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Chapter 1: A Darkness Gathering

Turn 33: The Hidden Cult

“Nanoc!” shouted Telemachos. “The evil cultists are escaping! Capture the brigands! Fire! Alarm! Fire! Evil is afoot! Turn out! Fire! The rest of you, grab those buckets and put out that fire! We don't know what secrets they are prepared to burn! The secret to my uncle could be in there! Put the fire out!”

The Furyondian glanced about for a moment as if looking for something and then took off running down the road after the mill workers, still shouting as he went:

”I'm going to catch those brigands and make them tell me everything!”

As Telemachos ran off, Luger picked himself up off the ground and began casting a spell at one of the fleeing men.

Danton, meanwhile, watched with amusement as the two unburdened men rapidly increased the distance between themselves and the heavily armored soldier that pursued them. “Kill not both of them, O Telemachos! Save one for the hot irons!" he yelled encouragingly.

"Well, lovebirds,” continued Danton, turning to Nanoc and Aseneth, “hath either of you the physical speed or magical capacity to aid our Furyondian fighter, or shall we have to watch yon spectacle as he collapses half-dead, heavily laden with all that warrior's gear?"

”Huh, look’s like it didn’t work,” muttered Luger as the two workers disappeared around a corner well down the street. “Guess Tel’s on his own. We had best see if we can help save anything of the mill.”

“Why don’t you and our mysterious sorceress see to that,” said Danton, “while Nanoc and I turn to other pressing business in the moments that remain before the forces of law and order arrive on the scene. Come with me, my boy, and move quickly. We hath some breaking and entering to accomplish.”

While Luger, joined by Aseneth and Spugnoir, began rounding up gawkers to form a bucket brigade and try to get the fire under control, Danton and Nanoc slipped away from the growing crowd and made their way to the back of the residence of Karlun the miller. Having spotted no signs of movement or activity through the windows of the single-level residence, Danton had Nanoc stash the trunk from the flourmill by the door and then easily jimmied the simple lock on the portal (open locks: 7+8=15). With this accomplished, he and Nanoc ducked inside.

The Velunese knew he only had a matter of minutes to search the house, so he ordered Nanoc to simply ransack the place and made no priority of subtlety (search: 16+10=26). Five minutes later, Danton saw the militia captain Elmo approaching the flourmill at a run with several armored men in tow. He knew that the fire would keep Elmo occupied for some time, but also wanted to be present to explain his version of events before anyone else could offer a differing account.

“Come, Nanoc, we must rejoin the others,” Danton ordered.

“But, Danton,” complained the half-orc, “we ain’t found nuthin! No obelisks, little cultist necklaces or anything!”

“Not entirely true,” said Danton as the pair slipped through the back door once more. “We know that Karlun had a wife and three children and that none of them, nor anyone else, hath been in this house for days. What significance these bits of information may have remains to be seen.”

***

In the end, the mill burned down to its stone foundations. The fire had simply advanced too far by the time that enough people turned to trying to extinguish it. When the excitement ended, with the mill a smoldering ruin, and most of the crowd had dispersed, the party was left with Elmo and a handful of his militia volunteers to explain what had transpired.

Relying on Spugnoir, who was known to Elmo and well regarded by him, to confirm his words, Danton told the militia captain an essentially truthful, if truncated, version of all that had transpired at the moathouse and in the mill, showing the man the journal of Geynor Ton to explain why the group had come to the flourmill in the first place. Danton emphasized that the party had nothing to do with the fire, and theorized that the cultists had started the blaze in an effort to cover their tracks (diplomacy: 15+6=21).

Much to the party’s relief, Elmo accepted Danton’s account of events. Asking the party to keep him informed of any developments, he then departed to find the mill workers and organize a search for the missing Karlun and his family.

By this time, with Telemachos having returned from his fruitless chase, the party members gathered up their things, including the trunk Nanoc and Danton had salvaged from the mill cellar, and made their way into the center of town. Although the group was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to retire at the inn for the evening, they made one other stop first, accompanying Spugnoir back to his residence on the western side of town.

When the group approached the house in the growing dusk, Nanoc told the potion maker to stand behind the others while he went to the door. When he knocked, both Haunor the dwarf and ten-year-old Renne answered it.

