From the Journal of Keniroh

After finally catching up with Hrogar in Sigil, we're trading off as planned. He will head back to the Prime Material Plane to raise an army for the final battle; I will continue on with his allies to take on the other Aboleths. Hopefully we will meet again at the final battle.

In the mean time, I've been getting to know my new allies. They are much as Hrogar described them.

I've prepared these allies for the upcoming battle, as well as myself, but I keep thinking I've forgotten a few things. Ah well, hopefully it was nothing important.

A new member

Rogars has left the group and he has offered a replacement. A wizard from land near my own. I trust Rogar's judgment but it does not mean i will not keep an eye on him. One thing I have learned over the years is wizards can get drunk with power. They see themselves above the law of the land, but for now I will go with what the group feels is right. I have been proven wrong before, there are some good mages out there but he is going to have to earn my trust. Aside from that we are back in Sigel getting some much needed gear. Hopefully this will allow Ragnar to cast his spells. In the mean time I am also purchasing some stone to flesh potions. Last time we were going after the abalith Rogar's mount got turned into stone. To say the least if it was anyone but his mount we would have been in a lot of trouble. So at least this time we can counter it. We should be heading out again tomorrow. So I need to get some rest.

Journal of Crunch, Day 299ish-306 or so

-day292 + Sigil day7:
We have decided to re-equip ourselves for the current situation on the Plane of the Seer Aboleth, and have begun work on this endeavor today. Have brought armor in to Watt's Smithy for further reinforcements. Re-evaluated current equipment, returned unneeded item.

Conclusions: In our operations, you should always prepare for the unexpected.


-day292 + Sigil day8:
Discovered remains of a small starfish that had lodged itself onto upper back during undersea operations. Recycled it with dignity. It was a shame, as it was very pretty. Ragnarr has located an artificer willing to craft an amulet that will assist him in spellcasting on the Plane of the Seer Aboleth. I have located an interesting crystal that will aid against further basilisk assaults. No one else seemed interested in acquiring one of their own, however. Azan has foregone his new tower shield entirely.

Conclusions: Increase regularity of debris checks.


-day292 + Sigil day9:
Hrogar has informed us of sad news. He has been ordered by Pelor to gather and command the forces that will assault the Sunken City. He has located an individual to act in his place while he is away, a male organic by the name of Ken Eyroe. Ken says he is from the land of Tir'Narneah in Material Plane subplane 3, where he worked as an arcanist-for-hire. I had concerns over the employment of mercenaries, however, Arkadesh has approved of him and he did mentor Hrogar. I am sure then he will prove to be a trustworthy fellow.

Conclusions: The complexity of the assault upon the Sunken City will be higher than previously expected.


-day292 + Sigil day10:
Have found besst shirrt in nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Have found a very good shirt of surprising comfort in Sigil. Operational funds are now insufficient for any further gear augmentation. Ragnarr and Ken have been exchanging magical advice and information. It is difficult to follow along in their conversations, which is just as well that I am not part of them. Sztuczka was unavailable for visitation due to zealous performance hall security personnel.

Conclusions: The reputation of hair shirts are likely based on organic perceptions.


-day292 + Sigil day11:
Visited St. Dawkins Home for Beleaguered Youth and offered assistance. Brother Speck handed me a shovel and instructed me to purge the dining hall of their supply of moldy goat bread, previously deployed as part of a youth scuffle before the mold-related illnesses set in. Repaired two chairs and a desk as well. The toy supplies were surprisingly intact.

Conclusions: Some component of goats is capable of becoming bread, though not for very long.


-day292 + Sigil day12:
Bored. Polished footwear, cleaned and sorted my clothing, then re-enacted the Battle of Wroat using hats, books, and an inkwell.

Conclusions: Symbology of an inkwell representing Bulwark is surprisingly apt.


-day292 + Sigil day13:
All equipment has been checked and readied. All unit members are ready for duty. Edward Mulligan was brought forth for inspection and exercise. Ken cast a number of protective spells on us before going to sleep. We are prepared.

Conclusions: Pending.


-day292 + Sigil day14:
We leave again for the Plane of the Seer Aboleth. Given the unlikely change of circumstances regarding our capture or deactivation, the person reading this is likely in the employ of the Seer aboleth. To that end, YOUR TIME HAS COME, FOUL FISH. BY OUR HANDS YOU SHALL FALL.

Friends in Strange Places, Or Why It's Better to Lose Your Lizard than Your Spine

If there's one thing that's a bigger bastard about the plains than anything else, it's that damn near nothing is what you think it is by looking at it. And I don't mean looking at it with your eyes, but that's true, too. I mean magical sight sort of rubbish.

You're walking along, and your paladins go "Oh, shite, an evil dragon!"

Except, it's not a dragon, is it? It's a tiny bloody lizard. A talking lizard, sure, but hardly a dragon.

It's still evil, though. Maybe.

The fact is that if there's ways to make a bastard look evil. Most of them look like an illusion. So if you're already looking at an illusion that "Hey, that dinner-sized lizard looks like a dragon!" than how would you even begin to know if the damn thing is actually evil, or if that's an illusion, too?

It's a dirty trick. Lord knows it caused me no end of trouble a few times, no thank to that bastard Planar Lord.

Personally, the closest thing I've found to a sure method for evil is this: offer the bastard some food, or some liquor. If they turn it down? Look at the pirate king: didn't look evil, but sure as Hel's arse is cold was.

If they can be bought off with some dried fish, they're probably okay.

Well, probably. Though if they're sitting on your shoulder, you're likely to find out they're really evil when they chew through your spine.

Praise Pelor for good helmets.

And burn in hell, you blasted Ice Parrot, wherever you are. I hope you choked on those damn crackers.

Anyway. Probably just as well my lizard ran away. My spine might thank me later.

Arcadius and the Shadow Dragon

PART VI - BATTLE AGAINST THE EVIL ONES

Without hesitation or warning, I charged the Drow lady, and at that moment called forth the light of Pelor blazing like the sun itself. I knew that she was most likely of all of them to have magics to allow the escape of these fiends. It was clear they must be destroyed. Upon reaching the magic circle, I called upon Lord Pelor to protect me as I triggered whatever magical defenses would be up. They were indeed, and I was covered in icy cold, as if from the very void. Praise be that Pelor had guided me to protect myself against such elemental attacks. I called upon Lord Pelor to smite this vile doer of evil, and his power flowed through me to strike her down in a single blow, holy power shining forth from my blade.

The remaining Drow were for a moment stunned by the sudden onslaught of my attack and the brilliant sunlight burning into their eyes. The Drow lord recovered most quickly of them, and for a moment he reached for an amulet at his breast, then seemed to think better of it and instead waved his hands, producing a cloud of deepest darkness around all of us. In that dark, I heard the sound of the Drow and his guards advancing quickly. Another strange sound, like a sword or dagger being drawn from something wet and slimy, came from where I'd last seen the other Drow woman.

Fortunately, I am blessed and honored to be a Paladin of Pelor. I called forth his light and drove away the darkness. I flanked to the left and quickly struck down one of the Drow guards. This put me on the far side from the Drow servitor woman. She, however, had disappeared. Meanwhile, the Drow lord and the other guard quickly turned to face me. The guard charged me as the lord prepared to cast another spell. I darted past the guard, dodging the opportunistic attack he made. I then charged the lord and, again calling forth the power of Pelor, smote him such a blow that he was for a moment blinded. Using this chance, I ran him through. Thinking that the amulet he wore might be their means of escape, I snatched it from him.

Suddenly, I felt a stabbing pain.

From the Journal of Hrogar

So, while we were back in Sigil getting some supplies we need if we are to have a chance against our current target, I finally caught up with Keniroh (or more specifically, he finally caught up with me). After updating him on current matters and the important details since last we saw each other, he believes he can help the group in my absence.

This means I can finally move on to try to raise an army that can challenge the Aboleths in their primary city. I'm heading back to the material plane, and once there will travel to some of the places I visited before with Keniroh and also some other kingdoms that may be sympathetic to our cause. I'll have to be careful, though. It sounds like Tupper was captured and turned to the allegiance of the Aboleths. I must make sure to travel in a hidden manner so as not to be captured myself.

Hopefully, I will be able to raise a strong enough force to seriously threaten the master Aboleth in its fortified city. And hopefully the others will be able to take care of the other Aboleths while I accomplish this task. May the gods be with us.

Journal of Arcadius

Joining the Cause

We are still in Sigil. We have commissioned a magic item that will aid Ragnarr in calling upon Lord Pelor while in the pocket dimension of the Aboleth. The work is, naturally, taking some time, and we are waiting. Ragnarr himself is drinking so heavily that I am becoming concerned about him. We've had to retrieve him from alleys, gutters, and sundry foul places. I pray thee Lord Pelor to put light in his mind and peace in his heart!

Hrogar, meanwhile, has decided to at last answer his calling of raising an army against the Aboleth. Assuredly, he has a gift of persuasion, and this should serve him well. It seems he has been long in touch with someone else, a powerful wizard, who now wishes to help us in his stead. Having lost two wizards of our group to duties and distractions in Sigil, it is ironic yet good to have one join us here.

He, this wizard, is named Canary or something similar, perhaps in honor of the famous musical bird, and in fact his robes are of a yellowish hue, though more saffron than the bright yellow of his namesake. He goes by Can or Cen for short. He is from a land of the east called Tir-Narnia, a name of at best faint legend to me. From childhood I seem to recall tales of either immortal Fay living underground, or Witch-Queens and talking lions. Whatever the truth of them, the association of his land with powerful arcane magic is apparently true.

Thanks and gratitude to him for joining us at this crucial time! May he be prepared for the severe dangers ahead - he has time, hopefully he will use it well.


