Varus' Journal: Entry #6: The Champion of Rao and the Deadly Shrubbery

Episode 6, The Champion of Rao and the Deadly Shrubbery
By: Stan Lingle

After a short rest and some bottled healing, we went to continue the fight. Eel Boy had returned and was waiting to rejoin us when we were briefed by the acting officer. He informed us that small raiding parties were still running around town. Wagons of loot and prisoners were disappearing into the forest and roads while the soldiers tried to re-establish order and rescue the prisoners. There was one other minor thing. The acting officer pulled out a piece of parchment. Mordak, champion and one of the major lieutenants of the Cult of The Five, had issued a challenge to the paladin.

I hold your townsfolk and your steed, paladin. I will kill them if you do not come and face me. On the King’s Road, Mordak awaits!

Basel was outraged. “The fiend! I must accept this challenge and protect Rao…and the townsfolk, of course!”

“We have no guarantee that this is not a trap and they will simply kill everyone once we show up!”

“It does not matter.”

We all remembered how hard it had been for all of us to fight just one of the half-dragons! Basel’s Oath of Devotion as a paladin might exact a heavy toll this day. But with hostages involved, there seemed to be few options. We quickly grabbed our gear and joined him, then headed towards the challenge site, which was in town. As we drew near, we could see the street and surrounding rooftops the were lined with the Cult of Five’s forces. There were numerous kobolds, and they were all armed with crossbows. There were also at least four or five green half-dragons scattered through the crowd! At the end of the next block, Rao was tied up with the carriage and was guarded by several kobolds.

Mordak, as it turned out, was a large blue half-dragon, clad in armor and brandishing a mighty two-handed axe. Blue half-dragons were even tougher than their green counterparts. As we approached, he seemed to grow even larger. The kobolds and half-dragons started chanting.

“Mordak, Mordak, Mordak!”

Varus cast, and voices of townspeople from the surrounding streets started their own chant, slowly growing louder, with cheers mixed in.

“Basel, Basel, Basel!”

“Face me in combat, paladin!” Mordak roared.

“Fiend of the town, I do not think you would fight you fairly!”

Mordak snorted in derision. “I do not need any tricks to defeat you, puny paladin. I will fight with honor. None of my soldiers will interrupt our battle, and I will return the hostages,” he grinned, “if you defeat me.” He laughed.

“I say it is you that shall feel my hammer this day, Mordak. You will not prevail!”

“I will crush your bones to dust!”

“Well then, come at me, brah!”

Mordak roared and blasted his lightning into the sky. He brandished his axe. The half-dragons and kobolds went crazy yelling and cheering.

It was obvious to us all that starting an all-out melee at this point would be ill-advised, and probably suicidal. It was certainly a death sentence to the captives, and we would have a hard time surviving that many foes at once. We would have to subtly support Basel and distract Mordak and his forces. Varus cast invisibility and headed down the street towards Rao. Tomeck checked out one of the buildings.

The monk scrambled up one of the buildings to the roof where some of the kobolds were watching.

“Looks like you guys have a good view. Mind if I join you?” The duel was starting, and the kobolds were too involved to notice. “Great duel, eh?” he slapped a kobold on the back, and just happened to knock him off the roof. The kobold did not move. The kobolds that noticed seemed amused.

Basel steeled himself, called upon Rao, and hoisted his javelin.

“Every step I take is a step closer to your doom!” shouted Mordak.

“Every step I take…I’ll be watching you!” countered Basel. Perhaps not his best taunt, a bit derivative, but hey, it’s Basel! We love him!

Basel chucked the javelin, but Mordak simply swatted it out of the air. The half-dragon closed and swung his might two-handed axe. Basel deftly blocked both strikes with his shield.

“Curse you, Mordak! You will not prevail!”

Basel tried to bash the half-dragon with his shield, but Mordak grabbed it instead, wrested it out of the paladin’s grasp, and threw it at him! Basel dodged, but his shield was now on the ground. He swung at Mordak, but his hammer hit naught but air. The half-dragon came in under Basel’s hammer swing and jammed the axe head in the paladin’s stomach. To his horror, the paladin felt like his armor melting and realized that the axe must be magical.

While everyone was distracted, Tomeck lit one of the buildings on fire. More on that later.

Basel rolled away from the axe and picked up his shield. He closed on Mordak and once again struck hard with his shield. This time he connected, and Mordak dropped the axe. Basel swung down so that Mordak had to dodge out of the way to avoid the hammer, and the follow through took him towards the axe. Mordak tried to bite him as he went by, but missed, and Basel grabbed the axe triumphantly. He tried to throw it towards his allies, but it slipped and bounced off Mordak! The half-dragon grabbed the axe and they exchanged several blows, but none connected as they wheeled in skilled combat.

Valentia ran up and laid her hand on Basel. “Feel better,” she whispered, as she healed some of his wounds.

Based on his success, the eel monk continued the kobold slapstick routine, clapped another kobold on the back and down into the street.

“You’re going to lose if you don’t hit,” someone noted helpfully for Basel. It must have motivated him, for he then set Mordak up beautifully, blocking the axe with his shield and slamming his hammer home.

Flidais fired her bow as a distraction to Mordak, but the shot drew the attention of the crowd. They booed; some of them muttered and pointed at her, and cranked their crossbows. Varus knew we had to keep our cool if we were going to succeed here, but could say nothing. Invisible, he had reached Rao and the kobolds holding him. He crawled under the carriage and started untying Rao. He was ready to cast a spell of sleep and knock out all the surrounding kobolds.

