Events, Mid Spring 12-13, 174 ACW

Events, Mid-Spring 11-12, 174 ACW

After Lady Zanna’s capture, and now with their names cleared, the party regroups and addresses several issues. They convince Bjorn to take charge of the Wardens, and talk to Lady Leanna about being the one to seal the portal with the Forbiddence ritual.

Getting some other clever ideas, Xat, Zifer, Ura and Dalton travel to St. Clarice. They enlist the aid of the Warforged guards who have been removed from service (out of Zifer’s own pocket, to be reimbursed by the grove later). They also get The Faceless, the other adventuring team at the Draconic Brotherhood, to come along (also with payment promised). They returned to the Grove with an army in tow, ready to help.

Events, Mid Spring 11th, evening, 174 ACW

• The party is reunited in Shroudmist Grove. Lord Porthos prepares to try and speak out against Lady Zanna, and the Council of Vines is convened to hear testimony under a Zone of Truth.

• But Lady Zanna has other plans. She orders the immediate slaughter of the Slayers as soon as they are convened. When told that such an action requires a majority vote, she vows to remove councilors until she is the majority. Her handpicked guards spring to work.

• The battle is joined. The Brothers Grimm try to take down Zifer once again, while Zanna drops a zone to aid her minions and raises winter spirits to viciously . Brother Gareth reluctantly adds his spiritual might to the fight, trying to keep the peace though his holy magic. Bjorn and Grorag leap to the party’s defense, while Leanna goes after Zanna. Porthos lends his tactical aid to the battle. Corrin tries to vent his rage on Topaz from afar. Kat felt her blood boil and change as the Blood Moon rose and her hag heritage began to consume her. She went into a frenzy.

• When Rick Grimm went down, his brothers surrendered. That led Lady Zanna to attempt to flee. But the group wasn’t having it. Lady Leanna dropped a n entangle to prevent her from moving far, and Ura used some of his newfound holy power to illuminate her. She was quickly surrounded, and Zifer managed to get the final strike on her, removing her ear in exchange for the loss of his own. Corrin and the rebel Wardens quickly surrendered

Events, Mid Spring 10th, 8 pm – 11th, 9 am, 174 ACW

• In Abbeville, Rali gains a bit of insight into the layout of the ruined town, and makes a deal with the Shadar-Kai to help them in their studies of Abbeville in return for using their tower as a base should The Slayers return. She and Hazaan return to the A&E Guild.

Events, 11 am – 7 pm, 10th Mid Spring 174 ACW

Zifer & Bjorn:

• Zifer wakes up with a headache and a missing ear in a cave. Bjorn fills him in on what’s been going on.

• The human and the minotaur decide to raly the Wardens of the Wood who are patrolling in the forest (and thus haven’t heard of events back at the Grove), warning them that something is coming.

• Zifer convinces a force of 10 elves to start searching other portals in The Shroudmist for signs of recent activity.

Rali & Ura:

• Rali has a chat with Juzaar, one of the Shadar-Kai, about Abbeville while Ura sleeps. She learns some interesting acts about Abbeville.

1 There are several factions in the city, aside from the thousands of zombies roaming the streets. There is a small collection of Hollow, apparently led by one Sheriff Donello Montaire, that meets at the former town hall. There is a Sorrowsworn that has taken residence in the old Merchant’s guildhall. There have been a pair of Nightwalkers stalking The Rift near the ruins of the Morwynite church. There have been a few devourers spotted lurking about. And a cult of Daynalites (possibly the Lord of Dust and his band) have been spotted poking about. Then there are the Shadar-Kai themselves, who are on a fact-finding mission of some sort.

2 The area in Abbeville sometimes shifts from the World to The Shadowfell. Some creatures exist in one state, while some exist in the other.

3 The dead don’t or can’t travel more than three to five miles from town (the area varies). The Shadar-Kai don’t know if the effect has been spreading or not, as they’ve only been here three years.

4 Creatures that die in Abbeville tend to join the ranks of the dead that swarm the place. The remains of several failed Daynalite crusades and unfortunate adventuring bands wander the streets along with the dead originally created from the Doom.

• Rali and Ura question the eladrin whom they captured. Ura was quite willing to use brute force, but Rali turned Seeker on her and forced her to answer questions. Though some of her replies were limited, they were able to get a number of answers on the makeup of the Golden Army (5 legions of golden soldiers, 4 platoons of Wild Hunt, 2 wings of Griffon Riders, and a band of Fomorian mercenaries), where the army is quartered (Minas Mesidii), and when they plan to strike (as soon as the winterend passage opens).

