Excerpted from the journal of Etaf Gerin

 

April 22, 1376 (The Year of the Bent Blade)

 

After passing a nervous but uneventful night in Coldstone Keep, we spent the next morning continuing our explorations. We found several empty rooms and one room with a nest of stirges (which we easily dispatched) before finding two Zhentarim! One is a mage, another a swordsman, but neither was a match for us – Ahmed disemboweled the swordsman with two quick scimitar attacks, and Omiata killed the mage with a single crossbow shot to the forehead. The mage was a Necromancer – his spellbook proves that – so I appropriated his magical equipment for further study. A search of the bodies and surrounding area shows that the Zhentarim had not yet found the Fiend’s Embrace, but they were not alone – there are six bedrolls in a room nearby.

 

After a short break for lunch, we moved down into the basement of the keep, we found a hallway that is mostly underwater. BadAxe, breathing easily with the Axe of the Dales, explored the area and found a clogged well, which he cleared so the rest of us could proceed. That proved a mixed blessing, because as we moved forward, we met a Troll that had been drawn to the noise of the water draining!

 

The Troll was large and strong – a challenge, even if the situation were ideal. This was far from ideal, though – the Troll was wearing the Fiend’s Embrace! That evil artifact multiplied the monster’s power. We attacked the Troll with all our weapons, but no matter how much damage we did, he refused to go down. Then BadAxe remembered the other power of the Axe – and shouted “Merrydale!”

 

The clasp holding the Embrace around the Troll’s neck released suddenly, and it fell to the ground, where Helieos quickly kicked it away from the fight. Unfortunately, all other clasps nearby also came undone – which included the belts of the dwarf, elf, ranger, and cleric. In the confusion, the troll nearly tore the dwarf’s head off while everyone tried to recover their pants. Luckily Francis was able to heal BadAxe. Without the Fiend’s Embrace, we were able to finally take the Troll down.

 

Wounded and tired, we decided to rest once again in the same room that we used the night before. Having the Fiend’s Embrace in our possession gave me hope – we had found the item that Oahbe demanded for my sister’s safety. Now, I had only to determine how to avoid giving Oahbe an artifact of unfathomable evil while still convincing him to return my sister to me…

 

April 23, 1376

 

Last night we all had the same dream again, of ravens and the ruined tower where Randal Morn was being held. The dream, and the possibility of further encounters with Zhentarim and Trolls, convinced us that we should move on quickly. Rather than delaying to explore the keep further, we retraced our steps through the swamp, arriving around noon at the wayfarer’s cabin where Maeden waited with our mounts.

 

Maeden was pleased to see that we had been successful in our quest, and was happy to lead us onward to the tower we had seen in our dreams. An afternoon of uneventful travel brought us within sight of the forbidding structure. We hid in the woods, off the trail, and camped for the night. Best to approach this evil place in the light of day.

 

April 24, 1376

 

Another dream invaded our sleep last night. We saw the great mage Elminster destroy this very tower, a vision of the past. The evil here was not destroyed, though. It survived and grew, and eventually trapped Randal Morn in its clutches.  We all woke near dawn, more determined than ever to put an end to the threat.

 

Maeden again volunteered to guard our mounts, and also provided us with nettle leaf, which would keep us awake against any dream-attacks. Taking our leave of the gnome, we approached the ruined tower.

 

The entrance had once been guarded by a door, but that was long since destroyed – now there was only a gaping hole leading into a hallway. Cautiously we entered, noting many magical symbols and drawings on the walls as we passed. Suddenly, one of those drawings, a ten foot skeleton, began the glow and then stepped out of the wall before us! Quickly we took our weapons in hand and prepared to fight, but the apparition was not interested in us. Instead, it began to make mystical passes in the air, and then threw a mighty fireball – over our heads toward the woods. Turning to watch the fireball’s flight, I was astonished to see a large group of Zhentarim riding toward us from the woods! We had been too intent on the tower to notice their approach. The fireball detonated dead center in the Zhentarim horde, killing many outright and chasing the others away. The skeleton faded back into the wall.

 

Clearly someone wanted us to continue our explorations. Having no other real option, we did so. At the end of the hallway, we found two stairwells, leading up and down, and a small room. The room’s door was held open by rubble from a partially collapsed ceiling. Omiata explored the room, which also had many magical symbols on the walls, and found a sword stuck into the far wall. As he considered what to do about this strange phenomenon, Ahmed began to follow him in – and abruptly disappeared!

