Tim's Outlanders: Cultists, Cultists, Cultists, Session 5 – April 13 to 23, 20 IC

[Landsharks, a side trip, and the first ruins.]

[This session took place August 21, 2004.  We were playing Champions 5th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver – male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Mord Worldfist – male dwarf bodyguard [and handler] for Dangar

Wendell Dorshield III – male gnome, Captain and Architect of the Yardbird

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

NPCs

Rebecca – female gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Herschal “the Hunter” – also known as “Bearkiller”, male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Yacov – male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Horace the Mad – male human, a fur trapper and mountain man operating in the Southern Reaches

Session Begins

April 13, 20 IC

In the morning, the Outlanders reviewed the additional map information they had received from the Nozumi.  To reduce the amount of time they would have to spend in the landshark territories, they adopted a strategy of paralleling the Mosel River above the falls but moving through the lower portions of the mountains.

After a day marching, they set up camp.  The Outlanders pondered the map and then they decided to cut across the river plain leading from Ichta Valley (as labeled on the Nozumi map) the next day.  They set watches, but it was a quiet night.

April 14, 20 IC

Just after they crossed an unnamed river they noticed a fin slicing through the flat plains as if the dirt was water.  Wendell used his Rod of Excellent Engineering to create a rock slab laying upon the ground and everyone scrambled up onto it except Dangar, Mord, and Malwyn.  The two dwarfs and the elf took dispersed combat positions and awaited the attack of the landshark.

The fin slicing through the dirt circled the party a couple of times, slowly tightening the radius of the circle.  It then disappeared beneath the dirt.  Rapidly looking around, the dwarfs and the elf tried to determine which direction the landshark would attack from, when it suddenly erupted from the ground under Dangar’s feet!

The landshark's beak gaped wide, its teeth exposed, as it bit at Dangar.  The dwarf's strong chain mail armor deflected most of the blow and Mord and Dangar rained blows upon it that were rebuffed by the landsharks thick, tough hide.  Malwyn scanned the landshark's hide, looking for a weakness until the landshark dove under the surface again. [Malwyn had the Find Weakness skill and was putting it to use.]

Mord drew his war hammer and prepared for the landshark to return.  Dangar asked Malwyn if he had seen a weakness.  Malwyn replied that he might have, but needed another look to verify.  [The Find Weakness skill requires a fixed amount of time observing the opponent and he had not met that criteria yet.]  When the landshark erupted from the ground again, it was directly under Dangar, who dove out of its path to avoid being swallowed.  Mord unleashed a torrent of heavy blows upon the landshark, striking it five times in rapid succession.  The only result was the sharp snapping of the hammer's shaft as it cracked in two from the fury of the blows upon the nigh invulnerable plates of armor on the landshark.

Malwyn had time to spot an unarmored spot on the back of the landshark, normally protected by the fin.  With an acrobatic flip, Malwyn leaped onto the landshark's back and, saying the appropriate word of power, drove the ignited Flame Saber into the back of the landshark.  Its bellow of pain was deafening.  Now knowing the weak point of the landshark's armored hide, Dangar was able to deliver a fatal blow, killing the beast.

After determining that the landshark was dead and no more were approaching, the Outlanders made camp on the stone slab.  Dangar, Tim, and Malwyn proceeded with butchering the dead landshark.  Mord spent his time repairing his hammer as best he could.  Horace made a fire and cooked several thick landshark steaks for everyone while Tim and Dangar packed the armored hide and additional "bits" into the stasis boxes for sale later.

April 17, 20 IC

The Outlanders traveled several more days north after defeating the landshark, skirting the mountains again, until they had to pass through a forest.  Moving along the Mosel River, several of the Outlanders noticed that there was another party of individuals paralleling their path, but across the river.  When brought to Horace's attention, he identified the other group as a kobold scouting party from Kerr Keep.  He said they were only observing as the Outlanders were well outside and beyond the kobold territories to the east.

While discussing this, Darkfox and Malwyn spotted another landshark moving in on the Outlanders.  The Outlanders all climbed trees and waited to see if the landshark would pass them by.  They observed it apparently tracking Dangar's trail by smell.  Tim was able to get an angle on the bare patch under the fin and blasted it with a spell – killing it outright.  The party descended from the trees and quickly butchered the landshark.

April 18-21, 20 IC

With the stasis boxes getting full and Tim wanting to try and brew a potion with some of the landshark "bits", Horace lead them a couple of days northeast into the mountains to one of his hidden storage caves.  There Tim set about brewing and the rest of the Outlanders enjoyed a couple days of rest.  Malwyn scouted the area looking for useful herbs and collected some.

After days of brewing, Tim announced he had created three doses of an armor potion.  It was untested, smelled awful, looked worse (but was minty tasting due to an addition by Horace), but Tim's notes indicated it should provide a "significant defensive bonus for several minutes".  [Game terms: 5 PD Armor, PD Damage Resistance, lasts 5 minutes, CON check to keep it down, one use.]  Tim gave one dose each to Dangar, Mord, and Malwyn.  The Outlanders then packed up and continued on their trip.

April 22, 20 IC

The next day, the Outlanders finally came over a rise and into sight of the first set of ruins.  They appeared to be the remains of a stone fort at the top of a tall hill.  The surrounding forest below it was thick, but thinned out noticeably as it approached the fort, stopping completely approximately 50 paces from the ruins where stunted grasses picked up and closed to within 20 paces of the ruins.  The ruins themselves were bleached and bare like bones in a desert.

Deciding to wait until the next day to investigate the ruins, the Outlanders traveled down the mountainside and made camp in the forest.  They planned to approach the ruins in the morning and have most of the day to search them.  Watches were posted and the Outlanders settled in for the night.

Second Watch

Darkfox started hearing sounds from the ruins.  She woke up Malwyn and told him what she heard.  Malwyn could barely hear anything over the breeze and told Darkfox and Rebecca that he would move in closer to investigate.

He quietly moved through the dark forest, periodically climbing a tree to keep his bearings and listen for any noise.  As he got closer, he realized that the noise was of digging and periodically the sound of debris being dumped down the far side of the hill the ruins were on.  Determining that whatever was going on was happening inside the ruins, Malwyn returned to camp.

After hearing Malwyn's report, the Outlanders decided to strike camp and move on to the ruins.  They timed their approach to arrive at the ruins just before dawn.

April 23, 20 IC

Just Before Dawn

The Outlanders sneaked up the last remaining yards and looked into the ruins.

They discovered that the interior of the ruins were mostly hollow with a tarp of some sort acting as a roof.  Inside were 10 skeletons using tools to clear rubble out of the ruins of the lowest floors.  The skeletons were piling the debris into a crate that could be lifted to the surface via a rope and pulley system and dumped on the slopes outside of the ruined fort.

The Outlanders decided that this couldn't be good.  Dangar pulled up the only ladder the skeletons could use to climb out and Tim fired his "arc light" spell into the hollowed-out ruins until the skeletons were bone bits.  Dangar then replaced the ladder and the Outlanders climbed down to investigate.  They discovered that while the ruins were very old, the tools the skeletons had been using looked to be relatively new peasant tools.

Due to the damage caused by Tim's magic, there was little left to learn inside the ruins.  Searching outside the ruins, Malwyn and Darkfox found two sets of tracks.  The prints were all of humanoids who walked heavy, some with boots or shoes, some bones.  The older set of tracks was several weeks old and showed a large group arriving at the ruins from the east.  The second set showed the same group leaving, heading west through the forest 4-5 days ago.  The tracks heading west seemed to be on a route that would take them to the next set of ruins the Outlanders were heading towards.

