Every campaign gets an Adventure Log, a blog for your adventures!

While the wiki is great for organizing your campaign world, it’s not the best way to chronicle your adventures. For that purpose, you need a blog!

The Adventure Log will allow you to chronologically order the happenings of your campaign. It serves as the record of what has passed. After each gaming session, come to the Adventure Log and write up what happened. In time, it will grow into a great story!

Best of all, each Adventure Log post is also a wiki page! You can link back and forth with your wiki, characters, and so forth as you wish.

One final tip: Before you jump in and try to write up the entire history for your campaign, take a deep breath. Rather than spending days writing and getting exhausted, I would suggest writing a quick “Story So Far” with only a summary. Then, get back to gaming! Grow your Adventure Log over time, rather than all at once.

Returned to our compound following the defeat of Gregor last session.

Jimmue has given us basic information on the seven noble families, and charged us with winning as many of them over as possible ahead of the coming conflict.

In addition, we have been given the task of finding the former king’s gravesite in the northern mountains, where we hope to find a matching amulet to Braiden’s, as evidence of his lineage.

We were contacted by the Thief’s Guild about Duke Aramour. He is perverse, and has cracked down on the T.G. as well. They want him publicly assassinated as a sign of T.G. strength, and have provided evidence of his pedifile ways. One of the TG members is in the palace guard at the front door; he should know who we are.

At our compound, there are two crisis situations. First, workers have left and we are down on production. Further complicating matters is the potential shortage of buyers for the fruit. Second, the wizard who freezes the fruit with a secret process demanded a share of the company. Instead he was given a 300 gp raise per two weeks – setting the business up for a break-even outlook. Mr. Bellevidiere is looking into hiring new workers to aid that. Also, a shipment was sent to Oleans and no payment has been received. This area is thought to be leaning strongly toward Hathlad in the coming war, which may explain the lack of payment.

We learned that we have five knights, each controlling 25 men. Two of those groups are in the palace guard rotation, one guards the compound, and two are afield checking out travelers. Jimmue has given us a green light to remove one of each type helping him as we need. We chose to send a small, disciplined contingent down to the south (town #7) to get the pulse on the place.

Also learned of Fabian, a masterwork weaponsmith who can work with mithril. Location is Brenton.

As we left to meet with the first group of nobles, we were ambushed by four assassins from the country to the north. There is a 5,000 gp bounty on our heads, and the contact is waitin in Olean at an Inn.

We returned with our would-be assassin to turn him in to Jimmue. First meeting with Braggio, the captain of our compound guard. He is a half-orc. He recommends we allow him to set up a rotation to bring guys who are out in the field in, and vice versa.

Officers are:
-Port Helsing: Moss (Paladin). Tough, stand-up, knows nobility/diplomacy
-Port Helsing: Phillip (Ranger). Half-elf. Good at stealth, forest movement. Trains ranged fighters.
-Afield: Trent (Rogue). Spy. Not a great leader, good in ambush.
-Compound: Braggio (Barbarian). Half-orc. Battle-worn, tough. Best melee trainer.
-Afield: Jason (Fighter). Close to Jimmue, veteran with J and Sir Thanig.

In general, companies are 10 melee fighters, 10 ranged fighters (+/-), knights (mounted soldiers) 3-5- including the associated officer.

We have decided to rotate:
-Trent will scout town #7
-Jason and Moss are paired (will trade every 3-4 weeks)
-Braggio and Phillip are paired (will trade every 3-4 weeks)

Encounter in the Woods:
2 Bear, 8 Wolves, 4 Boar, 1 Dire Boar

We arrive in Nashkel
Carrista is the nobel house in town; Duke Carrista is the leader. He is a kind man, and has embraced the displaced elves. Soldiers under that banner are guarding the area, and assisting in rebuilding the town (which was looted after the mine was overrun).

