Chpt. 1: To the Palace

[Grognardsw]

Prologue

"Know, oh reader, that between the years when the oceans drank Greyhawk and her gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Chaos, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. In those days war raged far and wide as the forces of Chaos sought to overturn the Cosmic Balance. Those under the banner of Law fight valiantly, though as our saga opens these brave souls face many challenges.

Chaos marches across the realms.

The heroes' lands have been overcome. They retreated across sea and mountain to realms still under the sway of Law.

Brother Shen - Returning to his monastery after adventuring abroad, Shen the Monk witnessed a savage attack by the masked forces of Granbretan. His monk zen was shaken, and a rare feeling of revenge burns within him. He now seeks to right the wrongs of Chaos and help restore Balance to the land.

Ianin the Conjurer - Raids by the Chaos Hordes of Arioch upon Ianin's home city of Lankhmar have brought tragedy. His father and a brother died in the fighting, as did his arcane mentor. As the elderly wizard lay dying Ianin swore revenge. He has been traveling West and met Whispering Flint, another arcane adventurer.

Andover The Scout - A rare gathering of the Council of Rangers, led by Aragorn, decided to organize their kind to help in the cause of Law. Andover was assigned to the Duchy of Kamarg.

Honilee The Cutpurse - The halfling's shire was burned to the ground by Norkers. She has been drifting west, keeping one step ahead of the war. Honilee has witnessed atrocity, horror and the unnatural. Along the way she befriended Andover Indel, a half-elf ranger, and together have arrived in the Duchy of Kamarg.

Bjorn the Priest - This time of war has brought together the lawful gods of many pantheons. Their clerics are helping in what ways they can. From the depths of Erebor, the dwarf Bjorn Gullkyn has been sent across the plains to serve Count Brass in a quest.

Whispering Flint the Trickster - While traveling by caravan to the village of your fair love, Flint spied flying above in the sky three strange ornithopters of the Granbretan Empire, a major force in the armies of Chaos. Soon he saw smoke rising from the village, no doubt from the Granbretan's fearsome flame cannons. Upon Flint's arrival, the village was devastated. A survivor said all the women were taken, including Flint's amour. The illusionist is now on a mission to stop Chaos' march and recover his lost love.

Poltux the Swordsman - The half-orc mercenary is in the employ of Count Brass. He has overcome the prejudice of humans, who thought he was tainted with Chaos, by his impressive (if not sometimes savage) display of fighting prowess.

Idwillen, Initiate of the 1st Circle - This druid has been a tireless defender of the balance since Chaos started their conquests. The Council of Druids, led by Allanon of Callahorn, decided early on that such evil infecting the land could not be ignored. After delivering military correspondence from far Minas Tirith in Gondor, the druid is staying at Castle Brass.


The Realms

The adventurers have all come together under the banner of Count Brass, Lord Protector of the Kamarg, a peaceful region of Law that is now girding for war. You have been brought together on a quest to recover an artifact called the Runestaff from the ruined Palace of the Silver Princess Legends tells that the Princess, Lady Myshella of Kaneloon, ruled peacefully in the Valley of Haven where Law and peace reigned. She fell in love with a mysterious warrior who arrived at court riding a silver dragon and bearing a red ruby gift. Ruin soon followed: poor crops, disease, marauders from the swamp lands east. Still Myshella would not spurn her lover. Today Haven and the palace is a ruined shadow of its former self.


The Mysterious Legend of the Silver Princess.

Under cloudy skies the party leaves Castle Brass for the two-week journey. Each adventurer is provisioned with a map, rations, bedroll, tent and a potion of healing (2d8+2, may be taken in two draughts of 1d8+1 or one). All ride the horned horses of the Kamarg. A parting warning: Count Brass received military intelligence that the forces of Chaos have also sent a group to recover the Runestaff.


