20 Flamerule, 1368: The Dark Knight

6:30 am
In the former bugbear lair, the party awakens to growing light filtering down from the excavated shaft above them. After the normal preparations at the start of the day, including devotions and prayers by Routunious and spell memorization by Stago, they move down the passage to the double stone doors adjacent to where the giant spider had made its lair.

Selina tries to pick the lock, but is unsuccessful. Tick-a-Tick takes one of the looted axes from the dead bugbears and hammers at the door with the weapon. After a few minutes of punishment, the axe breaks. The automaton picks up the second axe and continues to hammer at the door. This axe, too, eventually is destroyed but before it is, the door gives way.

7:15 am
Cautiously, the party enters the room beyond the broken stone doors. It is illuminated by the glow of the continual light spell Routunious has cast on his hat. Inside, a large stone sarcophagus dominates the far wall of the room, and bright bits of gold wink from within the dust that covers the floor.

Selina checks for traps. She finds and disarms one on the sarcophagus. Tick-a-Tick lifts the stone lid off. Inside, we see the skeleton of a knight laid in repose. It holds a rusted morning star and a javelin. Strapped to its back is a sword. The sword, unlike the other items, has not been affected by the damp of the tomb and is not rusted in the least. It is longer than a longsword, and its handle suggests it is a claymore. The general consensus is that they have found the object of their quest, the sword Shandar called Dragonfang Foe Render.

Unfortunately, to get to the sword will require disturbing the body of the dead knight, a task which makes Selina feel extremely uneasy.

"You already disarmed the trap." Routnuious offered.

"I disarmed the trap that I found." Selina countered.

"Anyone want to place bets that if you touch that sword the skeleton will come to life?" Stago asked.

"If you touch that sword, you'll be the one who's dead, remember the curse that Shandar told us about?" Selina asked.

"Oh. Right. The curse. Well, I still think that moving the sword will animate the corpse."

"It would make sense. If you want to guard something that will kill you if you touch it, the best guardian would be something that is already dead." Routunious said.

"And you don't have to worry about provisions or even payment. Undead creatures make excellent guards. I'm even more certain that if you touch the sword, the skeleton will attack us." Stago said.

"Well, we didn't come all this way to leave it here. We're supposed to bring it back." Elessaria interrupted.

"Of course...." Stago said, and they all stared at the sword under the body for several long minutes.

"Do you really think the skeleton is going to come alive?" asked Selina.

"It's a skeleton, of course it is going to come alive." Stago returned.

"Well...then we could minimize the damage it will do when it does." Selina said, and then before anyone could react, she began to tie the feet of the skeletal knight together. Seeing what she is doing, and without touching the sword, Routunious lays his hands on the chest of the skeleton to keep it from rising.

Selina is able to tie up the feet without incident and after putting on her gloves, she slowly reaches behind the body to grab at the sword and scabbard.

No one is surprised when the moment the sword is touched by the thief, the skeleton animates and rises in the sarcophagus, preparing to take a swing at Tick-a-Tick with its mace. As it stands it breaks the bonds Selina had placed around its feet as though they were string instead of heavy rope. It strikes and though it does damage to the automaton, the mace crumbles upon the impact. Selina loses her grip on the sword during the skeleton's attack. Elessaria counter attacks but misses.

Routunious casts control undead, but to no effect. Tick-a-Tick hits the skeleton w/fist. Selina makes another attempt to grab the sword, but fails. The skeleton stands and stabs at Tick-a-Tick with its javelin, which also crumbles to bits of rusted metal upon impact. Elessaria misses again. Stago fires a bullet from his sling and manages to hit the wall rather than the skeletal guardian.

With its mace and javelin destroyed, the skeleton pulls the sword from its scabbard and began striking at the party with its cursed blade. It swings again at Tick-a-Tick, perhaps sensing that it is the greatest threat.


Selina throws her lasso at the sword, hoping to pull it from the skeleton's grasp but instead manages to ensnare its arm. Elessaria hits the skeleton's back. Routunious attacks the creature with his knife-staff, and hits it on the face. Stago hits the wall with another bullet from his sling while Selina struggles to maintain her grip on the rope.

The battle rages on until Tick-a-Tick lands a mighty blow that causes the skeleton to crumble into dust and bone fragments. Stago hurries forward with the lead box in order to gingerly place the cursed sword inside with his now gloved hands. Everyone misses. While he does so, Selina checks the inside of the sarcophagus for any remaining treasure.

7:44 am Stago secures the lid to the box, with the claymore inside. He is startled by a gasp from Selina behind him. Turning he sees a radiant glow emanating from the sarcophagus. "That's not a good sign." He mutters.