We speak with the Duke re: our mission. He is unable to pledge his support lacking evidence, due to concerns about the town if it was attacked. However, if we can prove Braiden’s claim, he would …

We headed to the temple to speak with the clerics. There is a smashed box where the alter had stood. The Heart of the Forest which was left by an ancient race, has gone missing – a stone with ordinary appearance. Would have been taken on purpose. Possible (probable) cause of the bizarre animal attacks that we and the town experienced. The magic protections they placed on the box were defeated by powerful magic when the town was abandoned. The stone gives the bearer the ability to control the forest and its inhabitants. It was forbidden to handle the stone, because it would corrupt the user. Someone who knows how to wield it has it now; hence the animal attacks. We are told that news of a recent attack would be available at the inn.

We inquire about the hermit. They have encountered him, but would be surprised if he was the thief. We don’t think he took it, but hope he would be of help with the location. A cleric who had met him told us that he is a strange old man; had met him once while injured in the forest- he healed the cleric but obscured his location from him. Was heading east at the time.

After some general conversation with the townspeople, it becomes clear that they generally believe the hermit is responsible for the theft. We gained positive reputation with the townspeople, but what they really need is for us to find that stone.

We reconnect with Lance and he tells us that the most recent attacks were on farmers to the west? He thinks that the hermit has always been a healer – not someone who hurts. Doesn’t fit the bill that he would have stolen the stone.

We rested at the inn and headed to the west.

Info from the Duke re:City #2. City is controlled by the house of Grendal. They have recently begun much deforestation, which troubles the nashkil elvish population, but we rely on them for trade. He also states that the houses of Grendal and Marshall are fiercely independent of a lot of what occurs.

We head into the forest, where Sir Kitty speaks with his pseudo-dragon. There is more chatter as we are heading to the east; generally there seems to be concern about strange goings-on. We are approached by a trio of dryads as we set up camp. We discover the hermit’s house in a familiar-seeming place. We explain the missing stone; he panics and explains that he has seen the trouble brewing but wasn’t aware of it going missing. He explains that an ancient order of druids created the stone; the hermit is the last of that order. It was created when men first appeared on the continent, in hopes of keeping the forest safe from them. Quickly the stone was discovered to be corrupting, and it was used against the druids who created it to consolidate power. It has been protected by the clerics because someday it will once again be needed to save the forest- but that day should not have arrived yet. Most people aren’t aware of the stone’s existence; he thought he was the last survivor – but perhaps his brother still lives (his body was never recovered after a long-past fight. His brother wanted to use the stone right when it was created to attack the humans; he went mad with power. The elves and druids thought they destroyed him, but never recovered his body. They did recover the stone, though. Something must’ve changed for him to have regained it. He needs to meditate on whether to help us.

We rest at the hermit’s house. He has decided to aid us in finding his corrupted brother. He is concerned about getting too close to the corrupting power of the stone, and won’t help us in the fight itself. We are given an eagle to follow to reach the hermit’s brother.

We locate a cave which has a nefarious wind blowing out of it. Upon dispelling the wind spell, two gigantic treant come to life and we have an encounter with them, plus three of their summoned minions.

The wind from the cave has picked up to the point where we aren’t strong enough to enter. We return to the hermit and explain that we don’t feel like we can take on the magic of the cave. Explaining what we saw on the door, he says that the door reads: “By the ring of the royal family, you may pass”. Believes that would refer to a ring of the Stonehammer Clan; they used to control the Nashkil mines before the humans came into the picture. They traditionally trade with the Marshall Clan in Brenton (town #3, at the river headwaters). Stonehammer rules the mountains, including the dormant volcano.

Leave for town #2, without issue through the hermit’s side (the eastern half) of the forest. We arrive in Dressel’s Pass, moving up a bit in altitude. The landscape changes from forest to more plain. There is a large stream serving the area, and powering the lumber mill operation. The town is control by the house of Grendal and Lord Grendal. As we approach the town, we are passed by a member of the noble household (in caravan)- they move ahead of us into the small town.

The Grendal House rules the area; they are a strong/legal family. They run the largest lumbering operation, as well, which makes them key to the community (that also gives them a lot of strength as well). Duke Grendal is in charge of the family, and his loyalty is unknown. We notice that there are two groups of soldiers: one near the great hall at the center of the city, the other manning posts around town.