“Hi, little girl,” said the barbarian with a huge smile, “Nanoc has come back and we got a surprise for you…you’ll never guess who is a waitin’ outside for you!”

At that point, Spugnoir stepped around the bulk of Telemachos and the girl’s eyes lit up.

“Daddy!” she shrieked, running around Nanoc and into her father’s arms. Spugnoir picked the girl up and twirled her in the air.

“Huh, you lot actually did it,” grunted Haunor. “I can’t believe it.”

“Well, Spugnior,” said Nanoc when he saw that the others were anxious to make their way to the inn, “I is really glad you is home with you daughter. Looks like we gotta go an’ explore more stuff, but you oughta stay here. You know them healing potions we bought was real helpful…guess ya don’t have any more o’ those? O’ course I am sure there is other potions that would help us?”

“With me having been gone for so long, I imagine the stocks must be pretty low,” replied the potion maker, “but I’ll get back to work right away. I’m afraid I can’t afford to give potions away, not with Renne to support, but I owe you all my life, so what I will do is sell you any potion you want at the price it costs me to buy the components—that’s usually about half the normal selling price. That’ll be my way of saying thanks and helping you against the cult.”

“That’s mighty nice of ya,” said Nanoc. “We’ll prob’ly stop by in a couple days ta see how yer doin and what ya got in stock. In the meantime, you take care an’ take care o’ yer daughter.”

“Don’t worry,” replied Spugnoir. “I’ve learned my lesson; my days of exploring the moathouse alone are done.”

***

After returning Spugnoir home, the party made its way to the Inn of the Welcome Wench for a much-needed night’s rest. Each of the party members secured his or her own room for the night and most of them retired early.

Luger, however, chose to spend the evening in the inn’s restaurant. The cleric was still disturbed by the unsettling feelings he had received from the bartender Maridosen the last time he visited the inn. Over the course of the evening, Luger watched the woman surreptitiously, noting once again her unpleasant personality and the constant arguments she had with both the other inn staff and paying customers. At one point, the cleric asked Heironeous to help him detect the presence of evil (detect evil) and he again felt a very strong negative reaction when he approached Maridosen under the pretext of ordering a drink.

“She could simply be an unpleasant person of bad moral character,” the cleric mused to himself late in the evening as the restaurant slowly emptied, “but perhaps it is more than that. I’ll have to tell Danton about her in the morning and see what he thinks.”

***

Nanoc had finished bathing and dressing in clean clothes when the knock came on his door.

“Asya, that you?” he asked hopefully.

“What? No. Tis I, Danton. Now open up, quickly,” came the irritated voice of the Velunese through the door.

“Oh, I was jus…” began Nanoc as he opened the door.

“None of that now,” said Danton brusquely as he pushed past the barbarian. “Shut that door. I want to get that trunk opened forthwith, but not with prying eyes all about.”

Nanoc looked about in the hallway to verify that Danton was indeed, disappointingly, alone. He then shut the door and watched as the Velunese slid the heavy trunk to the center of the room, set out his tools, and went to work on the container—once again taking great care to examine the trunk with extreme caution before making another attempt to open it (search: take 20: 20+10=30).

Although Nanoc grew bored watching Danton pore over the trunk from every conceivable angle and complained loudly and repeatedly that he had other things to do, Danton ignored him. His painstaking efforts were rewarded when he discovered a tiny, carefully hidden rune that blended into the dark stain on the wooden trunk’s surface.

“I hath missed this earlier at the mill,” he mused aloud. “Perhaps was Olidammara who made my fingers fumble and prevented me from opening the trunk then and there.”

Unable to open the trunk without disturbing the rune, Danton turned to trying to remove the arcane mark by scraping it from the wood. He feared what would happen if he removed only a part of the marking, so he sought to take it all off at once (disable device: 13+9=24). Unfortunately, although most of the rune came off in the single swift cut Danton made, one small corner did not, and the results were instantaneous.

There was a flash of greenish light, followed by a splash of a green liquid from the trunk that shot at Danton and sprayed across the room to hit the bed behind him. Danton (reflex save: 11+6=17;success) managed to roll out of the way and avoid most of the spray, but he still caught some of it on his right side and felt acid burning through his clothes and skin (5 damage).