The Outlanders paused to decide what to do next.

Session Ends.

NPCs Met

None new.

Happening Off-Stage

Locally

[The vampire, Apostol the Burning Wizard, and his entourage are heading to the Temple.  He is aware that the skeletons he left behind were destroyed, but does not know by whom.  He will briefly pause at each set of ruins to see if he can raise any additional servants and then continue on.  He leaves an ambush at Caer Frya consisting of 2 lesser vampires, 5 skeletons, and 5 zombies and then presses on at best speed to the Temple.

The ambush is to determine if he is being pursued and by whom.  The vampires will take turns scouting the approaches to the Caer and will arrange for a nighttime battle.  The vampires are to judge the effectiveness of and possible weaken the pursuers by killing some of them and then escaping to report.  The zombies and skeletons are disposable.]

In Freegate

[The Silverloc Royal Emissary, Yasha of Piriatin, has settled into her residence in Freegate.  She has started meeting with representatives of the NDK and the Gnome Consortium to negotiate for airships for the Kingdom of Silverloc.]

DM Discussion

[Nozumi or Nezumi?  My spelling changed between session and I’m currently sticking with Nozumi, the first spelling to appear in the session notes.]

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Cultists, Cultists, Cultists

Previous session: Session 4

Next Session: Session 6

Tim's Outlanders: Cultists, Cultists, Cultists, Session 4 – April 12, 20 IC

[Fishing dwarves out of the fish and negotiations with the ratlings.]

[This session took place July 17, 2004.  We were playing Champions 5th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver – male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Mord Worldfist – male dwarf bodyguard [and handler] for Dangar

Wendell Dorshield III – male gnome, Captain and Architect of the Yardbird

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

NPCs

Rebecca – female gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Herschal “the Hunter” – also known as “Bearkiller”, male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Yacov – male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Horace the Mad – male human, a fur trapper and mountain man operating in the Southern Reaches

Session Begins

April 12, 20 IC

Mid-day

Malwyn, still isolated from the rest of the Outlanders by the 7-foot tall pile of dead fish, attempted to reconnect with the Outlanders by burning away the fish using the Flame Saber.  Unfortunately, there were more fish than flame and all he achieved was adding the smell of burnt rotted fish to the miasma of the dead fish smell.  Seeing the futility of trying to burn his way back to the Outlanders, he turned and followed the escaping ratlings, hoping to find another way back to the Outlanders.

In the meantime, Darkfox and the Gnomes discussed the best way to unbury the dwarves from under the fish ("best" being defined as "without touching the fish ourselves").  Darkfox experimented with pushing fish around with her telekinesis spell, prompting Wendell to use his Rod of Excellent Engineering.

After some discussion, Wendell caused a slope to form under the pile of fish and, with some prompting by Darkfox, gravity pulled the fish down the slope into one of the pits flanking the front entrance.  Gravity also pulled Dangar, Mord, and one of the dead ratlings down the slope, but a judicious use of unseen servants from the Rod pulled them out of the fish flow.

Once free of the fish and rescued from the fish flow, a rather odoriferous Dangar realized he had dropped his family axe and it was somewhere in the pit with the fish.  Impulsively, he jumped into the pit with the fish and started using his shield as a shovel to scoop the fish out.  It was only after the first scoop thrown into the air came back down on him that he stopped to ponder the fact that the 20-foot pit was filled halfway with fish.  He was eventually pulled out with a rope and poles from the pit concealment were used to poke through the fish, looking for the axe.  It was eventually located and Darkfox's telekinesis pulled it free.

At this point, the locked door the ratlings had escaped behind started to be unlocked from the other side.  The Outlanders took battle positions, axes and bows at the ready to shoot the first ratling to come through the door.  Instead, it was Malwyn, who had found the way around.  He reported that the ratlings had retreated up a set of stairs to the next level of the tower.

With Tim and Mord still unconscious and Horace still held inside the Tower, the Outlanders decided to leave the unconscious under the care of the Gnome bodyguards and proceed up the stairs to find Horace.  They walked down the rather odorous hallway, into the room beyond the door (where they found a door Malwyn had needed to burn down to get by) and up the stairs.

As they cautiously approached the top of the first flight of stairs, Darkfox and Dangar saw into the room at the top of the stairs.  The far walls were lined with a row of crossbowmen flanked by spearmen, all with their weapons at the ready, but not pointing at the stairs.  Sitting in an ornate wooden chair was a female ratling in very ornate robes, calmly awaiting the arrival of the Outlanders.  From somewhere off to the left could be heard the sound of multiple voices chanting in a low tone.

The Outlanders held a whispered conversation as to how to proceed.  Dangar suggested that the odds were even and that they should attack.  Darkfox pointed out that there were a lot of ratlings armed with spears and manual repeating crossbows waiting for them.  Dangar countered with "Yeah, 20 to 1 odds.  It's a fair fight."

The Outlanders' huddle on the stairs was interrupted by the female ratling asking (in broken Common) if one of them would come forward to negotiate.  After quick discussion, Wendell finished walking up the steps and entered the room.  The entry area was under the effect of a spell and when Wendell entered the room, waves of lassitude enveloped his legs and he found it very difficult to walk, although he could talk and move his arms normally.  Wendell introduced himself and negotiations began.

During the negotiations, the Outlanders learned that the ratlings referred to themselves as Nozumi, and they had been driven here sometime in the past by what sounded like ogres and trolls.  The Outlanders also learned what other kinds of creatures lived in the mountains (kobolds, gnolls, undead, and landsharks) and that landsharks cannot dig through stone.  The Nozumi agreed to return Horace in exchange for a cessation of hostilities.  As an additional result of Wendell’s negotiations, the Nozumi also provided access to a beautifully crafted map of the rest of the valley, which Darkfox copied onto the Outlanders' map.

Once negotiations finished and Horace was returned to the Outlanders, the Outlanders exited the Tower and walked over to adjacent the river to try and remove the fish smell from their possessions (and Dangar in general).  This took the rest of the afternoon.  The Outlanders chose to make camp there, using a stone surface to avoid landshark attacks.

Session Ends.

NPCs Met

Oh-chi'chek – Third Whisker Clan Negotiator.  She was charged with getting rid of the invaders with minimal cost in Nozumi life.  The Elders consider her negotiations completely successful.  They will be watching to see if the Outlanders return from the valley.  They are not expecting them to.

Happening Off-Stage

Locally

[The Nozumi start the cleanup of the dead fish and cremation of their dead.  They do not want the stench of the fish to attract landsharks and so will be particularly thorough in their work, using a magical enzyme (Essence of Green Slime) to do the work.  They will be nonplused by the slope and bunker Wendell created and will need to contemplate what to do with/about them.]

[Biern's Hill, a relatively nearby human village in the mountains, was attacked by a recently awakened vampire, Apostol the Burning Wizard, and his skeleton minions.  All the inhabitants were slain, a few turned into servitor vampires.  Those not turned were raised as skeletons.]

In Freegate

[The Silverloc Royal Emissary, Yasha of Piriatin, settled into her residence in Freegate.  She has started arranging meetings with representatives of the NDK and the Gnome Consortium during the next several days.]

DM Discussion

[This is a time where the D&D spell prestidigitation would have been supremely useful to get the smell off the PCs.  The Hero System version would be a specific cosmetic transformation spell to a clean version of the spell's target.]