There is an inn with a tavern attached to it. There is some general air of excitement because of a new trade arrangement with the Blackfoot clan in the mountains (had previously failed to do so b/c the Stonehammer would block such agreements and have restricted trade with outside areas by all the other clans). Prosperity is coming to Dressel’s pass! There was apparently a revolution inside the mountains, and the Blackfoot clan is now in power. Duke Grendal supported them during the revolution, and now is reaping the rewards. The trade routes are well protected.

We go slip into the back of the great hall in stealth. We notice that the second group of soldiers (not the active guards) has established a camp near the hall. We listen in as Duke Grendal holds court; all run-of-the-mill business. We do notice that there are advisors in the room who mostly appear to be from the general group of soldiers, however one advisor next to the Duke is from the non-native group we’ve seen camping. That group seems to be from somewhere else, whereas the larger force appears to be native to the area.

After casting a charm person and aura of the ordinary on the captain of the smaller force, we approach and talk with him. He explains that he is under King Isling’s orders in order to secure the support of Duke Grendal; he has pledged support after we were able to help him overthrow the Marshall’s control of trade with the dwarves. They are not under their flag on purpose; trying to keep a low profile so that they could also try to get the Marshall family on their side. At this time, the Marshall family is unaware that the Isling crew is helping Grendal. We attempt to get him to go announce who he is in the square, hoping that it will help with Marshall (failed). We inquire about Isling’s plans for the future, and he indicates that there are more groups traveling around trying to win noble support around the nation. We ask how they got the Blackfoot to trade; he reveals that the Blackfoot have long hated the Stonehammer and it was easy to use that to their advantage. Of note; Smaug was involved in the deal as well – and is in the volcano where the dwarves live. Smog was swayed by their commander – Sir Jacob Baltimore the man we saw advising the Duke. Sir K.S. explores the tent of Jacob while protected by the Aura of Unremarkable, and discovers letters which are purposely vague but still reveal the intentions of Isling to us (b/c of our particular knowledge). We are also able to find additional orders for this group of soldiers, which are: after completing the mission in Dressel’s Pass, they are to move into the forest and make contact with their agent inside the forest.

We spend the night encamped in the rope trick spell.

Send message via the eagle paper describing the events in towns #1 and #2.

Then we head to town #2 to track a small contingent of soldiers disguised as merchants as they travel toward Nashkell. We receive a message from Jimmue saying that we need to try and intercept the information by stealth if possible, by force if necessary.

GPD tracks the group into the woods, where we are joined by Lance! The GPD gets only small amount of details about the meet – they leave the cart and quickly return. We attempt an aura of unremarkable spell to keep the group from realizing we are going to try and rob them. After it doesn’t appear to work on everyone, we fight the 11-man party and win (three people flee and we track them down and kill them- they were fleeing more towards the north than to town #2). The final survivor is bound and questioned: turns out that there was an invisible person in the woods who gave a verbal message to their leader (now dead). He is taken to the Hermit to be restored; after he comes back to life, he explains that the message was “the preparations are complete.” The hermit is left to decide the fate of the two soldiers (he choses to kill them).

After the battle, we find the following equipment, and spend 400 gp to examine it:
- Magic full plate armor +2 (taken by Schawak)
- Magic shield: +2 heavy metal shield
- Magic morningstar +1
- Magic Halbeard +1
- +4 Composite Longbow (taken by Brom) / gives Schawak a +2 composite bow

Lance goes back to Nashkell to tell Jimmue’s troops of our failed ambush (doesn’t know the details we later determined, or that we tracked and killed the fleeing soldiers). We are otherwise waiting to update Jimmue until we know more about what is going on.

Brom goes into town #2 again in disguise and speaks to the Sgt of Arms of the main garrison (the other troops are nowhere to be seen). The point of the conversation is to get the Sgt to begin thinking about who those soldiers really were, and what they really wanted (in other words – look past the trade deal to what is really going on).

Then, Schawak reveals that he isn’t really welcome in the land of the dwarves to the north, especially with the new power structure there. Looks like we need to head to town #3, because everything north appears out of our current league.

