Shade Lion

This large panther looking creature stands stands six feet tall at the shoulder. It's fur is the color of smoke and has a mane of smoke and mist that swirls around its neck and upper shoulders.

CR 4
Shade Lion

N Large magical beast
Init +3; Senses Listen +6, Spot +6; darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent
Languages Understands common

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AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 17; Dodge, Mobility
(+3 Dex, +8 natural, -1 size)
hp 38 (4d10+16 HD)
Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +3
Weakness sunlight vulnerability

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Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)
Melee 2 claws +11 (1d6+7) and bite +3 (1d8+3)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +4; Grp +15
Atk Options Improved Grab, Pounce, Rake
Def Options Dodge, Mobility

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Abilities Str 24, Dex 17, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14
Feats Dodge, Mobility
Skills Balance +15², Climb +15², Jump +15², Listen +6, Hide +6¹, Move Silently +10¹, Spot +6
[¹] Shade Lion's have a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks.
[²] Shade Lioin's have a +8 racial bonus on Balance, Climb and Jump checks.

---

Shadow Blend (Su) In any condition of illumination other than full daylight, a shade lion can disappear into the shadows, giving it total concealment. Artificial illumination, even a light or continual flame spell, does not negate this ability. A daylight spell, however, does.
Sunlight Vulnerability Every hour that a shade lion is exposed to daylight, it suffers 1 point of Strength and Constitution damage. A shade lion reduced to 0 Constitution in this manner simply evaporates.

Strategies and Tactics

Shade lions are nocturnal hunters that prefer to attack when it is dark. When attacking creatures who are using a light source they dart in and out of the light, attacking from different angles to unbalance their prey. If overwhelmed, a shade lion will break of its attack, instead tracking its foe and waiting for an opportune moment to attack.


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Never trust a Northrog

“If at first you don’t succeed,” so they say. For those of us that generally follow a more “cautious” lifestyle the motto is “first time or never.” Going back for a second try is almost always fatal—the mark has had a chance to reinforce his defences, probably moved the thing you were after, ... If you want to try again you have to be really careful, do all your homework, and be super, super prepared.

Maybe if I’d been a bit wiser I would have considered the trail of Jerrold close enough and then I wouldn’t be stuck in the crap storm I am now.

We found the cave easily enough, the only fight on the way being with an unfriendly hill giant. It had a really good vantage point and hurt a few people, but ultimately we took it down, down, down.

When we got near the cave the area was shrouded in fog and we could dimly see some sort of large cage so we backed off a bit and after Obegard cast a spell to take a closer look he told us it was actually a rib cage, being the closest part of a skeleton from a silver dragon, which are also called “shield” dragons and are considered good and kind.

It was a really big skeleton and perhaps that should also have been a clue that we didn’t want to deal with what lay beyond.

Everything looked clear so I let Obegard turn me invisible and I went into the cave to scout. In one side chamber I saw four Northrogs with some sort of shadowy lion that Obegard later said was called a Shade Lion. The lion smelled me, I’m sure, but it appeared that it’s no more fond of its Northrog masters than we are because it just looked pleased and settled itself again. Man I’d like to have me one of those.

I moved further through the caves but stopped when I entered a vast cavern full of shrieking mushrooms. This was not somewhere I wanted to go by myself as there could have been anything hiding in the dark, and if I accidentally tickled one of the ’shrooms the Northrogs would cut me off from the others.

It was time to clue in the others so I went back and told them what I’d seen.

The Northrogs provided little resistance, particularly after Obegard partly cooked them with a fireball. I got in a couple of good shots, my friendly lion keeping back out of the fight.

I set the lion free, which I was kind of sad about but he didn’t want to be here and I wasn’t going to try and make him be my best bud. He licked my hand when I removed his bonds and I half thought he was going to stay of his own volition but then he padded from the chamber and, I presume, the cave system.

In exchange for the promise of his life one of the Northrog told us of a chamber with a dwarven statue in it, which he claimed was the only interesting thing in the caves.

We moved as quietly as we could through the shrieker cavern to the other side, where we did indeed find a large double door with dwarven runes carved into the frame. As Barin and I puzzled over the archaic dialect and just as I spelled out the inscription we heard something moving through the air behind us and turned to see a humongous black dragon wreathed in shadows, the mere sight of which filled me with dread.

Before anyone could react it breathed upon us and I felt drained. There was something more in the breath that burned at my eyes but I managed to get my hands up to shield them before any damage was done.

We ran through the doorway, one of the two doors standing ajar in what seemed a small measure of good fortune. When the last person slipped through Son of Clouds heaved at the open door with all his strength, yet failed to move it.

The dragon moved down and pushed its head through the opening, taking a large bite out of Son of Clouds. While the stronger members of our group laboured unsuccessfully to close the door Obegard and I ran to the statue and the altar before it, looking for anything that might help.

There was a book on the altar but it took only a few moments to realise it was just an old copy of a prayerbook to Kor.

Obegard cast a spell to lubricate the hinges on the door and with another almighty heave the others managed to close the door.

What the hell is that thing, anyway? Obegard says it looks like a black dragon but they usually breath acid. I think it’s some kind of undead and I shudder at the power that could do that, as well as the perversion.

So now we’re closed in here with no apparent way out except back past that abomination, I’m looking for anything else that will help us, and I think Obegard is going to use a spell to find magical auras. I hope he finds something because otherwise we’re really in trouble.

Enter the Dragon

Things are looking grim indeed.

Our trip back into the mountains started out pleasantly: finally, some regular old pastoral countryside. I don't know how the farming is here, but compared to the gloom of the woods and the desolation of the broken plains, the moors seem rich and gentle. Once the track up into the mountains got steep, things became consideraby less peaceful.

We were ambushed by a giant man standing atop a 100 ft high outcrop, who hurled boulders at us until I could snare him with a Web. Getting into a position to do anything about this assault was painful and time-consuming; I gave Malakar the power of flight, and the rest of us managed to find a trail up. It's difficult to fight without a clear line of sight, and when your opponent has the high ground. I was grateful that we were a full contingent: Son of Clouds, Barrin, and the two small Gargoyles joined us, and even with all of them surrounding the big biped it was a close call. There was a path leading away from the ambush spot, but we elected to press onwards to find the mysterious "shadow" we were seeking.

