Abadius 25th 17 - Once upon a time in a very very strange and distant land

The next morning the group gather their supplies in the courtyard as Vaneer begins to cast the plane shift spell allowing the group and their bundles of food to be drawn into a portal along with the “Harrowed” cards.

The group soon end up crashing into solid mud, picking themselves up they look around at their surroundings, the sky appears to look as if a child had drawn it, there was a wooded area nearby and a mass of tents which gave the appearance of circus.

Before they could decide let alone discuss what to do next the group could hear nearby a voice crying out in anguish “Come on guys! PLEASE stop!!! Oooooww!”

As they go to investigate the cry the find a little man dressed in white on the floor being kicked by a bunch of Tengus (Humanoid Crows)

The group step forward to try and stop the Tengus from attacking the figure on the floor but soon realise that they’d have to resort to physical force to stop the ongoing assault.

Miro stabs a Tengu(1) and seriously injures it,

“Kill Them! Kill Them! Kill Them!” Squawked Tengu(3),

Hugo attacks twice and hits twice killing off Tengu(1),

Vaneer attacks Tengu(2) and lands a hit,

Bob flanks with Vaneer and bites a chunk out of Tengu(2),

Natalia goes for an attack but misses her mark,

Otto magic missles Tengu(2) killing the creature,

Boss attacks Tengu(3) and manages to hit it hard,

Tengu(3) attacks Boss but misses,

Tengu(4) cartwheels behind Boss and successfully lands an attack on the fighter,

Miro flanks Tengu(3) and kills the creature,

Hugo moves into flank Tengu(4) and hits,

Vaneer also moves to hit Tengu(4) and smacks it in the beak,

Bob attacks Tengu(4) and rips it to death with a combination of bites and clawing.

Vaneer sets to healing those in the group that were injured in the fight as well as the now unconscious man in white whom comes round and thanks the group for their assistance.

They spend some time talking to the man and find that he works as a cook for a Lord Saseron and that outsiders to this realm tend to get eaten by this lord. Otto enquired about his daughter and the man confirmed that Lord Saseron did indeed have a young girl and that he wanted to eat the girl yesterday but couldn’t as he refused to cook her and so he had been kicked out of Saseron’s fortress.

Otto looked even more worried at this point but the man in white assured him that it would take months to find the fortress as it moves all the time. Though if they want to get there quickly then they’d have to collect the tokens.

Miro then draws his new toy (a holy weapon) with the intent to use it as leverage to interrogate the man but the plan backfired as when he saw the holy glow of the weapon he proclaims the rouge to be a hero and asks to kiss the hero’s feet to which Miro happily agrees to.

Upon further questioning the man divulges that there are 8 tokens in total which are held by the 8 conspirators, the first conspirator “Berniditty” is just over yonder in the central tent, he has a snout, backwards hands and loves to talk.

When they asked about the conspirators the man informed the group that there was a creator called ‘Sonnorae’ whom made the storybook world but 8 characters turned against her as the characters couldn’t change their story.

Miro tries to enlist the man’s help and in return he’d promise to make him ruler of the story land but man in white just returned a confused stare.

The group then decide to set their sights at the nearby tents and as they approach they instantly notice which of them was the central tent which when peering into they could see a very large cage at the opposite side covered with a cloth. There was also various animal acts performing including a stone type creature juggling and 3 bears riding around on unicycles entertaining what appeared to be a bored audience.

The audience notice the group standing at the entrance to the tent and begin to show interest in them shouting for them to perform something different.

Miro sensing his moment to be in the lime light decides to use his athletic abilities to perform a stunning acrobatic routine which has the crowd cheering and applauding for more whilst the other performers move to one side of the ring to allow the group to move through towards the cage.

AS they approach the cage they spot a door on one of its sides which was open and inside sitting on what appeared to be a naked man was a crocodile in a top hat and suit whilst stirring a cup of tea.

“Hello! And Welcome!! How are you? Please come in and have a look around!” boasted the crocodile.

Berniditty the ring master of this fine establishment as it turns out liked to talk…a lot!! Eventually Otto manages to work in the fact that the group are here to look for his daughter and the ring master pretty much repeats exactly what the man in white had told them previously.

Berniditty eventually admits that he does indeed have one of the tokens that could help the group but they would have to win it by proving that he is lying with only 5 questions as he likes to lie.

The group take a minute to have a think and discuss what they could ask to catch out the crocodile and decide to present Berniditty with an apple and ask if it’s a banana. To which he responds “Yes”

The group excited claim his response as a lie but the savvy crocodile says “ah but that is a banana in this realm unless you can prove otherwise?” to which stumped the group.

Dropped jaws in awe the group have to quickly re-think their approach when Otto says “How many fingers do you have on your right hand?”

Berniditty counts on his right hand and responds “6!, 5 visible and 1 which can only be seen by those with special vision like mine”

Otto then asks “How many fingers can we see then on your right hand?”

Berniditty then responds “4!”

Otto quickly dejects “No! We can see 5 like you said in your first response!”

The ringmaster laughs in delight as he reaches for a small gem which he offers to the group as reward to their efforts and offers to a map of the land to aid them in retrieval of the other tokens.

As the group exit the tent they are met by a very pompous Paladin whom demands that the group hand over the token so that he can use it to fulfil his destiny and defeat the evil of the land.

Before the group can respond the paladin suddenly falls to the ground unconscious with Natalia standing behind him with a large branch, they all look at her quizzically as she shrugs and responds “What! We were all thinking of doing it!” at which the group smirk.

Miro smirks even more as he then strips the paladin naked and drags his body back into the tent to offer the paladin to Berniditty as a new seat which the crocodile excitedly accepts.

With that little matter out of the way the group refer to the map they had been given and decide to head towards the briar which was an area of several miles covered in overgrown vegetation and thorns.

Eventually they happen across a silent clearing amongst the briar which was covered in crude banners and a garish colourful house. Whilst somewhere up in the trees a voice could be heard shouting “Be Gone! Be Gone!!”

Natalia notices a fluffy creature in the trees that when he realises he had been spotted jumps down in front of the group and appears to be some sort of Human/Rabbit creature wearing a make shift crown on its head (Rabbit Prince “Brambleson”).

Natalia remembers an old fairy tale she had heard as a child about a race of rabbit creatures where one rabbit wielded a broken sword that oddly enough matched the description of the sword the creature in front of them was wielding.

The group ask Brambleson about the creator and learn that the creator once had a scarf which is now held by Saseron as a trophy. The creator it appears was murdered in the prophet’s garden by the characters as they were bored of living the same story over and over.

When the group asked if they could have Bramblesons token, he responded with a yes providing they can catch him just as he uses a dimension door spell to move to the other side of the clearing and up a tree.

Otto laughs and casts a deep slumber spell which works on Brambleson and allows the group to get close and tie up the rabbit creature, when he finally awakes he reluctantly offers the group his token.

After spending some time talking with Brambleson the groupbid the rabbit prince farewell and continue travelling through the Briar till night fall.

