A name is earned - Rise of the Runelords Campaign Session 11

In attendance were;

Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager
Tiberius Lionheart: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard
Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster

Cooking up a large portion of crab into a crab stew the party eats what they hope to be their final meal in Thistletop. Come the morning Shalelu elects to remain for a few days to pick off any goblins that return. Kumak leaves all the goblin arrows and his 5 days of trail rations with her to tide her over until they can return. Shalelu casts a spell transforming one end of the 200ft of rope into an arrow and shoots it across the gap. The arrow strikes true reforming itself into a rope and securing one end to the tree. Kumak lashes the large golden helmet to himself and prepares to swing across with the idea that he and Thaddeus would ensure the rope remains tied to the far end allowing the rest to corss safely. The swing to the base of the cliff goes well with Kumak casting a feather fall to ensure his descent is gentle enough but his weight, the 300 pound golden helmet strapped to his back and Thaddeus on his shoulders proves too much weight for the rope which snaps 30 feet from the top. Kumak climbs the cliff face with the reminder of rope around his waist and holding on to his end allows the rest of the party to cross before they secure the mainland end for Shalelu.

Moving through the burnt carnage of the remains of the brier patch Kumak looks down into the hole they had seen before, seeing many tracks leading into the pit he surmises that many goblins leapt into the pit to try and escape a fiery death from Susan's flaming sphere. Tiberius asks if he would like to go down there and fight whatever beast they heard roaring days ago to which Kumak raises an eye brow, hands off the rope still tied to him to Orik and jumps in. Descending about 60 feet down he stops himself and looking in the dark spies a large pool of water about 10 feet deep below him and to one side a shelf mad from the cliff on which a creature later identified as a Bunyip dozing. Tiberius grabs the rope to join him but slips at the lip of the hole and plummets into the water below waking the Bunyip. Kumak swings over to the ledge and thrusts his now repaired Ranseur into the Bunyip drawing significant blood and an ear piercing roar which threatens the resolve of the party but only Thaddeus's courage falters as the gnome moves away from the hole. The bunyip moves towards the water, either to make an escape or to attack Tiberius but Kumak gives it a parting stab which finishes off the creature. Searching the grotto finds a wand, some coins and gems and a few magical arrows, not a bad haul for few minutes work.

With that the party soon find themselves returning to Sandpoint, Kumak says he wishes to sell all the excess items he has been carrying around for the last few days and Tiberius announces he will be taking the religious iconography to the temple to be turned in for a bounty and destroyed. On their way to the market square the remainder find a crowd gathered and the Orc from before Gris is at the center of a celebration recounting his recent heroics single-handedly vanquishing the Licktoad Goblin tribe. Susan and Thaddeus wish to stay and listen, the event doesn't hold Kumak's attention long but the sticks of meat and cups of ale convince him to stay a while and listen. Soon some townsfolk's attention drifts to the newcomers and the large golden helmet, Gris noticing this yells out that this is his celebration and they need to leave. Kumak talking around a mouthful of meat calls back that Gris is welcome to the glory, he is in it for the challenge, and with that and a few magically generated heckling calls from Thaddeus, Gris jumps down and strides up the group challenging them all to a contest, that the winner is the true hero and the losers must slink away back to their rooms. Thaddeus and Susan are game, Kumak announces that he will gladly compete but since he doesn't care about the glory asks if Gris would like to make the competition interesting and wagers 150 gold to which Gris agrees. Calling out for a drinking, archery and running contest the party confer to see who will compete in which. Kumak allows the others to decide as he will take which ever they do not wish.

Thaddeus steps up to drink against the Orc but proposes a change. In one hand they will drink while the other will hold the burning end of a torch, stop drinking or remove your hand from the torch and you forfeit. Gris agrees and snatching a burning brand from a nearby fire pit does not seem to notice that the torch that Thaddeus presents does not seem to give off heat. Each grasping their torch they begin to drink, downing their first, second and third cups. Gris has a moment of weakness on his forth cup but powers through to the fifth and sixth, the crackle and smell of cooking meat coming from the Orc's torch. Thaddeus feels a touch woozy on the seventh cup but pushes through until finally on the ninth cup of ale Gris finishes consuming it, takes a moment, then heaves into the nearby fire pit. The crowd erupts in cheers and sighs depending on who they had backed, Gris angrily wipes his mouth and slurring only slightly points to Kumak "Double or Nothing!" and grabs a nearby bow. Looking around Gris declares that closest shot to the eye of the Dragon figure on the Rusty Dragon Inn wins, then fires a shot that goes wide but still in the direction of the inn. Remembering Susan's hunting prowess from earlier Kumak looks to her to see if she wishes to compete, while chanting quietly Susan grabs the bow and expertly puts an arrow just shy of the eye to the cheers of the crowd. Snapping his bow in half Gris calls out "Double Double or nothing" to which Kumak asks if he can even cover the now 600 gold bet. Gris throws a pouch filled with platinum down and a cursory inspection shows he can, so Kumak removes his armor and stretches while Gris drunkenly casts some magic on himself which Susan identifies as Longstrider. The course is determined and with a call Kumak rockets off at a startling speed, whether it is the drink, his own temper at being bested twice, or he was not expecting his half-orc opponent to be that fast Gris stumbles out the gate and lands face first just past the starting line. The race is swift and while Gris does make up significant ground that first few seconds tells the tale and Kumak wins. Collecting the money pouch Kumak pulls out 60 platinum then hands the remainder to Gris who angrily stalks out while the crowd cheers asking what to call the group. Looking around none seem to have an idea before Thaddeus steps up and introduces them as The Redeemers which the crowd eagerly takes up and begins chanting.

Shortly after their victory a shrill trumpet is heard and upon a carpet laden palanquin pulled by burly shirtless men a flamboyant stranger approaches. Calling himself Captain Creesy he takes in the newly minted Redeemers and invites them to his ship for dinner, drinks and tales of adventure. Thaddeus steps up and identifies himself as the leader of the group and accepts on their behalf, Creesy stands up on his carpet which now begins to move on its own towards the gnome and extends his hand out to Thaddeus who steps on and the 2 fly off towards the ship. Left with the now vacant palanquin Susan and Kumak look to each other, shrug and say OK. Kumak addresses Orik to find Tiberius and let him know then to wait for them at the Rusty Dragon. Susan finds the most dashing looking of Creesy's burly men and has him carry her in his arms to the ship while the strongest of the bunch approaches Kumak and after a short wrestle to see who ends up carrying whom Kumak finds himself slung over the mans shoulder eating the remainder of his meat on a stick. Creesy and Thaddeus discuss their respective exploits while they wait for the rest of the party and Creesy asks Thaddeus to choose what kind of fare they should have, to which he asks for some far off delicacy that he had barely even heard of. Creesy laughs in approval and claps his hands as more burly men move about the ship and swiftly construct a sizable table with chairs and place some aperitifs out for the now arriving Susan and Kumak. The 4 are seated and begin with conversation and feasting while Tiberius joins them by the second course. Kumak and Tiberius soon find themselves well into their cups and while Tiberius demands he be returned to the Rusty Dragon, Kumak accepts the offer to sleep the night aboard the ship. Susan and Thaddeus nurse their drinks as such keep a level head when suddenly Creesy turns the subject to business. A collector of antiquities and merchant Creesy declares himself willing to purchase their plunder and sell them whatever they desire but first wishes to hear the tale of the daring adventure. Thaddeus deftly cleans the rough edges of the journey and leaving out the discovery of the Barghest Malfeshkenor suitably impresses the Captain enough that Creesy claps his hands and declares that in celebration of this grand new arrangement he will provide a one time 5% discount to them. In the morning the accounts are settled and the Redeemers find themselves with just over 11 thousand gold. Setting aside a share for the group expenses each member makes their purchase requests known. Kumak reasonably happy with his weapons, armor, ring and amulet hands his share plus winnings from Gris to Susan to help outfit herself. Susan purchases 500 gold of inks for scribing spells into her book while the remainder of the 5,500 is put towards reagents she can use to craft magical items. Tiberius requests a suit of Full-Plate, and a Masterwork shield. The remainder of his money he had pledged to Orik and Lyrie to repay the items they had lost. Thaddeus buys some magical reagents and asks Susan to make him a headband and enchant his well made cloak.

