Difference between revisions of "Starting Small"

Revision as of 23:45, 5 August 2012

This adventure began in the city of Nazivonema, where Rhone, a garath of Shoto, was seeking to form an adventuring party. Along with his good friend Calirain, where they set themselves up at the Red Dragon Inn to interview candidates, intending to do so on three consecutive evenings.

Gathering the party

The interviews

The first day

On the first evening, they met a pair of Elves named Nimbus and Stratus. When they were unable to communicate, they asked Muria whether someone might be available to translate Elven, and she suggested Lucille, an acquaintance of Rhone's and a member of the Thieves' Guild of Nazivonema. The two revealed themselves to be avariel, seeking to acquire magical methods of protection from fire. They later met with Brianna, a priestess of Helandra, and her charge, a young flyer saurial thief named Skellion.

Lucille went to the Temple of Helandra that night and invited Brianna and Skellion to join the Guild. The two went the next morning and met with Slinter, who signed them up. Since they were short on their first dues payment, he agreed to try and find Skellion a job to do to defray the expense.

The second day

The next day, a fleet of barges arrived in town, and several of those traveling with it came into the RDI. Two of these were Simry, a half-Elven bard, and Stom, a half-Orcish fighter. As they were settling in, another group of travelers entered the inn: a pair of Earth genasi and a pair of Dwarves who settled in at a table. Stom was fascinated and attempted to engage them in a sparring session, but they were uninterested.

Rhone and Calirain returned to the inn, as Calirain told his friend what he learned about the strange people they had met the previous evening. Meanwhile, a third group of travelers arrived in the inn. This one comprised Lorelei and Tempest Planewalker, both mages, a druid named David, two fighters named Xotznoxl and Sloj, and a ranger named Elmadon.

Lorelei particularly seemed interested in Simry's humming at one point, and they exchanged a look, but nothing came of it. Shortly thereafter, Simry and Stom went to visit the temple of Perasin. Tempest, meanwhile, was excited about having seen Rhone's posted message, especially the opportunity to do good deeds. Once the time for meeting arrived, Lorelei's group, with the exception of Elmadon, eventually approached Rhone as well. Rhone told them of his mission, and the group was interested, but unsure.

As the evening went on, everyone eventually returned to the inn. The genasi and Dwarves retired upstairs, while Stom came in with an orc named Melctz with whom he had brawled at the temple. The two avariel brought a translator named Chalk from the temple of Sedric and introduced him to Rhone and Calirain as well. Then, the group settled in as the entertainment for the evening began in the form of the Terrible Brutish Minstrels.

During the concert, a friend of Lucille's arrived, and she called him over to Rhone's table. He introduced himself as Richard the Feral, and offered his services as a fighter. Also, Lorelei took note of Skellion's discomfort at the music and, at intermission, she and Tempest went to his table. They spoke with Brianna, and discovered that they had all spoken with Rhone. As Brianna worried at Skellion not eating, Tempest offered to warm his food, using a jet of flame from her finger. This gave the two avariel a start, and Chalk came over and asked them not to do it again.

Brianna, Skellion, Lorelei and Tempest went over to Rhone's table to get an update on the mission. They worried over the fact that they had had few prospects for warriors, and Rhone wondered if the group of genasi and Dwarves might be convinced to join them. Tempest agreed to attempt to convince the rest of her comrades as well.

After they left, Chalk came over to Rhone's table and provided a demonstration of how fire affects the wings of the avariel and attempt to dissuade him from hiring Tempest. Rhone was steadfast, however, and Chalk reassured him that the two only wanted to make sure that things were handled with care. Calirain and Nimbus agreed to visit the mages' guild library the next day to research a solution to the fire issue.

The third day

That next morning, Rhone sent notes to all interested parties that anyone who wanted to join him would need to come back after the interviews for a skills demonstration. Since there was still some question about what the group was going to do, Elmadon decided to depart, but not before meeting with Simry. He told her about Rhone's group, and she told him about her family's caravan that might be willing to hire him. Afterwards, she went back to Perasin's temple with Stom. He encountered the group of genasi and Dwarves. They sparred for a bit, and while Stom held his own against Thoren, the Dwarven fighter, he was knocked for a loop by Zemetreseni, the genasi fighter. Still, it was enough to build some mutual respect.