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Cultists, Cultists, Cultists

Previous session: Session 3

Next Session: Session 5 [not edited yet]

Tim's Outlanders: Cultists, Cultists, Cultists, Session 3 – April 12, 20 IC

[Into Bleak Tower – Traps and Fights]

[This session took place June 19, 2004.  We were playing Champions 5th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver – male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Mord Worldfist – male dwarf bodyguard [and handler] for Dangar

Wendell Dorshield III – male gnome, Captain and Architect of the Yardbird

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

NPCs

Rebecca – female gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Herschal “the Hunter” – also known as “Bearkiller”, male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Yacov – male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Session Begins

April 12, 20 IC

In the morning the Outlanders crossed from Waterfall Island to the western edge of the Mosel River and bid their farewells to Janko and his crew.  The Outlanders then climbed the cliff face below Bleak Tower.  The outer defensive walls of the Tower had clearly been breached many times in the past and were little more than elaborate piles of rubble now.  Behind the outer wall was a 20-foot deep courtyard that ringed the Tower proper.

The Outlanders started exploring the courtyard, looking for entrances into the Tower.  The first thing they discovered was a 20-foot wide concealed pit when Dangar nearly fell into it.  Dangar had just scrambled away from the edge when gouts of flame erupted from the pit.

Somewhat more cautiously, the Outlanders continued their search.  They made a complete circuit around the Tower, finding one entrance, one breached spot on the tower wall, and twenty expertly constructed pit traps.  The pit traps were recently maintained and not ancient traps, indicating the possibility of inhabitants in the apparently abandoned structure.

After discussing their options, the Outlanders chose to enter the Tower through the original gate entrance.  They discovered that while the entrance area appeared to be partially collapsed, it was a front and just inside that front it was clear of debris and rubble.  The cleared area also provided a clean line of fire for the archers behind a barricade at the far end of the hallway, who chose this moment to open fire.

The ensuing fight was surprising and educational for both sides.  The Outlanders were surprised to discover that the Tower was being defended by four foot tall ratlings with hand-crank repeating crossbows.  The ratlings were surprised to learn that their barricade would not withstand direct assault by two dwarves [Dangar and Mord], one of whom appeared to be immune to crossbow fire [Dangar, due to heavy armor and lucky rolls].

After a short period of intense fighting, it became apparent that the ratlings were losing and they retreated behind a massive door that they bolted shut.  While Dangar, Mord, and Darkfox checked a side passage (determining it dead-ended in rubble), the Gnomes and Tim investigated the bodies and gear of the slain ratlings.  It was high quality of an unknown style.

At the end of this pause, one of the Gnomes (Hershel) suddenly fell unconscious.  A quick check discovered a small dart in the back of his neck.  The Outlanders searched for where the dart came from.  Then Horace went down.  Tim searched the area for magic and found three scrying points.  He disrupted them with his own magics, but then fell unconscious, a dart in his neck.  The Gnomes and Darkfox started clearing the corridor, carrying the unconscious to a small bunker Wendell created with the Rod of Excellent Engineering.  It was at this point that they noticed Horace had disappeared.

After frantic seconds searching the walls, Mord discovered a well concealed door and smashed through it.  Behind it were more ratlings, one an obvious spellcaster.  Malwyn quickly and acrobatically moved past the ratlings (thinking to flank them) while Dangar and Mord attacked from the front.  Mord was rendered unconscious by a lucky blow as Dangar methodically took down the ratling warriors.

Seeing which way the fight was going, the ratling shaman ordered his warriors to retreat and pulled a dead fish from one of his spell pouches.  With a disappointed sigh he invoked unknown powers and caused thousands of three-day old haddock to rain from the ceiling onto Dangar.  When it was done, Dangar, Mord, and the shaman were completely buried under the noisome and slippery mess, completely unable to move and retching from the intense smell.

Meanwhile, Malwyn found himself alone in a room with several ratling warriors.  After a few seconds of quick combat, the surviving ratlings routed and fled through a door opposite the passage Malwyn entered from.  Malwyn, now isolated from the rest of the Outlanders by the passageway full of dead fish (and starting to feel the effect of the stench), pondered his next move…

Session Ends.

NPCs Met

Horace (the Mad) – A fur trapper and mountain man operating in the Southern Reaches, Horace is leading the Outlanders through the mountains.  Once they get past the ratlings that is.

Janko – River raft captain based in Phaisbourg, he followed the river back to Phaisbourg with the agreement to meet the Outlanders back on Waterfall Island at the Autumn Equinox.

Happening Off-Stage

[The ratlings are facing their worst fears – humans with extensive combat skills who know of the their existence.  Realizing that they cannot stop the invaders permanently, they will attempt to negotiate.  The rally point at the top of the stairs is being prepared to slow the invaders long enough to talk.  Several Monks will chant the Immobility spell in overlapping areas to halt the invaders' advance.  The north and west wall will be lined with crossbowmen backed by spearmen, all wearing mirror image rings.  The soldiers will have their weapons ready but not pointing at the stair entrance.  They will all have saved actions.  The Clan Negotiator will be present, sitting in a chair.

In the meantime, the rest of the ratlings in the tower are either packing for a possible evacuation through the underground tunnels or preparing to defend the Tower.  The ratlings will provide a stout defense, but are aware that defending to the death of every ratling is pointless.  If the defenders are completely unable to stop the advance of the Outlanders, they will retreat to the forest and prepare guerrilla-style counterattacks.

In Freegate:

An emissary from the Kingdom of Silverloc arrived for a formal visit to Freegate.  The purpose of his visit is to negotiate for the delivery of some belf'rads from the NDK.  When they learn of the newly available Fortuna-class merchant airships, they will also investigate the possibility of purchasing one or more of them.]

DM Discussion

[A lot of combat makes for a short write up as little in-game time passed.  The fish spell is Hewlett’s Horrible Haddock and is always a spell of last resort due to the stench.  I can post the spell write-up if anyone is interested.]

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Cultists, Cultists, Cultists

Previous session: Session 2

Next Session: Session 4

In Search Of – Session 3 – Contact Made – June 1-2, 56 IC

[This game uses the Hero System Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) roleplaying game.  Game sessions happen once a month.  This session happened May 30, 2026.]

[Like the Sudden Sea campaign, this adventure takes place on the continent of Terik, 30 years after the events of Tim’s Outlanders and roughly con-current with the Sudden Sea Campaign.]

Player Characters

Devorah Orna – female gnome mechanist

Halfrijd Iceflayer – female dwarf axe master

A’thir – male human “tracker”, name pronounce ăh-Thēr

Jorunn the Turtle – male human wizard with turtle-based spells

Kairon – male Tolk “field researcher”, actual name Enoder Gribbens

Shaes – male elf storm wizard, name pronounced shĀy-ĕhss

Bertulf of Druuna – male human cleric of Druuna the Protector

June 1, 56 I.C. (Imperial Calendar)

6:00 PM

Having just landed in the Galan Air Yard on the Zephyr’s Embrace, the adventurers dis-embarked the airship and looked around.  The air yard was outside the city walls but not very far away.  The city itself had long ago spilled outside the walls although here the building growth was sparse.

A’thir and Kairon notice a short human wearing black clothes and a black hat holding a sign saying "Friends from Freegate".  Kairon walked up to the man and greeted him as a “friend from Freegate”.  The man introduced himself as Mykhail, personal assistant to Viktor Leonideovich who could not make it due to other obligations.  He had a carriage ready once the adventurers had claimed their luggage.

The adventurers had to wait a bit for the Yard staff to finish unloading the passenger luggage before they could claim theirs from the neatly arranged rows.  They then followed Mykhail to the edge of the yard field, where a carriage was waiting for them.  Mykhail drove the carriage himself.

