Post by Wolfgar on Mar 7, 2011 11:40:42 GMT -5
We finished up with Benesarion in the morning. He gave us more tales related to the lost city of the Ancients and described particular buildings and items we should be on the look out for. We left Critchley Falls and headed back to Devonshire.
The day and half travel was uneventful and we arrived once again at the mansion of Lord Sherlane. Colby was able to bargain with him for some spells once they were out of earshot of the servants. He picked up Mend, Unseen Servant, Mirror Image and Protection from Normal Missiles as well as the cost of the spell ink and a potion of Raw Mana in exchange for Colby's Alacrity, Stony Grasp and Lightning Bolt as well as the loan of the arcane treatise from Feldspar. We stayed for lunch then headed back out onto the road.
The week long travel from Devonshire to Threshold was basically without incident. (One night we were attacked by giant owls and managed to kill two of them before the third was chased off.) Father Mikkel was none to pleased to see us in Danton Mills. Seems someone was under the impression we had agreed to take care of Dunder Downs. Not sure how he got that impression. We met a bowyer who would make a strength bow for 1000 gp per bonus. Without any funds we passed for now.
Along the way we met a merchant train headed from Threshold to Critchley Falls. We got a chance to talk to the captain of the men-at-arms. He told us to visit Rusty Saber if we were looking to hire men for an expedition.
In Threshold we had little trouble finding the Rusty Saber. The barkeep pointed us to Falconus and his band of crossbow men. Drinks were shared and a contract was agreed upon. We get Falconus, his lieutenant Blayn and 10 more crossbow men at a rate of 33 gp/day and 12% of any gold and gems we bring back. They supply their own food and gear.
After those negotiations were complete we headed to the caravanserai to get supplies and draw upon the letter of credit from Lord Sherlane. It was run by a merchant mage who Colby was unable to get to trade spells.
In our camp at the edge of the city Colby practiced with Stony Grasp and Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. Stony Grasp grows a hand that attempts to grasp whoever it is directed at. If successful they are held in place. Nahal's Reckless Dweomer seems to have random effects. Once Colby was levitated upward from 4 turns and had to use the scroll of levitation to prevent himself from plummeting 800. The other time created a Silence 15' centered on Colby.
The next day we headed out with our group of 19. On the second or third day we were attacked by 3 griffins, attracted by the smell of our horses and mules. Two of them went for Colby's mount and the third went for Dan. Colby mount went down under the initial charge but Dan escaped serious damage and was able to drive his set spear into the beast. The crossbow men released a volley but only managed a couple of hits.
Colby was able to leap from his mount as it went down and the next round dropped a stinking cloud on the himself. He and one of the griffins were incapacitated while the other was left coughing. The concentrated fire and strikes from Paavo and Friedrich brought down two of the griffins but not before Dan's horse was brought to 0. The last griffin was easily dispatched from outside the cloud.
[In the future (according to the DMG p 50-51) when flying creatures attack by diving they typically only use one attack mode (either beak or claws, not both). However they do double damage on such strikes. Once in melee they can use all modes of attack. There is nothing in the DMG about this but I would rule that a set spear on a diving creature would do more than double damage given the great velocity with which they are moving.]
We healed up the injured horse, transferred supplies from the downed horse, collected parts from the griffins and headed on our way.
The next day we found an abandoned camp site. It appeared that some humanoids attacked some hunters. The hunters were beheaded and the bones roasted on the fire. We followed the trail through a burial ground but our large party was unmolested. Having hit the river we followed an ancient road along it to the base of the mountains. We were assaulted by ape-like creatures wielding stone weapons. Colby's sleep spell caught 7 of the 8 of them and the crossbow men brought down the last.
The road continued up into the mountain face through a wide staircase. We applied blinders to the horses and dragged them up the stairs while Falconus' company secured the passage from more ape-like creatures.
The main party advanced up the stairs and found a wide bridge spanning 16" across the river. In the middle of the bridge was a bronze-door shrine. We were attacked by stone statues as we approached the shrine. Using the knowledge we gained from our encounter in the chaos temple, we set to work using only blunt weapons to slowly bludgeon the statues to dust.