• Before they could question her further, the eladrin tried to escape. She made it outside the walls of the tower. Rali gave chase, but the eladrin slipped her grasp. Rather than face more questioning (and whatever torments might await her at the hands of her fellows in the Wild Hunt should they get their hands on her) she threw herself into a pack of zombies to be devoured.

• Rali discovered that the undead seemed to ignore her for the most part, while Ura felt strange memories reawakening in him as he faced down the zombies. Something he was supposed to guard came to mind…and sigils flared on his skin as new power surged through him.

• They returned inside to finish their rest and return to st. Clarice with Hazaan.

Xat, Dalton, & Kat:

• On returning to St. Clarice, Dalton and Xat spoke with Delaurent about having their armor upgraded. Dalton also took the time to begin mastering some new rituals from Xat’s spellbooks.

• Kat went to her family’s shop, and had a meeting with her mother. They had a brief meeting, where Kat told her mom that she was now an adventurer, working to erase the disdain of her peers from her through good works. She also told her mom about her plan to rescue her father and spirit them away to safety.

• Meanwhile, Xat had a dream, where he returned to the grounds of Nicolette’s manor and was confronted by the soul of the angel he’d slain there, who questioned him on his motivations. He awoke a changed man.

Tamasin & Topaz:

• Tamasin traveled to Granny Yega’s place, but found that the Shroudmist was much thicker than normal, and there were signs of a struggle. She entreated the hag to let her see her friend and to have a place to cast her ritual.

• Granny Yega agreed, but demanded a service in return. Tamasin was asked to remove “a pest” from her garden.

• Tamasin traveled to Yega’s orchard, and saw a table set up underneath the shade of Topaz-as-a-tree. On the table was settings for two, a bowl of yew cones, a pot of tea, and The Queen of Air and Darkness.

• The Queen and Tamasin spoke, with the Queen attempting to secure Tamasin’s help collecting the Shards of Jillian. She also offered to help Tamasin “replace what had been lost,” so very long ago, and demonstrated her power by growing a Wilden from the seed of one of the cones from Topaz’s branches. She also hinted that life would become very unpleasant for Tamasin if she refused.

• Tamasin sat and prayed for guidance. She received a vision of things that might come, and based on this politely refused the Queen’s offer. The Queen left, vowing to destroy Shroudmist Grove as revenge for the snub.

• Granny Yega appeared, and congratulated Tamasin for resiting the Queen. She restored Topaz to normal, though the cones that had grown from her as a tree remained…Topaz was now the mother of a band of Wilden. She convinced Granny Yega to raise the plant children, in return for “a very large favor to be named later.”

• Topaz and Tamasin contacted Xat and Rali, and updated them on the situations. They made plans to meet back at Shroudmist Grove after raising Porthos and hopefully clearing their names.

Events, 11 AM, Mid Spring 10th, 174 ACW

• The Party sneaks

• Ura blows the surprise – fire and smoke away!

• An unstable magic – Hazaaan telefrags two zombies.

• The dead rise – Kill it with fire!

• Hazaan escapes!...into a solid wall. Ouch.

• Miss Eladrin Bitch catfights with Rali before trying to exit stage left.

• Follow that Eladrin! Rali leaps into the erratic portal.

• “Kill her already!” – Hazaan, master of tact.

• Outflanked and surrounded…a bad place for Miss Btich to be in. Dalton gets the knockout.

• Looting the tower. Lots of crystals and residuum found.

• Back to the World. Hazaan offers the use of the tower in Abbeville as place to rest and question the Eladrin.

• Rali and Ura stay in Abbeville; Dalton, Xat, Bee, and Kat return to the A&E Guild to rest. They’ve convinced Bodak to return to them with his sending stone, so they all have a way of communicating.

• Meanwhile, Tamasin has reached Granny Yega’s place, while Zifer and Bjorn are beginning to wake up…

Events, Mid Spring 10th, 174 ACw 4:30 AM – 10 AM

• The Smiling One leads Rali’s soul back to her body, charging her with some tasks and forging a pact to keep an eye on Seeker.

• Xat takes time to prepare the beholder eye he acquired into a magical amulet, allowing the others some time to rest and relax. Ura and Anatole DeLaurent discuss enchantment techniques, while Kat and Zifer hit the town.

