Session 108: Swinging Swords and Adventuring Assassins

 Day 108 Goodmonth (Continued):

The party, which consisted of Kyro, Niki, Chalkboi, Lhoss, Feno, Gnorcia, Armatzi, and Zraith, continued to explore the Barrowmaze, looking for the Font of Law: an artifact whose purpose was outline by the ghost knight Sir Guy.  Heading in a south/southwest direction, Kyro noticed a hidden latch on a wall, and called Lhoss to investigate. Normally, it is the elves Feno or Lhoss who make such a discovery. Lhoss confirms that it is indeed a hidden door, Feno undoes the latch, and being the impulsive elf that he is, enters the room. As the room starts unfolding before his eyes, he inadvertently triggers a trap by snagging a hidden tripwire. Sharp spikes suddenly jut forth from the floor. Due to quick reflexes, he dodges most of the spikes, though a couple of them hurt his leg. Seeing the chaos from another activated trap, Niki thought it wise to travel closer to Feno, and utilize the 10 ft pole the party had, and check ahead of Feno for any future traps. 

They proceed cautiously into the new room and see many burial alcoves. With a thorough searching, the group finds a number of electrum pieces, a pearl, and a gold signet ring. While the group was actively searching, Feno stood guard by the doorway. He hears the flapping of wings, as well as squeaks of an enemy just outside the room. He informs the group to get ready. Upon seeing that they are sufficiently braced for combat, he opens the door ready for anything. 

Four stirges (which look like giant mosquito creatures) rush into the room. They first set their sights on Feno, the death bringing elf. He sidesteps each stirge attack with relative ease. The penguin Zraith attempts to attack one stirge, but is unable to connect with his two hammers. Feno looks and sees the formation of the flying blood suckers and formulates an attack plan. He spins his body off the ball of his foot, and attacks the four stirges in the room, and kills all four in one fail swoop. Their bodies, or what remains of them, clang to the dungeon floor. Seeing an opening, the last remaining stirge flies into the room, ready to attack. Niki, sneaks behind it, and deals a killing blow to the last stirge. The group gathers their newfound treasure and continue to press on southward. 

Upon entering a possible dead-end, Niki discovers a hidden door. They enter and find an unusual, shaped room. Suddenly a flagstone golem is alerted their presence and attacks. Lhoss, channels some of her magic, and sends magic missiles at it, causing some damage to its body. Armatzi is next, and steps forward to attack with his war hammer and hits it, causing further damage. Gnorcia, utilizing her nimble size, decides to jump on his back and attempts to literally stab him in the back. However, due to his stony exterior, Gnorcia is unable to cause much damage to the 7 ft tall creature. Kyro, steps forward and attacks, but the golem deflects the attack. He lumbers forward and attacks Feno. Feno, upon seeing the telegraphed movement of the lumbering giant, easily sidesteps and dodges both attacks. Niki, capitalizing on the golem's focus on Feno, attacks, which causes further damage to the creature. Zraith waddles up to the creature, and swinging both hammers again, attacks. This time, due to the creatures focus on Feno, he connects on his attacks, dealing the killing blow. The flagstone golem crumbles to the ground in defeat. The group notices more burial alcoves in this room. As the majority begins to search and loot the newly discovered alcoves, Feno again gets into a guarding position near the southern door. The group in their searching discover more electrum pieces, a piece of jade, and a small shield. Niki decides to cast a spell, to determine where or not it has magical properties. Her spell causes her to conclude that it indeed does have those properties. Feno hears what sounds like a small adventuring group nearby. He hears their murmuring and muffled talking as they walk near the room the group was in. While listening near the doorway, He also catches a tripwire in the corner of his eye, that is attached to a large stone slab hanging overhead. Presumably, the slap would come down, pushing them into the room with the golem. He informs the group of this, and they disarm the trap. After storing their fresh loot, they proceed forward through the door and further south. They discover a passageway that goes east and west, as well as another passage south. Feno faintly hears the previous group and sees the faint light from their torches from the southern passageway. Lhoss, utilizing her ability for stealth, hands her lantern to Gnorcia for temporary safe keeping. She proceeds to cautiously head down the sides of the passageway, getting closer the other group. After getting close enough to the group to hear their conversation, she learns that they are members of the of the Black Hand. Hearing this her blood boils, and she quietly leaves to inform her party a few paces off. 