In the morning the Redeemers look ahead to their tasks,

Susan has 10 days of crafting ahead of herself. While Shalelu was left with at least 5 days food Tiberius wishes to return to her soon and after comparing notes the Redeemers feel they have a solid plan to finish Malfeshnekor off and finally close the chapter on Thistletop. Ameiko wishing to see her friend also asks to check out Thistletop as she feels the real estate could be put to use.

Kumak introduces Sheriff Hemlock to Orik and Lyrie and ensures he understands how they came to be with the Redeemers. Kumak recommends that Orik be taken on as a deputy for a while and Hemlock see if the man is a good fit. Kumak also reccomends that Lyrie function under a sort of house arrest for a while, which spells she prepares each day is monitored and that her book remains in a secure place when not in use.

Thoughts:

A better session, there was considerably less biting back and forth though a few still did happen, the paladins player complained a bit about not having much money but I pointed out again that he was the one who wanted to pay back the people for the scrolls and wands we took. That giving them their lives was mercy enough and the loss of items would be the tax they pay for siding with Nualia and the goblins.

At the end of this Susan has crafting for 10 days and 3.5 of which she will also be scribing spells into her book. At the end she will have;

Headband of Int +2
2x Pearl of Power level 1
Pearl of Power level 2

Cloak of Resistance +1 for Kumak
Cloak of Resistance +1 for Thaddeus
Headband of Cha +2 for Thaddeus

Festering Wounds - Rise of the Runelords Campaign session 10

In attendance were;

Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager
Tiberius: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard
Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster

Orik and Kumak spend the next several minutes claiming coins, gems and a magically enchanted amulet from the floor of the pool. The large golden helmet is too large to fit through the doors but Kumak swims below and with much difficulty finds the exit the giant crab was about to use and determines they can move the helmet through this exit. Susan casts a spell to assist in detecting any secret doors that the group may have missed before leaving Thistletop and indeed finds one nearby, a door hidden behind a wall made to look like a pile of coins. After determining the activation method the group proceeds up to the main floor finding no additional secrets. Tiberius busys himself with burying Black Jack then sits with Shalelu and Villister in a huff and refuses to speak with the group so they return to the secret door. Searching beyond they find a strange communication room, and what appears to be a torture room. Finally they come to the final door which Susan identifies as having strong abjuration cast on it. Either meant to provide protection or containment the group checks once again with Tiberius before opening the door.

A small burning fire pit dominates the center of the room but nothing else is seen. Kumak uses his newly uncovered arcane blood to enlarge himself and steps inside with Orik, bastard swords ready. Suddenly a large paw swipes at Kumak landing a good hit. Kumak swings back but misses and the large beast which Susan will later identify as some kind of barghest unleashes a devestating barrage on the half-orc who remains standing purely on rage. Kumak orders Orik to flee and while the mercenary does so he only withdraws enough to allow Kumak to pass by. Quickly losing blood Kumak has no choice but to withdraw and flee back along the corridors calling for everyone to run. Thaddeus trusts that the creature is bound to this room somehow and once it does not follow appears proven right. Kumak downs a moderate healing potion to bring him back from deaths door and collapses in a heap panting. Tiberius walks down at this point and derides the group for bothering him before he once again returns upstairs. Kumak asks the rest to close the doors and return later to face this thing then heads upstairs to deal with Tiberius. Asking Villister for any healing magic the cleric has remaining Kumak listens to the cleric and paladin chide him back and forth over whether or not this group deserves any healing based off their actions before he interrupts and points out Tiberius's conduct including throwing the recently slain corpse of Nualia from room to room as bait and his apparent blind trust of Lyrie, who up until this group had forcibly taken her prisoner was on track to be complicit if not involved in the slaughter of town of Sandpoint, while he deems Thaddeus beyond salvation. That it was Villister's uncharacteristic refusal to lend aid to Kumak that led to Villister not being considered to heal Black Jack so that they could interrogate him. A long drawn out conversation is had between the 3 before it is decided the group will discuss the matters of our prisoners, temperament, and future. Then Villister relents and heals Kumak.

While the conversation is happening above, another more sinister one occurs below. Not heeding any warnings, Thaddeus approaches the now closed doorway with Orik in tow. Hearing a deep voice in his head asking "Who are you?" Thaddeus pries for information back. Suddenly the door begins to open again and rather than its pseudo wolf form, the barghest appears as an enormous goblin. Asking Thaddeus several questions in first common, then goblin, the barghest finally asks something in a language that the gnome shows no recognition in then chants something in that language. Thaddeus realizing that this beast has been one of the gnomes truest friends eagerly accepts its invitation to step inside to talk. It is only Oriks timely intervention that saves the gnome from becoming a meal, thwarted the beast unleashes some kind of area attack that rouses Thaddeus from his charm and with Susan and Lyrie shooting magical blasts the creature identifying itself as Malfeshnekor removes the key from inside the room. As the doors begin to close Lyrie magically shatters the key in Malfshnekors hand. The creature is taken aback for a moment before it snarls in rage and ineffectually flails against the invisible bonds that hold it in the room.

The team regroups upstairs and Kumak, Thaddeus, Tiberius and Susan move to the side to discuss their future together if any. In the end it is settled that some bending on all fronts will be required. Orik and Lyrie will be taken back to Sandpoint. Orik will be presented to Sheriff Hemlock and will work as a deputy with full pay for a period of 1 year to earn his freedom. The hope is that in living among the people of Sandpoint he will feel a connection to them and even if he should leave would not pose these people a threat. Lyrie will be presented to Broderik Quint the local Thassalonian expert, Kumak suggests she remain under some sort of house arrest that will ease over time and her spell book be provided under scrutiny of Susan or another designated chaperone. That her exact spells prepared be known until she demonstrates she is no threat to the group or Sandpoint.