Meanwhile, Brianna informed the Thieves' Guild that she and Skellion would likely be leaving town soon. She then went back to the RDI, where she ran into the rest of Lorelei's group. Skellion refused to enter because there was a lizard man within, and Tempest, wanting to perform a good deed, "convinced" him to leave. The three then joined his lunch companion, who introduced herself as Airlia. While they ate, Brianna told Airlia about Rhone and his adventure. She seemed intrigued upon hearing he was a garath, and soon excused herself to get some rest.

Simry, Stom, and their new fighting companions returned to the RDI. With Brianna occupied, Skellion seized the opportunity to sneak over to get a closer look at Stom. Simry spied him, they exchanged gestures, and Simry alerted Stom to Skellion's presence. As the saurial approached, Stom loudly protested at having his lunch interrupted. After further attempts to communicate, the saurial flew across the room, ripping down Rhone's poster, and dropping it into his lap. The group presumed that the saurial was asking for him to join Rhone's mission, and Simry filled in the Dwarves and genasi about the poster's contents.

In the midst of the commotion, Nimbus and Stratus entered the RDI with Chalk, They stopped and stared at Skellion, and were taken aback at Stom's display. When Brianna came over to collect the curious creature and apologize for the disturbance, Chalk took the opportunity to introduce his two companions. They followed Brianna with Skellion in tow back to their table to continue their conversation. Overhearing that Chalk would not be going on their adventure and they would be in need of someone who spoke Elven, Tempest took it upon herself to do a good deed and left abruptly.

That afternoon, Simry confirmed with her family contact that she would not be returning with the caravan. He mentioned that Elmadon had joined them and told them about Rhone's mission, saying that two of the other guards, Marg and Targ, had decided to attempt to join. They also mentioned a used weapons cart where she might be able to buy a bow, and she proceeded there with Stom. The Dwarves and genasi paid a visit to the temple of Severn, where they spoke with Koltar, the high priest. They asked about the recent rumours about the city of Dekh, and about ways to potentially make money while in the city.

At dinner that evening at the RDI, an excited Tempest introduced a half-Elf named Sythora, who she stated would be joining the adventure. During the ensuing discussion, Brianna realized that Lorelei actually understood what she was saying. Tempest confirmed her suspicions, but let her know that Lorelei couldn't speak in any other languages than those she knew.

The avariel noted the Elven-blooded newcomer and sent Chalk over to talk to her. Conversations got crossed and Sythora got rather flustered at the whole situation. Brianna did her best to smooth things out and Tempest pointed out that Sythora should go with the "rude, fire-hating gnome". As she departed to talk to the avariel, Chalk, trying to make peace with Tempest, left a piece of his family's chalk with her. After Brianna prevented Skellion from grabbing it, she put it on the table, and it was eaten by Xotznoxl.

Once Sythora got to the other table and informed the avariel that she was not an adventurer herself and was told she'd be paid well, they balked at hiring her, deferring instead to Rhone. When Tempest came over to his table with Lorelei, Brianna and Skellion, Rhone asked her if she'd hired Sythora, and then said that since the avariel hadn't yet been hired themselves, she shouldn't make such promises. This upset Tempest, but she turned around when she found another way to do a good deed - hire someone who can fly, but isn't afraid of fire and doesn't need a translator. She immediately departed despite Rhone's protests, and Lorelei followed to try and calm her.

Meanwhile, Skellion attempted to coax Stom to the table with Rhone, but Stom steadfastly ignored him. Then, Skellion swooped over and snatched Stom's mug of ale. Stom stormed over to the table and picked up a chair, apparently to swing, and activated the RDI's defenses, causing him to drop through the floor. After reassurances that he was OK, Rhone went over to the others at his table and attempted to recruit them into his party. This did not go over well, especially the idea of needing to demonstrate their abilities, leaving Rhone to return to his table. The remaining five discussed the possibility of forming their own party based on the leads they'd gotten from Koltar.

