News:

- Chubby Dwarves are low fat.
- Pippen accused of getting drunk and feeling Merry
- Mexican Hobbit corrupted by One Ring. Known as Smiegel

Main Menu
Menu

Show posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Show posts Menu

Topics - fraz

#21
Game Log / Episode 04: The Hunt
September 10, 2005, 01:03:22 AM
Episode 04
The Hunt

[Saturday 09 July 05]
[modified by fraz on 16 Sep 05]

Cast of characters:
Hafaeveraal: Phin
Jarmok: Johan
Maal Brengain: fraz
Ragnar: Rob C.

---------------------
Sythus [Spring]
Valley Year 237
Duthash Albyr Basque [05 May]


[color=darkblue:7025948fe8]Jarmok: Slowly you creep upon the amber colored deer. You move in deliberate steps quietly and aware of all that is around you. The hunger for blood and flesh burns within you. Trickling down are a few feeble tears of blue and green light that do manage to break through the canopy of leaves above you. Everything seems fantastically surreal as if it were a dream.

Slowly you move forward never taking you eyes off of your prey. The deer looks to your direction and you stop and stand as still as a statue. Reluctantly the deer goes back to eating the feyberries off the bush. Again you move slowly ever forward.

The hunger?the need to feed?the sudden flash of a taskmasters whip?the moon light?the blood pouring over your eyes?the deer?the rope around your neck?the death leap towards the deer?the bloodied gauntlet cracking your jaw?the pain?the blood?the hunger.

You wake just before daybreak lying in the cleared area behind your cabin. A sheet of mist hangs above the clearing and the smell of blooming flowers laces the air. A torn carcass of a deer is just a bit away from you and is being feasted on by a flock of ravens. As you begin to get up you notice that you hands are caked with dried blood. You brush your hands off and move to clear your face from dirt. The fine hair on your face is stiff and clumped. You realize that it?s not dirt on your face but rather dried blood. In the midst of its? feasting one of the ravens looks at you and screams its? harsh cry almost as if to thank you for breakfast. You are uncomfortably full but very thirsty.

You get a long drink and wash up. Afterwards, you take your morning walk checking to see if everything is alright. Along the way you see that people, visitors and residents alike, are starting their day. Soon the overfull feeling you had upon waking has relaxed and you again start to feel usual. After you get home you relax a bit and then go to the large bronzewood and goldleaf moon clock. The moons on the clock move with everyday and somehow indicate each moon in its? proper light. After studying the beautifully crafted clock you here a knock at the door. You go to the door and there again is Keltan?s page, Daniel. ?Um, Jarmok sir, Julius has asked for you at the Thornhedge.?    

Maal: You wake to a neighboring rooster singing out it?s morning song. You roust out of bed and stretch your muscles from their sleep. The routine of the day has become comfortable for you and you find that it?s nice to have a place once again where you can just really be who you are. Threshold might be a place you could settle in?that is if and when you?re ready to settle. There is no past here that haunts you. It does not, however, shield you from earlier times. If by happenstance you should return to your Homeland what would you find? Would there be amends? Would the War and rumors of war have melted away? Would you see your family again? Home seems so distant and yet too close.

You descend the stairs and see Keltan and the Inn help preparing for the morning onslaught of patrons and other traveling folk. The door opens and you see a young commonly dressed woman enter and approach Keltan. Keltan turns and says, ?Ah, Amaryl?right on time as usual. Did your mother send anything special this day??. Amyl smiles and replies, ?Sir Keltan, I thought every loaf she sent was special to you. I would guess that you mean exceptional, yes? Well, as a matter of fact, she did. You must understand though that it is mealtime bread for it has a bit of special yeast that gets you feeling a bit?happy.? Their conversation continues as they go into the kitchen.

A serving girl comes to ask what you would like for the morning meal. You request, and she goes to fetch. The door opens again and you see Philip Stagdrake enter and he nervously looks about and spots you. He swiftly approaches you and says, ?Maal, Kyle never came home last night??

Ragnar: Inexplicably, the brands on your hands started to itch and hurt. It?s impossible to get back to sleep. You pace around your room confused and bothered. ?What have I ever done that was so bad to deserve this mark of evil??, you think to yourself. ?I?m in this far away town, I don?t know anyone, and I?m not sure if I can trust these people that I?m with.? You shout in your head. Your teeth grind with frustration at so little knowledge of this strange place. You take the leather wrapping off of your hand and look at the dark symbol. It ever stares back at you?this eye never closes. In a fit of rage you grab the unlit lantern at your bedside with your mind and hurl it at the window. It smashes through the glass and for a split second you feel some relief. However, it isn?t enough. Would vengeance offer some release? Who knows?

You cover the brands on your hands. The brands make you no less than who you are but they have changed you and you wonder if you?ll ever be the same as you were before them.
You go over to look at the damage of the window and see that Kossuth has yet to break over the east wall. The mist from the Fogveil stretches from house to house and tree to tree. As you look through the widow you see a shrouded figure crossing Angelhawk Bridge through the mist and into town. Your hands itch and pulse a little more and you decide that it?s time to get something for breakfast.

Hafaveraal: The nights you?ve nights spent at the Thornhedge in the common room have given you some amusement. The people that stay there have been wary of your look and they do all that they can not to stare. This particular morning as you stir in the morning hours you see a small dark haired boy at the end of your bed standing in his bed clothes just looking at you. You sit up and look back. After scratching the morning crust from your eyes the boy innocently waves at you and quietly says, ?My name is Joshua. What?s yours?? with a stretch and a yawn you say, ?Hafaveraal.? The boy giggles, ?That?s a funny name! How did you get those stripes on you?? just before you answer you see a woman come over and grab Joshua by the hand and she says to him, ?Come Josh. Let the man be. He?s just getting up.? She looks at you and says, ?Sorry to disturb you sir. He?s just curious. He likes your patterns.? She whisks the boy off to bed. Smelling the morning?s cooking you become painfully aware that you are ravenous. Your stomach gurgles and groans as if on cue and you bound downstairs and see Ragnar and Maal eating breakfast.  After having spilled blood with these two before you decide that they would make good company for the morning meal.

Group Conversation:
Maal, Ragnar, Hafaveraal, and Jarmok: you?re all sitting at a table in the Thornhedge and Julius, Garret, and an armed man enter. Keltan greets them and  escorts them to your table. Julius looks at each of you and nods. ?Jarmok, Maal, and Ragnar, good morning. This man here is Captain Tuskegee. He is in charge of the guard at the Fortmount. He has informed me that today is there last day here and they?ll be leaving tomorrow.? Captain Tuskegee nods and says, ?Threshold and the Tri-State of Vychia are grateful for the help that you?re giving. These are uncertain days upon us and my Field Marshall has called my garrison back to Kurr. I wish you all well.? He turns to face Julius and continues, ?Julius, if you?ll excuse me I must get back to the Fortmount to finalize preparations for our journey.? Julius says, ?Please Captain, be on your way.? At that Captain Tuskegee turns and exits the inn.

Julius and Garret sit at the table. Julius turns to Garret and motions his hand to the table, ?Garret, if you will??. Garret clears his throat and begins, ?Okay, Just so you know, Laren and Kit are not kidnapped. Laren had some personal business to take care of and Kit went with him. Odds are, if everything goes well the two of them will return in a little while. Well, that?s basically it. I didn?t want you guys to worry.?


Julius looks around and says in softer tones, ?Now, there are other things to be concerned about. The three boys, Fergus, William, and Kyle are again missing. Well, at least they didn?t come home last night according to their parents. Philip believes they were planning vengeance. This is of course a bit dim on the kids part. Apparently anger knows no bounds. Here is a sketch of the man Rawling as he was described by the boys. Now, the boys said that his hideout was on The Foot which you have explored to some part. They also said that they were attacked on the road just south of here. Other than those two locations he was not seen anywhere else according to them. These are the only two leads that have been given.
On another matter, the people that survived the attack from the trogs are recovering well. They?re still shaken and weak but Ashe?s good hands are looking after them. There is still the matter of the dead family in the old mine. Their recovery is important but not as important as getting back the living, if you take my meaning.
Also, a priest has come to claim the charge of The Temple of Shadows. His name is Severen. He claims that he is not an agent of Xanthakos. This doesn?t mean that he?s not dangerous it just means that he is not a spy. I?m not sure if I believe him but it is not mine to refuse his entry into the Temple as Threshold is open to those that wish to honor their deities. Still, Severen must be kept account of.
I have recently received word form the other council members and they will be arriving within the next two weeks?with other priests. Any questions?? [/color]

The party makes plans and quickly leaves for the Foot to investigate

Soon at the Foot:
investigate first tunnel entrance
Jarmok finds new human-sized booted tracks

Ragnar stays behind to guard this entrance while Jarmok, Maal and Haf continue on to the next entrance

Jarmok finds a hole in the cliff partially blocked by rocks
discuss
Jarmok will sneak in to investigate while Maal and Haf guard entrance

Jarmok sneaks in and finds a table in a room
he finds a scroll hidden in a niche
Jarmok peaks up steep stairs
there are many tracks on the dusty stairs and floor