In hindsight, I wonder why Malakar didn't use his bear form in this fight; perhaps he's hoping that Ili will forget about it if he doesn't change again soon, or perhaps there are some limitations on his ability to change form.

Further up the mountain, we spotted a cagelike structure ahead in the fog. Using clairvoyance, I determined that it was the ribcage of a tremendous Silver Dragon, dead for some time. We sent Borrow ahead, invisible, to scout, and he reported back on an extensive system of caves, including a large cavern full of Shrieking mushrooms (apparently commonplace down below), and guarded by a quartet of Nothrogs, inattentively gaming in a side chamber. To complicate things a bit, Borrow described a Shade Lion (used by the Nothrogs as mounts) which smelled him but appeared friendly and didn't raise the alarm. We approached the Nothrog's chamber as stealthily as the eight of us could, and I began the fight in the preferred fashion, with a Fireball. This time there wasn't even a door to deal with! I couldn't see clearly from back in the cooridor, but it was a short, ugly fight as the others surrounded the surprised Nothrog. As it turned out, the Nothrog were well-trained and well-equipped, so it's a good thing our plan went off without any major glitches.

After releasing the friendly Shade Lion, Borrow attempted to interrogate the sole surviving Nothrog. The usual threats from Ili helped us to get at least a tiny bit of information -- a room of importance to the dwarved, with a rune-encrusted door and a statue of Kor, lay beyond the great northern chamber (the one with the noisy fungi). Not exactly an immense pearl of wisdom, but it was enough to spare his life (for now at least: Malakar knocked the contemptible Nothrog unconscious with a fell punch before we continued).

When we reached the great brass doors (traipsing through the mushroom patch), It appeared with the faintest whisper of sound:

A large dragon, black as night, but with wisps of shadow curling around it indistinctly. Before any of us could react, it breathed, and most of us were enveloped by a vile dark lance of horror. A few quaked in fear, most of us were stricken with frailness and distemper, and Barrin and the Gargoyles were all struck blind.

(Irony #1: When we heard Jerrold babbling on about the Shadow, we assumed we'd be facing phastasmic or spectral opposition; not a dragon! Magic missiles aren't going to do me a lot of good against It's innate spell resistance.

Irony #2: I've been wearing an Enemy Spirit Pouch which assists in fighting dragons, mostly in jest, never thinking it might have practical purpose. I wish I'd given it to Malakar or one of the other fighters -- it's not going to do me a whole lot of good.).

The mad seconds that followed, filled with screams and shouts, passed slowly as we rushed helter-skelter for the open door. I was among the last, and almost slipped as the dragon caused the ground to become slick. Son-of-Clouds followed with a deft leap over the slippery ground. Nobody seemed to be able to shut the door, and I rushed over to help Borrow search the altar and statue for a clue. As we hurriedly flipped through a prayerbook (Borrow figured out quickly that it didn't hold any supernatural powers to aid us), the dragon stretched its hideous horned head through the open door and mauled Son of Clouds with its vicious teeth. I tried to assist the sporadic efforts to close the door by lubricating the hinges; I don't know if it helped, but Ili and the others finally ground it into motion. Alas, Ili too was struck blind by the noxious breath of the dragon before the portal finally clanged closed.

We're in poor shape, we're trapped, and any moment the Dragon may break back in. Think, Obegard, think! It's not a Black Dragon, it's not a Shadow Dragon, at least not exactly... it must have some weakness, if only we can find it before we're crushed and consumed.

Revealed

It's never easy to learn something unexpected about someone you thought you knew, but it's even harder to live day after day, knowing that you're hated, reviled, and feared for simply being different.

It all started when we came across the small hamlet of Stoneyvale on our way Deverania. We had to take Barron to own kind, where he would be able to take the artifact underground and safely away from Nassiral Hate. The townsfolk were all on edge, but we were able to convince them that we might be able to help. A few of the townspeople had been killed in mysterious circumstances, with throats slashed open. I immediately suspected the Cult of Bascaron was involved, but Ili, in her typical close-mindedness, started talking about how all lycanthropes were vile and evil. I tried to explain (again) not all Lycanthropes were evil, though I don't think it sinked in.

Still, I welcomed the opportunity to destroy any of the Bascaron, and we set forth a day later. We found a set of tracks that didn't appear to belong to either animal or humanoid. It was easy to follow, and after about a day, we came across a small cave opening. It didn't feel too right, but we went forward anyways. That's when they struck. There were about a dozen of them, and they came at us fast. In less than a blink of eye, they were upon over us. One of the tougher, meaner looking ones told us to surrender. Upon looking at him, I could tell that he didn't have the twisted appearance of the Cult of Bascaron. I didn't know what they wanted, but I also didn't think that they'd kill us, so I encouraged the rest of them to give themselves up peacefully. Ili was more thickheaded, and it took a few more kicks before she calmed down.

Their leader circled us a few times, seemingly smug at having bested us. He stopped near me, and somehow, he knew. He said that he'd kill us all unless I would be able to defeat him in single combat. I was allowed to my feet, and to cast several spells to heal myself and increase my combat poweress. However, he looked very dangerous, and I didn't think I'd be able to defeat him in my normal form. So for the sake of everyone else, I turned into a half bear. Everyone in my group but Borrow looked shocked, and I rushed forward to attack. I fought as harder than I had ever fought, carving gashes into him that would have killed a normal man five times over. However, it just wasn't wasn't enough, he was preternaturally tough, and his blows were easily able to overcome my battered splint mail. I fell to unconsciousness, but I was woken up a few moments later. He told me that I was going to be branded, and I was in no position to resist. It hurt, but it wasn't the worst I've endured. After the ritual was complete, I could sense the presence of the others. So that's how they knew.

As they walked away, they told us that a party of adventurers had passed through the woods and into the mountains a few days ago. We followed after them, but I could tell that the others didn't trust me, especially Ili. I suspected that at first chance, she'd contact the church and try to have me "dealt" with. Perhaps with my newfound "gift" I would be able to find new friends in the church that would understand. Borrow seemed to have taken it the best, having no prior experiences with Lycanthropes, good or evil. We headed toward the mountains, but we couldn't pick up a trail, and returned to Stoneyvale. There, we met the sole survivor of the adventuring party that we were trying to follow. He had returned alone just a day before us. He seemed to be quite distressed, talking about how a great shadow had enveloped his friends and that only he was able to get away. He was able to describe to us where that had happened, and we planned to head back right away. Perhaps I could use this opportunity to prove once and for all that not all Lycanthropes are evil.

