Sidrea03 - Amulet of Maeruka

The party started out at the base camp of the bandits where they had killed the bandits except the halfling rogue who surrendered. The party interrogated the halfling, and after some intimidation, she finally revealed that the bandits were running away from the law. Given that the winter seals the valley, they had thought the area would be a great place to hide. It was fairly clear that the group of bandits were cut-throats who ambushes common travelers. When asked about the ruins, the halfling mentioned that there is something strange in the ruins eerie green lights and strange noises... It was frightening enough that the bandits never explored the ancient ruins.

The party stayed at the base camp of the bandits for the night to recover. However, during the night, the strange greenish light and noise from the ruins so frightened Berek (who was on watch) that he ran away. Fortunately, Amathyya sat the watch with him and managed to caught up to him before he ran into the night.

At daybreak, the party explored their surroundings and found a field of snow ilem flowers, which is said to have restorative properties and is wanted by the herbalist at the village of Kemend.

The ruins are little more than foundations of the houses that once formed the ancient village. As the party extended their search, they found that the other side of the village (where the eerie light had came from) was actually the cemetary of the ancient village.

Searching through the cemetary, the party found the mausoleum of the Haran family. Entering the mausoleum, they find a staircase leading down into the family crypt. The mausoleum is clearly carefully constructed and even Berek, who had been raised among the dwarves, was impressed by its construction. Mosaics of members of the family adorns the mausolem. Although the party suffered from the magical trap on the doors of the crypt, eventually the party was able to bypass the trap. In the process, the party realized that one member of the Haran family had died each year, one after another, except for Ilinar who died some six years after his wife Fiona passed away.

Entering the crypt, the party came to another puzzle that locks Ilinar's sarcophagus. It is only after searching through the sarcophagai of each member of the Haran family that the party uncover crystal keys that unlock Ilinar's sarcophagus.

Ilinar Haran then rose from his sarcophagus - a terrifying, twisted creature. The sighting of what was once Ilinar so terrifies the party that most of them froze in fear - except Amathyya. Amathyya tried to do what she can to slow the undead down - casting Grease that dumped the undead creature unceremoniously to the ground.

Finally Amathyya started singing, and it was her song of courage that jarred the party and broke the terrifying hold the undead had on them. In a battle that ended with several party member badly hurt and afflicted with a form of mummy rot, the creature that was once Ilinar Haran was vanquished.

From the pile of dust that was once Ilinar Haran, the party retrieved the Amulet of Maeruka. A brilliant flash of greenish light then burst out. Surprised, the party looked around, uncertain of what had occurred...

It was only after the party tries to leave the mausoleum that they discovered the ancient graveyard is now crawling with undead. Zerkestor called upon the holy energies of his god and blasted a way through the undead. The party hurried toward the base camp only to find that the bandits they had slain had now risen as zombies.

Behind the party, more powerful undead started to appear - ghasts and wights. At this point, Haeythir, who had been trying to figure out what the amulet does realized that the Amulet of Maeruka is a powerful focusing device for arcane energy. He casted a spell into it to trigger its effect. A cone of blinding light came out, along with a eerie, high pitched melody. The undeads paused, as if listening, then, as one body, they turned away from the party - heading southwest...

Uncertain as to where the undead is headed, the party headed back toward Kemend. When the party arrived, they found the village in total darkness and a lone figure lurched toward them. The figure turned out to be the blacksmith Vendil, except his blood had been completely suck out of him, and he had been turned into a zombie.

The party went through town and it was clear that while the party was gone, the feared "vampire" had attacked town. It was some sort of levitating, shadowy creature with many legs. It is large and quite strong. Many villagers were killed.

The party also talked to Tadira Haran, who revealed that she is researching into the disease that ended civilization on Sidrea a thousand years ago. The disease was a changed form of what the humans had used to kill the grey elves (and in fact it continues to kill the grey elves this day). People think that the disease had ended, but it is simply dorment. Tadira believes that her ancestor, Ilinar was working on a cure for the disease when something happened. Tadira also explained that the amulet is a very ancient and powerful device - capable of both amplifying and channeling energy in many ways.