Jarmok exits and updates the party

party rejoins Ragnar and discusses plan:

Jarmok and Ragnar sneak in thru first entrance while Maal and Haf guard second entrance
Jarmok and Ragnar descend to the room with the door
the rats that the party battled last time are slashed and messed up
there are fresh unlit candles
they both listen at the door, but hear nothing
light Ragnar's torch
there are many booted tracks here

they pass through door and down stairs
debri litters the room
signs of recent activity can be seen in the thick dust
signs of sparring combat (as opposed to real combat) [color=darkblue:7025948fe8]indicated by broken sticks[/color]

they follow hallway which turns east
it is confirmed: the tunnels from the first and second entrances link
Jarmok and Ragnar exit

discuss

party leaves and heads north-east through town (this is where the teens said they first met Rawling)
they follow the road out of town

Jarmok picks up the kid's tracks again out of town

ask travellers if they've seen kids or Rawling
no-one has
continue vigilent tracking for another half mile
Jarmok follows some questionable tracks
he then finds a nick in a tree (from a blade)

tracks lead to run-down cabin
Jarmok approaches stealthily
Jarmok looks into the left window and sees a table with debri
there are three kids tied up unconscious and wounded

Jarmok returns and updates the party
after much debate [and player flip-flopping] Ragnar opens the door mentally [with his so-far unrevealed psi-power]
the party charges forward!
there are three giant rats in room which attack immediately upon entry

Ragnar charges in and slices a rat [dead]
Maal charges in screaming - misses
Haf also moves into the cabin through the front while Jarmok moves around to the rear of the building  
Rawling is here on the far side of the room!
he throws a lit lantern onto the floor
the lantern shatters and explodes and the cabin bursts into flames!

Haf moves to the kids
Jarmok gets to rear of cabin

Ragnar grabs a kid and heads towards the exit
Maal flings spear at Rawling (who is fleeing to another door) but misses
Maal follows [color=darkblue:7025948fe8]jumping over the flames[/color] as Rawling exits through the door
Haf grabs two kids by ropes [looping rope around them?] and drags them towards door

Ragnar makes it out with the first kid
Maal enters a storage room, but Rawling has disappeared
she sees a rat tail disappearing into a hole in the corner of the pantry
the hole is too small and she cannot follow, so she exits the room [color=darkblue:7025948fe8]to see the fire quickly spreading[/color] (retrieving her spear in the process)
Haf drags the two kids carefully out through the door
Haf joins Ragnar outside with the three kids

Maal smashes a window with her shield and dives out, clumsily scraping her legs on the broken glass
Maal: "Where's Jarmok?  Rawling has disappeared into a hole!  He's escaping!"

Jarmok, who is still behind the cabin, sees the grass moving and sees a huge black rat fleeing into the woods
He chases the rat into the nearby woods
but Rawling the rat is very fast and is outdistancing him!

Maal runs around house looking for exit hole
she sees Jarmok running into the woods
he is running on all fours and she is shocked to she him transforming into the shape of a wolf!
she notices that there is a burrow at the base of the house here and determines that Rawling the rat must have exited and that Jarmok must be chasing him
she quickly decides to follow

Jarmok the wolf gains on Rawling the rat and pounces on him!
Jarmok hits and succeeds in tripping up the rat
the rat stands on his hind legs and morphs into a hybrid rat-man (wearing shield, leather armor and longsword)
Jarmok attacks!

Maal loses sight of them, but continues to follow them on their last heading, and closing in on their position as they continue to battle

Ragnar and Haf untie the kids and move away from the burning house
Ragnar uses his healing skill on the kids to treat and bind their wounds

Jarmok and Rawling fight
Jarmok hits

Rawling seems to be healing (regenerating!) as fast as he is hurt by Jarmok's attacks
Maal closes in

Ragnar continues to treat the kids with Haf's helps
the house is a great big fireball now and they make sure to move a safe distance away

Jarmok tries to grapple Rawling, but fails
Maal makes visual contact [uses full move to charge in]

Ragnar treats the last kid while Haf stands guard

Jarmok morphs back into human form and quickly attacks!
Maal charges in screaming, but misses
Jarmok hits and does damage with his axe

Maal hits, but her weapon seems to have no effect
Jarmok finally splits Rawling open with the axe!
Rawling changes to human form and begs for his life, but Jarmok will have none of it and swiftly chops his head off!

Jarmok sits and rests
Jarmok and Maal collect Rawling's loot

4 gems
longsword (Maal)
2 daggers
fork spoon and knife (later given to Julius)

53 cp
42 sp
34 gp
5 pp

Jarmok and Maal head back to the burning house

Ragnar is finished and is ready to leave
they all head back to town with the kids

Jarmok heads to the council house
he meets Julius outside and shows him the head which he is carrying in a bag
he also gives the utensils to Julius

Maal, Ragnar and Haf escort the kids to Ashe's house
Ragnar runs ahead to warn Ashe of the incoming patients
Ashe prepares
The kids are dropped off and Maal and Haf head to the Stump for some ale
Ragnar stays at Ashe's to watch over the kids[color=#444444:7025948fe8][/color][color=#444444:7025948fe8][/color][color=#444444:7025948fe8][/color]
#22
General Info / Threshold map
June 25, 2005, 12:34:34 AM
Hi gang,

I have finally posted Wildfire's map of Threshold here on kulgar.org.

Sorry it took so long!
Enjoy!
#23
General Info / Days and Months of Year
June 12, 2005, 06:24:25 PM
Flannish days of the week:
Starday - work
Sunday - work
Moonday - work
Godsday - [color=darkred:94b6fc53ed]worship[/color]
Waterday - work
Earthday - work
Freeday - rest

The Dozenmonth of the moon and the four Festivals:

 - Needfest

Fireseek (January)
Readying (Februrary)
Coldeven (March)

 - Growfest

Planting (April)
Flocktime (May)
Wealsun (June)

 - Richfest

Reaping (July)
Goodmonth (August)
Harvester (September)

 - Brewfest

Patchwall (October)
Ready'reat (November)
Sunsebb (December)

1 year = 12 months
1 month = 28 days
#24
07 Goodmonth (Aug) 591: Evening (just before beachstock):

Erinalia crosses the beach of base-camp, padding across the fine sand in her bare feet, heading towards the horse corral.  As she approaches, she notices Garbh?n nearby tending to his mount.

Laying aside her engraved staff, Erin produces some apple chunks, which she saved from the mess hall earlier, and begins feeding the horses little treats as she strokes their manes and noses.  She also talks to the various horses in low, soft whispers, barely audible to the folk working in the area, while moving gradually from one to the next.

As Erin moves closer to Garbh?n and his horse, Garbh?n notices her glancing over at them.  They never seem to make eye contact, though, and Erin seems to hesitate as she approaches...
#25
Duthash Albyr Syncath [May 3rd]: Morning:

Maal Brengain approaches Keltan in the common room of the Thornhedge Inn.  As always, she carries her spear and shield with her.  Her blood-stained antlers dangle from the belt around her hips.

"Hail, Keltan!  I'm innerested in buyin' a few spears...  Is Darius Grogan the only weaponsmith in town?  What's 'e like?  Do ye know if 'e makes good weap'ns?"
#26
Just so y'all know.  I have posted copies of sessions one and two on http://kulgar.org.

Enjoy!
#27
Gorrish Gyth Aryor [30 April]:

Jarmok approaches Maal on the edge of Threshold: "Go hunting? Look for Rat-Man...Raw-ling?"
 
At Jarmok's approach Maal halts her patrol of Threshold's outskirts and leans casually on her spear. "Yes... We should. I wonder if he is outside of the town. Or maybe he's hiding somewhere behind that door down in the tunnels..."
   
Jarmok crouches and looks up and down the street.  "Start at door."
   
Maal nods silently in agreement.
   
Maal watches with mild curiousity as Jarmok moves off without another word and disappears quickly, yet silently, into the nearby woods.
#28
General Info / Maps of Mahiya
May 22, 2005, 03:12:05 PM
Wildfire's beautifully drawn maps of the world of Mahiya have been posted at the following address:

http://kulgar.org/threshold/threshdex/mahiya01.htm

Enjoy!
#29
General Info / Elsenban Calendar
May 22, 2005, 01:43:46 PM
I have endeavored to post the information as accurately as possible here.  I was not able to display the charts/tables in the same fashion as they are shown on kulgar.org, but I think it will suffice.  Hope this fills the bill!
#30
General Info / Elsenban Calendar
May 22, 2005, 01:43:46 PM
The calendar of Elsenban has roots that date back since civilization began. Many of the meanings and origins of the names have been lost over the years and are known by only the rarest of old scholars and dragons. The informal name of any day is simply the name of the week matched with the day of that week. For example, Gyth (name of the week) Aryor (name of the day in the week). A more formal name of the day would prefix the name of the month. For instance, Surzyn (name of the month) Gith Aryor. Perhaps an even more formal and complete name of the day would have the name of the season as the first in the series of day names. So, the holiday of Convergance would take place on Venric Surzyn Gith Aryor. In English this would translate to "the winter month of march on the sixth day of the fifth week". This of course is a loose translation but it effectively equates the meaning.