The road from the Air Yard to the city walls was fairly straight and direct and went through a slums area.  Mykhail informed the adventurers that the inhabitants were mostly workers at the air yard and domestics for the wealthy living inside the city walls.

Once the carriage passed through the gate inside the city walls, it was apparent this area was well off.  The buildings were made of sturdier material and painted.  Mykhail drove the carriage to the end of the first block of buildings and then turned left, into a paved courtyard.  He drove across the courtyard to a tall 4-story building and brought the carriage to a halt.  He then climbed down from the carriage and asked the adventurers to grab their luggage and follow him to their residence during their stay.

Mykhail led them into the tall building and up the stairs to the fourth floor.  Kairon made note of potential escape routes in case that became necessary. Mykhail produced a key at the fourth-floor landing and unlocked the single door there.  Opening the door, he waved the adventurers inside.

The entire fourth floor was a single apartment and was tastefully decorated.  Mykhail produced two keys for the apartment and Kairon and Devorah took them.  Mykhail informed the adventurers that Viktor would be by later that evening, around sundown.  He then went over to the dining table and manipulated some controls under the edge of the table that caused the table surface to flip over, revealing maps of the city and the local neighborhood, a sketch map of the target building, and various planning supplies.

Mykhail then walked over to the large southeastern window and rotated the vertical louvered metal shades.  He pointed out the target building, which, due to the height of the safehouse and the large courtyard in the center of the adjacent block, was visible from the window.

Mykhail then asked the adventurers if there was anything else they needed immediately.  They asked about food and drink and he pointed them to the freshly stocked pantry and wine closet.  He then took his leave.

7:00 PM

With some time on their hands, several of the adventurers decided to stroll the area to start getting familiar with it.  Kairon and Shaes both stayed at the safehouse studying the maps, Halfrijd, Jorunn, and Bertulf strolled the neighborhood by the target, while Devorah used her Green Book to locate nearby gnome-safe locations.  A’thir decided to do some roof running instead and discovered that the nearby corner building had a small workout area on its roof for city guard members, which was currently occupied.  Luckily he was not seen.  He could also see that the top of the city wall was lit.

Halfrijd, Jorunn, and Bertulf discovered that the buildings on the target block were mostly residences with very nice, well-kept exteriors.  All the buildings on the street the target building faces were raised up off the ground with no windows on the lowest floor [the basement].  The target building was a residence but looked somewhat uninviting.  Stairs up to the door were lit but metal shutters closed over every window with no visible light coming from inside in the twilight shadows.

The target building sat at a T-intersection.  The building across the street and to the left had a sign identifying it as Penrith’s Books.  It looked like Penrith lived above the shop.  Jorunn noticed some magical runes inscribed on the door into the bookshop, both alarm and paralytic magics.  This suggested that the target building might also have defensive magics.  The building to the right was a residence.

The trio rounded the corner where the target block sat next to the city walls, which was a clean and well-lit street.  The buildings at the far corner were a bank and a city guard station, right by the city gate.  Following around past the guard station was a tavern, the Azure Boar, and then a jewelry store, Aether & Onyx, with offices for jewelers and gem cutters above it.  Completing their circuit around the target block, they returned to the safehouse.

8:00 PM

After some short exploration, all the adventurers were back at the safehouse. enjoying a light dinner, when there was a knock on the door.  It was Viktor Leonideovich, their local contact, and his assistant Mykhail.  Viktor greeted them warmly and then shared information on their target.

While Viktor spoke, Kairon attempted to use his telepathy spell to verify Viktor’s identity.  He was unable to contact Viktor’s mind and received no information.  [His ECV roll was average and not enough to get past Viktor’s mental defenses, suggesting that Viktor has better than average EGO.]

The private museum:

• Kamal Darzi’s private museum was the room in the center of the residence.
• The entrance is a secret door on the North wall, behind a display of Galan's Gran Carta, but Viktor does not know the exact method for opening it.
• The Gran Carta is displayed on a pedestal with a colored tile pattern around the lip.  Three of the four corners match, but 1 corner is mismatched.  Kamal pretends the mismatched tile is the opening mechanism, but Viktor has confirmed it is not.
• Viktor suspects that the actual mechanism is on the tessellated tile pattern on the wall behind the pedestal, and Kamal Darzi stands between the pedestal and tile wall to do SOMETHING that opens the passage.
• The private museum also has a skylight that is not visible from the street.

Kamal Darzi’s daily schedule:

• Kamal Darzi leaves his home for the Ginkana Club in his personal carriage at 10 am every morning.
• He spends 2 hours at the club every morning reading unofficial government reports he should not have access to, but gets through his contacts still in the government.
• At Noon he has lunch at the club with other members,
• During the afternoon he either plays chess or other games with other club members or spends the time reading from the club’s library.
• At 5 pm he leaves the club for dinner.  Dinner is at home Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Saturday and out at various restaurants or friend’s homes otherwise.
• Security personnel are always present at his home when guests are over.  Viktor was unclear on whether that security remains there always.  If they are always there, then they must live in the building.
• When eating out, Kamal returns home by 8 pm and spends the rest of the night reading or working on personal projects.
• Kamal goes to sleep around midnight, in a different room every night, but Viktor believes he has observed a pattern in the room selections.

Viktor told the adventurers that Mykhail would stop in every day around Noon to see if they needed anything or had questions that Viktor might answer.  He reminded the group that he was to get an answer as to whether or not they thought the job was doable by June 8th.  He then bid them good night.

A’thir realized the sun had set and left the safehouse via a window.  From the safehouse fourth floor, A’thir could see on top of the city walls. The city gates were closed and there were some guards on top of the gate wall playing cards.

A’thir made some noise climbing down to the nearest roof, which drew the attention of the gate guards.  He was able to mostly hide himself in the shadows until one of the guards caught another guard using the distraction to cheat at their card game, at which point they stopped paying attention to A’thir's noise and start arguing amongst themselves.

A’thir made his way across the rooftops to the main road and observed some guards leaving the guard station across the street, heading up the main road, deeper into the city.  He decided to jump across the main street to the roof of a building on the target block. He made the jump, but the landing was not graceful and made some noise.  He made further noise as he moved across the roof of the jewelers, but no alarms went off.  [He missed his Stealth roll by 1.]

At the interior edge of the building, A’thir was able to look down into the courtyard that was the center of the target block.  The courtyard was lit by some lanterns, enough so that people walking in it would not trip.  The courtyard was not paved and there were a few children playing in the light near one of the residences.  The rear entrance to the bank was impressive looking and the rear entrance to the Azure Boar seemed to be up a set of stairs and to the second floor.

A’thir made his way around the courtyard along the rooftops towards the target building and stopped one building before reaching it.  He spent several hours observing the target building until around midnight when the lights inside started to go out, indicating Kamal was going to sleep.

A’thir returned to the safehouse around 2am.

June 2, 56 IC

Morning

The adventurers spent the morning doing a variety of scouting activities.

• Jorunn, Kairon, and Bertulf went to Penrith’s Books
• Devorah scouted the target block and ended up at Penrith’s
• Halfrijd checked out the jewelry store Aether & Onyx.
• A’thir spent the morning learning how to get on top of the building across the street from the target and Penrith’s.
• Shaes spent time at the safehouse.

At Penrith’s Books

Jorunn, Kairon, and Bertulf walked from the safehouse to Penrith’s Books.  Jorunn paused at the doorway, examining the security runes, whereas Kairon and Bertulf went straight into the shop.  Eventually realizing he was alone on the doorstep, Jorunn followed the other two into the shop.

