Brookhollow



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(note, the parties first adventure is from the pages of Dungeon® Magazine #82, Evil Unearthed, by Ed Stark.  It is recommended that players consult their DM's prior to reading any further, lest the DM plan to use this excellent adventure in her campaign.)

[Session 2] [ Session 3] [Brookhollow Aftermath]

Session 1

Planting 7th, 591CY

After nearly a week of traveling, the road-weary companions arrive at the town of Brookhollow.  A cursory exploration of the town is taken, before they all make their way to the Inn to meet up with their friends who asked them to come to Brookhollow.

Upon questioning the cheerful halfling innkeeper, Tril, the party discovers that their friends seem to have checked out and moved on well over a week ago.  

Doubting that their friends would have gone without even leaving some message behind, the heroes get permission to search the room which the couple had been renting.  A thorough search of this room reveals a hidden 'stash' in which several interesting things are found, including the journal of their friends.  Checked out and left indeed!

While sitting in the common room later, Gaeg begins to grow uneasy about a young halfling trapper, who is altogether too unfriendly and antisocial yet seems to have completely bespelled the very sweet innkeeper.  Gaeg, against all proper social etiquette, calls forth the powers of his god, and senses a faint taint of evil emanating from the halfling, whose name they have discovered is Otis.

Later that evening, Otis leaves the Inn and Kentir 'tails' him.

As Gaeg desired to pay a visit to the nearby Temple of Valour, and the evening  is still young, Gaeg and Khan depart from the inn to the holy site.

Enroute to the temple, Gaeg and Khan find Kentir sitting alongside the road eating a snack.  When asked where Otis went, Kentir admits that he lost track of the diminutive trapper. Unable to do anything about this, the trio continues on to the temple.

Once there, they discover a rather tired looking young man is the local priest.   Arias, the young priest, admits that he is entirely too inexperienced to run an entire temple properly, but that the old priest died shortly after he had been assigned to Brookhollow, a year or so back. He grudgingly admits that  has been up late of nights trying to study the holy books and practice the proper rituals so that he can do a proper job.

Gaeg advises him that proper sleep is needed to perform services well too, and Arias seems to grudgingly accept that advice.

Though the sun is getting low on the horizon, the trio decides to journey just a bit further, and investigate the ruins of Castle Overlook, just beyond the old cemetery behind the temple.  Stopping momentarily in the cemetery to pay their respects for the dead heroes buried there, they head up the hill into the ruins.

A cursory search of the ruins reveals that the entire castle has completely fallen into rubble, except for the lower floor and staircase of a single tower.  Within this tower, they find the remains of a recent campfire and Kentir notices some strange scratchings in the stone.  As it is now completely dark, the trio decides to set up camp within the ruined tower and journey the few miles back to Brookhollow in the morning, under proper light.

Kentir quickly copies the unusual scratchings, which appear to be some sort of map of the ruins, and the party settles in for the night.

Buagh and Gamble enjoy a night back at the inn in Brookhollow, and retire to their rooms, entirely unaware that their 3 companions are soon in for a sleepless night.

Back at the ruins, Kentir hears something outside the tower.  Khan peers out the doorway with his keen darkvision, and spies 4 diminutive skeletons marching resolutely through the rubble straight towards the party.

Gaeg and Khan quickly take up defensive positions, while Kentir bolts out the door and dashes in the direction of the Temple of Valour, just down the hill, in hopes that he can bring the young priest's aid in time.

He doesn't get very far, a dark shape leaps from behind a boulder in the rubble and sinks a shortsword into Kentir's side not more than 100 feet from the tower.

Hearing Kentir cry out in pain, Gaeg runs to his defense, counting on the fact that his very large barbarian friend should have no problems handling the remaining 3 undead.

Though the dark shape, hidden once again, tries to catch Gaeg by surprise as well, the young paladin was prepared and spun about to face his foe.  Otis!!

He quickly renders the halfling unconscious and delivers aid to poor Kentir, bleeding upon the ground nearby.  Khan makes short work of the skeletal opponents he still faces, and joins them.  Between them, Gaeg and Khan are able to give Kentir quick first aid, and some minor healing.  The young man, though now conscious, still thinks it hurts pretty bad and helps in tying up Otis.

And thus the session ended.

Quote of the session:

Gamble: "When was the last time you took a bath?"

[TOP]

Session 2

Planting 8, 591 CY

The Long Night

Though it is late into the night, our three friends no longer feel comfortable remaining in the ruins after dark.  After their harrowing encounter with undead, they chose to circle the graveyard and head to the Temple of Valour.  Gaeg feels that this would be a good place to interrogate their new prisoner, Otis, and perhaps have wounds healed from the fight earlier.

Upon arrival at the temple, they discover the temple is locked up tight for the night.  After considerable pounding upon the doors, Khan grows impatient and proceeds to open, forcibly, the back door into the priest's private quarters.

