Friday, June 3, 2011

Attack of the Wolves

They decide on the night shift – Gus, Quinn, Tyro, Dworin, and Bialer. Bro Norbert says that he’ll stay awake until the moon is full. He gives everyone a vial and says that is anyone is in need to drink it. While they’re chatting away, Quinn asks them whether they heard a noise in the forest. Bialer says that he hears is ahead of them but Quinn says that it’s all around. Bialer looks into the forest to his right and Quinn looks straight ahead. As Bialer raises his bow Lady Amyra looks into the forest and sees four pairs of amber eyes staring ahead. Quinn readies his crossbow. Tyro also looks to see what everyone is reacting towards and sees pairs of eyes in the distance among the tees. Everyone readies their weapons. A holw is heard to the front followed by a howl to the side. Bialer lets off an arrow into the forest aimed at one pair of eyes. Dworin also fires at seeing Bialer fire. A whimper is heard from the direction in which Bialer fired. Nothing was heard from Dworin’s end. After another shot is fired and another whimper is heard, a howl is heard from all around a pack of wolves are seen charging at the group. A wolf attacks Lady Amyra biting her slightly; he doesn’t drop her and they end up face-to-face. A wolf charges at Bialer but misses. Quinn gets bitten close to his neck by a wolf ending up wounded and stumbling back onto the ground. Gus is slightly injured too but the wolf doesn’t manage to drop him. Tyro feels a prod against his back. Another wolf attacks Dworin but misses. Bro Norbert screams out, he says a few words and everyone is filled with courage. Tyro spins to attack the wolf behind him and attacks him on the skull – the wolf is barely standing. Lady Amyra attacks the wolf using her long sword opening a might gash in him. With the wolf above him Quinn attacks it with his morning star whacking it in its mid-section. Gus casts BURNING HANDS with a range to hit 3 of the wolves and they all ignite. Bialer attacks with his long sword but misses. Dworin strikes using his sword and hits the wolf that was already injured and it drops to the ground. Lady Amyra gets attacks and suffers damage but doesn’t get knocked down. Bialer gets attacked and knocked down. A wolf moves to attack Dworin but misses. One of the wolves that is burning manage to bite Quinn slightly. Gus’ attacker misses. Another 2 wolves try to attack Dworin but both miss. Another scream is heard from Bro Norbert who cries out for help. Tyro tries to help Bro Norbert but spins around too fast and does nothing. Lady Amyra attacks but misses. Quinn hits out with his morning star, hits and the wolf falls down. Gus casts SUMMON MONSTER but to no avail. Bialer attempts to strike the wolf that’s on top of him and hits him dropping him down. Dworin strikes at the wolf opposite him and hits him cutting into his mid-section. The wolf falls bleeding profusely. Lady Amyra gets bitten severely and she falls down with the wolf on top of her. A wolf attempts to bite Quinn but misses. Another wolf circles Dworin and attacks him slightly whilst another wolf rushes him and catches him in the kidney region inflicting damage. Tyro is slightly attacked. Bro Norbert yells out to get the wolf off of him. Tyro goes to attack the wolf. Quinn attacks one of the wolves that’s closest to him. Gus casts BURNING HANDS as a cone shape. Bialer gets up and strikes at the wolf above Lady Amyra and hits it leaving it with a meaty gash. Dworin strikes at the wolf to his right. The wolf above Lady Amyra tries to attack Bialer but misses. A wolf attacks Quinn but misses. Another wolf attacks Gus and injures him slightly leaving him prone. The wolf behind Dworin attacks him and injures him causing him to fall on top of the wolf in front of him. The wolf falls flat due to the weight of Dworin. The wolf above Bro Norbert manages to bite him. The wolf that Tyro stabbed tries to bite him but misses – the dagger that is lodged in its skull is causing damage. Tyro tries to attack the wolf above Bro Norbert but misses. Quinn manages to attack a wolf. Gus attempts to strike with his morning star hitting the wolf and getting a good whack at it. Bialer strikes at another wolf which drops down. Dworin manage to attacks the wolf above him using his shield as a weapon. A wolf attempts to attack Quinn but misses. The wolf above Gus bites at him but misses, as does the one above Dworin. Bro Norbert manages to get the wolf off him and the wolf’s attack doesn’t succeed. Tyro is also missed. Bro Norbert attacks the wolf across its face with a morning star. Tyro grabs that dagger that’s sticking in the wolf’s skull and twists it; the wolf drops to the ground. Lady Amyra is getting weaker as time goes by. Quinn attacks with his morning star and the wolf drops to the ground. Gus misses his attack. Bialer fires a precise shot point blank arrow at the wolf that’s on top of Gus. He hits and the wolf falls to the floor. Dworin attempts to shield bash the wolf that was on top of him and manages to hit it just before the wolf runs away. The wolf in front of Bro Norbert also runs away. Quinn heals Lady Amyra for 1 hit point. Then Bro Norbert heals her completely. He also heals Tyro, Gus, Dworin and himself completely. He gives Quinn a salve of CURE LIGHT WOUNDS for himself.
Brother Norbert