Dances with Wolves

The latest leg of our journey started auspiciously enough: Barrin rescued, the artifact secured, and sundry mercenaries and Nothrogs dispatched, defeated, or debriefed. To make a long story short, we've agreed to accompany Barrin back to the Dwarven underlands to return the artifact to a more secure hiding place. To make a long journey longer, we're headed to Deverania to locate the largest group of emerged dwarves that we've heard about.

We were fortunate to locate some interesting magical items carried by our defeated foes. Less fortunately, we may have acquired a powerful enemy in Nassiral Hate, united of the Nothrog tribes and conqueror of Baraxton. The mercenary captain Borka warned us of his immense powers of divination, and of his probable wrath at the death of his servant Garkar and one of his elite guards. I hope that we can escape his eye until we're safely out of reach of his hordes, and I'll sleep better when we've parted from Barrin and his mysterious artifact.

One more strange piece of information came our way at the monastery: when I tried to contact Cassandra (the second time -- that's another long story), I instead received a vision... a huge cavern, dim light glinting off stalagmites (those are the ones which come up from the floor, if I remember correctly), and then the ground shifting hazily, a great rift opening up in the floor...
I don't know what it means. I can only hope that it's a symbolic image; earth movement is terrifying enough above ground.

I knew the best way to Deverania would be theough Condor pass, with a stop in Denska to resupply and ask around for news. We headed out in good spirits; it's good to know and choose our destination after so long following tracks hither and thither.

After five uneventful days march across the broken plains, we came to the hamlet of Stonyvale, almost in the shadow of the woods. I'd read about Stonyvale in my studies but none of us had been here before. The town sits on a defensible outcropping of rock with only one easy approach, evidence of good planning. We met an eclectic mix of people in town. Thorm, self-appointed guardian of the way into town, was grumpy and suspicious. Jarba Stronghold, a merchant, was gregarious and eager to deal. It turns out that she's a wizard too, and I was able to trade a fancy dagger for a reasonable selection of basic spells. I never got to meet Alric Longseeker (too busy learning and recording spells) but I heard about his strange museum from the others, and I look forward to dropping if I get a chance before we leave town.

As it turns out, Jarba had a proposition for us: in exchange for 1000 gold apiece, she asked to investigate a supposed tribe of lycanthropes in the forest who were suspected of attacking the town. Apparently people have been disappearing recently, and others have been killed, mauled and raked as if with claws. Her cousin Jerrold the Bold was missing, along with his adventuring party, after leaving to investigate the attacks several weeks before.

And that's how everything got a little strange. Deep in the forest, as we approached a cave, we were ambushed by immensely strong, immensely fast wolves. Before we could react, they bit us and threw us to the ground, holding on with unnatural strength. Their leader emerged in hybrid form, and Malakar advised that we stop struggling. This leader then challenged Malakar to single combat (with no alternative save death for all of us), and Malakar accepted.

After strengthening himself with prayer, Malakar suddenly changed, shifting into a tremendous hybrid ursine form. Ili radiated shock, and I was caught completely by surprise -- it didn't appear to be a spell effect, and I had no idea Malakar had metamorphic capabilities. After Malakar's defeat (predictable with hindsight, but he hit hard for longer than I expected!), the leader had a human cohort named Alyssa heal Malakar, then brand the back of his with a crescent moon symbol. If I understand correctly, it's some kind of recognition mark for the Cult of Yscar, lycanthropes of uncertain motivation who oppose the insane and destructive Cult of Bascaron. It's a pretty fine distinction, but we did experience the relative mercifulness of these Yscarites. I hope that Malakar takes time soon to explain to us what and who he is. Especially to Ili, who seems ill-suited to adapt to this latest revelation. The Yscarites have some agenda of their own which I can only guess at; revealing and branding Malakar must have furthered their purposes, but to what end?

The Yscarites told us that, far from bedevilling the town, they actually protected it from incursion by Nothrogs and Hill Giants through the woods. Apparently lately the hill giants have been unusually active, coming down out of the mountains in record numbers. They had seen Jerrold's party headed in that direction, and released us to investigate. Although we tried to find evidence of the parties passage, we lost track of them near the foot of the mountain and had to return to town for supplies and more information.

On our return, we found that Jerrold the Bold had stumbled back out of the woods, raving and ranting about a Shadow which had killed and consumed his party. We were able to get a rough idea of where they encountered it, and our next step is to go identify and confront this monstrosity. Everybody (from the Duchess, through Barrin, to Jarba our temporary employer) seems to think that going after the Shadow is the highest priority. I'm concerned, however, at the implications if the Yscarites aren't responsible for the attacks on the city. It seems that the most likely hypothesis is an insider, some townsperson who is secretly a cultist of Bascaron, or some other faction masquerading as such to sow discord. Things here are almost certainly not what they seem.

Not even us. I think that's been some of the problem; even after weeks of travel and the bonding of battle, we're still guarded with each other, with good reason. I always assumed that Malakar's casual aloofness signalled his contempt for the rest of us (less strong, less dedicated or in Ili's case, less realistic); now I can see how the burden of his terrible secret might have created that distance. Borrow remains inscrutable to this day; I can't tell how much of his loyalty lies with us, with his people, or solely with himself. When he caught me trying to keep things simple (by omitting the fact that I only tried to contact Gaston, not Cassandra, for directions) his usual derision turned to approbation (though he may yet have been making fun of me, too subtly for me to detect). Ili may not hide grave secrets, but the extremity of her code might override the bonds of comradeship at any time.

An aloof and unworldly diviner, a gruff priest with a dark secret, an uncompromising holy amazon, and a cave-dwelling visitor of questionable motives... none of us inclined to follow, none of us called to lead, thrown into an unexpected and variegated quest in a time of war. It could be worse; at least we're not expected to ally with Elves or Nothrog!

I think Malakar wants to head out first thing in the morning. He reminded me to prepare for spectral opposition by preparing spells of pure magical force; I guess his church deals often with the incorporeal or shadowy. To date my studies have referenced the Inner Planes more than the Ethereal, Astral, or Shadow, a deficit I must repair at my earliest opportunity.

