Adventurer's Charter Application

Adventurers Armatzi, Feno, Gnorcia, Kyro, Lhoss and Niki, all based out of Orlane, seek an adventurer's charter.

Armatzi: follower of St. Cuthbert, superior is Enlil-Nasir, trained under priestess Misha at the temple of Merrika in Orlane, wields the gauntlet of St. Cuthbert and mystical war hammer Melissa, skilled healer and deterrent of dark forces

Feno: follower of Obad-Hai, wields Icing Death, sword of legend that he uses to slay dark creatures with deft skill

Gnorcia: follower of Zuoken, trained in magical arts by Ramne and as a Trickster by the elf Llewellyn, wields the short sword Vengeance

Kyro: follower and devotee to Merrika, Alan Clayborn serves as his mentor and trainer in the skills associated with being a ranger, accepted by the magical long sword Dynasty

Lhoss: follower of Zuoken, trained in magical arts by Ramne and as a Cutpurse by the elf Llewellyn, skilled with the dagger known as Gary Indiana, and defensive magic

Niki: follower of Obad-Hai, advised by Eiluned, trained with Alan Clayborn, proficient with the scimitar Mr. Paws, skilled in healing and detecting magical presence

Our stated mission is to defeat evil-doers for the peace and safety of all. Our adventurers group have defeated the evil Naga that had enslaved villagers of Orlane. We are the Saviors of Orlane. We have also slain countless troglodytes, reanimated skeletons (including sapphire skeletons), ghouls, zombies, frog men, scorpions, fire beetles, goblins, shades, and taken down many members of the vile Band of the Black Hand.

Session 96: Day 5 of Reaping, exploring the city of Hochoch

The party woke on the morning of Day 5 of Reaping in the Swift Coin Inn of Hochoch. They ate a hearty breakfast that, although good, was noticeably lower quality that what is served in Orlane. Kyro was interested in trying to converse with other patrons of the inn, but everyone seemed to have a nervous and uneasy air. To a man, they all sat with their heads down, occasionally glancing around shiftily, but overall giving off the vibe that they were unwilling to talk. The innkeeper was a little less busy than the frantic pace of the night before and Lhoss took a moment to ask for directions to the temple of St. Cuthbert and the sage Daana. The innkeeper was professional without being welcoming and oriented the party. Lhoss also asked if there were any areas to avoid. The innkeeper indicated that Hochoch is a well-regulated city and is mostly safe, although the refugee camp and Shingles neighborhood should both be avoided if possible as they posed potential dangers. Being singularly focused on their exploration of the barrow maze, the group was ignorant of goings-on and had to be informed that the refugees came from the hills and mountains in Jeff that had seen incursions of giants. With a thank-you and a tip for the good information, the party headed out.

There was a little discussion about whether to head northeast and see the sage first or go southwest to the temple, but the sage won out as the initial destination. As the team somewhat uncertainly began to navigate the city, Kyro made out to ask a group of city guards for information about buying a map. He nodded at a couple and they reacted with such hostility, the plan was abandoned immediately. The level of paranoia in the city is palpable and disconcerting. It had been a while since any from the group had been in Hohoch, true, but the hospitality seemed so changed from what everyone had remembered that it was jarring. There were some people out and about in the streets, but each one seemed to be on task and unwilling to engage with anything outside of their focus.

After a bit, a sign reading Crunge's Clock Tower was observed. At just that moment, a loud gong rung out with nine clangs. Atop the 100-foot high tower was a 40-foot flagpole. The sharp-eyed elves were the first to discern nine green streamers flying from atop the pole. Still on the lookout for a map, Kyro thought that there might be some sort of shop inside the tower, but the doors were boarded over and nailed shut. There was some sign of life atop the tower; a single figure who caused a flock of birds to scatter as they went about their work. An attentive adventurer could always be aware of the time of day in the city of Hochoch.

Continuing on (ever vigilant for a map shop) the group noticed fields of fruit trees and field hands. Niki, Feno, and Lhoss noticed a large tower in the distance that they believed to be the tower of the sage. The party passed a graveyard that had several new graves (did it seem like an unusually large number of new graves?) and a quiet neighborhood of well-kept houses. As they approached the tower, they observed a large brass gate surrounding a large estate and a bored-looking person on a chair.