Unagi turned to another kobold. “Do you believe that? That was amazing!” But the kobold was not deceived by his ploy, and started to warn the others. Unagi lashed out almost faster than the eye could see and struck him several times. He fell off the roof, dead before he struck the ground. The other kobolds on that roof turned and look at the monk, who started yelling and shouting and jumping around like a crazy man. There was a very noticeable pause…and then the kobolds started hooting and cheering. They loved it, and soon the battle drew their attention again.

After the hammer strike, Basel timed it perfectly and landed a mighty shield bash that staggered Mordak.

“You cannot prevail, Mordak! I will not yield to you!” The half-dragon seemed intimidated for the first time, recognizing Basel as a worthy opponent.

“We will see!” He breathed lightning, catching Basel fully with the blast and seriously injuring him.

“Cuthbert will not stand for this!” The monk dashed down and healed the paladin. Valentia cast a minor illusion and created a duplicate of Basel, and Mordak believed the illusion was real. Of course, anyone would be distracted by two Basels. The paladin drank a healing potion and then flanked Mordak with his illusory double and smashed him with the hammer. Mordak struck one of the Basels, which turned out to be the illusion. The strike dissipated it, and Mordak’s second blow clanged against Basel’s shield.

Flidais snuck behind a building and then killed two kobolds on the roof. Everyone was distracted, because the druid had cast another minor illusion, this time a gold half dragon stood in the street. In addition, the building that Tomeck had ignited now blazed up. Unfortunately, it was the building that the monk was standing on. As the flames started to engulf the wooden roof, he tried to leap across to the next building. Unfortunately, he was stuck in slapstick mode, and unchacteristically missed the jump, slammed into the wall of the neighboring building, and then fell to the street. The kobolds fell about themselves laughing. This guy was hysterical!

Back on the street, Mordak, did not believe in the gold half-dragon.

“You are battered beyond repair, Mordak! You must yield.” Mordak was indeed worried at this point, but he did not yield.

Once again, Basel maneuvered into position to shield bash Mordak. The axe flew from his hands yet again. The half-dragons and kobolds were stunned.

“You have been disarmed twice. Now, will you fall to my hammer, or will you kneel?” growled Basel intimidatingly. The crowd leaned forward expectantly.

“Let my men leave, and I will be your prisoner,” Mordak said somberly. Everyone in the crowed was shocked. Varus was so surprised by the surrender that he forgot to concentrate on the crowd noise. Silence stunned the King’s Way before his comrades started cheering Basel’s victory.

“Basel has won in…mostly fair combat,” Mordak announced to his troops. “Obey me, and leave now with no trouble.” The half-dragons and kobolds left grudgingly, but did not fight. We released the prisoners, and Varus untied Rao and returned him to his friend. Basel claimed the two-handed axe and inspected it on the ride. It had dwarven runes and was obviously magical.

We started to bind Mordak, but he refused to be bound, and no one was eager to tackle that task. However, he did submit to being blindfolded, and we loaded him up into the carriage. Of course, the blindfold would mean nothing if Mordak were not honorable. On the ride back to the keep, Varus spoke with the half-dragon at length and found that he was quite honorable. Varus noted Mordak’s honor in battle, and appealed to the half-dragon to help us against this evil foe. He was very persuasive, and earned Mordak’s trust.

“We need to rescue the prisoners. Where is the dragon’s lair?”

“The Den of Sythren’daal.”

“Where is that?”

“In the woods, with the briars and brambles.”

“Ah, there are many briars and brambles out there, friend.”

“The closer you are to the den, the larger the brambles. Also, if you stumble across the temple, there is a shortcut.”

“How many half-dragons are there?”

“Of my kind? Maybe five.”

Tomeck interjected. “Come work for us! You don’t have to be an asshole anymore!”

Mordak laughed at that.

Varus continued. “Tell me, who is behind all of this?”

“Alabaster Doll, the scourge of the endless forest. He’s the one that’s orchestrating the whole thing.”

“Is that the man in the dragon mask? Are he and Sythren’daal the same?"

“I have seen him and the man in the dragon mask at the same time.”

We pulled up to the keep, and Varus thanked Mordak for the information. The guards muzzled the half-dragon and took him down to the cell.

Sir Klavin met us and Varus told him of the battle and Basel’s dramatic victory, and noting Mordak’s honor.

“Congratulations, Basel, that was well done! Thank you for rescuing the townsfolk. You’ve done more than enough. Get some rest!”

No one argued, and we made our way to get some food and some much-needed rest. At breakfast, Valentia has told us that she has discovered the key to the code of the map. Hopefully, that would help us through.

Before we left, Basel went down to speak with the prisoner.

“If we come out of this adventure alive, I will ask Sir Klavin to save your life.”

“I appreciate that, paladin.”

“Simply put, I need information. Does the dungeon have booby traps?”

“Oh, yes. Many. Good times.” Mordak chuckled.

“Are there illusions?”

“Ah, yes.”

“And what will we find there, at the end?”

“What you already must know, paladin. That the Cult of the Five will release Tiamat on this plane of existence within the Den of Sythren’daal, subjugating your world.”

“Is that what you truly want?”

“It does not matter what I want.”

“Well, thank you, Mordak.”

Basel pondered their conversation and headed outside and hugged his horse. He had paid for a grooming and haircut for Rao.

“I love you buddy. Sorry you were kidnapped.”

We piled into the carriage and headed into the forest where the brambles grew thick to the point where the carriage could not pass. We got out and searched for a passage, but there was none. Flidais nocked her bow and told Tomeck to light the arrow. When it caught fire, she shot it into the brambles. When they started burning, they started growing. Basel hacked at them with his axe, but had little effect. Even Tomeck’s spell of acid had no effect.

