Session 001: The Black Forest - The Road to Kalle (6/28/2010)
Encounter XP Gained: +150 xp to Onyx, Rei, Mian Kas, and Jonathan
The first encounter took place on the road to Kalle from the town of Harrowkeep. A mated pair of hungry wolves and two litters of pups led by a ferocious dire wolf assaulted the party around an abandoned farmer's wagon of rotten vegetables and old provisions. The battle was fierce and bloodied more than one member of the party. The starving pups fought the hardest and the young dire wolf was unable to do much against the radiant onslought from the battle tested invoker, Jonathan, and the anger-fueled cleric, Rei. In the end, almost a dozen wolves lay dead as the mated pair of wolves fled into the forest, their hunger not sated and two litters left dead or dying.
Session 002: The Black Forest - The Webbed Caverns (7/12/2010)
Encounter XP Gained: +600 xp to Onyx, Rei, Mian Kas, and Jonathan
Bonus XP Gained: +100 xp to Onyx for point out a mistake, +100 xp to Mian Kas for making me laugh
The second days travel along the road to Kalle proved to be uneventful until almost sunset, when the primal warden, Onyx, noticed dusky strands of spider-web. The earthen identified these strands as belonging to a particularly troublesome and pervasive species of giant spider. Fearing for the safety of the people of the Thore River Vale, the earthen convinced the rest of the party to abandon their tax collection efforts for the moment, in order to scout out the source of the infestation and root it out with hammer and flame. The natural instincts of the warden led the wary travellers straight to a freshly opened system of caves in some forested rolling hills at the edge of the Black Forest. Spiders and their eggs were the least of concerns to the party as some smooth bored holes in the walls drew the attention of Onyx and Mian Kas. Five segmented worms, four of which were roughly six feet long, burst out of the holes and attacked the party. Virulent green acid dripped from between the mandibles of the creatures. The last of the worms was as big around as the earthen warden and was close to ten feet long. It's mandibles were bent backwards slightly and serrated, to better keep their prey close.
The worms took a heavy toll on the young adventurers, but in the end, Onyx and the rest of his party fought off the worms and discovered strange, pulsating gems inside the hearts of the slain creatures. Pressing onward into the caves after brief respite, the scene ended when they discovered a nest of what looked like stalagmites with four tentacles each. Uncounted numbers of various sizes swarmed through the cavern, shephered by four larger versions and one massive grey-hide beast with glimmering red eyes.
Session 003: The Black Forest - The Webbed Caverns (7/19/2010)
Encounter XP Gained: +400 xp to Onyx, Rei, Mian Kas, Janus, and Jonathan
Bonus XP Gained: +250 xp to Onyx, +250 xp Mian Kas, +100 xp to Janus
The littlest of the grey, leathery creatures with tentacles fled into dank recesses, nooks, and crannies as their larger siblings and Brood Mother screeched warning cries at the adventuring group led by Onyx, a young, but well traveled Earthen warden. One of the smaller beasts launched itself through the air at the Earthen and left a stinging welt, even on the warden's stony skin. The Brood Mother screeched in defiance, inciting her younglings into a fierce rage. The combat was bloody and left nearly everyone but Mian Kas bloodied after the Brood Mother fled the encounter, burrowing through earth and stone to escape the wrath of Onyx and the others.
Exploration of the cavern revealed bulk trade goods marked with factor's crests and seals out of Harrowkeep and Arkos. Grains, beans, thatching, cotton, and even some rice from the eastern Heartlands were stacked in scattered piles. Weevils, fleas, and other tiny insects infested the goods. Behind a tattered blue banner, the party discovered a fiery surprise while searching the new area. Two explosive traps of fire blasted out of hidden recesses in the dusty cavern walls, leaving Mian and Onyx scorched and smoking. The rotting remains of a wolf and three empty cages offered few clues to the recent inhabitants of the cavern. A map on a desk drew the Bard's attention, though the most important aspect eluded the Eladrin songsmith for the moment.
