The cast of heroes
Arken (Half-Elf Cleric) – leader of the party
Bardan (Human Fighter) – the muscleKnil (Elf Ranger) – the tracker
Korum Proudfoot (Halfling Thief) – the scout
Rioja Hyrule (Human Mage) – the wizard
Kima (Black Domestic Cat) – his familiar
Encounter with the Beast (Day 189, evening)
The party had settled into their ambush positions, and the
sheep were put into their position as bait. Rioja made a final circuit of the
defensive positions casting Strength on Arken, Barden and Korum – the members
of the party who would be getting up close and personal with the entity known
as The Beast. Rioja had been studying the old wizard’s books from his library
and had come across a few old scrolls, much damaged, that gave them a few clues
as to the two dragons’ backgrounds and traits.
Night had fallen and the moon had risen, bathing the glade
in its wan light. The sheep started to bleat and shift nervously in Rioja’s
direction; which was as planned. Across the meadow, the trees started to rustle
and a huge misshapen bipedal being stamped its way into the clearing. It was a
dark shape within an aura of darkness that seemed to follow and surround it.
Rioja knew that the Beast feared magic users, so he would
have to be brave to face it down, giving enough time for his fellow adventurers
to engage it in mortal combat. He cast a few minor cantrips to attract its
attention and then, as it turned towards him and began to approach he hit it
full on with a Fireball. This magical blast caught it in its great maw, massive
pointed teeth shone against the glow from the blast. The Beast shook its head,
let out a great roar and advanced on Rioja. That was the signal for the three
combat ready adventurers to rush in.
Rioja cast a Polymorph Self and grew to double his height,
whilst fractionally after he cast a set of Magic Missiles. Knil hit the Beast
with two of his arsenal of magical arrows, which seemed to pass through the
Beast, albeit damage to its aura was seen. Arken Blessed himself for extra
combat resilience whilst Bardan and Korun rushed the Beast from the side and
rear respectively.
Although not surprised into inaction, the Beast
none-the-less was slowed enough by the party’s actions that they were able to
reel off another series of attacks. More Magic Missiles and magical arrows hit
the shadowy being just before Bardan and Korum were able to strike. Bardan had
hurt it the most, so the Beast swung its dark talons and dealt him a mighty
blow. Again, more magical blasts and arrows found their target and although
Korum struck the Beast with all his enhanced Strength from behind causing
enough damage to fell an elephant, the Beast merely shrugged it off and
clobbered Korum to within an inch of his life. In fear of hitting his injured
friend, Bardan dropped his axe.
Arken finally managed to enter the fray to deal extra damage
with his magical mace whilst Bardan went to retrieve his weapon. Korum favoured
his injured left side, and as a result missed his opportunity to attack. More
magical missiles found their target, but Knil was becoming increasingly worried
about firing into the melee in case he hit one of his compatriots. The Beast
now realised his main enemy was the mage, who had been blasting him unerringly
for minutes with many bolts of power. Ignoring the injured Halfling and the
ineffectual warriors it lunged in the direction of Rioja.
The Beast managed to avoid being hit by the rest of the
party and dealt its wrath upon the wizard. Rioja seemed to shrug off the wound,
but a squeal of pain was heard from Kima, his black cat familiar. A final Magic
Missile from Rioja’s arsenal slowed the Beast enough for Korum to gather his
wits enough to strike at a vulnerable point. Dealing a blow that would have
felled a Titan, Korum felt his whole arm numb with shock as he struck the
Beast’s vital spot. The darkness felll in upon itself and then exploded in a
massive blast of magical power, bowling over all those in the glade including
the terrified sheep that were some distance away. The townsfolk of Kakariko
later told of the thunderous blast upon the party’s return to town.