Basel went to the edge of the brambles and appealed to Rao. A pile of leaves and brush started rising! Varus and Flidais readied arrows and Basel readied his axe. A large mound composed of brush, brambles, tendrils, leaves, and other plant matter erupted and moved toward Tomeck. The bard and ranger fired their arrow into it, but it had no apparent effect.

The mound shot out two long, leafy tendrils at Tomeck and wrapped both around him. Before anyone could act, the mound dragged him in and engulfed him! Inside, it was a horrifying. Before he could resist, he was restrained by vines and blinded by leaves. Thorns jabbed into his flesh. Tendrils reached for his ears and mouth.

The druid rode up on her dog and whipped the mound with vine whip and dragged it towards her. Unagi used the opportunity to hit it several times. Tomeck tried to break free of the binding tendrils, and succeeded. He dashed away to drink a healing potion. Basel attacked, but missed and was struck by the flailing limbs. Flidais cast Hunter’s Mark on it and then used her sharpshooting skills, and Varus hit as well.

A second mound erupted from the growth near Flidais; it lashed and engulfed her.

Varus shouted, “What are these, druid? Have you seen them before?”

“I…I think so. They are called shambling mounds.”

“Yes, I can see why. What do you know of them?”

“They can’t see more than 60 feet away, and they grow if they are struck by lightning.”

“Great, that’s interesting. I have read of such creatures, but in the ancient tales, they did not seem so formidable.”

The monk unloaded on the first shambling mound with a volley of blows, and the druid cast a beam of moonlight that shone down and hurt it. Tomeck cast scorching ray and Basel axed the mound with Flidais inside. She tried to escape, but could not break out of the vines. Varus inspired her, but could not harm the shambling monstrosity. Flidais stabbed it from inside. It attacked the druid with its vines and bound her, spit out Flidais, and engulfed the druid. The other mound slammed the monk. The battle descended into a surreal nightmare fighting these creatures.

Valentia could not escape the mound and it crushed the life from her. She was dying. Tomeck cast twinned scorching rays and hit with three of them, but it did not seem to do a lot of damage. He would not give up, and cast a quickened spell of scorching rays and hit again. But the paladin, bard, ranger missed, which proved costly. The mound with the druid lashed out and critically injured the monk. It spit out the dying druid and engulfed the dying monk. The other mound promptly engulfed Basel.

Tomeck blasted it with magic missiles. Basel slashed out of the mound with his magic axe, blasted the healthier one with a Searing Smite, and drank a healing potion. With a final blow, Basel killed the first mound. Varus cast Dissonant Whispers on the one with monk, and it started moving away with the monk still inside as Tomeck and Flidais blasted it. Basel ran over and tried to pull the monk free, but could not, and was then struck down and engulfed. The monk and druid struggled to survive as Tomeck, Varus, and Flidais pounded it with magic and arrows.

Tomeck decided to throw the healing wand to the druid. He missed, and her the dog picked up the wand, and took it back to Tomeck. Tomeck ran over and healed the druid, but inside the mound, Basel couldn’t breath and everything was going dark.

Varus blasted it one more time, and it ejected Basel as it died. The bard used his remaining healing spells and healing wand to ensure everyone was back on their feet. We caught our breaths and assessed the situation. There was no point in pressing forward today. We were in no shape to attack the Den. These two animated plant creatures had kicked our butts, almost killing three of us. Time to rest up, heal up, and recover spells. We would camp in sight of the path, and if any of the cult’s forces came by, we could ambush them. In the morning, we would find our way into the Den.

Varus' Journal: Entry #5: There be Dragons Here!

Episode 5: There Be Dragons Here!

By: Stan Lingle

1The vicious melee in the vault was followed by a nightmarish running battle through the sewers while retreating back to the keep. Cultists and kobolds attacked, but could not organize serious resistance before we made it back to the secured portions of the sewers. The guards closed the portal behind us. Once we were back in the keep, our group stumbled to the infirmary. Basel, Tomeck, and Varus had festering wounds from their injuries. Tyala had been poisoned, and was delirious with fever. We were resting in hospital beds in the infirmary when Flidais returned from the forest. Overjoyed to see us all alive, she ran in, laughing and smiling, calling each of us by name, her hair flouncing as she skipped in. Inspirational music swelled from everywhere and nowhere, as if an elven orchestra were playing nearby, and sunlight streamed into the infirmary. Time seemed to slow as Flidais jumped joyously from bed to bed, her infectious laughter quickly spreading through our merry little band. We laughed for some time and finally fell silent after a while, thinking of the task to come.

Basel broke the silence.

“Now I remember! I can lay hands and cure everyone!” Another round of laughter ensued.

We healed up a bit with a few potions, but there was no opportunity for rest. If the assault could not be stopped soon, the town would be destroyed. We had to act quickly and decisively. The magic shop and the armory seemed like the highest priorities. We needed the magical items in the magic shop to help even the odds, and we had to stop them from falling into enemy hands. We also had to get ballistae bolts from the armory to repel the dragon, for it would surely attack the keep at some point.

Tyala disguised herself as a cultist to help us get through the town. If we ran into enemy forces, she would act as if she had captured us. Fortunately, the magic shop, Bizarre Bazaar, was right next to the keep. We snuck up on it, and seeing no outside resistance, and quickly launched an attack. There were several cultists and kobolds with the mark of a dragon wing in the magic shop; they were going through the various magic items and sorting them into different piles.

Tyala surprised one cultist with an arrow while Varus sang a song of sleep on 3 of the nasty little kobolds. Flidais moved in, fired true at the second cultist and then hit him with a hail of thorns. As he reeled away from that, Tomeck finished him with a firebolt. Basel charged into the shop as Tyala took out another kobold with a sneak attack.

