Update

RECAP OF NOVEMBER & DECEMBER GAMING SESSIONS:

*The adventurers continued into the ruins of the underground city "Vaunt".

*Zylar of Neverwinter, aka- Horstach, aka- Etheran, was most unlucky and overlooked a most potent trap. The floor fell open and Etheran fell towards a floor about 20 feet down where a skeleton rested gripping a glowing blade. Once he reached the bottom of the pit, that floor also crashed open. (the skeleton and blade clung magically to the "floor" as it swung open.) He fell another 20 feet into a pit full of acid. The ceiling was angled like a smokestack so that there was no way out. Before the others could even get a rope down they heard the screaming and splashing stop. Etheran was dead.

*The adventurers entered a room full of 10x10 tiles, there were over a hundred of these. Each had a different text scribed upon it's surface in an altered form of Dethek. After Arwuth translated these Culric declared which route to take. The symbols were translated to: Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Vaprak, and Devotion. The first pass was successful, but since some of the tiles would change depending on the order stepped on, Adoril stepped on the wrong tile and fell hundreds of feet down and landed in a viscous flowing mass that glowed green, some kind of ancient underground magical river. Adoril was swept under the waves and away to the unknown as the tile closed shut. Eventually, the rest of the group made it across.

*At this point the surviving members included: Culric, Miendel, Bridgid, Arwuth, and Bergamont. The group found many other rooms with puzzles to solve to prove one's worthiness to proceed. They were successful and bypassed the majority of the dangerous traps.

*The group found more chambers like the first they had entered. Undead filled these corridors and many battles took place. The undead were dispatched with ease thanks to the turning abilities of the party's clerics.

*The group found two rooms most intriguing. One was a workshop full of all sorts of gadgets and levers, buttons and panels. Some of the gears in this room were still turning. The other was a great library with giant sized tomes of all shapes. Arwuth the elven scholar was able to unearth much useful data in the great library of Vaunt located deep within the place. Vaunt was apparently the resting place of hundreds of great ogres of long ago. This underground city is a testimonial to their ability to craft wondrous mechanical and magical devices. It also alluded to that the city of Melvaunt was actually named after the Vaunt city the group was currently in. Mel=New / Vaunt=?? More study was needed in this field, but after 5 hours the adventurers had to move on!

*The entrance to the Orc Caves was found through secret doors. The growling of dogs and orc conversation could be heard through a wall of Vaunt. After opening the secret door, the group was assaulted by the dogs and arrow attack by the orcs. Wading through battle they slayed all of the Orcs present, including the one who almost escaped to warn the others. They hid the bodies but more Orcs kept coming. They killed more and finally withdrew into Vaunt again. At the end of the hall of the room they rested in was a strange door with the symbol of Vaprak upon it.

*Culric tried to open the huge circular door with the symbol of Vaprak upon it and 2 guardians appeared, one at each end of the hallway. The battle was fierce and the guardians were very powerful. If Bergamont had not used his magic the group surely would have perished. After the battle was concluded, Culric attempted to open the door again. The 2 guardians once again appeared. At this point the party was still wounded from the previous battle. The guardians crushed the party and by the end of the battle only 3 members were left standing, just barely. Arwuth and Bridgid met their end in battle. Culric, Miendel, and Bergamont survived and limped back to the library to rest and recoup.

THIS IS WHERE WE LEFT OFF ON 12/4/2009

Encounters in Thar

The following are a few creatures the rag-tag group of adventurers from Melvaunt have encountered in their travels.

Imbrandlin - Encountered in grassland/swamp area in the middle of the night. It could have decimated the party, but was distracted by easier prey (a couple doe) nearby.


Orcs - Attacked the party on the old worn wagon path through Thar.


Unknown Fish Creature - Tried to trick the party with a trap and illusion. The group saw right through it and easily slayed the humanoid creature.

Bridgid of Thar

Bridgid of the Great Gray Land of Thar
CN Wood Elf Fighter/Thief
played by Jeannette Cowan

BIO WILL GO HERE!

Arwuth of Phlan

Arwuth of Phlan
NG Grey Elf Mage/Priest of Mystra
Played by Chris Cowan

BIO WILL GO HERE!

Magical Items: Longsword of Mysterious Origin

Ulblyn Blackalbuck found this Longsword mixed in with a shipment of prayer beads from Shou-Lung. As far as he could tell it had a magical enchantment which caused it to strike true a little better than most normal longswords. There are some Shou-Lungian characters (written language) imprinted on the hilt of the blade, other than that the blade actually looks as if it was forged in the Moonsea area which confused Ulblyn. Ulblyn did not have time to properly identify the blade though and passed it off to Culric the Moon Elf as extra payment for his assistance in the underground slave ring the pirate Corwyn Jaffe had established under the Devil's Fire Tavern in Melvaunt.

Magical Items: Jaylen's Ring of Warmth

Jaylen was a powerful evil mage who held a small fortress in the dark marshes of Thay to the north of Melvaunt. The fortress was constructed from the ruins of an ancient keep that was built before the land melted away to swampland. The ancient cold stones used in the building of the new fortress provided little escape from the chill of winter. Jaylen constructed this magical ring to keep him comfortable while on expeditions to recruit minions for his future evil ventures in the region.

Ulblyn Blackalbuck informed the Harpers about Jaylen's plans before Jaylen could gain much noteriety as an evil power to be reckoned with. The Harpers sent their best to the region to remove Jaylen from the fortress. One well known Harper perished in this battle, but the rest were able to slay the orcs Jaylen had acquired and made their way to Jaylen. Jaylen chose to kill himself rather than be taken by the Harpers. He left behind his magical ring, a cloak, bracers, and a magical wand. These were all hand crafted by the mage and were taken by the Harpers for use in their organization.

