Post by David on Jun 2, 2008 13:09:11 GMT -5
Once again, a party of heroes is seeking out the evil that lurks in the heart of the [glow=red,2,300]Temple of Elemental Evil[/glow]...
On 617/9/13, a party of adventurers was lured out of Klarr to Narwell. The bait? A rumor that Prince Quallin Nathmarel, long-time ally of the Fabulous Five and Klarr as well as the ruler of Narwell, had been kidnapped and in need of rescue from a slavers' ring. The information was carefully planted while most of Klarr's heroes were off fighting in the war against Iuz or exploring the ruins of Rumelia or dealing with the rise in bandits and humanoids in the Gnarley and Welkwood forests. As a result, Mikhail, a teen-age former-druid and neophyte psionist felt it was important to investigate. He gathered together with animal companion, Samhain (Sammy), a giant weasel, Clanndennagh, a jedi companion from an earlier adventure, Dion and Ephonius, clerics of Apollo supporting Stephanos' temple in Klarr, Marc, a beast master from Maneä, Sky, a half-elven ranger (later turned into a fire snake), Clovis, a Norsk warrior woman, and Salywyn, an elven mage/thief. The group was later joined by Rhiannon, rune-caster and another teenage child of Klarr's heroes, as well as Durka, a warsmith apprenticed to Rhom, and Starglow, a mage who enjoys a good combat. Nearly a month later, on 617/9/27, the heroes triumphed over the forces of evil.
In truth, Prince Quallin was never captured and while there was a slavery ring, it was not the true threat. The entire affair was a plot by Mordrammo, high-priest of Ghaunadaur and former Slave Lord. The cleric's goal was to capture Mikhail to use as bait to capture the other heroes who had disrupted the Lords of Sunderham. To this end, Mordrammo capture a temple complex to Poseidon abandoned during the Apocalypse and used it as a base for his slavery ring. He then set about animating each and every corpse within, using a sussruss to keep them tranquil.
The heroes attacked the "base" with marginal luck and surived an assassination attempt in the night. They then managed to defeated the leaders of the complex after sneaking in through the their underwater escape passage. The heroes, now Mikhail (and Sammy), Clanndennagh, Dion, Marc, Sky, Starglow, Rhiannon and their dwarven ally, Enjar, slay a shark-demon, slaughter numerous slime-monsters, destroy many undead, and capture the ruins where they wait in ambush Mordrammo. The high-priest held most of the heroes, but was finally forced to flee after an ego whip from Clanndennagh followed by repeated mind thrusts from Mikhail prevent him from being much more than a target. Wounded, the cleric of the Elder Elemental God word of recalls to safety. The heroes recapture the complex with the assistance of Marti Silverwind, cleric of Freya and her priestesses.
In the process, the heroes discover Mordrammo's notes and learn that not only are the Slave Lords attempting to rebuild their forces, but that the Cult of the Elder Elemental God has a number of outposts in the western Gnarley Forest, are attempting to restore the Temple of Elemental Evil, and have numerous lists of targets for assassination and capture! The group shares this information with the priestess, Marti, who encourages them to warn the heroes in Klarr as well as deal with the threat.
On 617/10/2, the group, now consisting of Mikhail (and Sammy), Clanndennagh, Dion, Marc, Sky, and Rhiannon, heads off to Klarr from Narwell. En route, they encounter a manticore and narrowly defeat five displacer beasts, arriving in Klarr around midnight of 10/6. The group rests the next day, passing along what they've learned to Jasmine, Stephanos, Esmerelda, and the heroes. While in town, Cliffy, an elven mage (and thief) joins the group.
On the morning of 10/8, the heroes decide to set out overland for Hommlet, with a stop in Tanorim (above Yurisal, on the lower slopes of Griffon Mountain) on the way. The second trek proves quit difficult for the woods are alive with activity, stirred up by the humanoid and bandit forces. The party meets a storm giantess, Tina, another ally of the Fabulous Five en route to Klarr to warn of trouble in the Yatils and Hellfurnaces. Later, the heroes rescue ten (originally twelve) gnomes from a pair of werebears and a horde of Norsk berserkers. The group learns that these mercenaries were hired by the forces of Iuz to raid the settlements in the region and generally stir up trouble. Before finally arriving at Tanorim, the heroes avoid encounters with witherstench and griffons as well.
Near the evening of 617/10/11, the heroes reach the isolated log cabin and shrine to Zeus that make up Tanorim. There, they speak with the high-priest, Allyrion, the griffon-tamer, Brand, and his daughter (and Mikhail's half-sister), Adama. The heroes spend the night and get some magical items identified and in the morning Allyrion and Brand use item spells to fly the group to Hommlet by mid-morning before heading south to "deal" with the Viking invaders and then to further disrupt the Slavers' plans.