Another kobold rubbed a ring on his finger…and disappeared.

“Damn it, it’s got a ring of invisibility. Stop it before it escapes!” shouted Varus.

Flidais instinctively fired her bow at the disappearing kobold. Unfortunately, Varus was between her and the kobold, which she realized as the she released the shot. Varus saw it and instinctively twisted out of the way. By luck or providence, he spun into the kobold, grabbed it, and pushed it into the line of fire. The arrow struck, and the kobold became visible. Incredulously, the ranger’s arrow had pinned the kobold’s hand to doorpost, and it hung there, dead. Tomeck went up and felt its fingers until he found the ring of invisibility and removed it. This was a useful item, indeed.

We quickly inventoried the contents of the magical shop. There were more magic items than we had ever seen; in fact, they were more magic items than we possessed all together! There was a shield made of adamantium, 3 wands of cure wounds, 2 wands of firebolt, a triangle of Temporary HP, a pair of fabulous pumped-up pumps with wings, a wand of dancing lights, a pair of unidentified boots, a heavy metal shield, a quiver, and a bag of holding. We distributed most of the items and put the remaining items in the bag of holding.

Fortunately, the armory was next to the magic shop. As we approached, the huge green dragon flew overhead. Everyone froze. After we were sure the dragon had passed, we made our way to the door. Tyala picked the lock on the second try, and we headed in. Much of the ordnance had been removed for the defense of the town, but there were 3 crates of ballistae bolts. Each one contained 10 bolts, and they were quite heavy. Carrying them in the open would be slow and very noticeable. Fortunately, they just fit into the mouth of the bag of holding, so we loaded them up.

As we finished, Tomeck spotted 2 small green dragons flying overhead. Wyrmlings, very young offspring of Sythren'daal from the hatchery, no doubt. They spotted the open door and Tomeck, and dove from the sky to investigate. The sorcerer bolted to the back door of the armory and tried to kick it down. He promptly bounced off; it was a heavy and well-made, as you might expect of the of an armory. Basel dashed forward to bar the front door, but before he made it, one of the wyrmlings flew in door and landed. It may have been much smaller than its sire, but it was still a formidable foe. Flidais was near the door; the vile wyrm opened its maw and breathed nauseating green gas on Flidais. She drew her short swords, but was choking on the gas and could not attack effectively. Varus ran up and barred the door, just as the other wyrmling landed and smashed into it. The door held, but the wyrmling continued to slam against it. Tyala drew an arrow from the random quiver and hit with a sneak attack; the arrow splintered, doing more damage. Basel charged in and swung with his mighty lion hammer but suffered from performance anxiety and missed badly. A firebolt whizzed the wyrmling head as it bit Basel. Basel laughed in reply and spit on the wyrmling. Varus missed with his bowshot, but distracted it as Flidais struck with both short swords. Tyala used her thieves’ tools but could not open the door. She, Basel, and Tomeck all missed as the wyrmling turned and bit Flidais. Varus sang a song of dissonance at it, but the wyrmling shrugged off much of the damage. The rogue failed on the door lock again…but landed another arrow with her sneak attack. Basel missed, but Tomeck fired a firebolt and killed the wyrmling.

Varus readied an arrow and fired into the second wyrmling as it burst through the door. It breathed on Flidais, Varus, and Tyala, who were not incapacitated, but took damage. Tyala failed on the lock and her sneak attack. Basel shield charged the wyrmling and knocked it prone, bringing his hammer down hard. Tomeck healed Flidais as Varus pulled his rapier, stepped in, and stabbed the wyrmling. The wyrmling didn’t like that turned to bite Varus. Flidais healed herself and cast Hunter’s Mark, but no one could hit as we dodged and circled the beast. Sorcerer and ranger finally hit with firebolt and arrow. The dragon bit Varus again, and the bard went down. The others quickly finished the second wyrmling.

Tomeck brought Varus around with the healing wand, and then the bard used the magical triangle to give everyone temp HP. During the combat, Flidais realized her boots were boots of stealth. We quickly made it back to the keep before anything else spotted us.

As we arrived, Sir Klavin was making a speech to the assembled troops, raising their morale and trying to convince them to commit to a charge to repel the enemy.

“We must strike now, and strike together. We must drive this enemy from our lands. Help me take back what is ours. It is not their right to take what we have built. We must fight, fight to the last if need be, for these creatures are evil. We must fight as one. Fight with me!”

“Sir Klavin…we have something that can help!” Varus announced.

Everyone turned around to see us standing there with three crates of ballistae bolts. A murmur went through the crowd.

Sir Klavin grinned. “Well done. You know we can use them. Help my men load the ballistae, we can pin him down. Weaken him and force him away.” Klavin’s inspiration and the timely arrival of the ballistae bolts motivated the assembled soldiers and militia. He commanded them to their posts, and then came over to us.

“It’s so good to see you back safely. Now, I must ask you, did you recover the silver dragon mask? Do you have it? Is it safe? Is it sound?”

Varus spoke up. “Sir Klavin, we need to know it’s powers before returning it.”

“It is a family heirloom. I am responsible for it.”

“I can appreciate that,” said Varus, “but surely you can appreciate that if you have been compromised, it would be utterly foolish of us to hand it over. We have trusted you and fought hard to defend your town. Now we ask that you trust us. The town hangs in the balance. Tell us of the mask!”

Varus’s powerful words affected Sir Klavin, and his expression softened.

