Post by David on Jul 20, 2015 16:26:08 GMT -5
After their two encounters with Xarella's collection of (escaped) dangerous plants, Rose, Lily, Dante, and Gabriel are placed under virtual house-arrest in the Temple of Wee Jas while Sage is joined by Allyrion and Brand in transporting everything they can from the Temple of Wee Jas in the ruins of Suendrako to the Temple of Wee Jas in Portown. Because a group of Scarlet Brotherhood explorers are also in the ruins, time is of the essence. Further, after the problems with the magenta creepers, it was clear that all rooms in town needed to be searched and unfortunately, in the rush, not everything was correctly locked back up. So, Dante is helping train Cassandra in the basics of being a sorcerer as the children and looking for something to do in the temple under-chambers, under the supervision of Kahan. Helping the neophyte acolyte are Nymphadorus and Pwatol, who know nothing of the temple, and Riley, who is discussion religious philosophy with Rose. Because of her "bad judgement," Lily is locked in her room.
The group enters one room that no one is familiar with. Dante, who had been discussing how sorcerers can often make use of mage items, asks Cassandra to see if she can cause a reaction from a magical urn that resembles an ornate trophy with five handles. The teenage sorceress tries, but nothing happens. Rose says to put it away and takes it from the sorceress and hands it to her cousin, Dante. As Dante grabs the handles, the device comes to life and Dante, Rose, Cassandra, Puddles, Riley, Nymphadorus, Kahan, and Pwatol are all dimensionally shifted to a warm deciduous forest. Because they were in the temple, the group has very little adventuring equipment, such as weapons, armor, or magical items. Cassandra and Nyphadorus quickly deduce that the woods through which the group is wandering are orchards that have been allowed to go wild for centuries. Cassandra sets out to find water and heads towards what she believes to be a river. En route, the group encounters a band of reddish squirrels standing about a foot and a half tall and wearing clothing and bearing bows. Nymphadorus manages to speak to these Kercpa in the language of Dryads. The squirrel-people mention the ruins the group is headed toward as well as a trading post for forest gnomes called Daggerdale.
The lost heroes almost immediately agree to head for the settlement, arriving several hours later to a small region of the forest which forms a natural depression 20' to 30' lower than the ground level of the rest of the woods. The area has been cleared of most trees and the logs used to construct a rough palisade around the dagger-shaped dale. To the north, a small river forms the "hilt" of the "dagger" as well as a natural barrier for the town. The heroes speak with the gnomes at the gate who are surprised to see humans. Inside, the group finds the area very quaint, as if they had stepped into a children's storybook filled with the architecture of Keebler Elves -- that is, partial homes built into the sides of still-living trees.
Nymphadorus, as the only one to speak Dryad and Centaur, languages that are understood here, asks around. There are a fair number of centaur in the settlement and well as many, many gnomes. A few al karak elam are also there, but no humans, elves, dwarves, or hobbits. Speaking with one female al karak elam, the group notices that here the winged folk have reddish pigment, like the Flan, and the centaur tend to have darker human skin as well. One al karak elam, Dawnstar, asks the group if they're adventurers and if she can employ them. Many of her people were overpowered by a group of lizard men only three hours from Daggerdale. Along with several centaur, all of the fallen winged folk were taken prisoner by the foul lizard men. The al karak elam will almost certainly not survive the night in such a horrible reptile lair. Dawnstar will provide the heroes with gold to equip themselves as well as more gold once they return with her kinsfolk. The few centaur in town are mostly survivors of this terrible ambush and battle...
The group agrees with hesitation. Because time is so precious, six centaur agree to actually let the heroes ride them across the river to the lizard man lair. There, the centaur will withdraw until the party sounds a hunting horn, signaling it's safe. Supporting the centaur is only Dawnstar, now able to fly again thanks to Nyphadorus' healing talents.
The party enters the lizard man lair. Riley goes first and nearly has his head taken off by a spear. Dante drops in and unleashes a ring of cold that kills two lizard men. The rest of the party joins the boy and soon the heroes have slaughtered many of the scaly folk as well as a crocodile guardian, a giant python, some cat-sized lizards, and a few stirge. In the process most of the heroes are wounded and Dante is dropped, triggering the sacred guardian spell his father, Allyrion, cast on him. The group rescues and heals five al karak elam and two centaur. Unfortunately, only two of the winged folk can fly and both of the centaurs' back legs are broken. Nymphadorus meditates and uses as much of his healing power as he can on the horse-men. With the help of the heroes and after having cleared everything in the lair not blocked by water, the group manages to get all five winged folk out and both centaurs to the entrance, where the other six pull them out.