I. Locales - the ruins of the ancient village in the mountains

II. Some Notes

a. The Amulet of Maeruka is a powerful artifact capable of focusing and channeling arcane energy.

b. Something the party did at the cemetary had woken all the dead within that ancient village. The dead is heading southwest...

c. Tadira was hoping to continue her ancestor's research into the nature of the disease that wiped out civilization so long ago - in the hope of preventing it from happening again. Apparently, the Amulet of Maeruka is a key part of the research.

d. The "vampire" turned out to be some strange creature that sucks blood. Those who it kills has a chance to rise as zombies.

III. Active Quests
Find and deal with the "vampire" of Kemend.

IV. Overarching Quests
a. Rendevous at the Delshan Oracle
b. Help Amathyya

Sidrea02 - Tales of Kemend

[May 5th, 2004]

The session began with the party at the Inn of the Winged Pig, finishing their breakfast. They had just signed a contract with Tadira Haran for the retrieval of a family heirloom – an amulet that has been lost for a thousand years. The party also promised Amos the Innkeeper that they’ll look into the matter of the vampire that is attacking the villagers.

So’yoko had a strange dream last night that involves a big tree.

The party discussed the vampire threat privately and decided that they should be prepared with some vampire hunting gears.

At this point, the party breaks up, Zerkestor made a shopping run to the apothecary, So’yoko stayed at the inn to gather some information from the villagers that dropped by for a bit to eat, and the rest of the party went to the smithy.

At the apothecary, Zerkestor bought some garlic and a few potions of cure light wounds. The young woman (named Kaylin) who runs the store mentioned that there are small white flowers in the mountains called ‘Snow Ilems’. She has been too afraid to go out and gather them. The flowers are useful in making a potion that make people rest better and recover their stamina better. If Zerkestor would bring her a sack of these flowers, Kaylin promises to make two of these potions for Zerkestor as payment.

So’yoko, after talking to several villagers, found that:
· The vampire attacks started six weeks ago and has since happened about twice a week
· There was a villager who saw the victim of the vampire attack rising from the dead during the day.
· The villagers have been burning the sites where the vampire attacks occurred – hoping to destroy the dead before they rise.
· The few victims (humans or animals) that the villagers have examined were drained of all their blood by the vampire.

As So’yoko left the inn to join the rest of the party at the smithy, he noticed that Tadira is releasing a courier pigeon in the air. The pigeon flew in the direction of Averdale on the other side of the mountain pass.

Berek had no luck prevailing on the smith to let him borrow the forge until So’yoko intervened. Hearing that the party is out hunting vampires, the smith grudgingly allowed Berek to use his forge to hammer a thin plate of silver onto his longsword. The smith also showed the party some cold-iron weapons that he had won off of dwarves. Since the smith has little use of the stuff, he lets the party buy some of it on the cheap (about half price). In addition, the party also found a wanted notice for the bandits in the smithy.

As the party leaves the smithy, a little field mouse darted toward Berek. Berek grabbed the mouse, which had a little scroll tied to his back leg. So’yoko grabbed the scroll and it said: “Meet me outside of down shortly after dusk, we have business to discuss.” Uncertain of whom the message is from, the party decided to use the remaining time of the day to go and track those who had ambushed Tadira’s group.

A village teenager named Tarquin, has apparently heard that the party is going to hunt the vampire. His head filled with visions of glory and excitement, the teenager decided to follow the party around.

The tracks of the ambushers lead south eastwards into the mountains; roughly in the direction of where Tadira believes is the ruined villager where her ancestor was buried. As the sun is setting, the party hurried back to the village to meet the mysterious stranger who had sent them a message via the field mouse.

In a field outside the village, the party met the stranger – an elven woman named Nerienda. She is a slave hunter and has been commissioned by Baron Tolanan, who is the owner of Amathyya, to retrieve the escaped slave girl. Nerienda accuses the party of aiding and abating a fugitive and the possession of stolen property. Nerienda offers to make no charge against the party if they would simply hand Amathyya over to her. After some arguments, to Amathyya’s relief, the party refused Nerienda’s offer. Having heard the party’s decision, Nerienda left after creating a mist to cover her retreat.