On the way back she discovers a hidden trap in the middle of the passageway, that she hadn't seen before. It has a pressure plate, wherein if someone were to step on it, it would cause them to fall into a pit. Upon her return, Lhoss informs the party of all that she learned, and they begin to talk strategy. After talking through a few scenarios, the group decides to lure them and ambush them. 

Lhoss moves down the passageway again, this time putting a bag's worth of marbles along each side of the trap, making it far more treacherous to cross. Gnorcia for her part, decides to use some illusionary magic, and creates a goblin illusion to trick and lead the assassin group towards the trapped trap. The rest of the party gets in position, with each member on opposite sides of the passageway, ready for the ambush. Gnorcia moves the goblin illusion towards the black hand members, and using her goblin language skills, gets the assassin's attention. Seeing the goblin, and potential easy mark for treasure, the group of assassin's sound the verbal alarm and follow the goblin down the passageway. As they proceed down, Lhoss's marble trap works, and 4 members of the black hand immediately fall in.  They hear screaming, and the sounds of battling some creature at the bottom of the pit. Lhoss, seeing the destruction her marbles decides to slink back towards the group. The assassin nearest to the pit, sees her outline briefly and yells to his brethren that they are not alone. They attempt to cross the marble pit area in pursuit. Lhoss, with a wicked grin after seeing a glimmer of fire in the pit, tosses some vials of oil she got from her pack and tosses them in. The vials of oil connect with the open flame and cause a huge explosion that knocks two more assassins into the pit. 

The rest of the assassins are able to make it across the sides of the pit and kick the marbles out of the way. 

Suddenly, the doors behind the group burst open, and a large group of undead rush towards party that is laying in ambush for the Black Hand. The ambushers, it would seem, have now become the ambushed. They undead charge, before the party can counter-attack, and attack Lhoss, who had moved next to Feno, thinking it was a good vantage point. As Lhoss was preparing to fire one of her magic missiles, an undead zombie hits her, disrupting her spell casting and causing minor damage. The remaining members of the Black Hand rush forward and attempt to destroy the goblin but are unable to dispel the illusion. Seeing the danger, the party has now been placed in, Feno rushes back to attack and kills one of the Black Hand members, in order to help clear a path for other member's attacks. After both the assassins and undead reposition themselves to get a better angle to attack, Armatzi attempts to use his clerical magic to turn the undead away. Unfortunately, but the spell has no effect, and the undead resume attacking Lhoss, who falls unconscious from the attacks. Gnorcia, trying to at least affect the members of the Black Hand, casts her spell color spray which causes bright colored lights to shoot forth from her hands. The Black Hand becomes blinded, because they looked directly into the light.  Meanwhile, Feno continues to rain death and destruction with every swing of his enchanted sword. As Gnorcia, and Niki methodically attack and kill each member of the Black Hand, Kyro, Feno and Zraith attack the zombie-like creatures. Zraith falls unconscious when a zombie hits the penguin with a hard claw attack.  Niki rushes forward and heals Lhoss before she bleeds out from her wounds. The leader of the Black Hand, sensing their demise, quickly runs away, abandoning his men to their deaths. And death does indeed happen, with each and every one of them falling to the weapons of Gnorcia and Niki. Feno cleans up the remaining zombies with relative ease, side stepping their attacks and inflecting righteous fury upon the walking corpses. Once the leader of the undead falls, the conscious members of the Saviors of Orlane tend to the wounded and unconscious prior to heading back to Orlane to divide the treasures unearthed as well as get proper medical attention. A good meal and good rest is long overdue. 

Session 107: Sir Guy de O'Veargne and the Fount of Law

The sun rose into a clear sky on the morning of Day 13 of Goodmonth and a warm morning quickly turned into a hot day. Chalkboi, Niki, Armatzi, Zraith, Gnorcia, Loss, and Kyro ate a typically delicious Orlanean breakfast before making the trek to the barrow marsh. It was a sweaty journey through the countryside and farmlands, then tempered by the cool, eerie Dim Forest. The brief temperature respite was shattered upon entering the barrow marsh which was hot and humid with a fetid mist that smelled more foul than usual. There was already a noticeable feeling of weariness among the travelers. The group decided to descend into the barrow maze and find a quiet spot to eat their lunchtime meal.

