Session 08 Summary – 10/17/2014

Events Summary: Mullyn and Dain reunite with the others back at Cragmaw Castle after a long flight to avoid their pursuers. Once they arrive, the party gathers their strength and wits to fight the creature behind the large barred door. The owlbear that was housed inside the room is easily defeated, and the party continues their search of the castle for any trace of evidence that might indicate the direction in which Gundren had been taken. After a few fruitless encounters and no further leads, the party decides to return to Phandolin. After refreshing and restocking in town, their hope is to explore the old Cragmaw Hideout where they first encountered the goblin, Yemic; the hope being that they may find a much needed map disclosing the location of Wave Echo Cave, where they believe Gundren to now be held prisoner. Should they not find a map, they plan to pursue the Banshee Queen, Agatha, appealing to her vanity and offering her a jeweled comb in exchange for the location of Wave Echo Cave.

However, when the party does reach Phandolin, they find the entirety of the town engulfed in flames and under siege by dozens of goblins. Frantically, our brave adventurers make quick work of the fiends and quench the fires - albeit with a little help from a mysterious squad of local town defenders who disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. 

Who has survived this tragic raid, and what dark purpose lies behind the fiery assault? Only time will tell . . .

Session 07 Summary – 10/08/2014 - *UPDATE*

Participants: Bardu (Guest Appearance), Endelthil, Nulara, Thorin

Characters Met:

Vyerith– Stealthy Drow in the service of the Black Spider who has taken Gundren from Cragmaw Castle to an unknown location.

New and Unfinished Quests:

<Hollia> - (1) Find and kill Glasstaff. Find any correspondence in his possession [Partially Complete].

(2 - Endelthil Only) Search Thundertree for Dragon Cult activity and information, as well as any signs of a dragon.

<Sister Graele> - Get spellbook from the Banshee Queen, Agatha. It is recommended that the party appeal to her vanity by presenting her with a jeweled silver comb.

<Sildar> - Find Gundren Rockseeker

<Elmar Barthen> - Find the Rockseeker brothers and the entrance to Wave Echo Cave.

<Lenine> - (1) Investigate the Redbrand gang at the Sleeping Giant Tavern

(2) Recover Lion Shield Coster rations from the goblin hideout in which Sildar was found.

<Quelline Alderleaf> - Find the Druid, Reidoth in Thundertree [Complete].

<Murna Dendrar> - Acquire the emerald Necklace from the Herb and Alchemy Shop in Thundertree. It is the party's reward for rescuing her [Complete].

<Daran Edermath> - Explore Old Owlwell to the NE. Daran indicates that there is a Watchtower there. The party is to protect any miners there from any undead or orcs that may be wandering about.

Events Summary:  Having made their way into Cragmaw Castle the party unexpectedly splits. Why? Well, you see, the party found themselves in the castle kitchen with two goblins sleeping in boiling soup (thanks to Mullyn), many strewn about the floor dead, and two running out of the room in fear to gather reinforcements. Granted, the wise course of action would be for our five heroes to gather themselves in a united front for the impending reinforcements. But, unfortunately, this did not happen. For reasons unknown, Dain and Mullyn decide it best to quickly head to the rear entrance of the castle to guard against any stragglers. Good idea? As we shall see, it was not.

We now find only three of our heroes, Endelthil, Nulara, and Thorin as potential defenders against the inevitable swarm of reinforcements. But the regrettable events do not end there. No they do not. For further reasons unknown, whilst Nulara and Endelthil create a makeshift barrier of tables to block the doorway,Thorin decides to attempt to revive one of the boiling goblins in order to interrogate him. Maybe our dwarven friend was thinking the little green critter would alert us to the fact that reinforcements were coming? Some mysteries will die with their originator – as was the case with poor Thorin, for he did die; surrounded by a swarm of hobgoblins and goblins that had suddenly charged through the makeshift baracade. In his last moments, he looked up in confusion from his efforts to revive and question the half-boiled goblin, to see a horde of evil descend upon him – and then he was no more.

