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Home Away From Home
Role Call
NameProfession and LevelPlayer
Kill'Dar2nd/2nd Elf Fighter/MageRick DiRicco
Daeron4th Elf ClericRay Chiang
Prince Donner4th Human FighterJohn Speck
Grackle3rd/3rd Half-Elf Fighter/ThiefMark Whisler
Bayliss3rd Human RangerMatt Miller
Session Summary
Resting at Home
As we reach the village of Home, we can see the village is surrounded by a large circle of stones--much like a giant version of Stonehenge. Everyone passes through the stones uneventfully, except for Grackle-- everything around him turns dark and four ghostly figures appear.
(Ghostly Figures): Do you intend to cause any harm to anyone in this village?
Grackle: No.
(Ghostly Figures): You may pass.
Grackle's vision returns to normal.
Grackle: Did any of you guys see that?
(Party): See what?
Grackle: Never mind.
Glimmerock looks at Grackle and drifts away from him. Glimmerock directs the party to the only inn in town. Considering the earlier encounters on the Plateau with dinosaurs, remorhaz, and wemics, we suspect that there aren't enough travelers on the Plateau to warrant more than one inn in this village. After reserving some rooms, Grackle contacts Seledan, using his crystal. Seledan delivers the news that the youngest son, Carroll, is missing. In the inn, the party is told that a bard, one Marden Canaith, shows up every evening.
For the rest of the day, the party wanders around town waiting for the evening to arrive. It is apparent that Home can only contain a few thousand people.
Later that evening, as Donner buys a bottle of elven wine, Marden decides to sit with us and pour himself the first glass. From the conversation, the party learns much about the Plateau and the history of Home.
Marden spent his youth adventuring with his three friends: George (mage, now town wizard), Philip (fighter, now mayor), and Devram (priest, now head of temple of Diancecht). He tells of a story of encountering a young wyrm in the Gorge (north of Home). One highlight tells of how Philip used his sword to behead the dragon.
He tells how for generations, the ancestors of the four friends also adventured together.
Daeron shows the runestone given to them by Borse. The symbols are of home, safety, and shelter. He suggests that Father Devram Cullaim or George could fully identify the item for the party. He tells us that Borse is a Beorning, able to take the shape of a bear. It is his nature to seek out evil and unnatural things and destroy them.
History of Home: The four ancestors of the four adventurers founded Home. During the Darkness, the demon Aishapra lived in the current location of Home. During the Cleansing, they made a deal with the King of Dragons (details?), and the four together managed to banish the demon. During the battle, two of them were killed and after the battle, the remaining two aged quickly and died. Before dying, the adventurers vowed that this place (Home) would always be safe. It is believed that their spirits inhabit the standing stones and protect the inhabitants.
The City of Brass is a city of giants.
The Grey Vales surround the City of the Ancients. The Lich King has occupied the City of the Ancients since the Darkness. During the Darkness, the people were drained of life and trapped to walk there forever.
Kennetar is the next city from Home. It is approximately a week's walk away. It is a giant fortress city. It has extensive records, supposedly dating back to the Kingdom of the West.
Hensen is approximately the same distance north of Home. Marden tells how there are six factions who occupy Hensen, which results in a fair amount of infighting. Adventuring groups often hire themselves out as mercenaries to the various factions.
Finally, Marden sings a song which catches Bayliss' attention: "The Halberdeers"
The next day, the party visits Philip, who graciously agrees to talk to the party. He appears to be cutting stone with his son. During this time, the party learns a bit more about the four citizens of Home who were once adventurers. Donner and Colin promise to visit later in the day--when Philip and his son, young Philip, are less busy.
The party then stops by the Temple of Diancecht and visits with Father Devram Cullaim. He examines the runestone and tells the group the activation word. It appears to require personal energy to activate.
Later that afternoon, Donner and Kill'Dar spar with Philip and his son. Philip and young Philip favor the bastard sword, which delights Donner. They spar for a while and it is quite obvious that Philip is an impressive swordsman and young Philip is likely to follow his father.
Later that evening, George stops by the Inn to visit the party. The party gives him the runestone for identification. He asks us to stop by the next day and pick up the runestone and he will tell them what he manages to find out.
The next day, the party buys several containers for the remorhaz juice and stops by George's home. A young lady lets the party in and shows them to George's study. A short while later, George comes into the room with the runestone. George tells that the stone is very old and permanently enchanted, although not particularly powerful. It appears to drain spell or personal energy to provide a Protection from Evil spell, with an effective radius of approximately 5 paces. [Note: Removes 3 levels of spells or 3 points of Constitution.]
Donner: Thanks for your help. Is there something we can do
in return?
George: (Thinks for a moment) Well, there are a few items I could use from Kennetar. If you could pick them up for me, I would appreciate it.
Donner: Sure. We were planning on moving on anyways.
George: Well, that certainly would help me. Now, let me give you some money for the items.
Donner: That won't be necessary. We'll pay for it and you can reimburse us.
George: Are you sure about that?
Donner: Don't worry about it.
On the Way to Kennetar
The party leaves Home, with Daeron and Kill'Dar looking forward to reaching the Library at Kennetar.
Day 1:We travel a full day without any encounters. The evening passes uneventfully as well.
Day 2:Again, the entire day passes uneventfully.
Day 3:In the first hour, three ettins are nearly upon the party before anyone notices. Grackle uses the first gem on the Ring of Fire Resistance to Fireball two of the ettins, but he also manages to get caught in the blast.After several rounds, the ettins are dead or dying and Prince Donner and Kill'Dar remain standing. Bayliss is dead, having been knocked unconscious during the battle and suffering the misfortune of being exactly where one of the ettins fell.The party manages to recover enough to move away from the dead bodies. Thankfully, the rest of the day is uneventful, with the party only needing to avoid some grazing wooly rhinos.In the evening, a Siberian tiger is caught by the Wyvern Watch spell and Kill'Dar quickly disposes of it. We drag the body off a ways and Donner later sees something dragging the body of the tiger.
Day 4:A group of Giant Eagles spots the party and one of them descends. Kill'Dar and Daeron approach the eagle and talk to him. Apparently, the eagles are acting as scouts for an elven troop led by Colonel Illus. We decide to wait for the elven party to catch up to us.After a short while, a company of elves (a couple hundred) catches up to us. Colonel Illus offers to travel with us to Kennetar, and we gladly accept. He tells us that his mission is to pick up enchanted items in the city to return to the army.
With the elven company escorting us, the rest of the trip to Kennetar is uneventful.
At the gates of Kennetar, we are asked to peace bond our weapons, pay an annual fee, and be subject to magical and psychic evaluation. Donner, remembering to keep his identity secret, opts for a lengthy verbal question in lieu of the magical and psychic evaluation.
Foes Fought
3 Ettins1 Siberian Tiger
Base Experience: 3662