After another night of rest, the party set out to hunt the bandits in the mountains before the trail gets cold. Lead by Dalrick, whose peerless tracking skills defeated the bandits’ attempts to disguise their tracks, the party went deeper into the mountain. Slightly after noon, Haeythir get a strong sense of someone looking at the party. Looking about he noticed that a slight glowing ahead and above the party and he gets a sense of someone staring at Berek. Haeytheir warned the rest of the party – however, no one else could see anything.

Then, even as the party tensed for the unknown, a foul creature appeared in their midst. Reeking of decay, this gaunt humanoid is covered in black, leathery skin. A slimy red ichor, almost like blood, drips from its skin. Behind its pointed ears, a large curved horn rises out of the back of its skull. A mouth of jagged teeth takes up half of the foul creature’s head. Wasting no words, the creature lashes out.

Zerkestor was badly hurt by the creature’s claws. As the party fought the foul creature it was clear that their weapons have limited effect on the creature. Furthermore, the blood slime on the weapon seems to eat away at the weapons. Even the fire magic of the Haeythir and So’yoko seems to have limited effect on it.

Retreating Zerkestor shouted that the creature is probably a denizen of the lower planes and perhaps cold iron would hurt it. Switching their weapons to cold iron, the party finally managed to vanquish the foul thing, but several members were badly hurt. As the creature vanished upon its apparent death, Haeythir believes that the creature was summoned.

As the party tried to regroup, they discussed who could’ve attacked the party. Eventually, the party believes that the glowing that Haeythir saw was some sort of scrying spell. Somehow the enemies who had attacked the monastery college were able to spy on the party and attack them. Perhaps it was through the coins and equipment that the party recovered from the serpent men. Perhaps it was the worm dart that had hurt Berek. The party made an attempt to get rid of what could be causing the scrying.

From his studies, Haeythir knows that certain ritual magic maybe especially potent if cast during certain conjunctions. The night the monastery school was attacked was a night of conjunction of Saqir and Porphur, so Haeythir theorizes that the enemies may be using some form of ritual magic.

Speculations aside, the party pushed forward on the trail of the bandits until near dusk, when they found a suitable site for a camp. The next morning, after a miserable night beneath icy rain, the party continued on. At this point the ancient trail narrowed and the party was reduced to traveling in a single file, with Berek leading the party. About two hours after they set out, Dalric saw that the trail actually goes over a patch of unstable ice – he called out and tried to warn the party, but it was too late. The ice collapsed under Berek’s weight and most of the party fell down. Amathyya managed to cushion the fall for those close to her via her feather-fall spell, but most of the party took damage.

Battered, the party continued on – only to stumble into the bandits' lair. The bandits tossed javelins and axes at the party with unusually bad aim. The party’s mages boosts Berek before sending the spike-chain wielding fighter forward. Having identified the party’s mages, one of the bandits – a female halfling, shot Haeythir with a poisoned arrow. Seeing his ally wounded, Zerkestor called upon the might of Zethunor and created a shield of wind to block off the enemy missiles.

Meanwhile, Berek charged up the sloped trail and killed one of the bandits with a single blow. Realizing that they are in for it, all the bandits charged Berek. Although Berek managed to strike another bandit down, the remaining bandits managed to overwhelm him and took him down.

The tide turned quickly, however, as the party rallied – between So’yoko, Haeythir, and Dalric, the party managed to destroy the few bandits in action, force the halfling bandit to surrender, and save Berek.

Climbing on top of the ledge, where the bandits had been camping out, the party found that they have arrived at the ruins of the ancient village indicated by Tadira…

I. Locales
a. Village of Kemend
i. Blacksmithy operated by Vendil and his son Alae
ii. Apothecary (Good nature herbs) operated by Kaylin
b. Trail that leads to the bandits’ camp and the ruins

II. NPCs
a. Vendil the blacksmith
b. Kaylin the herbalist
c. Nerienda the slave-hunter
d. Tarquin the tag-along

III. Some Notes
a. Some mysterious power (possibly the same enemies that assaulted the academy) conjured a demon to attack the party
b. The party has decided to protect Amathyya against the bounty hunter
c. The party seems to have made good headway into recovering the family heirloom of Tadira and getting the bounties on the bandits.

