GM: AntDate: 06/12/02 PF
Answering Zoraviel's call, a party gathered and set out with hopes of driving out the bandit presence east of the city. After passing through Helleron, a group of farmers on horseback approached the party. They had heard tell that the Stray Dogs were mustering a raid on their farmstead and sought aid from the party and any other adventurers they could find in fighting off the bandits. The party agreed to help the farmers in their plight and while they succeeded in protecting the farm, the patriarch of the farmers, Matani, was attacked by his own son who had joined up with the Stray Dogs and both father and son fell during the conflict.
As the odds turned against them, the last few bandits turned to flee but were pursued and captured by the party. The bandits revealed little more than a general direction to the monastery they called home during questioning, but in a moment of religious camaraderie they were spared and set free by Morrigan. Acting on what little intel was available, the party left the now bloodstained farmstead for the monastery.
Having fashioned disguises from the fallen bandit's clothing, the party snuck into the monastery, eventually reaching a cathedral at its heart. Within, the party were confronted by three figures, a white-haired disciple of Laianath, an elven mage, and a warrior by the name of Belgrad. Zoraviel treated with the priest, who returned the mark that had been placed upon the Stray Dogs before offering to give the party the relics desired by the Cult of the Eternal Sun. The warrior Belgrad bristled at this offering, but the priest made good on it and handed over three gilded scrolls. Leaving the party with the message that it was Belgrad's time, the priest and mage teleported away and the cathedral erupted in combat.
In a brief but harrowing encounter, the party discovered that Belgrad bore the curse of lycanthropy. A curse which he threatened to pass on to all those he bit, including Morrigan and Terra. Ultimately, the party prevailed over the enraged warrior before making a quick retreat from the cathedral, having acquired the relics they needed. On the return to Ariminium, the party debated at length what to do with the scrolls, but ultimately they chose to give them over to the cult, though perhaps not with any enthusiasm.
Experience: 360xp/player
Gold: 35gp
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Squire's Tabbard | 2 | 25gp |
| Portable Altar | 3 | 25gp |
| Faith Tattoo | 4 | 80gp |
Total Value: 165gp (27gp 5sp/player)
GM: AntLaunch Date: 03/18/02 PF
Return Date: 03/24/02 PF
Party traveled east following the southern bank of the river for about 12 miles before veering south to continue their travels on a road running parallel to the river. On the road, the party encountered a group of four bandits belonging to the group known as the Stray Dogs, avoiding violence by surrendering some food and a handful of trinkets.
After another day of travel, following the road as it turned southeast, the party found the outskirts of the ruined town of Helleron, the western quarter of which appeared occupied by the Ariminium military. Taking shelter in a ruined building, the party was attacked in the night by a Kholo scouting party bearing an insignia depicting a hand with 3 rings pierced through the palm. The next day, the party spotted a warband flying banners with a simliar insignia occupying the central portion of the town.
Leaving the town following the road further east, the party eventually stumbled across an agent of the Nocte Pallia who warned that continuing on would lead to swamps and offered to procure a ferry across the river. The man also shared that farmland, windmills, and poachers could be found north of the river, the Stray Dogs operated out of a base somewhere further south, and the military presence in Helleron was being led by an up-and-coming captain looking to prove himself by holding back the Kholo warband (seemingly successfully thus far).
Following the man's advice, the party turned back and began working south in search of the bandit's camp. Before traveling too far, however, they encountered a man traveling by cart along the road, having been displaced from his home by the bandits. He shared rumors that the Stray Dogs were holed up in a former Yamman monastery somewhere southeast of his home, which was itself about a days travel south by southeast from Helleron. Taking stock of remaining supplies, the party decided to accompany the man and protect him from the dangers of the road on the way back to Ariminium.
Experience: 270xp/player
Coin: 15gp
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Sanguine Mutagen (lesser) | 1 | 3gp |
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Iron Chunk | 2 | 10gp |
Total Value: 28gp (5gp 6sp/player)
GM: AntDate: 03/08/02 PF
Party delved into the sewers and waterways beneath the city in the Old Quarter, following directions of contacts from the Nocte Pallia. After evading a dangerous abomination while navigating a maze of tunnels, the party emerged into an old shelter connected to the subterranean canals. Exploring the connected rooms and passages lead to a confrontation with hollows in an abandoned storeroom. After besting the hollows, the party found the body of a Nocte agent carrying an override shaft marked with a flame, though the contacts denied any foreknowledge of their fellow agent's presence. Further explorations uncovered a locked passage to further canals, extensive catacombs behind a vault door unlocked with the override shaft, and the abandoned smugglers' den the party had been tasked with securing. Before returning to the surface, the party investigated the chamber before the catacombs, finding documents indicating a growing sickness among the former inhabitants of the shelter, forcing significant chunks of the population and their dead to be moved to the western burial grounds. Amongst the documents was also a bronze disk marked with a fire symbol akin to the one on the override shaft, as well as the motto of the Ordo Operum Publicorum etched on its reverse.
