|
Campaign Bulletin
|
|
April 21st, 2002*Demetrius and Johnathon arrive in Little Nook, spending a night in the halfling settlement. Meanwhile Razziel, Asslar and Porthious spend the night in Emerald, the floating city. While the five men spend nights in the comfort of inns, Mikhala and Letissamus awake to find themselves in a cage and being taken west. Mikhala recognises their captor as Jordan, the mysterious bounty hunter, and quickly accosts him. He informs them that his master, none other than Warlord Trasian the Black, wishes to speak with them about Demetrius. * Mikhala and Letissamus engineer an escape, relying on Mikhala's psionic ability and Letissamus' abilities as a druid. They flare a fire in Jordan's face, steal his horse and make haste towards the safety of Aysen. Along the way they extort some farmers to ensure they have money, and use it to fund their journey across the Known World to the port city of Escargoth. * Demetrius, Johnathon, Skweek and the Grey Render arrive at the gates of Koskun Keep, the bandit stronghold. Skweek informs the pair that he will be heading south, and they explore the 'jewel of the west'. They soon settle into a tavern, and hear about the monthly bazaar that will take place in three days. Razziel, Asslar and Porthious all arrive during the day, although they are not aware of where to find their missing partners. Razziel quickly begins searching for Chandler, who may be able to find his mortal double. * The great bazaar arrives, and Razziel seizes the opportunity to sell the Celestial Armour he found in Dath Muran. Meanwhile Asslar and Porthious search for their missing friends. Johnathon sets up a stall of his own, and he soon encounters Mikhala and Letissamus. The resulting reuniting is emotional, with Demetrius clearly uncomfortable with Mikhala's attentions. Mikhala also notices Johnathon's increasing stupidity (a result of the Allip attacks), and suggests Chandler take him to see a cleric. Meanwhile Razziel sells his armour and begins stocking up. * Razziel finds Mikhala, Jonathon, Demetrius and Letissamus- and the group organise to meet up after the bazaar's conclusion. Razziel does not escape, Mikhala accosting him for not rescuing the girls even though he knew of their plight. He explains that the kidnap was intended to lure Demetrius to Trasian, and that following her would've gotten them all killed. She is unsatisfied, but holds her tongue. Arguments between Porthious and Mikhala also develop. * Demetrius and Jonathon visit a cleric and pay to have Jonathon's wisdom restored. Unfortunately, they didn't bring money, and so Mikhala suggests they perform a quest on behalf of the church. The resulting geas curses the pair to searh south for the relic, Darkbane. Jonathon finds the geas quite interesting, reknewing his faith in Pelor to a point where he has nominated himself as party cleric. * Razziel finally earns an audience with Chandler, leader of the Silver Dagger spy ring. He pays Chandler off with a magically cursed dice and the promise of finding Chandler's latest target, Demetrius. Razziel, despite his loyalty, is driven by his hatred for his mortal double, and so tells Chandler where his lackeys can find Demetrius. * Demetrius and Jonathon resolve to head south in search of Darkbane, but Mikhala attempts to convince them not to be so rash. Razziel and Asslar soon join Mikhala in her arguments, but a youth bearing a note for Demetrius soon decides things for them. The note bears a single black dot, which Jonathon believes to be the mark of the Leban Brotherhood- indicating that Demetrius is their target for assassination. To make matters worse, Chandler's lackeys (a minotaur and wizard) spot Demetrius and give chase. Jonathon holds them up with his immovable rod, but the Minotaur continues his chase. As Demetrius flees, he encounters Faeland, a psion sent by the Blind Seer to speak with Demetrius. The young thief panics, and although Faeland knocks the Minotaur out, Demetrius still attempts to flee. Razziel tackles the thief, and Mikhala knocks him unconscious so the group can sneak him out of Koskun. * Demetrius awakes in a camp somewhere outside Koskun, seriously doubting whether he can trust the party. Mikhala tends to his wounds, but Demetrius shuns her and goes in search of solitude outside the camp. Razziel follows under cover of invisibility, whilst Mikhala attempts to placate the object of her affection. Soon the entire party attempts to comfort Demetrius, who sees the latest attempts on his life as too far. Eventually he agrees to return to camp, as long as no one talks to him. * Demetrius wakes late at night to the sound of hushed conversation, and quickly sounds the alarm. Razziel, who was on guard, rushes out into the darkness. The intruders appear to be Orcish assassins, and soon the party has cut them down. Razziel and Asslar's formidable melee ability, coupled with the ranged weapons of others makes the combat easy. Razziel personally cuts down the assassin leader, and the party unearths a note on his body. June 16th, 2002* The note on the body is from a man named Fedlack, ordering the assassins to meet with him at the Glittering Phoenix tavern. The party decides to confront the employer of the would-be assassins, and head to a tavern. There they encounter an Orc who they take into the woods to interrogate. He attempts to create a portal and flee, but Razziel and Demetrius are quick to tackle him. Razziel then excercises his sadistic shadow