After the minstrels from the previous evening finished their performance, Simry went over and introduced herself to them and made the acquaintance of Thomlin, a local impresario. He gave her a ticket to his troop's production of The Sea-Going Ghost for the following day at noon in the city's amphitheater.

Demonstration day

The next morning, Rhone sent out invitations to those interested to take part in a demonstration outside the city. Simry and the Dwarves went to the temple of Severn, while Stom returned to Perasin's temple along with the two genasi. He tried to interest Sloj and Xotznoxl in joining them, but they declined. When they arrived, they discovered that Rhone had sent a blanket invitation to everyone at the temple, and a few had decided to check it out, so Stom decided he would go along.

At Severn's temple, Simry, Thoren and Kurzik met with Koltar, who told them that grimlock had been attacking travelers at night west of the city along the East-West Road, near the ruins of Pallinnore. The trio showed interest, and Koltar said he'd talk to Vorbix Mackle, a member of the Council of Merchants, at lunch that afternoon and would get back to them.

The demonstrations

As the time for the demonstration neared, people began arriving at the demonstration, which was to take place at a field across the road from Tarkus Academy, which had been prepared by Rhone and Calirain that morning. Nimbus and Stratus gave their demonstration first, with mixed results. Nimbus' darts and sleep spell were impressive, but Stratus' seeking motes missed their mark (a rat they'd let loose on the field). Skellion took it upon himself to retrieve the rat that had been used in their performance, but it got destroyed by a magic missile spell cast by Suterza, a force mage that had interviewed on the second night.

Next, Rhone came over to Stom, who was standing off to the side with Melctz and a couple others from Perasin's temple, Sum Ran Dum Shmo and Pete, and invited him to spar with him. They faced off and, despite Rhone's attempt to parry, Stom was able to knock him to the ground with a single swing of his club. As Rhone was shaking off the blow, Chalk offered to heal him. Rhone declined and continued sparring with other candidates, which was noted Stom and his buddies.

Lorelei demonstrated some illusions for Calirain, and the two discussed her spells being useful as distractions. Xotznoxl suggested they could be useful in an ambush, but Calirain cautioned them both to keep this to themselves, as Rhone believes ambushes to be dishonorable. Meanwhile, Simrey took her leave and went to see the play at the amphitheatre. The two dwarves also departed to wander the market, while Stom and friends returned to the temple of Perasin.

Once the demonstrations were done, Rhone chose Lucille, Brianna, Skellion, Lorelei, Nimbus, Stratus, Richard the Feral, Suterza, and another fighter named Fenrin to join his mission. They discussed the possibility of taking on the grimlock, about which Rhone had also heard. As they were short on funds, the group decided they would seek out possible sponsors for the mission before meeting back at the RDI that evening.

Hats in hands

Brianna and Lucille chatted as they left the field, and Lucille told her she would approach the guild about the possibility of aiding the group. Meanwhile, Chalk returned to his temple, where he spoke with Melidas, top aide to High Priest Larren. Melidas agreed to give the party some holy water, but declined to invest the temple's resources in an inexperienced party. Rhone and Calirain encountered similar resistance with local merchants.

The Dwarves received a note telling them that a representative from the Council of Merchants would meet with them at noon tomorrow at the RDI. Kurzik passed on the word to Simry and she let Stom know when he finally came back from Perasin's temple for dinner.

While Rhone was making his inquiries, he ran into Lucille in the business district. She informed him that the thieves' guild would be interested in aiding the group if they could "take credit for it". This didn't sit too well with Rhone, but he let her know that he would think about it and let her know his decision that evening. She also let him know that, should he refuse the offer, she would not be able to join his group and that she would lay low until he made his decision to ensure her loyalties were clear to those involved.

At the RDI that evening, Rhone told most of his group about the offer made by the thieves' guild. As they were discussing it, Tempest made another appearance, and attempted to learn the depths of the avariel's aversion to fire. They replied that they were concerned about the chaos of magically-produced fire. Rhone stated that the avariel would be going on the mission, and Tempest presumed that if they were to go, she would be unwelcome. The avariel demurred, asking that if she were to go, she give them notice when she was about to use fire. She responded that, since she is a fire elementalist, they should assume that to always be the case. They persisted, requiring a warning be given each time fire was to be used, and, when Tempest performed a trial, the avariel demonstrated what their reaction would be by fleeing across the room. Seeing that this would be an untenable situation, and faced with Rhone's declaration, Tempest withdrew.