Level up to 9 after this session.

Update from last time:
With Isling and Smog’s help, Blackfoot has overthrown Stonehammer clan in Fellhammer (north of town #2). Isling soldiers were occupying town #2, and we tracked them to a secret meeting. Ended up killing the whole party after their message was delivered by someone invisible.

Open quests:
1) Find the amulet
2) Heart of the Forest (need to stone to get into the hermit’s (Tom) lair)
3) Kill the child molester publicly.
4) Trade switched from Brenton (town #3) to Dressel’s Pass (town #2). Dressel’s Pass is not friendly and is siding with Isling.

The session begins:
After disguising Balthar to conceal his ID from the dwarves he has history with, we roll in with a caravan to Fellhammer. Outside, there is already a new statue to one of the Blackfoot clan. There are significant guards outside the entrance to the hall, they search through our stuff without incident. We move through the dwarven halls, and notice signs of the recent battle which went on inside. Inside the second hall, there is a building reduced to rubble and still smoldering. The building is the former Stonehammer hall building, and when Wrankle (?) made his last stand, he set off an explosion inside the room which burned it – and he hasn’t been located. There is a big pit in the center, and all the guys who’ve gone in haven’t’ come out. Also in the main hall are a tavern, inn, and barracks.

We peek into the Inn, and a man falls out of his chair when seeing us. Thinking he is drunk, I follow him out of the roof and ask if he needs help. I am aware that he is wearing armor, and he continues moving (angrily) and heads to the magistrates office. Sensing that we are about to be in deep trouble, we head over to the pit we saw earlier. Balthar tells the guards that we want to bring the old king to justice. They react poorly to that, and so Brom says in a hushed voice that we aren’t cool with the overthrow and want to find the guy. That changes the attitude, and they indicated a small passage we can use to get into the pit unnoticed.

We descend into the pit, and detect a trapped room (covered with blood and fresh guts). Balthar heads in to detect the trap, and the doors slam shut behind him. The doors reopen after an encounter, and the others join him. The doors slam shut again and two stone golums appear. Balthar calmly flicks his blood (from the wounds he just sustained), and when it hits them, they announce “blood of the Stonehamer, tribute paid”. Moving forward, we notice one older set of bloody footprints, and about seven newer sets. We assume they are the deposed King and them some other guys joining him.

We come into a large room. When Balthor crosses the threshold, the torches flame to light! There is a fountain in the room, and there are seven neat piles of equipment inside. An inscription above the fountain reads: “Ye that would tread in the resting place of the ancestors, must remove the trappings of war….etc” We ditch our equipment and place it in the fountain.

There is another stairway leading down, where we hear voices. One guy is yelling at another, they are arguing. We return to the main room because we want to investigate a crest in the wall Balthor noticed in the main room (he is the only one who can see it).

There is a crest in the wall which only Balthor can see; and a door opens when Balthar approaches. Inside is a staircase leading up, and Balthor senses he has been in this place before. We head up, and we are in an observation room above a very large hall. The space would’ve been used to pray without disturbing the resting place of their ancestors.

Balthar recognizes one of the seven people in the room below, and he is not a friend and potentially not an ally of the deposed king. There is a huge guy trying to smash open the door, and another using a device we can’t make out on the door. Another guy breaks into a crypt, and finds a weapon. As he takes it, a giant statue in the middle of the room comes to life and crushes him violently with a hammer, killing him. The guy Balthar recognizes is trying to coach the guy with the device about how to use it; Balthar realizes that they have the device they need, but they are not in the right place to open the door.

The leader (who is the guy Balthar recognizes), heads up to the door and calmly speaks to the guy on the other side of the door (“We know you’re in there, your nephew is dead, and you’ll be dead before the end of the night”). They turn to head back to the fountain. Encounter!