The Velunese screamed in pain, and Nanoc, reacting quickly, grabbed Danton and dunked him in the still-full, although very dirty, water of the bathtub. A mouthful of the dirty water silenced Danton’s screams and by the time Nanoc hauled him out of the water, the worst of the burning from the acid was over. Danton still had nasty burns all along his right arm and side, however.

“Aw, buck up,” said Nanoc when Danton finally sat shaking and wet on the floor of the room. “That’s nothing Luger can’t fix. Look what ya did ta my bed—it’s in way worse shape.”

Indeed, while Danton had taken only a glancing hit from the acid spray, the bed had taken a direct one. The acid had cut an inch long swathe through the bed, ruining blankets, mattress and even the frame. The floor between the trunk and the bed was not in much better shape.

“Yer payin’ fer that, not me,” said Nanoc firmly. “So we gonna find out what’s in that there box an’ if it was worth all the screamin?”

Ignoring both Nanoc’s taunts and the lingering pain from the acid, Danton turned to painstakingly working on the lock that still held the trunk shut (open locks: take 20: 20+8=28). It took try after frustrating try, but after 45 minutes of effort, Danton finally managed to trip the cleverly designed mechanism of what was unquestionably one of the most sophisticated locks he had ever encountered.

When he finally opened the lid and looked inside, with Nanoc gazing over his shoulder, Danton saw that the trunk was filled with gold coins interspersed with a number of other items, including yet another ochre colored robe, what he immediately recognized as a professional disguise kit, and a single piece of parchment. Danton withdrew the latter item and read aloud the short note penned on it:

“Master Dunrat,

Your mission to establish a base in Hommlet and uncover the lost shrine under the moathouse is of the utmost importance. Uncover whatever treasures of the Dark Lord you can, seal the shrine again, and bring the objects to the Temple of All-Consumption. When you are ready to return, wagons can be obtained from Tal Chamish in the nearby village of Rastor to haul whatever you have found back to the crater.

Yours,

Naquent.”

“What the heck does all that mean?” asked Nanoc. “I got the part ‘bout Hommlet, but who are all those people ya mentioned?”

“That remains to be seen,” grunted Danton. “Assuming the Hommletian clergy wish to pay us to find out, of course. But for now, I go in search of Luger and salve for my wounds. Perhaps he can cleanse me of the reek of your bath water as well.”

“But what about my room?” complained Nanoc. “Ya pretty much wrecked it! The bed is ruined and even the floor is a mess! I can’t sleep anywhere here!”

“Complain to the bellhop or sleep in the barn, I care not,” said Danton as he slipped back out the door. “Once again I hath suffered grievous wounds, and for what? A bit of gold and a cryptic missive portending nothing but trouble. I need a drink—or two.”

***

“Uh, Asya?” said Nanoc, trying to whisper as he stood in the hall knocking on the woman’s door, but fearing that his voice carried throughout the upper level of the inn. “Danton kinda trashed my room an’ I was wonderin’ if I could stay with you tonight…”

The door opened before Nanoc could finish his sentence. Inside stood the sorceress in a long black floor-length sleeveless nightdress. Nanoc’s mind grew cloudy at the sight of her and he suddenly found it difficult to speak. However, Aseneth smiled slightly, opened the door wider, motioned for Nanoc to come in, and then shut the door behind him.

***

After Danton tracked down Luger and the cleric healed the effects of the acid and the scout’s lingering wounds from the expedition to the moathouse (11 HP gained), Luger went and found Telemachos brooding in his room and used his remaining healing power to patch up the Furyondian (13 HP gained). Thereafter, each of the three retired to his room for the night. Telemachos and Luger fell asleep immediately, while Danton stayed up writing in his journal for another hour. But, well after midnight, even the Velunese finally turned in for the night and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

***

[Listen: Danton: 6+7=13, Luger: 18+3=21, Nanoc: 12+4=16, Telemachos: 17+0=17]

Luger was fast asleep when some faint sound jolted him away from dreams of his old life in Greyhawk. Distantly, he heard the sound of a key turning in a lock, the faint slide of a door moving across a wooden floor and creaking slightly on its hinges, and then light footfalls on the floor. This succession of sounds finally jolted the cleric’s eyes open just in time for him to see Maridosen, now wearing black leather armor rather than an apron, standing over him with a rapier in one hand and a dagger in the other.