There's still a little time before sleep, so I'll read a bit more of this prayerbook I picked up at the Monastery of Kavara. Though my brief infatuation with flame ended with the searing pain dealt my by Her elemental, I'm grateful to have any reading material at all. Maybe there's something concretely useful here amidst these redundantly repeated exhortations.

[ Updates to Who's Who: Alric Longseeker, Christos "Stumpy", Jarba Stronghold, Nassiral Hate, Thorm ]

The second we get to a proper temple of Albrecht, I am informing my superiors. To think that Malakar has been deceiving us this entire time. Letting a dirty lyncanthrope into our gracious ranks... it's disgusting. They are nasty, deceitful creatures, who should go off and live with the Nothrogs.

Speaking of the Nothrogs, we found out who hired Borka and her crew. It appears that the Nothrog have now united under a new leader, Nazuril Hate. That might be behind the fact that the Nothrog showed up to the peace conference and have stepped up their raids on the surrounding lands. Borka seemed to be awed by him, which was interesting for a mercenary. Of course, she could have been trying to scare us, but still, acting like he was one of the most amazing figures when he is a Nothrog? He has an elite guard, one of which was with the mercenary crew who tried to get the artifact.

We then decided to help Barron get back to his home to help hide the artifact. Unfortunately, the closest entrace to Underneath that we knew about was in Deverania. On our travels there, we happened upon the small town of Stonyvale. It had been afflicted by the curse of lycanthropes, stealing away its citizens and murdering them in cold blood. We decided to aid these defenseless citizens and find the evil that had cursed them.

Unfortunately, the evil ones both had a way to disguise themselves from the detection of Albrecht, as well as were very strong and defeated us. We were unable to defeat them and were easily overcome to their strength. And then, we discovered that Malakar was one of them. He probably led us into this trap. We had no choice but to leave and search the mountains.... but i fear that we will have no luck while we have such evil surrounding us.

A matter of trust

We had no trouble cleaning up at the temple and Borka provided us with additional information in exchange for the freedom of she and her boyfriend. Ili made the deal, and Malakar got upset because she let them take their armour and Borka’s armour is magical. Whoops!

The Northrog that sent the shaman seems to have some serious power, and Borka promised that he would come after us for messing up his scheme.

Obegard said he was going to check in with Duchess Cassandra on what we should do now and said he couldn’t make contact. A couple of days later he slipped up and I discovered that he hadn’t even tried! He tried to pretend he hadn’t lied and it was amusing seeing him squirm as he tried to rationalise his actions. Hahahahaha. I’m kind of proud of him—he hadn’t previously demonstrated the mentality for lying—but he has to practise. A lot. I could see straight through it.

We’re heading off for Deverenia, where the Upworlders are supposedly not very nice. The others apparently believe it should be obvious what they mean by this.

We picked up some extra food from the temple and headed off, finally reaching a small town after 5 days (and almost all our food). The reception wasn’t too warm and we wound up being given yet another task to be done.

Some of the townsfolk have been killed, big claw marks, forest nearby, another party of adventurers went to explore and haven’t returned... Did I forget anything? Oh, right, rumours of lycanthropes.

Ili started on about dirty, evil shapeshifters and Malakar explained (apparently not for the first time) the difference between poor maligned lycanthropes in general, and the Cult of Bascaron. Hmmm. Could it be that Ili doesn’t know that Malakar is a lycanthrope? How long have they been travelling together??? It only took me a week to find out, and I got the impression these guys have known each other for years. Mind you, I don’t know that I’d rush to share too much with Ili—“flexible thinking” doesn’t strike me as her strong suit.

We found a trail in the forest and it was pretty obvious and easy to follow. Which is probably a bad sign. It led us to a cave in a clearing and sure enough just as we were trying to decide the right way to enter we got attacked by big wolf-like things from all sides.

They looked a lot more like animals than when I’d seen Malakar do his thing again the skeletons and they soon had us on the ground and pretty much at their mercy. I slipped away from mine momentarily, but it didn’t have much trouble catching me. Then someone that looked a lot more like Malakar’s altered form stepped out of the trees and gave us a stern talking to.

The only one he’d deal with was Malakar and I could see Ili had no idea what was going on so it appeared I was right in thinking he’d kept his secret from her.

The leader challenged Malakar to a one-on-one combat with our lives in the balance and Malakar was clearly outmatched but there was nothing to lose—they could rip us up anytime they wanted.

Even with spells in his favour and laying down some huge licks Malakar still got his butt handed to him, and then they magically branded him with a small crescent moon on the nape of his neck and we were sent on our way.

Apparently these guys are followers of Yscar and they don’t like the Cult of Bascaron. Which is probably good for us. And far from preying on the townsfolk they had been keeping this part of the forest free from nasties for quite a while. Ili didn’t seem inclined to believe them, but I was willing to trust anyone that let us live.

As we continued on Ili was giving Malakar some dirty, dirty looks and things are somewhat strained between them.

We finished up back at town without much to show for a few days in the wild, but the leader of the previous party had returned, and had taken a serious blow to his sanity. It appears the rest of his party died and he ran from some nasty shadow beast. Which, you know, we’re so well equipped to deal with.

Obegard checked in with Duchess Cassandra and she apparently wants us to pursue this shadow thing. Assuming, of course, that Obegard is telling the truth. I’m surprised that the others have allowed him to keep the communication device now that they know he’s a big fat liar.

Man, what a group. We’ve got Obegard, who everyone knows is a liar; then there’s Ili, who Malakar isn’t happy with; Malakar, who Ili is now very wary of. Thank goodness I’m here to keep everything honest and above board!

Credit Where Credit's Due

It's kind of strange. Sometimes, perfectly reasonable people do stupid things. And sometimes, luck is mistaken for great insight.

We had Obegard scry into the monastery and he revealed that inside were two Nothrogs standing at the arrow slits and four of the kidnappers sitting around a table. We formulated a battle plan. As always, I suggested the simplest plan which also turned out to be the best. We would hide back while Borrow sneaked forward under invisibility to open the door to the monastery. Once that happened, Obegard would take the opening to send a fireball through.