They head east and arrive at another T-junction heading north and south. After some deliberation they decide to head south. They walk through the valley which is more pleasant than other areas of the forest. As they walk up the path they notice a robed man facing the same direction in which they are heading. To the right of the man they notice an unusual patch of flat earth. He turns around as they approach. Quinn recognises that he is a friar and the man hugs him warmly. The friar appears to be very jittery. The flat patch of earth is the ruins of a building. The friar explains that the ruins used to be a monastery dedicated to Pelor which was ransacked by the dwarves of Mirewater. The other monks managed to escape to surrounding monasteries. Each day a monk goes back into the forest in the hope that someone will enter the ruins to retrieve the diary of the highest monk and any other items that they can retrieve which they can then either keep or barter. The friar heals Lady Amyra. The friar says that they are not aware of what has happened to the basement levels. A couple of the friars claim that they have heard a dog-like yapping sound however nobody has confirmed it. They decide to take on the friar’s quest the following morning. The friar offers to stay with them for the night as a sign of goodwill. Lady Amyra, Gus and Quinn stay behind to set up camp, helped by the friar, while the others go foraging.

Time of day: 15:30

In the meantime, the friar explains the layout of the monastery to the others and introduces himself as Brother Norbert. Everyone returns to camp just before sunset. They cook and eat.

Time of day: 1 hour after sunset
Meeting the Mirewater Dwarf

Tyro first notices a dwarf sitting on a log by the side of the path. Dworin speaks to him in Dwarven and asks whether he lost his army. The dwarf grunts a ‘no’. Dworin asks him as to why he’s alone in the forest but the dwarf tells him to move on. Dworin asks whether he’s seen any goblins around the dwarf spits in distaste. Tyro speaks to the dwarf in Dwarven much to the dwarf’s and Dworin’s surprise and asks him to help them. the dwarf says that he is looking for his eagle which had gone to perform a raid on a nearby village. Dworin speaks to the others in Common telling them what the other dwarf has said, realising that this dwarf is from Mirewater – the dwarves who originally stole the hammer. He intimates that he is going to attack. Dworin sits near the dwarf on the log and tells him that his eagle has been shot down and that the hammer which the eagle stole is what Dworin is looking for, upon hearing this the dwarf tries to punch Dworin but misses. Dworin draws his hand sword while Gus, Quinn and Lady Amyra prepare their weapons for attack. Bialer walks up to him and slaps him telling him that he shouldn’t steal things from other people! In the remaining space that there is the dwarf tries to punch Bialer but fails. Bialer attempts to stab down at the dwarf but misses. Tyro throws a dagger but it flies past the dwarf’s head. Quinn casts HOLD PERSON on the dwarf. Lady Amyra fires an arrow at the dwarf piercing its neck. Blood is spurting from the wound. After a couple of other attacks the dwarf drops down with blood spurting out of his neck from the arrow wounds. Dworin searches the dwarf and finds: backpack, helmet, chainmail, ring (taken by Dworin) and a large wooden shield. In the backpack there is the usual bedroll, etc plus a small vial (taken by Dworin) and a belt pouch with about 50 gold pieces, which Dworin passes on to Bialer to keep.