Lhoss was the first to approach and asked the bored guard if they could see the sage. The guard was minimally responsive to a series of questions until Lhoss flipped him a silver coin, to which he responded "come back in two weeks." Gnorcia upped the bribe to a gold and the guard shortened the wait to "one week". Seeing a pattern, Feno forked over a platinum piece and the guard informed us it would cost us 200 gold pieces to see Daana. Clearly only serious customers need apply. Kyro handed over 40 platinum and explained the nature of the group's business. The guard took the coins and disappeared into the tower through what was clearly a magical entrance. After 20 minutes in the baking sun, the guard reappeared and relayed that the case has some interest to the sage. At 4:30, three of the band should return to meet with Daana. He also warned the group not to be late.

Setting the next task to find the temple of St. Cuthbert, the group turned and heard the gong ring out 10 times and saw that there were 10 green streamers from atop the clock tower. Lhoss was the first to notice a soldier staring the team down from the far end of the road they were traveling on. Feeling threatened, the party altered their course, while still traveling in the direction they believed they should go. Then, in the distance, two different soldiers stood at the end of the road eyeing the adventurers suspiciously. There was some contemplation about whether to change course again, but it was decided that nobody had done anything wrong and to flee the soldiers would only make the party look suspicious. They all marched purposefully toward the soldiers with Gnorcia and Lhoss engaging in small talk about the temple of St. Cuthbert and other wholesome topics. The guards cast a suspicious eye, but did not engage. A single high pitched chime from the clock tower rang out which seemed to mark the half-hour.

The smell of sweet bread filled the nostrils of Lhoss and Gnorcia who did not need any other excuse to enter the bakery Hearts and Flowers, but they could ask about a map while they were inside, why not? Armatzi went inside too, because why not? Inside the delicious smells were even stronger with all sorts of mouth-watering baked goods on display. A large blonde woman came out to serve them and Lhoss asked if they made her favorite sweet treat: cinnamon rolls. She was assured that, indeed there were cinnamon rolls. Because she lacked any smaller coin, Lhoss paid in electrum, which the baker took as a large tip. It was a favorable error as this also made the baker, Emily, more amenable to a hospitable exchange of information. When asked why all of Hochoch is so on edge, Emily explained it was because there are spies in town who sell information to the giants, so strangers are viewed with suspicion. Also, a map would be hard to come by. She then informed a naïve Lhoss that giants eat humans. If Lhoss' horrified reaction wasn't enough to secure Emily's opinion, noticing Armatzi was an acolyte of St. Cuthbert (her own deity) put the three cleanly in the camp of "good folks". Also, name-dropping that they were the Saviors of Orlane put a bit of shine on their reputation as well. She graciously supplied the three with a basket of baked goods, directions to the temple, and instructions that the adventurers should register at the keep to dispel any further suspicion. With a heartfelt thank you, Gnorcia, Lhoss, and Armatzi exited and filled in the rest of the party.

Overhead, 12 gongs were heard, and the group found themselves in front of Captain Archibald Martel, the man who would determine if an adventurers charter would be awarded that could allow the group to move freely about the city without suspicion. The group was grilled on their purpose and intention. Fortunately, sufficient evidence was supplied and corroborated that proved the stated causes:  investigating a way to bring Tatania back and the larger charge of finding and destroying Derrik and Nanor. He commended us on our prior successes and urged us to continue the important cause of tracking down Nanor. One caveat: Armatzi was chastised for not visiting the temple of St. Cuthbert first. As a fellow follower of that deity, Captain Martel had strong words for our cleric and also for the druid Niki who had likewise not yet checked in at her place of worship. Nonetheless, the charter was awarded and each member pinned a badge to their clothes. A quiet spot by the river under a willow tree was chosen for a reflective lunch of the delicious baked goods from Hearts and Flowers.