The plan worked perfectly. After the fireball, both Son of Clouds and Ili rushed forward as I tried to follow as quickly as I could. I was a bit disappointed that I was so encumbered by armor because by the time I caught up, the battle was mostly over. We quickly moved to the door to the side of the monastery and surprised another one of the kidnappers as he was putting on his armor. He surrendered without incident and revealed that he was hired by the Nothrogs to kidnap a dwarf and bring him here. He explained that they had taken the dwarf downstairs. We tied him up and continued to the stairs.

As we opened another door, we were greeted by a pair of angry Nothrogs. One of them activated an item and suddenly grew huge in size and began swinging his now giant axe toward my head. It was an intimidating sight, but we pressed forth. While they attacked savagely, thanks to their poor armor and lack of regard for personal safely, we were able to defeat the pair handily.

We ran down the stairs into a room with a brazier in the middle and a series of grotesques that lined the walls. Obegard said that he sensed evocation magic in the fire, and illusiary magic on the walls. We didn't have time to stop and discuss, so we pressed to the next room, where we found what appeared to be the leaders--the woman who was leading the mercenaries and a Nothrog shaman. The dwarven captive was also here, but was hanging from chains and appeared to be unconscious.

The shaman drank a potion and disappeared under the cracks of a door leading out the room. The woman promptly surrendered, but not before Son of Clouds gave her a good whack with his blade. I healed the dwarf back to his feet, and he explained that his name was Barron. He said that he was captured because he knew how to get to an artifact that was stored away at this temple. He also gave us the password that would allow us to pass a pair of Gargoyles that protected the artifact.

We searched room where the Nothrog escaped to, but he was nowhere to be found. The only thing of note there was a large prayer book that began with the words, "Kavara fears not the Flames". It all seemed pretty normal to me, but for some reason, Ili took the words to mean that she should go and leap into the brazier back in the other room. She was so brazen as to proclaim that Albrecht would protect her, and even accused my disinclination to leap into a roaring fire as a sign of lack of faith! She went ahead and did it, and it took all my willpower to stile my laughter as she came out the other side looking severely burned and approached me for healing. I guess some lessons are only learned the hard way.

We eventually did find the way into the catacombs that led to the artifact, but not before Son of Clouds triggered a trap that nearly cost him his arm. At the end of the tunnel, he encountered the Nothrog that had escaped us earlier. He was clutching a staff in one hand, and a gem of some sort in another. He cursed at us and immediately cast a spell that caused the dry and brittle vines around us to grow immensely, trapping us in a field of prickly thorns. We charged through the painful thorns anyways. Son of Clouds chopped down with his greatsword at the shaman, but was dismayed to find that though he caused a deep would, his sword had dissolved upon touching the shaman. That seemed to really upset him, and he hurled himself upon the Nothrog despite taking several hits as he tried to do so. I took the opportunity to disarm the Nothrog of the artifact. As I did so, I noticed that my own sword started melting, but I was able to pull back before too much damage was caused. Ili took this opportunity to step forward and punch the Nothrog with such force that the orc's ribcage was smashed to his spine, killing him instantly.

We carefully wrapped the artifact in cloth and took it back with us. But as we exited, a large fire elemental leapt from the brazier and attacked. It smashed me with a heavy blow that both crushed and burned. I called for everyone to run out as I tried to distract the elemental. For unknown reasons, Obegard, despite normally being very intelligent and self-preserving, decided that he would instead use the artifact to command the elemental, even though he had no idea how the artifact worked or even if it had any power over the elemental. He got for his trouble a blow from the elemental ignited his clothes on fire and knocked him unconscious. Fortunately, as the artifact hit the ground, the elemental retreated back to the brazier in the middle of the room. I was able to heal him and Burrow smothered the fire.

We discussed what to do next, and someone said off-hand that perhaps the phrase "Kavara fears not the Flames" had something to do with it all. That caused the elemental to instantly disappear from the room, and we were able to pick up the gem without further incident. We helped Barron up and discussed what to do with the artifact next.

As an aside, I am growing concerned with the state of Obegard's reasoning abilities. Perhaps his run-in with the elemental has damaged his senses deeper than I thought. Or perhaps Obegard has become so enamoured with Borrow's uncanny luck that he thinks that Borrow is an agent of the gods. For some reason, Obegard credits Borrow with the risky feat of disarming the crystal from the Nothrog. Obegard also credits Borrow for saving his life. Because surely, using magic to heal his profusely bleeding head-wound was less important than leaving Borrow (who incidentally does not have healing magic) to put out the fire. Finally, Obegard seems to think that Borrow is some sort of sage because he accidentally uttered the correct passphrase for deactivating the elemental (and it might have even been someone else who said it!).

Playing with Fire

Notes to self:

• When a wise companion says it would be best to leave a mysterious artifact alone, I might want to leave my instinctive hunger for power and knowledge at the door and listen to her.
  
• It is better to immolate than to be immolated.
• You can get into painful trouble by over-thinking clues.

Today's brutal, but ultimately successful, siege of the monastery has reinforced the observation that things go really well when we have advance information, and not-so-well when we're improvising. Chance favors the prepared mage.

I was initially skeptical about the plan to storm the main door of the monastery, but with Clairvoyance to scout, and Fireballs to soften up the opposition, it went amazingly well. It's truly spooky how well Borrow takes to Invisibility, though I'm most glad that he was willing to step up and engage in the battle today. With Son-of-Clouds, Ili, and Malakar all in full fighting form, the mercenaries had a bad day of it. The Nothrogs were a bit tougher, especially the one who enlarged himself with some kind of transmuting ring, but Borrow's deft opportunistic attacks brought even that brute down. I noticed, too, that Malakar has quite a knack for fortifying our abilities before the fight.

The Monastery itself was an intriguing place. With the great dome lit by eldritch fire, and varied grotesque statues supporting the roof, Kavara's iconography gets top marks for drama. You certainly wouldn't need a degree in Comparative Religion to guess at her Attributes.

The darkest and most occult symbolism, though, was provided by our objective: the evil Nothrog Shaman named Garcar, as he tortured a hapless dwarf named Barron. When we came upon them, Garcar escaped through a locked side door by taking some kind of gaseous form. Fortunately, his hired mercenary captain Borka quickly surrendered to us (although not before she took a vindictive smack from the flat of Son-of-Clouds blade).

