Party: Tollers, Tristan, Brigid, Kotetsu, Schantall, Marr, Jaden,
Sklyla, Tyrin, Dargueth, Galstaff, Jetter
Overview: When Sklyla returns to the party's fold after escaping her
captor, the party decides to head to Varron to enlist the aid of the Guardians to aid in
Sklyla's defense before the Elven courts.
Information: After resting for a night in the comforts of the castle, the party was treated to a grand breakfast which was interupted by a servant who claimed a desperate dirty woman in ratty clothing was requesting an audience with the party. The party went to meet with the woman, who turned out to be Sklyla. Sklyla had managed to escape from her captor and she tracked the party back to Isingbal. While the women bonded in the comforts of their room, the men decided on the fate of Sklyla. They decided that she would have to return to the elven lands to face her murder charges, but they decided that they would seek the Guardians assistance. Leaving the safety of the castle by night, the party trekked across the plains towards the city of Varron.
Resting after two hours of travel the party camped by an old oak tree with a large boulder next to it. During the night however, the party heard strange noises, and found that somebody had tracked them and was watching them from afar. After investigating several times, members of the party started acting wierd and suspicious, until Sklyla and Jetter attempted to kill Kotetsu. After a long and bloody battle ensued, the party was overwhelmed by bandits that actually were Dopplegangers.
The Dopplegangers had managed to sneak Jetter into the party's fold as a wandering traveller several days earlier, and the devious Doppleganger captured and replaced Tristan during a walk to a temple of Arcania just before they left the castle. Tristan and Jetter then captured and replaced Marr who immediately captured and replaced Sklyla.
The party now finds themselves at the mercy of the Dopplegangers who have them captured in their own camp. Only Jaden escaped capture, with his trusted horse to seek aid at the Castle of Isingbal.
Party: Tollers, Tristan, Brigid, Kotetsu, Schantall, Marr, Jaden,
Sklyla, Tyrin, Dargueth, Jetter
Overview: Prisoners of the Dopplegangers, the party luckly escaped death,
only to return to Isingbal where several of the party were arrested after Volder
reappeared in the city.
Information: The Dopplegangers, infuriated with the party for killing their brothers and sisters back in the village of Grovewood (see Adventure 1), managed to relish in their victory against the party. At the same time, Jaden managed to procure a small detachment of soliders from Isingbal and returned to face the Dopplegangers. The dopplegangers, not wishing to be robbed of their victory, used the party as human shields, holding blades against their throats to keep the army at bay. Jaden, believing that if his friends fell in battle that their deaths would be honorable, charged forth as the Dopplegangers began to cut up the party. After a furious battle, three party members are close to death, and the rest are horrendously wounded, however only one doppleganger out of ten escaped death.
The party returned back to the castle for much needed rest and healing, taking up residence at the Silver Dragon Inn. The party filled up the inn's rooms except two, and mostly rested for the day, while Sklyla and Jaden spent some time together in her room. Dargueth decided close to the evening hours to enjoy the weather outside for a bit, when he noticed a man wearing an ash colored cloak entered the inn and started to ask about Sklyla. Dargueth immediately rushed upstairs to warn the party. As the party rushed to wake each other up, put on armor, etc. they noticed that Volder wasn't coming upstairs.
Dargueth went downstairs to look for him, deciding that he would search the downstairs rooms for signs of the bounty hunter, instead finding a woman occupying one of the rooms. She screamed very loudly for a long time as Dargueth violated her privacy while she hid naked under the covers. Having aroused the attention of the innkeeper, Kotetsu, and Tyrin he was removed from the inn, with Tyrin and Kotetsu offering mental disfunctions as excuses for his actions.Poking around outside while Dargueth stopped passing people to ask if they have seen Volder, the ash cloaked man, Kotetsu spied somebody watching them from a side alley. Walking slowly towards the man, she was not expecting to be pelted by a series of magical spheres and quickly found herself hitting the cobblestone street in a pool of her own quickly forming blood (Lesson learned here: Don't go approaching suspicious people in alleys when your not fully healed).