Before their horrified eyes, the skeleton's body is reforming from the dust and bone fragments they had reduced it to only moments before.

Routunious shouts, "That isn't' an ordinary skeleton!"

"Run away!" Stago shouted back, and did exactly that, lead box under his arm. The Skeletal Champion, for such a creature it was, reached out its claws to scratch at Tick-a-Tick and leaving deep gouges in his iron body.

Selina joins Stago in his escape down the hall, followed by her cats, at a dead run. Elessaria strikes at the skeletal champion and lands a blow. Tick-a-Tick, too, hits the dead warrior. Even Routunious manages a hit, but is clawed in return for his efforts leaving his robe torn and his shoulder bleeding. His automated body guard hits the skeleton with tremendous force, pulverizing it again.

"Ruuuunnnn!" Routnuious shouts, and all run to the room with the shaft, rope, drain. Stago stands steady now in the corridor as they race past him, and he holds a scroll in his hands. As anticipated, down the hall and through the door can be seen the eerie radiance of the crackling crypt-fire which precedes the skeletal champion reforming once again. It is only moments after the flickering light dissipates that the undead thing emerges from the door and begins walking down the corridor toward the gnome.

"Well, so much for it being bound to the death chamber." He mutters to himself and readies to cast the spell from the scroll. The enchanted parchment upon which it was written evaporates as a huge gout of magical webbing appears in the corridor and catches the skeletal champion, holding it fast.

Not waiting to see how long it will hold the creature, the entire party flees the tomb with the sword as quickly as they can. After a day and a half of travel, they arrive at Shandar's tower.

"Excellent work, my friends, and in a very short period of time! I see my trust in you was not misplaced after all." The old wizard said as he examined the sword in its lead container.

"We're elated at your thanks, sir, but perhaps the jingle of gold coins will remind us of those kind words long after the moment has passed." The gnome said through a very wide grin.

"Of course, your reward is well earned." Shandar said, and counted out 100 gold pieces for each member of the party, including Hitomi but excluding the cats and Tick-a-Tick.

After dispensing with the money, Shandar examined and identified the other treasures the company returned with from the tomb.

Translator’s Brooch: This jeweled pin grants the wearer the ability to understand Thorass, Bugbear and Orc in addition to those already known. If the character wearing the brooch is literate, they also gain literacy in the new languages as long as they wear the item. Faint divination; Price: 400 gp.

Headband of the Stout Heart: This simple leather headband is studded with small iron rivets. It grants its wearer a +1 resistance bonus on all Will saves. Faint abjuration; Price: 350 gp.

Lifting Belt: This heavy leather kidney belt features brass studs and large buckles on both sides and a large ornamental brass buckle on the front embossed with the image of a human male lifting a gate. Anyone wearing it gains a +1 enhancement bonus to Strength for the purpose of determining his carrying capacity or a lift gates check. The belt does not alter the wearer’s actual Strength score, nor does it change his Str modifier. This effect does not stack with that provided by any other bonus to Strength. Faint conjuration; Price: 500 gp.

Ring of spell storing: This ring allows the magic using owner to cast any spell into the ring, and store it there to be cast later upon command. The ring will store up to 4 spells per level, with a spell level limit of 4th. Moderate conjuration; Price: 1500gp.

There is a long and stubborn argument as to how the treasure will be divided, as none of it is going to be sold to Shandar. Most of the bickering is between Routunious and Selina, each of whom want to own the jeweled dagger. Elessaria points out to the priest that people of good alignments can't use the dagger, which makes Routunious uncomfortable, but he presses on with his claim. "I collect daggers, and I simply must have it for my collection!" He argued, not particularly effectively.

"I think we need to consider what will do the party the most good, not what will please an individual collector." Selina argued, "I can use the dagger, it suits my profession, and for someone as vulnerable to attack and so often in need of healing, a weapon like this is of particular benefit!"

"Yeah, you're always complaining about having to heal people, why wouldn't you be glad to have the dagger do some of the work for you?" Stago asked.

"It's just that...in addition to wanting it for my collection of daggers...maybe I feel that the evil nature of the item means that it would be better kept under the watchful care of a priest. That makes sense, doesn't it?" Routunious asked with a hopeful uptone in his voice.

"Not really. That sounds like hording and wasting, which is itself an evil act. It would make more sense to sell it to the wizard and divide the money equally." Stago returned.

"NO!!!" Selina and Routunious shouted in unison.

Stago said, "Well, I was the one who grabbed it in the first place, if it has to go to someone, then it might as well go to me."