Night fall in this land was different, it wasn't gradual oh no! like a childs drawing the drawn sun suddenly drops below the horizon and the moon suddenly flies into the sky with a couple of twinkling stars to match, the group decide to camp and rest from the days activities.

Abadius 24th 17 - The truth in the cards

We find ourselves in the Wyvernshore palace where little Edgar playing hide and seek with Helga.

Helga was hiding in a room of the west wing where the group had stored what was left of Old Beldame’s possessions after she had passed away nearly a year ago where she knocked over a box and discovered some playing cards, upon closer examination Helga opened the pack of cards and started to flip through them, just as Edgar entered to room to see a flash of light as the cards fluttered to the ground.

Not able to find his older sister young Edgar soon ran to his father Otto exclaiming “Father! Father! Helga has gone, missing!”

As Otto tried to figure out what Edgar was ranting on about the young lord led his father back to the room where the disappearance occurred whilst Edgar carried on spouting “Magic! Helga did magic just like father!” Otto now getting worried hastened his pace knowing that his daughter had no magic capability.

Otto enters the room with a pale face as he realises which room they were playing in and is confused as to how it was unlocked, as he enters Otto soon notices the cards on the floor as he turns to Edgar “What really happened Edgar? Tell me son”.

“She was doing magic tricks!” responded Edgar, “Then she was speaking to something but no one was there and then woosh!! She disappeared!” as the young lord started to get teary, Otto reached to his son and ruffled his head, “you did right Edgar, go find your mother and bring her here ok?” Edgar nodded as he rubbed his eyes and was soon running down the corridor.

Otto began picking up the scattered cards and soon found the pouch that the cards came from, inside the pouch was a strip of paper that read ‘Cursed! Do NOT use, Do NOT give away’ Otto muttered a curse of his own.

Margot soon arrived at the scene of the crime with a worried and confused look on her face, “Otto? What’s happened? Where’s my daughter?” she exclaimed.

“I don’t know!” Otto admitted as he slumped to his knees, “I’ve not seen these cards before but I think they are some sort of minor artifact that the old Beldame had in her possession” he continued.

“So what do we do?” Margot started to wail

“Summon the council; I need advice and answers NOW!” Otto forced himself up off the floor with the cards in hand.

Less than an hour later, the council and the group were sat in the council room where they had been updated with the situation.

Acolytes were sent to the colleges to search books and archives for any sort of information on the cards, “Can’t we just ask the Old Beldame?” suggested Akiros, “It won’t work” responded Vaneer, “She’s been dead to long and besides we’d need her body for me to get the answers needed but we cremated her” the cleric continued whilst shaking his head.

Towards the end of the meeting one acolyte brings back the results that the cards are unique and would cause travel to the Harrowed plane if the right cards were drawn, it was then decided that Vaneer would prepare his spells to allow him to send the group to the harrowed plane, in the mean time Vaneer casts a divination and commune spell to see if Erastil could offer any advice.

Divination – “A one way journey to a story book land, to return retrieve the tokens and scarf in hand, Bring food.”

Commune –

-         Is Otto’s daughter safe?

o       Not for long

-         What are the tokens?

o       Appearance of Gems

-         What are the main creatures of the plane?

o       No

-         How many tokens are there?

o       No

-         Do we need a token each to return?

o       No

-         Is the food we need to bring, just for us?

o       Yes

-         Is the scarf on the Harrowed plane?

o       Yes

-         Should we expect much resistance in rescuing the girl?

o       Yes

The group set in for an early rest so that Vaneer can prepare for the dimensional travel awaiting them.

Erastus 25th 14 - Ironing out the fine details

The following day the group and Lord Henry gathered with Aecora to discuss her request about what territories the No-men tribe should be given.

The meeting was short as the discussion went really well, the no-men we given most of the territories that they had asked for with only 3 territories to remain neutral between both the No-men and Varnhold where Dragonmere gets an overall ruling should there be a disagreement between both factions.

Late in the afternoon the group begin their return to Wyvernshore.

Erastus 24th 14 - The Fate of Varnhold Revealed

A large audience had gathered within the hall of Varnhold, all waiting for young lord Henry to appear and for the council on the fate of Varnhold to begin.

“Henry..” said Vaneer as they approached the hall, “I’d like to ask you something” he continued,

“Now’s not the time Vaneer” Alyanna interrupted,

“Wait, look I just don’t trust Surtova and I wanted to offer a casting of Discern Lies to help Henry see what is being said truthfully and what isn’t, Alyanna I can give you a casting as well?” the cleric continued.

“That isn’t too bad of an idea Vaneer! Any chance you could cast it on us as well?” pipped up Otto

“Well, gods willing that shouldn’t be a issue” Vaneer responded looking at Henry and Alyanna waiting for a decision from either of them,

“Ok Vaneer” Alyanna took the clerics hand, “Thank you, I know your just looking out for Henry but I think your right it might come in handy for Henry to know if anyone has deceit in their hearts.”

Vaneer cast the spell over the group, Henry and Alyanna and then they all entered the hall leaving both Henry and Alyanna sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by a circle of lords, ladies, diplomats and townsfolk all eager to hear what the young Henry decides.

Lord Otto begins the proceedings by delivering Dragonmeres proposal to Henry and the gathered delegates,

“Lord Henry, delegates and most importantly residents of Varnhold. I lord Otto stand here today as first to offer my sincerer apologies at the loss of your father and ruler Maegar Varn but not all is lost the Varn bloodline still carries on with Henry here.

Dragonmere has always been a friend to Varnhold over the years, so much so that even marriages between both kingdoms citizens have occurred” as Otto motions to both Vaneer and Alyanna.

“And..” the ruler of Wyvernshore continued, “Even though a member of my own personal council and close friend is linked to this fine town and its rulers daughter I would like to say now that this should not affect Lord Henry’s decision this day. As such during the days we have been here Dragonmere has been nothing but open to Varnhold and other delegates about our actions and investigations.”

“As a ruler I know that this decision is not going to be easy for Henry but if any advice I can suggest is that a ruler should always do what’s best for his subjects and not themselves. Though I digress, Henry, Dragonmere would welcome you and your citizens with open arms should you wish to join our kingdom and as such we would offer protection, advice, growth and stability though we would still offer the same should Varnhold decide to remain independent.” Otto continued,

“Though what ever Varnhold decides I would like them to know that Dragonmere would always see them as friends, though we would say that we do feel that Varnhold would not prosper under the protection of Restov and Surtova but if that is the choice you should make we would honour that decision” after which Otto returned to his seat allowing Lord Nirion to step forward with his speech.

“House Surtova would like to extend the hand of friendship to Varnhold and that should they accept our offer and join our kindom they would be received with gratitude. However Lord Otto may have brought peace to the lands with the Centaurs which is great news (lie!!) we would respect all pacts and wishes of Varnhold no matter what they decide” then Nirion took his seat,

The routine followed, delegate after delegate all seem keen to copy lord Otto’s words stood in front of Lord Henry spouting off truths and some lies until finally it came to the turn of the Centaurs.

