Characters:
Kathy - Vochma
Micah - Cardhu
Mark - Corlis
Ben - Drew
Liz - Quera
Joe - Moth
[When we left our fearless party, they were just inside the entrance to the Blasted Mountain, having just dispatched the orc guards].
It appeared that our ruse to get in was still working. A few kobolds came running by, carrying strange sheets of metal. A group of orcish guards is herding a collection of goblin slaves being lead down a tunnel, and a smaller group of orcs dragging a few wounded comrades away from another tunnel. We quickly stashed the dead orcs outside the door and elected to head inward and to the left [Moth's idea!]. That tunnel led down to living quarters for orcs, so we turned back, following a branch of the passage. This seemed to lead into some sort of temple or shrine, lined with webs and strands of silk. We quickly decided this was not the place to go. On the way out a group of the tusk-faced men dressed in robes came in. Moth bluffed past them with his broken black speech, and we made an escape.
Back then, and onward. We entered another area, and heard the sounds of combat ahead. Peering around the corner, we saw a group of orcs, engaged in combat with someone. A brief flash of lightning led us to believe that their opponents were the party we saw earlier at the entrance to the Kobold Trail. Moth and Corlis ducked around the corner, and opened fire with missile weapons, while the rest of the party formed up a rear guard.
With Corlis and Moth creating a serious hole in the back of the orcish line, and the other group doing quite well too it looked like the orcs would be quickly slain. Unfortunately at the back, a group of four orcs and a pair of Brothers of Balance had come up behind the group. Cardhu managed to trap the Brothers with the magical rope, then the orcs engaged Cardhu and Quera. Cardhu and Quera managed to kill three of the orcs, but the fourth flees. Quera went after it. Meanwhile Corlis and Moth finished off the last of the orcs up front and met up with the other party. They were a group of adventurers sent out by Lady Sernilina to "rescue" us. We told them we just got here, and they elected to join us. Unfortunately Quera failed to return, so we had to go recover her. Using a spell, Vochma attempted to locate her. The trail led up to the main entry room, and as we made our way there, a group of Brothers of Balance come up behind us. Ahead there were more of the tusk faced men. It looked like a major battle. We elected to make our way across, with Corlis and Moth covering the passage of the rest of the group. Moth used a spell to convince at least a few of the tusk-faced men that we were friendly, and they fell to disputing amongst themselves. Unfortunately some of the party was captured by the Brothers of Balance, then one of them launched a fireball into the main room! OW! We hate it when that happens (especially when it roasts our magical rope!). Many were severely wounded. We gathered together beyond the main room, and our new found friends elected to turn back and try and rescue their lost comrades (all the prisoners of the Brothers of Balance). We elected to continue.
As we advanced, the place grew strange. Metallic walls and strange doors. Down we went, with occasional group of kobold slaves carrying metallic slabs upward.
Beyond several doors, through a number of passages, all with strange metallic ropes hanging from the ceiling, past slaves pulling metal from the walls, we went. Until we came to a room which contained a being seated upon a throne like chair carved of crude wood. Before it lay Quera, and nearby were three of the tusk-faced men, kneeling. We engaged the thing in conversation, and it identified itself as the Seer. It offered to give us advice, but Drew felt the thing was evil. It claimed it came from someplace far away and was awakened by the Brothers. We reclaimed the unconscious Quera, but the thing attempted some sort of magical attack. It seemed to have little effect, though it did seem to gain knowledge of our group it shouldn't have had. It then summoned the Argos, a hideous being with many mouths and eyes. We were in a bit of a quandary about exactly what we were supposed to kill by this point. Corlis was all for killing everything, while the others were a bit more cautious.
The Seer then offered to let us go "below" to see what was down there and prepare to face the Argos. We elected to take it up on its offer, hoping to find something to aid us in our attempt to kill that which should not be (our whole reason for being there). If nothing else, we would have a chance to heal ourselves.
One of the tusk-men lead us below, down several flights of stairs. At the bottom we came to a huge room, with many enclosed blobs that looked like entrapped Argos creatures. A group of the tusk-men were attempting to break them from their cocoons. Needless to say, we weren't happy. We decided we had to go back and kill the leader of this place, along with his foul minion. Heading back up we divert into a side passage that is unused. We also managed to slam one of the curious doors behind us, cutting off our guide, who was most perturbed. We spent a few minutes healing ourselves, then elected to explore a bit, since the area we were in seemed unused.