As the dagger plunged towards his chest, Luger rolled out of the way and off the bed, tangled in the sheets as he went. He crashed to the wooden floor with a loud thump, screamed, “Help!” at the top of his lungs, and then scrambled to disentangle himself.

***

Telemachos was torn from a fitful sleep by Luger’s scream. He sat up in bed, gazing about the dark room for the source of the sound. When he looked toward the hallway, he saw that the door to his room was open and a shadowy figure stood in the entryway.

“Telemachos,” came a deep voice from the figure. “It is I, your uncle Jaroo. I have regained my senses and come to aid you in the search for your father.”

***

Danton was awakened by both Luger’s scream and the sound of someone speaking…or chanting…inside his own room. When he sat up, he too saw that his door was open and a tall, cloaked man stood in the doorway making arcane gestures and uttering words of power. As Danton leapt out of bed, the man finished chanting and the scout felt all of his muscles lock up as he crashed headfirst onto the floor (will save: 6+1=7; fail).

***

Sleeping under a blanket on the floor in the center of Aseneth’s room, Nanoc was awakened when someone tripped over him in the dark and then crashed headlong to the floor at the side of the sorceress’s bed. A fraction of a second later, Luger’s yell tore through the night. While Aseneth sat up in bed with a start and the interloper got up off the floor, Nanoc discarded his blanket and threw himself at whoever or whatever had sought to sneak into Aseneth’s room.

[Initiative: Nanoc: 7, Telemachos: 20, Luger: 4, Aseneth: 15, Others: 13 ]

When Nanoc launched himself at the shadowy figure near the bed, it spun to face him, and a female voice began to call out what sounded to the barbarian like a spell. Nanoc punched the figure in the face as hard as he could (attack: 7+9=16; hit; 7 subdual damage), but the woman still finished the spell. Nanoc then felt an unwelcome presence in his mind, but managed to wall it off and ignore its bidding (will save: 17+2=19; success).

Before the barbarian could throw another punch, he heard Aseneth shout something and then the room was filled with blue light from the sorceress’ staff. In the light, Nanoc could now see that the woman he faced was the same one who had been in the top of the flourmill when the party searched the place the previous day. The woman began to cast another spell, but Nanoc hit her again (attack: 12+9=21; hit; 6 damage). This time the punch was too much for the woman to take, and she collapsed unconscious to the floor.

“Look out!” shouted Aseneth, standing on the bed in her nightdress and pointing towards the door with her glowing staff.

Nanoc spun about just as two warriors, a human and a half-orc, both wearing heavy armor, barreled into the room and attacked him with sword and greataxe. Bereft of his own armor and his axe, Nanoc was defenseless and was hit twice (22 damage total) and driven back into the room towards Aseneth. The sorceress fired off twin beams of energy that slammed into the human attacker, blasting him off his feet and sending him careening into a chest of drawers by the door, the furniture shattering under the impact.

“Here, taking this!” yelled Aseneth, throwing Nanoc her staff so that he would have something to defend himself with against the burly half-orc that stalked him with its greataxe.

Nanoc caught the staff, but his wounds slowed him just enough that when the other half-orc swung its huge axe at him, he was unable to bring the staff up to block in time. The axe caught him full in the stomach (hit for 16 points) and the staff slid from Nanoc’s fingers as he collapsed to the floor. The last thing he saw was the armored half-orc stalking towards Aseneth and the bed on which she stood, defenseless without her staff.

***

“Uncle Jaroo!” said Telemachos excitedly as he jumped out of bed. There were all manner of loud sounds in the background, but the soldier ignored them as he moved forward to embrace his great uncle. “I was so worried about you! I really need your help! You won’t believe everything that has happened. Father is missing and mother is besieged by villains!”

“Of course, of course!” replied Jaroo as Telemachos threw his arms around the druid in a great bear hug. “I’ll be happy to help you—just as I did your uncle!”

The next thing Telemachos knew, Jaroo’s fists were pounding into his kidneys and the old man had smashed him in the face with a devastating head butt (7 damage total).

