Rashemen - RP Summary

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The adventure began with Sepp, a young halfling, and his dog, Black, entering the village of Iceborn one morning and visiting the shrine to Bhalla. They soon met, Jex'Tailin, called Jex, a half-drow fighter, who invited them to the tavern for a meal.

It soon became clear that Sepp was very wet behind the ears when it came to dealing with the outside world. In fact, this was the first time he had spoken with anyone other than his family, and his first time journeying outside of his valley, where he lived with his mother, father, brother, and sister, keeping goats and growing mushrooms.

In the tavern Sepp tried to buy some potions from a dwarf trader, who turned out to be passed out in a drunken stupor. Then they were addressed by Alinys Trannyth, the local Priestess of Bhalla, who asked them who they were and what they were doing there.

Sepp told her how he had come home to find his mother, father, and sister, dead, burned up, and his brother missing, and how he had come to Iceborn for help. The priestess went into a trance and became silent.

Karren, the waitress, came over with Lachlane, her baby boy, and Jex and Sepp ordered some food. While waiting for it to arrive, Sepp passed out. When he woke up, another halfling, Nakia Nightshadow, had joined them. Jex asked what had happened and Sepp told them that the spirit of his mother had taken him to a fortress where his brother was being held captive by evil creatures.

Nakia and Jex decided to help Sepp find his brother, so the three set off on a rescue mission after Nakia got some directions from the bartender.

Heading out of Iceborn up a creekbed, they encountered Atten, a human druid. After some argumentive discussion and intervention from Sepp's mother's spirit and Black, Sepp's dog who turned out to be his uncle, Atten agrees to join them on the rescue mission and also to return a powerful artifact called the Earth's Heart to the earth. Meanwhile, the dwarf trader has woken and followed them up the creekbed, but not yet actually found them.

Jex remembered a cult called the Fellowship of the Serpent that seemed to be the cause of Sepp's family's problems, and they set out again. Just then, an Avariel, or winged-elf, cleric named Maron, descended on them and told them about a group of slavers with a captive that needed to be rescued.

Believing her to be an angel sent to help rescue his brother, Sepp rushed off to fight. The others quickly followed to keep Sepp from getting himself killed.

It turned out that the slavers were actually a group of the Fellowship of the Serpent, using Sepp's brother Gesed as a forced guide to show them the location of the Earth's Heart. Jex was the first to strike a blow, with Nakia and Maron downing enemies quickly too. Sepp's mother possessed his body and lent her strength to Atten, who with increased power cast a mighty spell to entangle the remaining enemies. Jex and Maron finally defeated the leader, Viper's Fang, but he escaped through a magic portal, taking Sepp's mother's spirit with him.

Sepp returned to his body and realized his mother was gone. He caused the vines that Atten had created to sprout thorns. Then Nakia and he finished off the rest of the enemies with slings. Though one Yuan-Ti was playing dead and bit Nakia and Gesed at the last.

After the battle, Nakia collected some loot from the fallen, and Sepp and Atten did their best to help Gesed. The worst was that Viper's Fang had cut off both his feet after he kept getting away.

The group made it back to the tavern in Iceborn. While trading some of the loot, Jex and Atten met Delphinae, Del for short, a ranger who had been hunting the Fellowship of the Serpent for a long time. She warned them that a second group of cultist was following the first and would probably attack.

That night they did. A wave of the reanimated corpses from the first group killed attacked the town, followed by a wave of zombies and skeletons coming out of the graveyard. A few fisherhuts blew up in fireballs to at the onset of the attack. Some townsfolk were killed in the attack. Atten enlarged a hoard of rats and dogs, and the undead were fairly easily dispatched. Two black clothed men came into the room where Sepp was watching over Gesed. They killed one and drove off the other, with Sepp losing just a piece of his scalp in the process.

That morning the group set off towards Sepp's home in search of the Earth's Heart.

[ July 22, 2005, 20:38: Message edited by: Scot ]

 

Just a quick little update.

While on the way to Sepp's home our brave (or stupid) adventurers meet up with two full fledged drow! Now that should mean some trouble but no just a lot of yak, yak. Well someone almost got shot with an arrow but it turned into talk.

