Date: 7/27/96

Players: JC, Kathy, Chris, Lauri, Jeff

Characters: Rio & Glow, DM & Dre, Raagnar, Beccah, (Elrin)

The Paladin (Kaeldric, played by Jeff) takes a moment to collect himself, and some clothes, and then tells us that he came to rescue a young girl who sadly was killed in front of him the previous night. The woman is a human and slowly sits up after the cure. As she is focusing she becomes aware of someone (Rio) in front of her and she lashes out. Rio is able to calm her and at her question replys that Angstrom is dead.

Glow, upstairs, is surprised when Dre, Beccah and Elrin come running out in terror and sets the cat down to go help calm them. After some time the terrified party members come around and Glow turns back to look for the cat and notices that it and one of the other women are gone.

Raagnar goes back upstairs to get Kaeldric some clothes and armor and then returns with the rest of the group. The blind girl asks if we've found Angstroms mage apprentices and we realize that we have not. The group now numbers 10. Rio, Glow, Raagnar, Elrin, Dre, Beccah, Kaelric, the woman rescued, the blind girl, and the girl we found hiding behind the bar.

While we're catching up with introductions and Dre goes over to the remaining door and examines it. It's locked and Kaeldric knows that it contains Angstroms 'gallery' of body parts. Dre is able to disarm the trap and retrieves the small 'gas' pellet. She then opens the door. There's a flash of lightning bolt and the accompanying crack of thunder. Everyone is injured as the bolt bounces around. The blind girl and the other young fighter are killed instantly. Glow goes down severly wounded. Rio casts 'Cure Serious Wounds' on Glow while Kaeldric charges into the room to attack the mage who is now casting another spell, a web, which completely covers the door. Dre suggests using some of the burning embers to burn down the web and they scoop some up and burn the spell away.

While the web is burning Rio casts his last 'Cure Light Wounds' on the woman rescued and calls Beccah over to help. Kaeldric and Raagnar wait for the web to burn away and then Kaeldric tells the barbarian the other mage ran downstairs. Elrin, Raagnar and Kaeldric head down in pursuit while Dre stays at the top of the stairs and watches. As the three come into the room (the one we saw in the scrying spell with the big table that Angstrom was creating the Golem on) the other mage, sees them coming and surrenders begging for mercy.

After doing all he can for the wounded girl he looks around and notices that the other half of the group is not around. He leaves Beccah, Glow and the wounded girl and goes to find out what happened to them. He finds them downstairs in the table room. Dre and Kaeldric examine the table and find nothing. There is a smaller normal door in the stairway wall and a huge 20' x 20' steel door in another wall. The large door is barred from this side. Raagnar questions the mage and she swears that she has never been allowed back there and knows nothing of what lies beyond.

We decide to stop advancing, Rio does NOT wish to open the steel door and recommends rest. He is uncomfortable remaining here and gets a very uneasy feeling as he passes the table on his way back upstairs. The group decides to return to the bedroom floor for cleanup and relaxation. Rio and Glow walk hand-in-hand through the keep until we discover the strange cat sitting at the top of one of the flights of stairs. Rio bends down to pick it up but it squirms immediatly out of his arms and hops back to the floor. We continue up to the third level and find the baths and bedrooms. Wounds are proprely dressed with clean bandages and then Rio and Glow retire to a private bath for healing and ceremony while the rest head for the larger tub. The cat follows the two druids. Rio places a 'Glyph of Warding' on the bathroom door before relaxing. Several hours later he dismisses the 'Glyph' and the two rejoin the group.

We seperate into bedrooms but always have someone on watch at the stairs. The night passes uneventfully. In the morning Glow gives Raagnar the 'Potion of Extra Healing' since he's still in very bad shape. Rio casts 'Cure Critical Wounds' on Dre, 'Cure Serious Wounds' on Beccah and Kaeldric, and 'Cure Light Wounds' on Raagnar, Glow and the downed woman who turns out to be a mage. Rio now needs another day to recover and Glow can use the time for 'Complete Healing'. Dre, Raagnar and Kaeldric go investigating while Rio watches over Glow, Beccah and the mage discuss magic and Waterdeep, and Elrin and the prisoner remain upstairs with us on watch.

During the day Rio looks around for the cat creature but it's nowhere to be found. He speaks quietly with Elrin and the others while waiting for Raagnar, Dre and Kaeldric to return.

Eventially they return telling of Raagnar's growling, the gems from the hidden compartment of the table, and the hidden wine cellar annex. As we discuss our future plans over dinner we decide that since the captive mage spoke of the area behind the steel door as a room, as opposed to a passageway leading further down, that we should investigate in the morning. After dinner Rio gows down to the table room to listen at the door. He guesses that whatever the creatures are behind the door they're hungry. Later that evening he casts 'Divination' asking if we will find what we're looking for (the source of wild magic) behind the door. There's a magical backlash and Rio takes several points of damage. The spell however is successful and the answer is 'The value that lies behind the door is not that which you seek.' Now the choice of investigating further beyond the big steel door is not so obviously correct. Dre of course is interested in 'value that lies behind the door' but Rio is hesitant. The night passes again uneventfully.

The next day is the 24th of Eliant and there are 6 days until 'High Harvest'

END SESSION ÿ