The Search for Adulese Di Marfedelom

[The Dungeon Master]

The journey begins for an ancient evil

[killy429]

This past couple of days has been crazy. It all started when the town Elders, more like town know-it-alls, called a meeting. We all gathered like usually to hear the old man talk. Of course I could give a rats ass about whatever the old fart had to say, but if I had been paying attention I would’ve known he was about to volunteer me and some friends for a damn suicide mission. He told the town of some dream he had about an ancient evil. He was probably high on some plant from the forest. The Evil was going to destroy our world as we know it, unless we did something. Why the hell I have to be one of the chosen to stop it beats me. They think since they’re older and wiser they can tell people like me what to do. Well they’re wrong. If my life and freedom weren’t on the line you can bet your day’s catch I wouldn’t be going. Just because my friends and I are good at what we do we get to go fight some bad ass evil thing. Whatever happened to people having a choice? What’s done is done though.

The town threw us a huge celebration the day before we left. It was nice to see my family looking so proud of their only son. My parents might be too controlling sometimes, but I love them, and want to make them proud. The party would’ve been nicer if we could’ve indulged in some fine wines and liquor, but nooo. The Elders wouldn’t allow that the day before we set out on our task. After the festivities we had to gear up, it was cool getting our equipment for cheap, and we even got gifts from the Elders; a ring, a portable hole, a bag of holding, and replenishing quiver, my favorite. The quiver will go nicely with my new bow.

After we got our stuff we got a ride out of town and were told to head threw the Darrow Wood Forest to some city I’d never heard of to talk to some guy I could care less about. We were dropped off at a rickety old bridge on the edge of town. Damn thing hadn’t been used in years, and looked like it would break if the wind blew. At least we all got across safely. It was starting to get late in the day when we happened across a goblin trying to cross a river. We just happened to need to cross it to. We made friends with the little guy and got across with not much trouble. His friends joined us later and we made camp. They told us they were sent from the goblin town to destroy the Messenger of Death. Hopefully it’s not as bad as it sounds. Tomorrow we break camp and head into the woods. I pray we don’t meet this messenger; we might just have to kill him.

[killy429]

After we broke camp and started into the woods my party and our new found Goblin friends ran into some trouble. We were attacked from the trees by a lightning quick insect. It took out all but one of the little green guys before we were able to subdue it. Our little goblin friend was grateful; this was the thing that they had spoken of. He returned to his town with the beasts head to become a hero. Hopefully he remembers us if we venture to his town. Our friend was lucky, not only did we make him a hero and kill the monster for him, he left right before we were ambushed by a group of Highwaymen. There were about eight of them. They demanded all our valuables for passage through the woods or they would take our lives. We had heard that before. We easily dispatched the wannabe thugs. We continued north towards Cromwell. Along our path we discovered a concealed trail. As we headed down the hidden path we encountered a few traps and came to a huge wooden gate. We were granted access and discovered some information about our quest. The town we entered was cursed. It was a curse caused by the very man we were being sent to see. Looks like our Elder had his facts a little bit misconstrued. The town’s leader, Gino, gave us room and board and told us more about the city of Cromwell and the curse that had befallen the people of this little town. They had all contracted lycanthropy and were werewolves. Our contact in Cromwell, Gimschee, has placed the curse on our friends in this town. Gino has agreed to give us passage to Cromwell if we help them. My companions agreed. Gino introduced us to another adventurer who has been sent to break the curse. She comes from the distant island kingdom of Kingsland Heights.

So now we have been charged with the task of breaking the curse, like we needed something else to do. Why do people think they can tell others what to do? Just because we are young and brave doesn’t mean you can take advantage of us. And of course my companions are all for glory and good deeds. Selfless idiots if you ask me. But as long as I don’t die I’m fine with it. Anyways, we have to now go to Cromwell and destroy an amulet in the possession of the man we need to question about the Great Evil that has arisen. Why does this mission have to keep getting more complicated? Damn gods for making my life difficult. Well, tomorrow we leave this town and head for Cromwell with our guide and resident thief of this town. It should be a fun time, not.