After moving away from an area that had a rotten smell (probably from some decaying corpses of a previous battle), a portion of rations was consumed and adventuring ensued. Armatzi walked headlong into the first room the party explored and was immediately attacked by three crab spiders that fell from the ceiling. As has happened too often of late, he was poisoned and began to froth at the mouth. Niki engaged the spiders and Armatzi was pulled to safety and Chalkboi administered a cure poison potion. Gnorcia quickly slew one and Jack used his yarning spin to hold another. The spiders were all quickly slain and the party beheld a shrouded corpse with a dirty silver circlet. The headpiece was retrieved while Gnorcia and Kyro harvested the poison sacs from the spiders.

In the next room, two disturbed skeletons on stone slabs were present in a room with hunting and fishing frescoes on the walls. There was also a pile of debris where two bracelets were found. Then to everyone's surprise, a mongrel man peered up from the debris. He was a pitiful creature that was part baboon, part cockroach, with a lobster claw for a hand. He called himself Kalen and told a sorrowful tale of being cast out by his kind and seeking refuge in the barrow maze. He went on to share that his people were sacrificed on the alters by necromancers. When asked any information on how to find these necromancers, Kalen cowered in fear and refused to communicate. Gnorcia promised that we were here to destroy the evil presence and would avenge Kalen and his people. The group left him with some rations and a spare water skin. To their amazement, Kalen sunk back into the debris pile and became nearly impossible to spot.

As the party trekked to the east, they collectively felt a sense of doom, danger, and evil. Attentive to the warning, all were hesitant to move forward. Chalkboi and Armatzi then felt a sense of holiness that led the group to retreat to the west. Along the wall, Niki noticed a hidden latch. After Gnorcia checked it for traps, Niki triggered it to reveal a hidden staircase. At the end of the stairs, it appeared to be a dead end. But upon inspection, Lhoss found crack in the wall which revealed a hidden door. Inside, dark peat-colored water dripped from the ceiling and collected in a pool in the center. Surrounding the pool were many burial alcoves lining the walls. Zraith went for a swim in the stinking water, which stirred up three giant leaches. They attacked the party but were easily slain. The group found treasure in the alcoves and also the remains of a knight who wore a winged and visored helm.

Suddenly a human specter appeared and introduced himself as Sir Guy de O'Veargne. He told the tale of his mission to close the pit of chaos, a portal to another realm that was allowing evil and undead creatures to pass into the barrow maze. He was to use the Font of Law, a glowing orb, as a means to sever the connection. Alas, he was betrayed, murdered, and unceremoniously dumped before his quest could be completed. As he began to fade from existence, he bequeathed his helm to Chalkboi as a holy paladin of St. Cuthbert and charged him and Armatzi with finding the orb and closing the portal. Armatzi and Chalkboi then took great care and reverence in properly putting Sir Guy to rest in one of the burial alcoves.

Session 106: A Column of Gems and Quest Reminders (Days 11-12 of Goodmonth)

Feno, Chalkboi, and Ronan stood guard at the door—which was now closed tightly and held by Feno—while the rest of us carefully chipped away at the gems. We then heard a noise from out in the hallway somewhere, like a door creaking open as if for the first time in centuries. Most of us stopped working on the gems and listened carefully, alert, but Kyro kept working away and got two more gems out while we waited. The sound had stopped and we realized all was still again in the barrowmaze. We went back to work on the gems again, and soon had 20 emeralds and 20 rubies, which we stashed in the bag of holding as we prepared to go back to town.

We returned to the exit we came in by, and out into the oppressive silence of the Barrowmarsh. Walking back through the Dim Forest, we started to hear the sounds of creatures stirring in the darkness of the ancient trees. Leaving the forest behind, we caught the golden hues of the setting sun as we emerged into the farmlands and hurried back toward Orlane, passing farmers and their farmlands on the way.

Back in town, we were happy to see the people there and quickly went to the Foaming Mug Inn for dinner. The meal was amazing and full of bright fruits and vegetables, accompanied by a wide selection of drinks.

In my new quest to increase my comeliness, I sent my clothes away to be washed and asked the servants to help me bathe and braid my crown into a crown braid around my head before bed. Soon we were all asleep in our beds.

When we awoke on Day 12 of Goodmonth, we found an invitation from Vilma to join her for breakfast. Everyone was happy to attend the meal, though a certain penguin decided to go fishing instead.

Vilma’s home was bright and comforting, and the food smelled amazing. We all sat at a long table and found scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruits, along with freshly-brewed coffee and herbal teas. Vilma regaled us with stories of her youth and the history of Orlane, and we were all happy to listen and enjoy our time there. She also went on about how the Barrowmaze seems to have some sort of wicked enchantment over it, making it more dangerous than it used to be.