It is known by all that the length of the year is dictated by the moons (elemental deities) and the seasons. Kossuth's (deity/moon of fire) cycle is the standard by which a day is measured. It is always full. Akadi's (deity/moon of air) cycle determines the length of the month. It is full on the day of Gyth Aryor (the 30th of every month) and is perfectly new at the zenith (noon) of Dracum Syncath. Istisha's (deity/moon of water) waxing and waning marks the seasons. It is full at the end of the season (last month of the season on Gyth Aryor) and is perfectly new on the mid month of the season at the zenith of Dracum Syncath. Grumbar's (deity/moon of earth) cycle is an entire year. It is perfectly new at midnight on Verindock Gyth Aryor and is full on Surzyn Gyth Aryor (the holiday of "Convergance" ). This lunar machine is nearly unwavering in it's movements. On very rare occasions the deity will adjust its' path briefly and return to it's regular cycle. It is unknown as to why this divergence will happen. There is speculation that the deity is in some way exercising its' influence on the land. It is also widely accepted by most that the deities/moons move in these cycles so as to reflect how there influence is felt on the land.

The Six Days of the Week:
Voldyn
Fehy
Syncath
Arkus
Basque
Aryor

The Five Weeks of the Month:
Albyr
Zinnyas
Dracum
Arek
Gyth

Seasons and Months:

Sythus (Spring)
Gorrish (April)
Duthash (May)
Qwydeon (June)

Brak (Summer)
Orlitin (July)
Pimurz (August)
Queltoin (September)

Rynnyx (Autumn)
Verindock (October)
Infigar (November)
Criquwin (December)

Venric (Winter)
Malborrin (January)
Dothorwyn (February)
Surzyn (March)

Month + Week + Day = Day of the Year
Example: October 18th = Verindock Dracum Aryor

Holidays:
Bloombring: Gorrish Albyr Voldyn (April 1)
Festival of Dragons: Gorrish Dracum Syncath (April 15)
Day of the Valley: Qwydeon Zinnyas Basque (June 11)
Pyrstice: Orlitin Albyr Voldyn (July 1)
Festival of the Horn: Queltoin Gyth Fehy (September 26)
Harvestide: Verindock Albyr Voldyn (October 1)
Festival of Trees: Verindock Arek Aryor (October 24)
Eve of Shadow Blood: Criquin Alber Fehy (December 2)
Windsweep: Malborrin Albyr Voldyn (January 1)
Day of Heroes: Dothorwyn Arek Arkus (February 22)
Convergance: Surzyn Gyth Aryor (March 30)

Moon Cycles:
Kossuth - Fire   (Day = 24 hrs; 12 hrs/light)
Akadi - Air (Month = 30 days)
Istisha - Water (Season = 3 months)
Grumbar - Earth (Year = 12 mths; 4 seasons)

Properly displayed charts and tables can be viewed at this link:
http://kulgar.org/threshold/threshold-intro.htm#calendar
#31
Shall I assume that you read this post, Dray, and that you're okay with it?
#32
Hiya Dray,

I've been reading up on the details of a druid's Animal Companion and the Handle Animal skill and have only just figured out the relation between the two!

Ok, so Erinalia's hawk, with an intelligence of 2, can learn up to 6 tricks.  Plus, as an Animal Companion, he gets 1 bonus trick that requires no training time or Handle Animal check (from PHB p36).  Kewl!

So... I would like to take Defend (PHB p75) as my hawk's bonus trick.

Also, I am wondering, since Erin has been on the isle for a week now (which is the training time of a trick), if you'll allow me to choose another trick also.  If so, I would choose Fetch (which I'm assuming will allow her to send the hawk to catch and retrieve fish).  Fetch has a DC of 15 and I'll be happy to make the roll at the beginning of our upcoming session if necessary.

That leaves the hawk with 5 more tricks to learn which we could then play out normally over the course of the campaign.  Does this all sound okay to you?  Please let me know what you think.  Thanks!
#33
Hey all,

This is primarily a question for our intrepid GM, Dray...

Erinalia will need to meditate to regain the spells that she used during our day off excursion.  She still has one unused spell left, though.  Is it acceptable to replace that with a different spell during the meditative process?  I would assume that the answer is yes, but I don't like to assume things...
#34
Game Log / Episode 03: Visions in the Night
May 18, 2005, 01:24:44 AM
Episode 03
Visions in the Night

[Saturday 07 May 05]

Cast of characters:
Hafaeveraal: Phin
Jarmok: Johan
Kit: Dray
Laren: Matt.
Maal Brengain: fraz
Ragnar: Rob C.

---------------------
Sythus [Spring]
Valley Year 237
Duthash Albyr Fehy [02 May]: Morning


Jarmok: Everything seems much larger than you remember it being. The trees are taller, the bushes are bigger but your step is shorter. You run in an even stride and your balance is much keener than you?re accustomed to. You easily duck and dodge any branches that appear before you. With feline grace you jump upon a rock blistering through the ground. You look around not really knowing where you are. You descend from the rock and continue on your way through the night. Slowly your vision fades out. You wake up at dawn to find yourself stretched across the woodpile just outside of your back door. Your back is a bit creaky and your head aches a bit. You are suddenly hit by a wall of hunger and thirst.

Maal: you are out on your daybreak patrol enjoying the delicious solitude and peace of these quiet hours. To the east is the humble glow of Kossuth waking from it?s slumber. Soon it, and all of the folk, will be up and about on their daily toil. There is a delicate and even sheet of mist gently wrapping this river valley in it?s embrace. Walking in determined strides you begin to make your way to the Overspan. In the distance you can hear the pounding of the waterfall known by the locals as ?The Hammer?. As you walk across the Overspan and look to your left and see the waterfall. You can barely feel the spray of the water kissing your face. It is cool and soothing offering you a bit a peace on your vigilant march. You continue to the other side of the bridge and further ahead on the road you see a small silhouette emerging from the thin morning mist. You hold fast your spear and grip the handle of your shield just a little tighter. You?re ready for anything. The silhouette becomes more distinct. It?s a little girl. She is in a torn and dirty underdress and her face is filthy with dirt and blood. Her blond hair is mussed and greasy looking. Her feet are bare and painted with dried blood. She looks at you blankly and shaking as if she?d seen a ghost. She looks familiar.

Laren: a blinding light fades and you see amidst the trees a dark cave before you with skewed rusted rail tracks coming out. You hear piercing death screams. The light fades in and out again and you then see a busted and broken carriage and two bloody and hacked horses surrounded in purple mist. The light blinds you once again then fades to reveal the face of a beautiful raven haired woman in a dark cloak reaching towards you. The screams come again. With a start you wake up with breathless and with an awful headache. Your sheets are tossed about and you see that they are torn violently.

Kit: you see his face. his sneering ratty face. he says ?I will  find you. You know I will. And when I do I?ll do it all over again?.hahahaha?. a deep bass humming starts to fill your ears. Your blood gets hot and heart starts to race. Rage fills every fiber of your existence. With determined focus you release your rage. You aim to destroy him utterly and without mercy. You wake suddenly to the sounds of splintering wood and shattering glass. You find yourself standing in the middle of your room looking at a blown out window and a destroyed ceramic pitcher and mug. You feel your face is hot and you?re heart is pounding uncontrollably. Your sleeping gown is soaked with your own sweat. Your eyes are filled with tears and you begin to sob uncontrollably.

Ragnar: you look down and you see the brands on your hands bleeding. You see shackles bound with chains on your wrists. At your feet is a candle burning with white light. Around you are dancing shadows laughing and snickering. Slowly the shadows creep closer and closer. They lash out scraping and scratching you. You swing back with your bound hands hitting emptiness. The shadows come ever closer surrounding you, embracing you. Then the light from the candle goes out. Your eyes snap open and you see that you?re swinging at the air with your wrists pressed against each other. You also hear a deep muffled hum and then glass shattering from within another room.


Maal approaches the dirty and bloodied little girl and asks what has happened, but the only words that she will speak are ?Momma and Poppa?.  The wildlander hesitates for an endless moment and then grabs the girl up into her arms.  The little girl clings to Maal as the wildlander woman carries her through the town heading to the Council House.

However, on the way, Maal runs into Jarmok who is returning through town to his cabin.  She briefly explains the situation and Jarmok tells her to go to Julius' house instead.  Maal follows him through the town.

Yet, as they approach the Rosewalk bridge they hear a loud crash from the nearby Thornhedge Inn.  Jarmok looks over to see that splinters of wood and glass have fallen to the street from a second story window.  He moves to investigate while Maal continues onward to Julius' home.

Jarmok enters the inn, climbs the stairs to the room from which the glass window had been broken and pounds upon the door. Kit is still shaken from her dream, though, and fails to answer, but recognizing the possibility of danger she loads her crossbow and levels it at the door, intending to shoot whatever might be outside her door. Jarmok, becoming increasingly concerned, breaks the door in and enters hastily, fearing that something is wrong. He only finds Kit in her night clothes, however. Kit, thankfully, recognizes Jarmok and pulls up her weapon, asking what on earth he is doing breaking down her door.