The clock tower chimed a single gong sound and a sole blue flag marked the change of morning to afternoon hours. The next stop was in a forest dedicated to Obad-Hai, the deity of Niki and Feno. Though it is not Zuoken, Lhoss feelt an affinity to the space. Armatzi and Kyro entered with a calmness in their hears, but Gnorcia looked around for a tree to climb. Niki encouraged Gnorcia to hug a tree instead. To her surprise, the tree hugged her back! A druid woman named Eiluned was performing a religious ceremony that involved cutting holly and bathing it in a font. As she turned, her stunning red hair and green eyes dazzled the group. She presented both Niki and Feno with a sprig of holly and encouraged Niki on the sacred quest to obtain the Lesser Ring of Jack, with directions to find it somewhere in the barrow maze. Jack was quite friendly with Eiluned and Kyro wondered aloud if Jack had picked his own name. It seemed curious that Jack should share his name with the very ring Niki sought after. Might Jack have lived lives before this one? Eiluned also commented on the affinity between Jack and Armatzi. Perhaps Jack could serve as a bridge between druids and clerics. Though followers of Obad-Hai and St. Cuthbert might sometimes be at odds about how things should be done, they had a similar purpose and should work together. Lastly, Eiluned invited Niki, Feno, and Lhoss to return at 11:00 that night to witness a sacred nighttime ceremony.

Session 95: Wealsun Day 21 through Day 4 of Reaping

As recorded by Gnorcia: 

Lhoss was determined to complete some thief training before traveling to Hochoch. While she was busy preparing for another day of practice and study, the rest of us decided to give up a little sleep and head back to the edge of the Dim Forest at night to see if we could attract and destroy the remaining ghouls that had been harassing farmers in the area.

I tried to convince the others to distract the druid, Niki, so I could kill a small animal and use the blood to attract the ghouls, but she quickly figured out my plan (Jack the cat was probably listening) and put a stop to it. With a big sigh, Feno pulled out a dagger and pricked his finger, dripping and flinging his own blood on everything as we entered the forest. The night was descending quickly and it was mere minutes before we sensed something evil coming toward us from the northwest. It was indeed a pack of ghouls with something even more sinister leading it.

Fear spread across our small group of heroes. I scrambled up a tree and Kyro followed suit. Armatzi and Niki stationed themselves behind the gnarled tree trunks and prepared to attack, but Feno and Chalkboi set themselves in the middle of the path, weapons ready. The ghouls ran straight for the bleeding Feno and only one noticed Armatzi, swiping at him as it passed. Before he was hit, the cleric managed to cast his turn undead spell on the pack's dark leader and called out, aghast at the creature's evil, fishy stench, "It's a ghast!" Jack took one sniff and dove into Niki's backpack.

The rest of us used arrows and darts to attack from a distance, doing some small damage to the horrid creatures. Armatzi cast turn undead again and one ghoul was feared back down the path into the forest, but it wasn't enough to stop Chalkboi from being hit by another. He was immediately frozen by the ghoul's paralytic poison. Feno swiped through one as the rest of us continued our barrage of darts and arrows. Fortunately no one was hit by friendly fire and the injured ghouls screamed horribly as thick blood poured from their wounds.

Once more, Armatzi cast turn undead and the remaining ghouls turned to run. Kyro and I jumped down to help with the chase as Niki cast an entanglement spell, trapping the remaining ghouls in vines. The ghast, however, was merely slowed by the vines and Armatzi determined to destroy it himself. Running around the edge of the entanglement, he scrambled against the forest's thick brush and branches. He even attempted to throw rocks at the ghast, as if somehow he could slow it further.

Feno thought to skip over the entanglement as he attacked a trapped ghast, but got his feet caught in the spell's twining vines. Niki casually strolled right through the vines and smacked down that ghoul, then headed for the last one that was screaming angrily and pawing at the darts sticking out of its rubbery head. Those were my darts and I wanted them back so I leaped over the vines and onto the ghoul's back, but slipped and fell into the mass of greenery. Niki then finished off the final ghoul just as Armatzi and the ghast reached the same point at the vines' perimeter.

Realizing there wasn't time to swing his hammer, Armatzi reached out with the power of the Gauntlet of St. Cuthbert and blasted the ghast with holy light. It crumbled at his feet and even Chalkboi managed to let out a cheer as the paralysis wore off and the vines soon retreated.

Exhausted and covered in the stench of ghouls, we retrieved what darts and arrows we could and headed back to Orlane, stopping only to leave a note on the door at Hans' farmhouse, telling him the ghouls were defeated.

We spent the rest of the week and the next happily enjoying our time with no undead creatures to battle and a joyful summer festival to celebrate. We were a bit too free with our coin and just as freely listened to the tales of too many drunken townsfolk.