After the encounter, we find the ring they were trying to use on the leader (who we have left alive) and insert it in the fountain. The water turns to blood and the door at the end of the crypt room opens. We have opened the tomb of the first king. Wrankle is on the floor, alive but spitting blood. He waives us off from trying to heal him – the wounds are spiritual. Balthar asks “Uncle, what happened?” He explains “Stop the Axe and Hammer – you must bring something of value to Smog to turn him against the Isling/Blackfoot alliance which he has helped create. The Blackfoot are weak, they are pawns of the Axe and Hammer. The ring you bear has power over Smog, and we have used it over him for centuries. He would greatly value having one.” The ring will also likely open that door we need to get at the Heart of the Forest. “Balthar – you are king now, and it falls to you to take back the kingdom.”

Balthar explains that he is the dying king’s nephew. Balthar’s dad was his favorite advisor, and was assassinated. Then his mother was killed, too (poison). Balthar was the heir apparent, and fled from fear. He was a street kid on the run, and was adopted by Grunthel (the guy we have unconscious), the head of Axe and Hammer – a dwarven secret soceity. It is considered myth by most, but is real. They are very anti-non-dwarf races. Somehow they have joined with Smog to change things now. Before being initiated into Axe and Hammer, he fled to the island. They continued to pursue him even there, so when the volcano erupted – Balthar put his ring on a burnt dwarf corpse. The Axe and Hammer, believing Balthar was dead, retrieved the ring and returned to overturn the Stonehammer clan.

Update from last time:
With Isling and Smog’s help, Blackfoot has overthrown Stonehammer clan in Fellhammer (north of town #2). Isling soldiers were occupying town #2, and we tracked them to a secret meeting. Ended up killing the whole party after their message was delivered by someone invisible.

Open quests:
1) Find the amulet
2) Heart of the Forest (need to stone to get into the hermit’s (Tom) lair)
3) Kill the child molester publicly.
4) Trade switched from Brenton (town #3) to Dressel’s Pass (town #2). Dressel’s Pass is not friendly and is siding with Isling.

The session begins:
After disguising Balthar to conceal his ID from the dwarves he has history with, we roll in with a caravan to Fellhammer. Outside, there is already a new statue to one of the Blackfoot clan. There are significant guards outside the entrance to the hall, they search through our stuff without incident. We move through the dwarven halls, and notice signs of the recent battle which went on inside. Inside the second hall, there is a building reduced to rubble and still smoldering. The building is the former Stonehammer hall building, and when Wrankle (?) made his last stand, he set off an explosion inside the room which burned it – and he hasn’t been located. There is a big pit in the center, and all the guys who’ve gone in haven’t’ come out. Also in the main hall are a tavern, inn, and barracks.

We peek into the Inn, and a man falls out of his chair when seeing us. Thinking he is drunk, I follow him out of the roof and ask if he needs help. I am aware that he is wearing armor, and he continues moving (angrily) and heads to the magistrates office. Sensing that we are about to be in deep trouble, we head over to the pit we saw earlier. Balthar tells the guards that we want to bring the old king to justice. They react poorly to that, and so Brom says in a hushed voice that we aren’t cool with the overthrow and want to find the guy. That changes the attitude, and they indicated a small passage we can use to get into the pit unnoticed.

We descend into the pit, and detect a trapped room (covered with blood and fresh guts). Balthar heads in to detect the trap, and the doors slam shut behind him. The doors reopen after an encounter, and the others join him. The doors slam shut again and two stone golums appear. Balthar calmly flicks his blood (from the wounds he just sustained), and when it hits them, they announce “blood of the Stonehamer, tribute paid”. Moving forward, we notice one older set of bloody footprints, and about seven newer sets. We assume they are the deposed King and them some other guys joining him.

We come into a large room. When Balthor crosses the threshold, the torches flame to light! There is a fountain in the room, and there are seven neat piles of equipment inside. An inscription above the fountain reads: “Ye that would tread in the resting place of the ancestors, must remove the trappings of war….etc” We ditch our equipment and place it in the fountain.

There is another stairway leading down, where we hear voices. One guy is yelling at another, they are arguing. We return to the main room because we want to investigate a crest in the wall Balthor noticed in the main room (he is the only one who can see it).

