lunch, we'll wait 10 minutes while you scout up ahead. That should give you plenty of time to be able to sneak through whatever obstacle is in your way. Take the road, since whoever was here took it. I want to know where they went.

Twiggy takes a few bites and some water to wash it down before he quickly dissappears from most everyone. He then makes his way down the trail, taking his time and keeping to the shadows.

Kali looked at Nolan. "Would you like me to go with Twiggy - With my forms i can go into water if needed - may be handy."

That sounds like a good idea. Nobody would notice a little bird flying around. Go ahead and report back if you find anything interesting.

Kali nods and her form starts to glow green and shrink, until a small bird is where she once was.  The bird flew to Byrons shoulder, perching for a moment, pecking his shoulder, then flew off.


....to keep an eye on the halfling

Like the party planned, Twiggy and Vernon scout on ahead with Kalliyan transformed into a little forest bird to keep watch from the sky. The "old road" Twiggy is traveling is basically following the river bank, but about a mile into the scouting, the road leads to an old broken bridge. Even more broken than the one near Vernon's tower. A trail goes across the river to the bank on the other side and continues on. So far, nothing. Twiggy doesn't need to be a tracker to see the same tracks that Aliana pointed out at the spider tower, but after mile 2, the tracks go into the river bed and are lost. The area is getting a bit soggy now, so you think you're pretty close. Kalliyan, from her height in the trees in birdy form, can see the ruins of the tower about a mile more upstream. Twiggy takes his time as he moves from a big rock to another to help him hide and observe. Then he starts to hear fighting noises, so he stops there to wait for the rest of the party.

Kalliyan flies on ahead to see what the commotion is about and she identifies walking corpses attracted to the noise near some ruins of a small estate. There are dozens of rotted bodies rising out of the swampy marshy mess and moving towards the sounds of fighting. She gets a good look at one of the others and she sees a Minotaur! The huge brute rams and flings undead bodies all over before hitting more with a nasty looking axe before disappearing from view again around the ruined walls. Kalliyan flies back to the group to tell them of her findings.

Main Game map has been updated.

As soon as Aliana hears about undead, she's ready for action.

Kali's small bird form swoops in and lands, instantly changing. The woman had a hard edge to her eyes. "Undead seem to be swarming an individual - a minotaur i believe. He fights well, but given the number of dead, he will be overwhelmed soon."

She looked over her shoulder. "I believe we should go help him....now."

Sister Aliana cast an enchantment to help her fly, and floated up.
"Lead on,  my friend:

Sounds like fun.  We've already befriended a troll among other creatures.  A minotaur will be nothing unusual for us to befriend.

Byron pulls out his sword

Lead the way my lady.

Nolan was confused after hearing about the Minotaur,

A Minotaur? Well, I guess that explains the hoof prints at the spider tower. We need to clear out that area anyways. That's where the waystone is. Lead on!

Kali sighed, and looked at Raieylan.

Raieylan seemed to know her thoughts, and walking up next to her, nudged her.

Kali smiled at the panther at her side, then the others. "Lets get going then"  She began making her way towards the tower

Twiggy sees Kali fly back and he eases forward to see what the commotion is.

Roenthelm followed the others, wondering what the party was going to do?

"Are we fighting the undead, or the Minotaur?"

Aliana gave a wry chuckle
"Presumably, just the zombies, but with our luck,  who knows?"
With that in mind, she cast a Tongues spell on herself,  just to be safe.

OOC:  cast Tongues

"The undead, certainly.  They won't give us any options.  But the minotaur only if we have to.  I don't attack things just because they're there and look different.

On the other hand, remember that the enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy and nothing more.  Just because he, or she, is in danger doesn't mean they'll automatically treat us as allies.

Let's just see what happens."

The party quickly moves towards the old ruins and you see the hoard of undead moving towards where you saw the Minotaur disappear. Twiggy cast a spell on his sling bullets but wasn't in range to hit anything yet. You get as close as you can as you surprise the enemy...if undead can be surprised.

Everyone: Knowledge: Religion Check

OOC: Surprise round for the party. Post your initiatives and actions. There are more undead than the map shows..I just ran out of badguy icons. I will be using Twiggy's attack from his previous post.

Main Game Map has been updated.