So, on 617/11/12, the heroes reach Hommlet and enter the Inn of the Welcome Wench searching for information. Ostler Gundigoot gives them directions to grove of the druid, Jaroo Ashstaff, but first the group has brunch, served by the Rhenee barmaid, "Mia", who asks all sorts of questions. Suspicious, the party leaves and talks with Jaroo who warns that most of the town's leadership has been charmed, probably by the masters of the harpies now living atop the moathouse. The aging druid implores the party to assault the recently-refortified moathouse and smite the evil there. He stresses that the architect of this plot must be killed so as to free all the charmees in Hommlet, including the clerics of Cuthbert as well as the mage, Burnie, and his fighting compatriot, Rufus.
The group sets out for the moathouse and come up with a plan. Using his gift to telepathically communicate with birds, Mikhail convinces a robin to scout out the ruins and keep tabs on the harpies and their gargoyle "body guard". Cliffy turns Clanndennagh and Marc invisible while Clanndennagh secures Sky under his jacket. With the bulk of the party some 300 yards distant, the invisible pair fill their ears with wax (from Jaroo's hive) and sneak up to the moathouse. Clanndennagh leaps to the top of the wrecked battlements and then the roof of the tower while Marc begins to climb the outside.
Unfortunately, the gargoyle notices a few stones moving and feels the vibrations of the leap and pounces on the invisible jedi. The Celt tries to dodge away but the gargoyle draws blood twice, causing the harpies to begin skreetching and singing. Clanndennagh unleashes a psionic blast which floors all three, buying Marc the time he needs to reach the top of the tower and giving Sky a chance to uncoil and attack. The three finish both harpies fairly quickly, but have trouble with the gargoyle. Cliffy charges to help, followed by Mikhail and Samhain, and then Dion. As Cliffy reaches the drawbridge, however, two huge frogs leap out of the scummy moat water and attack, quickly overpowering the elven mage and dragging him into the water. Mikhail and Sammy arrive to battle two more each as well. The heroes find themselves in three pitched battles and losing, when "Mia" the barmaid arrives with a warrior companion. They dive straight into combat in support of the heroes. Clanndennagh asks who they really are, to which she responds that she is Dajamira and he's Max and they've been looking for a group to take on the evil forces of the moathouse.
The heroes triumph over the gargoyle and frogs, but Cliffy's right root is broken as is Samhain's left rear leg. Dion cures the best he can so they can somewhat travel, but are both far from full strength. The heroes then enter the main courtyard, where they burn a group of spiders in the tower's lower level. Finally, the group heads up the stairs of the inner courtyard where they do battle with three stirge, eight lizard men, and a lizard king.
The battle is fierce. Dajamira attempts to parlay with the lizard men without success. The lizard men seriously wound Max while the lizard king impales first Samhain and then Sky. Both nearly die, but the combined forces of the party finally break through the wall of lizardmen defenders and rescue the pair. Dion, Mikhail, and Marc set about tending the wounded heroes (and Daj the one lizard man she hurt) while the rest stand watch.
On 617/9/13, a party of adventurers was lured out of Klarr to Narwell. The bait? A rumor that Prince Quallin Nathmarel, long-time ally of the Fabulous Five and Klarr as well as the ruler of Narwell, had been kidnapped and in need of rescue from a slavers' ring. The information was carefully planted while most of Klarr's heroes were off fighting in the war against Iuz or exploring the ruins of Rumelia or dealing with the rise in bandits and humanoids in the Gnarley and Welkwood forests. As a result, Mikhail, a teen-age former-druid and neophyte psionist felt it was important to investigate. He gathered together with animal companion, Samhain (Sammy), a giant weasel, Clanndennagh, a jedi companion from an earlier adventure, Dion and Ephonius, clerics of Apollo supporting Stephanos' temple in Klarr, Marc, a beast master from Maneä, Sky, a half-elven ranger (later turned into a fire snake), Clovis, a Norsk warrior woman, and Salywyn, an elven mage/thief. The group was later joined by Rhiannon, rune-caster and another teenage child of Klarr's heroes, as well as Durka, a warsmith apprenticed to Rhom, and Starglow, a mage who enjoys a good combat. Nearly a month later, on 617/9/27, the heroes triumphed over the forces of evil.
In truth, Prince Quallin was never captured and while there was a slavery ring, it was not the true threat. The entire affair was a plot by Mordrammo, high-priest of Ghaunadaur and former Slave Lord. The cleric's goal was to capture Mikhail to use as bait to capture the other heroes who had disrupted the Lords of Sunderham. To this end, Mordrammo capture a temple complex to Poseidon abandoned during the Apocalypse and used it as a base for his slavery ring. He then set about animating each and every corpse within, using a sussruss to keep them tranquil.
The heroes attacked the "base" with marginal luck and surived an assassination attempt in the night. They then managed to defeated the leaders of the complex after sneaking in through the their underwater escape passage. The heroes, now Mikhail (and Sammy), Clanndennagh, Dion, Marc, Sky, Starglow, Rhiannon and their dwarven ally, Enjar, slay a shark-demon, slaughter numerous slime-monsters, destroy many undead, and capture the ruins where they wait in ambush Mordrammo. The high-priest held most of the heroes, but was finally forced to flee after an ego whip from Clanndennagh followed by repeated mind thrusts from Mikhail prevent him from being much more than a target. Wounded, the cleric of the Elder Elemental God word of recalls to safety. The heroes recapture the complex with the assistance of Marti Silverwind, cleric of Freya and her priestesses.