After breakfast we all wished Velma well and headed over to have the treasure valued and split between us. We also went to the general store and purchased various items there, and I ordered new clothing from the tailor.

I put in an order with the tailor for a dark forest green outfit to wear under my armor, and a dark-green cloak with a hood, adorned on the edges with gold embroidery of tiny keys, stars, suns, and eyes, and a leather clasp embossed with daggers. I also gave him a drawing of a dragon to be embroidered onto the back of the cloak, using dark thread that blends in with the dark green fabric so it is barely visible unless you know to look for it. The dragon’s sinewy body is coiled around a large moon and its wings are spread wide, as if ready to take flight at a moment's notice. The dragon's eyes are piercing and seem to follow you as you move. I also ordered decorative embossed leather straps for my boots, with keys, stars, suns, and eyes, and matching embossed wristbands for my gloves.

We noticed that a thunderstorm was looming and decided to stay in town for the day rather than travel to the Barrowmaze. During the day, Feno commented to Ronan that he was given a hard time when we were in Hookhill because Ronan had not reported to the Knights of Hookhill about the hunt for Naynor. Ronan quickly went to the Slumbering Serpent and spoke with Bernard, and the rest of us followed him to see how that would go. Bernard chastised him for not reporting in, then let him know that he needed to report weekly. Ronan named Chalkboi as his second, to check in with them if he wasn’t able to.

Ronan started asking questions and Bernard said that Naynor had been connected to the cults in the Barrowmaze and raiding travelers going through the Dim Forest, and that the order of St. Cuthbert is also very concerned about all the undead being generated in the barrowmaze and believes there is something unnatural happening there. He reminded us that the band of the Black Hand appear to be raiding the tombs also and they seem to include Derrick the Assassin among their ranks, who is also a follower of Naynor.

Bernard suggested that Armatzi could petition the order of St. Cuthbert for assistance with spells to help find Naynor, and Chalkboi could use Caliburn to better know how to solve the mysteries of the Barrowmaze because of its holy purpose to defeat the undead. He then charged Chalkboi to find the source of the evil and defeat it. When Lhoss piped up and joined in the conversation, Bernard considered her for a moment, then added that there was a substantial reward offered for both evidence and the removal of any of these groups: Accolades of Orcus, Necromancers of Set, or any followers of Narul. Sufficient evidence would be (uh)holy symbols, garments, brooches, and other evidence they had been defeated. They were also offering 10gp per scalp for Band of the Black Hand. Lhoss perked up at that, and I sat quietly listening, hoping not to garner the attention of Bernard so as to avoid getting some sort of commission from him.

We then split up and Kyro went to the temple to pray for insight. Lhoss and I then went to visit Ramne, as Lhoss was searching for information about gauntlets of dexterity. The two of us then joined Feno to visit the elves, where he was asking if they had any information about Naynor. Twice, from both Ramne and the elves, Lhoss was instructed to consult the sages in Hookhill or Hochoch for insight into finding those gauntlets. I was reminded that I have some business there, as well.

We retired that evening, planning to return to the Barrowmaze on Day 13.

Session 105: Further adventures in the Barrowmaze

The group discussed marching order: Feno spearheading the front, followed by Armatzi and Chalkboi in the 2nd rank, Zraith and Niki in the third, and Lhoss and Gnorcia in the rear. 

The group adventured and explored a couple of rooms, including one with a bloody altar. They opened another door, which let out a blast of air, that blew out the torches and candles. Lhoss snuck into the room, and discovered a draft coming into the room. Chalkboi then swept the room with a 10' pole, clearing it. There was a brick wall to the north, that was crumbling. The group decided to bash that wall down, and were successful. This revealed a room with a glittering pillar of red and green. It was discovered that it had many small emeralds and rubies embedded in it. The group started to pry out gems, and this sound brought about a group of stirges, that somehow?! opened the door that had been closed. 

After fighting with the stirges and giving up some blood, they succeeded. Lhoss and Armatzi attempted to memorize spells, but were too frazzled to concentrate. 

