GM: Holy-K |GM BeltofTirva/BjarnfellHaroun gathered a group of strong people to escort smart people from Port Anji to Tirva to find out more about the Necromancer Xanark. Chared, Veylan Bane, Zaree, and Draxus Soljourn joined Haroun and Mehraveh in the Adventurers’ Barracks in Port Anji. They set out for Myhooven, intending to reach Tirva as swiftly as possible.
In Myhooven, what appeared to be a young hafling boy approached the group and begged Zaree to come with him to help his parents. Zaree started to go, but Haroun, wary of another vampire trick, touched the holy tattoo on his forehead and cast Detect Evil and Good. The child was undead. Haroun pulled out his war pick and attacked the halfling child. Chaos ensued. The crowd scattered, calling for guards. Some of the group helped Haroun, but others were confused. The child started screaming and crying. When the guards arrived, the child ran into a guard’s arms. He was telling anyone who would listen that the group murdered his parents and was trying to kill him. To make matters worse, Zaree, a human woman, turned into someone called Zeraa, a tiefling woman. People thought she was a fiend and controlling the group to sacrifice people. Haroun searched the alley, finding two dead humans with claw wounds and piercing bite marks on their necks. Some of the guards took the halfling boy to safety. Chared had to transform into his true self to convince the guards to hear the group out. The guards took the group to the barracks where they discovered the halfling boy had attacked and badly injured the guard who had carried him before fleeing into the jungle.
The guard captain was cautiously apologetic, but he received mostly sarcasm and judgment from the group (spoken or unspoken). As a result, he retracted an offer for the group to help hunt the vampire in the morning. He told the group to leave and stay at an inn.
In the morning, the guards’ attitudes had not changed. They prepared to head into the jungle after the vampire. The group traveled south to Zulif. On the road, the group met a man and his son, heading home to Zulif after a successful hunting trip in the grasslands. He warned the group there were rust monsters in the plains. The group warned the man about many things, including the halfling boy vampire and the Necromancer. As the boy was getting more and more upset, the man tried to change the subject, but in the end, he stopped and let the group move on without them. Haroun apologized to the man.
The group arrived at Zulif and spent the night without incident. The journey from Zulif to Fort S3 was also uneventful. At Fort S3, a half-elven merchant sold a sword to Chared. Again, the attitude of some members of the party soured the merchant’s disposition towards the group. Chared offered to escort the merchant to Tirva, and he agreed; however, in the morning he was unconscious from overconsumption of liquor. Some members of the group considered recouping the spent gold, but Haroun put a stop to it.
On the road from Fort S3 to the Crossroads Temple, the group met another merchant. Mehraveh bought a healing potion and collar for Big Dawg from him. At the temple, the group found the priests and acolytes overwhelmed with refugees fleeing the Barcain Dominion conquests and abyssal portals to the south. Kamran the Bard was there, and Chared told him the story of the Battle of the Bog. Kamran offered 5 gold to everyone in thanks, but Chared, Haroun, and Mehraveh turned him down. Haroun encouraged him to help make Chared’s name better known in the Belt of Tirva.
The journey from the Crossroads Temple to Fort S5 was uneventful. At the fort, Haroun requested the practice ground to spar with Draxas. Haroun wanted to test his skill before the group faced a serious test in battle. Draxas’ aggressive swordsmanship won the sparring match, which impressed Haroun.
On the road from Fort S5 near the lake almost to Tirva, the group found a badly wounded woman collapsed, exhausted by the side of the road. She had a small child in her care. Zaree healed her. The group learned creatures had attacked their homestead on the lake, and her husband held them off while she fled. The group set out towards the homestead to investigate.
At the homestead, they found a pack of five ghouls and a mummy. The ghouls were eating the remains of the family’s livestock, and the mummy was poisoning the lake. A banshee appeared out of nowhere, intending to kill Haroun. It rushed Haroun, who fended it off.