Though they do not find Arias anywhere within the temple or his quarters, they find nothing amiss.  Kentir and Khan decide to get some much needed sleep while Gaeg, though also tired, maintains a watchful vigil.

A few hours later, Arias returns. Though angry about his door being smashed down, and a lot of dirty adventuring types loafing about his private quarters, Arias quickly sees the need to heal the halfling prisoner, lest he die of his wounds.

Gaeg, ever suspicious, questions the priest as to where he might have been out and about at such late hours.  Arias informs the paladin that he heard noises in the graveyard behind the church, and as caretaker of the Temple, it was his duty to go out and investigate to insure that nothing was amiss.  As he was wearing full chainmail armour (not his normal regalia) and touting a weapon, Gaeg saw no point in pressing the matter.

Arias sternly informs the paladin that he should take his prisoner into town, to the 'proper' legal authorities.  Upon discovering the party ignorant of who is in charge of what within Brookhollow, he escorts the party to the town constable and assists them in informing the town elders of what occurred.

The town elders, Tril Cutter (the innkeeper) and Kerwin Colby (the local smith), inform them that they will meet at Cutters' Inn at noon to hear the matter and make a proper legal decision regarding Otis.

Gaeg retires to the inn, to get some sleep before noon-time arrives.  Khan relaxes at the gaol, where he is to help guard the prisoner.  Kentir, still asleep back in the temple in Arias' bed continues his slumber, even when the young priest arrives there himself to get some rest.  Arias sighs resignedly and curls up on the floor with a blanket.

The Trial...if you want to call it that.

Noon arrives, and finds the party, all five of them for a change, together at the Inn.  The prisoner is escorted in, while Tril and Kerwin take seats at the head of the room.  Tril seems particularly annoyed with Gaeg and his friends, a clear sign that she has some feelings for the accused...and not a good sign for the parties' case at all.

After Gaeg tells his side of the events, Otis delivers a dramatic monologue, telling how the party 'followed him from the inn, skulking along behind him.'   He relays that he was able to give his follower the slip, and proceeded to follow them, curious to know what sort of trouble these 'strangers to Brookhollow' might be up to.

He claims to have watched them leave the temple, and proceed to 'poke suspiciously' about the graveyard.  Then he saw them poking about the old ruins.  Otis says the ruins have always made him nervous, but he really wanted to make sure that these 'outsiders to the village' weren't up to some sort of trouble.  He tells how he saw them drawing 'mysterious arcane symbols' upon the rocks in the crumbling tower and how numerous undead then sprang up at their command!

Absolutely terrified at this point, he says, no thought other than to defend himself as best he could came to mind when the young half-elf suddenly bolted from the tower and charged him!

He then shouts to the room that he can PROVE what he says, because the strange arcane drawings are assuredly still up on the ruins.

Gaeg attempts to explain about the drawing they found, but with no evidence at hand one way or the other, he makes little headway.

Arias, the priest, then seeks a private word with the Town Elders.  He proclaims that Otis is indeed telling the truth as far as his divine magic can tell.   Kerwin, who apparently is none-to-fond of Otis, decides that Otis should be released and Tril merrily agrees with a whoop of joy.

The party returns Otis his possessions and grudgingly accepts the resolution of the elders.

 

The Afternoon

Though disappointed in the release of Otis, the heroes realize there is little they can do about it at this time and proceed to continue their investigation into the disappearance of their bardic friend and her husband.

Deciding that there is enough daylight left to investigate the ruins again AND get back to town before sunset, the party heads back to Castle Overlook.  This time, all five of them go.

The party has determined that the odd sketch in the tower is a map of the layout of the ruins, with a star marking something.  They navigate to the place in the ruins where this star is on the 'map.'   There they discover loose sod, as if it had been removed at some point in time, quite recently, and then replaced.

Pulling aside the turf, they discover an unusual slab of granite.  The dwarves both feel terribly uneasy over this slab, and identify it as being a totally different form of stone from the rest of the ruins.  During the excavation to see the total size of this slab, both dwarves develop severe headaches.

Eventually, unable to find any mechanism with which to move this large slab, and without proper tools to dig around the edges, the players return to Brookhollow.  Leaving the slab uncovered, they plan to return in the future to see if someone...or something...covers it up again.

 

Tacks the Miller

They arrive back in Brookhollow just a short time before sundown.

Following up on leads uncovered earlier, the players confront Tacks the Miller.  Though initially very uneasy, and quite on edge, Tacks warms up quickly to Buagh, and the rest of the party in turn.  Through polite, friendly conversation, Buagh is able to coax quite a bit of information from Tacks, while Kentir flirts with his young niece Cammy.

It seems that Tacks is the one who coaxed Lia and her husband to Brookhollow in the first place, but the couple disappeared just before a 'meeting' that Tacks had arranged with them at Log's Landing, the Lumberjack docks just a few miles north of the village.

