7/31/2010

Players: Kathi, JC, Chris
Characters: DM & Salaisee, Elendil & Jolley, Billi

Start Date: Sunrise 16th of Mirtul

[Salaisee's spirit guide vision last night verifies Bari's journal entry in speaking of a great treasure guarded by a great evil.]

Jolley's shake of Elendils shoulder in the morning is fairly firm, it always is. "El. Come on brother, you just missed the sunrise."

Elendil stretches, nodding, and Jolley returns to the last few minutes of last watch. Looking over to where Salaisee is bundled up next to him he sees her awake, looking at him or looking through him. He smiles and she returns it.

The two simply gaze at each other until Billi rolls over and says with a yawn. "Was that Jolley? Is it time for breakfast? Come on you two, can't keep the day waiting."

Billi pops up, puts on some of his cold weather gear and dashes out with that undeniable look of someone in need of the nearest tree. Elendil watches him depart and then turns back to find Salaisee still looking at him.

"I would kiss you again." Elendil says smiling at her slight case of bed hair.

Salaisee chuckled. "That's not all you would do if you got me started so be off with you and give me a moment to start my day."

Elendil paused a moment, thoughtful before getting up, and shook his head in agreement. "Yes my friend you're right, I most certainly would. A different morning perhaps?"

Salaisee reached up and caught his hand. "Not too different."

Later as Elendil and Jolley are finishing up packing and loading the campsite, Salaisee casts Create Food and Water for breakfast. The hot food is greatly appreciated and we can tell by the ugly dark clouds ahead that it's going to stay miserably cold and that we may never see the sun.

An hour or so into the morning travel the wind starts to pickup and the blowing snow makes it difficult to keep the trail ahead in view. We continue on as best we can through the valley but as the skies continue to darken, the wind continues to get stronger until it is obvious to everyone we cannot proceed in such near white out conditions.

We take what little shelter we can find as quickly and as best we can against the now ferocious and biting wind gusts. When Billi dismounts from the war pony he is barely able to take even a step before a sudden howling gust knocks him to the ground. He tries to get up but the wind nearly picks him off his feet and flings him into the storm. Twice again Billi tries to regain his feet and twice again he is flung and rolled downwind further away from the others.

Salaisee, Elendil and Jolley are struggling get the horses and themselves secured together facing away from the wind when Salaisee notices Billi's absence. After a quick discussion Elendil secures one end of his rope to one of the trees and, after casting Protection from Elements (Cold) on himself, he starts out slowly crawling forward calling Billi's name against the wind and looking for signs of his diminutive form.

Salaisee casts Wield Skill on herself and raises her Wilderness Lore. She helps with the horses. She also extends the rope that Elendil is attached to. When it goes taut again, she gets Jolley's rope and does the same again.

Elendil, now about 120' out, sees an odd glow ahead and slightly to his left. Veering in that direction repeating his call he finally hears Billi's voice against the wind. Billi clings to Elendil for support when found. Elendil pulls the rope taut and then tugs several times to let Jolley and Salaisee know he's ready to be pulled in. Elendil simply holds on to the rope and allows them to help him crawl slowly black.

The storm lasts four hours and we figure the gusts to have been up to 70 miles an hour. If there's a bright side to the ordeal it's that the snow has been blown clear from the trail, making it much easier to follow when we start back out on the road.

Billi and Salaisee point out something in the sky and Elendil retrieves his spyglass. It's three pegasi, two adults teaching a younger to fly. We continue throughout the rest of the afternoon and stop under a good protected copse of trees nestled in the hills.

The evening is quiet and the night passes uneventfully. In the morning the clouds have descended and its thick cold and wet.

Morning of the 17th

Elendil casts Create Food and Water as usual. The day is slightly warmer than yesterday but filled with dense fog.

As the fog falls away, we see a group of horse-backed travelers, Silver Knights, coalesce out of it. They ride off into a side valley to the northwest. The last one turned and looked at us before returning to their passage and fading away.

Salaisee, once we confirm that we all saw it, says it matches her spirit vision. We mark the spot with a pile of stones and head off in the direction of the spectral travelers.

We top a small hill and before us is a sea of fog. The valley is a crevice, once spanned by a bridge left broken on either side. The temperature in the valley is much warmer than outside, rising to at least fifty degrees. The ground begins to turn to muck and suck at our feet. Temperature rises and we actually encounter clouds of stinging insects.

The fog remains thick and the vegetation grows thick as well. Salaisee finds herself entangled in it.

Elendil manages to get Salaisee and her horse, Astral, detangled. Elendil casts Augury as to whether or not our present direction of travel will bring us good results or bad. Naturally the answer is both.

We back track a little bit until we're sure of the way out and then begin to mark the trail forward with shredded pieces of an old temple garment that Salaisee no longer needs. We alternate sides of placement to help us keep direction.

We encounter a small mire two feet deep. It is clogged with fallen trees and decayed vegetation and 'were slowed to half speed for a while. The water is warm. Obviously heated by a volcanic hot springs.

We get back to solid ground but the vegetation is so thick its easy to become entangled and our movement forward remains at half speed.

We come to a slow moving stream in which the water is more of a slow dark sludge than anything else. It is ugly and nasty, and makes Elendil uneasy at the sight of the slime and gunk. However, both Salaisee and Elendil both see what appears to be a trail on the far side so that's where we must go.

Elendil makes it across. Fortunately it never got more than 5 feet deep and despite having to swim for a few feet he makes it to the other side without incident where he ties his rope to a tree. The trail curves away from creek in one direction, parallels it in the other. We travel perhaps 40 feet to a point where the trail crosses the creek.

Elendil uses the magic smoking pipe (of Divination) from Salaisee asking for advice on how to proceed in avenging the Silver Knights.

"Trail to the north leads to unspeakable evil and unimaginable magic."

Sander makes it across easily. Salaisee slips once be makes it across with Astral. Billi and the pack mules, then Jolley and the horses make it across.

It is time for Clean and Dry cantrips. The path stays on solid ground and appears to cut through the thick vegetation. After just a few minutes, we begin to see worked stone ruins which might be pieces of a ruined stone tower, slippery monoliths we've heard referenced in story.

We are surprised when large branches try to knock us off the horses to the ground. Elendil takes damage.

MELEE

Elendil uses his staff as a double weapon. Salaisee casts Bless. Elendil casts Searing Light. Billi casts Magic Missiles. Salaisee casts Bulls Strength on Jolley.

Elendil casts Cure Moderate Wounds. Jolley has 78 melee rounds of Bulls Strength left.

Starting for next session: Around lunch time on the 17th, immediately following healing after melee.

End of session.

Next sessions: 08/28