As an aside, I've never heard so much bickering about rope and knots. Either I need to research a long-term disabling and binding spell, or we need to pick up some manacles first chance we get.

Borka and Barron (once revived) explained the situation briefly: Garcar was interrogating Barron to find out the location of an artifact associated with Soehngaard, King of Elementals, and Kavara. The artifact was hidden somewhere in the monastery, behind a secret door in the room we'd just been through. Barron told us that it was guarded by Gargoyles, but the appropriate passphrase in Dwarven would allow passage (I've got to learn Dwarven sometime soon, it seems like it'll be important language in these strange times!). A brief search of the room through which Garcar escaped revealed a prayerbook of Kavara, with the phrase "Kavara fears not the Flames" emphasized on the first page -- a clue, perhaps?

We headed back out to the large brazier-lit room to search for an entrance. It seemed obvious to us that the clue let to the huge magical fire in the center of the room -- perhaps the fire was the gateway and we merely needed to demonstrate our courage by entering it? Ili volunteered to walk through the flames, and received nothing but 3rd-degree burns for her efforts. Oops! In hindsight, the Evocation effect of the flames was unlikely to conceal a door.

We had slightly better luck with the illusion-melded faces lining the walls. Borrow located a hidden opening big enough to a human hand. Son-of-Clouds, eager as ever, put his hand inside, and triggered a painful trap. He couldn't get his hand out, and the room was filled with a high keening which left several people shaken (fortunately, my training has desensitized me to such distractions). Borrow struggled for almost two minutes to disable the trap, and eventually he released Son-of-Clouds arm enough that he could pull a hidden lever and get his hand out. The high-pitched noise continued, though, even as a secret staircase revealed itself nearby.

True to Barron's story, statues which must have been Gargoyles flanked the staircase. Borrow said something I didn't quite catch, and they remained statues (which seemed more impressive at the time than it does in hindsight).

Rushing tjrough the narrow hallway, we spotted Garcar standing by a rude altar in a small room. As we approached, he gestured with his staff and thorny plants covered the floor and entangled our feet. This minor inconvenience didn't dissuade my martial companions from charging forward to attack, but there wasn't a lot I could do in the confined space once I'd exhausted my meager supply of Magic Missiles, so I hung back and waited for a clear shot. Garcar was a pretty fierce fellow, hitting hard with his spiked staff. The worst surprise was the way that metal weapons dissolved when they struck him; Son-of-Clouds got so angry at the loss of his prized greatsword that he tackled Garcar bodily and wrestled him to a standstill. Borrow knocked the crystal artifact from his grasp, and just as Garcar pulled himself free, Ili centerpunched out his heart with a mighty yell.

With Garcar definitely dead, attention turned to the artifact. Though I couldn't begin to guess at its purpose, it's overwhelming aura clearly broadcast its power. After bad experiences with expensive metal objects turning to goo, it was agreed that I could telekinetically lift the artifact into a sack by itself. I admit to some base motivation in wanting to carry the artifact -- after coming so close to such power, and working so hard to get here and foil the Nothrog, I didn't want to leave it there for an associate of Garcar to pick up while we loitered elsewhere.

But when we returned to the large fire chamber, things got a little hairy. As soon as I stepped into the room, a tremendous Fire Elemental emerged from the brazier and charged at us. Malakar said to run, but I took momentary leave of my senses and prepared to wield the artifact. Ili's chastisement reminded me that it was unlikely I could figure out the artifact in time to use it, and no guarantee that it would help anything. So after a moments hesitation, I grabbed my gear and ran for the exit. I was just a little too slow, and I remember a huge limb of fire smashing into me with improbable force, then heat, and pain, and nothing. I reawoke a moment later in the strange and terrifying state of burning alive while competing healing magic tried to repair me; I owe gratitude to Borrow for leaping over to smother the flames and save my life. Apparently the Fire Elemental returned to its post when I dropped the crystal, and Barron pointed out the now-obvious use of the passphrase "Kavara fears not the flames" to deactivate the trap and dismiss the elemental.

Today we played with fire two too many times, and Ili and I were duly burned. In both cases, it's because we (I?) didn't know what would happen ahead of time. I'll try to rectify that situation for next time... although I don't know what form next time might take, if any. By all appearances, we're close to completing this mission. The trail ends here, Garcar is dead, and Borka remains to be interrogated. We're out in the middle of nowhere in a building full of dead mercenaries, and an artifact of mysterious purpose. I hope Barron can shed some light on the situation, and that those we report to are satisfied with our efforts.

Although I don't know where we'll be sent next, I hope we can spend a day or two in a decent town soon. My back aches from sleeping on the ground, and I'd like to top up on some spell components.

Obegard's Who's Who

Obegard's notes on key people we've met and their fates.

One dwarf's view of the Upworld

Introspection is a necessity for improvement. Improvement is a necessity for survival.

The Upworld is so unlike my homeland. What the Upworlders call “quiet” is an almost overwhelming cacophony of insects, birds, small animals, ... And because there are so many other noises none of these creatures have a need to be silent, making the combination all the louder, yet my companions are blissfully unaware of all this noise. I think they would go insane from the silence of the caves.

It’s also never dark here. Even in the middle of the night there is moon and starlight. The clouds do not completely block it out, and then there are torches, lamps and campfires. Sure, there is a need for fire to cook the food and provide some relief from the cold, but I think the Upworlders also crave the light, even though it dulls their ability to see what goes on beyond the fire’s illumination.

Is that the point? All the noise and light provides a sort of cocoon within which the Upworlders can pretend that there is nothing dangerous nearby.

Which probably explains why they’re so easy to evade, so easy to take unawares—they want to believe there’s nothing threatening them.

The Upworlders are the same as their environment and they probably don’t realise it—they're always moving, always making noise. They’re so used to motion and noise I sometimes think I could vanish from their sight just by standing still. No obstacles, no shadows, just... stop moving. That could come in quite handy up here.

Their obsession with motion can be utilised in other ways as well. It didn’t take much to talk one of them into walking into a fire just because it gave them something to do when there was no other obvious course of action.

We rescued Barin, the kidnapped dwarf. He had been tortured and even Borka, the cruel woman that led the mercenaries, seemed upset by torturing him. What did she really think would happen to him when they handed him over to a Northrog? Apparently casual violence is okay with her, but breaking a captive to obtain needed information is not.