Thoughts,


This was another weird game. A lot of time was spent towards the end out of character arguing between players and between players and GM. The paladins player claimed that Thaddeus had so wronged him that he did not see anyway forward under the current form he could continue with the gnome. When asked why the paladin was best friends with both people who up until hours ago were about to murder an entire town, but the gnome who had willingly fought side by side with the paladin to stop it was so bad, because he played stupid jokes like pretended to be Sarenrae speaking to him, in a mans voice. The player had no real answer to that, I suspect it had more to do with he felt teased in character and either did not have a response ready to fight back or felt he could not fight back in character. He accused me of enabling Thaddeus, but I countered that my only response was to stop obviously bigger and stronger people like a 17 Str paladin from physically picking on the much smaller and weaker 9 Str gnome. They were always welcome to meet his words with words of their own and I would only step in when I saw an obviously lopsided physical confrontation looming as that what my character dislikes. The GM began insisting that I play my character right, which I had let slide last week but this time handed him the sheet and asked if he would like to play him instead. The argument seems to be stuck at the point of whether a Chaotic Good character would feel bad about someone who had been plotting to kill them in their sleep did not survive being used as bait. I had argued that while he would not be happy at the outcome he would not lose sleep over it. Tempers I think were running high. The paladins player had been eyeing re-rolling as a 2 handed fighter and had brought it up again when claiming that he needed to see repentance from us and I told him that if he wanted to try and force my character to atone for the death of someone who had been plotting my demise then he had better re-roll or think of another way to feel ok with it. Not the most diplomatic exchange I admit, it costs me next to nothing to say I go to confession and mope around for a while and he can smile and feel like hes changing me, but change should come from within, trying to force me by the social contract of the party to lament my would-be murderers death doesn't sit right. I think rather having us help him bury the body, talking to us while we are digging, asking "Did he ever say anything about family? Children? Brothers or Sisters?" to make us think about the life before he went bad would have been a much more effective strategy. I never think a paladin should be like a school marm, slapping the hands of other alignments when they don't conform to his. I always felt the paladin leads by example, they don't offer the services of the group to a town free of charge, since that's not what the others may want, they could instead publicly hand back their own share and ask if any of their comrades will join them. If the town cant afford their assistance then the paladin could throw their own money into the towns coffers, work on the group slowly. Like with boiling the frog when you increase the temperature one degree at a time they never notice until its too late, so too can a paladin or cleric seek to convert their more wayward companions.

Betrayals or misunderstandings - Rise of the Runelords Campaign Session 9

In attendance were;

Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager
Tiberius: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard
Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster

The party returns upstairs to regroup with Shalelu, Villister, Thaddeus, Black Jack and Lyrie. Shalelu tells them that she has seen movement from the Thistle patch that precedes the now repaired bridge. She guesses that whatever goblin reinforcements have arrived have seen the party's handiwork and are waiting to see what if anything comes from Thistletop. Kumak sets to carving some lizard meat from the corpse of Ripnuggets steed and starts a slow cook on some stew for the morning. Asking Villister if he could magically repair the shattered Ranseur only gets an evasive answer so Kumak requests that Villister administer aid to the 3 whose strength was taxed from fighting the spirits below. Villister at first refuses to lend any aid and it is only after Susan speaks with him that he relents. Thaddeus strikes up a conversation with their latest prisoner, Lyrie and slipping some magic into his words compels her to only lie. Asking what her immediate plans were regarding the group Lyrie falsely confesses that she would really really really hate to stab them all. Lyrie speaks with Orik and an incensed Orik confronts the party demanding her gear returned to her to which Kumak and Thaddeus scoff, Tiberius is understanding and makes a case for returning her things while Susan remains silent on the issue. Out voted the group keep her equipment and shackle her to a bed frame for good measure while they sleep. In the morning Orik confronts Thaddeus and tells him that Black Jack has approached him offering to free them and flee together, Orik had stalled for the moment so that he could tell Thaddeus. Thaddeus tells Orik to wait in the main throne room for a moment and leaves to grab Kumak, seeing Black Jack enter the throne room behind him. Returning to the throne room with Kumak in tow Thaddeus hears a swiftly hushed conversation from the back room and when Black Jack peeks his head out telling Thaddeus to go away Orik seizes Black Jack and the 2 men begin struggling. After a few moments of explaining to Kumak that Black Jack was plotting to kill them Kumak lands a solid hit to Black Jacks head sending the half-orc's eyes rolling. Thaddeus gives one good thwack from his dagger to Black Jacks temple putting the half-orc to sleep.

Just then an alarm is called from the main foyer, goblins are crossing the bridge. Tiberius activates a rigged trap that Shalelu set up overnight sending about 20 plummeting to their death. There is a  rapid exchange of arrows between the goblins led by a bugbear and the party, until Susan unfurls a scroll of Flaming Sphere and burns the goblins at the cliffs edge before lighting the thistle brush on fire and rolling the sphere to block the only exit, causing hundreds of goblins to either burn to death or die from the acrid smoke. Kumak and Tiberius having nothing to offer this fight head below and between them make short work of a tentamort that Orik had warned them of. Susan asks Kumak why Black Jack is knocked out and tied up and Kumak tells her that Black Jack had been attempting to plot with Lyrie and Orik to kill them and take all the treasure, at least thats what Thaddeus had told him. Susan suggests using Black Jack as bait below with the underwater monster. Kumak is agreeable but wishes to interrogate Black Jack first if possible. Asking Tiberius to check the perimeter Kumak attempts to rouse Black Jack but to no avail. Conceding defeat Kumak, Thaddeus, Susan, Orik and Lyrie descend to the underground pool and hammering in a piece of metal bar into the wall Black Jack is dangled over the pool like a fishing line. Thaddeus requests that he and Susan hold the rope so Kumak can fight, and as the large helmet stirs below Kumak hands off the rope and leaps into the water Bastard sword in hand. The fight is swift and brutal, Black Jack is seized and pulled beneath the water where he is bisected. Just as the giant crab is attempting to flee below to a previously hidden exit Orik lands a telling blow finishing off the giant crab. Just then Tiberius enters the room, surveying the scene asks what is happening, then angrily heals himself twice and storms off.


Thoughts

There was some weirdness between myself and the GM this game. He had shattered my Masterwork Ranseur last game and when I in character asked the cleric if he could magically repair it, then explained out of character what would be needed indicating that I would forgo any lesser restoration to get the weapon repaired the GM who was running the cleric instead gave me lesser restoration. Then when I asked for the cleric to provide long term care for the 3 strength damaged people through the night he asked for a Diplomacy check. Finally when I had stated that I would be readying an action to pull Black Jack up once the crab began to move the GM declared that it would be a reflex save to do it instead of a readied action. The readied action I let slide as it would fit within character to have thought you had a plan, only for things to suddenly go sideways. The spell and refusing to long term care until another character asked felt very much like in-game punishment for something so after I made my case I let it slide until we spoke later on about it. The GM seemed to want to knock Susan and Kumak down to Evil alignment for what happened with Black Jack, and Tiberius's player declared that everyone would have atone immediately or he would leave. While I agreed that what happened was messed up I countered that the intent was to save him and with the information we had on hand Black Jack had been planning to kill us so despite it still being a messed up thing to do, the paladin throwing Nualia's corpse from room to room to try and trigger anything was in the same vein. Either way, GM and I hashed things out over the course of the week between, while initially arguing against my decisions, like taking Lyries cloak, not giving her things back when she said she would assist, he later relented on some points. Either way this group is long overdue for a talk about how we wish to proceed, and if we can finally escape Thistletop and return to Sandpoint we should be able to get a few days to weeks downtime in which to figure out our dynamic.

Women trouble - Rise of the Runelords campaign session 8

In attendance were

Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager
Tiberius: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard

Missing again was
Villster: Human Cleric
and
Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster

I think I will stop reporting on our Clerics attendance unless he shows,

Kumak and Thaddeus prepare to enter the hallway and face the Outsider dogs Nualia has in her service when Black Jack suddenly announces he wants to take his wares and leave. The group escorts him to the bridge where Villister and Shalelu are guarding against any goblin reinforcements. Black Jack wishes to depart immediately but Shalelu warns him that he wont get far with the woods teeming with goblins, reluctantly Black Jack agrees to remain and guard the bridge, Thaddeus decides to stay with him, hoping to pilfer some items while the Half Orc is distracted. Kumak brings Orik to the far stairs to collect Susan and Tiberius and they prepare to assault what appears to be a chapel. Entering through a side door the team finds no trace of Nualia but there are 2 otherworldly dogs move to attack. Kumak lands one solid blow before the dogs howl and while he shrugs off the initial one with the following howl fear finds purchase and the Bloodrager flees out of the room. Orik takes a grievous bite to the leg and Tiberius several gashes but they emerge victorious. 