After the avariel returned to the table, Calirain also discussed his own fire use, and the avariel stated that perhaps it wasn't magical fire, but the wielder of that fire that they did not trust. The subject turned next to Chalk's visit to his temple and their offering to provide holy water and an aspergillum to the group.

Just then, Brianna and Skellion arrived at the inn. Skellion tried to bring his newly-acquired mule inside, but sulked when he was told he could not, and allowed it to be led to the stable. As they sat, the avariel suggested using the holy water in an attack from above, which didn't sit well with Rhone. Brianna asked about Tempest and Lorelei's departure, and Rhone told her that another incident had occurred with Tempest and the avariel, and that she had placed an ultimatum on her coming with the group and had left of her own accord. Rhone later left a note for Lucille and then turned in early.

After dinner, Simry took her leave to make further inquiries at the temples of Sedric and Laurent. At the former, she had occasion to speak with Melidas, who asked if she was associated with Chalk. When she said she was not, he told her that the elders would meet to consider her request for aid. At the latter, she spun the Wheel of Fate, and was told that on her current endeavor, she would find something, but not what she expects to find.

Pulling threads

The next morning, Rhone found a folded note under his door and, unable to understand it, sought to go to Tarkus Academy to ask Calirain. On his way, he saw Lucille across the street and went over to her. He learned that the thieves' guild was willing to loan funds to his group, with conditions. If they succeeded, he would have to pay them half again what he borrowed and mention the guild's role in his success to anyone who asks. If they failed, he'd have to pay back the original amount plus the same amount again and not to mention the guild's involvement. Lucille was concerned, but Rhone was unfazed, especially when she said that she had been assigned to join his group. He told her he'd let her know what the amount would be after he talked to other members of the group.

Rhone proceeded to Tarkus, but Calirain did not understand the script either. Calirain made use of the school's translation services, finding that Lorelei had withdrawn from the group as well, citing their "disharmony". This weighed on Rhone's mind, prompting him to visit his temple. He returned to the RDI, where he discovered Lorelei had checked out. He talked to Xotznoxl, who said he'd see if Lorelei would be willing to speak with Rhone. Rhone then filled him in on the latest developments regarding the thieves' guild as they ate lunch before the tiefling departed.

The Dwarves, genasi, Simry, and Stom returned to the RDI and Muria led them down to a private room where they met Mason Greenway, a representative for the Merchants' Council. He let them know that there was at least one other group interested in the grimlock problem, and all agreed that it was probably Rhone. Mason encouraged them to either try and combine the two groups or, if that failed, to either take another adventure or encourage the other group to do the same. Mason also expressed the council's concern over the presence of Chalk due to his father's influence in the city. If Zebeneysour was involved in that group's mission, that would make things more tricky. The group agreed to make the effort to determine that as well as talk to Rhone, and further to meet with Mason or another representative for an update that evening.

The group returned to the main room and invited Rhone to their table to discuss the options. They told him that Tempest had been asked to join their group and that, if the groups did join forces, the avariel would have to accept that. Rhone seemed amenable to the idea of combining groups, but indicated that he wanted to make a last effort to get Tempest and the avariel to settle their differences. He said he would let them know by the time they gathered for dinner, then spent spoke to or left notes for his team, asking them to join him at the RDI that evening.

Later, Lorelei, Tempest and Sloj arrived at the RDI with Qi'ante, a garath who had accompanied them from Gascar. Simry invited them to join her group, and they were informed of the afternoon's discussions. Both Tempest and Lorelei grew concerned and Lorelei explained the disharmony she had seen with the others. Simry and Kurzik did their best to ease their concerns, and they decided that Rhone would have to either forgo joining this group or ask the avariel to leave his group. Qi expressed his concern that the two dwarves and genasi were letting another make a decision regarding their future, but the foursome assured him otherwise.