The trio was greeted by the shopkeeper, Penrith.  Jorunn asked if the shop had any turtle books and was led to the natural history books.  There were four books specifically on turtles, one of which Jorunn already owned and the other he considered too basic, so he looked through the other two.  Bertulf asked for books on herbalism and was shown to three shelves full of books on the topic.  Bertulf started looking through them.  Kairon engaged Penrith in conversation on the shop itself and was able to glean that Kamal Darzi was a silent, financial, partner of the bookshop and there was only one other individual that helps out in the bookstore.  [Successful Conversation roll on Kairon’s part.]

Once he was satisfied with the turtle books, Jorunn asked for books on magical suppression.  Penrith led Jorunn on a twisted path through the books to a closet all the way at the back that might have been in another building.  Penrith handed Jorunn a book on magical suppression. Jorunn also noticed a book on Abjuration magics and asked to look at it.  A brief perusal told Jorunn it did not meet his needs.  He chose to buy the two turtle books at 3sp each and the book on magic suppression for 5gp.  Bertulf settled on three books on herbology for 10sp total.

While Penrith was wrapping up the purchased books, Kairon asked for books on heraldry, specifically for books with more current information.  Penrith told him this was a touchy subject locally and pricey, especially for unexpurgated versions.  The cost would be 30+ gp.  Kairon said he needed to think on it.  Penrith said he would not make enquiries until Kairon confirmed intent to purchase.

When Jorunn, Kairon, and Bertulf left, Devorah was just arriving.  Devorah pretended she did not know the guys and then Jorunn talked directly to her about the bookstore.  Kairon dragged Jorunn away before he could do any more harm.  Kairon’s instincts told him that Jorunn’s faux pas had been observed, but he was not certain by whom exactly.  Bertulf nearly went after Devorah to ask loudly why she was pretending not to know the group but was just able to rein himself in and walk away, following Kairon and Jorunn.  [The player was undecided about whether or not Bertulf would blurt out everything and I recommended an EGO Roll.  He rolled an 18 on an EGO Roll and had to spend his sole Hero Point to reroll one of the dice, getting a 1 on the reroll and reclaiming control of his character’s actions.]

Kairon took Bertulf and Jorunn on a path along the city wall away from the safehouse until he could verify nobody was following them.  Once satisfied they were not being followed, Kairon looped Bertulf and Jorunn in that Devorah was possibly being monitored. The trio took the long way to get back to the safehouse and arrived about an hour and a half later.

Back inside Penrith’s, Devorah met Penrith and asked about engineering books.  She was lead back on a twisted path through the books to a closet all the way at the back that might have been in another building and shown Recent Abjuration.  Looking through it, she decided it was what she needed and discussed price.  Penrith proposes a deal: as Devorah is a gnome, would she be willing to review and comment on a copy of How Gnome Airships Fly in exchange for a discount on Recent Abjuration?  If she gave Penrith 7gp now, he would give back 2gp as the deposit on How Gnome Airships Fly plus a further 1gp as a discount on Recent Abjuration when she returned How Gnome Airships Fly with her comments/review.  After working out that she would only comment on the accuracy or inaccuracy of the text and not include anything proprietary, she agreed to the deal.  Penrith wrapped up both books and Devorah left the shop heading back to the safehouse.

At Aether & Onyx, Halfrijd, used to the deference towards dwarf craftspeople in gem shops in Freegate, misplayed her hand with the staff and was kindly asked to leave.  A bit at a loss as a result, she eventually wandered back to the safehouse, being the first to return of those who left that morning.

Meanwhile, A’thir found an access point to the rooves of the block he wanted to scout.  Verifying he was unobserved, he leapt up to catch a ladder end and climbed up to the roof.  [This was a maintenance access point and the maintenance workers would have a portable ladder with hooks on the end to connect with the permanently mounted portion.]  Up on the roof of the block of buildings he made his way to the building he wanted and spent the rest of the morning there observing the target building across the street.  [As a note to the reader, A’thir was spotted by the Competition while climbing the ladder and was being monitored by them from another building.]

End of Session

Commentary

[After several sessions of everyone mispronouncing his character’s name, in Session 5 A’thir moved the apostrophe in his name to be next to the A to clarify the pronunciation as “Ah-theer”.  I’m reflecting that spelling now and going forward.  This will also give you some idea of how far behind I’ve gotten in doing these write-ups.]

In Search Of…Adventures

Last Session: Session 2

Next Session: Session 4 [Not yet transcribed]

Tim's Outlanders: Cultists, Cultists, Cultists, Session 2 – March 23 to April 11, 20 IC

[Making connections and then traveling up the Mosel River.]

[This session took place May 8, 2004.  We were playing Champions 5th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver – male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Mord Worldfist – male dwarf bodyguard [and handler] for Dangar

Wendell Dorshield III – male gnome, Captain and Architect of the Yardbird

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

NPCs

Rebecca – female gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Herschal “the Hunter” – also known as “Bearkiller”, male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Yacov – male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Session Begins

March 23, 20 IC

Having arrived at Haus Senke, the Gnome compound in County Silverloc, the Outlanders were looking for an Adventuring Permit and a good place to eat.  They had been advised that adventuring in the Empire required a permit or any treasure recovered could be claimed by the local government (it was found on their property after all).  Needing local advice, they located the Supply Master for Haus Senke, Samuel, and chatted with him.

Samuel had heard of the Outlanders and their contributions to the Gnome Consortium [made their Reputation roll] and pointed out that the current home of the County Government was at Anjer House, the manor house in the center of the refugee encampments.  There they would be able to gain an Adventuring Permit.  The only eatery of any note was Chao's Chow, by default the best in town.  He told the Outanders that the quality of what they got there was directly tied to how much they wanted to spend and the top tier food was very good.  The Outlanders thanked him for his time and headed first to Anjer House for their permit.

On the way to Anjer House, while making their way through the town's ratty marketplace, Tim hired a random street urchin to act as a guide and to fend off all the other urchins/pickpockets.  Tim offered a princely fee of two silver pieces, purchasing the immediate loyalty of the urchin, whose name turned out to be Wulf.  Unfortunately, Wulf only spoke Low Franconian [like most of the local populace] and Tim did not.  Of the Outlanders, only Darkfox spoke Low Franconian and so she ended up handling translation between Tim and his guide.

On the way to Anjer House, Wulf shared that the Gnomes walled in the area around the manor house and constructed some additional buildings to hold government offices, but the Count had had a 20 ft tall earthen wall constructed around the town itself, so the people were safe, if hungry.

At Anjer House the Outlanders secured an Adventuring Permit (after only minimal bribes) and a map of the known areas of the Southern Reaches mountain (with a partial refund if they bring it back with new, accurate, data).  This was a standard deal for adventurers as the Southern Reaches (the southern-most part of the Worldspine Mountains) was little explored and home to a variety of monsters, such as ogres and gnolls.

The Outlanders next went to Chao's Chow to eat.  Chao’s Chow was a large three-story structure, with the upper two floors having many windows.  The Outlanders were greeted at the door and asked if they wanted to eat in the Common Room or upstairs in the County View.  Wulf explained that the upstairs was posh and fancy while the ground floor was like any tavern.  The Outlanders opted for the County View and were escorted up a set of carpeted stairs to the second floor.  They were greeted at the top of the stairs by another, better dressed, greeter and asked if they would like a private room or open seating.  They opted for open seating and were shown to a table with a view of the city.  [These were the cheap seats, the more expensive seats had a view of the landscape outside of the city with little to no sign of any refugees.]

