ADVENTURE IX, DEEPINGHOME Pt. II

The party, having been commissioned by the queen to dispense with the thievery problems sweeping through Deepinghome, proceeded to plan out how they might go about completing said difficult task. Our friend Lord Farik directed us to seek the aid of the three remaining town guardsmen assigned to domestic safety, led by the captain Jarlim. We were shown crime reports and trends of the different types of thievery that were being committed. Among the patterns that emerged, two of importance were the presence of a fox tattoo on those muggers being captured, and a noticeable lack of crime on Saturday.

For lack of a better plan given the size of Deepinghome and its millions of residents, the party ventured to the crime-filled market district and proceeded to seek out criminals. Isi managed to locate a shading looking dwarven character carrying what appeared to be stolen goods. The dwarf and his companions then attempted to rob Isi, but her ape form would have none of it, and she managed to capture two of the muggers alive, one, not so much. Once imprisoned, questioning from Andrune revealed that stolen good swap meets were being held in random locations on Saturdays. To gather more info, Rook magically altered his form to fit in with the prisoners, and managed to trick them into thinking he was one of their own. Upon release, they took Rook to the swap meet, where he magically contacted the party and told them to surround the building. Unable to locate the leader of the meet, Rook managed to dispatch a door guard and let the party into the fray. Andrune, Ænlic, Daisy, and Jube-Jube the bear held the doors while Isi and Rook filled the hall with ice and fire enough to slay the vast majority of the thieves. The guild leader, appropriately named fox, attempted an invisible escape, failing to do so but taking out Isi's beloved Jube-Jube in the process. Fox fought to unconsciousness, after which he was taken into custody by the dwarves.

For our efforts, the party was granted their promised attempt at the Nauseer Stones. Previously unknown to them however, was the puzzle that lay before it in order to guard the ancient relics from the more unpleasant dwellers of the underdark. The party had to navigate a number of complex expanding and contracting rooms in order to reach their goal, also being thwarted by earth elemental crystal warriors along the way. The party solved the puzzle, and made it to the stones. Rook, sensing powerful DISJUNCTING magic from the stones, removed his magical gear and stepped through a stone archway. A snap-crackle-pop later and his runes were oozing down his back. Returning to Deepinghome, the Queen congratulated us upon our victory, and offered an alliance between Deepinghome and the peoples of New Providence. The party gladly accepted the offer, and made their return to the surface, much to the delight of the cracked and parched bark of Daisy and the Staff of Gaia.

After a short trip the party came upon a large gem on a pedestal and Ænlic swiped it. Instantly there was a tremor from behind them. Retracing their steps they found that the surface world had vanished to be replaced by a continuation of the same tunnel they had inhabited. Realizing that they were trapped the party began searching for a way out. A few hours into the search they came upon a massive battleground where demons and Devils were pitted against each other in what rook described as the Blood War, a conflict which has raged for countless generations between the diabolical and infernal forces. Fleeing the melee the party continued onwards. After nearly a day hiking through the seemingly endless tunnels found their way to a settlement of sorts. The settlement was known by many names such as howler’s rear and Crag cellar. It was home to rogues vagabonds and outright madmen. It’s leaders, if such can be said to exist would be a monk named Coris and a shadowy follower named the Acolyte. A mad telekinetisist Mage named Gaz Loth Nar Yand Juran was happy to point the party in the right direction. Talks with The acolyte were tense but productive. The accolyte after a wager with Andrune to personal combat gave the party information about Coris. Coris was a monk of the silent order he had broken his vows secretly and began building magic power in secret hoping to overthrow the mandragon- Shimin. He was discovered and Banished for his many transgressions and spent the next twenty years in Pandemonium looking for a way to escape. Apparently he finally found one, though The Acolyte strongly suspects that he had outside help. The acolyte was not informed when Coris left and remains trapped on the plane. The Acolyte also mentioned that a nearby landmark called howlers crag could be used to send messages to anyone on the great wheel of the known multi-verse.