Elessaria interjects, "You are not getting the dagger. I'm the leader, by unanimous consent, and by that authority I say the dagger goes to the thief. The benefit Selina will gain from it will best benefit the entire company."

"Very well," Routunious grumbled, still eyeing the dagger covetously, "but I want some consideration next time there is treasure to divide."

"I'll certainly remember that you bowed to my authority and should an item come into our possession which, in a similar manner, the entire party will benefit from giving it to you, I won't hesitate to ensure that you have it." The elf said stonily.

"Fine." Muttered the priest, "What about the rest of this junk?"

"As the only one in the party who can make use of a bow and arrow, especially those of elven make, I will take Heartseeker and the magic quiver."

"Say, I just have a thought." Stago interrupted, "If that thing magically fills with whatever type of arrow is put into it....What if we paid to have a solid gold arrow made?"

"I am certain that the elves who crafted this item did so in order to facilitate battle and not greed." Elessaria replied.

"What is the purpose of battle if not to facilitate greed?" Stago argued.

"The answer is no."

"That doesn't really work as an answer to the question I actually posed."

"The answer is still no."

"Fine. Who, do you suppose, should get the ring of spell storing?"

Stago happily accepts the ring from Elessaria and drops the issue of mass producing golden arrows. She also gives the gnome the lifting belt and Headband of the Stout Heart.

After the long argument, everyone settles in for a well deserved rest. Tomorrow will bring a huge breakfast and the start of training for those who are ready to gain a level.

Experience points awarded: 318 each, plus any applicable bonuses.

19 Flamerule, 1368: Bugbears and Spiderwebs

6:15pm

After recovering from the choking amulet, the party returned to the big entrance room and examined the remaining door.

"How do we get it open?" Asked Selina, after determining it didn't seem trapped but certainly was locked. Locked, she reported, with a mechanism well beyond her ability to pick.

"Batter it down like the last door!" Stago shouted. Elessaria and Tick-a-Tick repeat their performance and after approximately 7 minutes of bashing, the door splinters. The destruction of the door was an extremely noisy affair, so the party is not surprised in the least that the battering attracted any monsters which might have been on the other side of the door.


The aforementioned monsters turned out to be two large and burly creatures vaguely humanoid in appearance...bugbears, to be precise. Stago is further unsurprised but interested to note that the same monsters depicted in the frescoes in the outer chambers should be the creatures encountered inside the tomb's interior halls.

Elessaria attacks, and hits one of the bugbears. It returns the attack with one of its own, but misses the elf with its axe. The other bugbear also attacks with its sword, but cuts only air.

Routunious throws a knife, but misses broadly. He throws a second blade and hits the first bugbear. It collapses. Elessaria manages a hit on the remaining bugbear with her sword. Tick-a-Tick steps on the fallen bugbear and crushes it to death. The remaining bugbear nicks Elessaria slightly with his counter attack.

With blood and gore sticking to its feet, Tick-a-Tick delivers a mighty blow to the remaining bugbear and the creature is also bitten by one of Stago's dogs. The wounds are too much for it, and the bugbear falls unconscious. Elessaria cuts its throat, and then decapitates it while Routnuious recovers his knives.

Selina searches the bodies of the bugbears and discovers the following loot:

a) 26 cp
b) 23 sp
c) 14 gp
d) 10 pp
e) 1 short sword
f) 2 hand axes
g) 1 light shield
h) 1 belt - a wide leather belt with large, ornate buckle

"Let me see that belt." Stago, said, then he considered it carefully as he moved it through his fingers as a jeweler might an uncut diamond looking for the right places to apply a chisel. He looked up with a wide smile, and said, "Just as I thought. This is obviously some sort of magic girdle, which makes perfect sense since bugbears don't wear pants. Why would they wear a belt unless it provided some benefit? The benefit in this case is undoubtedly some magical effect that bestows heroic strength. I'm going to put it on."

Elessaria stopped him with her iron grip, saying, "No, you're not. Don't you remember what happened to Routunious just a few moments ago in the last room we were in?"

"Of course I do," the gnome said with a grin, "and it was hilarious!" Distracted by his joke, Elessaria loosened her grip just enough for the gnome to finish fastening on the belt.

"I can't believe you did that!" Shouted the elf, with completely undisguised anger.

"Oh, it wasn't going to do anything bad...it wasn't hurting the bugbear any." Stago retorted.

"Didn't help him much either." Selina said, looking back at the crushed skull of the belt's previous owner.

"Point taken." Stago replied.