Some lightly enchanted weapons adorn the chapel which are taken then Orik leads them to a door where his ally Lyrie  should be, Orik requests a moment to speak with her and while Kumak does not sense any deception on his part he lets Orik know that he has 30 seconds to cut a deal with Lyrie, and provides a safe word should Orik find Lyrie resistant to his offer that will signal Kumak and Tiberius to enter. Orik moves in and tries to talk her into fleeing with him, the conversation is going poorly then with a slip of the tongue Orik lets her know that he isn't alone and with that Kumak and Tiberius move into the room. Orik moves faster and holds Lyrie down. Kumak pins her and using some of Tiberius's rope ties her then begins removing all her gear, there is a brief argument about taking away her cloak since she is dressed so sparsely but Kumak fires back that she chose her outfit and to work with Nualia and Goblins, her discomfort at being near naked is not his concern. Tiberius objects strongly as does Susan, at least until she identifies the cloak as magical. A spell book, handful of scrolls and wands, and a decent chunk of change later she objects fiercely to having her things taken from her and wants to know where Tsuto is. Kumak tells her he left him in his bed sleeping to which she gives him a sour look but says nothing. She is given the same deal that Orik has, earn her life by aiding the team dispose of Nualia. She demands her things back, but Kumak instead hands her a short bow and some arrows and offers to escort her to the bridge but Tiberius elects to take her. On the way Tiberius acquiesces to some of her demands including letting her look into Susans Spellbook, and returning all her items to her in as taken condition. Tiberius however neglects to run these deals past Susan to see if she is willing to agree to them. Descending down a hidden door in Lyries book room opens up into a sizable room with a corridor leading down. Tiberius takes the lead and steps onto a pressure plate causing gates to fall on either side of him and statues armed with blades to turn towards him. Kumak enters a rage to try and lift the gate on his side but can't quite do it.Surviving 2 attacks each from the statues Tiberius suddenly falls from sight as the floor drops and he has enough time to look up from his 10ft fall to see the floor re closing above him.

Kumak grabs a nearby statue and shoves it under where he saw the gates descend from then using his Ranseur gabs the floor plate re triggering the trap, the gate on the western side is held a few feet off the ground by the damaged statue and after 2 rounds the floor reopens, jamming the butt end of his Ranseur against the far floor panel while Orik shoves his shield into the gears on their side Tiberius throws his rope up and is pulled out by Kumak and Orik. At this point Susan recognizes incantations coming from ahead and warns the group that someone is preparing for a fight. Susan, Kumak and Orik find themselves on the other side of the trap engaging Nualia and another Demon Hound while Tiberius can't seem to make it past the trap. Orik takes several deep cuts but gives just as good as he gets. Kumak lands a solid blow but Nualia destroys his weapon just as his adrenaline gives out and he finds himself panting. Retrieving his fallen Erathbreaker Kumak moves in to help the bleeding Orik but Susan fires a blast of magical energy from one of Lyries wands and pierces Nualias abdomen spilling out her intestines. Several potions of healing are used and Tiberius despite his grave injuries rushes ahead to make up for his absence from the fight. Finding a room with a wall made entirely out of cold goins and another room that appears to be a crypt Tiberius detects evil within the crypt and begins searching it. Kumak wielding the magical bastard sword that was formerly Nualias tries in vain to break some gold off the wall until Susan tells him its probably just an illusion. Moving into the crypt the group is attacked by 3 spirits who begin to drain the strength from Tiberius, Orik and Kumak. Kumak suffers a significant hit to his impressive strength but Tiberius can barely hold himself up by the time Susan finishes off the last one with Lyries wand. Searching the room Kumak catches the faint sound of air escaping in the crypt and pushes open a secret door. Finding a hallway which branches out into 2 before rejoining into a partially submerged room Kumak is ready to leap into the water and see what is below but Tiberius asks to wait, when he returns he is dragging Nualia's bare corpse and tosses her into the water. Kumak waits for several seconds then just as he is about to jump into the water a large helmet beneath the water moves and giant claws spring forth tearing Nualias corpse asunder. Despite protesting that he could still take whatever lays beneath the water Kumak relents to sleep for the remainder of the night and revisit this creature in the morning. While Susan wonders where the beast indicated in all the murals and pictures is.

The party level up to 4.

Kumak picks up Enlarge Person, and Featherfall

Desperate allies - Rise of the Runelords campaign session 7

In attendance were;

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster
Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Along for a test run was a new player
Black Jack: Half Orc Fighter specializing in tripping with reach weapons



Tiberius: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard
Villster: Human Cleric

Were all away. I was a bit late arriving and found out I was the first one there. So late start followed by character creation for Black Jack led to a rather unimpressive time that was further squandered with yet another loot based issue but I digress.

Having killed chief Ripnugget and collected all the gear from the fallen goblins, Kumak begins searching the 3 adjoining rooms to the throne room while Tiberius, Thaddeus and Susan are discussing the way forward. The first room seems to be some sort of meeting room with papers that do not interest Kumak at all, the second is an armory filled with all manner of dogslicers, horsechoppers, and shortbows as well as a large pouch that appears to be magical. Taking the pouch out to have Susan identify it the door to the throne room opens admitting another half orc, leading a goblin by the scruff of the neck. The newcomer begins a long conversation with the 3 while Kumak finishes his inventory calling from the armory if anyone has asked the new comers name and if Kumak needs to hit him. The half orc identifies himself as Black Jack and Thaddeus calls that violence will not be needed for the moment. Black Jack enters the armory and claims that the magical pouch is his and Kumak hands it over. The final adjoining room appears to be the Chiefs bedchamber and Thaddeus finds both a holy symbol and a key ring there which he pockets.

Moving into the courtyard there are loud noises coming from a boarded up shed which Kumak ignores once it becomes clear that there is a beast of burden inside. Black Jack attempts to calm the beast while Thaddeus throws rocks at the shed to agitate it. Kumak searches the northern rooms and finds another set of stairs down, another meeting room and a privy. Hidden behind the privy he finds a large chest which is locked. Leaving the hidden door open for Thaddeus to work with Kumak heads south to clear out the final rooms before they move down. Thaddeus moves up to the chest and using the keys from Ripnuggets room opens the lid revealing a large quantity of money, a dress and some weapons and holy symbol. Having put most of the money and gems into his pack first, Black Jack follows into the room and declares that everything in here is actually his stolen by the goblins. When pressed by Thaddeus for a manifest of anything else that he might have lost Black Jack claims that he can't quite remember but he will continue with them and point out anything they find that might be his. Kumak meanwhile discovered 2 sleeping goblins in the last watchpost, killing one and taking the other prisoner. Bringing Thaddeus who speaks Goblin they conduct a quick interrogation and learning nothing of value Kumak tosses the goblin off the cliff. Shalelu, and Villister with Tiberius and Susans help meanwhile have managed to shoot a line attached to the bridge remnants across, and with Tiberius, Kumak and Thaddeus pulling they manage to reset the bridge for the moment, bringing Shalelu and Villister across. Black Jack is pleased that the bridge is repaired and suggests they leave, Kumak shrugs wishes him luck and points across the bridge telling the other half-orc to go then but they still have business here. Shalelu mentions that there are goblins mobilizing to reinforce Thistletop and as the best archer she can hold the bridge against them but the group had better hurry. Black Jack decides to come clean about the loot from the chest not being his and asks to stay with the group for an actual share of the spoils. There is grumbling at this but eventually an accord is reached.