Her training complete, Lhoss joined in the celebration and was warned by the townspeople to take great care to avoid altars because they were very dangerous. Armatzi was told to seek the pools in the barrowmaze for safety, and warned that the mutated creatures there would enslave humans. Feno heard that the entrances to the barrowmaze were trapped, while another dismissed the entirety of it, claiming the barrows were just mounded graves and the rest was all folk tales.

I plied stories from a few more folks, learning that they had heard of piles of magical items in the southern crypts, that a powerful evil warrior and his band used the barrowmaze as their hideout, and the oft-repeated story of an elven maiden recently freed from the barrowmaze. I also heard of runic tablets that would curse all who read them, but Niki was told that some runic tablets contain information and not just curses. We nodded and considered our own experiences with runic tablets both helpful and dangerous.

Chalkboi used his story of being paralyzed by ghasts to start conversations with several people who then warned him that tribes of humans live in the barrowmaze along with mutated people who were guarding powerful treasures, and the same story of a powerful evil warrior hiding there with his band. He also had his story dismissed by someone who, again, claimed it was all hogwash and the barrows were nothing but a valley full of old graves.

As the celebrations were winding down on the last day, we gathered together for a meal in the tavern when a short, hooded figure with a long nose poking out from its hood entered the room. It sniffed, then headed straight for our table. We immediately noticed that it smelled more-than-faintly of fish, but this time fish-loving Jack was not afraid and came out to sniff at the hem of its heavy cloak. The creature squawked quietly at the cat and pushed back its hood, revealing a beaked figure in black and white.

"Zraith at your service!" it said. "I have been sent from my brethren in the south to find a cleric known as Armatzi."

All heads turned to Armatzi, who was earnestly breaking up chunks of meat and vegetables in his stew. Sensing the group's silence, he lifted his eyes and recognized the figure before him as a penguin holding a staff in one flipper. Unruffled by the strange welcome, the waddling bird had nothing but attention for Armatzi, and quickly explained that his clan from the south had been experiencing strange visions and sent him as a missionary.

"I am here to accompany you on your journeys for one month," it finished with a snap of its beak, holding its head up at attention. Armatzi paused, then nodded and went back to his stew. We all laughed and welcomed the odd little bird to our party.

The following day, Niki bought a bedroll and Feno borrowed one from Hilja as we packed up our belongings and set out for Hochoch. We stopped to spend the first night with Hans and his family, celebrating the defeat of the ghouls. Days later, on the evening of day four of Reaping (or day four of the elven month of Goldfields, for those who don't know better) at the beginning of high summer, we arrived at Hochoch, exhausted and tired of eating dry rations. We followed the scent of roasting beef and soon found ourselves at the Swift Coin Inn, where we dined on braised beef, soup, and bread, before securing rooms and turning in for a more-comfortable sleep in real beds.

 Session 94: Evening of Wealsun 20 to Morning of Wealsun 21

Clear Skies and Fireflies

Following the ghoul encounter in the dim forest, the group headed back towards the town of Orlane to both mourn the recent death of Tatania and formulate a plan on potentially returning her back to the living. While along the path, the group noticed that evening was unusually clear: the stars were beginning to show in abundance and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was quite peaceful. Additionally, the group was charmed by the fireflies that had shown up that night, with their almost hypnotic flight dance. At Lhoss' suggestion, the group made their way to the cottage home of Hans, one of the farmers that had requested the party to deal with the ghoul problem affecting many of the farmers. Lhoss instructed him that most of the ghouls were killed, with only a couple escaping. He thanked us and promised a meal when those were dealt with as well. After leaving his homestead the group arrives late in the evening into the town, well past mealtime of the Foaming Mug, the local inn which the group usually stays in. Following Armatzi using his cleric skills to heal the party members in need of medical attention and those that needed their fear quelled, the party rested for the night. 

The next morning, (Wealsun 21) the party ate breakfast then decided on the best course of action on attempting to bring Tatania back to life; or at least get the people who know how to do that. So, they decided to head to the much bigger town of Hochoch, after talking to both the temple matron Misha, and the mage Ramne, on how they could go about doing such a thing. Misha stated that the Temple of Cuthbert in Hochoch had a high priest that could help us, whereas Ramne was asked about the dark magician that killed Tatania, who directed us towards Hochoch. The group then did some buying and selling and inventory maintenance prior to leaving on this next great adventure.