mind, and ties the Orc to a tree before forcing him to listen to Johnaton's latest 'sermon'. In the end the Orc relents and informs them that he was paid by a large Orc who he hasn't seen since. The party decides to move south, leaving the Orc tied to a tree. * The party's travels south are interrupted when their group is attacked by what appears to be a group of Orc bandits. However, a sinister human figure at the back of the forces would indicate another assassination attempt. The Orcs are dealt with in short order, but the assassin's kean ability with the bow almost spells the end for Letisamuss and Demetrius. Razziel pursues the assassin, and joins a duel with him. The assassin introduces himself as Raven, and has little trouble besting Razziel. Fortunately for the shadow-born fighter, he is able to slip his Ring of Invisibility on and flees the scene. * Two days later, the party is again set upon by would-be assassins. This time it comes in the form of an Ettin and his two grizzly bear allies. The party attempts to hide, but Mikhala falls from her hiding place and the party is forced to act. Another bloody combat ensues, Porthious almost slain by a particular vicious blow from a bear. The fight did have its humorous points, especially when Mikhala leapt in front of a bear pursuing Demetrius and demanded it to stop. The bear didn't hesistate in smacking Mikhala into unconsciousness. * The party finally arrives at the Leban Stronghold, but a brewing storm forces them to seek shelter in a nearby pine forest. August 2nd, 2002* The storm passes, and the party start planning for their assault on the Leban Stronghold. Razziel doesn't see the point in attacking it, and argues that even if they somehow manage to overcome the guards and kill Lord Leban, Demetrius may still be a marked man. However, the geas on Demetrius and Jonathon drives them to invade. In the end, the argument becomes heated and Razziel threatens to abandon the party. Their arguments alert the gate guards, and combat ensues. * The Orc Guards, accompanied by another assassin in the form of the deranged halfling, Bane- assault the party. Razziel is incapacitated in the early going, and the party is almost slain by a well placed fireball from the wily halfling. Things look grim after Jonathon and Porthious go down, and worse after the halfling's summoned Howlers ravaged Faeland. Mikhala, Letisammus, Demetrius and Asslar do their best however. Mikhala's psionics coupled with Demetrius' speed bring down a Howler, whilst Asslar cuts his way to the halfling and brutally beats him to death. The combat over, the party flees before reinforcements can be found. * Razziel asks that Demetrius and Jonathon hold off on assaulting the fortress until he can consult the priest who geased them. He heads north to Koskun, where he meets with the priest. The priest agrees to lift the geas, but he can only do it if the pair are brought back to Koskun. Razziel then meets with Chandler, who informs him that his double is none other than Joseph Freesmith. The problem? Freesmith happens to be one of the most powerful men in the Known World, and has been meeting with Lord Leban. Chandler also reveals that Demetrius' father has been looking for him, and offers to call off the bounty in exchange for 5000 gold. Razziel is tempted, but decides he'd rather not, and heads back south. While Razziel is gone, Mikhala uses her Spider Climb abilities to search the two towers. Both are in a state of disrepair, although one seems to be more stable than the other. Both fall to ground level, but she doesn't explore any further. * Razziel arrives back at the camp, and uses some drugged wine to incapacitate Demetrius and Jonathon. He takes the pair back to Koskun and the geas is dispelled. However, a messenger rushes to Razziel and presents him with a package. The package contains a human hand and a note from Joseph Freesmith. The note reads 'Keep out of my business, else I'll send back more pieces within the week'. The hand, Demetrius finds to his horror, belongs to his father. The messenger also informs them that Chandler was also kidnapped. * Rushing back south, Razziel is convinced that they must enter the Stronghold and kill Joseph Freesmith. Razziel formulates a plan in which he and Demetrius scale the towers invisibly, and search for an entrance. However, Mikhala is kean to explore as well, and despite Razziel's forbidance- she follows via the second tower. Razziel and Demetrius encounter trouble at the tower's base, assaulted by an enormous spider. Razziel is almost slain, sapped of his strength by poison and forced to withdraw. Demetrius and Razziel flee back out of the tower (via spider climb). Meanwhile, Mikhala encounters a tunnel coated in webs and decides to burn them away. However, she neglects to notice that the entire interior of the tower is coated in web, and is soon forced to flee the inferno! * The fire not only causes Mikhala's tower to collapse, but it also spreads to the second tower (the pair are connected by a subterannean tunnel). Both towers collapse, but not before a nest of spiders can flee. The Orc guards below flee indoors, and the three 'invaders' rush back to their camp in the forest. Here they encounter Jordan, the mysterious figure who kidnapped Mikhala and Letisamuss in Cindred. He says he came to check on their progress, and inform Demetrius that he is no longer wanted by Trasian. He then wishes them luck, laughs at their failed invasion, and leaves. |