The group went into action. Draxus hit one of the ghouls with a javelin, hobbling it. Chared flew up and roasted the ghouls with his breath. Zaree turned into Zeraa, charged closer, attacking and missing one of the ghouls. Chared swooped down and breathed fire on all the ghouls. Veylan hit the banshee with a guiding bolt. The ghouls charged Zeraa and Veylan surrounding them. Zeraa went down under their blows. The ghoul Draxus hobbled was easy prey for Chared, who destroyed it. Mehraveh shot the banshee, and Haroun smote the banshee with great wroth and holy power. Draxus killed one ghast and then moved to flank another with Veylan. Veylan healed the badly bleeding Zeraa. He turned the ghoul between Draxus and himself, and when it fled, Draxus hewed it down. The mummy empowered one of its ghouls. Chared charged at it and rent it to pieces. The ghouls took Zeraa down again. Haroun and Mehraveh finished off the banshee. Haroun rushed to help with the ghouls, and Mehraveh turned her attention to the mummy. The mummy empowered its last ghoul. Chared and Haroun finished off the last empowered ghoul. The mummy rushed the group, trying to kill Zaree. It placed a terrible, rotting curse on her before the group destroyed it.
The group found where the mummy had been poisoning the lake. Despite their best efforts, they could not stop or undo the damage. They were also unable to help Zaree, who was rotting away. The group rushed into Tirva to warn the authorities about the lake being poisoned. They took Zaree to a temple to be cured. Zaree, Haroun, and Mehraveh pooled some of their reward coins from the city authorities to pay for the healing, which was successful.
Only then did the group quickly complete their mission. At the Academy, they learned more about Xanark the Necromancer. He was a half-elf who was discredited and kicked out of the Academy because he was hiring poor people, killing them through his experiments, and raising them as undead. Through his experiments, he learned to customize his undead creations to suit his fancies. Xanark’s fall was attributed to him finding a book in an old, ruined tomb. Some believe it gave him knowledge and power to do what he wished in more powerful ways; others think he was corrupted by the book.
GM: Holy-K |GM BeltofTirva/BjarnfellChared, Mitey, Fewynn Riril, Veylan Bane, Haroun, and Mehraveh met in Port Anji to accept a commission to deliver orders to the Sarzak and Bazagonian forts in the Belt of Tirva.
On the road from Port Anji to Myhooven, the group was accosted by a lone centaur, demanding a road toll. After much posturing and discussion, Haroun paid the centaur 6 gold (1 per traveler) and bid the centaur to move on, ignoring his taunts.
The journey from Myhooven to Fort S1 was uneventful.
The trip from Fort S1 to the Temple east of the fort was a long day’s travel. The group pressed on past sundown to avoid camping out. Guided by the light of Fewynn’s dancing lights, a hunter broke out of the jungle, relieved to find a friendly group of travelers. The hunter was from Kemesko. He had been lost in the jungle. He had seen a small group of zombie elephants in the jungle. It seemed the Necromancer Xanark had been busy. The group escorted the hunter to the safety of the temple.
In the morning, shouting woke everyone. When the group collected themselves and went outside, they found Sir Samlin and his squire, The Bear. Sir Samlin was threatening to duel an acolyte over yet another perceived offense. Haroun ushered the acolyte to safety and chose to duel Sir Samlin instead. Haroun used his glaive and mobility to hold Sir Samlin at bay until the high priest ordered a stop to the duel. After he chastised Sir Samlin, the knight and his squire left, heading west.
The group ate breakfast and then headed south to Kemesko. On the way, they met soldiers looking for the missing hunter. The group told him he was safe at the temple. The soldiers spoke highly of Sir Samlin, who had reportedly slain several terrible creatures but had not joined the Circle of Steel. They said Sir Samlin was hunting the Necromancer and would deal with him.
At Kemesko, the group met an old fortune teller. Mitey, Fewynn, and Chared were blessed. Veylan was cursed. Haroun and Mehraveh refused to have their fortunes read.
In the morning, a man rushing through the streets bumped into Fewynn. He told them to call him Taffin and say he had been with them all night. The group refused, and when he tried to run from the guards, Haroun grabbed him, sending gems and jewelry flying from his pockets. Taffin tried to claim the group were his accomplices, and they were trying to betray him. The guards recognized Mitey as a hero of the Bloody Bog. The guards took Taffin into custody and let the group be on their way.