Arken was the first to his feet, so he examined the blast
area. Thinking about the binding spell which kept Aphyros bound within the orb,
he scooped up some of the earth that contained the diminishing magical essence
of the Beast for later use. He then prayed to his goddess for guidance on what
they should do next. She informed him that his duties were completed when the
party released the good dragon from the orb, but was impressed with his
devotion to the cause when he mentioned that he and the party would carry on
and help with the quest to bring about the downfall of Nephyros, the evil
dragon. Din managed to ask one favour and that was to know if the Beast was
truly gone. Cryptically his deity mentioned to look to its footprints for the
answer. From this he concluded that the party had truly defeated the Beast.
After the commune with his deity, Arken healed those who
were worst afflicted in the battle. The party then returned the sheep to the
farmer in return for their 20 gold piece deposit, and headed back to the main
town of Kakariko
Return to the Village
of Gerudos
The party spent a couple of days celebrating their victory
and recovering from the rest of their wounds before heading back to their base
in the south. They travelled by night whilst Rioja rested, and rested by day
whilst Rioja studied with his familiar standing watch. Even though they wished
to attract the attention of the Darkness, it never returned during their entire
journey. They must have hurt Nephyros if he wouldn’t retaliate so soon; perhaps
the scrolls were right that when any of his three aspects are defeated, it
would take some time for him to re-gather his strength.
Upon their return, they noticed that all of the building
work had been completed to their satisfaction and Tim, the steward, was running
the settlement in a very efficient manner; they had started to actually make a
little money selling their goods (wood, animal skins and furs, some early crops
and merchants’ fees for renting their stalls and shops in the guildhall and
market place), enough to pay off 1000gp of Arken’s debt. The militia had been
trained in the efficient use of the ballistae and had formed a tight unit of
men-at-arms. They still had some training to do, and new recruits were coming
in each day to swell their ranks.
Barden and Knil went looking for more magical items to boost
their arsenal. Barden had seen how effective Korum’s Girdle of Giant Strength
was, so managed to pick one up himself, albeit of not the same fine quality as
Korum’s. Knil also managed to acquire more magical arrows, of a better quality
than his previous ones, but had a run in with the merchant selling them. He was
over charging the party on the goods he was selling and Rioja had found him
out. He promised to behave better in future on threat of the party going to the
mayor.
Meanwhile, Korum visited the local Thieves’ Guild to
introduce himself and passed their entry lock test with flying colours. He
mentioned what he was aiming to achieve with his new tavern set up in Gerudos,
and they promised to send him a few informants to aid in expanding their communications
network. He should expect to see one or two mendicants, a stable boy, and a
couple of working girls arrive over the next few days. The Guild would exchange
information and favours with Korum’s set up in return for a small monthly fee
and a reciprocal exchange of knowledge.
Rioja left the merchant’s establishment to track down the
local wizard. He was welcomed in warmly and after exchanging pleasantries, the
two mages set their heads together to work out their next moves. Rioja had
previously asked Arken if it was alright to part with their hard won knowledge
of the Nephyros versus Aphyros situation, and he agreed he could do so if he
trusted the mage. Their aim was to replicate the entrapment spell used on
Aphyros when he entered the orb, only with the target this time being Nephyros,
the evil dragon. Whilst the two conjurers worked on the ritual, they had a
little time to develop further a small ancible device that could be used to
contact each other over distance. They would not be able to actually
communicate over the devices (two small marbles, one would glow in opposition
if a cantrip was cast upon the other), but it would alert the other that they
needed to communicate. Some other spell could be used for that communication.
A New Quest (Day 242)
The two wizards were good to their word and, after much
research within the tomes they had both acquired over their years of study and
adventuring, they were able to work out the next move. The Hawk (the liche that
had poisoned Din’s chalice) had to be faced again on its home ground, because
within that valley was a circle of power that was needed to defeat that aspect
of Nephyros. Korum had also been thinking on the nature of the diamond and its
box; it seemed that the area of its effect closely resembled what would be
expected of just such a circle of power.
The next phase of their quest settled, the party prepared to
travel back to the swamp to face down the Hawk; the second aspect on Nephyros.
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