7/25/2009
Chris: DM
Kathi: Tanji & Krysylys
JC: Neysa & Ana
Morning of Day 5 on the way back to Loudwater.
Tanji tastes the potion taken from the orcs and immediately spits it back out. Despite the strong ammonia taste, however, she is able to determine it is a Potion of Healing (Cure Moderate Wounds).
[Tanji Note: This nasty green potion with its lovely lavender scent and its disgusting acidic cleanser taste is going to be a LAST resort measure. I much prefer Neysa?s gentle healing touch.]
After devotions and meditation, the group gets into a discussion about what may happen to Balthazar once Rumblekin returns. Neysa tries to be diplomatic about it but she does want him to consider that Balthazar's work may be done when Rumblekin returns.
Morning travel is uneventful and we stop for lunch, Neysa casts Create Food and Water as per usual. Rumblekin asks if Neysa can conjure pickled eels with the spell but Neysa says no. [Tanji Note: To which I personally breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.]
The afternoon travel is quiet. After we find a good camp site, we get settled in
Ana's watch is quiet, but during Tanji's watch several drow sneak into the camp site and begin searching the packs. When Tanji finally spots them, she yells waking everyone. [Tanji Note: In my defense, we hadn't lit a camp fire and they do sort of blend in with the other night time shadows.]
MELEE
One of the drow drops a globe of darkness covering everyone in the group except Tanji. Neysa casts Protection from Evil, then Bulls Strength on Ana. With Neysa's hand on his shoulder so he can sense where she is, Ana slashes in the darkness and does manage to hit one. [Tanji Note: I moved to a better angle where I thought one or both of the drow might exit the globe. Sure enough, first one and then the other ran out and I yelled to let the others know that the Underdark denizens were out here with me. I got a good thrown dagger hit against one.]
One of the pair got away into the darkness but the other was felled by a bull rush from Ana which he dispatched with a slash to the throat. [Tanji Note: This is known as a Thayian Necktie.]
Tanji searches the drow and finds 3 potions, a crossbow and bolts, a Ring, a scimitar, a bastard sword and a chain shirt. When the group realizes that the drow appeared to have been searching for something specific, everyone checks their packs but no one finds anything missing. The rest of Tanji's watch is uneventful and soon the eastern sky lightens.
Morning of Day 6.
The group decides to taste the potions. Rumblekin tries one and says he feels lighter though it makes him cough. He is unable to give any more explanation of the potions effects. Krys tries the second one. It has no taste, no smell and no color and she gets absolutely no indication as to what the potion might be. [Tanji Note: Why would anyone bother putting water in a potion vial???] Tanji tries the third which has a minty taste and is effervescent. She is able to determine that it is neutralize poison. [Tanji Note: I'd better volunteer to be the one to taste all the potions from now on as I'm the only one who seems able to figure out what they are.]
Neysa casts Detect Magic and we learn that the potions and the ring are the only items that radiate magic though the scimitar is very nice, possibly a Masterwork item. She continues to concentrate on the ring and detects that the aura is faint and from the abjuration school of magic. She puts it in a belt pouch.
We set off after finishing off the last of yesterdays' rations. Morning travel is uneventful and afternoon travel is quiet. We're fairly certain that we have passed around Orlbarr and have reached the Llorkh Road to Loudwater.
We camp for the night far enough from the road to not be seen. Both first and second watches are quiet.
Morning of Day 7.
We estimate we should make it as far as the Night Hunt by the end of the Day. Krys is pleased with that prospect as she looks forward to sleeping in a bed again.
Morning travel and afternoon travel are uneventful. We find the Night Hunt is now nothing but a burnt out shell. Many booted foot prints cover the area. There is no sign or sounds of animals or birds. We are dismayed that someone could disregard the legends and magic surrounding the Night Hunt. We continue on wishing to place some distance from it before settling down for the night.
As we're riding searching for a campsite, we hear and feel and a tremendous explosion coming from the direction we are traveling. Neysa and Krys, the two magic using members of the group, sense that it is more than just a physical explosion, that some very strong magic was also involved.
Due to the disturbing events of the day, we decide to double up the watches. Ana and Neysa will take the first watch and Tanji and Rumblekin will take the second. First watch is quiet.
During second watch, Tanji and Rumblekin hear tromping and muttering coming down the road. They quietly wake the others and as they all listen, they feel they recognize the language as Orcish. [Tanji Note: I wanted to be see which way they were coming, how many of them there were and if they were wearing that organizations armor, so I slipped down to the road. They must have had exceptional hearing, or perhaps they smelled my lightfoot blood because they grew quiet and began peering through the trees and underbrush. I held absolutely still and eventually they gave up and went on their way. They were traveling away from Loudwater and they were wearing the same armor and carrying the same weapons as the battalion we had spotted several days ago.]
Morning of Day 8.
We finish out the night and then just before starting out, Neysa casts Augury to see if staying off the road is the right decision. She gets a strong sense that staying off the road will bring us weal, not woe so we head off the road realizing that it will take us longer through the brush.
Due to the dense forest, we spend the day walking the horses butit is quietly and blissfully uneventful. We see no sign of a blast area though we can still see much smoke in the distance at about the location we believe Loudwater to be.
That night during first watch, Ana and Neysa both hear faint voices on the wind to the northwest, even further off the road that we currently are. Neysa casts another Augury to see if investigating the noise will bring weal or woe and this time she gets a very strong impression that it would be a very bad idea to investigate. Instead we remain where we are and the second watch passes quietly.
Morning of Day 9.
In the morning, we cross the road and travel through the forest on the south side. We continue to walk the horses being as quiet as possible, fearful of what condition we might find Loudwater in.
Morning travel is quiet. As we approach Loudwater from the south, we can Illandar's tower no longer stands. It is a smoking ruin! As we watch the town, we see no other signs of devastation and quickly can tell that the general population is as it should be. Seeing this, we travel back around to the eastern gate. The guards at the gate report that the wizard's tower seemingly exploded without any known or discernible cause. The town itself was attacked on the northern wall by a rag tag group of large orcs who didn?t really seem to be in the spirit of the thing and quickly ran off. [Tanji Note: Krys showed them the drawing she had made of the Orc's insignia and they did recognize it. So though these orcs didn?t sound as formidable as those we passed, they were obviously part of the same army.]
Neysa thinks they were just providing a diversion and Tanji agrees adding that they may have acted disorganized and rag tag so as to not give away just how organized or plentiful their army actually is.
Once in town, we stable our horses and go the Lord Mayor's mansion to report we had seen on the way home. Our plans for the immediate future afterward are to go to our apartments and drop off our stuff, then go investigate the wizard's tower, followed by heading to the market and shops to stock up on fresh groceries (just enough for while we're in town), replenish supplies and sell some of the spoils. We'd also like to identify Neysa's ring though Krys says that she feels that she might now be able to give that a try before we spend money on an identify spell.
Supplies needed:
Other note: Krys wants to head into the woods and perform her Summon Familiar. She is hoping for a thrush.
End of session.
Next Session 8/8/2009