These drow are exiles. Their house has been destroyed in true drow fashion. To top it off they get kidnapped by a mage who tortures them but turns them loose. ???

Arriving at Sepp's home we give his parents to the earth. A fitting ending for halflings. Hey you drow, halflings are only semi-surface dwellers. Watch what you say! Maybe city dwellers are surface dwellers but they're hardly halflings anymore.

After some food and rest we decided to search Sepp's home for the Heart of the Earth Stone. We find a tunnel big enough for halflings but the big folk had to crawl. Did I get a kick out of that.

Then we come across a tunnel not even a halfling can get into. So what did bright me do? One of drow had an untested potion he thought would make someone smaller. To keep Sepp from trying it I grabbed it and drank. Shrank to half size. A half halfling. Crawled down the tunnel came to a big cavern. Remember I'm only 1 1/2 feet tall. 18 inches. That's small. The Heart of the Earth stone is there but so are a bunch of intelligent, mobile mushrooms who want to keep the Stone. They call it the Creator.

Back up I go and report. Get back to the right size and everything seems hokay but I'm not sure.

Now we are sitting around trying to figure out what to do.

Respectfully submitted by

Nakia

 

Great update Nakia!

 

I agree!

 

From Nakia’s Journal

While we were deciding what to do about the Mushroom’s guarding the Stone Del met a strange Elf Prince called Alexi. Rather mysterious person who may be human. I just don’t know.

He came in and met Sepp. Sepp and I found out we are related. We decided that while the others caused a diversion Del and I would go after the Stone. Del would get the stone. Too heavy for me to carry and I could be an added diversion. That worked fine but Jex was in the middle of the cavern fighting mushrooms and was killed.

Sepp got his body (Jex’s) taken back to the where the family grew mushrooms to eat. Not the walking, talking kind, just normal mushrooms.
Kelvados performed a spell to bring Jex’s spirit back and it worked but Jex was so bad hurt he was dying again. Sepp tried to heal him with the life from the mushrooms but it wasn’t enough so Sepp gave Jex some of his life force, still not enough. Then Sepp used my life force. We were all three being pulled into the darkness of death when something weird happened. Sepp thinks our spirits combined and were able to bring us back. I think he is right because I know all of a sudden I was Sepp and Jex. I am different somehow.

Anyway, Atten now has the Stone of the Earth and we have to get it to wherever it belongs. I hope Atten knows where that is. Bet we meet those Snake people again.

Hope I live to tell this tale and not just have people read about it.

 

Here are some memories that Sepp shared with a vein of granite under the Fortress of the Half-Demon as he and his mother flowed through it on their way to the Earth's Heart.

We had retrieved the Earth's Heart from the mushroom people, but it was missing a crystal and wasn't whole. I knew that it was being held by the Fellowship of the Serpent in the Fortress of the Half-Demon, so we headed there to get it.

On the way, I took a dream-voyage and found out that the crystal was on a necklace worn by a big snake creature called a naga. I also looked for a volcano to throw the Earth's Heart in and found one in an ice field far north of here.

Delphinae lead us to the Fortress, and Atten, Alexi and Maron hid in the forest while the rest of us snuck into the fortress. Del lead us deep into the basement and caves under the fortress, where we surpised and were surprised by a large force of cultists, Yuan-ti, histaschi, and the naga and Viper's Fang.

Del killed the naga with one arrow, and all the others fought bravely as well. Nakia got the crystal to me, but on my way out I got hit in the back with an axe. It broke my back, so Ma and I melded with the stone and are now on our way to where Atten sits with the Earth's Heart.

I really enjoyed talking to you. You're such a good listener.

 

From Nakia's Journal

We all got out of the fortress alive and more or less in one piece. We got the piece of the Stone back to Atten but there was a fight there and Black got killed very thoroughly. Although with Sepp's family being the way it is his spirit may be around somewhere. Sepp's Ma's spirit is in the Stone now.

We started out to take the Earth's Heart to a volcano and ran into some folks chasing the Drow Brothers. Sepp saved my life there. Think I'm right about him. Del is the one who really saved the day for us all though.

The river looks bad. The water is a funny color and rising. Atten is in a hurry to get the Stone back to the earth before things get worse.