Session 104: The Rat King Makes His Presence Felt

 Day 11 of Goodmonth

Following the battle with the undead, the group took refuge inside the barrow maze in hopes of finding a quiet spot for the magic users to memorize and recoup their spell casting abilities. Upon entering the second entrance of the barrow maze, the group's collective hair stood on end: they were being watched! Or at least that was the sensation they all felt. As they pressed forward, they noted the acrid smell of death and decay that was particularly strong this time of exploration. Upon arriving at some previously explored rooms, the group (which consisted of Feno, Armatzi, Lhoss, Nikki, Gnorcia, Kyro, Calbach, Chalkboi, and the animal companions Zraith and Jack) ventured into a side room that was attached to another room. Here the stench of death and decay was especially strong that caused everyone to be very nauseous. Most of the group quickly left the room, but a couple members were overcome with the nauseous feeling and lingered in the room longer than probably should've. Armatzi and Chalkboi, being overcome with the strong stenches emitted by the room, began to vomit uncontrollably. Finally, they leave the toxic room and rejoin the party in next room, falling to their knees upon exiting. Once cleared from the room, the group, and especially the magic users of the group get a fair amount of distance away from the room, in order to properly focus on getting their magic skills back. Both Lhoss and Armatzi are successful in the return of spells. While they are studying, little Gnorcia decides to play some bone dice with the sentient cat, Jack. Once the party has secured its magical abilities, they decide to press on, hoping to find more treasure. 

With each step into the unknown, they get a sense of foreboding, seeing weird shadows on the walls, and weird angles jutting out. The group stops, when someone notices glowing runes along the wall. Jack hunkers down in a mixture of fear and anxiety. Seeing the runes, he proclaims that it is a sign of the rats, sworn enemies of cats. Gnorcia, remembering that she had a crown of translation, translates the rune meanings. With its use, she gets a massive headache, but was able to translate it to a confusing statement that talked about the rise of rats and the fall of cats. Upon its translation, the runes lose their meaning luster and stop glowing. The group decides to press forward, arriving at a room with a pit the group had previously put slime into. With the aid of Zraith's flipper, Armatzi looks down into the pit, and confirms that slime was still inside. Pressing on, the group arrives near the juncture where they had previously been attacked by the undead cats. The same cats that nearly killed the party. They find a bashed in door near one of the rooms and decide to investigate. Inside they find many burial alcoves and pile of breadcrumbs in the middle of the room. As they search the alcoves for potential treasure, their presence and noise during this search alerts some furry enemies. They hear many padded feet and squeaks coming from the hallway. Both Feno and Armatzi rush out of the room to investigate these new arrivals, while the rest of the party stays in the room initially. Feno and Armatzi both see many, many giant rats, being led by the rat king Filth Fang. 

Rat after rat start attacking, mainly Feno, but a few attack Armatzi. None of these initial rat attacks are successful: they each repel the rodent attacks. Armatzi looking up towards his diety decides to say a small prayer, which assisted the party their ability to hit these creatures. Feno draws his blade and attacks, slaying 4 rats himself. This quick rat stomping enrages the leader Fang, who hisses an incantation in rage. He casts a spell that affects Feno, Lhoss, and Zraith causing them to immediately fall down. They have the mental sensation of being clawed and bitten, which causes them to flay about on the ground. Calbach decides to use a magical arrow in hopes of striking the rat leader. He fires arrow with his bow watching sail towards Fang. However, the rat leader catches the arrow in mid-flight, and, with a menacing glare, crushes both the arrow, and arrowhead into pieces. The group takes turns taking down the other rats while Lhoss and Feno continue to be afflicted the rat king's spell. Sensing defeat, Fang quickly disappears while the group is distracted. Once the last rat is finished off by Armatzi, the spell wears off both Lhoss and Feno. Zraith had fought off the effects earlier. Having remembered fearing the magical effects of the undead cats, and now this, Feno exclaims in anger and frustration, that the group should pursue the escaped leader, because "he has a date with my sword." The group, due to hardships and trainings of past encounters, opt to try to replenish their funds and search for more treasure. They continue onward and discover a room with an alter covered in fresh blood, as well as many burial alcoves and crypts. In their searching they discover more than 100 silver-plated skulls, and more gold pieces. They heard some stomping of feet in the nearby hallway, and decide to prepare for battle, bracing one door and waiting near the other. 

Session 103: Day 4-11 of Goodmonth - Jack's Yarning Spin

The group gathered in the common room of the Foaming Mug on the morning of Day 4 of Goodmonth. As they all enjoyed their breakfast, several noticed that the bread was not as fresh as it usually is. Florin indicated that they had not received any fresh bread and had supplemented the offerings with especially fine jams and preserves. Hopefully the day-old bread could be overlooked? Lhoss remarked kindly that day-old bread in Orlane was finer than fresh bread anywhere else. Kyro started to equivocate that the group had eaten very good bread in Hochoch, but Lhoss shushed him. Jack requested a saucer of milk. Kyro raised an eyebrow and remarked "most cats are lactose intolerant!" With his usual quick wit, Feno retorted "most cats can't talk and levitate!" Jack took immense satisfaction in this exchange and gave Feno a high five.