Traveling past the town the party came to a fork in the tunnel and elected to explore a branch which contained a massive tomb to a long forgotten Sun King

The Tomb was guarded by a formidable cube puzzle, designed to baffle intruders. Eventually the party managed to solve the puzzle by taking a path laid out by the birth and death dates and times of the monarch tracking through selecting appropriate doors.

A small fortune awaited the party upon completing the puzzle, a thousand platinum pieces and a potent shield with powerful necromantic magic. Having solved and defeated the riddle room of the sun lord's tomb, the party made its way to Howler's Crag, a place of free communication across the multi-verse, in an effort to escape the maddening winds of Pandemonium.

The journey there, of course, was not without excitement, as the party encountered the selectively insane and *cough* retarded *cough* Phonis. After a confused bout of riddle gambling and Isi being reduced to a bleeding meat-pile, the party decided to part company with the strange creature, and finally we made our way to the crag.

We called out to Shimin to return us home, and as usual he was more than happy to oblige for a reasonable-ish price. Wondering how we had gotten to pandemonium in the first place, we told Shimin of the portal, and of the escape of the exiled monk Coris. Shimin was not pleased to hear of the return of the tyrannic silent monk, who Shimin himself sent to his ironic fate in the plane of continuous noise, years ago.

Life went on in New Providence without incident for a short time. However, as trouble tends to seek out the small town, so did it find it again. Felim told Ænlic of a strange centaur creature, with vermin-like parts, who had been preying upon his sheep herd. The party was troubled by this, but was not sprung into action until the town was threatened by a great Wicker man, an enormous wooden construct built to pillage and destroy. The appearance of the creatures caused Isi to suspect the involvement of corrupted druids.

The party followed the creature's path of destruction around the Bugbear steeps to the south, where they found a great battlefield of scorched earth, littered with bodies both exile and native alike. As rook pondered the wondrous possibilities of the field of Death, the party set off towards pillars of smoke rising into the sky from the distance. It didn't take long to discover a newly founded exile metropolis, in full swing of production and growth.

At the city gates, Isi tried to explain the situation as best she could, however her druidic nature made the task difficult, and daisy's appearance looking similar to a wicker man did nothing to take away the guards' edge.

Finally the party was allowed to speak to the town bishop Pharasin, and his disciple Sir Marcus. Pharasin told us that the city, Middlefort, was being attacked unmercifully and unprovoked by the Wood Witch, the centaur creature, and his barbarian native minions. Despite Marcus's distrust, Pharasin instructed us that we would earn his respect if we could kill the witch, and bring back proof of it.

Suspecting more to the situation, the party consulted a city sage about the town's foundations. This man, Daluras, told us that there had been minor peaceful contact with the natives when the town was founded, and then at some point that had mysteriously resulted in war, a likely story.

Simply told to head west, the group did so. Before long, travelling through the woods, the sky grew dark and a storm surged. We came across the form of a tree burning from a lightning hit in a clearing, where we encountered the wood witch and his barbarian minions. A battle began, caused by Oerlun, the city's tracker who had been sent with us, along with Marcus, to find the beast. Oerlun was slain, inciting Marcus's fury. However, over the battle, Isi and the creature spoke to each other in the secret language of the druids, and a parlay was established, though Marcus had to be forced to co-operate.

The Witch, Draeadlynn, was in fact not a demon at all, but a former arcane spellcaster who had been locked into his form, and had since gained some extra parts to his advantage in his quest to become closer to nature. He told of a different story, one where the city of Middlefort had been sending out undead mummies to attack and wipe out his people and their native village of Treffynon.

Confused by the situation, the party encouraged Marcus to seek out the counsel of his deity, and after doing so, discovered that the city's bishop had likely been replaced by an evil necromancer, who had been sending out the mummy's. Distressed by this, Marcus apologized to Draeadlynn, though was still angry over the death of Oerlun.

The group returned to the city, and snuck into the cathedral. In the bishop's chambers they found a secret entrance to an underground cave filled with mummies. The battle would have been far more difficult if not for Rook's undead controlling abilities, which set one flank of mummy's upon the other in battle. Then, Pharasin was found and fought, and defeated despite an impressive arsenal of defensive spells and offensive magic as well. With our victory, we found the replaced Bishop captive in a crypt, and set him free to tell the people the truth, and to hopefully end the conflict with the natives and Draeadlynn.