Since the disappearance of the bard and her husband, Tacks has been deathly afraid for his life, figuring that he was 'next.'

Tacks speaks of the many disappearances in the last year or so.  Trappers, Lumberjacks, numerous people with no family ties in the village proper have disappeared recently.  Tacks is convinced that there is a band of humanoids in the nearby Gnollwoods behind these disappearances.  He is also convinced that someone in town MUST be aiding them, for how else would these humanoids know WHO and WHERE to pick of their targets such that no suspicion is aroused.  

He believes that something of the 'great evil' up in the ruins of Castle Overlook may be involved as well.

With this new information, the party promises to ask Kerwin, the dwarven smith, to check in on Tacks and his niece regularly while they continue to investigate the matter.  Tacks is grateful that finally someone is doing something about the local problems, and doubly grateful that the heroes will use their influence with the local smith (who has befriended Buag, grateful to be allowed to attend proper religious services of Moradin) to see to his safety.

With matters well in hand, the party retires to the inn, where they make their request of Kerwin, engage in otherwise small talk with the locals, and head off to their beds.

 

Planting 9, 591CY

Logger's Landing

After attending to their morning rituals - be it prayer, study, or just a quick breakfast and dipping ones head in the stable-trough for a face washing - the party assembles and heads North towards the Docks of the Lumber camp.

Arriving at the Docks, our heroes discover the place deserted.  Obviously the lumberjacks are out in the woods, at the actual cutting grounds and will not return until whatever day they have sufficient loads of logs.

The docks hold 2 barges, and there are several outbuildings, most of which seem to be no more than simple barracks-style housing for the lumberjacks, and one of which is a warehouse containing foodstuffs, surplus tools, and other miscellaneous goods.

While Khan, Gamble and Buagh search the buildings, Kentir goes to the forest edge (not more than 100 feet from the dock area) and climbs a tree 'to keep watch.'

Gaeg begins a search of the dock itself, and after quite some time, finds the tattered remains of a cloak and a set of broken pipes.  Not being sure if Lia played the pipes or not, Gaeg returns to the nearby buildings to find Khan, who is a close friend of Lia's.

Khan confirms that it is indeed Lia's set of pipes and Tory's cloak and dashes from the building calling for his friend.

As Gaeg tries to assure  Khan that Lia is NOT here, but that he merely found these items below the docks.

The Ambush

Gaeg and Khan are suddenly interrupted by the sounds of breaking tree branches and Kentir's startled yelp, as several crossbow bolts come whizzing through the trees into the young half elf and knock him from the tree.

While Kentir quickly ducks behind a tree for cover, the remaining four party members run to the tree line to assist their friend.

Seeing help on the way, Kentir dodges from tree to tree and heads for the river.

Unable to see where the missile fire is coming from amongst the trees and underbrush of the forest, Gaeg, Buagh and Gamble take cover behind trees of their own.  Khan, a true barbarian to the core, gets frustrated with not having a visible target, and charges blindly into the forest towards the source of the bolts.

Though he is peppered by missile fire as he runs in, his rage is strong and he does not falter.  

Taking heart with the courage of their companion, the two dwarves and the sorcerer cautiously advance as well.  Meanwhile, Kentir moves up the river, intent on circling their enemy and turning the hunters into the prey.

Suddenly Khan stumbles upon a slightly surprised Kobold!  Throwing its crossbow aside, the kobold readies its spear and begins to battle the raging half-orc.

Another Kobold appears and closes as well, and a third casts a ray of ice at our brave barbarian before closing in with dagger in hand.

While Kentir continues to circle the kobold's position, the remainder of the heroes engage in battle with the foes.  The Kobold sorcerer and one of his soldiers are taken down.  Although the Khan and others of the companions have been wounded, the remaining Kobolds, most still behind cover of trees and using missile fire, break and run off into the woods.

With a bellow of rage, Khan dashes after them, followed shortly by Gamble, whose rage towards the kobolds is quite a surprise to the two dwarves left standing behind.

Unfortunately, Gamble and Khan quickly lose sight of their quarry amongst the foliage, and they reluctantly rejoin their companions.

Khan gathers up the kobold leader, while Buagh collects the head of the other fallen enemy, intent on insuring they have ample proof for the townsfolk of the threat within the Gnollwood.

Ruffians!

After doing one final search of the dock area, to be sure nothing was missed, the party gathers up their kobold parts, and head back down the road toward Brookhollow.

Halfway back to the village, they are set upon by several local bully-boys, who demand that the kobold head and body be handed over so that THEY can collect the bounty.  Gaeg begins negotiation with the ruffians, in an attempt to get them to back down.

Unfortunately, Buagh has had a bad day, still has a bit of the headache from the day before, and has completely run out of patience.  A fight breaks out.

Two of the ruffians who had remained a bit up the road prior to the encounter, open fire with crossbows, while the other two pull their shortswords and engage the dwarves.

Khan, seeing the threat of the crossbowman, and following a hastily shouted order from Gaeg, charges up the road.