Name       Initiative      Health    Misc.
Aliana        ??           66/66
Amara         ??           50/50
Byron         ??           85/85
Kalliyan      ??           30/30
Raieylan      ??           19/19
Myarra        ??           95/95
Shannon       ??           47/47
Nolan         ??           83/83
Roenthelm     ??           75/75
Twiggy        ??           38/38     Magic Stone
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??

Byron has some fun and wades into the undead swinging away and signing Fighting for a Living.  His attacks are effective.

Some days won't end ever and some days pass on by
I'll be Fighting here forever, at least until I die
Damned if you do, damned if you don't
I'm supposed to get a rest this week, you know damn well I won't
Fightin' for a livin'
(Fightin')
Fightin' for a livin'
(Fightin')
Fightin' for a livin', livin' and Fightin'
I'm taking what they're giving 'cause I'm Fightin' for a livin'
Hey I'm not complainin' 'cause I really like the fight
Hittin' up my buddy's got me feelin' like a jerk
Hundred gold piece in my pocket, two hundred bill
I get 10 gold on Friday, but it's all ready spent
Fightin' for a livin'
(Fightin')
Fightin' for a livin'
(Fightin')
Fightin' for a livin', livin' and Fightin'
I'm takin' what they're givin' 'cause I'm Fightin' for a livin'
Whoa whoa, Fightin' for a livin'
Whoa whoa, takin' what they givin'
Whoa whoa, Fightin' for a livin'
Whoa whoa whoa
Dark Dwarf, Goblins, Orc attacks in the night
Elven figther, ex-rogue, winner of the fight
Walkin' on the streets it's really all the same
Killin' souls, rock 'n' roll, any other day
Fightin' for a livin'
(Fightin')
Fightin' for a livin'
(Fightin')
Fightin' for a livin', livin' and Fightin'
I'm takin' what they're givin' 'cause I'm Fightin' for a livin'
Fightin' for a livin', livin' and Fightin'
I'm takin' what they're givin' 'cause I'm Fightin' for a livin'
Fightin' for a livin', livin' and Fightin'


OOC: 13:02, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 25 using 1d20+6.  Initiative.
13:03, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 15 using 1d20.  Knowledge, Religion.
13:03, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 18 using 1d20+13.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #1.
13:04, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 13 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.
13:03, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 22 using 1d20+8.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #2.
13:04, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 7 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.

Myarra readies her sword and the words of a spell spill from her lips, but there's no immediate visible effect.

"Stay close to me, girl. Don't go looking for trouble. Keep yourself safe."

Shannon hisses a warning at the approaching zombies.

Half of her wants to tear them to pieces.  The other half wants to flee into the nearest trees.

She compromises, sticking close to her mistress and growling a general-purpose warning to anything and everything.

Sister Aliana moved to a group of undead, staying about 10 to 12 feet off the ground, just in case, and presented her holy symbol she got about 10 feet away from the zombies.
"Vile Abominations!!! Return to the Graves from Whence you Came!!"
She was, perhaps a little out of practice, as it had been some time since she'd broken out her holy book.

OOC:
12:19, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 15 using 2d6+10.  Turning damage . (Affects 15 HD of undead)
12:17, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 7 using 1d20+3.  Turning check.  (Turns 8 HD of less, destroys 4 HD or less)
12:16, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 18 using 1d20+10.  Knowledge religion .
12:16, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 15 using 1d20+3.  Initiative .

Roen spoke a small prayer for the undead and vowed to put them back to rest, either with dirt or fire. He clapped his hands together and a bright halo surrounded him and even though it was light outside, it suddenly got brighter. Upon seeing Byron run right to the enemy, Roen followed to protect his friend, fists and feet hitting the closest undead.

11:47, Today: Roenthelm rolled 19 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.
11:49, Today: Roenthelm rolled 17 using 1d20+6.  Knowledge religion.
11:54, Today: Roenthelm rolled 7,7,2 using 1d8+4,1d8+4,1d4.  Damage and Holy Radiance damage.
11:53, Today: Roenthelm rolled 23,18 using 1d20+11,1d20+11.  Flurry of blows.

Nolan saw all the undead, but with just quick glimpses of them, he couldn't tell them apart, but he saw Byron run off to the closest group and threw a Fireball spell at them. Nolan loved when they bunched up close like that.

05:18, Today: Nolan rolled 43 using 10d6.  Fireball spell.
05:18, Today: Nolan rolled 17 using 1d20+4.  Initiative.

