The results are in…
Stone Soules 3 Deathstealers 0
There was also an early development during Sahrak’s return trip– his
caravan was attacked by a dozen gnolls. The dozen guards fought back–
only one guard was killed permanently, but so was the owner merchant.
Oops. And there weren’t enough animals left to pull the caravan back to
the nearest town, so it was certainly a pyrrhic victory. But both Sahrak
and his new henchman survived.
When we last left our heroes, the Stone Soules were preparing to assault
the deathstealers.
Author: Joel
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Summary LXI: Versus the Deathstealers: Overwhelming Force
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Warwick Summary: The PURSUIT of Krek and Phillipe
We begin the destruction with Warwick and Company (Buck, Jean-Luc, henchman, and
rangers) heading toward the Peaks of Light to do some forest exploration. [of course, no
exploration would be complete without hospitalization �..]
On January 17, arriving at the small mountain outpost of Fanjyr, we discovered that a
local mining camp of Shabrundian dwarves has been massacred on New Year’s day,
with only a handful of survivors. Apparently, 60 Slow-Killer hobgoblins had entered the
camp silently and slaughtered about 80 dwarves, many of who were non-combatant
miners. Leading this group of hobgoblin was Krek, a bastard-sword specialist human
who once worked in Western Cromwell hunting bandits. The murderer-thieves escaped
with about 1200 ingots of gold and silver.
[Krek had worked in a region of Western Cromwell that was plagued by bandits. He
had been an efficient hunter, and never left any survivors. Before the dwarven massacre,
Krek was wanted for questioning � it turned out that many of the “bandits” he had
slaughtered weren’t really criminals�. Krek was also known to travel with a short,
pudgy blonde guy � possibly a cleric.] -
Summary LX: A Middle “Faranyn-Fest”
Catching up on some Sir Faranyn, Middle chronology from 2179, we had an
interesting mini-adventure the other day. I won’t elaborate much on the events.
Murder Mystery, Middle:
A man-at-arms in the keep was killed one morning. He had been ripped apart
by a furry creature. A wood-carrier and an assistant cook were questioned,
and lots of other info. was put together. A lycanthrope was suspected but
could not be proved. (Retrospect provided the answer).
A later event at a shanty-town north of town, where workers were building
confirmed the lycanthrope theory. Several folks were killed when a large
black wolf attacked. Following tracks, we found that they circled around
back to the shanty town.
Later, at the shanty town, the wood-man’s wife was killed and Sir Ceydric
chased down the werewolf. He easily killed it and the incident was wrapped up. -
Summary LIX: What Is Known About the Deathstealers
It is clear from divinations and communes that the supernatural LE force is
in charge in that part of the castle. Specifically, according to the Grim,
that is the Citadel, which Beck had previously told us was separate from the
other sections of the Castle Bah Nareth.
Divination: Creatures there are vastly powerful (compared to Letier). Very
rich treasure in the area…Forces of LE, vastly dominant, chances of
disturbing are moderate to high.
Any earlier reference by the Sphinx places possibilities of Ghouls very
high. Specifically, he never mentioned the DeathStealers. -
Summary LVIII: Return of the Stone Soules
In the aftermath of “that Dark Servant thing,” the Stone Soules begin a
downtime… (triumphant music)
Many trades were made in Cromwell, and by Eli at the School of Wizardry,
including the necessary teleport-damping devices and Protection from Devils
scroll in preparation for the upcoming assault on the deathstealers.
Ceydric autotrained.
Eli waited and the School of Wizardry while the party continued to
Petethal. At Teft, Sahrak left to train, Xavier trained locally, and Lorm
was contacted. Lorm agreed to join the Stone Soules in the attack on the
deathstealers, with all the protection he could amass. He also brought
Serin, his henchman mage (and an arsenal of items). In addition, Xavier
picked up two henchman– a cavalier of House Maxwell, and a fighter/mage–
as yet unnamed. -
Summary LVII: Beyond the Dark Servant
Quick summ:
Memorial service held for Deirdre
Party/Funeral/Party at Dwarves
Ruben’s Runner to Shocktrooper informing him of sack of Temple
and that they should not disturb sleeping evils
Lots of purchases and trading at Dwarves
Alegra, Star, Eli, Theo, Warwick, Tristan, Raven leave for Cromwell
They encounter a furred snake
There is a dual wyvern attack.
We track to a lair and find some stuff and capture 3 wyvern
eggs.