Behind the statues we discovered a magic user scroll and a wand. Colby successfully avoided being cursed and used Comprehend Languages in conjunction with Read Magic to decipher the scroll. It contains several spells at 7th level: MM, Lightning Bolt, ?, ?. No idea what the wand does.
The inside of the temple reveals a mask blowing strongly into a pool of water. Runes inside the temple indicate that entering the pool will transport you to remote location. Before entering the pool we decide to rest and heal up.
We retrieved Falconus' men and set up a picket at the top the stairs. It appears that the stairs and shrine are taboo for the ape-like creatures.
Some negotiations occur between Falconus and his men regarding entering the pool in the shrine and being whisked away to some unknown location with no clear route home. Half of the crossbow men agree to come with the other keeping the mules and supplies.
After resting the party, Falconus, 5 crossbow men and 4 horses enter the pool. We are transported to a room deep under the ground. Our dwarves agree that it is at least 400 feet to the surface. Murals on the room depict people coming and going from this chamber by way of black circular portals. The reverse transport does not work for us. Apparently you need some incense to burn in the sconces next to the portals.
We leave the crossbow men and horses and do some exploring. We find another transport room which is also not functioning. We find the remains of some incense in one of the scones which we take.
Paavo uses his evil detection and finds some evil behind a door. Entering the room reveals a large chest full of gold and gems which appears to be the source of the evil. Guessing it is a mimic we prepare to attack it with missile fire. Apparently understanding our intent it disappears just as Trommer releases two arrows (two 20's) which sail harmless across the room.
We explore a little more and Paavo detects more evil from another room. As we enter the room a devil is just entering via a gate with loads more waiting to come through. We set for charge the first round as the devils start to come out. Seeing that this won't work Paavo uses some protective salts to disrupt the gate.
Within Paavo 10' protection the party is safe from the devils that have emerged. We all rush one of them. We land some blows but it teleports away. Another devil also leaves unable to attack us. We dispatch the remaining lemure.
More exploring reveals stairs heading to the surface. We retrieve the men and horses and head upward. The door at the top of the stairs yields under the assault of the crowbar. It opens to reveal a tropical expanse.
The day and half travel was uneventful and we arrived once again at the mansion of Lord Sherlane. Colby was able to bargain with him for some spells once they were out of earshot of the servants. He picked up Mend, Unseen Servant, Mirror Image and Protection from Normal Missiles as well as the cost of the spell ink and a potion of Raw Mana in exchange for Colby's Alacrity, Stony Grasp and Lightning Bolt as well as the loan of the arcane treatise from Feldspar. We stayed for lunch then headed back out onto the road.
The week long travel from Devonshire to Threshold was basically without incident. (One night we were attacked by giant owls and managed to kill two of them before the third was chased off.) Father Mikkel was none to pleased to see us in Danton Mills. Seems someone was under the impression we had agreed to take care of Dunder Downs. Not sure how he got that impression. We met a bowyer who would make a strength bow for 1000 gp per bonus. Without any funds we passed for now.
Along the way we met a merchant train headed from Threshold to Critchley Falls. We got a chance to talk to the captain of the men-at-arms. He told us to visit Rusty Saber if we were looking to hire men for an expedition.
In Threshold we had little trouble finding the Rusty Saber. The barkeep pointed us to Falconus and his band of crossbow men. Drinks were shared and a contract was agreed upon. We get Falconus, his lieutenant Blayn and 10 more crossbow men at a rate of 33 gp/day and 12% of any gold and gems we bring back. They supply their own food and gear.
After those negotiations were complete we headed to the caravanserai to get supplies and draw upon the letter of credit from Lord Sherlane. It was run by a merchant mage who Colby was unable to get to trade spells.
In our camp at the edge of the city Colby practiced with Stony Grasp and Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. Stony Grasp grows a hand that attempts to grasp whoever it is directed at. If successful they are held in place. Nahal's Reckless Dweomer seems to have random effects. Once Colby was levitated upward from 4 turns and had to use the scroll of levitation to prevent himself from plummeting 800. The other time created a Silence 15' centered on Colby.