Tiberius and Susan move to guard the northern stairway while Kumak, Thaddeus and Black Jack descend the southern stairs. Finding 3 doors in succession ahead, another to their left and 2 more to the right Kumak moves to the 3 doors and opens the left most entering into what could only be described by goblins as a nursery. With 3 feral goblin children in cages Kumak declines to murder them but seeing as the prevailing opinion is to let them starve to death he relents and swiftly executes them. The center door leads into a hallway that branches off to the right and following that leads to 5 doors, 2 on each side and one at the end of the hallway. The first room on the left is unoccupied and littered with birds feet but noise issues from its neighboring room. Trying the door finds it pushed back and a voice calls out for Bruthasmus to leave it alone, he is not in the mood for games. Recalling that Bruthasmus was the name of the local Bugbear giving Shalelu problems Kumak tries his best to approximate the timber of a Bugbears voice and loudly chuckles. Hearing something slide across the door Kumak fears the way barred but a solid shove proves it was only the occupant, a human male, pushing a dresser against the door. Entering the room the man taken aback glances to his armor and weapon on the nearby dresser and puts his hands up offering surrender. The trio agree for the moment taking all his belongings and interrogate Orik. Claiming to be done with this contract Orik agrees to aid them in exchange for his life, arms and armor, and the chance to convince another to join them as well. Quickly sketching out the rest of the level and revealing that there is another level below Orik mentions that the remaining 3 rooms belong to Tsuto, Lyrie, and Nualia respectively. Hearing that the half elf who fled from him earlier is near Kumak moves to his indicated room and quietly slips in, finding Tsuto sleeping. With one swing of the Earthbreaker Tsuto is rendered no more and Kumak claims a magical ring off the now corpses finger. Checking the remaining 2 rooms reveals the others are not around and after giving Orik his bastard sword and banded mail the group moves back to the main room.

The 3rd door opens into a disturbing scene. Evidently Bruthasmus has been passing the time in the company of several goblin whores, and given the relative size differences not to mention bursting in on the occupants the fight in flagrante delicto the combat leaves Kumak with both physical and emotional scars. According to Orik the rooms to the east are where a creature known as a Tentamort has claimed as its lair and up ahead is a chapel where the group might find Nualia, but he warns that she has some sort of devil dogs with her. With that the group steels themselves for the coming fight.


Thoughts:

Again with loot issues. I was actually rather annoyed when Black Jacks character claimed that all the loot found was his and pointed to his +7 bluff that it was believable. I had rolled a 16 vs his 17 and was hoping for the DM to impose even a -1 that literally all the things we had found were his and there might be more but he couldn't remember and would tell us as we went. DM later said he didn't want to get in the argument so I stepped out of character and offered the player one chance if he wanted to retcon anything, after that it, and any consequences from the lie being found out was going to stand and warning that with my loyalty drawback it was unlikely I would continue with him as a companion. The player at first stood by his initial call, but once Black Jack made his case that he wanted to leave and Kumak told him to take his wares and depart the player relented and I chose to interpret it as he never actually tried to take the things. Having not bothered to fight him on the magical bag of his equipment as conducting that in the midst of clearing the outpost didn't interest me as a player it was disappointing that I felt I had painted myself into a corner about not calling him out on items that may or may not be his in the interest of time. Had he just tried to claim one item from the pile I would have been quite happy allowing him his minor thievery but as he entered play with level 3 wealth, while I was still only 450 gold up from my starting wealth (400 of which encompasses the entirety of the Ranseur of which I would only get a share of 40 gold on selling)

Small creatures, big danger - Rise of the Runelords campaign session 6

Our Cleric was supposed to join us but something came up last minute and he was unable to make it.

In attendance were;

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster
Tiberius: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard
Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Entering the bramble maze Tiberius finds it branches into 3 paths the hot cramped quarters make for an uncomfortable trip for all but Thddeus, taking the left most path leads to a sort of unmanned guard tower, which he and Thaddeus scale and Thaddeus is able to see Thistletop proper in a north eastern direction. Navigating more of the maze leads the group to a larger clearing where the others are able to stand up, there is a decently sized hole in the ground that Kumak peers over and after spitting into determines there is water down below. No sooner having learned that then the group is ambushed from both sides by a mob of 10 goblins. The battle is short and viscous, Tiberius starts cleaving through a mob on one side while Kumak fails spectacularly on the other. Susan wipes out one flank with a Burning Hands spell, 1 surviving goblin finding himself burning to death leaps into the pit so put out the flames and shortly afterwards there is a loud growl heard from below followed by a goblins scream that is cut short by whatever sarlacc beast is down there.

Advancing further to the north Tiberius stumbles into a goblin dog pen and faces 4 of the beasts, since the cramped quarters make it so none of the party is able to pass through each other and Tiberius refuses to maneuver himself to a better position no one is able to lend assistance and the paladin faces the dogs alone for several rounds suffering a few bites, one of which begins to cause his skin to itch uncomfortably. Finally felling the beasts the group performs an awkward turn around and Tiberius heads south encountering a medium sized chamber with a bunch of reddish fur in places. Entering the room Thaddeus is suddenly pounced upon by a fire pelt cougar. Tiberius attempts to pet the cat and gets swatted at for his efforts, while Thaddeus moves further away from the cougar towards the next chamber in the tangle of bushes. Kumak is finally able to move into the chamber and kills the animal, just as Thaddeus makes his way through the nettles into the next room and comes face to face with a goblin, who takes one look at him, casts a spell that causes a small bird to appear, fly up and out of the brambles towards Thistletop, then the goblin backs up to the tangle of thorns and seemingly passes into them with no effort. Thaddeus calls out to Susan to have her owl which has been circling above, to kill the thrush then attempts to throw his dagger at the goblin to no avail. The Goblin spends the next few rounds stepping in and out of the brush stabbing at the adventurers with some sort of flame blade until Susan sets him on fire and Kumak lands a hefty blow gravely wounding the goblin who fails to put out the fire which finishes him off. Fishing the body out from the vines the group finds some healing potions, 2 wands, a magical cloak and some magical leather armor. Thaddeus takes the armor for himself and proclaims the cloak is his as well but Susan ignore the already cloaked gnome and takes it for herself.

Moving north the team finally come out into the open air again and see before them a rope bridge that leads to Thistletop. Kumak spends a few minutes airing himself out and reveling in the feeling of being able to move freely again. Hearing some soft movement behind them the group find Shalelu emerging from the briars, relieved that the elf maid had not been killed or captured in her reconnaissance the group discuss the safety of the bridge. Tiberius, knowing there was a path through the briars he has not fully investigated decides he is going back in, Kumak not wanting to relive that experience any time soon announces he will not be following followed by the others reiterating their desire to remain where they are. 3 minutes of waiting goes by before Kumak the heaviest of the group decides to test if the bridge will hold him, tying a rope around his waist he hands the other end to Thaddeus and begins walking across, Tiberius returning just as Kumak is halfway across runs across the bridge to join him. The half orc seeing the next heaviest person on the bridge with him hisses at the paladin to go back before he gets them both killed and cross one at a time but the paladin refuses. Since Kumak was closer to the Thistletop end he moves to finish his walk rather than wait for the heavily armored paladin to catch up and pass him. As the 50ft rope runs out Thaddeus continues to hold his end and begins to be pulled onto the bridge, Susan shrugging steps onto the bridge too and there is an audible "crack" as the bridge gives way and everyone but Thaddeus plunges below. Thaddeus manages to grab one of the moorings on the shore side and holds the rope in an attempt to save Kumak from the fall but his heart is stronger than his grip and he instead loses his grip of the mooring and is pulled off the cliff himself.