With sun setting, the centaur help the other centaur while the al karak elam do the same and everyone retreats back to Daggerdale. There, the party are hailed as heroes and saviors. Nymphadorus uses his psychic healing talents to restore nearly everyone back to full strength...
Status:
Nymphadorus: 11 (full)
Riley: 14 (full)
Pwotal: 12 of 35
Cassandra: 14 (full)
Puddles: 5 (full)
Dante: 18 (full)
Kahan: 7 (full)
Rose: 12 (full)
The group enters one room that no one is familiar with. Dante, who had been discussing how sorcerers can often make use of mage items, asks Cassandra to see if she can cause a reaction from a magical urn that resembles an ornate trophy with five handles. The teenage sorceress tries, but nothing happens. Rose says to put it away and takes it from the sorceress and hands it to her cousin, Dante. As Dante grabs the handles, the device comes to life and Dante, Rose, Cassandra, Puddles, Riley, Nymphadorus, Kahan, and Pwatol are all dimensionally shifted to a warm deciduous forest. Because they were in the temple, the group has very little adventuring equipment, such as weapons, armor, or magical items. Cassandra and Nyphadorus quickly deduce that the woods through which the group is wandering are orchards that have been allowed to go wild for centuries. Cassandra sets out to find water and heads towards what she believes to be a river. En route, the group encounters a band of reddish squirrels standing about a foot and a half tall and wearing clothing and bearing bows. Nymphadorus manages to speak to these Kercpa in the language of Dryads. The squirrel-people mention the ruins the group is headed toward as well as a trading post for forest gnomes called Daggerdale.
The lost heroes almost immediately agree to head for the settlement, arriving several hours later to a small region of the forest which forms a natural depression 20' to 30' lower than the ground level of the rest of the woods. The area has been cleared of most trees and the logs used to construct a rough palisade around the dagger-shaped dale. To the north, a small river forms the "hilt" of the "dagger" as well as a natural barrier for the town. The heroes speak with the gnomes at the gate who are surprised to see humans. Inside, the group finds the area very quaint, as if they had stepped into a children's storybook filled with the architecture of Keebler Elves -- that is, partial homes built into the sides of still-living trees.
Nymphadorus, as the only one to speak Dryad and Centaur, languages that are understood here, asks around. There are a fair number of centaur in the settlement and well as many, many gnomes. A few al karak elam are also there, but no humans, elves, dwarves, or hobbits. Speaking with one female al karak elam, the group notices that here the winged folk have reddish pigment, like the Flan, and the centaur tend to have darker human skin as well. One al karak elam, Dawnstar, asks the group if they're adventurers and if she can employ them. Many of her people were overpowered by a group of lizard men only three hours from Daggerdale. Along with several centaur, all of the fallen winged folk were taken prisoner by the foul lizard men. The al karak elam will almost certainly not survive the night in such a horrible reptile lair. Dawnstar will provide the heroes with gold to equip themselves as well as more gold once they return with her kinsfolk. The few centaur in town are mostly survivors of this terrible ambush and battle...
The group agrees with hesitation. Because time is so precious, six centaur agree to actually let the heroes ride them across the river to the lizard man lair. There, the centaur will withdraw until the party sounds a hunting horn, signaling it's safe. Supporting the centaur is only Dawnstar, now able to fly again thanks to Nyphadorus' healing talents.
The party enters the lizard man lair. Riley goes first and nearly has his head taken off by a spear. Dante drops in and unleashes a ring of cold that kills two lizard men. The rest of the party joins the boy and soon the heroes have slaughtered many of the scaly folk as well as a crocodile guardian, a giant python, some cat-sized lizards, and a few stirge. In the process most of the heroes are wounded and Dante is dropped, triggering the sacred guardian spell his father, Allyrion, cast on him. The group rescues and heals five al karak elam and two centaur. Unfortunately, only two of the winged folk can fly and both of the centaurs' back legs are broken. Nymphadorus meditates and uses as much of his healing power as he can on the horse-men. With the help of the heroes and after having cleared everything in the lair not blocked by water, the group manages to get all five winged folk out and both centaurs to the entrance, where the other six pull them out.
With sun setting, the centaur help the other centaur while the al karak elam do the same and everyone retreats back to Daggerdale. There, the party are hailed as heroes and saviors. Nymphadorus uses his psychic healing talents to restore nearly everyone back to full strength...
Status:
Nymphadorus: 11 (full)
Riley: 14 (full)
Pwotal: 12 of 35
Cassandra: 14 (full)
Puddles: 5 (full)
Dante: 18 (full)
Kahan: 7 (full)
Rose: 12 (full)