• Meanwhile, Dalton meets with Orb-42, the warforged artificer, to help unlock memories of his Eladrin past. He remembers his days at the Academy…and along with his memories return some magical rituals that had been lost to him. He calls upon a sequestered chest that contains a number of mementos from his past – including the shattered remains of a family sword. He decides to leave the chest alone for now, and examine things in depth once they return from their quest.

• Xat opens the linked portal, and the group returns to the Grove. Most of the party travels on towards the Fey Passage near Granny Yega’s place, while Zifer, Tamasin, and Bjorn the Minotaur make for the funeral pyre of Lord Porthos.

• However the Brothers Grimm, a trio of Redcaps, stood in their way, unwilling to let them pass. Zifer tried to reason with them, but then Lady Zanna stepped out of the Shadows and began to monologue at them. Tamasin stealthily turned on the Sending Stone in order to let Xat listen in as Zanna ranted about how the Slayers had to die so that the Grove would be spared when the Golden Army came.

• The battle was joined. Lady Zanna set fire to the pyre in order to deprive the Slayers of their prize. Zifer found himself surrounded and hard-pressed by the Brothers Grimm. He managed to occupy them even as their fleansing strikes weakened him. Tamasin and Bjorn rushed the pyre, pulling Lord Porthos’ body from the flames even as Lady Zanna’s poisonous magic stung their eyes. Tamasin managed to make it to the horses and escape, but Zifer and Bjorn fell and were left for dead.

• Meanwhile, the rest of the party traveled into the Feywild. Using magic to locate Hazaan, they saw a sudden change in his position…he may have escaped from where he was. Traveling with haste they found an old, abandoned Anchor Tower. Outside the bodies of devils hung, frozen halfway though the wall. Inside, the sounds of magical combat. It seems they have arrived just in the nick of time!

Events, Mid Spring 10, 3-4:30 am

• The party looted the tower, then ran down to the portal in the floor. Rali is zapped by the mist leaking from the purple orb of doom and knocked unconscious.

• Fluffy needs a rescue; Zifer discovers the Wardens have found them the hard way. Bjorn the minotaur follows the party into the linked portal, and is tackled by Ura and Dalton. Tamasin banishes him to a dark, cold, silent space as a “time out”.

• The party explains the situation to Guildmaster Anatole DeLaurent, who takes it all in stride. While some try to calm the raging bull down (he and Kat do not get along), Melinko the crazed apprentice is quietly moved to “Mr. Happy’s Room.” Meanwhile, loot is divided.

• The Party plans. Xat enlists DeLaurent’s help decoding Tol’Thanoth’s notes, in exchange for a live Eladrin warforged (to be captured later). Dalton shows Ura around the Artificers & Enchanters Guild.

• The current plan: Tamasin, Bjorn, and Zifer will return to Shroudmist Grove. Zifer will offer himself as a hostage for the party’s safe return, while Tamasin takes Lord Porthos’ body and uses her resurrection scroll on him, with Bjorn standing by as a witness.

• Xat made a quick trip to Abbeville, along with Kat, Dalton, and Ura. They wanted to contact Hazaan, but they learned from the mistress of the tower that Hazaan had not been heard from since he went to consult the Eladrin in Minas Mesidii, and might need to be rescued. Kat knows a fey passage near Granny Yega’s house, and Xat has a map that can be used to pinpoint the Shadar-Kai’s location once they reach the Feywild.

• Now the party heads off on magical horses to Granny Yega’s place…

News from St. Clarice: The Town Crier

Pay heed! Pay heed!

Attempted jailbreak at Warden Hall causes 4 deaths, injures Sheriff Bulrick! The Draconic Brotherhood intervenes, but 4 prisoners still unaccounted for!

Pay heed!

City Council refuses to reverse it’s decision to suspend warforged guards! City Guard dangerously understaffed!

Pay heed!

Doctor Gerard LeVaine nominated for the vacant seat on Town Council! Citizens, exercise your right to vote! Put an honest man on the council for once!

Pay heed!

Three Keys Tavern is the best place to go for a meal! Games of Chance! Women! Clean Rooms! Adventure! Come by today!

Pay heed!

Dragon attacks Verincourt, causes docks to be shut down! All coastal cities placed on alert!

Pay heed!

Amyran church still without a High Celebrant after scandal forces Angelique DuParis to step down! Audric Cwellen refuses to replace Marcel DuParis as new High Celebrant!

Pay heed!