Surely, things could not get any worse for our dwindling party? Oh, but things did get worse. Enraged, by the death of their fallen comrade, Nulara and Endelthil unleash a flurry of arrows and punches at nearly a dozen oncoming goblin-kind. Unfortunately, only moments into the battle – Nulara falls, and only Endelthil alone remains. Now, even the ever-confident Endelthil knew he could not last in a battle versus nine enemies. Blocked in a corner, he killed only the needed adversaries to make his escape possible. He bolted out of the castle kitchen and into the hallway pursued by at least three assailants. Thorin was gone, Nulara was gone, and now - only moments later – Endelthil, too – was gone. TPK.

Oh, I suppose I should have mentioned that when I said Endelthil was “gone”, I only meant that he went invisible as he drank his sole invisibility potion. Wouldn't you if you had a group of goblins pursuing you and you were on the precipice of death? What? TPK? No, not “total party kill”, it means “that's pretty keen.” Keen of Endelthil to slip away from the visible world, that is. Now that we have all that business cleared up let's move forward with the story.

So much happened after this, so we will move quickly. Endelthil fought off and killed the enemies in pursuit as he fled from the castle into the surrounding woods. He looked around for Dain and Mullyn, but found only signs that they had been chased away by a mob of goblins. Alone in the woods without hope and without ally, all seemed lost to Endelthil. But all was not lost, for who came strolling by in his clanking armor on his own personal errand to check out Cragmaw Castle? None other than our favorite cleric, Bardu! What fortune! Surely, the had of providence was indeed with our elven friend!

Endelthil quickly signals Bardu and brings him up to speed. The duo heal up, leave the woods and infiltrate the castle once again in an attempt to locate the bodies of their fallen comrades – and possibly find Gundren. Once inside they find their friends Thorin and Nulara only unconscious, but guarded by enemy hobgoblins. The hobgoblins had spared the fallen heroes for interrogation purposes! But, their captors would not be afforded the same luxury. For, with all the vengeance the two could muster, Bardu and Endelthil obliterate the two guards and revive their senseless comrades. Finally, things were looking up. Well, for the time being at least. Okay, actually things started to spiral downwards from here.

As the four of them ventured further into the castle, they opened a door only to greeted by the following sight: Iarno, the missing wizard, standing beside a large bugbear who is holding a knife to an unconscious Gundren's throat. Oh, and beside the bugbear is his pet wolf. And did I mention that at that very moment Thorin was stabbed from behind by a stealthy Drow named Vyerith.

Well, the details of this wonderful little encounter are a bit hazy, as all who participated in it, do not like to discuss the horrific and shameful events that took place that day. Suffice it to say that “negotiations” to acquire Gundren did not go as intended. Thorin fell in battle (well, actually he fell before he could swing his axe) as did Nulara. And poor Endelthil missed the only shot that mattered – a shot at the bugbear's head. Overwhelmed, the elf surrendered all the party's money, his bow, and his pride in exchange for the lives of the now unconscious Thorin and Nulara.

The four heroes, broken and battered, walk away from the castle knowing that Gundren will be taken away by Vyerith to the Black Spider who dwells in an inscrutable location. They had failed their friend. All they could do was silently retreat to the woods and spend a night in somber silence to recoup.

As soon as they could, with their wounds healed, but their spirits still low, our little band of failed rescuers drudged back into the castle only to find Iarno, Vyerith, and their poor Gundren missing. The only one to be found was the poor bugbear – or what was left of him – as he lie on the ground bloodied and lifeless. Evidently, the wizard and the Drow chose to have their own “negotiations” with the bugbear who had attempted to sell Gundren to them. Vyerith had simply taken Gundren from the greedy little bugbear by force. Poor bugbear.

With no leads to the whereabouts of Gundren, the party explores the rest of the castle. They find (and kill) a giant octopus creature, a golden elf statuette that can be used as an augur, Sildar's old armor, and a barred-room that houses an enormous beast. Should the party enter the beastly room? The golden elf statue of augury tells of both weal and woe should they enter. With the party having such luck lately, why not give it a shot? Well, we shall see what happens. Let us hope that our heroes have learned from their mistakes!