With his head spinning and his breath ragged, Telemachos staggered backwards and fell over the bed. As he did so, the form of his uncle shifted before his eyes. For a brief moment, Jaroo took on a pale white featureless shape with an elongated head, and then he shimmered again. When Telemachos rolled to the far side of the bed and was on his feet once again, he looked up and saw…himself on the other side of the room.

“I think I’ll be Telemachos now!” said whoever or whatever stood on the other side of the chamber. “Maybe I’ll have to pay a visit to this mother of yours…wouldn’t that be a surprise for her! Her doting—or is it doltish—son comes a calling!”

“Like hell you will,” said Telemachos, the threat to his mother shaking whatever doubts remained in his mind about attacking what might or might not be his uncle. The fighter grabbed up Shatterspike and his shield and strode around the bed to take the fight to…himself.

The false Telemachos continued to attack with his powerful fists, and he managed to strike the real Furyondian once (hit for 5 points), but the copy was at a disadvantage because of the longer reach that Shatterspike gave Telemachos (attack: 11+10=21; hit; 12 damage). The soldier slashed his foe once, blocked its fists with his shield, and then ran the creature through (attack: 20+10=30; critical hit; 21 damage).

It was a strange experience for Telemachos, cutting himself down, but when the body of his foe hit the wooden floor, it altered once more, this time shifting back permanently to the strange white, elongated, vaguely humanoid body he had seen briefly when it ceased to look like his uncle. The warrior might have liked to examine it further, but now the sounds of combat nearby finally caught his attention and he stalked out into the hall to find out what was going on.

***

By the time Luger finally managed to disentangle himself from the sheets and grab up his sword and shield, Maridosen had jumped up on the bed and was leaping down at him with her rapier leading. Luger knocked the blade aside with his shield and then slashed through her leather armor with his own sword (attack: 18+5=23; hit; 8 damage).

Snarling, the woman drove Luger back, slicing a nasty gash on his left arm for good measure (hit for 6 damge). Luger struck the woman a second time (attack: 20+5=25; critical hit; 8 damage), but she kept right on coming. As if that were not enough, out of the corner of his eye, the cleric saw another intruder stride through the doorway and stalk towards him. A male voice uttered some sort of incantation, and then the newcomer reached out and tried to touch him. Fearing some baleful effect, Luger knocked the man’s hand aside with his shield, but this distraction allowed Maridosen to strike him again (hit for 3 points).

Hard pressed by two attackers, Luger found his back against the wall. He swung wildly and ineffectively against Maridosen (attack: 9+5=14; miss), while screaming:

“I could really use some help here!”

Unfortunately, from the sounds of combat and screams coming from all directions, it seemed that the rest of the party was equally occupied and no help was likely to be forthcoming. Maridosen hit the cleric yet again with another light slash of her rapier (2 damage), and, with his strength flagging, she easily dodged his counterstroke (attack: 4+5=9; miss).

Luger’s other attacker was once again chanting and moving forward as if to try once more to touch him, when suddenly a loud voice boomed out behind the man:

“Two against one? Not very sporting. Why not have a go with me? Just what is this stupid cult of yours up to anyway? And what the hell did you do with my uncle?”

Stunned, the chanting man spun around just in time to take Shatterspike full in the chest as Telemachos rushed into the melee (attack: 17+10+2=29; hit; 12 damage). The sudden attack ruined the man’s spell and, as he tried to recover and perform another incantation, the Furyondian hit him again, just as hard as the first time (attack: 15+10=25; hit; 12 damage).

Telemachos’ sudden appearance left Luger facing only one foe, but it still appeared that Maridosen was more than a match for the cleric, at least bereft of his armor as he was. She cut Luger once more (hit for 4 damage) and then leaped out of the way of his counterattack (attack: 4+5=9; miss).

“Come on! Spill your guts before I spill them for you!” bellowed Telemachos as he pressed the attack on the spellcaster, ruining spell after spell. (attack: 7+10=17; hit; 11 damage). Although badly wounded by the Furyondian’s whirlwind of attacks, the man neither offered any answer to his questions nor sought any quarter. When Telemachos finally cut him down, he was trying to fire off one last spell (attack: 16+10=26; hit; 12 damage).