Castle Brass, where the party starts their journey

[Grognardsw]

Chapter One - On the Road to the Palace

The first week passes uneventfully. The party gets to know each other. Light forest turns to marsh, then the Swamps of Sadness. The swamps are an eerie place, filled with strange sounds and stranger vegetation. Bugs fly about your heads. Leaves and vines flutter in humid breezes that sometimes carry pleasant aromas, sometimes vile stenches. You are proceeding along an overgrown path that was once a road to the Silver Queen's realm. You keep well to the path, for you witness strange flora all about. Colorful flowers spit acid, black cacti throw needles, serpentine vines shift, massive leafy plants snap shut, glowing algae shift colors, puffy pollen sacks break free from upside down trees. Unnatural fauna occasionally reveal themselves - giant dragonflies, rainbow–hued tree worms, flying snakes, two-headed crocodiles, thin albino rats whose strange chittering seems occasionally understandable.

On your second day in, along the path, you spot two legs sticking out from the undergrowth to your right.

Actions?

[NJWilliam]

Ianin, Magic-User (hp 15/15)

Ianin reins in his horse and places his hand on the hilt of one of his daggers as he gazes at the legs in the path before them, "Does anyone see any tracks leading to those legs?"

[NJWilliam]

Poltux, Half-Orc Fighter (hp 20/20)

Poltux stops his mount sideways to the legs leaving his right side facing them, just within the 20' reach of his whip.
He returns his javelin to its back quiver and readies his whip in his right hand.
Keeping the legs within his vision he looks to the other side of the path thinking the legs may be a distraction from a greater threat.

[Zhym]

Andover Thindel, Half-Elf Ranger (hp 31/31)

Andover stops abreast with Poltux, 20' from the legs. He asks his traveling companions to come no closer, at least for the moment, as he inspects the area for tracks.

[Zhym]

Bjorn Gullkyn, Dwarf Cleric (hp 17/17)

Bjorn halts and dismounts. Mace at the ready, he scans the sides of the path—from a safe distance—for any threat.

Is Bjorn also on a horse? Do dwarves ride horses?

[Eulalios]

Idwillen, Human Druid (hp 17/17)

Idwillen stops walking, and his Pony Friend lowers his head and sniffs at the swishing tail of Andover's mount. Idwillen scans the vegetation, looking for carnivorous or otherwise interesting species. He also looks for subtle signs of passage leading away from the track through the shrubberies. "Else fails, I can interrogate the plants," he says.

[tkrexx]

Honnilee, Halfling Thief (hp 18/18)

Pulling her mount to a sudden stop is slightly difficult for one of Honnilee's stature, and the effort has been a constant irritation. Why she is here, in a swamp instead of a town, and heading toward the war instead of away, has confounded her since day one. Squirming in her saddle to see around the Tallfolk, she raises an eyebrow at the legs before them, then she also quickly, nervously scans the area away from the odd and completely out of place sight. Because she is a Halfling (And Halflings always find themselves looking up at everyone else), it's a matter of instinct that her gaze also trails above her.

"I knew a gang once, they would plant something curious or desirable to capture travelers' attention, then bring them down from behind and above."

[tkrexx]

Whispering Flint, Human Illusionist (hp 9/9)

Flint's expression displays confusion. His bright green eyes flash from the legs to Ianin. His right hand slowly slips from rein to pouch, wherein the tiny, ordinary items that compose his mystics are kept. He decides he'd better be ready for the unexpected, but at this point his best option is to watch and wait.

[Grognardsw]

The path, about twelve feet wide at this point, is becoming exceedingly mushy and wet as the party comes to a halt.

Poltux peers right, then left into the undergrowth of the path. He makes out nothing unusual, though this strange swamp can hardly be called the usual.

Andover the ranger examines the ground. It is moist and squishy, perfect for capturing tracks, but the half-elf sees none. He does smell decomposition around the body. The legs, from the knees down, stick out from the undergrowth.

Druid Idwillen has seen many strange and unfamiliar species of vegetation. The leaves and vines reveal no disturbance around the legs or vicinity.