Notable Items Acquired:  3 Morningstars, 4 Longswords, 2 Greatswords, Fine Quarterstaff, Golden Sun Elf Statue (enchanted with augery spell), Chalice (150 gp), Ceremonial Knife (60 gp), Censor (120 gp), Neverwinter Sword, Chain Mail, Crossbow

XP Acquired Per Party Member: 337 XP

Information Learned:

1. Vyerith, the Drow in service of the Black Spider has taken Gundren to an unknown location. That is, if she did not kill Gundren . . .

2. Iarno, the Wizard, is again at large.

3. Thorin refuses to use Shield of Faith :-)
4.  Endelthil negotiates almost as well as Han Solo did in the Death Star control room. “Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?”

Session 05 Summary – 09/19/2014

Participants: Bardu, Dain, Endelthil, Mullyn

Characters Met:

Favrik – Mysterious - and scary - member of the Dragon Cult whom the party encountered holed up in a small building within the town of Thundertree.

Reidoth – A white-bearded Druid who seems to have information concerning Wave Echo Cave and Cragmaw Castle. He resides in a small reinforced building in Thundertree. He has asked the party to rid Thundertree of the Green Dragon that rests in the nearby tower.

New and Unfinished Quests:

<Hollia> - (1) Find and kill Glasstaff. Find any correspondence in his possession [Partially Complete].

(2 - Endelthil Only) Search Thundertree for Dragon Cult activity and information, as well as any signs of a dragon.

<Sister Graele> - Get spellbook from the Banshee Queen, Agatha. It is recommended that the party appeal to her vanity by presenting her with a jeweled silver comb.

<Sildar> - Find Gundren Rockseeker

<Elmar Barthen> - Find the Rockseeker brothers and the entrance to Wave Echo Cave.

<Lenine> - (1) Investigate the Redbrand gang at the Sleeping Giant Tavern

(2) Recover Lion Shield Coster rations from the goblin hideout in which Sildar was found.

<Quelline Alderleaf> - Find the Druid, Reidoth in Thundertree [Complete].

<Murna Dendrar> - Acquire the emerald Necklace from the Herb and Alchemy Shop in Thundertree. It is the party's reward for rescuing her [Complete].

<Daran Edermath> - Explore Old Owlwell to the NE. Daran indicates that there is a Watchtower there. The party is to protect any miners there from any undead or orcs that may be wandering about.

Events Summary:  What an interesting adventure our band of heroes had this time! A mysterious cult, a green dragon, and a profoundly enchanted – or perhaps deeply cursed - party member! But we get ahead of ourselves. I suppose we should start back in Neverwinter. You see, the party found its way back to Neverwinter simply to resupply and recoup before pursing leads in Thundertree. They could not have foreseen what lie ahead of them.

Their first hours there were uneventful. Bardu sought the town temple, Mullyn reported to the sage who had been working on translating his cryptic symbols, Dain found luxurious housing to rest for the night, and Endelthil purchased some new gear. Where was Thorin you ask? Well, no on can say for sure as he went missing for some days, but it is suspected that he sought out the cantankerous lady-dwarf Grista back in Phandalin – we all saw the twinkle in his eye!

Anyway, the intrigue began when Mullyn decided to cast a detect magic spell on a silver longsword that the party had acquired on their previous adventure. Oh yes, the sword was indeed enchanted and useful for Dain in battle, but this was not an unexpected discovery. What startled Mullyn (and quite deeply at that) was the realization that his comrade, Endelthil, was also enchanted – deeply and profoundly so! Was it a domination spell? Necromancy? Surely it was not a Wish spell!? Whatever permeated the elf's being was indeed powerful magic. Poor Mullyn – in shock and a bit of terror – found the nearest intoxicating beverage and promptly drank himself to sleep.

Endelthil, meanwhile, retreated to his own room in Neverwinter's inn to ponder this new discovery about himself. What was he? Who or what did this to him? But, before much consideration could be given to this, he noticed a note on the floor of his room – marked by a gold coin of the Zhentarim! Following the note's instruction, the elf took a midnight stroll to a specified location, only to be startled by a shadowy member of the Zhentarim. The mysterious rogue directed Endelthil to find what he could of an enigmatic Dragon Cult and any trace of dragon activity when he arrived in Thundertree. What? What is this cult? What was our elven friend supposed to do if he encountered any of this? Before these questions could be asked, the stealthy informant vanished as quickly as he had appeared. With so much to take in, Endelthil returned to his room to meditate until morning.

