13-Jul-2006 Session IV: Summary

Milo befriends the little girl they rescued from the wolverines and returns her belongings- her diary and some jewelry that belonged to her and her recently-deceased nanny. She tearfully explains that she was on her way to join her family in Athkatla when the carriage was ambushed. She was hidden underneath the seat so she escaped the orcs, but when the wolverines moved in to claim the carcasses, they sniffed her out and she was forced to climb a tree to escape. It’s a good thing the Protectorate showed up when they did, it looks like the wolverines could climb…

The soft-hearted, rock-fisted monk offers the sad youngster a spot on his horse for the trip to Athkatla.

Amaren and Xel examine the satchel and find letters of credit totalling 2150 gold from the Bladesmiles Lumber company in Athkatla to a gentlemen named Arkit Merrisum (presumably the half-eaten businessman found near the carriage). Amaren accepts responsibility for resolving their ownership once the party reaches Athkatla.

The slaughter of innocents has cast a dark cloud over the rest of the journey and the group rides mostly in somber silence to Athkatla, where they check in with the guard and scribe at the main gate. They arrive early in the evening of the 5th of Marponeth.

The scribe dutifully records the party’s entrance to the city and their intent to board the longship called The Last Elixir. He informs the group that the ship is scheduled to leave port sometime the next morning, before highsun. He recommends that they attempt to secure passage as early in the moring as possible. Maidens from the temple of St. Ignus (one of the many saints of Ilmater) dress wounds for Milo and Xel and clean the paladin’s armor, receiving a donation for the church.

At this point, the group splits to more effectively accomplish everything required by the next morning. Amaren takes the young girl and the satchel of credit-letters to return them to their respective families. The rest of the party- hurt, weary and spell-spent, moves slowly toward a recommended inn: The Tallin Tavern.

Din (Elrose’ hawk) is nervous and watching behind the party, but Elrose is unable to confirm that the group is being followed, so he remains vigilant and hopes the bird is mistaken.

As they move past an alley, an odd-looking stranger in the robes of a magic user calls them by name and askes them to join him, quickly. Xel smells another trap, but he has little choice- if this meeting is important to their mission, they will need to see what he wants. Against his better judgement, he works his way cautiously down the alley with the party following him.

As he feared, several thugs appear from the shadows and Milo suspects that these are agents of the Shadow Thieves. Their leader, the caster (Sloane) demands that they hand over the ‘box’ they are carrying. The party tries (unsuccessfully) to convince Sloane that they do not know where the box is and Sloane presses for an answer. When it becomes evident that the party will not willingly divulge the location of the box, the thugs move in and battle begins!

Ever quick on the draw, Milo leaps from his horse and pummels a thug before a flying kick from his counterpart knocks him unconscious.

Xel also dismounts and moves toward Sloane, but three thugs block his path. He dodges and defends himself well, but still manages to get cut by a dagger. Seeing the thugs closing on his position, Cloud rips away his cloak, revealing…wings! He flutters up to the rooftop and perches there.

A thug trying to stab Elrose gets a boot-mark in his forehead for his trouble. He commands Din to find the paladin and slides off the otherside of his horse. Looking beneath the horse he sees his opponent’s legs and sends a magic missile to greet them.

Stolig turns his mount and rides back to the main street to look for official help only to notice that the city watch is curiously absent on this street (Coincidence? I think not). Citizens are running for cover and shuttering the windows behind them as they hear the sounds of battle from the alley. There is no help to be found here.

Thorik’s mightly swing sweeps a halfling from his path, but two other thugs quickly close and the dwarf is in dire straits.

Assessing the party’s chances, Xel finds the odds against them, but notices a movement in the alley to his left. The unmistakable sound of a trio of crossbow bolts sizzles by him and Sloane grabs his throat and thrashes wildly for a moment before dropping to the ground, lifeless.

A mysterious stranger with an odd, crossbow-like contraption strapped to each forearm emerges from the shadows and shouts a command in a language that hasn’t been spoken in Athkatla in many years. Stolig sorts through the ancient words in his mind- the thugs have been commanded to stop their attack! The thugs, noticing the ubiquitous tattoo on the newcomer’s hand (a black mask pierced by a stilletto) lower their weapons and fade back into the shadows.

The stranger, who calls himself Luther, apologizes for his deceased comrade (Sloane) and his misguided agenda. Every organization has it’s crooked element. He promises that the group will be safe while they remain in Athkatla and tells them that Sloane will be interrogated using magic that lets him communicate with the corpse (‘they always cooperate better when we ask them after they’re dead’).

The party rests as best they can at the Tallin Tavern, except of course Stolig, who works on his contraption. They speak with the Glar, the one-handed captain of The Last Elixir the following morning. The group purchases the two remaining staterooms for the fixed price of 45gp per person x 5, plus another 20gp to transport two horses. The remaining horses are sold or stabled. Xel and Milo sign on as part of the crew and travel free, but sleep in the filthy hold. Xel has rations, Milo eats the maggot-ridden slop that the crew feeds upon. They meet Jascar the Whip, a seven-foot tall orc who uses a whip to keep the crew aligned and Hibble Flatbottom, the captain’s young, halfling cabin-boy and gopher.

