[Completed] - Varas/Watchtowers - 8 March, 1 VC

[Zhym]

Oh, swell. It's sinister Tom Bombadil.

[OGRE MAGE]

See how your new ax works on him.

[Scott308]

Are you trying to get me killed? I think he would be a little more upset if I try to whack him with my axe than he was when I tried to impale him with a crossbow bolt.

[Keehnelf]

Lethal intent is lethal intent...he may not differentiate...

[Scott308]

Seesil, I think I will take you up on your offer. My friends seem to be enjoying the music and not being in the rain, so I am going to join them. Dorvar walks into the clear area and sits down.

No one left behind, guys.

[Keehnelf]

Dorvar gets the ballsiest dwarf of the year award for this one.

Update in an hour or less.

[Keehnelf]

Dorvar sits down on the soft, dry grass within the sunlit area to listen once more to Seesil's song. The musician nods happily and beckons to Harold, who stands and moves forward to join the rest of the party in the magical shelter.

Seesil begins his song again, and this time the dwarf allows himself to be drawn in by it, in solidarity with his companions if for no other reason. Gradually, he becomes less and less aware of his circumstances, drawn in more and more by the circuitous and ever-changing logic of the melody.

The passage of time quickly loses all meaning for the entire party, struck by a dim awareness of stars suddenly appearing and twisting madly in the darkened sky above them.

After a time, there is a flash of light, accompanied by a great many terrifying and bestial cries, the sounding of mighty horns, laughter and raucous singing. The stamping of heavy feet about them. Rude hands draped under armpits, employing them all as marionettes in a play of indeterminate subject matter or meaning. Flames and slashing light and darkness.

The party awakens in the morning, lying on their backs in trampled mud, feeling sorely abused. All their muscles ache, and they feel as though they've been beaten across the shoulders or stiff as though strapped into a yoke all night. Only dim sensations and blurred images remain. As they sit up and gather their scattered packs in the falling rain, the party discovers the unmistakeable sign of a great many hoof prints in the mud around them, like a herd of pigs, sheep and goats had danced a merry jig around the unconscious group in the night. The faint scent of woodsmoke hangs in the air, though there is no sign of a fire pit of other burn location.

The rain continues to fall lightly, as before, but now there is no area of sunlight around the twisted tree which, from the party's current position, quite obviously resembles an archway made with the rising stone.

Through a gap in the cloud cover, the heavy moon can be seen, just past full, which means several days have passed. The group's bellies are empty, and they finish a quick meal before deciding on next steps.

Everyone deduct one day of rations. It is now March 16, 6:40am, the morning after the full moon.

[AleBelly]

Varas awakes cold, miserable and sore. It takes him a few minutes to get his bearings as he hears his party members echo his groans. He attempts to lighten the mood with a joke "Well, at least our rear ends aren't sore. Those were some pretty big animals."

"Seriously, though, what happened? Did we lose a few days?"

He chuckles at his own joke then looks through his pack to ensure everything's where it should be. He then steps forward to take a close look at the tree and stone, looking for anything unnatural.

[Keehnelf]

Everything is where it should be, though slightly damp from the morning's rain. The tree and stone, when approached closely, certainly could be seen to form an archway of some kind, perhaps seven feet high in the center and almost four feet wide at its widest point.

[AleBelly]

Varas stays the hell out of the archway. "What do you think happened?" he asks the party. "Did the animals harness us, and use us as beasts of burden...a reversal of roles maybe?"

He walks up a slaps Dorvar and Harold on the shoulder. "Should've listened to you both. And thank you Dorvar for sticking with us. Seems you had a choice in the matter, unlike the rest of us. Off to Vaul, then?"

[OGRE MAGE]

I thought I was having another episode from my brain damage. I have absolutely NO idea what that was all about. Let's go get dry and warm....... And Drunk!

[Zhym]

Maybe that was a history lesson? A little sensory glimpse of battles past?

I'm tempted to check out the arch...but not that tempted.

[Keehnelf]

Is the party headed straight back to Vaul, then--no stopover at the tower?

[Zhym]

That works for me.

[AleBelly]

The tower is out of the way (at least to Varas' understanding) so yes, straight to Vaul is what I think the party wants to do (warm bed and soothing ale beckons)

[Keehnelf]

March 17, 1 VC - 2:30pm

The party travels eastward across the moor toward Vaul, camping when the cloud cover obscures the setting sun too much and rising the next day to complete the trip. They pass through the main gate of the town in the early afternoon of March 17, tired and wet but safe, at last.

Please deduct one day's rations from each character.

Rewards:

445 gold pieces in scattered denominations (445xp)
A handful of (4) small ivory reptilian figurines (140xp)
2 silver necklaces inset with small emeralds (250xp)
Battle Axe, +1 (500xp)
Unidentified Spellbook (2 Lvl 1, 1 Lvl 2 spell, 900xp)
Unidentified Potion (75xp)
Crystal-tipped scepter (250xp)
1 Shield (5xp)

Total xp value for loot: 2,565

Events/Actions:

Escape Stego Mount (50xp)
Defeat 1 Lizard Man wizard (59xp)
Defeat 1 Lizard Man Rider (47xp)
Defeat 1 Lizard Man LT (65 xp split with Mr. M, so 52xp)
Defeat 7 Lizard Men (329 xp split with Mr. M, so 263 xp)
Negotiation with Mr. M (100xp)
Discovery of the Burnt-out tower and Lizard-man camp (200xp for a level 2 encounter)
Discovery of the Carkiss (100xp)
Discovery of the Stone-and-Tree Arch (100xp)

Party xp for events and actions: 971

Total party xp before bonus for prime requisite (please note that The Wendall has lowered his INT and thus his XP bonus probably shifted down): 3536

XP value per party member: 884

Please retire to the Town Business and Tavern threads for sale and distribution of loot and recovery for your next adventure! This expedition is at an end.