"Well? Are you stronger?" Asked Routunious, impatient as always.

"No. I don't seem to be stronger...exactly...but lifting things seems a little easier than before." Stago said to the priest.

Routnious, confused, asked, "I don't understand. Lifting things more easily sounds like you're stronger. Doesn't it?"

Stago, with some self satisfaction, replied, "It does, but see this bar that was reinforcing the door? I can pick it up with no strain at all--however, no matter how hard I try, I can't bend it. I surmise, therefore, that this is a girdle of lifting, not of strength."

"Well, I surmise that it is a stupid magic item and you can keep it."

"Thank you. Though I had every intention of doing so, with or without your permission." The gnome quipped.

Elessaria interjected, "This isn't a free for all. We're going to have to come up with a policy for dividing treasure. I think in general it will be a good idea if magic items we don't plan to sell to Shandar are given to the people who can make the best use of them. But...I have no problem with the gnome keeping this."

Stago smiled, and said, "No more problem than I have with your keeping that lovely bow and arrow set you pilfered from the dead man who owns them."

Elessaria didn't say anything to that...out loud, at least.

Selina, wanting to break up this line of discussion, moved down the hall the bugbears had come from, looking for traps. The search for traps was extremely slow, and after an hour's searching she'd found nothing and only covered half the corridor.

Stago, frustrated by the delay, sends his dogs down the hall as trap testers--and nothing happens. Selina is perturbed, but joins the rest of the party following behind Stago as he followed his dogs up the passage.

8:00pm
The long stone hall ends in a stone chamber furnished only with cracked, moldering tables on which lie rusted implements of iron. Rain falls into the middle of the room from a shaft in the ceiling that must run all the way to the top of the tor. From the bottom of the shaft angles a rope, swinging slightly. A drain in the center of the floor allows the water to escape, but old, dark stains suggest that it was used to carry away other fluids long ago.

A dishevelled and stained bed of mildewing straw lies in the corner, and near it, a chest.

After examining the room carefully, the story unfolds from clues found there. Knowing that bugbears are lazy, shiftless beasts who have not made the effort to batter down the door to the outer chamber themselves, it is unlikely that they dug the shaft into this room. It is more likely that they blundered onto the shaft after it had been dug by tomb robbers, and have now been using the rope to climb into and out of their new hideout.

Selina examines the chest and picks the lock with ease. When she opens the chest a cowbell clanks loudly, echoing down the passages.

"That's about the extent of a bugbear's trap making expertise." The thief said through a wide smile.

Inside the chest were 235 copper pieces and a segmented spear that fits together by means of threaded screws on each end. Each section is 2 feet in length.

The value of the coppers doesn't seem worth carrying the added weight, so they leave them in the chest.

8:30pm
Stago sends King ahead to the end of the adjoining corridor, where he stops and growls. Stago then sends him to the side corridor and the dog gets stuck on something, and begins an unholy racket of yelping and howling. The party comes closer with great caution and discoveres that a fine filament of webbing is holding the dog fast, no matter how much it wriggles and tries to claw itself free.

Stago grabs the segmented spear, and assembles it. He sticks the tip on the thread holding his dog, intending to slice through the webbing with its keen edge. The spear becomes stuck as well.

Stago pulls a candle from his pack and slowly extends the lit wick toward the nearly invisible fibers of the spider web. Before anyone can pull him back or shout a cautionary word, the webbing erupts in violent flames!

With a horrible whoosh and a blinding flash, the web is consumed by fire...unfortunately most of the party and the poor dog also take fire damage.

The entire party is also temporarily blinded by the flash of light from the explosion. In the artificial darkness they hear something scratching and clicking against the stone walls of the passage. The entire party draws a collective breath when they hear the tortured dog let out a yelp of pain and a whimper...followed by the sickening thud of meat hitting stone. Something, likely whatever spun the web, attacked the animal and was moving toward the party.

Stago casts a sleep spell in the direction of the clicking and chittering, then tells his other dog to attack. The dog, ever faithful and fearless, does so. The party hears another yelp and they know that the spell has done nothing and the dog has been lost.


Vision begins to return to the company, and as eyes adjust to the darkness, they see an enormous spider, poised to attack. Stago moves backward and sees that his dog is not quite dead. The noble hound bites the spider as it moves toward the gnome. The giant arachnid staggers and stops. It sinks to the floor, twitching. Elessaria wastes no time in delivering the killing blow.

9:37pm
Stago administers some anti-venom to the living dog, and once its wounds are tended to, they explore the hallway which had been the spider's home.