As he passes between the two swordsmen, they each make a quick strike at his fleeting back, and Khan collapses to the ground with a groan.

Kentir and Gamble begin to engage the enemy with missile fire, while the two dwarves hurriedly attempt to dispatch the swordsmen. 

In short order, though both swordsmen go down.  Kentir collapses as the crossbowmen pepper him with bolts, and Gamble goes down from a blow to the head from a sling bullet from the rear!

While Gaeg and Buagh hastily try to stop the bleeding of Khan, who lies between them, the crossbowmen continue to fire upon them.  After several attempts, they stabilize Khan, and Buagh charges the crossbowmen screaming his rage.

Gaeg is hit from behind with a sling bullet as well, just as he turns to go to the aid of his other fallen friends.  Its Otis, sling in hand, grinning!

Knowing that his fallen companions may very well die without aid, Gaeg hurries to Gambles side and attempts to quickly bandage his wounds.  Sling stones from Otis' direction do NOT make this an easy task.

A strange mist rises up around the fallen body of Kentir, and Gaeg, thanking his god for the unusual aid, quickly drags Gamble into the obscurement of the mist as well. Safe from the view of Otis now, he quickly patches up Gamble.

Buagh, though vulnerable to missile fire from the bowmen as he charged upon them, is not to be stopped.  He closes with the bowmen, fells one quickly with a blow from his hammer, and the other immediately throws down his sword at the sight of the angry, foaming dwarven cleric, begging for mercy.

Buagh accepts his surrender and sends him running back to town.

Dragging the other swordsmen, whom he had merely knocked unconscious, Buagh returns up the road to his fellow dwarf, the only one of his companions still left standing.

As quickly as it had come up, the mist dissipates, but Gaeg sees no sign of the evil stone-hurling halfling.  He patches up Kentir as well.  Then, he and Buagh go about setting up as defensible a position as possible in the tall grass aside the road.

Leaving Gaeg to stand guard with their 3 unconscious friends, and banged up prisoner, Buagh sheds all of his bulky equipment and runs as fast as his dwarven legs can take him back Brookhollow.  Upon arriving at Brookhollow, he quickly finds a local militia member and begs for a horse and wagon to beg taken to get his friends.  The militia-man sends word to the constable, and jogs back up the road with Buagh, in case the lone Gaeg should need assistance faster than the horse and wagon could get readied.

Lets See You Talk Your Way out of THIS, Otis!

Having managed to get a confession from their prisoner that Otis had hired them to 'off' the party, the town Constable, William Shelby, assures the party that should Otis be found, he will be quickly taken into custody.  The Wagon takes the wounded party to the Temple of Valour, where Arias gives the wounded what little care he can manage.  The corpses of the fallen ruffians are set into the graveyard to be buried tomorrow, and the wounded are carted off to Cutter's Inn and settled into bed.

Upon learning of Otis' actions, a much chagrined, and apologetic Tril dotes over the wounded party and clearly feels quite guilty for not believing Gaeg and Kentir's version of events from the prior day.

After insuring that the wounded have all been settled properly into bed, Buagh retires to his room, where he drifts off to sleep, dreaming of crushing his enemies with his mighty hammer while drinking the finest dwarven ale.

Another Sleepless Night?!?!

Gaeg, who has long since run short on funds, remained at the Temple of Valour, requesting shelter for the night, and begins a vigil of prayer before the altar before drifting off to sleep.

The noise of the door from the priests private chambers crashing open awakens Gaeg from his slumber, and he spins to see the dead ruffians of yesterday's battle, now animated, staggering towards him, arms outreached to crush him.

He quickly grabs the Great sword of Heironeous from atop the altar nearby, and engages the foul undead.

Though still sorely wounded from the battles of earlier, the will of Heironeous (as well as the help of Arias who stumbles out from the open doorway and quickly comes to the paladin's aid) prevails, and both zombies are slain.

And thus the session ends.

Quote of the session:

Otis, Gaeg and Otis again: "It SEEMS we have a misunderstanding!"

[TOP]

Session 3

The heroes spend several days recuperating from their wounds while heavy rains pelted the earth outside Cutters Inn.  They are joined by two new initiates to the blades of light, Daesha Raglan and Legacy Strongbow.  Milo Longshaft arrives in Brookhollow with them, but stays only long enough to catch up on gossip, and then leaves with a report for Commander Kagan.

Planting 12th, 591 CY

Dawn

Kentir is now recovered from his wounds and joins the rest of the heroes, Kentir and Khan both need more rest however.  The storm outside has broken, and the weather is warm and humid.

Over a delicious breakfast provided by Tril, the heroes discuss their plan for what to do next.  During their breakfast, Kerwin races into the inn, shouting that Tacks and his charges were not at the mill when he went to check on them this morning!

He is assured that our heroes will investigate the matter and returns to his smithy to work.