War priestess Aecora Silverfire strode forward and greeted the assembled people and began to speak, “Greetings to all assembled here, my name is Aecora Silverfire leader of the No-Men tribe, lord Otto and his friends have earned our respect and friendship though I would ask that what ever happens to Varnhold that the ruler would seek council with us to negotiate the boundaries of our territory as well as allowing diplomatic channels to remain open between my tribe and the tribe of man” and then she returned to the place where she stood.

Lord Henry then stood and thanked everyone for their time and efforts, he would now retire to think through all that has been said and he shall return later today with his decision for all to hear and left the room with Alyanna.

Some hours had passed and eventually news got round that Lord Henry of Varnhold had reached a decision and requested all to reassemble in the hall.

With all the delegates assembled the young lord entered the hall and stood with all eyes focused on him, “Errr..thank-k you for coming!”

Alyanna nodded at Henry as encouragement to carry on,

“I Henry Varn have listened to everything you all have had to say today, I have spent some time thinking about what I feel is the best course of action for the citizens of Varnhold. To that avail I personally believe that the future of Varnhold would be better served under the banner of Dragonmere as I feel Lord Otto genuinely cares for the welfare of my kingdom”.

The chamber erupted in outrage and applause at the same time, eventually the room quietened as Lord Otto stepped forward, “All! All! Please! Lord Henry has made his decision and though some may of you may not be pleased with the outcome it is the outcome he has decided upon and we should honour that!

“Lord Henry, thank you for your kind words. Dragonmere welcomes Varnhold to the kingdom though I would still like you to rule over Varnhold but under Dragonmere’s protection and guidance, you are their rightful heir after all it would not be just to take that away” Otto bowed to the young lord whom smiled in return.

Sarenith 25th 14 - In the spirit of Openness

The group spent the evening taking watches over the young lord of Varnhold and no further attacks took place.

It was decided over breakfast that Vaneer would attempt a commune with Erastil to see if the nature deity could shed some light over the previous nights attack. Miro also decided to do some of his own investigation work around town and hired a number of children to take turns to follow the female that had shown such keen interest in Henry Van.

Miro’s investigations proved of little use, the children reported back that the women just wondered around town all day avoiding everyone and only ever seemed to talk her pet ferret.

The Halfling soon decides to break into the women’s room and rummages through her possessions only to find a handful of fine clothing and a small amount of gold proving to the rouge that she was of no importance.

Meanwhile back at the commune ritual the group had invited numerous town folk, young lord Henry and of course Lord Nirion to bear witness to the questions and answers in a show of openness and trust.

Ø      Were the Assassins hired by one of the Noble houses of Brevoy?

o       No

Ø      Were the Assassins hired by anyone currently in Varnhold?

o       No

Ø      Were the Assassins hired by someone from Drelith?

o       No

Ø      Were the Assassins hired by the No-men Centaurs?

o       No

Ø      Were the Assassins hired by anyone in Dragonmere?

o       No

Ø      Is the assassination linked to the previous attempts against Lord Otto?

o       Yes

Ø      Were the assassins hired by anyone from Ravenmoor?

o       No

Ø      Were the assassins sent by the clerics of Gyronna?

o       Yes

Ø      Will there be another assassination attempt in the near future?

o       No

Natalia sends messengers to Wyvernshore and Restov informing them of the evil cult of Gyronna and their attempts to assassinate various lords of the realm and requests that a purge of the cult should be instigated across the lands.

Sarenith 24th 14 - Crouching Mantis, Hidden Assassins

It turned out that the ring that Miro had given young Lord Henry yesterday was a ring of friendship to which the twin ring was currently being worm by Hugo.

The group were currently sitting in the Waterhorse enjoying a quick tipple whilst discussing the events of yesterday and what they would possibly say to Henry in less than a month’s time.

“I don’t care at the end of the day what Henry chooses as long as it isn’t that blasted House Surtova!” insisted Vaneer slamming his flagon on the table.

“Agreed Vaneer, but if that’s what the boy chooses then we can’t help it, all we can do is make sure that Henry sees everything for it is, we hide nothing from the boy nor Surtova that way they can’t use anything against us” responded Otto.

“Want me to stab them?” Asked Miro,

“No, that wouldn’t do us any favours” Otto said with a sigh,

“Hmmm, folks? Should this ring be hurting me?” asked Hugo as he looked at his hand,

Miro was picking up his flagon as he started to respond, “No, not unless Henry is being attacked”

He was halfway through his gulp when ale was suddenly sprayed across the table as the group rushed to their feet and hastily made their way to where Henry was staying.

As they approached the house where Henry was staying whilst repairs where being made to the fort the group saw Henry running out of the door towards them with an male elf in red armour chasing after him.

“Over here! Lad!!” shouted Vaneer to Henry,

“Where is Boss?” Otto asked as Henry got close and hid behind Hugo

“His inside fighting another” young Henry responded

“Give me the boy!” the elf said as he approached towards the group.

Vaneer in response casts a holy smite on the assailant and shouts “We need this curd alive for questioning!”

Otto casts Deep slumber but the spell fails to affect the Elf,

The elf suddenly stops and begins to change size and shape into that of a large red mantis.

Natalia suddenly remembers rumours of a band of assassins that wears red armour, that are hired anonymously and turn into mantis like creatures.

The mantis leaps and lunges towards Hugo.

Another assassin dressed in black suddenly appears behind Otto and attacks him from behind,

Miro moves to flank the mantis and hits the creature.

Natalia casts a fairy fire on the new assassin should she try to disappear as suddenly as she had just appeared,

Bob attacks the mantis and manages to hit,

Vaneer uses Skybolt to shoot at the mantis and hits,

Otto steps away from the female assassin and casts a hideous laughter at her but the spell fails to take hold,

The mantis attacks Hugo and manages to grapple the fighter,

Female assassin attacks Otto and hits him very hard,

Miro takes another swipe at the mantis and manages to sever the creature’s leg killing instantly and forcing him to return to his elven form,

Natalia casts flame strike on the female assassin,

Vaneer lets out a healing burst to aid Otto,

Otto attempts to cast hideous laughter again but the spell still fails to take hold,

Boss emerges victorious from his fight,

Female assassin attacks and hits Otto again,

Miro aids Otto and moves to attack the remaining assassin,

Bob joins the fight and manages to claw at the assassin twice,

Natalia casts a flame blade and manages to land a blow against the assassin,

Vaneer approaches Otto and gives his lordship a cure critical wounds spell to keep him fighting,

Otto casts scorching ray at the assassin,

Boss joins the fight and lands a successful blow,

Female assassin attacks Otto twice doing enough damage to drop him to the ground bleeding,

Miro saves the day by almost slicing off the assassins head with a well placed blow dropping the assassin’s lifeless body to the ground,

Natalia checks in with Boss to see what had happened whilst Vaneer tended to the wounds of Otto and Hugo as well as making sure that Henry was unharmed and safe.