"Broken window." Jarmok explains, indicating the...broken windw. "In trouble?"

Kit is embarrased a little, and hastily explains that she was only trying to open the window and accidentally hit her head, shattering the glass.

Jarmok apologizes and withdraws out to the hallway.  He returns downstairs somewhat perplexed.

Kit follows to talk to Keltan and explain about the noise and mess.  Ragnar and Laren have also appeared to investigate the noise.  Kit returns to her room for a bath and Jarmok leaves to catch up with Maal.

Laren leaves and heads directly to the Mushroom o' the Stump tavern expecting to get some breakfast. However, he arrives and finds that they haven't even opened for business yet.  He sees someone moving about inside and knocks upon the door.  Garret answers, dressed in a loin cloth (his bed clothes!?) and Laren immediatley apologizes for calling at such an early hour.  Instead of leaving, though, he offers to help out in the kitchen and Garret welcomes him inside.

Meanwhile, Maal arrives at Julius' house with the little girl and pounds loudly on the door. The housekeeper eventually lets her inside and Julius appears to find out what is going on.  Maal explains that she found the girl on the south-east outskirts of the town.  She recognizes the girl as belonging to the family that had entered the inn on the same morning that Kit and Ragnar had saved the boy from drowning (on Gorrish Arek Arkus 237).  Maal is very uncomfortable holding the little girl and finally hands her off to Julius.  The wildlander then leaves abruptly to gather the others.

She meets up with Jarmok again as she is crossing back over the Rosewalk.  They return to the inn together where they find Ragnar eating his breakfast.  Jarmok leaves to find Laren, while Maal climbs the stairs to call on Kit.  Maal pounds on Kit's door.  Kit, finally in the middle of her relaxing morning bath, calls out and Maal answers that there is trouble.  Kit begins to explain about the window, but Maal answers that there is another problem.  She tells Kit to meet them downstairs and leaves.

Returning to the common room, Maal explains the situation to Ragnar as they wait for everyone to gather.  A strange bald-headed, tattooed man [Hafaeveraal] listens intently as he eats his soup.

Meanwhile, Jarmok enters the Stump and calls for Laren who emerges from the kitchen wearing an apron and wielding a hot pan full of fried eggs.  Jarmok indicates that Laren should follow him and leaves.  Laren passes the pan off to Garret and exits quickly, following Jarmok back to the inn.

After everyone has finally gathered in the common room at the inn, Maal encourages them to follow her, promising to explain the details on the way.  As they are heading towards the door, Hafaeveraal, the tattooed stranger, stands and offers to help them.  Maal gives him the once over - he is a tall, well-built warrior, wearing a kilt - and then invites him to follow along.

The party walks southward to the spot where Maal had found the little girl.  Here, Jarmok takes the lead, following the girl's tracks along the old road.  They soon come across a ruined carriage.  Crossbow bolts stick out of the wooden sides of the cart and two dead horses being eaten by crows lie on the ground ahead of it.  Large chunks of flesh are missing from the dead beasts and after talking a closer look Jarmok notices talon marks in the horse flesh.

Jarmok investigates the area as the others stand around waiting, trying to be careful not to tramp on any of the tracks.  Jarmok eventually picks up the trail again and the party follows him deeper into the wilderness where they soon discover a cave entrance set into a cliff face.  There are also mining rail tracks here leading into the cave entrance.

With weapons at the ready, the party decides to enter the cave and investigate.

The marching order is thus:
Jarmok
Hafaeveraal
Maal
Laren
Kit (carrying the torch)
Ragnar

The interior of the cave is a mine tunnel.  The floor has one set of rails and the roof and walls are supported by wooden beams and trusses.  Jarmok follows the rail tracks about thirty feet eastward, but halts when he notices a trip wire across the floor of the tunnel.  After a pause to investigate, everyone steps over the trip wire and continues onward.

They soon enter a 30' x 30? chamber.  The mining rails continue straight ahead through the chamber and onward down another passage.  Three rusty sets of rails split off to the right, where there are five mining carts.  There are also forges on left side of the chamber and several skeletons (a few of which are recognized as dwarf-sized) - quite probably the remnants of a battle.

Maal and Hafaeveraal stand guard looking down the passage ahead while the others investigate the chamber.  Kit cautiously approaches one of the mining carts, but as she closes in, a small lizard-man [kobold] suddenly jumps up from inside the cart and fires a crossbow bolt at her.

The bolt misses the intended target, though, striking the ground near Kit's feet instead.  Kit fires back quickly and then immediately drops the torch to the ground as she reloads her crossbow with a fresh bolt.  Hafaeveraal charges in to attack with his shortsword.  The kobold screeches loudly as it dies upon his sword.

The scream fades gradually into the distance, leaving only silence.  However, Maal and Hafaeveraal soon hear some distant sounds coming from down the passage.  Something or someone has been alerted to their presence.

Kit, Hafaeveraal and Ragnar continue to investigate the mining carts.  Laren searches over the dead kobold and secretly filches a pouch.

As Kit and Ragnar approach two more of the carts, two more kobolds suddenly leap up from within!  Ragnar exchanges crossbow fire with one, but they both miss each other.  Kit kills the other with a bolt through the neck.  Ragnar abandons his crossbow and impales his kobold adversary on his spear.  Hafaeveraal is disappointed to find only rocks in his cart.

Jarmok and Maal hear louder sounds approaching from the passage now.  Jarmok moves off to one side of the passageway in a good position to ambush whatever or whoever may enter.  Maal likewise moves off to the opposite side.

Meanwhile, Kit investigates the kobold she has just killed.  She finds a large belt pouch.

The sounds from the passage are getting louder now.  There seem to be several kobolds whispering to one another as they approach the chamber.  Kit hides quickly in a mining cart, while Laren blends into the murky shadows at the back of the cavern.  Ragnar hides behind one of the mining carts.

Hafaeveraal approaches and stands before the passage with only his studded cesti as weapons.  He is hoping to lure them into the chamber allowing Jarmok and Maal to ambush them from the sides.

Several arrows suddenly whistle by.  Hafaeveraal is struck twice and retreats quickly, hamming it up, trying to draw the kobolds into chamber.  He runs off to the side out of the line of fire and hides behind a cart, pretending to cower from his attackers.  Kit is concerned for his welfare, but he is too far away for her to check on him.

Eventually, Maal spies a kobold poking its snout into the chamber.  She shrinks back against the wall, hiding, hoping that they will all enter into the trap.  The kobolds proceed very cautiously, though, as they enter.  Laren and Kit suddenly open fire just as Jarmok launches his own attack from one side with his axe.

A brief, but bloody battle with several kobolds follows.

Maal and Ragnar attacks with their spears while Hafaeveraal fights with his sword.  Maal is struck in the toe by a sword-weilding kobold, but the kobolds are quickly slaughtered without any further injuries to the party.  Kit finally recovers her torch following the battle.

After a brief discussion on how to proceed, Jarmok and Laren sneak about thirty feet down the passage, while the others wait patiently in the chamber.  The torchlight fades behind them, though, and Jarmok finds it necessary to lead Laren carefully in the darkness.  Jarmok soon finds that the passage turns left, yet opens into a chamber straight ahead and to the right.  The chamber is similar to the other room.  There are two sets of tracks with mining carts here.

Jarmok sees the carcus of a huge spider just within the entrance way to the chamber.  Laren hears a slight creaking noise and Jarmok notices a movement in the dimness at the edge of his vision.  They quietly retreat to the first chamber, rejoining the party.

Jarmok explains as best he can what he has seen, drawing diagrams in the dirt at their feet.  The party formulates a plan.  It is decided that they will all advance to investigate the next chamber, but that Jarmok will go well ahead of the party and their torchlight to take advantage of the darkness and his low-light vision.

Putting the agreed upon plan into motion, Jarmok sneaks ahead and the party follows behind at a distance.  Jarmok approaches the chamber as quietly as possible and peers within.  Suddenly, he sees a kobold dart out from behind a mining cart, heading to a passage on the opposite side of the chamber.  Jarmok reacts by throwing an axe at the fleeing kobold, but he misses.

Jarmok then charges in, yelling loudly, so that the others will be sure to hear his attack and will hopefully come quickly.  He is caught flat-footed, however, and hit twice by a much larger lizard-man attacking with club and claw.  Jarmok recovers in time, however, to block another set of attacks and then stands fast to fight back.

The others hear the commotion and charge down the passageway to help.  Hafaeveraal arrives first and attempts to grapple the lizard-man.  He succeeds in grabbing the lizard-man just as Jarmok strikes the creature with his axe.  Maal arrives and stabs it viciously with her spear.

The lizard-man (which is actually a troglodyte) suddenly exudes a cloud of gas!  Kit, Jarmok and Laren are all affected by the poisonous gas [fail save = -2 on rolls for 10 mins].  Hafaeveraal manages to pin the troglodyte down to the ground and Jarmok slices its belly open with his axe, killing it.

The battle is not over however, as three kobolds have emerged from the mining carts and begun firing crossbow bolts at the party.  Ragnar, Kit and Laren return fire, but all miss (Kit just missing due to her queasiness from the troglodyte's gas).