Out of the mountains: Creepy forest.
Fight: 12 zombies, 5 wights, 1 spectre, 10 ghouls
Raven is permanently level drained but gains back the level
through later training (he lost almost all of the adventure
experience as a result)
Letters were sent to Faranyn, etc. from Hook Hill
Hochoch– High Holy Day, etc. (Warwick becomes a Phaulkonian!)
On to Academy
The Rest: Wait for Spring, get armor and weapons made.
In creepy forest: attacked by 4 wights.
The party rejoins at the Academy. Eli has paid to be teleported ahead to
the School of Wizardry.
Magic items are selected. (Loot at wyvern lair and Groorg’s potions add a
couple of choices. Final selections to be posted later.)
Total take: 50% of 2.089 Million.
Almost all of Groorg’s treasure was given to the Dwarves.
That’s all folks!~
Kyle/Alegra -
Summary LVI: The Stone Soules vs. the Dark Servant– The Final Chapter
Ok here goes:
We tried the proposed -Find the Path- scroll and it failed– it turned out
to be nearly impossible for it to work.
Xavier -Aid-ed himself and touched the robe, then put it on. Nothing out of
the ordinary happened and the robes were deemed safe for clerics as well.
With Star helping mentally, Raven looked up at the runes and got the message
about the three rooms. Hoping that maybe picking a fruit with a
non-personal aura object like a sword would prevent the damage, Rangorn
swung at the branch with his knife.
Out of character: the first of a thrilling series of rolls by your truly.
Edwin said: don’t roll a one– and I did. -
Summary LV: The Stone Soules Deal a Blow to the Forces of Evil… and Make Out Like Bandits
Stone Soules 1, Tram/DS/Evil Baddies 0.
This was the big one folks! We accomplished all our objectives! First I’ll
create the short summary followed by a longer one for those hungry for detail.
Joel/Rangorn -
Summary LIV: The Temple’s Beautifully Rendered Artwork
All figures are 10 feet tall. They surround a 10′ square column of purple.
The Black Idol: Southern Side; Jet Black
This figure is wearing armor made of fluted, runneled, and winged plates.
The mail is made of downwards pointing triangles. Some sort of cape hangs
over the shoulders with scalloped edges near the knees. It holds a huge,
wavy-bladed two-handed sword. The helmet has no openings, and it covered with
strange projections and spiny ridges, much like the armor.
The Green Idol: Eastern Side; Deep Dark Green
This figure has a broad chest and wide shoulders. It wears a flowing
cloak that has sleeves that hang over the hands. A high collar goes from
cheek to cheek, and a tight cap is on its head. The figure is wearing a mask
of an old man. A staff leans against the right shoulder, lightly grasped.
The Red Idol: Northern Side; Dark, Intense Carmine
This figure wears high boots, hose, a doublet-like garment, and
gauntlets. These look strangely familiar, but are clearly of some foreign or
ancient style. The figure wears a long hood, drawn tightly around a faceless
face. The figure holds an axe with the blade on the ground and the hands
resting on its handle. The axe has a short handle, but the blade is long and
has many angles and an end spike that rests on the floor.
The Blue Idol: Western Side; Deep Indigo
This figure wears a garment with many pleats. It wears a girdle
with strange runes upon it. A broad cowl largely hides a blank surface
where a face should be. The arms are held so the hands meet at the center
of the chest (with elbows out to each side). The arms and hands are entirely
hidden by the robe, but must be holding the strangely convoluted and filigreed
stick (Scepter?).
Disturbingly, I have this level of detail on almost anything in the temple
you choose to examine in detail…
The Upside Down Pyramids in the octagonal room are two stepped affairs,
a pair of trapezoids stacked atop each other. Only the outline imples the
separation of the two levels, as the entire thing is nothing put a
silhouette. The bottom of the shape (top of the pyramid) is flattened rather
than pointed.
Edwin -
Summary LIII: More of the Stone Soules vs. the Dark Servant
Before this, his result was “The Four Brothers approach the sign of the
Hawk.” The Four Brothers is a meteor shower and the Hawk a constellation.
At that moment the Bird Man Tchoh-Meh was approaching to talk to us about
asking them to do a third-party Know Alignment.
The hostile nature of the four brothers was emphasized by the astrology
readings. The fact that this was “unhappy” for our fate in the “cornucopia”
relates that obviously our chances of reaping the cornucopia of wealth are
small at this point and that the FB might be making it smaller….