*A*

From the Journal of Hrogar

So, another battle that I was effectively taken out of the fight for. This time, I was constantly under attack by a giant lizard, so at least there was some novelty. And one could argue I was keeping the giant lizard from attacking anyone else while the others attacked the smaller giant lizards (although it was also keeping Ragnarr busy keeping me alive, so the trade was not so good).

It kept me from summoning my mount, which I should have had ready ahead of time. And when I finally did get a chance to summon my mount, the damn lizard turned it to stone! Gods damn it, not a good way to start a long battle.

In general, I'm doing terrible at preparing properly for these things. Our enemies are making less and less mistakes. This is amature crap, and I certainly shouldn't be making so many mistakes. Forgive me Halmyr.

To further worsen matters, Ragnarr is having problems casting his own spells. Seems this plane does not have many, if any, connections to the Celestial Relams. So after we found both he and I were going to be effectively useless (or at least a lot less useful), we decided to head back to Sigil and get these issues dealt with (my mount un-petrified, and a magic item to get Ragnarr back in healing form).

I just hope I can find Keniroh before we go back in. The group could use a wizard, and I need to get on with my quest to rally up an army to take on the final Aboleth or at least distract it in the final battle.

Journal of Arcadius

Preparation, and lack thereof

We made a key error in our plan of assault on the Aboleth Seer - an assumption that we would have time to prepare once we arrived. In fact, we were promptly met by three immensely powerful Basilisks, strengthened even further with armor and magic. The leader of them wore adamantine barding armor, and had a powerful aura of evil - detectable even above the general universal evil of the Aboleth's plane.

The Seer on the other hand was quite prepared for us, and even watched us through some minion or familiar in the form of a cat. We fought at a disadvantage from the beginning, and paid a heavy price for our lack of foresight. All of us on the front line were heavily wounded in the battle, and some even fell - though Ragnarr's magic revived them. Indeed, we would have all perished if not for his immense powers of healing. However, as he noted to us, even those were unreliable on this plane.

We retreated, and are now regrouping in Sigil. May we learn from this lesson, and may the Gods give us strength.


*A*

Journal of Crunch, Day 290c to… later on.

-day290-C:
We eventually agreed to assault the remaining pirate forces, however, we came across a note in their leader's operations room. In this communication, he threatened the safety of the coastal regions of the Land of 5 Rivers should we continue our assault on the facility. He also offered to assist us in locating a key artifact should we retreat. Given the circumstances, we have opted to retreat and inform the naval authorities of the Land of 5 Rivers. We have also confiscated the pirate leader's desk. I'm not certain why.

Conclusions: When Lives Are Involved, Prioritization Of Objectives Is Important.


-day291:
We have returned to Arkadesh's homeland to inform the relevant authorities. Ragnarr and Hrogar have been engaged in rituals at the local Temple of Pelor to locate the lair of the Seer aboleth. They have discerned that it is stationed inside its own pocket plane, and will require extraplanar transport to access.

Conclusions: iT iS sUrprisingly rEfreshing tO bE tRansported fRom uNderwater to a dRy cLimate.


-day292:
We have returned to Sigil for supplies and transit. Ragnarr recommended a series of diagnostics for us, due to our experiences after the death of the Telepath aboleth. To that end, we have visited the same psionic engineer that repaired the elven organic; Arkadesh, Azan, and t I have been diagnosed with a psionic affliction. If left unmended, this affliction will override the standard personality traits to that of the Telepath aboleth. A purge of this condition will be required.

Conclusions: siGil feEls leSs alIve in coMparison to suBplane 3. thE abOleth do noT emPloy a stAndardized deAth evAsion meThodology.


-day292 + Sigil day1:
Armor upgrades are under way. Armor suit is being reinforced against mental invasion, and polished. Claimed a tower shield from the confiscated weaponry of the pirate facility, will reinforce it against negative energy fields and emblazon with my newfound symbol of faith. Psionic affliction purging was completed. Arkadesh, Azan, and I are now fully combat ready.

Conclusions: Psionicists do not take well to being called psionic engineers.


-day292 + Sigil day2:
Operational funds currently allow for secondary equipment. Have obtained new gauntlets and footwear. We also have located a supplier who will provide us with superior aquatic combat goods, and are equipping accordingly. Endured a number of "killer robot" jokes from shop clerks.

Conclusions: Do not shop at Maniacal Edward's House of Adventure.


-day292 + Sigil day3:
Continued equipment acquirement. Visited the site of my former shop afterwards, it has been rented to a married couple selling timepieces. Did not acquire one, though the shop is significantly livelier than before. There is even a new door in place.

Conclusions: Improvements to skills at artistic wood ornamentation will be required.


-day292 + Sigil day4:
A quiet day. Obtained an interesting book about the planes from Bglz's Discount Flattened-Inky-Pulp Hive. It does not have a map or listing of the plane we are visiting soon, but it was nice to read in a park and served as a welcome refresher on non-Material planes. Returned to learn that Sztuczka has found employment at the Civic Festhall in the Clerk's Ward, involving the Aria of Tupper and Mona. She will no longer be travelling with us for the duration of this activity. She was a valued member of the unit, and I wish her luck.

Conclusions: In the service of Emotion, no calling can be ignored for long.


-day292 + Sigil day5:
Escorted Ragnarr and Chris on a tavern patrol. Chris and Lief are doing alright, and it has not been long here since we left for Subplane 3. Arkadesh has received word from his commanding officers that Tupper, the Champion of Herakles, has been captured by the forces of Izmir. It's been presumed he has been broken. No new orders.

Conclusions: Pending.


-day292 + Sigil day6:
All armament upgrades complete. We are prepared to embark to the Plane of the Seer Aboleth. Given the probable circumstances of our capture or deactivation, the person reading this is likely in the employ of the Seer aboleth. To that end, YOUR TIME SHALL COME, FOUL FISH. IF NOT BY OUR HANDS THEN SOON.

-day292 + Sigil day6-B:
Combat with initial forces has proven to be more difficult than expected. Ragnarr's deific connections do not function as required while on the Plane of the Seer Aboleth. We are regrouping at Sigil and considering our options.

A near loss can teach you many things.

We learned today what preparation can do for a fight. Sadly we were not the group that was prepared. We step through the portal to find 3 creatures ready to stop us. Thankfully Ragnar was with us, because the group hit hard. We had several people going down at various points. I was one of them. But we all tough fights you can take away great knowledge if you survive. I learned that as nice as a tower shield is, without a bard I have issues hitting things. This is why i decided to drop the shield so i could do more damage to the enemy.
After the battle we decided to head back to Sigel, because Ragnar had issues with being able to heal. So we decided we needed to re gear and we will try again soon. Going forward I am going to change my tactics. I find myself no longer needing to take as much damage I used to. I will therefore work on being more offensive. This well be interesting to change things, but is needed. These mobs we are fighting to die quicker.

Ragnarr: Psychic Checkup

When I was a wee healer, back before Pelor trusted me with things like status spells, I used to have to check up on whether anything was wrong with folk by the old fashioned ways. It was never quite so reliable, since it was a lot less "Pelor tells me this is wrong with you" and a whole lot more "Turn and cough" sort of thing.

Sometimes, you were in a large group of healers, and the ladies would checkup on the lady patients, and the men on the men and what have you. But then there were times when you would find yourself deep in the mountains somewhere, in a village of a few hundred or even dozen, and there was no time for propriety and you were going to put your finger there and see what was wrong with the girl because you didn't have any other damn choice.

There were jokes about it, of course. Never when a superior was around, but when we were up late at night with stolen beer and playing card games we'd been ordered not to, there were always a few jokes, here and there, about the pretty young ladies some lad or other had his hand in over the last few months.

Braggery, mostly. I had done it, and the thing is... even if it was a damn pretty lady, it was never all that attractive. For the most part, I was there trying to figure something out. I didnt' have the time to spend appreciating the girl I was examining, and she certainly wasn't pleased at what I needed to do to her to find out what was wrong. It wasn't a pleasant experience for either of us, and I don't care how fine the lass might be otherwise.

Except for one lassy. I didn't realize what was going on until much later. But there was thins one lassy, not bad looking, though not the most attractive girly I'd ever seen. And every week she would have something wrong with her. She'd come in, I'd examine her, tell her nothing was wrong, and not a week later she'd be back again. I thought she looked a wee bit flushed, maybe, and thought perhaps there was something wrong with her.

I told my master about it. He stormed out to go speak to her parents. I didn't quite realize why. And when I did realize why, it was more odd than understandable.

But that was before I had that checkup from the psychic surgeon. That lassie may not be the most lovely girl I've ever laid eyes on. And when she's doing her job, I'm sure she's much like me: she's in my mind looking for something wrong, not as some weird pervert thing.

When she's in there, though... by Pelor's beard.

Oh, hells. I hope she hasn't run into those thoughts while she's rummaging around in there. That would be...

Well. We'll just hope she hasn't, then.

Exerpts From the Journal of Hrogar

We left the pirate stronghold after we found out their leader had gotten away and we weren't going to be able to cut the head off the snake. But at least we stole his desk. His mahogany desk. Mahogany!

So we went back to magic city (aka Sigil) and sold our loot, and bought new stuff, which will hopefully serve me well in the coming battles.

Speaking of which, we think we know where most of the other Aboleth's are, so we're going after the Seer. Tactically, if we can take it out, it will hinder the others ability to mount as serious a defence against us. That being said, it'll probably be one of the tougher ones since it'll quite possibly know what we're going to do before we do.

I hope we (and especially I) can stop making mistakes as often as we have been.