As the adventure began, the party sat restless in New Providence, forced into watching over the sleepy brg during the absence of Carnindryn, the town's patron dragon defender, who took a break to participate in the mating season. The guard duty was eventful however, as bugbear raiders became bolder, striking at the town stealing produce, animals, and other necessary goods. The attacks culminated with a raid that included a powerful monk and sorcerer, a raid which was timely stopped by the party. Carnindryn returned, speaking of a rise in bugbear power, likely encouraged by some new leader, who had the bugbears building a new citadel in their steeps.

Other matters drew the party's attention though. In the improvement of city defense, an intruder was discovered at the wall, whom the townsfolk happily pelted with stones. The intruder turned out to be another skulk, named Moeslic, who had come upon the advice of a sage to seek out Ænlic to help the skulk's with their plight. They were apparently being enslaved in a distant southern kingdom, by a ruthless tyrant named Umbar. And so the party headed off to do their best to help the enslaved peoples in the distant kingdom called Jiptala. Facing the options of an overland or underdark journey, the party chose the former, and crossed the Iled valley and past the southern mountains. Along the way, the party faced many foes, including a green dragon.

At last the party crossed the mountains into a great grassland parched with heat. This was also home to the Lina river, the only source of fresh water in the land, which crosses it entirely north to south. There was an ancient curse on the land, which prevented water from being created magically, and so the party had to carry with them what they could, this made easier by daisy's formidable strength.

At the river, the party encountered a settlement of southern citizens, who, upon hearing the party planned to take a fight to Umbar, showed the party to their pharaoh, Aimentep. Aimentep told the party much the region. Jiptala

had been once a united kingdom, But two hundred years ago civil war broke out dividing the nation between north and south. A bitter feud for many generations ensued but strife fell upon both rivals when Umbar, of the Sosite people, tried to seize the lost throne by conquering the land with

his chariot machines. Aimentep’s rival resisted and was destroyed utterly. Aimentep after two resounding defeats at the hands of the Sosites fled the land of his people and has lived in exile near the source of the Lina river for many long years. Umbar now sits on Aimentep’s rightful throne, a false pharaoh.

Umbar and his armies were too powerful to defeat, with the considerable resource of their slave race. So, Aimentep sponsored the party to do what they could to remove that resource, so that the northern kingdom could rise again.

The party was then told by Moslic that there was another quest to accomplish. The sage had also told him that they must acquire an item of great power from the tomb of a lost pharaoh. The party asked Aimentep about this, and he directed them to the tomb of Aleotep, which apparently had no discernable entrance. The party headed south and east, following the river in a magical boat the pharaoh had provided. They found the tomb, but could not find its entrance. That, though, was until the party met Jethoi, a sphinx, who told the party a riddle:

A friend you meet most everyday

Though may you never touch his sleigh

Each parting hour as he glances

‘tween white camel humps truth dances

For the door of the world of dead.

Spurned on by the riddle, the party, at sunset, used a set of distant reflectors to cast a beam of light onto the entrance, which was indeed well hidden.

The party entered the tomb, and found the crypt of the pharaoh, which contained a staff with markings in the skulk dialect. Ænlic and Moslic were sure this was what they were looking for, and the party set out, only to be ambushed by the crypt's defenders, a mummy lord and his minions. The battle was difficult and fierce, and in the end Isi was lost. The party gathered what they could, and left the tomb, to stop Umbar once and for all, and to recover the soul of their lost friend.

The party was forced to return to the northern kingdom, upon Isi's death at the hands of the Mummy lord. There, a high priest brought her back from the dead, and after a short time for adjustment the party once again headed down river into the southern kingdom.

Along with Moeslic, they entered the Pharoah Aimentep's palace and demanded the release of the skulk race. The Pharoah was not impressed, and had the party sent away. He agreed to see the party again, once Moeslic had used the powers of his staff to turn the waters of the river into blood. Still, Aimentep resisted. He sent Dune Stalkers to dispatch the party, and almost successful had Ænlic meet her end, when a mysterious figure from another building fired an impressive volley of magic missiles to save her.