“Yes, you have certainly earned my trust. The silver dragon mask is a dragon paragon mask. It means that another silver dragon…would regard the wearer as an equal. It has…other powers as well. I promise that I will only use those powers to defend the town and its people. You have nothing to fear from me.”

Varus looked at the others, then looked at Sir Klavin and handed him the mask. He took it and put it in his breastplate.

“Thank you. Now let’s get those bolts to the roof. The keep is already under attack!”

We carried the bolts up to the roof of the keep. There were 4 ballistae, one on each corner. 20 archers lined the parapets, and footmen and archers were positioned in front of the keep.

Indeed, the battle for the keep had already started. Winged kobolds wheeled around, some carrying large rocks and dropping them on the soldiers like evil little bombers. Others grabbed people, flew them up, and dropped them in front of the soldiers defending the gate. We manned the unmanned ballistae and distributed the bolts among the four. Tomeck, Basel, and Tyala loaded their ballistae and waited for the dragon to be in range. Sir Klavin made it to the roof.

Sythren'daal dove and breathed gaseous death on the soldiers in front of the keep. Flidais dropped two kobolds out of the sky with her bow. Unfortunately, as Varus pulled his bow to shoot at a kobold, his bowstring broke, and several kobolds dropped rocks on people.

The ballistae fired as the great wyrm flew by, and three of the four bolts hit. The dragon did not seem injured as it wheeled around. Basel fired his ballista and the bolt scored a solid hit. Tyala loaded a ballista and then took out a kobold with her bowshot. While the ballistae kept firing, Flidais, Tomeck, and Tyala kept taking down flying kobolds.

Now Sythren’daal wheeled, climbed, then dove towards the roof. It was then that we saw Sir Klavin pull out the silver mask and put it on. He erupted out of his armor and transformed into a silver dragon! It was an amazing and inspiring sight for all the defenders, and a roar went up. He leapt into the sky to attack Sythren’daal as two more ballista bolts struck the mighty green dragon.

Basel called upon his god Rao and prayed for his assistance fighting such a chaotic evil monster. Rao heard his prayers and guided his aim. The bolt struck true and pierced Sythren’daal’s wing at a most sensitive point. The wyrm’s demeanor changed noticeably with that hit; it went from imperious to…afraid? At that moment, Klavin slammed into him, silver dragon ripping with teeth and claws.

The green dragon was overwhelmed and retreated at full speed. Suddenly…it disappeared! Standing in the road in its place was a man wearing a green dragon mask. Evidently, it was a counterpart to Sir Klavin’s silver mask, and that man was the leader of the cult. He turned and disappeared into the night. Another roar went up from the defenders. The attackers near the castle began to retreat. With the defeat of the dragon, the attack on the keep was repulsed.

The Second Sundering - Chapter 7 & 8: The Raid and Conclusion

Who was in the group:
**I will not be doing keypoints for this adventure**

1. Tomeck, the fourth level Half-Elf Sorcerer
2. Varus Silvertongue, the fourth level Half-Elf Bard
3. Tyalah, the fourth level Wood Elf Thief
4. Basel, the fourth level Paladin of Devotion
5. Flidais, the fourth level Huntress
6. (U)Nagi, the fourth level Monk

Events that occurred: 

1. After the battle with the shambling mounds, the group was given a long rest that would help them recover from the siege of the town and their recent travels.  Decidedly afterwords, the group left Nagi and the druid to watch the wagon while they ventured to secure a path into the temple.
2. Tomeck, Varus, Tyalah, Basel and Flidais moved towards the temple grounds and found that the stone door was sealed shut.  It had taken moving what would be the equivalent of 100lbs of stone feet, one by one, to unlock the door, but their plans would soon be interrupted.
3. A stone golem, draped in robes of all chromatic colors had stumbled across the party attempting to gain access.  Unmovingly attached to its orders, its malice had it stomp towards Varus and issue a slow spell.  No one was hurt, but there was a potential death if the party did not move.
4. The Den of Syythrendaal was in fact enveloping around ancient ruins.  The ruins were fairly well secured, but there were several hints of disrepair and broken down structures and foundations within the temple.  Making their way downward, the party had discovered that the Cult of the Five had placed themselves and marked this as their bastion...but something seemed off.
5. The temple was built upon a set of death traps and some amusement, but the Cult of the Five made sure that entering the temple would be the downfall to foolhardy adventurers.  Several traps and puzzles were dismantled and others were instigated by Flidais, who haphazardly triggered a trap here and there.  No one was seriously injured, but it was enough to strike fear within the party.  Throughout combat, Tiamat incurred her wrath upon the party, hinting that the ritual was underway.
6. As the party rested once more, it seemed as if frescos on the wall were describing the acts and rites of the ritual.  The final product being a man draped in black with a green mask on his face. 
7. As the party ventured deep into the final floors of the temple, they encountered a pedestal with a gem in the middle.  It seemed to radiate magical energy and in the room, their were sconces that lit up with player interaction.  As the party examined their situation, they realized that someone would be free to explore the next room by themselves, while the rest of the party had to touch the stones.
8. Tyala was the one that made the commitment to enter the next room by herself; something seemed off as if the walls, floors an ceilings were cleaned- spotless. Within the quiet corridors, Tyala found an orb that opened the final door, but it did not allow the doors to remain open...and with her touch, a clasp let loose and a wiggling cube slurped out, looking to for its next meal.  The encounter went off with a second cube appearing and the almost demise of Varus and Flidais.  It was through the quick thinking of Nagi and Tomeck that their lives were sparred, but slightly charred.
9. As the party moved past the sconces, the sound of yipping and chanting could be heard behind the door.  The ritual was in its finishing arcs as the grand cultist in his green dragon mask and black robes called upon his kobolds to fight for their last breath as he finished the ritual. It was Nagi, who had struck the last blow upon him, foiling their plan of taking him hostage...
10. A grand portal under the the circle opened up and spewed its vitriol of the Abyss upon the party as two heads of Tiamat arose from them.  It was at that moment that her rage and strength could be felt at full strength, but through brute strength and observation, it was dropping the pillars upon her, forcing Tiamat back into the Abyss, but ripping the party into a new plane of existence.
11. As Basel came tumbling out of the portal, he stood up in front of a sign..."Welcome to Neverwinter...", the rest of the party shortly followed suit.