Arriving at the mill, the pc's find the door wide open and within, their is evidence of an orderly, albeit hasty, departure by Tacks and the children.

Daesha, with her wilderness training, investigates tracks at the doorway to the mill and discovers that an adult, and 3 young adults appear to have left the mill only a few hours past.

She tracks them along the muddy roads, out of town, and sees that they appear to have headed to the Temple of Valor.  While tracking at the edge of town, the sounds of someone running through the grass towards them alert the party.

Gaeg, Gamble and Legacy head into the tall growth to investigate while Daesha insures that she is reading the tracks at the intersection properly and Buagh provides her guard.

Misunderstandings Put to Rest

Suddenly Cammy, looking terrified, and covered in splattered blood, breaks into view and collapses at Gaeg's feet, sobbing something regarding the temple.

Before she can be calmed down and questioned farther, Otis breaks into view from behind her with a sneer on his face at seeing the heroes.

A furious battle to protect Cammy ensues, as Otis seems more inclined to silence her first, before dealing with the party.  Heroic effort on the part of Gamble puts the halfling rogue down, while the noble paladin manages to save the life of Cammy whom Otis sorely wounded during the battle.

Cammy stutters out that she went with Tacks and the apprentices to the Temple for protection, but they were attacked by Otis and undead beasts when they entered.  Only her quick thinking and quick feet allowed her to escape as the foul minions of evil fell upon Tacks.

After insuring that she would be able to make it back to Cutters Inn, the pc's securely tie the unconscious Otis to a nearby tree and pray that does not escape before they have time to come back and properly deal with him.

They then run to the Temple, hoping they are not to late to help the good Miller.

Revelations

The pc's open the door to the temple, and see only Arias at the far side, blood stains on his robes.

Buagh and Gaeg enter, demanding an explanation for the blood upon his regalia.  Arias absentmindedly informs them he had cut himself earlier. 

Not satisfied with this explanation, the two dwarves advance further into the room, demanding to see this so-called 'cut'.

Suddenly, from behind the pews, Tacks and the apprentices rise up...clearly no longer among the living, but animate just the same!  They advance, arms outstretched, to attack the dwarves.

"What is the meaning of this Arias!" Gaeg shouts.

Arias, with a wicked grin, smiles, "You may call me by my real name, Kor Bloodaxe." Just then, Gaeg notices the holy symbol of Hextor about Arias/Kor's neck.  Betrayal!

With the zombies blocking their path to Kor, and several skeletons advancing towards them as well, the heroes quickly turn to the immediate foe, hoping to make short work of them so they may advance on the evil priest.

Spells fly from Kor, as he throws fear and knells of death and doom down upon the dwarves. Gamble, Daesha and Legacy run into the temple to the aid of their fellows.

But the zombies do not die quickly enough.  Before the heroes manage to finish off the last of the opposition, Kor flees through the inner sanctum door, and slams the bar down across it.

Where Heroes Lie

The heroes finish off the last of the undead creatures, and advance to the barred door.  After some effort, Gaeg breaks through the door, shattering the beam and hinges with a mighty body slam, and stumbling and falling into the priest's living quarters.

They find that Kor is no longer within.

After a very cursory glance about the room, they advance out the rear door and Daesha again applies her wilderness lore to try to track...this time looking not for friends, but foe.

She find that a well traveled path seems to run from the door, out into the graveyard beyond.  Following this path, she discovers that it weaves amongst old grave-markers and tombs and stops at the door to a great mausoleum.  

Opening the large stone doors, the heroes look into a dusty old tomb, in which 5 great heroes from the battle of overlook are laid to rest in ornately carved sarcophagi beneath the watchful gaze of 5 huge stone statues of them.

The lids of the sarcophagi are ajar, and scratching sounds within alert the heroes to the now-animated dead who begin to climb out.

Again the heroes find themselves fighting the risen dead, and though they win the battle, the events of the day are beginning to wear on their reserves.

Seeing no other exits to the tomb, the pc's are sure that some secret door must lie within, as surely this is where Kor fled to. They begin a thorough search of the crypt.

Gaeg, walking amongst the statues while the reminder of the party searches, suddenly realizes something is not quite right about the middle statue and pushes upon it.  The statue slides back, revealing a small shaft, leading down into the darkness.

Where the Dead Walk

The small shaft contains a rope ladder hanging from hooks, and a knotted rope hanging from another hook.  After a brief discussion regarding the best action to take, Gaeg scurries down the knotted rope and finds himself in a shaft dug in the earth, supported by timber beams, which curves out of site around a nearby bend.

Gaeg waits for his friends to join him.

Sometime later, the remainder of the heroes have descended the shaft.  Daesha discovered the rope ladder was a wicked trap, the hooks came undone while she climbed down it, sending her tumbling down the shaft and the ladder on top of her.

While Daesha works with her flint and steel to get a lantern lit, Gaeg advances around the bend, his darkvision allowing him to see without the need for such silly human contrivances.