Journal of Arcadius

Pirates

The pirates fled. Nathaniel, the pirate leader, left us a note offering a bribe and a threat. A bribe of a piece of the ancient staff, and a threat of attacking my homeland. Perhaps in Crunch's world of Eberron, where pirates are apparently friendly and reasonable, we could negotiate with him. In our world this is folly. As it was, we were pressed for time and saw no point in spending days ransacking their empty headquarters.

In any case, we procured much useful treasure from the Aboleth's lair.

Some of the others did find amusement in carefully disassembling Nathaniel's desk and loading it into one of the bags of holding. I can only imagine his reaction upon return.

We for our part returned to Khemhet, in my homeland, where I made formal warning to the city-district council of the pirate threat, and as is appropriate under such circumstances, for both surety and oversight, sent written warning directly to the central bureaucracy.

We rested and prepared for the next step. Ragnarr spent much time at the temple of Pelor, which must have been a interesting day, as he is drinking even more heavily than usual. May Pelor guide and preserve him! He also called upon aid from the planes beyond, and via that help, located for us another of the Aboleth.

We also returned to Sigil, and spent much of our newfound wealth rightly, on equipment for our cause. I found a most amazing tome which taught secrets of greater health and vitality. It shall be needed in the days to come.

Praise be to Lord Pelor, oblivion to the Aboleth!


*A*

A note next to an empty bottle on the floor.

To privateer forces Mangy group leader Nathaniel,

While we did not slay the aboleth strictly for your benefit, you are very welcome. I personally find it heartening to restore free will to the enslaved and repressed. I would recommend that you and your forces take this opportunity to choose a more honest profession, though likely you are weary of such statements and will snicker condescendingly at it.

As for your offer, we have discussed it at length and accepted it. While you are likely capable of locating us on your own, the delivery of the final artifact piece should be directed either to this plane or to Sigil, Outlands. I am sorry that I can't provide a more specific location.

A warning: While it is good that you are aware of the dangers housed inside of your facility, it should be noted that there are more than one aboleth active. Precautions against their remaining forces should be taken, as your facility is still at a key junction of ley lines. I recommend ceasing all piracy operations and refortifying the facility for the duration. Your personal experience with the Telepath Aboleth should serve you well in this endeavor.

Whether you desire it or not, you are now stationed on the frontlines in the battle for your Prime Material Subplane. I wish you luck.


With regards,

Crunch
Champion of Emotions
representing the Defenders of Subplane 3

P.S. I am sorry about the loss of your desk.

Dantroe

I have to wonder about these pirates' intentions, and our actions.  The letter left to us by Nathaniel threatened that he would turn his attentions to the the nearby Land of the Five Rivers, Arcadius's homeland, conditional upon us not causing any more damage to his base.  From his standpoint, this seems like a very generous offer, given how much damage we'd caused already.  I'm sure that that portal will not be easy to set up again.

So what do we do?  We leave, but not without his rather nice desk and what I assume must be nicer alcohol.

Given how ruthless we can assume this man to be, wouldn't that be rather like a poke in the eye in response to his offer to spare one of our group's homeland?  After reading his offer, we did cause him to suffer additional loss, which he may well see as a rejection of his terms.

This all dependent on the assumption that Nathaniel was not outright lying in his letter, which is possible.  We also gave a warning to the town in the western Land of the Five Rivers, and Arcadius sent word back to his family and the central bureaucracy.  "Hey guys, we may have just angered a group of the most powerful pirates in the world, and they might be coming after you!  Good luck!  Okay bye!"

Of course, as Arcadius tells us, the Land of the Five Rivers is far from defenseless, but it would be better to avoid conflict in the first place.  If the pirates do attack, lives will be lost, regardless of the outcome of the battle.  And for what?  For the sake of a piece of furniture and a flask.

Ragnarr: Why It's Better to be a Bastard than a Wanker

There's a lot of great reasons to be a bastard. Your parents having a wee bit too much fun out of wedlock, for starters. Hitting uppity shites in the face with a mace to get your Paladin buddies to stop trying to reason with him, that's nice too. Or, for that matter, hitting the occasional rubbish bastard while he's down to make damn sure some cleric a thousand miles away isn't going to start healing him.

But it's never a good idea to be a wanker. Nobody likes a wanker. Sure, they may think they're damn clever. They may even be clever, a bit. But they're damn likely to be so bloody busy being clever that they forget there might be a pack of bastards in their office with their damn nice desk and their damn fine liquor. And this pack of bastards might have crowbars and what have you, and a fine bag of holding to put the parts of that desk into, especially when it can be sold for funds to buy shiny things.

And especially when that pack of bastards has got a cleric who knows the will of Pelor.

Pelor doesn't want wankers to have good liquor. That's what he put his clerics on this plane for.

A short break

As we keep killing more ababliths their hold on the world is getting larger and larger. These days we find our self going to Sigel to resupply. This has me concern because I worry that their influence is spreading to quickly. It is become a wild fire. Even if we are able to kill all the abaliths the aftermath damage might be to sever. With a great void the nations might turn on themselves and we could have several years of battles and war.
Hopefully it will not come to that, but it is just a gut feeling. Anyways, we left the pirate base. We decided it was not worth clearing out since we found out their leader had left and as you know if you do not cut of the head of a group like this you accomplish anything. So we are now in Sigel resupplying. Rangar was able to track down were the next abalith is. We will be heading out there in a few more days. So in the mean time I will work on getting some gear, improving my sword and preparing for our next challenge.

Nathaniel's Letter

To the brave and noble paladins that have destroyed parts of my keep I, Nathaniel, presently of this mangy group of privateers do send greetings.

First I wanted to express my sincere thanks to you for your defeat of the aboleth. Keeping my plans from it had turned into quite a pain, and finding ways to manipulate my controlled lieutenants without letting on what was happening was getting increasingly complex.

I hope you forgive me my mild deception earlier. If I had let on that I actually knew of the aboleth's presence it would have foiled years of effort should you have failed in your endeavor. As it now stands, it will still take me years to recover from this setback, but at least now I don't have to hide my movements from something living a few hundred feet beneath my feet.

That having all been said, let us dispense with further pleasantries and get on to business. If you found this letter it means that you are bent on destroying my organization and have come after me specifically.

Suffice it to say, I must discourage you in this as it would cause me great inconvenience if you were to cause further damage to my facilities. The loss of our portal and our means of getting another one temporarily means that if we take sufficient damage we must turn our attention to the Land of the Five Rivers to restock our supplies and build our strength. I would prefer that we could avoid that eventuality given how close we are to their shores, but if we are sufficiently crippled then I am afraid to say we won't have a choice but to take what we can get while we reattain the capacity to go farther afield. I am sure you understand.

If you persist, I should warn you that you will die. Not even, I will note, by the hands of my crew. There are still perils in this keep that you have yet to unlock. Suffice it to say: This place was built thousands of years before my time for a purpose, and ultimately some seals are better left closed.

Yet I realize you are mostly Paladins. Thoughts of death do not scare you. So I offer you this carrot as well: I am leaving the island for a sort of business trip. If, when I return, I find that you have left without attempting further devastation, I will ensure that the last piece of a certain artifact ends up in your hands.

I look forward to returning to my keep to find it in a better state than when I left it. Thank you for your considerations in this matter, and I hope we can do business again in the future.

Sincerely,
Nathaniel

Journal of Arcadius

Aboleth Island

Having borrowed the mysterious magical underwater writing implements some of the others are using, I can at last jot down a few notes. Time is short, however.

We have successfully located and defeated the Aboleth Telepath.

We dealt with the apparent leader of the pirates, and I tried to negotiate with him in good faith, but it served no purpose, as he either was mind controlled or is in voluntary league with the Aboleth. Ragnarr, wisely, if abruptly, brought an end to the negotiations.

We explored, fought foes, and ended up trapped for some time in an underwater grotto. To our advantage, as it turned out, giving us time to rest and recover.

We faced the Aboleth and its remaining minions deep underwater. It was a fierce and very hard-fought battle, but at last we triumphed, and the thing is slain.

Now, we've decided to deal with the pirates, who are clearly a very great and evil threat in their own right. Ragnarr agrees with me, but for some reason Crunch thinks the Pirates should be helped and strengthened, in hopes they might decide to fight the Aboleth. I see no wisdom, or even logic, in this... but it matters not as the others have come round, and we are preparing to attack.

I commend my soul to Lord Pelor, may he guide me and give me strength.

*A*

Arcadius and the Shadow Dragon

PART V - A MISSION AGAINST THE EVIL ONES

I arrived in a dark place of cold damp stone. At first it seemed pitch black, but I hesitated to call forth the light of Pelor, knowing nothing could make my presence more obvious. However, once my eyes adjusted, I saw that there was a very faint and distant light, and that I was indeed in a large natural cavern, as I had been told I would. Alas for the enemy Drow, they had but newly claimed this place, and must have failed to search it thoroughly enough to find the hidden beacon or marker that allowed teleportation to this spot.

Slowly, very slowly, I advanced. My time among the Drow had taught me some rudiments of stealth, however strange it may be for me as a Paladin of Pelor. Still - it is far, far from the greatest of my strengths, and I knew my task was to gain a sense of the enemy situation, then strike immediately. I spent what seemed like hours, taking each step with care, not only to avoid notice by the enemy Drow, wherever they might be, but to avoid falling into to some hidden pit or crevasse. At last, I could begin to make out details in the dim light.