Time of day: 12:00 (midday)

They continue walking and arrive at a T-junction heading east and south. They stop for lunch before heading on.

Time of day: 13:00
The Fire Demon in the Cavern

They proceed up the stairs with Tyro in the lead and a burst of flames shoots out from the alcove. Tyro evades it but Lady Amyra is struck and falls down unconscious. Gus manages to evade. Quinn casts CURE MODERATE WOUNDS on Lady Amyra and she regains consciousness but is badly damaged. Quinn casts TURN UNDEAD but there’s no reaction. Dworin shouts out to the others telling them to move back to the cave and grabs Quinn to turn back. Tyro decides to chance his LUCK and attack using his melee dagger. He hits the creature but nothing appears to have happened. Bialer shoots off an arrow aiming for his head but he misses and the arrow breaks. Bialer heads down the stairs near the other alcove. Gus casts CELESTIAL OWL around the head of the creatures and hits but to no visible effect. Lady Amyra attempts to fire and arrow but she fumbles and drops her bow. The creature lashes out at the celestial owl and carves him on half. Dworin fires an arrow at the creature and then moves down towards the other alcove. His arrow misses. Tyro dodges between the creature’s legs and goes into the alcove. The creature tries to attack him but misses. Tyro then attempts to fire his crossbow at him but drops his bow. Bialer fires his crossbow letting out two arrows, the first of which hits. Gus casts FLARE in front of the creature’s eyes and as a flash appears in front of it, it shakes its head. Lady Amyra attacks with her long sword and hits the creature who then strikes out at her. Due to his being dazed by the flare he hits her shield but doesn’t damage it. Quinn also moves back to the alcove. Dworin fires but misses and moves further back. Tyro regains his crossbow, fires and misses. Bialer fires and misses. Gus casts CELESTIAL DOG around the creature’s heels but the dog misses. Gus moves back 5 feet towards the alcove. Lady Amyra uses LUCK and attacks with her long sword. Although she gives him a good strike no physical damage appears on him. The creature attacks the celestial dog and kills it just before it disappears. Quinn casts CREATE WATER above the creature which, upon touching him, becomes steam. Quinn moves backwards. Dworin shoots at the creature hitting him in the chest. Tyro shoots at the creature and hits but notices that no damage is being inflicted. Bialer shoots 2 arrows. Gus heads back to the alcove near the others. Lady Amyra goes to move back providing an attack of opportunity for the creature who manages to hit her, causing damage but she manages to get down to the other alcove. Quinn runs into the alcove. Dworin shoots but misses. Tyro searches the alcove and sees two clone warriors on either side of a magnificent throne. Bialer shoots at the creature. Lady Amyra moves into the alcove realising that she left her crossbow behind. The creature starts to move down the stairs. Quinn casts CURE LIGHT WOUNDS on Lady Amyra. Dworin moves forward and fires and hits. Tyro attacks one of the clone warriors. Bialer moves down towards the first alcove, followed by Lady Amyra and Gus. The creature attempts to move down the stairs but slips and falls hanging off the ledge by his hands. Dworin goes up the stairs to where it’s hanging. Tyro attempts to carry one of the come warriors but doesn’t succeed. They both attack him but one misses; the other one hits. Bialer turns around and notices that the creature is no longer on the steps. Gus asks Quinn to move out of the way. Lady Amyra also notices that the creature is now out of sight. Quinn steps to the side into the alcove. Dworin swipes down onto the creature’s hand which is grasping at the step and chops through the first finger. Tyro attacks the clone warriors and they strike back but both miss. Lady Amyra moves up the stairs. Gus runs up near Dworin. Quinn follows Gus up the stairs. Dworin strikes down again but misses. Tyro attacks again and they attack back but miss. Lady Amyra and Bialer both move up the stairs. Gus aims an arrow at the creature’s hand and shoots his finger. The creature falls off the ledge and lands on the floor below in a puff of smoke. Tyro is still in the alcove with the clone warriors; they attack but miss as does Tyro. Lady Amyra asks Gust to pick up her short bow but Bialer tells Lady Amyra to move up the stairs and pick it up herself. Nevertheless Gus collects it for her and moves up the stairs. Quinn follows. Dworin looks into the alcove and sees Tyro and the two clones. He strikes the clone that’s closest to him with his long sword. Tyro attacks but misses and the clones attack back but also miss. Lady Amyra walks up the stairs followed by Bialer. Gus enters the alcove; he tries to strike with his morning star but misses. Quinn enters the alcove. Dworin strikes again. Lady Amyra enters the alcove, attacks a clone warrior and injures him with a mighty gash. Bialer enters the alcove. Gus strikes but misses. Quinn flanks the clone and strikes with his morning star. Dworin attacks a clone and he disappears into a puff of dust. Tyro goes to attach but drops his quarterstaff. Lady Amyra attacks the last clone which is barely standing by this point. Bialer attacks and kills the last clone.