At the end of the corridor, they find a singed hairy ball that all agree is most likely an egg sack. They destroy it, and cautiously move into the room at the end of the hallway.

Inside the room are 3 large lumps, wrapped in webbing, and many many smaller lumps.
Stago cuts one of the smaller lumps in half and reports the contents. "Rats." He said, with mild disgust.

Routunious cuts open a larger lump. "Another rat...but this one is human." He said.

Routunious pulled away the webbing and examined the dessicated corpse it hid. Selina did the same for the second large lump and finds another mummified body. The corpses of the spider's victims...most likely the tomb robbers who dug the shaft, had few possessions. Having few possessions is one of the primary motivations for robbing graves, after all. They had little on them but rusted weapons. Selina did find a silver ring with onyx gemstone set in it, and a bag of 75 gp.

A third lump of webbing contained another dried husk of a man, this one clutching a back with 100 pieces of gold in it.

After their exertions, the company decides to rest in the chamber the Bugbears had used for their hideout.

19 Flamerule, 1368: Doors, Chests, and Traps

5:30pm
The party exits the room with the walking suit of armor with their trophies. Stago unstakes the door. From the large entrance, they go to the door on the rightmost wall. Selina is unable to detect any traps. Tick-a-Tick pushes against the door and finds it unyielding.

Tick-a-Tick and Elessaria together can't open the door. There's a concealed door which covers a lock-hold. Selina sees it is a very complex lock beyond her ability to pick. The party goes to the door on the wall opposite the entrance hole of the tomb. Same kinda door, same kinda lock.

Routunious and Selina think the doors can be broken down. Not wanting to damage their own weapons for such a purpose, Selina pulls out the ogre's mace and gives it to Elessaria. The elf and and Tick-a-Tick start bashing on the door and 15 minutes later, it falls apart, splintered.

5:45pm
The party enter tentatively. In the illumination provided by the priest's enchanted hat, they find that the room is empty save dust and a single, small stone chest in the center of the floor.

The walls of the chest appear to be very thick stone, with a stone lid hinged and locked. The chest walls are carved with an intricate design illustrating a mighty warrior standing alone on a hill and cutting through a horde of bugbears. The same warrior which was depicted in the other room's frescoes. It seems clear that no one has disturbed this chamber for many years.

The stone chest is built into the floor and cannot be removed. This room was created as a place where those who wished to pay tribute to the lost soul entombed in the tor could place items as memorial offerings.

After examining the chest, it is discovered that it is locked, and although Selina examined the chest for a full fifteen minutes, she is unable to detect any traps.

6pm
Elessaria approaches the chest to see if she can pry it open with with her sword. As soon as she touches it, darts fall from the ceiling. Both Selina and Elessaria are hit by 4 darts each. Selina has a draught from her potion of extra healing. Elessaria drinks all of a potion of regular healing, then, confident the trap has been fully sprung, opens the chest.

Inside the chest is a headband that looks as though new, two pearls that Selina estimates are worth 100 gold each, and a brooch which is very similar to the one Merle Hitomi was given by Shandar to comprehend languages. In addition, there is a small back that when rattled seems to be filled with 100 gold coins.

Selina searches the inside of the chest and discovers a secret compartment, and actually detects that it is trapped! She notices a slight sheen that indicates contact poison coats the latch of the secret compartment door. She opens it with a sword, that she then discards. Inside the compartment is an amulet which she quickly grabs and removes from the chest.

The amulet looks like it has an unknown holy symbol on it.

"If it is a holy symbol, allow a holy man to examine it." Said Routunious as he took the amulet from the thief. When he touches it the symbol changes and becomes a holy symbol of Gond.

Stago mutters, "He's a good priest, but a little symbol-minded." Then, while the priest turns the amulet over in his hand, the little gnome starts to slip on the brooch. Selina shouts, "Don't do it!"

"If we don't have an identify magic spell, how are we going to know what this stuff does unless we try it out?" The gnome asked.

Elessaria said evenly, "Fine, go ahead, see what happens."

Wearing the brooch he looks directly at the blade of his newfound dagger and examines the inscription...which his is now able to read as though it were in his native tongue.

"Lifedrinker." The gnome said out loud. "That's what it says. Lifedrinker. Let me see the sword.....God's Bane. Say, this is a handy little piece of jewlery."

Routunious, seeing the gnome's success at trying the item out, decides to put on the amulet.

Stago cautioned, "Don't put anything on that tries to make itself look more attractive to you when you touch it!"

Routunious snorted at the advice and slipped the object over his head. Suddenly, it tightens around his neck, beginning to strangle him.

Stago gloated, "Told you."