While eating their meal (above average quality but costs even more), Tim (looking for markets for his beer) asked the waitress to pass along an offer to Mr. Chao to sample some of Tim's Old Sock beer.  Mr. Chao accepted and he and Tim schmoozed.

After some polite discussion, Mr. Chao suggested that the Outlanders use his transportation company to travel to Phaisbourg—it would be quicker than walking and not have so much trouble with patrols.  He also recommended some people in Phaisbourg who would be good local contacts.  The Outlanders took Mr. Chao up on his offer and agreed to meet him the next morning at his Import/Export business.

That night the Outlanders stayed in guest rooms inside Haus Senke.  Other than feeling a little small [the rooms were spacious for gnomes, not so much for humans and elves], the rooms were comfortable and secure.

March 24, 20 IC

The next morning, the Outlanders went to Chao's Import/Export where Mr. Chao introduced them to Helmut, one of his drivers.  The Outlanders loaded themselves into Helmut's cart and rode off, heading west.

March 26, 20 IC

After two days of travel at breakneck speed, the Outlanders arrived at Phaisbourg mid-morning.  Phaisbourg was a walled town on the Mosel River just where the valley plain became hilly before entering the mountains.

In Phaisbourg, the Outlanders looked up Gerhard Kruegar, a fur buyer recommended by Mr. Chao.  Gerhard claimed all the trappers he knew were out in the mountains setting their traps...until Mr. Chao was mentioned.  This seemed to "remind" him of someone still in town and he directed the Outlanders to a tavern named the Rusty Eye where they were to ask for Horace.

At the Rusty Eye, the Outlanders asked the bartender for Horace.  The bartender directed them to the flop room in the back where they found a man apparently still sleeping off the effects of the previous night's drinking.  After waking him up, they confirmed the man was indeed Horace, known as Horace the Mad.

Horace turned out to be a loud-voiced man with long, wild hair, ice blue eyes, and patchwork clothes made out of various animal hides.  After negotiating for his services (which included paying his tab at the tavern), Horace agreed to lead the Outlanders into “The Mountains”.  He talked about landsharks and “mole people”.

The Outlanders then went to the local outfitters shop (owned and run by Mr. Arndt) and purchased the gear Horace recommended.  This pile of equipment cost a total of 3 platinum, which Tim paid with Freegate Royals.

After the outfitters, the group stopped at the local temple and met with Father Gerard.  In exchange for a good-sized donation to the temple, the Outlanders receive a holy mace, some healing gels, and some holy water.

The Outlanders then went down to the river docks and looked for a river raft and crew to take them up the Mosel and into the mountains.  They eventually met and hired a river pilot named Janko and his crew.  Once the Outlanders and their pile of equipment were all loaded, the river raft headed up the Mosel (west).

April 11, 20 IC

The Outlanders and their hired raft arrived at Waterfall Island, the furthest navigable point up the Mosel River.  True to its name, the small island was in a small lake at the base of a tall waterfall.  At the top of the waterfall, on a stone outcropping, were the mostly intact remains of a tower Janko identified as Bleak Tower, an uninhabited set of ruins.

The Outlanders and the river raft crew unloaded all the gear onto the island, where the Outlanders made a base camp.  Janko agreed to return on the Autumn Equinox [late September] to pick up the Outlanders and take them back to Phaisbourg.

The Outlanders decided that that spending the night on Waterfall Island will be safest and set watches.  The watches were:

1. Darkfox and Rebecca
2. Dangar and Mord
3. Malwyn and Herschal
4. Tim and Yacov

During the second watch, Dangar and Mord (Mord, really) noticed lights moving in the upper portions of Bleak Tower.  The lights eventually disappeared or went out and were not seen by any of the later watches.

Session Ends.

NPCs Met

Samuel – gnome quartermaster at Haus Senke

Wulf – street urchin hired in the refugee city to protect against pickpockets and act as a guide

Mr. Chao – Restaurateur, transportation magnate, and possible crime lord.  Owner of Chao's Chow and Chao's Transport Company.  Think of Senor Ferrari from Casablanca.

Gerhard Kruegar – fur buyer in Phaisbourg.  Owes Mr. Chao.

Horace (the Mad) – a fur trapper and mountain man operating in the Southern Reaches.  Claims to have seen mole men and landsharks.  Also claims to know the herb that repels landsharks.

Mr. Arndt – Outfitter and provisioner in Phaisbourg.  Owes Mr. Chao.

Father Gerard – Priest of Druuna in Phaisbourg.  Outlanders received healing magics from him.

Janko – River raft captain based in Phaisbourg.  Has agreed to meet the Outlanders back on Waterfall Island at the Autumn Equinox.

Happening Off-Stage

The light in the Tower was a ratling shaman observing the Luna full moon and performing a ritual.  He also observed the fire on Waterfall Island and reported it after he finished with his ritual.  As a result, the ratlings will be ready if the Outlanders investigate the Tower next session.  [Spoiler: they do.]

DM Discussion

[I had clearly been reading on adventuring and how property was handled in history.  Local lords would claim anything found and then had the option of giving a small percentage back to the people who found it.  Hence, I introduced the concept of an Adventuring Permit.  As the campaign until this point had been in Freegate and that city had a much more laisse faire attitude towards adventuring, it was not necessary there, but the more bureaucratic (and tax heavy) Empire wanted stronger lines of ownership and tracking of new wealth.]

[The common tongue in Freegate is known as Trade Speak by everyone else.  The southern-most part of the Crendian Empire speaks Low Franconian, which covers County Silverloc, Fordsway, and the parts of the Farwood Forest not directly occupied by the Staff Elves (who speak Kuk Telanth).  This was the part in my evolution as a GM where I started defining what the “common tongue” was for each region.  The lingua franca of the empire is Lath Hinual, the language of the High Elves, mostly because they make up a large part of the imperial bureaucracy and have for thousands of years.]

Tim's Outlanders Landing Page

Cultists, Cultists, Cultists

Previous session: Session 1

Next Session: Session 3

Tim's Outlanders: Cultists, Cultists, Cultists, Session 1 – March 10-23, 20 IC

[A conversation, a visit, a duel, and a flight south.]

[This session probably took place April 2004.  We were playing Champions 5th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver – male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Mord Worldfist – male dwarf bodyguard [and handler] for Dangar

Wendell Dorshield III – male gnome, Captain and Architect of the Yardbird

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

NPCs

Rebecca – female gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Herschal “the Hunter” – also known as “Bearkiller”, male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Yacov – male gnome, part of the Gnome security detail for Wendell

Session Begins

March 10, 20 IC

Tim had been spending some of his time since the Flight of the Yardbird [end of 18 IC] researching and examining the items the Outlanders had taken from the vault under the Imperial Legion Citadel in Fordsway, in particular the set of copper scrolls that described an assault on the temple of a death cult and its sealing [see below, after the session report].  This suggested to Tim treasure was to be had.  He was greatly frustrated trying to determine where the ruins might be located as the location references were escaping him.  To blow off some steam he met Malwyn to have beers at a tavern Malwyn had recently built [representing part of Malwyn's points in Wealth].

Malwyn, always keeping abreast of military affairs across the continent, was discussing some of the fighting taking place in what used to be County Silverloc but was now Horde territory.  He was describing where some resistance fighting had been happening and Tim recognized one of the place names Malwyn listed as also appearing on the copper scrolls.