Later in the evening the group also discoverer that there was an attempt on Lord Nirion’s life which also failed….just.

Sarenith 23rd 14 - Bad News is never easy but don't worry Uncle Miro will tell you about the Birds and The Bees!

We find our raga band group just a little over a mile away from Varnhold, in the distance the town could be seen along with a mass of tents that seem to have appeared around the outskirts.

“Surtova!” grumbled Boris, “They certainly don’t waste any time, do they?” said Hugo.

Otto sighed, “We’ll what do you expect from them snakes! Sorry Miro!” responded Vaneer, Miro rubbed his chest remembering the wound he received from his family spy at a young age before replying “Not to worry, that house is long overdue their comeuppance, I just would prefer it to be us that delivers it” as the Halfling smirked.

“I have an idea which will wipe the smugness of their faces” declared Natalia,

“Go on,” encouraged Otto,

“Well, Surtova are here to claim Varnhold as the citizens have gone missing right, so instead of releasing the soul jars that we’ve collected in town why not release them here and march into Varnhold with nearly a thousand citizens and declare that the No-men tribe helped rescue them?” Natalia suggested to the group.

Vaneer smirked, “It certainly would put the wind in their sails”.

So one by one the group took each Jar out of the portable hole and after a bit of time half of the Varnhold populace stood before the group where between them they explained what had happened to Varnhold with the lich and now that they had been rescued with the aid of the centaurs they are coming to home to find house Surtova is trying to lay claim to their lands.

And so they marched the last mile and about as a mass of near a thousand over the hills towards Varnhold, a sight that could not be missed even by the most sight challenged.

Shortly a small group of riders could be seen heading towards the group and greets them to enquire the matter of business that requires such a large number of travellers. Once the riders where informed that this group were the missing residents of Varnhold they agreed to escort them back into town to see Lord Nirion Surtova.

Nirion Surtova, cousin to the King Regent Noleski Surtova. A charmer with feathered hair and angular features exited a large tent as the group arrived in town.

“So! What’s this then?” Nirion expressed towards one of the escorts.

“Sir!, this is Lord Otto from Wyvernshore and his party sir! And hmmmm….” Responded the solider,

“Spit it out man!” Nirion demanded,

“And the residents of Varnhold sir! Lord Otto claims to have found and rescued them” the solider spluttered out finally.

Nirion’s expression noticeably changed from that of childish interest to annoyance, “Oh has he now??? well that’s great news, well done my Lord Otto.”

Otto smirked and waved the residents to return home, “Well we can’t take all the credit we did have a little help from the No-men centaur tribe to be honest”.

Nirion’s expression quickly changed to that of disgust and worry, “Well that’s……NICE! We had wondered where they had disappeared to and obviously wanted to make sure their town was protected for when the returned.”

“Obviously!!” snorted Miro

“Vaneer!?” a female voice shouted from the tents entrance.

The cleric looked in the direction of the voice and saw none other than his wife Alyanna and her youngest brother Henry Varn.

“Alyanna! You’re a sight for sore eyes! But what the blazes are you doing here?” Vaneer exclaimed whilst walking over to embrace her and greet Henry.

“I got worried, so we wanted to see what was going on” she replied,

“Have you been…” Vaneer started to ask,

“Lord Nirion has treated us well my dear so please no need to worry” replied Alyanna pre-empting her husband’s question.

“Though…” she continued “there is one worry, there’s this female that’s being trying her best to impress herself upon Henry but we can deal with that shortly, please tell us what’s happened, where’s father?”

Vaneer, Natalia and Otto began to recount the story of Varnhold and the events that led up to them making friends with the No-men and the discovery of the Lich and his lair to the fate of the Varnhold council.

Hugo then kneels in front of Henry and presents the youngster with his father’s sword.

“Don’t we think it’s a bit soon to be letting this youngling rule?” interrupted Lord Nirion “surely Lord Henry should wait till he is of age, in the meantime Surtova would” He continued …

“Surtova, would what?!” Vaneer aggressively interrupted “marry off a young boy without his knowing to usurp his rulership?”

“What! No never!, You just want to do the same for Lord Otto” exclaimed Lord Nirion,

“Ha! You wish that were true!” Vaneer then turned to Henry,

“Henry, listen. The path ahead won’t be easy but I speak the truth when I say only you can decide Varnhold’s fate. I can’t tell you which path is best, I would truly hope that you would either accept Lord Otto’s help or stay independent like your father did.”

The cleric then turned to everyone gathered,

“To that end, I would suggest that we give young Lord Henry a month to grieve the passing of his family and then a month today all those wishing to express interest in Varnhold can present their hearing to Henry whom then can decide the fate of Varnhold himself”.

“We will send an small number of guards to keep an eye on matters here and Lord Nirion you are welcome to do the same but under the instruction that no one tries any underhanded business to buy favour.” Finished the cleric,

“But…I’d rather you stayed Vaneer” squeaked Henry whom then looked at his sister Alyanna whom was still trying to hold back the tears of her fathers passing.

Vaneer looked at Otto and the Lord nodded in agreement, “Well, if the young lord requests it then who are we to refuse! We shall stay the month and make sure things return to normal” boasted Otto

Otto then turned to Natalia, “Could you send a message to Wyvernshore? Let them know what has happened and what is happening here, tell them know that we’ll return in over a months time and that they should send carpenters and builders here immediately.”

Natalia nodded and sent an animal messenger.

Lord Nirion insisted that he also be allowed to stay till the meet in a month’s time and the group agreed that in the sake of fairness this would indeed make sense.

Miro then handed young Henry a ring and asked him to wear it before taking the young lord away for a chat about the birds, the bees and the risks of strange women flinging themselves at you.

Sarenith 21st 14 - Your Zombie face and my magical mace!

As the group approached the Centaur camp they could hear the sound of war horns being blown in the distance. At the sound of the horns the group and Xamanthe rush over the hill to see the No-Men centaur camp surrounded by a hoard of 300 to 500 zombies shambling forwards with intent to attack the camp.

“Ah! I wondered what had happened to those Zom…” Miro started to say before being prodded by Vaneer who subtly pointed towards their Centaur companion whom was starring at the mass of undead. “Well let’s hope that Aecora got our message in time and that the hoard didn’t catch them by surprise” mentioned Otto.

“What message?” asked Xamanthe, “We saw a mass of zombies marching across a plains in the distance as we climbed death valley and as we wasn’t sure where they were heading we sent messages to everyone to warn them of the hoard” responded Natalia.

“Lets no waste any more time, my tribe needs help” said Xamanthe as she held out her hand to Vaneer in offer for him to ride on her back into the fray.

Vaneer and Xamanthe ride into the horde where both score hits against a number of zombies,

Miro charges in and hits killing another zombie,

Otto lets off a fireball at a mass of zombies,

Natalia casts a flamestrike at another mass of zombies,

The centaur force lets a folly of arrows fly at the zombies before engaging in close quarters combat,

So far the Centaurs had dispatched 200 zombies and the adventurers had so far taken care of 40 of the zombies.