A quick exploration revealed an area with a mystical being that spoke in a strange tongue. Cardhu's blade allowed him to understand the being, who appeared to be a traveler from a distant land. He told us the Seer was incredibly dangerous, and the Argos as well. They were on a mission to send them to a safe place, which apparently failed. He showed us a means of destroying the ship we were apparently in, also destroying the Seer and the Argos. Unfortunately it meant we had to go do battle with the Seer. Seeing we had little choice, the party went back to the Seer's room, prepared for the worst. As we arrived, our friends arrived, along with their two friends. We quickly formulated a plan of attack, with Corlis, the paladin, Moth and the other warriors engaging the Seer and the Argos while the remainder of the party worked at starting the ship on its way to destruction. The mage (from the other party) started to summon a fire elemental, while we engaged the Seer in conversation once again. After some delaying tactics, combat was joined. The Seer revealed itself to be a potent opponent, teleporting itself around the room and exerting mind influence on various members of the party. The Argos was also quite horrible, causing massive damage and strange effects on all it attacked.
Seeing the Seer and the Argos were busy, Cardhu and Drew headed for the altar to start the process of destroying the ship. Meanwhile the rest of the party continue to beat upon the Argos and Seer. Vochma elects to use THE EYE, destroying the Argos. As Cardhu and Drew continue their work, strange voices are heard coming from the walls, muttering strange words. Abruptly the lights change, and the mystic chanting ends. The Seer tries to teleport and is turned to instant hamburger by some sort of magical spell. At the same time, a voice begins speaking from the wall, muttering about the ship being destroyed. The party looked around and saw that all their immediate opponents were dead, and elected to get out while they could.
Together the party and their friends made their way up through the various stairs and passages and out of the Blasted Mountain. Along the way they directed all those they met downward shouting "The Seer is calling everyone! Go to the Seer!" Foolishly, the various orcs, goblins, kobolds, and Brothers of Balance believed them. Running now, the party fled down the mountain trail, further and further from the mountain. About 20 minutes after the fall of the Seer, a tremendous booming crash sounded behind us. Looking back we could see the mountain in flames, with rocks and debris hailing down all around! Luckily no one received further injury, and we spent the rest of the day heading to our former camp site at the head of the Kobold Trail.
That which should not be had been laid to rest, and Misha's life was safe. With a day to spare as well!
[At this point the chronicler's tape player ran out of batteries, so you'll have to wait for the rest]
Days of rest and recovery for all. Along the way somewhere we are accosted by a group of Spriggans, who appear to be pretty upset with someone, claiming someone stole from them. Apparently Cardhu was engaging in a bit of petty thievery. He returned an amulet, and we offered them some gold as compensation. They elected to leave us alone.
We head back to town. An uneventful trip.
We arrived back in town, and discovered a few changes. Firstly, Wanda, Cardhu's mother and Gerald, the town constable, were engaged to be married! They're planning on leaving town and heading to the capital. Cardhu took over as the proprietor of Wanda's, hiring Shmeple to run the bar while he's gone. Drew, Quera, and Vochma visited their father, who nearly had a heart attack due to his once more altered form. We divided up some loot as well. Also, Misha, Corlis' demon-slayer henchman rejoined the party. We paid a visit to the knight marshal and filled him in on all the recent events. The Duke was not available, but we arranged to meet the Duke a week from Freezeday.
We also discovered that Widbert had killed himself (though apparently he hung himself while being watched by two other people - one a minotaur). Drew speaks with the dead, and the corpse tells us he was killed by Gar. Drew, Corlis and Moth trailed the minotaur into the woods, where it ended in a glade surrounded by mysterious moss, and slimy growths. In the midst of the glade, Drew spotted an altar of Chaos. Hmmm. Curious. Another thing to do. A quick foray into the glade convinced us that we should come back a bit more prepared.
Brunasa, the town tanner and an overman, approached the party this day, very upset. Apparently her mate went out to Dunstan swamp for some sort of trade meet (strange place for a meeting). He is very overdue. We pondered the situation, then elected to go see what happened. We set out for the swamp, with the intent of doing a quick there and back journey. On the first day, we run into our old friend Phaedrus. He asks to join us, and we agree, though Misha seems to feel there is something wrong with him. Phaedrus relates a strange dream about large mouths attacking him. In the end, we elect to let him join us.
Late that night, we notice Phaedrus acting very strangely, feigning sleep, we watch as he tries to approach Misha, who has taken his usual precautions against intrusion. The circles he inscribed apparently repelled Phaedrus, who then wandered out of camp. He then called upon some allies who apparently had been hidden nearby. These puckish creatures entered the camp and attempted to rob the party. The group leapt to its feet and attacked. After a vicious battle (the things were fairly tough), the group was victorious, though there was no sign of Phaedrus any more. The rest of the night passed uneventfully.
A quiet day of travel, but during the night watches a group of goblins attempts to sneak up on the camp. We scare them away with ease. The rest of the night passes uneventfully.
A quiet day of travel, though far behind us we notice a strange red flickering in the sky (perhaps from Kernan?) Disturbed, but too far away to do anything about it, we press onward.
We arrive at Dunstan, and immediately find signs of trouble. We note the tracks of Morakanth, ogres, and goblins at the meeting place, along with the corpses of three warbeasts (mounts of the overmen). From all the signs, it appears the overmen were enslaved by the evil hordes.
[The session ended here].
The party has (not including items distributed):
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