We got to a big ice mountain. We have to climb it to get to the volcano. Kelvados made a ladder of sorts with his knieves and we started climbing up.

Sepp discovered that there is an ice (water) creature that wants to stop us. It attacked Delinos who was the first up. I was right behind and I tried to stop it with an explosive bullet but it only shook it for a moment. Jex attacked it but got tossed back into the crevice I hid in. That thing is bad news.

 

The Holy Writ of the Earth Mother Bhalla, as witnessed by Priestess Alinys Trannyth

When the Weeping Prophet first came to our temple, I took him in as a duty to the poor and downtrodden, believing that he would be a burden to bear, but a chance to offer service to the less fortunate. How wrong I was, he is the most blessed thing to have ever occurred in our small temple in our insignificant village in this remote part of the Realms.

At first, his horrible dreams and the screaming and weeping we attributed to the horror he suffered at the hands of the Fellowship of the Serpent, culminating with the dreadful loss of both of his feet. When they continued night after night, I looked into them further and sensed that there was more to this strange small person and his nightmares. I gradually discovered the Truth, but only after a visit from his mother’s spirit. After that initial visit, I followed the unfolding events in the Silver Pool, and the whole temple prayed and meditated to focus their energy on helping the Sleep-walking Prophet and Saint Atten accomplish their mission of returning the Earth’s Heart to Bhalla. I’d like to think that our efforts helped them, and know that many days, everyone, including I, was totally drained after sending our thoughts, prayers, and energy out to the Holy Ones and their companions.

When we became aware of the situation, they had already brought the Heart to completetion, and were on their way to the Mouth of the Earth, far north in the ice fields. While making their way up the ice wall, the Sleep-walking Prophet encountered a Demon of Water, and was able to defeat it with the help of his companions while Saint Atten protected the Heart from any harm.

They harnessed the power of the air to speed them on an ice sled towards the Mouth of the Earth, but then a Demon of Air interceded. I was amazed by how the Sleep-walking Prophet defeated it, freezing everything to complete Coldness. This brought about a horrible fever in the Weeping Prophet, which we soon realized was a harbinger of the Demons of Fire about to attack the Holy Ones.

Again they were able to overcome many, and convince the rest of the demons to let them continue the quest. In this battle I know that our temple contributed to the victory, as we were all involed in keeping the connection to the ice that the Sleep-walking Prophet created. Adept Suomitah died as a result of the strain, the first martyr for Saint Atten, who once again was able to keep the Heart safe despite all the fury assailing it.

Finally, Saint Atten arrived at the Mouth of the Earth and returned the Heart to where it belongs, and hopefully will remain safely now for eternity. The Two Prophet’s mother has decsended to a position within the Heart of the Earth itself, but before she left she gifted all of the companions with extraordinary blessings, the greatest of all of which were two rings made from the very Heart itself. The Sleep-walking Prophet currently has them both, but the Weeping Prophet has foreseen that soon his brother, and hopefully even Saint Atten himself, will visit our humble temple and grace us with their presence, if even only for a brief spell.

I report these events as they were witnessed by me and my flock of faithful, so that they may be remembered in the times to come. Blessed be Bhalla, and fruitful be the Earth.

 

From the journal of Nakialatrudalamentra Nochedramantrium, eldest daughter of the Chieftain of the Burrow of Satranamentula.

A lot has happened since we got the Stone back in place and I haven't had time to keep track of it all but here are some things I remember.

One, we got rid of the guy chasing the drow Brothers. Huiy'Trej I think he was called. That was a bad fight. He had demons helping him. He sent them first and when that didn't work came himself with more demons. Just when I thought we had him he disappeared then returned fully healed. Jex almost got killed again. He is some great fighter but I wonder if he has a death wish. Interesting person but hard to know.

Sepp has been through a lot of changes including turning to stone and back again. When I first met him I thought I was helping a rather helpless fellow halfling then I realized he had potential but I sure didn't know how much. Looks like he could become the greatest halfling ever and make even those uppity humans stand at attention. That is if we manage to survive.

Now I know I haven't covered everything but there just doesn't seem time to stop and catch up on me journal.