Kali, smiling, draws her scimitar, but makes no signs of movement as she raises her hand, muttering in the sylvan language. As she does, her eyes turn white as grey clouds build overhead, the sounds of rumbling thunder can be heard

She looks at the mass of undead and brings her hand down as if striking something in front of her. As she does, a massive strike of lightning comes down.

---

<OOC:  Kalliyan rolled 7 using 1d20+2.  iniative.

Action - Casts Call lightning, targeting clump of undead.

Kalliyan rolled 11 using 3d6.

Any creature within 5 foot wide area takes 11 damage

Bolt 1 of 5>

Raieylan had seen his mistress cast magic many times, and knew his role in this. He padded in front of her, a low growl on his lips as he protected her, amking sure no enemies cam at her.

---

<OOC: Defending Kali

Will attack any undead who come close

Raieylan rolled 11 using 1d20+6.  Attack - bite.
Raieylan rolled 4 using 1d6+3.  damage - bite.>

Surprise Round Results----------

Byron was quick on his feet as he really didn't stop moving when the party arrived on the scene. He started singing a song as he ran in on the nearest undead to earn his living, his Greatsword hitting his target once and Byron realizing it's a Ghoul, then taking the nasty creature out with his second strike. Roenthelm followed Byron into the melee with a flurry of fists and feet, breaking bones and squashing the head of a zombie, killing it again. Nolan tossed a pebble into the middle of the undead near Byron and Roenthelm after chanting his magical words, and an explosive Fireball consumed the undead caught inside.

Aliana flew over to the closest undead and Turned the foul creatures to the best of her ability. 3 Zombies and 2 Ghasts popped like rotten fruit, but the Wight resists her Deity's powers. Myarra and Shannon move forward and Myarra casts a spell on herself, as a Magical Shield materialized in front of her. There are too many undead around for Amara's liking, so she Levitates up into the air, well out of their reach. Twiggy was now in Max Range of his sling, as he let a stone go and it would have critically wounded the Zombie, if they could be critically wounded. Kalliyan casts a spell as the air above her grows dark with clouds. She summons a Lightning strike that hits the Ghoul near Byron and Roenthelm, but the nasty undead creature survived. Raieylan stands guard to protect his mistress.

Look at this garbage! LOL
17:10, Today: Big Boss rolled 63 using 7d20.  Undead saves.
17:10, Today: Big Boss rolled 63 using 7d20 ((8,10,18,7,8,7,5)).

Name       Initiative      Health    Misc.
Byron         25           85/85
Roenthelm     19           75/75
Nolan         17           83/83
Aliana        15           66/66     Flying: 10'
Myarra        11           95/95     Shield Spell
Shannon       11           47/47
Amara         10           50/50     Levitate 20'
Twiggy        10           38/38     Magic Stone
Kalliyan      07           30/30
Raieylan      07           19/19
Wight 1       ??           ??/??
Wight 2       ??           ??/??
Wight 3       ??           ??/??
Wight 4       ??           ??/??
Wight 5       ??           ??/??
Wight 6       ??           ??/??
Zombie 7      ??           ??/07
Ghoul 8       ??           ??/11
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??

Undead Killed
Ghoul: 3
Ghast: 3
Zombie: 8

Main Game Map has been updated (Press F5 key to refresh, if necessary.)

Amara realized she had missed her chance to haste the majority of the warriors at once. Moving to the next tactic, she began chanting, casting solid fog at the group of undead that she felt looked most intimidating, other than not the ones in front of Bryon and Roenthelm, knowing they would want to take out their foes. She was going to try to control the field so that the warrior were not overwhelmed.

Byron continues to sing and swing away with devastating results on Ghoul #8 then Zombie 7 if the first swing eliminates Ghoul #8.

OOC: I forgot to add the +1 for my Great Sword into the results from the surprise round.
21:47, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 27 using 1d20+14.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #1.
21:48, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 12 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.
21:47, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 29 using 1d20+9.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #2.
21:50, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 7 using 1d20.  Confirm Critical.
21:48, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 15 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.  Max Damage is 15.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:55, Mon 11 Apr 2022.

Aliana flew forward, hopefully towards wights and ghasts.
"By the Holy Book, BEGONE!!!!"

She attempted to destroy more undead.
OOC:  20:13, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 21 using 2d6+10.  Turning damage .
10 HD or lower
20:13, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 13 using 1d20+3.  Turning check

Nolan casts Magic Missile at the Undead moving in on Byron and Roenthelm, helping them out so they won't get overwhelmed.

