Miserable Ever After

The ‘battle’ is over and all of his friends lie dead with the exception of Thesis.
Tears rolling down his cheeks, Mendez pours his last bottle of healing elixir down the mighty Lizard-man’s throat.
It doesn’t revive him but it keeps him from death.
After shouting down his Father’s call for Thesis’ head, Mendez numbly walks over to the horribly burned body of his little sister.
Despite his Father’s spells, he’d managed to resist firing on his teammates until Eolar had killed her with a single blast of divine power.
She had been so young; so beautiful.
How could Eolar have done it?
‘Don’t fret son’ comes the voice of Estaban.
The now hated voice of his Father.
‘A simple call to our nearest Cleric will have Eris back with us in no time’.
Mendez spins round in a fury.
‘Never call me ‘Son’ again. I’m no longer under your spell or your thumb. I shall bury my friends, pack my bags and leave forever. Never ask for my help again or expect me to return.’

Eolar, Eolar...

Estaban sings to Eolar...
(To the tune of: ROBIN HOOD)

Eolar (Pompous) Eolar, with your band of friends.
Eolar (Poor) Eolar, here is where it ends.
Nowhere to run, your adventuring days are done.
Eolar, (Poor) Eolar.
I'll miss you Eolar.

:(

No Holds Bard

Three weeks ago…

Hawkmoon is searching idly for more diamonds when he hears a noise nearby…

“Are you alone?”

Looking around, Hawkmoon can see no one but knows Estaban’s tricks well enough to recognise this as being one of his.
Durin’s in sight but too far away to hear anything.

“What do you want Estaban?”

“I need to hear your report. I need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your travelling companions. Their favoured spells and tactics. Their vulnerabilities and defensive shortcomings. Everything I need to know to defeat them when the time comes!”

Hawkmoon sighs and, while making sure he’s out of sight, tells Estaban everything he wants to hear.

“Very well - though I don't approve of your underhand tactics to influence the others. Am I not insurance enough?
Overall the Party are a disparate bunch. Different aims and goals. They don't act together, but somehow manage to salvage most situations. Usually through the use of powerful magics.

Bodush should probably be your first target. His firepower is unprecedented, but catch him early on and he would be an easy target.
After a few seconds, though, beware. He will fly, become invisible and also likely create a number of fake images to confuse your archers.
There's even a chance that he’ll pre-empt an attack and protect himself in advance.

The Werebear is nothing special in his human guise, but beware him once he changes. He becomes extremely strong. I would suggest avoiding melee with him if you can.

Next you may wish to focus on Thesis: the lizard-man. He and the Dwarf are both good close combatants, but the lizard has the slight edge. Being a barbarian, Durin's tactics are often baffling but once stuck in a combat he will quickly become angry and become a whirling dervish of axe! Be prepared for healing against these two. Split them up; Divide and conquer.

The pedantic Cleric: Eolar is more an annoyance than anything. He’s self serving and almost as shambolic in combat as the Dwarf. He will probably be called on to heal the others, but instead will try to damage you himself! He may call down the fury of his God, but catch him in melee and he will drop quickly.

Mara'ch, the new Kobold, is a tricky one. Keep your fighters away from him. He can't fight himself but is somehow able to sap the strength of others.
If you are looking for an easy kill, then shoot him. Be quick, though, as he will likely disappear like Bodush.

Use the element of surprise to your full advantage. Act quickly decisively. Concentrate your attacks against one target at a time.

I have no loyalty to these adventurers - but make no mistake. Turn on me as you would turn on them and I swear I will return from the very bowels of Hell to take my revenge upon you...”

There’s silence for a moment before Estaban speaks again.

“Good work Hawkmoon. You’ve confirmed my thoughts and given me everything I needed to know. When you arrive back here, do nothing until Bodush and Eolar have handed over the diamonds. No doubt my youngest son will try to speak up for his friends. As soon as he starts talking, shoot Bodush in the back.
As for me turning on you… save your oaths. A deal is a deal."

Survival of the Fattest

Roly sneaks a peak through his fingers. The psychopathic tiny man has disapeared and all his children appear unharmed.
Looking around himself he sees the carnage of the furious but short lived battle.
Every single one of his ‘rescuers’ lie dead or dying.
He feels mixed emotions. He actually liked the Dwarf and the Were-bear and he felt a debt to the teenage Sorcerer. Ashamedly though, he's glad that the Elven Cleric Eolar was killed.
He spies Mendez craddling the massive Lizard-man Thesis in his arms. It looks like he’s trying to bind his equally massive wounds.
As quietly as possible, Roly ushers the boys, girls and Siren children back to the gate.
He is grateful when the two servants open it without fuss.
Without a backward glance at the mansion, wagons or treasure, Roly wobbles away back towards the city of Shalalah as fast as he can.
Reassured by the weight of the bulging purses on his belt, the multiple necklaces, broaches, bangles and the rings on every finger, Roly knows that he’ll have enough money to ensure a comfortable living for himself and a future for all of his charges.