Young Jonathan of Haldor, comfortably resting against the wall near the banner hear the heavy tread of hobnailed boots and murmured, gravelly voices from the previous cavern. The rest of the party moved to investigate and discovered five Earthen, a Brute and four others, examining the corpses of the tentacle beasts. They looked up at the approaching party and the biggest of the five, the brute… standing close to ten feet tall and nearly as wide, searched Onyx's features with particular interest.
"Hey boys… look who decided ta pay us a visit. Ol' Shalestone will pay a pretty penny for your Heartstone, Onyx." Mian glanced down at the thin papyrus map and noticed dark writing on the back. He flipped the map over and saw a well rendered drawing of his earthen traveling comrade. Beneath the art…
Reward for the Capture or Slaying of Onyx Steeltoe
Traitor to the Ironsky Citadel and the Earthen Race.
Return the traitor or his Heartstone to any Earthen
who bears the seal of Clan Shalestone for your reward:
1 pound of gems
"Well damn…" — Mian Kas
Session 004: The Black Forest - The Webbed Caverns (7/26/2010)
Encounter XP Gained: +350 xp to Onyx, Rei, Mian Kas, Janus, and Jonathan
Bonus XP Gained: No bonus xp this week…
The party continued their exploration of the Webbed Caverns after a frightening encounter with the Earthen Brute, Garamon Rockslide, and a few of his henchmen. The battle started off badly, with several members of the adventuring group splashed with concentrated acid from the tunnelers they faced earlier. On top of the flask of acid, the Earthen Brigands wielded poison coated blades they hurled at Jonathan, Onyx, and Janus. Several of the brigands fell and Garamon was left staggering and bloodied after divine light from Jonathan stunned the brute. Garamon yielded to the group and was allowed to leave unhindered. After taking stock of their supplies and feeling the weight of exhaustion bearing down on them, Onyx and the others decided to barricade themselves into the former hideout of the Earthen brigands and rest for the night.
The next day, they continued their exploration of the Webbed Caverns and finally discovered the nest of spiders they had sought out in the first place. The battle was vicious and spider ichor covered the walls. The flow of eight-legged menaces from the thickly webbed caves seemed endless. At last though, the heroes prevailed and began to cautiously advance into the main cavern. Spider legs crunched and black ichor spread soaked into the rough, dirt floor. Onyx was the first to see the source of the infestation… a Queen Giant Spider. Her forelegs waved menacingly in the air and she hissed loudly at the advancing heroes. Within the dark recesses of the webbed cavern, hundreds of red eyes grouped in eights waited hungrily for their mother to announce it was dinner time.
Session 005: The Black Forest - The Webbed Caverns (8/2/2010)
Encounter XP Gained: +1200 xp to Onyx, Rei, Mian Kas, Janus, and Jonathan
Bonus XP Gained: No bonus xp this week…
The heroes vanquished the last of the eight-legged infestation, leaving only the queen and the source of the foul spiders left to slay. The battle was fierce and horrible as the Queen reanimatd the husks of her recently slain children. Even more disgusting, the risen spiders dissolved into puddles of viscous, necrotic ooze upon their death… leaving behind pools of black ichor that reeked of rotten death. Halfway through the battle, the Blightweaver Queen nearly killed the mysterious rogue, Janus. Another bite from the Queen might have ended his life for good, but the steadfast determination of Onyx gave Janus the respite he needed to shake off the effects of the poison and ignore the pain from his wounds to strike the last, telling blow against the revolting spider queen.
Their journey to Kalle had been delayed a day, but in the end it was worth it. Both in pride and for a good deed done and a substantial amount of wealth was discovered on recent victims of the Blightweaver Queen. A blade that radiated the light of the fiery sun and a shield to match were the prize of the treasure trove. A welcome reward indeed after many hard fought battles. The rest of the journey to Kalle was not marred by any further complications, though the reception at Kalle was far different than expected. The small town had grown in the last year and a wall surrounded the town. A small keep was nestled against the walls, overlooking and providing protection to the people of Kalle.