Key treasure found:
     a) Green Dragon Mask
     b) Devout Robe
     c) 4 Books of semi-moderately-importance.

Session Wrap-up:
The party, exhausted from their adventure finally find time to focus on themselves and realizing that the world they once knew may potentially be gone forever.

Session Rewards:
Those that were level 4 are now level 5.
Those that were level 3 are now level 4.
Also, have 90 days of downtime.

Varus' Journal: Entry #4: And Then There Were Four (or, Tyala Turns the Tide!)

Episode 4 - And Then There Were Four (or, Tyala Turns the Tide!)

By: Stan Lingle

Sensing the impending storm for Guldize, Varus spent his downtime identifying as many of the mystery items that we had recovered as possible. The potions turned out to be Healing, Cure Disease, two Greater Healing, an Oil of Magic Weapon, and Cure Poison. The scrolls contained spells of Scorching Ray, Cure Wounds (3^rd level), Identify, Fireball, and Bless. (Note: Items crossed off were used during the session).

After a short day’s rest, Guldize was here! The ranger and the druid did not want to be in town with all of the crowds and noise so and headed out into the woods to patrol and hunt. Nagi was nowhere to be found, and no one knew where he had gone. Though there were still rumors of giants on the road, the patrols had reported nothing. They did report that a fort had been erected near the mine and that it bore the symbol of the Cult of Five. And the farmers claimed ruin, with crops eaten and their tools of wood, iron, and steel destroyed by The Reaper.

Tyala awoke that morning feeling strangely. She ripped off her sheets and found her feet were covered in mud, as if she had been walking in the bog! There seemed to be some strange connection to the chest in her room. It turned out that the previous resident had been cursed by Auntie Murphy, but Tyala was feeling the effects of the witch’s curse, and she was not the only one.

Basel’s vision went black, and he saw a green dragon fly over town and breath deadly poison on the townspeople. As soon as he awoke, he asked several of us to accompany him to the Temple of St. Cuthbert. Tomeck had told him to burn the witch’s horn, and he knew he had to get rid of it. Basel tried to enter the temple but could not pass the door. The temple was protected against evil.

“Please, we must enter. This horn is cursed!” Basel implored the servant of St. Cuthbert who appeared.

“Have you filled out the forms?" asked Bert the Banker, “Cursed horn, fill out the forms.”

Basel enthusiastically filled out the form. “Age...29 and loving it; occupation…adventurer; wealth to store here…2 gp. Reason for visit…cursed horn. Identification…you don’t need to see my ID.” Tomeck donated 5 gp to the cause. Finally, once the administrivia was complete, one of the clerics examined the horn.

“The horn is linked to someone’s life force. Protection from evil may work if you cast the spell on it.” Basel cast the spell and suddenly felt Auntie Murphy trying to take his soul into the horn. He called on the strength of his god, and she faded away.

The nobles presented the group with 50 pp for our efforts in revealing the treacherous noble house. Varus also found 3 gems worth 5 gp.

The day of the festival was beautiful, and the town was joyous and crowded. Wonderful smells of food wafted throughout. There were fairgrounds, games, a feast hall, a petting zoo, a butchery, a magical curiosity shoppe, Hassam’s used livestock (including camels!), and other merchants. There was a memorial to those who had passed.

Varus performed in the noble’s tent for several sets and chatted with the nobles; Basel went to the memorial to reflect; and Tyala won at games of chance. Tomeck went to the curiosity shoppe and met the shop owner, who was more curious than most of his wares. He tended to speak in rhyme and expected you to keep up in time.

“Do you need a sharkskin cloak so that you can swim like that toothy bloke? Or a camouflage cloak of green that would allow you to be in the forest unseen? Perhaps rings are the things that sing to your magical heart and you sing for the ring?” He brought out a box of rings and showed Tomeck a spider ring, which would allow him to climb like a spider. When the sorcerer found it cost 1500 gp, he stormed out.

“This is an outrage!”

“Have a magical day for the rest of your stay!”

Tomeck was still grumbling as he walked along the street and some youths sidled up beside him.

“Hey, Tomeck, do you want some moonsugar?”

“What is that?” asked Tomeck.

“It’s refined wolfbane, dude. Amazing hallucinogenic. Then it might make you sick when you’re coming down.”

“Get out of here or I’ll blast you!” They looked at him in surprise, dropped the moonsugar and ran. In the alley, Tomeck noticed some crude graffiti of what looked like a monk beating on children. Very odd.

Back in the noble’s tent, Varus took a break between sets and met Tyala.

“What have you learned of Sir Klavin in our absence? The Dal’rens, the noble house that we destroyed, had been taken over by the cultists. They were one of his strongest allies.”

“From what I could tell, Sir Klavin is happy with us. We saved his life when he was captured. We have helped defend his town. I saw no evidence he was lying. He did talk to me of his heritage. When I was in the castle, I saw a large painting over the fireplace. It was a man riding a red dragon. He said it was from a time before Tiamat existed, when most of dragon kind was good. Humans worked with the dragons to stop the Ordening, the time when giants ruled the world. At that time, every other race was a slave race, and dragons and humans had worked together to end it.” Tyala’s expression changed.