 

Within moments, the magical symbols faded from the walls and Ahmed’s fate became clear – there was a large hole in the center of the room. The bottom of the hole was not visible – it appeared to be a steep tunnel leading far underground. Omiata had missed it only by his habit of sneaking into rooms in the shadows close to the walls. As we discussed what to do to help Ahmed, the noise of a battle came to us from behind. The Zhentarim had returned, with an even larger force! Their leader stood over the ruins of the large skeleton, and motioned his followers forward.

 

No choice for us now but to follow Ahmed and hope for the best. One after another, we leapt into the hole. It seemed that the fall went on forever, but in reality it must have been only a few moments. My rate of descent slowed as I fell, thanks to a Featherfall spell that had been placed on this tunnel – someone had prepared this well in advance. We landed lightly into a small room, separated by metal bars from a large cave. One of the bars was missing, allowing us to enter the larger area.

 

Knowing that we had little time before the Zhentarim followed us, we quickly headed into the large cave. On the far side we spotted a glowing sphere hovering over a pile of rocks – which we immediately recognized from our dreams. This was the prison of Randal Morn!

 

As BadAxe approached the prison, the Axe of the Dales began to glow, giving off a mist that coalesced into the form of a woman. Dumbfounded, we could only listen as she quickly explained to us that she was the guardian and spirit of the Axe, here to help us free Randal, who was her rightful lord. “His prison can be broken by disturbing the spell that powers it,” she explained. “Near here are six skeletons, the physical components of that spell.” Quickly she explained to us how to disrupt the spell – pick up the skeleton’s skulls, and speak words of power.

 

As we began to follow the woman to the skeletons, the first Zhentarim arrived, back in the smaller room. Soon there would be a horde – we had no time to waste! Quickly we gathered around the skeletons and picked up their skulls and spoke the words. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, then Ahmed and Francis, still holding the skulls, drew their weapons and advanced on the rest of us! At the same time, Zhentarim fighters burst through the door and headed straight toward us!

 

Focusing on our friends first, we were able to knock the skulls away from their grasp. Both fell to the ground, stunned, but no longer under the evil spell. We braced ourselves for the rush of the Zhentarum, but they ignored us and picked up the skulls! Speaking words of power, they turned on one another and slew their own comrades – the evil of this place and the spell were working on them as well. Leaving them to their fate, we returned to the main chamber to rescue Randal Morn.

 

We were not the first ones to Randal’s prison, however. An ancient wizard stood near the broken prison, and as we ran toward Randal, he picked up the fallen noble, as if Randal were no more than a child. Moving faster than any young man could, the elderly wizard ran at BadAxe and attempted to wrest away the Axe of the Dales! BadAxe had no time to resist, but the spirit-woman was there. A bolt of lightning flew from her hands, striking the wizard and knocking him away. Snarling, he disappeared – taking Randal with him.

 

Before we could do more than gape at the empty space where the wizard had stood, we heard a few final screams from the Zhentarim that we had left behind, then they fell silent. Heading back to the skeletons, we found only one man still alive, holding a skull with a blank stare. Removing the skull stunned him briefly, but he recovered enough to answer some questions. From him we learned that the Zhentarim have taken control of Daggerdale – most likely this is where Randal Morn has been taken.

 

Ahmed, full of anger at the Zhentarim who had ravaged his tribe, took his sword and prepared to slit the man’s throat as he sat manacled and helpless. I wouldn’t have stopped him – if that was Oahbe helpless before us, I’d do the same. But Friar Francis and Helieos felt otherwise, and wrestled the ranger back. A heated argument over the fate of the prisoner followed. Finally the rogue ended the debate by knocking the man senseless and removing his bonds – we would leave him to whatever fate had in store.

 

Dejected from yet another failure to find Randal Morn, tired from our exertions, and tense from the argument over the prisoner, we decided to leave the tower and travel to Daggerdale. The evil of the tower was yet unbroken, but it no longer held Randal Morn, and that was enough for now. Rejoining Maeden, we journeyed to his village to rest and recover. Our quest was far from over – Daggerdale and the Zhentarim awaited us.

 

A few quotes that probably shouldn’t be repeated, but what the heck:

 

(As the monk is trying to dislodge a stirge from a sensitive spot on his anatomy)

Chop: Do a Flurry of Blows on your crotch!

Mike J: Is it Saturday night already?

 

(As the ranger explores the nest of the defeated stirges)

DM: The ranger finds…an empty nest.

Chop: Oh no, not a spin-off of Golden Girls!

 

(As the dwarf has a brainstorm about clearing blockage from a well)

DM: Amazing, diarrhea gave you a good idea.

 

(As the cleric comes to the aid of the injured dwarf)

Demetrius: My pants are down and he’s behind me. How exactly is he planning to heal me?

 

Last updated 05-25-2005 by Skip Franklin