 

From the journal of Nakialatrudalamentra Nochedramantrium, eldest daughter of the Chieftain of the Burrow of Satranamentula.

After returning the Earth’s Stone and a brutal fight with the Illythid hunting the Drow Brothers we make it back to the town where I met Sepp. After a bath and a good night’s sleep I go down stairs to find a strange woman sitting with Sepp, Jex and the Drows. Del is acting funny and I go with her. Del explains that she thinks this person called Ciana is a sorceress who has tainted those who have come in contact with her; Sepp, Jex and the Drows. We find Atten buying some fancy boots and a little later Maron healing the village folk. Sepp has used his mind link to let me know to head west to a nearby temple. So off we go. As we walk along Maron flies down and tells me she needs to steal an artifact from the temple. Nothing simple like robbing a rich merchant, oh no. She needs a holy artifact from a holy temple filled with holy clerics. Now I like a challenge but messing with big folks’ gods is tricky. They and their followers are weird. Lots of bowing, scraping and giving of gifts from the followers to the gods who don’t seem to do much of anything but get annoyed at just about everything. Not like our gods. Our gods are family.

When we get to the temple it seems we are expected. Now I call this one “The Caper that wasn’t”. Seems the old chief priest knows what Maron wants and has arranged for me to “steal” the artifact. That taken care of he lays a geas, geis, er that thing big folk like. Means you have to do something or suffer some terrible fate. Any way he lays this geas on Ciana and Del. Ciana has to help Del. He gives Maron a scroll to be used after the geis is completed. Shatfry, another temple to visit. Big, cold places filled with lots of holy magic not warm and cozy like our little places with clerics that know how to till a field. We are invited to spend the night there. Now that is welcome. Two straight nights in a real bed with a real bath is getting to be quite a luxury.

For some reason I wake up early and go looking for Sepp. Oops, he isn’t where he should be, in bed. So off I go and what do I find but that he is getting chased by a giant and I don’t mean a big folk I mean a giant! He gets knocked off a hill but I can’t find anything wrong with him except he’s stunned. The giant is yelling about not being able to control himself and please help him. Sure, I’m just going to walk up to him and knock him on the head. Only if I had wings. Atten is there and casts an entangle spell. That stops the giant and speaking of wings Maron shows up and charms him somehow. Good timing. We manage to get him and Sepp back to the temple. One of the temple clerics realizes his problem is a ring he is wearing and gets it off him. His name is Kongol and without the ring he seems a nice guy. Sepp has something wrong though. His mind seems to be elsewhere. He can move, eat etc if helped but doesn’t respond to anything else.

Ciana, Kelvados and Delinos decide to take off for the east to find the wizard who tortured them. Unsurprisingly, the name they call him is Torturus. The rest of us head west toward the Lake of Tears. I hope to get a boat to take us across but it seems a big storm damaged a lot of boats and the good ones are out fishing. So we start north. Atten has drifted off into the forest. May he find what ever he is looking for.

Huum, I’m getting tired. Got to stop for now. What a tale will I have to tell when I get home. What a feast we’ll have.

 

Extracts from the Journals of Ciana Erithsdottir

…. well I’ve escaped from the tower of Torturus, it wasn’t easy and I had to kill to get out, something that I found I enjoyed doing, which has never happened before. I tried meditating and talking to Robin through the link but nothing happened, perhaps I’m too wound up to relax enough yet. Two names, I have two names to find Delinos and Kelvados, they were held briefly by Him but he had enough on Drow apparently and didn’t need them. The bastard took my hair, scars I can live with, but taking my hair, I can remember Robin playing with it, braiding and plaiting and putting ribbons in it, while giggling like small children. She never let me play with hers though ….

…. I’ve found the brothers, they’re staying in this very Inn, and I’ll speak to them tomorrow …..