The Speed of Fought

Happily Bodush and Eolar walk through the open gates into the courtyard of Estaban’s mansion.
There are many guards, but that’s to be expected, as they’ll be needed to protect the diamonds.
Thesis and Durin seem still baffled by their companions generosity but still follow them into the walled off courtyard.
Hawkmoon enters behind them but moves around unnoticed to the other side of the walled in area.
Mara’ch, still disguised as one of the children, enters with the entourage that the Party have accompanied or collected along their journey.
Ragnar, the surviving four sailors, the two Hamster-men, Roly and his adopted children, the Lizard-folk slaves and the Siren children.
Waiting by the far gate, Estaban calls out, “Welcome friends. Leave all of the diamonds by the fountain”.
It’s then that the Party notice Mendez and his brothers lining the walls. These walls aren’t particularly tall. 10’ at their lowest, 20’ at their highest.
The Party notices Mendez because he calls out through gritted teeth, “Half! Half is fair. My friends deserve somethi”.
Unfortunately he doesn’t get to finish his sentence before being interrupted by Bodush’s gasp of surprise as an arrow fired by Hawkmoon glances off the back of his head. Luckily this is due to the protection of the ‘Stone skin’ spell that was still in effect from the previous battle.
Suddenly Eolar and Bodush find themselves free from Estaban’s enchantment.

The Babies on the Boat go Whaaa Whaaa Whaaa

The journey back is surprisingly uneventful. This is lucky because there’s scarcely room to swing Hawkmoon’s cat.

The Elven Box-Ship contains:

Thesis the hulking Lizard-man.

The two Lizard-folk slaves.

Durin the stout Dwarf.

Eolar the tall Half Elf.

The (thankfully) human sized Ragnar.

Bodush the Sorcerer.

Gajapan the tiny viper.

Mara’ch the slightly larger Kobold.

And his unnamed rat.

Hawkmoon the Elven Archer.

Rou the cat.

Roly (the annoyingly obese) cleric.

The two Hamster-men.

The four Sailors.

The three boys.

The four girls.

The three Siren children.

A Riding horse.

And last but not least: Meldo the donkey.

A total of thirty-one creatures in a ship designed to hold fifteen.
Still if you get hungry…

Evolar

Ragnar, Thesis and Durin struggle for a while to free the magical ship from the rocks.
It’s only when its free and everyone’s onboard that Bodush finally reappears.
He can’t help but smile as he asks, ‘Why didn’t you just turn it back into its box form?’
The group decision is to take the two Lizard people and the three innocent Siren children with them.
Only Eolar seemed to have any objections.
Although the Siren children are scared, Roly is happy to take responsibility for them. The two Lizard people are also glad to help keep them calm.
When Roly hears of Eolar’s desire to kill them, it just confirms his low opinion of the Elven St Cuthbertian.

Alternative Alignments

After the last email, I thought about what are Party would be if we used a combination of traditional and personality based alignments…

Mendez: Flamboyant Good
Thesis: Chaotic Selfish
Eolar: Lawful Rigid
Durin: Erratic Good
Hawkmoon: Cynical Neutral
Bodush: ‘I swear I’m Neutral’ Evil
Mara’ch: True Newt-ral
Ragnar: Awful Hairy.

:)

Sleeping with the Fishes

Lurking under the water, the Sea Hag waits for what can only be the final encounter.
She had grossly misjudged the strength of the adventurers. The Elven Cleric had somehow managed to resist the song of her ‘daughters’ and blasted her precious plans apart.
Many of her daughters are dead and despite being air-breathers, the adventurers have pursued her into the underwater caves.
Still, she can’t leave, so it’s going to be a fight to the death.

Let your Wind Blow Free

Eolar finds it impossible to meditate over the incessant whispering of the Iron flask in his pack.
Turning it over in his hands, he can see the writing engraved upon its smooth surface.
It is written in ‘Infernal’ but that is of little consequence to a cleric of St Cuthbert.
A simple prayer deciphers the two phrases:
‘May this flask be your home’ and ‘Be free only to serve’.
By the cool temperature of the flask and the howling whispers he can hear, Eolar can guess that a powerful creature of air is currently trapped inside.
A useful ally in any situation.
The only issue will be when a situation's bad enough to warrant its release.