There is a crest in the wall which only Balthor can see; and a door opens when Balthar approaches. Inside is a staircase leading up, and Balthor senses he has been in this place before. We head up, and we are in an observation room above a very large hall. The space would’ve been used to pray without disturbing the resting place of their ancestors.

Balthar recognizes one of the seven people in the room below, and he is not a friend and potentially not an ally of the deposed king. There is a huge guy trying to smash open the door, and another using a device we can’t make out on the door. Another guy breaks into a crypt, and finds a weapon. As he takes it, a giant statue in the middle of the room comes to life and crushes him violently with a hammer, killing him. The guy Balthar recognizes is trying to coach the guy with the device about how to use it; Balthar realizes that they have the device they need, but they are not in the right place to open the door.

The leader (who is the guy Balthar recognizes), heads up to the door and calmly speaks to the guy on the other side of the door (“We know you’re in there, your nephew is dead, and you’ll be dead before the end of the night”). They turn to head back to the fountain. Encounter!

After the encounter, we find the ring they were trying to use on the leader (who we have left alive) and insert it in the fountain. The water turns to blood and the door at the end of the crypt room opens. We have opened the tomb of the first king. Wrankle is on the floor, alive but spitting blood. He waives us off from trying to heal him – the wounds are spiritual. Balthar asks “Uncle, what happened?” He explains “Stop the Axe and Hammer – you must bring something of value to Smog to turn him against the Isling/Blackfoot alliance which he has helped create. The Blackfoot are weak, they are pawns of the Axe and Hammer. The ring you bear has power over Smog, and we have used it over him for centuries. He would greatly value having one.” The ring will also likely open that door we need to get at the Heart of the Forest. “Balthar – you are king now, and it falls to you to take back the kingdom.”

Balthar explains that he is the dying king’s nephew. Balthar’s dad was his favorite advisor, and was assassinated. Then his mother was killed, too (poison). Balthar was the heir apparent, and fled from fear. He was a street kid on the run, and was adopted by Grunthel (the guy we have unconscious), the head of Axe and Hammer – a dwarven secret soceity. It is considered myth by most, but is real. They are very anti-non-dwarf races. Somehow they have joined with Smog to change things now. Before being initiated into Axe and Hammer, he fled to the island. They continued to pursue him even there, so when the volcano erupted – Balthar put his ring on a burnt dwarf corpse. The Axe and Hammer, believing Balthar was dead, retrieved the ring and returned to overturn the Stonehammer clan.

Found in the dwarves secret hall:
-Stonehammer (Great Axe of Earth Splitting)
-Rod of metamagic extend
-Studded Armor +3 of Stealth
-2x Ring of Protection +1
-One Ring of Protection +2
-Gauntlet of Readiness
-Minor items worth 5,000 gp

We exit the pit in stealth, but hear as we come out that the guy from the tavern (magistrate spy) has seen us. A group of guards emerges to find us, and we move quickly but discreetly toward Smaug. The way is traveled, but not well traveled. The temperatures are warming as we move on. GPD spies a bit, and reports that the guards have moved back to the front door to wait for us to come back out. We travel around four hours through the tunnel, and see a light. We notice that their are noises as creatures scuttle about (kobolds). They aren’t bothering us, but they are passing along the message that a half-elf, elf, and dwarf are approaching the lair.

It looks as though there is a city at the edge of the volcano. Tons of dragonkind are swarming around (similar to a bee hive). There is an area with walls/roof (and hole in the roof) – it is obvious that this is the hub of activity. We enter the hall, which is opulent and well decorated. A massive, ancient blue dragon. Upon seeing the ring, he grows furious and with speed seemingly impossible for a creature his size, he encircles us in a rage. He fumes that the ring should be his! Smaug explains that he did side with the Blackfoot clan, and that the Warhammers were not wearing the ring. He is troubled that the deal he made has fallen apart – the ring for the overthrow. He grants us passage to the amulet site, and we go on our way.