Splashing into the water 80ft below the group find themselves heavily injured. Kumak weathers it well enough but Thaddeus and Tiberius are barely holding themselves together. Looking around Thaddeus sees Susan floating face down as she beings to sink. Kumak a strong swimmer sees them with his dark vision and calls for Thaddeus to grab her and hold onto the rope, readying himself to pull the 2 towards him so he can administer aid. The waters below are calmer during the night time but still quite violent and Thaddeus finds himself unable to reach Susan as he sees her body being to react to drowning. Suddenly there is a very quiet splash nearby and the gnome sees Shalelu emerge from the water, wand clenched in her teeth, she unleashes a wave of magic into Susan which brings the woman back to consciousness and she being to cough out water. Tiberius weighted down by his banded mail and shield is unable to do much more than bring his head out of the water for a brief gulp of air before he is swallowed by the water again and decides to drop his shield in a bid to save himself. Thaddeus finally grabbing Susan is pulled across the water by Kumak to the bottom of rocky rise that houses Thistletop, hoisting Thaddeus and Susan up onto a perch Kumak climbs on himself then turns to see Tiberius, dropping his shield 10ft below and sinking fast. Taking the blunt end of his ranseur Kumak jabs it into the paladin, who gratefully grabs this life line and is brought back from certain death. Looking across the way the group sees Shalelu begin to scale the mainland cliffs to rejoin Villster. Kumak sighs heavily, Tiberius blames Susan for their predicament which no one else agrees with as the group moves counter clockwise around the island. While the paladin makes his case Kumak steals his rope and ties it to the one that Thaddesu is still holding and begins to climb the cliff. The 3 remaining below spy a dark shape moving in the water nearby and each move up the rope to stay out of reach of whatever is hunting below. Looping the rope around some rocks every 20 ft Kumak reaches the top and silently pulls himself over the lip and back onto proper land. Looking around, the half orc sees no sign of discovery and hearing the voices of several goblins across the way. Creeping across he sees 4 goblins playing some sort of game where one hold a rope tied to a seagull while the others throw rocks at it. Holding his ranseur parallel to the ground Kumak rushes at the goblins and shoves 3 of them over the side of the cliff. The one holding the rope shocked by this has a moment to look at the huge half orc standing in front of him before he is cut down. Kumak strips the body and takes it over to rope, tossing the corpse well past the cliff to signal to the others to ascend.

Getting the last of the group up Tiberius declares that he has used up all his healing and is still quite hurt, they should find some cover and rest until morning. Susan and Thaddeus join Tiberius in the nearest bush to set in for the night but Kumak hearing revelries through the nearest wall realizes that their incursion has not been reported yet and if they act before the bridge is discovered they may yet be able to reconnect with Villister and Shalelu. Kumak moves along the outside walls to what he believes is a guard post and scales the first portion of the outside wall. Hearing goblins chattering inside he moves further up but a rotted piece of wood breaks in his hand. The goblins go silent as does Kumak who readies his ranseur. After one minute a goblin head pokes out and Kumak makes a swing but is off center and it goes wide. Cursing Kumak leaps over the lip and into the guard tower killing one goblin, the remaining goblin moves to leap over the the edge towards a door but Kumak pins that one to the floor. Returning to the bush Kumak nudges the group and asks if they would prefer to sleep with a roof over their heads, leading them to the now uninhabited guard house. Kumak asks Susan if her owl would be capable of delivering a message to Villister and Shalelu to which she agrees it could. Writing out a short message Susan sends her owl off while Tiberius tries to sleep. The owl returns shortly later with a note and a wand clutched in its talons. Shalelu says she is fine and will find a way to join them soon, here is a healing wand to tide them over until their cleric can rejoin them. Looking it over they find it has 24 charges remaining so the group kicks Tiberius awake again and indicate they wish to clear Thistletop of goblins while it is still night and they have the element of surprise. Tiberius objects as he has no more uses of his healing left and Susan has expended 2 spells but is overruled and handed the wand which he uses to bring the most injured back to fighting form.

While Tiberius is still objecting to this course Kumak moves to one of the doors leading from the guard tower and opens it, greeted to a long hallway and foyer with many doors he tries the first one and opens the door to a bunk room with 6 goblins, 3 still sleeping and 3 just sitting up at half orcs entrance. Kumak, Tiberius and Thaddeus make short work of 5 of the goblins and Thaddeus takes the final prisoner. Interrogating him in goblin Thaddeus agrees that they will release him after he shows them where to find the people in charge. The goblin, "Pisstoes", takes the group to the next door down the hall which leads below and gestures that the "Metal man", "Dark Lady". "Silver Hair", and Bruthazmus are all down there. Thaddeus gets some final odd bits of information out of the goblin before he gestures to Kumak who grabs the gobin and smashed its head into the stone wall. Moving to the next door Kumak hears the party that he could hear from outside, gets ready to open it when Tiberius calls out that he wants to investigate some other doors first. Kumak looks puzzled as the paladin rushes off and opens the next door alone, peering in to see a sort of exercise yard with a shed boarded up, heavy breathing and movement comes from within. Tiberius makes to move to another door when Kumak looks to the rest of the group and calls out "ready?" Tiberius rushes back and rejoins the party as they burst into a small throne room where some goblins seem to be putting on a reenactment of the raid on Sandpoint, complete with unflattering portrayals of the party. Kumak spears his goblin counterpart while Tiberius rushes up to the goblin wearing mismatched armor, slamming its head against a post in a mockery of the paladin. Susan fires a ray of frost at a goblin but it strikes the pillow it had under its clothes to give it the illusion of Villisters paunch. The goblin on the throne mounts onto a nearby lizard and ties himself onto the saddle. The fight is bloody and long. Susan and Thaddeus are stymied by Villster-Goblin for much of the fight while Tiberius-Goblin keeps Tiberius occupied. Kumak kills Susan-Goblin then moves in to assist Tiberius with Chief Ripnugget on his lizard but the chief seems to be a skilled mounted warrior and Thaddeus is dropped by a passing charge from the goblin. Tiberius uses the wand to bring the gnome back and then Kumak spears the lizard through the heart, Ripnugget moves into a corner where he can't be flanked and Tiberius spends the next few seconds healing himself with the wand as the chief lands blow after blow on the paladin. Finally Kumak finds the opening he needs and runs the goblin chief through ending his life. Searching the carnage the group finds a few more healing potions of an even stronger variety, a potion of barkskin, a magical short sword, a ring of 3 keys and a masterwork breastplate, but unfortunately sized for a small creature.