Maal charges across the room at the kobolds and kills one as they fire off another volley of bolts.  Ragnar closes in and engages the nearest kobold with his spear.  The kobold abandons his crossbow and slashes Ragnar with a shortsword.

Kit fires another bolt, missing again as Hafaeveraal charges in and hacks down one of the kobolds.

Jarmok notices three other figures moving around in the darkness.  He suddenly runs in the direction of the first fleeing kobold that he had spotted.  Kit, carrying the torch, follows him.

Ragnar and Hafaeveraal team up on the last kobold, but he manages to elude them.  Laren finally hits the kobold with an arrow.  The kobold, badly wounded, drops his weapon and cowers on the ground.  Maal steps in and brutally murders the unarmed kobold with a thrust of her spear.

Meanwhile, Jarmok and Kit see three more troglodytes approaching.  Jarmok fires an arrow while, at the same moment, Kit blasts the same troglodyte with her psi power.  The troglodyte explodes just as the arrow strikes it's mark!  This time, though, Jarmok senses a peculiar buzzing emenating from Kit's head.  Laren?s mouth drops open and his eye's widen upon seeing the troglodyte explode.  He is also just close enough this time to notice the strange buzzing.

There is no time for immediate discussion, however, as the two remaining troglodytes close in quickly.  Laren fires off a poisoned arrow, striking one of them and Jarmok strikes the other with his axe.  Kit blasts the same troglodyte with another burst of psi power.  The troglodyte is hurt badly, but not dead.  It is in quite a lot of pain, though.

Maal, Ragnar and Hafaeveraal close in and join the fray.  Ragnar and Jarmok both miss.  Kit moves back from the melee about fifteen feet and prepares to fire her crossbow.  Maal strikes the poisoned troglodyte with her spear while Laren misses the other one with an arrow.  Hafaeveraal strikes with his sword, killing the poisioned troglodyte.

Ragnar tries demoralizing the last troglodyte with his psionic powers.  Jarmok and Maal both miss as one of Laren's arrows whistles by and strikes it's target.  Jarmok deflects the troglodyte's club, but is then bitten by the creature.  He falls down to one knee, hurt badly.

Ragnar fires a bolt, but misses.  Jarmok lurches forward from one knee and strikes the troglodyte in the gut with his axe, finally killing the beast.

"See!? You all see that? That's what happened last time!" Laren cries out.  He looks at Jarmok, "What the hell are you doing to these things? How do you make things explode!?"  Laren looks at Kit, "And what the hell is that buzzing?" Laren waits for some replies but gets none.  "You all saw that, yes?"

"Don't know," Jarmok replies as he rises unsteadily, badly wounded.  "Is good, though, yes?" He smiles a little looking at the ground, then winces and shifts uncomfortably and leans heavily against the tunnel wall.

"W...Y... I ... I guess," Laren answers.  "But why to things explode like that? How do we know one of us won't be next?  Last thing I need right now is bits of my head all over the place!"

Jarmok's only reply is, "Don't bite me."

Laren stands there, mouth closed and eyes wide.  He looks one by one to everyone else.

Finally, after a moment or two of silence, Laren sniffs loudly, shakes his head and rubs his temples. He looks about the room for anything interesting so he doesn't have to look at anyone else. He clearly does not want the attention of the group anymore.

Jarmok eventually forces himself to continue onward and the party follows.  They eventually come to a huge 60 x 100 foot chamber.  The party pauses and listens carefully...  They hear some groaning from not far away - possibly captives.  Jarmoks leads the group forward and they finally find eight human captives tied to the cavern wall.  Five of the humans are missing body parts and, after some investigation, only two are actually found to be alive.  The living folks are cut loose.  Jarmok looks around quickly.  The passage continues on through this chamber to yet more unexplored areas.  However, all in the party agree that they need to return these wounded folk to the town and recouperate themselves before continuing onward.

Ragnar carries the woman and Maal takes the boy as the party makes their way back towards the town.  Jarmok runs off ahead to warn Ash of the incoming wounded.  He also pays Julius a brief visit before heading home to clean himself up and rest.  The others eventually arrive and drop off the injured folk at Ash's house...
#35
Erinalia & T' Riad conversation
[conducted through e-mail 17-21 Mar 05, edited by fraz 10 Apr 05]

07 Goodmonth (Aug) 591: Nightime at Beachstock:

Erinalia sits alone on the outer fringes of the usual "beachstock" festivities.?She notices T' Riad approaching and, after speaking softly to her hawk companion, thrusts her left arm upward to launch the bird into the air.?The hawk flies away gracefully as T' Riad addresses the small half-elf woman.

T? Riad: "Erinalia, I?ve noticed that in the brief time that we?ve been affiliated that you seem remarkably in tune with nature. We are not so different, you and I. I also seek to be one with nature and maintain a universal balance?in and outside myself. I have the discipline to defend and attack which lends itself to pain and injury by me and to me. I find that this causes imbalance at a basic level. I would like to learn the art of healing through nature so that as I cause pain so too I can heal it. This will help maintain the universal balance that I embrace with my very soul. I ask if you would teach me your healing arts through the life around us. As you teach me, I gladly offer to teach you an art in return."

Erinalia listens as T' Riad speaks, yet there?seems to be?something amiss. She seems a bit distracted, although the tone of her reply is honest and sincere.

Erin [replying in Elven]:  "Ah.??I would be honored, T' Riad, to teach you the useful, yet small amount of lore that I have acquired on the arts of herbal healing.?I?am still a novice in the arts of healing as well, although I hope to further develop my skills and knowledge while here on the isle.

"However, please keep in mind that there may also be a limit in what I am permitted by my order to teach you.?Some of the ways of my order have been closely guarded secrets for many turns of the seasons, and I would be risking much if I were to divulge too much of our lore.?Yet, I'm certain that we can work around these limitations..."

Erinalia's voice trails off.? She seems a bit shaken as she passes her small hand over her face...

"I...? T' Riad, I feel a bit ill.?There is a matter that weighs heavily upon my shoulders this evening... It would likely seem a small and trivial matter to the others here on the isle, yet I believe you would understand..."

Her voice trails off softly again. Her head is bowed and she gazes down at the sand at their feet...

Concerned, T? Riad approaches closer, ?Are you alright? If there is something that is troubling you, tell me. Some troubles should not be burdened alone. As a fellow kin and kindred I think that maybe I?d understand your concerns better than most.?

Erinalia seems?distraught; her hands seem to be shaking slightly in a nervous manner. She seems reluctant to meet T' Riad's gaze and continues to look downward as she speaks.

Erin: "Yes, you are right of course, yet everyone here is still a stranger to me, so it is very difficult for me to know who to approach and when...

"You see...", she finally looks up and briefly meets T' Riad's eyes with her own before nervously glancing away again, "I've *never* intentionally killed anything before today and I find the experience rather... unnerving.

"While it's true that I did need to defend myself, I find that I am asking myself if I truly needed to use the amount of force that I did on that centipede.? Yet, after my summoning expired and the viper vanished, I... I just lashed out defensively with my staff.? I didn't think I would actually strike the creature, and I certainly didn't think I would *kill* it.

"Does this seem silly to you?  I'm certain none of the others will lose any sleep over our brief encounter today, yet I feel... ill.

"How do you, and the others, deal with these feelings - this guilt?? I have destroyed a creature that was doing only what it does naturally.? We were invaders in *it's* territory - it's world. I feel in some strange way that I have altered or upset the balance of things..."  Erinalia rests her head in her hands...

T' Riad: "I don't find any first experience at all silly. Life gives us challenges and we must rise to meet them. I do this everyday. If it's not a challenge on the outside then it's a challenge from within. Yours is a challenge from within. The struggle of trying to justify your actions...I do sympathize with your struggle. However, you came here knowing what was expected. The fish men died defending their home too. Although you may not have been directly involved you are still a part of that as well. As you take life so too shall you give it...THAT is how you achieve balance. Surviving can be a cruel business. Sometimes that is the way of things. The fact that you are feeling this way is to your credit as it shows how passionate you really are about your devotion. Don't lose heart. You did what was necessary to stay alive without compromising your beliefs...and that is a very difficult path to stay on."

Erinalia lifts her head again, shrugging off her gloom.  "Yes, you are correct, of course, T' Riad...

Indeed, you see a lot.? Yet, the truth is, I didn't really want to come here, you see.? I was very happy back in the forest of my home, surrounded by familiar trees and the animals that I loved.? I was surprised and taken aback when my superiors in the order decided to send me away...? I was hurt a little too.? Yet, I?suppose I need to have faith in my order and trust in their decisions, since they are wiser and more experienced than I.

"I think that they realized that I was too protected within their groves.? That I had, perhaps, reached a limit of sorts and that for me to progress beyond the limits that I had unknowlingly set for myself, I would need to leave - leave and learn some lessons elsewhere.? I believe that they sent me here on this expedition in part to learn these lessons first hand.? It is sometimes difficult for me to accept, yet I try.

"I suppose I did know that I would eventually face this day...? It just happened so suddenly that my own reaction took even me by surprise...? if that makes any sense.

"Thank you, T' Riad, for listening to me.? I am grateful for your words of encouragement...