A clicking sound beneath his feet alerts Gaeg that not all is right with the ground beneath him, when the floor falls out beneath him, sending him plummeting into a pit.  As dirt and debris rains down on his head momentarily, Gaeg hears a guttural moan from beside him in the pit and yet another undead zombie advances upon him.

Daesha leaps into the pit to his aid, while Buagh grabs the rope ladder which he had wisely decided to bring along, and lowers it down so his friends may escape.

After putting the dead to rest, Daesha and Gaeg climb out of the pit and thank the dwarven priest for his wisdom in bringing that ladder.

Wounded from many battles, and several falls, the heroes are now faced with a decision.  Do they advance into the tunnels beyond, knowing full well that in their weakened state they may not be able to overcome the evil that lies ahead?  Or do they return to Brookhollow to rest, recuperate, and come back to fight tomorrow...risking that Kor and whatever of his minions still survive can escape or prepare better for their return?

After some deliberation, they decide that living to fight another day is the best course of action, and they retreat back to the mausoleum above.

Taking out the Trash

After completing a more thorough search of the mausoleum, they return to the temple and clean up the mess which had been made during the battle earlier, removing the bodies from the desecrated holy grounds.

They then return to where Otis is tied up, only to find that he has passed beyond from the wounds he had received.   To insure that yet another corpse doesn't rise up to fight them again, they drag Otis to the constable in Brookhollow for safekeeping and retire to the inn.

After a quick supper, the party checks to be sure Cammy is safe, and retires for the evening, their sleep troubled by dreams of Hextorites and undead armies sweeping down upon a poor defenseless Brookhollow.

Planting 13th, 591 CY

Funeral Pyre

After sleeping in, and a quick breakfast, the heroes return to William Shelby to insure that Otis' corpse still lies cold and rotting within the gaol cell where he was left.  They find the body, as well as William, no longer there.

In a panic, they run to the smithy to inquire from Kerwin where the corpse has gone!

"I imagine they took him to bury," Kerwin replies quite matter-of-factly.

Flurried questioning reveals that William would have seen to it that Otis was properly buried...in the temple graveyard!

Doh!

The pc's race back to the Temple of Valour, meeting William and Jeb on the way.  William informs them that Otis was buried 'proper-like' within the cemetery grounds, though it is unfortunate no priest was available to perform proper rites.

Buagh insists that Jeb come with them and show them where Otis was buried.  William shrugs and sends his deputy back to the cemetery with the party and returns to town.

Upon reaching Otis' gravesite, Buagh instructs Jeb to help him dig Otis back up.  Jeb, not too happy about digging back up what he just spent several hours burying in the first place, reluctantly complies.

After reaching the oak casket which contains Otis' body, Buagh opens it up and asks to borrow someone's axe or sword.

"I don' really wanna see this, do I?" Jeb inquires, and wanders some distance away.

Buagh commences to render Otis into very small, hard-to-animate pieces.  He then breaks apart the wooden casket, and scatters the pieces-o-Otis upon the wood.

With the help of the remainder of the party, he also gathers the broken door and priests bed from within the temple, and adds that to the pile.

After being satisfied that there is enough wood to do the job, Buagh lights the pile on fire, "There, NOW he won't be coming back to cause us trouble again."

Back to the Crypt

After insuring that Otis is nice and crispy, the heroes return to the mausoleum. and descend once again into the shaft.

A few traps and minor skirmishes with undead minions and a band of sleeping kobolds later, the heroes stumble upon a secret door within the earth and stone walls.

Beyond the door, they find a room with an altar to Hextor within.  The room also holds a bookcase, a chest, and a small trapdoor in the floor.

While Buagh loots the chest and Gaeg defiles the altar, Gamble searches among the books and scrolls on the shelves.  He finds a number of volumes with information regarding Castle Overlook, and the foul minions and treasures thought to still lie below it.

Within the small pit beneath the trap door, Tory is discovered!  

Still alive, though a bit worse for the wear, the composer is able to confirm that Kor's plan is indeed to tunnel into the dungeons beneath Overlook in order to free the denizens trapped below and lead them as an army of Hextor to wreak havoc and destruction.

The heroes send Khan as an escort to assist Tory back to town, where he can rest and recover, with assurances that they will do everything in their power to stop Kor and rescue Lia.

We do NOT negotiate with Terrorists!

The remaining party members push further into the tunnels, the signs of recent cave-ins phasing them not at all.

Several more minor battles with minor undead slow them down, but do not stop them.

At last they come upon Kor.  Surrounded by skeletons at least 9 feet tall, Kor holds a dagger at Lia's throat while the other prisoners, being used as diggers, cower behind him and his minions.

"Remove your weapons and armour and go back from whence you came, or your friend will die!" he demands of them, pushing the sharp knife point tighter into Lia's throat, drawing a small trickle of blood.