OOC Magic Missile undead 7 until it falls, then hit undead at W-21
05:11, Today: Nolan rolled 19 using 5d4+5.((2,4,3,2,3)) magic missile damage.

Twiggy runs 20' towards the tree to the east and sends a stone towards the one northwest of zombie 7

11:18, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled (Should be 18 to hit, put +1 instaed of 10) 9,2 using 1d20+1,1d6+1.  Attack, damage.

Roen continued to fight the undead, moving to the closest one and hitting it with a Flurry of Blows.

15:23, Today: Roenthelm rolled 5,7,3 using 1d8+4,1d8+4,1d4.  Damage and Holy Radiance damage.
15:22, Today: Roenthelm rolled 27,22 using 1d20+11,1d20+11.  Flurry of blows.

Myarra holds her position.  The spells are flying fast and furious and she's reluctant to get in the way.  Drawing her bow, she takes aim at one of the approaching undead and lets an arrow fly.  The bow isn't her primary weapon, but there's no point in letting time go to waste.

Round 1 results----------

Byron, still singing, slashes through the Ghoul near him and Roenthelm, then slashes through the nearby Zombie. The smell of bog water and decaying body is almost overwhelming. Roenthelm moves in on a Ghoul and sends fists and feet to the head of the ghoul, but it's still alive. Nolan casts Magic Missile at what is now identified as a Ghast on Byron. Now you know why it smells really bad. The Ghast takes all of Nolan's missiles, but it looks really bad. Wight 4 takes an interest in the party and quickly moves in on them, as Wight 1 and 2 continue to move forward. Aliana flies forward and she can see the Minotaur up ahead fighting the undead with 2 female elves? She turns undead again and 2 Wights explode like ripe melons, along with several zombies. Wight 3 quickly moves to Aliana and tries to jump to grab her feet, but fails.

Ghast 7 attacks Byron with claws and teeth, but Byron's armor is protecting him. Unfortunately, the creature smells so bad that it's making Byron and Roenthelm nauseous.

Byron and Roenthelm: Saving Throw Fort DC 15 or be Sickened: The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks for 1d6+4 minutes.

Ghoul 8 attacks Roenthelm, but isn't a match for unarmed fighting with the Monk. Myarra had her sights on an Undead off to the side, but Aliana destroyed it, then she saw the quickly approaching Wight and shot at it instead, with her bow. Amara began casting a Solid Fog spell, but the area she wanted to send it was being cleared out by Aliana, so she sent it North-West to the group approaching Byron and Roenthelm. Twiggy moved closer and shot a bullet and hit Ghast 7 on the shoulder and he wishes he had a Belt of Giant Strength. Kalliyan sends down another Lightning Strike on the Ghast fighting Byron and fries the dead thing to ash....

Name       Initiative      Health    Misc.
Byron         25           85/85
Roenthelm     19           75/75
Nolan         17           83/83
Wight 4       17           ??/05
Wight 1       16           ??/??
Wight 2       16           ??/??
Aliana        15           66/66     Flying: 10'
Wight 3       14           ??/??
Ghoul 8       12           ??/15
Myarra        11           95/95     Shield Spell
Shannon       11           47/47
Amara         10           50/50     Levitate 20'
Twiggy        10           38/38     Magic Stone
Kalliyan      07           30/30
Raieylan      07           19/19
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog

Undead Killed
Ghoul: 4
Ghast: 4
Zombie: 13
Wight: 2

Main Game Map has been updated (Press F5 key to refresh, if necessary.)

Twiggy feels useless against these creatures so he runs up 10 feet behind Byron and Roen to make sure none try and flank them.

18:00, Today: Roenthelm rolled 13 using 1d20+11.  Fortitude Save.

Roen starts barfing all over the ground and goes on the defensive.

OOC: Total Defense

As the undead begin to thin out, Myarra drops her bow (she'll have to remember to pick it back up later) and hurries over to one of the nearby undead (drawing her sword in the process) and slashes it severely.

Shannon races along at her mistress' side, the thrill of the hunt upon her.

Grabbing the leg of her enemy in her jaws, she bites down hard.

The taste is awful.

What the hell is her mistress thinking?