The Children are the Future

Roly gathers the seven remaining children around him. Despite the abundance of food and wine and the absolute safety of Bodush’s mansion, Roly doesn’t feel safe.
These adventurers seem oblivious to the suffering of others. Hawkmoon seems the coldest, treating the Hamster-men and Sailors as servants or worse.
Although the adventurers rescued all the children, other than poor Daniel, it seemed more out of challenge than concern.
Still the Were-bear, the Lizard-man and the Dwarf, did try to help.
Eolar the Half-Elf seems the most aloof. Roly has heard of St Cuthbert; He can even still remember the stories of its great navy from when he was a boy. They believe in order above all else. Order but not kindness.
Still the diamonds he’s found will partially make up for the loss of his treasure chests.
Rocking the little ones back and forth across his massive belly, Roly decides that he should stick to the Dwarf. Barbaric though he may be, at least he has a conscience.
He is also worried about the journey back to Shalalah. The Sorcerer’s spells leave him and the children unsettled and disorientated. It’s almost as if he is torn into strips while travelling through the nothingness.
The Kraken has been fed recently. Perhaps it’ll leave a ship alone?
If only they had one.

It’ll all End in Tears in the Fabric of Time and Space

Hawkmoon kicks at yet another diamond. How is it possible to be bored by such riches?
Still, all he wants is to go home. This mission has taken far too long.
Despite having training in the Eldritch arts, he feels nervous of Bodush’s ‘Teleport’ spell. He’s heard of terrible disasters befalling those who became over confident while using it.
Still he feels even more nervous of Eolar’s plan. The thought of travelling through the Plane of ‘Law’ makes him shudder.

When the last tree has been felled

Eolar finished flying over the remaining clearings. Each and every one of them had one of those trees in them but none of those used any hamster or sailors as bait. He stopped the search and turned towards the shore where they had left the ship.
He was worried.
When he approached the remains of the once mighty sky ship, he was tense. He materialised and started to walk towards it. A few meters away relief overcame him. St. Cuthbert, the all powerful god, had also taken care of Meldo and the horses. He looked inside and all five looked at him. Meldo looked up from the hay that was scattered around the ship and Eolar could see the resentment in the eyes. "I'm sorry that I had to leave you old friend! But a mule is not made for the jungle!" He started to stroke the head of his trustworthy companion, but Meldo disapprovingly continued feeding.
Eolar had to smile about his mule's stubborness. He detached the other four horses after a quick check that nobdy had taken any equipment. Everything was just as they had left it.

He was about half way round the island when the sun slowly started setting. It was a nice sunset and he stopped to give the horses and Meldo some rest. Looking at the orange sun he thought back a few hours. When the tree had caught him, he had thought that this time he might have gone to far. That he had been too presumptious. But when his magic had failed him and he was just about to accept his fate, St.Cuthbert had shown HIS power and showed him a way to escape. He stared at the sun while reciting a prayer praising the superiority of his god.

Yes, he was protected and all creatures who had dared to attack him so far had suffered greatly. St.Cuthbert had led him to this desolate place. A place where the power of Pelor had failed. And although there were no people left to be guided onto the right path and shown their mistake, Eolar could not help feeling superior as well. Roly had saved 8 children by hiding. With the help of St.Cuthbert, many more lifes and the town could have been saved.
Eolar couldn't see a way off this island yet but was sure that St.Cuthbert would lead him. While prompting the horses to continue the way back to the fallen city, a psalm from the holy book came to his mind:

The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

He looked to the left where the fading sun illuminated the top of the central rock formation. Yes, whom shall he be afraid of?

Thank the (wrong) Gods!

Eolar, Ragnar, Hawkmoon and Durin finally reform from their gaseous forms and join Bodush, Thesis, Mara'ch and the others just inside the main wall of Ape city.
They are just discusiing what to do considering the deserted state of the city when a corpulent figure emerges from one of the buildings and waddles towards the newly arrived group.
“Pelor be praised, salvation is at hand!”
Though caked in dirt and looking like he hasn’t washed in years, Eolar easily recognises the vestments of a Cleric of Pelor.
He is leading eight smaller figures who turn out to be children. The eldest is a girl around eight, the youngest, a boy of four.
The fat priest looks at Eolar joyfully. “I’d almost lost my faith! How did you find us?”
The Cleric introduces himself as ‘Roly’ and though well into middle age, has a naïve look about him.
Perhaps it's the sight of the poor orphans that causes Bodush to surprise everyone by conjuring up a magical mansion, filled with delicious hot food and staffed by invisible servants.
Everyone soon forgets their immediate troubles and despite it still being early, they all relax in safety until the next morning.