Standing as still as I could manage, partially shielded behind a stalagmite, I saw five Drow. There was a woman who looked very high-ranking, performing a ritual on an altar inside a circle of power of some kind. Behind her were various implements on a table and a basin of blood. From time to time she dipped an implement into the blood. The area around her crackled with magic. Another woman who appeared to be of low rank was draining the last blood from a hanging something that must once have been a man of humanoid race, but it was so horribly carved up, in a most ritualistic fashion, that it was hard to say what it had been. From the look of the body, and the brown dried color of some of its blood, I guessed that the wretch had been tortured, very slowly, to death. Another high-ranking Drow, a man in fine armor and robes, stood by with a sardonic expression on his face. From time to time he scanned the area. The two remaining Drow were male guards of some lower rank, they stood by, facing outward and watched. However, all the Drow seemed tired, as if this ritual had been going on for hours.

Still, there was an edge of nervousness in the lower-ranking Drow, as if whatever ritual was being performed was so dangerous that its outcome worried them. Perhaps that danger, whatever it might be, was why this ritual was being performed in such a remote place. Fortunately, given the vileness of their deeds, that remoteness left them less defended from other threats, and exposed them to the just retribution they were about to receive. I now noticed that in front of the Drow lady - the wizard or priestess - was a complex arrangement of geometric forms and symbols on the ground. In the midst of it, something was slowly appearing... something formed, for lack of a better way to put it, of voids and spaces rather than shape and mass. My mind reeled, but then I felt the light of Pelor coursing through my spirit, giving me strength.

Whatever it was, in that place of power, it was growing.

Crunch's Manual

If this doesn't count as three entries, then it sure as frak counts as one.

Click here to download (pdf, 250 KB)

Have never used this service to host files before, so let's see how this goes.

From the Journal of Hrogar

So, what is up with those guys in the crystals, anyway?

I mean, were they imprisoned in there by the Aboleth? If so, they may be powerful allies. On the other hand, we might just be unleashing another great evil on the world by releasing them. Sure, they might be enemies of the Aboleth, but when we're done with that (if we ever are) we might just have to then go after the crystal guys.

I wish that Damn Wizard would get here! He was always good at figuring out stuff like that.

Until then, I need to see if I can get Sztuczka to try her cannon on them. I wonder if she's heard anything about those crystal guys in her travels? I forget if we asked her, although I suspect we did. Still, wouldn't hurt to ask again if it comes up.

Death the next adventure, but not yet...

Death. I still do not look forward to it, but I must say I do not fear it. I look at my time, short and a painful experience it was, which I experienced death as a gift. Pelor has given me the greatest gift one can ask for. The removal of fear. For i now know that Pelor has created a paradise for his followers. That I will return home and be with my family once again. As i said though part of me looks forward to this day, I hope it to be when I have gotten older and had a family of my own. When this is done I look forward to going home having a family and kids. For I have much that i can pass on. I have learned a lot from my travels with all of theses warriors. Even Tupper has taught me several things. Things like, there are people that need to be guided to be at their best. There are some that just do not have it in them to reach new heights. Enough of that. For I just want to remember to the good times. For this and my future goal are the true driving forces in my life. It is what helps me push on when we are sleeping in mud or badly injured. This and good friends to lean on.

And this is again why I say death can wait. For life it shelf has such great experiences and helps mold us into better people. So Pelor I thank you for removing this fear of death, but I ask that you look over all of us so we can all live and grow.

And the battle continues

It is amazing in a short time I have seen improvements with our battle tactics. For the most part we are fighting as a group instead of trying to be a hero and running off and fighting by ones self. Well I should not say we are complete free of that, but I am seeing less of it. The greatest benefit of this is Ragnar is allowed to use more spells in is arsenal then just healing spells. This is a very important thing because these abathilths are become more and more of a challenge. Soon any slip up will cost people their lives. Already we have seen spells that turn people into balls of flesh, or spells that capture a person and prevent them from doing anything for a battle.

I see difficult days ahead of us. The abalith are sure to be keeping eyes out for us. Any town controlled by them is not going to be safe. We are going to have to keep low profiles in between the battles or there will be no rest for us. Speaking of which, we are still clearing out this pirate base. I hope this does not take to long we really need to go restock and be quickly onto the next abablith. In the mean time we will just have to push as quick as we can.

From the Journal of Hrogar

I seem to need a new strategy.

After being taken out of the final phase of the battle with the aboleth when I got turned into a horrible flesh-thing, I then proceed to join the next battle by charging in again and this time getting trapped in a magic , unbreakable sphere! You'd think after all the time I traveled and fought along with Keniroh, that I'd know better than to charge in and make myself a target for the mage! But no, I charge on in way ahead of the others and would have been useless for the rest of the battle if Ragnarr hadn't been able to free me.

Next time, if they've got a mage, I've either got to take him out first, or hold off on charging till the others are about to get there too. I shouldn't be making these amateur mistakes. I must pray to Halmyr for forgiveness.

The Ex-Wife

I've been wondering, lately, if perhaps I've been too hard on the ex-wife.

Don't get me wrong. I haven't been too hard on her by that much. I'm not going to suddenly decide that I was wrong to leave her (the sword aimed at my head says a bit too much about how well that would have worked out), and I'm not saying she wasn't some manner of crazed vicious beast of the seven hells, fueled by the power of dark gods and sheer hate, not when I know which dark god fueled her and she was perfectly willing to admit that hate, literally, provided that power for a good bit of what she did.

I can't but thinking, though, that I'm not exactly innocent in the whole mess. After all, it was her that told me, early on, too, that it wasn't too likely that a follower of Wee Jas and a cleric of Pelor weren't going to have the easiest time of it, as far as marriages went. And that wasn't even counting the human/dwarf bit, or the nobility/not bit, or the bit where she slaughtered an entire village of lads I had just finish curing of plague in order to prove some legal point or other. Or, for that matter, that she thought all the healing I did was robbing her goddess of souls that lawfully belonged to Wee Jas.

Alright, so she was right. It was a terrible idea. If I'm perfectly honest about it, it would never in a thousand generations have worked, not even if she had'd been some kind of saint and I had stayed out of her mead cellar.

Really, I don't know what made me think it was going to work out. I was young, I suppose. And less connected to Pelor's will.

And my eyes came right up to her arse. By Pelor's beard, that might have helped more than I'd care to admit.

She was a damn fine woman, in her way. In the bedroom, particularly.

But it never would have worked out, whatever else I'd like to say. And maybe, I think, I should stop blaming all of that shit on her.

Or maybe she was just an awful, horrid bitch. I suppose I'll never know.

Pirates

For all that I've traveled the planes, talked to odd folks, seen places where lads do things entirely different from what I would think is is the right way to do things, I haven't ever made it to anyone else's prime material plane. So I'll admit here that I can't speak from exact experience, but there are some things that just baffle me. For instance, I have to wonder: what the hell do pirates do in wherever Crunch is from?

See, everywhere I've been, most of the bastards I've known have, at the very least, a basic understanding of what it means to be a pirate. These are bastards who take up a profession that calls for more raping, pillaging, drinking and sodomy than my ex-wife's lawyers. The best of them is out for themselves, and can cause all manner of trouble for innocent folks just trying to get from place to place, double if they happen to be women, and I don't care what the damned cheap woodcut books might say otherwise. These are lads more prone to causing torture and rape, not heaving bosoms and throbbing manhoods and all that other rubbish in those damned books my ex-wife likes.

Not to put too fine a point on it, they're more likely to kill an innocent bastard than fight for good, and the only way they could be described as strong-willed is in how much rum they can hold before they pass out. In that, aye, they're good lads, and good to have at a party. But I wouldn't hold that up as a great measure of their character. They'll not only drink all your rum, but they'll steal the good stuff, soil your holy symbols and do things to your wife that she'll bring up every damn time you ever have a fight for at least the next fifteen years. If Pelor had wanted dwarves to perform such disgusting acts, he would have made us taller.

But Crunch's pirates must be different somehow. Perhaps where he's from, pirates are a kind of singer/dancer, better at spitting out witty verse than skewering bastards with swords. Or perhaps they're some sort of simpering, eye-make-up wearing men who act like women, or a great, cheery bunch of bastards who spend their time standing up to evil hordes of ninjas.

I don't bloody know. All I know is that, apparently, pirates are the sort of people we should not only leave alone, but give them tips about improving their enormous fortress of death, so that they can more easily rape and pillage their way through the sea and cut the boats out from under unsuspecting dwarves who have somehow been convinced that it's a good idea to go out on the ocean.

I mean, we're dealing with pirates here, by Pelor's beard. Pirates.

You'd think he was trying to defend a fortress of frolicking kittens.

From the Journal of Hrogar

So, after killing the aboleth and it's direct minions, we were left with the question on whether to leave or route out the pirates first (who may or may not have been willingly helping the aboleth). Crunch wanted to make a deal with the pirates to protect this location from future attempts by the aboleths (or other powerful, evil entities or groups) from retaking the base. Arcadius did not like this idea and wanted to route out the pirates. The two argued back and forth on this matter and there were certain similarities to the argument I had with him and Alcander months ago back when this journey began (and I see Arcadius still doesn't understand the true reason I had to atone).

There were some key differences between that time and this more recent one. These pirates are far less trustworthy than the person I was trying to deal with (and that's saying something). The only thing they can be trusted to do is stab us in the back at the time that is most beneficial to them. And the pirates (if they weren't willingly working for the aboleth) have already proven themselves utterly incapable of protecting a base such as this from such powers. At least the person I was dealing with had a plausible chance of holding her end of the deal.

That being said, Crunch's heart (Does he have a heart? Or is it more of a pump?) was in the right place. I will have to counsel him on this matter, but doing so should happen when we're not surrounded in enemy territory. And I think in general it would be easier to give him good counsel when Arcadius is not immediately present.

In the mean time, I want to get this over with, we can not afford to delay very long. Doing so only gives our true enemies more time to prepare for us.

Ragnarr: Well... Thanks, Pelor

I believe I've said before that the gods work in mysterious ways. Aye. We're on to this again.