We also stopped the Northrog shaman from stealing the artifact hidden in the temple. Barin had knowledge of the defenses placed on the hiding place by Sjonegaard, and we were able to use the same information and catch the shaman with the artifact in hand.

The defences have been breached once, and we gave the artifact to Barin so he could arrange a new hiding place. Of course Barin will know that hiding place, and he has already been kidnapped once because he had knowledge regarding the hiding place of the artifact. I suspect it will be in danger as long as he knows where it is. Perhaps I will need to arrange a little accident for him.

Stones and Bones

I'm not a fan of interrogation, and I hate having to act. If it wasn't for that Charm Person spell, the assassin wouldn't have told me anything; I kept cringing at my stumbling attempts to elicit information. I much preferred the "hang back and Detect Thoughts" method, although admittedly it didn't work any better. At least we found out about the mysterious Nothrog and the captured Dwarf.

If only that had been the extent of the evenings revelations...

When we returned to Sir Eric and Commander Edwin with our findings, we were greeted by Duchess Cassandra (and her bodyguard mage and advisor, Maximilian). It turns out that the events in Ghostwood were only one part of a horrific and unprecedented coordinated attack on many of the leaders of the Accordlands. The Assassin's Strike has changed everything, and to what end I can only guess. We've lost a King, we've lost the fragile peace, and who knows what else we've lost (at least the Spire was untouched, at least as far as Gaston is letting on). Even the foulDeveranians were hit. I can't see the big picture anymore, I have to concentrate simply on the path at my feet.

The higher-ups want us to follow up on the assassins' previous Dwarf-napping mission, and so they sent us off to track the assassins backwards through the forest. The Duchess gave me another stone... although they weigh hardly anything, the two stones in my pocket are a constant reminder of my links (my leashes?) to my respective arcane and political Masters. Well, at least I have something to do -- this quest, fool's errand or no, is better than hanging around at the Spire trying to pretend that it's business as usual, waiting for the barrier to fall or some new horror to find it's way in. For now Gaston and the Duchess want the same thing, information on the captured Dwarf and theNothrog who gave the order, and I am their faithful servant.

We've been fortunate so far to mostly avoid the attention of powers beyond our meager abilities. I wouldn't have expected to crossMyreth forest alive, not after recent events, but we came through mostly unscathed. I'm glad of our Elf guide: reluctant and self-serving as he's been, he didn't betray us to the dangers of the forest, and he followed the tracks with consummate skill. I admit to some initial skepticism about the "find the one apparently non-evil tracker in the glade, then pay him" method of recruitment, but perhaps the excessively-pious members of our party are on to something. At least we didn't have to deal with any Storm-suckingDeveranians.

Myreth forest was quieter than I expected; maybe I just lack the senses to observe the alarming parts of it. Still, I'm grateful to be out from under the dark and oppressive canopy. I'm still coming to terms with the strange, almost fierce joy I felt at my first opportunity for open, clear-cut battle. When we reached the clearing where the tunnel mouth had collapsed, we were set on by some awesome skeletal bear, and some other rather-humanoid looking undead skeletal beings. Blasting them with flames over and over again felt strangely cathartic, after the enforced quiet, the monotonous march, and all those chaotic and panicked hours at Ghostwood Keep. I can understand now what myEvoker friends mean when they talk of the purity of the raw Elements. Burning away the foul ligaments binding those creatures together, weakening the huge beast so thatMalakar could smash it to bits... at least there's some small piece of wickedness out here that bent and broke to our will and strength. We are not without power, even in the face of subtle and ubiquitous evil.

We've been out on the Broken Plains now for days, following close behind the mercenaries who, presumably, still drag a struggling Dwarf. I'm glad our Borrow is mobile, I wouldn't want to have to haul him around. I do miss my horse, though; my legs are starting to ache from the unaccustomed trek (they say you get used to it after about the third week; I'm in the difficult stage now), and I wish I'd splurged on better boots. I never thought I'd miss the junior mess at the Spire, but trail rations seem rather dry and unpalatable after 10 days of nothing else, especially in these desert conditions. Why oh why did I disdain to pay attention to MasterJoshi's culinary cantrips? Just think, though -- if we somehow manage to help restore order, the Master's mess will be open to me. Now that's the proper wizarding life.

But back to reality, back to the dry and dusty present: It looks although our pursuit may be at an end of sorts. Following an ancient marble road, we've approached an old monastery consecrated toKavara. Borrow spotted movement behind the arrow slits, and the time may be at hand for us to discover who our quarry really are.

Kavara... I've read up on her but I've never encountered anybody who publicly admitted to her worship. Now I can begin to see some of the appeal, the natural connection of Fire and Joy. I betKavara's followers enjoy Fireballs. Still, I doubt the wisdom of such wild abandon, while the world hangs so delicately in the balance.

I just hope this temple doesn't blow up.

On the case

After the battle, Ili seemed to be feeling a bit sick, so we let her return to the inn and sleep. We had deciphered the message, and it was clear that neither the humans nor the elves were involved, so we had someone word to the Elves, in hopes they would understand that the Free Kingdoms were not involved.

One of the assassins was still alive, and we needed some questions answered right away, so I healed him back to consciousness. Obegard cast a spell that turned the prisoner temporarily into his friend and questioned him. After a series of interrogations we were able to learn that the assassins had captured a dwarf a few days ago and were taking him to parts unknown. He did indicate that they came from the nearby elven forest. The commander of the keep recommended that we get an elven tracker to guide us through the forest.

I didn’t like the idea all too much, but we didn’t have much of a choice and we went to the elven camp. We had a list of three potential candidates, but I sensed that the first two were both evil. I knew that Ili would refuse to work with them. Fortunately, the third elf seemed a bit friendlier than the others, and agreed to work for an amount of gold, which the commander paid.

We set off the next day to follow the assassins through the secret tunnel in the stables. The assassins didn’t make any attempt to hide their passage, and it was easy to follow them. Unfortunately, the group turned into the road, where their tracks mixed with the others traveling along the road, and we had no idea where they were headed. We had no choice but to instead head toward where they came from. Since the Dwarf was also being taking in that direction, the effort wouldn’t all be wasted.