Ulblyn Blackalbuck granted Jaylen's Ring of Warmth to Etheran the Amnesiac Moon Elf for assisting in a mission against the pirate Corwyn Jaffee. Etheran was an invaluable resource on this expedition and obtained all the information Ulblyn required to free the illegal slaves Corwyn was attempting to sell on the black market. All the slaves survived and were freed from their imprisonment in caves under the city of Melvaunt.

Each of the party members was given the option of one magical item as extra payment for their assistance in the aforementioned matter. Etheran chose Jaylen's Ring of Warmth.

Over the past few nights of searching the city and watching through the night, Etheran decided that the cold was quite unbearable. The chill wind numbed his fingers to the point where they were practically useless, and his arms and legs ached from the frigid winds. He had seen one of the gypsies wear a ring that would fend off all but the coldest of nights. He decided upon the ring for with it, he could still travel lightly burdened and would not have to suffer the heavy clothes needed to survive the winters in the north.

Culric

Culric - (Align TBD) Moon Elf Fighter
played by Khidr Milliman

Hail and well met fellow traveler. I am known as Culric of the dales. Blade for hire, warrior, mercenary. I have been on the road for many a moon since I was found to have been born under the Zhenterim’s prophesized date. Supposedly A male elf born on this date would be the destruction of the Zhenterim, however I do not know if this is to be me. I keep on the move and try and contact my family whenever I can. It has been many a moon since I have last seen them and I wish to visit them someday with my companions and in doing so pay a hefty tribute to Tymora who would have brought me and my family together again. I question whether or not the prophecy is true, either way I must fight until the Zhenterim no longer pursues me or is crushed by my blade.

Magical Items: Petricka Domainya's Platemail +1

(Currently possessed by Miendel of Tymora)

This Platemail armor was given to Ublyn Blackalbuck (of Blackalbuck's Swap Shop in Melvaunt) by Tellarfrar, a Harper Agent and local Bard. Tellarfrar's best friend (and rumored lover) Petricka Domainya of Kelemvor had recently perished while protecting Tellarfrar from a lich. The armor was damaged in the battle with the Lich and lost it's greatest powers, but still had some subtle magical properties.

Ulblyn paid one of the many local smithy's to refurbish the armor which then sat in a corner of his home for over a year.

Ublyn passed this onto his good friend Miendel of Tymora as a gift of apology for keeping his Harper identity secret from her for 2 years. He also felt terrible for asking her to undertake a mission which led to her capture, beating, and rape by Corwyn Jaffe's pirates in Melvaunt. The armor fit perfectly, although Miendel had to cover up with a fur cloak both to keep warm in the cold Moonsea air and to fend off sailors who would find her shapely female form most alluring.

Etheran

Etheran - CG Moon Elf Mage/Thief
played by R. Pease

Hello let me introduce myself. My name is Etheran, or at least that is what is what I call myself at this time. My story is a strange one to be sure. My life began or at least what I remember of it 3 years ago. I was found naked on the side of the road outside Cloakwood by a gypsy caravan. I was close to death and was delirious for a week while Shialana, the healer of the gypsies tended me and brought me back to health. Chavis used his mystic powers to peer into my past to try to unravel the mysteries of who I am, and what happened to me. His attempts were unsuccessful.

Marco the leader of the gypsies allowed me to stay if I could prove a benefit to the clan. It was quickly determined that I had some degree of training at the thieving arts. For the next year I was put to work as a juggler and an occasional pick pocket for the gypsies when they made their stops. One item I managed to swipe was a scroll. I studied the scroll for over a couple of days and determined that it was a wizardly spell. What’s more it was one that I could remember casting at one time. I relayed this to Marco who sent me to Chavis who put me through several tests and was delighted to find that I was a wizard as well. Though he admitted that my training was very rudimentary

I grew quite close to one of the gypsies, a young lady called Adriana; she is a striking human who is one of the exotic dancers. We struck up a close friendship and we are rarely apart. After a year or so I was not sure if the friendship is for the sake of friendship or just to keep an eye on me.

Try as I might, I cannot seem to remember anything of my past prior to when I woke up with the gypsies. Was my memory wiped to as an accident or on purpose? That I do not know. I try not to dwell on it, but having a blank slate that stretches back for over a century is a bit unsettling. Is there a magical enchantment on me, if so, I have not been able to detect it.

I decided that I had to leave the caravan, whether it is for good or ill, I do not know. But I feel that in my soul that if I remained here, my memory will never come back. One night before a show I feigned a stomach ache and told them that something I ate did not agree with me, and I would remain in the wagon for the show. I left the following note for Marco and the rest of the gypsies.


Marco,

I cannot remain with the caravan anymore. My memory is not returning, but I feel as if I am putting you all in jeopardy if I remain here. I did not want any arguments about my departure. I thank you all for what you have done for me; I will be forever in your debt.


I ran as fast as I could into the woods and kept going until dawn the next day. I was not sure if I was a prisoner in the caravan or a guest, but did not want to be dragged back against my will.

Etheran is a good natured elf, but is definitely out for himself first. He is not sure if that comes from his own nature, or gypsy influence. He will also give to those who are in need, for no other reason that the mood strikes him. He strives to talk before combat. Combat for him is the last resort, when all talking and other actions have failed.

He is a thief at heart, and generally likes robbing from those who have the means and will not miss their losses as much. His magical arts are used by and large to aid his skill as a thief.