Erinalia gazes at T' Riad finally meeting his eyes with her own.

T' Riad: "I?m glad to see your spirits lift.

"I think that your superiors saw something in you that you couldn?t see yourself. There?s something about you that the others of your order didn?t have. You have a fantastic chance to learn things about this island that no one else knows. It seems that it would be a severe misjudgment from many wise people to send someone that wasn?t outstanding in her field?so to speak.

"Now, if you teach me herbs I?ll teach you this?" T? Riad picks up three rocks and begins to juggle them.

Afterwards he says, ?lets go to the fest, I?d like to play my pan pipes. I like to play my pipes and make merry. I spend so much time in serious meditation that that I need to balance that off with some pleasant happy tunes.? He begins to run to the party??Keep up with me if you can!!?
#36
Game Log / Episode 02: The Rat Trap
April 25, 2005, 09:40:19 PM
Episode 02
The Rat Trap

[Saturday 23 Apr 05]
[edited 27 Apr 05 by [i:02872e7cee]fraz[/i:02872e7cee]]

Cast of characters:
Jarmok: Johan
Kit: Dray
Laren: Matt C.
Maal Brengain: fraz
Ragnar: Rob C.

---------------------
Sythus [Spring]
Valley Year 237
Gorrish Gyth Arkus [28 April]: Morning


Jarmok: the cabin that Mercer left you is comforting as it is now your home. However, with Mercer gone it leaves a vacancy that is deafening. In the corner of the living room sits his mandolin that he would play while warming his bones to the fire. Oh how you long to hear it sing it?s eloquent tunes. It would be nice if he were back so that the two of you could go hunting and so that the cabin wasn?t so empty. ?will I ever see him again?? you ask yourself. Then it occurs to you that he is a descendant of the man carved into a statue on the hill. So in a way, he?ll always be here?at least in spirit.

Maal: in the week that you?ve been here you?ve found the townsfolk quite eager to accept you in Threshold. You know that few Wildlanders ever venture this far from their home so to them you must be an interesting sight. Many look at you and some have approached to greet you. Their warm smiles seem to make the harshness of your travels disappear.

Ragnar: the brands on your hands are a painful reminder of what you escaped. The image of the eyes seem as if they are always watching you and never offer any release from the servants of the shadows. Upon seeing the black scars the towns folk tend to keep their distance leaving the impression that they are wary of what they mean. Despite their reticent reactions you have seen that they are good people and mean no ill will towards you.

Kit: the morning bath was quite refreshing and you applaud yourself for such a great idea! As you?ve wandered the town you notice that many of the men have concentrated some time on you. Some have stopped in mid sentence to watch you and more than a few have gotten a smack on the shoulder from their wives for looking. The people have welcomed you with great enthusiasm knowing that you jumped in the river to save little Peter but also because of the charm of your face and your meekness.

The morning breaks open, although judging from the thick fog it?s hard to tell. The mist clings to the trees shrouding them in a mercurial web. This is why the river is called the Fogveil Vein. The brisk air is almost chilling but offers up a sense of rejuvenation. It is still reasonably early in the Sythus season but the budding trees and greening of the grass betray the arrival of the planting. The snows of Venric have begun their retreat and the Fogveil is running high. The smell of damp ground is nearly intoxicating as it begs to the farmers to give it their seeds. Over the past week travelers have arrived only to quickly continue their journey to the Valley of Mist. However, with the thickness of the fog it seems doubtful that they?d ever find it.

You come down for breakfast and Keltan greets you, ?ah, how was your sleep? Good I hope. I don?t want to leave a reputation that a night here is night not well. We have some breakfast here for you, Venison with some bread and spiced cheese. It?s very good cheese from Percy herself! And the bread?oh the bread was brought from Lady Belshazzar fresh this morning! I can?t wait for the fresh fruit and vegetables to grow. These dried versions although good aren?t nearly as good as newly harvested.?

Halfway into your meal Julius Hawkhaven and a finely dressed man enter. ??this is the second time this week!? the man says sternly. ?I give a lot of my money to help support this town and I expect to get at least a little help from you. It?s bad enough that you let ragtags and vagabonds stay in this town. You then go and hire them to help protect it too! They?re probably the ones guilty of stealing my things!? Julius looks at him sharply and says, ?that is quite enough of your ranting, Getty (Coryndar)! I will not listen to your wild accusations against innocents. And need I remind you that it?s these ?ragtags and vagabonds? that work your fields and make you rich? Not to mention that Annalee?s, Stagrakes?s, and Rasthavyn?s son?s have been missing. So, the matter of some missing forks, spoons and some gems doesn?t hold much concern for me right now. Go home and be thankful that it?s not your children missing.?


After a week (or more in Laren's case) in the frontier town of Threshold, newcomers, Kit, Ragnar, Laren, and Maal are now more familiar with their new surroundings.  As they eat some breakfast in the common room of the Thornhedge Inn, they easily overhear the conversation between Julius and Getty as they enter the inn.  Kit immediately asks Julius about the missing children and Julius explains that they are teenagers and have been missing for about three days now.  Some discussion follows.  Maal listens as she continues to eat while the others get the details from Julius.

They are soon interrupted by a half-elf (Suath) who enters and addresses Julius.  Suath explains hurriedly that there is trouble around the corner at his stables.  He opened the stable doors in the morning only to discover a pair of giant rats within, feasting on one of the horses!

The party exits immediately to investigate the scene.  Suath leads them to the nearby stables.  They approach the building cautiously.  There is a rock placed in front of the door, blocking it from opening outward.  Maal hoists Laren up to look in through an open window.  Laren sees a horse's butt, yet cannot see much beyond that particular stall.  However, he can clearly hear some cruching noises from within.

They soon return to the entrance.  As discussion continues, Maal boldly moves the rock aside and opens the door.  With the door opened, the party clearly sees two giant-sized rats munching on the remains of a horse.  There is also a swarming mass of smaller rats around them, also feeding on the carcus.

Maal, unfazed, charges into the stables with a high-pitched wild scream and strikes one of the giant rats with her short spear.  The rats respond by swifty turning on the wildlander woman.  One succeeds in biting her in the leg.  The smaller rats swarm around her feet.

Laren fires an arrow at one of the giant rats, but misses.  Kit plugs one with a bolt from her crossbow, killing it.  She is so pleased with herself that she begins jumping up and down and actually drops the spent weapon.  Maal misses clumsily with her spear as Ragnar fires a bolt from his crossbow.  The bolt whizzes just past Maal's head.  Maal, without looking back, yells, "Watch it, Kit!"

The smaller rats quickly scatter away from the battle as Laren fires again, missing.  Kit has recovered her weapon, but then misses with her second shot.  Maal misses horribly again with the spear, but Ragnar comes through with a great shot that kills the second giant rat.  Maal, thinking that Kit is firing all the bolts, calls back, "Great shot, Kit!"

Maal struts back to the entrance where Suath thanks them for taking care of the situation so swiftly.  The party discusses the situation:  How did the rats get into the stables?  Suath claims that he closed up all the windows and doors the night before.  The party begins to search the stables for large rat holes.

Meanwhile:
A messenger finds Jarmok at his cabin.  He reports that there is an emergency and that Julius Hawkhaven is requesting his presence.  Jarmok departs quickly, leaving the messenger behind.  As Jarmok nears the council house, he sees Hawkhaven a little further down the street and approaches. Hawkhaven tells Jarmok of the goings-on and Jarmok approaches the stables.

The battle over, Jarmok joins the party in searching the interior of the stables. He finds a hole in the wall at the rear of a newly-empty stall, but it is blocked by a wood pile outside. He exits to investigate the woodpile and soon discovers some giant rat tracks leading away from the stables. The group gathers to follow him. It is clear to Jarmok's trained eye the the woodpile had been moved to grant entry for the rats, and then the wood was replaced.

Jarmok shows off his impressive tracking skills as he tracks the rats through the town towards the river.  He also soon notices that the tracks are those of two-legged rat people!  He tracks the rat people to the riverside cliffs.  Further investigation indicates that the rat people probably came across the water.  The party follows Jarmok across the Rosewalk Bridge to the Foot (an island in the center of town).

As they set foot on the isle, a man approaches asking about his son, who is apparently one of the missing children.  Maal supplies some terse answers as the party quickly passes him by.  Kit, however, stops for a few minutes to talk to him and get some information while the rest of the party continues onward, following Jarmok down to the island riverside.

Jarmok soon discovers that the rat tracks do indeed emerge from the water here on the island, right across from where they disappeared on the opposite bank.  He heads off, fresh on the trail again, with the others falling in behind.  Kit eventually catches up to the party as they pass The House of Crimson eyes and circle around the foot of the cliff beneath the Circle of All.  They continue to follow Jarmok as he eventually enters a lightly wooded area on the edge of the island and they soon discover a large crack in the cliff wall.  The tracks apparently lead straight into this cave.

The party moves back to the river's edge to plot and plan.  After much discussion they decide to set traps and wait until night to spring an ambush on the rat folk.

Laren, Kit, and Ragnar leave to investigate the disappearances of the children, while Jarmok and Maal remain to plan and build the necessary traps for the ambush.  Ragnar also needs to pick up a pair of leather archer's gloves.