Across the room, Luger lunged forward, catching Maridosen off guard (attack: 13+5=18; hit; 7 damage) and finally managed to get his back off the wall. The ‘bartender’ managed to hit him once more (4 damage) and Luger knew that he could not keep fighting much longer. With the last of his strength, he knocked Maridosen’s rapier aside and slammed his sword into her abdomen (attack: 17+5=22; 5 damage). With this strike, the woman’s legs gave out underneath her and she collapsed to the side—falling right through the glass of the window that looked out on the street below.

With the fight apparently over, Luger collapsed against the wall, while Telemachos rushed to his side, both to support him and to ensure that Maridosen was truly finished.

When the Furyondian looked out the window, he saw that the bartender’s body was twisted and unmoving on the cobblestones below. Lights were appearing in buildings in all directions and there were screams and shouts from the lower level of the inn.

***

When the hold spell hit Danton and he collapsed face first on the floor, he could still see that the man who had cast the spell quickly retreated from the room, presumably to deal with the rest of the party. Several seemingly endless minutes ran by while Danton lay unable to move, but forced to listen to all the mayhem in the rooms around him as whoever had raided the inn tried to kill all of his friends and associates. After a while, much of the fighting died down, but while there was clearly still a melee going on in at least one room, Danton finally felt some sensation returning to his limbs. He climbed to his feet as quickly as he could, grabbed up his rapier, and rushed into the hallway. He ran first to Nanoc’s room, where the door was open, but there was no sign of anyone.

Rushing on, Danton came to the next room—that of Aseneth. Here he found a scene of utter chaos and carnage. Bodies were everywhere. Near the door, a dead armored man lay atop a shattered dresser. In the middle of the room, Nanoc lay bleeding on his stomach on the floor next to a black-clad woman who appeared to be unconscious. On the far side of the room, by the window, Aseneth lay in a pool of blood on the ruined bed, while at the foot of the bed there was the body of an armored half-orc. This half-orc’s body was covered in acid, and a tiny green viper that was all too familiar to Danton sat coiled on its face, biting it again and again.

“If anyone else be alive,” screamed Danton, “get in here forthwith. Nanoc and his enchantress are both near death or worse! And bring mine pack—it doth contain healing scrolls aplenty!”

In the end, it was a near thing with both Nanoc and Aseneth, but the presence of Luger proved crucial. Although the cleric had none of his own healing magic available, he was able to make quick use of one after another of Danton’s scrolls—without the slowness and potential for mistakes that were always present when the Velunese did the reading of the magic—and to save the lives of both the barbarian and the sorceress. Luger used additional scrolls on himself and Telemachos, just in case other enemies made an appearance.

[Total of 7 scrolls used: Nanoc to 9 HP, Aseneth to 8HP, Luger to 10 HP, Telemachos to 24 HP]

While Luger did the healing, Danton quickly looted the bodies of what turned out to have been a total of six attackers, collecting weapons and armor in a pile, while removing other, smaller and more interesting items, including numerous potion bottles, from sight and stashing them in his pack. Save for the dead spellcaster who had attacked him and then Luger, none of the attackers wore any identifying symbols. The spellcaster, however, wore an inverted ziggurat pendant around his neck that was identical to one the party had found on one of the cultists at the moathouse. [See the list at the end of turn for all the items Danton has found.]

Then it was time to deal with the authorities again. This time Elmo brought a full dozen armed and armored men with him. By the time he arrived, all of the other guests and staff had fled from the inn and a huge crowd had gathered in the street outside. Danton once again did the talking, explaining that the party had been fast asleep when a group of interlopers slipped into all of their rooms at once. How this was accomplished became apparent when Elmo and Vesta Gundigoot, the manager of the inn, found the inn’s master key on the body of Maridosen in the courtyard. Danton blamed the attackers for all of the havoc and damage wreaked in the inn, including the mysterious acid that had ruined the bed and scored the floor in Nanoc’s room. This last comment provoked a raised eyebrow from the barbarian, but mercifully for Danton, Nanoc was preoccupied with Aseneth’s injuries and did not say anything.