Time of day: approx. 11:00 a.m.

There’s nothing of interest in the alcove so they continue climbing the stairs and emerge from the hole in the forest. They head back to the patch and head north. They enter deeper into the forest until they’re surrounded by tall trees and they arrive at a T-junction. They decide to head east. Tyro sees a gold piece on the floor and jumps for it. They take up formation on the path.
The Humanoids in the Cavern

There is sunlight and a stream in the cavern. Bialer speaks to them but they give no reaction. Tyro takes a green fungus and there’s no reaction from the humanoids. They climb the steps and see 3 alcoves on the side. They stop at the first alcove where there is a barrel and a chest; Tyro opens that chest with his thieves’ tools and finds 8 gold pieces. He looks into the barrel and a finds a large, steel shield. Lady Amyra compares it to hers but decides not to take it. They continue up the stairs to the second alcove where there are 4 more humanoids that are armed. Bialer steps out and the humanoids move to attack him. They miss their first attempts, however Bialer is then hit. Bialer strikes and hits Humanoid 4 which dissolves into a pool of liquid. Tyro refocuses. Lady Amyra strikes at Humanoid 3 and leaves it with a mighty gash in its mid-section. It strikes back but misses. Bialer strikes at Humanoid 2 causing it to bleed. Lady Amyra strikes at ‘3’ again wounding it further. They strike back but miss and Humanoid 1 drops its spear. Bialer and Lady Amyra miss their next tries. Gus casts CELESTIAL DOG which attacks ‘3’. Bialer is hit by ‘2’ while ‘1’ draws a dagger from its belt. Quinn heals Bialer’s wounds who then attacks ‘2’ and kills him. Gus attacks ‘3’ and it too dies. Bialer strikes at ‘1’ (the last one standing) but misses. Lady Amyra moves around behind ‘1’ and strikes it leaving a gash on its shoulder. It tries to strike back but falls. Tyro manages to get into the cave and hits at the fallen ‘1’ with his quarterstaff. Dworin also attacks ‘1’ wounding him severely. Bialer finally kills it. The rest of the alcove is empty.
Pterodactyl Attack