Tyrin blindly charged into the alley attacking the attacker with his sword, landing a serious blow before the attacker managed to escape, as Sklyla and Jaden came to lend aid having noticed the attack from a window. They quickly got aid for Kotetsu who came inches from death at the temple of Arcania.
Returning from the temple, Jaden stopped a guard to report the attack, and Sklyla accidentally opened her mouth and said that the bounty hunter abducted her, and then proceeded to tell the guard that she was wanted for murder. Jaden, Sklyla, Tyrin, and Kotetsu were then escorted to the barracks where they were locked in a room with several cots, so the guards could figure out what to do with them.
The others eventually caught wind of the arrest and had the others released from prison, with Sklyla being placed into Tollers custody.
Party: Tollers, Tristan, Brigid, Kotetsu, Schantall, Marr, Jaden,
Sklyla, Tyrin, Dargueth, Toren, Chydric
Timeline: 28th day of Waking Bear to the 14th day of Finch Song
Overview: The party after their close call with Volder, decided to seek
the aid of the Guardians in helpping Sklyla face her crime before travelling to Revinar.
Their journey however would not be a simple one.
Information: While making preparations to leave the city the party was approached by a pair of performing brothers named Toren and Chydric and their servant goblin Gofur who were seeking able bodies to assist them in a treasure hunt for a lost temple of Arcania filled with riches.
After facing a great deal of trouble with an 8 year old brain child who answered the door to the temple of Arcania, and flatly told them their map was a fake. Denied entrance the party angrly left the temple and went to the bakery where they met Tollers and eventually Tristan for dinner. The party talked for a long while on what they planned on doing next. Chydric, Toren, Jaden, Tyrin, and Sklyla wished to seek out the mysterious lost temple of Arcania located in the lands known as the Wastes. Tollers and Dargueth wished to head to Varron and Mount Varn, while Tristan wished to remain behind to proceed with his magical studies. Tollers also wished for Sklyla to seek assistance with her charges of murder in the Elven lands. They eventually decided to travel to Varron.
Leaving the safety and protection of the walls of Isingbal castle, the party trekked across the plains towards their new destination, the city of Varron, and the home of the Guardians. Their first day of travel was fair, stocking up on some herbs and spices from a halfling merchant not too far from the city.
The night was relavantly quiet until an hour before morning, when Brigid and Dargueth heard the sounds of sobbing off in the distance. Brigid leaving to investigate spotting a pink globe of light floating near the remains of a fallen tree. Approaching the globe, it moved away as she tripped on something in the underbrush. Brushing away the debris, she uncovered a weathered stone with faded old writing. Reciting a spell, Brigid read the stone, learning that the stone was in fact a grave marker from a little girl who was burned to death by a dragon named BloodMist. Brigid attempted to communicate with the pink light, but to no avail, as it faded then disappeared to the morning light of dawn. Returning to the camp, she told the party of her discovery after Tyrin finally woke up.
After the story, the party disbanded camp and continued their journey over the plains, spying the Peasus Mountains, kingdom of the dwarves, by mid-day. By the time they arrived at the split in the road, which would take them to the dwarven mountains, or south around them to the city of Varron.
Close to sunset the party arrived at the edge of the Old Wood. They entered the ancient forest travelling for what remained of daylight, getting about half way or so into the forest before most of the light was gone. Brigid, and Galstaff, worried that the forest held great evils, decided to press onward to camp at the edge of the forest, with Tyrin accompanying them for safety, while the rest of the party made camp within the depths of the forest prefering the comfort of the trees and the shelther they provided.
The party crossed the plains for the rest of the day, the mountains following their movements as they made up for lost time from earlier that day. As night drew near they made camp by a pair of birch trees entwined around themselves twisting towards the starlit sky. A small fire was prepared and camp set up as Brigid and Chydric took to socializing as watches were established. Toren took the easiest of watches, the first as Marr took second, and Tyrin volunteered for third.