The party's resilience, and the accompanying plagues of locusts, and darkness, led Aimentep to finally submit, and release the skulks.

The party and the emancipated Skulks traveled north, hoping to cross the river before the pharaoh could send his army to stop the exodus. They almost made it when a team of chariots roared over the horizon to attack. Isi managed to hold off the chariots, creating a massive burst of wind to blow them away, while Moeslic used his staff to part the river, and the skulks safely made it across into the northern kingdom.

The skulks accompanied the party back to Middlefort, where the skulks began a search for a new home.

ADVENTURE XIII, RIGHTEOUS WRATH OF THE WICKED

The party was surprised by the appearance of their old comrade Vuroosk, who had come to ask their help dealing with a troublesome green dragon named Ffestiniog. Agreeing, the party headed north to their old stomping grounds to slay the beast. Along the way, the party (not Isi cause she wasn't there for that...) remembered the great Squid they encountered in the Barrow mounds, and finally destroyed the beast, allowing access to the tombs beyond.

Continuing their journey, they made it to the Barachad, where they hoped to encounter a ranger named Malcolm who might know of the location of the dragon's lair. The party found the village in ruins, and the ranger nowhere to be found.

The party headed to the likely location of the lair, and in some caves there discovered the remains of Malcolm and his companion Eve. They also discovered the caverns were home to an undead female dragon, Ffestiniog's mate, corrupted by fell magic. Once she had been destroyed, the party set out to find their quarry, only to find Ffestiniog outside waiting for them. After an intense aerial battle, the party defeated the beast, and set out to find his horde. After a long and complicated search using multiple magical means, the party discovered the empty lair in a large rock pillar, and looted the treasures within.

After returning, the skulks set out to the fallen village, and settled in its remains.

Rumour spread throughout the land that the bugbears were amassing for some kind of invasion. In light of this, and the appearance of strange flashes of light in the Steeps, Voxaminer, the newly arrived high mage of Middlefort, summoned the party to seek their assistance in a pre-emptive strike against the bugbears.

The party agreed to help, but first Voxaminer wished to forge an alliance with the Lonic native tribes in case of Bugbear attack. In order to establish the alliance, the party headed to the forests to speak with Draeadlynn, who would speak for his people. After a discussion of the goals of the exiles, Draeadlynn left the decision in Isi's hands, and she reluctantly signed the treaty uniting the natives and exiles. The party returned to middlefort to forge a plan to defeat the bugbears.

Voxaminer suggested that the bugbear fortress in the Lorst Valley was the best point to strike, as without the leadership found there the bugbears would surely fall, allowing Voxaminer's own forces to sweep through the central steeps. Voxaminer was distressed by the increasing advancement of the bugbears, showing increasing prowess in Pyromancy and the ways of the Pathite monks. Also, they seemed to be using a complicated light code system devised by the Athalish fleet to communicate with troops over long distances. The party decided to destroy the fort, and hopefully prevent any such light communications from being made.

The party managed to stealthily breach the warning towers, and with a few close calls, bring down the communication system before the bugbears could warn their allies of the assault. The party called on Voxaminer to initiate his strikes elsewhere. Swooping in on wing and spell, and bashing in with mighty fists, the party struck the compound, slaying many bugbears in the process, including several pyromancers, a war troll, and a captain of the Athalite navy, McCalister, who captained the ship that Rook came over on. Having cleared the fort, with their resources depleated, the party searched it for treasure, only to find the missing monk Corus in a meditation chamber in the fort. Surprised, the party fought desperately, Isi nearly succumbing to his strikes, and Ænlic being killed outright. Fearing the party's demise, Rook called out to Voxaminer for aid, and his presence caused Coris to flee. Isi managed to return Ænlic's soul to her body before it departed to the beyond as well.

Elsewhere, the bugbears were routed and defeated, their empire crushed for now. The party found a disturbing note from Coris' master, indicating that there would only be more trouble ahead for the beleaguered exiles.