On the road from Kemesko to Fort S2, the group met a band of acolytes led by a priest. They recognized Haroun. They were returning from healing soldiers at the fort. They had been in a battle with something that left strange wounds: Claw marks, burns, and bludgeoning. The priest said the soldiers were talking nonsense about it all being from one creature. The priest told the group it was somewhere in the plains east of the fort.
The group diverted their route into the plains to find this creature and deal with it. Largely due to Chared’s brute force and Mitey transforming himself into a giant gorilla, the group defeated two chimeras, including one strange one that was part bear, part unicorn, and part bull. The group collected trophies as evidence of their deeds and walked to the fort to report on their accomplishment. The fort commander rewarded the group.
In the morning, the group took the shortcut from Fort S2 cross-country to Tirva. On the way, they found a ruined tribal camp where eight Sarzak soldiers, who had been turned into jackalweres, were eating tribal folk corpses. The group quickly defeated the jackalwere soldiers as Mehraveh protected the cleric and sorcerer. After the battle, Mehraveh found strange, bird-like tracks heading west. Fewynn found orders for the soldiers to drive off the tribal folk from the satrap’s hunting grounds.
Due to time constraints, the group hurried on to Tirva where they learned the orders were legitimate. The group reported the loss of the soldiers and the threat of the jackalweres.
In the morning, the group made the journey from Tirva to Fort S5. At that point, their various personal matters caused them to split up.
GM: Holy-K |GM BeltofTirva/BjarnfellChared, Fenolin, Sal’gud, Mehraveh, Haroun, and Big Dawg met in Port Anji. With the war between The Coalition (Bazagon, Sarzalom, the Patriots of Salomar, and their allies) and the Barcain Dominion (rulers of Zillicar) in its early stages, Bazagon called for adventurers to deal with problems that could hinder their war efforts.
After a brief encounter with Sir Sensitive Sam and his squire Bear, the group decided to search for and destroy a known threat: A corpse flower. After traveling for a day to Myhooven, the group discovered the inn was full. Sal’gud recalled one of the local guards named Sinon had let him stay in the barracks previously. At the barracks, Sal’gud talked Sinon into letting the group stay there overnight, although Mehraveh had to talk him into letting Big Dawg stay.
In the morning, the group set out for Zulif. On the way, they found a supply caravan of food had been attacked by a once peaceful group of tribal warriors. The group arrived on the scene just as the tribal warriors were finishing off the last of the folk with the caravan.
As the stress of charging into combat rolled over Haroun, he staggered a moment, clutching his chest. He looked haggard but determined. A bone naga emerged from the jungle, focusing on Haroun. It said something about taking Haroun back where he belonged. Haroun replied, “I won’t go back!”
Chared wiped out three of the warriors with a strafing pass of his fire breath. Four others surrounded Fenolin and Sal’gud. Three archers and a spellcaster focused on Chared, injuring him seriously. A massive warrior moved to pursue the retreating Mehraveh and Big Dawg.
While Chared drew fire from the ranged tribal warriors, Mehraveh and Big Dawg led their pursuer on a chase, wearing the big warrior out. Sal’gud put two of the tribal warriors to sleep, and then, moved to help Haroun with the bone naga. Fenolin transformed into a massive tiger and killed the remaining two conscious tribal warriors. Haroun fended off the bone naga’s spells until it paralyzed him, but Haroun soon shook it off. He and Sal’gud wore down the bone naga until Fenolin could come help.
After the bone naga fell, Haroun charged the exhausted berserker. With help from Fenolin and Haroun, Mehraveh defeated the berserker. Chared killed one of the archers and their spell caster. One archer fled for his life. The other was trapped by Chared, Fenolin, and Sal’gud. The last archer refused to surrender and fell under their combined attacks.
Mehraveh tied up the two sleeping warriors. Sal’gud convinced them to tell what little they knew about Xanark the Necromancer. Their tribe was bullied into serving Xanark, who made many threats to them. They load corpses into Xanark’s corpse flower, and the flower converts them to zombies. The warriors claimed that Xanark’s plan is to rule the world through converting everyone to undead.
The group took their two prisoners, the one working wagon, and the bodies of the slain to Zulif to prevent the dead from falling into the hands of Xanark. They warned the authorities of the threat posed by the remaining tribespeople and the Necromancer.
