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September 29, 1995

Stone Soules Summary: Tan-El, the Demonspawn, and Us

The game on 29 September 1995, proceeded as follows:

Info. on location of the Capital City of the 'Spawn is determined to be "Southest of Port Elizabeth, beyond the "Great Rock.""

Info. on lesser spawn tactics are much as we have seen them, though it is worth noting that at the height of SMART's interference in Tan-El, there were about 15 'Spawn. In the "final battle," both sides admitted defeat and withdrew. SMART left the area.

Also, apparently, Tabor's barony ideas (Tabor was a young, powerful knight with a magic lance) ended when he went to the GOC, with many helpers, and was never heard from again. Two days later, the settlement was destroyed in explosions, flames, flashes of light, etc. that were witnessed by children thrown into a latrine. Nothing but the Tower remained. The town looked as if it had been "crushed." Bec's (the Sage's) personal opinion is that Tabor attacked or provoked the Behir and thus caused the destruction of city, though remember the Sphinx's commented that the old guy hadn't been scratched in over 100 years.... (20 years ago, after the attack, there was a corridor stretching from Tan-El to the site of Middle, ala Behir).

The Alchemist said the sample from Tyner's tower contained the "pure essence of a being of vast evil, contained in some sort of tar or paste." He gave it back to us in a lead box.

Kendall and Penny [new people] leave the party. [The players bailed...] [The game is moved to Edwin's]

The High Cleric of Kor, Duke Charles of a city-state of Koralgesh, Darkeye, and Blann, and the High Cleric's wife arrive in town suddenly. We prepare accommodations for them and discuss the matter of the Great Ones in detail in light of the recent attacks. We agree that the matter must be dealt with. They agree to help us if sufficient information is found. We consider purchasing a COMMUNE scroll. The Nevronian scroll library is right out of COMMUNEs but the Auroran has one. It would probably be 10,000 for 10 yes or no questions answered to the best of the minion of the deity's ability. We discuss this at length after the End party returns, then prepare to bring the High Priest to Tan-El to see the Temple.

We leave the next day, find the Behir is gone, and enter the city.
Thoughts run amok in our head at the entrance to the Temple.
We slip into CHARACTER LIMBO for two weeks (yes, Fall Break is coming up next Friday!!).

alegra/
Kyle

>I am a little confused about the game. Why do we want to purchase a
>commune? What would our questions be?

Here is a brief summary of questions (would be worded differently): Do the great ones require magic questions to be hit?
How many great ones are there?
Are they in the castle?
Where?
Do they work together or apart?
Do they live together / will they defend each other?
Are they on consecrated evil ground?
Will the Behir help them?
etc. as we think of them.

Reasons for COMMUNE:
The 'spawn have shown a willingness to take the attack to Middle, which we cannot allow. Therefore, to stop attacks, we must destroy the great ones.
5 really powerful people are currently in town who could help us. In order to prepare ANY kind of attack, now or in the future, we need info. To get this info. FAST, we need magic. Otherwise, if we wait too long, Middle or its populace could be in danger. That's the idea. If you have specific reasons why we shouldn't try to kill the great ones while we MIGHT have a chance, let me know, but this could be our best opportunity, based on the answers to the questions we asked. If there are too many, or the Behir helps, or they work together, or they all need magic weapons to hit and we can't get any, etc. then it may be impossible to attack them, and we will have to ask other questions to find the best way to defend Middle until they get bored and we can get other adventurers to come to the area as we leave...

>Ceydric is very concerned with the recent bugbear/snake-worshipper
>activity in Middle and would like to call for increased security measures
>(especially in the tower).

Check-in at the gate (by the guards taking names in a log) has been instituted. The tower has sufficient security to prevent people from trying to enter, but invisible peole would probably have no problem, unless we keep the door closed all the time.

>He would also like to have more caution taken
>in party planning so that we are not overheard by a spy (since there are
>apparently some in town).

All party meetings take place in the tower.
One anti-scrying thing we could do is line the War Room with Lead bricks to prevent magic from entering (several hundred gold pieces) or lead paint, which offers some protection, for less than 100.

>Hopefully, the appropriate pomp and
>circumstance was done for the visiting dignitaries (Ceydric would have
>wanted it).

We tried our best, though the High Priest is a gruff, no-pomp kinda guy.
Imagine a WWF wrestler as your High Priest, except friendly and moral. That's him (though probably not as strong, but he did work on a ship).

>All the info is great but what does the party plan to do with it? Are we
>wanting to take on the rest of the 'spawn or are we planning on going
>elsewhere?

We are planning on taking on the rest of the 'spawn after the Temple trip.

Kyle