Jarmok and Maal have a brief discussion of the rat people while they plan the ambush.  The rat folk could have kidnapped the children, and may have them in the cave.  Waiting for night may not be the best solution if the children are in danger.  They also wonder if there is another connection...  Are the three rat people that they have tracked actually the missing children?

Jarmok decides that he is in need of trap building supplies and equipment.  Maal remains to keep watch while Jarmok returns to his cabin to get his supplies.

Meanwhile, Laren and Kit gather information about the missing children.  It seems all of the teenagers were apparently acting very strange for a few days prior to their disappearance.  As they stand in the street discussing this new information, Laren notices Jarmok running past.  The halfling is suspicious of Jarmok and is worried about the strange man's behavior.  What if Maal is in trouble?

Kit: "You can go back if you want... You're just looking at my bum anyway!"
Laren: "Hey, I'm just gathering information!"
Laren leaves to check on Maal.

Maal patiently keeps watch over the road, until, Ragnar, Laren, and finally Jarmok all return in succession.  The setting of the traps then proceeds.  The plan is to hide and wait until the rat folk are passing through the trap area.  Jarmok will suddenly light a torch, which will be the queue for Maal and Ragnar to light their torches.  It is hoped that the sudden torch light will surprise and frighten the rat people and perhaps even cause them to panic in the midst of the traps and thereby trigger some of the traps.  As this is happening, the party will have the opportunity to fire missile weapons at the them and then charge into melee if necessary.

Kit eventually returns and then departs again to retrieve some lunch for the group.  Upon returning with the food, from Lander Leofric at the The Cliffside Inn, information about the missing children and the rat people is exchanged.  Finally, once the traps are set, the waiting begins.

Sometime during night:
After much patient waiting, Jarmok finally sees three humanoid shapes moving from the cave towards the waiting traps.  However, the figures pause just before reaching the traps.  The leader looks around cautiously and stoops to sniff the ground. It becomes clear to Jarmok that the trio of mysterious creatures has become aware of the traps that lay in wait. Although Maal suspects that they have detected the members of the party rather than the snares. Jarmok responds quickly by lighting his torch and grabbing his axe.  Maal and Ragnar also light their torches, but the rat-men aren't quite in the trap area and immediately retreat towards the cave.

Jarmok moves immediately to cut them off as the others close in.  Laren gets a shot off with his bow, but unfortunately hits a tree.  As the three rat-men retreat they morph into four legged giant rats (bigger than the two killed in the stable).  Jarmok closes in and swings the flat of his axe at one of them, but he misses.  It's obvious to him that the rats are too fast for him to catch up to, so in a last ditch attempt to stop them, Jarmok drops his axe and tries to grapple one of them.  He misses, and gets bit, and the rats soon disappear back into the cave.

The party investigates the opening.  Though the entrance is only about three feet wide, the tunnel appears to widen significantly further in.  They decide to follow the rats inside.

You come through the trees to a slight clearing. The cliff rises above you and you can hear the river behind you. In front of you is a crack in the cliff wall with an opening 3?wide. The smell of mildew and dung punches you as you enter the opening. Ahead of you are some weathered stairs descending into darkness. The walls were once crafted but are now broken and cracked. Dirt, roots and moss grow from between the wallstones and the sound of dripping water echoes from below. The stench of offal gets stronger as you get to the bottom of the stairs.

The marching order is thus:
Jarmok
Maal
Laren
Kit (carrying a lit torch)
Ragnar

The tunnel at the bottom of the stairs turns to the right and leads to into a chamber littered with offal.  The chamber is lit dimly by a candle and Kit's torch.  There are three giant rats (which seem to be similar in size to the stable rats) feeding on the offal in the center of the chamber.  There is an old wooden door on the opposite wall, just past the rats.

Turning to the right (north) you see a dim glow coming from a room down the short hall. the room is 20x20 with a crude door on the north wall on the western side. There is a candle sconce on the western wall and some raw meat being devoured by three large rats in the middle of the room.

Jarmok begins to cross the chamber, cautiously heading towards the door, but the rats turn on him and attack.  Laren quickly fires an arrow, but misses as Jarmok fights off a rat trying to bite him.  Laren dodges an attacking rat while Maal charges in and is quickly bitten.  Ragnar fires a bolt past Laren and nails one of the rats right between the eyes!  Only two giant rats left.  Maal misses with her spear and Jarmok misses with his axe.  Kit fires a bolt at Jarmok's rat, but misses.

Laren changes tactics and flanks around the rats in order to get a clear shot.  He hits!  Jarmok, meanwhile, is bitten badly.  The rat teeth tear into the flesh of his leg.  Maal avoids being bitten and then spears a rat to the floor, leaving only one remaining giant rat.  Ragnar and Jarmok miss. A deep low drone fills the chamber and the last giant rat suddenly bursts [from Kit's still secret psionic power], spewing it's innards all over Jarmok who was battling with it.

Laren's jaw drops as the rat seems to tear into Jarmol's leg, withdraw, and then explode! Not being quite as shocked as he appears (he has seen a lot of wildly strange things!), Laren allows a couple of seconds to pass (just to add to the drama) before stating, "Jarmok, I don't know what's coursing through your veins, but I think it disagreed with the rat's digestive system."

Jarmok is actually in a lot of pain from the wound and does not respond to Laren's quip. He looks wildly at the rat and its guts splattered all about the little chamber and himself. He gimps backward a step and looks for something else to occupy him.

The moment passes and Laren marches over to the wooden door, determined to open it, but halts at the last minute at Maal's urgent request.  She and Jarmok are both very injured, and are against continuing onward.  Jarmok cleans himself up as Ragnar bandages his wounded leg.  Maal wedges the door shut with several rat bones and rocks.  She seems unfazed by the blood and gore.

The party exits the cave and collects the torches from the trap area.  The traps are left intact without worry, since this is a very low traffic area.  Everyone then walks back towards the Wolfsong Bridge.  Jarmok notices that Maal is limping and indicates that she should follow him.

Maal: "Where?"
Jarmok: "To healer."

While the rest of the party returns to the inn to rest, Maal follows Jarmok to the healer's house.  Jarmok knocks upon the door and the healer, Ash, eventually answers.  Upon recognizing Jarmok he lets them inside and graciously makes them as comfortable as he can.  He carefully examines their wounds and then spreads an ointment over both the wounds and the bandages that he applies.  A side effect of the medication is apparently drowsiness, as Jarmok and Maal soon fall fast asleep.

Gorrish Gyth Basque [29 April]: Morning:
Jarmok and Maal awaken to find their wounds fully healed.  They talk with Ashe during breakfast, describing the rat-man encounters on the isle.  Ashe reveals some history of the caves beneath the island.  In ancient times, before the Shadow Wars, there was a temple to Grumbar there.  The caves were also used as a place of hiding during the Shadow Wars.

Jarmok and Maal return to the inn and meet the rest of the party for breakfast.  They send for Julius Hawkhaven.  Julius soon arrives and much discussion follows.  The party ultimately agrees to build a net trap in front of the cave entrance, with the hope that they can lure the rat-men out into the trap and subdue them.  If the rat people truly are the missing children, then capturing them will be preferrable to killing them.

Laren suggests that Ashe could have a light poison or something similar that could be used to help subdue the rat folk.  He and Kit leave to pay the healer a visit.  After a brief visit, they come away with some Blackmoss (15 applications) and some healing salve (5 applications).

Meanwhile, Jarmok, Maal, and Ragnar collect the equipment necessary for the net trap and make their way back across the Wofsong and down to the cave to set up the new ambush.

Laren and Kit eventually catch up to the others down at the cave.  Kit notices that Jarmok has a hole in his armor and she offers to fix it for him.  Jarmok hands over the damaged piece of armor and Kit spends part of her day working on it.  She also retrieves some lunch for the party again while the others continue to work on the trap.

The net trap is eventually completed.  Everyone then applies the Blackmoss syrup to their missile weapons.  Their arrows, bolts, and Maal's spear tip (which takes three applications) are all treated.  Jarmok then goes down into the caves alone to unwedge the door.

He finds that the candle has burned out completely now. As he approaches the wooden door he notices a very dim light escaping from beneath the door. Before opening the door Jarmok investigates the scene to determine whether anyone had tried to open the door. Satisfied that the door has been left alone, he very carefully removes the wedges from the door and then leaves as silently as he entered.

Finally, the whole party spends the remainder of the day working on their hiding spots in the woods surrounding the net trap.

Night:
The three rat-men eventually emerge very slowly from the cave. The first one, carrying a sickle, sniffs at the night air and peers into the darkness with considerable caution. He is followed out of the cave by the other two, both bearing short spears. They proceed forward, creeping very slowly across the net, seemingly unaware of the trap that has been set. The first rat-man actually steps over the trip wire, but the second rat-man trips it, springing the trap. All three rat-men are hoisted up as the net closes around them. They all struggle madly to be free. The rat-man wielding the sickle tries desperately to cut through the net with the weapon.