IV. Currently active quests
a. Recover the Amulet of Maeruka for Tadira
b. Find the mysterious “vampire” that has been plaguing the villagers

Sidrea01 - Burnt Bridge

[April 14th 2004]
The party began the adventure as students in the monastery-college of Atroa. The party members share the same living quarters. The party consists of:
·Berek Bjornson (Shay) – a human warrior who was orphaned and raised by the dwarves of Deep Delve
·Zerkestor of Rondor (Kim) – a human priest of Zethunor (god of weather and seas) from the Apella Cove region of the Empire of Rondor
·Dalric Goblinbane (Dave) – a human ranger from the Shattered Lands in the south, whose goal in life is to destroy goblins
·Haeythir of Yanalat (Chris) – a gray elf from the Isle of the Rose, whose search for ancient mystery and crafts has led him to Atroa
·So’yoko son of the Grallish (Sean) – an elf from the untamed woodlands of Ferimond with strange, unusual powers

So’yoko has been having strange dreams of something black is gathering from beneath the ground.

The party has been at the monastery college for six month, and it is the time for the instructors to learn how well the students have learned their lessons. Mistress Dethira, the instructor of battle incantations, summons the party to a large octagonal chamber. There, the party is given the test.

A shadow conjuration created a dire boar that went straight for the party. A tough opponent, the dire boar seriously gouged Dalric and was in the process of reducing Zerkestor to a bloody pulp when Berek’s mighty blow with his spike chains finally brought it down.

As the battle came to a close and the party looked up, they saw that Master Pendorne, the dean of the school, had arrived and watched their battle with interest besides Mistress Dethira. Pendorne congratulates the party and invites them to join him at his study the next day.

The next day, when the party arrived at the dean’s office, they met Clancy, a colorful macaw, who is the dean’s familiar. When the dean arrived, it was both to congratulate the party on passing the test as well as to warn them. The party is informed that Pendorne is a member of a circle of powerful diviners.

Through powerful divination rituals, the diviners are able to gain glimpses of the future. The school of Atroa was created to gather those individuals whose future actions will have a large impact on Sidrea and to educate these individuals. The divinations have indicated that the party members will greatly impact the future of Sidrea, and that is the reason why they are at the monastery college.

Very troubling, however, is the recent disappearance of several diviners. Furthermore, the divination rituals have begun to fail recently. It was as if a black veil is blanking out Pendorne’s prescient sight. Pendorne suspects that the school itself may be in danger. At this point, So’yoko shared his strange dream, but not much could be made of it. So’yoko made repeated forays into the cellars, but could find nothing.

Two weeks passed, and it turned out that the party has won first place at the combat trial. Each party member receives a prize – a ring that signifies the school and enchanted with powerful magic that could preserve its wearer’s life.

That night, So’yoko had another dream – more vivid than before, he saw the darkness growing out of the ground forming black writhing tentacles. The tentacles seem to reach out in search for him. He woke up screaming.

So’yoko made another attempt to figure out his dream, but to no avail. Haeythir remembered from his studies that that night is the conjunction of the planets Saqir and Porphur. After consulting with Professor Legadus, the instructor of astronomy, the party found that it is also lunar eclipse that night. What the combination of So’yoko’s dreams and these astral signs portent, no one knew.

That night, near mid-night, the party was woken up by Clancy. Clancy then told the party that the school is now under attack. The party must escape the school before it falls to the enemy. The party rushed downstairs just in time to see writhing black tendrils reaching out of the stone floor to form a teleportation gate. From the gate emerged a horde of hostiles, including orcs, golems of some kind, and other unknown creatures. Master Pendorne and Mistress Dethira yelled to the party to get out of the school as they turned to face off emerging enemies.

As Pendorne summoned a hound archon and Dethira summoned a fire elemental, more enemies emerged – some of them rushed toward the party. Pendorne then conjured a force shield that helps to push away the enemies while Dethira cast a web spell. The web spell sealed off the passage where the party is – buying the party time to escape.