In the process, the heroes discover Mordrammo's notes and learn that not only are the Slave Lords attempting to rebuild their forces, but that the Cult of the Elder Elemental God has a number of outposts in the western Gnarley Forest, are attempting to restore the Temple of Elemental Evil, and have numerous lists of targets for assassination and capture! The group shares this information with the priestess, Marti, who encourages them to warn the heroes in Klarr as well as deal with the threat.
On 617/10/2, the group, now consisting of Mikhail (and Sammy), Clanndennagh, Dion, Marc, Sky, and Rhiannon, heads off to Klarr from Narwell. En route, they encounter a manticore and narrowly defeat five displacer beasts, arriving in Klarr around midnight of 10/6. The group rests the next day, passing along what they've learned to Jasmine, Stephanos, Esmerelda, and the heroes. While in town, Cliffy, an elven mage (and thief) joins the group.
On the morning of 10/8, the heroes decide to set out overland for Hommlet, with a stop in Tanorim (above Yurisal, on the lower slopes of Griffon Mountain) on the way. The second trek proves quit difficult for the woods are alive with activity, stirred up by the humanoid and bandit forces. The party meets a storm giantess, Tina, another ally of the Fabulous Five en route to Klarr to warn of trouble in the Yatils and Hellfurnaces. Later, the heroes rescue ten (originally twelve) gnomes from a pair of werebears and a horde of Norsk berserkers. The group learns that these mercenaries were hired by the forces of Iuz to raid the settlements in the region and generally stir up trouble. Before finally arriving at Tanorim, the heroes avoid encounters with witherstench and griffons as well.
Near the evening of 617/10/11, the heroes reach the isolated log cabin and shrine to Zeus that make up Tanorim. There, they speak with the high-priest, Allyrion, the griffon-tamer, Brand, and his daughter (and Mikhail's half-sister), Adama. The heroes spend the night and get some magical items identified and in the morning Allyrion and Brand use item spells to fly the group to Hommlet by mid-morning before heading south to "deal" with the Viking invaders and then to further disrupt the Slavers' plans.
So, on 617/11/12, the heroes reach Hommlet and enter the Inn of the Welcome Wench searching for information. Ostler Gundigoot gives them directions to grove of the druid, Jaroo Ashstaff, but first the group has brunch, served by the Rhenee barmaid, "Mia", who asks all sorts of questions. Suspicious, the party leaves and talks with Jaroo who warns that most of the town's leadership has been charmed, probably by the masters of the harpies now living atop the moathouse. The aging druid implores the party to assault the recently-refortified moathouse and smite the evil there. He stresses that the architect of this plot must be killed so as to free all the charmees in Hommlet, including the clerics of Cuthbert as well as the mage, Burnie, and his fighting compatriot, Rufus.
The group sets out for the moathouse and come up with a plan. Using his gift to telepathically communicate with birds, Mikhail convinces a robin to scout out the ruins and keep tabs on the harpies and their gargoyle "body guard". Cliffy turns Clanndennagh and Marc invisible while Clanndennagh secures Sky under his jacket. With the bulk of the party some 300 yards distant, the invisible pair fill their ears with wax (from Jaroo's hive) and sneak up to the moathouse. Clanndennagh leaps to the top of the wrecked battlements and then the roof of the tower while Marc begins to climb the outside.
Unfortunately, the gargoyle notices a few stones moving and feels the vibrations of the leap and pounces on the invisible jedi. The Celt tries to dodge away but the gargoyle draws blood twice, causing the harpies to begin skreetching and singing. Clanndennagh unleashes a psionic blast which floors all three, buying Marc the time he needs to reach the top of the tower and giving Sky a chance to uncoil and attack. The three finish both harpies fairly quickly, but have trouble with the gargoyle. Cliffy charges to help, followed by Mikhail and Samhain, and then Dion. As Cliffy reaches the drawbridge, however, two huge frogs leap out of the scummy moat water and attack, quickly overpowering the elven mage and dragging him into the water. Mikhail and Sammy arrive to battle two more each as well. The heroes find themselves in three pitched battles and losing, when "Mia" the barmaid arrives with a warrior companion. They dive straight into combat in support of the heroes. Clanndennagh asks who they really are, to which she responds that she is Dajamira and he's Max and they've been looking for a group to take on the evil forces of the moathouse.
The heroes triumph over the gargoyle and frogs, but Cliffy's right root is broken as is Samhain's left rear leg. Dion cures the best he can so they can somewhat travel, but are both far from full strength. The heroes then enter the main courtyard, where they burn a group of spiders in the tower's lower level. Finally, the group heads up the stairs of the inner courtyard where they do battle with three stirge, eight lizard men, and a lizard king.
The battle is fierce. Dajamira attempts to parlay with the lizard men without success. The lizard men seriously wound Max while the lizard king impales first Samhain and then Sky. Both nearly die, but the combined forces of the party finally break through the wall of lizardmen defenders and rescue the pair. Dion, Mikhail, and Marc set about tending the wounded heroes (and Daj the one lizard man she hurt) while the rest stand watch.
