The cast in Part 2:
- Lucien, the paranoid ex-spy elvish rogue you know and love.
- Cathasach Drust, an exiled human barbarian; he left during this part of the game.
- Anita, a tiefling cleric who wanted to escape her heritage.
- Lathan, our fearless pathfinder elvish ranger.
- Albrecht Mosskettle, a different dwarven druid who had some trouble fitting in in civilized society.
- Khaerus, a human wizard looking for knowledge; he left around the encounter with the goblins.
- Alessandra de Tylmarande, not to be confused with our lovely bard this half-elf paladin was a noblewoman looking for adventure; she left shortly before we found the goblins.
- Kol Zad, a half-orc fighter; he did not stay long.
- Seirye Lathilar, an elven wizard who taught Lucien his first lessons in magic. She joined when Lathan and Anita returned to Milborne.
Recap Part 2:
A merchant paid the group to escort a barge down the river to Thurmaster and the trip, for once, was uneventful. Upon their return to Milborne, the party learned of the New Mire: a rapid changing of the terrain of the land west of the Patchwork Hills which has been growing steadily worse. The party is summoned by one Master Darius Carman. He paid the group to scout out the area in and around the New Mire in search of answers to what might be causing the transformation. He seemed fairly convinced that it was magical based some divination that he'd paid for. He warned the party to watch out for goblins, provided a rough map, and recommended that they talk to the local farmers.
When they reached the New Mire, they saw many farmhouses despite the clearly unsuitable land. After a conversation with some of the farmers still trying to eek out a living in the mire, they decided to venture further in. None of the farmers had any useful information and the party spends the night in an abandoned farmhouse. In the morning they found four boys going on about fighting 'blue skinned' demons near the headwaters of the local brook. After following that lead, they found a trail of humanoid footprints which lead to a cave in the hills where they encountered some goblins.
Surprisingly, the goblins were willing to talk and the situation did not devolve into violence. The party had a conversation with Grundlegek, the goblin leader, and the goblins' shaman. After some intense negotiation, the goblin shaman revealed to Anita privately that the he possessed a ring which he feared might be the cause of the New Mire. He claimed the ring had been given to him by their god: Maglubiyet. Though the shaman wasn't willing to part with the ring, he agreed to let the group's magically inclined folk study it. Unfortunately, they couldn't discern much. The decision was made to split the group. Lucien and Albrecht would stay to watch the goblins which Lathan and Anita returned to Milborne to try and find someone to help them identify the ring.
The Return to Milborne (Lathan and Anita)
Upon their return to Milborne, Lathan and Anita reported to both Garyld and Master Carman. Garyld mentioned that Shiraz wanted to meet the party to ask for their help. He also told them that Tauster was likely the only person who could identify the ring, but that they'd have to travel to Thurmaster to try to convince him to help. After having Garyld send a message to Lucien and Albrecht, Lathan and Anita got a ride aboard a barge to speed the journey to Thurmaster. Unfortunately, Tauster was unwilling to make the journey into the mire. He did point them to a young mage staying at the local inn who might be willing to help. This is how they met Seirye who, intrigued by the prospect of the ring, agreed to travel to the New More to inspect it.
After a barge trip back up river to Milborne, then group encountered Shiraz. She requested their help with a water elemental at The Eelhold dam and agreed to accompany them into the New Mire so that they could complete their previous task first. She explained the the elemental was magically tied to the lake and that a nixie named Shenjurath had a limited ability to control the elemental. She also mentions that annual eel hunting on the lake is quite the local event, but doesn't seem particularly keen on how much eel the locals eat. This strange collection of people make the journey back to the goblin cave in the Patchwork Hills.
The Patchwork Hills (Lucien and Albrecht)
Lucien and Albrecht do not have nearly as exciting a time on guard outside the goblin cave. Aside from trailing a goblin foraging party, the only excitement occurs when Lucien decides to sneak into the cave alone to take a look around. He quite cleverly (if I do say so myself) sneaks past the guards and explores more or less all of the cave system though he finds little of interest. After several days, the rest of the group returns.
Back to the Evils of Haranshire
When everyone was reunited, the group re-entered the cave and had another look at the ring. Seirye was able to identify the ring's abilities and confirm that it was causing the New Mire. Serendipitously, the ring granted the power to control water elementals. Thus an arrangement was worked out that would have the goblin's move to the Blanryde Hills near Eelhold where the ring's affects would not be so devastating and also deal with the water elemental. After the details of the arrangement were worked out, the party returned to Milborne to collect their reward and discuss what to do next.
End Part 2.
That's about 75% through 'The Evils of Haranshire'. I'm sorry, I'd completely forgotten that we did in fact meet Shiraz. I may not be able to get the next section summary up tomorrow or Friday. I will say Lorraine, that Rissa has given you the really critical bits. You don't need to know any of what I'm relating here to jump into things.