As the night passed, Marr assumed second watch, which was less than quiet. About half way through his watch, a band of orcs attracted by the camp's fire decended into the camp in search of food and goods to steal. The camp was not as quick to react to the attack as the orcs split off into a looting and distracting party. Thankfully the orcs were not trained combatants and the party managed to successfully rise to the call of battle without any life-threatening injuries, and before long the orcs where routed, and sent fleeing. The party did not however stop there. They made sure that every last orc was slain or knocked out, and Toren even resorted to the slitting of defenseless orc throats.
The party faced a serious moral question as the morning sun arrived after the orc slaughter. Dargueth had wandered off and one orc remained alive after the attack as a prisoner of Toren, and apparently most of the party did not want the orc to live. Brigid, using a magical incarnation, managed to communicate with the orc who told her that the orcs attacked the camp for food, as their tribe was hungry.Brigid attempted to plead with the party to let the orc go back to his people but the party did not want to let him go as they feared he would attack or bring more orcs with him to attack again. The party finally decided they would put the orc to sleep then kill him as the most merciful thing to do.
Brigid agreed to cast the spell to do it, but the spell backfired putting Chydric and Tollers' horse to sleep instead and fatiquing Brigid in the process.
The party decided to travel onwards toward Varron without Dargueth, who was still missing. Dargueth eventually appeared the next morning with a wolf as a companion. Apparently he had tracked down the wolf baying at the moon the prior evening and managed to charm it into following him.
Breaking camp with Dargueth and his new pet, the party reached the "Travellers' woods" by mid-day. The Travellers' woods receive their name as the first set of woods a traveler would encounter on their journey to Isingbal Castle and the Pegasus mountains.
As dawn arrived the party had finally gotten their first look at their goal, the city of Varron, and the great temple looking over it. Dargueth bid the party well, saying he was going to return to his grove in the Travellers' Woods and wished them well on the final lengths of their journey.
Upon entering the fair gates Jaden started evaluating the first inns that caught his eye: Strom's Tavern and Inn, and the Wailing Wench. Deciding on Strom's first the party entered the tavern and looked around for the innkeeper. The inn was decorated with the various heads of local animals, and an assortment of drunks and patrons enhabitted the tables. They found a rather large man behind the counter with a pussy protrusion from his nose, drinking thick soup from a bowl.Approaching innkeeper Jaden began to question him regarding rates and present occupants. The innkeeper told him rudely that it would cost him to find out who was staying at his inn. Building himself to full height, Jaden attempted to get the man to agree to his terms, but the man held fast.
The party left Strom's Tavern and Inn and went over to the Wailing Wench where they were much more "warmly" greeted. Two women in too much makeup greeted Jaden at the door as the party entered. Inside the inn were various men in various states of stupor fondling women. One man sitting at a nearby table actually pinched Sklyla in the butt, just before Jaden turned around and punched out some of his teeth and knocking him flat on the floor. When the outburst ended the "Madame" of the inn greeted the party. After a bit of confusion over why the party was there, with questions including selling Sklyla, Brigid, and Kotetsu, and the men's intent with them, Jaden finally explained that they only sought a room to sleep in for the night with no sexual intent. The Madame explained that she had one room free because one of her girls got sick, that they party could all sleep in for a copper each. The party thought that was a bad idea and left, finally finding the Rearing Dragon Head Inn, where they purchased the last 3 remaining private rooms.
The party awoke to a blustery new day. A cold wind was blowing down from the mountain tops as people busied themselves in the streets of Varron. The party exited the Rearing Dragon Inn and started to make their way to the temple of the Guardians. There they learned from the Guardian Marcus that elven law states that when an accused is with council, that they are protected from bounty. Marcus could not offer much advice on what to do about the actual trial itself, since he did not know the particulars, leaving the party with little to work on, as they prepared for their trip on towards Rivenar.