The Sunken Galleon is the town’s best pick for seafood! Cheap ale! Chips! Pounded flounder! Prizes for the best tale of how the Galleon was sunk!

Pay heed!

The Great Church of Morwyn closes its doors to the public after a break-in of the Reliquary of St. Clarice! No one is allowed to enter or leave the grounds!

Pay heed!

Coralton Royal Army victorious! Hobgoblin forces withdrawing from Clarmont, retreat to Erigor! Victory parade planned!

Pay heed!

Come see the wonders of far off Arkanul! Behold the marvelous three-headed dog of Corsasia! Tremble at the sight of the Mummy of Khem-Aygept! Visit Ahkmet’s Hall of Oddities today!

Pay heed! Today’s news is brought to you by The Crier’s Guild! Keep informed! Support the free exchange of knowledge! Tip your local Crier today!

Events, Mid Spring 10th, 2:30 am to 3 am

• The party raids the alchemy lab

• Falling limbs break the lab apart

• The party reaches the top of the tower, and meet Melininko, Tol’thanoth’s abandoned apprentice, tainted by the Speaker in Dreams (and with a third eye). They try to reason with him, though he is clearly insane. Tamasin offers to try and remove his afflictions. However, he demands much from the party, and when Xat is unwilling to deal with him on his terms, he attacks.

• The party faces down more powerful fell taints, hungry dimensional marauders, and a glowing orb that tried to implant nightmares in those who struck at the mad apprentice. But the real danger came from the collapsing building itself, as flames began to consume the very texts the party had come to secure. Xat and Zifer rushed off to save the texts, with Xat using his mage hand to avoid the flames and Zifer fighting off a hungry marauder.

• Meanwhile, Melino teleported to a safe store room, while his pets tied up Dalton and Ura. Kat, Rali, and Bee were harried, with Melinko slinging curses and the fell taints and marauders slowing them down. Tamasin had the presence of mind to go and save some of the magic texts in another antechamber, while Dalton began hammering away at the orb, fracturing it and robbing Melinko of much of his protection.

• With the tower collapsing around them, the mad apprentice surrendered, and his remaining pets fled to parts unknown. The party rapidly searched the remains of the room, and now flee down to the teleportation circle at the bottom of the tower.

Events

• Dalton’s angel watcher makes itself known; mentions the dangers of The Far Realm, and of the entity known as The Speaker in Dreams.

• The party discusses the situation as they climb the stairs. Xat has heard rumors of cults known as “Those Who Hear,” who the Eladrin root out and destroy in preference to any other threat. Rali questioned Seeker, who mentioned a creature known as Nyrarael, a herald of the Speaker. Dalton mentioned that the angel spoke of an anchor keeping a rift open. The anchor must be destroyed before the portal will fail.

• The party reached a ledge with a large, sealed vault door with a complicated locking system. They also found a ribbon if energy, where two small creatures, looking like masses of tentacles, floated lazily, ignoring the party for the most part.

• The party, curious about what was behind the door, began to assault the locks, opening them with impressive speed. The door slid open, revealing a large alchemy laboratory behind it…and drawing the attention of the floating monsters (identified as Fell Taints), who began to summon more.

• Meanwhile, a group of monsters from further up the stairs began to run down towards the party…a gaggle of gibbering foulspawn!

• As Dalton and Ura held the stair from a flock of Fell Taints and a giant hulking foulspawn, Tamasin was cut off from the rest of the group. Xat, Katrianna, and Zifer went to work on the Fell Taints, trying to clear a path to her as a group of hungry, vomiting grue teleported near her.

• There was a sudden popping noise, and yet more fell taints appeared! A whole school of the things was apparently trying to come through the rift!

• The fight dragged on. Ura found hismelf pushed to the limits of his mighty endurance, while Rali was waylaid by her Seeker gauntlet, which urged her not fight out of concern for the monsters that were its kin. Xat suggested the rest of the group make for the alchemy lab, to bottleneck themselves in.

• Ura finally managed to get a strike on a foulspawn with four arms, impaling it and pinning it into the hulk. Rali shook off Seeker when it became clear her help was needed, and shot the hulk with a ray that knocked it into the ribbon portal. The Fell Taint swarm eventually died down, and Xat managed to twist the space around the Grue pack, knocking one into thin air and causing it to fall to it’s death hundreds of feet below. The final grue teleported away.

• Now the party licks itse wounds and prepares to explore the alchemy chamber.