Experience: 230xp/player
Gold: 28gp
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Half Plate | 1 | 18 |
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Alchemist's Fire (lesser) | 1 | 3 |
| Antiplague (lesser) | 1 | 3 |
| Silver Transmuting Ingot | 1 | 3 |
| Healing Potion (minor) | 1 | 4 |
Total Value: 59gp (9gp 7sp 3cp/player + 2cp)
GM: BrianLaunch Date: 02/20/02 PF
Return Date: 02/28/02 PF
Party delved into the Bonechime Cave seeking to rescue the captured merchants of The Copper Finch from the resident goblin tribe. The goblins, later identified as the Ironshriek Tribe, had been press-ganged into service by an orc paladin of Yamma named Okkai who had gone mad since his god's death. After fighting through the cave, the party confronted and ultimately defeated Okkai, freeing the remaining goblins from his rule. The party was also able to rescue the majority of the merchants, though four had unfortunately already been killed and eaten by Okkai in what appeared to be a perverse attempt to restore his god. Informing the remaining goblins of Okkai's death, the party was permitted to leave peacefully and with the stolen cargo in tow, in exchange for a promise that the Ironshriek's would be left alone going forward.
Experience: 495xp/player
Coin: 28gp + 20gp bounty for rescuing merchants
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Predictable Silver Piece | 1 | 3 gp |
| Cloak of Feline Rest | 1 | 20 gp |
| Sleigh | 1 | 50 gp |
| Full Plate (broken) | 2 | repair for 15 gp |
| Hand of the Mage | 2 | 30 gp |
| Handwraps of Mighty Blows (+1) | 2 | 35 gp |
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Runestone (blank) | 1 | 3 gp |
| Glue Bomb (lesser) | 1 | 3 gp |
| Drakeheart Mutagen (lesser) | 1 | 4 gp |
| Blood Sap | 1 | 4 gp |
| Potion of Retaliation (minor) | 1 | 4 gp |
| Hunter's Bane | 2 | 6 gp |
| Oil of Potency | 2 | 7 gp |
Total Value: 232gp (58gp/player)
GM: BrianLaunch Date: 02/11/02 Post-Fall
Return Date: 02/17/02 PF
Party traveled south along the coastline in search of the missing merchant vessel, The Copper Finch. Approximately 12 miles south by southwest, the party stumbled across a seemingly abandoned fishing village. Upon investigating, reanimated corpses of the former villagers attacked the party but were defeated with minimal injuries incurred. Further investigation indicates that the village was attack by a heavily armored servant of Narvox or possibly Marzak, who slaughtered the villagers and desecrated their shrine to Isael. No evidence of necromantic magics were found; the party then performed the appropriate funerary rites for the 14 villagers and re-consecrated the destroyed shrine.
After another day and a half of uneventful travel, the party discovered the wreck of The Copper Finch in a shallow tide pool almost 30 miles south, likely struck by a storm. Though thoroughly destroyed and picked clean of anything worth recovering, the wreckage showed no signs of hostile activity. The ship's manifest confirmed the expected crew and cargo had been on route to Ariminium before the wreck. Two sets of footprints trailed inland from the wreck, one assumed to be the surviving crew, the other appeared goblinoid and was lead by a larger creature, perhaps an orc. Following the tracks, the party discovered a cave leading into a stony ridge formed around the edge of an apparent impact crater. The tracks lead into the cave, identifiable by the bone chimes strung up around the mouth, and all available evidence suggests the crew and cargo of The Copper Finch are being held captive by a goblin tribe at least a dozen strong.
Running low on supplies, the party returned to Ariminium with what intel they could gather in hopes of launching a dedicated expedition into the cave to recover what remains of the Finch.
Desecrated Fishing Village (cleared) - approx 12mi SxSW along coast (4 hexes/1 day)
Wreck of The Copper Finch (cleared) - approx 30mi S along coast (10 hexes/2.5 days)
The Bonechime Cave - approx 39mi S (13 hexes/3.25 days)
Experience:** 200xp/player
Coin: 22gp
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Manacles (simple) | 1 | 3 gp |
| Ring of Discretion | 1 | 15 gp |
| Item | Level | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Runestone (blank) | 1 | 3 gp |
| Nectar of Purification | 1 | 3 gp |
| Flare Snare | 2 | 5 gp |
| Crying Angel Pendant | 2 | 7 gp |
Total Value: 58gp (11gp 6sp/player)