Suddenly very interested in the conversation, Tim quizzed Malwyn as to where the locations he was describing existed.  Malwyn told him and Tim [after finishing his drink] quickly ran [staggered really – they had been drinking for a while] back to his study and passed out.  When he woke back up [and defeated a terrible hangover by taking some of the hangover cure he had ordered from Goebblein], he renewed his search for the temple ruins, starting on the western fringe of County Silverloc.  

March 13, 20 IC

Several days (and many better maps) later, Tim felt he had a good idea where the temple was located [good enough to go looking anyway].  He then sent messages to the members of the Outlanders, requesting their assistance to “check out a site of potential value”.

March 15, 20 IC

The Outlanders met to discuss the opportunity and do some planning.  Through Wendell the Outlanders were able to arrange a ride on a gnome supply airship heading south to Fordsway in a few days.  This gave them time to lay in supplies and gear for their expedition into the southern Worldspine Mountains.  Due to tight shipping schedules, the airship could not provide transportation into the mountains and the Outlanders would have to be dropped off in Haus Senke and go overland from there.  This area was now a Gnomish Protectorate, per the Treaty of Fordsway, and Haus Senke (“Valley House” in Gnomish) was the Gnome fortified trading house maintaining the Gnome presence required by the Treaty.

March 16, 20 IC

The Outlanders had heard weird rumors about Montiflurio, the sage that occasionally hired them to explore ancient sites, and decided to pay him a visit before they left Freegate.  [It is possible they were asked to by people at the University based on information queries Montiflurio had made during the previous months, but I have no notes telling me how I played it.]

The Outlanders [at least Tim, Dangar, and Mord, probably the rest as well] went to Montiflurio’s home and noticed it seemed newer and cleaner that they remembered from previous visits.  Perhaps Montiflurio had renovations or cleaning done in the last year.  When Tim knocked on the door, he was answered by Jeeves, Montiflurio’s butler, who was in good health.  Tim explained why they were there, to which Jeeves said, "The Master is performing some involved historical research and is currently unavailable.  I will let him know of your concern and he will contact you when he takes a pause in his work."  Tim asked when that might be and Jeeves was stating he couldn’t be certain when a voice, clearly Montiflurio’s, from inside and up on the second-floor balcony directed Jeeves to bring his guests to the study and he would join them shortly.  Jeeves’ face showed great surprise at this but he quickly hid it, inviting the Outlanders into the house.

Jeeve showed the Outlanders to the study, a room Tim and Dangar had seen previously.  Jeeves asked the groups’ drink preferences and then left to fill them.  The room was pretty much the way Tim and Dangar remember it, but everything seemed fresher somehow.

A couple minutes later Montiflurio entered the room, followed by Jeeves, who was carrying a tray with everyone’s drinks.  Rather than his regular, scholarly robes, Montiflurio was wearing robes made of red-dyed silk with ornate dragon designs sewn into it using gold, silver, and copper thread.  He appeared to be in very good health and was very well groomed.

After greeting the Outlanders and thanking them for enquiring about his health, he asked Tim [and Wendell if he was there] if he/they would mind answering a few questions about Mage Tongue [the language of magic].  Tim was willing and they spent about 20 minutes discussing possible alternate pronunciations and conjugations of words in Mage Tongue while the others enjoyed their drinks.  During the conversation, Tim quickly realized that Montiflurio already knew Arcanium, the recently rediscovered more advanced form of Mage Tongue, and was probably better at it than Tim, the person that rediscovered it.  Tim chose not to say anything.

Eventually Montiflurio seemed to be satisfied with the conversation regarding Mage Tongue and switched topics.  He told the Outlanders that he had been following their exploits somewhat and wondered if they could verify something for him.  He has heard that they might be in possession of a map that shows the pre-Mage War landscape, including the location of ancient cities.  He wanted to know A) if the Outlanders had such a map, and B) may he review it sometime?  The map would be an invaluable resource for his research.  Tim allowed that they had such a map, but it was back at the university and perhaps they could arrange a viewing in the future.  Montiflurio thanked him and stated he would work out a day to do so when his research schedule allowed.

After that, Montiflurio excused himself, saying he must return to his research.  He thanked the Outlanders for their time and asked Jeeves to see them out.  He then left the room.

Once the Outlanders were outside the house and down the street some, Tim shared his suspicions about Montiflurio knowing Arcanium with the others.  They generally trusted Montiflurio as he had been their patron for a while, but all agreed something was definitely going on.

March 17, 20 IC

While the Outlanders were going about making their preparations, a dwarf in immaculate armor, wearing an opulent cloak, having a perfect dwarven beard, and followed by four immaculately dressed dwarven servants carrying his weapons and gear, approached Dangar in a public place.  Closer inspection showed that the lead dwarf wore the crest of the Torkrest Clan of the Southern Dwarven Kingdom and looked every inch a dwarven national hero.  He walked right up to Dangar and held out his hand to one of his attendants.  The attendant handed the hero a white leather gauntlet, with which the dwarf smacked Dangar across the face!  He then threw the gauntlet to the ground and said the following in Dentugog (the Dwarf language):

"I am Azrak of the Torkrest clan, whom you have greatly insulted in years past.  I have come to demand satisfaction, you scruffy-bearded tramp."

This was a formal challenge.  Azrak was not carrying any obvious weapons [his flunkies were carrying them for him] and Dangar would lose great honor if he attacked right then.  As Dangar was currently a National Hero of the NDK, this would reflect badly upon the entire Northern Dwarven Kingdom, especially its king, who had vouched that Dangar was a hero.  Due to the heightened tensions between the Dwarven Kingdoms, there was no honorable way for Dangar to decline the challenge.

The correct and honorable response was to accept the challenge and name a place, which Dangar did [I think it was in the courtyard behind Malwyn's bar on the Western Rim].  Azrak, as the challenger, named the time – Noon, two days hence.  As the challenged, Dangar set the boundaries of the duel: first surrender.  Dwarven duels assume that the weapons used will be the hand weapons favored by the individual warriors, so at this point the duel parameters were established.

As the duel was set for the day after the Outlanders planned to leave Freegate, Wendell had to reschedule the supply airship’s departure and explain why to the Consortium.  Sensitive to the politics involved, the Consortium allowed for the delay but also require Wendell to take a security detail [now that they knew where he was going might not be safe].

March 18, 20 IC

Word of the duel rapidly spread through the city and betting pools started.  People gossiped about the duel everywhere and bookie scouts started showing up and following Dangar around to see what kind of contender he was.  Whatever Dangar did to impress the scouts, he learned that Azrak had already done something more impressive.  By the next morning, people were talking about how much Azrak looked like a "proper dwarven hero", while Dangar looked the part of a scruffy vagabond.  Groups of people quickly fell silent for an awkward moment when Dangar walked by.  By the time of the duel, Azrak was the 4 to 1 favorite over Dangar.

[At some point, Dangar was loaned a magical battle axe and had his armor polished so he would at least look more like a National Hero of the Northern Dwarven Kingdom.  Unfortunately, I have no notes indicating who it was, but it might have been the Gnomes, currying favor with their allies to the north, or even the High Priest of He Who Protects.]

March 19, 20 IC

When Dangar and the Outlanders arrived at the chosen place, Azrak was already there, sitting comfortably in a sturdy but beautiful chair under an ornate silk pavilion, his family crest flying on a flag above it.  Azrak was wearing a different set of armor this day.  It appeared to be extremely functional, but was decorated to make Azrak appear to be a great mountain lion.  The helmet was sculpted to be the lion’s head, the gauntlets and boots looked like claws, and the plates were sculpted and painted to look like fur.  He moved very gracefully and easily in the armor.  [Dangar tended to get heavily injured by cat-like or cat-related opponents, so this was a psychological ploy against Dangar on Azrak’s part.  Dangar's player approved.]