We begin to exit and the temperatures begin to fall. Temperatures fall to freezing as we exit the other side of the mountain. We come upon ancient gates with a narrow pass – put in place to slow the advance of the northern troops coming south. The area is deathly silent. Sir Kitty detects a general evil magic moving about, and a strong aura from a large tree (not evil). The evil energy begins to form into a single mass as we approach.

An insect-looking ice golumn forms and speaks in a language that only SKS understands. We get our ass kicked, and teleport away. We enter the cave back in the woods, and gain entry with the ring. Inside, we kill three dire bears and discover a wounded large gray wolf. Inside a large hall, there is a hidden room containing a bronze statue. There is a laser which activates with the ring inside, and several puzzles ensue to move forward in the crawl.

“The light of the ancestors leads the way”

We defeat two stone golums and continue the laser into the next room – where we see a ghost girl.

• Level up to 10***

Continuing our dungeon crawl…

The ghost girl beckons us follow and vanishes through the next door in the room. We enter the room, and see a pool of water in the room. The laser is hitting the stairs at the far end of the room, and needs to be raised somehow. Dwarven writing in the pool says “the breath of the stonehammer opens the door.” Balthor enters the pool and says “open” at which point the pool turns to a prism of ice, trapping the hapless dwarf. After a strength check and some party laughter, he breaks out. The prism does the work of raising the beam to hit the door and open it.

In the next room, there is a hole in the ground and a seemingly shallow pool of water. The ghost girl is in the room and says “entertain us.” We are transported to a magical room where we are told by her disembodied voice that only one can leave. So we fight and Balthor lives. He alone is transported back and speaks to her (she tells him to leave). Then there is a shimmer, and then SKS and Brom reappear. We hear a voice say “You must kill the anchor.” The girl becomes enraged, and we roll for initiative!

During battle, we dissipate the water in the pool, and reveal a druid from the temple is alive in the water, clutching a green stone. Brom jumps into the hole and severs the hand clutching the stone, causing the girl to fade. We save the guy, and take the stone into a pouch. The man is someone we recognize from the temple (he is a druid). He explains that after the kobold attacks, he attempted to use the power of the stone and instead it was his master. He had been contained in the well while the spirit of the stone worked it’s evil. We heal the guy, sensing that he meant good by taking the stone to defend his town. Then we hear a voice saying that he wants to meet us, but without the stone. We teleport to the pit in the stone hammer area, leave the stone, and then come back to the forest. Bob (the hermit) reveals that he felt the power of the stone rise when it teleported us to the other room – and the hermit is one who healed us and brought us back. Apparently when they killed him previously, his spirit was imprinted into the stone. The hermit wants us to destroy the stone. We ask how, and he suggests we give the stone to Smaug, whose lawful nature will react with the chaotic nature of the stone – weakening both parties significantly. Then he will likely destroy the stone himself to be rid of the encumbrance.

We leave the temple druid with Bob, who heals him but keeps the hand off as a reminder of his folly. Then we go back to our pit in the volcano and rest, retrieve the heart of the forest, and head to see Smaug. Upon hearing that we have a deal for him, he dismisses all the other creatures around. He is excited by the power of the stone, and asks what exactly we had trouble with in the snow field. Shaking off the dust from his wings, he explodes out of the room and goes himself to go and get the medallion for us. We make the trade, and he pours the small stone into he giant fist which clinches around it. He experiences obvious pain, and then we hear a -crack, and dust from the stone falls to the ground. He roars “treachery,” and lunges towards the party (which teleports away).

We teleport back to our keep, and bring the amulet back to Jimmue and Braiden. While doing so, Balthor mentions his own situation regarding his status of heir to the thrown, and they pledge their support to him.

---

Our scouts have returned our eagle paper note with a message – tbd by Jeremy *

Back in the compound, we recall that our fruit-freezing wizard needs a visit, and SKS sneaks in to find his spell book – reading the spell we desire. As he touches the spell book, his arm freezes solid! After dispelling the ice away, SKS learns the spell and returns the book without any further action.

We pick up 400gp from our compound as profit from the month we’ve been gone.

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Jimmue also requests for us to come see him and discuss what he has learned from the dead king’s spirit.