[killy429]

So our journey from the Darrow Wood to Cromwell begins. We were only in the town hidden in the forest for a day or so, but a lot happened. We gained a cleric to our party and even a wizard. The cleric seems like nice enough lass, but the wizard seems like he might be a handful. He is new to our group, yet he thinks just because he is smarter than most he is in charge. He’ll find out soon enough that’s not the case. Still, it is nice to have a person of arcane might along for the ride, whatever his motives might be.

Billy was tasked with leading us to our destination. As we traveled through the woods night began to fall and the full moon rose. Someone spotted a figure moving in the shadows beside us, so the mage threw a lighted pebble in its general direction. Not a smart move. We were rushed by a damned werewolf. It wouldn’t have been so bad if more than two of the party members had silver weapons. We held our ground and the fight ensued. Billy stood by and watched idly as our rouge and ranger did what they could with their silver weapons. I tried to help with my bow but to no real ends. We managed to knock him unconscious and he reverted to human form. The wizard left his mark on him so we could identify him at a later time if need be. We decided to camp out and rest from the battle. The ranger was bitten. Hopefully he doesn’t turn in to one of those damned beasts. I hope our friend who was delayed in leaving the town has no trouble. He’s supposed to meet us at Cromwell.

After we broke camp the next morning we resumed the route to Cromwell. We arrived that evening to a silent and unmoving city. Billy went his separate way and we decided it would be best to enter town in the morning. Well the wizard decided for us. He said there was an aura of evil and necromancy about the town. Blah blah blah, nothing we couldn’t handle. Oh well. I guess we will see what happens in the morning. Hopefully the wizard is wrong and the townsfolk just happened to be asleep and everything is fine and dandy in the town and that Gimschee isn’t too hard to find within the walls.

[killy429]

Well we finally went into Cromwell, even with the boding sense of death and doom hovering over the city. The gate was cracked open so we entered. The streets were deserted and quiet. We decided to look around and happened across a general store. Just in time I might add, some strange creatures started toward us. We took refuge in the general store and discovered the creatures were actually zombies. I guess the wizard’s sense of necromancy was accurate, doesn’t mean he is right about everything though. Anyways, there just happened to be three zombies in the general store with us. We needed to find a way to escape but with zombies beating on the door and zombies inside it seemed like a slim chance. We all came to the idea to burn the store down. The wizard set about the task of looking for oil while the ranger and I started dispatching the zombies. Our rouge discovered the roof access and our escape path. The wizard conjured up some mist to disguise our escape but the ranger and cleric were lost in the fog. Hopefully they escaped because the zombies had breached the back door and were flooding in. Now that we had made it to the roof the wizard set the building ablaze. Now we just had to figure out how to get down and not be eaten.

The rouge pointed across the way to a little Halfling standing on the roof across the street with our other party member. I was glad to know he made it here safely. The Halfling was a sorcerer and he had a plan to get us across to him. He turned us invisible and we threw a rope across the way. I ended up falling to the street below. Thankfully I was invisible and had the self-control not to gasp for breath as the wind was knocked out of me by the impact. When the party made it to the top of the building the halfling led us down stairs in to the tavern made shelter. He opened up a dimension door in the wall and we entered into his safe haven. He was using his extra dimensional mansion as a refuge for the survivors of the city. He informed us that Gimschee and caused this plague of zombies and that he was holed up in a building in the center of town.

We told the halfling of our quest and offered our services in the fight against this plague. It would be nice if the great evil we were sent to destroy by our elders happened to be Gimschee. It would be convenient to fulfill all of our tasks in one go; Destroy the great evil released upon the land, destroy the amulet cursing the lycanthropes, and cure Cromwell of its zombie infestation. Well time to rest up and plan our attack on Gimschee and his undead minions.