But the heroes are not to be stopped, they refuse to negotiate and cautiously advance on Kor.  Daesha advances too closely, and the large Ogre Skeletons lunge at her as she comes into their extensive reach.

Daesha, critically wounded, falls unconscious as her life's blood seeps from her.

The heroes charge at him in rage, while Gaeg rushes to the aid of his fallen friend, calling out to the cowed prisoners to rally and fight for their freedom.

Buagh calls upon the power of Moradin to turn the undead from the battlefield, and this begins a duel between the powers of light and dark for the control of the undead.

Losing his patience, and thinking his minions still under his control, Kor quickly ends the life of Lia with a thrust of his dagger and bends down over her to raise yet another corpse to fight for him.

Just then, however, the power of Moradin, through Buagh, banishes the undead from the battlefield, and the prisoners choose that moment to act!

Kor, who had a huge advantage just moments before, suddenly finds himself being rushed by the heroes from one side, and the captives on the other, with all of his minions fleeing from the fight.

His life ends quickly, as a flurry of blows from all around descends upon him.

Finale

Their mission ended, the heroes finish patching up Daesha, loot the remains of their opponents, and gather up the body of their now-dead bardic friend, returning to the surface with the rescued captives.

A sense of failure fills Gaeg, as he looks upon the still corpse of Lia.  All this way they came to rescue her, only to lose her in the end.  He, and others in the group of like mind, determine  to do whatever is necessary to have her raised. With this in mind, the party resolves to return to Dyvers as quickly as possible.

Quote of the Session

Gamble (in a girly voice from down in a hole): "Khan smash.   Khan smash."

Gaeg (to Buagh): "THAT's why I don't follow him anymore...."

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to session 1, to session , to session 3

Sessions 4 and 5

Planting 14th, 591 CY

Respite

And so it was that the weary party of adventurers returned to Brookhollow and rested for the evening.

Their sleep was troubled, a sense of failure over the loss of Lia plagueing their dreams.

In the morning, upon awakening, the Healers checked upon the wounded and the warriors took their armour, badly damaged in some cases, to Kerwin for repair, making it very clear that they had limited time in which to get the cold body of the bard to Dyvers for raising, and the repairs must be speedy.

Several days later, their armour repaired, the heroes bid fairwell to the town of Brookhollow.  Tril gives each of them a fresh-baked pie, topped with a generous helping of fresh cream, and bids them safe journey, a tear in her eye.

Concerned over what was to become of the young niece of the Miller, the party is told that Tril and Kerwin know of a Miller in a nearby town who has an apprentice just reaching journeyman status.  Tril promises to send to her friend to see if this journeyman could live in Brookhollow for a time, to assist in the needs of the Mill and to finalize Cammie's apprenticeship.

Satisfied, the party picks up their belongings, and heads south towards Dyvers.  Looking back, they see Kerwin, William Shelby, and Tril watching their departure.

Kerwin raises his hand in a dwarven salute and farewell gesture, and all three watch as the party rides out of sight.

Troubled Sleep

Over the next week of travel, the dwarves grow more sour and surly than normal, withdrawing from all but the most necessary of social niceties with the others.  Those on night watch hear the dwarves tossing and mumbling in their sleep, but neither is willing to discuss his problems with the group.

The remainder of the party grows concerned over the dwarves.

Then, one morning, Buagh returns from his morning prayers and meditation, lighter of step and with what passes for a smile on his dwarven countenance.  He proceeds to carefully check on those who are wounded still, provides a comforting pat on the shoulder for the still-grieving Tory and asks everyone to hear him speak.

Buagh says  that he would like to apologize for his behavior over the last few days.  He explains that he had had a dream in which the Creator visited him.  "I have been thinking about a lot of things... my father..my clan...the Soul Forger. I am sorry that I have not been as good to you all as you deserve.  I have even lied about gold that I've found, that was the wrong thing to do."   Buagh gives each of the members 10gp and to Ken he gives 3 daggers and a wallet containing thieves picks, with a stern warning, "Ken, use these only for noble purposes."

He then turns back to address the group as a whole "I hope you all forgive me,  I was weak that will not happen again, I promise."

With that he gruffly sits down and begins chewing on some hard tack for breakfast.

Gaeg never chooses to reveal his inner turmoil, but a few days before the party arrives in Dyvers, his mood seems to lighten and whatever was most troubling him, appears to have been left in the past.

Planting 23rd, 591 CY

City of Sails

Finally, after a week of traveling, the heroes have arrived back in Dyvers, where Gaeg leads them immediately to the Temple of Valour.

After brief negotiation with the priests, Lia's body is laid before them.  In exchange for Kor's mace, a weapon of enchantment, and thus worth a good deal, the priests agree to attempt to Raise the singer. 

Tory watches, agitated and torn between angst and anticipation.  The priests anoints the body with holy water and sprinkles diamond dust over her cold form.  Within minutes, the flesh of Lia, which had been bloated and going to decay, begins to smooth over, and color floods into her cheeks.  Moments later, her eyes flutter and open.