We traveled for several days in the twisted elven woods. We eventually approached a small clearing that had a collapsed cave entrance. Something just felt wrong about the whole thing, and we proceeded cautiously. Our suspicions were right, and we heard heavy but strange footsteps behind us. It emerged from the forest, and we saw it – it was some sort of a giant skeleton of a bear, animated with foul magic no doubt. Son of Clouds and I went forward to attack, but its heavy claws and bite wounded me severely and knocked Son of Clouds unconscious. We also heard several footsteps behind us, but Obegard unleashed a tremendous ball of fire that burned the forest away and left behind nothing but smoldering bones.

I retreated for a way into the forest, and realized that if I were to beat the bear, I would have to tap into my lycanthropic heritage. The woods were dense, so it was unlikely that anyone would see me. I rushed forward and attacked, striking the bear as hard as I could twice, shattering it into a pile of bones. I returned to my normal form, and from the reactions of the other members, it did not appear as if anyone had noticed.

We investigated the cave entrance for a bit and discovered that the assassins that passed through had purposefully collapsed the. Our elven guide also noticed that a different set of tracks led to the other side, toward the plains. It appeared that they were also dragging someone with them, most likely the captured dwarf. They didn’t seem to be going very fast and we were catching up. However, they still had several days lead time over us. In a few days, we emerged from the forest into a vast plain. We kept following them and in a few more days, we came across some corpses. It looked like they were peasants that unfortunately crossed paths with the assassins. We didn’t have time to bury them and pushed forward.

We eventually came across a small town. Obegard wanted to cast a divination spell before heading to town. He picked a bad spot to begin his incantations, however, and a guard from the town approached. He explained that the group we were following had passed through not too long ago, and that they indeed had a badly beaten dwarf with them. They apparently had robbed several supplies from the town, and hurt one of the town healers when she tried to heal the dwarf.

We stayed just long enough to buy more supplies, and ask a few questions about the group we were following. There was about a half dozen of the thugs, plus the dwarf--I didn't think that we would have much trouble dispatching them. We kept following the group and came across a cliff. Son of Clouds climbed up, and tossed a rope and helped the rest of us up as well. We continued forth and eventually came across a ruined monastery. I saw some shapes moving about inside. Could this be where the assassins set up camp to rest?

I see dead things

I just wanted to sleep but everything was still a mess and somebody needed to help settle things down.

Ain’t nobody mending these peace talks, but at least we have this assassin we knocked down in the fight. Obegard cast a spell to butter up the guy and we got lots of interesting info, but nothing that was an end—just lots more paths to be followed.

It seems they were hired by some Northrog, but the thing that really concerned me was that one of the groups had captured a dwarf and were heading for the Broken Plains of Sarakia.

It was clear the bad guys had gone so there was no point keeping the place locked down and we suggested they could open the gates again at daybreak. We were gonna need someone to do some serious tracking and it’s certainly not my strong suit. We were given some names amongst the elves and I could feel my skin tighten, but help is help.

Ili was sick as a dog, or so she said—I think she just wanted to get to bed. We went to the grove and checked out the three guys whose names we had. Malakar gave the big thumbs down to the first two, saying that Ili wouldn’t work with them, so we picked elf number three.

I hope we had everything done, because it was seriously sleepy-bye time and we went back to our rooms to Z-up. But then we found out that they’d taken Son of Clouds to the temple and we went to look in on him and then decided to sleep there.

The next morning we healed up Son of Clouds some more and were getting ready to go when we were summoned back to the keep. There were a bunch of humans talking, and we got lots of scary intel—assassins had hit all over the Free Kingdoms and almost all the leaders were dead, which meant there wasn’t any help coming for the dwarves any time soon.

They didn’t really have much of a plan so I was pleased when they confirmed the plan to follow the trail since I hoped that would eventually lead us to the captive dwarf.

The elves had seemed bemused that we would venture into the Myreth Forest and we soon found out why. We found a clearing with a rock mound in it—the trail led straight to the front of it but the entrance was caved in. I heard some noises and snuck around to one side and almost walked into a huge bear—much bigger than any of the ones I’d seen underground.

Like that wouldn’t have been bad enough, but this thing was just a skeleton. Only it was still moving. There was no way I was gonna fight this thing—my sword would just rattle around between the bones without hitting anything important.

There were more skeletons on the other side of the clearing but they weren’t nearly so bad, and Obegard pretty much spelled them to death.

The bear was much worse and it dropped Son of Clouds before we could take it out. Our elf guide just slipped back into the trees and provided no help. You have to admire someone that understands the value of survival.

There was nothing interesting here and we followed a trail out the other side of the clearing. The elf said it looked like they were dragging something and I figured this was the group we wanted.

We walked for days through the woods before breaking cover on the Broken Plains. There was a small town in sight but with the tracks heading straight in we weren’t too sure about paying them a visit.

Obegard said he had a spell to check the place out but when we told him we thought it was a great idea he went and perched on the crest within plain sight of the town to spend 10 minutes doing his ritual. Man I’d love to have him on a mission. Send him in the front, I go round the back, ... I could clean out the place while the inhabitants take care of him.

I wasn’t surprised when some dude came up from the town to find out what we were doing here. He was friendly enough and told us about the nasties that had come through the day before with a dwarven prisoner in tow. The town herbalist had offered to heal the dwarf and had been beaten as a reward for her offer, and then the strangers had taken what they wanted and left.

We talked to a few locals but they didn’t have much to add, so we reprovisioned and went on our way. More days across really unfriendly terrain and then we hit a cliff where they’d clearly gone up.

With the dwarf in tow we’d been gaining ground and the guys wanted me to volunteer to be first up to make sure things were safe and drop the rope we saw at the top. Hahahahaha. I don’t know why they think I should have been able to climb it—these upworlders have like twice my reach and are way stronger than me.

Son of Clouds manned up and before long we were all scooting up the rope. More or less. Malakar had to take off his shell to be able to get up even with the rope, and Obegard couldn’t even manage that—we had to haul him up. Hmmm. Maybe the baddies had the same problem, and that’s why the rope was up the top of the cliff.

At the top there were the broken remains of a blue marble road. Obegard said it was really old. Man, you have to admire the talent involved in that analysis.

We followed the blue marble road until we spotted a monastery or something. It was disused but we saw some movement in the arrow slits. I hope they have some ale because I’m kind of dry after all this walking.