There were spectators everywhere they could fit and still see the fighting area.  The crowd cheered loudly when Azrak stepped forth.  There was a lesser cheer for Dangar, mostly from the University crowd.  There were several bookies set up and food vendors worked the crowd.  The City Watch was present keeping the crowd under some measure of control (and to watch the fight themselves).  As this was a proper duel between national champions, by custom the City Watch would neither stop nor interfere with the proceedings.

[To provide a challenging opponent, I played a dirty trick on Dangar’s player.  A month or so prior, I asked all the players to send me a copy of their characters so I could align the adventure better with their capabilities.  This was a lie.  I did it to get a current copy of Dangar.  I then made a copy of what the player sent, changed the name to Azrak, and swapped all references to the Southern and Northern Dwarven Kingdoms.  Viola!  The perfect foil – Dangar would fight his clone!]

The duel happened.

During the duel, everyone noticed that both dwarves were wielding powerful magic axes.  Neither dwarf called the other out over this and the fight was furious.  Both could hit with near impunity [Dangar had very high OCV and low DCV, so his opponent did as well] so many wounds were inflicted and both were quickly bloodied, which got the crowd cheering.  In the end, Dangar got the last hit in, knocking Azrak unconscious!  Dangar told the unconscious dwarf to “get up and fight or I’ll accept your surrender.”  When Azrak lay there unconscious, Dangar raised his axe and was declared the victor.  The crowd, very entertained by the fight, cheered [but not as much if Azrak had won as most had bet on the Southern Dwarf].  Dangar wobbled over to the Outlanders and asked for healing potions before collapsing to the ground.

March 20, 20 IC

Morning

The Outlanders arrived at The Yard out on the Western Rim.  Construction of the new, "sunken", construction bays (built down into the side of the canyon walls instead of sitting on top) was nearing completion.  Two of the sunken bays were complete and currently retooling to produce a new type of airship – merchant airships.  The above ground bays were now storage facilities or "hangars" [because the Gnomes hung the airships from points on the ceiling] for completed airships, although they rarely had any ship of the fleet in them.

The loading facilities for the airships had developed, so it was easier to get aboard.  Additional facilities for handling cargo and loading it onto the airships were being constructed.  The Outlanders boarded the supply airship and rode it south.

Later That Day

As the airship approached Wemmel from the north, the Outlanders could make out the immense Wemmel Water Works, in the process of being built where the Tabor River poured over the escarpment in a set of immense waterfalls.  [The escarpment was the southern border of the Freegate Territories.]

The gnomes were building immense water wheels to harness the power of the river and one of them was finished and spinning.  There appeared to be a set of gears and linkages connecting the completed wheel to a work area where all sorts of construction was happening.  There were several stone towers and a small keep for site security and to protect the workers.  Even from the altitude they were flying at, it was apparent to the Outlanders that the majority of the work force was non-Gnomish.  They appeared to be a mix of humans and dwarves.

To the Outlanders untrained eyes, it appeared that the gnomes had a long way to go before they completed the enormous complex.

March 21-22, 20 IC

As they sailed south, flying high above and along the Greater Tabor River, it was still possible to see signs of the GHN.  There were few trees of any height anywhere within two miles of the river.  All the underbrush was short and relatively sparse.  The few farmhouses they saw seemed small or were obviously abandoned.  The city of Ingolstadt, once the capital and home of the rulers of the Bayern District was now piles of rubble, still abandoned over three years after the horde besieged and sacked the city.

One of the odd things they noticed were the flags flying from farmhouses and small towns along the river.  Those flags flying on the western side of the river showed the traditional coat of arms of the Bayern District on a field of light blue, but now included an additional heraldic device above the coat of arms.  The exact device shown changed multiple times as the airship flew south.

Meanwhile, all of the flags flying on the eastern side of the river showed the coat of arms of the Bayern District, but instead the traditional light blue background, the background was divided vertically, half green and half red – colors associated with Greater Lundania.  Once the airship passed the ruins of the city of Oberwessel, the flags on both sides of the river showed the Lundanian colors.

March 23, 20 IC

On the third day of travel, the airship entered the remaining territory of County Silverloc.  The change was apparent from the air as the scars of war were still fresh upon the earth here.  There were large swaths of burnt croplands and farmsteads on the eastern side of the river.  Patrols of bat-riders could be seen far to the south and east while the airship captain now scrupulously kept the airship to the west of the Greater Tabor River.

The lands to the west of the river were not in much better shape.  Along the river the farms were all abandoned and overgrown.  In the distance to the west, a few scattered smudges of smoke were the only signs of inhabitants.

As the airship crossed the Mosel River, Haus Senke was finally able to be seen.  It was pentagonal in shape, with impressive walls and coated with the traditional Gnomish glaze [fireproof and acid resistant].  It was completely surrounded by an extensive shanty town of hovels.  Clustered in the sea of hovels were a few permanent looking structures that must have once been the manor house and outbuildings for a large farm or small barony.  Thronging the "streets" of this impromptu town were thousands of people that looked to be refugees.  As the airship came in to tether to a tower on top of the Haus, the smell of the refugee camp hit the Outlander, and they fully understood the poverty here, caused by the Khanate of Grimthug Og Garguzgulz to the south and east.

Session Ends.

NPCs Met

Azrak Torkrest - Hero of the Southern Dwarven Kingdom

The Copper Scrolls

The following are excerpts from the Copper Scrolls the Outlanders recovered, detailing a report on the sealing of the main temple of a death cult – The Temple of the Watching Night.  The report indicates that the cult was put down, but at a terrible cost.  The catacombs under the Temple were never cleared but sealed by impenetrable magics 3400 years ago.  A password to unseal the Temple was provided for the time when the forces necessary could be assembled to clear the catacombs.  Why, exactly, this never happened remains unclear.

• "…up the river to the falls, where our guides led us into an ambush…"
• "Once past the lake and the stronghold there…[we] followed the river upstream until we reached the ruins of a cult fort…"
• "The river now points at the Lesser Spine.  We followed it for several days until we reached the ruins of the lesser temple, razed two years ago.  We followed the [correct/right? (unclear due to damage to the scroll)] branch until it enters the mountain."
• "There, there is a way-stone…which now points to the pass we must take.  That pass leads to a valley through the Spines."
• "…where heavy fighting took place and we thought we were close.  …[after] the battle and the destruction of the fortress, our scouts reported another valley and pass days to the west…where the cult forces retreated."
• "…where they fought like devils, never giving an inch, but our forces finally prevailed.  From here we could see their accursed temple, a dark blot upon the landscape due west."
• "…finally able to seal them away after the Erodan Knights drove their final Mesidian gargoyles from the sky.  We…performed…the Sacred Earth ritual, sealing them away in their catacombs until my lord can raise the forces to finally purge them…"
• "…[the phrase] "Imberia amar leithian" will unseal the spell and allow access to the catacombs."
• "…the final treasures of the cult were buried with them, as were their diversions…"

Happening Off-Stage

No notes for this.

DM Discussion

[This set of session notes was patched together from my GM adventure notes and back-referencing from things in Session 2.  As mentioned before, the loss of the actual session notes was due to the Hard Drive Crash of 2014.  Remember to back up your files somewhere that is not your computer’s only hard drive!]

Tim's Outlanders Landing Page

Cultists, Cultists, Cultists

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