[rhyn]

Evening, 12th of Vakarnis
The headmaster called me to his office today, it seems I am finially given a chance to leave these halls and prove that I have learned what I can here. I am to be accompanying a group of adventurers as they are headed to a city in which a mage is to be checked up on. The particulars are not that much of a worry, the big news is I finally get to leave after so long an apprenticeship. I set sail tomorrow, so I must pack the few things I need. They shall all soon learn how powerful Arandiel really is.

Morning, 16th of Varkarnis
The ship will not sit still even for a moment. I have gone nearly insane trying to study my spellbook with the constant motions and sometimes gut wrenching movements. I met another one board who is going my same way, a cleric of some small repute. I think she is far to stuck up and righteous, but perhaps will see if a few bottles of wine will loosen her mood.

Morning 18 of Varkarnis
We have finally arrived and I met the so called adventurers I would be accompanying. My right pinky has more brains then this sorry lot has combined, well maybe if you take the elven woman out of the picture. But still, a couple of fighters, and all seem to be carrying two handed swords, not a single thought to defense.A ranger and his bow, then again can't say much for the elves hold archery in high esteem. The cleric who I have mentioned before, and a lovely elven woman. Based on her clothing and mannerisms I would think she was a rogue of some sort.

Evening 18 of Varkarnis
We have been, or I should more aptly say I have been blooded on this trip. We were traveling and tonight being a full moon were beset by a slavering monstrosity. The feared and fearsome werewolf. I must say I never enjoyed Master Falune's classes on creatures but the knowledge he imparted was beneficial. A pitched battle was waged with the beast finally dropping unconscious at our feet. Well not my feet, but might as well have been.
What would happen next simply stunned me. None thought to deal the final death blow to the slobbering wretch and actually were offended when I suggested we revived him(so he would stay in his hybrid form) and skin him. THe rogue showed she might have been better off being a paladin as she was the heart of the counter argument against me. Ce la Vie, the hide could have been useful. Either way as the others started to leave i used a spell to ensure his wounds would continue to bleed and that he would never be a problem for anyone else.

Morning of the 19 of Varkarnis
We arrived at the gates of Cromwell after a night's march. My head is fuzzy was from lack of sleep and my eyes will barely stay open as I put pen to these pages. I have a bad feeling about this, an aura of powerful necromancy lays over the entire city. Foul magic was used here and still at work. We set into the city after we have all rested.

Evening 20 of Varkarnis
We entered the city, a ghost city. That is not correct, a city of the dead. Everything looked like it was going fine, till we saw some movement around a corner and with voices raised the others decided to investigate. Sound! Sounds can kill surely as any rotten maw or grasping hand for the sounds summoned a horde of the undead against us. He well back not sure what to do, a store was open and we retreated inside. I urged the others to find a way to the roof and oil. Inside we found several more zombies and the others preformed decently well. Even inside though the undead continued to pursue us which worked to our advantage. I cast a spell of obscuring mists as the others scrambled for the roof. Using more magic I lit the store's content of oil on fire and made a rather embarrassing scene trying to get more of those damned things to enter the building. Once I got to the roof it was discovered the ranger had not been smart enough to follow the plan to get out and must have fallen to the army of the dead or to the warm embrace of fire. Either way we spotted a few survivors across the street and were working out a way to get over them without alerting the undead below. The halfling, over there proved useful as he cast a spell of invisibility upon us and we used a rope to climb across.

Evening the 24 of Varkarnis
The sorcerer Jeebus has been rather helpful. He had a spell book that allowed me to transcribe a few more useful spells into my own spellbooks. But that is of little import. We might have stumbled across the the reason for everything here as well as a mighty amulet. It is pure guess work right now but I believe the item responsible for everything is the artifact IOSEPA or "Without Soul". I must lay claim to this amulet, it powers would be a great boon to my own, the ability to gather magic for the realm of the divine and cast it myself. But I must also be careful, it has obviously overcome the mage here. I will not fail though and its power will be mine.