“I did hear Sir Klavin whispering in a strange language, which sounded like Draconic. He said something about responding to a new menace.” Is that reassuring or foreboding? Varus wondered.

We looked up to see Sir Klavin waving at us and walking over.

“Varus. Tyala. So good to see you. I hope you are enjoying the festival.”

“Thank you, my lord. It is good to see the town celebrating after all these recent troubles. I couldn’t help but notice that handsome ring on your hand. What a magnificent dragon.”

“Ah, thank you, it is a family heirloom. My family has traditionally been close to dragons. Heroes of times past, I fear.”

“You’ll have to tell us the tale. I’d love to hear it.” Varus was about to press the matter, when Tomeck joined us. He was in no mood for small talk.

“Sir Klavin, I would have a word with you. The Dal’ren noble house openly displayed the Sign of the Five. They threatened the other noble houses. It had been infiltrated by the cultists and we destroyed the house. It is well known that your house are their closest allies. Did you know of their treachery?”

“I understand your concerns, good Tomeck. I did not know. I had my suspicions of the Dal’ren’s, but had no proof before now. Perhaps I did not want to believe they were involved. I can assure you, my only interest is in protecting the town.”

Varus followed up. “What about the reports of the hatchery?”

“Obviously the hatchery would be a problem now.” He looked at us with a knowing glance.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must attend to my social duties.” He looked directly at Varus and then glanced down at the table before leaving.

Varus followed his gaze and realized that he had intentionally left something behind on the table. He scooped up several small pieces of parchment. Upon closer inspection, Varus realized that they were pieces of the map that the group had been assembling! So Sir Klavin had been feeding us pieces of the map. Varus had to believe it was a map of the new fort. Which meant Sir Klavin knew what was going on. And he was leaving us clues to help out…or lead us right into a trap.

Someone ran up and told us that two large oafish figures had been spotted on the road. We grabbed our gear and headed in that direction. We felt the ground shaking, as if something large were hitting it. When we neared the edge of town, a boulder the size of a cart barreled right into a house. We were just taking this in, when another boulder came crashing into the second floor of the Defeated Pillow. Oh no, not our lodgings! thought Varus. We advanced under cover until we could see what had done that.

There were two large, brutish humanoids some distance away. Varus estimated they were at least 10’ tall. Evidently, the giants were here. They were dirty and dressed in filthy furs. Unfortunately, they were out of range of our shortbows, as well as Tomeck’s and Varus’ spells. We had not fought anything at this range yet, much less boulder-throwing giants. Flidais skills and her deadly longbow were sorely missed. Basel blessed us and Varus applied the Oil of Magical Weapon on five of Tyala’s arrows. She climbed up on a roof and hid, Varus cast Invisibility and joined her, and Tomeck moved into position to cover Basel.

As we watched, the giants suddenly got into an argument. This consisted of one giant knocking the other one over and then laughing at his great joke. He said something to the other giant, then turned and marched towards the town. The giant that had been knocked down turned and left. To ensure the remaining one came our way, Tyala taunted it and Varus used his voice illusion to sound like another giant. Basel cast Sanctuary on Tyala and she fired her bow but missed. Tomeck’s missiles of magic hit, and the giant responding by chucking another boulder. It rolled through the building that Tyala and Varus were standing on. Varus sang a tune to inspire Tyala. She ran over, jumped to roof of the next building, and fired her bow, hitting the giant in the shoulder. The sorcerer hit it with more magic missiles, then retreated.

The giant charged up, wielding a 14’ long tree trunk.

“Soon monster friend, I wrestle you,” he bellowed, responding to Varus’ voice illusion.

Basel threw a javelin and hit the giant in the throat, but he shrugged it off. Tomeck read the scroll with the fireball spell and blasted the giant with a ball of fire. Tyala hit with another arrow. He looked for her, but couldn’t see her because of the Sanctuary spell, so he held a boulder and waited. Varus stuck his head out to cast Faerie Fire on the giant, but the giant saw him and chucked his readied boulder. The huge rock smashed into the bard, hurting him badly and nearly pinning him against the building. The other three attacked. Basel jumped out and landed another javelin; Tyala hit with an arrow in a sneak attack; and Tomeck blasted with more magic missile. Then it was the giant’s turn. He charged in slammed Basel twice with the huge tree trunk, and Basel went down hard. The Sanctuary and Bless spells ended.

Varus stepped up and cast a Suggestion spell, hoping to turn the tide.

“Good friend giant, please help us get rid of the other giant.”

“Okay.” He turned around and waved at the other giant. “Bye! Okay, he gone. Now me deal with you.”

Varus realized the hard way that such spells had to be used carefully as he cursed and dodged out of the way. Tyala hit again with a magic arrow and Tomeck with magic missiles. The giant picked up the unconscious paladin and threw him at Tyala. The paladin missile smashed into the surprised rogue. The giant walked over to pick up a boulder, but Varus had had quite enough, and blasted the giant’s brain with Dissonant Whispers. The giant keeled over and the ground shook as he hit. Varus healed the paladin and the rogue.

Basel harvested the tongue and other parts so that we could use them as ingredients to create Enlarge spells. The town guard soon showed up and secured the area. Sir Klavin came to inspect the scene, and invited us to the castle to stay until things were fixed at the inn. The body of the giant was hauled to the town square.