So I tried my plan. I sort of tried my plan. Alright, I made a bloody mess of my plan, sort of.

I think I meant to loudly convince the others that I was going to cast a portal to retreat. Except that... well, it could be that my source of courage messed me up a whee bit, and the next thing I know I'm blabbering something about teleporting behind the aboleth, which is of course going to just get us attack where we are. But, at that point, I figured what the hell, we might as well try this. The worse case I could figure is that the aboleth would send it's servants up to us, in which case we're at least fighting them in an inky blackness when we've already got a shield wall put together and a place we can defend.

Which is, in a way, kind of what happened. Hrogar, in a rash attempt at bravery, tried to offer them 10 minutes to surrender. But he got bitten by a big shark. Then some other things happened all at once, and the next thing I know I'm being treated like some kind of damn elven magical girl by tentacles, and my plan of calling in divine reinforcements was pretty much up.

Except that, here's the thing. The aboleth, as far as we could tell, had put together his defenses based on whatever he had lying around. That shark? That was their main lug in front, their version of a stack of paladins. And it ended up in the ink with us, unable to see much, really, and having the shite smacked out of it by the divine hand of Pelor.

Not only that, but the dumb bastards had made a wall of force between the shark and it's two spellcasters and everyone else. With the shark in the dark, the paladins did their thing, and half of their bloody force was gone before the other half of the bastards could do a damn thing.

From there, things really went pretty smoothly, as these things go. Arcadius exploded in some sort of rabid brain rape beam, but everyone's brain arses stayed clenched plenty tight. Hrogarr had some bastard try to rip out his soul, and spent a wee bit of time as a horrid blob of agonized flesh. (And I might have, ahem, fixed his blindness so that he could see the horror he had become, and his hearing so he could listen to his own screams of agony. It was a accident! I swear, Pelor!) But as these things go with this bunch, that's really fairly on par. Fairly good, even.

And that's the second Aboleth that's gone rather well, all things considered.

Either the boys are getting the hang of this, or the gods are out of better plans and are making damn sure we can't screw this up.

From the Journal of Hrogar

So, we killed the Aboleth. And nobody died!

I am dissapointed that I wasn't able to think of a better plan to delay the enemy than the one I came up with, but alas, at least we still survived.

Unfortunately, I was less than useful in the final moments of the battle after the Aboleth turned me into a mass of flesh and pain. It didn't help much when Ragnarr (trying to be helpful) cured my blindness and deafness, therefore allowing me to see and hear what a terrible mutation I had become. I can't say it wasn't an interesting experience, but it's certainly one I hope to never have again.

Arcadius and the Shadow Dragon

PART IV - THE UNDERDARK

Without delay, the lady Viriya and I set forth. We hunted for fell things in the deep places, slew them, and then hunted on. We spent much time together, just she and I. She was proud in her bearing, as one might expect from a daughter of so noble a house, yet I must say that from the first we liked each other. Indeed, I was most impressed at the wisdom of the Lady Alis in placing us together, for few of her folk would have worked so well, so closely, with a human of the surface, and a devoted servant of Lord Pelor at that! I think that Viriya was surprised to meet a human of proper and correct bearing, for she had heard that my kind were by and large boorish as pigs. This might be close to the mark in many lands, but not so that of the Five Rivers. For my part, I found her devotedly loyal to her grandmother, honorable, but remarkably direct and unsubtle for one of her folk.

I told Viriya of my land, and my family, Guardians of the district of Ideb, and from this she took that my family are lords or princes, and thus peers of her own. Nothing could dissuade her of this notion. When I explained that my family are rather protectors, devoted to the law and the right way, and not self-interested "lords" such as are found in other lands, this seemed only to increase her opinion. In the weeks that followed, as we came to depend on each other for our very lives, as we faced foul and hideous things of the underearth, we talked of many things. I came to know much of her thoughts, and she of mine. Despite her most worthy loyalty to her family, she is ill at ease with her people as a whole. She is a woman of high ideals who believes in devotion to duty, and she hinted to me how poorly she fares in the stealthy games of advancement among her folk. Indeed, she spends much time in the lonely places underearth precisely because she is happier there, fighting clear and unambiguous foes. She has even wandered the surface lands, at night in solitude, seeking the answers of her heart. I have come to admire her. No, more, much more than that...

There was a moment, when we were setting out toward a deadly thing of the darkness, and our lives were again in each other's hands, that something happened. Without thinking of it, as we advanced forward and rested in a hidden place, we put our hands together for comfort. Then, it was as if lighting had struck us! We were frozen. I looked at her, into her eyes, felt her hand tighten against mine, and at that moment there was in her no proud bearing, no cold reserve, only a young woman trembling with feeling she could not hide or control. And I trembled too. We drew closer to one another. O' Lord Pelor, what can I do, what must I do? My heart is afire!

But duty is duty, and tasks must be completed. We held each other's hands for but a long moment, though an age of bliss it seemed. Then, as danger was mere footsteps away, we went on and spoke no more of it. From that point onward we were more formal and grave in our dealing with one another, but when we looked in each other's eyes, the lie of that formality was laid bare. O' Gods! I am reminded of my own country, and my days in Point of Origin. In my land, youthful dalliances are tolerated as a normal part of life, but one is expected to grow up and to marry properly, and to do so before too many years have passed. One's family has much to say in this matter. In Point of Origin, as a youth, I confess I did indeed enjoyably venture with some girls of the city, but gave my heart to none. Now I am of the age where I would be expected to marry, and where is my heart? Alas, I know. Strange, fate is.

O' Lord Pelor, may I not be distracted from thy path, in this time least of all! But, give me hope...

In time, we returned to the city, for my calling to duty was upon me. The noble lady Alis told me of whom I faced and what I must do. I hesitated to meet her gaze, for I wished to bring no recrimination or dishonor down upon her granddaughter, yet I knew and know that I cannot lie. However, if the lady Alis noticed my discomfort, she gave no sign. Soon the word was given and the time to depart had come. I was guided by a party of Drow, Viriya among them, to a place far outside the city, not indeed the same place from whence we departed before. I had prayed for several blessings of protection from Lord Pelor, and now called upon them. Then I was teleported away. My last memory before the magic took hold was of Viriya's eyes, and the plaintive look in them. Oh that I could have beheld them for a little longer! Shall I see them again?

Journal of Crunch, Day 290b

-day290-B:
Please disregard previous warning. Through the mighty powers of Justice, Friendship, and Love, we have prevailed against the aboleth and its minions of Hatred and vile tools of Deceit. The battle obliterated the enemy units, and went without dire injury or loss of our forces; though there is still a shark unaccounted for in the area and Hrogar Bon'argasarc is presently a gurgling blob of meat. (Hrogar is expected to improve in condition.) We are currently discussing our next plan of action, of which thi I should participate.

Dantroe

The telepath is dead, finally.  We took our sweet time in getting to it.  We did quite a bit of damage to the pirates' base along the way, and it's a wonder we didn't get ourselves killed in the process.  (But really, using an enemy's corpse to test the extent of the magical traps in a room?  And you're a paladin?  Something here does not compute, as Crunch would say.)  We expended so much of our resources that we had to rest for the night, in less than ideal conditions.  This meant the enemy had time to muster all of its remaining forces and lie in wait for us.

And what's more, why are we trying to cast ten minute long spells while there are sharks and casters trying to kill the rest of us?  That's the sort of thing you do before making the hole in the convenient stone wall the enemy has provided for us, or you don't try it at all.  He could have at least done it where we weren't totally blind from the ink cloud.

Oh well, we got through it alive, although in some cases just barely.  Now we get to find out whether the pirates were actually mind controlled, in which case they might be a little more agreeable than before, or if they were willingly working with the aboleth for some mutual benefit, in which case, they're likely to be even more ticked off.

Ragnarr and Dogwater's Planar Adventures: The Game

I don't remember when Dogwater showed up on his own the first time. I remember sitting in the bar, trying to enjoy a beer over all the damn drunken dwarven bastard singing that "Hi Ho" song at the top of their lungs. Or maybe the tops of their heads. Louder than their lungs can handle, is what I'm getting at, and there was an arseload of unconscious dwarves to prove it.

But anyway, I'm minding my own business, when Dogwater walks in the front door. I'm serious. No, I wasn't drunk enough to hallucinate. The little bastard knew better than to open a portal in the wrong part of Sigil, but he could get his teeth around a door and open it like nothing. Especially this time. I remember he seemed bigger than before.

So of course I down my beer and order another for the road, figuring that I was off on some damn quest or another. But it didn't quite happen like that. Dogwater just jumped up onto the bench next to me (nearly broke the damn thing, I think. That little bastard is heavy.) and dropped an icicle next to me.

I thought maybe he was trying to be nice, but was a wee bit misguided, being a dog and all. So I tried to explain that if I iced my beer, the singing bastards would think I was wearing a fake beard, if you get my meaning, and I wasn't about to have them pulling on the damn thing.

He just picked up the icicle between his teeth, shook it back and forth, and set it back down.

Well, I may not be the best with animals, but I figured he wanted to play fetch. So I picked up the icicle and threw it across the room.

I hadn't really noticed that the bar had gone quiet, and that Dogwater seemed to be getting more than a few stares. But I sure as Hel (no offense, Hel) noticed that when I threw that icicle, every bastard who could fit behind a bar, under a table, or around a post was there in a hurry.

Dogwater leaped off of my bench and landed on a table across the room, breaking the thing in half. (Which sounds more impressive than it is. There'd been so damn many brawls in that bar that Gunter figured out how to build tables that practically broke themselves. They were cheaper to fix that way.) He leaped over onto that icicle, grabbed it in his teeth, and leaped back to me.