With the Solid Fog in place, Nolan can't tell what's coming through, so he takes a look around. He looks behind him to make sure nothing is sneaking up on the party and then notices the undead quickly moving in on the party. Intelligent undead are dangerous, so Nolan focuses on that one.

05:08, Today: Nolan rolled 31 using 10d6.  Lightning Bolt on Wight 4.

Seeing a wight grabbing for her, Sister Aliana yelped and cast a quick spell
"Eewwww!!!! Go away, you disgusting thing!!"

Blazing light blasted out of her hand at the creature
OOC:
18:10, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 27 using 9d6 with rolls of 3,4,1,2,4,1,4,2,6.  Searing light

Kali, her eyes crackling with the magical energy of lightning, still holding her magical sword saw the closest wight, and with hand in front of her, slammed it against the ground, as another bolt of lightning hit the wight.

---

<OOC: Lightning strike the closest wight.

Bolt 3 of 5

Kalliyan rolled 12 using 3d6.

12 damage>

Byron continues to sing and swing away at the undead closest to him with great effect.  Even the stench of the Ghast doesn't seem to phase him.

OOC: 07:12, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 23 using 1d20+14.  Fort Save.
07:12, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 25 using 1d20+14.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #1.
07:12, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 10 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.
07:12, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 21 using 1d20+9.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #2.
07:13, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 8 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.

Round 2 results----------

Byron wasn't affected by the smell of a decaying corpse. He grew up on a farm and has seen/smelled many bloated cows pop before. He noted that Roenthelm was having a tough time with it, so he quickly took out the Ghoul that was near them before it could hurt his friend. Roenthelm immediately started hurling his stomach contents at the horrible smell and went on the defensive so he wouldn't get hurt. Nolan saw the Wight quickly moving in on the party, so he cast a Lightning Bolt at the wicked undead and fried the thing to ash. Wight 1 and 2 seem to be more interested in the Minotaur than the party wiping out the undead in back of them as Aliana cast a Searing Light at the Wight trying to grab her feet while she was fling in the air. Wight 3 took the hit and looks really bad now, but it still tries to grab Aliana's feet, but it's not successful.

The Undead seem to be following the motions and noises of the other undead around you and they move in closer to you, which could be bad if a bunch surround you. Myarra dropped her bow and pulled out her sword with the intention of dispatching the Wight, but after Nolan's spell, she's convinced it's not getting up. She does chuckle a bit watching the Wight trying to grab Aliana's legs, so she and Shannon moves in on the closest undead and hacks down a zombie. Amara stays Levitated and she can see the Minotaur swinging away with its axe, while two "elvish?" persons help it. She notes there are undead all around the ruins and wonders if Culver is responsible for this. Twiggy moves in to help Byron and Roenthelm after seeing the Monk get sick, as Kalliyan and Raieylan move in closer to Byron so she can use her spell when she sees another target.

Name       Initiative      Health    Misc.
Byron         25           85/85
Roenthelm     19           75/75     Total Defense, Sickened 70 rounds
Nolan         17           83/83
Wight 1       16           ??/??
Wight 2       16           ??/??
Aliana        15           66/66     Flying: 10'
Wight 3       14           ??/27
Myarra        11           95/95     Shield Spell
Shannon       11           47/47
Amara         10           50/50     Levitate 20'
Twiggy        10           38/38     Magic Stone
Kalliyan      07           30/30
Raieylan      07           19/19
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog

Undead Killed
Ghoul: 5
Ghast: 4
Zombie: 13
Wight: 3

Main Game Map has been updated (Press F5 key to refresh, if necessary.)

Kali looked on at the solid fog took hold and grimaced. She looked at Raieylan and smiled. "Watch him....we have become close." She closed her eyes and her formed shimmered, within seconds the form of a small kite was there. The bird let a small squak to the panther, then took off.

---

<OOC: Action - Wild Shape - Kite (Hawk)

Action - fly>

Sister Aliana sivhed in frustration and cast another spell to try to finish off the wight before she moved on
Unfortunately, she rushed it

OOC:  23:07, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 6 using 1d8+4.  Spiritual weapon 2 damage .
23:07, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 12 using 1d8+4.  Spiritual weapon 1 damage .
23:06, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 14 using 1d20+4.  Spiritual weapon 2.
23:06, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 10 using 1d20+9.  Spiritual weapon 1.

Byron continues to move to eliminate the undead as fast as possible. Moving to closest of the undead that he can see.