The priest merely sputtered and tried to pull at the ever tightening cord. He tries to get his fingers under the cord of the amulet, but his fingers are caught in the tightening noose. His face and fingers start to turn purple.

Selina tries to cut it off, but fails. Stago has a sleep scroll out, but decides against casting it. Still, he keeps it handy incase the amulet causes the priest to go berserk or something.

Elessaria cuts at it, but fails to sever the cord. With a second attempt, she finally cuts it in two. The amulet falls away and turns a dull gray, fully inert. Routunious is mystified by the entire affair, he's never seen an object do anything like it.

19 Flamerule, 1368: A Dark and Stormy Knight

12am
The night sky over the camp is rent by lightning. Loud thunderclaps signify that the storm may finally break. For the rest of the night the wind picks up, howling like banshees.

6am
Finally, the storm breaks. Rain pounds the company for 23 minutes. The torrent does seem to wash away the fleas suffered by Selina and Routnuious, however.

7am
Back on the trail, in spite of the weather, which continues to worsen.

1pm
The mud and slippery footing has slowed travel considerably. All the members of the party are soaked through to the bone, tired, and hungry. As they move forward, lightning dances around, hitting closer and closer until... Shazam! Lightning hits Tick-a-Tick and arcs over to also hit Merle, who was standing beside the automaton. Merle is unconscious. The Company has no choice but to stop their forward progress and set up camp so that Elessaria can use the Stone of Recall to take Merle to Shandar's.

Elessaria returns shortly afterwards, saying that Shandar will care for the strange woman from Kara-Tur and that the party should continue on without her.

4pm
Debris flying, clouds racing, visibility decreasing.

5pm
Even though it is still during daylight hours when the party nears the tor, it is dark as night due to the storm clouds above. The rain prohibits the lighting of torches and the cooling effect of the now constant downpour limits infravision to completely ineffective. The only illumination comes from the frequent and blinding flashes of lightning which are followed by deafening peals of thunder. A cold wind blows from the north. As they near the tower, the storm takes a turn for the worse, and while bolts of lightning slam from cloud to ground, pieces of hail begin to pelt the company and the need for shelter becomes both obvious and urgent. Fortunately the Hightower tor seems to be very near now.

Ahead in the distance, the large hill rises in front of the company and the outline of the ruined tower above it is starkly illuminated in the intermittent flashes of lightning. It seems rocky and solid, and though climbing it in this weather would be folly, it appeared as though it might have some outcropping that would provide safety from the storm. The only alternative is to endure the weather.

From the base of the hill can be seen that the massive tor towers above the surrounding country. A few narrow ledges offer scant protection from the elements, but a closer inspection reveals a massive, arched entryway at least 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide, set into the side of the hill.

The ground just outside it slopes away from the doorway, directing the falling water out and away.

Stago, who among the party had the greatest knowledge of stonework and geology, shouted above the storm, "Given the slope and the sturdy nature of the hill, whatever space lies beyond the door should be both dry and safe from lightning and hail. The construction seems quite sturdy, so the likelihood of collapse, even in severe conditions such as these, is remote."

He also noted the broken remains of an immense, round stone scattered across the ground near the entrance. This stone once blocked the doorway, he concluded, but it was blasted apart…apparently by lightning.

The party slowly enters the tomb, neither Selina nor Stago detect any traps.

5:15pm
The entrance room is quite large, though empty it is also quite dry. It measures at least ten paces square. Peeling paint and broken scrollwork suggest that it was once decorated with some care, but now only dust remains.

Three massive stone doors—one each to the left and right, and one directly across from the entrance—lead deeper into the tor.

Routunious casts continual light on his hat. His yellow hat glows and all characters with infravision are now only seeing what is lit by the hat. We look at the frescoes adorning the walls. Typical heroic depictions of feats of valor.

The group moves cautiously to the left door. Thunder echoes in the room. Selina checks for traps, finding none. Routunious sends Tick-a-Tick to open door. It
does and we enter. Stago stakes the door open behind them.

The only objects of interest within this chamber are against the far wall. There stands a suit of armor on a frame and two small racks of weapons to either side. In the rack to the right are a long sword and a jeweled dagger. In the rack to the left hang a bow and quiver full of arrows. The armor and weapons gleam in shining perfection, undamaged by the moisture or passage of time.

Selina feels like the entire room is a trap, but can not determine of what nature or how to disarm it. On the wall, the frescoes picture a knight fighting bugbears and other monsters of the hills.

The party enters the chamber and suddenly the suit of armor becomes animated and grabs the sword from the rack. It advances menacingly.