A sneaky orc named Uuldegger spots the monk carrying an amazing looking monk weapon and tries to steal it, but it drops to the ground. Milo accuses the slimy little creature, but he denies it and calls for an ‘accord’- apparently the way that disputes are settled on The Last Elixir. Since Jascar cannot tell who is lying, he agrees and the two combatants are brought up on deck.

While the crew watches on, Uuldegger and Milo square off and are to trade punches until one falls unconscious, the one still standing declared the ‘truthful’ one. Uuldegger ‘cheats’ and stealthily produces a small blade from his clothing, slashing the monk twice. Milo, weary of the blade (and for some reason, weakened by his injuries from it) can only land mild hits. Seeing that nobody is noticing the blade (except Xel, who tries to convince Jascar of the infraction) Milo decides to grapple instead and wrestles the orc to the ground, pounding him into submission.

Perhaps the party has earned enough respect that they will be left alone for the balance of the trip.

06-Jul-2006 Session III: Summary

Shortly after the party leaves for Crimmor, Thorik returns from Keczulla- hung over and thinking about the destroyed carravan he saw on his way back to Purskul. In his own time Elros returns to the Sloppy Kettle as well. Celion hurries them through the Guild paperwork and sends them off toward Crimmor as well. They arrive during the night, unharmed.

The next day, after Stolig’s trip to visit Kimimer the historian, Amaren reminds the group that they have a boat to catch and they mount horses and ride.

The first day passes uneventful, except that Balagos the Red Flame is again sighted, circling high overhead.

On the second day, a light rain falls and as Xel and Cloud ride point. Xel notices something amiss with a tree to the right- it is…an ambush! He warns the group just in time for a few to duck under the hail of arrows and miss the trip-rope now stretched across the road. Others are not so fortunate and are knocked from their horses. Amaren’s horse is killed in the initial attack and lies lifeless in the road. A half-orc called Volgtak the Dwarfcrusher points at Thorik and announces his intention to slay the group unless they drop everything and flee. I think we all know the answer to that demand…

Xelritch backflips off his warhorse and his tactical mind takes over. He knows their survival hitches on killing the leader of these bandits so Xel moves and punctures Volgtak with a few arrows, but the half-orc’s greatsword (with help from an orc’s falchion) prove too much for the young scout to overcome and he falls, dying.

Cloud lets his eldrich energy build in his hand until a dark, swirling misasmic ball forms. He smiles and shows his power to the half-orc leader, leaving him visibly shaken. Seeing an orc nearby, Cloud decides to play hide and seek and drops beneath Xel’s warhorse. The orc is playing for keeps though, so Cloud ends the game with the eldritch blast, leaving the smouldering orc face-down in the mud.

Thorik dismounts and purposefully strides toward the arrogant half-orc leader, Volgtak the dwarfcrusher. He easily carves his way past two orcs, but his journey is cut short when a tree-trunk masquerading as a greatclub comes crashing down on his armor- Frig the Ogre has joined the party!

Stolig tries to heal Thorik, but the ogre can deal out more punishment than he can heal so Stolig tries a different tactic. Calling upon the grace of Gond, Stolig commands the ogre to flee…and it works! The beast’s will bends and he lumbers northward.

Elros watches, amused, from the puddle he landed in as the others battle for their lives. When a nearby orc slips and falls while trying to enter the fray, Elros decides it is time to act and a well-placed magic missile insures that the orc never gets to his feet.

Milo slips off his well-trained mount and begins working his way toward the leader, but orcs block his path. The monk becomes a blur of spinning , flesh crushing blows- snapping the neck of the first and crushing the skull of the second.

Shaken from his fall and the death of his horse, Amaren slowly gets to his feet, lifting his muddy shield from the ground and drawing his longsword. He and a surprisingly well-trained orc trade blows for several moments before Amaren sees an opening and thrusts his sword through the chest of his awe-struck foe.

Volgtak, seeing his ogre flee and his henchmen dead, bargains for his life and Amaren vows to honor the agreement to let the half-orc go if he surrenders his belongings- some ‘fancy papers’. The others converge on Volgtak and their fallen comrade, Xel and the heal the scout and strip the half-orc of his greatsword, money, belongings and horse.

Traveling further up the road the party finds the remains of Volgtak’s previous raid and they save a survivor from a pair of ravenous wolverines. Thorik learns the hard way that these creatures are not to be trifled with, but manages to survive as dwarves (with nearby clerics) often do.

Once more (but now with more questions than answers) the protectorate mounts up and travels toward Athkatla- and a ship called The Last Elixir.

06-Jul-2006 Session III: It's on!

It's a three day ride from Crimmor to Athkatla. A lot can happen in three days. Will Thorik and Elros catch up? Will our heroes reach Athkatla before The Last Elixir sets sail?

Ride fast and light, my friends.