…. In the morning I spoke to the brothers and after some careful conversation they were also of a like mind to seek vengeance on Torturus. I also met 2 of their companions a halfling called Sepp, their leader and somewhat of a mystic seemingly, although his true calling appears to be Nature’s (later I found he is both Druid and Ranger). Then there was Jex a half-drow warrior, and probably a troubled past with such a mixed heritage. It was at this point that everything went to hell in a hand-basket, one member of their company Delphinae, a Ranger, threatened me, something attacked one of the brothers. While the talking and arguing went on between the company’s members, it seemed a good time for me to take a moment, big mistake that turned out to be. While I tried to attain my centre and talk to Robin, I couldn’t get there, Robin managed to tell me to visit a temple, but it was Sepp who saved my life, somehow he was able to bring me back ….

…. at the temple, and it’s Corellon’s, and we were expected which is worrying, until I find they have Seers at this Temple ….

…. now that was funny, the look on Nakia’s (a very likable rogue) and Maron’s (a winged Elf! wait til Robin hears I’ve met a winged Elf, and a cleric) when the old priest let them steal the object that they wanted to steal. I wish my part in this had been so funny, surprise the cure comes with a price and the price may not be to my liking, I am unsure yet of this Del. She is the price I pay with a geas upon me to help her, though first I must go east, at which she whimpers, cajoles that she can’t go east she will go west splitting the party ….

…. in the morning when I am preparing to leave, I find the company has picked up another stray, a half-giant barbarian named Kongol, a pleasant curious companion I would find later. As I said my farewells the brothers joined me and we moved fast ….

…. the geas had left me with a beacon in my head of where to go etc., but I needn’t have worried they found us anyway. I found myself face to face with Del, now I knew that this wasn’t the same Del that we had left, this one was more aggressive, more reckless ….

…. another stranger, this time a Ranger/Cleric name Elendie explains some with Del the rest. A sorcerer had tried to sort Del out with some problem but instead managed to split her in two, one fearful, one brave. We were now with the brave one and the fearful one was heading west, we will be heading west to catch up with them, though how we will fix this I do not know; for it seems they wish to kill each other ….

…. while the others carried on, I visited the Temple again; again they were waiting for me, that is spooky. After speaking with them I was given a scroll for a cleric to use ….

…. I caught up with the group after stepping through a portal created by the Temple for me, I the led them to the others. When we caught up with them the two Dels attacked one another, we managed to separate them and then Elendie read the scroll I’d brought, and where there was two now was one …

…. the brothers are leading us against Torturus, he tried to frighten them with a mental message, interestingly he didn’t mention me but I heard him, this may be used to our advantage …

…. Del is still unconscious and so is left out of the battle at the tower. Jex is cleaning out the barracks with a little help from Nakia and Elendie, and later from an awakened Del. The brothers supported by Maron, Kongol and I are attacking the tower direct. As it starts I surprise him and he is thrown for a loop briefly, it is a hard battle but at the end I am able to use a move taught me by Aledra, my elven weapons master, to finish him ….

…. I’m cured, and my hair is back, and joy of joys my God spoke to me, I almost wet myself when He did. We are in the town of Multpan; I have sung a new song of our travels and adventures so far, very well received and learnt new local ones as well. During our rest Jex was attacked through his family symbol, he is at the Temple now trying to find out more and we await him. I finished helping Nakia with her scroll on a history of some halflings, I wish that I could write about it, but it is not my story to tell. In the morning depending on what Jex has to say we head for Waterdeep and Nakia’s home near there.

 

From the journal of Nakialatrudalamentra Nochedramantrium, eldest daughter of the Chieftain of the Burrow of Satranamentula.

While I wait for Jex to return from the temple I think I'll update my journal.

We headed north to go around the Lake of Tears. Maron began playing the pipes we got from the temple. The music had different effects on each one of us. Some got upset. It brought me very close to my village and a mixture of feelings, some good and some bad. Maron was worried about the reaction of some of us but when we camped for the night Sepp suddenly came to life. Was I overjoyed until he came over and told me he had to leave. Didn't or couldn't explain why. He said goodbye to the others. When he reached Maron he kissed her hands and thanked her for playing the pipes. He said the music helped him resolve something and was very grateful.

He left with me chasing after screaming and crying like a wee tot. Something in the way he looked and moved hit me and I remembered someone from the past. But I better be careful what I put down about that. It gets very confusing but I know he will be safe.