When Rhone returned to the RDI, he spoke to Lorelei about her issues, which seemed to ease his mind a bit. They went back to their respective tables as Rhone's group members arrived for dinner. Chalk attempted to give Rhone the holy water, but Rhone declined, citing the possibility that the avariel would be unable to accompany them in the event that they joined forces with Kurzik's group. The avariel suggested challenging the genasi for the right to join the group, but Rhone did not think it would be an option. Brianna thought the issue might be that their deities were incompatible, which might be an even more difficult barrier to overcome. Xotznoxl suggested using one of the meeting rooms, and he and Rhone went over to Kurzik's party to ask them to join them in the room. The genasi, though unhappy with the idea, decided that this needed to be settled once and for all.

The groups join forces...sort of

Once in the meeting room, the genasi stood stock still, unwilling to join the rest of the group even after being challenged by Brianna. The avariel began by appealing to a sense of cooperation, but the genasi priest, Cedic, was having none of it. Kurzik reminded them of their two peoples having fought wars back in the Obsidian Mountains. The point that the genasi, being from the Elemental Plane of Earth, were diametrically opposed to the element of air, the sphere of their patron Vendamatrix, was also mentioned as an issue.

The avariel again raised the issue of challenging the genasi, with the added element of a clash of faiths. While the other priests attempted to stop a holy war from starting, Kurzik pointed out that such a fight would be to the death. Thoren attempted to steer the conversation back to the adventure to come, but the tension in the room was too much to overcome. After some further conversation, Rhone decided the situation was untenable, and withdrew his invitation to the avariel to join his group, and they agreed and departed.

At this point, Rhone began treating the issue of the two groups joining each other as a settled one, to which Fenrin voiced concern, pointing out that nothing had even been settled within Rhone's group to that point. When Rhone denied that a decision had been made, Fenrin pointed out that if that was the case, the avariel shouldn't have been asked to leave. He then suggested that the group should leave the room so that they could discuss the matter. Rhone then said that his proposal, officially, was that they join Kurzik's group, and despite feeling as though he wasn't being heard, Fenrin backed down, saying he would wait for the discussion to be complete.

Kurzik mentioned some of the issues he had discussed with Mason earlier, concerned regarding the possible connection to the Allied Temples. The group denied any such connection, although Rhone did mention that they had another source of funding. As discussion turned to leadership, Kurzik deferred to the Council of Merchants as being the ones with the ultimate authority.

Fenrin then voiced concerns that, given the large number of people involved, there might be some people no longer needed. Everyone then went over what their skills were, and determined that they were still lacking in healing ability and scouting. They discussed several options for securing aid, but nothing definitive. The group broke up so that Kurzik and his group could meet with Mason Greenway while Rhone went to find Lucille.

The group informed Mason of the departure of the avariel and the likely severing of any connection to the Allied Temples, which met with a mixed reaction. They then mentioned some of their needs to Mason, who asked the group to compile a list. He would return at lunch the next day, and they would have as much as could be provided by the next morning. As the group broke up, Chalk said they should be careful, as the avariel had told him they would be spreading word that the genasi are anti-Elf.

Reorganization

The next morning, Brianna and Skellion came down for breakfast and saw Suterza. After being filled in on the previous evening's events, Suterza expressed interest in joining the mission, but wondered where Rhone was. The RDI staff knew that he had left a message for Kurzik, and as the rest of the party filtered into the main room, it became clear that nobody knew where he was.

Finally, Kurzik came down bearing Rhone's message. In it was news that he would not be accompanying the group, but instead would be accompanying Qi'ante for a time in an attempt to learn how to better be a garath. To atone for his transgressions of the recent past, he had invited Tempest, Lorelei, Nimbus, Stratus and Fenrin. The group, realizing they were now without a mage, officially invited Suterza to join them, and she agreed to see if she could recruit another arcane spellcaster or two. Stom said he would ask around at the temple of Perasin for a healer as he left with Zeme and Thoren to train.