The party then faced off against the four figures that had rushed toward the party before the web spell had sealed the passage. Haeythir cast another web spell, and it immobilized the figures. Between Berek’s spike chain and Dalric’s arrows, the enemies were defeated. Not, however, before the enemies had tossed some strange darts that turned into poisonous worms mid-air that managed to hurt Berek.

When the fight was over, the party paused briefly and found that the four figures were a strange mix between snake and men. Dalric thinks these creatures are some form of were-snake, but is not completely certain.

The party then rushed below the school where Clancy revealed a teleportation circle that will enable the party to escape. Before bidding the party farewell, Clancy gave them a letter from Master Pendorne that instructs them to make their way to the Delshan Oracle in Jarrien. The party should seek the aid of Master Embar Derokar in the city of Ginalla. Zerkestor recognize Ginalla as a major city on the coast of Rondor in the Apella Cove region where he is from. Then the party stepped into the teleportation circle to emerge in an unknown cavern somewhere.

As the party searched the cave, they come across an unconscious half-elven woman in rags. From the manacles on her wrists and the ownership tattoo and brand, the party guessed that she was possibly an escaped slave. She looks to have been badly abused at some point, as there are lash marks all over her back.

Haeythir believes that she is not hostile and so the party aided her. The party healed the unconscious women and she begged them for food. As she ate, she told the party that her name is Amathyya Calanor and that she had been illegally enslaved and sold to Baron Tolanan, the lord of these parts. She had just escaped from Tolanan a few days ago, and taking advantage of the blizzard, hid in the mountains. Unfortunately, she was trapped in the caves, as the entrance she crawled in from had collapsed from the blizzard and the other exit seems to be the home of some hibernating bears.

Through a clever use of the spider-climbing potion taken from the serpent men, the party managed to bypass the hibernating bear and emerged outside the cave.

Emerging outside, Zerkestor suddenly heard voices carried upon the winds. The strange voices seem to have drifted from afar and mention that the school of Atroa is destroyed. It also sounds like whoever destroyed the school is now after the escaped students.

The snowfall has stopped but the wind is bone chilling. Fighting against the cold, the party moved toward the dubious shelter of the village of Kemend mentioned by Amathyya. About an hour outside the village, the party stumbled over several frozen bodies. It looks like there was an ambush of some sort. A group from the village looks to have been ambushed with two survivors fled back to the village. The ambushers seem to have gone into the mountains.

Then, at four o’clock in the morning, shivering from the cold, the party finally reached the village of Kemend and rested at the Inn of Winged Pig.

Next morning, the party discovered that there are braids of garlic hanging all over the inn. When asked, the innkeeper said that a vampire is plaguing the village. Amos the Red, the innkeeper, seeing the arms and armor of the party, asked the party to help the village by getting rid of the vampire. About the same time, the party encounters Tadira Haran and Hoenir Tallflagon, the two survivors of the ambush outside the village who are also resting in the inn.

Tadira is here to recover a family heirloom known as the Amulet of Maeruka, said to be in ruins somewhere in the mountains. Tadira had hired Hoenir and his band to escort her and aid her in finding this heirloom. Unfortunately, the ambush by the bandit had destroyed Tadira’s plans. Tadira now asks the party to help her recover the family heirloom. Tadira will pay the party as well as engage Hoenir’s service as a guide to lead the party through an underground passage that will take the party outside of this valley towards Averdale.

After considering her proposal, the party agreed to retrieve the family heirloom for Tadira for a sum of 150 gold pieces and the service of Hoenir as a guide to take them out of the valley. A contract was signed between the party and Tadira.

I. Locales
a. Monastary College of Atroa
b. Bear cave in the mountains of Pindaer
c. Village of Kemend
i. Inn of the Winged Pig

II. NPCs
a. Mistress Dethira
b. Master Pendorne
c. Amathyya Calanor
d. Amos the Red
e. Tadira Haran
f. Hoenir Tallflagon

III. Some Notes
a. Each member of the party seems to be manifesting unusual powers
b. Strange heavenly signs seems to portent something