Another day things got confusing again. Suddenly there is a second Del running up bent on mayhem against our Del. Ciana and another woman are following her, as well as the Drow Brothers. We manage to stop the two Dels from killing each other. Ciana reads a scroll and now we have one Del, unconscious but alive. We decide to head to Torturus's place to take care of that problem. Kongol carries Del. We have a new member, Elendie. Doesn't say much, seems to be a very private person.

We all survive that nasty fight with Torturus and get some nice things. I find an ancient scroll with a seal I recognise but it is in bad condition and I'm afraid I'll ruin it if I try to unroll it. Normally I wouldn't show it to a human but I need help and I think Ciana can be trusted. Come to think of it I'm not sure she is human. There is something unusual about her. She recognizes the seal too and tells me how the scroll can be preserved.

After leaving the battle scene we get lost but Del figures out where we are and gets us headed the right direction. Glad she is hokay now.

We get to the town of Multpan. Jex's has problems and heads off to a temple, Ciana helps me with the scroll then leaves. When she returns she is a lovely woman with hair. Beautiful abundant hair. We finish up the scroll and read it. Don't want to say much just in case this journal should fall into the wrong hands.

Del stayed outside the town, saying that they wouldn't take kindly to seeing her. Maron stayed with her but joined us later to help Ciana get rid of the Geas thing. Kongol is wandering around somewhere. Not sure where the Drow brothers went.

Right now we are all just waiting to see what happens with Jex. I know this is a bit of a rambling entry but it is for my eyes only. Maybe someday I'll get someone to write up me story properly.

 

From the journal of Nakialatrudalamentra Nochedramantrium, eldest daughter of the Chieftain of the Burrow of Satranamentula.

Again a lot has happened and I haven't had a chance to update me journal.

In Multpan we met up with some injured hunters and Atten turned up. Glad to see him even though he tries to be cool all the time. It seems the town is being attacked by undead creatures. Big ugly ogreish type undead. Blah, hate undead, so unnatural. The dead should stay dead.

Being brave adventurers we naturally volunteer to help. Gads, IWD was a lark compared to what I'm going through here. At the temple we find out the necromancy responsible was a resident of town who didn't like how he was treated and wants revenge. We pick up a paladin and take off to where he is. Not in a nice easily spot like on top of a mountain but in the middle of a swamp. A swamp with lots of insects, crawly things and things in the water that bite.

With Kongol doing most of the poling we make it on to the island where he bides. Fighting with undead of course. I get trapped but Kelvados and Delvinos save me. I owe them one. We find our way into a big cavern. I sense the presence of Sepp and Jex but can't see them. We are being attacked by two weird reddish figures, one small and one moving like Jex. Fortunately we figure out that it is Sepp and Jex. Delvinos casts a spell that rather flies all over the place. Sepp is in a bubble but after he figures out what is going on he is out and dashing up some stairs in the back. I race after him and see a mage trying to kill him with a spell. Manage to distract him so the spell goes wrong just making a big hole in a wall. Again the Drow Brothers save the day and end up finishing the mage off. Won't go into any details on that.

Oh, there is a big bloody pool reaching to another plane where Sepp was. That's a story itself but it is his so he can tell it. With Sepp's help Atten plants the Seed that Sepp's mother gave him and it grows into a big thinking, knowing, mind-talking tree. We leave and Sepp and Atten build various types of protection for the Tree so people can't just wander in and damage it.

Then the Drow Brothers go nuts and try to kill each other. I though they were doing right well and fitting in nicely. A guess the past does come back to haunt you. Fortunately a healer friend of Maron's finds them and gets them back to the Temple in Multpan. The Temple clerics agree to portal us to a spot near the Anauroch Desert. So now we are on our way to me home or so I think.

I've had dreams that Yondalla spoke to me to watch over Sepp and get him home. I'm trying Mother. A little help would be nice.

Does anything ever go the way you plan? A shadow figure has turned with a letter asking Kongol for help. Seems a princess once saved Kongol's life and now she needs help. So now we are going to help Kongol help her.

Miraculously the Drow Brothers turn up at her camp in a mountain cavern. They are pretty well beat up from the sand storm we just missed. Elendie has joined us just before the brothers. We are resting now. We'll see what tomorrow brings.