Other than the former bartender, none of the attackers were recognized by Elmo or any of the other locals. However, with one survivor, the woman from the flourmill, Elmo was hopeful that he could get some answers. Although Danton wanted to question the woman himself, the militia captain insisted on taking her into custody and his men hauled her off.

When the excitement finally died down, the party was forced to relocate to the inn’s common sleeping room on the first floor, since all of their rooms save Danton’s had been devastated and would need days, if not weeks, of repair work before being usable again. Nanoc and Telemachos took turns watching over the others for the remainder of the night, but there were no further disturbances. In the morning, Aseneth performed an incantation that allowed her to determine which of the party’s many newly acquired items were magic. This in turn enabled Nanoc and Telemachos to make a trip first to the Old Trading Post to sell off unwanted non-magic items, and then a visit to Harris Karl, the armorer, to see about fitting a suit of captured plate mail for the soldier (50 gold paid for this).

In exchange for the vast quantity of goods they sold to Joman Dart, Nanoc and Telemachos obtained a total of 1950 gold pieces, which, when combined with the 480 gold coins found in the trunk from the flourmill and the 1200 gold Dart paid for the twelve gems Danton had found in the moathouse, made for a healthy haul of 726 gold for each of the five party members. Aside from the items sold, Telemachos claimed the suit of full plate armor to be refitted, along with a steel shield, while Nanoc took the excellent quality greataxe (masterwork greataxe) that the half-orc warrior who had attacked him and Aseneth had carried. Numerous other items determined by Aseneth to be magic, but not yet identified, remained in the party’s possession.

Nanoc spent most of his newly acquired funds ordering the upgrading of his composite shortbow to allow him to make better use of his incredible strength (converted into mighty composite shortbow allowing use of up to +4 strength bonus—400 gold paid). Although the bowyer was initially incredulous at how powerful Nanoc wanted him to make the bow’s pull, the man assured the barbarian that it could be done and that arrows fired from the bow would be able to punch through steel—if the wielder could somehow manage to draw the string back to fire the weapon.

Because both Nanoc and Telemachos were only requesting the reworking of existing items rather than commissioning the creation of new weapons and armor, both were told that their modified items would be ready the following morning.

While Nanoc and Telemachos dealt with matters of reequipping and of selling unneeded items and Luger passed the morning in quiet meditation, Danton sat with Aseneth in the restaurant of the inn, which was filled with locals who did little more than stare at the two outsiders and talk off all that had happened in town the previous day, from the destruction of the flourmill to the nighttime raid on the inn.

“Nanoc is a most useful fellow, is he not?” said Danton nonchalantly at one point. “Although not the brightest, he is a very capable warrior with a good heart. He also seems entirely taken by you—a most useful situation from your point of view, I must imagine.”

“What do you mean?” asked Aseneth. Although Luger had healed the worst of her injuries, she still had an obvious black eye where someone had hit her with a blunt object during the chaotic melee the night before. Yet somehow this blemish did not diminish her beauty in the slightest and all of the local men in the inn stared at her as they always did. The fact that now, back at the inn rather than on the road, she dressed much as she had when Danton had first set eyes on her two weeks previously, also proved a distraction for more than just the local men.

“Some people might take advantage of Nanoc’s naiveté and of such devotion in order to try to make him some sort of lackey, or reduce him to the status of a musclebound bodyguard or the like,” said Danton, watching Aseneth’s reactions closely (sense motive: 4+4=8; failure).

“Someone like you?” shot back the sorceress.

“No,” said Danton firmly. “Although I cannot deny that Nanoc is convenient to have around, ultimately he is my friend and I would not abuse that trust. I hope you would not either.”

“Where I am coming from,” began Aseneth, “every woman who is having gift of being witch like me is wanting to find man who will fight for her—protecting. My friends from Rinloru would saying Nanoc is too young for me, but I am thinking he could be one for me and I do not care what others would saying—friends or you.”

Danton might have pushed the conversation further, but at this point Nanoc and Telemachos returned, with Luger in tow. When the barbarian saw how Aseneth was dressed, he nearly fainted, and Luger and Telemachos had to help him into a seat at the table when it seemed he might careen into another group of patrons.

“So,” said Luger, when everyone was seated, “what’s our next step?”