Elessaria and the rest of the party ready for defense. Stago, however, immediately attacks with his sling, but misses. The armor moves closer to Elessaria, swinging with its sword but misses the elf. Selina cracks her whip, also missing the suit of armor.

Stago moves quickly to the rack of weapons and grabs the jewelled dagger from the the hook on which it hangs. Routunious attempts to turn undead, but to no effect. Elessaria striks again, hitting the suit of armor causing it to stagger under the blow. Selina cracks her whip again, missing the target. The monster brings down its sword, hard, on Elessaria.

Using the dagger he has taken from the rack, Stago attempts to stab the armor in the back, but misses. Elessaria misses her counterblow but is healed by Routunious. The armor misses its next attack, to the momentary relief of all. Selina uses her lasso to attempt to capture the creature, but it slips through the loop.

Routunious commands Tick-a-Tick to attack the suit of armor. Stago misses another backstab attempt. Selina flees the room as the armor strikes Elessaria again with his blade.

Stago, still waving the dagger impotently, backs away. Selina grabs the bow and quiver of arros from the rack--just because there is fighting going on is no reason not to loot!

Elessaria hits the armor wit a battle axe, which almost gets stuck in the plates. She is struck again for her troubles by the creature's sword. Tick-a-Tick hits the armor sqaurely, shattering it. The breastplate, shield, etc. fall onto the floor w/loud clangs and begin immediatly to rust. There is nothing inside the armor.

Curiously, the sword taken by the creature from the rack of weapons stays both shiney and sharp. Before anyone touches the blade, they try to determine whether or not it is Dragonfang Foe Render, but quickly realize it is a longsword, not a claymore. The object of their quest remains to be discovered.

As Elessaria guards the doorway with the automaton, those with the best chance for appraising items examine the weapons they have found.

The jewelled dagger is keen-edged and inscribed in an unknown language. It comes with a jeweled scabbard.

The longsword is of a similar keen edge and expertly balanced. It is a fine weapon, possibly magical. It bears an inscription in Thorass, an ancient language.

The bow and quiver are of excellent quality. They both are inscribed with Elvish runes that Elessaria translates as "Heartseeker".

Many pointed comments are made about how beneficial it would be to the party if Stago had the ability to detect magic or spellcraft as a proficiency instead of, say, cooking or half-assed thieving skills.

18 Flamerule, 1368: Departure

9 am
The lead box, with an inset shaped like a claymore, is attached to Tick-a-Tick, and the party makes ready to leave.

As the day progresses, it becomes cooler. Storm clouds appear on the horizon. After six hours on the trail, they reach the cut-off point. As the adventurers prepare to leave the trail at the spot designated on the map, storm clouds are gathering and spitting lightning in the distance. The electrical storm grows quite severe as the travelers leave the relative safety of the trail and embark upon their journey into the wilds.

4pm
The clouds have not yet broken, but the gathering storm continues to bode ill for the travellers. As they contemplate the dark clouds ahead, they are surprised by a pair of ogres who leap out from behind large rocks.Elessaria prepares for counter attack. Selina flees. Stago casts color spray at the ogres. Routunious tells Tick-a-Tick to attack.

Elessaria lands a mighty blow against the ogre clad in red armor, the pink armored ogre is able to strike Selina as she flees. Stago's spell is successful and renders not only the pink ogre unconscious but one of his dogs and Merle as well!

The red ogre gets its sword tangled in Elessaria's cloak. Spike bites deeply into the unconscious ogre's neck. Stago pulls him back and slits the monster's throat with his dagger. Having difficulty keeping balance as the red ogre tugs at her cloak, she misses her strike against the monster. Tick-a-Tick cleaves the remaining ogre neatly in two.

The Company severs the heads of the ogres, as per their new name. On the bides is found 9 gold pieces in addition to the helmets, broadsword and mace they carried. Selina and Routunious, who conducted the body search, become infested with fleas and because of the itching they are at reduced effectiveness in battle until the bugs can be gotten rid of.

5pm
We pitch camp, praying that the rain will start to fall in hopes that it will wash away the fleas.

10pm
Clouds hide the moon and it becomes very dark.

11pm
Temperature plummets, but still it doesn't rain.

17 Flamerule, 1368: A Farewell Party

After a tenday of training, the Company of the Severed Head were ready to take on their first quest. Shandar sat back at the table after a feast prepared in the honor of the soon to be departing heroes and tugged on his pipe before providing some background to the adventure that would be undertaken tomorrow at first light.