GM: Holy-K |GM BeltofTirva/BjarnfellFenolin, Mehraveh, and Haroun met in Tirva to start a Walking Bazaar collections run through the Sarzalom side of the Belt of Tirva. They were informed their fourth comrade, a half-elf named Lyrianne, would join them later on their journey.
Mehraveh and Haroun wanted to take the southern route, so the three companions traveled southeast to Atama. The journey through the light rain was uneventful, but they did have to push on into the night to avoid camping on the road. On the way to the inn, they were stopped by what seemed to be a beggar. Haroun's suspicions were confirmed when he used his divine magic and discovered the false beggar was some form of undead. Haroun intimidated it, so it hesitated to attack. When the group ordered it to leave Atama, the creature said that was "up to The Master." It refused to divulge information on its master. It slinked away.
In the morning, the group reported what Mehraveh thought might be a vampire spawn to the Atama authorities. Then, they traveled north to the nearest crossroads through heavy rain. Taking advantage of the heavy rain, the vampire spawn ambushed the group, focusing on Mehraveh as its target. When battle was joined, Haroun staggered as if hit before righting himself to aid Mehraveh. From out of nowhere, a vampiric mist formed out of the rain. It stalked Haroun mercilessly as the group used sword, war pick, and spells to destroy first the vampire spawn then the vampiric mist. By the end of the fight, Haroun was shouting, "I will not go!" Both he and Mehraveh were taxed heavily by the life-draining powers of their foes, but the group pressed on to Fort S5.
After heading straight to their room, the group started to get some sleep when they were awakened by barking in the room across the hall. When Fenolin checked on the noise, she discovered a traveling salesman who wanted to sell the two dogs he had in his room. Again, Haroun's suspicions led him to call upon divine aid to determine if this salesman was false. He seemed to be a normal human, but Haroun discovered one of the dogs was a fey creature. He got Mehraveh's attention, speaking to her in giant, and soon, everyone was out in the hallway. The noise disturbed Lyrianne Nightbloom who came out to investigate. After some introductions, Fenolin purchased the two dogs and some food for them, and the four group members and their two dogs returned to the group's room.
Fenolin spoke with the two dogs, discovering the fey dog was indeed special. He performed several tricks, and although they were common trained dog tricks, Haroun was amazed by them. Fenolin told the blink dog he could choose a name, so he chose "Big Dawg." After the night's sleep, the rain had lightened, and the group left the temple. As soon as they were outside, the other dog bolted into the jungle after something. The rest of the group pressed on to the temple to the southwest. At the temple, the group turned in to sleep, leaving Lyrianne to keep first watch. Someone knocked on the door. Lyrianne answered and met Kamran the Bard. Lyrianne agreed to tell the bard a story in the morning for him to use. In the morning, Lyrianne told him a tale, and he paid her a small sum for it.
After breakfast, the group traveled towards Shafaradi. On the way, they met a member of the Circle of Steel, hauling the head of a beast he had slain. He was returning to the Circle of Steel to receive his bounty. Haroun asked him more about the group and how to join it. After the Shafaradi collection and staying the night there, the group returned to the crossroads temple. When they arrived, a thief was fleeing from temple guards with his ill-gotten gains. Haroun caught him. After hearing his sad story about his family, Mehraveh talked the guards into letting the man go. Haroun gave him 10 gold and 3 rations to help him return home to his family. The man rejected Haroun's offer to escort him back to his family.
The next morning the group traveled towards Agarhi. On the way, they met a swordsman calling himself Sensitive Sam. He challenged first Haroun then the whole group to a duel. He seemed easily insulted. Mehraveh did not like his attitude and insulted him further. When the fight started, the strain of battle seemed to weigh on Haroun. After Sam had defeated Fenolin, Haroun, and Lyrianne, leaving them unconscious, Mehraveh convinced Sam to move on. The group took some time to recover from their injuries before continuing their journey.