Bialer lets off one arrow towards the creature and hits it, jumping out of the way as much as possible. He fires another arrow but misses. Quinn casts CELESTIAL EAGLE above Bialer. Tyro fires at the creature using his light crossbow and hits. Gus also fires at the creature but misses. The creature swipes down and clutches the celestial eagle which disappears in his clutches. Lady Amyra shoots an arrow at the creature and hits it. Dworin, in an effort to react, loses his balance and stumbles. Bialer fires off two arrows at the pterodactyl – the first arrow is a critical hit but the second arrow misses. The creature’s left claw is pierced gashing it wide open. Quinn casts RANDOM ACTION on the pterodactyl causing it to attack itself. It doesn’t cause much damage but gets distracted. Tyro fires again but misses. Gus fires and hits. The pterodactyl is now bleeding profoundly and swipes at Bialer, hitting him. Lady Amyra performs LAY ON HANDS on Bialer, healing him. Dworin attacks the creature with his new long sword and the creature slumps to the ground. Tyro searches the pterodactyl but finds nothing of interest.

The Hollow Tree

Lady Amyra, Quinn and Bialer see an arrow pointing west (on the ground) away from the path. They follow the arrows which lead to a large tree. Lady Amyra, Tyro and Quinn notice that the tree is larger than normal, is very old and is dead. They notice that the tree is hollow and there’s a hole in the ground leading downwards. Tyro searches for traps but finds nothing. Dworin heads toward the tree trunk with his sword drawn and Quinn casts LIGHT on the blade. The light shows that the entire tree trunk is hollow and acts like a chimney. Dworin is at the edge of the opening and sees a medallion hanging on the other side of the trunk. The light of the sword shows the bottom of the hole which is within a 20 foot drop. Tyro takes the medallion which is gold in colours. Dworin lets down a rope to the bottom of the tree and Bialer swings down suffering some damage along the way. He sees that there’s a low tunnel heading west, however he can’t make out any details. Dworin therefore climbs down to take a look. Dworin hands over the lit sword to Bialer who sees that the tunnel continues but there seems to be no end it slopes underground. Tyro climbs down too and follows Dworin inside. Lady Amyra climbs down with difficulty thinking to herself that this is a mad idea. Gus climbed down next while Quinn secures the rope for himself and climbed down. They all crawl behind each other and after about 3 minutes they find themselves in a large cavern with green walls where small humanoids are tending to crops of fungi.
The Pit of Leaves

Bialer is at the front of the group and he stops suddenly saying that he senses something isn’t right. He tries to climb the hill face but doesn’t manage. Tyro searches for traps and comes across one. Lady Amyra casts DETECT EVIL but detects nothing. The trap that Tyro found is a pit covered in leaves and branches. Bialer manages to jump across. Tyro triggers the trap with his quarterstaff which reveals a 10-15 foot deep pit. Bialer throws over a rope to the other side for the other to cross with a safety rope. Lady Amyra manages to cross with some difficulty. Gus attempts to cross but gets caught midway on the rope so Quinn reaches out to help him back on to his side of the pit. Eventually Bialer and Dworin move to allow the rope to move and reach the other side allowing Gus to get up. Finally all of the others jump across.

The Sword in the Stone

As they walk along they see the handle of a sword stuck in a rock. Gus attempts to pull it out but is unsuccessful. Dworin then attempts to pull it out and manages without any effort. The sword gives off a positive energy and Dworin keeps it. They continue walking and approach a junction heading east and west – they head east and reach another junction that is split into north and east; they head north.

The Mud Pool

They see a large mud pool off the path with bubbles coming to the surface and a heat mirage at the surface. Bialer throws a pebble into the pool which sinks. The others start moving ahead but Lady Amyra places her hand into the pool and feels a rush of positive energy flow through her so she calls the others back to feel it too. They return, somewhat reluctantly, but feel the same rush of energy so they decide to fill Lady Amyra’s silver box with mud for upcoming ventures.

They continue north up the path when a large shadow happens on the ground and as they look up they see a massive creature flying above them. The creature screeches and flies straight towards Bialer. It looks like a pterodactyl.