Shortly thereafter, two Humans came into the RDI asking about Rhone's mission. They were directed to visit the temple of Perasin themselves. After introducing themselves to Muenster as Fleur and Fauna, the latter partook in the Bashing of the Bricks. As they entered the arena, they heard Stom asking for a healer. Fleur came over to find an unconscious Shmo and cast cure light wounds on him. After learning that Stom was part of the re-formed group, she spoke to Thoren while Fleur sparred with Stom. The group then returned to the RDI.

Meanwhile, Kurzik, Cedic and Simry met with Mason Greenway and provided him with their list of needs. Mason expressed relief at the break with Rhone, as it freed the group from any semblance of conflict with the Allied Temples. He let them know he would do the best he could to fill all their requests by the following morning. They returned to the common room, and were soon joined by the group from Perasin's temple. Fleur and Fauna talked to Kurzik about their skills, and they were brought into the group.

As the party discussed the mission ahead, a group of people entered. Simry recognized one as Llewsgoc, a forest gnome keeper of giant bees with whom her family had traded before. As she approached, he was agitatedly expressing his displeasure at the renewed danger along the road to the west with Garth. Simry joined the discussion, telling him of her involvement with resolving the situation, calming him some. He introduced his daughter, Buibui, a budding wizard who was interested in becoming an adventurer. Simry invited her to speak with Kurzik and, despite some trepidation regarding her familiar, a hairy spider named Fluzz, she, too, was cleared to join the group.

Brianna and Skellion returned to the RDI and joined everyone for lunch. There were a few tense moments when Fleur alerted her to the presence of Fluzz, but Buibui and Simry did their best to reassure her that Fluzz was not a threat. Brianna settled back into her chair, saying Skellion was a vegetarian, a relief to both spider and mage. After Fluzz expressed his displeasure with the druid, additions were made to the list of supplies and Simry sent a note to the council after lunch.

At dinner, Suterza arrived with an abjurer per the group's request. He introduced himself as Pleh Detnaw and was quickly welcomed. The group was enjoying their cheesesteak sandwiches when a Halfling entered the inn and came over to the group's table. He said his name was Cypress Tanginule, a ranger who had been sent by the Council of Merchants to aid the group as he was familiar with the area they'd be traveling. He, too, was welcomed, and quickly took a seat at the table, letting everyone know that supplies would be arriving in the morning as they had requested.

Cypress ordered his own cheesesteak, then informed the group that they would need to cross the Vorilon River by ferry at the town of Vinginnore before reaching Pallinnore. Kurzik expressed his concerned about the sturdiness of the craft, noting the two genasi at the table. Cypress reassured him, noting that there was not an easier crossing for several days' journey. Beyond that, Cypress could not confirm grimlock they had been seen in the ruins, but that other rangers had seen some type of humanoids in the ruins. He advised that we all be prepared for the unexpected.

Setting out at last

The next morning, Simry and Stom were up first. Simry went over to Cypress, who was sitting at the bar, and he told her that the mules and requested supplies were outside. After eating, she went out to examine the provisions, and was soon joined by Buibui, Fleur and Fauna, allowing Richard the Feral, who had been watching the supplies, to get breakfast. Fluzz briefly startled one of the mules, and Fleur attempted to calm it down.

Soon everyone but Brianna and Skellion were present, and Stom took it upon himself to give them a wake-up call. Brianna was not happy, as she was not dressed, but Skellion darted out and down to the main room. The saurial had some fun with sneaking strawberries onto and off of Fleur's plate until he noted Cedic watching him intently. He first cowered in his seat, then flew out of the inn, upset. Brianna came down shortly thereafter and Stom directed her outside to find Skellion sitting in the stable with his mule.

On the road

Everyone came outside at Kurzik's prompting and the group set off. Simry had a brief conversation with a farmer headed to Nazivonema to sell his crops, and asked about what news he might have heard. He gave them a bit more information about the road ahead, and they parted ways. The group stopped for lunch, and Fauna brought back a muskrat for the party to eat later. A few hours later, the party came to the village of Astyan. The party stopped to gather water while Simry, Stom and Richard went into town to get the lay of the area. They returned, telling the group that there was a place set up on the other side of the village, or there was a burned-out field about a half-mile outside of town. The group chose the latter, and passed the night cooking the muskrat and talking.