Thoughts:

I don't for the life of me know why the paladin wanted to get in front of me on the bridge. I was shocked both in and out of character that he put the 2 heaviest people on the bridge at the same time. The GM was laughing and said he thought out of all the paranoid players he would never have gotten me with this bridge, which I still maintain he didn't. Susan almost died, she was at 2 rounds of drowning and on the 3rd its death, GM maintains that he didn't pull any punches on the damage or Shalelu jumping in to assist with the wand. I don't really understand the paladins desire to rest when he got the wand, the health issue was taken care of so the only thing missing was his lay on hands to which I told him, better resource management. He tried to point to the wizard being out of spells but I pointed out that she had only expended a level 1 and a level 2 so she was still pretty decked out. I don't know if we can clear out level 2 without resting but I feel confidant we can finish the top level and then post a guard at the stairs going down. Either way both the Paladin and Wizard are gone next week, so if we have our Cleric back we could probably still run this. The Paladin was very upset about his AC dropping from 20 to 18 without his shield. Especially in the throne room fight despite the fact that Ripnugget was rolling some stupid high numbers, I think there was only 1 hit that would have missed a 20 AC, granted Ripnugget was hitting for something like 15 damage when he was on his lizard. GM and I talked about it later, he was worried that the player might have been trying to get his character killed on the bridge at first but doesn't think so anymore.

Making Friends in low places - Rise of the Runelords campaign session 5

We again found ourselves minus our Cleric who I am told will be rejoining us in June.

In attendance were;

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster
Tiberius: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard
Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

After interrogating the creature that Thaddeus identified as a Quasit. The group conducted a relativly unsuccessful interrogation then dispatched it. Returning to the statue Kumak and Thaddeus had discovered, Susan inspected the writings and determined it was a statue of the Runelord of Wrath Alaznist. While studying the statue the group heard foot steps and found one of the Townsguard, Pte Tiernay joining them. He explained that some of the townsfolk had witnessed the party enter the glassworks and when he had investigated and found goblin corpses he had fled to get help. Running into Gavren Devres, the Paladin operator of the local brewery he felt brave enough to return and see if the newest deputies were well.

Getting bored with all the talking and fawning over old scribbles on the statue Kumak picks the north door and opens it. Tiberius calls for him to hold for a moment, and in a moment that gave the Half-orc pause, Tiberius offered to take the lead. Entering onto a rickety wooden walkway Tiberius and Susan remained above on the planks while Kumak and Thaddeus descended to check the bottom floor. Just as Kumak had begun to search the empty cells he found Tiberius was attacked from below by some more of the Sin Spawn. The first cant seem to break the knights armor, but its friend lands a telling blow against Susan who flees towards Kumak and Thaddeus. Kumak moves up to the first Sin Spawn, and using the Ranseur pins the creature to the wall and watches the life drain from its eyes. The other Spawn vaults up onto the walkway above and thrashes at Tiberius to no avail. Thaddeus rushes upstairs and attempts to shove the creature off the walkway but the gnome cant seem to budge the monstrosity. Tiberius stabs it in the gut but it refuses to go down until Kumak moves underneath the floor boards and his Ranseur pierces up through the walkway to impale the Sin Spawn right in his grundle.

Susan being rather injured elects to stay further back for the moment. Finding nothing of interest in the cells the group advances through a door at the end of the walkway. Past a hallway they come to a room with 2 doors. Opening the right one they are met with a small cluttered room with 3 doors against one wall. As Thaddeus and Susan begin searching Tiberius opens one of the doors and finds a skeleton with an abnormally large head. Kumak knocks on the other 2 doors in the room but hearing no answer moves outside. Tiberius opens the rooms other doors and finds a skeleton in each, one with a vestigial 3rd arm and the other whose rib cage continues down far beyond where it should have terminated. Moving to leave the room Tiberius kicks over a piece of wood under which Thaddeus spies a scroll case. Swiftly the gnome claims it and determines it is a scroll of Flaming Sphere.

Thaddeus's curiosity gets the better of him as he had not been able to open many of the doors himself, he opens the door to the next room, and gets a javelin through his stomach for his trouble. Kumak flies into a rage and advances into the room, seeing some piles of timber over the floor and at the far end of the room is a heavily mutated goblin. The half-orc avoids stepping on the wood piles and just manages to get into range for his new Ranseur to do its work. In one mighty swing Kumak takes the head off the goblin and seeing no more dangers catches his breath. Susan, entering the room determines that this goblin is afflicted with all 3 of the mutations seen on the skeletons in the previous room. Based off prior descriptions she feels confidant that this was once the goblin hero Korvus, who was famed for fighting with a magical long sword that was much too big for him. Hearing "Magical Long sword" Tiberius charges up to claim the blood red blade which Susan confirms is magic. Kumak stores a Masterwork handaxe, and silver dagger in his backpack for later. Hearing noises from beneath the wood piles the group remove the coverings of one and spy a couple shambling figures at the bottom of what appears to be a 20 foot pit. Confirming that there are more in each of the covered pits Tiberius begins tying some rope to rappel himself down and take the fight to them, while Kumak takes his bow and arrows purchased by Foxglove and makes short work of the zombies.

Advancing to the south Tiberius finds some stairs that continue down but they way has been blocked by a cave in that seems beyond their current capabilities to circumnavigate, further down the hall the group comes upon a spherical shaped room, the door they stand in opening into the center. Catching a glimpse of some objects seemingly floating within the room Kumak picks up a stray bit of stone and tosses it in. Seeing the stone lose much of its momentum but continue to float he steps in after it and finds that he too floats, it is an all together uncomfortable feeling which the party soon joins in on. Taking a mysterious red book which no one can read, a scroll of burning hands and a bottle of wine the group returns to the statue of the Runelord and advances down the last unexplored hallway. Rising up several flights of stairs they come out into a room with a small font and are surprised by a small creature that darts out of the shadows to attack. What can only be described as a severed head with wings on either side lets out an ear-piercing scream that locks all the heroes in place save Tiberius, protected by the light of Sarenrae. Tiberius and the creature exchange blows for several seconds and the battle is taxing but the Paladin finds himself soon standing over the deceased remains of his foe. However the creature had given Tiberius a suspicious kiss before the fight ended and Tiberius finds himself feeling unwell. The group manage to shake off the effect that held them and confirming that the hallway leads to a caved in set of stairs that would have led up they elect to return to the surface. During the trip back Tiberius finds his hair begins to fall out in large clumps and the paladin resolves he must see father Zantus as soon as possible.

Reaching the stairs that lead back into the glassworks the group hears the sound of commotion, a standoff, one man vs many, a brief fight then as they are acending the stairs the body of Gavren Devres tumbles down the stairs, unmoving. Flying into a rage Kumak reaches the landing to see a few of Jubrayl's men he knows along with 3 others he has not met. There is one large individual with his back to the stairs in the process of explaining himself to the others when Kumak's Earthbreaker smashes him across the back. The man is pushed forward into the foyer proper but remains on his feet as Kumak's form fills the doorway. One of the men holds out his hands and tries to sue for peace, that there can be an understanding and no one needs to die. As Tiberius and Thaddeus join Kumak upstairs Tiberius calls down to Villister who confirms that Gavren is dead. Kumak responds with

"Any of you lot still holding a weapon in 2 seconds gets turnt to jelly"

The one talker among them who identifies himself as Drewil agrees and drops his weapon as do all the others save the big guy that Kumak had struck from behind who holds onto his spear staring the half-orc dead in the eyes. As Kumak takes a step towards him the leader of the group calls out

"Hardue, drop it"

Hardue sniffs and throws down his weapon. Kumak and Thaddeus gather the gear and march the prisoners to the jail while Tiberius and Susan take Gavrens body to see father Zantus. Arriving at the chapel they set Gavrens body aside to be cleaned and prepared while father Zantus delves into the affliction that has now caused all of Tiberius's hair to fall out and his ears have begun to come to elongated points. The old man finally determines that some sort of disease is affecting him but he does not have the power to remove it himself. Searching through a reserve stash Zantus casts a remove disease which takes hold and immediately Tiberius's ears revert to their normal shape. He however remains completely hairless. Susan, Tiberius and father Zantus discuss the events that transpired and the 2 eventually take their leave of him to return to the Rusty Dragon.