Bjorn and Honilee eye above and around but see nothing to be alarmed about. Flint is at the ready.

These observations point to the body having been lying there for quite some time. It remains in the undergrowth.

A light drizzle begins to fall.

- Ranger Track Roll [1d100] = 42
- Due to their height, Bjorn the dwarf and Honilee the hobbit ride stout ponies with long saddle handles to negotiate mounting. Still, it has been a tricky proposition at times.
- TK: Honilee was recruited for her size, agility and thief skills. She would like to get revenge for the burning of her shire.
- In the OOC thread, please give marching order.

[Zhym]

Andover Thindel, Half-Elf Ranger (hp: 31/31)

Seeing no sign of traffic, and hearing Idwillen's assessment of the vegetation, Andover will approach the legs and clear away the brush with his sword to get a better look at the body without moving it.

[tkrexx]

Honnilee, Halfling Thief (hp 18/18)

The Halfing gets even more nervous seeing Andover dismount. Having known him longer than the others has made her somewhat protective. She fights the urge to spur her mount to some distance.

- TK: Honilee was recruited for her size, agility and thief skills. She would like to get revenge for the burning of her shire.

Understood. I just think a Halfling Thief would be out of her element and wondering how she let herself talked into the situation. Truly she would want justice, but that wouldn't make her particularly brave!

[tkrexx]

Whispering Flint, Human Illusionist (hp 9/9)

Flint would push on, yet knows this cadaver may provide intel of the surroundings that may prove useful to surviving the marsh. He says nothing, yet is ready to obtain some short distance if required.

[Eulalios]

Idwillen, Human Druid (hp 17/17)

Idwillen slips fingertips into his pouch of holly leaves and rubs a couple of leaves together for luck, still trying to identify a relatively talkative and cognizant species of plant near the body. With his other hand he hefts his spear / walking staff and thumps the butt on the ground. His shield, slung cross his back, bonks his elbow. He wonders is it worthwhile to unsling and don it.

[Zhym]

Bjorn Gullkyn, Dwarf Cleric (hp: 17/17)

Bjorn keeps his distance and waits to see what the ranger discovers.

[greyarea]

Shen, Monk

I am glad for this light rain. It keeps us and the horses from becoming overheated. Shen keeps his eyes alert for danger while Andover does his work.

[Grognardsw]

Andover parts the underbrush with his sword, revealing a male human body that has been dead for a while and is in a state of mushy decomposition. He is wearing decaying leather armor, a rotting small sack at the belt. At this closer distance, you think you see the glint of metal 15 feet beyond the body in the swampy reeds and underbrush.

Suddenly the stomach of the corpse convulses, pushing out like a woman pregnant with child. Once - twice - then bursting forth in a splatter of blood is a horrific little creature.

Actions!

[Zhym]

Andover Thindel, Half-Elf Ranger (hp: 31/31)

Andover resists the urge to sing "Hello My Baby" and attacks the creature with Spellslasher:

Spellslasher vs. S/M: [1d20+4] = 9+4 = 13 Damage: [1d8+7] = 2+7 = 9

(Hits AC 5. Add +1 to both to-hit and damage if the creature happens to be a magic-user or enchanted)

[Eulalios]

Idwillen, Human Druid (hp 17/17)

Idwillen grips the sling across his chest. " Speak with plants ... I hope y'roots are in good soil, friends. Please let me know of any small, sharp toothed creatures that are moving toward us two legs."

From the back of the fight, it would be imprudent to sling in a stone, while a charge with spear would risk trampling smaller folk. Idwillen swiftly scans the back trail, then crouches to peer through under growth, all the time listening to the flora.

[NJWilliam]

Poltux, Half-Orc Fighter

Poltux lashes his whip at the horrid creature, aiming to entangle it's neck with the whip.

Poltux Whip attack (THAC0 18): to hit [1d20] = 10, damage [1d2] = 2, entangle [1d100] = 19