Lhoss informed the group that after her near-death experience, she would need several days of recuperation and rest before she was well enough to go adventuring again. The rest of the party found themselves with time on their hands in the village. Feno walked to the shop to purchase a leather strap with Jack riding on his shoulders. Getting in the cat's good graces will apparently earn you some feline companionship time. Feno also found a place to gamble and had some fun without losing his shirt. Kyro took the opportunity to train in farming with Alan Clayborn. Gnorcia sought out and purchased a luxury cat bed (in the hopes that she could reclaim her own rented bed). She commissioned a perfectly-sized couch in Jack's favorite colors: navy, purple, and gold. He took to it immediately and curled up in a tight little ball. Success! Lhoss spent most of her time taking meals and retreating to her room with a few visits to her good friend, Velma. The rest spent their time and money enjoying the simple pleasures Orlane has to offer.

Day 11 rolled around and Lhoss finally felt well enough to venture out with the party. It was a hot, high-summer day. The sun was blazing, such that the cool of the Dim Forest was at first a welcome relief. But the spookiness of the place soon sent a different chill down their spines. The group pushed on until they reached the barrowmaze which then greeted them with a hot, fetid smell and orange hazy light. That's not all that greeted them, a horde of six skeletons, five zombies, and two ghouls crawled out of the muck and lurched forward to attack!

As Armatzi prepared his turn undead ability, he was viciously attacked by a ghoul. It unfortunately paralyzed him, neutralizing one of our greatest weapons against these undead. Fortunately the party was large with a variety of strengths. Gnorcia's dexterous skill quickly dispatched one ghoul and Lhoss targeted another with her magic missiles. Feno attacked and felled zombies with his deadly blade Icing Death, knowing it was less effective on skeletons. Jack did something unexpected: he levitated one of the ghouls and spun it in midair, neutralizing it as an opponent throughout the battle. Clever kitty! As the battle ensued, skeletons were the last of the enemies for the heroes to defeat. Lhoss remarked to Chalkboi that if he didn't have a blunt weapon to strike the skeletons with, even at half damage, Caliburn may still prove the best option. Indeed a powerful magical sword is capable of slicing a skeleton to shrapnel! Feno took note and instead of switching to his inferior morningstar, pressed his attacks with Icing Death and found it does just fine! He even finished off the ghoul caught in Jack's Yarning Spin. In the aftermath of the battle, Jack walked gently over and touched Armatzi's nose, immediately releasing him from the paralysis. Very, very clever kitty!

Session 102: A Fur-ious Battle and an Amazing Discovery on Day 3 of Goodmonth

It was a bad situation for sure. Lhoss and I were battling undead Neb’Enakhet cats and rapidly losing to a furry of paw swipes and bites. Blood was spattering and fur flying everywhere but the rest of the party had been feared by the cats' awful attack screeches, dropping their weapons and running down the passageway, terrified. Suddenly, Chalkboi & Calbach appeared and immediately engaged in battle! We cheered as the cats found themselves outclawed with twice the number of opponents as they had been a moment before.

One of the cats attacking me turned to Calbach, giving me an opportunity to scratch it from behind with my dagger. I took it down and it gave a mournful howl as it fell. Two more turned and attacked Chalkboi, and one hit him with a claw attack. Alas, another two cats stayed in battle with Lhoss and her injuries were so bad that she quickly lay unconscious and bleeding on the ground. Another two cats attacked and hurt Calbach as well, but he swung and killed one of them, then turned and killed another that was attacking me. They both fell with mournful howls. I managed to turn and hit a feeble feline that was harassing me but somehow not doing any damage, destroying it.

As the battle continued, the cats hit all of us with many small swipes and bites, doing damage to everyone a little at a time. It was an awful fight and Chalkboi had to use Lay on Hands on himself at one point to keep from collapsing.

Then Niki came running back! It appeared that the fear from the meowlers' cries had worn off our compatriots. She tried to jump over a cat to get to Lhoss, but could neither kick it nor get past it. Jack was clinging to her back, fur bristling, and growling at everything. Kyro came running back and also couldn’t get past the cats, but bared Big Stabby and destroyed the creature instead. Emboldened by their return, I stood tall like a cat's tail and cried, “With great vengeance!” finishing off the cat next to me.