Naum Thomas, mayor and self-appointed Lord of Kale, was giving a speech in the center of the town commons atop a flowing fountain, celebrating the recent completion of the stone keep and the fortified walls and decrying the predations of the alleged fraud, the Lord of Harrowkeep. The citizens of Kalle cheered, even knowing this was open rebellion against their lawful lord and the Warden of the Northern Star. Two of the gate guards introduced the representatives of the Lord of Harrowkeep to Naum after Jonathans mentor, Glenda, furtively warned the party to give up their task and placate the mis-guided mayor with mollifying words. Night was falling quickly and the mayor had other functions to attend to, leaving the Order of the Fiery shield to their own devices after a brief threat of a night in the dungeons if they wanted to persist in collecting the taxes they were sent to recover.
Session 006: Peril Beneath Kalle!
Encounter XP Gained: No xp gained this week…
Bonus XP Gained: 1,750 xp to Onyx for XP Opportunities
After splitting up the loot and discussing a plan of action, the rest of the Order decided to trust Rei and Jonathan's mentor, Glenda, and met with her outside the ruins of the old, Howling Hunter Inn. Glenda was late to the rendezvous however and several of the group were starting to get antsy. One of them lit a sunrod to better see into the ruins, but this quickly drew the attention of guards atop the parapets of the nearby keep. Shortly after that, Glenda staggered out of the ruins, strange ribbon-like scars upon her face. A word of healing from Rei kept the Warden from drifting too far into unconsciousness. Onyx, worried about the guards atop the keep, suggested that the group should take refuge in the ruins and douse the lights. Glenda recovered enough to warn the Order of the Fiery shield about an impending doom beneath the ruins, orchestrated by none other than the rebellious mayor of Kalle, Naum Thomas!
The Order descended into a well-hidden crypt several stories beneath the town itself. An ancient crypt well over a hundred year old. The rope made the descent easy enough. A set of steps led into dusty stone tunnels. Onyx tasted the stone with a touch of his fingers and noted that the stone as quarried from the Giantshold Mountains. A lengthy distance to travel for such stone, but it was solid bedrock and stronger than the sandstone typically found in the area. Mian and Janus discovered two sets of stout oaken doors, freshly cut and banded with iron, on the north and south walls of the ten foot wide tunnel. They did a cursory sweep for traps, but were unable to discover anything, if there was anything to find. Oddly, the doors were barred on this side of the tunnel, as if to keep something in…
This didn't deter the adventurers however, if it had even crossed their mind. Onyx entered the room to the north, noting the height of the ceiling that vanished into an unnatural night sky well beyond the range of their sunrods. Clattering bones and shifting shadows descended on barbed chains from the shadows above and six skeletons climbed down to attack the group. Halfway through the encounter with the rattlebone skeletons, the doors to the south burst asunder, startling the young Hume cleric, Rei Alennago. Another six rattlebone skeletons charged out of the wall of darkness, heedless of the Earthen warden who stood in their way and the constant battering attacks he dealt upon them.
As the scene faded to black, Onyx stood in the doorway, surrounded by four of the rattling, chain enshrouded undead. Stone crumbling and water, the lifeblood of earthen, spilling onto the floor in great splashes.
Session 007: Peril Beneath Kalle!
Encounter XP Gained: 300 xp to Onyx, Rei, Jonathan, Janus, and Mian Kas
Bonus XP Gained: 250 xp to Mian Kas (aiding another player)
Onyx surveyed the battlefield, deep beneath Kalle in an ancient crypt. Rattlebone skeletons had surrounded nearly surrounded him and had dealt many strong blows against the sturdy Earthen, but the repeated pounding was taking its toll on the Warden. One of the Rattlebones cocked his head very nearly sideways, looking oddly at the bard, Mian Kas, who was chanting in sing-song as he drew back and arrow that started to glow with a fiery heat. The Rattlebone's head clicked back upright with a bony rattle, much like a rattlesnake tail flicked once. The bard's arrow pierced the glowing eye socket of the skeleton and tore the skull off the Rattlebone with a fiery blast, leaving the headless bones standing for a moment longer before collapsing into an untidy pile. The rest of the Rattlebone skeletons were quickly taken care by the combined might of the Order of the Fiery Shield. The adventurers took a much needed breather to recover from their wounds and the exertion and exhaustion of battle.