Arcane Train vs. Divine Airways

Bodush takes in the ruined gate before leading his group through it and is unsurprised by what he sees.
The city has been brutally sacked. No people line the streets. No shopkeepers or city-guards.
No one.
Interestingly he sees no corpses or even bloody remains.
All any of them can see are the feral animals and the occasional rat.
Still, the carnivorous apes are over twenty miles away. Bodush can feel himself relax and his little companion ‘Gajarpan’ hisses contentedly.
By the time Eolar and his bunch of clouds arrive, Bodush’s team have found an empty guardhouse to camp in.
“What kept you?” asks Bodush sarcastically.
Annoyingly for Eolar, he can’t snap off a cutting retort while vaporous.

Four’s a Cloud

Eolar leads Ragnar, Durin and Hawkmoon across the twenty-five or so miles. They travel high above the treetops but fail to see a single sailor or Hamster-man.
They do see several of the strange clearings that Hawkmoon had described after his scrying spell. About a hundred feet in diameter with single trees at their centre.
At the tremendous speed they’re travelling, it only takes them about half an hour before they arrive at the walled city.

Beaten by a Bunch of Damned Dirty Apes

Driven back by the baffling magics of the disgusting ugly man-things, the huge apes prepare themselves for another assault.
Disconcertingly though, the Party take this opportunity to make good their escape.
Eolar calls to the heavens and transforms himself, the massive Ragnar, Hawkmoon and Durin to smoke and they drift off into the air.
Bodush smirks to himself. “Only four?” he mutters under his breath.
Looking around he does a quick head count: Thesis, three sailors (two alive, one dead), and one of the freakish Hamster men.
He can do that. Just as he’s casting the spell however, the little blue Kobold, ‘Mara’ch’ sprints back into view from his hiding place.
Unable to take an extra person (regardless of his tiny size), Bodush is forced to abandon the dead sailor.
At least the apes won’t let his body go to waste.
With a flash of arcane light, they are gone.

Pellet of the Apes

Considering the standard of the opposition, the situation is actually quite grim.
The Party (Eolar, Thesis, Bodush, Durin, Hawkmoon, Mara’ch and Ragnar) have nursed the stricken Sky-ship to Ape island where it is currently beached.
They have moved inland into the jungle interior searching for any surviving crew-members (who bailed out using assorted two-floating or singular life saver balloons).
Hawkmoon used his arcane powers to discover the locations of a few of them and the Party have so far found three Human sailors and one of the Hamster men.
When they came to the fifth location, they found a ripped harness hanging from a tree and just as they were about to start searching they came under fire from at least a score of apes throwing rocks from the tree-tops.
Despite their crude tactics of whooping and throwing, the cover from the foliage and distance grants them quite an advantage.
Only Hawkmoon seems to be making it difficult for the apes so far.
Most everyone in the Party is injured and two of the Human sailors are unconscious or worse and so is the Hamster-man.
There is a city on the other side of the island but it’s at least 25 miles away!
Also, there are still 6 humans and 9 Hamster-men missing.

Current Hit points:

Mara'ch 37
Eolar 97
Thesis 171
Durin 154
Hawkmoon 61
Bodush 47
Ragnar 104


Initiative Order:

Bodush 23
Thesis 21
Fapes 21
Dapes 20
Napes 19
Mara'ch 19
Hawkmoon 14
Ragnar 14
Durin 7
Eolar 6

Good luck!

Liars, Damn Liars and then there's Mendez

Strangely, as Eolar finds himself under a murderous barrage of stones thrown by the carnivorous apes, his thoughts momentarily drift to Mendez.
He’d always thought his swarthy friend given to massive exaggeration, but his recent encounter with the colossal Roc and his current experience with the ferocious apes makes him wonder.
Could all of Mendez’ self-obsessed stories be true?

Eolaaaaaaaaaaagh!

Groaning softly as he comes around, the huge Ragnar rubs his temples.
He was sure he'd only drunk moderately...
Looking around he finds that he's somehow back on the Sky-ship. Staggering to his feet he leans over the side and can see an island pass by miles below. It's got a very strange looking mountain at its centre.
Slowly his memory returns to him...
A song...
An Island covered in diamonds...
Serpents!
His train of thought is interrupted however, by the Elf: Hawkmoon calling down from the rigging.
Is that a bird flying towards them?
No, it's too big to be a bird...
By the Mace of St Cuthbert, surely it's too massive even to fly?
Suddenly the air is rent with blasts of flame from the youthful Sorcerer and arrow after arrow zips through the sky, shot from Hawkmoon's magical bow.
Everything suddenly falls into chaos with the Sky-ship crew yelling instructions to each other,
Then, impossibly fast, the colossal creature is above them and it starts to slash and rend the fragile air-sacks over his head.
With a sickening crunch, the Sky-ship lurches sideways and down.
Ragnar's massive bulk works against him and he finds himself pitched sideways towards the side-rail.
He watches in dismay as the rigging proves just out of his reach.
For a dizzying moment Ragnar finds himself hovering in the air...
He's already calling Eolar's name when he starts to fall...