OOC: 06:22, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 31 using 1d20+14.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #1.
06:22, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 12 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.
06:22, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 16 using 1d20+9.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #2.
06:22, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 13 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.

Twiggy lets Roen try and regain himself and steps to the side to send a stone at a undead in range.

19:28, Today: Twiggy Flinch rolled 22,4 using 1d20+10,1d6+1.  Attack, damage.

Myarra considers the battlefield.  There's a zombie just to her side, but it's all alone and it's going to take forever to get near Nolan and Amara.  Surely one of them can zap it before it becomes a threat.  The larger issue is the wight attacking Aliana and the mass of undead moving down from the north.  She looks one last time at the zombie but decides it's a delay she can afford to deal with right now.  Instead, she heads north.  She can't reach Aliana, but there are a couple of zombies she can reach on her way there.

Nolan casts another Magic Missile, this time at the Undead near Myarra, so she could move and help Aliana.

05:21, Today: Nolan rolled 17 using 5d4+5.  magic missile damage.

15:40, Today: Roenthelm rolled 24 using 1d20+18.  Heal check.

Roen remembers that casting a Neutralize poison spell on himself will get rid of the nausea, so that's what he does.

Round 3 results----------

Byron moves in on the undead, which are coming from around the Solid Fog that Amara put up. The undead inside are just moaning and trying to move, but with no success. He slashes down another Zombie, but another one just takes its place. Roenthelm uses his Healing knowledge to cure his sickness and sighs a huge relief when the nausea stops. Nolan casts Magic Missile and kills the Zombie near Myarra. Wight 1 and 2 continue to move to the Minotaur, who is taken down by the hoard of undead. Aliana casts Spiritual Weapon and attacks the Wight trying to grab her legs. She connects with her second attack and kills the nasty creature. Unfortunately, more undead move towards her and try to grab her legs. Good thing they can't jump that high. Myarra and Shannon move in to help out Aliana, as Myarra slashes down a Ghoul with two slashes.

Amara spots more Undead coming from the party's South-East. They are rising up from the muck. She also spots an Ogre materialize out of thin air and start swinging on the Undead surrounding the Humans? Elves? They're a couple hundred feet away, so she can't tell which. Twiggy slings a stone and nails the undead in front of Byron, but it takes the hit and keeps on moaning. Kalliyan transforms herself into a Kite Hawk and takes flight to get a better view of the area, while Raieylan moves in close to Byron.

OOC: Kalliyan's fight marker is now little white square.

Name       Initiative      Health    Misc.
Byron         25           85/85
Roenthelm     19           75/75
Nolan         17           83/83
Wight 1       16           ??/??
Wight 2       16           ??/??
Aliana        15           66/66     Flying: 10'
Myarra        11           95/95     Shield Spell
Shannon       11           47/47
Amara         10           50/50     Levitate 20'
Twiggy        10           38/38     Magic Stone
Kalliyan      07           30/30
Raieylan      07           19/19
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??
Undead        ??           ??/??     Solid Fog

Undead Killed
Ghoul: 6
Ghast: 4
Zombie: 14
Wight: 4

Main Game Map has been updated (Press F5 key to refresh, if necessary.)

Aliana flew towards the minotaur, hoping to help.

OOC:  if i can make it in time to turn undead on those wights, let me know.  if not, I'll just travel.

Myarra and Shannon move towards the chokepoint to the north, taking a shot at the undead swiping at Aliana's feet along the way.  There's a lot of undead up there and she's happy to put herself in the way of them getting any closer to her friends.

Byron continues to sing, swing away and dispatch the undead back to the grave.

OOC: 22:39, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 28 using 1d20+14.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #1.
22:40, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 9 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.
22:40, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 17 using 1d20+9.  To Hit w/ Greatsword, Attack #2.
22:40, Today: Byron Rockhead rolled 8 using 1d10+5.  Damage w/ Great Sword.

Twiggy draws his rapier and moves in behind Byron in case he can help flank an undead.

Nolan saw the undead approaching the party from behind and spoke to Amara,

Lower yourself down a bit so I can grab your foot. We need to move.

Move towards W-38.

After feeling much better after casting the spell, Roen quickly moves in next to Byron and continues to fight the undead.

15:57, Today: Roenthelm rolled 30 using 1d20+10.  Fist of Iron.
Does your house rule #8 apply to undead? If so, then I do 20 damage combined with my Holy Radiance.