Gunter didn't look too happy with me after that. The table was fine, but Dogwater had left a wet spot across half the bar, and it wasn't going to be me cleaning it up. I grabbed the icicle and took Dogwater outside.

And from there we were off. I managed to throw the icicle about twice before Dogwater decided he was bored with the street, grabbed me by me codpiece, and dragged me through the city. He didn't stop until we'd gotten to the nearest portal park.

Dogwater dropped the bone next to me and ran over to the nearest portal and stood there drooling. And I don't mean drooling like your normal dog. Your normal dog, you look at him drooling and you think "he couldn't possibly be drooling that much. Where is it coming from?" But Dogwater's bloody made of drool. I was afraid there'd be a lake before he was done.

So I looked at the portal, figured it went to the astral plane, and tossed the icicle through.

Dogwater went right in after it. He was back before I could take a sip of my road beer. The bastard.

I picked another portal. It went to Arcadia. Figured that wouldn't be too dangerous for him.

Ten seconds. If that. The little bastard was fast.

Well, I didn't really want to wear out my arm, and I really wanted to have a drink of the damn beer. So I found a variable portal, waited until right before it was ready to switch, and tossed the icicle through.

Admittedly, I might have forgotten to check where that portal went. Which might have been nice of me. But eh, at that point I figured Dogwater could find it.

And he did. He stood next to the portal for a second, sniffing. Then he turned, sniffed the other portals around, and jumped through one that went to bloody Pandemonium.

I didn't want to get him killed. He was an irritating little bastard, sure, but he wasn't that bad. And I'd just sent him to Pandemonium.

I finished my beer in silence, feeling like a right bastard.

The little bastard waited just long enough for me to think he was gone for good. Just enough time to finish my beer and decide I should go talk to Gunter about what I owed him for damages. Just enough time for me to see a portal from the Nine Hells opening, and decide that I should get out of there before some giant, pissed off demon came through and thought I looked delicious and the laws of Sigil be damned.

Demon my arse. It was Dogwater, barely looking steamed, with a melting icicle in his mouth, looking as happy as could be. Wagging his tail all over the damn place, spraying water. Looked like he'd spent the best day in the park he'd ever had.

Well, what could I do? I bought him a beer. I figured the little bastard was mostly made of the same stuff as the beer, anyway, so what could go wrong?

By Pelor's beard, was I wrong about that one.

Have you ever seen a water elemental vomit?

A good battle

Today was a good victory, even if it did not look promising at the beginning of the day. So we woke up and broke down the stone wall. Only to find ink filled water. Not much time passed and we found out the hard way that there was a mage in the water. Thankfully we were able to take this mage down fast, but then we really found out how much danger we were in. We needed to deal with a shark, two water elves, a human magic user, an octopus and the abalith.
At this point Rogar told he had a plan, but would need 10 min to execute this plan. So some of us setup a defense. Not all of us did this. Not entirely sure what they were doing, due to the ink. It however did not sound like it was going well. This plan did not work out, because the mages starting casting spells that prevented Rogar from finishing his spells. So at this point we attacked.
Long story short we were able to kill everyone, but not sure at what cost. We will have to see as things work themselves out. There is still a lot to do and we are still in a pirates base.

Journal of Crunch, Day 289d-290a

-day289-D:
We have moved on from Nathaniel's position to a lower point of the facility's aquatic conduit system. Resistance was encountered on the way, including an octopus and an unit of sharks. Due to extended operations, we have elected to set up camp in an alcove for the night. During this time, we were assaulted by crabs and poisonous fish, and then barricaded into our position. It is likely that they will be prepared for us in the morning.

Conclusions: This location is far more than a mere pirate base, and almost certainly the base of the dread aboleth. Arkadesh appears to be fine despite the repeated use of an enemy device, however, regular use of these items is not recommended. Azan may be vulnerable to the commands of the aboleth, though potentially no more or less than any of us. Dantroe's combat operations, though daring, have proven that he is a "forge queen". Hrogar has been a regular source of insight and strategies. Ragnarr is significantly more stable outside of a tavern, though not more sober. Sztuczka is now our explosives specialist.

-day290-A:
Ragnarr has cast a diagnostics spell on me out of Curiosity. It appears the Cannith-Vimnar Error Reporting Method is difficult to interpret by the uninitiated. Recalibration to a [0-9] numerical system will be a minimum requirement. Yech. Gratitude is natural for Ragnarr's concern for my well-being, however, it is still a [0-9] numerical system. Information throughput will suffer.

We are preparing to breach the stone barricade placed over the entrance to the alcove of our encampment. Final termination is likely. If this the final entry, and this journal is found by others inside a pirate fortress, be warned! There is danger here! Guard yourself against invasions of the mind!

The Trouble with Arcadius

I'm not exactly sure what the damned aboleth did to Arcadius, aside from that it's something to do with the amulet. But I'm damn sure it isn't good.

As best I can tell, it can't control his mind. Not really. Suggest a few things, yes, but probably nothing dramatic. And the aboleth can track him, read his mind, that sort of rubbish. And, for all I know, the aboleth could make that damn connection bigger any time it pleases.

If I tell Arcadius about it, the aboleth will know we're on to him. Which might be fine, but having the means to feed bullshit to the aboleth is too good an opportunity to just let go. I can't tell the paladins about it, because they'll end up either telling Arcadius about it or clobbering him on the head, and he's still too damn useful in a fight. And besides, if I send Arcadius out of the room for a conference, the aboleth will start suggesting that we're all under aboleth control, and anything we do out of place afterwards will back it up. That damned telepath doesn't need much control if we start giving it things to work with.

So the only thing to do is sit on my arse and wait for a chance to use the aboleth's connection. It'll only work the once, and it'll have to be done just right. If I screw it up, the others might think I'm controlled, or we might have to take out Arcadius.

Without him, I don't know that we can take this bastard.

By Pelor's beard, I wish Jacob were here. He's the only one I know who might have been able to help me with this one.

I guess it's just me.

Pelor, help me make this work.

Journal of Arcadius

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~u~n~d~~e~r~~~~~w~~a~~~t~~~e~r
~
*A*

From the Journal of Hrogar

The situation is less than ideal. Here is a diagram of what it looks like:

Yes, we could do with some backup to help take out their backup.

Swiming with the fishes... again

I am very certain the abalith is here. We have had so many different creatures and people attack us while at this pirate base. It it was just pirates i would continue to not jump to judgment, however we have had several different fish creatures, pirates and sea elves attacking us. If this is not the work of an abalith then the creature controlling these people needs to be stopped non the less.
It is quite tonight. We decided we needed allow Rogar to sleep. He was running low on spells, which is never a good thing when getting close to an abalith. So we found an out cove. Hopefully we can get a full night rest and push early in the morning, but i think that is wishful thinking.
Well i was right. First there was a fish that released a poison and then a crab attacked. And the interesting part is now there is a stone wall keeping us in this cove. I guess we might as well rest because there is going to be a tough fight ahead of us tomorrow.

Arcadius and the Shadow Dragon

PART III - THE DROW

The fog of magic cleared, and I was standing in the darkling subterranean forest outside the city of Lady Gozen. A short journey took me there. It was much the same as before... shadowed, unearthly, lit by dim but beautiful phosphorescent light in purple, green, and blue, woven with nature in the Elvish way, but woven with natures's dark night rather than the daylight. The Drow are a people of long memory, and the guards had not forgotten me. Though unexpected, I was welcome.

I made my way through the dark streets to the house of Gozen, and was told the Lady was not home, but away on other business. Nonetheless, I was permitted entrance, and bidden to wait for her. I stayed in a room in the visitor's quarter of the house, healing with help from the Drow, and preparing myself for two days until the great Lady returned. She was as I remembered - noble, proud, and grave in her bearing - carrying herself in a manner that would make the most dignified Guardian of the Land of the Five Rivers honored to be in her company.

Indeed, I felt honored that she made time to speak with me within hours of her return. I described my mission and my plans to her. I explained that I wished to help her against her vile foes in return for the healing her folk had given me, but also asked the favor of teleportation for my purposes afterward. Though her bearing never faltered, it was clear she was concerned by my desire to visit the sea elves. She told me of the ancient perfidity of the surface elves, both sea and land, and how we humans were deceived in dealing with them. I replied that in this matter I believed I could trust their self-interest, for the sword I wished to trade would be of great use to them, and they could not take it from me by force except at great cost to themselves.

In the end, she consented to transport me to a place a few days travel from them, but would in no way send me directly into their power. What I did after that would be my own choice. I was most thankful.

For her part, she revealed that her foes, the wicked Drow who kept Alienists among them, had a small base of operations that I might be able to destroy single-handedly, however the exact time to strike would have to be chosen with care. It could be some weeks. She asked in the interim if I cared to aid her people against such lesser and local threats as they faced. I replied most readily that I did, for I greatly honored her. She told me to wait, and she would find someone from her house, one who knew the area intimately, to join me in dealing with such foes.

I passed a few more days, and spent my time well, learning about the house of Gozen and the people of the city. I was allowed to wander freely about the town. Certain things became apparent to me. The Drow do indeed carry themselves with great dignity, reminiscent of my homeland, and it is this trait which first made them so appealing to me. However, living among them I saw that they indeed have another side to their character, one that recalls the dark stories about them, for they are most subtle and not always trustworthy in their dealings with one another. Nonetheless, I think that those who speak ill of them choose to emphasize that which is bad and ignore that which is good. They are very brave, intelligent, show the gravest of courtesy, and have a complex but very real honor code of their own. I wonder what is the full and true tale of their ancient sundering from the rest of the Elven race?