Tory lets out a whoop of joy and runs to his love, enfolding her in a loving embrace which she returns with a weary smile.  

"I was so afraid you wouldn't come back," Tory says to her, as he holds her as tight as he can, tears of joy streaming down his cheeks.

"My place is wherever you stand, my love, in death and in life." Lia whispers to him, her tears now falling with his.

Gaeg and Buagh, growing uncomfortable with the entire display of affection, so characteristic of humans, guide the rest of the party out of the temple with a polite nod of thanks to the priest.

The party then ventures to the Headquarters of the Blades of Light, where they give a full report, and are asked to return the next day for debriefing and assignment to a new mission. 

After being told of  their next assignment, to go to Oakhurst and investigate the magic apple and the goblins which the letter in Kor's quarters spoke of, the party is given 3 days to rest and enjoy their stay in town.

Well-deserved Rest

Over the next 3 days, Daesha spends her afternoons with Buagh in the forge, learning the craft of smithing, and her mornings training some guard captains, intrigued by the non-lethal capture potential of her strange bolas.

Gamble summons an Owl, to be his familiar, and proceeds to waste the remainder of his earned funds on...what else, gambling.  He makes the mistake of dicing with Rhenee, and his money does not last long at all.

Kentir pokes about the city, finding trouble where he can, and fleeing where it gets him over his head.  During this time, the rude young men of the Fairwood family earn his ire, and he spends most of the rest of his time in the City learning as much as he can of this family...plotting payback.

Kentir also discovers that there are werewolves within the city walls, when he runs into one in the dark of night in Old Town.  Fortunately for Kentir, his quick reflexes, and agile climbing ability are able to carry him to the roof-tops before the foul lycanthrope can close with him and he manages to escape.

Buagh works in the forge, disliking the idle time available, and making the best use of it which he can.  During this time he has a dream of a spire-like mountain keep, inside which lies a dwarven clanhold and a magnificent forge.  In this dream, he sees a powerful dwarf working the forge, and orcs sneaking down the tunnels towards him.  He wakes up in a sweat, not knowing if what he saw was portent, past, or pure imaginings.  

Gaeg busies himself by assisting at the Blades HQ, and Legacy, when not catching up with his fellows at the monastery, joins him in this.

Planting 27, 591 CY

Departure

Finally it is time to leave.  The party stocks up on supplies for the journey, and purchases a few extra mounts and transportation, including a Wagon, 2 donkeys, and a pony for Kentir.

Although local buzz is that the road south from Caltaras is most dangerous of late, and the Gnarley road would probably be a wiser choice of travel route, the party decides to take the Low Road anyway.  Although more dangerous, the Low Road is clearly a shorter route to Oakhurst, and most of the heroes had grown impatient during the idleness of the time in Dyvers. 

Thus, that morning, a wagon laden with supplies and dwarves, heads out of the West Gate, followed by a young rogue on a pony, and a beautiful warrior maiden atop a fine riding steed.

Journey

The journey to Oakhurst is long, and laden with hazards.  The party finds that indeed the low road is dangerous when, one night, they are besieged by goblin warriors.

The next evening, a pair of wolves the size of small ponies decide to find lunch in the camp, and only through an amazing stroke of luck, in the form of a fortuitous and helpful wild surge during Gamble's casting, is the party saved from certain death in their jaws.

Later that same night, upon the 3rd watch, a ranger-defender of the Gnarley enters the party camping...following the tracks of the dire wolves.  He is relieved to find that they have been dispatched and will cause no more trouble. Before he leaves the heroes' camp, he gives them a warning that they should make sure to camp each night and absolutely MUST insure their camp is well-fortified.  "The woods are not safe at night," he warns ominously, and then disappears into the darkness beyond the camp.

Despite their wounds, the party insists on pushing on the next morning, knowing that Shelleton is only a few days away, and that will mean no more nights spent out of doors in this dreadfully ominous woods.

Flocktime 3, 591 CY

When Shrubs Walk

Near the final night spent in the forest finds the party attacked in camp, yet again.  This time their opponents are the trees themselves!  Shambling mounds of twigs, no more than 3 or 4 feet in height, move out of the darkened forest and into the camp, raking poisonous claws at the parties flesh, making no more noise than wind through the trees would.

Though un-nerved by this, the heroes hold their ground, and burn the piles of twigs within their campfire before the night is done.

Flocktime 5, 591 CY

Shelleton

Finally the pc's arrive in Shelleton, a small hamlet no more than a days travel from their destination. Brief inquiries reveal that no one has any real information on 'twig men' and very few even believe the party when they speak of such.

 Sleeping in the amazingly comfortable inn the night before, the party re-supplies the next morning before heading on towards Oakhurst...where even more danger and adventure lies in wait for them.

Quote of the Session

Legacy: "Promise you'll never do that again."

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