Agarhi was still quite a distance away, so the group pressed on into the night to reach it. After it was dark, Fenolin spotted several creatures in the jungle trailing the group. The group tried to slip away quickly, and they lost most of the creatures. The two remaining seemed to be closing in. Mehraveh asked Big Dawg what he could tell about them. He warned the group they were big tigers. Haroun determined they were some type of natural creature. The group decided to stand and fight. They were attacked by two weretigers. The strain of approaching battle seemed to weigh on Haroun. While Haroun held the younger, less experienced one off, the rest of the group focused on the other one. Fenolin transformed into a beast and held it off while Mehraveh and Lyrianne hit it with arrows and spells. Eventually frustrated, the two weretigers focused on Haroun, but before they could do serious harm, a patrol showed up and the weretigers fled.
The patrol escorted the group safely to Agarhi. In the morning, they made the Walking Bazaar collection there.
GM: Holy-K |GM BeltofTirva/BjarnfellScab, Nekhath, Mehraveh, and Haroun set out from Tirva along the lake to Fort S2. They stopped at the fort for news and lunch before pressing on along the road towards Kemekso. On the way, the four of them encountered a herd of elephants, which Scab checked for injuries. He played briefly in the lake water with one of the calves. After Scab caught up with the group, he built a rapport with Haroun while they talked together in the giant language. After camping for the night along the road, Chared caught up with the group.
After an uneventful night highlighted by Chared mentoring Haroun and Mehraveh, who were newcomers to the Belt, the group traveled towards Kemekso. Along the way, they met a half-elf "merchant" calling himself Edwyrd. He was not a member of the Walking Bazaar, so Scab warned him about getting his paperwork in order. His wares were suspect, and he seemed to not understand what they could do. When the group arrived around midday at Kemekso, Scab, Nekhath, and Chared were welcomed as heroes. The village was recovering from the recent, brutal scourge of a green dragon. After collecting the Walking Bazaar profits, Scab advised the group to stay the night here. Everyone helped the village in their own way.
Mehraveh learned a hunter named Amir had gone missing in the jungle to the northwest. She let her companions know, and they traveled into the jungle to look for him. Sadly, the five of them found the remains of Amir in the lair of a displacer beast. After a brief battle with it, they captured it and its three cubs. Haroun reverently gathered Amir's remains and his locket, which contained hair from his late wife. They returned to Kemekso and delivered Amir's remains and locket to his family.
After a night's sleep, the journey resumed towards the temple at the crossroads to the northwest. On the way, the group found a gnome struggling to repair his wagon, which had one of its wheels work its way off its axle. Haroun did not hesitate to rush to the merchant's aid, lifting his wagon while the wheel was reattached. Haroun continued to hold it until he was told to let it down. Several incidents brought suspicion on the gnome:
When significant pressure was brought to bear on the gnome to reveal what he was transporting, he chose one of the chests, unlocked it, and opened it, releasing what seemed to be an elven or half-elven vampire. When Scab attempted to seize the gnome, he was revealed to be a doppelganger. Scab stunned him and locked him in the now empty chest. The vampire evaded the rest of the group, moving quickly and often turning to mist. It injured several of the group. Unaware of the danger, Haroun had rushed to secure the spooked horse to keep it from bolting with the doppelganger's wagon. The vampire attacked Haroun, perhaps in an attempt to escape with the wagon. Its flurry of shadowy weapon attacks killed Haroun, who fell in the path of the horse, blocking its path.
After a tough fight against the illusion-wielding vampire, Nekhath, Chared, and Scab killed it...for now. Mehraveh tried to help, but she was unable to aim her bow effectively through her tears. Then, they dealt with the doppelganger, which had escaped its temporary imprisonment. After the battle, Scab followed what he remembered Haroun doing for Amir's body, preparing Haroun's body to be carried in the changeling's wagon. Scab also determined the diamonds were fakes.
The group traveled northwest with both the doppelganger's wagon and their cart to the temple, where Nekhath arranged with the priests and priestesses of Khnemuhap to attempt to raise Haroun from the dead. Their efforts were successful, and Mehraveh's sadness was turned to joy. Haroun and Mehraveh vowed to aid Nekhath however and whenever she needed them. The wagon and its suspicious contents were turned over to the authorities, and Nekhath, Chared, and Scab arranged what they would do with the four displacer beasts.