All of us were shaken, literally and figuratively, and we retired to get some sleep. Four hours later, the castle alarm was sounded. Tomeck and Varus had only recovered half of their spells. The town militia ran in and started grabbing weapons and armor from the armory. Reports coming in from around town revealed that the town was under attack.

Sir Klavin was setting up a war room as his squire put on his plate mail. Varus noted that his shield bore the symbol of a silver dragon, and remembered from legend that silver dragons were good dragons.

Three or four nobles ran in. They had been at the festival when arrows started raining down. The attackers bore the banner of the Cult of The Five; there were humans and many half-dragons. They were killing some townspeople and rounding up the rest. The nobles had seen the shadow of a large dragon flying around. More than one building was on fire. They insisted that the noble houses be protected. Sir Klavin addressed everyone.

“No, we must protect the town and the essentials so that we can survive. There are many half dragons. Go, defend your houses and send men to help the guard and militia. Secure as many townsfolk as you can. The town hangs in the balance. We must protect the granaries, the vaults at the bank, and the children. We must retrieve the ballista bolts! The dragon is here. Secure what we have. The attacks should break in the morning if we can endure. If we can draw his fire, we might save the town.” He turned to us.

“My friends, will you help secure the town?”

“Of course, my liege. What has the highest priority?”

“There is a magical item in the bank vaults that would aid the attackers if it falls into their hands. If we could secure it, it could be a great help.”

“How do we get there?”

“We have established safety points throughout the sewers that you can access through the cellar. The closest exit to the bank is the new town well.” He gave us the key to the vaults.

“What are we looking for in the vaults, Sir Klavin?” asked Varus.

“A silver dragon mask.” Our group exchanged glances, but no one commented.

“Very well. We should be on our way.”

We headed down to the cellars and the secret door to the sewers. We moved through the sewers and up the new town well, and surveyed the street before moving stealthily to the bank. When we entered, we discovered to our horror that the cleric guards had been murdered. We prepared for battle as Basel blessed Tomeck, Tyala, and himself and Varus inspired Basel and Tyala.

We burst into the bank, where several cultists and many kobolds were plundering the vaults. The first cultist ran up and slashed Basel with his greatsword. Tomeck cast a Shatter spell on 4 kobolds, and 3 of them went down, and then blasted the cultist with magic missiles, but it triggered his damn wild magic. He realized, to his horror, that he was immune to alcohol for the next fortnight! Basel cast sacred weapon and then swung his hammer and slammed the cultist. All hell broke loose in the vault.

Tyala went right and flanked the cultist, hitting him with a sneak attack. Varus finished him with Dissonant Whispers. One kobold yip-yipped and fired at Tomeck but missed and ran into the room on the right. 

Tomeck moved up and blasted that kobold with a firebolt as Basel advanced and killed another one with a javelin as three arrows whizzed by him. A kobold fired and hit Varus as Tyala critically failed on her bow shot and retreated. A kobold fired a javelin over Basel and Tomeck and out the door. Varus sang a song of sleep and 4 kobolds went down. One of the cultists dashed up and threw a glowing knife that barely missed Basel, but then it returned to the cultist’s hand! Another cultist ran up and cast, and 4 magic missiles shot forth, hitting each one of us. Tomeck cast Shatter on that asshole and the two nearest kobolds, and then Basel literally shattered him as he charged in and slammed the cultist’s head, totally crushing it. Indeed, the blow was so mighty that it blasted through the cultist and killed one of the sleeping kobolds. A kobold missed Basel, and Tyala missed a cultist, then Varus hit with Vicious Mockery. Tomeck fired a firebolt, but the damn wild magic flared again made it go toward Basel. Somehow, Basel sensed it, spun, and blocked it! He then charged up and killed the last visible kobold.

Tomeck coup de graced the remaining sleeping kobolds. As we moved to the vaults, Tyala found a sledgehammer taped to the ceiling, and removed the trap. We came to a closed door, and Varus imitated the wizard to gain access, barely managing to convince them. When they told us to come in, Basel charged in and smashed the nearest cultist. The barbarian turned around, wiped the blood off his wound, and licked his hand. Tomeck blasted 3 kobolds, killing one and Tyala killed another. The barbarian slammed Basel and knocked him down; Varus rolled the ball bearings under the cultist to slow him down and inspired Tyala. Basel slammed the cultist right back with his hammer, who went rolling backwards on the ball bearings as a result. Tomeck firebolted the barbarian and a kobold. Tyala’s arrow was on target, but deflected off of the barbarian’s armor. Unfortunately for Varus, the barbarian ended up right next to the bard and then blasted him right over the teller’s bar. Everything went dark. The barbarian advanced on the sorcerer, but Basel slammed him again with the hammer. 

Tomeck disengaged and moved smoothly across the ball bearings, but was hit by a kobold. The barbarian attacked Basel, but missed. Tyala ran over and administered a healing potion to Varus.

Unfortunately, Varus shot at the cultist, but fumbled and hit Basel instead. Basel slammed the cultist, who was now past bloody. Tomeck killed a kobold with a magical spray of poison and Tyala took down another one with a sneak attack. The barbarian blasted Basel, and the paladin went down; the barbarian then closed on the sorcerer. Basel tried to hit him with a javelin, but missed and hit Tomeck in the leg. Casting through the pain, Tomeck used a scroll of burning hands on the barbarian, then Tyala dropped him with an arrow through the head.

We inspected the vault. There was another gem, a silver mask in the shape of a dragon, which was magical, and 5 scrolls from the wizard cultist. Tyala claimed the magical returning dagger.

We snuck back to the sewers. As we made our way back to the castle, we saw signs of the cultists. We manage to make it back without encountering any.

Level experience, 1200 xp