The party set out again the next morning, and soon encountered a group of soldiers from Glespi. Their leader warned the party of an approaching storm, but both BuiBui and Cypress were confident they would reach the ferry before it hit. They reached Vinginnore mid-afternoon and decided to spend the night in town rather than take the chance of being caught in the storm. After some discussion, they decided to stay at The Gutted Carp, an inexpensive inn near the river.

The group entered with some trepidation at the obvious rough character of the establishment. Simry negotiated with Gullakh, the proprietor, who said he would be willing to give them a discount on their accommodations if Simry agreed to perform that night. She accepted, but shortly found that the customers weren't appreciative of her music, and they began advancing on her menacingly. Stom put himself between the bard and the crowd, but before any weapons were used, Gullakh slammed a large warhammer on the bar, stunning the crowd to silence and breaking things up. The group then retired for the night.

The dawn greeted the group with cool and drizzly conditions. The group decided to get something to eat as they headed for the docks. Cypress offered to pay for fresh loaves of bread from the local bakery and Skellion flew off to retrieve the meal and met the group, sack in tow, as they arrived at the ferry dock. Fleur cast two calm animals spells in an effort to ease the mules before boarding the boat, but Simry and Cypress had to supplement her efforts to assist all of the animals. With payment vouchers verified, the seven mules, Simry, Fauna and Cypress were loaded onto the ferry and began their journey across the river. It got a bit dicey as the magical calming wore off and the trio of handlers were kept busy keeping the mules from panicking. The ferry returned for the rest of the group and everyone united on the opposite side of the river.

Kurzik cast easy road to make travel through the somewhat muddy road closest to the river less difficult to travel and the group made good time, stopping near a pair of rock formations, a smaller one near the road and a larger one farther off, to camp for the night. The group made camp near the larger formation and decided not to have a fire to reduce the likelihood of giving away their presence.

All was quiet until sometime after midnight, when Simry heard footsteps out by the smaller rock formation. She alerted Stom, who remained at the camp's perimeter while Simry went to wake up Thoren. The Dwarf woke Zeme while Richard, who was also on watch, woke Sloj. While Thoren joined Stom and Simry to get an update on the situation, Sloj told Richard to stay with the mules while heinvestigated. A few moments later, the group heard a loud "crack", running footsteps and a twang, followed by Sloj calling out "They're running!" Simry and Stom ran to his position with Thoren close behind. Sloj said he'd seen three humanoid figures, one of which attacked him, and he took a shot at them as they ran. The group decided to wait until morning to check out the area.

As the group prepared to set out, Cypress examined the area where the attack took place, where he found evidence of booted footprints leading to the road as well as a piece of a weapon handle. The group, fearing they might be under observation, proceeded cautiously.

At the ruins

The party stopped a short distance east of the ruins and discussed how to proceed. Kurzik decided they would ride past the ruins as though they were going about their business, and once they reached a point about two hundred feet past the ruins the group stopped. Cypress reported seeing trampled vegetation a bit west of the center of the ruins. They spotted a dilapidated barn and nearby shed about a half-mile outside of town, and Buibui sent Fluzz to check it out while Cypress and Skellion scouted the western edge of the ruins.

Cypress discovered a trail headed in toward the barn, but it was a few days old. Skellion flew back to warn Buibui and Fluzz. The gnome told them that Fluzz had only found containers in the barn, so Skellion resumed his scouting with Cypress. Upon their return, the group decided to check out the barn. Fleur and Fauna stood near the shed while Stom and Zemetreseni went to a door on the side of the barn facing the ruins. The genasi kicked in the door, and Stom went in to find a neatly-stacked pile of crates.

Outside, Fleur spotted what she thought was a kobold in the grass. Richard and Xotznoxl went to check it out, but found nothing nothing. Xotz suggested it might be a chupacabra, a creature from Pandemonium about the same size as a kobold, which unsettled Buibui a bit.