Exploration of the tomb to the south showed much the same as the north. Dust, bones, and no treasure to be had. Young Jonathan decided to venture further east and very nearly dropped fifty feet into an old cave system beneath the crypt when the floor crumbled away beneath him. Undaunted, the Order was making plans to cross the pit when a gravelly voiced called up from below. Mian quickly lowered a rope and started hauling whomever was down in the pit upwards to the crypt… heedless of any danger, which Onyx pointed out.
The voice belonged to Igneous, another Earthen. Onyx remarked that he had seen more Earthen in the past few days than he had in weeks or even months. Igneous quickly proved himself a valuable ally as he caught Rei and Jonathan when they tried to leap over the pit to the other side. Two stout oaken doors hung on the wall next to the pit, their use as a possible bridge or cover for the pit completely ignored by the adventurers. (Sorry! Couldn't help myself!) Chaotic chanting from down the hall spurred the adventurers onward, as they remembered the words of Jonathan and Rei's mentor. Onyx smashed the handle of a narrow door further down the hall and kicked it opehn.
The doorway opened up into another vaulted crypt, lit brightly by a blazing inferno beneath a demonic alter in the center of the northern wall. Two other altars could be seen in the room as well, one a blue as the densest glacier ice in the Frostfell and the other a molten pillar of black rock and magma, covered with draconic relief etchings. Six cultists in archaic cut robes channeled necrotic energy into six statues of fat little men with sagging bellies holding up round, concave platters. Upon each platter was a different organ; heart, liver, intestines, genitals, brain, and lungs. Two of the cultists quickly turned on the adventuring party, using dark magic to steal away the soul of Onyx and Igneous for a short time, making them suscetible to the powerful shadow bolts of the other cultists.
The arcane shield pulsed and flashed as ribbons of energy from the Altar of Winter and the Altar of the Dragon flared against it. The shield absorbed the elemental energy and channeled it into the outstretched hands of Naum Thomas, the mayor of Kalle. His voice was rough and as black as night as he chanted in Infernal and Abyssal. The primal energy of winter and dragons was twisted by the demonic altar and poured into a chalice in front of Naum. The two elemental altars flared with a storm of ice and snow and a blast of choking ash and magma. An ice wurm and a lesser fire elemental ripped their way through a brief portal to the Elemental Chaos and immediately began attacking both the Order of the Fiery Shield and the Cult of Shadow. Moments later, another pair of elementals forced their way into the Mortal Realm.
Four of the cultists were quickly slain by the combined attacks of the elementals and the Order, while the Cultists took down several elementals. An ice wurm burrowed into the middle of the room and breathed a gale of ice and frost at Janus, Rei, and Mian, paralyzing the muscles in their limbs due to extreme cold and slowing their movements. Naum Thomas laughed and mocked the adventurers for being too late. The ritual would soon be complete. And as if to throw salt on the wound, Naum summoned a dark patch of black tentacles of pure shadow beneath Onyx, Janus and Igneous, who had bunched up side by side despite a warning from Jonathan after seeing the gale of frost from the first ice wurm.
Igneous wavered on his feet, but a quick, majestic word from Mian who rushed to the side of the stuporous earthen. A second ice wurm burrowed through the grave dirt beneath the flagstones of the crypt and erupted behind the Bard and his allies. Another gale of frost hammered the four adventurers, driving Onyx and Mian across the rough stones with the force of the blast. Janus dropped to the ground, cracking his skull on nearby statue and laid still, blood pooling beneath him and his breathing shallow. Mian vanished into a wall of flames that erupted as the gale of frost pushed the unlucky eladrin through a circle of explosive runes drawn into the floor.
The remaining two cultists fled to the south and as the scene faded to black, the unrelenting wall of fire showed no signs of burning out. The fate of the Bard of the Order of the Fiery Shield would have to wait another week to play out…