A group of zombies attack Vaneer and Xamanthe with only one zombie managing to land a hit on Vaneer,

Another group of zombies attack Miro, again only one zombie manages to land a hit on the Halfling Rouge,

Vaneer lets out a burst of positive energy which destroys another 9 zombies,

Miro attacks 2 zombies and with such force that his blades manage to take out a total of 4! Zombies,

Otto lets off another fireball which takes care of another dozen zombies,

Natalia casts a lightening bolt which scorches another couple of zombies,

Bob finally charges into the fray as he jumps at 2 zombies and knocks them both flat to the ground before dispatching them,

Boss attacks and takes out a zombie and a half,

The Centaur force finishes the job as they dispatch the remainder of the zombie hoard without any fatalities.

As the dust of combat begins to settle cheers suddenly erupt through the air as the centaur force celebrate their victory as they and the group return to the camp for some festivities.

Through the evening the group and Xamanthe update the centaur tribe with stories of their journey to fight the lich and rescuing both Xamanthe as well as the citizens of Varnhold.

The centaurs begin to have a discussion between themselves which began to worry the group but shortly afterwards Aecora approaches the group and offers them their legendary bow ‘Skybolt’ as a token of the tribes friendship with Dragonmere and in recognition of all their hard efforts in showing that not all 2 legs are evil creatures.

The party continues till late before the group finally decides to settle in for the night.

Sarenith 18th 14 - I’m not a find Explosive runes type rouge, I’m a watch you blow yourselves up whilst I somehow manage to avoid it rouge!

The group awake from an uneventful nights rest.

They return to the room where they fought the Pisco demon yesterday and continue down the only other passageway leading out of the room for 30ft before opening into another chamber.

The chamber was filled with manacles and ancient blood stains were scattered across the floor with only a singular pillar dominating the centre of the chamber.

As the group set about to exploring the blood stained chamber Natalia notices that something was just barely visibly scribbled into the bloodstains. The writing read “Your princess is in another castle” and as soon as Natalia read the writing it began to glow with an increasingly magical energy before finally exploding and encompassing the entire party except Miro.

After recovering and searching the room further the group discover that there where no other exits (even secret exits) from this chamber, this left the group with only one possible route to explore. The only problem with the remaining route was that it lay on the other side of a toxic fume filled cavern.

Eventually they find themselves back in the central crypt where they instantly notice that within the gloom of the room a single dark red eye is glowing from the opposite side of the room followed by a sound of ‘tink, tink, tink…’ as a small orange orb rolled towards the group.

Otto’s expression suddenly changed to horror as he realised that what lay before them was an orb from a necklace of fireballs, then there was the sound of a squawk just as the orb exploded.

Once Otto had regained his composure he threw one of his own fireballs back at the red eye,

Boss shoots at the Red eye and hits,

Natalia throws a sunrod to the far side of the room which illuminates the area to show that the red eye belonged to a Raven, the same Raven that showed interest in her back in Varnhold (See Sarenith 13th 04 - Oh the horror!!! – Someone’s going to be a Mummy),

Vaneer lets off a healing burst,

Miro and Hugo move to attack the bird,

The raven fires off a magic missile before flying into the air,

Otto hits the winged fiend with a magic missile of his own causing the culprit to come colliding with the ground where it explodes.

Natalia changes her form into an air elemental and opens the door to the chamber of toxic fumes and goes to investigate if anything else is in the poisonous area and if there is an exit to the chamber on the other end.

The druid soon finds on the opposite side of a collapsed bridge a decaying wooden door that leads out of the chamber into a passageway. Natalia then makes her way back to the group and updates them on what she had discovered and so the group begin to plan how to get through the room without anyone being poisoned.

Reluctantly Otto agrees to again use a number of charges from his wand of dimensional door to transport the group to the empty passageway on the other side of the fume filled chamber.

Now in the empty passageway the group soon find a set of shallow stairs that lead upwards. At the top of the stairs was another passageway which ended in a dead end with only a door on both the left and right walls.

The group head through the door on the left to find themselves within a crypt filled with alcoves, it could be seen that the majority of the alcoves contained piles of fresh corpses and a lone corpse could be seen in the middle of the crypt laying face down.

Natalia and Vaneer begin to look at some of the corpses and confirm that they are just actually corpses and not undead creatures, the majority of the bodies appear to have been there for around 3 weeks. Most of the corpses appeared to have had their neck’s snapped whilst others have had their brains extracted.

It may have been the bruises but it took Vaneer some time to realise that the corpses that he was looking over were actually indeed some of the residents of Varnhold. The single corpse in the centre of the room belonged to Willis Gunderson. Willis was the person that sent the group a jade bracelet earlier in their adventures and is believed to be the person that has awoken the evil that lurks within this complex.

With nothing new to discover the group return to the corridor the last remaining door on the right.

The door opened into a 100ft by 200ft long chamber which at the opposite end of the room stood a great white staircase leading up to a balcony above, a large table stood in the centre in the room with a number of corpses all frozen in their death throes sat around the table all with their brains missing.

Before the group could investigate the table further they soon spot 4 zombie Cyclops’ shambling towards them from the side of the room.

Vaneer Attacks zombie (1) and hits,

Otto casts 2 scorching rays at zombie (1),

Boss shoots at zombie (1) and misses,

Zombie (1) takes a chunk out of Vaneer's arm,

Zombies (2 - 4) move closer to the fray,

Miro attempts to flank zombie (1) but misses,

Hugo attacks and damages zombie (1),

Natalia attacks zombie (2) with a fire sphere and hits,

Bob charges at zombie (1) and re-kills the undead creature,

Vaneer moves to attack zombie (2) and hits,

Otto releases another 2 scorching rays at the second zombie,

Boss lets an arrow fly right through the eye of zombie (2) dropping it to the floor motionless,

Zombie (3) takes a bite out of Vaneer,

Miro attempts to flank zombie (3) and manages to land a blow,

Hugo also attacks and hits zombie (3),

Natalia moves her flaming sphere onto zombie (3) and manages to injure it,

Bob charges at zombie (3) and hits but sadly not enough to dispatch it,

Vaneer manages to land another blow on zombie (3),

Otto lets off a magic missile which puts an end to zombie (3),

Boss attacks and hits the final zombie,

Zombie (4) takes a bite out of Miro's shoulder,

Miro returns the attack and hits the zombie twice,

Hugo misses his swing at the zombie,

Bob charges into the zombie and manages to land a blow,

Natalia follows Bob's lead and also lands a blow on the final zombie,

Vaneer also charges into zombie (4) and hits the zombie to the ground where it remained motionless.

With combat over Vaneer set out to get some healing into the group whilst they rested for a moment in this chamber now quiet as a grave.