Finally, morning came, and the party set out for Thundertree. The first day of their journey remained decidedly uneventful. Although, I must say, Mullyn did seem a bit jittery and, with a cautious eye, kept his distance from Endelthil. The night quickly arrived and they set up camp as was their custom, and took shifts to keep watch. On Bardu's shift, he noticed a faint moaning and woke his comrades. Even with a magically lighted arrow fired by Endelthil into the darkness, the source of the sound remained undiscovered. Though wary, they remained safe into morning and then continued towards Thundertree.

And so our heroes reached Thundertree, greeting by wooden signs posting warnings of plant monsters and zombies. Peculiar, but not altogether unexpected. Reidoth was supposed to be here in this town. But where? The party searched many empty buildings in the eerily silent town only to be greeted by the Ash Zombie's inside – which were quite easily dispatched. What? What are Ash Zombies, you say? Well, I suppose Mullyn and Dain would know this best, for they were the ones infected by them. You see, these creatures emit a nasty black ash that, when inhaled, causes the victim to exhibit zombie-like symptoms. Gray skin, twitching, vomiting – nasty business! Yes, thankfully Mullyn and Dain were healed of this affliction by Raidoth, be we will get to that.

First, however, our little party encountered an occupied, but well-locked, dwelling. Curious that someone would choose to hole up in a zombie-infested place like this, isn't it? Well that is what the party thought, too; and it was only after much coercion and some persuading by Bardu that one of the occupants finally relented and opened the door. And who was behind that door? None other than members of the Dragon Cult! Favrik, the leader, stated they do not wish to harm anyone. They only wish to speak with the Green Dragon in Thundertee's nearby tower. Generously – or perhaps deviously – the Cult offered to help the party address the dragon. However, the party kindly refused, gently insisting that they must first find their friend, Reidoth.

What was the party to do? There was a Green Dragon in a tower only meters away! Was the Dragon Cult to be trusted or killed? For that matter, what was the nature of the dragon? Endelthil seemed to think that a riddle he received many nights ago during his meditation spoke of this green dragon – but he could not make sense of it. At a loss, he suggested that Bardu used his Scroll of Augury to see what might happen if they addressed the dragon alone – but the Cleric foresaw only their woe. Frustrated, they searched the remainder of the area finding the green emerald mentioned by Murna. A small joy amidst a dire situation.

This joy, of course, was soon cut short as Mullyn and Dain began manifesting signs of having been infected by the Ash Zombies - gray skin, bulging eyes. I told you it was nasty business! Bardu did what he could, but his magic only seemed to stabilize their current condition. They were running out of options. However, there was one building left to explore. With anticipation the party knocked on its door. A white-beard man greeted them kindly and introduced himself as Reidoth. Finally! They had found the one they were looking for!

Reidoth welcomed them in, and the party shared with him their need to find their friend, Gundren, in Cragmaw Castle. The Druid handed Dain and Mullyn some (barely) edible healing substance to cure them of the zombie sickness. Then, he calmly explained that he had information about both Cragmaw Castle and Wave Echo Cave. He generously provided the needed directions to Cragmaw Castle; but before he would point them to Wave Echo Cave, he would ask that the party get rid of, or preferably kill, the nearby dragon.

So many questions lingered. How should they confront the dragon? Should they include the Dragon Cult in their effort? Should they even bother with the dragon now? Who could be trusted? What meaning was to be found in Endelthil's riddle - if any? They were too tired to make a well-informed decision, and gladly accepted the offer to spend a restful night in Reidoth's abode. For tomorrow, they knew, may not be so restful.  

Notable Items Acquired:  Emerald Necklace (200 gp)

XP Acquired Per Party Member: 138 XP

Information Learned:

1. Reidoth has information about the location of both Wave Echo Cave and Cragmaw Castle.

2. The Dragon Cult, which worships undead dragons, wants to speak with the green dragon in Thundertree Tower.

3. The ash dispelled by Ash Zombies will make the one who comes in contact with it digress into a zombie-like state. Reidoth has a cure for this. The party should stock up on this.

4. Hollia is away investigating some of the nearby miners. She should return in a few days.
5. Endelthil is a freak!