Stom asked the sisters for help, but they were distracted by the "kobold". Simry came over with her lantern, and she went in with him, Kurzik and Skellion, with Kurzik asking Cypress to corral the straying kobold hunters. They were joined by Brianna as Stom pulled down one of the crates. He opened it to find pots, pans, and table ware, which Kurzik speculated might have been items stolen from the caravans that had been attacked.

As Stom was opening a second crate, a hail of arrows began thunking into the side of the barn from the direction of the ruins, and everyone rushed to get into the barn. The large doors of the barn were opened so the mules could be ushered inside. Shortly after everyone went inside, the arrows stopped. The two genasi stood guard outside the barn while the rest conferred.

Cypress guessed that there might have been, at most, five archers using long bows. Since they couldn't be located, he suggested that it would be a good idea if the group continued down the road and circle back to the ruins to give us a potential advantage since there would still be about two hours of light left when we returned. The dwarves suggested staying put until nightfall to use the darkness to the group's advantage, while Stom said the group should attack now.

Split the party

After lengthy inter-party discussion without a decision, Stom got up and said he was going out there to fight and, if nobody came with him, he was heading back to Nazivonema. Simry and Thoren called after him to no avail. Kurzik left the barn and picked up a few arrows from the ground to be examined. He made a last attempt to call out to Stom and then poked his head back inside the barn and encouraged folks to get moving. Skellion flew by him and up towards Stom's retreating form with Xotz and Sloj close behind.

Simry asked Fleur to guide the mules to the barn up the road and Richard to go with her to guard them, then exited the barn herself. Meanwhile, Brianna headed out after the saurial. Kurzik decided to split up the remaining people in the barn, directing the slower ones to go join Stom, while the rest with longer legs and heavier armor would go into the ruins. Skellion waylaid Stom long enough for Sloj to catch up to him and fill them both in on Kurzik's plan. Cypress, the two dwarves and Buibui joined them a few moments later.

The slow group got about halfway down the road as the sisters, Richard and the mules arrived at the barn. Fauna checked it out and reported back that she saw someone inside stacking hay bails. The two sisters returned to the barn intending to talk to the human inside, leaving Richard with the mules.

Seeing no sign of the slow group's getting attacked, the second group exited the barn and headed towards the ruins.

Fleur talked to the farm hand who couldn't give her any insights. He told her to wait there and ran off to get his master. Fauna filled Richard in and then returned to her sister's side.

Meanwhile, the faster group proceeded directly into the ruins from the barn. They got about halfway when Zeme spotted an object coming towards them in the air. Stom was questioning Kurzik's directives when Cypress alerted them to the object headed towards the other group. They scattered as the large object hit the ground and Zeme then charged toward the corner of the big building making sure his companions knew where he was headed. Kurzik posited that the enemy might be using a catapult and then he, his brother, Cypress, Stom and Skellion headed towards the big building intending to meet up with Zeme. Sloj and Buibui followed behind them as fast as they could, eventually meeting up with the rest of Simry's group. As Simry approached the ruins, she thought she saw movement on the roof of the big building and passed this on to those assembled. The two genasi, Xotz, and Stom moved around to a breech at the southern corner of the outer wall surrounding the big building to assess the situation while the rest waited to see what would happen next...

Cast of characters

Below is a list of characters who were involved at one point or another in this adventure:

Brianna - run by Lou McLeary
Buibui - run by Shelley Proulx
Calirain - run by Scott Ford
Cedic - run by Vinny Beckles
Cypress Tanginule - NPC
Fauna - run by Phil Vlasak
Fenrin - NPC
Fleur - run by Phil Vlasak
Kurzik - run by Rob Pires
Lorelei - run by Shelley Proulx
Lucille - NPC
Nimbus - run by Phil Vlasak
Pleh Detnaw - NPC
Rhone - run by Scott Ford
Richard the Feral - NPC
Simry - run by Korin Trytko
Skellion - run by Lou McLeary
Sloj - NPC
Stom - run by Shelley Proulx
Stratus - run by Phil Vlasak
Suterza - NPC
Thoren - run by Vinny Beckles
Xotznoxl - NPC
Zemetreseni - run by Rob Pires