Jarmok lets fly an arrow at the sickle wielding rat-man, but misses.  Ragnar fires a bolt at the same rat-man and strikes him!  The rat-man passes out from the Blackmoss, dropping his sickle to the ground.  The party approaches and knocks out the remaining rat-men by striking them with the poisoned weapons.  The net is then lowered, but as the unconscious rat-men are removed they do indeed morph back into human form.  They are indeed human teenagers!  Most likely the very same ones that have gone missing.

Jarmok suggests bringing them straight to Julius' home, despite the late hour.  Ragnar carries two children while Maal carries one over her shoulder.  Jarmok runs ahead to awaken Julius and inform him of their apparent success.  Upon awakening, Julius suggests taking the children to Ashe for immediate treatment.  Jarmok runs off and intercepts the party, redirecting them towards Ashe's home.  He then runs off ahead to Ashe's house and awakens the healer to give him the news.  Ashe is excited and more than willing to help.  He immediately goes about looking for certain herbs and whatnot on his shelves.

Maal, Ragnar and the others finally arrive with the children who are secured onto beds.  Kit and Laren offer to assist Ashe in the preparation and healing.  Ashe does his work and soon announces that the children will be fine after their recovery.

A couple of days later:
The party returns to Ash's house and talks with the children to get their story.  They were apparently bitten by a rat-man named Rawling outside of town.  Rawling was dressed in rags yet clearly had the symbol of Kazbourne on his tunic.  The children reveal that Rawling was also living in the caves beneath the isle.  However, they have not seen him since before the party's first ambush.

Treasure found on the children-turned-rat-men:
3 pp(Dracs-Vychia)
30 gp(15 Crowns-Vychia, 9 Stags-Rhohannus, 6 Torch-Kazbourne)
51 sp(22 griff-Vychia, 19 Uni-Rhohannus, 10-Serpntshell-Kazbourne)
75 cp(33 peg-Vychia, 21 Citypiece-Rhohannus, 21 Fist-Kazbourne)
3 gems (30 gp each, 1 ruby, 2 sapphire)
3 sets (fork, spoon, knife) guilded untensils (worth 15 gp each)
#37
In Character Discussions / Erin & Mel
April 12, 2005, 08:14:28 PM
[Erinalia stares blankly at Mel...]

Did I just hear you say that you want a tattoo on the top of your head?  Why, whatever on Oerth for?
#38
Out of character discussions / cheat to win!
April 10, 2005, 02:01:45 PM
Something occurred to me as I was writing up the log for Session 17...

We screwed up a bit when Arlen used his Inspire Courage Bardic Song twice on the same morning (once during the little spider battle and then again during the battle with big momma spider).  Bards are actually only supposed to be able to use that ability once per day per lvl.

Technically, Arlen was still 1st lvl, even though the experience from the first battle (which we received later) was more than enough to put him up to 2nd.  So at least we have a decent cover story for the screw-up.

In my defense, I'm still new to the 3rd Ed rules... especially the bard with all his special abilities!  I guess we just need to keep an eye on that kind of stuff in the future.
#39
Out of character discussions / Mirri pics posted
April 10, 2005, 01:06:08 PM
Hey, I just posted the pics of Phin's character, Mirri, here on kulgar.org.

Thanks for sending 'em, Phin!
#40
Game Log / Session 17 - Arachnid Attack!
April 09, 2005, 10:41:51 PM
Session #17:
Arachnid Attack!

[Saturday 02 April 05]
[updated 13 April 05 by [i:38af6b1a53]fraz[/i:38af6b1a53]]

[fraz: ?What's the title of tonight's session?"
GM: "Don?t know yet.  Let?s see how it goes."]

Sprouting Grass/Egg -1: Morning:

The party recovers from the battle with the Wendigo.  The body of the Wendigo burns upon the ground before them, set a-flame by one of Valen's Produce Flame spells.  Valen and Zurn move away from the blaze to meditate in peace while Arlen, worried about the flames spreading into the surrounding forest, clears debris away from the fire.

An hour later, Valen and Zurn return from their meditation.  The fire is no longer blazing.  It now smolders, but is abnormally hot, radiating intense heat.  Valen casts Create Water, tossing two gallons of liquid on the smoldering Wendigo corpse, but it only fizzles into steam with no apparent effect.

The party is ready to move on, but Valen and Arlen are very concerned about leaving the fire unattended.  After much discussion the party clears away more debris, baring a large area of earth around the corpse.

After this is done the party finally moves on in a south-east direction, resuming their search for the swamp-witch.  Arlen leaves behind the odd silver-colored dagger that he cast out into the woods at the onset of the battle with the Wendigo.

After traveling a bit, they come to the east-west road between the Forest Keep and Gorna.  The party halts to gain their bearings.  They have apparently gone too far, since Valen, Zurn and Belwar have now traveled two days south in search of the swamp-witch, when they were actually only instructed to journey one day south.  After much discussion, it is finally agreed upon to head north-east now to continue the search.

During the day of travel, Arlen and Himo continue to hear the strange whispering on the wind.  This is quite disturbing to Arlen, since he had hoped that this whispering would cease once the Wendigo was dealt with.

The party leaves the road and spends the rest of the day heading north-eastward.  A camp is set up as night approaches.

During the night, Arlen stays awake during his own watch and then during Himo's watch as well.  He is very concerned that Himo (or even Belwar, who also has been bitten by the Wendigo) could make another attempt for a midnight snack upon his arm.  He attempts to wake Belwar after Himo's watch, intending to remain awake for three full watches, but Belwar only mumbles and turns over, going right back to sleep again.  Arlen awakens Valen instead and finally settles down to a fitful night's sleep.  Nothing odd transpires, though, and the night eventually passes.

First Day of the New Moon: Sprouting Grass/Egg: Dawn:

Zurn sits on watch (the last of the night) when he sees an odd wavering visual effect over the ground at the edge of the firelight.  He reaches down to pick up a pine cone, intending to toss it at the strange visual effect.  However, the pine cone turns out to be a spider!  He swiftly casts it away realizing that there are also many more spiders swarming straight towards their campsite!  He yells for the others to awaken and prepares to defend himself.

The others leap into action upon awakening!  Himo casts a series of magic missiles as Belwar begins wiping out the spiders several at a time with his greataxe.  Mirri is bitten repeatedly as she skewers spiders one at a time on her spear.  Valen casts light to brighten up the battleground, which is still only dimly lit by the early dawn and the campfire.  Arlen backs up from the melee and begins a battle song to inspire courage in his companions.  He is uncertain about how else to help out, since firing arrows into the melee would generally be a bad idea, so he hangs back to keep his bard's song going.  Zurn Blesses the entire party as the combat continues.

The party (aside from Arlen who is still standing safely off to the side) is now completely surrounded by the spiders and the arachnids begin climbing up and onto some of the party members.  The combatants are bitten repeatedly and some notice a loss of strength due to the spiders' venom.

Valen, who has several spiders crawling upon him and has already received numerous bites, decides he has had enough.  After healing himself, he casts Produce Flame and begins seizing the spiders with his burning hands and throwing them to the ground.  Zurn also fights off the spiders with his masterworked flail.

Arlen runs over and knocks one off of Mirri's leg with his sheathed knife.  Belwar kills several more around his feet and then moves quickly over to help Valen.  He expertly slices and dices several spiders that are hanging onto the druid.

The battle finally winds down as Mirri brushes the final spider off of her fur and stomps upon it.  Valen then takes a moment to heal Mirri and himself.

The campsite is cleaned up and Valen, Zurn and Arlen roast and eat spider meat.  Belwar refuses to eat the spider meat and goes out into the surrounding woods to gather nuts and berries.

Himo also wanders off from the campsite on his own to look for food.  However, he soon gets a bit more than he bargained for when he runs into a huge spider the size of a boulder!  He is injured badly from the initial encounter, yet stands fast, casting Color Spray at the beast.  The huge spider seems unaffected by the spell though, thus Himo decides to cast Mirror Image as he flees from the monster.  The enormous spider chases after Himo, destroying a couple of his mirror images during the pursuit through the woods.  But the spider's legs are long and there is no way Himo can outrun it.  Fortunately, Belwar is foraging nearby and hears the commotion.  He hurries to Himo's aid.

Arlen, Valen, Mirri and Zurn also hear the activity and see the Color Spray lighting up the forest.  They all leap up and run towards the source to investigate.  Mirri quickly leaves the others behind and arrives on the scene just after Belwar.  Belwar has thrown an axe at the monster and he and Mirri now close in for melee combat with the beast.

Arlen and Valen finally arrive and Arlen pauses to begin another song of Inspire Courage.  Himo casts another Mirror Image spell as Belwar and Mirri continue their attack.  Valen closes in and strikes with his dagger while Arlen quickly notches and fires an arrow, piercing the spider in the eye and killing the beast!

Belwar recovers his thrown axe as Valen works on removing one of the enormous spider legs, which he plans to cook and split into rations for the party.  The entire group returns to the campsite where the spell-casters meditate for their spells while Arlen oversees the cooking of the spider meat.

[1,150 xp granted for the little spider battle; 360 xp granted for big momma-spider battle]
[Everyone lvls up!  Arlen achieves 2nd lvl]