In due time, the Lady Alis told me that if I was ready, she had work and a partner for me. She introduced me to her granddaughter, the lady Viriya Gozen, with whom I would go hunting in the dark caverns for creatures that sought harm to the Drow. I fear that some subtle faltering of my bearing and seriousness might have shown, for lady Viriya is beautiful even by the high standards of the Drow, who are a pretty folk. Indeed I think she is the loveliest women I have ever seen. She is young, very young for a Drow. Yet, like all her grandmother's kin, she is fearless and formidable, a great ranger and warrior of her folk... most worthy and admirable traits!

I called upon Pelor to give my heart steadiness, and focused my mind on that which must be done.

Journal of Crunch, Day 289c

-day289-C:
We have located a secret river entrance to the facility and, thanks to Sztuczka's technical knowledge, destroyed it. This action also slaughtered a large amount of fish. We then traveled deeper into the facility by means of the former riverbed and located another underground dock. It is here that we met a pirate named Nathaniel, who appears to be in charge of some quantity of pirates in the facility. Engagements in discourse with him have not led to a mutually-agreeable situation. He does not believe an aboleth to be on the premises, and demands compensation for the loss of his personnel and equipment. While compensation seems reasonable given the circumstances, we are unable to pay the required amount.

Ragnarr then made an attempt at mace-based diplomatics, which did not end well, and thus delayed the discussion until Nathaniel's pirate forces could be neutralized. During this combat, Azan lost control of his body and battled against us. Thi I was unable to effect repairs to him at the time due to entrapment inside a spherical wall of magic. Fortunately, Azan is still alive and of sound mind. Nathaniel and his bodyguard are effectively secured, and we are currently engaged in generating an inventory list of the goods in the area. No further gunpowder has been found, however, Ragnarr has expressed great joy over the discovery of a cask of alcohol.

An item of note: Nathaniel claims the crystal prisons in the facility are not of pirate construction; they have existed here for as long as the pirate forces have inhabited the facility (at least 150 years).

From the Journal of Hrogar

You know what I like about cannons? Pretty much everything. They give you much the same benefits as a wand of lightning bolts, but without the need to be able to cast magic! Admittedly, instead of a wizard it helps to have a gnome around to use it, but under our current circumstances, that's pretty much what the cleric ordered.

The problem with fighting aboleths is that you really don't want to kill their servants, because you know their servants are under mind control. Now mind you, most of the servants we've tended to see strike me as the sorts with a predisposition toward that acts the aboleth is having them commit. That is to say, the aboleth tends not to use direct control of all it's minions so much as it sets up circumstances as needed so that most of the 'minions' are willingly doing what the aboleth wants. That being said, I don't feel right just slaughtering all it's minions. But then, I've always been counseled not to go into battle blindly. As mentioned before, this has caused no small amount of head banging between me and other paladins.

None the less, I believe that the group is suitably restraining itself, killing when it can't be helped, but not becoming an unthinking murderous mob.

Letter from Arcadius to his father

(from the stay in The Land of the Five Rivers, and written in its language and script)

To the honored, right-thinking and right-acting Ar-Mahdin, son of Ar-Ahrum, who was son of Ar-Dehret, who was son of Ar-Mirihaal, who was daughter of Ar-Khadesh, who was son of Ar-Kinas, who was daughter of Ar-Mahdin, who was son of Ar-Ahrum, who was son of Ar-Dehret, first of our rightly-guided lineage.

Keeper of the lineage of Dehret
Guardian of of the district of Ideb
Speaker in the assembly of the province of Zakhmemet

My father

From your son, Ar-Khadesh

*A*

Know o' father that I am briefly once more in The Land of the Five Rivers, but alas, only in distant Khemhet. I and my companions are merely passing through on our way to other lands. I have taken them temporarily under my Guardianship, and thus far they have behaved correctly and brought no discredit to it.

Know o' father that I must report to you certain things I have seen in Khemhet. Merchants of the Kingdom of Izmir, strange that their customs may be, are behaving in ways contrary to their own interests, but in accordance with the command of their tyrannical king. They are selling, but not buying, and thus hoarding gold that will no doubt fund the rumored war against Point of Origin, worthy city of the servants of the Gods. Know also that there is a strange unease in the district of Khemhet, and the common folk seem restless, though they cannot or will not explain why. Whatever is happening, it is contrary to the old and right paths, and I therefore humbly beg you to mention this matter to those who have need to know such things.

Know o' father that I have much more I would like to say than time and wisdom permit. However, recall if you will the tales of Thamuut the Fisherman, of Musheret the Peasant and Ar-Dahun the Foolish Guardian, and especially of Ekhmose and the Basalt Tomb. Reflect upon the time in which each is set, and I believe they will prove instructive.

Know o' father I pray that, gods willing, when the current troubles are past, and the vile forces of darkness and disorder are purged, we shall have time to speak at length and leisure.

Know o' father that I honor you, my mother, and our family, may they be blessed and may they act in accordance with the old and proper ways.

Rightly we have done, rightly we do, and rightly may we do in the times to come.

Darn Wizards

Annoying wizards. You go to the extra level to protect your self from their evil way and they find a way to bend the laws of the world. They say rouge are dirty fighters, but I think most wizards give them a run for their money. There are some wizards that have learned to find a balance and try to help others. Most just love to show case their power.
On another note we have continued to push on. We meet a pirate who claims to be the leader of this group. While other talked with him I kept a look out for guards. Good thing I dd because sure enough some water elf showed up. After fall prey to their mind control the others were able to fend them off. I hope we find this abalith soon. This is getting worse by the hour.

Sigh. Paladins.

Paladins are lovely lads. So well meaning. So noble, good at hitting things with other things, that sort of thing. Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and great role models for your children.

If a thing is evil, fight it. If a thing is good, help it. It's a fine philosophy, but by Pelor's beard, sometimes it makes the buggers a bit daft.

I mean, supposing you end up in a pirate fortress, right? Better, say the fortress is probably under the control of an aboleth, particularly a telepath. So we can assume pretty reasonably that this thing is going to have ways to protect the brains of its minions, right? Or even mess with their minds until they don't even know there's an aboleth present. Being a bloody telepath, a reasonable person could assume this, and therefore assume that evil bastards in this place are probably going to be protected from looking evil. And that, furthermore, they're going to be mind controlled, confused, and bloody pirates, so they're probably not going to be entirely forthcoming about things.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the non-violent solution when it presents itself. I'd be just as happy to accept a man's surrender, tie him up, and leave him stuffed in a barrel where he can't get me into any more trouble.

But these bastards are all just barely on what you might call the smooth talker end of things. Not that smooth, even, but a little bit. And I'm learning that my paladins start having unsolvable moral dilemmas the moment someone answers a question like "are you evil?" with anything other than a yes or no.

It's daft, and it just keeps happening. It seems that the only way I can get them to use their pointy things to hit people is if I get the damn thing started myself. And by then they've been confused by a damn game of "I know you are but what am I" for so long that the reinforcements have arrived.

I mean, really. I shouldn't have to hit things myself, should I? That's what Pelor made bloody paladins for.

Bastards.

From the Journal of Hrogar

We have an Abolith to kill!

As this one is the telepath, one would assume it knows we are coming. And what we are planning.

It is located on an island, with a pirate fleet on the surface and a Kraken beneath the water surrounding the island.

We thought going through whatever underwater entrance there is would be easiest, but that was before we met the Kraken.

Hopefully things will be easier after that battle, but I tend to doubt it. Still, at least we survived, for now.

Sztuczka's Journal

Ok so we found these cannons and this gunpowder and we decided we needed to get through a door and they let me try and set off the cannon at it and it worked at least enough that they could kick it down the rest of the way and then we blew up a trap in the ceiling and the guy up there had put a barrel of gunpowder over the trap so a whole wave of fire came washing down and it was awesome and then there was a door with lots of locks on it and one of them refused to go boom so I used paper and made a little packet of boom and my hair caught on fire and it was awesome but now i doubt my gnominess because i did all that exploding with no training and i still have all my fingers and toes and didn't even lose a limb!

Journal of Crunch, Day 289b

-day289-B:
We have located and neutralized a number of storehouses of pirating supplies within the facility, and dealt with a pirate supervisor as well. There has also been the discovery of a strange series of prisons, each involving crystals encasing a person and surrounded by runes. Arkadesh and Azan have tested the defenses of the primary prison by using the corpse of the pirate supervisor. (Current theory is that this act doubles as a ward against necromantic reactivation of the pirate.) Hrogar has suggested that if the aboleth seeks to imprison these people, it is our imperative to release them; this inspired a campaign of flinging spears, harpoons, and explosives at the primary prison crystal. Regardless of this, the crystal remains mostly intact.

We have also found a cache of explosion-based ranged weaponry, of which Sztuczka is very knowledgeable. We have progressed through a number of doors using these materials, however, firing a ship cannon upwards has proven to be dangerous. (It should be noted that Sztuczka does not feel pain, and may also be suicidal. Special precautions are to be taken.) Dantroe has volunteered for operative evacuation duties during these maneuvers, and has served well in this role.

Ragnarr has expressed an unusual sentiment: disbelief in that he has not only repaired me during the mission, but that he could repair me at all! This was particularly surprising given his relative sobriety. Fortunately, this matter was rectified after an 1i78[30]4D7 encounter in which a pirate ruptured my secondary control clump, and repairs were successfully requested from and implemented by Ragnarr. There was some minor cultural abrasion during this event, however, expectations of hostility in the immediate future are very low. It should also be noted that Sztuczka proved willing to attempt manual repairs to the damage.

Barring new circumstances, we have agreed to pursue the potential of an underground river with regards to locating the aboleth.