Niki then scrambled to heal Lhoss before she bled out and Calbach stepped up to destroy the last undead cat. As it fell, Jack jumped off of Niki’s shoulder and ran to the door of the room where the Neb’Enakhet had come from, sniffing around excitedly. Kyro and Calbach both followed and peeked in, and Kyro bravely went in to look at the fresco on the south wall, which turned out to be a disturbing mural of mummy cats worshipping Narul. They wanted none of that and came right back out, but Jack wandered in alone and began sniffing and pawing at a spot on the flagstone.

Curious, Niki followed him and discovered the stone was loose. She motioned to Calbach, who pried it open, revealing a bottle of golden-yellow liquid with flecks and a beautiful electrum ring. Gasping in excitement, Niki took out the ring and discovered it had two ghostly-green eyes staring back at her. She immediately cast Detect Magic on it, saying, “Draíocht a bhrath!” and found it was definitely magical.

Jack had been pacing back and forth in front of Niki, his tail twitching with excitement, but he suddenly stopped in front of her, made an excited howling meow, and put his paw out tentatively toward the ring. Niki slid the ring onto his paw and it fit as if it had been made for him! Jack turned and ran from the room, vanished down the hallway, then came running back, leaping from wall to wall in a sort of cat parkour move before skidding to a halt at Niki's feet.

Her eyes wide with excitement, Niki breathlessly inquired, "Hey there, little one! What have you been up to?"

"Meow, meow!" he said. "I've been exploring my new magical abilities!"

Everyone gasped and shouted in amazement. Jack could talk! That ring had to be the Lesser Ring of Jack that Niki had been searching for since she joined our adventuring party!

"Magical abilities?" Niki raised her eyebrows, looking both excited and terrified. "What do you mean?"

"Meow, meow, meow! I can do all sorts of amazing things now! I can teleport from one place to another in the blink of an eye, I can make objects float in the air with a flick of my paw, and I can even read your mind!" Jack lifted one paw, made a small gesture, and Calbach started floating a few inches off the ground!

"Wow, that's incredible!" Niki said. "How did you get these magical powers?"

"Meow, meow! I put on the Lesser Ring of Jack. Now, I go on the hunt!" Jack went to a small hole at the base of the wall, swiped, and caught a mouse, which he presented to Niki.

"That's amazing, little one! You must be the most talented cat in the world now." Niki gently stuffed the mouse into her pocket. It was still wriggling.

"Meow, meow! I certainly feel like it. But don't worry, I'll still cuddle up with you on the couch like always. Being magical hasn't changed my love for you." Jack then teleported out into the hallway and back again with another mouse in his mouth, then reappeared in the backpack, looking very pleased.

After a minute, Calbach slowly lowered back to the ground. We all stood still, gaping, until Kyro decided to speak to Jack, asking him, “Do you like me?” It was the question we had all often wondered and Jack immediately responded with a loud request for some food. Kyro pulled some lamb jerky out of his pack and handed it to the cat, who blinked twice to reveal a pouch around his neck, inserted the jerky, and began purring.

Jack then disappeared from the backpack and reappeared on Armatzi’s shoulder, saying, “How are you, priest of Saint Cuthbert?”

Wary of the new and strange antics of this cat, Armatzi paused before answering, then cautiously said, "Hello there, Jack. I hear you've been using your magical abilities to help people in need. That's very commendable."

"Meow, meow! Yes, I've been doing my best to make the world a better place. It's what any responsible cat would do with magical powers."

"I agree, Jack. It's important to use our abilities for good and to help those who can't help themselves," Armatzi continued. "That's one of the core principles of St. Cuthbert's teachings."

Jack walked back and forth across Armatzi's shoulders. "Meow, meow! I've heard of St. Cuthbert before. A powerful and wise god, so they say. Have you ever met him?"

Armatzi chuckled. "Well, not exactly. St. Cuthbert is a deity, so I can't meet him in the same way I would meet a mortal being. But I have felt his presence and guidance in my life, and I strive to follow his teachings every day."

"Meow, meow. That sounds very inspiring, Armatzi. I too strive to be a good cat and help those in need. Maybe we can work together on a project sometime?"

"Absolutely, Jack. It would be an honor to work alongside a cat with such a strong sense of duty and responsibility. Together, we can make a positive impact on the world."