The next day we headed out with our group of 19. On the second or third day we were attacked by 3 griffins, attracted by the smell of our horses and mules. Two of them went for Colby's mount and the third went for Dan. Colby mount went down under the initial charge but Dan escaped serious damage and was able to drive his set spear into the beast. The crossbow men released a volley but only managed a couple of hits.
Colby was able to leap from his mount as it went down and the next round dropped a stinking cloud on the himself. He and one of the griffins were incapacitated while the other was left coughing. The concentrated fire and strikes from Paavo and Friedrich brought down two of the griffins but not before Dan's horse was brought to 0. The last griffin was easily dispatched from outside the cloud.
[In the future (according to the DMG p 50-51) when flying creatures attack by diving they typically only use one attack mode (either beak or claws, not both). However they do double damage on such strikes. Once in melee they can use all modes of attack. There is nothing in the DMG about this but I would rule that a set spear on a diving creature would do more than double damage given the great velocity with which they are moving.]
We healed up the injured horse, transferred supplies from the downed horse, collected parts from the griffins and headed on our way.
The next day we found an abandoned camp site. It appeared that some humanoids attacked some hunters. The hunters were beheaded and the bones roasted on the fire. We followed the trail through a burial ground but our large party was unmolested. Having hit the river we followed an ancient road along it to the base of the mountains. We were assaulted by ape-like creatures wielding stone weapons. Colby's sleep spell caught 7 of the 8 of them and the crossbow men brought down the last.
The road continued up into the mountain face through a wide staircase. We applied blinders to the horses and dragged them up the stairs while Falconus' company secured the passage from more ape-like creatures.
The main party advanced up the stairs and found a wide bridge spanning 16" across the river. In the middle of the bridge was a bronze-door shrine. We were attacked by stone statues as we approached the shrine. Using the knowledge we gained from our encounter in the chaos temple, we set to work using only blunt weapons to slowly bludgeon the statues to dust.
Behind the statues we discovered a magic user scroll and a wand. Colby successfully avoided being cursed and used Comprehend Languages in conjunction with Read Magic to decipher the scroll. It contains several spells at 7th level: MM, Lightning Bolt, ?, ?. No idea what the wand does.
The inside of the temple reveals a mask blowing strongly into a pool of water. Runes inside the temple indicate that entering the pool will transport you to remote location. Before entering the pool we decide to rest and heal up.
We retrieved Falconus' men and set up a picket at the top the stairs. It appears that the stairs and shrine are taboo for the ape-like creatures.
Some negotiations occur between Falconus and his men regarding entering the pool in the shrine and being whisked away to some unknown location with no clear route home. Half of the crossbow men agree to come with the other keeping the mules and supplies.
After resting the party, Falconus, 5 crossbow men and 4 horses enter the pool. We are transported to a room deep under the ground. Our dwarves agree that it is at least 400 feet to the surface. Murals on the room depict people coming and going from this chamber by way of black circular portals. The reverse transport does not work for us. Apparently you need some incense to burn in the sconces next to the portals.
We leave the crossbow men and horses and do some exploring. We find another transport room which is also not functioning. We find the remains of some incense in one of the scones which we take.
Paavo uses his evil detection and finds some evil behind a door. Entering the room reveals a large chest full of gold and gems which appears to be the source of the evil. Guessing it is a mimic we prepare to attack it with missile fire. Apparently understanding our intent it disappears just as Trommer releases two arrows (two 20's) which sail harmless across the room.
We explore a little more and Paavo detects more evil from another room. As we enter the room a devil is just entering via a gate with loads more waiting to come through. We set for charge the first round as the devils start to come out. Seeing that this won't work Paavo uses some protective salts to disrupt the gate.
Within Paavo 10' protection the party is safe from the devils that have emerged. We all rush one of them. We land some blows but it teleports away. Another devil also leaves unable to attack us. We dispatch the remaining lemure.
More exploring reveals stairs heading to the surface. We retrieve the men and horses and head upward. The door at the top of the stairs yields under the assault of the crowbar. It opens to reveal a tropical expanse.