The group soon start investigation the 32 seated corpses around the large table and it quickly becomes obvious that all the dinner guests are actually the leaders and council members of Varnhold,

Vaneer takes a moment to ponder the fate of his father in law before the group decide to head up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs the group find only a single door leading away from the balcony which leads into a 40ft long passageway ending in another set of stairs leading upwards.

After climbing the second set of stairs the group found themselves in an octangular room with yet another set of stairs leading down into a small chamber with a fountain and pool that smelled of sulphur and a large set of brass doors along the right hand wall, the pool of water also trickled a shallow stream of water from the pool and under the doors.

As the group investigate the pool of water begins to pool into the air and soon takes the form of a huge water elemental that immediately attacks the group.

Elemental scores a critical strike against Hugo,

Natalia uses a spell to attack the elemental and hits,

Bob charges in for an attack and hits,

Vaneer casts righteous might and grows in size,

Otto backs up the stairs and casts scorching ray,

Boss throws a flask of alchemist’s fire at the elemental and hits,

Miro follows Boss' idea and throws another flask of alchemists fire and hits,

Hugo attempts to flank the huge elemental and lands a hit,

Natalia casts a flaming sphere only for the elemental to avoid its fiery affects,

Bob and Vaneer attack but miss this HUGE elemental,

Otto casts another scorching ray and hits,

Boss throws another flask of alchemist’s fire,

Miro tries to assist Vaneer's attack by providing a distraction,

The critically injured Hugo tries to back out from the fight,

Huge water elemental wallops Vaneer,

Natalia heals some of Vaneers wounds,

Bob attacks and hits the elemental,

Vaneer finally hits the elemental but it appears to take none of the damage,

Otto casts another scorching ray and hits,

Boss fails to land a successful blow,

Miro continues to aid Vaneer,

Hugo now out of the combat resorts to his bow but misses,

The Elemental begins to spin and attacks Miro, Vaneer, Bob and Boss injuring all 4 combatants,

Natalia throws in another flask of alchemist’s fire,

Bob attempts another chewing but misses the water based creature,

Vaneer finally manages to land a successful blow and injures the elemental,

Otto casts magic missile which when hits collapses the water elemental,

Vaneer heals up the wounds as best he can whilst trying to save spells,

Whilst still in his large size the cleric kicks open the brass doors to reveal a large chamber with a pool and throne, standing in front of the throne was a tall ominous figure (Cyclops Lich).

The group listen to the Lich's pre-combat monologue.

The Lich moves forward and casts a wave of fatigue which affects all of the group,

Otto casts a Black Tentacles spell around the Lich,

Boss throws a flask of alchemist’s fire at the Lich,

Miro necks a potion of Cat's grace and moves to try and attack,

Hugo also moves to attack and hits,

Natalia uses her fluttering flaming sphere and manages to burn the Lich,

Bob moves to support Vaneer,

Vaneer casts a holy smite spell and moves in ready to attack,

Lich takes a sideways step away from the tentacles and casts a spell to dominate Miro's simple mind,

Otto casts a fireball and engulfs the Lich,

Miro attacks Vaneer but fails to deal any damage thanks to the Righteous might,

Hugo attacks the Lich and misses,

Natalia's flaming sphere misses the Lich,

Natalia attempts to dispel the mind control on Miro but ends up dispelling another spell affecting the Halfling,

Vaneer manages to smack the Lich,

The Lich attempts to cast Blindness on Otto but fails,

Otto casts another fireball but it proves less successful as his first casting,

Hugo sneaks into the combat and attempts to remove a gem of the water elemental from Miro's belt which he promptly smashes on the ground to summon a large water elemental to aid in the fight,

Water elemental attacks the Lich and hits,

Miro attacks Hugo but fails to land a successful blow,

Natalia moves her flaming sphere to distract Miro but the Halfling nimbly avoids the ball of fire,

Natalia starts to cast another spell,

Vaneer attacks and hits the Lich,

The Lich casts a spell and disappears to which Otto immediately recognises as a Dimensional door spell,

Otto attempts to cast a Deep slumber spell on Miro but the pesky Halfling resisted the affects,

Miro attacks Hugo and hits,

Hugo fights of Miro whilst the water elemental searches the area for the Lich,

Natalia's spell completes as she summons a Fire Elemental,

Vaneer uses his calming touch to remove the affects of the Lich's fatigue from all except Miro,

Otto dismisses his Black tentacles whilst Hugo and Miro continue their wrestling match,

Natalia casts detect magic to see if she can pick up any stray magical auras,

Vaneer casts a protection from Evil spell on Miro to at least temporary suppress the mind control but the Halfling again fails to resist leaving the control in full possession,

Numerous moments pass by as the group try to work out where the Lich had escaped too whilst Vaneer uses his last Dispel magic to finally break the mind control on Miro.

Whilst exploring the chamber they soon spot the corpse of a Centaur (see quest Rescuing Xamanthe), Natalia checks the body and declares the Nomen priestess dead and asks Vaneer to confirm, checking closely the cleric actually notices that the Centaur is still alive but just paralysed and casts a remove paralysis which releases the priestess when suddenly the Lich re-appears behind them clearly fully healed from the earlier combat,

Otto casts a fireball at the Lich which does little damage,

The Lich casts stinking cloud which only affects Bob and Vaneer straight off,

Vaneer grabs Bob and moves them both out of the clouds affect,

Otto moves out of the cloud and casts a shout spell which fails to have any affect,

Boss grabs Miro and pulls the Halfling out of the stinking cloud,

Natalia casts a restoration spell on Vaneer to help the cleric’s recovery,

The Lich casts Enervation on Hugo,

Vaneer casts a searing light at the Lich and hits,

Hugo moves to attack the Lich but misses,

Miro flanks the Lich and hits,

Boss also moves to attack the Lich and lands a successful blow,

Otto casts a scorching ray, hitting the Lich,

Whilst Natalia starts to cast another spell,

The Lich grinning at the proximity of the majority of the fighters casts a Black Tentacles spell around him which grapples Hugo and the Centaur,

Vaneer removes Bob's nausea and moves to stare down the Lich,

Miro whom seems to glide across the tentacle area flanks the Lich and scores a hit,

Hugo and the Centaur fail to break free from the tentacles hold,

Boss moved out of the tentacle area and attacks the Lich,

Otto casts a magic missile only to find that it is blocked by a shield spell protecting the Lich,

Natalia's spell completes and 2 fire elementals appear and attack the Lich whilst she begins to cast another spell,

The Lich casts a suggestion on the rogue and suggests he should go outside,

Vaneer takes a swing at the Lich and hits,

Miro decides that he fancies a trip outside and skips towards the door,

Hugo and the Centaur again fail to break free from the tentacles,

Otto casts a fireball at the Lich and hits,

Boss takes another swing at the Lich and hits,

The fire elementals attack but both miss the Lich,

Natalia's spell completes and an earth elemental appears and hits the Lich,

The Lich attempts to punch Boos but misses,

Miro continues his skipping session back through the water elementals room,

Hugo and Centaur fail to break free still,

Vaneer goes for an attack but misses,

Otto casts a disrupt undead spell and hits,

Boss makes another swing and hits,

Natalia casts magic fang on to the earth elemental,

All of the elementals manage to miss the Lich,

The Lich casts a spell on Vaneer draining the clerics spell casting ability to that of a beginning acolyte,