Fun with Cannons

We keep going further into the keep. I can respect the courage of the monk, but he is not the most tactical of the group. He keeps running ahead and attack the enemy and ends up nearly getting killed. Thankfully Ragnar has an amazing ability to keep people alive. Pelor has blessed us with his presence. Any way, we where able to get past a death trap, sadly the archers were only able to hit the monk. Only a couple arrows were able to hit anyone else. Ragnar at this point cast a mist spell and we were able to fight our way through.

After this room we found a few cannons. This was right up Sztu's alley. A cannon is an amazing item in the hands of a noam. Amazing but dangerous. We used the cannon to get through several door. There is still no signs of the abalith. Hopefully we can find some signs of it soon.

Journal of Arcadius

(hastily scrawled note)

I feel... odd.

I'm not sure if it is the accursed amulet, or some other effect, but I am not quite myself. Not that the slain evildoer deserved better, but I'm not sure what possessed me to use his corpse as a means to set off magical defenses in the circle. Pelor forgive me! May his soul find redemption for his deeds in life.

And the cannon...

The less said the better. I suspect the enemy, or at least all but the mightiest or most foolish of them, have fled far from the range of our efforts. Still Sztuczka is enjoying herself mightily, and that is something.

Ragnarr has an odd expression on his face.

Lord Pelor, clear my mind!

*A*

Ragnarr: After a Very Strange Day

I'm really worried about the effects of Papa Lad's amulet. We know that it's doing something bad to him, since usually things that kill you when you try and take them off aren't of the good and shiny sort. But the effect that it's had has been very, very strange.

He seems... giddy. Childlike. And possessed of the kind of humor you usually only find among veteran healers, the kind that have been fighting plague for too damn long. He spent a long, long time tossing things into a circle of protective power, trying to short it out. Which is kind of odd and pointless, by itself.

But then he started using the body of the bastard who wouldn't let us by. Tied a rope around his leg and tossed him.

Which was funny, in a gallows humor sort of way. But very unlike Arcadius.

And that was before he let the gnome play with cannons. None of us died, and I'm happy to say that we seem to have scared off most of the bloody pirates with our experiments. It seems they can tell from the other side of walls that we have no bloody clue what we're doing with the thing. We're operating off a story Laddette heard one time, about this friend of hers whose brother was in a play, and in the play they talked about firing a cannon.

If you don't believe that we're not under divine protection after that worked, it gets weirder.

I can heal Laddytron. I can heal the bloody robot.

I want to try casting a status on it tomorrow. I don't even know if I'll be able to figure out how it's doing. I mean, with most of the Paladins I have at least some idea of what they should feel like normally: like me, but less sore and more sober. But what in Hel's name is a tin can supposed to feel like in the first place?

At least there's some kind of normalcy in all this. We got shot at. Quite a bit. And I've found myself trying to explain to hostile individuals who we are and what, exactly, we're doing in their house.

Mind you, we're in the middle of the ocean. But at least it's easier to explain than "Why, no, I happen to have gated into the middle of your manor house in the middle of the plane of water entirely on accident. Don't mind me." So there's that.

Oh, Pelor. Looks like Laddette is about ready to blow up something else. I'd best be ready to heal.

Sztu's Journal

Ok so I am a bard first and foremost and always and even though I have branched out into a bit more fighty things and battle knowledge I still consider myself a bard because mostly I try to boost morale and Pelor, Herakles and whatever other Gods have interest in this party know that sometimes they just need that little kick in the shins though I think I'll be doing less shin kicking with Tupper gone anyways so we were fighting the krakken and it went inky and ran away and what do we do? we follow the tunnel of course and at the other end were a couple of fighters and a caster and I am used to going *stabbity* and maybe getting swatted at like a fly but since Arcadius and Crunch and Azan had done so much damage to this one guy, I was all *stabbity* and he was all *die* and it was kind of exhilerating because I think my powers so far have only been used to annoy the enemy, not really hurt them... I ROCK!

Journal of Crunch, Day 289a

-day289-A:
We have travelled a fair distance by wind, and have located the island fortress of the telepath aboleth. The main entrance is fortified beyond our ability to penetrate, and so we have opted for access to the facility through alternative means. A kraken was driven off from the waters surrounding the island; it is unlikely to be of concern during our departure. The native pirates have proven to be fierce and merciless warriors, even going as far as to kill Azan. (He is currently in fine health thanks to Ragnarr.)

Attempts to proceed further into the facility were met with devious locking systems that render a person subsistent on the presence of the key, of one Arkadesh took upon himself to bear. Concerned for his well-being, an attempt was made to employ high levels of Manipulative Deceit in a maneuver to relieve him of the device with a minimum of mutual harm. (This was implemented before learning of the crippling nature of the device, and under the deduction that Arkadesh was now an information inlet for the aboleth; acting in earnest or explaining a plan beforehand may have rendered the act futile.) The maneuver, however, brought about the dreaded "Headache of Deceit" (cf. Eberron Day 413, Sigil Day 6) and so caused enough pain for the attempt to be rendered effective. Arkadesh has been disarmed, but still bears the dire key; he has recently employed it to activate a pressure lock leading to the rest of the facility.

Conclusions: Krakens are wily and surprisingly agile for their size. Manipulative Deceit employed for noble or helpful purposes will still invoke serious internal pain. Ragnarr continues to be a paragon of Friendship. Arkadesh is notable in his bravery.

Please excuse me, a door must be opened.

From the Journal of Hrogar

Ragnarr has apparently had a vision concerning me. He says that he sees me leading a charge of many warrior from many lands. A combined army of those who would not see the world fall to the Aboleths.

I must admit, I have considered that such a force would help our group, if not able to fully smash through our enemies lines, then at least to serve as a distraction so that my allies could make their way to the leader of our enemies when the final assault is made.

However, I do not wish to leave my allies without support. I do have an idea of one who could assist them though...

Arcadius and the Shadow Dragon

(From notes written several months past)

PART II - THE COUNTERATTACK

I camped for the night, not close, yet not far enough from the lair of the Shadow Dragon. I found a hidden place among some crags, and set such limited magics as I could to avoid detection. However, I was found. Little did I understand what foe I faced. The dragon had been neither idle nor foolish in the interim.

By the grace of Pelor I awoke with the feeling of impending danger. I armed and armored myself, blazed forth the light of Pelor, and was soon set upon by hordes of things shambling forth out of the darkness. Swarms of skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and strange shadowy things attacked me. Calling upon Pelor I destroyed or drove them away, only to have more appear to take their places. They were a small army, though how many I had no time to count. Unlike the swift battle against the Dragon itself, the fight against its minions raged on and on. In the end, my powers of turning and destruction were spent and I was left fighting them with but sword and inner faith.

Protected on one side by the sheer rocks that hid my camp, I would soon be surrounded on the other three, and I knew I had no choice but to fight my way out. Seeing a slight gap on the left of their line, I charged and cut my way through. The undead things turned instantly to follow. I circled around and up the rock formations until I found a defensible place on high ground, where they could attack me only a few at a time. Here I cut them down one by one. Yet not unscathed. Skeletal hands wielded old and rusting swords, and some of those swords found their mark. Things of cold and darkness gnawed at me. Gradually I pulled back, sometimes finding a moment to heal myself, until I was at last at a peak and could give no more ground. I took wound after wound, and even as I felt myself near collapse, felt death creeping towards me, I hewed down the last of them, and saw before me only a field of corpses... corpses that had been such even as they walked.

Truly great is Lord Pelor, and vile are those things that walk when they are dead. He is ever their foe, and he shall prevail.

I however, the mere servant of Pelor, was in a woeful state. Unfit to face any further foe, I accepted the truth and knew I must leave this lair alone and prepare, somehow, for the true battle. I resolved to heal, strengthen and better equip myself, and then seek again for the Shadow Dragon itself. However, I was wounded near to death and in a desolate place beyond help. I considered what I could do.

My thoughts hit upon two things I had at my disposal, one was the sea-sword I had found in an earlier battle. It was a powerful thing, but far more useful for those in frequent combat with things of the sea. It would be of little use to me in my own cause. Reflecting upon the matter, I remembered the Sea Elves of the north, who were locked in struggle against the power that lurked in the sunken city. Perhaps they could use it, and would trade it for or other items of power, or wealth that could be used to acquire them? But how, in this far land, to reach those Elves? How indeed to even leave this place, in my condition? Then I remembered the magic amulet, given to me by the noble lady Alis Gozen, of the Drow. It allowed one, in a moment, to journey to a far city where she sometimes dwelt. Her cause had in the past been in agreement with that of my companions and I. Perhaps I could use the amulet to travel to her city, there to offer service in return for transport back to the Northlands?

It was a complex plan, involving much attention to wealth and mundane considerations, more befitting such a one as Hrogar perhaps, but involving no stain to honor and indeed in the service of a very great cause. Moreover, I hold and held the lady Alis in the greatest respect, and it would be a worthy task to aid her house once more against their vile alienist foes. My mind made and my heart at ease with what I intended to do, I took action at once.

I pulled forth the amulet, marveled not for the first time at its strange yet beautiful design, and set it for transport.

Magic glowed and swirled about me, and the visible world parted like mist.

Let there be light

Were am I. Am I back home. How did I get here? The last thing I remember was seeing the cleric casting a spell. The cleric's spell must have killed me. This must be the after life. I must say it is very peaceful here and beautiful. I would love to stay here but I feel something pulling me back. What am i doing I need to get back. I can not leave my comrade like this. I owe it to them to find a way back. What the hell it is getting dark and what is this weight what in Pelor's name is happening.
The light is returning, but it is haze. Am I back. Yes I see everyone. It looks like no time has passed. Is this real. It must be real. I can feel pain running though my entire body, but I can feel my strength coming back. Is that the cleric? It is. He will die.