He spoke slowly, with an intensity of gaze that made certain his words were listened to. "The area of the Dagger Hills," the wizard began, "has long been fought over by various groups of humans, ogres, bugbears, and other creatures. The area along the Dagger Trail is particularly dangerous due to the large number of brigands who loot travelers they are able to waylay. Those who died in battle here were often buried in large tors dug into hillsides and honored as patrons of the living."

"What is a tor?" Routunious interrupted.

"A hollowed out tomb thingy. Like a burial mound." Stago provided, between mouthfuls of his warm custard and apple crisp desert.

"Yes, exactly." Shandar re-lit his pipe and continued, "Though most of these tors have long since been robbed and forgotten, a few do remain—often left alone because they are rumored to be trapped, haunted, or worse."

"Worse than haunted?" Elessaria asked, the terrible nightmares she had been experiencing before being cured by Mina still an unsettling memory, even if not one that any longer cost her sleep.

"Oh, there are worse things than restless dead, but I don't think you'll be facing anything like that on this trip." Shandar said, though his reassurance fell a little flat. He continued, "Among these infamous tombs is the large tor known as Hightower. Its location isn’t widely known, in fact, it had been lost for ages, but was recently rediscovered and its location mapped for me by Karryn Starfollower."

"The map she delivered to you in Bug Tussle!" Shouted Selina.

"The very same. When she isn't here at my tower, Karryn spends her days honing her skills by roaming the Dagger Hills, hunting bugbear and orcs. On one of her hunts she tracked some bugbears to the tor. This particular tomb had a ruined tower on top of it and the bugbears were using it for a hideout. She rightly felt that making note of the location would be more highly prized than the bugbear heads she turned in for bounty at Bug Tussle."

"If she mapped the tower for you, why didn't she just bring the map to you here instead of meeting you in Bug Tussle?" Stago asked.

Shandar responded, "An excellent question, good master gnome. Karryn already had a bag full of kobold heads to be taken to Colonel Putnuam for bounty. She sent word for me to meet her there so that I could access the map without interrupting her hunt."

"Oh."

Shandar continued, "Though Hightower is neither the largest nor the most famous of the area’s tombs, it represents a typical example of this kind of structure. Hightower, apart from my own interest in it, is an unimportant monument in a remote location, a full day’s ride off the Dagger Trail, or two day’s walking, from my home here. It is my belief, through scrying and inquiries I've made, that Hightower Tor is the place where the first of my objects rests. That object is a cursed sword of many enchantments."

"So, the first thing we have to get you is a sword. Right. Got it. Sounds simple. Go to this tomb, get in, find the sword, get out, get back. How hard can it be?" Routunious calculated out loud.

Shandar pretended not to hear him, "The name of the blade is Dragonfang Foe Render. It is a very dangerous weapon, cursed with an enchantment which causes a horrible death to any whose flesh is touched by the weapon. At no time must any of you actually touch the sword, or your flesh will turn to acid and dissolve your very bones."

"OK, that's a complication. Why do you want this sword?" Routnious replied.

"I want it because it is mine." He sighed heavily, and produced from under the table a long and heavy metal box. "This box is made of lead. You must place the sword, without touching it, into this box. The box will prevent it from harming you, and prevent any scrying eye from detecting its presence as you travel. Magic...has difficulty penetrating lead. For your efforts, you will be paid according to the terms of their contract and allowed to keep any and all other treasure you find, except for the sword."

"Well, if these tombs have been plundered and so forth as much as you say, how do we know there will be anything there at all--including the sword?" Asked Routunious.

"You don't. That's why there are more farmers than there are adventurers. But I do have parting gifts for you."

Each member of the company was given 3 potions of extra healing and on vial of sweetwater. To Stago he gives three scrolls, Monster Summoning VI, Water Breathing, and Knock.

To Routunious, Shandar gives four scrolls with clerical spells: Cure Critical Wounds, Raise Dead, Cure Disease, and Invisibility to Undead.

Merle is given a translation brooch which allows her to speak and understand common. She seems oddly put out about this, preferring that everyone learn her native tongue rather than have that beautiful ancient language perverted by magical translation to any other language. The rest of the party doesn't seem to care and is glad that the frustration of the language barrier has been removed at last.

"Tomorrow, my friends, we will prepare you with all the necessary supplies and see you on your way. Tonight, rest, relax, and enjoy the comforts of home. The next bed you sleep in is likely to be a grave...let us hope it isn't yours."

(picture borrowed from Tour By Tor for illustrative purposes only. No copyright infringement intended. And if you want to get a feel for what walking through the Dagger Hills might be like in real life, I would recommend taking this tour!)