Vaneer has another swing but misses,

Miro approaches the balcony above the dinning table,

Hugo and the Centaur again fail to escape,

Otto casts another disrupt undead,

The elementals all miss the Lich again,

Natalia throws an alchemists fire flask at the Lich, critically smashing it in his single eye,

The Lich casts Enervation on Boss,

Vaneer takes another swing and manages to land a blow,

Miro trips over a dead zombie corpse,

Hugo and the Centaur are still grappled,

Boss takes a swing at the Lich and hits,

The elementals attack and only hit once,

Natalia casts flame blade and hits the Lich,

Lich attacks Vaneer but misses the cleric,

Vaneer attacks the Lich and lands a blow,

Miro starts skipping down the passage towards the chamber full of poisonous fumes,

Hugo and the Centaur still fail to break free from the tentacles,

Boss makes for another attack but misses the Lich,

Otto casts burning hands on the Lich,

The Elementals all attack but only one blow is landed on the Lich,

Natalia attacks with her flame blade and hits the Lich,

Lich attacks Vaneer, he hits and paralysed the cleric,

Miro attempts to assemble a bridge across the gap in the fume room with corpses,

Boss has another swing at the Lich and misses,

Otto casts his final burning hands which actually hits and destroys the crumbles the Lich.

As the Lich turns to the dust, the spells on Hugo, Miro and the Centaur priestess release their holds and the group begin to re-gather whilst trying to figure out how to get the cleric moving again.

Otto and Natalia find a scroll of remove paralysis amongst the group's possessions and manage to get the scroll to work and release Vaneer from his motionless prison.

Natalia does what she can to help heal both Vaneer and Hugo with Vaneer topping up Hugo's health where he can with his limited spells.

With the threat of the Lich now removed the group continue their exploration of his lair and eventually find a mass of glass jars with balls of light floating around, Vaneer notices these as trapped souls whom are most likely given the numbers are the remainder of the Varnhold citizens.

They soon decide to pop all the jars into a portable hole where they will be released once the group make it back to Varnhold and then use the last few charges from Otto's wand of dimensional door to exit the Lich's lair.

Once out of the mountains the group begin their walk back to the centaur camp.

Sarenith 17th 14 - Between a Claw and a chin full of tentacles

Stepping out of the mist was a medium sized creature that gave off an sulphurous odour, with beady cold eyes upon storks and 2 claws where its hands should be one of which was larger than the other.

Within the minds of the group a slurping type voice soon spoke, “Symbol of Erastil! Interestinggg? What’s are you doing here?”

The group look at Vaneer wondering what the cleric was pondering just as he responded “We come to retrieve an item of power and put a stop to the zombie hoards roaming the land! Oh and to get us a lobster dinner!”

The cleric then casts a shield of faith upon himself,

Otto casts a Black tentacles spell at the lobster demon,

The demon moves to attack Vaneer and misses,

Miro flanks the demon and lands a blow,

Boss joins the fight and hits the creature,

Hugo also takes a swing at the lobster dinner and lands a blow,

Vaneer casts a Bless spell to aid the group with the fight,

Otto casts Haste,

Natalia attacks with a poison spell but fails to affect the demon,

Bob attacks the demon and manages to land a number of blows,

Boss shoots and misses,

The demon steps upto Vaneer and attacks both Hugo and Vaneer which misses Vaneer but hits Hugo,

Miro re-flanks the demon and manages to land 3 blows.

Natalia moves into join the fight and attempts to hit,

Vaneer casts a healing burst,

Otto casts a barrage of magic missiles with only 1 out of 5 managing to hit its target,

Boss attacks and hits,

Demon misses Miro with its tentacle chin but deals a critical blow to the Halfling with its larger claw,

Miro returns the favour but critically striking back at the creature,

Hugo attacks and manages to land a blow,

Natalia casts Magic fang on Bob to help the badger’s chances in the fight,

Bob attacks and critically lands a blow on the creature,

Vaneer casts Bull strength on Hugo,

Otto casts Invisibility on Miro,

The demon sees Miro and attacks him by landing two blows draining some of the Halflings constitution through its tentacle chin,

Hugo attacks and lands a blow,

Bob attacks with all his might and manages to land four blows,

Natalia begins to cast a spell to call lightening,

Vaneer casts another healing burst to help keep Miro on his agile feet,

Otto casts another barrage of magic missile and hits with all missiles,

The demon attacks Miro again undoing Vaneers healing efforts and reducing the Halfling to the edge of unconsciousness,

Miro strains himself to land a final blow on the creature but fails just as he falls into unconciousness,

Hugo attacks the creature twice with enough force and damage to cause the demon to explode in what could only be explained as a death “Trump”.

Natalia then casts a cure light spell on Miro to prevent the Halfling from dropping into the realm of the dead.

Vaneer then casts a cure critical spell on Miro and then uses the staff of healing to help return some of the rogue’s constitution before using the rest the clerics healing to heal the Halfling as much as possible.

The group then agrees to return to the unfinished corridor they had found earlier and set up camp to rest.

Sarenith 16th 14 - I’m more of a "wait till shit happens and fix it" rogue, rather than a "waste time looking for traps" rogue

The group rest passes uneventfully.

Via various uses of spells and magical items the group make their way over to the island and stand at the base of the large pillar where amongst the undergrowth they eventually find the entrance.

Through the entrance way they find a passageway which is 80ft long and then turns right at end.

About halfway down the passageway the group find an archway containing an alcove.

In the alcove is a pile of coins and a jade bracelet which seemed similar to the details of one found in Varnhold a while ago.

After turning right at the bend where the passageway carries on for 30ft and opens into a diamond shaped chamber where its ceiling vaults up to 30ft with 3 ways to exit, the left passage ends in a stone wall, whilst the centre and right have broken walls leading to further alcoves.

Vaneer and Miro suddenly hear noises from the southern alcove to which Natalia confirms with her darkvision that there is a dead Cyclops zombie approaching the group.

Not wasting any time, Otto casts a scorching ray.

Hugo charges into combat and gets hit by the zombie whilst managing to land a blow on the undead creature himself. 

Miro flanks the zombie and stabs the creature in the back.

Vaneer attacks the zombie and hits.

Bob attacks and misses.

Natalia attacks and kills the zombie just as a fist suddenly breaks through the wall at the end of the eastern passage.

The fist appears to belong to another zombie as it starts to break down the wall.

Otto casts flaming sphere, the majority of group wait to see what happens next.

Vaneer charges in with his trident and hits.

Miro attacks and misses.

Hugo attacks and hits.

Boss throws an alchemists fire at the zombie.

Otto casts his scorching rays the zombie killing it.

After some exploring of the area, Natalia and Miro discover a secret door behind the wall at the end of the central passage.