Jack then stopped and squinted a moment before sticking the mouse in Armatzi’s ear, and said, “I smell tasty beef! Give it to me!”

Armatzi sighed, took the mouse out of his ear, and handed Jack some beef jerky, which he immediately stowed away in his pouch. Jack then reprimanded Armatzi for not wanting the mouse, saying it was a gift.

Anxious to join in the new conversation with the suddenly-talkative feline, Lhoss turned to Jack and said, "Hello Jack, how are you today?"

"Meow, meow! I'm doing great, Lhoss. I've been practicing my magic and exploring the world around me.”

"That's wonderful to hear, Jack," she answered. "I must say, I've been impressed by your magical abilities. You're a very clever cat!"

"Meow, meow! Thank you, Lhoss. I try my best to use my intelligence and quick thinking to solve problems and help others."

"It shows, Jack. Your ability to think on your feet and come up with creative solutions is truly remarkable. I've seen you use your magic to help people in ways that I wouldn't have even thought of." Lhoss reached out and flicked Armatzi's ear and he winced away from her.

"Meow, meow! I'm glad I can be of service. And I must say, I've learned a lot from you as well. Your knowledge and wisdom are an inspiration to me."

Lhoss bowed and continued, "That's very kind of you to say, Jack. I believe we make a great team - your cleverness and my experience complement each other well. Together, we can accomplish great things."

"Meow, meow! I couldn't agree more, Lhoss. Let's continue to use our skills and abilities to make the world a better place."

Quick to catch on, Calbach then approached Jack and said, "Hey there, Jack. I've been watching you use your magic and help people. You're quite impressive." Clearly the cat loved praise.

"Meow, meow! Thank you, Calbach. It's always good to hear positive feedback."

"I have to admit, at first I was skeptical of a cat having magical powers. But you've proven yourself to be quite capable."

"Meow, meow! I'm glad I could change your mind. I've always believed that animals can be just as capable as humans, if given the chance."

"I have to agree with you there, Jack. And I appreciate how you've used your abilities for good. It's not always easy to resist the temptation to use magic for personal gain."

Jack arched his back and stretched. "Meow, meow! I understand what you mean. But I believe that with great power comes great responsibility. It's important to use our abilities to help others, not just ourselves."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Jack. You're a wise and responsible cat. I'm glad to have you as a friend."

"Meow, meow! And I'm glad to have you as a friend too, Calbach. You're a skilled ranger and a true ally. Together, we can accomplish great things."

All this talk of doing good and accomplishing great things made me wonder if Jack had any mischief left in him after putting on that ring. I slowly approached him and began to communicate telepathically , staring deep into his eyes.

Just then we began to hear unnatural sounds coming from the south and it spooked us all terribly. I broke off the telepathic conversation with Jack as Niki and Armatzi scrambled to heal everyone and we ran from the tomb into the marsh. We exited the marsh into a warm summer rain, jogging back through the muck to the trail to the Dim Forest. Everything felt better after the rain washed off the grime and dirt from our day’s adventures. We finally left the Dim Forest and returned to Orlane.

We arrived at the inn hungry but refreshed. Florin approached and greeted us warmly, offering Mutton Stew as the day’s house specialty. It looked and smelled amazing. We all ordered the stew and Jack ordered two bowls, shocking the innkeeper.

“Is that a talking cat?” he gasped.

“Why yes, I am a talking cat. My name is Jack Cat.”

Jack sat up straight and requested the inn's best room, which happened to be my room. I told Jack that he was welcome to share the room with me and he replied that he would be taking the bed and I could sleep on the floor!

Just then our meal arrived and Lhoss noticed that the elves were also there for dinner. They invited Lhoss, Niki, and me to join them. Jack strolled over and immediately curled up between the elves, purring himself to sleep.

Everyone was laughing and talking about the talking cat when suddenly Zraith appeared and began to speak to Armatzi, apologizing deeply for not being with him to go to the Barrowmaze. She appeared to have a large fish in her beak.

“I am greatly ashamed at my behavior,” she said, looking up at him with big, pleading eyes.

“It’s ok,” Armatzi said, “Just try to do better.”

Zraith bowed deeply, took the fish from her beak, and solemnly handed it to Armatzi. “I’ve brought you a large Bass,” she said.

Armatzi nodded his head at her and accepted it, then called to Florin, sending the fish off to the kitchen to be cooked.