Thaddeus and Kumak march the prisoners into separate cells and pull Drewil into the interrogation room first. Drewil is reluctant at first to cooperate, claiming that they had heard that the group had broken into the glassworks and when they saw Gavren and Pte Tiernay follow they entered and after a misunderstanding Hardue kncoked into Gavren and he must have died from the fall. Thaddeus leaps up onto the table and demands answers, throwing his new returning dagger into the chair between Drewils legs then letting it blink back to his hand. Drewil is nervous but holds out on his story so Thaddeus looks to Kumak and back to Drewil, sighs and says

"Well I tried, now I guess we do it his way"

Kumak grabs the table that Thaddeus is still standing on and hurls it at the nearby wall, causing it to explode into so much firewood. Thaddeus falls prone but with only his pride hurt he cleans himself off and takes a seat on the remaining chair.

"I saw 'is body. Was too many wounds on 'im for one idiot to have done that 'fore you coulda stopped 'im. You all did it, mebbe not at the end, mebbe yous was looking for 'im to give up. But all of yous stuck 'im didn't you?"

Gavren looks terrified of the hulking brute leaning into him, looks to Thaddeus for help, finding none the words begin to spill out

"Alright yes, I didn't want to kill him, we were just supposed to follow you and see what you were doing?"

"On who's orders?"

"......Jubrayl. But that's all, this whole situation was just a misunderstanding gone out of control"

"You know, that when we bring your friends in 'ere, your story and theirs better match up, else yous gonna see what kind of mess I can make when it aint a table I'm throwing into a wall."

Interviewing 2 of the others the story matches up. No one else claims to know about Jubrayl giving the orders, just that they take their orders from Drewil. Hardue is brought into the interrogation room and sits silently as Thaddeus runs off what they already know and if he would like a chance to offer something up to help save him life. Kumak seeing seeing Hardue just silently glare at him walks outside the room and rests his weapons against the wall in the hallway and returns to the interrogation room.

"You see if you don't want to cooperate then I have to let my friend here ask and he's not as nice as I am."

Hardue continues to glare.

"Well I did try, I think I am going to go look over all the evidence we have and try and figure out if they will kill you by hanging, headsman, or just pull you apart with horses then yes?" Thaddeus walks out leaving Kumak with Hardue.

The 2 large men glare at each other for several seconds before Kumak flexes his hands and asks

"You want a shot at the belt huh? Well lets have it"

Hardue tenses but makes no move. After a minute Kumak shrugs

"Yeah thought so." Opening the door he calls for the guards on duty, "He's done here, put 'im back in 'is cell."

Kumak and Thaddeus agree that the next step as the official law in this town should be to confront Jubrayl at the Fat Man's Feedbag and bring him in for questioning. They briefly wonder if they should wait until they have healed or bring some backup but decide that they are badasses and can do this on their own.

Walking straight into the bar the 2 are met with an abrupt silence as about 25 or so patrons immediately stop what they are doing and stare at them, fingering weapons. Kumak walks up to the bartender, who has pulled his heavy cudgel out and set it on the bar. The half-orc slides a gold over

"Good fight, no hard feelings" The bartender flicks the coin back and Kumak catches it shrugging.

Thaddeus clears his throat,

"I do hate to disturb you gentlemen but we are here on official business, we are here for a Mr. Jubrayl you see. We need to take him down to the jail for questioning."

"And what if I decide I don't want to go with you" comes a voice from the back as Jubrayl steps into the taverns main room."

Kumak moves between Thaddeus and Jubrayl "Come quietly or there will be.... trouble"

Thaddeus raises his hands "Now, now Kumak no need for that. Mr. Jubrayl you see we have information that leads us to believe that you may be able to shed some light on a murder."

"So, ask me here then. I don't have to go with you" to which Kumak holds up his badge

Thaddeus continues "I'm afraid that's not how this works. Now you could come quietly with us, answer our questions and everyone would be happy, or we could tell Sheriff Hemlock and the 20 men outside that they need to come in here and pacify the lot of you. I was hoping we could avoid that." As he talks Thaddeus discreetly casts a spell that imitates the Sheriffs voice outside calling for Jubrayl to step out or he will be coming in. Jubrayl purses his lips for a moment,

"Alirght, give me a moment then. You caught me in the middle of something" disappearing into the back room he returns a moment later. "Well lets get this over with I suppose"

Stepping outside and seeing no sheriff, Jubrayl begins to make a fuss but with a strong arm from Kumak he continues to the jail. Jubrayl's interrogation is easier that Hardues but just as fruitful. He claims to know nothing of Drewil and paints him as a local malcontent seeking him harm. As they have no evidence against him he demands they release him. To which Kumak and Thaddeus agree that it will have to wait until the sheriff returns and see him to a cell. Thaddeus inspects the belongings they had confiscated when they brought him in, finding a coded notebook he swipes it and unable to immediately decipher it elects to make a copy to work on later. Kumak elects to sleep at the jail tonight as Thaddeus returns to the Rusty Dragon.

In the morning looking over the papers collected from beneath the glassworks Tiberius and Susan realize that there seems to be a full scale goblin raid planned and the staging area seems to be at the Thistletop tribe. Sheriff Hemlock enters and sending word for Kumak to join them they fill them in on the events since his departure. The sheriff regrets that he will have to release Jubrayl as it seems they have nothing on him but Kumak and Thaddeus convince him to wait a day or 2. The group discuss options and decide to reconnoiter the goblin stronghold at Thistletop. The journey is a short 2 hours by foot and the group comes to a heavily dense forest filled with brambles. Hours of searching sees them getting no closer to Thistletop, finally Susan leads them along a small game trail to a relatively spacious opening surrounded by heavy spiky brush, but nothing else. As the day is getting darker talk turns to either camping out here and trying again come first light or returning to town. As the group debates Kumak does one final search of the area before they start breaking up the watch and spies a rope cleverly disguised to look like a natural vine. Giving it a pull a small trap door opens into the thick bramble wall before them. Glancing in no goblins are seen but signs of plenty of activity. Tiberius takes the lead but finds he must crawl forward, Thaddeus follows and finds the paths through the brambles are sized appropriately for him, Kumak elects to take the rear to keep Villister and Susan safe from any ambushes.



Thoughts: I was overjoyed to see the Paladin actually step up and start acting like a Paladin. He was never shy about taking point but it didn't feel like a point of pride. It felt like he was doing it to protect his allies which is how I feel a Paladin would act. There was a minor issue with Thaddeus rolling the perception check to find a scroll but the way it was narrated Tiberius announced he picked it up. The gnome player tried to interject that he was the one who noticed it but the game just rolled on. I don't know how the player felt about that, hopefully it wasn't much of an issue. As I suspected the paladins player started asking about making a fighter instead. I had already spoken about this to the GM so we were all fine doing some mental retconning to make Tiberius a fighter instead of a paladin but the player was interested in a full reroll if he makes the switch. Unfortunately he wants to be 2 handed power attacking beast. Which means he and I would be directly competing for items. If he chooses to switch over his rolled stats were unreal.
18/17/15/10/10/6
He was quite upset at the 6 despite my pointing out his 18,17,15. I tried to impress on him that his character is more than just the stats and the peaks and valleys are what can bring a character out. We will see what comes of it. Personally if he thinks he doesn't want to be restricted to a Paladin I would prefer we retcon his existing character to something like a Cavalier from the Order of the Cockatrice.