Evening the 28 of Varkarnis
Tomorrow on the 1st of Lihanis we mount our attack. I have prepared what spells I think might be useful and still feel as if I am about to combat a darkness with only a few cantrips. We will simply see how things go. The one fighter is being left behind to tend to those that are here, the ranger surely must have fallen with the building and I assume the cleric is nothing much more than pieces. I have not seen her since the city gates. Will we all share the same fate or will we persevere. I for one know I refuse to fall and die in a place like this. They will have to drag my soul kicking and screaming to the nine hells if I die here.

Night 1 of Lihanis
We began our assault tonight, perhaps it was the lack of a moon in the sky or a cruel twist of fate but we did not make it nearly as far as we had hoped before having to to withdraw to the magical shelter that halfling has.
It began well, an invisible run through the streets as the other groups took other paths. I used a spell that is difficult for me to distract any of the undead that were in our way. At the gate to the keep, the rogue was taking to long on the locks and I pushed her aside, with a few minor words I had burned the hinges off with acid. This would prove to be my only tactical mistake trading the element of surprise for speed. We were beset by a number of canine zombies and after a pitched battle and the summoning of an earth elemental we laid them to their final rest. One of the soldiers that was with us died. We pushed forward to the door where this time I let the rogue do her thing and jeebus used the last of his invisibility spells upon us.
THe doors opened into a darkened hall. I cast light into the darkness and soon saw the shapes of five Skeleton statues, I checked them for magic but before I could warn the dumb ox of a fighter rushed in. The statues came to life and beset us. THe rogue and the fighter broke the spells of hiding and attacked. I used a bit more wits and slipped away from the fighting, I summoned another earth elemental to help them and took the time and risk to lay defensive boons upon both of them. After a pitched battle we slew the final creature. But I am nearly out of spells and the others were injured and tired. We retreated for the time being. Hopefully on the morrow we might do better.

[rhyn]

Night 2 Lihanis

We once again entered the mansion of the wizard last night. This time there were no creatures to be encountered but we did find several things of interest. But there were complications. THe fighter and I had words last night and I feel that soon it might blossom into more. THe crude brute has no sense, or reason to listen to his betters. We founda a room full of tomes and he took one that has an important spell I would like to learn but the man is beyond reason, his actions provoked the fair fair elven rogue into suggesting that I zap him. Afterwards he was beyond reason. We found a room that had an recreation of the stars, a particular alignment of stars was marked and I spent much of the night copying it down. Afterwards we found the body of Gimschee dead for 3 months. It would seem that whomever is masquerading as Gimschee is our true enemy and he wears the amulet Iosepa. I wish to gain the amulet but it depends on when and how we find him. I have to look into the date that was recorded it might pertain to what is happening here.

[rhyn]

The Fall of Arrendiel Nailo

Warriors, big stupid, dumb, warrior!!! IF I could go back to my life and reign down curses upon them all. So the big dumb brute that I had been having issues with in the first place decided to once again start his meddling. We get reinforced by his other big dumb brute of a friend and a new couple a monk and some back to nature woman. As we reach the trap door I cassually suggested that the big STUPID, DUMB good with a pointy stick fighters go first make sure its safe for the rest of us. Seems reasonable, logical and all to understandable.

Well the dumbest of them all decided he isn't going down before me, you know since I am so much better at swinging a pointy stick than him. The others agree on a marching order and descend into the cavern to fight the zombies down at the bottom. Mr. Big and Stupid decides to kick me in the face as I begin climbing down. (Now here is where I might have miscalculated, damn human emotion) but while I could have maintained my grip I did not in an effort to show those others the harm he was causing. I fell and took a nasty spill and the battle began to rage about me as the others descended.

I summoned an elemental and helped a bit with combat waiting for the other to come down. When he started down I hit him with a blast of acid and he lost his grip and fell. I had summoned another elemental by this point and sent them both to attack him, only meaning to teach the fool a lesson about attacking his betters. Damn fool falls unconscious and his friend charged me. His ax cut through my body and I had never felt such pain before. I tried to tell him what had happened but he was beyond reason, I shall hunt him down in the next life this I swear.

[The Dungeon Master]

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