________________________________________________________________

Notes for turn 34:

Please send postings for the next turn by the end of Saturday, December 2^nd.

Current date/time: 17 Lipanj 592; approximately 1200.

Items gained this turn: See listings below for most changes. New items found in the trunk from the flourmill and taken from cultists who raided the inn are listed here. These items have not been divided and are not listed under any individual entry below: 8 potions, inverted ziggurat pendant, a ring, a bead, two feathers, a wand, and a scroll. Aseneth has determined all of these items are magic, but has not identified their specific natures. Other, non-magic items from the trunk include a disguise kit, the letter to Master Dunrat, yet another ochre colored robe, and the gold that has already been divided.

Undivided Loot previously gained: none

Items used/lost/destroyed/sold this turn: See listings below for changes.

FOES DEFEATED:

Active party members listed in green.

This Chapter:

Entire Campaign:

Current Status of the Party:

Note: known magic items listed in green.

Nanoc

AC: 17

Hit points: 34/47

New XP: 960

XP total: 9078

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: masterwork great axe, silver-plated short sword, masterwork studded leather armor, 69 arrows, 2 quivers, backpack, waterskin, 16 days trail rations, bedroll, 2 sacks, 2 flint & steel, bearskin, tent, 50’ rope, 1 sap, masterwork mighty composite shortbow, masterwork shortsword, 6 iron triangles with inverted ‘Y’ , potion of cure moderate wounds, three black cones made of some unknown substance, a black scepter decorated with a half dozen violet gems, a small black sphere, and a black metal tube; a scroll, three potions, a set of ochre robes and a set of black ones, a black cloak, an inverted ziggurat pendant; ochre robes, a gleaming white pearl, spare suit of full plate mail

Gold: 1078

Silver: 220

Danton

AC: 15 (16 vs. one opponent)

Hit points: 18/19

New XP: 960

XP total: 9078

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: rapier, 6 daggers, light crossbow, studded leather armor, quiver with 33 bolts, bedroll, backpack, flint & steel, thieves picks, waterskin, 9 days trail rations, hooded lantern, gold ring engraved with the name Karakas, 1 sap, 1 metal key from Yusdrayl, Everburning Torch,scrolls with pyrotechnics and melf’s acid arrow, old journal, 6 iron triangles with upside down ‘Y’ inside, 1 protection from fire scroll, 5 scrolls of cure light wounds, 2 scrolls of cure moderate wounds, new journal, notebook, pen, ink, parchment in sealed waterproof box, 5 unknown potions from cultists in dungeon, pipe, tobacco, metal box, whetstone, two scrolls from cultists in the dungeon, six packets of tinder for lighting fires, gold inlaid dagger, Journal of Geynor Ton, a folded piece of parchment with a note addressed to someone named Festrath, spider pendant, wand, tattered black cloak with burning eye emblazoned on it, unknown tome from the flour mill.

Gold: 998

Silver: 0

Telemachos

AC: 20

Hit points: 35/41

New XP: 960

XP total: 9078

XP needed: 10,000

Equipment: full plate mail, short sword, 2 daggers, longbow, quiver and 33 arrows, large steel shield, backpack, large sack, flint and steel, 19 days rations, waterskin, bedroll, tent, 1 sap, Shatterspike (Longsword +1 with special properties), 2 iron triangles with upside down ‘Y’ inside.

Gold: 741

Silver: 210

Luger

AC: 19

Hit Points: 15/25

New XP: 960

XP total: 4528

XP needed: 6000

Equipment: longsword, heavy mace, light x-bow, dagger, 20 bolts, chainmail, large steel shield, 3 belt pouches, large bag, 50’ rope, 5 torches, hooded lantern, 3 oil flasks, flint & steel, 8 days rations, silver holy symbol of Heironeus, 3 flasks holy water, 2 healer’s kits, backpack, cleric’s vestment, traveler’s clothing, waterskin, bedroll, iron triangle with upside down ‘Y’ inside, spherical black fruit, eight cockatrice feathers.

Spell Selection:

Level 0(4): none
Level 1(3+1): Detect Evil, Domain: Protection from Evil

Level 2 (2+1): Domain: Spiritual Weapon

Turn Undead attempts left on current day: 6

Gold: 746