We begin the session in our compound, and head in to see Jimmue. We notice that purple flames are high in the sky – apparently activated when the king is in the castle. Jimmue confirms that to us. We also notice that Braiden’s appearance has changed- he is larger, and has a more confident air about him. Jimmue updates us that Nashkell and Brenton (town 3; pledged in secret) have pledged their support based on our actions and the purple flame evidence.

We discuss town #5 – it is a nomadic area generally. They are fast moving, calvary is strong. Fiercely independent people.

Town #7 is the pirate town, and there is not necessarily a central power there. Our note from our detachment informs us that – “town is worse than usual; we expected to find some semblance of order, but there is terrible poverty here. Isling soldiers have occupied a run down palisade that was once a barrack, and they are obviously trying to influence someone in the town. It seems like they are prepping to leave again, please send our soldiers to come down and kill this contingent of soldiers.” Braiden is concerned that we don’t know what Isling is up to; he thinks it wiser to win the people over before there is open combat.

Town #8 has been silent for quite a while. That is where the child molester is located.

We agree to go to towns 7-8-5 in that order.

Next we head to the Thieve’s Guild at Fisherman’s Wharf. En route, we detect a subtle reaction to us by a guy on the street; he quickly evades us and leaves the scene. At the guild, the Guildmaster is not there – but we try to get some info from other guys we know. They’ve had a long standing contact with District 7 – the Corleone family runs that town. Their leader (captain morgan) runs the town, though the town doesn’t have official leadership. But about a week ago, contact stopped from there. He suggests we wait until the guildmaster returns the next day,

While we are sleeping at the hotel, three assassins come in our room. We are awakened by an alarm we placed on the door, and manage to quickly kill two of them. The third blends into the crowd and we are able to find him out while going through the people at the inn. We end up cutting him in half! The thieve’s guild master has returned and asks what has happened. He appears pissed that this would have happened without his blessing. Brom gives him the notebook he found as part of his backstory. That, combined with the white hand on the assassin’s clothes alarm him. He recognizes that they have some sort of deal (they operate) near town #8. Balthar has been wounded with a constitution wounding blade (a necromancy poison), and he is infected. The Thieve’s Guild master can tell that the blade was coated with a powerful poison- he is impressed at it’s power and that Balthar wasn’t killed by it. The poison is crafted with the blood of a vampire – meaning that they are controlled by or have captured a vampire. The only way to reverse the loss of constitution is to kill the source vampire.

The mercenary group is the “white hand company” – they must’ve had a contract with town #8 and are locking down the area. We head into the guild HQ for more secrecy. He gives us a bit on information on town 7. The people are not necessarily in love with the Corleone family – many would accept rule from the king again if that would mean the end of the Corleone rule. He believes that the Isling people have made a deal with the Corleone family to come to Port Helsing and destroy Jimmue’s fleet. He suggests that we destroy the Corleone family first – since the contract with Isling isn’t apparent yet (we might need to prove it). He mentions that there is a network of tunnels under the town, and that if we can get past the entrance into town – we should go to the Old Boot Inn (first one we’ll see). There, we need to order the most expensive whiskey from the barkeep, and should be met by a friend of ours.

We discuss the idea of sending Jason, our fighter commander, to town #3 under no banner (similar to the way Isling has dispatched men). When we return to our compound before the journey to town #7 – we will send that group of 25 to bolster the strength at town #3.

We ask the guildmaster what ancients he is aware of: he mentions the hermit and smaug, plus another hermit in the south, and one that lives in the winds of the desert (sometimes people hear a voice; but no one has seen that being that he knows of). The southern hermit is even more reclusive than the northern one.

He also lets us know that we’ve been a good benefit for him, and that we can find ways to contact him around. He also urges us to hurry up and complete our mission in town #8… although we aren’t hurting him by beating down the Corleone family in town #7.

We ask about the White Hand Company. He explains that they began as a company of soldiers which fought for the empire in the forest (mostly rangers and assassins). They have special skills in the forest, and are handy in the forest. Town #8 wanted to stop traffic in/out, and they were perfect for that mission.

Level up to 11