Miro gives it the all clear and opens the door after Vaneer loosens it for him.

The door opens into a natural vaulted cavern where the group find themselves standing on a ledge with a large body of water below.

Vaneer attempts to push Miro over the ledge only to have Miro grab Vaneer as he goes over taking both adventurers into the water.

Vaneer and Miro explore the water area and Vaneer discovers a passage way under waters surface which is close to the ledge, whilst Miro finds another passage way on the far side of the cavern.

Natalia assumes the form of an air elemental and goes through the passage that Miro found and discovers that it leads back outside to the lake.

Natalia repeats the method with the passage close to the ledge and after 40ft ends up in another chamber.

Natalia reports back to the group with her findings, after the update the rest of the group decide to swim along the passage into a 60x60ft cavern filled with old pottery dating back to an ancient empire according to Miro.

The only way out of the cavern is via a small set of stairs that lead to a set of bronze double doors. 

Miro checks the doors and gives them a clean bill of health.

The doors open into a 5ft long passage way which then opens into another room with 2 Cyclops statues halfway down the passage way.

The room is 40x40ft square with 16 Cyclops statues round the outer edge of the room.

Vaneer and Miro explore the room as it appears to be a dead end.

In the ceiling there is a number of circular doors and a stone door in one of the walls which leads though into a 10ft long passage way with stairs at the end heading up.

Just as the group where about to explore the stairs suddenly there is an enormous rattling as two portcullis’s drop down trapping the group in the room full of statues, and as things couldn’t get any worse the holes in the ceiling start to open up pouring water into the square room.

As the room begins to fill the group run around trying to find how to disable the flooding trap but with no clue in sight the group decides to use a dimension door beyond the portcullis and head up the stairs.

The staircase winds upwards to the 2^nd level which opens up on to a 10ft wide 30ft long corridor which turns right and ends in a set of bronze doors.

Miro finally checks for traps and opens the doors. 

The doors open into a 40ft long chamber by 60ft wide with pillars carved with leering fiends snarling all around and a number of small alters are situated around the room along with one large stone alter against the southern most wall which sat next to one of the two bronze double doors leading out of the room.

Group investigate the room and find nothing of nothing.

They then debate about which of the 2 remaining bronze doors to open, eventually they open the one to the left of them which leads into a 20ft long corridor that turns left for 30ft and then turns 45 degrees to the left for another 30ft ending in a set of stairs going down.

The group head down the stairs and find themselves in a 40ft long corridor which ends in a single bronze door.

The single door opens into a large chamber with numerous burial alcoves which appear to be empty and at the Far end and round the corner of the room stood a further bronze door.

On entering the room though all minus Otto notice 2 more soul eaters flying near the ceiling of the room and that descend towards the group.

Boss shoots and hits.

Otto casts Haste.

Vaneer casts a magic circle against evil.

Miro waits and plans his attack.

Hugo follows Miro’s example and waits to attack.

Natalia attacks both of the soul eaters with magical fire.

Soul eater(1) attacks Miro and hits.

Soul eater(2) attacks Bob and hits.

Otto and Boss attack both creatures.

Vaneer casts shield of faith.

Miro attempts to faint and succeeds but only manages to hit 1.

Hugo attacks a soul eater(1) and destroys it.

Bob attacks soul eater(2) and hits.

Natalia fireballs creature 2 and hits.

Soul eater(2) attacks Natalia and misses.

Boss shoots soul eater(2) and hits.

Otto casts magic missile and hits destroying the soul eater.

The group head to only door leading out of the room which leads into a 40ft passage way that turns left and ends in another bronze door.

Opening the door reveals a 15x15ft room in lime plaster with a single bronze door leading out.

Opening the door reveals another room of 5x25 size that contains a stone bench and a stone statue of a Cyclops against the north wall.

Miro checks out the statue and finds a secret door behind it, the door appears to radiate magic but Miro claims it isn’t trapped.

Multiple attempts are made to open the door but Otto eventually announces that the door is magically locked so Natalia tries to dispel the magical luck but has no luck.

Natalia shifts into the form of a stone elemental and melds through the wall into the room beyond the locked secret door.

Natalia eventually returns and says that there is a 20x30ft room with many eyes carved into the walls, but to open the door the group would require a mass of strength or an expert lock picker at which Miro huffs.

The group decide to leave the room alone and head back to the burial alcoves and open the remaining door from that room.

The passage way beyond curves away and is full of fumes whilst the temperature increases.

Natalia identifies that the fumes are poisonous and being the only person immune to poison and with Vaneer low on spells to give any immunities she volunteers to investigate the area on behalf of the group.

As the druid explores the passage she soon finds herself over a pit of boiling white sulphuric liquid.  Whilst investigating Natalia notices a creature across the pit watching her, the creature almost skeleton like with a dropped jaw expression.

The creature slowly touches its chest and then begins to levitate towards the ceiling out of sight.

Not sure what to do Natalia waits to see what the creature does first and after a while she attempts to dispel the levitation but fails.

Then from the shadows of the ceiling 2 scorching rays fly towards Natalia only just missing the druid.

Natalia casts a spell back and hits with a flamestrike but only to have the creature cast another spell but as it starts to take hold of Natalia’s mind she finds the strength to resist.

Natalia begins to summon some allies (air elementals) to aid in her fight.

The creature casts a spell and flames begin to cover its body.

The summoned Air elementals appear and attack the creature with only one l elemental landing a successful blow.

Natalia casts a call lightening spell and strikes the creature.

Creature casts a fireball spell at Natalia and hits.

The Air elementals attack and all of them hit.

Natalia call’s another lightening strike again and hits the creature.

The creature appears to have stopped moving and is possibly dead.

Natalia uses the air elementals to bring the lifeless skeleton to her as it is still levitating and starts to drag the skeleton back to the group.

When Natalia presents the skeleton to the group Vaneer recognises the creature instantly but from when he was alive and not as an undead creature, the person was know as a Cephal Lorentus whom was on the Varnhold council and appears to have been dead due to a broken neck for at least 2 weeks.

The group now head back to the other set of double bronze doors in the room with the pillars.

Vaneer opens the door, just at the perfect time where the large alter next to the door bursts into black fire enveloping everyone apart from Miro.

After a short argument between the cleric and the rogue as to why they drag along a rogue that can’t find traps they group find that beyond the doors waited an 20x30ft long corridor with a set of double doors on left and the corridor finally opens into a room in at end.

The group check the double doors on the left which opens into a short passage way 15ft long and then turns right where a set of steps seem to go down to a dead end, Vaneer suggests that the group take advantage of an opportune place to rest but after some debate it is suggested to push a little further.

The group turns around and heads back up to check out the room at the end of the corridor, the room opens into a 30x30 area with a corridor opposite carries the corridor onwards.

As the group walks into the room an explosion of mist occurs in the centre as a creature appears and walks out of the mist with giant claws for hands ‘Pisco Daemon’.

Will the battle tired group survive this encounter? Stay tuned and find out.